John 3:16 Part One

/in

John 3:16 Part One

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever

believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

The most famous verse in the Bible. Possible the most famous line of any book. John
3:16 has found its way far from the church pulpit and unto gratified walls, stickers, mugs and
even signs at football games and wrestling matches. It is used because it’s a short sentence which
captures the bare gist of the gospel message.

For God so loved… This tells us that not only is there a God but he loves us. These are
two statements that one must have faith to believe especially in the world we live in today. There
is no visible proof of God himself (not getting into his handiwork of creation or course). His face
does not shine in the sky. These is no video on Facebook or TikTok of God. And then of course
his love for us can be hard to see when there is so much death and pain in the world. It is the
atheist’s number one comment. How could a loving God allow all this to happen? When a plane
crashes, when an earthquake kills scores of people or when someone dies of cancer people
commonly ask, where was God?

You of course could go over the regular list of answers: God was always with you, He
carried you when you thought you were alone, Satan still has power until God comes back and
other responses, but many times it just doesn’t seem like enough. I’m not going to write here and
try and give a brand new answer that somehow fulfills those who aren’t satisfied with the regular
answers. The reason why they are so common is because we really don’t have a better answer.
For me it goes back to what I originally said- it takes faith to believe.

What I do find is that those who can hold on to their faith in God will find peace in their
hearts after some time. An acceptance and understanding slowly overtakes the broken heart and
the person can truly find acceptance in their life. Does this always happen? I can’t be sure of that
but from personal experience of seeing people go through this, the vast majority do.
Those who reject their faith I find have a tendency to become bitter and cynical. This of
course is to be expected when the one power that you thought you could truly trust seems to fails
you. Trust becomes hard when you give up faith. Like a line of dominos, the falling of faith
seems to knock other things in their life as well- hope, love, joy and so on.

I hope these two statements can be strong and real in your lives. Belief in God and his
love really can fill you up with the gifts of the Spirit and can truly make your life better. May you
always be able to keep your faith in them.

Blessings

Pr. Steven Couto

The Bronze Serpent

/in

The Bronze Serpent

13No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of
Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:13-15

The mission of Jesus Christ is the most difficult mission anyone has ever had to
accomplish. He had to come to earth, the very heart and home of the enemy, and he had to do it
by leaving his divinity back in heaven. He had to come down without any protection himself and
had to completely trust his Father in protecting him through the Spirit. He was born a baby, with
all the human limitations of a baby. Then he had to grow up as a child, teen and then adult
surrounded by human sinners who were also brothers, friends and strangers. Sometimes we feel
like we are different from everyone else but in Jesus’ case it was real. He truly was different.
And why did he do all that sacrifice to come down to the earth? He came to be a blood
sacrifice. When Moses put up that bronze serpent, it pointed to Jesus. It’s a strange sight
considering a serpent is usually connected with the devil. In this case it symbolized sin being
killed on a cross and that is what Jesus did. Before he carried that cross he put on himself the sins
of the world. He held tightly to those sins, as much as they hurt, and dragged them down to death
where they could be separated from us.

Jesus died surrounded by sin. Not of it was his own, being perfect, but their staining
effect was on his soul. He felt like a sinner in those moments as he held on to the sins. The sins
disconnected him from the Father. That is why Jesus yelled out “My God, My God, why have
you forsaken me?” And he did all this while the very people he was trying to save was mocking
and laughing at him.

But with all of that Jesus still went forward with his mission. Not only that but he
accomplished it perfectly. He lived for years in a sinful world behind enemy lines but came out
victorious. He resurrected with victory over the world, Satan and sin itself. He did what no one
else could ever do.

So what is our part in this mission of salvation? We just need to believe and accept the
gift of salvation. With that simple act we can have eternal life. Is that something you can do? It’s
so simple compared to what Jesus had to do. That is a loving God.

Blessings
Pr. Steven Couto

You Don’t Know

/in

You Don’t Know

9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus
answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know

these things?
John 3:9-10

We don’t know everything. That is such an important thing that we do need to know. The
Jewish leaders were masters of the Law, the Torah and God and yet were completely off track
when Jesus arrived and began to teach. How can experts get it so wrong? Of course it happens
outside of religion as well. Sometimes we think we have the answer of the truth and then find out
we got it completely wrong.
Of course it’s hard to admit that we don’t know. It’s even harder to admit when we’re
wrong but it’s only with these two truths that we can truly grow. When you refuse the idea that
we can be wrong, there can be no correction. That is what happened to most of the Jewish
leaders in Jesus day and as Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, ‘There’s nothing new under the sun.’
We can follow down the same path.
Thankfully Jesus is there to help us out. Although he asked how Nicodemus can be so
lost, he doesn’t reject him but tries to open his eyes.
11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have
seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and
you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

John 3:11-12

Jesus understands the gulf that exists between heaven and the earth. Heavenly things are
impossible to understand unless you have the Spirit. Thankfully Jesus offers it to us.
Just like Nicodemus, we too can be blind to some truths sometimes but Jesus is ready to
help in the same way. He offers us the Spirit as well. All we need to do is accept it and allow it to
teach in our lives.
We will be learning every day until Jesus comes. Then we will continue to learn even in
heaven. So don’t trap yourself in believing that you know everything already. That way of
thinking will not help you.

Blessings
Pr. Steven Couto

The Wind and the Spirit

/in

The Wind and the Spirit

5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

John 3:5-8

Paul rightly said that the gospel we believe in would be seen as foolishness to the perishing. We live in a world today where anything spiritual is seen as wishful thinking, weakness of a small mind or fairy tales. With our scientific and technological advancements, humans have reached a level of arrogance that has never been seen before- not even at the Tower of Babel. The idea of an invisible, all powerful and all-knowing God is just too much for many people today.

