Peoples Republic of America

Thinking person's article from a Russian (Stanislav Mishin) observing 2009 America:

"It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker."

Stanislav Mishin

The Lord is my Shepherd

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." -- John 10:1-18

Jesus loves me. I can't tell you why. There really is no real "reason" for it. When I wonder far from him, I feel like a big fat tub of nothing. When I draw near to him, I feel like I'm alive again.

If this is true, why do I wander? Maybe I'm not totally convinced that He is the best hope I have at a full life. I'm easily distracted. Because it's too easy not to care. So, I see some shiny trinket. Or my legs grow tired and I stop walking.

But, he is the shepherd. He is the one who knows where the green pastures are, not me. So, if he walks then I walk. If he turns left, then I turn left. If he turns right, etc...

What if I assume I know where he is taking me and stop paying attention because I think I know where to go? What if I don't like where he is taking me? What if I want to go over there?

Maturity is knowing that Jesus is exactly who He said He is. He is The Truth even when I don't like that truth. Even when every worldly instinct within me is urging me to block my ears since to acknowledge the truth will bring the responsibility to respond to the truth. He is The Way even when the path He leads me down appears laden with obstacles. Even when every worldly instinct within me screams at me to stop and turn back. "It's too hard. You'll never make it. You're not good enough!"

Further still, He is The Life. Life. Life? Really? Every worldly instinct within me whispers in my ear that life is desperate, temporary and therefore ultimately meaningless. Without Him, I have two options. Go out in a blaze of glory, running where I can when I can or just quit, lay down and die.

Maybe I should. I can't see where He is taking me. I can't see in front of Him. He just keeps promising me that it's good. Should I listen? Should I trust Him? What has He ever done for me? "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time..."

Only foolish sheep wander off. Only foolish sheep think they don't need a shepherd. Only foolish sheep think they are something other than a sheep. Only foolish sheep think that they can survive just fine on their own, without the rest of the flock. Wandering, single sheep are too vulnerable to the elements and too exposed to predators.

The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. If the Good Shepherd Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life, then without Him there is only indecision, deception...and death.

"Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son." No, Father, it isn't.

Lord of lords 9 - Rejection

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’ ” And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Luke 4:14-30

How strange it must have been for people who had played with Jesus, seen Jesus grow up, worked with Jesus, worship with Jesus at the synagogue to now hear about the things Jesus was doing. My reaction probably would have been the same as these people described in Luke 4. At first, they swell up with pride that Jesus was from their hometown [Isn't this Joseph's son?].

As usual, he goes to synagogue. But, not as a young Jewish man, but as a rabbi, a teacher. He is given a scroll of God's Word to Isaiah and reads a proclamation of what his ministry is about. He tells them he is proclaiming the year of the Lord's favour. This is good news for the poor, good news for the blind and good news for the captives and the oppressed. (Who are the poor, the blind, the captives and oppressed? This becomes clear as we follow Jesus' ministry.)

People in his hometown have heard about the miraculous events taking place through him and anticipate what Jesus will do among people he knows. They seem to respond to Jesus' proclamation that the scripture is fulfilled with "Great! Get to work Jesus. What will you do for us who are your friends?"

Then, Jesus gives an unusual response: No. Why? Because no prophet is accepted in his hometown. He tells the people he grew up with that he can't do the things he is doing in other places because they will not believe and reject his teachings. And, he gives historical reasons why this is the case.

Isn't this harsh? I mean, come on Jesus. They are looking at you with hope and this is how you meet their hope? Why does he have to be so blunt and mean and cruel? Because Jesus is Lord and because Jesus is good, then I must accept Jesus knows what he is doing even when I don't know what he is doing.

Jesus just proclaimed what his ministry is all about. His mission is too grand, too important and too short to be wasting time on people who will not accept Him as Saviour and Lord.

As it turns out, Jesus' blunt truthtelling is justified in his hometown's reaction to Him. Did they respond with sorrow and reassure Jesus that they were in just as much need of Him as the other towns? Did they explain to Jesus that their will was their own and they weren't going to follow the other fools of history? No. They were filled with rage and were intent on killing him.

In school, most of us become quite adept at knowing what to say and do so that we are liked by many people. Then, that grows into a desire to be liked by the right people. Too often, we compromise many of our own principles of justice, kindness and humility just to be liked. When a person is bullied, we watch silently. When a cruel joke is told, we laugh along. We eat, smoke and drink things into our own bodies. We risk our lives and the lives of others. Why? Just to be liked.

