Tag Archives: John

His wrath is sure (Revelation 8), September 3, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 8

Set – Psalms 111; Revelation 8

Go! – Ezekiel 20-21; Psalms 111; Revelation 8

Revelation 8
¹ When the Lamb cracked open the seventh and final seal, a great silence filled all heaven penetrating everything for about half an hour. ² Then I saw seven heavenly messengers, the ones who stand before God, receive seven trumpets.
³ An eighth messenger came and stood before the altar carrying a golden censer. He received a large portion of incense to complement the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that sits in front of the throne. ⁴ From the hand of the eighth messenger, the smoke of the incense mixed with the prayers of God’s people and billowed up before God. ⁵ The messenger filled the censer with fiery coals from the altar and cast it upon the earth, causing a great commotion of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
⁶ The seven heavenly messengers raised the seven trumpets and prepared to sound them.
⁷ The first messenger sounded his trumpet, and a blast of hail and fire mixed with blood was cast down to the earth. As a result, one-third of the land was set ablaze, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was scorched.
⁸ The second messenger sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, with bright flames of burning fire, was cast into the sea. As a result, one-third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹ one-third of the living sea creatures died, and one-third of the ships were obliterated.
^10-11 The third messenger sounded his trumpet, and a great star called Wormwood dropped out of heaven, flaming like a torch as it fell on one-third of the rivers and the springs. As a result, one-third of the waters turned bitter like the herb wormwood so that many people died from the poisonous bitter waters.
¹² The fourth messenger sounded his trumpet, and one-third of the sun, one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars were darkened. As a result, one-third of their light flickered and failed. For one-third of the day, the sun did not shine; and likewise for one-third of the night, the moon and stars did not give their light.
¹³ Then I saw an eagle flying through midheaven, and I heard it cry with a loud voice.
Eagle: Woe, woe, woe—horror, disaster, and calamity—to the earth dwellers! The rest of the trumpet blasts from the last three messengers are about to sound.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Pray that you will not be around when the final days arrive. These words describe a small piece of what happens as seen from My throneroom. It does not describe the devastation that people left behind will feel as the fury of My wrath touches the earth. I’m not sure you can really grasp what it would feel like to see a third of the earth destroyed or a third of the water animals die in a single blow or a third of the light from the sun and moon suddenly disappear in a flash.

That’s what will happen in that fateful time. I will begin to pour out My wrath on a sin-scarred world that continues to disavow My presence and power. So I will show those who remain the justice side of holiness. Because I am holy, I will not allow sin into My presence. Only those washed in the blood of My Son’s forgiveness can approach Me. At the time of My Son’s coming into your world again, it will start the outpouring of My punishment for the evil made resident by those who failed to bow to Me.

That day hasn’t come, yet. You still have time choose Me over the evil of the world. You still have time to give yourself to Me, put away your selfish desires, and follow My commands. You don’t have to suffer the destruction that is coming. You can live with Me throughout eternity if you choose. But you must make the choice before I come again. Before it’s too late. When I come again, the sides will have been decided by each individuals choice in this life.

My desire for humankind, My highest creation, is that each individual rebukes the pull of Satan’s selfish ambitions. My desire is that each person recognizes that I have already decided the fate of that father of lies and all who follow him are already doomed. My desire is that all come to repentance and know Me through the salvation provided by My sacrifice on the cross in My human death. My desire is that each one comes to understand the hope of eternity with Me through My resurrection on that first Easter morning.

I will not hold back My wrath much longer. The end of time is as sure as the constant march of the sunrise and sunset. But I will come again. You’ve heard the description of what it will be like if you choose the wrong path. Don’t be among those. Choose My side instead.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The Lamb is worthy (Revelation 5), August 31, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 5

