22400.1 The Gifts of Light and Life

Today’s Reading: John 1:1-5

Hearing God’s Voice for Today:

“He was in the beginning with God…all things were made through him…the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

* * * * *

Jesus existed before creation. He was with the Father when all creation was formed. Indeed, he created all things himself! There is not one atom that came into existence outside his sovereign command and control. Through him, all things came into being.

Today, as you awaken in the morning and watch the sun nod into evening, remember it’s his world. When you enjoy the tantalizing tapestry, the magnificent majesty, the delightful design of his colorful creation, know that he made it all for you to richly enjoy!

He also created you. Before creation, he knew you by name. At the very mention of your name, his heart jumps with joy. Your name is inscribed on his heart. It is a name he will never be able to forget.

Why did Jesus create you? In eternity, the Father, and the Spirit, and the Son were in a perfect love relationship, like three distinct persons carrying out a perfectly synchronized, harmonious, and unified dance together. Jesus created you to forever dance along with them in this lavish love relationship.

He knit you together in your mother’s womb. He knew the number of cells in your body, the hairs on your head, and the shape of your face. If he were to make you again, he would make you exactly as you are. You are like no other and perfect in his sight.

If your life is ever filled with darkness, please know that Jesus is not the author of darkness. In creation, he separated light from darkness.

He is perfect light. His light always overcomes darkness. He is the light of the world. He is your personal light amidst all your days of darkness.

Jesus came to give you life and to give it to you abundantly. He is the author of life, not death. Choose today to live in his light and life.

As you do, trust that he oversees everything that is happening in this world. He oversees all history. He oversees your personal history.

Nothing catches him by surprise. He is Lord over all. He is Lord over your life. He protects his faithful ones and promises to keep you safe.

The Lord Jesus will be with you today. He is close to the brokenhearted.

He gives strength to those whose spirits are crushed. He will encourage you by giving you his strength. Nothing can separate you from his love. His personal, loving presence will be a light to all your paths.

You can trust him today.

[from “Hearing the Voice of God” by Pastor David Chadwick, Moments of Hope Church, Charlotte, NC]

22400.0 Hearing What God Has to Say to You

Here is a question I’m often asked: How does a person hear the voice of God? It’s an important question to answer to aid people’s spiritual growth. Jesus said unambiguously that his sheep hear his voice so they can know and follow him more faithfully (John 10:27).

When asked this question, I consistently give the same answer: The best way to hear God’s voice is through reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word. Then the Holy Spirit will speak through those words to your heart.

I’m then asked, “Well, is there a good place to start when trying to hear God’s voice in his Word?” My answer is an unequivocal yes. It’s to where my dad always pointed people to start. I heard it’s the same place Billy Graham encourages people to begin when reading God’s Word.

It’s the Gospel of John. It’s a brilliant, blazing constellation of light in a world of darkness. In John, we read clear claims of Jesus’ deity— more specifically, his seven “I am” statements, which are unique to the

Gospel of John. John gives us deep insights into Jesus’ relationship with the Father. The person and work of the Holy Spirit come alive.

In John, Jesus promises us that through him, we will never hunger or thirst spiritually again.

Just when you think you know all you possibly can about Jesus, a jolt out of the Johannine blue surprises you. “Oh, I’d never seen that before!” you exclaim. Sometimes you gasp in wonder as a new revelation enlightens your heart.

I did this spiritual exercise in John for a year. Daily I would read some verses and allow my heart to be marinated by their words. I would then say, “Speak to me, Lord Jesus, in your Word.” Then I’d write down what I thought the Lord was saying. It was a year of extraordinary spiritual growth.

This book, Hearing the Voice of God, is a compilation of that year’s worth of reading, listening to, and writing down what I thought God was saying. I’ve now tried to translate it into a context where any reader could similarly hear God’s voice in his Word.

My greatest desire is for you to experience what I experienced: God speaking powerfully and personally in his Word. While I did this over the course of a year, you’re welcome to ponder and apply these readings at a pace that works best for you.

At the end of reading the Gospel of John, I hope your heart’s antennae will be more finely tuned to hear God specifically speaking to you so you can follow Jesus more faithfully. Jesus said he speaks to his sheep. He yearns for his people to hear his voice and do his will, and that includes you.

I pray this devotional will aid you in hearing the voice of God as you journey through John’s Gospel.

It was an incredible experience for me, and I’ll never be the same because of it.

My hope is the same will be true for you.

