December 24, 2023
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John 3:16
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christmas
Above all else Advent, which means arrival or coming, is about God’s love coming to us! You see, that’s what motivated the greatest gift ever given. It was God’s love. Yes, Jesus was wrapped in swaddling cloths, but more than that, He was wrapped in God’s love. As the Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave.” What did He give? He gave us Jesus.
As the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” (Isa. 9:6). And as the angels proclaimed, “Unto you is born this day” (Luke 2:11). Jesus is God’s gift of love to us… to you!
So, God has given us this gift. It’s for you. It’s got your name on it. But it’s not really yours until you open it and receive it for yourself.
December 10, 2023
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John 14:27-28
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christmas
Where is the peace we are promised in the Christmas story? Today’s news is filled with stories of war. As the prophet Jeremiah said, “People are saying, ‘Peace, peace’ when there is no peace.”
Are you at peace today? Do you have a deep, abiding, quiet sense of peace? Or are you struggling with anxiety and a sense of disquiet and disorder? The Advent season is an invitation for us to consider the promise of peace found only in Christ. God’s peace is more than the absence of hostility. It is a divine state of tranquility and well-being, with God, self, and others. In the gospel of John, he reported how Jesus gave His disciples a promise of peace in Him at the last supper the night before His crucifixion. We can have this peace that Christ alone can give.
September 17, 2023
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John 14:15-27
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recovery
What is this peace that God offers through Jesus? It is more than the absence of hostility. It speaks of a deeper peace, or as the Jews call it, “shalom.” This peace that God offers means a sense of quiet, of harmony with others, a sense of security and well-being, wholeness, prosperity, a tranquil state of the soul without anxiety or fear.
How do we overcome our anxiety, our worries and fears, to receive and thrive in God’s peace? In John’s gospel, Jesus prepared His disciples to face His soon departure by giving them His peace and teaching them to how to continually keep themselves thriving in His peace. We can receive the peace of Christ and continually to keep it.
August 13, 2023
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Matthew 5:4, John 11:17-44
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beatitudes, grief, recovery
For many of us, we don’t know how to grieve. We don’t know how to mourn. So, we just bottle it up. We deny it. Or we try to medicate it with booze, or pills, or overeating, or over-working, or materialism or… But the pain remains. Unresolved grief can cause us to give up on happiness.
The blessed life, the supremely happy life, is ours when we are willing to admit that we’re powerless to change, to overcome our hurts, habits, and hangups. And that we need to mourn, grieve, and trust Jesus as the only One truly able to comfort and heal us. In the gospel of John, Jesus called those who were grieving the death of Lazarus to believe in Him as the only One who could truly comfort their grief and turn their mourning into blessing. We can release our grief to Jesus to receive His comfort.
June 2, 2023
‘A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you”‘ (John 21:17 NLT). The night Jesus was betrayed, Peter denied Him three times before the rooster crowed, just
May 31, 2023
‘When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.’ (John 19:26-27 NLT). Reading the four gospels together, there are seven last
May 29, 2023
“Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave” (John 18:10 NLT). All of the gospels tell the story of the high priest’s servant losing an ear to one of the disciple’s swords. Yet, only John names names. We are not surprised to learn that the
May 28, 2023
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.” (John 17:20 NLT). Jesus prayed for those that would “ever believe” in Him. That includes us! The prayer found in Matthew 6 that begins “Our Father” is referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer,” but
May 27, 2023
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT). True peace is not found in a trouble-free place, but in a Person. This peace is not about the
May 26, 2023
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NLT). The abundant life begins with salvation, yet here in John 15, Jesus is speaking of the fruitful life that becomes evident as