Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

When I began to study the 3rd Chapter of John to develop today’s devotion, I was really excited that amidst the other verses found here is the verse, John 3:16. Undoubtedly one of the most popular verses of the Bible, this verse tells us of the relationship of the Father and the Son of God. I think it’s important to stop here and reflect on how it must have grieved our Heavenly Father to send His Son to endure incomprehensible suffering for our sins.

As I thought about this verse, I just had to share how I experienced this verse recently.

First of all, just a couple of months ago in the Venture Ladies’ Prison Ministry, we talked about LOVE on our visit just before Valentine’s Day, and one of the scriptures we discussed was John 3:16. As I shared with the group the verses that we would read and the ladies began to look them up, one of the detainees quickly and boldly recited the scripture of John 3:16 to us from memory. She recited it so proudly and confidently and with such conviction that it summoned a sense of pride for all of us.

My second experience was with a group of ladies who participated in the IF 2023 Ladies Conference recently. I listened to Sadie Robertson Huff share a heartfelt message about trying times raising a toddler while also pregnant and on the road doing mission work including speaking and teaching about God’s love. She shared that it seemed that no matter how much good she did for God, it seemed that inevitably something not so good would happen to her young daughter or to someone else at home. She was grappling with this fact and crying out to God and asking why. "Why do I have to worry that I may lose my child or something bad may happen while I am away from home doing service work for You?” To which she felt the Spirit respond, “Remember John 3:16. I gave My only Son for you.” She then shared how her tension quickly shifted to a feeling of honor and deep love for the Father. She realized that He loves us so much that it totally refocused her perspective.

Then I experienced the verse a third time. The verse was mentioned when Stone County Campus Pastor Tyler Eggers was making the connection that the verse is indeed one of those that your grandma or perhaps someone else’s grandma made sure you knew growing up.

So what are we to glean from the most popular verse in the third chapter of John?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

The reason this verse is so popular and so frequently shared is that it shows the magnitude and depth of His love for the world and all of us in it. His love is a gift that is free to all and only requires that we believe in Him and that belief further gives us access to eternal life.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Do you have any special memory of when you first learned this verse?
• Have you ever just read the verse and reflected on the depth of God’s love that is displayed through this verse?
• Prayer: Dear God, thank You so much for the ultimate gift of Your Only Son who took on the sins of the world so that we may all have the gift of eternal life. This sacrifice in and of itself demonstrates the magnitude of Your love for each of us even when we all fall short. Thank You, Father, for all the ways You demonstrate that love. May we always remember that love even on our hardest days! Amen.

Family Devo: John 3

By: Carrington Stuart

Today we’re reading a story from the book of John, and it’s about- guess who- Jesus! In this story, Jesus is meeting with a very important man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a teacher and a Pharisee, and a lot of people came from all over to learn about God from Him - but Nicodemus knew that Jesus was the greatest teacher ever! Nicodemus wanted to ask Jesus about how to get into Heaven one day and be with God forever. Jesus told Nicodemus that you have to be born again to follow God! He didn’t mean that you have to be a baby again, but Jesus meant that you have to completely change your life, just like you were a new person! 

To be with God and Jesus in Heaven forever, you have to believe that Jesus came from Heaven to save us and trust Him! He wants us to give Him all our sins, the things we do wrong every day, and let Him turn them into good things! He isn’t mad at us for doing bad things, like lying and disobeying, but He does want us to be honest and tell Him that we’re sorry. Jesus wants us to ask for forgiveness and let Him help us be better people so we can be more like Him! When we ask Jesus to come into our lives, He can teach us how to love others, tell the truth, be kind, and obey God and our parents. He makes us better friends and wants us to tell everyone we know about Him! He wants to be our friend forever!

• Have you asked Jesus to come into your life and forgive your sins? How can you teach others about Jesus? Who can you tell about how much Jesus loves them?
• Prayer: God, thank You for sending Jesus to teach us how to spend forever with You in heaven! I’m so glad that He came to save us and forgive us of our sins. Help me to learn more about Him just like Nicodemus, and help me tell others about Him, just like John the Baptist! I want to tell everyone I know about Jesus and how much He loves them. Thank You for loving me, God, and for being with me wherever I go. In Jesus’ name, Amen.