John 3:16

So this is a verse that is very common to man. Chances are whether you believe in God or not you have heard this verse at one point in your life. Here is what it says.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in

Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

 

 

You read it. Your brain comprehends it. Then you close your bible, or stop listing to whoever is telling you the verse. Have you ever really sat down and meditated on this verse? Like really dug deep to reveal the message God is giving you.

 

 

Until today I hadn't ever really meditated and studied the true meaning of this verse. It is simple but it goes so much deeper that what I have ever imagined.

 

 

• First you should know that The book of John leads up to this one verse. This one powerful, life changing, verse.

 

 

Okay! now lets break down this verse!

 

For God so loved the World

 

• God's love is not static or self- centered. It doesn't stand still or focus on only itself. It reaches out and draws us closer.
• In this simple beginning sentence God sets up the pattern of true love. The basis for all love relationships.

 

That He gave His only Son

 

• When you love someone so much you are willing to give up everything for that individual. This is how much God loved us. That He would send His only son to die for the sins that we commit.
• Can you imagine loving someone so much that you would give your son away to die a painful and brutal death? Its hard to imagine but that is exactly what God did for us!

 

That whoever believes in Him,

 

• To believe means more than just believing that God is who He says he is.
• To believe goes even deeper it means having total and complete faith in God. Giving all that you are to him and trusting that He will take care of you.
• It is to put Christ in charge of our present plans and eternal destiny.
• Believing is both trusting his words are reliable, and relying on him for the power to change.

 

Shall not perish, but have ETERNAL life. 

 

• Some people are repulsed by the idea of eternal life because their lives are miserable, but eternal life is not an extension of a person's miserable, mortal life.
• Eternal life is God's life embodied in Christ given to all believers now as a guarantee that they will live forever.
• In eternal life there is not death, sickness, enemy, evil, or sin.
• When we don't know Christ, we make choices as though this life is all we have. In reality, this life is just the introduction to eternity.
• Receive this new life by faith and begin to evaluate all that happens from an eternal perspective.

 

 

 

That is the breakdown of the simple verse John 3:16. This verse holds so much meaning and power and is one that needs to be studied and meditated on.

 

 

God bless <3

 

Love,

Heaven April 





Wow... It's been a while

Hey guys! wow... someone pointed out to me the other day that I had not updated since April!!! 0.0 that is crazy! I guess sometimes we get caught in the flow of life and forget the ones who are there for support. For a while I didn't update because I was at a stand still as to what to talk about. Then I guess I just fell out of the habit of updating that until someone mentioned it to me, I didn't really think about it.

Its about time that ends! I need to get back into the habit of blogging again. So I hope some of you that were reading periodically will still be reading :)

This Sunday I will leave to seek week summer church camp with my amazing youth group! I am very excited but there is another previous camp I would like to talk about.

 

Early July I had the opportunity to attend the pre- teen church camp in brownwood. For the first time instead of being a camper (I was to old) I went as more of a sponsor and helper. It was an amazing life changing week. My job for the week was to look after the girls from our church and help them in any way that they needed. It was amazing getting to see God work in their lives and to be a part of that amazing experience for them.

 

 

The first night was the most life changing. We took 6 girls and 6 boys this year. Shane Pruitt was the preacher and I can not recall the name of the band. The theme of the camp was "Fishing Patiently with God" and the main verse was Romans 12:12- Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation and constant in prayer. That first night we had 9 out of the 12 of our kids either accept Christ or recommit their lives to Him. It was amazing to feel the energy from the kids as they felt the power of God move through them. That first night is one I will never forget.

 

 

The second day I was either in the cabin or in the nurses office. We had one girl who got very sick and eventually had to go home. I don't regret for a moment volunteering to miss out on the days activities and stay behind with her. I felt that was where God wanted me. I was able to get to know the person I stayed back with and to just stay in for the day and meditate on Gods word. While the girl rested I was able to get some Jesus time in and prepare for the rest of the week. :)

 

 

The third day was the last full day of camp and it was just wonderful. The girls were split up and I was with three of the older girls and the other sponsor took the two younger girls. Its weird how the kids that you attended church and school with but never really knew, one week and you start to feel like you know them. I had spoken to all three of these girls but I hadn't really taken the time to get to know them outside of being the younger kids in our church. That day I got to hang out with them and discover who they really were. They were some pretty cool kids! That night was very memorable for me because there was a woman named Megan Bruce who was a children's entertainer. She used puppets to tell stories of the power of Christ. That was really neat but what I enjoyed the most was the ending. Its hard to explain what she did besides just saying it was amazing. So here are a few pictures to show you. :)

 



She told the powerful story of Christ in 5 simple pictures that put together showed the Love God had for us. This was an amazing way to end an amazing week.

I am so honored and blessed to have been given the opportunity to participate in this week. The power of Christ is like no other. The children of the church are not the future of the church , they are the present of the church. God can use even the youngest of people to impact the life of many! God defiantly used those 6 girls to impact my life.

 

 

Here are a few more pictures from the week :)

 

 This is a snap shot of Justice shooting the arrows at one of the activities on the first day :)

 Here are a few of the boys preparing their fishes during art time. These fishes were put on a net in the worship center for all to see!

 Britney is doing the same as the boys were in the above picture. Jesus fish time!

 Here are 5 out of the 6 girls that went to camp this summer. Like I stated before one got sick and had to go home.

This is little Marilu. :) She weighs like 50 pounds! Its always fun having her around!

 

 

 

Once again I am sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I will start updating on a regular basis like I used to. I hope you all bear with me and continue reading.

 

God bless <3

 

Love,

Heaven April