But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. (John 1:12-13, NLT)
If you really want to know tough when it comes to golf, enter a Monday qualifier. These are the weekly events that allow players the chance to play in that week’s main PGA or LPGA Tour event. There are usually 100-120 golfers competing on Mondays for one of the few spots available, and it is not unusual that you will need to shoot 62 or 63 to make it. Your club champion would look like a frustrated amateur in one of these qualifiers. It’s that hard!
What does this all have to do with relating to our passage today? This: The good news about becoming a child of God is that the hard work has already been done for you. You’re in if you want to be in. You’re in if you believe.
When Jesus went to the cross and shed his blood, he did so to wash away your sins. This is the only way you can qualify for the eternal life offered by a completely holy God. But you don’t have to do the work of qualifying. You don’t have to live a perfect life (you can’t!). You don’t have to attend a church with all the right answers (there isn’t one!). You don’t have to memorize the whole Bible or pray every waking hour (God has actually given you a life to live!). But what you have to do is “believe him and accept him.” Then you will be reborn.
My grandson asked me the other day, “Papa do we have two lives?”My grandson asked me the other day, “Papa, do we have two lives?” I said, “Yes, one here on earth and the other in heaven with God for eternity. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and believe he died on the cross for our sins and also believe he was resurrected from the dead, then we will live our second life in heaven with Jesus.” Know that I would give the same answer to you, no matter how old you are.
Jesus talked to an older man named Nicodemus about this idea of being born again. It surprised Nicodemus, who was an Old Testament scholar but had never heard such talk. “Am I to go back in my mother’s womb?” he asked Jesus. The Lord replied, “You must be born of the spirit.” Then Jesus spoke of himself as the Son of Man come down from heaven and said, “Everyone who believes in him has eternal life.” (See John 3:1-17)
Many of our local Links Fellowships have moved to Zoom meetings in recent months. This gives me the chance to connect with so many more Fellowships each week, and I see in each one people who are secure in their faith, but also those who are still asking the initial questions: “Who is Jesus? What does it mean to believe in him? What happens when I do?” I hope today’s devotion helps you explain to friends like this just why Jesus is the one they want to trust in for their eternal life’s sake. (And if you’re looking for how you might connect with a Links Fellowship where you live, you can check out our current list of Fellowships here.)
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Dereck Wong
August 11, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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