Through the Bible - Joshua 13-14, Luke 4:42-5:26
Good morning,
In a recent small group meeting, our group considered the question of "when did you get a true picture of God? Several commented on how, for them, it was how He showed Himself to them in the difficult times of various trials.
I think that this was shown in "Cardboard Testimonies", the link in yesterday's devotional. Their picture, their view of God was formed in and as He carried them through those difficult times. God becomes very real when we depend upon Him.
I was finishing a book yesterday by Ravi Zacharias titled "Jesus Among other gods". In it he shared the story of a missionary, John Paton who was translating the Bible into a new language. He came to today's verse, a familiar one, John 3:16:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. NKJV
He did not know how to translate the word "believe". Finally he leaned back on his chair in such a way as to put his full weight on it. Picture yourself leaning back onto two legs of the chair instead of all four. As he did so, the concept of trust as illustrated in his translation dawned on him, "that whosover throws his whole weight on Him" should not perish but have everlasting life.
It's the picture that you see in those "cardboard testimonies". In those tough times you look back and realize that you had put your whole weight, your full trust in Him to hold you and lift you up and to carry you in these times. It is a far cry from "easy believism" and belief as head knowledge.
Ravi Zacharias quoted the following lyrics below. Think of the words in connection with this verse and the testimonies that you have heard and seen, possibly your own is similar.
O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer fuller be.
O cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red,
Life that shall endless be.
One of the greatest hopes that we have for loved ones, that helps us through tragedies and difficult times, is to look to an eternal life where they will be restored and made whole.
The next time you see John 3:16, remember what it means to believe. What does it mean to you today?
In Christ,
Mike
John 3:10-22
10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
NKJV
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