Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing? — John 7:50-51

Can you remember the first time you ever stood up publicly for Jesus? I love that we have recorded in the Bible this first time Nicodemus stood up for Him. It is estimated there were probably 6,000 Pharisees when Jesus walked the earth. We only know of one who was saved, this man, Nicodemus. We only have John 3:16 because he came to Jesus at night to talk.

I remember a kid when I worked at the golf course. When it was time to eat, no matter where he was, he took his hat off, thanked God for his food, and ate. He didn’t care who was around, some even made fun of him. I remember thinking his courage was off the charts.

For me, I remember having a super hard conversation with a girlfriend in my early 20’s. It shouldn’t have been hard, but my heart was pounding furiously as I got up the nerves. I basically said that we needed to honor God as a couple if we are going to go church every Sunday and be Christians. She let me know that as long as we believed in Jesus, we could be forgiven for anything and everything and “technically” we were good. I brought up something about obedience, and a week or two later, I no longer had a girlfriend. As bad as that hurt at the time, I’m sure glad it happened.

I think Nicodemus began to love the Lord and had to say something. Looking back, I was just beginning to love Him, too.

Lord, how wonderful it is to have You in my life. Help me meet the greatest commandment to love You with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. You are, and have been for a while now, the best thing in my life. Thank You for these examples of courage.