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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.

There is probably no more popular verse that John 3:16, but it is an amazing verse none-the-less.

“For God so Loved the world’ not that “he loved the world, so he did this…” but “This is how He showed His love for the world…” the “so” (οὕτως) is about “how” He loves the world.

“he gave his one and only Son” that’s the depth of His love, He gave His “only” Son. Not that God doesn’t have any other children, through Christ, we all have the ability to become children of God, but the “only” (μονογενής) is speaking of Jesus’ “uniqueness.” God doesn’t have any other children like Jesus. He is the only one who is just like God, He is the unique Son of God.

“that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” why did He do this? So that whoever, ALL (πᾶς) who believe in Him wouldn’t perish but be able to live forever! If you believe, that’s YOU!

“…This is how much God loved the world, He sacrificed His unique Son because He wanted to provide a way for ALL of us to be able to believe and receive eternal life as His gift to us…”

What an amazing verse!

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Have you ever been cut-off in traffic by someone and as they nearly run you off the road and speed off, the last thing you see is their “fish” on the back of their car? I remember a friend telling me the story of a lady who was not driving quite fast enough for the guy who sped around her and told “you’re number one” with a hand gesture. She was on her way to church on a Sunday morning and I guess this guy was in a hurry… well, every turn, turn for turn, she made, the impatient and expressive man also made before her, until… (you guessed it) he pulled into her church parking lot. He jumped out of his car ready for a fight, after all, “why were you following me!” Well, as soon as he saw the lady, he recognized her as a fellow church member and he blushed for a whole new reason.

Just because someone knows Jesus does not mean they have reached the finish-line of fully a fully mature and sanctified Christian, in fact, we’re all a work in progress. Don’t feel like people need to trust you or somehow give you more leeway, after all “I’m a Christian.” Jesus understood this, we all need accountability. Jesus loved them, he shared the words of life with them, but didn’t trust them as far as he could throw them 🙂

If you put a fish or a cross on the ad for your business, please try to keep it to a higher standard… If you hire a Christian, please pay them fairly and understand, they’re trying to follow Jesus, they aren’t Jesus. Trust, but verify…

People are people, I’m one and you are too, we all need Jesus, every single day…

He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “ I am not the Christ.”

“Jesus Saves is what it raves in a typical tattoo green!” So goes the line from DC Talk’s iconic Jesus Freak title track song from their 1995 album of the same name. And it’s true, Jesus is the one who saves.

Are you the kind of person who wants to be someone’s savior? Are you trying to fix someone else’s problems? As Believers, we are witnesses to the savior, we aren’t the savior ourselves. You can’t make someone turn their life around, only God can change hearts. As much as we want to force our children, our spouse, a friend, to “clean up their act,” to “get it together,” and “get back in church” Jesus (not you or me) saves. They have to come to the place where they realize that Jesus is the answer. Many people do need to clean up their act. Tons of people do need to get it together, and there are scores of people ready to help you and give you a home in church… at the end of the day, if you don’t have Jesus, it isn’t going to mean anything.

If you don’t know Jesus, trust him.

If you want to help people, introduce them.

It can be very easy to be overwhelmed by all the needs around you, especially if you are serving and are involved in many ministries at your church. There are always more people in need, there’s always someone else whom you could help, but you’ve got to do what Jesus has called you to do. Remember Jesus’ response to the Pharisee’s rebuke of the woman who (from their perspective) wasted too much of her resources on worship and (so they thought) she should have done more for the poor? Jesus said “the poor will always be with you.” Practical physical ministry is very important, but keep in mind, it was only ever about 11% of the “budget” (the tithes collected) for Israel. A church’s purpose isn’t to alleviate poverty, we’re gospel warriors, not social-gospel crusaders. If you’re not using your talents to advance the gospel, you’ve missed the mission.

Each of us have a purpose and a specific part of God’s mission. Though we are all called to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God,” we also need to keep in mind that you (as an individual) are not called to help everybody in every way. Don’t let ministry “along the way” sidetrack you from the ministry God has uniquely gifted and called you to. Jesus was surrounded by the poor, the hungry, and the sick; and he helped them as he could, but that wasn’t really why he was here. Those in need would have kept him from leaving if he had not walked away… sometimes, you just need to walk on. Help all you can, but do what God has called you to as part of the Great Commission. 

And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “ I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”

-Luke 4:42-43