Seeking Jesus in the Dark

There once was a guy named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a man of the Pharisees, the group that was trying to find a way to get rid of Jesus. Nicodemus comes to Jesus in John 3:1-2 under the cover of night. He didn't want the people he worked with to see him meeting with Jesus. How many of us fail to pray when we feel like we should at work or when we're out with friends because we don't want to look funny to them?
Nicodemus came to Jesus in secret, and Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again, not of flesh, but of the Spirit. If you aren't familiar with the story, you can read it all in John 3:1-21. But what ever became of Nicodemus? Well, apparently Nicodemus, being a member of the Jewish ruling council had several more occasions to interact with Jesus. He redeems his shady behavior somewhat in John 7:45-52, where he defends Jesus from the chief priests and other Pharisees.

Nicodemus' last mention in the Bible is an amazing and honorable mention. John 19:38-42 tells the story of Jesus' burial, where Joseph of Arimathea (also a secret follower of Jesus) and Nicodemus ask for the body of Jesus, and bury Him in a new tomb. Nicodemus brought about 75 pounds of spices to bury Jesus with, including myrrh, one of the gifts the wise men also brought Jesus at His birth.

Apparently Nicodemus' heart was changed by his secret meeting with Jesus, and he became more and more open about following Him as time continued on. We can't hide Jesus forever in our lives, acting like Christians only at church and trying to blend in with the world the rest of the time. At some point we will be faced with the decision to witness, to share the Gospel of Jesus, and to do what's right, or to turn our back on Jesus and deny Him. How will we respond? Will we try to stay in the shadows, or will we openly proclaim that Jesus is Lord?

Praying Through

Praying isn't just saying a few words to some being you can't see and hope exists; prayer is intense conversation with the Creator of the universe, and your Redeemer. Jesus repeatedly admonished His disciples and followers to pray. He asked His disciples to pray with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. When He found them sleeping in Matthew 26:40, he asked Peter, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?"

While the disciples were sleeping Jesus was praying so earnestly that the Bible says in Luke 22:44 that His sweat became like drops of blood. I doubt that anyone has ever struggled and prayed in the fashion that Jesus did at that point. He didn't just pray a little prayer and then come back to get the disciples and wait for them to come and arrest Him. He prayed for an hour, then checked on the disciples, then prayed some more, then checked on them again, and then prayed some more. He prayed all the way until his betrayer was close at hand; until it was time to go.

We as men should follow the example that Jesus led us in here to be leaders at prayer time. We should be the first to hit the altars at altar call, and the last to leave. We shouldn't be waiting for everyone's heads to be bowed so nobody will catch us going up to pray, and we shouldn't try to sneak away from the altars while everyone is still praying to go back to our seats. Prayer is never a thing of shame; it's our opportunity to approach God's throne and talk to Him.

Also, we should be staying in prayer until we're through praying; until the conversation with God is over. We don't have to quit praying because the guy beside us got up from the altar. What greater thing could we do, and why would we be so afraid and try to hide it? Men, I urge you to get in the altars and seek God. Make a prayer time at home and seek God. Let Him speak to you through prayer, and you will never regret it.

A Happy Hiding Place

Do you take comfort in the fact that God protects you and watches over you? Do you take joy in the fact that God cares about you? Sometimes it's easy to get bogged down in the troubles of life and forget that we have God to take refuge in.

David says in Psalms 5:11, "Let all who take refuge in you be glad and ever sing for joy." In the protection of God is just a great place to be. It doesn't mean that the good times are going to roll non-stop, or that you'll always have everything you want, but you'll know that God is watching over you. That's more comfort than any thing or other person could provide.

Psalms 5:12 continues with "Surely you bless the righteous and surround them with your favor like a shield." God's favor is a pretty tough shield. There's not anything you could do that could protect you more. God loves you and He'll protect you. What an awesome reassurance we have!

Sinning in Secret

Do you do things in secret thinking that nobody knows? You hide the guilt and shame by actively participating in you church or religious organization, but deep down you just feel rotten? Thinking that nobody will find out is -at it's very best- a completely unfounded hope. Thinking you can hide it from God, your Creator, is simply ludicrous. But yet many men repeatedly conspire to hide their shortcoming or their "guilty pleasures" from the world, thinking that nobody will ever know.

Apparently, the selling of land and donating to the church was a common practice as a sort of "fund-raiser" in the early New Testament church (Acts 4:34-35). Ananias in Acts 5:1-2 conspired with his wife to sell a piece of land and say that they were giving all the money they made to the church, but keep some of the money for themselves. But, according to Acts 5:3-4, Peter immediately knew, and confronted Ananias about his lie. Then, upon hearing Peter's truthful accusation, Ananias fell down dead (Acts 5:5-6).

It's important to note that at this point in the story, already a good number of people have found out about the treachery. Most importantly, it's important to note that God already knew, and Ananias was severely punished. Acts 5:7-10 continues the story, with Sapphira (Ananias' wife) coming into the church three hours later, not yet knowing her husband was dead. She also lies, and she also falls down dead.

The story unfolds from the very beginning as a man, the spiritual leader of his home, incites his family to lie. From that one secret sin they thought that nobody would ever know, both he and his wife died. It's important to remember that there are consequences when we sin, even when they aren't immediately apparent. The last half of Numbers 32:23 is often repeated, but has been proven true time and again, "You may be sure that your sin will find you out."

What's Inside?

In 1 Samuel 16:7 we find something that we as men are aware of, but we rarely take into consideration. As men, we often rely heavily on appearance. We look at the appearance on the outside, and try to determine what someone is like, or what they're qualified for based entirely on their appearance.

We also try to appear in a manner that shows what we would like others to think of us. We rarely appear ourselves the way that we truly are. However, our appearances can't entirely mask what's inside even to others. Our attempt at hiding behind our appearance is nothing but foolishness to God. God doesn't even look at the appearance of a man.

God looks directly at the heart. He skips over the outside. He doesn't consider markings and piercings that men might look at and be attracted or repulsed by. He doesn't consider hair, shoes, or dress. Everything that men look at, God ignores. Let's remember Romans 14:4; we have no right to judge another, nor does anyone else have a right to judge us. We are all servants of God, and He alone reserves the right to judge us.