Tag: Christian
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Jesus Sees Us; Devo, John 1:43-51
Philip and Nathaniel follow Jesus. I don’t know why Nathaniel was under the fig tree, but Jesus’s divine knowledge of the occasion was enough to persuade Nathaniel that He was indeed the Son of God. Jesus promised Nathaniel he would see much greater things, including angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man—Jesus’s favorite…
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What do You Seek? Devo, John 1:35-42
John the Baptizer introduces two of his disciples to Jesus—Andrew and Simon Peter. We don’t often think about these two having first been disciples of John the Baptizer. After John introduced them to Jesus and upon hearing Jesus teach, the two men started following Jesus. Jesus asked them a question we should all consider, “What…
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Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Daily Devo, John 1:29-34
When I read this passage at face-value, it seems as though John the Baptizer does not know his cousin is the messiah until the Holy Spirit descends in this moment. This was not a premeditated rouse to capture followers for a new religion or cult. Jesus didn’t tell John. John was prepared to testify to…
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On Evaluating a Sermon
I know. It sounds really unspiritual to say we would ever evaluate someone’s sermon. If we are to follow Jesus, we need to know if what we hear from people is, in fact, from Him. It is not bad to think well about what we hear from the pulpit. There is good preaching. There is…
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I’m No Prophet or Messiah: Daily Devo, John 1:19-34
John the Baptizer begins his public ministry, comprising mostly preaching Old Testament messianic passages and baptizing Jews who come to him. Some leading Jews come out from Jerusalem to question John, but John was not trying to be the next public teaching figure. Unlike others, he was not claiming to be the literal resurrection of…
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No One Can See God at Any Time: Daily Devo, John 1:14-18
The Word, Jesus, became flesh. I don’t understand this to mean that the divine transformed into flesh but rather assumed human flesh, such that the human flesh and nature was added to the divine nature without losing the divine nature in any degree or respect. In this incarnation, we were finally able to behold God—full…
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Children of God, Born of God and Not The Will of Men: Daily Devo, John 1:6-13
Here, John the Apostle tells us about John the Baptizer. The Baptizer was sent from God to bear witness to the light in fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6. John the Baptizer told the world that life had finally come into the world as has been promised repetitively since Genesis 3. At this moment, John the Apostle…
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Life is the Light of Men, and DArkness Will Not Overcome Life: Daily Devo, John 1:1-5
As I reflect on John’s introduction, I find it interesting to see that the light is not Christ Himself in this instance. Life is the light of men. The Word of God, who is God and is with God in the beginning, is the one in whom life is—from the beginning, not merely from the…
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Church Revitalization is not a Bad Word
Whether in church or personal life, we all need seasons of revitalization. Our temptation, though, is to pretend nothing is wrong and conduct business as usual because, if things change, we may look like we failed in our endeavors. I have a reminder for you: The results were never ours to boast about in life…
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Make Pastors Small Again
Starting about six years ago, my philosophy of pastoral ministry has changed significantly. The shift was so significant that I ended up quitting the ministry altogether. Part of my departure from ministry had to do with church hurt. Most of it had to do with my pride and the fact that I found my identity…