Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (70 page)
Read Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set Online
Authors: Howard G. Hendricks,William D. Hendricks
Tags: #Religion, #Christian Life, #Spiritual Growth, #Biblical Reference, #General
• What would be your attitude about the future?
As you look back to see God’s involvement with His people in the past, what can you determine about your own future?
Assignment for another day:
It’s a simple matter to note the depth of God’s love in such passages as Isaiah 55. A greater challenge is to learn to detect His love in passages that forecast judgment and suffering. However, if God’s nature does not change, wouldn’t it be true that God’s discipline of sin is motivated by love just as is His outpouring of blessing? The next time you read a somber passage of Scripture, try to determine how God’s love is active even during such times.
R
EADING THE
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IBLE
AS A
L
OVE
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ETTER
TODAY’S PASSAGE:
John 3:16–17
TIME COMMITMENT:
30 minutes
“Just think of it: God wanted to communicate with you in the twenty-first century—and He wrote His message in a Book” (p. 72).
S
urely the most quoted Scripture reference about God’s love is John 3:16. Yet it can be interpreted quite impersonally if we don’t get specific about it. Below is John 3:16–17:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
Instead of thinking about “the world,” let’s get personal and substitute some specific names. In order to do so, here’s the verse again with some blanks. It’s up to you to fill in the blanks with the names that follow.
“For God so loved _________, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son to _________ to judge _________, but that _________might be saved through him.”
Try substituting some of these names into the previous passage:
Your boss | A difficult child | A neighbor |
A coworker | Someone at church | Someone from your past |
Your spouse | Your own name | A personal enemy |
Do you think God’s love for the previous people is any more or less than it is for you? Explain.
If you were to see other people as God sees them, do you think you would need to make changes in any of your relationships? Why?