Devotion
Good News, Not Good Advice
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will 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.' - John 3:16-17”
The most familiar verse in the Bible is God's opening move, not our reward for making the right one.
Nicodemus came looking for answers that would help him make sense of his world. Jesus gave him something better than an explanation. He gave him news. Notice the direction of every verb here. God loved. God gave. God sent. And notice what God did not send his Son to do: condemn. That word would have startled a man whose whole system ran on who was in and who was out. This is where the week has been heading all along. Good advice can change your circumstances. Good news changes you. It changes what you want, how you define a good life, who you worship, and where you will spend forever. Jesus did not come primarily to rescue you from your circumstances. He came to rescue you from your sin.
Practice
Think of one person in your life who got hit with something they were not prepared for. A diagnosis, a divorce, a layoff, a funeral. Your instinct will be to hand them advice, because advice feels useful and safe.
Prayer
Father, thank you that you moved first, while I was nowhere near ready. Thank you that you did not send Jesus to condemn me. Change me, not just my circumstances. And give me the words this week for the person you have already put on my heart. Amen.
This Week’s Message
This devotion follows along with this week’s message.