A Heart For Jesus

  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬   For fun, I decided to challenge myself to find as many observations as possible in this verse by breaking it down word by word. “For God”…refers to the person or thing that something is sent or given to, intended to help or benefit someone. In this case, the person is God. “So…” means “to such a great extent” or extremely; very much. It evokes feelings of head over heels love. This verse reminds me of two of my favorite verses: “Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you…” from Isaiah ‭43‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬ and “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” from Zephaniah ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬ The next word is “Loved”…a simple word with so much meaning. However, the world has twisted it to...

  “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is in vain. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17) So I asked myself the question, what if Jesus had not been resurrected? What would that have looked like? Consider this: Sunday morning would have been just like the day before. The stone would have still covered the tomb’s opening. Sure, the disciples would have discussed the events for a while, but Jesus would have faded into memory. The Jews would have continued offering sacrifices for the sins of the people. We would still be waiting for the promised Messiah. Paul would have never encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. We wouldn’t have the New Testament writings or the hope and encouragement they bring. Life would feel hopeless because this would be all there is—no promise of eternal life, no forgiveness of sins, we would simply live day to day by our own rules. But thanks be...