Set – Ezekiel 14; Revelation 5

Go! – Ezekiel 12-14; Revelation 5

Revelation 5
¹ And then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated upon the throne, a scroll written both on the inside and on the outside. It had been sealed with seven seals. ² Then a mighty heavenly messenger proclaimed with a loud voice,
Mighty Messenger: Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?
³ No creature of creation in all heaven, on all the earth, or even under the earth could open the scroll or look into its mysteries. ⁴ Then I began to mourn and weep bitterly because no creature of creation was found who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into its mysteries. ⁵ Then one of the elders consoled me.
One of the 24 Elders: Stop weeping. Look there—the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. He has conquered and is able to break its seven seals and open the scroll.
⁶I looked, and between the throne and the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders stood a Lamb who appeared to have been slaughtered. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes (the eyes are the seven Spirits of God sent out over all the earth).
⁷ The Lamb came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One seated upon the throne. ⁸ And when He took it, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fell prostrate before the Lamb. They worshiped Him, and each one held a harp and golden bowls filled with incense (the prayers of God’s holy people). ⁹ Then they sang a new song.
Four Living Creatures and 24 Elders: You are worthy to receive the scroll,
to break its seals,
Because You were slain. With Your blood, You redeemed for God
people from every tribe and language, people from every race and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them a kingdom; You have appointed them priests to serve our God,
and they will rule upon the earth.
¹¹ When I looked again, I heard the voices of heavenly messengers (numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands). They surrounded the throne, the living creatures, and the elders.
¹² Thousands of Messengers (with a great voice): Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
Worthy is the Lamb to receive authority and wealth and wisdom and greatness
And honor and glory and praise.
¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and beneath the earth and in the sea and all things in them echoing the messengers.
Every Creature: To the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
Be blessing and honor and glory and power
Throughout the ages.
¹⁴ And the four living creatures kept on repeating:
Four Living Creatures: Amen. Amen.
And the elders fell down and worshiped [Him who lives forever].

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

John saw in great symbolism the role I played as the Lion of Judah and the Lamb slain for the salvation of the world. As the Lion of Judah, I am conqueror of all the kingdoms of the earth. I am the King of kings and Lord of lords. I reign over all nations and every leader is allowed to rule only by My permission. I am the final authority for all that takes place throughout the earth. The Father has given that authority to His Son.

As the Lamb, slaughtered as the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins, I stand between you and the Father to cover your sins with My blood. He sees My blood, not your sin when you come through Me for forgiveness. As the perfect sacrifice, you no longer required the annual sacrifice of lambs and goats to atone for your sins. I have completed the acts for you. I have done all that is required. All you need to do is believe in Me enough to follow Me and do what I ask.

John also saw all of heaven bowing to both the Lamb and the Father as one because we are one – Father, Son, and Spirit. John heard all creation in heaven and earth singing praises to the Lamb and bowing to Him because of who He is and what He has done for all creation. The praise never stops. The singing never ends. The adoration grows beyond measure. The worship goes on and on because the One who sits on the throne and the Lamb are worthy of blessing and honor and glory and power.

Why don’t you stop for a few moments and share in the celebration.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Heaven is waiting (Revelation 4), August 30, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 4

Set – Ezekiel 11; Revelation 4

Go! – Ezekiel 8-11; Revelation 4

Revelation 4
¹ After I wrote down these messages, I saw a door standing open in heaven and heard again the first voice that sounded like a trumpet.
A Voice: Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.
² Immediately I was caught up in the Spirit, and I saw a throne that stood in heaven and One seated on the throne. ³ The One enthroned gleamed like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow encircled the throne with an emerald glow. ⁴ Encircling that great throne were twenty-four smaller thrones with twenty-four elders clothed in white robes with wreaths fashioned of gold on their heads. ⁵ Out of the great throne came flashes of lightning, sounds of voices, and peals of thunder. In front of the great throne, seven torches were ablaze, which are the seven Spirits of God. ⁶ Also in front of the throne was a glassy sea of shimmering crystal.
In the midst of the throne and encircling the throne were four living creatures, covered all over with eyes, front to back. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature was like an ox, the third creature had a face like the face of a human, and the fourth creature was like an eagle in full flight. ⁸ These four living creatures, each of which had six wings and was covered with eyes—eyes on the outside and on the inside—did not cease chanting. All day and night they were singing.
Four Living Creatures: Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God who is the All Powerful,
who was, and who is, and who is coming.
⁹ And when the living creatures declared glory and honor and thanksgiving to the One seated on the throne, the One who lives throughout all the ages, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fell prostrate before the One seated on the throne, worshiped the One who lives throughout all the ages, cast their golden wreaths before the throne, and chanted to Him.
¹¹ 24 Elders: Worthy are You, O Lord; worthy are You, O God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
You alone created all things,
and through Your will and by Your design, they exist and were created.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

John got a glimpse of what was to come at the end of time. He saw a part of heaven few have witnessed. I allowed him to see My throne so he could share with My children some of their future. I wanted to give you a small vision of the future I have in store for you to give you hope in the desparate times you might face because of your faith. You see, I promised you will face trouble and misunderstanding and persecution as long as you live in this world. But in the world to come, the blessings are so far beyond your imagination, you will find your sufferings as nothing compared to those riches.

The first thing people see when they see My throne is the creature surrounding Me singing praises to Me. They can’t help it. It’s the natural response to who I am. John saw it when he peeked into heaven. He saw the flying creatures singing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” The 24 elders seated around My throne also sang praises to Me. They, too, couldn’t do anything else. All who see Me burst out in praise.

