The Gospel of John

Servants
"Serve people? You've got to be kidding!" We tend to associate servitude with oppressed people slaving for a cruel master. In the Bible, servants had a different job description, one more akin to our current-day employer-employee relationship. The servant's job was to loyally carry out his or her master's orders and act in the master's interest at all times. In return, the master was responsible for feeding and clothing the servants and looking after their needs.

Water
In the Middle East a gallon of gasoline is cheaper than a gallon of water. Imagine a Middle Easterner's surprise when he or she goes abroad and finds water in such abundance. Water was valued in the Middle East during ancient times too. God did a lot of amazing things with water: He flooded the earth, turned water into blood, made water pour out of a rock and stacked water up on either side of a dry path through the sea.

Wine
The Bible refers to wine in the positive sense more often than in a negative sense. Especially in the Old Testament, wine represents God's blessing and the abundance he bestows on his people. The law contains regulations for presenting wine as part of an offering to God. And the prophet Isaiah portrays the coming of God's kingdom as a feast, "a banquet of aged wine" (Isaiah 25:6).

Galilee
Described as hilly country, Galilee was located in the northern part of ancient Israel. Jesus was from Galilee, as were his disciples; much of his ministry took place in Galilee. During the time of Christ, Galilee made up about one-third of the present-day holy land. In more modern times, Galilee was revived through Zionist colonizations. The land became part of modern-day Israel after the Arab-Israeli war in 1948-1949.

Glory
Millionaires, Olympic athletes and superstars excel in shrewdness, strength, talent, beauty, discipline and sometimes just plain good luck. Thus they enjoy the kind of adoration many people crave. But the Bible reminds us that even the greatest human honor and splendor will fade away. Alexander the Great's conquests are legendary, but only crumbling artifacts remain of his empire. God alone is perfectly and eternally glorious by his very nature. Scripture calls him the "King of glory" (Psalm 24:7-10). He is, and always has been, magnificent, powerful and holy. Everything he does demonstrates his glory, and nothing can detract from it.

Disciples
Does disciple sound uncomfortably like "discipline"? It is. A disciple is a person who adheres to the teaching of another - not just believing a certain philosophy, but also applying it to his or her life.

In the Bible, the word "disciple" can apply to followers of John the Baptist, students of the Pharisees or the broader circle of people who believed Jesus' teachings. But it most often refers to the twelve disciples whom Jesus asked to follow him. They lived with him night and day and learned from his teaching and lifestyle. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus' followers were not perfect, but they knew enough to recognize that leaving everything they had in order to follow Jesus was worth the price.

Mother
Not everyone has a mother who lives up to the sentiments on Mother's Day cards. But whatever complaints or kudos we may have for our mothers, God honors mothers for the crucial role they play. Just becoming a mother is a blessing from God. Many of the famous mothers of the Bible did not conceive easily, but their legacy continued through the lives of their children. Eve was called the "mother of all the living" (Genesis 3:20). Women like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, Hannah, Ruth and Mary are examples of honored mothers. Deborah's was called "a mother in Israel" (Judges 5:7) because she nurtured and guided an entire nation.

Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel's capital, is first mentioned in Abraham's time; it was then called Salem. From that time forward, it has played a large role in Biblical history. David conquered the city and established royal rule there. His son Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, making the city the nation's civic and religious capital. After a long siege, Babylon's King, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city in 588 B.C. In 536 B.C. the Jews started to rebuild the city. During Jesus Christ's time on earth, Jerusalem was under Roman control. Jesus was crucified there. The Holy Spirit later came to believers in Jerusalem.

Bridegroom
A bridegroom is more than a role that a man plays on his wedding day. The Bible speaks about the way a bridegroom, a husband, should act toward his wife and family. Husbands are instructed to love their wives and serve them as Jesus Christ served the church. (Remember that Christ's commitment to love humanity led him to die for us!) Husbands are to cherish their wives, to treat them with respect and work to make their marriage a relationship of unity and affirmation. Marriage should include spiritual and personal growth for both husband and wife.

