Loving Jesus Style

  Scripture: John 8:32 (ESV) 32  and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Devotion: Jesus said these words to the Jews who had believed in him but were still holding on to their traditions and laws. He challenged them to abide in his word, the trustworthy source of freedom from sin and death. He also exposed their false claim to be Abraham's children since they did not do the works of Abraham and wanted to kill him. He revealed that he was the Son of God, who came from the Father and spoke the truth that the Father had given him. What does it mean to know the truth? It is not just an intellectual knowledge of facts or doctrines but a personal and experiential knowledge of Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). To know him is to love him, trust him, obey him, and follow him. It is a transformative journey, guided by his grace and power, and leading to a life of purpose and fulfillment in his mission and glory. How does the ...

 Scripture: John 14:27 (ESV) : “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (ESV)   In this verse, Jesus speaks directly to His disciples during the Last Supper. He knows that soon He will face betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion. Yet, amidst these impending trials, He offers them a profound and transformative gift: peace. This peace is not just for His disciples, but for each one of us, a personal and intimate gift from our Savior.   The peace that Jesus bestows is not a fleeting or superficial offering. It transcends the peace that the world can provide, as it is not limited by time or circumstance. The peace of Christ is more than a mere facade of tranquility, more than a warm smile and a firm handshake on a Sunday morning. It's like a calm sea that remains undisturbed even in the midst of a storm. Once you have this peace, it becomes an inte...

  Scripture: John 13:34-35 (ESV) 34  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Devotion:             The words of this scripture passage flow from the apostle John as quickly and frequently as any other word he ever wrote. Love is one of the overarching themes in John’s writings. From his gospel to his letters, John consistently writes of the necessity for Christians' lives to be marked by love for one another. The words John writes here are a quote from the lips of Jesus. Jesus knows the law of the Torah and is undoubtedly aware that in Leviticus 19: 18, we are commanded to love one another. So, in what sense is this a new command?             The Leviticus command is that we love on...

  Scripture: Romans 10.9 (ESV) if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Devotion:             These words Paul addressed to the church in Rome are a precious confession of the simplicity of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Sometimes, we allow the Christian faith to become complicated. We are, despite our protestations to the contrary, much like the Pharisees of Jesus Day. We like to multiply the things necessary for salvation without Biblical warrant. It is good for us to remember the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. A thief hanging on the cross next to Jesus asks Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into His kingdom. Jesus responds that the thief will be with Him in paradise that very day.             However, in some churches today, membership standards are so low that eve...

Scripture: John 1:1-5 (ESV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  He was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Devotion:             With these words of introduction, the writer John the Apostle begins to tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth. John introduces Jesus as the Word that was with God at the very beginnings of the universe. It is an introduction to the concept of God as the Trinity. In the following verses, John unpacks how the Father and the Son were present at the creation of the universe. This is meant to give us just a glimpse into the concept of one God in three persons. While much remains mysterious about this God, He is described in this fashion,...

  Scripture: John 16:1-4 (ESV) “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2  They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3  And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4  But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. Devotion:             The words of Jesus in today’s scripture were a warning to those who originally heard them. Persecution was coming, and it would be harsh and unforgiving. The original audience for this message would need encouragement to keep following Jesus even when He was not physically present with them anymore. It is a timeless message of encouragement for all believers in every time and place. Jesus will not leave or forsake us to the enemies of the faith.    ...

Scripture: John 15:26-27 (ESV) 26  “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. Devotion:             When John wrote this, the Helper had already come upon the disciples. Jesus’s words had proven true again. The Helper was, of course, the Holy Spirit that fell on the disciples on Pentecost. In addition to all the more spectacular miracles the Spirit brought about on that day was this gift of remembrance. The New Testament writers all had this miraculous assistance through the Helpers ministry. This ministry gift does not get the praise it deserves. Speaking in tongues, healings, words of knowledge, etc., all tend to stand out in our minds.             As I age, I pray f...

Scripture: John 15:12-17 (ESV) 12  “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14  You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17  These things I command you so that you will love one another. Devotion:             Jesus's words in today’s text encourage believers throughout the ages to believe that we are not merely servants but friends of Jesus. Jesus explains His commandments to His follow...

