ODM Daily Inspirational Devotional Messages Bible Verse and Prayers ODM
GOSPEL REFLECTION FOR TODAY – MONDAY 13TH APRIL 2026
Second Week of Easter – Monday
TODAY’S GOSPEL READING
John 3:1-8
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.”
FIRST READING: Acts 4:23-31
After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant: ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’
For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.
PSALM: Psalm 2:1-3, 4-7a, 7b-9
Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
REFLECTION: The Call to Be Born From Above
Beloved, today’s Gospel presents us with one of the most profound conversations in all of Scripture – the nighttime encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus.
Nicodemus came to Jesus under the cover of darkness. A Pharisee. A ruler of the Jews. A man of status, education, and religious authority. He had seen the signs. He knew something was different about this Teacher from Galilee. So he came seeking answers.
But what Jesus gave him was not what he expected.
The Ego Versus the Soul
The reflection from Word on Fire captures this beautifully:
“Jesus senses that Nicodemus, a ‘ruler of the Jews,’ is caught in the net of ego concerns, still clinging fearfully to his power and status, still exulting in his grasp of the religious traditions of his people.”
How many of us come to Jesus like Nicodemus? We come with our credentials. We come with our knowledge. We come with our religious pedigree. We come thinking that what we already know is enough.
But Jesus cuts through all of that with a single, startling declaration:
“No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
Not without more education. Not without better behavior. Not without longer prayers. Born from above.
The Rationalism That Limits Us
Nicodemus’s response is almost comical in its literal-mindedness:
“How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
The reflection observes:
“While Jesus speaks the evocative and analogical language of the soul, Nicodemus hears with the ears of the ego, the rational power that wishes to know clearly and control.”
This is the trap of the human mind. We want to understand everything. We want to fit God into our categories. We want to control the uncontrollable.
But the Holy Spirit is like the wind – “It blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.”
You cannot control the wind. You cannot predict the wind. You can only surrender to it and let it carry you.
What Does It Mean to Be Born From Above?
To be born from above is to undergo a metanoia – a complete transformation of mind and heart. It is not a small adjustment. It is not a slight improvement. It is a total reconfiguration of the soul.
The reflection calls it “the change of attitude required before one is capable of living in the energy of the incarnation.”
Living in the energy of the incarnation means living as Jesus lived – fully human, yet fully surrendered to the Father. It means walking in power, yet walking in humility. It means speaking truth, yet speaking love.
But you cannot get there without being born from above.
The Fear That Keeps Us in Darkness
Nicodemus came by night. Why? Fear. Fear of what his fellow Pharisees would say. Fear of losing his position. Fear of the consequences of being associated with Jesus.
The reflection identifies what held Nicodemus back:
“It is precisely this fearful rationalism that Nicodemus must abandon in the painful process of rebirth and reconfiguration of the soul.”
Fearful rationalism. The need to have all the answers before taking a step. The need to calculate every risk before making a move. The need to protect our reputation before obeying God.
That fear keeps us in the night. It keeps us from stepping into the full light of who God has called us to be.
The Boldness of the Early Church
Now look at the First Reading. Here we see the complete opposite of Nicodemus’s fearful approach.
Peter and John had been arrested. They had been threatened by the same religious authorities that Nicodemus feared. But what did they do when they were released?
They went to their friends, raised their voices together to God, and prayed for boldness.
Not for protection. Not for escape. Not for the threats to stop. For boldness.
And God answered. The place was shaken. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. And they spoke the word of God with boldness.
That is what being born from above produces – not timid disciples hiding in the night, but bold witnesses shaking the world.
The Two Questions for You Today
As you reflect on this Gospel, ask yourself two questions:
First: What fears are keeping me in the night?
Like Nicodemus, what are you afraid of losing? Your reputation? Your position? Your relationships? Your security? What is keeping you from fully stepping into the light of who God is calling you to be?
Second: Am I ready to be born from above?
Being born from above is not a one-time event. It is a daily dying to the ego and a daily rising in the Spirit. It is abandoning the need to control and surrendering to the wind of the Holy Spirit.
Are you ready to let go of your fearful rationalism? Are you ready to stop demanding that God fit into your understanding? Are you ready to be carried by the wind, even when you don’t know where it is going?
POWER DECLARATIONS BASED ON TODAY’S GOSPEL
Declaration 1:
I declare that I am being born from above. The old ways of thinking are passing away. The old fears are losing their grip. The old limitations are crumbling. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus!
Declaration 2:
I declare that I abandon every fearful rationalism. I will not demand that God fit into my understanding. I will not wait until I have all the answers. I will trust and obey, even when I cannot see where the wind is taking me.
Declaration 3:
I declare that the Holy Spirit is moving in my life like the wind. I cannot control Him. I cannot predict Him. But I can surrender to Him. And today, I surrender completely. Blow, Spirit of God, blow!
Declaration 4:
I declare that I am leaving the night behind. No more hiding. No more fear of what others will say. No more protecting my reputation at the expense of my destiny. I am stepping into the light of full obedience to Jesus Christ!
Declaration 5:
I declare that I receive the boldness of the early church. The same Spirit that shook the place where the disciples prayed is shaking every chain off my life. I will speak the word of God with boldness. I will not be silenced. I will not be intimidated. I am a bold witness for Jesus Christ!
Declaration 6:
I declare that every threat against my destiny is null and void. The rulers may gather. The nations may rage. But He who sits in the heavens laughs. And I laugh with Him. No conspiracy against me shall prosper. No plot against me shall stand. I am seated with Christ in heavenly places, far above all principality and power!
Declaration 7:
I declare that I am born of water and the Spirit. What is born of the flesh may fail, but what is born of the Spirit cannot fail. I am walking in supernatural power. I am living in divine enablement. I am operating in the energy of the incarnation. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in me!
Declaration 8:
I declare that I will not be astonished by the mysteries of God. I will not limit the Holy One of Israel with my small thinking. I will not put God in a box. I open my mind to the impossible. I open my heart to the supernatural. I open my life to the unexpected. Let God be God, and let me be the vessel He uses!
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord Jesus, I come to You not like Nicodemus came – in the night, hiding, fearful, clinging to my understanding. I come to You in the light of Your grace, ready to be born from above.
Strip away my fearful rationalism. Break the hold of my ego. Silence the voice that says I need to understand everything before I obey. Let me be like the wind – not knowing where I come from or where I am going, but moving nonetheless at the command of Your Spirit.
Fill me with the boldness of the early church. Let the place where I pray be shaken. Let my words carry the fire of the Holy Spirit. Let my life be a sign and a wonder to those who see me.
I abandon control. I abandon predictability. I abandon safety. I take up surrender. I take up trust. I take up boldness.
I am born from above. The wind of the Spirit carries me. And I will go wherever He sends me.
In Jesus’ mighty name, AMEN.
FINAL THOUGHT
Beloved, Nicodemus came in the night, but he did not stay there. We meet him again later in the Gospel, defending Jesus before the Pharisees (John 7:50-52). And finally, after the crucifixion, he came openly – bringing a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes to bury the body of Jesus (John 19:39-40).
The night visitor became a bold witness. The fearful Pharisee became a generous disciple.
That is what being born from above does. It transforms. It reconfigures. It turns cowards into champions and doubters into declarers.
Today, let the wind blow. Let the Spirit move. Let the birth from above begin.
The wind blows where it chooses. And today, it is choosing to blow through your life.
#GospelReflection #WordOnFire #BornFromAbove #EasterSeason #John3 #Nicodemus #HolySpirit
