The Gospels through the Summer, Day 76 What do we believe about Jesus? Read John 8. Jesus takes the time to explain who he is and his relationship to the Father. These people don’t believe him or understand what he is talking about. They can’t comprehend anyone being greater than Abraham. When Jesus explains that he is greater, they want to stone him. When we think about our freedom, it matters who sets us free. The liberator determines of what type of freedom we will enjoy. Because Jesus is the Lord of the universe, he is able to truly free from everything else. His freedom is real and complete. Are…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 75 Whose glory are you seeking? Read John 7. We are to speak in such a way that we are seeking the glory of God. If we are speaking on our own, then we are doing so to gain personal glory. Our own personal glory means absolutely nothing. And there is nothing glorious about any of us except for the work that Christ does in and through us. Only by his grace and his mercy are we are we able to have any glory or bring any glory to God. Are we seeking the glory of God and speaking in his truth, or are…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 74 Are we doing the work of God? Read John 6. There may be a lot of thoughts about what exactly it means to do God’s work. Despite all our preconceived ideas, Jesus clearly states that he is going to be about doing God’s work and that means believing in the One that God sent. We may wonder what our purpose is. We may question what we are supposed to be doing. We may have difficulty understanding the plans. We may even look at our lives and feel that we have wasted time or trusted the wrong people or situations. We may feel lied…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 73 God is working. Read John 5. As Jesus defends himself and the miracles that he is performing, he shares that God is working. God never stopped working. He hasn’t been idle or dormant. God is working and moving and changing lives. Because of this, Jesus was working and moving and changing lives. We, as his followers, are called to him as well to see what else is going on and how else He wants to use us to work and move in all that he is doing. Are we open to being used? Are we willing to do the work? God is calling…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 72 What is it that sustains and motivates us? Read John 4. As Jesus continues his ministry, he he spends his time with a couple of people that others might not have given any time to. When his disciples ask him about this, Jesus responds with this verse. Jesus explains that following and obeying God brings sustenance and motivation that no food could possibly ever fulfill. What motivates us? What drives us to be obedient to him? Do we recognize that our fulfillment only comes through our obedience to God? There is nothing that can motivate us like seeing and obeying God’s will in…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 71 Who are we focused on lifting up? Read John 3. During this chapter, we see Nicodemus come to Jesus to understand more. Nicodemus was a well respected leader and teacher, and yet he humble himself to ask questions to understand who Jesus was and why Jesus had come. Then we see John the Baptist and his followers commenting on the fact that Jesus is becoming more popular than John. To most of us, we would struggle with the idea of someone becoming greater than we are, yet John explains that he has great joy in seeing Jesus lifted up. He explains that Jesus…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 70 What is in our hearts? Read John 2. As we see Jesus begin his ministry, John regularly givea us a behind the scenes look at what the disciples understood about Jesus in the moment and what they ultimately understood later. The disciples saw Jesus in action and they realized later that God is involved in every area of life and that God knows them better than they know themselves. God knows us. He sees us and understands what is in our hearts. Do we trust him to lead us and guide us?

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 69 What do you reflect? Read John 1. So many amazing passages here, but for me, today, this verse 8 stands out to me. As we know, the only reason the moon shines is because it is reflecting the light from the sun. The only reason our lives shine is when we are reflecting the light of Christ. We may think we shine for other reasons, but truly the only shining that we each do is when we are showing people what it means to be like Christ. What are we reflecting today?

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 68 Jesus has risen, now what? Read Luke 24. The message of Luke finishes with a beautiful story showing the grace and power of Jesus as he meets with believers in a variety of ways and settings. This verse finishes the book. They continually praised God. How do we respond to meeting with Jesus? What does our praise look like? Jesus continues to work and to move. He is not dead; he is alive. The disciples knew it and they praised God. We know it and we are to be praising Him. Do we praise God throughout our day and in everything that we…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 67 Do we ask God to remember us? Read Luke 23. As we come to the final chapters of the book of Luke, we see the crucifixion story again. Here in this verse, we see the criminal on the cross next to Jesus asking that Jesus remember him. Jesus knows us, better than we know ourselves and yet, coming to Christ and asking that he remember us and take special note of us shows him the respect that he deserves. It also shows that we are ready for him to move. God wants to move and work in our lives in amazing ways. When…