I know a person who belongs to a Buddhist family and holds high positions in temples. He tarried for years with temple duties. He encountered the Lord through many struggles in life. For a long time he struggled to openly live the truth he found in Jesus hiding it from family and the religious community he belonged to. But by the Grace of God he was finally baptized and today the whole family lives a Christian life openly without fear. In this friend I saw the thirst of Nicodemus and his reasons for the secret night visits so that no one would come to know that he believed in the Messiah. How often do we remember to look to Jesus when trials in life get us down, as the people of Israel looked at the bronze serpent in the desert? A downcast head which is not in worship but in despair will not give us freedom but a raised head in confidence in our identity as a baptized child of God will give us a renewed mind at every trial.

PRAYER: Abba Father, fill me with power from above so that I may not take my eyes off your merciful grace. Amen.