“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 (John 3:16).
We have seen it in the end zone at football or baseball games. We see it on the helmets of sports figures or written in permanent marker on their shoes. It shows up on Christian T-shirts, wristbands and all kinds of apparel. It even makes for living room artwork on canvas or matte photographic paper.

It is the most popular Bible verse in the world: John 3:16. It is so, for a very good reason.  It perfectly defines and loudly proclaims, the plan of redemption for a world which got off on the wrong foot, almost from its very beginning.  It is the verse in the Bible which is responsible, most likely, for many a lost and drifting soul to come to a saving knowledge of the Lord. It is the verse which is the epitome of the perfect love (agape) which God has for ALL His people, regardless of our station in life. It is the verse which also delineates the Creator of the world from His sinful creation so that we can all participate in the incredible offer of eternal life. A closer look at the positioning of John 3:16 by the Holy Spirit reveals the very thought process of God. Our Heavenly Father is One Who has always been reasonable and called unredeemed mankind to come talk to Him and to reason. He said so in Isaiah.

At the opening of the famed Gospel of John Chapter 3, we see the Jesus the Messiah speaking to one of the main religious leaders in Jerusalem. This man, Nicodemus, was not just a priest but was called ‘The Teacher of Israel” by the Lord Jesus. Nicodemus would be similar to a version of the local “big church” pastor in town, whom the weekly newspaper would go to for a quote if something significant happened in the school or town council which affected daily community life

Have you ever asked God to give you a parking spot closer to the door of a packed mall or store?

Have you ever asked the Lord’s help in finding your car keys, when you’re in a hurry out the door?

Have you ever even ask the Lord if you should go down this or that street, after getting an easy feeling about something?

If you have, there is nothing wrong with any of this, and frankly, we all do it. There is something very special about this Relationship with our Creator, Redeemer, and Friend – Abba Father, where we can just approach Him at any time, at any place, in any situation…and He hears us! The Lines of communication can only be buzzing with divine traffic if we are connected to the Source.  For this one of a kind relationship to work, we must only be free from sin and walk the talk. We have to be “ALL IN”.

It is easy for people to be “all in” for their sports team or non-profit organization, or even a political group. But for some reason, people in the church, sometimes consider that being “All In” for God is not just a bit too much to ask. Some even say this ministry of prayer is “those people on the prayer team” or the “pastoral staff” or….? I really do not know!