Category: Bible

Craftiness and Blame-shifting – 2025 Day 31 (Genesis 3)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 31, Genesis 3

My, my, how quickly things change! God creates a very good universe and in steps that crafty, cunning, shrewd snake, the devil. Like we read in John, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy… He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 10:10, 8:44 ESV).

While God speaks for man’s good, the serpent speaks for our harm.

The blame-shifting begins as soon as God speaks to Adam. Adam blames the woman, but also subtly blames God saying, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12) Eve then blames the serpent for her disobedience. (Genesis 3:13) Sadly, I relate all too well to this struggle. It is easier to blame others than accept responsibility for our own actions.

We need to be careful not to shift blame to other people, whether our husband, our children, the cashier at the grocery store, the customer service representative on the phone. Whoever. Likewise, we need to be careful not to shift blame to our circumstances. I was hungry. I was tired. I’d a long day. It was “that time of the month.” Whatever.

Adam and Eve may have spoken the truth, but their hearts were proud and stubborn. Yes, Eve did ___. Yes, the serpent did ___. Yes, your husband ____. Yes, your child ___. Yes, the driver in front of you ___.

Those blame-shifting thoughts
and words may be true, but they are not helpful or humble.

Instead, let’s accept responsibility for our own sin, confess it to God, and repent of it. Don’t forget that repentance is more than just feeling remorse (feeling sorry that you did something bad). True repentance involves turning away from evil and turning your face toward God.

And, don’t forget what we read in 1 John 1:9-10 ESV, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” When we repent, we can be sure of God’s loving forgiveness.

Our choices (forgiven or not) still have consequences. Adam and Eve still had to leave the garden. They still had to face death. Yet, God is so full of grace and love.  He Himself made garments to clothe Adam and Eve, and when we surrender our lives to Him, He promises to clothe us in pure white garments through faith in Jesus Christ who shed His blood to cleanse us of our sin.

For further study – read Romans 5:12-21; Romans 6:23; Revelation 3:5, 18 and Revelation 19:7-9.

Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, We don’t want to be like that crafty snake. We don’t want to be deceivers or blame shifters. Please help us to accept responsibility for our sinful thoughts, attitudes, words and actions.

Thank you for sending Your only son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for our sin, shedding His blood that we could be forgiven.

We confess to You how often we have chosen to follow our own selfish desires instead of following Your clear commands. Please help us to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

Help us to trust You and lean not on our own understanding, but to acknowledge You in all of our ways. We pray that You would direct our steps in a way that brings You honor and glory and brings good to those around us.

It is in the holy and righteous name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, that we pray, Amen

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The Gift of Being Created to be a Helper – 2025 Day 30 (Genesis 1-2)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 30; Genesis 1-2

I like to read Genesis one and two together because I see Genesis chapter two as an expansion of the account of the creation of man in chapter 1. There’s so much in these two chapters that I read both of them together, two days in a row.

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

– Genesis 2:18-24 ESV

God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone, so He wanted to give Adam a helper who was fit for him. Not just any helper would do. He didn’t just need the strength of an ox or the beauty of a peacock or the loyalty of a dog. No, Adam needed a suitable helper, designed especially for man, and so God gave him a woman.

Being a helper is a gift to both the man and the woman. The man needs the woman … And the woman needs the man. They both have been given very important jobs.

God always has such perfect timing. When I initially wrote this devotional in January of 2023, I was visiting my parents hundreds of miles away from my husband, and I thought about how much my husband misses me when I’m gone. Yes, he misses me cooking and cleaning for him. Yes, he misses me making his morning coffee. Whether he missed them or not, I knew he needed my help in the little reminders I give and the times I’m an extra set of hands in the projects he’s working on. But I was especially struck by the thought that what he misses most is my company, simply having someone to talk to and share life with.

It is good to be needed and missed.

It’s a blessing to be created to be a helper.

Now, in 2025, as I reflect again on Genesis 1-2, my husband and I just celebrated our 30th anniversary, our daughter just got engaged, and our youngest son is preparing to graduate from homeschooling through high school and go away to college this fall.

I’m again reminded how careful we most be to not allow our children to take our husband’s place. Children are made from the seed of their father, not from his rib … or yours.

Children are created to
leave their parents,
but husbands and wives are created to become one flesh until they are parted by death.