God loves his people like a bridegroom loves his bride-protectively, tenderly, passionately, devotedly-as one head-over-heels in love. He desires that his people love and commit their hearts to him alone, as a wife commits herself only to her husband. The church, as a bride, will one day be presented to Jesus Christ, the bridegroom. God's people are instructed to honor and submit to Christ, their husband.

Salvation
Some people call for God to save them only when they are desperate and in immediate danger. In the Old Testament, when God's people called out to him for salvation, they were looking for deliverance from their enemies. We may not have and army on our doorstep, but we're all in immediate danger from the effects and consequences of sin (see Sin). We can't save ourselves from this-we need a rescue operation. Thankfully, God executed the resource operation for salvation. He sent his Son to save the world by paying the penalty for sin and bringing us back to God. Salvation is all God's work, but we must grab hold of his lifeline, Jesus Christ.

Signs
When we see geese flying south in a V formation, it's a sign that winter is on the way. Almost every street corner and road we travel is marked with a sign telling us where we are and the direction we're headed. God gives signs-miracles or fulfilled prophecies-to show that his promises will come true. The rainbow in the sky after a storm is God's aerial billboard-his reminder to himself and us that he will never flood the earth again.

The Bible also gives us signs to help us understand what is happening in the world around us. The first believers saw many signs to confirm the truth of the message about Christ. Most of all, signs help explain how we can come into a relation with the true and living God. God expects us to pay attention to, and follow, his signs.

Revelation
If we wish to know something, like a piece of rock, then we must investigate it. We must crack it open and probe its contents or run tests on it. If we wish to know someone like ourselves (i.e., other humans) then they must share their thoughts with us, and we must observe them to determine if what they say is true.

But what if we want to know about something greater than ourselves, like God, then he must reveal himself to us. If God does not reveal himself to humans, then we can only guess what he is like. revelation is God stooping down to humanity and showing and telling us who he truly is and what he is really like.

Faith
Faith is essential to eternal life; it is the way we have a relationship with God. First, when we receive Jesus Christ as Savior, we are exercising faith that he is the way to heaven, the one who makes us God's child. Second, because we cannot see God now, we live our lives by faith. We make our decisions and follow desires based on God's character and his promises.

Capernaum
This town became Jesus' second home during his ministry. Located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum was the place from which Jesus called the following fishermen to be his disciples: Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. He also called Matthew, the tax collector, to follow him while he was in Capernaum. Jesus preached and performed many miracles here. However, the people did not follow him, and thus Jesus predicted that the town would be destroyed (see Matthew 11:23-24; Luke 10:15). Jesus' prophecy was so completely fulfilled that today the exact location of the ruins of Capernaum is unknown.

Brothers
Big brothers, babe brothers, blood brothers - all imply a relationship characterized by warmth and similarity of character. Brother can refer to to both natural brothers and "brothers in Christ" (fellow believers). Jesus Christ said that everyone who does the will of God is his brother. Though Jesus is our God, we enter a fraternal relationship with him when we become children of God. Although that does not make us equal with him, Christ is not ashamed to call us his brother or sister.

Time
Time governs our lives. Our day planners help us manage it. We eat by it. We sleep by it. We're upset if people don't respect it. God, however is not constrained by time. He created time, and - though it's hard for us to grasp - he exists outside of time. Because he contains time, he knows the future and is able to reveal it in prophecy.

God has a clear understanding of time. In the Bible, he warned that all people should live for him because the time is coming when he will return to the earth. While some believe they can delay serving God, we are commanded to serve God now. We are to take advantage of the moments God gives us to share the gospel.

Sheep
The Bible compares people to sheep and God to a shepherd. Sheep are not know for their intelligence or power. They need a shepherd to protect them. Jesus Christ called himself the Good Shepherd. He promised to care for us, his sheep, and keep us secure from harm. Likewise, in the church, we are to care tenderly for others as an extension of Christ's love.

Father
God the Father perfectly cares fur us, giving us all we need -- though we may not agree with him regarding what those needs are. He promises us that we don't have to worry about having enough food or clothes because he knows what we need before we ask. God has also given us every spiritual blessing - something of much more value to our lives than any kind of physical possession.