The throneroom is filled with sounds and sights that are impossible to describe with words. John tried, but fell short. The rainbow of colors he describes doesn’t give it justice. The sound of voices and peel of thunder fails to give an adequate representation of what he saw. There are lots of stories about heaven. They give people hope about what is to come. The best source, though, is My word. Listen to what John says about it. Listen to what David says about it. Read what Daniel and Ezekiel say about it. Listen to My words about heaven as I spoke to My disciples.

Heaven is a special place. It’s My home and I want you to share it with Me. How do you get there? Obey Me. That’s it. It’s as simple as that. I’ve been preparing it for you for a long time. It’s your decision whether to come or not. Admission is by reservation only and reservations come through obedience. I want to see you there.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

John still tells us to love (2 John), August 25, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 2 John

Set – Psalms 79; 2 John

Go! – Jeremiah 37-39; Psalms 79; 2 John

2 John
¹ I, the elder, to you, a lady chosen by God along with her children. I truly love all of you and am confident that all who know the truth share in my love for you. ²The truth, which lives faithfully within all of us and will be with us for all eternity, is the basis for our abounding love. ³ May grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Jesus the Anointed, the Father’s own Son, surround you and be with you always in truth and love.
⁴ I was so filled with joy to hear stories about your children walking in truth, in the very way the Father called us to live. ⁵ So now, dear lady, I am asking you to live by the command that we love one another. I’m not writing to you some new commandment; it’s one we received in the beginning from our Lord. ⁶ Love is defined by our obedience to His commands. This is the same command you have known about from the very beginning; you must live by it. ⁷ The corrupt world is filled with liars and frauds who deny the reality that Jesus the Anointed has come into the world as a man of flesh and blood. These people are deceivers and antiChrists. ⁸ Ensure that you do not lose what we have worked for so that you will be fully rewarded.
⁹ Any person who drifts away and fails to live in the teachings of the Anointed One, our Liberating King, does not have God. But the person who lives in this teaching will have both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If any person comes to you with a teaching that does not align with the true message of Jesus, do not welcome that person into your house or greet him as you would a true brother. ¹¹ Anyone who welcomes this person has become a partner in advancing his wicked agenda.
¹² I have so much more to tell you, but I would rather meet with you personally than try to capture these sentiments by ink on paper. I hope to come and see you so that our joy will be complete.
¹³ The children of your chosen sister send you warm greetings.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

This isn’t the only personal letter John wrote to prominent people in the early churches, but it is typical. John wants to make sure individuals, including you, understand My commands. John got it. He learned well from Me as he walked with Me for those three years as one of My faithful disciples. He figured out that God is love, something taught to every child in Sunday School class.

Throughout all My teachings to all the crowds across all those towns we visited, the message was the same. Love. Sometimes it came with different words and with different expressions. Sometimes it came through healing. Sometimes it came through feeding thousands with the gift of a boy’s lunch. Sometimes it was showing pity at the funeral of a widow’s only son and raising him to life again. I expressed My love for others in a lot of different ways, but always I showed My love to those around Me. Even as I addressed the Pharisees with harsh words about their wrong teaching, it was because of My love for them and wanting to show them the falacy of their teaching and My desire to bring them back to a right relationship with the Father.

John understood My command to love Me and to love others. So in all his letters he emphasizes the need to live in a constant state of love. He admonishes his readers to be wary of anyone who doesn’t recognize Me as coming from the Father because My message and My life personifies the Father and shows that He and I are One. The false teachers alive in John’s day have not gone silent, either. Still their voices cry out.

Today false prophet declare that I am not one with the Father. Some will say I am God but not man. They will tell you I never walked in the flesh and that all flesh is corrupt and cannot possibly live in this world without sin. They cannot believe I could have lived a sinless life in this world for thirty-three years, so I must not have been a real man, only spirit. Others will say I was a real man, but only a prophet, a good man, a good teacher, but not God.

