Observation/Interpretation:
I asked myself what are the claims being made about Jesus?
1. The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus Christ, the Son of God

I asked myself why does Mark 1:1 start  out with 'The beginning of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God?'

The Gospel has a beginning and it starts with Jesus Christ. Knowing the claims, capability, circumstances, character, commitment, convictions, credibility that Jesus is involved in will better equip, enable, and empower us to understand the impact the Gospel will make in our lives. It starts with Jesus Christ because the Gospel is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That is exciting to know. It is more exciting to me that I can start my treasure hunt again in the Gospel of Mark according to Jesus Christ and find the nuggets of truth as I explore the 7 C's of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, at different times, from Mark 1 - Mark 16 as the Lord leads and guides me.

Observation/Interpretation:
I asked myself what does the Gospel mean?

What came to my mind is John 3:16 as the Gospel about Jesus Christ in a nutshell which I plan to explore today and the rest of the Gospel of Mark according to Jesus Christ in the days ahead with the Lord's help.

Let me share with you this Gospel in a nutshell as shared and taught by Bill Jones and Terry Powell but slightly revised by me. I thank Pastor Hugo Cheng of Oakland International Fellowship for introducing this to me during my training time.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, KJV)

Observations:
I asked myself what do we learn from this most famous verse?
1. For God so loved the world
2. That He gave His only begotten Son
3. That whosoever believeth in Him
4. Should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Interpretation:
I asked myself why this verse is so famous?
The reason John 3:16 is so famous is because it summarizes the Gospel about Jesus Christ in four spiritual truths. If you understand these four spiritual truths, you will understand what the Gospel is about.

Observation/Interpretation:
POINT 1: FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD

I asked myself what does ‘For God so loved the world‘ mean?
Three things stood out: “God“, “Loved“, and “World”

GOD created the world and all that is in it including MAN to have a personal relationship with Him. He wants this relationship to be one of LOVE where GOD shows His LOVE to the people in this WORLD and where the people show their love to Him by their obedience.

And yet we see that people of the WORLD do not always have a personal relationship with GOD in obedience. If this is not happening, there is always a reason. In this case it is a three letter word called SIN. SIN is disobeying GOD or missing the mark. 

Andrea and Jason Huang of Asian-InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Pitt like to explain sin as 'Soul Sickness' to their students. In other words, our souls becomes so sick without the presence of the Lord in us to guide us and lead us. Instead, it is as if mankind's soul has been sold to the devil making it very sick. This happened because instead of obeying God, man decided to obey Satan creating the sin or soul sickness problem. It started with Adam and Eve as recorded in the Book of Genesis.

So now, SIN causes a separation between GOD and MAN creating a big chasm in the relationship. This separation can cause MAN to perish.

So I decided to look at the phrase ‘Should not perish”

POINT 4: “SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE”

I asked myself ‘why is PERISH even mentioned?’
What came to my mind is that MAN without having a relationship with GOD, will PERISH. The Bible says that if MAN dies physically while spiritually separated from GOD, MAN will spend eternity in a place called HELL. This happens because man has been sold to the devil as a slave. The devil or Satan will keep all his purchases in a place called Hell. That is the bad news.

I asked myself, ‘why is ETERNAL LIFE’ mentioned?
What came to my mind is, even though there is bad news, there is also GOOD NEWS. The GOOD NEWS is that GOD does not want MAN to spend eternity in HELL. His desire is to have a personal relationship with MAN so that MAN and GOD can live together in a place called HEAVEN.

Man cannot be both in Hell and Heaven at the same time. He can only be in one place or the other. This is where my favorite word REDEMPTION comes into the picture.

Now I know the BAD NEWS and I know the GOOD NEWS but how can the GOOD NEWS become a reality?
It is then that POINT 2 came to my mind.

POINT 2: “THAT HE [GOD] GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON”

The GOOD NEWS is GOD’S only BEGOTTEN SON.

Another word for GOOD NEWS is GOSPEL.
Another word for BEGOTTEN SON is JESUS CHRIST.

Mark 1:1 states, ‘The beginning of the GOSPEL about JESUS CHRIST, the SON OF GOD.

I asked myself, how did GOD give His only BEGOTTEN SON?
GOD sent JESUS CHRIST to the WORLD born of the Virgin Mary. JESUS CHRIST’S life and how this all happened can be explored in detail in the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke, and Gospel of John which all point to Jesus Christ. It can also be explored in the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation in the prophecies and foreshadowing which point to Jesus Christ. The Gospels are a good starting point.

I asked myself, ‘how did GOD tackle the SIN problem?’
Again, the answer is JESUS CHRIST. GOD took care of the SIN or soul sickness problem by sending His only BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS CHRIST, to live a perfect life then die on the cross shedding His precious cleansing blood to redeem humanity so MAN'S SIN could be forgiven. For only the cleansing Blood of Christ covering over MAN'S life could become the antidote against the deadly virus known as sin. Jesus purchased us by His precious cleansing blood so Satan cannot have any claim on our soul when we yield our life to Jesus. In essence, Jesus became our Savior to redeem us from the pit of Hell.  Thank you Jesus.