As children of God, we can expect to be disciplined if we err. And we shouldn't be discouraged when this happens because discipline shows that God loves us. Just as good parents teach their children not to do things that will hurt them, so our Father in heaven teaches us what is best for us.

Home
The concept of a home - a place where we belong and from which we gain our identity - is prominent in the Bible. People are often identified in the Bible by their ancestry, such as "Lot son of Haran" (Genesis 11:31), or according to their hometown such as "Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43). The word "house" frequently indicates the collective relatives and descendants of an individual, such as "the house of David" (1 Samuel 20:16).

With this in mind, the image of a home or house is often used symbolically. The temple was called the house of God. Although God is present everywhere, the temple represented his special relationship with the Israelites, his chosen people, and their identification with him. In the new testament, Christians are referred to as God's house because his Spirit lives in them, as the Spirit of God filled the temple (see Temple).

Zeal
Have you ever been carried away by passion for a cause? When you are so moved, you can hardly sit still; you just want to go out and do something - that's zeal. As with all positive attributes, God is also our model for zeal. It is because of his zeal for righteousness (see Righteous) that God must punish sin. It is because of God's passionate love for people that he made the ultimate sacrifice to draw us to himself. We should have the same unquenchable drive for the things that God desires.

We need to be sure, however, that our zeal is not misdirected. If we are faithful in studying God's Word and letting his Spirit interpret it for us, God will give us a passion for the things he loves.

Jews
A yellow star stitched on a jacket declares a person's Jewish identity in Germany during World War II. It was not the fist time that being a Jew carried a death sentence, nor was it the first time that the Jews emerged victorious from a plot for their worldwide extermination.

Jews are the physical descendants of Abraham through his grandson Jacob, the father of the Israelites. The label "Jew" came into use after the Babylonian captivity. The stories of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther highlight God's protection of the people in the midst of great danger and opposition.

Believe
Beliefs dictate who we are and how we live our lives. To believe in something is to have faith in it. Though it may seem feeble to accept something on faith rather than fact, we all believe many things on different levels without being experts through experience or knowledge. A Christian's life is a demonstration of grounded belief in action.

Merely "believing" in God does not make someone a Christian any more than believing in exercise keeps one in shape; a person must actually exercise to stay in shape. Demons "believe" in God (James 2:19). They know he exists, but they don't choose to follow him. Believing that Jesus Christ is your Savior means believing that Jesus' death pays the penalty for your sin. As a result of this belief you repent-you turn away from your sin-and obey Jesus Christ.

Write
The Bible's is God's love letter to us. He wrote it for everyone. God himself wrote the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets. More importantly, God's plan and desire was to write his law with permanent marker in the minds and hearts of his people. And that is what he does when he gives the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Jesus.

Body
Our bodies are temporarily housing our personalities and souls. They are mortal containers of the immortal. The body is an amazing machine; the brain itself astounds modern scientists. Every part and every cell of the body performs a necessary function, each system interacting with the others.

God uses our bodies as an example of how all Christians should interact. He calls us the "body of Christ." God created each of us with a unique personality, background and set of skills to perform a unique role for him. In fact, he has already prepared good works for each of us to do (see Ephesians 2:10). Yet God wants us to work together for the benefit of the entire "body", of which Jesus Christ is the head (see Ephesians 4:15-16).

Temple
After Jesus' death and resurrection, god no longer dwelt in a building made by human hands, but in the believing human heart. Because the Holy Spirit lives in each believer our very own bodies are his temples. Today a church building is not the temple, but it is where many "temples" of the Holy Spirit gather to worship God weekly.

Death
Death has many faces in our culture, most of them ugly. There's a reason for that: Death was not part of God's plan. When God created us, he intended for us to live forever in perfect harmony with him. But when Adam and Eve sinned, death became a fact of life because the consequence of sin is death. Sin and death separate us from God because God's holiness cannot permit even the smallest imperfection to enter his presence. Those who don't know God are alienated from his love, guidance and spiritual protection all their lives. Physical death seals the sentence of permanent separation from him.

