The Message

ヨハネ　３：１６：”実に神は、ひとり子をさえ惜しまず与えるほどに、世を愛してくださいました。 それは、神の御子を信じる者が、だれ一人滅びず、永遠のいのちを得るためです.”

I was thinking today about Saki and Miki, two of the girls that I met in Japan. I remember sitting next to the beer vending machine helping them find and read their first scripture ever. They had zero concept of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the gospel message, or how they are supposed to “feel” in church. I remember asking them how they felt after accepting Christ and they said, “I feel warm inside” and “I feel like I can breathe now.” Wow. I love that honest description of the intimacy of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Sometimes I wonder how much of my desire to worship is born from a genuine desire to honor Him and how much is induced by modulations and swells in music. Then I read the scripture above, the same one Saki and Miki read, and I feel how they felt in that moment in the quietness of this seminary library.

I encourage you, if you’re feeling lost today or just “disconnected” from God, meditate on the scriptures. Give the Holy Spirit some time to work in your life. Try reading your favorite scripture in the Message translation.

John 3:16: “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”