The amazing thing is after JESUS died and was buried, JESUS rose from the dead on the third day to save, proving GOD has the power to save people from a destiny of torment.

GOD did His part to show His LOVE for humanity and the WORLD by sending His only BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS CHRIST so that MAN should not PERISH but have EVERLASTING LIFE.

I told myself that is great to know this GOOD NEWS but knowing the GOOD NEWS is not enough if it is not put into practice.

In this case, I asked myself ‘How can the GOOD NEWS be put into practice?

It is then that POINT 3 came to my mind.

POINT 3: ‘THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM’

I asked myself what does MAN need to do so ‘not to PERISH’ but have EVERLASTING LIFE with GOD becomes a reality?

1. It is not enough to simply know that GOD loves MAN.

2. It is not even enough to simply know that MAN’s SIN will ultimately send MAN to HELL.

3. It is not even enough to simply know that ‘the beginning of the GOSPEL about JESUS CHRIST, the SON OF GOD’ or ‘the beginning of the GOOD NEWS about JESUS CHRIST, the SON OF GOD’

4. It is only when MAN BELIEVES in CHRIST to be MAN’S LORD & SAVIOR to save and deliver him from the torment of sin does MAN CROSS over the separation caused by MAN’S SIN and begins a personal relationship with GOD.

All the GOOD WORKS MAN thinks he does in this world will still not give access to GOD because when we try to reach GOD by our GOOD WORKS, they all will continue to fall in the chasm. There is a big chasm that separates MAN from GOD and MAN cannot reach GOD no matter how much MAN tries because a HOLY GOD cannot let SIN enter into His presence in Heaven.

The Bible says 'No one is good, not one, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God...All our good works are like filthy rags to the Lord'

This means even if we think we are good and the world thinks we are good, it will not change the relationship between GOD and MAN without the intervention of JESUS CHRIST.

JESUS CHRIST becomes the BRIDGE for MAN to reach GOD where the CROSS on which JESUS CHRIST died became that BRIDGE to walk over to GOD. Now the GOOD WORKS we do are seen as GOOD WORKS because Christ's righteousness is imputed to us.

 JESUS CHRIST who had no sin became sin for us to make us right with God. JESUS CHRIST took away the SIN of the PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD who accept His sacrifice on the CROSS and BELIEVE in HIM. Because they BELIEVE they have ETERNAL LIFE.

Thank you Jesus so much!

I ask you now dear friend, why bother with the G.O.S.P.E.L when you see yourself as a good person anyway?
Dear friend, you have seen the four spirituals truths explained based on John 3:16. You have seen the role of GOD, the role of MAN, the role of SIN, and the role of JESUS CHRIST. All of the roles have a part in imparting the Gospel about Jesus Christ to you. You need to understand each role to really understand the GOSPEL or GOOD NEWS. You have also seen that our GOOD WORKS in life mean are filthy rags to  to GOD without the GOSPEL being acted upon.

"How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made is waste away because of our sins. " (Isaiah 64:6-7)

"Yet, Oh LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray for we are all your people!" (Isaiah 64:8-9)

Once we have understood what predicament you and I are in, we have to take an action. 

In this case, friend, you and I have the opportunity to have EVERLASTING LIFE. This is exciting to know! Having EVERLASTING LIFE is not dependent on you or me first because GOD initiated the transaction. You and I have to receive it!

It is dependent on GOD and His willingness to send His only BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS CHRIST to fulfill His role. GOD has fulfilled His role for you and so has JESUS CHRIST fulfilled His role. Now it is time for you to fulfill your role of MAN.

You can do that right now friend, whether you are a man or woman. The promise of EVERLASTING LIFE is for you. It starts with BELIEVING but it does not end there because once you BELIEVE, oh the transformation you see in your life when Christ touches the hearts of those who come to Him, will be real that others will notice too.

You will come to understand ‘the beginning of the GOSPEL about JESUS CHRIST, the SON OF GOD,’ has so much to it.

You will be excited and you need to look no further than the GOSPEL to KNOW about the ONE you BELIEVE in. The GOSPEL in a nutshell is JOHN 3:16 but the GOSPEL in its entirety is revealed by GOD  from GENESIS to REVELATION through inspiration. It is all about JESUS CHRIST.

Friend, do you see anything keeping you from placing your faith in CHRIST and crossing over to GOD right now?

Jesus saves you by His grace so it is great news when you feel you are unworthy to come to Jesus Christ for none of us are worthy to come to Christ and yet Christ has chosen us by what He accomplished on the Cross at Calvary. In Christ alone can we find our true worth!