Sisters, don’t leave your husband in the dust while you’re attending to your babies. Those babies are going to grow up and move away, but your husband will be by your side for the rest of his life. He needs you, and you need to be needed. Make sure you keep your children and your husband in their rightful places in your hearts, minds, and lives.

I speak from personal experience. This is hard, but it can be done. Here are a few ideas I’ve learned (and am still learning) over my 30 years of marriage.

  • Schedule regular dates with your husband to keep those flames of friendship burning.
  • Look for something small that you can do to serve your husband every day – make him a cup of coffee or write him a little note or send him a text over lunch.
  • Express to your husband (and others) how grateful you are for him. Let them know how much they mean to you and how much you value them.
  • Keep a careful watch over your thought life. Complaining thoughts turn into complaining attitudes and complaining words. Nothing works more powerfully against your marriage than having a complaining spirit. When those thoughts (true though they might be) come into your mind, grab hold of them and replace them with the truths of hope and grace found at the foot of the cross.
  • Make praying for your husband a priority. Ask God to bless him and guide him. Check out this video to a wonderful prayer for your husband – from his head to his feet.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You so much for the gift that my husband is. Thank You for making me his helper. Thank You for making him such that he needed me. And thank You for making me fit for him.

Help me to recognize the blessing it is to be needed. I pray that I would make my husband a priority in my life. Help me to do him good and not harm all the days of his life. Help me to submit myself willingly and cheerfully to him, and to trust You, Lord, in the process.

Father, help me not to grow weary of doing good and to trust that in due season I will reap a harvest if I do not lose heart.

I pray that You would bless my husband with every spiritual blessing according to the riches of Your glory in Christ Jesus. I pray that You would take care of him physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Give him the strength and wisdom that he needs to lead our family and give him the humility that he needs to turn to You in his weakness.

I pray also for my married children and their spouses. Make the men servant leaders and the women responsive helpers. Give them a deep love for Your Word and Your church. Show them their need for a savior and grant them the humility they need to live daily in love with the sinner they married.

I pray also for my not-yet-married children and their someday-spouses. Help them to guard their hearts, for they are the wellspring of life. Protect them, body, mind, and spirit, for Your glory and their good. May these days and years be used to prepare them to be a humble leader or a humble helper, to be fit for one another and for Your kingdom.

In the good and gracious name of Jesus Christ , my Savior and my Lord, I pray.

Amen.

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In the Beginning – 2025 Day 29 (Genesis 1-2)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 29, Genesis 1-2

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

– Genesis 1:1 ESV

Before the creation of the heavens and the earth, there was God. God is the creator. He is the only “I am,” the only One who was and is and is to come. Think about that for a minute. In the light of His eternal power, my life and problems look much more fleeting.

“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.

And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

– Genesis 1:2-5 ESV

The very first thing that God created in the universe was light. The earth was dark, but God was not dark. Like we just read in 1 John 1:5b ESV, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” God created light before He created the sun and stars. There was day and night, and light and darkness before there was a sun.

At the end of the Bible, in Revelation, we read that in the new city on the new earth, there will be “no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:23 ESV)

“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so.”

– Genesis 1:14-15 ESV

Yet God created the sun, moon, and stars. Why? 1. He made them to separate the day and night. 2. He made them for signs and seasons and days and years. 3. He made them to be lights in the darkness of the heavens.

I love the thought that God created time. God gave us a sun and moon and stars to mark days and nights and seasons. How could we count the days until our baby is due or the days until Passover or the Feast of Booths or Resurrection Dayif we didn’t have a sun? God is so wise and merciful!

And think of all the things like eclipses and comets and the Milky Way that draw people (including me) to consider God’s existence and power. Like Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”

There’s so much I could write about Genesis 1! I’ll add just one more thought that I hope you already noticed, but took me years to pick up on. On days 1, 2, and 3 God created the things (the light, atmosphere, and land) and then on days 4, 5, and 6, He filled them (Heavenly bodies, air and sea creatures, animals and man in the land). God is intentional and orderly.

This revelation also helped me to remember the days of creation. On day one, God separated the light and the dark, and then on day four He put the sun, moon and stars in the heavens. On day two, He separated the water from the sky, and then on day five he filled the air and the water with animals to inhabit them. On day three, God separated the land from the water and then on day six, He put the man and animals on the land.

Heavenly Father,

You are the God of light. There is no darkness in You. Our world is indeed so dark, but You sent Your only Begotten Son Jesus to be the light of the world, to light it up, to draw people to You.

