Wednesday, June 24, 2009

JohnThreeSixteen

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that who believes in Him, shall not perish but have an eternal life.” John 3:16 (NASB)

Sometimes it’s good to look from a different perspective.


When I read the Bible, there are some Scriptures I read as they are written. After I study it more, sometimes I can see alternatives with some words which give me a completely different outlook.


"For God 'sew' loved the world...,"


When God "made" the world with an incredible amount of unconditional love beyond our comprehension, it's hard to fathom that type of love, because He does each of so much. However, we would never know of His wonderful unconditional love if there was no hurt. Jesus went through what no other human could ever be able to withstand before, during, and after the crucifixion. He knew it was going to be horrid... beyond any pain we could bare. Yet, He did it. Literally, the entire world was on His shoulders.


People, believers and nonbelievers, endure different measures of hurt and suffering unexpectedly in life at one time or another. Whether something happens to the person themselves… a loved one… an acquaintance… stranger, no one would ever know of the hope Jesus gives us without adversarial times.

You or I would not understand or be able to depend on God's strength He gives us if we did not experience the weaknesses which prevail in the oddest and most unusual ways.


When we learn to depend fully on God through our will in the choices we make, only then can God can teach us to depend on Him for all things.

Jesus being God’s Son, was a man with the Spirit of God guiding Him while on earth. When Jesus spoke His last words on the cross, it is written, “When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed his head and gave up His Spirit.” John 19:30 (NIV)

At that moment when Jesus bowed His head before the Father, I believe it a profound illustration of humility. Then Jesus gave up His Spirit.

Christians accept, love and believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah as the truth is written in the infallible Word of God. Most all Christians at some time or another, have witnessed the miracles of God as we know only He could do. For me, there is no question or doubt.

It is by our faith; we are believers giving our lives to Christ-like every day. That's not easy even when we know that's what we're supposed to do.


It wasn’t easy for Jesus to know the journey He would have to travel before going home to be with His Father. Hours before He was to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked “saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’” Luke 22:42 (NASB)


Until I learned more about the Word of God, I had never realized Jesus was asking His Father to take away the mission that was within hours of happening, when He said “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me.”


For less than a split second, Jesus asked if He could be spared as I am sure He dreaded what was about to take place. Realizing as quickly as He asked, God’s Spirit would give Him an immediate knowing as Jesus knew this was the reason He was born, to suffer, be crucified, and die.........but GLORY, GLORY...HE was resurrected from the dead! He arose! Praise GOD!


Jesus knew what "dread" was all about. It's hard for anyone to give everything over to God. In doing so, the end result is far greater with blessings than the process!

If those words had not been written in the Bible, we would not have seen a split second of Jesus’ weakness as he did totally and completely depend on His Father.

Our life experiences are fair less than what Jesus suffered. But it a good example of Scripture to teach each of us to depend on God for everything in our weaknesses. It is then we learn from His strength.


Adjusting to life's ultimate unknowns or unforeseen circumstances is complex at best for anyone in a host of life's unspeakable situations. But I believe each of those situations have a thread of commonality which abounds. The thread of love, faith, and hope which in time transforms the hurts, fears, anger… many feelings in our heart and soul.


That’s when I go back to “God sew loved the world….” reading the Scripture with a different meaning as the earth was made by the Hand of God. He created us. He gave up His Only Son.

Why are we so hesitant to depend on our Heavenly Father when He loved us first? It’s should be “sew” easy…. like a needle pulling thread. We should pattern ourselves after Jesus in becoming Christ-like, threading love, hope and faith within our spiritual and material worlds.

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