Of course we all, religious and atheist, live daily with faith and blind belief. No one on earth holds their breath before the sun rises- not sure if this day perhaps it won’t. No one crosses their fingers when they flip the light switch, unsure is the lights will actually turn on or not (well perhaps in some places that is something people fret about). Most have no problem trusting the gears and cords that pull elevators up and down even though they are hidden away behind the walls and elevator ceiling. The truth is that there are a hundred things we simply trust will work throughout our day. Many of those things are invisible just like the wind.

I love the analogy that Jesus uses between the Spirit and the wind. Both can be so powerful and we can see the results of the wind all around us even though the wind itself is always invisible. The Spirit is the same way. We see miracles and answered prays and yet the power behind those things remains unseen.

We must reach a place where we trust just as much in the Spirit as we do that light switch in our home. We know the switch will turn on the lights. We must also know that the Spirit will do everything that we need in our lives. That faith must grow day by day.

It is that faith in the unseen and the living with the power of the unseen that is being ‘in the spirit’. When we can walk forward without seeing the next step- that is being in the spirit. It is faith without having to see. That should be the goal for all of us.

I pray that this week we can all work on this. Let us trust the unseen Spirit in our lives. Let us grow in that faith and we too can be spirit.

 

Blessings

Pr. Steven Couto

Born Again

/in

Born Again

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

John 3:3-4

We must be born again. This was a brand new idea from Jesus. Some try and twist together some Old Testament ideas that speak of this but they don’t really speak about what Jesus is bringing here. Being born again is a key precept of the Christian life. Let’s take a moment to truly understand the meaning.

The first thing you must realize is that everyone must and is going to die. Now you might say- wait, those who will still be alive will not die but be transformed. Your right of course but you are giving an answer similar to Nicodemus. That thought is too literal and physical in nature.

To be born again, spiritually speaking and how Jesus meant it, means letting your original life and person die. The character, goals and person who exists before encountering Christ must die. Eternal life is not offered to that person (again spiritually speaking).

Salvation is giving up the old person with their sinful beginnings and limited life and accepting a new person that is spiritually filled and can live forever. Paul speaks about this in 1 Corinthians 15:46-49:

46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

Being born again is about a new you being chosen. That new you is born connected with God and is filled with the Spirit. It is the new person who is given the gift of salvation and eternal life. Even physically speaking, these sinful bodies are given up and replaced with new perfect bodies at the resurrection. In a sense our old bodies die so that we can have new ones- even if it is within a moment and twinkling of an eye.

To be saved we must be born again. That is a choice that we must all make within our lives. Are you willing to give up who you are for who God wants you to be?

 

Blessings

Pr. Steven Couto

I Know Your Heart

/in

I Know Your Heart

23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

John 2:22-25

It must have been very difficult for Jesus socially while he lived in this world. As a child, while other kids were getting into trouble and making mistakes, Jesus was living a perfect life. I can only imagine the rejection he must have felt from other kids. As an adult, he always seemed to do the exact opposite of what people were expecting. He would speak hard things to hear, like destroy this Temple, when people were anxious to hear him. That only caused anger in most. In these verses, the Bible says that there were many who wanted to believe in him and make him their leader but instead he stayed away. He could never really win with people.

But there was always a reason for his backwards behavior. He always did the unexpected because that is truly what people needed instead of wanted. He knew their hearts. They wanted to make him king so that Rome would fall. It had nothing to do with God or real salvation. They just wanted to have their land back and be blessed. Jesus knew that that would never give long lasting help. If Jesus had toppled Rome and given the Jews their land back, they’d just go back to their Old Testament ways. They would veer even further from God and only return back to where they started.

The same is true for us. There are times when we ask things of God but it’s not what’s best for us. Like the Jews in Jesus’ day, we often think more about the now instead of the future. God wants to give us eternal life with Him in heaven. To get there, there are things that God has to keep away from us or we too would veer away from him.

Are you willing to accept that God knows better than yourself when it comes to your life? Are you willing to accept that there’s things God will not give us because it’s what’s best for our spiritual lives? At times this can be hard to accept but it is true.

May we all find a way to live in peace with God’s plan for our lives. He knows our hearts as well.

 

God bless,

Pr. Steven Couto

The Temple

/in

The Mighty Dollar

/in

Family Problems

/in

Family Problems

Keep The Party Going

/in

Keep The Party Going

9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

John 2:9-10

Jesus seems to have been the life of the party. People liked to be around him and he wasn’t one to refuse a party request. That sounds strange to say when I think of Jesus because growing up I was always shown a picture of a quiet, gentle and reserved person. But when I think about how the kids loved to be around him, I really do begin to wonder what kind of a life Jesus led. He must have been happy and friendly. He must have had a spirit that made you excited to be close.

At this wedding feast, I can only imagine what people must have said once the news began to spread that Jesus had made or brought such good wine. The party would have been over if not for Jesus. When you think about it, it is a strange way to begin your ministry but even Jesus himself said it was not yet his time. Mary seemed to push this outcome.

Jesus- the one who kept the party going. I don’t think many evangelists today would want that moniker as their beginning but maybe I’m wrong. No one was healed on that day. The lame did not walk. The blind did not see. Fish and bread were not multiplied. No one walked on water. No. People had wine (for grape juice for those annoyed that I keep saying wine) so that they could continue to celebrate a wedding.

God can use many different situations for his glory. Even a party can be the scene for spreading the love and truth of salvation to the world. Jesus’ other miracles were probably much more impactful to many people but I’m sure someone carried something in their hearts from that first miracle.

God is waiting to use us as well in whatever situation we find ourselves in. We too can be used by God for his glory. When we least expect it or in the strangest of situations, God is ready. The question of course is- are we ready?

 

Blessings

Pr. Steven Couto