But Christians never have to experience death as the world does. Christ came to take upon himself the penalty for our sins and to remove the barrier between God and us by dying in our place. If we believe and trust our lives to him, we can experience a relationship with God here on earth. The Bible says that when Christ comes into our lives, our sinful self dies., and we immediately receive a new life. We receive a new identity as a child of God. And because Christ overcame death by coming back to life, we too can live with him after death. For followers of Christ, death is no longer a defeating end, but the victorious beginning of life in the physical presence of God.

Scripture
Before Jesus Christ came to the earth, the collection of inspired writings consisted of what we now call the Old Testament, the books from Genesis through Malachi. After Jesus' resurrection, Scripture was completed with the inclusion of the New Testament, the books arranged from Matthew to Revelation.

When we read the Bible, we hear from God and grow in our experience with Jesus Christ. All Scripture points to Jesus, and our familiarity with Scripture leads us know him more.

Passover
The night before the Israelites left Egypt, God instructed them to choose perfect lambs, slaughter them and use their blood to mark the doorframe of every hebrew dwelling. When the angel of Lord came to strike down all the firstborn males, he "passed over" the bloodstained doorframes, sparing the Israelite households.

Today, the Jewish people still celebrate Passover. Their delivery out of Egypt is a major focus of their faith and history. It is a reminder of God's concern for and intervention in, their lives.

Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples the night before crucifixion. He said that from that time on breaking bread and drinking wine was to be done in memory of his broken body and shed blood.

Money
Is it wrong to have money? Is that why Jesus told the rich man to give away all his belongings and follow him (Mark 10:17-22)? Money's a big deal. For many people, accumulating wealth is their reason for living. We think we can't live without it, but can we live with it?

Jesus talked more than once about the difficulty of rich people getting into heaven. Yet the question isn't, "What do you own," but rather, "What owns you?" God tells us to give some of our money to the church for his use. But everything we own - houses, cars, coats - should be for God's use. God asks us to give up anything that we view as more important than him. And what we do have should be recognized as a gift from him. We can enjoy those blessings, but be ready to use them for service.

Miracle
Unexplainable healing, the dead raised to life, the sun standing still, strange encounters with supernatural beings, wonders in the sky and other unsolved mysteries - are events like these miracles, coincidences or merely hoaxes? Miracles are occurrences in the physical world that have no natural explanation. Their cause is either still unknown to science or ascribed to the powers of the supernatural. The Bible is filled with stories of miracles performed by God through human beings. God used people to accomplish his purposes (such as parting the Red Sea to bring the Israelites out of Egypt), demonstrate his character (such as sending Jonah to the Ninevites by way of a great fish) and help people believe in him (such as the disciples' ability to heal the sick).

But the greatest miracle worker was Jesus. He said to his disciples, " Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves" (John 14:11).

Pharisees
If you lived in the time of the Pharisees, you were in big trouble if you had a house fire on the Sabbath. Carrying your clothes out of the burning building was strictly against the law. But putting your clothes on before escaping was legal!

The Pharisees were the most influential Jewish leaders while Jesus was on earth. They tried to perfectly uphold the law, and they imposed that expectation on others. Yet as carefully as they defined the law, they went one step too far and made it the epicenter of their faith. Jesus was not impressed with their law - abiding ways; in fact he harshly criticized them for burdening people with unnecessary rules and forgetting how to love others.

Nicodemus
Nicodemus wanted to know who Jesus Christ was. As a Pharisee and ruler, he had a lot to risk by associating with Jesus, so he came to Jesus one night under the cover of darkness to find out about him. Jesus didn't waste any time. He immediately began teaching Nicodemus God's plan for eternal life.

How did Nicodemus respond? We don't know. But we do know that Nicodemus was on the scene to help with Jesus' burial when all his other followers were in hiding. The Bible says he supplied 75 pounds of burial spices - enough for a royal funeral!