John clears the air in his letter to the chosen lady and makes clear hear and in his other writings that I am both fully God and fully Man. You cannot understand how it works because you are not God. It is beyond your understand how I managed to make it happen. But you can trust that I did. My word is true. Everything I have said would happen has or will happen. All the archeologists are uncovering all those facts that naysayers said never happened. Believe Me. I am who I say. Just trust Me. Listen to My commands and love.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

God is love (1 John 4:7-21), August 23, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 1 John 4:7-21

Set – Jeremiah 32; 1 John 4

Go! – Jeremiah 31-32; 1 John 4

1 John 4:7-21
⁷ My loved ones, let us devote ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and truly knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
⁹ Because of this, the love of God is a reality among us: God sent His only Son into the world so that we could find true life through Him. ¹⁰ This is the embodiment of true love: not that we have loved God first, but that He loved us and sent His unique Son on a special mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ So, my loved ones, if God loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God with human eyes; but if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently God’s love has accomplished its mission among us.
¹³ How can we be sure that He truly lives in us and that we truly live in Him? By one fact: He has given us His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have watched what God has done, and we stand ready to provide eyewitness testimonies to the reality that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone unites with our confession that Jesus is God’s own Son, then God truly lives in that person and that person lives in God. ¹⁶ We have experienced and we have entrusted our lives to the love of God in us.
God is love. Anyone who lives faithfully in love also lives faithfully in God, and God lives in him. ¹⁷ This love is fulfilled with us, so that on the day of judgment we have confidence based on our identification with Jesus in this world. ¹⁸ Love will never invoke fear. Perfect love expels fear, particularly the fear of punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been completed through love.
¹⁹ We love because He has first loved us. ²⁰ If someone claims, “I love God,” but hates his brother or sister, then he is a liar. Anyone who does not love a brother or sister, whom he has seen, cannot possibly love God, whom he has never seen. ²¹ He gave us a clear command, that all who love God must also love their brothers and sisters.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

As children, the first thing you probably learned about Me was “God is love.” John learned it well as he walked with Me in My human form. He is sometimes called the disciple I loved. I think it’s probably turned the other way as well because John truly learned what love means as he poured his heart into his letters to the churches.

John recognized all My commands could be boiled down into the single directive to love. Love Me. Love your brother and sister believers. Love you enemies. Love those in authority over you. Love those you might not agree with. Just love. I am the very essence of love. As you learned as a child, I am love.

John got it right. You can’t love Me if you don’t love those you see around you. If you don’t love those around you, you don’t love Me. How can you love someone you haven’t see and not those around you that you have seen? John’s right, it’s not possible. My love isn’t in you if you don’t have real love for those around you. If My love is in you, you’ll see others the way I see them. You’ll see them as eternal souls with eternal destinies. You’ll see others as My highest creation and you’ll know that My desire is that all should know My saving grace.

You will know that not everyone will accept My grace and salvation, but My desire is that they do. I won’t force Myself on you or anyone else. As much as I want you to be with Me throughout eternity, it will always be your choice. You can accept My salvation or refuse it. You choose your action, I choose the consequences.

The consequences were set in motion before time. Those who accept My will spend eternity with Me. Those who don’t will be separated from Me eternally. The book of Revelations describes what it will be like for those who choose not to follow Me. The contrast is there for all to read and study. The choice is yours. The consequences of your choice is laid out before you. Choose wisely. Choose to love as I love.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Live in Christ (1 John 2:7-29), August 21, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 1 John 2:7-29

