datethewordtest

Tag: John

  • Verse to DATE the Word on December 24 (12/24) is John 12:24

    “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,
    it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” – John 12:24
    Death to self brings life and produces fruit for the Savior

    Being fruitful is a major objective of the Christian life.  From John 15 Jesus taught that we have been appointed to bear much fruit and the Father is glorified as we bear fruit.  The apostle Paul prayed that the Colossians would be fruitful in every good work.  Since we are to be fruitful we need to LEARN how to be fruitful.   As a master teacher Jesus gave illustrations to bring truth to life and in John 12:24 He gives an agricultural illustration for what it is going to take to be fruitful.

    From John 12:24 we learn one of the most incredible concepts about being fruitful.  Pay close attention. For there to be fruit there has to be death.  

    FOR THERE TO BE FRUIT THERE HAS TO BE DEATH.

    My background is in farming.  I grew up on a farm in Virginia and at a very young age was very involved with my father and grandfather in growing a variety of crops.  Because of helping plant corn, PLANTING A SEED of corn in the ground I easily understood what Jesus taught in John 12:24.  Each year there were bags of SEED corn.  These SEEDS had one purpose and that purpose was to PRODUCE more grain or kernels.  Did you know that one seed of corn will, on average, produce two ears of corn with each ear having about 800 kernels?  1 seed of corn would produce 1600 kernels.  

    Now for us to get 1600 kernels the SEED corn had to DIE.  The next time you eat corn on the cob look at all those kernels and remember John 12:24 and that one seed – ONE SEED – produced that and another ear of corn.  

    What are we learning about being fruitful for the Savior?  Just as a seed of corn is planted and it dies you then find the dead seed sprouts and begins to live and produce, it produces much or more grain. One dead grain, a dead seed, now produces many grains!! 

    In Luke 9:23 we are called to DIE DAILY!  We are called to die to self!   In doing so we can become producers and bring forth fruit, much fruit, fruit that will remain. 

    As you look at your life you are called to die to self like that seed of corn and when you do you begin to truly live and become fruitful!  

    Verse to DATE the Word on December 24 (12/24) is John 12:24. It says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”

    Continue Strong by dying to self
    And remember to DATE THE WORD

  • Verse to DATE the Word on November 2 (11/2) is John 11:2 

    “It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped
    His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.” – John 11:2
    A Display of Extravagant LOVE for Jesus

    While John 11 is the story about the sickness and the death of Lazarus and then how Jesus brought him back from the grave John interestingly found it necessary when introducing the sisters of Lazarus to tell about Mary’s display of extravagant love toward Jesus.  The full story is told in John 12 but John, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, believed the reader needed to know about the beautiful action that Mary had done.  It seems like John believed anytime anyone hears about Mary of Bethany they need to think about her display of extravagant love for Jesus.  And what a way to be remembered!!!

    In pondering the actions described by John about Mary allow me to point out just a couple of things.  First, notice the statement that she “wiped His feet with her hair.”  There are three stories in the Bible about Mary of Bethany and did you know that in each story you find Mary of Bethany at the feet of Jesus?   In Luke 10:38-42 Jesus came to dinner at the home of Mary and Martha.  Jesus will start TEACHING and Mary LEFT the kitchen to SIT at His feet to LISTEN and  LEARN.  It was a pleasant day and Mary took advantage of the opportunity to store up knowledge about Jesus!

    Later in John 11, we find her again at the feet of Jesus.  This time the day is painful and has been very perplexing as she and her sister had informed Jesus that Lazarus, whom He loved, was sick yet Lazarus died. One can imagine how disappointing it must have been as they BELIEVED Jesus COULD heal Lazarus and they KNEW He WOULD heal Lazarus.  Yet Lazarus died.  When Jesus did arrive Mary went to His feet and there wept.  One can see her TRUSTING Jesus though she did not understand.  On this painful, perplexing day, she LEANED on Jesus and told Him how hurt she was.  Jesus would weep as He saw her tears. 

    Moving to John 12 (and back to John 11:2) we see Mary one more time at the feet of Jesus.  This story of her anointing Jesus with fragrant oil is told in Matthew and Mark.  John tells her she goes to His feet to wipe them in a beautiful act of humility and servanthood, yes, of love!  John 12 as well as Matthew and Mark will tell that the anointment was no ordinary anoint but rather some of the best money could buy.  It was valued at a year’s wages!!!!!

