22 Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.
23 At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. 24 (This was before John was thrown into prison.) 25 A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. 26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. 28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ 29 It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
Terrie's Comments:
Do we have the attitude that John did? Are we desiring that Jesus becomes greater and greater in our lives and that we become less and less? That is a great picture of growing closer to Jesus! That intimacy that I and Jesus are one and I rejoice when others see Jesus when they look at me instead of my own human nature.
Tori's Comments:
Again, we see John the Baptist's humility at work! And what a great thing to be known for!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Day 25 - John 3:10-21
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
16 “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. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
Tori's Comments:
Do we love the darkness more than the light? I think, as Christians, sometimes we can follow Christ without loving him. And, in a personal convicting way, I wonder how much time I have spent praying versus scrolling through social media? How many television shows have I consumed instead of books of the bible?
These things aren't bad, but then I say the excuse that I don't have time to read my bible or pray. I claim I'm just too busy. In reality, I am just trying to make myself better about choosing myself over God. And if I read my bible more, I would realize just how poorly that decision went for Israel again and again. I need to LOVE the light, not just tolerate its presence. Not just love it when I need it for something. But 24/7, let it consume my days.
Terrie's Comments:
This passage dispels a few myths that many choose to believe about God...
-God did not sent Jesus to the world to judge us!
-Jesus came to save us through himself.
-There is no judgment against us that believe in Jesus.
-People who do not believe in Jesus are not judged by Jesus for their sin (it is already forgiven) but only for not believing in Jesus.
-All that come to the light (Jesus) will be saved
-Everyone on earth is already forgiven
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh. Romans 8:1
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
16 “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. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
Tori's Comments:
Do we love the darkness more than the light? I think, as Christians, sometimes we can follow Christ without loving him. And, in a personal convicting way, I wonder how much time I have spent praying versus scrolling through social media? How many television shows have I consumed instead of books of the bible?
These things aren't bad, but then I say the excuse that I don't have time to read my bible or pray. I claim I'm just too busy. In reality, I am just trying to make myself better about choosing myself over God. And if I read my bible more, I would realize just how poorly that decision went for Israel again and again. I need to LOVE the light, not just tolerate its presence. Not just love it when I need it for something. But 24/7, let it consume my days.
Terrie's Comments:
This passage dispels a few myths that many choose to believe about God...
-God did not sent Jesus to the world to judge us!
-Jesus came to save us through himself.
-There is no judgment against us that believe in Jesus.
-People who do not believe in Jesus are not judged by Jesus for their sin (it is already forgiven) but only for not believing in Jesus.
-All that come to the light (Jesus) will be saved
-Everyone on earth is already forgiven
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh. Romans 8:1
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Friday, April 28, 2017
Day 24 - John 3:1-9
1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.[7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
Terrie's Comments:
We are born again through believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. When we choose to believe that Jesus is who he says he is in our hearts and confess it with our mouths we will be saved. It is a decision to come into agreement with God's word. To accept what Jesus has already done for us when he nailed the sins of the whole world to the cross. You are forgiven! You can have eternal life by accepting that free gift of forgiveness that Jesus paid for. Choose to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I can't explain how people are born of the Spirit, but I know that it happens and it is wonderful!!
Tori's Comments:
Born again seems so dramatic, over the top, for a simple conversion. I suppose that's why it's a good thing that deciding to follow Jesus is so much more than a "simple conversion". It's a complete flip of your values, a complete cleansing of your guilt, and a brand new vision and goal you work towards. I know for me, being born again is definitely a good description, because my life was never the same afterwards.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.[7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
Terrie's Comments:
We are born again through believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. When we choose to believe that Jesus is who he says he is in our hearts and confess it with our mouths we will be saved. It is a decision to come into agreement with God's word. To accept what Jesus has already done for us when he nailed the sins of the whole world to the cross. You are forgiven! You can have eternal life by accepting that free gift of forgiveness that Jesus paid for. Choose to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I can't explain how people are born of the Spirit, but I know that it happens and it is wonderful!!
Tori's Comments:
Born again seems so dramatic, over the top, for a simple conversion. I suppose that's why it's a good thing that deciding to follow Jesus is so much more than a "simple conversion". It's a complete flip of your values, a complete cleansing of your guilt, and a brand new vision and goal you work towards. I know for me, being born again is definitely a good description, because my life was never the same afterwards.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Day 23 - John 2:12-25
12 After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. 15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”
18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
23 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.
Tori's Comments:
Even in the beginning of His ministry, Jesus knew what it was all working towards. That's definitely another level of God's love He's made me aware of-- that throughout all of Jesus's ministry, he knew what he would eventually have to do, and that his disciples would abandon him.
