Welcome to The Turnaround!

Introduction

Welcome to Day 13. Today let us remember that we once were eternally separated from our Heavenly Father and now by our acceptance of His plan of salvation, we get to spend eternity with Him. What people in your life might know of this separation, but not yet of His salvation? Take heart. God has a plan to save them. That plan is Jesus.

Insight

At the beginning of this passage in John 3, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Pharisees, comes to Jesus in the middle of the night to ask Him questions and Jesus cuts right to the heart of what Nicodemus needs to hear: “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). This would have come as a shock to Nicodemus. According to R. C. Sproul, many of the Pharisees believed that they were accepted into the kingdom of God by merely being descendants of Abraham.
The perfect world that God created at the beginning had access to that heavenly kingdom. Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God. But their one choice to disobey His command completely destroyed that access, separating them from God. Yet, God Himself promised to send One who would provide the means to that access again. They would no longer be separated from Him, but given eternal life with Him. Jesus Himself, God taking on human flesh, was there talking to Nicodemus as the very fulfillment of that promise. Here in John 3, Jesus plainly tells Nicodemus that access back into that kingdom is only by being born again, not by any family plan.
The Creator of the world chose to put on human skin and be born into the world He designed so that His creation might be born again into His kingdom of love. “He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. In Him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14. We are so loved.

Turnaround Question

Have you considered the lengths to which God has gone to make sure you can have access back into His heavenly kingdom? Have you considered the love He shows you for not just your daily needs, but first and foremost your eternal state? He is the God of absolute justice who must punish sin, and in His incredible overwhelming love gave His very Son to take that punishment so that you and I could be saved from eternal separation from Him to eternal life with Him.

Prayer

Our Creator God, Your love humbles us. You saw our eternal separation from You and You provided a way out of it through Your only Son. You are the God who saves. You are the God who put on skin so that we could spend eternity with You. Please reveal this incredible love to the children around us. May each one of them know Your overwhelming saving love that covers them. Bring them to You, draw them to Yourself. Help us to live out the sacrificial love You now call us to. In Jesus’ name, Amen.