All Posts

While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. - John 9:5 Scripture: John 9 As Jesus was exiting the temple grounds, He encounters a man that was born blind. At the sight of him, Jesus’ disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Throughout the Old Testament, God would declare blessings or curses over generations based on the actions of an individual. In the minds of Jesus’ disciples, this man or his parents must have committed

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. - John 8:32 Scripture: John 8:31-59 Our devotional reading takes us through one of Jesus’ most famous statements: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” These words deeply confused those around Jesus because to claim freedom for an individual would mean that they were in some way in bondage before. They cite their forefather Abraham

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." - John 8:12 Scripture: John 7:53-8:1-30 When Jesus was teaching the temp courts, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees dragged out a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand before the people. They challenged Jesus, hoping to entrap Him because they knew that the people loved Jesus because He had pro

"Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." - John 7:38 Scripture: John 7:25-52 Jesus’ words cause further commotion in Jerusalem. Some claimed that the Jewish leaders had accepted Jesus as the Messiah, while others tried to seize Him. On the final day of the festival, Jesus proclaimed that He is the source of life and beckons the people to come to Him. Upon hearing these words, some began to declare that Jesus is a prop

Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. - John 7:17 Scripture: John 7:1-24 Our scripture introduces the tradition known as the Festival of Tabernacles. The Festival of Tabernacles was the final celebration and tradition that God had commanded the Israelites to perform. It took place in the season of final harvest and commemorated God’s provision, presence, and guidance during Israel’s forty year j

Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." - John 6:68 Scripture: John 6:60-71   Today, Jesus reminds us of the effects and outcomes of preaching the difficult teachings of the gospel. Upon hearing Jesus’ words, many disciples and followers turn around and leave. Some would have been disappointed that Jesus stopped producing bread, others would have been angry with Jesus’ claims, and yet others would have left because their frie

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. - John 6:51 Scripture: John 6:41-59 Jesus provides an uncomfortable imagery of salvation calling us to feed upon His flesh and drink His blood. Without taking this teaching out of proportion (not cannibalism or zombie devotion), we must understand the radical teaching presented through His words. The Jews began to gr

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval. - John 6:27 Scripture: John 6:16-40   Jesus alone provides eternal satisfaction and sustenance. Remembering His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus declares that anyone who eats the bread and drinks the water of this world will hunger and thirst again, but those who consume the bread of li

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." - John 6:12 Scripture: John 6:1-15 So often we examine the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand through a physical lens but the abundance that Jesus provides the multitudes has a spiritual significance as well. At the time of the miracle, the Jewish Passover Festival was near. Recalling that the Passover was the final plague God sent over Egypt, Je

I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish - the very works that I am doing - testify that the Father has sent me. - John 5:36 Scripture: John 5:31-47 Jesus declares that His testimony is not self-professed or self-proclaimed; rather, His identity and purpose has been sufficiently announced and claimed by John the Baptist and by God the Father. John the Baptist announced the arrival of the Son of God and God the Father i

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. - John 5:30 Scripture: John 5:16-30 The Jewish leaders began to persecute Jesus after His claim to divine sonship with God. According to them, Jesus had broken the Jewish laws and spoken blasphemy against God. Yet Jesus spoke clearly and powerfully on the nature of His relationship with His Father in Heaven that provides the perfect platform and as

Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." - John 5:8 Scripture: John 5:1-15 The pool of Bethesda served as a camping ground for the disabled and diseased. A later addition to our scripture clarifies why such people came to visit this pool: “From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.” So when the waters stirred there would

Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and his whole household believed. - John 4:53 Scripture: John 4:43-54 Jesus’ interaction with the Jews in Galilee shows a clear difference between the faith of the Jews and the faith of the Samaritans. This difference provides for a clear definition of what faith really is and the willingness of Jesus to submit Himself in humility to provide it. Jesus was from Naz

Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. - John 4:36 Scripture: John 4:27-42 Jesus orchestrates this encounter with the Samaritan woman so that she would become the first messenger of the good news to the Samaritans. This woman was shunned by her own people and defeated in shame; yet Jesus chooses her to display the full redemption and radical nature of His work and purpose. When this

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. - John 4:23 Scripture: John 4:1-26 Conviction is different from guilt and shame. Jesus calls us into repentance through conviction rather than condemnation by presenting absolute truth that saves rather than abandoning us in shame. When Jesus speaks with the Samaritan woman, there was already reason for convic

The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. - John 3:29 Scripture: John 3:22-36 With the start of Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist’s opening act comes to an end. In our scripture today, an argument develops between John’s disciples and Jews over the matter of ceremonial washing. The content of the argument stemmed from J

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. - John 3:17 Scripture: John 3:1-21 Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish ruling council and a well-respected Pharisee who approaches Jesus with curiosity and caution. Despite Pharisaic adversity against Jesus, Nicodemus came to face the truth because the signs were clear that Jesus was not just a religious man. Jesus answers Nicodemus’ curiosity with an impossible truth that to

His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." - John 2:17 Scripture: John 2:13-25 The temple of Jerusalem served as the center of worship and sacrifice according to Old Testament laws and traditions. One major festival was known as the Passover which celebrated the final act of God to set the Israelites free from slavery in Egypt. During this time, native and non-native Jews from Judea, Galilee, and surrounding areas would travel to Jerus

Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now. - John 2:10 Scripture: John 2:1-12 Wedding banquets were traditionally a public weeklong festivity, typically hosted by the groom. Running out of wine at such an event was not a simple miscalculation but a point of failure and humiliation for the groom, his family, and his marriage in this first-century honor-shame culture. Hos

The first thing Andrew did was find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). - John 1:41 Scripture: John 1:35-51 It has always been a point of interest of why the disciples seemingly left everything to follow Jesus. We are familiar with the story of Jesus calling Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John amid the miracle of a full net of fish, but what prompted them to leave behind their livelihood, their families, and homes to follow Jesu