I pray that we would be a city on a hill, that the light of Jesus would shine brightly out of us and point people to you, that we would let our lights shine.

I pray that people would see the sun, moon and stars and the intricate, inexplicable, perfect beauty of all that You have created and they would know that You are indeed real and good and mighty and eternal.

Father, I pray that our study of Genesis would point us to You, the eternal almighty God.

In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Click here for more information on reading through the Bible in Two Years.

In God’s perfect timing, one of the elders at my church preached today on  Genesis 1-2 and creation, so I’m updating my blog to add a link to it.

Collierville Bible Church podcast — January 26, 2025

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When Your Children are Walking in Truth – 2025 Day 27 (2 John and 3 John)

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 27, 2 John and 3 John

Once again John doesn’t sign his own name, but this time, he’s simply “the elder.” What a sweet title to give himself.

Once again John talks about TRUTH and LOVE – twin pillars on which the gospel rests. Jesus is the truth. The truth abides in the elect and will be with us forever (2 John 2). God’s grace, mercy, and peace will be with us in truth and love. (2 John 3).

“I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.”

– 2 John 1:4 ESV

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

– 3 John 1:4 ESV

John rejoiced greatly at the good news that the elder woman’s children were walking in the truth and that his own children were walking in the truth. What greater joy is there? Whether it’s the children I’ve raised in my own house, or children I’ve discipled in the faith, or grown women I’ve walked with and helped them grow, what JOY it is to watch them walk in truth!

Who are you discipling? Who are your children in the faith? Who are you watching grow and walk in truth?

Everyone should have someone who they can pour into. You don’t have to wait until you’re an elder like John. Learn a little, teach a little. The walk is always nicer when you have someone to share it with. You’ll be amazed at how much it blesses YOU, how much JOY you receive, when you’re teaching someone else. How can I help you?

Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father,

We pray that You will use us to equip the body for the work of ministry. Help us to work together with arms linked as one to grow Your church. Help us to be disciple makers, scattering seeds where we go and helping those little seedlings grow into mighty trees of righteousness that bear much fruit.

We pray for those who are young in their faith and that those elders will come alongside them to encourage them and minister to them. We pray for those who are elders in the faith to not lose heart or quit the fight. Help them to finish the race well, pouring out the last drop of their lives in the service of their king.

We pray for the children that are still in our homes. Lord, strengthen us to strengthen them. Draw them into a living relationship with You that they will walk in truth and love to the glory of Your name.

In the Name of Jesus we pray,

Amen.

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True Love – 2025 Day 26 (1 John 4-5)

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Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 26, 1 John 3-5.

I love reading 1 John just after reading the book of John. I can imagine “the disciple whom Jesus loved” writing this letter, a letter focused on the inseparable themes of truth and love, a letter that is not addressed to any specific person or church and that John did not personally sign his name to. Sounds like John, right? For more on this read my post about John 21.

Did you notice that I reread 1 John 3? I have found that it’s easy for me to forget the context of what is written, so it’s helpful to read the previous chapter, so I can better understand what’s being said. Do you ever do that, too?

John wanted his readers to BELIEVE in Jesus, the Christ, the One who took on flesh and conquered death for us – the ones whom He loved.

John wanted his readers to have CONFIDENCE in God’s love toward us, His children, so that we would be unafraid for that kind of perfect love casts out all fear.

Think about what you just read in the book of John. Think about all that John had experienced first-hand. John had seen Jesus walk on water with his own eyes. John had been an eyewitness to Jesus healing the sick and feeding the 5,000 with a few fish and loaves of bread.

John had heard Jesus teach with his own ears. John has heard Jesus teach on the importance of forgiveness and mercy, and John had heard Jesus condemn the fake faith of the Pharisees. John himself had heard Jesus say, “A new commandment I give to you that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:35) Remember that as you read 1 John.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

– 1 John 4:7-11 ESV

Remember that John is a man with a nature like ours. John isn’t the God-man Jesus Christ. Yes, John had been given a special calling as an apostle. Yes, he had the unique gift of being inspired to write the scriptures. But John battled his flesh just like we do. Think about how hard it must have been for John to love impulsive Peter or Matthew, the former tax collector.

True love is sacrifice. True love is best expressed in loving the hard-to-love. So next time you’re struggling to love that irritating person at church or that aggravating coworker or disobedient child, remember the truth that God loved us while we were His enemies. This is love.

Let’s pray together,

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your love. Thank You for sending Your only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to live here on earth and to die in my place.

