ICS Daily Devotions
Don’t Live With Regrets!
John 3:2-3 (NKJV) 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Do you live in regret and in misery thinking of the “what if” you had done this or that? It could be investment opportunities, job postings, or other choices you’ve made. What is of the utmost importance and has eternal significance is the salvation of our loved ones, relatives, friends and colleagues. By sharing the good news with them, we will definitely not live in regret.
Nicodemus was a wealthy and influential man in the Bible who refused to live in regrets. He is a man of the Pharisees – an elite lay theologian dedicated to studying and living out every title of the law. He is also the “ruler of the Jews”, a member of the Sanhedrin which is an exclusive council controlling the religious life of Israel. He was considered a man of high social standing in Jerusalem in Jesus’ day.
Despite his high social status, he went out of his way at dusk hoping to have an encounter with Jesus for he knew that no one could perform signs unless God was with him. Remember, it was religious people who persecuted Jesus. His desperate act of consulting with a carpenter for an answer to life is actually a very humbling act; he knew that God was with Jesus. His passionate search for God’s help in search of an answer led him to Jesus Christ. He didn’t live his life in regret because he took the courage to search for God.
There will be a longing for someone or something to fill the emptiness in our heart. Nothing can full satisfy it until God takes His rightful place in us. God will also mobilize his people to seek out the lost for the Kingdom of God.
Romans 1:16 (NKJV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
We must not be bothered and feel ashamed by what others think of us as we pursue after God. From an eternal perspective, we cannot afford to miss the opportunity to share the gospel with others because we only live once and after that comes judgment.
This is a story of a very successful man who lived in Hong Kong as an expatriate for some time. Before he became a believer, he ventured into learning about geomancy, which is a study focused on positioning certain objects, changing the decoration or altering one’s lifestyle to receive the best blessing and have a change of luck. Instead of opening his life to God, he opened himself to the devil by allowing him to dictate how to live his life. This led him to live in fear and he kept hoping the adjustments to his house and office would change his fortune. He studied and practiced it for several years but his life was still meaningless. However, his wife and children are Christians so he would drive them to church every Sunday, being the good father and husband. He would drop them off and pick them up after church. There was one Sunday during winter, he happened to arrive early at the church parking lot waiting to pick up his family. The turning point came when a church member spotted him and took the initiative to invite him to the service. Since it was freezing cold at the parking lot, he felt obliged to visit. As he was listening to the sermon, the Holy Spirit convicted him and he was saved that Sunday. He testified that everything he was searching for was actually found in God and the Bible. All it took was for someone to strike a conversation with him and invite him to church that Sunday! Can you begin a conversation with an unbeliever and share the gospel with him? Invite him to a cell group or church?
We’d never know whether today is their day of salvation or if it’ll be their last chance to hear the gospel. It is true, that we hear of people dying of heart attacks while working. Life is full of uncertainties. In short, we will not regret sharing the gospel with others even if it affects our relationship with them. The person will either leave this earth drifting into a Christ-less eternity in hell or spend eternity with God in heaven.
Sermon Series: Nicodemus