    Her expression of love was, without doubt, EXPENSIVE and EXTRAVAGANT. But for Mary of Bethany, Jesus deserved nothing but the VERY BEST.  And even though the disciples thought it was a waste Jesus commended her and paid her one of the highest honors in that wherever the gospel is preached Mary’s story of extravagant love is to be shared as well. (I fulfill His words with this devotional.)

    May I ask you if you are giving Jesus your best?  
    May I ask you if you are doing something that is extravagant – YES – appearing to be EXCESSIVE for Jesus?  
    Do you worry that family and friends might say THAT IS TOO MUCH?

    Years ago I read a message about Mary of Bethany from Chuck Swindoll and he gave the challenge to BREAK A VASE for Jesus!   Don’t hold back!  After all, He did not hold back.  Talk about extravagant love, He gave His life as a demonstration of His love. 

    Friends, you can never do TOO MUCH for Jesus! 

    To the one who went all in for us, we should go all out for Him. Follow the example of Mary of Bethany!
     
    Verse to DATE the Word on November 2 (11/2) is John 11:2. It says, “It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.”

    Would it not be great that every time someone said your name they thought of something you did for Jesus?

    Continue Strong displaying EXTRAVAGANT Love for Jesus!
    And remember to DATE THE WORD

  • Verse to DATE the Word on October 29 (10/29) is John 10:29

    “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one
    is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” – John 10:29
    Safely Secure in the FATHER’S STRONG HAND

    As one reads the Gospel of John one is going to learn about the FATHER. John 1:18 tells us that one of the purposes for Jesus’ coming was to reveal the Father. 

    Here in John 10:29, we learn of the POWER of the Father. One of the pictures of our great salvation is that of being placed into the Father’s PROTECTIVE hand!! Salvation has been PROVIDED by God and is PROTECTED by God!! We are safely secure in the strong and mighty HAND OF GOD as He is GREATER than all.  He is more powerful than ALL!! That means no person and no angel and indeed no demon, nor the very Devil is strong enough to pry us from the hand of God!  

    May this verse and the Apostle Paul’s declaration in Romans 8:38-39 assure us that what is promised to us will be fulfilled.  Remember what Paul said?  Romans 8:38 says, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

    I hope you are persuaded!  What a Savior! What a Salvation!!

    Verse to DATE the Word on October 29 (10/29) is John 10:29.  It says, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”

    Continue Strong with Strong Assurance 
    And remember to DATE the WORD

  • Verse to DATE the Word on October 28 (10/28) is John 10:28

    “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither
    shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” – John 10:28
    SAVED, Safe, and Secure in the Hands of Jesus

    “I give them eternal life!” What a promise!  Do you recall those precious words of John 3:16? John 3:16 tells us that God sent His Son that whosoever believes in Him would have eternal life and not perish!!! God sent us a Savior, His very own SON.  He gave His very own Son so that through Him WE could have eternal life. Jesus Christ came to give His life in order to give us life, here now and hereafter forever.  WHAT A SAVIOR!  Because of Him, we are SAVED!

    “And they shall never perish.”  What a 2nd promise!  SAVED and SAFE! As a sinner, we completely deserve to perish yet as born-again believers we have the promise that this will never happen to us.  Like the Apostle Paul, we can make the statement “To die is gain!”   

    If however you are reading this and you have not been born again I plead with you to do so.  While a person should not live in fear, I would tell you to live in fear as Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.   2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”   Do not put off accepting the Lord for presently you will perish in your sins!

    “Neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand!” What a 3rd promise! SAVED! SAFE! SECURE!! We are as secure as the strength of His hands thus we are completely secure in the hands of Jesus! Then to add to this security Jesus tells us that His Father is involved in holding us secure.  Notice John 10:29 as it reveals, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  

    No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

    Ponder and praise God today for your SALVATION that has been provided by and then protected by our incredible, wonderful Good Shepherd!

    Verse to DATE the Word on October 28 (10/28) is John 10:28. It says, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

    Jesus Christ came to give His life in order to give us life, here and hereafter.

