TO GOD BE THE GLORY

      And after Jesus explained the born again procedure to Nicodemus, he was indeed born again as a believer in Christ, thereby casting away his faith in religion. 
     Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a priest and a leader of the Jewish people.  He was also a member of the Sanhedrin, the high court in Israel.  His decision to follow Christ was not popular, and he was denied his office and banished from Jerusalem by the hostile Jews. 
     But after the crucifixion and death of Jesus, Nicodemus provided about a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes at his own expense and helped others enbalm the body of Jesus in a tomb. 
     Mary, the mother of Jesus, also watched her son die that day, but upon seeing Jesus after His resurrection, she called her son, "Lord".  No longer would she see Him as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, nor as a boy growing up in Nazareth, for her own son became her Savior.
    Mary was also one of the 120 people that were in a room praying on the day of Pentecost, at which time she received the Holy Spirit along with all the others.  Later, she traveled to Britain to minister to the needs of others and to proclaim the Gospel of Christ for the rest of her life.
    Joseph of Arimethea was the uncle of Mary and great uncle of Jesus.  Joseph had a thriving business as a tin merchant, yet his business did not experience financial decline because he chose to follow Jesus.  Joseph was a disciple, teacher, preacher and served the Lord at Glastonbury, where he also baptized converts and helped the congregation there to construct the first Christian church building in the world.
    Fanny Crosby lived from 1820 to 1915, and she wrote some of the most beloved hymns that have been sung in Christian churches for the past one hundred years.  In her lifetime, she composed more than 8,000 songs.  Fanny Crosby was blind from her birth.
    Over the past 2,000 years, millions of people have been born again in Christ Jesus, and all of them have done something for the Lord.  Thousands and thousands of believers fled Europe during a time of great persecution and they brought with them the Gospel of Christ to the United States and from here to around the world.  We should be thankful to them even though we will never hear their stories.
   One of Fanny Crosby's songs says it all:  To God Be The Glory.