The other half of John 3:16

For God so loved
and prized all
of His creation,
He gave
His Only God-Son
that whosoever believes

in Him

will not pass away
and be gone forever
but will have eternal life

in Him.

For God did not send
His Son to us
to accuse and condemn us,
but that we
and the whole world
might be saved
through Him –

Jesus Christ
The Way.

John 3:16-17 as prayer-a-phrased by Mary Sayler, ©2017, in the blessed company of many translations found on Bible Gateway

…

For God so loved the world

John 3:13-17

And Jesus said,
“No one has gone up to heaven
except The One
who came down from heaven:
the Son of Man.

And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in Him
may have everlasting life.”

For God so loved the world,
He gave His only Son
so that everyone
who believes in Him
might not perish
but have eternal life.

For God did not
send His Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but that, through Him,
the world might be saved."


© 2015, Mary Sayler prayer-a-phrased these lines from today’s Gospel reading in John with the help of translations on Bible Gateway.

…

God’s costly love for everyone

God the Father
loved the world
so very much
He gave His only Son,
so everyone
who believes in Him
will not perish but will
have life forever.

For God the Father
did not send
His Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but that, through Him,
the whole world might be saved.

And all who believe in Him
are never condemned,
but oh, those who do not believe
have already been sentenced
because they found no faith –
in the Name
of God’s only Son.

So this is the verdict:
Light came into the world,
but people loved darkness
to hide their sinfulness.
And all who act abhorrently
apparently hate the Light
and will not come to light,
so no one can see what they’re doing.

But those who want what’s true
do come to the Light,
so everyone can clearly see
their deeds have been done in sight
of God –
the Father Who so loves.

© 2013, Mary Sayler, prayer-a-phrase, John 3:16-21

Believing and Praying in the Love of the Risen Christ

If we condense the whole Gospel into a single Bible verse, we’d probably pick the one previously posted and the one Christians most often quote: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life," John 3:16.

We especially think of this holy love during Holy Week as we recall the Resurrection on the first Easter when Jesus Christ overcame death and led The Way to eternal life – life that lasts forever.

We want that life! We want that promise to believers in John 3:16, but, as the next verse goes on to say: “God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that, through Him, the world might be saved," John 3:17.

Wow! As soon as we hear the promise of eternal salvation and everlasting life in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, we learn that, through Him, the whole world can be saved.

What does this mean to us as Christians?

If we take our faith one verse further, does this mean, for instance, that we might see results from our prayers for pure air, pure water, unpolluted food, and an earth free of baths in blood?

Could such prayers heal the ozone?

Could such prayers bring our families back to God and Christians back to the Bible and to the church?

Could our prayers – prayed in the love of God and the power of the Risen Christ – heal hearts deprived of God, not only in our neighborhoods, but around the world?

Prayer: Heavenly Father and Creator of the world and of time, space, and eternity, help us to believe! Help us to stay awake and aware of Your Love and the restorative, redemptive power of the Risen Christ to permeate every cell, every fiber, every particle of every person, place, and living thing. Thank You, Lord, for Your breathtaking love! Breathe on us in Your Holy Spirit and give us Your prayers to pray for our homes, environment, and the whole world in Jesus’ Name.

~~

©2012, Mary Sayler. Thank you for telling others about this site when giving them these words and prayers. Thanks, too, for following other Bible topics listed on Blogs by Mary. May God bless you and give you each day your daily prayers.

~~

Holy Week shows us everything the Bible says about love

“For God so loves the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believes in Him will not perish, but have
everlasting life. For Christ did not come
into the world to condemn the world, but
that through Him the world might be saved,”

John 3:16-17.

“For this reason, I bow my knees unto
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in heaven
and earth is named, that He may grant
you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with power by His Spirit
in your inner self, so that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith – and that you, being
rooted and grounded in love, may be able
to comprehend with all the saints what is
the breadth and length, depth and height,
and to know the love of Christ – the love
which surpasses knowledge, that you might
be filled with all the fullness of God.

“Now to him Who is able to do far more
abundantly than anything we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us,
to Him be the glory in the church and in
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, forever
and ever, without end. Amen,”

Ephesians 3:14-21.


Prayer: LORD God and Heavenly Father of all, as Lent ends and Holy Week begins, please help us to accept Your overwhelming love that we might fully turn to You and fully return to the church in the healing power, love, and forgiving embrace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

~~

©2012, Mary Sayler. Thank you for acknowledging this site when sharing its devotional thoughts with others. For a variety of Bible topics, see Blogs by Mary. May God bless your Holy Week.

~~