“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.” (John 3:10–11)
Expanded Passage: John 3:1-21
Never underestimate the wonder of church camp and the teaching of a believing saint.
Miss Kay’s teaching gave this thirteen-year-old a deeper love for Jesus and that love has grown and matured over many decades. I still look back to that short week so many years ago with great delight and fondness.
Perhaps Nicodemus went to a Jewish version of a church camp in his early years. Being a ruler of Israel, he was steeped in the Hebrew scriptures from the time he was a young boy. He would have read and reread and probably written scroll after scroll, deciphering the words of the Pentateuch, the book of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and many other sacred writings. What a treasure trove of knowledge he would have learned from the rabbis. He could have said along with the psalmist, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Ps. 119:11). This man, Jesus, stirred something in Nicodemus’ heart. He wanted to know more. But how? Being a member of the ruling class that was against Jesus, Nicodemus would have to meet him in secret.
Spend time, like Nicodemus, in Jesus’ presence to grow your faith. When the Spirit moves you, act like Miss Kay and share your love for Christ with the world.
Open your heart to receive and spread God’s Word.
Lora Goff-Pitts has taught Bible classes for forty years at her local Wesleyan church. She is a mother, grandmother, author, and retired teacher. She and her husband, Rex, reside in Noblesville, IN.
© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
