Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

August 31
Sunday

THE ULTIMATE
SACRIFICE

READ:
1 John 3:16-23
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By this we know love,
because [Jesus] laid
down His life for us.
__1 John 3:16
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When Deng Jinjie saw people struggling in the water of the Sunshui Rdiver in the Hunan province of China, he didn't just walk by. In an act of heroism, he jumped into the water and helped save four members of a family. Unfortunately, the family left the area while he was still in the water. Sadly, Jinjie, exhausted from his rescue efforts, was overwhelmed and swept away by the river current and drowned.

When we were drowning in our sin, Jesus Christ gave His life to come to our aid. We were the ones He came to rescue. He came down from heaven above and pulled us to safety. He did this by taking the punishment for all of our wrongdoing as He died on the cross (1 Peter 2:24) and 3 days later was resurrected. The Bible says, "By this we know love, because [Jesus] laid down His life for us" (1 John 3:16). Jesus' sacrificial love for us now inspires us to show genuine love "in deed and in truth" (v.18) to others with whom we have relationships.

If we overlook Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on our behalf, we'll fail to see and experience His love. Today, consider the connection between His sacrifice and his love for you. He has come for your rescue. __Jennifer Benson Schuldt

``````````````````````````Rescued: By Jesus' love;`````````````````````
``````````````````````````Rescued: For life above;````````````````````
`````````````````````````Rescued: To serve my King;```````````````````
````````````````````Rescued: My praise to bring. __verway``````````````
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Jesus laid down His life to show His love for us.

****************************************Today's Bible Reading __ 1 John 3:16-23*******************************

16 By this we know love,
because He laid down His
life for us. And we also
ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren. 17 But
whoever has this world's
goods, and sees his brother
in need, and shuts up his
heart from him, how does
the love of God abide in
him?

18 My little children, let
us not love in word or in
tongue, but in deed and
in truth. 19 And by this we
know that we are of the
truth, and shall assure our
hearts before Him. 20 For if
our heart condemns us, God
is greater than our heart,
and knows all things.

21 Beloved, if our heart does
not condemn us, we have
confidence toward God.

22 And whatever we ask
we receive from Him,
because we keep His
commandments and do
those things that are
pleasing in His sight. 23 And
this is His commandment:
that we should believe
on the name of His Son
Jesus Christ and love one
another, as He gave us
commandment.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23; 20:2; 21:7) and
to whom Jesus entrusted the care of His mother, Mary (19:26-27),
was well qualified to write about love. In 1 John 2, he described the
quality and authenticity of the love expected of the children of God.
Here in 1 John 3, he pointed to the death of Christ and directed us
to Him as our standard of Christian love (v.16). True Christian love
is sacrificial action and selfless generosity displayed both in speech
and in actions (vv.16-18).