Rule
In November 2000, United States' citizens anxiously awaited the outcome of the closest presidential race in history. Hopes rose and fell as the media flip-flopped between announcing Vice President Al Gore as the winner and announcing Governor George Bush as the winner. For days after the election, votes were carefully recounted to determine who would be the next president of the United States. Although the world's leaders and rulers are in flux, one is constant: the living God, the creator of the universe.

Jesus Christ, as God's Son, has the ultimate right (see Right) to rule. As Christians, we allow Jesus, not the power of sin, to govern our lives. Heaven is fully aware of his rule, even if the peoples of the earth are not.

Night
Night is more than just the time period that begins at sundown and ends at sunrise. Unlike the day, night is typified by darkness and filled with unseen obstacles and dangers. The night offers cover for sinful people to undertake selfish pursuits, and it provides challenges for the believer when we sense the "night" in our society. The Lord Jesus will return like "a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2) - when we least expect him and whether we're ready or not.

There are many great stories in the Bible that occurred during the night: During the night of Passover, the Lord struck down every firstborn son of the Egyptians. The Israelites followed a pillar of fire when they traveled by night during the exodus. Under cover of night, Gideon and an army of Midianites. Torches lit the night when Jesus was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Teach
"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day," the old saying goes, but "teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." Teaching and learning are also crucial to our Christian faith. Learning is the first step, in fact, to telling others about Jesus Christ. Jesus taught the people about God. He explained what the Scriptures meant, and he taught with an incredible authority that the people had never seen before. In fact, the people called him Rabbi, which means "teacher." Jesus told us to carry on his work. We are to instruct people not only in the facts about salvation, but also in how to obey God and apply what they hear.

Teaching is a God-given ability, or spiritual gift; however, it doesn't guarantee that a person with this ability is always right. The Bible warns against Listening to and teaching faulty information about God's truth (see Truth).

Truth
What is truth? God is truth. Everything he says we can believe. There is no deception, no hypocrisy, no half-truth in God. Our finite minds can't fully comprehend God or understand all his mysteries, but he is everything he says he is: the all-powerful, just, loving Creator of everything that exists. How do we know right from wrong? God alone, because he is truth, provides an accurate standard for ethics and morality. Whatever he does and commands us to do is right. Anything God hates and forbids us to do is wrong.

Humans, on the other hand, tend to try to cover up their blemishes, present themselves in the best light or skew the truth to reveal only the details that make their case. But nothing we do can change the truth. When we try to cover it up, we are imprisoned by our lies, But because we know God's forgiveness is available, we can dare to confess our sins and admit that we do not measure up to God's standards of perfection. Only then are we truly free to let ourselves be known- because our sins, ugly as they may be, are forgiven. Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free".

Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son - yet is completely God.

Before Jesus came to the earth, the Holy Spirit guided and directed select people at specific times for specific purposes. To prophets, he revealed future events and warnings of judgment. To kings, he gave wisdom to rule. But when Jesus was near the end of his life on earth, preparing his disciples for his impending death and resurrection, he promised that the Holy Spirit would, form that time on, be with his followers all the time.

Forty days after Jesus' resurrection, he ascended to heaven. Ten days after that, on the Jewish day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples of Jesus. "Tongues of fire" appeared above each of them. The believers "were filled with the Holy Spirit and bean to speak in others Tongues as the Spirit enabled them" (Acts 2:4), and Multitudes of people Miraculously understood the Christians praising God in their own languages. The Holy Spirit helped the believers to go out into the world, boldly tell others about Jesus and form the church.

Today the Holy Spirit works in out hearts, drawing us to seek God. Once we trust Jesus Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit guides and teaches us, revealing truth to us. We can rely on him to give us words when we don't know what to say. He is always there to direct us. And when we read the Bible, he's there to help us comprehend what we are reading.

Sound
When Mary's voice reached Elizabeth's ears, she and her unborn baby rejoiced because the mother of their Lord had arrived. In Biblical times, sounding a trumpet blast could signify war or a great celebration. When the last trumpet sounds, the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the return of Christ and the end of the world are imminent.

