Following His resurrection, Jesus continues appearing to His disciples. In this particularpassage, we see that many of the disciples were still together. Peter heads off to go fishingand the rest end up joining him. They find their way back into old patterns, but there is aninteresting twist to the way history repeats itself.Jesus stood on the shore and called out to them asking if they have gotte...

After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the b...

In the face of unbelief, I find it necessary that we follow this instruction in James 4. Let this passage lead you into your time of prayer today.7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned t...

I am going to ask that we join together in praying this prayer. The prayer is not an admission to something, but rather an invitation for something. It is a welcoming of the Lord to speak into our hearts the things that may be hindering our walk with Him. Pray this with me:Lord, show me where I may be deceived. Meditate on this and let the Lord reveal it to you. Make this a daily request.......

Depth of sincere faith has been a subject I have been pressing into more and more as I have gone through the book of John. I carefully am examining my own life and looking at the evidence of belief. In my repentance, is it sincere and followed up with true transformation, or like a dog do I return to my own vomit? When I get cleansed from the muck and mire, do I hasten back like a pig? Is my life ...

30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.-John 20:30-31Just as for the lesson of the original audience, I must ask myself the same question: do I believe? We may very well think that we believe ...

Jesus is alive! This is the lesson of lessons! Let's look at the conclusion that John gives at the end of this chapter.30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.-John 20:30-31The heart behind all...

In looking at John 20, there are quite a few connections we can look at, but there is one in particular that has stood out to me for a while that I would love to share. Remember the fact that John is giving testimony of fulfilled Scripture. He does this blatantly in some places where he tells us directly. In other places, it seems more eluded too. Let's look at the imagery of what Mary Magdalene s...

Despite the fact that Jesus declared that it is finished, the story is not over. The power in the death of Jesus is made of effect when met with His resurrection. And it is exactly that that we will talk about this week.John 20 opens up with Mary Magdalene going early to the tomb. When she gets there, she sees that the stone had been removed from the tomb. She ran back to Simon Peter and the disci...

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”3 Peter therefore went out, and the other discipl...

When was the last time you spent time in thanksgiving to the Lord for the work of the cross? Take 15 minutes this morning and praise the Lord for the finished work. Thank the Lord for sending His Son.......

I posed a question in yesterday's devotion: Do I believe the cross completed the work? I could argue semantically that I don't entirely simply given the fact that there were prophecies fulfilled after that statement and the fact that the resurrection is necessary to demonstrate that death ahs been overcome. But then again, that would be to look at the statement of Jesus from an incorrect perspecti...

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.-Hebrews 4:1The finished work of the cross of Christ has been a prominent theme showing up for me in recent weeks. It is exciting to continue reflecting on this reality.I remember, as the hopeless romantic that I was, many shows and movies that went something along these lines. Guy me...

There are three major themes, among other major themes, that I am going to highlight. Let us remember the purpose of John's writing. He is writing that the reader may believe. He is writing that the believer would be reinforced in their belief. With that, these three key elements truly stand out.To being, the first major theme is that Jesus freely gives up His own life. Jesus speaks with Pilate wh...

In this context, it is difficult to exactly explain what the connection would be. This is the very thing all points in Scripture connect too. In a broad stroke, one might answer that the connection is the very word of God in totality. This is the substance that casts the shadow of things to come in the Old Testament. It is the thing the New Testament is written in light of. This is the point that ...