    Continue Strong knowing you are SAVED! SAFE! SECURE for all eternity!
    And remember to DATE the Word

    PS – if you are finding the DATE the Word devotional a blessing, we encourage you to forward it to friends and family members.   Thank you!

  • Verse to DATE the Word on October 11 (10/11) is John 10:11

    “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” – John 10:11
    The Good Shepherd GAVE His life so we could HAVE life, here and HEREAFTER!

    One of the greatest things that Jesus Christ did for us while here on earth was revealing to us WHO HE WAS and WHAT HE DOES.  You will find in the Book of John the 7 great I AM statements and each reveals a key component of WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE DOES.  The seven I AM statements are I AM the BREAD of Life. I AM the LIGHT of the world. I AM the DOOR.  I am the GOOD SHEPHERD. I AM the RESURRECTION and the LIFE. I AM the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. I AM the true VINE.  

    In our verse to DATE, John 10:11 reveals to us that He is the GOOD SHEPHERD. A shepherd has the huge responsibility of leading, providing, protecting, and caring for the sheep.  To be a shepherd meant putting the sheep first and doing whatever was necessary to keep them alive! So as Jesus reveals that He is the Good Shepherd He says that He GIVES HIS LIFE for the sheep. 

    Now let us pause and ponder this statement of “giving His life for the sheep.”  In giving He means DYING for the sheep. The GOOD SHEPHERD DIES! 

    As you ponder this revelation of WHO JESUS CHRIST IS and WHAT HE DOES (DID) I hope you can proclaim WHAT A SAVIOR!!!  He GAVE His life so you could HAVE life.  

    As I read John 10:11 I cannot help but go back to 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.”  

    He GAVE His life so you could HAVE life, here and HEREAFTER!

    I also think of John 15:13 where Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

    Verse to DATE the Word on October 11 (10/11) is John 10:11. It says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”

    I repeat He GAVE His life so you could HAVE life.

    Continue Strong with gratitude and worship, crying out WHAT A GOOD SHEPHERD!
    And remember to DATE THE WORD!

  • Verse to DATE the Word on August 30 (8/30) is John 8:30

    “As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.”  – John 8:30
    Many BELIEVED in Him

    As the Apostle John writes his gospel his purpose will be to convince the reader to BELIEVE in Jesus.  89 times we have the words believe, believes, and believed. The key verse of the book is John 20:31.  It says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” 

    Believing in Jesus is the action that changes everything.  It is this action of faith that believes Jesus is who He says He is and did what He said He would do.  Believing in Jesus changes one’s earthly life and one’s eternal life. You recall, of course, John 3:16.  It says, “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. From John 3:18 we learn that “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. Then in John 3:36 we read that “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”  Believing changes everything.

    Have you BELIEVED in Jesus and been saved? Like the Roman soldier in Philippi, you might be asking as he did, “What must I do to be saved?” The Apostle Paul responded in Acts 16:31 with “So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”   Paul would write to the Romans in Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

    So, I ask again have you BELIEVED in Jesus and been saved?  

    Our verse to DATE the Word on August 30 (8/30) is John 8:30. It says, “As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.” 

    Continue Strong believing in Jesus,
    And Remember to DATE the Word

  • Verse to DATE the Word on August 29 (8/29) is John 8:29

    “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone,
    for I always do those things that please Him.” – John 8:29
    I always do those things that PLEASE My Father

    As Jesus Christ answered questions from Jews about who He was He told them about being sent by the Father and that His Father is always with Him.  He then gives an incredible evaluation of Himself saying that He ALWAYS does the things that PLEASE Him.  In making such a self-evaluation Jesus would have reason to say what He said as the Father had spoken from heaven several times that Jesus was His beloved Son, in whom He was WELL PLEASED!  

    As Jesus lived to please His Father we are to live to PLEASE Jesus!  Listen to 2 Corinthians 5:9 where the Apostle Paul says, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”  Paul prayed that the Colossians would “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, (Colossians 1:10a).  To the Thessalonians he wrote, “Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;” (1 Thessalonians 4:1)

    One of the areas that have to be decided upon is whether you will do that which is pleasing in the sight of God or seek to please people.  You will not be able to PLEASE everyone.  I challenge you to make the choice and live like Jesus, doing ALWAYS the things that please God!