Terrie's Comments:
After that miracle His disciples believed in Him. The religious leaders challenged him. This would be the pattern right up until the day when Jesus was crucified and raised up again in 3 days. Jesus knew where his confidence was. He trusted in God alone. He knew human nature and each person's heart. Do we trust in God alone or is our confidence in the world and people around us? Jesus wants us to follow Him wholely.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. 15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”
18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
23 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.
Tori's Comments:
Even in the beginning of His ministry, Jesus knew what it was all working towards. That's definitely another level of God's love He's made me aware of-- that throughout all of Jesus's ministry, he knew what he would eventually have to do, and that his disciples would abandon him.
Terrie's Comments:
After that miracle His disciples believed in Him. The religious leaders challenged him. This would be the pattern right up until the day when Jesus was crucified and raised up again in 3 days. Jesus knew where his confidence was. He trusted in God alone. He knew human nature and each person's heart. Do we trust in God alone or is our confidence in the world and people around us? Jesus wants us to follow Him wholely.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Day 22 - John 2:1-11
1 The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”
5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.
9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”
11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
Terrie's Comments:
Jesus made 120-180 gallons of good wine out of water. Did you notice what the master of ceremonies said? "A host always serves the best wine first," But Jesus had made wine that was better than their best wine and it was brought out when everything else had run out.
-Jesus is always the best.
-Jesus rescue's us even when we go to him when we are at the end of ourselves.
-Jesus does abundantly more than we can ever imagine.
-With Jesus the deeper we go, the better it gets!
-Mary believed that Jesus could do what was needed to meet the need that had come up at the wedding feast and save the family from embarrassment. Even though Jesus responded that it was not his time yet... He responded to her expectation that he would do it anyways. He still responds to believers who call out to him with expectation that He will meet their need.
Tori's Comments:
I love how much faith Mary shows already. I wish I could have a similar mindset.
You know, instead of "Jesus, do this and this and this and it will solve my problem", I could say "Jesus, here's my problem. Please solve it." Instead of telling God what to do, we let him take control of our situations and our lives.
There's a lyric I really like that comes to mind when I want to be a control freak: it's "He's been God a long time. He knows what He's doing". I think when we want to control our own lives it relates more to issues trusting God. But just read the Bible and see how much he has handled already! Just Genesis 1 should be enough to show that you can trust Him. And then he does it again and again and again and again.... And He even sends His Son to die on a cross for us. His love never fails, He will never fail, so we can trust Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”
5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.
9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”
11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
Terrie's Comments:
Jesus made 120-180 gallons of good wine out of water. Did you notice what the master of ceremonies said? "A host always serves the best wine first," But Jesus had made wine that was better than their best wine and it was brought out when everything else had run out.
-Jesus is always the best.
-Jesus rescue's us even when we go to him when we are at the end of ourselves.
-Jesus does abundantly more than we can ever imagine.
-With Jesus the deeper we go, the better it gets!
-Mary believed that Jesus could do what was needed to meet the need that had come up at the wedding feast and save the family from embarrassment. Even though Jesus responded that it was not his time yet... He responded to her expectation that he would do it anyways. He still responds to believers who call out to him with expectation that He will meet their need.
Tori's Comments:
I love how much faith Mary shows already. I wish I could have a similar mindset.
You know, instead of "Jesus, do this and this and this and it will solve my problem", I could say "Jesus, here's my problem. Please solve it." Instead of telling God what to do, we let him take control of our situations and our lives.
There's a lyric I really like that comes to mind when I want to be a control freak: it's "He's been God a long time. He knows what He's doing". I think when we want to control our own lives it relates more to issues trusting God. But just read the Bible and see how much he has handled already! Just Genesis 1 should be enough to show that you can trust Him. And then he does it again and again and again and again.... And He even sends His Son to die on a cross for us. His love never fails, He will never fail, so we can trust Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Day 21 - John 1:43-51
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
48 “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”
Tori's Comments:
The Son of Man is a stairway between heaven and earth. Hmm... haven't caught that analogy before.
Terrie's Comments:
Jesus was given words of wisdom and knowledge as the disciples were being gathered. These words confirmed that he was who people were saying he was. The same Holy Spirit lives in us today and we can be given words of wisdom and special insight into situations so that people get revelation that Jesus is their Savior and the way to Heaven. Are we leading people to Jesus?
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
48 “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”
Tori's Comments:
The Son of Man is a stairway between heaven and earth. Hmm... haven't caught that analogy before.
Terrie's Comments:
Jesus was given words of wisdom and knowledge as the disciples were being gathered. These words confirmed that he was who people were saying he was. The same Holy Spirit lives in us today and we can be given words of wisdom and special insight into situations so that people get revelation that Jesus is their Savior and the way to Heaven. Are we leading people to Jesus?
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Monday, April 24, 2017
Day 20 - John 1:35-42
35 The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” 37 When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”).
42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).
