September 11, 2019
John 3:16-17
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.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
New International Version (NIV)
                Where were you 18 years ago today?  I remember pulling up in the parking lot at Tallowood after a men’s breakfast.  Someone on the radio said something about an airplane and before I knew it all death broke loose in Manhattan.  We gathered for an unforgettable prayer meeting that night.  Somehow we knew 9/11 would live in infamy and our world would never be the same.

                Rabbi Nicodemus came to Jesus stealthily.  People would have wondered if Israel’s teacher met with the former carpenter from Nazareth who had taken all Israel by storm.  Jesus did not whisper as he spoke about the necessity of new birth for all people.  The Teacher of Israel should have been ready to recognize the Messiah.

                Then Jesus spoke the words people placard on billboards at sports events.  God so loved the world . . .  God’s work in the world is about love not legalism.  What if God could do anything he wanted to this broken world?  Nicodemus might have thought in terms of judgment.  But Jesus had a different word:  God does not want to condemn the world but save it because he made it and he loves it.  When we come into the light of faith, all heaven breaks loose in our lives.  That day, too, will be one we never forget . . . for all the right reasons.
Pray with me:    
Life-giving Father, thank you for loving the world so much that you gave your only begotten Son.  We would die without Jesus, but don’t let us.  We believe.  Help our unbelief.  Give us your eternal life and let it heal our broken world.  On a day when life was stolen, let us be life-giving followers of our Savior who gave his life so that we might live.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.   
This year our Every Day with Jesus readings will follow The Bible Project Read Scripture Plan.  Copies of this reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download 
the app at readscripture.org.  Read through the Bible with us in 2019!
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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