Set – Psalms 118; 1 John 2

Go! – Jeremiah 21, 24, 27; Psalms 118; 1 John 2

1 John 2:7-29
⁷ My loved ones, in one sense, I am not writing a new command for you. I am only reminding you of the old command. It’s a word you already know, a word that has existed from the beginning. ⁸ However, in another sense, I am writing a new command for you. The new command is the truth that He lived; and now you are living it, too, because the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining among you.
⁹ Anyone who says, “I live in the light,” but hates his brother or sister is still living in the shadows. ¹⁰ Anyone who loves his brother or sister lives in the light and will not trip because his conscience is clear. ¹¹ But anyone who hates his brother is in the darkness, stumbling around with no idea where he is going, blinded by the darkness.
¹² I am writing to you, my children, because your sins have been forgiven by the authority of His name.
¹³ I am writing to you, fathers and mothers, because you have known Him as the Creator, as the One who started everything.
I am writing to you, young people, because He has given you the power to conquer the evil one.
¹⁴ I have written to you, my children, because you have known the Father.
I have written to you, fathers and mothers, because you have known Him, the Creator.
I have written to you, young people, because the voice of God remains and is heard among you. Remember that you have conquered the evil one.
¹⁵ Don’t fall in love with this corrupt world or worship the things it can offer. Those who love its corrupt ways don’t have the Father’s love living within them. ¹⁶ All the things the world can offer to you—the allure of pleasure, the passion to have things, and the pompous sense of superiority—do not come from the Father. These are the rotten fruits of this world. ¹⁷ This corrupt world is already wasting away, as are its selfish desires. But the person really doing God’s will—that person will never cease to be.
¹⁸ My children, this is the final hour. You have heard that the antiChrist, the greatest enemy to His kingdom, is coming, but in fact, many antiChrists are already here. This development tells us how late it really is. ¹⁹ A group has left us, but they were not part of our family. If they were truly our brothers and sisters, they would have remained for the duration with us. When they left, they made it ever so obvious that they were not part of us.
²⁰ You have been given an anointing, a special touch from the Holy One. You know the truth. ²¹ I am not writing to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it. You know that no lie belongs to the truth. ²² The liar is the one who says, “Jesus is not really the Anointed One.” This is the antiChrist, the one denying both the Father and the Son. ²³ Anyone who denies the Son does not know the Father. The one affirming the Son enjoys an intimate relationship with the Father as well.
²⁴ Let the good news, the story you have heard from the beginning of your journey, live in and take hold of you. If that happens and you focus on the good news, then you will always remain in a relationship with the Son and the Father. ²⁵ This is what He promised us: eternal life.
²⁶ I also am writing to warn you about some who are attempting to deceive you. ²⁷ You have an anointing. You received it from Him, and His anointing remains on you. You do not need any other teacher. But as His anointing instructs you in all the essentials (all the truth uncontaminated by darkness and lies), it teaches you this: “Remain connected to Him.”
²⁸ So now, my little children, live in Him, so that whenever He is revealed, we will have confidence and not have to hang our heads in shame before Him when He comes. ²⁹ If you know that He is just and faithful, then you also know that everyone who lives faithfully and acts justly has been born into a new life through Him.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

You have heard many voices in the world around you. The world wants to pull you away from Me and tell you that what My word says isn’t true. There’s an easy way to keep from being deceived, though. Live in Me. That’s the secret. Stay attached to Me. John wrote about a metaphor I gave My disciples in his gospel. I told them I was the vine and those that follow Me are the branches. If you do not produce fruit, My Father, the keeper of the vineyard cuts those branches from the vine and burns them in the fire. He prunes the branches to make sure they produce good fruit.

The point is when My followers stay connected to Me, they produce good fruit. They grow and My Father is pleased with them. When not connected with Me, the branches soon wither, die, and are destroyed. So live in Me. Stay connected. Stay in My word. Pray. Study. Meditate on My word. Listen to Me. Do what I ask. Live in Me.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Abundant living (1 John 1), August 20, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready -1 John 1

Set – Jeremiah 48; Psalms 67; 1 John 1

Go! – Jeremiah 48-49; Psalms 67; 1 John 1

1 John 1
¹ We want to tell you about the One who was from the beginning. We have seen Him with our own eyes, heard Him with our own ears, and touched Him with our own hands. This One is the manifestation of the life-giving Voice, ² and He showed us real life, eternal life. We have seen it all, and we can’t keep what we witnessed quiet—we have to share it with you. We are inviting you to experience eternal life through the One who was with the Father and came down to us. ³ What we saw and heard we pass on to you so that you, too, will be connected with us intimately and become family. Our family is united by our connection with the Father and His Son Jesus, the Anointed One; ⁴ and we write all this because retelling this story fulfills our joy.
⁵ What we are telling you now is the very message we heard from Him: God is pure light, undimmed by darkness of any kind. ⁶ If we say we have an intimate connection with the Father but we continue stumbling around in darkness, then we are lying because we do not live according to truth. ⁷ If we walk step by step in the light, where the Father is, then we are ultimately connected to each other through the sacrifice of Jesus His Son. His blood purifies us from all our sins. ⁸ If we go around bragging, “We have no sin,” then we are fooling ourselves and are strangers to the truth. ⁹ But if we own up to our sins, God shows that He is faithful and just by forgiving us of our sins and purifying us from the pollution of all the bad things we have done. ¹⁰ If we say, “We have not sinned,” then we depict God as a liar and show that we have not let His word find its way into our hearts.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

John witnessed Me in the flesh. When he did and discovered what it was like to also have Me live in him, John could not help but tell the story. He wanted the world to know Me like he came to know Me. John was probably My closest disciple while I walked the earth. He probably understood My love better than any of My other disciples. Yet, until My Spirit came at Pentecost, the love he knew before that day was only a shadow of what was to come.

It is no wonder he starts his letter with a description of Me as pure light. I have a tendency to get to the heart of things. He watched Me cut through the smoke and mirrors people try to put up to hide the real issues they struggle with. He watched Me point to the sin and selfishness that causes people to push Me aside and fail to find fulfillment in their lives. He watched as I used My servanthood to demonstrate a side of God people did not understand. John wanted others to recognize Me and put their faith in Me. He wanted others to understand that as they shared their faith it would grow.