Terrie's Comments:
John's followers were pointed to Jesus and in turn they left John and followed Jesus. Jesus welcomed all that came to him. As followers of Jesus Christ we are simply to point people to Him so they too can have a relationship with their savior. Jesus will always invite them in and say "come and see"!
Tori's Comments:
It's as simple as leaving everything you own to follow Jesus.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”).
42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).
Terrie's Comments:
John's followers were pointed to Jesus and in turn they left John and followed Jesus. Jesus welcomed all that came to him. As followers of Jesus Christ we are simply to point people to Him so they too can have a relationship with their savior. Jesus will always invite them in and say "come and see"!
Tori's Comments:
It's as simple as leaving everything you own to follow Jesus.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Day 19 - John 1:29-34
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
Tori's Comments:
I can't imagine John the Baptist's emotions. To spend your whole life in eager anticipation, waiting more intensely than others to see the Messiah.... and then being given the gift of baptizing him!
Terrie's Comments:
John's relationship with God intrigues me to say the least. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from conception. He jumped in his mother's womb when Mary came into his mother's home. He is one who believed in the Messiah from the beginning and was in tune with God enough to know what God was saying and He took him at his word. Because Jesus was the one who came to baptize with the Holy Spirit... that same Spirit that lived in John is available to all followers of Jesus Christ. We can know the will of God our Father just as clearly as John did in this passage. We only need to be tuned in and be ready to listen and believe :-)
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
Tori's Comments:
I can't imagine John the Baptist's emotions. To spend your whole life in eager anticipation, waiting more intensely than others to see the Messiah.... and then being given the gift of baptizing him!
Terrie's Comments:
John's relationship with God intrigues me to say the least. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from conception. He jumped in his mother's womb when Mary came into his mother's home. He is one who believed in the Messiah from the beginning and was in tune with God enough to know what God was saying and He took him at his word. Because Jesus was the one who came to baptize with the Holy Spirit... that same Spirit that lived in John is available to all followers of Jesus Christ. We can know the will of God our Father just as clearly as John did in this passage. We only need to be tuned in and be ready to listen and believe :-)
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Day 18 - John 1:19-28
19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20 He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”
“No.”
22 “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”
24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”
26 John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. 27 Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”
28 This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
Terrie's Comments:
John was preparing people to receive Jesus as the Messiah. He was part of the prophecies that were foretold in Isaiah :-) There are so many prophecies that were fulfilled completely in regards to Jesus and how he carried out his life here on earth.
Tori's Comments:
How many of us take John the Baptist's humble mindset? To be unworthy even to be his SLAVE, and yet we are allowed to serve him!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”
“No.”
22 “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”
24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”
26 John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. 27 Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”
28 This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
Terrie's Comments:
John was preparing people to receive Jesus as the Messiah. He was part of the prophecies that were foretold in Isaiah :-) There are so many prophecies that were fulfilled completely in regards to Jesus and how he carried out his life here on earth.
Tori's Comments:
How many of us take John the Baptist's humble mindset? To be unworthy even to be his SLAVE, and yet we are allowed to serve him!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Friday, April 21, 2017
Day 17 - John 1:10-18
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”
16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
Tori's Comments:
We are children of God if we have "believed and accepted him"!!!!!
"full of unfailing love and faithfulness" And he calls us to be like him...
"received one gracious blessing after another" In a time of persecution, that's incredible to say :)
Terrie's Comments:
- Jesus became a man and came into the world that HE created! He came to the very people that he had created... and we rejected Him.
- Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and who he is and accepts what He has done for them, he has given the RIGHT to become children of God!
-Jesus made his home among us
-He is full of unfailing love and faithfulness!
-He is far greater than we are and has existed since before the world was created.
-from His abundance we receive one gracious (grace filled - unmerited) blessing after another!
-Jesus is unique
-Jesus is close to the Father's heart
-Jesus revealed God to us!
-This is great love in action indeed!!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”
16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
Tori's Comments:
We are children of God if we have "believed and accepted him"!!!!!
"full of unfailing love and faithfulness" And he calls us to be like him...
"received one gracious blessing after another" In a time of persecution, that's incredible to say :)
Terrie's Comments:
- Jesus became a man and came into the world that HE created! He came to the very people that he had created... and we rejected Him.
- Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and who he is and accepts what He has done for them, he has given the RIGHT to become children of God!
-Jesus made his home among us
-He is full of unfailing love and faithfulness!
-He is far greater than we are and has existed since before the world was created.
-from His abundance we receive one gracious (grace filled - unmerited) blessing after another!
-Jesus is unique
-Jesus is close to the Father's heart
-Jesus revealed God to us!
-This is great love in action indeed!!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Day 16 - John 1:1-9
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
Terrie's Comments:
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible! I am not sure if I can explain even part of the significance of this passage in a few brief comments. I will try to touch on some of what I have seen here over time.