    Remember this: If you please God it does not matter who you displease.  If you displease God it does not matter who you please.

    Verse to DATE the Word on August 29 (8/29) is John 8:29. It says, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”

    You will not hear WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT without there being WELL PLEASING first.  

    Continue Strong for Him, pleasing Him.  
    And remember to DATE THE WORD!!

  • Verse to DATE the Word on August 12 (8/12) is John 8:12

    “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who 
    follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” – John 8:12
    I AM the LIGHT for the WHOLE WORLD – Jesus

    Throughout the Gospel of John, we find John telling us WHO JESUS IS.  This starts in John 1 where He is the Word and continues in chapter 1 where John the Baptist proclaims that Jesus is the Lamb of God. As one continues reading through the Book of John one will discover that Jesus is the Water of Life and He is the Bread of life. He is the Door to salvation. He is the good Shepherd. He is the Resurrection and the Life. He is the Vine. Here in our verse to consider He is the Light of the world.

    Without LIGHT, there is no life.   LIGHT is tied to having LIFE!  Jesus tells us by describing Himself as the LIGHT that He is the provider of life.

    Please note that as Jesus describes Himself here as LIGHT, He says “of the world.” A. T. Robertson writes that Jesus was at the feast of Tabernacles in the Court of the Women.  In this court, there was a brilliant candelabra and there was the memory of the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. With this setting, Jesus makes this supreme and exclusive claim of Him being the LIGHT of the WHOLE WORLD, a world of Jews and of Gentiles.  He is the LIGHT to and for everyone.

    As we DATE this aspect of one of the great I AM statements of Jesus, ponder just how important it is to have LIGHT.  Consider it against the alternative of DARKNESS.  DARKNESS is associated with DANGER, and it brings DESTRUCTION.  Recall the difference between light and darkness based on how one lives as taught in Proverbs 4. “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19  The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.  (Proverbs 4:18-19)

    Even with the destruction that comes with darkness, we find ourselves perplexed at how many reject the LIGHT in order to continue to live in DARKNESS.  Jesus said, “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.  “John 3:19 

    Have you made the turn from DARKNESS to LIGHT as spoken of in Ephesians 5:8; “For you were once darkness, BUT now you are light in the Lord?”  Do you have a story of being changed as Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:9  “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light?“

    As we consider Jesus as the Light of the world we must not forget that He now expects us to not only walk in the light but be the light to the world.  See Matthew 5:14-16.

    Our verse to DATE the Word on August 12 (8/12) is John 8:12. It says, “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

    Continue Strong walking in the LIGHT
    And remember to DATE the Word
     
  • Verse to DATE the Word on March 30 (3/30) is John 3:30

    Verse to DATE the Word on March 30 (3/30) is John 3:30

    Our verse to DATE the Word on March 30 (3/30) is John 3:30
    John 3:30 says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
    It is to be ALL about HIM!

    Our verse to DATE comes from the lips of John the Baptist.  John the Baptist is the FORERUNNER to Jesus.  John the Baptist was the voice in the wilderness and was assigned the task of PREPARING God’s people for the soon coming of the Messiah and then ANNOUNCING the ARRIVAL of the MESSIAH.  In preparing people for the coming of the Messiah John himself began to have a following as well as having disciples.  Yet JOHN never ever forgot what His purpose was and when his disciples started wondering about who Jesus was and what Jesus was doing (and why Jesus was becoming more popular) John made it clear that he was not the bridegroom but rather the friend of the bridegroom.      

    Notice how the story unfolded: John 3:26 And they (John’s disciples) came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified — behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” 27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled.”  

    Now comes one of the great statements in all the Bible as John the Baptist declares “HE MUST INCREASE, BUT I MUST DECREASE.”   For John, it was ALL about JESUS!!  He was not the way.  He pointed people to the WAY.  He was not the Messiah!  He pointed people to the Messiah!

    For John the Baptist it was MAKING IT MORE ABOUT JESUS and LESS ABOUT HIMSELF!

    We live in a world that is about INCREASING.  It is about getting to the TOP. It is about WINNING.  It is about ACHIEVEMENT.  It is about SUCCESS.  The world says CLIMB THE LADDER.  