The word sound is also used in the Bible to refer to something healthy or without flaw. For example, just as having a healthy, or sound, frame of mind is key to writing a valid will, likewise, having a sound understanding of what the Bible truly teaches helps us identify when someone is not teaching the truth (see Truth). A correct knowledge of the truth guides our hearts and minds in discerning the subtle, but critical, differences between truth and falsehood.

Israel
The Israelites, known as God's "chosen people," were chosen before they ever became a nation. God chose one man, Abraham, and promised that he would become the nation's patriarch-though his elderly wife didn't have even one child. God miraculously provided a son, Isaac, to Abraham and his wife in their old age. Many years later, Isaac's son Jacob wrestled with God. That wrestling match resulted in God changing Jacob's name to Israel. Many years after that, Israel's descendants-the Israelites-settled in the land that became known as Israel. Eventually the nation split into two nations: Israel to the north and Judah to the south. The Assyrians later conquered Israel; the Babylonians carried off Judah.

Heaven
Do you ever wonder what heaven is like? Heaven is separate from the earth, and some speculate that it's in another dimension. Because of sin, "heaven-on-earth" just isn't possible. But the true heaven is something much better then we can ever guess. God is in heaven, and although, to us, the distance sometimes seems too great a gulf to cross, we're told that the Lord actively watches over us, listens to our prayers and takes action in our lives.
For those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, heaven will be our home when we die. In fact, Jesus Christ said he was returning to heaven to prepare a home for us. (John 14:2-3)

Son
"If you really want to understand someone," said President George W. Bush, " you look at his family and where he was raised." Using this reasoning, what can we learn about Jesus Christ, the Son of God? The Bible says that Jesus is "the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). This means that the Son is fully God; all of God the Father's qualities are manifested in him: love, justice, righteousness, holiness. God the Son was also fully human; while he was on the earth, he shared our experiences: temptation, hunger, fatigues, pain and death.
Since we belong to God, we now have the privilege of being called "sons of God" (Romans 8:14). But it wasn't always this way. Back in Old Testament times, God considered only the people of Israel as his children. However, God revealed to his prophets that his Son, the Messiah, would come to earth . He would die for the sins of everyone, including non-Israelites. After Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, the definition of son changed. Now a "son" or "child of God" is not just a blessing for the Jews; it has been extended to the Gentiles. There is a condition, however: Anyone who wants to be called a "child of God" must surrender his or her life to God.

Moses
As the son of an Israelite slave, Moses should have been killed at birth. Instead, his parents raised him secretly for three months, then placed him in a floating basket among the reeds of the Nile River. No one could have guessed this baby would one day become one of the Bible's greatest leaders, and at the same time, the humblest of men.

Eighty years later, Moses was herding sheep in a desert when God recruited him for an incredible rescue mission. With God's help, Moses led the Israelites - over a million people - out of Egypt. Over the next 40 years, the Israelites faced the Egyptian army, walked through the Red Sea, drank water from a rock (twice!), heard firsthand the Ten Commandments, survived in the desert and finally reached the promised land. Today we remember Moses as a powerful leader, a servant of God and a man of faith.

Desert
Have you ever been really hot and thirsty? Then you will understand why the desert was such a vivid metaphor to the Israelites and appears so frequently in the Bible. The Holy Land, the location where most of the action in the Bible takes place, is surrounded by deserts. Moses fled into the desert after killing an Egyptian. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years after God led them out of Egypt. David stayed in the desert when he was hiding from King Saul. Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days.

The desert often symbolizes a place of solitude or hardship, either as testing for God's people or as punishment for those who have dishonored him. But the Bible also shows us that God can comfort and strengthen us when we are in a spiritual desert. The Bible often compares God's presence in difficult times to streams in the desert. Just as water sometimes lies undetected beneath the desert sand, we are not always aware of God's goodness working within us during hardship.

The Old Testament prophets sometimes referred to God's coming salvation in terms of water in the desert. To a people familiar with intense heat and drought, water in the desert was indeed a lifesaver.

Eternal
We often say that the time between now and and anticipated event is "eternity." Children endure torturous days and weeks before Christmas morning, saying they must wait an "eternity" for the day to arrive.

