We all desire immediate and direct answers to our prayers, and are tempted to become discouraged when the answer is delayed or comes in an unlooked-for form.
The water Jesus talks about is just the beginning of the new birth experience. Nicodemus did not even understand the first part of the new birth, so how was he to understand the spiritual side of it?
“God permitted Satan to carry forward his work until the spirit of disaffection ripened into active revolt….And so began the great controversy between God and Satan.
If there were no other reason for having adequate covering, I think this would be a most wonderful, beautiful, and sublime reason, because the garments Jesus makes are garments of grace provided at an infinite cost.
“Christ has left us a perfect, sinless example. His followers are to walk in His footsteps. If they are not transformed in character, they can never dwell with Him in His kingdom.
God doesn’t want me to give up a habit only to repeatedly pick it back up again, never truly gaining the victory over it. He wants to give me the power to be completely and fully done with it.
He is a Man of great sorrow. He is also a Man of great love. The scriptures say that God is love, and the reason for His sorrow is because of His great love for us! “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8.
The song of Mary is a song for the humble, but it is also a song for the proud. In Mary’s day, you had to have money or position to be important. Church offices were obtained by quid pro quo, prevalent in the church in those days.