Internationally Recognized Logo.

This past Sunday, Pastor Joy shared with us the concept of "brand" and its relevance to our lives as Christians. During the sermon she brought out one verse in the John 3 passage that we can take time to reflect on today.

He (Nicodemus) came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." (John 3:2)

Nicodemus, in those short sentences, said something profound: Jesus, we know who You are.

Nicodemus made a confession: he, and others in his circle of influence, were fully aware that Jesus was not walking around performing counterfeit acts. The Pharisees would have known of the history of ancient Israel during the captivity in Egypt, in which the magicians of Egypt were able to counterfeit the first three signs sent by God through Moses (see Exodus 7:8 through 8:7). And they knew of the moment when the Egyptians warned Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God" (Exodus 8:19): that is, this is something that cannot be counterfeited. This is an authentic act of God being worked in your presence. This is something you need to be paying attention to. So, it was significant that Nicodemus would tell Jesus, in effect, "Yes, we know you are not a fraud. We know God has sent you, and we know this because of the accompanying signs and wonders that mark your ministry."

Okay, so we say we belong to God. We say we have been placed by Him into this world to do some things for His kingdom's sake. Well, that's nice. But is anyone recognizing you as a representative of God? What is there that you do that shows other people, without a doubt, your authentic faith?

Maybe we can start by being a living demonstration of acts that indicate we belong to God. His unending love, His compassion, and yes, even the miracles that speak of the present reality of the kingdom of God.

Don't tell me that no one performs miracles anymore.
And don't tell me that no one loves the world anymore.
It's really not about other people right now... I'm asking you about you.
And I'm asking myself too.
Let's pray that we, like Jesus, will be internationally recognized as men and women sent from God.

LORD, help us to love the world in the way You love: provision of needs, healing of illnesses, deliverance from bondages, justice, compassion, mercy. Yes, we can do these things through Christ Jesus, the One who upholds and equips us. Thank You, Father, for making this accessible to us. We ask for Your help in the name of Jesus. Amen.