    Now let’s get personal.  As Christians living in this world, we are easily drawn into the vicious mindset.  It is even found in Christian ministries.   It is found in those who are Christian ministers.  Hmmm.  We are not so different from the disciples of Jesus who wanted the chief seats.  

    Jesus addressed those worldly desires and in doing so gives us some insight into how to DECREASE!   

    To the one attempting to DO SOMETHING FOR JESUS remember John 15:4-5 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

    To the one who wants to be FIRST remember Mark 9:35, “And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

    To the one who wants to be IT (it being THE PERSON) remember Philippians 2:3-5, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,”

    Verse to DATE the Word on March 30 (3/30) is John 3:30. It says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

    When you DEPEND on Jesus you are decreasing!  When OTHERS go first you are decreasing!  

    Continue STRONG by the decreasing of self so that there might be the INCREASING of the SAVIOR!
    And remember to DATE THE WORD
  • Verse to DATE the Word on March 16 (3/16) is John 3:16

    Verse to DATE the Word on March 16 (3/16) is John 3:16

    Our verse to DATE the Word on March 16 (3/16) is John 3:16
    John 3:16 says,  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.

    HIS LOVE IS SEEN IN THAT HE GAVE HIS LIFE TO SAVE YOUR LIFE

    Where does one even begin and what does one even say as one looks at the greatest words ever spoken and written? Before us is “the golden text” of Scripture. It is the “greatest verse” in all of the Bible.  It is the summation of the entire message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  It has within it the deepest and most profound theological truths in which a theologian can write volumes on each word yet these 25 words are so simple and easy to read and understand that a 3-year-old can know that God loves them and can save them.   

    What should we know and understand from this verse?  I humbly submit we know and understand the LOVE of God.  To DATE John 3:16 is to understand and comprehend the LOVE of God.  The apostle Paul prayed that we would comprehend the LOVE of God in Ephesians 3 starting at verse 17.  He prayed, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;

    If I want to comprehend the love of Christ and the width of that love and the length of that love and the depth of that love and the height of that love I only have to look at what Jesus said in John 3:16.  Notice how wide and long and deep and high is God’s love for you!

    “For God so loved the world” is the width of His love.  His love is for everyone everywhere.  All humanity from sea to sea and from continent to continent is LOVED by God.  Jesus loves ALL the children of the world.  Red and yellow black and white they are PRECIOUS in His sight!   As His hands were stretched out on the cross it symbolized Him reaching around the world.  His commission is to take the gospel to the world, to the ENDS OF THE EARTH!  How wide is the LOVE of God?  His love is for everyone everywhere who has done everything wrong and against Him.  How wide is the LOVE of God?   It is demonstrated to us in that while we were SINNERS Christ died FOR US – for the ENTIRE WORLD OF SINNERS.

    “That He gave His Only Begotten Son” is the length of His love. The grave penalty for sin is death.  Sin must be punished.  To satisfy the wrath of God there had to be a perfect sacrifice.   Though He had created the universe with all the various elements there was not one thing that could redeem a man.  Peter explained it this way in 1 Peter 1:18 saying, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”  

    Micah asked the rhetorical question “With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”  (Micah 6:6-7)  

    There is nothing in God’s created world that can save sinful man.  So, God has to go the full length of love and give what is most precious to Him and He GIVES His only begotten Son.  

    “That whoever believes in Him should not perish” is the depth of His love.  Romans 5:6 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Ungodly and sinners represent all the wickedness and unrighteousness and filthiness of mankind.  His love reaches to the vilest of all and pulls them out of the pit of iniquity.  There is no sinner that has gone too far from His reach to keep them from perishing!

    “But have everlasting life” is the height of His love.  He takes the one doomed, destined and deserving of hell who believes in His Son and gives them a home with Him in heaven for all eternity!  
    Verse to DATE the Word on March 16 (3/16) is John 3:16. It says, “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.”

    God loves you!  He loves you and everyone in the world.  He loves you even though you are a filthy sinner to GIVE His Only Son for you. He will give His life so He can give you life!  He so loves you He will change your eternal destination from hell to heaven if you will believe!

    Continue Strong knowing and accepting the greatest love you will ever know.  
    And remember to DATE THE WORD

    BTW – let others know about God’s love!  Share John 3:16 with others today!