I pray that I will have complete confidence in Your love for me. You have made Your love evident, visible, manifest in sending Your own Son. Help me to love others with the love that You first showed to me.

In the Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

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A Prayer for God’s Dearly Loved Children – 2025 Day 25 (1 John 3-4)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 25 and 1 John 3 and 4

“I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.”

1 John 2:21 ESV

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”

1 John 3:1a ESV

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

1 John 3:9 ESV

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

1 John 4:4 ESV

Heavenly Father,

Please fill us and lead us by Your Holy Spirit, that we would know, love, and walk in truth. Help us to discern truth from lies. Help us to turn to You when we need wisdom and knowledge, and to trust that You truly do abide in us.

By our faith in your Son, Jesus Christ, You have made us Your children. You have caused us to be born again and we are new creations in Christ. Your seed abides in us.

Give us the wisdom we need to test our faith to see if we are truly in You, and if we are not actually in You, please reveal that truth now.

But, Father, if we are Yours, then help us to be conformed into Your likeness, loving not merely in words or talk, but in deed and truth.

Help us to live holy and godly lives in this present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Keep us from bitterness, wrath, anger, malice, envy and slander. Give us clean hands and pure hearts to the Glory of Your Name.

By Your power at work in us, give us both the desire and the ability to turn away from sin and turn our faces to You. Help us trust Your Word that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. Transform our hearts and lives that we would come out of the dark and be useful, shining vessels of Your light.

In the matchless name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord we pray, Amen.

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Loving and Hating – 2025 Day 24 (1 John 2-3)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 24; 1 John 2 and 3

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

– 1 John 2:9-11 ESV

Love is an emotion as well as an action. Love wants for someone’s good while hate wants for someone’s harm. You might say that you love someone while you practice deceit and cunning. You might say that you love someone while turning a deaf ear to their cries for help or even leading them astray. People say all kinds of things in the name is love, but really that love is simply hate wrapped in shiny paper. True love desires for the other person’s health, wholeness, and holiness, even when it hurts. Even when it’s inconvenient. Even when it’s messy.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

– 1 John 2:15-16 ESV

At its very essence, love of the world boils down to love of self. The love of the world is the love of selfish desires: comfort, safety, and pleasure.

Truth be told, my love of the world rarely looks like God’s love of the world, that John 3:16 love, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” My love of the world usually looks a whole lot more like my love of me and my own good, not my neighbor’s good and not my Lord’s good. Father, forgive me.

When my life is full of loving me, there’s no room left to love my Heavenly Father or my neighbor. To truly love my Heavenly Father, I must put His glory and His commands over my own fleeting pleasures. To truly love my neighbor, I have to put his well-being over my own, and that takes Holy Spirit power! I can never do it in my own strength. I must abide faithfully in Him and allow His Word and His Spirit flow through me.

Won’t you pray with me?

Heavenly Father,

We want Your glory and majesty to fill the earth. Make us Your vessels. We want to walk in the light as You are in the light. We want to love our neighbor as ourselves. We want to love others as Christ loved us.

But, Father, we can’t do it on our own.

Please forgive us for how far and how often we have gone astray. We have loved the world and the things in the world, instead of loving You and loving our neighbor. We have loved ourselves and hated our brothers.

We repent of our sins. We turn to You, knowing that You are our only hope in life and death. Thank You for the forgiveness and grace available to us through the blood of Christ. Thank You for Your power and guidance available to us through the Holy Spirit.

We need You every hour. We cry out to You and ask for Your help and we know that You hear us.

Thank You! Thank you! Thank you! By the perfect righteousness of Christ we come to You.

Amen

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The Lord Sees – 2025 Day 23 (1 John 1-2)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 23; 1 John 1 and 2

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

– 1 John 1:5 ESV

This morning, when I woke up, it was pitch black in my room. I couldn’t see anything but the glowing red lights of my alarm clock, telling me it was time to get up. So, when I made my way to my bathroom to brush my teeth and start my day, I had to walk carefully, keeping one hand on the edge of my bed and shuffling my feet so I wouldn’t trip over my sleeping dog and discarded shoes.

But God.

God is light. And there is no darkness in Him. His light is pure and good and holy, and it shines into the darkness, bringing light for us to see our paths, but also bringing light for Him to see them.

“The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.”

Psalm 11:4 ESV

Am I walking in the dark or in the light?

Am I fellowshipping with light or darkness?

Am I speaking the truth or lies?