The Word here IS Jesus! So in light of this fact what do we see about Jesus in these verses?
Tori's Comments:
Beautiful start... Man, all of these writings from John just put me in such a good mood! I want to go write, like, 10 poems.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
Terrie's Comments:
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible! I am not sure if I can explain even part of the significance of this passage in a few brief comments. I will try to touch on some of what I have seen here over time.
The Word here IS Jesus! So in light of this fact what do we see about Jesus in these verses?
- Jesus existed in the beginning
- Jesus was with God
- Jesus is God
- Jesus existed in the beginning with God (the Father)
- God (the Father) created everything through Jesus without exception.
- Jesus gave life to everything that was created and that life brings all of us as humans light
- That light that we have through Jesus shines in the darkness and will always overpower the darkness!
- John the Baptist came to tell about Jesus. He was sent to testify of Jesus and tell them that the true light of the world had actually entered this world as a man!
- This is only the beginning of the letter written by the one who refers to himself as "The one who Jesus loved" This is the beginning of the Gospel as told by John :-)
Tori's Comments:
Beautiful start... Man, all of these writings from John just put me in such a good mood! I want to go write, like, 10 poems.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Day 15 - 3 John 1:9-14
9 I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. 10 When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.
12 Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth.
13 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. 14 For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face.
15 Peace be with you.
Your friends here send you their greetings. Please give my personal greetings to each of our friends there.
Tori's Comments:
"who loves to be the leader" Hahaha. Not something you would want to be known as. I wonder why he was so against the travelling teachers.
"don't let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good." We don't blindly follow church leaders, but search the Scriptures ourselves and weigh everything that is said, so we CAN follow only what is good!
Terrie's Comments:
These letters have been very clear in explaining the importance of loving each other. This portion presents a clear image of what it would look like to do the opposite of loving our brothers and sisters.
It is one thing to not feel led by the Holy Spirit to give to a ministry but it is quite another thing to speak against them and tell others to not give or show favor to them as well. We are to love each other. That is all. We prove that we belong to God as his children when we love those who belong to his family. Pretty simple really.
I will end this letter with a music video... Love Take Me Over!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.
12 Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth.
13 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. 14 For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face.
15 Peace be with you.
Your friends here send you their greetings. Please give my personal greetings to each of our friends there.
Tori's Comments:
"who loves to be the leader" Hahaha. Not something you would want to be known as. I wonder why he was so against the travelling teachers.
"don't let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good." We don't blindly follow church leaders, but search the Scriptures ourselves and weigh everything that is said, so we CAN follow only what is good!
Terrie's Comments:
These letters have been very clear in explaining the importance of loving each other. This portion presents a clear image of what it would look like to do the opposite of loving our brothers and sisters.
It is one thing to not feel led by the Holy Spirit to give to a ministry but it is quite another thing to speak against them and tell others to not give or show favor to them as well. We are to love each other. That is all. We prove that we belong to God as his children when we love those who belong to his family. Pretty simple really.
I will end this letter with a music video... Love Take Me Over!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Day 14 - 3 John 1:1-8
1 This letter is from John, the elder.
I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. 3 Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. 4 I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.
5 Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. 7 For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. 8 So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.
Terrie's Comments:
We are to support one another as believers. Love each other and support those who are travelling and teaching for Jesus.
I find the way John opens this letter is interesting. First he identifies with Gaius as a dear friend whom he loves in the truth (implying that they are both friends of Jesus). Then he passes along his hope that his friend is healthy in body as he is strong in spirit (and we know that we, as believers, are strong in spirit because our spirits have been reborn and have been made new in Jesus Christ)
Tori's Comments:
We don't have very many travelling teachers anymore, but I think that our arms should be open to all Christians passing through who need a place to stay! We should be known for our kindness.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. 3 Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. 4 I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.
5 Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. 7 For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. 8 So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.
Terrie's Comments:
We are to support one another as believers. Love each other and support those who are travelling and teaching for Jesus.
I find the way John opens this letter is interesting. First he identifies with Gaius as a dear friend whom he loves in the truth (implying that they are both friends of Jesus). Then he passes along his hope that his friend is healthy in body as he is strong in spirit (and we know that we, as believers, are strong in spirit because our spirits have been reborn and have been made new in Jesus Christ)
Tori's Comments:
We don't have very many travelling teachers anymore, but I think that our arms should be open to all Christians passing through who need a place to stay! We should be known for our kindness.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Monday, April 17, 2017
Day 13 - 2 John 1:7-13
7 I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. 9 Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.
10 If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. 11 Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.
12 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete.
13 Greetings from the children of your sister, chosen by God.
Tori's Comments:
So twisting the gospel is VERY serious.
