Today’s Scripture Reading

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. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. John.3.16-21

Today’s Devotional Reading

A Saving Faith

John the disciple records John 3:16, the well known verse about the core of the gospel message, during a conversation between Nicodemus (a Pharisee) and Jesus about what it means to be born again.

To be saved, we need faith to believe that Jesus is who he said he is—wholly God and wholly man—and that he was a perfect sacrifice in our place on the cross. Jesus reminds us that he came into this world to welcome people, not to push them away. He came to save lost humanity.

This is illustrated with the metaphor about light and darkness. Not only are we to have faith in what Jesus did for us, we must also be willing to step into the light where our sins are exposed. In that vulnerable place, we clearly see our need to be saved—from ourselves, our sin, and the world’s way of doing things.

We continually exercise our faith in God by daring to welcome truth and light in our lives; it’s the way we walk our faith.

Lord, I believe. I believe Jesus was both God and man, and that he lived a perfectly sinless life, offering himself for me on the cross. I believe in the resurrection. I choose today to step into the light because I know I need you. Amen.

Describe the day (or the time period) when you met Jesus for the first time. How has your understanding of being “saved” changed since then? In what ways?`

Taken from NIV Radiant Virtues Bible.