The following sermon I preached at 1st Presbyterian Church on March 17,2024. Technology failed us and live streaming failed us. I thought it good for all to read so I have posted it in its entirety here.  Good morning, my brothers & sisters in Christ. Today’s scripture is all about the unity of believers. We  will need God’s help to understand and put into practice what we find in these short verses. Please join  me in a time of prayer for our understanding of the truth of the Gospel:             Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning broken, hurting people. We admit we have deep divisions in a church you meant to be united. Forgive us for having a mindset of division rather than one of unity. Open your word to us today so we may hear and obey your call to be united in Christ. Amen. Unity. That is the theme of Jesus’ prayer in these verses from John, which we just heard this morning. In it, Jesus declare...

Scripture: John 15:9-11 (ESV) 9  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10  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. 11  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Devotion:             In these verses, Jesus is giving the disciples an intimate portrait of the love that exists between the Father and the Son and the Son and the disciples. These words were not recorded for the twelve apostles only. They apply to us as well. We know that the Father loved the Son with an extraordinary love. Without a strong bond of love, the power of God manifested in Jesus could not exist. What is the reason for this strong Father, Son love we see here? The keeping of commandments. It sounds strange to our 21st-century ears, but the love between the Father and Son is base...

Scripture: John 16:31-33 (NLT) 31  Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? 32  But the time is coming—indeed, it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33  I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because I have overcome the world.” Devotion:             This passage of scripture highlights the disciples' reactions to Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. The disciples claim that they will all follow Jesus wherever He goes. Jesus knows His followers better than they know themselves. All of them will desert him, and one will even deny knowing Him. Courage among this group at this time does not even exist. Things have not changed much over the intervening 2,000 years.             Great ...

Scripture: John 15:18-20 (ESV) 18  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20  Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. Devotion:             This scripture is compelling. It explains what happened to Jesus and His disciples some 2,000 years ago. The message of God is rarely welcome news for the world. It calls out many of the culture's favorite practices for what they are: sin. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, humankind has been adamant about trying to hide or excuse their sin. Sin causes a barrier between humans and God that humanity cannot overcom...

Scripture: John 14:26-27 (ESV) 26  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Devotion:             Jesus, whose prayer we are eavesdropping on in this passage of scripture, is praying for His inner circle of disciples. Jesus knows that they will need help once Jesus has left the earth. Indeed, we read in the book of Acts that they were a pitiful band of unbelieving disciples who believed that their Master and Lord had been taken from them, and they were not sure how to proceed from there.             We all resemble that inner circle of disciples. We sometimes feel that God has orphaned us and...

  Scripture: John 14:26-27 (ESV) 26  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Devotion:             These words of Jesus to his disciples in the upper room on the night He was betrayed convey a divine approach to peace. Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to Him, did not pray for strength, courage, or any other response that we might consider more appropriate, humanly speaking. When we humans face inevitable persecution and execution, our natural response would not be peace. Yet, Jesus exemplified peace under these conditions. How did He behave in this way?             First, Jesus had...

  Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17 (ESV) 15  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Devotion:             The Apostle John gives us some basic instructions about our relationship with the things of the world. A note of caution is in order here. John did not say hate the people of the world. John has already written in his gospel that “God so loved the world,” God loves those whom He has created to be His image bearers, and nothing can revoke that love. Satan and his angels currently administer this world system of governments and authorities. Therefore, that system is not to be loved. ...

  Scripture: Proverbs 4:23 (ESV) 23           Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Devotion:             Today’s scripture calls us to guard our hearts. The first question that comes into our mind may be what the writer means when writing the word “heart.” While we can never be sure, we can look for clues elsewhere in scripture. A quick survey of proverbs yields many uses of the word. It also can be found on the lips of Jesus in John 7:28, “ 38  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” These words of Jesus point us to our hearts as the source of life.             It is a short proverb, probably directly the summation of the less famous verses that precede it. Verses 20-22: 20  My son, be attentive to...