John also wanted others to see My perfect nature. People are sinful. I am holy. But the people who call themselves by My name will not continue to practice their sinful ways. They will strive for the holy life I practice before you. If you are My followers you will run from evil and sin. I command you to be holy because I am holy. I wouldn’t ask you to do something you cannot do without My help. You can do it, though, with My Spirit in you. I can help you find the exit when temptation tries to defeat you. Remember, you will never face a temptation greater than I can help you get through.

Until you get on My side of heaven, you will still make mistakes, fall short of my perfect holiness, need My forgiveness for your actions. But if you’ll consistently listen to Me and let Me guide you through My word and My Spirit, you will become more like Me each day. You will yourself being perfected each day until you finally come to be with Me forever. You can enjoy some of that now, though. You can let Me lead you along the path and enjoy My peace, My light, My holiness, My glory. All it takes is letting Me have control of your life.

I made you, I paid the penalty for your sins, I think I know what needs to be done to lead you along the best paths to make your life one of abundant living.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Do you love Me? (John 21:15-23), August 19, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – John 21:15-23

Set – Psalms 105; John 21

Go! – Jeremiah 45-47; Psalms 105; John 21

John 21:15-23
¹⁵ They finished eating breakfast.
Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these other things?
Simon Peter: Yes, Lord. You know that I love You.
Jesus: Take care of My lambs.
¹⁶ Jesus asked him a second time . . .
Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love Me?
Simon Peter: Yes, Lord. You must surely know that I love You.
Jesus: Shepherd My sheep.
¹⁷ (for the third time) Simon, son of John, do you love Me?
Peter was hurt because He asked him the same question a third time, “Do you love Me?”
Simon Peter: Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You.
Jesus: Look after My sheep. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth: when you were younger, you would dress yourself and go wherever you pleased; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and take you to a place you do not want to go.
¹⁹ Jesus said all this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. After this conversation, Jesus said,
Jesus: Follow Me!
²⁰ Peter turned around to see the disciple loved by Jesus following the two of them, the same disciple who leaned back on Jesus’ side during their supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray You?”
Peter: ²¹ Lord, and what will happen to this man?
Jesus: ²² If I choose for him to remain till I return, what difference will this make to you? You follow Me!
²³ It is from this exchange with Jesus that some thought this disciple would not die. But Jesus never said that. He said, “If I choose for him to remain till I return, what difference will this make to you?”

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Do you know what it means to really love Me? Peter thought he did. He thought he did when he told Me he would never deny Me. But when the time came, he ran away in the night just like the rest of My disciples. He thought he loved Me, but hid during My crucifixion. Only John stood at the foot of My cross and cared for My mother in the last moments of My agony.

Peter thought he loved Me when I appeared to the eleven of them cowered behind closed doors in the upper room where we gathered for our last meal together after My resurrection. At that time he really didn’t understand real love, though. He still looked for something I was not. He was closer to understanding Me, but not yet. You see, My Spirit had not yet come to live in him.

It wasn’t until Pentecost when those 120 devoted themselves to prayer and fasting, seeking for something they had never experienced before. Asking for something they didn’t know or understand. It wasn’t until I returned and lived in them that Peter learned to love with My love. Only then did Peter allow himself to die to all that was Peter and let Me reign in his life.

Was he perfect? By no means. He still made mistakes as evidenced by Paul’s rebuke when he changed his eating habits when the Jews arrived while he was ministering to the Gentiles. Peter continued to grow in his faith throughout his life just as I expect all My followers to grow in their faith. It takes a lifetime to transform your mind to Mine. But Peter began to love like Me when he gave himself fully to Me.

I asked him three times with three different words about his love. You only have one word for love in English. That’s unfortunate. The Greeks have four. Each time I asked Peter to go deeper in his quest for love for Me until I asked about his unconditional God-like love for Me. He finally understood he had a lot to learn. Only when He let My Spirit live in him and guide his life did he really begin to know what love was about.

When Peter began to understand I gave him some simple commands tend to My sheep, feed My sheep, care for My sheep. At least they sound simple. Peter would find the commands simple, but the tasks life consuming. Such is the life of real love. Loving others is consuming. If you’ve been in love, you know love consumes you. You think of nothing else but the person or people you love. Your love drives your every action. Everything centers on your love, longer for the good for the object of your love.

