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John 3:16 - The Promise of Eternal Life.

John 3:16 (KJV) For God so loved the world, 
that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life. 

COMMENTARY

Too Good To Be True?
   Free Flight: Rio de Janeiro to Miami, 
Florida. 
   I wasnt the only person to hear about 
the offer but one of the few to phone and 
request details. The courier service offered an 
airline ticket to anyone willing to carry a bag of 
mail to the States. 
   No company makes such offers anymore. But 
this was 1985 - years before intense airport 
security. My dad was dying of ALS, and airline tickets 
were expensive. Free tickets? The offer sounded 
too good to be true. 
   So I walked away from it.
   Many do the same with John 3:16. Millions 
read the verse. Only a handful trust it. Wary of 
a catch perhaps? Not needy enough maybe? 
Cautioned by guarded friends? 
   I was. Other Rio residents saw the same 
offer. Some read it and smelled a rat. Dont 
risk it, one warned me. Better to buy your 
own ticket. 
   But I couldnt afford one. Each call 
home to Mom brought worse news. The doctor 
says its time to call hospice. 
   So I revisited the flyer. Desperation 
heightened my interest. Doesnt it always? 
   When desperation typhoons into your 
world, Gods offer of a free flight home demands 
a second look. John 3:16 morphs from a nice 
verse into a life vest. 
   Some of you are wearing it. You can 
recount the day you put it on. These words have kept 
you company through multiple windswept winters. 
I pray they warm you through the ones that 
remain. 
   Others of you are still studying the 
flyer. Still pondering the possibility, wrestling 
with the promise. One day wondering what kind of 
fool offer this is, the next wondering what kind 
of fool would turn it down. 
   I urge you not to. Dont walk away from 
this one. Who else can get you home? Take 
Jesus offer. Get on board. You dont want to 
miss the chance to see your Father. 
   Thanks to the courier folks, I was 
present at my fathers death. Thanks to God, 
hell be present at yours. He cares too much not 
to be. 
   Believe in him and you
      will...
      not...
      perish.
   You will have life, eternal life, 
forever. [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at 
maxlucado.com] 

Believe in Him
   The phrase believes in him 
doesnt digest well in our day of self-sufficient 
spiritual food. Believe in yourself  is the 
common menu selection of our day. Try harder. Work 
longer. Dig deeper. Self-reliance is our goal. 
   And tolerance is our virtue. In him 
smacks of exclusion. Dont all paths lead to 
heaven? Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and humanism? 
Salvation comes in many forms, right? Christ walks 
upriver on this topic. Salvation is found, not in 
self or in them, but in him. 
   Some historians clump Christ with Moses, 
Muhammad, Confucius, and other spiritual leaders. But 
Jesus refuses to share the page. He declares, I 
am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one 
comes to the Father, but by me (John 14:6 RSV). 
He could have scored more points in political 
correctness had he said, I know the way, or I 
show the way. Yet he speaks not of what he 
does but of who he is: I am the way. 
   Many recoil at such definitiveness. John 
14:6 and Acts 4:12 sound primitive in this era of 
broadbands and broad minds. The world is shrinking, 
cultures are blending, borders are bending; this is 
the day of inclusion. All roads lead to heaven, 
right? But can they? 
   The sentence makes good talk-show fodder, 
but is it accurate? Can all approaches to God be 
correct? Every path does not lead to God. 
   Jesus blazed a stand-alone trail void of 
self-salvation. He cleared a one-of-a-kind passageway 
uncluttered by human effort. Christ came, not for the 
strong, but for the weak; not for the righteous, but 
for the sinner. We enter his way upon confession 
of our need, not completion of our deeds. He 
offers a unique-to-him invitation in which he works 
and we trust, he dies and we live, he invites 
and we believe. 
   We believe in him. The work God wants 
you to do is this: Believe the One he sent 
(John 6:29 NCV). This union is publicly dramatized 
in baptism, for to be baptized, as Paul wrote, 
is to be baptized into Christ. (Gal. 3:27) 
   Believe in yourself? No. Believe in him.
   Believe in them? No. Believe in him.
   And those who do, those who believe in 
him shall not perish but have eternal life 
(John 3:16). [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at 
maxlucado.com] 

He's Been There
   On a trip to China, I rode past Tiananmen 
Square in a bus full of Westerners. We tried to 
recollect the causes and consequences of the revolt. 
Our knowledge of history was embarrassing. One 
gave one date; another gave a different one. One 
person remembered a certain death toll; someone 
else disagreed. All this time our translator 
remained silent. 
   Finally one of us asked her, Do you 
remember anything about the Tiananmen Square 
revolt? 
   Her answer was solemn. Yes, I was a 
part of it. 
   We quickly grew quiet as she gave 
firsthand recollections of the bloodshed and 
oppression. We listened, because shed been there. 
   We who follow Christ do so for the same 
reason. Hes been there  
   Hes been to Bethlehem, wearing barn 
rags and hearing sheep crunch. Suckling milk and 
shivering against the cold. All of divinity content to 
cocoon itself in an eight-pound body and to sleep 
on a cows supper. Millions who face the 
chill of empty pockets or the fears of sudden 
change turn to Christ. Why? 
   Because hes been there.
   Hes been to Nazareth, where he made 
deadlines and paid bills; to Galilee, where he 
recruited direct reports and separated fighters; to 
Jerusalem, where he stared down critics and stood up 
against cynics. 
   We have our Nazareths as well - demands 
and due dates. Jesus wasnt the last to build 
a team; accusers didnt disappear with 
Jerusalems temple. Why seek Jesuss help with your 
challenges? Because hes been there. To Nazareth, to 
Galilee, to Jerusalem. 
   But most of all, hes been to the 
grave. Not as a visitor, but as a corpse. Buried 
amidst the cadavers. Numbered among the dead. Heart 
silent and lungs vacant. Body wrapped and grave 
sealed. The cemetery. Hes been buried there. 
   You havent yet. But you will be. And 
since you will, dont you need someone who knows 
the way out? [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at 
maxlucado.com] 

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC


http://www.abible.com/devotions/2015/20150614-1652.html 

EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON 28 REVELATIONS OF 
JESUS 

1st of 28: Divine Dining: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7j1QIKqmY 
2nd of 28: Pictures of the Divine: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lNI-OQ7-eQ 
3rd of 28: A Dirty Bible: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMkPvBuuFd4 
4th of 28: Cared For: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXyJVdcCds 
5th of 28: Saved: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX45kGRe1HI 
6th of 28: You Can Change: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd0gkvK18fo 
7th of 28: Reprogramming Our Brains: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov36f_RapXc 
8th of 28 Our Holy Father: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XabXLEXsxbY 
9th of 28 Gifts of Service: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtuGZviodkA 
10th of 28 The Holy Spirit: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in89XVs4cGo 
11th of 28 The Law of God: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Q601HjogI 
12th of 28 The Sabbath: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sakgnKoTzZI 
13th of 28 The Church: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkFw2XsTW-w 
14th of 28 The Gift of Prophecy: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiO2VC09NPI 
15th of 28 Stewardship: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z_lNLAataw 
16th of 28 Marriage and the Family: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EybxvMQ0K7E 
17th of 28 The Remnant and Its Mission: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK6tix2K2qA 
18th of 28 Christian Behavior: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecVGsQfAo7Q 
Live ongoing series in progress.

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs