Back to Basics

     I like to dabble in cooking.  I am not what one would call a "chef" or a gourmet cook, but my wife and I are not starving to death due to my cooking.  I experiment with different spices and food combinations to come up with something a little different.  Not all of these combinations are successful.  Every now and then, I hear the words, "Don't make that again."  There are those times when you just need to get back to the basics.  Religion has a lot of different facets and there are certainly a lot of religions in the world.  People are longing for answers to three basic questions.  "Where did we come from?  Why are we here?  and, Where are we going?"    John 3:7 says, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. "   
       There is that term, "We should get back to basics."  In cooking, we start out with the basics and there are those times when we should just stay there instead of trying to make the basics better.  The above verse of Scripture is probably one of the most basic teachings in all the Bible.  The encounter of Nicodemus and the Lord Jesus Christ is one of the most profound interviews in the Bible.  It speaks of an educated, religious person coming to the Son of God and then asking him the most basic question.  In verse 4, Nicodemus asked the Lord Jesus Christ how a person could possibly be born a second time and related it all to the physical birth process.  Christ then goes on to explain it in detail which is extremely valuable for people today.  This is truly a time when you need to get back to the basics and John chapter 3 is one of the most basic chapters in all the Bible.  It's not the robes.  It's not the music.  It's not the color scheme.  It's not the liturgy.  It's not the church calendar.  It's not the fancy tradition.  It's not the size of the pipe organ.  It all depends on the answer to the question that was asked by the Philippian Jailer.  "What must I do to be saved?"  The answer to that question is found in John 3:7 which states that we all must be born again.  This is the most basic lesson for each and every person to understand.  We can speak of the character of God and all of His attributes.  We can learn all of the promises of God.  We can study and memorize and attend religious meetings, but it is going to come down to the most basic thing of all.  Have you been born again?  All of the other things are like benefits, or extras, or "gravy" in that they are good,  but the most basic thing is the actual experience of being born again.  Praise God that He has given to us the way of salvation in His precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.