Posts with the category “john”

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these ...  Read More

As scary as it may be, I encourage you to pray the same prayer that I offered in my devotion yesterday. "Lord, if there is anything in my life that is not honoring or glorifying to you, show me."Give ...  Read More

One of the foremost applications I can implement today is to turn inward. In prayer, I am asking the Lord to highlight in my own life anything that has entered in that needs to be removed. This can be...  Read More

I am often captivated by Jesus' zealousness. There is a boldness in Jesus' righteous anger that I admire deeply. He was not afraid to call out sin. For those who should have known better, He was stern...  Read More

One of the major lessons given for the original audience relates to the reality that what Jesus does here is what He does in all of us. This is a physical, symbolic action that Jesus is taking to demo...  Read More

Coming right out of the passage where Jesus uses the waterpots for Jewish purification for turning water into wine, it is fairly significant that this is where we receive John's account of the cleansi...  Read More

In this section, we get an incredible display of Jesus' character and zealousness for the Lord in comparison to that of the religious elite of that time. During the time leading up to the Passover, Je...  Read More

13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He ha...  Read More

Let us pray over those lessons that we addressed over this last week. As we humble ourselves before the Lord, let us join in praying for one another.Pray for your church leaders (pastors, elders, volu...  Read More

I am a firm believer that what you do or do not believe about the Lord will show up in your life. Belief changes things. Due to our belief around fire being hot, we conduct ourselves differently aroun...  Read More

Looking at the examples that are provided for me in this text, I do question in myself if I entrust myself to Him in the way that I see Mary or the servants entrusting themselves. Do I walk in faith t...  Read More

I may have gotten ahead of myself on the last devotion with what the lesson is for the original audience. Simply put, it is that Jesus is better. But there are so many lessons to grab from this partic...  Read More

The context surrounding this passage is very interesting, especially given what Jesus has made the wine from. If we look back at chapter 1 in Jesus' baptism, we see a distinction is made.‘Upon whom yo...  Read More

This section highlights a very important moment in Jesus' ministry as it marks the beginning of His earthly ministry. It takes place at at wedding banquet. Typically, in those days, wedding feasts wou...  Read More

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mothe...  Read More

Taking 15 minutes of time to sit before the Throne of Grace, I am asking that we meditate on the invitation spoken of through this section of Scripture. Pray through Psalm 34. Read the words out loud ...  Read More

There is a reality that I was once invited myself to come and see. Someone took the time with me to introduce me to Jesus. As far as the direct application, I have two:1. I will continue to meet with ...  Read More

When I see repetition of themes or statements in Scripture, they really stand out. And they should! When I see a repetition of, "Come and see," I find that being a draw for me as the reader. It is ind...  Read More

The big lesson for the original audience would be none other than Jesus being the Messiah. In fact, if we look at the surrounding context we can see where Jesus is called the Word, the Lamb of God, an...  Read More

   8      Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;    Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!-Psalm 34:8This is the verse that is resonating in my mind as I am reading through this section. The continuo...  Read More

Here we have John's account of the calling of the disciples. It begins with two disciples of John the Baptist hearing the testimony that John gave concerning Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God." They begi...  Read More

35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 ...  Read More

As you consider the reading we have gone through this week, take 15-20 minutes to pray through some of these topics. Meditate on the Lord and be comfortable sitting before Him in silence if you do not...  Read More

What is there to say but that I will trust in the Lord's work? As someone who has struggled with varying degrees of self-deprecation, I find it is easy to agree with the accuser. I have committed sin....  Read More

There are some doctrines throughout Scripture that seem so elementary that we find ourselves moving beyond it rather than diving deeper into it. But some of these elementary doctrines have been lost o...  Read More

The big lesson for the original audience is none other than Jesus being, not only the Messiah, but God incarnate. As we briefly broke down the broad connection in the passage in yesterday's devotion, ...  Read More

In a broad stroke, a very important connection is being made. As the Gospel of John begins, he highlights this figure that is identified as the Word. This Word is the Light and is God and has relation...  Read More

When I first have approached this passage, the question had occurred to me as to why the Gospel writers saw John the Baptist with such importance. In all honesty, the question is answered relatively q...  Read More

19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”21 And the...  Read More

Considering the fullness of the implications of Jesus, the Word of God, dwelling among us and bringing grace and truth, let us prayerfully meditate upon Him. Take 10-15 minutes and pray through some o...  Read More

I have been on a very serious pursuit of understanding the Lord's love for me. Throughout my upbringing, and through much of my life, I have not had very good examples of love displayed toward me. It ...  Read More

As I read through this, the question hits me. Why would God ever do something like that? What have I or any of humanity ever done to warrant treatment like this from the Lord? Many can turn to pride a...  Read More

As I pointed out yesterday, John is not particularly concerned with with how the Word became human and took on flesh. Rather, he is more concerned with explaining what the implications of this was and...  Read More

It is no small matter that God took upon flesh and dwelt among us. Scripture is not very concerned with telling us how all of this took place. It was hotly debated in the early church and remains a ho...  Read More

As we have covered the Word in the previous section, we see some incredible characteristics of Him, that being Jesus Christ. Not only does He carry the same attributes of God and has an incredible rel...  Read More

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “T...  Read More

I encourage you to take intentional time in prayer and reflection over this passage. Prayer is more than intercession and spending time bringing up problems in yours or other people's lives. It is a t...  Read More

Belief can sometimes be a funny thing for the very reasons that I stated in yesterday's devotion. Sometimes you do not really know whether or not you believe something until it is tested. It is my goa...  Read More

I have found that, in so many ways, the development of the believer is one where you continuously find out what you truly do or do not believe about God. I have had a saying that I have brought up all...  Read More

The larger lesson for the original audience is found towards the end of our section, but is the point of everything stated before. That is to believe in Him, the Word, Jesus Christ.12 But as many as r...  Read More