... Short letter :)
Terrie's Comments:
I think we get can get confused thinking that we might be somehow tricked by the Antichrist... it is so clear here that the Antichrist is someone who is specifically preaching or teaching that Jesus did not come to earth as a man. If we stay true to the fact that Jesus is the son of God, that he came to earth as a man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross and rose again after 3 days and 3 nights in the earth and is now seated at the right hand of God his father interceding on our behalf, then we will not be deceived.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
10 If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. 11 Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.
12 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete.
13 Greetings from the children of your sister, chosen by God.
Tori's Comments:
So twisting the gospel is VERY serious.
... Short letter :)
Terrie's Comments:
I think we get can get confused thinking that we might be somehow tricked by the Antichrist... it is so clear here that the Antichrist is someone who is specifically preaching or teaching that Jesus did not come to earth as a man. If we stay true to the fact that Jesus is the son of God, that he came to earth as a man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross and rose again after 3 days and 3 nights in the earth and is now seated at the right hand of God his father interceding on our behalf, then we will not be deceived.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Day 12 - 2 John 1:1-6
1 This letter is from John, the elder.
I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth—as does everyone else who knows the truth— 2 because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.
4 How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded.
5 I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. 6 Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.
Terrie's Comments:
This letter starts out encouraging those found to be living according to the truth and is clear in verse 5 that John is writing to remind us to love one another. We have heard so much about this in the letters from John. Perhaps it is because he considered himself to be loved so much by Jesus. He wants us to get how much Jesus loves all of us and that the love of Jesus is to be shared in the body of Christ.
Tori's Comments:
Love is a very prevalent theme in John's books! Wow!
A commandment we have heard from the beginning. Over and over again. It's been here the whole time. And love is obedience.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth—as does everyone else who knows the truth— 2 because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.
4 How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded.
5 I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. 6 Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.
Terrie's Comments:
This letter starts out encouraging those found to be living according to the truth and is clear in verse 5 that John is writing to remind us to love one another. We have heard so much about this in the letters from John. Perhaps it is because he considered himself to be loved so much by Jesus. He wants us to get how much Jesus loves all of us and that the love of Jesus is to be shared in the body of Christ.
Tori's Comments:
Love is a very prevalent theme in John's books! Wow!
A commandment we have heard from the beginning. Over and over again. It's been here the whole time. And love is obedience.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Day 11 - 1 John 5:13-21
13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
16 If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.
18 We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
Tori's Comments:
Verse 16, definitely not something I have done... and also something to incorporate into my life.
I wonder what sins do or don't lead to death, though.
Terrie's Comments:
This letter was written so that we can have confidence that we are saved... that we have a relationship with the Father... that we have the Holy Spirit with us... that we would know that we are the children of God... that we would have confidence that our sins are forgiven.
We know that Jesus hold us securely... the evil one cannot touch us. We are children of God we are not under the control of the evil one like the world around us is. A sin leading to death (this is eternal spiritual death). It is my educated guess that this would be a sin such as worshiping other gods, or saying that Jesus is not the son of God. Questioning the deity of God. Anything that would take us away from the fellowship we have with Jesus Christ and His place in our hearts.
We live in fellowship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God the Father. We have a relationship with the only true God and he is eternal life. It is fitting therefore for the final words of this letter, that is written to reassure us of our salvation and the confidence that we can have before God, is a warning to not allow anything to take the place of God in our hearts. Guard your relationship with Jesus Christ above everything else in your life!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
16 If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.
18 We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
Tori's Comments:
Verse 16, definitely not something I have done... and also something to incorporate into my life.
I wonder what sins do or don't lead to death, though.
Terrie's Comments:
This letter was written so that we can have confidence that we are saved... that we have a relationship with the Father... that we have the Holy Spirit with us... that we would know that we are the children of God... that we would have confidence that our sins are forgiven.
We know that Jesus hold us securely... the evil one cannot touch us. We are children of God we are not under the control of the evil one like the world around us is. A sin leading to death (this is eternal spiritual death). It is my educated guess that this would be a sin such as worshiping other gods, or saying that Jesus is not the son of God. Questioning the deity of God. Anything that would take us away from the fellowship we have with Jesus Christ and His place in our hearts.
We live in fellowship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God the Father. We have a relationship with the only true God and he is eternal life. It is fitting therefore for the final words of this letter, that is written to reassure us of our salvation and the confidence that we can have before God, is a warning to not allow anything to take the place of God in our hearts. Guard your relationship with Jesus Christ above everything else in your life!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Friday, April 14, 2017
Day 10 - 1 John 5:1-12
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. 7 So we have these three witnesses— 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
Terrie's Comments:
Only one way... Only Jesus Christ... Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! Our victory over this world comes through our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There is no other way in which we can be saved and obtain eternal life.
