DEVOTION

As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches, many of us will be spending some time standing in the card aisles. We will intently read over the messages of love and affection that dozens of different cards have to offer. Our hope is that we will find that one perfect card that expresses our thoughts, emotions, and love. Many of us will settle for something that comes close, and if you are a completely last minute shopper, you may have to settle on anything you can actually find, whether it says what you were hoping for or not.

The scriptures however have a perfect message of love to share with each of us. Interestingly, if you line the words up just right, the word “valentine” can even be spelled out. (See the illustration at the end of this devotion.) In John 3:16, we read of God’s perfect love. We are all familiar with this verse; how God loved us so much, that He sent His one and only son into the world to suffer and die on the cross, so that our sins would be forgiven and to give us the gift of eternal life. No other love will ever compare to God’s love.

Many of us know and refer to the words of John 3:16 as “the Gospel in a nutshell.” As a young child, I remember asking what the phrase “Gospel in a nutshell” actually meant. I still remember my mother’s answer. She told me that trying to share the whole Bible with someone can be scary and take a lot of time, but by sharing this one little verse, you will be sharing God’s love and the promise of life in heaven to those who believe in a matter of seconds and that is a very big thing. We may not all travel the world to share God’s love with others, but each time we prayerfully add that change to our mite boxes, we are helping others share the message of God’s love and salvation.

Over the next two years, we have pledged to help the Lutheran Bible Translators as they prepare to bring people to faith by making God’s Word available in many different languages. Our mites are also at work in Trinity/HOPE in Haiti as they nourish both the body; with a hot meal, and the soul; with God’s word, to the Haitian children who attend their missionary school.

Together, we can make a difference and share God’s message of love with other.

John 3:16

For God so loVed the world,

    That he gAve

       His onLy

       BegottEn

           SoN

             That whoever

   Believeth In Him

      Should Not perish,

    But have Everlasting life.

Mission Grants Update – January 30, 2011
	Grand Recipient	Unpaid	Paid
1	Trinity/Hope	$2,000	$3,000
2	RMD Debt Assistance Program	$5,000	$2,500
3	Kings’ Camp at Lutheran Valley Retreat	$6,000	-0-
4	Veterans of the Cross	$2,500	$2,500
5	Developing Religious Life Curriculum for God’s People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities	$6,000	$2,000
6	Opening an Outreach Center in Ft. Collins, CO – Lutheran Blind Mission	$5,000	-0-
7	Support for the University Lutheran Chapel in Boulder, CO	$6,000	-0-
8	Missionary Household Setup – LBT	$7,500	-0-
9	Expansion of the Ministry of the Lutheran Hispanic Missionary Institute, El Paso, TX	$7,000	-0-
10	Training Pastors for Gospel Outreach in Africa	$7,000	-0-
11	Mission Outreach to Immigrants from Ethiopia (Aurora, CO)	$7,500	-0-
12	Scholarship Assistance to Students Preparing for Ethnic Ministry	$3,500	-0-