Do you love Me? Do I consume your thoughts? Does your love for Me drive your every action? Not until My Spirit engulfs your life by willingly giving of your whole self to Me will you understand real love. But when you enter the love I have for you, you will experience indescribable joy the world can never understand. Peter didn’t until Pentecost, then his world changed forever. Try it out.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

How long will you doubt? (John 20:11-29), August 18, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – John 20:11-29

Set – Jeremiah 36; John 20

Go! – Jeremiah 26, 35-36; John 20

John 20:11-29
¹¹ Mary, however, stood outside the tomb sobbing, crying, and kneeling at its entrance. ¹² As she cried, two heavenly messengers appeared before her sitting where Jesus’ head and feet had been laid.
Heavenly Messengers: ¹³ Dear woman, why are you weeping?
Mary Magdalene: They have taken away my Lord, and I cannot find Him.
¹⁴ After uttering these words, she turned around to see Jesus standing before her, but she did not recognize Him.
Jesus: ¹⁵ Dear woman, why are you sobbing? Who is it you are looking for?
She still had no idea who it was before her. Thinking He was the gardener, she muttered:
Mary Magdalene: Sir, if you are the one who carried Him away, then tell me where He is and I will retrieve Him.
Jesus: ¹⁶ Mary!
Mary Magdalene (turning to Jesus and speaking in Hebrew): Rabboni, my Teacher!
Jesus: ¹⁷ Mary, you cannot hold Me. I must rise above this world to be with My Father, who is also your Father; My God, who is also your God. Go tell this to all My brothers.
¹⁸ Mary Magdalene obeyed and went directly to His disciples.
Mary Magdalene (announcing to the disciples): I have seen the Lord, and this is what He said to me . . .
¹⁹ On that same evening (Resurrection Sunday), the followers gathered together behind locked doors in fear that some of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were still searching for them. Out of nowhere, Jesus appeared in the center of the room.
Jesus: May each one of you be at peace.
²⁰ As He was speaking, He revealed the wounds in His hands and side. The disciples began to celebrate as it sank in that they were really seeing the Lord.
Jesus: ²¹ I give you the gift of peace. In the same way the Father sent Me, I am now sending you.
²² Now He drew close enough to each of them that they could feel His breath. He breathed on them:
Jesus: Welcome the Holy Spirit of the living God. ²³ You now have the mantle of God’s forgiveness. As you go, you are able to share the life-giving power to forgive sins, or to withhold forgiveness.
²⁴ All of the eleven were present with the exception of Thomas. ²⁵ He heard the accounts of each brother’s interaction with the Lord.
The Other Disciples: We have seen the Lord!
Thomas: Until I see His hands, feel the wounds of the nails, and put my hand to His side, I won’t believe what you are saying.
²⁶ Eight days later, they gathered again behind locked doors; and Jesus reappeared. This time Thomas was with them.
Jesus: May each one of you be at peace.
²⁷ He drew close to Thomas.
Jesus: Reach out and touch Me. See the punctures in My hands; reach out your hand, and put it to My side; leave behind your faithlessness, and believe.
Thomas (filled with emotion): ²⁸ You are the one True God and Lord of my life.
Jesus: ²⁹ Thomas, you have faith because you have seen Me. Blessed are all those who never see Me and yet they still believe.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

What does it take for you to believe? For Thomas, he wanted to see the nail prints in My hands and the slash of the spear in My side. The other disciples saw Me and described what they experienced when I came to them behind closed doors, but Thomas just couldn’t take it in. He would not let his mind wrap around the idea that I could overcome death even though he saw Me raise others from the dead.

But what about you? Will you need to see Me bodily before you believe? I hope not because at My next coming it will be too late. My next coming ushers in the final battle and the resurrection of all My faithful followers. Those left behind will find conditions pretty deplorable. My Spirit will not remain and hopelessness will be the new catch phrase for those who do not go with Me to paradise.

So I urge you to look around. Examine the world around you and imagine a world without God, without Me. How would all of the things around you come into existence without Me? Just how would it happen? You might want to think about a “Big Bang” but what was there before a big bang? Me! See I created the world and all that is in it. Yes, there are some terrible things happening all around the world and yes, I allow them to happen. But I didn’t want it that way. It was your choice. I let humanity have freedom in your moral choices.

Unfortunately, often you made the wrong ones despite My teaching and pleading with you. You thought you were smarter than Me. You thought the consequences I laid out didn’t apply to you even though I clearly told you what would happen when you disobeyed Me. But you didn’t believe Me. You didn’t think I knew what I was talking about.

