For September 1, 2026
It is easy to become concerned about appearances when we are around others. We can look strong when we are struggling; confident when we are afraid; and spiritually mature when our hearts are not where they should be. We learn to become proficient at saying and acting the way we should when people are watching.
A private meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ allows us to come honestly before Him, without 
appearances, distractions, or pretense. Jesus sees beyond the appearance. He knows what is in our hearts, so there is no reason to pretend with Him.
With the Lord, we can lay down the image we try to maintain for everyone else. We can be authentic and approach Him with our questions, our doubts, our fears, our failures, our temptations, and our burdens. We can confess what we would never want anyone else to know and ask Him to help us where we know we are weak.
And we know that our confidences are kept safe with Him, and that our lives are valued and respected.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and a “ruler of the Jews.” He came to Jesus by night, perhaps also to have a private conversation with our Lord. Whatever his reason for coming at night, he came for a private meeting.
After Nicodemus commends Jesus for His miracles, Jesus immediately addresses the deep spiritual need all humans share:
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 (NKJV)
Jesus is not talking about turning over a new leaf, becoming more religious, or simply trying harder to live a good life. He is telling Nicodemus that something much deeper must happen.
We must be born again. In other words, there must be a spiritual transformation within us.
We then become the joint heirs of the grace of God we share in common through Christ, as He reigns in our hearts and lives as both Savior and Lord. And as His followers, we live morally responsible and spiritually astute lives that enhance and preserve a civil society as His salt and light:
“You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13–16 (NKJV)
Sinful humanity, in our natural condition, is not spiritually suited for the presence and Kingdom of our holy God. We need new life, and that new life must come from God.
We can improve our behavior, change our habits, become more religious, and try to make ourselves better, but none of those things can produce the spiritual life that Jesus says we must have.
Jesus does not present the new birth as an optional step for especially religious people. He does not say that Nicodemus needs a little more religion. He tells him that he must be born again.
Jesus doesn’t tell Nicodemus that he needs a new life without telling him where that life is found.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16–17 (NKJV)
We cannot make ourselves spiritually alive. We cannot earn our way into God’s kingdom. We cannot become good enough to stand before a holy God.
The new birth is God’s work in us, and eternal life is received by believing in Jesus Christ.
The One who spoke to Nicodemus that night is the same Jesus who went to the cross for sinners. And the promise He gave then remains the promise He gives today. And herein lies the essence of the good news or Gospel of Jesus Christ:
God loves sinners. He gave His Son. And whoever believes in Him has everlasting life.
The resolve to our sin condition is not found in ourselves. It is found in Jesus Christ.
Thus, it is not our works that bring us to God. It is His works that bring us to Him, as the Apostle Paul writes:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16–7 (NKJV)
We must come to Christ by recognizing that we cannot be born again in our own strength. It means turning from our own efforts and trusting in Him completely—by faith.
We come to Him with our sin, our guilt, our questions, and our need for forgiveness, and we leave with a new life that remains with us forever:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Our private meetings with the Lord are reflected in this time honored hymn:
In the Garden
C. Austin Miles1.
I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice Is so sweet the birds hush their singing; And the melody that He gave to me, Within my heart is ringing.
I’d stay in the garden with Him, Tho’ the night around me be falling; But He bids me go; thro’ the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling.
Refrain:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.
Won’t you trust in Jesus today and experience the new birth that only He gives freely to all who come to Him by faith? He is available today for a private meeting.
What a Wonderful Savior!