John 3:31-36 -- He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
We close out the journey in John chapter three today. It was quite an amazing adventure! Watching and listening to Jesus interact with Nicodemus really moved me in a way I haven't been able to fully describe in writing or verbally. Possibly because I spent a decade on a quest to gain as much knowledge as I could about the Bible, Jesus, God, and Christianity. I thought I had it all worked out because I knew so much about all of it. Where I got wrecked was when the Holy Spirit introduced me to the one, I had worked so ridiculously hard to know about, Jesus. I was brought face to face, one on one, with Him. I remember weeping uncontrollably in the middle of worship when it happened. Surrounded by a hundred other people, music still going, but it all faded and there I was with Him. All my strength, knowledge, the built-up weariness of a decade spent learning of Him, just broke.
I broke that day in the presence of my Savior, but He has never stopped, never left, and has grown me in Himself every day since. So, it was quite powerful seeing Nicodemus sit down with Jesus, face to face, and watching Jesus just keep going and going, even though repeatedly Nicodemus couldn't grasp it, he struggled to break out of the pattern of knowledge, religious rituals, and his understanding of it all.
Nicodemus had it all worked out. He knew it inside and out. He believed it and he taught it to others. Until he met the one it was ALL about, Jesus.
John 3:31 -- He who comes from above is above all…
My quiet time this morning has been quite emotional for me. Reading these final verses in chapter three and just having it all really settle from my mind into my heart, has begun to fan the flames inside for Jesus even more. Just wow!
Last night during worship I had this imagery of a mighty lion that was behind bars. Interestingly and weird to explain but the bars were people standing in front of the lion. When the bars were moved, the people moving out of the way, the lion took three steps forward to completely fill up the center of the platform. In today's artwork I was led to recreate it as best I could.
There is obviously so much one could pull from it, but as I prayed this morning, I was brought to a very personal side of it. All the way back to what started this entire, sharing of my personal quiet time every single day, which was the Lord telling me on December 16th, 2021 - "No more hiding, Phillip.". When I step out of the way, He steps forward to occupy His rightful place. He must increase. I must decrease.
Okay, well thanks for going on the journey with me today. This was where my quiet time led, so I'm just sharing it how it how He's told me to. I love that relationship with Him is such a journey that it goes from the deepest of nerdy Greek word diving, to long rambling recaps, to times of just sitting quietly at His feet, then to the imagery of a mighty lion in the middle of worshipping Him. What an adventure it is every day!
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone. Reach out to me if you need to talk, need someone to listen, or need prayer.
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