Many of us pastors and church leaders fall into the trap of playing silly popularity games. After all, isn't the point of church to get as many people in the church as possible? Isn't the point of the church is to be popular? The problem is when our main goal is popularity, we become willing and do compromise pieces the truth of who God has created us to be, His image, in order to be liked. No, the point of church isn't to get as many people in the church as possible. She's to be a group of people who are willing together to grow up into the head, who is Christ Jesus. She is to be a group of followers of Jesus being immersed into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, encouraging one another to obey every command of Jesus.

And, often, it doesn't matter how articulate our arguments, how large our charity, or how the Spirit manifests Himself through us. Sometimes, often, the response from even our friends, the powerful and the respected to the question of do you believe that Jesus is your Saviour and Lord will be "NO!" with anger, hatred, rejection.

Father, please give me and your people your Son's strength of character.

Botched Abortion = Live Baby

THOUSANDS of babies are legally killed every day in abortion clinics. Yet, people become outraged when a baby born at 23-weeks is tossed in a garbage bag and thrown away like rubbish? Yes, we pro-lifers are such fear mongers and heartless. By the way, Obama stood up for the behaviour of this abortion clinic before the Illinois State Senate.

Florida doctor investigated in badly botched abortion

Eighteen and pregnant, Sycloria Williams went to an abortion clinic outside Miami and paid $1,200 for Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique to terminate her 23-week pregnancy.

Three days later, she sat in a reclining chair, medicated to dilate her cervix and otherwise get her ready for the procedure.

Only Renelique didn't arrive in time. According to Williams and the Florida Department of Health, she went into labor and delivered a live baby girl.

What Williams and the Health Department say happened next has shocked people on both sides of the abortion debate: One of the clinic's owners, who has no medical license, cut the infant's umbilical cord. Williams says the woman placed the baby in a plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

Police recovered the decomposing remains in a cardboard box a week later after getting anonymous tips.

Friends, abortion has nothing to do with politics. Abortion has everything to do with justice. How long will we allow the most innocent among us to be slaughtered without outrage?

Imagine Spot 1 - An Appeal For Life

President Obama, please defend LIFE, LIBERTY and the pursuit of happiness for ALL American citizens.

Lord of lords 8 - Proclaiming Good News

The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back." “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he."

Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?" Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ^?" They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something." But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about." Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” John 4:1-42

This is one of my favourite stories about Jesus. So much can be said here, but I'll only respond with a few:

• Jesus was tired from the journey. Yes, Jesus was human not the ethereal figure some are more comfortable portraying him to be.
• Jesus would talk to anyone. He didn't stand on proprieties and he certainly wasn't afraid for his reputation. (The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”...Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman.) After all, he didn't even consider equality with His Father something to be grasped. In light of this, it is hard to justify and explain what makes some of us so special that we don't follow Jesus' example on this. Of course the flip-side to arrogance is my sin. Sometimes I don't know why anyone would want to hear anything I would have to say. So I keep my head down and walk oblivious to the world around me. Unfortunately, I disobey Jesus teaching to love my neighbour when I do this. Not only does it rob me of opportunities to help people in need, but it demonstrates a lack of trust in my Saviour who makes me worthy.
• Three times, she demonstrates that her views of God and her neighbour are being drawn from the old wells of culture and tradition. First, she assumes a Jew like Jesus would ever attempt to relate to a Samaritan like her. Second, she assumes there is good water in the well because patriarch Jacob discovered the well. Third, she assumes her people are closer to God because they worship on the right mountain. All three of these assumptions are typical religious concepts. All three of these assumptions do nothing to improve her as a human being. Too many times we put everything into beliefs, doctrine, or customs that mean nothing. Jesus answers these assumptions quickly and simply. First, he does attempt to relate to her. Second, he refuses to accept that there is anything special about Jacob's well. (Anyone who drinks from this well will be thirsty again.) He then informs her that she has access to something that will satisfy her true needs. Third, he informs her that the quality of worship does not depend on where the worship is but on the worshipper themselves. He tells her that God looks for people who worship in spirit and in truth.
• Jesus speaks the truth about her life. He speaks matter-of-factly about her life. His words assume the question of "The way you give yourself quickly to men and the faith you place in traditions and customs, how is it working for you?" She doesn't have to be convinced that she isn't living the best possible life. She knows. What she doesn't know is how to move forward with her life. She laments that someone is coming soon to explain everything. Jesus tells her the good news that that time is now. The one who explains everything is here. The Kingdom of Heaven is near!
• This woman who came by herself to draw water in the heat of the day is now so excited about this news she contacts others so they can share in this good news as well.
  