Eternity is much more profound than our common perception of it. God describes himself and his ways as eternal - he and his ways have always been and always will be. His commands, promises and truths are the same forever; they are unchanging. Therefore, we don't need to worry about constantly redefining God's standards for us. He doesn't change. What he says in the Bible will always be true.

The life you now share with the Lord is eternal; it will continue when your physical life ends. Your decision to follow Jesus Christ guarantees it. Again, the fact that God is eternal plays a key role in this. When God determined that eternal life would only be given through believe in his Son, Jesus, he meant it. there's nothing else, including doing good things, that we can do or need to do to establish a relationship with God (see Ephesians 2:8-9). And that's final!

Life
Do you want to live forever? Jesus Christ says he's the only true way. He says he's the door to a life of abundant blessing. God is the giver of life, and his role as such started with the creation of our ancestors, Adam and Eve. When sin entered the world, we were blocked, not only from having eternal life with God, but also from a meaningful life on this planet. Both can be obtained through God himself.

This is where Jesus enters the picture. He came to give us abundant life. He tells us to give him our cares and stop worrying because worrying doesn't add a single hour to our lives. Jesus also tells us to stop selfishly hoarding our lives; instead, we are to freely give them away by serving him. In a strange paradox, it's only when we lose our lives to him that we gain them back. Jesus reminds us that if we get everything the world has to offer, yet lose our souls, we haven't really lived.

Doing what Jesus asks is a risk because it means trusting him. Our only alternative is to never really live.

Love
Love conjures up many images and emotions. The word may evoke the pain of a broken heart. It may remind us of the warmth of a lover's embrace or the care and companionship of a parent, sibling or friend. In the Bible, the word "love" covers this spectrum of uses and more.

God deeply desires a love relationship with each of us; that is why he created us! But sin (see Sin) broke the relationship between God and humans. Love is so much more than an emotion, and God personally demonstrated his love for us by pursuing us in spite of our rejection of him and our sin.

World
World does not refer to the landmass represented by the globe of the earth; it refers to people, perspectives and practices. When we pray that God loves the whole world, we mean that God loves all people. However, God hates the perspectives and practices that belong to the "prince of this world" (John 12:31), who is Satan (see Satan). That's why Christians are told not to love (see Love) this world. The important thing to remember is that the people God loves and the perspectives and practices he hates are under his control.

Jesus
Jesus was born approximately 5 B.C. in the town of Bethlehem, Israel, to a virgin named Mary, who was descended from King David. Raised in Nazareth by Mary and her husband, Joseph, Jesus lived the ordinary life of a carpenter's son. Those who knew him didn't yet know that he was also God's Son. At age 30, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and tempted by the devil into the desert. He then began healing, teaching and performing miracles throughout Judea. He called people to believe in him as the only way to God.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside, 10 And said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

Jesus clears the temple

12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple court he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves, he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!”

17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18 Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

20 The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25 He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

CHAPTER THREE

Jesus teaches Nicodemus

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

4“How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again,’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You may hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel's teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Condemn
Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a political radical arrested for treason in czarist Russia. Condemned to death, he was in front of the firing squad when a last-minute pardon came from the czar. Rather than death, he received life. The experience lead Dostoyevsky to write about redemption versus condemnation in his novels Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov.

Before we trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, we were condemned. Our sin promised death - eternal separation from God. But then God pardoned us. Almost daily, we have the option of condemning or forgiving people. Jesus Christ urges us to love each other and to let our righteous God do the judging.

God
When you look at your watch, you know that an intelligent person designed it. It didn't just come into existence by itself. What about your wrist - isn't it more complicated than your watch? Didn't an intelligent person design your wrist too? We call the One who designed these things God, our Creator, the One who spoke the word and created the universe.

God has spoken to us in terms we can understand. The Bible is the record of his revelation - what he wants us to know about himself. God also became flesh and blood in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is 100 percent human and 100 percent God. Want to know what God is like? Study the life of Jesus Christ in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

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THE STARTING POINT STUDY BIBILE New International Version
The Luis Palau Evangelistic Association / www.luispalau.org