Video of the Day: Clip from the 1958 movie “Vertigo”
Bible Verse of the Day:
Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” 46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. 47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee,” John 7:45-52.
Biblical Connection:
As a child, I had a reoccurring dream of falling off a cliff, waking up just before dying like the scene from Vertigo. However, when doctors told me that I would never run again as a teenager is a living nightmare that transformed my life. Forty years ago today, I twisted my ankle running in a cross-country meet, finishing this race one mile later. By not stopping, I tore all of the tendons in my ankle and twisted my tibia 180 degrees in the wrong direction. The initial plan for my ankle reconstruction surgery was to drill a hole and place a screw into ankle to hold this bone in place. Yet, when the doctor performing my surgery placed my tibia back into its proper location it popped into place. This miracle enabled me to swim 2 months later and run my final year of high school.
A Pharisee named Nicodemus experienced a similar transformation. Meeting with Jesus under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus was afraid what his fellow religious leaders might think of this encounter. John 3:1-21 details the content of this special meeting. Doubting the concept of becoming born again, Nicodemus responds with sarcasm. However, as Jesus raises His voice, this conversation sets the stage for one of the most powerful passages in the Bible, John 3:16-17. Like the miraculous events of my healed ankle, Nicodemus began to ponder everlasting life and God’s loving nature. Nicodemus actions and response in John 7 illustrates that something changed deep inside of this man. John 19:38-42 suggests that Nicodemus became a follower of Jesus.
Closing Song:
When you’re desperate, you turn to God in prayer. My last day at school before my ankle surgery, members of the Fellowship of Christian athletes formed a circle around me, laying hands on me to pray for a miracle. Without a doubt, these cries for help turned my nightmare into a transformational healing that I’ll never forget and will continue to share as long as I live.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 