Tori's Comments:
To just be so overflowing with love, that it pours out on everyone around me, that's a real goal.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. 7 So we have these three witnesses— 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
Terrie's Comments:
Only one way... Only Jesus Christ... Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! Our victory over this world comes through our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There is no other way in which we can be saved and obtain eternal life.
Tori's Comments:
To just be so overflowing with love, that it pours out on everyone around me, that's a real goal.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Day 9 - 1 John 4:13-21
13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first.
20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
Tori's Comments:
I think we forget just how privileged we are to have the Spirit live IN us. Like, WHOA!!
By the way, John is such a beautiful writer <3
Terrie's Comments:
This is a great progression and talks more about what was touched on in yesterday's passage about loving our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Holy Spirit is proof that Jesus lives in us. We, who declare that Jesus is the son of God, know God. As we live in His love our love grows more perfect. We become more and more like Jesus the longer we live with him. We live more and more like Jesus as we walk by the Spirit of God. As we are walking in His love we become more and more confident of His love and His love expels our fears. If we are still experiencing fear it is because we have not fully experienced His perfect love YET. If you love God, then love your fellow believers.
Love God, Love Others... We are able to do this because Jesus first loved us and has left the Holy Spirit to empower us to walk out that love so that others will also experience that perfect love and be led with confidence to Jesus.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first.
20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
Tori's Comments:
I think we forget just how privileged we are to have the Spirit live IN us. Like, WHOA!!
By the way, John is such a beautiful writer <3
Terrie's Comments:
This is a great progression and talks more about what was touched on in yesterday's passage about loving our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Holy Spirit is proof that Jesus lives in us. We, who declare that Jesus is the son of God, know God. As we live in His love our love grows more perfect. We become more and more like Jesus the longer we live with him. We live more and more like Jesus as we walk by the Spirit of God. As we are walking in His love we become more and more confident of His love and His love expels our fears. If we are still experiencing fear it is because we have not fully experienced His perfect love YET. If you love God, then love your fellow believers.
Love God, Love Others... We are able to do this because Jesus first loved us and has left the Holy Spirit to empower us to walk out that love so that others will also experience that perfect love and be led with confidence to Jesus.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Day 8 - 1 John 4:1-12
1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
Terrie's Comments:
Sometimes I feel like there is a lot of confusion surrounding the topic of the antichrist... "how are we going to know that it is him!?" Verses 2-3 are very clear on how to tell... Jesus Christ came to earth as a man and was a human like us. If anyone is teaching or claiming something different then they are speaking on behalf of the antichrist.
REAL LOVE - isn't that what we all are looking for? Real love is this... It has nothing to do with us. Before we loved God or even acknowledged Him, He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Not because we asked for it but because He loved us! It doesn't depend on what we do or what we don't do. It is not based on our merits, achievements or if we deserve it. It is a gift. Because He LOVED US. Since He loves us that much we get to out pour that love that overflows freely to our brothers and sisters around us and around the world. His love is expressed through us further when we love each other in the body of Christ!
Tori's Comments:
I'm definitely receiving a lot of repetition about how we know someone's a child of God by whether they love. And what is love but self-sacrifice? It shows God. Just loving (in the action sense) a brother or sister in the faith is a constant reminder of God's love and sacrifice, and our consequential victory and ability to have a relationship with God. Ahhh!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
Terrie's Comments:
Sometimes I feel like there is a lot of confusion surrounding the topic of the antichrist... "how are we going to know that it is him!?" Verses 2-3 are very clear on how to tell... Jesus Christ came to earth as a man and was a human like us. If anyone is teaching or claiming something different then they are speaking on behalf of the antichrist.
REAL LOVE - isn't that what we all are looking for? Real love is this... It has nothing to do with us. Before we loved God or even acknowledged Him, He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Not because we asked for it but because He loved us! It doesn't depend on what we do or what we don't do. It is not based on our merits, achievements or if we deserve it. It is a gift. Because He LOVED US. Since He loves us that much we get to out pour that love that overflows freely to our brothers and sisters around us and around the world. His love is expressed through us further when we love each other in the body of Christ!
Tori's Comments:
I'm definitely receiving a lot of repetition about how we know someone's a child of God by whether they love. And what is love but self-sacrifice? It shows God. Just loving (in the action sense) a brother or sister in the faith is a constant reminder of God's love and sacrifice, and our consequential victory and ability to have a relationship with God. Ahhh!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Day 7 - 1 John 3:21-24
21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.
23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.
Tori's Comments:
It shows the importance of obedience to God! That's our goal, to follow in Christ's footsteps.
