In this section, we have a pretty amazing narrative of Jesus' approach to His own ministry and the early beginnings of it spreading. It is relatively popular as well. What is a little less popular is some of the implications and the deeper understandings behind this passage. As Jesus rests at the well, known as Jacob's well, a samaritan woman approaches to draw water. Nothing too controversial hap...

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was t...

Take 15 minutes today and sincerely ask the Lord what needs to decrease in your own life that He may increase. Reflect upon areas that you have surrendered to the Lord in the past that He may take priority and give thanks to the Lord for how He has sustained you in that. Rejoice in the Lord your God!......

As I wrote yesterday's devotion, it really challenged me to prayerfully think and bring these things before the Lord. I do not want any area of my life to be self-forwarding, but to be Christ-forwarding. I truly want a "more of You, less of me" mindset with the Lord. As I have studied and found Scriptures that talk about self-seeking, I have taken them to heart and weighed within myself. Neverthel...

"He must increase, but I must decrease."-John 3:30As I ponder this lesson, I think of three different categories of life I want to approach this from. I have found at many times, in many ways, that one of these three areas will be lacking in terms of Him increasing and me decreasing. I'll call these three categories public, personal, and private.Public. The public side of this makes me consider ho...

Other than the already forementioned lesson that Jesus is better is the lesson surrounding the promotion of Jesus over the promotion of self. If we look at history, specifically Israel history, we will see an undertone of this lesson. Whenever Israel tried to make a name for themselves, they always found themselves floundering. However, when they lived simply to glorify God, the Lord exalted them ...

All throughout this section, there are competing themes that highlight how Jesus is better. Beginning the section off, there is a dispute between John's disciples and the Jews about ritual purification. To what degree they were arguing I do not know, but Scripture makes it clear that there were differing viewpoints. What interests me is that the conversation immediately flows into the fact that Je...

The section that we are going through this week engages with several very important biblical themes that point to who Jesus is, who John is, and how we as believers should hold such hearts of humility.Jesus and His disciples come into the land of Judea. We don't know everything about what Jesus was doing there, but we do know one thing. He was baptizing people. We know this because John's disciple...

22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison.25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they ca...

There are many things that we can pray for within John 3 but I have one subject that I really want us to focus on. Take 15 minutes (set a timer) and pray for the unsaved that you know. Pray for their salvation, the light of God shining on their lives. Pray that they would be born again and look unto Jesus.......

 Have you ever thought on how to make something that is insecure become secure? If I take a rope, it by itself is insecure. I can tie it around my waist and jump off a cliff but it will not catch me. But if it was tightly tied off to a post that was anchored to the ground, it would be able to secure me. This is what I am looking to do in every area of my life. I am carefully and prayerfully bringi...

A lot of believers who have now received the Lord and are born again move on beyond this passage and simply have thanksgiving in their hearts for being saved. I do not believe that we ever graduate from the Gospel message. Rather, we grow further into it. If you are born again, the lesson remains. How are you saved? We are saved by looking unto Jesus. Let's put this to the test as to whether or no...

Fortunately for us, Jesus does an incredible job at explaining the exact lesson that He intends to be taken from this. Mankind needs to be born again and they are born again by putting faith in Jesus. The hearers of the day would have understood the reference that Jesus is making to Numbers 21. It is a modern issue that we forget that. So they would see what Jesus is really highlighting here. Sin ...

Jesus is making a very important connection in this passage that explains it very well. Unfortunately, in most of the teachings I have heard on John 3, it is rarely addressed that Jesus is talking about an event that happened in Numbers 21. It is disappointing to me how often I have heard John 3:16 quoted out of context. Allow me to explain.16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begot...

We have a very famous passage found in the midst of this one. The narrative unfolds with a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, coming by night to speak with Jesus. The exact reasons why he would come by night may be speculated upon, but Scripture does not tell us directly why. All the same I do think that it is a really fun analogy to look at this and see that one came from darkness to His marve...