Day 298, or October the 25th. You're included
too. Our thoughts today are rooted in John chapter
3, verse 16. For God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
And now the big picture surrounding this verse.
John's Gospel is probably the last one to be
written. By this time all of the other twelve
apostles were dead, and John was a very old man
looking back at the amazing events in his long
life. He had been trusted by Jesus himself to
take care of his mother Mary, and he had witnessed
many churches being planted by various followers
of Jesus. John looks back and begins his gospel
with those immortal words that begin the book
of Genesis, as he declares Jesus to be the Son
of God. Unlike the other three gospels, which
are roughly in the same order, John takes seven
of the miracles or signs from Jesus' life and
adds some of the teaching of Jesus. His gospel
is almost totally unique and begins with Jesus'
dealings with John the Baptist and Nicodemus.
He also writes the most famous verse in the Bible,
that is John 3 .16. And now today's action step.
There are many reasons why John 3 .16 is the
most famous verse in the Bible, not least because
it sums up the whole gospel in just a few words.
it reminds us that it was god who took the first
steps he loved and then he gave he loved the
world literally the cosmos or whole universe
so much that he gave the most precious thing
that he had his only son in order to redeem his
creation back to himself at first glance it seems
these words are those of john but on closer reading
we see that they are words from Jesus himself.
The verse tells us to believe in him. This is
not the same as believe what he says, but believe
in him in such a way that we depend on him and
nothing else. When you do this, you are secure.
It's a contract that's more than emotions. It's
a sound deal that you can clinch today. Why not
listen again to day 21? and then experience this
security for yourself.