Facing Our Fears - Flipbook - Page 8
6.
FAITH AND MEANING
Is there a God? Or is this life all there is? Are we alone in the universe? What’s the big deal about
Jesus? Why are Christians so focused on him? Do we really need religion?
SCRIPTURES AND LIFE APPLICATION NOTES
Romans 1:20, NLT: “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky.
Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and
divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
LIFE APPLICATION NOTE: 1:20 (2) God reveals his divine nature and personal qualities through creation,
even though creation’s testimony has been distorted by the Fall. Adam’s sin resulted in a divine curse upon
the whole natural order (Genesis 3:17-19); thorns and thistles were an immediate result, and natural
disasters have been common from Adam’s day to ours. In Romans 8:19-21, Paul says that nature itself is
eagerly awaiting its own redemption from the effects of sin (see Revelation 22:3).
John 20:29, NLT: “Then Jesus told him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who
believe without seeing me.’”
LIFE APPLICATION NOTE: 20:24-29 Have you ever wished you could actually see Jesus, touch him, and
hear his words? At times do you wish you could sit with him and get his advice? Thomas wanted Jesus’
physical presence. But God’s plan is wiser. He has not limited himself to one physical body; he wants to be
present with you at all times. Even now he is with you in the person of the Holy Spirit. You can talk to him,
and you can find his words to you in the pages of the Bible. He can be as real to you as he was to Thomas.
John 3:16-17, NLT: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the
world, but to save the world through him.”
LIFE APPLICATION NOTES: 3:16 (1) The message of the Good News comes to a focus in this verse.
God’s love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of
true love, the basis for all love relationships—when you love someone dearly, you are willing to give to
them freely, to the point of self-sacrifice. God paid dearly with the life of his Son, the highest price he
could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life
that he had bought for us. When we share the Good News with others, our love must be like Jesus’—
willing to give up our own comfort and security so that others might join us in receiving God’s love.
3:16 (2) Some people are not interested in the idea of eternal life because their lives are miserable. They
wouldn’t want them to go on forever. But eternal life is not an extension of a person’s mortal life. In
eternal life, there is no death, sickness, enemy, evil, or sin. When we don’t know Jesus, we make choices
as though this life is all there is, and we can’t imagine the bad being eliminated or redeemed into something
good and wonderful. In reality, eternal life can be entirely different from the life you are living now. But you will
need to ask Jesus for the new life he offers and follow him in order to receive it. Then you will begin to evaluate
all that happens to you from an eternal perspective, and you will begin to truly look forward to eternity.
3:16 (3) To believe is more than to give intellectual agreement that Jesus is God. It means to put our trust
and confidence in him that he alone can save us. It is to put Jesus in charge of our present plans and
eternal destiny. Believing is both trusting his words as reliable and relying on him for the power to change.
If you have never trusted Jesus with your whole life, let this promise of everlasting life be yours—believe.
Facing Our 10 Biggest Fears: A sample of Scripture and Commentary from the new Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition.