Terrie's Comments:
Such a short passage but so much is contained in these few verses :-) Because there is no need to feel guilty, when we are in fellowship with Jesus Christ, we can come to God with bold confidence and we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him... This means that we are in fellowship with Jesus. We know that we are in fellowship with Jesus because the Holy Spirit lives in us. His commandments that he talks about all through 1 John are these: Believe in the name of God's Son, Jesus Christ, Love one another as believers. Those who do these things remain in fellowship with Jesus and he is in relationship with them. We have the deposit of the Holy Spirit to guide us and assure us of this relationship we have with Jesus Christ.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.
Tori's Comments:
It shows the importance of obedience to God! That's our goal, to follow in Christ's footsteps.
Terrie's Comments:
Such a short passage but so much is contained in these few verses :-) Because there is no need to feel guilty, when we are in fellowship with Jesus Christ, we can come to God with bold confidence and we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him... This means that we are in fellowship with Jesus. We know that we are in fellowship with Jesus because the Holy Spirit lives in us. His commandments that he talks about all through 1 John are these: Believe in the name of God's Son, Jesus Christ, Love one another as believers. Those who do these things remain in fellowship with Jesus and he is in relationship with them. We have the deposit of the Holy Spirit to guide us and assure us of this relationship we have with Jesus Christ.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Monday, April 10, 2017
Day 6 - 1 John 3:11-20
11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
Terrie's Comments:
We are to love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Don't be surprised when the world hates you... that is a pretty strong statement. However remember that the world loved Jesus on Palm Sunday and then just a few days later they hated him to death. Remember to keep in mind that this world is not the end for us. If we keep an eternal perspective we will live life with our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ and we will be confident when we stand before God. I love that God is greater than our feelings... he knows the motives of our hearts. If we are motivated by our love for Jesus then even when we miss the mark it will be enough. We will be able to keep our courage on the day Jesus returns.
Tori's Comments:
It seems a reiterated truth over and over again through John's writings: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
Terrie's Comments:
We are to love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Don't be surprised when the world hates you... that is a pretty strong statement. However remember that the world loved Jesus on Palm Sunday and then just a few days later they hated him to death. Remember to keep in mind that this world is not the end for us. If we keep an eternal perspective we will live life with our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ and we will be confident when we stand before God. I love that God is greater than our feelings... he knows the motives of our hearts. If we are motivated by our love for Jesus then even when we miss the mark it will be enough. We will be able to keep our courage on the day Jesus returns.
Tori's Comments:
It seems a reiterated truth over and over again through John's writings: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Day 5 - 1 John 3:1-10
1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
Tori's Comments:
Are we monitoring our fruits? Are we keeping to the path of God?
Terrie's Comments:
We are God's children. When we have a relationship with Jesus and we are walking in fellowship with Him we will follow the leading of the Holy Spirit within us and we will not make a practice of doing things that are contrary to the spirit of God. Our hearts will be soft to the things that please God and our hearts desire will be to follow His lead.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
Tori's Comments:
Are we monitoring our fruits? Are we keeping to the path of God?
Terrie's Comments:
We are God's children. When we have a relationship with Jesus and we are walking in fellowship with Him we will follow the leading of the Holy Spirit within us and we will not make a practice of doing things that are contrary to the spirit of God. Our hearts will be soft to the things that please God and our hearts desire will be to follow His lead.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Day 4 - 1 John 2:18-19
18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 19 These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.
20 But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. 21 So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. 22 And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 23 Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
26 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.
29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
Terrie's Comments:
It is all about Jesus. It is about a relationship with Jesus. We are to remain in fellowship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit that is living inside of us. We are equipped through the Holy Spirit to know the truth. We do not need anyone to teach us what is true and what is a lie... we need to be in tune with the Holy Spirit.
When we are in a relationship with Jesus Christ and remain in fellowship with Him we will be full of courage when he returns and will not shrink back from Him because we are ashamed. It will be the best reunion ever! Are you excited about the Lord's return?
Tori's Comments:
"the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know" Read our Bibles! And know the truth for ourselves so that we can discern with the Holy Spirit!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
20 But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. 21 So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. 22 And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 23 Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
26 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.
29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
Terrie's Comments:
It is all about Jesus. It is about a relationship with Jesus. We are to remain in fellowship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit that is living inside of us. We are equipped through the Holy Spirit to know the truth. We do not need anyone to teach us what is true and what is a lie... we need to be in tune with the Holy Spirit.
When we are in a relationship with Jesus Christ and remain in fellowship with Him we will be full of courage when he returns and will not shrink back from Him because we are ashamed. It will be the best reunion ever! Are you excited about the Lord's return?
Tori's Comments:
"the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know" Read our Bibles! And know the truth for ourselves so that we can discern with the Holy Spirit!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Friday, April 7, 2017
Day 3 - 1 John 2:12-17
12 I am writing to you who are God’s children
because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.
13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you who are young in the faith
because you have won your battle with the evil one.
14 I have written to you who are God’s children
because you know the Father.