Lord of lords 7 - Spirit or Flesh

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.^ Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You^ must be born from above.’^The wind^ blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you^ do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” - John 3:1-21

Quick (maybe not so quick) Reflections:

To some, it may seem that Jesus is giving a cryptic teaching but Jesus is trying to be as elemental as he can about the nature of God's Spirit.

Nicodemus meets Jesus under the cover of darkness probably to suss Jesus out. Many times, the religious teachers would start a conversation with Jesus with a compliment. But, Jesus knew the hearts of men and would typically respond with a test of a person's true understanding. In this case, Nicodemus says in part, "...we know that you are a teacher who has come from God..." Jesus answers, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." In other words, Jesus is answering Nicodemus' claim that they truly believe Jesus is from God and Jesus questions their understanding of what they are seeing. Nicodemus quickly reveals that he has no true understanding of Jesus nor the kingdom of God.

As Jesus explains later to his disciples, the key to understanding his teachings is a matter of perspective and humility. The perspective of the Pharisees is one that is typical of a quasi-ruling class who have some amount of power to lose when there is a threat to the current system. At this time, the religious teachers are seeing this one rabbi from the lowly town of Nazareth performing signs and miracles and amassing large crowds. This unknown, budding Jesus movement may threaten the people's respect for them as religious teachers and therefore their ability to control the people they rule over. The perception of losing control gives birth to fear. And fear is the seed of fearful actions (What is born of flesh is flesh, but what is born of spirit is spirit.) They must find out what Jesus' intentions are and more importantly if there is anything in it for them.

Nicodemus tries to find out and Jesus skillfully reveals this to be the case. Jesus' comparing the Spirit to the wind is quite telling. Nicodemus seems to know Jesus is at the least drawing his power from God. But he has difficulty fully accepting that reality because of certain assumptions he has made about God. He assumes God favours the Pharisees. Why would God be interested in sinners? Who Jesus is, where he comes from and how he has conducted his ministry so far seems to contradict those assumptions.

What is the reaction of Nicodemus to what is happening? "Awesome! God is working in our midst. O Lord, please tell us what you want us to do while you are here?" No. The reaction from Nicodemus and the religious teachers is, "Uh oh, there is something happening here and it seems to be from God. But I hope not because this may not bode well for us." (The wind^ blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. ) Instead of trusting God with their lives no matter where that takes them, they want to control their own destiny even if that means deceiving themselves into thinking they can control and manipulate who God is in the mind of their people.

Jesus then explains to Nicodemus that their lack of understanding and respect for God prevents them from believing who Jesus is and what Jesus' intentions are. They assume that God has no interest in sinners and desires to destroy and punish people. Jesus explains that this is not the case and that his very presence demonstrates that this is not the case. (For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.) Jesus came to save, not to condemn. Jesus came to give life not bring death. The Pharisees' stubborn hearts born out of pride in their own flesh and understanding did not allow them to acknowledge this. They refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

Over the centuries, false religious teaching may change names and teachers, but the philosophy of denying who God has revealed himself to be the nation of Israel and through His Son Jesus remains the same. For example, "spiritual" guru Oprah Winfrey says during her New Earth seminars, "God is a feeling experience, not a believing experience." In other words, God is whoever you want Him to be as long as this works for what YOU want to accomplish in YOUR life. The teachings of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus clearly say again and again that this is simply not the case. To have an eternal and full life, each of us must believe that God is exactly who He says He is through His Son Jesus.

As we see later in the story, the Pharisees did not believe Jesus and this was demonstrated by their actions. They would only acknowledge Jesus as "a teacher who has come from God" at night, under the cover of darkness. And Jesus warns Nicodemus that this action demonstrates their state of being in God. (For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.)

They were so quick to do God's job for Him. They thought it was their job to determine who is saved and who is condemned. Who is God's favoured and who is God's cursed. Jesus warns Nicodemus that the Pharisees need to reevaluate how they determine such things (Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.)