John 3:9-21, Love vs Selfishness

“For God loved the world in this way: 

He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 

This is the judgment: 

The light (Jesus) has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.””

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬, ‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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God, thank You for loving me!  I don’t deserve the love that You show me because my natural desire is to do what makes me happy, or at least less stressed.  Help me to love You enough to always go into the light, go towards You, rather than avoiding it because it convicts me of my selfish ways.

John 3:1-8, Motivational Transformation

“Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…. unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.””

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬, ‭5‬-‭6‬, ‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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What a confusing start of the conversation, especially since the answer was so much different than the question…however this is a powerful statement.  Just knowing that Jesus was from God does not give you eternal life.  Jesus is telling us that our spiritual birth will change who we are and what we actually do.

That is why he uses the analogy of the wind, just like we don’t see the wind we can very easily see the results of the wind.  The same is true of people who are “born again”, saved: we cannot see the Holy Spirit enter the person, but we see the evidence of that change.  

We go from selfishness, where every decision is based on what makes me feel good, to making decisions based on what God wants us to do.  The evidence is when we begin to sacrifice the things that previously made us happy to instead do what makes God happy.  The best part is- we are actually happier doing what God wants!!!

John‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬-‭25, Always Right

 “So the Jews replied to him, “What sign will you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.” Therefore the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.”

‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬-‭22‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord, sometimes when I read scripture I don’t understand why that you tell me to do certain things.  I look at it like the Jews and get very confused.  In my mind the logic doesn’t work  Yet over and over again, it proves out to be true!

Help me to have faith to trust that You know what You are talking about and the strength to do whatever You are calling me to do. Help me to trust Your Word even when it doesn’t seem right!

John 2:13-17, Confused Praises

“After making a whip out of cords, he drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!””

‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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With the present day temple of God being my heart, this verse takes on new meaning.  In what ways do I miss the point and begin to allow work, money or even fun take up residence in my heart?  How has my heart begun to worship anything other than Jesus?

Lord, highlight those things for me so that I don’t end up missing You in worship.  It is such a sweet experience to praise You and to sit in awe of what You have done in my life.  I pray that my heart and mind would be constantly aware of all that You are doing around me and turn that to glorification of Your name!

John 2:1-12, Trust & Obey

““Do whatever he tells you,” his mother told the servants. 

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬, ‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Jesus’ miraculous work is done in our lives to help us believe.  We are cared for in the everyday situations and it would be easy for us to pass it off as normal life, but Gods fingerprints are all around us.

Lord, help me to see Your work in my life today!  Let me give You the glory and allow me to believe and obey You more and more each day!

John 1:43-51, Perfectly Known

““How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭48‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord, this feels so unfamiliar…it takes us days or weeks to get to know someone.  Yet, You know us already before we are ever introduced.  You know every good deed and every bad thought.  You know our fears and what delights us.  You know our weakness and strengthens.  You know our future and history.  Nobody sees us as clearly as You do…

You know us so well, it is nearly unbelievable that you actually love us!  Yet this is Your posture toward every person.  Love, gentleness, kindness, and faithfulness inhabit every interaction.  Your character is on display and I don’t deserve it!

Thank You for loving me!  Let your perfect love be reflected in my interactions with others.

John 1:29-42, Known & Loved

“I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” 

He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah”, and he brought Simon to Jesus. When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Peter.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭34‬, ‭41‬-‭42‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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John the Baptist sees Jesus and tells everyone who Jesus is, the one they have all been waiting for!  Instantly, John’s followers leave him and start to follow Jesus.  The first thing they all do is go to tell everyone they care about the good news: the Messiah is here!

But what blows me away is that last statement, where Jesus is first introduced to Simon and tells him his future.  This must have been very compelling because Peter never left Jesus after this interaction.

What is amazing is Jesus knows me and my future.  Every good and bad thing I have done and will ever do…and He still loves me.  Isn’t that what we all long for!?!  Someone who knows us perfectly, accepts us even with our faults and loves us anyway!

Lord help me to boldly proclaim who You are and allow me to introduce people to You, the One who perfectly knows and perfectly loves everyone!