I have written to you who are mature in the faith
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I have written to you who are young in the faith
because you are strong.
God’s word lives in your hearts,
and you have won your battle with the evil one.
because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.
13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you who are young in the faith
because you have won your battle with the evil one.
14 I have written to you who are God’s children
because you know the Father.
I have written to you who are mature in the faith
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I have written to you who are young in the faith
because you are strong.
God’s word lives in your hearts,
and you have won your battle with the evil one.
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
Tori's Comments:
Verses 12 to 14 serve as a beautiful mantra and reminder of who we are in Christ!
It is really hard to say no to the world sometimes. For some reason, I forget just how much richer and beautiful Christ is!
Terrie's Comments:
This passage is sooo rich! We know Christ! We are Strong in Christ! We have won our battle with the evil one! We are God's Children! We know the Father! Our sins have been forgiven through Jesus! These are all present statements... they state what we already know and have through Christ! This is great news and worth celebrating.
Warning: Do not love this world or the things it offers you... Jesus is better than everything here. This world will fade away quicker than we are willing to admit most days but if our faith is in Jesus Christ and His finished work at the cross we will live forever!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Day 2 - 1 John 2:1-11
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
Terrie's Comments:
Notice in verses 1-2 it talks about our advocate, Jesus Christ, who pleads our case before God the Father. And then in verse 2 explains that the reason that He can boldly plead our case is because our sins are atoned for by His blood... not only our sins but the SINS OF ALL THE WORLD!! That is a lot of sin to bear! THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
Living like Jesus did... Following his commandments... Simply to love one another... Love fellow believers. All fellow believers. This includes believers no matter which church, denomination, race, culture, country, they are from. We are to love ALL FELLOW BELIEVERS!
Lord give us eyes to see our fellow believers as you see them. Give us an unconditional, all inclusive, compassionate love for all believers world wide. Amen
Notice in verses 1-2 it talks about our advocate, Jesus Christ, who pleads our case before God the Father. And then in verse 2 explains that the reason that He can boldly plead our case is because our sins are atoned for by His blood... not only our sins but the SINS OF ALL THE WORLD!! That is a lot of sin to bear! THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
Living like Jesus did... Following his commandments... Simply to love one another... Love fellow believers. All fellow believers. This includes believers no matter which church, denomination, race, culture, country, they are from. We are to love ALL FELLOW BELIEVERS!
Lord give us eyes to see our fellow believers as you see them. Give us an unconditional, all inclusive, compassionate love for all believers world wide. Amen
Tori's Comments:
I need to walk my talk and love!
I think the reason that we really only need to submit to two commandments is that they're more than enough to strive towards in our lifetimes.
To love others so completely, wholly.....
I need to walk my talk and love!
I think the reason that we really only need to submit to two commandments is that they're more than enough to strive towards in our lifetimes.
To love others so completely, wholly.....
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Day 1 - 1 John 1:1-10
We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
Tori's Comments:
I think sometimes we can forget how REAL God is. Like at the beginning of this passage, Jesus was an actual man who died on a cross for our sins. That is one of the most important things we could ever remember (It also seems to be one of the easiest things to forget!).
Verse 6- Am I growing in my Christian faith or remaining stagnant? It's more important than it seems, because if I am not living for God, what's the point? He should be what I want to spend all of my free time on! Although I'm not there yet, I hope to :)
Terrie's Comments:
This letter that is one that has had plenty of airtime in my head recently! It is a book that the Holy Spirit has downloaded a lot of information and revelation about.
It is important to remember that 1 John is a letter and is meant to be read as a whole. It is important (and I would recommend it highly to go and read this letter in it's entirety everyday of this challenge) to keep everything in context.
Also if we need to confess our sins to be forgiven and be made righteous then how can we ever be fully righteous or fully forgiven when we will always have sins that are unknown. Let's read this in the context of just the few surrounding verses and see what we can find...
7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
In verse 7 we see that it is stated that we are cleansed from ALL sin. The next verse is saying if we claim to have no sin we are in denial... then comes the famous verse about confession of our sins. Followed by "if we claim that we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar" Basically when we read the famous 1 John 1:9 in context of the surrounding verses we can see that this is referring to realizing that we were born into sin and the only way that we can be saved is by confessing that we needed the blood of Jesus to cleanse us and make us righteous. If we say that we don't need the blood of Jesus to be righteous in God's sight then we are making God a liar and his word has no place in our lives. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ and decide to make Him Lord in our lives we are admitting that we need his redemption that was provided when he nailed our sins to the cross. It does not mean that we need to be in a constant state of repentance and begging God for forgiveness. Forgiveness is for the benefit of the one doing the forgiving. The Bible says that God forgives us for His sake. He has already forgiven us. We don't have to ask we just need to place our faith (believe God's word) that it is already finished!!! This is great news indeed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)