So now you’ve seen the truth of My message through generations. You’ve seen the proof of My coming to live alongside you. You’ve seen My adversary try his best to destroy Me to no avail. You’ve seen that I have already conquered him and it’s just a matter of time until I carry out the rest of his judgment and banish him to his prepared pit forever. What else do you need to believe I am who I say I am? What else will it take to turn you from a doubting Thomas into one who believes and cries out as he did, “You are the one True God and Lord of my life”?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The lengths people go to (John 18:19-40), August 16, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – John 18:19-40

Set – Jeremiah 22; John 18

Go! – 2 Kings 24; Jeremiah 22; Psalms 112; John 18

John 18:19-40
Annas (to Jesus): ¹⁹ Who are Your disciples, and what do You teach?
Jesus: ²⁰ I have spoken in public where the world can hear, always teaching in the synagogue and in the temple where the Jewish people gather. I have never spoken in secret. ²¹ So why would you need to interrogate Me? Many have heard Me teach. Why don’t you question them? They know what I have taught.
²² While Jesus offered His response, an officer standing nearby struck Jesus with his hand.
Officer: Is that how You speak to the high priest?
Jesus: ²³ If I have spoken incorrectly, why don’t you point out the untruths that I speak? Why do you hit Me if what I have said is correct?
²⁴ Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas bound as a prisoner. ²⁵ As this was happening, Peter was still warming himself by the fire.
Servants and Officers: You, too, are one of His disciples, aren’t you?
Peter: No, I am not.
²⁶ One of the high priest’s servants who was related to Malchus—the person Peter attacked and cut off his ear—recognized Peter.
High Priest’s Servant: Didn’t I see you in the garden with Him?
²⁷ Peter denied it again, and instantly a rooster crowed.
²⁸ Before the sun had risen, Jesus was taken from Caiaphas to the governor’s palace. The Jewish leaders would not enter the palace because their presence in a Roman office would defile them and cause them to miss the Passover feast. Pilate, the governor, met them outside.
Pilate: ²⁹ What charges do you bring against this man?
Priests and Officials: ³⁰ If He weren’t a lawbreaker, we wouldn’t have brought Him to you.
Pilate: ³¹ Then judge Him yourselves, by your own law.
Jews: Our authority does not allow us to give Him the death penalty.
³² All these things were a fulfillment of the words Jesus had spoken indicating the way that He would die. ³³ So Pilate reentered the governor’s palace and called for Jesus to follow him.
Pilate: Are You the King of the Jews?
Jesus: ³⁴ Are you asking Me because you believe this is true, or have others said this about Me?
Pilate: ³⁵ I’m not a Jew, am I? Your people, including the chief priests, have arrested You and placed You in my custody. What have You done?
Jesus: ³⁶ My kingdom is not recognized in this world. If this were My kingdom, My servants would be fighting for My freedom. But My kingdom is not in this physical realm.
Pilate: ³⁷ So You are a king?
Jesus: You say that I am king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the cosmos: to demonstrate the power of truth. Everyone who seeks truth hears My voice.
Pilate (to Jesus): ³⁸ What is truth?
Pilate left Jesus to go and speak to the Jewish people.
Pilate (to the Jews): I have not found any cause for charges to be brought against this man. ³⁹ Your custom is that I should release a prisoner to you each year in honor of the Passover celebration; shall I release the King of the Jews to you?
Jews: ⁴⁰ No, not this man! Give us Barabbas!
You should know that Barabbas was a terrorist.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

How blind can you let yourself become to violate the most basic laws of human nature to avoid accepting that I am who I say I am? When I walked alongside you, the chief priests and leaders of the Jewish nation willingly determined to kill Me to keep their rules intact. Nevermind that murder carried a capital offense. Nevermind that everything I did brought good to those I served. Nevermind that the only things I said to those who listen brought truth to them about the Kingdom of Heaven.

The leaders began to plot My death early in My ministry because I disrupted their normal train of thought. They didn’t like a carpenter explaining scriptures in ways that lifted their burdensome rules from humanity and gave them the hope of salvation through faith in Me and My message for them. The leaders thought they saw in My message the demise of their institution and so they wanted My death more than they wanted the truth.

It’s still hard for Me to believe they would abandon their own beliefs to get rid of Me. Of course, I knew it would happen to fulfill scripture, but if anyone would uphold the commandments, you would think the leaders and teachers of those commandments would. But they didn’t. They figured My death meant their freedom. It would have if they believed in Me because My death is the sacrifice, the penalty paid for the sins of the world for all who believe I am God incarnate come to save people from their sins. For those who do not believe, they will remain chained by their sins and guilt.

You choose to believe or not. You choose to try to destroy My message and Me or not. Always your choice. Choose rightly.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.