John 3:1-3 (“There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”)

Nicodemus came to Jesus to testify of God’s hand upon His life concerning all the miracles He had done. Yet Jesus replied that, except a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. If he cannot even see it, how then will he be able to enter it?

It is not the miracles of bread and fish, nor the miracles of healing and deliverance, that qualify one to see the kingdom of God. The only miracle that qualifies a man, and the greatest miracle of all, is for him to be born again.

There are Christians who base their salvation on the miracles of bread and butter. They establish their faith on the miracles God has performed in their lives, even though their hearts remain untouched and unchanged by God.

If you base your faith on what you are expecting to receive from God or on what you have received, and you do not seek to have your name written in the Book of Life, you are yet to experience salvation. Your faith is not in the finished work of Christ on the cross, but in what He can do and undo.

Miracles are the food of the children, but even dogs can take from the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.

You cannot know whether you are a dog or a child of the kingdom until you are born again, for even the dogs eat from the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.

The greatest thing you can achieve in Christianity is to have your name written in the Book of Life. Jesus warned His disciples when they were rejoicing over the miracles they had performed and how demons were bowing to their demands.

He told them not to rejoice merely because of these things, but to let their rejoicing be that they had become the sons of God, whose names were written in His book. Even Judas performed miracles and experienced miracles, yet he was not born again. He was still operating in his carnal nature, and that nature eventually made him sell off his Master.

Had he been born again, he would not have allowed his old nature to take the lead in his character. He would have allowed the Spirit of God to have His way.

He was among the called but not among the chosen. There is a clear difference between the called and the chosen. This is the mistake many of us make: we think that because we are called, we must automatically be chosen, and we do not seek to be justified before God.

God knows those who serve Him in spirit and in truth. He knows those who serve Him for who He is and not merely for what He gives, because salvation contains the whole package of the benefits of the kingdom.

When you are after the benefits alone, you may miss the whole package.

Nicodemus came to Jesus to find out more about His miracle-working power, but Jesus showed him the greatest miracle of all: the power to experience the new birth.

God does answer prayers. You might have prayed, and God answered, but that does not mean you are born again.

To be born again is to experience a new birth, to have your old nature removed and a new nature given. This can only happen to those who experience the power of the cross.

The problems of humanity started with the tree, and they can only end with the tree. It is at the cross that the chains of sin were broken, and by the cross, the guilt of sin was removed. By the cross, the devil was judged, and the repercussions of sin were removed through what Christ has done.

The death sentence was taken away in exchange for the life of Christ because that is where sins were buried with Christ. In His resurrection, man receives the life that resides in justification.

Are you born again, or are you still living in your old nature while experiencing the goodness of God in the land of the living?

Whichever miracles you receive from the throne of God, if salvation is not included, friend, you have no part in His kingdom. You are no different from the dogs, and remember, dogs and infidels will have their part in the lake of fire.

God wants to give you the food meant for the children, not crumbs. This can only be obtained in the kingdom of God, not outside it. That is, deliverance from the power and the guilt of sin.

Unfortunately, many are moving from church to hellfire because they are not partaking of the food meant for the children. They live and die in church but never experience true salvation from sin.

They have not been forgiven, nor have they been cleansed by the washing of the blood of the Lamb, nor have they been justified by faith in Christ.

Prayer: Father lord, write my name in the book of life; don’t let me come to the world in vain. In Jesus’ name, amen.