Stand Out And Stand Up
November 24, 2024
Nicodemus, Kansas
July 18, 2024
Nicodemus, Kansas
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"Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.'"John 8:34-36
The Bible Museum in Washington DC has a display of “Slave Bibles.” Because owners did not want their slaves getting the idea they could be freed, these particular Bibles omitted the Book of Exodus. Following the Civil War, one of the first settlements of freed slaves was in Kansas. They named their town Nicodemus, after the Pharisee who came to Jesus by night. Jesus informed Nicodemus that he must be born again – spiritually – to escape sin’s slavery. The people of Nicodemus, Kansas certainly understood the cost of freedom – both physically and spiritually.
From Nicodemus, the man AND Nicodemus, the town, we learn that we must come to the Cross and be born again if WE are to experience freedom. Then and only then can we can join in the victorious proclamation: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty! Free at last!”