Am I deceiving myself or others?

Am I confessing my sin or hiding it?

Let’s ponder these questions as we pray together.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your faithfulness to me. You will never leave me. You will never give up on me. You have forgiven me and cleansed me by the blood of Jesus Christ. I am clean. I am forgiven. I am a product of Your grace. I am covered by the blood of Jesus. This is true.

Father, help me to walk by faith and not by sight, to trust that You care for me and guide me in Your glorious light. I pray that my fellowship would be with You and with my brothers and sisters in the faith, rather than with the forces of darkness. Please prick my heart when I go astray and bring me quickly back into the safety of Your fold.

In the good and glorious name of Jesus, Amen.

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The Life was Made Manifest – 2025 Day 22 (1 John 1)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 22, 1 John 1

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
– 1 John 1:1-3 ESV

According to the Wordsmyth intermediate dictionary, manifest means, “clear and unmistakable to the eye or mind; plain; obvious.”

In His great mercy God sent His own Son in the flesh,
making the invisible God manifest among man.

Sometimes it might feel like God is hiding, but the truth is that even though we can’t see the invisible God, we can see Him clearly, unmistakably, plainly, obviously in what He has made. (Romans 1:18-23) Additionally, we can know Him through the testimony of men like John who were eyewitnesses to the flesh-and-bone Jesus, His life, His crucifixion, and His resurrection.

It is the foolish who say in their hearts that there is no God. (Psalm 14:1) Let us not be fools, thinking God doesn’t see us or hear us. He does.

Today we can still read the eyewitness testimony of John who did see and hear and touch the risen Lord, so that we can have fellowship with the body of believers, and with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ, knowing God intimately and personally.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You so much for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ in the flesh that mankind could see Your glory manifest. Keep us from the pride that tempts us to think that You cannot see us or hear us, that You are hiding, that You are blind and deaf to our sinful words and deeds.

Help us to be humble and to seek Your face, searching Your Word of Truth diligently and faithfully .

We pray that we will have genuine, intimate fellowship with the body of believers who are alive today, and we pray that we will have fellowship with Jesus Christ who is our Savior and our Lord. Help us to live surrendered lives, walking by faith and not by sight.

To the glory of Jesus Christ, the Resurrection One. Amen

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It is the Lord! – 2025 Day 21 (John 21)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 21, John 21

"That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!'" - John 21:7a ESV

I love that John just can’t bring himself to use his own name, but refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” This reminds me that my value, like John’s, is found in being loved by Jesus, my Creator, Savior, and Lord who knows all of my shortcomings and sins, yet He still loves me.

"When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea." John 21:7b ESV

I can picture it in my mind. Peter heard, “It is the Lord,” and rather than questioning John, he immediately puts on his outer garment, and jumps into the sea to get to Jesus. He wants to see him first this time!

While everyone else is working on bringing in the boat – dragging a heavy net loaded full of fish – Peter just wants to be with Jesus. I wonder if John was frustrated, disgusted, or irritated with Peter’s irresponsible, impulsive response… Or did his heart leap with Peter’s, praising God for making Peter so easily excitable? I hope it was the latter. I want to be able to thank God for the variety of personalities and temperaments that He has given to His children.

After thinking about this, it was particularly ironic to me when I read later in the chapter about Peter pointing his finger at John, asking “Lord, what about this man?” (John 21:21 ESV)

Did Peter ask this out of love and concern for John or out of jealousy? Pride ? Conceit? I don’t have any idea, but I do know how Jesus responded to Peter’s question, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22)

I want to hear Jesus’s words loud and clear and apply them to my own life. “Kim, beloved daughter, don’t worry about those other people.”

Jesus has a unique purpose for each of our lives. I need to keep my eyes focused on Christ, so I can follow Him well. If my eyes are looking over at my friend’s lane, how can I see clearly to drive in mine?

Let’s pray, sisters!

Heavenly Father,

Please help me not to be jealous, envious, covetous, or disdainful of my fellow servants or the tasks that You’ve given them to do. Help me to remember Ephesians 2:10, that I am Your workmanship and that I have been created on purpose for good works that You have prepared in advance for me to do.

Help me, Lord Jesus, to be about my Father’s business with eagerness and joy, not looking to the left or right, not looking behind, but with my eyes fixed firmly on Christ and the hope that is before me. Make me eager to trust and obey You, to look for You and listen carefully for Your voice.

In the blessed name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

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