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The real deal in a world of cheap substitutes
In John’s Gospel, Jesus makes a series of well-known statements that begin with the words, “I am.” Here they are: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35)“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)“I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7)“I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11)“I… Listen ⇢
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Slower time is better time
“Abide in me, and I in you.” That’s what Jesus says in John 15:4. The idea of “abiding” with Jesus presumes closeness and time. In other words, it presumes that we are drawing near to him, and that we are prioritizing him in our schedules. Lately, I’ve been thinking about… Listen ⇢
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Abide in my love
[Alert: New article for summer, link below.] ~ Recently, we have been spending time with John 15:4. That’s where Jesus said: “Abide in me, and I in you.” In the previous devotional, we talked about taking our time with Jesus’ words instead of rushing past them. This is one of… Listen ⇢
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A rocking chair with the words of Jesus
In John 15:4 Jesus says something that is easy to skip over, even though it takes a lifetime to digest: “Abide in me, and I in you.” Various translation teams have tried to capture this enigmatic phrase. The NET Bible says: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.”… Listen ⇢
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Can we all just say, ‘No Thanks’?
Mark Zuckerberg is the co-founder of Meta and Facebook. In his early days, he had a motto: “Move fast and break things.” At first, it seems appealing. ‘Let’s innovate, move forward, and not get held back by the consequences!’ It certainly captures something about the sentiment of our times. However,… Listen ⇢
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Coming home to yourself
The Star Wars movies have spawned a series of spin-off TV shows. One of them is called Andor. In it, rebels (who are actually the good guys) are plotting against the evil Empire who keeps trying to expand its grip. It’s appetite for darkness and control seem insatiable. In Season… Listen ⇢
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Scary, until this
“God is love.” That’s exactly what the apostle John says in 1 John 4:8. He is also “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 145:8). At the same time, he is holy and just. He punishes sin. There are times when he also exercises his… Listen ⇢
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Don’t lose your stability
I recently spent a lot of time studying 2 Peter. At the end of the letter, he said: “…take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability” (2 Peter 3:17). This was a topic that was clearly important to him.… Listen ⇢
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Keep fighting
Peter was a fisherman. Jesus called him into a life of discipleship and leadership: “Follow me,” he said, “and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). Sure, Peter was imperfect. There was a time when he denied Jesus (Luke 22:58). He also had a habit of putting… Listen ⇢
Meet Matthew.
Disciple, pastor, medieval modern, husband, and dad of three who lives in the psalms.