None of us on our own are worthy. If we were worthy to come to Christ then there would be no reason for Jesus to have told the Pharisees, ‘it is the sick that need the doctor, I have not come for the healthy but the sick’ or "I AM the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through me!"

In  other words, Jesus is making a point that those who think they are righteous cannot experience His grace because He has come for those who are unworthy. Jesus is especially making a point that religions do not save anyone but it is a personal relationship with Him that gives access to GOD. This is all by His grace!

Honestly, friend all of us are unworthy to come before GOD because of our SIN. But GOD in His LOVE for MAN, sent JESUS CHRIST for us to die for our sin and come back to life to save. JESUS CHRIST will accept you as you are no matter where you have been, what you have done, etc because He loves you so much. Come as you are to the throne of Grace and find help in time of need.

This is exciting to know and believe friend. I am excited that Jesus accepts me as I am to come to Him and He will take care of the rest. He wants to accept you in your life too.

Your coach, Jesus Christ went up against the devil and defeated him by resisting his pitches of temptations and also conquering sin and death for us. Jesus who had no sin became sin for us to deliver us from this virus known as sin. His antidote has been His precious cleansing blood shed on the cross for the remission of our sins. Because of Jesus’ willingness to give us a transfusion of change through His blood we are saved when we accept what He has given us and totally surrender to Him.

Come to God as you are and receive what He offers to you through Jesus Christ.

You have a golden opportunity to start this FALL of  2012  with the Lord Jesus on your side no matter what happened before. Let me assure you, the transformation you will see in your own life. When Christ touches the hearts of those who come to Him, there life will never be the same again, never be the same again. You will have a totally new perspective on life as you spend daily time with Him praying, reading & studying the Bible meditating on His Word, and being plugged into a Bible believing fellowship of believers. Even as you face the storms of life, the winds cannot shake you for you will have a firm foundation on Jesus Christ, the Rock of Ages!

"It is appointed to man to die once and then the judgment!"

"Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:29)

May the Lord Jesus guide you in His love leading you! Amen!

"Gospel Offers Savior's Precious Everlasting Life!" (G.O.S.P.E.L)/"Why bother with the G.O.S.P.E.L when you see yourself as a good person anyway?"

Pray the prayer below or use your own words to invite Jesus Christ into your life and have a personal relationship with Him. Now is the time of Salvation. Don't wait.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, I am so excited that I learned today the beginning of the Gospel about you. I also learned the Gospel is the Good News.  I also learned the famous verse from John 3:16 that you shared with Nicodemus. Jesus, this verse shows how I can have Everlasting Life too. I want that life Jesus. So I come to you right now as I am and seek you with my whole heart believing in what you did for me.  I still have a lot to learn about you but as I explore your Gospels, I know you will reveal yourself more and more to me daily. Thank you Jesus!

I believe that Father God sent you to earth for us, to die for our sin on a rugged cross where your blood was shed to save us! Then you came back to life and now sit at the right hand of the Father.  

Thank you when I was sick with soul sickness, you purchased me by your blood which alone can cleanse me of all my sin and make me your child that I can belong to. It is my sin that separated me from God and you became the bridge for me to cross over to God because of what you did on the cross for me. Thank you so much Jesus. Even when my sin made me so dirty on the inside and attacks of Satan have wounded me, you did not abandon me but came for me. I am never out of your love and never out of your reach. Thank you so much Jesus.

I do believe Father God for all that Jesus did for me. Jesus, I know  you care for me and laid down your life for me on the cross to give me new life as you shed your blood for me to wash away all my sins. Your Blood became the transfusion for those of us wounded by Satan. I accept the transfusion! Your blood heals all the wounded areas to give us a new life cleansing us of our sin. Thank you so much Jesus.

I want that new life that you offer so I turn to you now as a sheep that has gone astray and ask for your forgiveness of all my sins! Wash me in your precious cleansing blood. Thank you for washing me in your Blood.

Please come dwell in my heart and save me Jesus. Deliver me Oh Good Shepherd! Thank you for your free gift of grace! I know you can save me when I turn to you and ask you to be my Lord and Personal Savior.  I want you to stay with me Jesus in my heart and make my heart your home so I can always have you as my Lord and Personal Savior who will guide my path.  Please fill me with the Holy Spirit and lead me in the right paths when I go the wrong way so I can be led to green pastures. I love you Jesus! Thank you for making my heart your home, for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. 

I acknowledge you Jesus as my Lord and Personal Savior believing in my heart that God raised you from the dead. Thank you for coming back to life to save me. Thank you for being the Lamb of God. Thank you for being my Lord and Personal Savior and changing me. Thank you for filling me with the Holy Spirit and I believe you who began a good work in me will finish it to completion. I give myself to you, all that I am and ask you to make something of my life. Thank you Jesus so much. Thank you have heard my prayer and answered me. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help by His grace alone!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-641-9426

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)