“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, HCSB)

It’s that time of year when I’m on the course in the afternoons coaching six high school boys who really want to get better at their game (do we ever grow up?). We talk about mechanics of the swing and the short game and the putter. We work on alignment and impact position and routine. We layer in course management ideas and competitive strategies.

With all that going on, do you know what my main concern is? That they will remember. The way the competition rules are written in California, coaches can’t coach once the players start playing. We’re locked into the same advice restraints you find in the Rules of Golf. So if midway through the round, I recognize a problem that can be fixed with a simple reminder or two, too bad. I can’t say it.

What I hope, then, is that repetition and reminders kick in. If we do something often enough, habit can take over when pressure comes. And if we’ve gone the extra step of writing notes on our card or our yardage book or even our ball, we can look at these quickly and be bumped back onto the path, so to speak.

Now look at today’s date. It’s one of those days that just might be setting off a bell or a whistle—or a choir!—in your head.

If you know your Bible even a little bit, you likely recognize the significance of these numbers in a heartbeat. They point us to one of the most widely broadcast verses of Scripture. Translators and commentators aren’t certain whether these words were spoken by Jesus or written by John himself (or the Johannine community). But that’s of no matter when you soar on their wonder:

God loved us, the people of the world he had made. God loved us with a definite action: He gave his Son. He had no other option if we were to be saved. Only his Son would be capable. And so his Son was given not only in life but in death, and by that death we may be saved. How? Believe! Believe and walk into eternity, away from the death of sin.

There are some Links Players in Texas who set their watches or their phones to sound an alarm at 3:16 p.m. each day. It’s a reminder, first of God’s love for them, but also of the love they can have for each other because of his love for them. So they turn off their alarms and pray, wherever they are, whatever they are doing.

I don’t know what kind of reminders you need to remember Jesus. I’d just encourage you to put some in place.

—

Jeff Hopper
March 16, 2015
Copyright 2015 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.