Day 3 of John 21 Challenge
Day 3: Shared by Christi
John 3 is one of those books in the Bible that has some of the verses that are considered “greats.” I love the Red letters.
My thoughts reading through this chapter began with being thankful for the John challenge and consistently staying in the word daily through one book of the Bible. I truly hope that people are diving into this beautiful book and reaping the blessing of this challenge.
John 3 opens up with an intellectual man, named Nicodemus that they called a pharisee back then. He was asking Jesus questions trying to make sense of the miraculous things that Jesus was doing. The back and forth between Nicodemus and Jesus reminded me of how much Jesus wants us to have faith and trust him. The external things of having all the right answers or doing all the right things and also the internal work of believing in Jesus as our Savior are really not the same thing. Reading this it seems so complicated.
I love the red letters because John 3 goes from that conversation of what it is to be born again in Jesus and through the Holy Spirit to the famous John 3:16. In one verse, laying out the gospel. And that’s it. I can be that simple. He loves us and that love sets us free from everything that wants to condemn and accuse us. We have hope and joy from living in the light.
John 3 ends with one more character. It’s Jesus’s cousin, John the Baptist who is completely different from Nicodemus who liked his position of superiority. John the Baptist had followers because of his contagious spirit and obedience to baptize those that he shared the truth of the Messiah with but he shared and knew that it wasn’t for his glory. So we get another one of my personal favorite but “big” verses in John 3:30 - I MUST decrease, so that HE can increase. This truth bomb from John the Baptist is so Good! In order to have joy, we have to be filled with him and not self or the empty things the world has to offer.
If we are focused on position, we will miss our mission. John new his mission and I pray that I can keep my life free of any pressure to be popular and serve from a posture of humility reflecting Jesus.
