Day 225/260: Read John 15

Jesus makes clear to His apostles that there is a direct connection between their love for Him and their obedience to His commands. One must deny himself and bend his will to align with the will of God.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” That is to say that their desires will align more with God’s will as they abide in the words of Christ.

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” There is simply no separating a love for God from submission to Him. One who refuses to obey God’s commands —including the command to love one another—shows by his actions that he doesn’t really love God.

Jesus wanted His disciples to know that loving Him would result in hatred from the world. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Are you obedient to the Lord’s commands? Do you really love Jesus? Or are you hanging on to the love of the world, refusing to fully submit to the will of God?

Memory (Recite to a friend without looking)

John 12:48. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Pray

Pray for the humility to shape your desires after the will of God.

Day 224/260: Read John 14

The Lord has told His disciples that He was about to be betrayed by one of them. He has told them on multiple occasions that He would be put to death. He tells them near the end of the last chapter, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward” (John 13:36). If you were one of His closest friends, would you have been concerned?

Jesus likely recognized that they struggled as they processed this information, and He says, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” To paraphrase: “Don’t worry. Trust the Father and trust Me.”

The apostles didn’t have the full picture yet, so Jesus wanted to set their minds at ease. He said He has everything under control, and He was making things ready for them too. “In My Father’s house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I got to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Heaven is prepared for the faithful; hell is prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Sadly, many will choose to spend eternity in a place that was never intended for them (Matthew 7:13-14).

Memory (Fill in the blanks)

John 12:48. He who _____________ Me, and does not receive My words, has that which _____________ him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Pray

Pray for comfort as you seek to do God’s will, following Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life.

Day 223/260: Read John 13

Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

Jesus provides His followers with the ultimate example of humility. Though He was called “Teacher and Lord” by His disciples, yet He saw fit to be a servant to them. He taught them that no one is too important to serve another.

Everyone has a role to play in the Master’s kingdom, yet no role is so important that one can be excused from working in any capacity, even the lowliest capacity. We all work together, serving one another, to get the Lord’s work done.

Later in the chapter, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

How did Jesus love His creation? He left heaven for a time, “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). Even more than that, though, “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

It was the only way to save mankind. And He loved us that much. Do we love each other enough to give up some of our comforts and conveniences, to serve as examples of faithfulness, to seek and to save the lost?

Memory (Fill in the blanks)

John 12:48. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My ____________, has that which judges him—the ____________ that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Pray

Pray that you may exhibit the humility and love of Jesus in your life today.

Day 222/260: Read John 12

You have probably heard the expression, “Hindsight is 20/20.” It is easier to look back on past events and see more clearly things that were not obvious at the time. Twice in the twelfth chapter of John, the apostle makes reference to things that were not initially evident, but made more sense later.

The first is the motivation of Judas Iscariot. John notes Judas’ objection to the anointing of Jesus’ feet. He claimed that the money should have been used for the poor, but in hindsight, John saw that his words did not match his motivation. John said that Judas did not care for the poor, but rather was “a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.”

Later in the chapter, Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” At the time, the disciples did not understand the full import of His words, but when John wrote his account of the gospel, he was able to look back on these words and see their meaning more clearly. “This He said, signifying by what death He would die.”

When things happen in our lives, we may not see how much it impacts us and those around us until years later. We may look back and see God working in ways that we simply couldn’t have grasped in the moment. Remember, James wrote, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” Good things come from bad situations, and we must trust in God to allow that to happen.

Memory (Copy into a notebook 5-10 times)

John 12:48. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Pray

Pray for patience through the struggles of life.

Day 221/260: Read John 11

One of the first memory verses children are tasked with is often John 11:35. Two words: “Jesus wept.” But how much profound teaching is found in those two words?

Why did our Lord weep as He looked at the tomb in which Lazarus’ body lay? Was He simply overcome with the grief that was felt by His friends, Mary and Martha? Or was there something more? Something deeper? Something spiritual?

Where was Lazarus? His body was inside the tomb, but his spirit had departed. James reminds us that “the body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26); Jesus affirmed that Lazarus was dead. Thus, his spirit was not in the tomb with his body.

If Lazarus was a faithful follower of God, he was in Paradise. Jesus was about to recall him from a place of spiritual safety back into a wicked world filled with temptation and sin. Do those two words—“Jesus wept”—carry more weight when thinking of those implications?

James Burton Coffman commented on this incident, “The prospect of Lazarus again facing life with its inevitable dangers to the soul, and particularly with the additional burden that would be imposed by his resurrection (fort he Pharisees would try to kill him) – all such considerations are of such profound weight that they may be rightly viewed as plunging the Son of God into tears as he thought of them.”

There is so much more meaning to those two little words than when we first memorized them. There is so much more meaning to much of the Bible when we truly meditate on what it says.

Memory (Read aloud 5-10 times)

John 12:48. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Pray

Pray for a deeper understanding of the Scriptures, using sound resources to better understand the mind of God.

Day 220/260: Read John 10

How frustrating is it to talk to someone who denies plain truth? Despite all the evidence in the world, they still refuse to accept what you see and understand.

John records an incident that happened at the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem in which the Jews questioned Jesus, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

John the Baptist proclaimed the truth of Jesus’ identity. “John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, “He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.”’…The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’…‘And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.’” (John 1:15,29,34).

Jesus’ disciples knew who He was. Andrew told his brother Peter, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49). Peter declared, “Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:69).

Jesus answered the Jews, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me” (John 10:25).

The answer was in front of their very eyes, but they could not acknowledge the truth.

Memory (Recite to a friend without looking)

John 8:31. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”

Pray

Pray for the wisdom to accept Jesus at His word.

Day 219/260: Read John 9

Why do bad things happen to good people? From physical ailments to natural disasters, we see good people suffer all around us. Why?
John presents to us in the ninth chapter of his gospel account a man who was born blind. The Lord’s disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” It is a common assumption that bad things happen because of sin that one has committed.

Job’s friends argued this when trouble befell him. Eliphaz said, “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same” (Job 4:7-8). Bildad said, “Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, nor will He uphold the evildoers” (Job 8:20). Zophar’s comments to Job were similar, blaming Job for all of his suffering.

While it is true that we can suffer from our personal sin, we must not jump to conclusion that all suffering is caused by such. There are times that we are affected by the sin of others. In fact, there are times that we suffer because we refuse to sin (2 Timothy 3:12; Matthew 5:10-12).

In addition to this, there are times that we may suffer so that God can be glorified. Jesus answered His disciples, “Neither this man nor his parent sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in Him.”

Whatever happens in this life, good or bad, look to God and glorify Him. Seek opportunities to praise Him despite less than ideal circumstances.

Memory (Fill in the blanks)

John 8:31. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My ________________, you are My ________________ indeed.”

Pray

Pray for opportunities to shine the light of Christ in your life, even when bad things are happening.