33010 Dealing with Behavior Problems

In order to overcome behavior problems, we first need to know that God understands our predicament. He must! The Bible He gave us is so realistic about the human condition. A part of us wants to do what is right, but we go ahead and do what we know is wrong anyway.

An important question for us to consider is, what causes us to do wrong?

The Blame Game

If we listen to the “experts” or even to the ordinary folk we live with every day, we hear many different explanations for why people do bad things. What most of these explanations have in common is a tendency to say that the behavior is not really the fault of the one who does it.

  • Do you have a problem with rage? Maybe you can lay the responsibility for it at the feet of your father, who mistreated you when you were a kid.
  • Do you feel a desire to engage in sex with persons of your own gender? It might be that you have a “gay gene.”
  • Do you steal things? Maybe the fault lies less with you than with a society that stacks the deck against the poor.
  • Do you drink too much? It could be that you have alcoholism disease.
  • Do you have a hatred for men? Maybe it is all due to the date rape you suffered when you were younger.

We do not mean to make light of the hardships that people endure—not in the least. Victims of abuse and misfortune deserve our concern and support. And we should recognize that they really do have to deal with the consequences of what has been done to them through no fault of their own.

On the other hand, we do mean to point out the ways that people tend to shift some, if not all, of the blame for their behavior problem away from themselves. This all-too-human tendency goes back to the first couple, for when God tried to get Adam and Eve to fess up to the fruit-eating incident, Adam blamed Eve—and Eve blamed the serpent!¹

The practice of blaming bad behavior on a variety of factors other than sin is certainly understandable—who would not like to avoid responsibility for their behavior problems if they could? But it is an unfortunate manifestation of the sinful nature nevertheless.

In some instances, the blame is completely misplaced. In other instances, the blaming does manage to identify a contributing factor to someone’s poor behavior. But even in such cases, the contributing factor does not constitute the heart of the problem. The blaming misses what is really going on.

Sadly, everyone loses at the blame game. Worst of all, blaming poor behavior on secondary factors results in a reliance upon solutions that do not work.

Select the right arrow (below) to continue reading Chapter 1. Dealing with Behavior Problems.

¹See Genesis 3:12-13.

47158 You Are Part of God’s Family

God created us as physical, spiritual, and relational beings.

That is why we all need each other. We are never meant to live this life alone.

This is equally true when you become a new creation in Christ.

Being in Christ means that you are now a member of the body of Christ.

You now belong to a new community!

The Bible uses the image of a physical body to describe this spiritual community to which you now belong. Jesus is the head (Colossians 1:18), and we together make up the complete body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).

The Bible also describes the Christian fellowship as God’s family. God is our Father. Jesus is our (oldest) brother. We are all brothers and sisters.

Finding A Local Church

When we talk about church, we may refer to a building, a legal entity, or an organization. But at heart, a local church is a fellowship (a community on God’s mission) of followers of Jesus.

And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24–25)

As one who belongs to Jesus, you need the rest of the body for encouragement, protection, and growth.

Finding the right church will help you live the abundant life Jesus promised to its fullest extent. Here is a beautiful example of such a church life:

They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. All who believed were together and held everything in common, and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42–47)

Learn more about:

Discipleship

One of the purposes of the church as a community of believers is their spiritual growth and maturity (Ephesians 4:12). Christian discipleship is a life-long journey of becoming more like Jesus in every way. Jesus is the Master, and we are all His students. The context of discipleship is our everyday life. God uses everything in our lives to train us, and the church plays a significant role in our spiritual growth.

Christians are also witnesses to the person and work of Jesus Christ in the world. This is done not only individually but also communally as a local church (or sometimes as a group of local churches).

You are an indispensable member of this community both as a school of equipping and as a witnessing body of Christ. The more mature you are in Christ, the more actively you are involved in the life of the community.

Learn more about Being the Church to One Another.

Select the article series and discover more about the church and you.

21014 BibleProject

BibleProject is a nonprofit animation studio that produces short-form, fully animated Bible videos, and other Bible resources to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. From page one to the final word, the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus.

In the JO App, you will find an overview of the Old and New Testament books. Select from the list below to watch videos.

21016 Thru the Bible by J. Vernon McGee

Listen to a message by Dr. J. Vernon McGee and follow the Bible Reading Schedule

God uses His Word uniquely in each of our lives to transform the way we think, believe, and live.

The Bible is God’s own story: The story of His love, His redemption—a story that He planned and put into place before our time began. At its heart, it’s the story of how He has opened the way for us to know Him, to love and obey Him, to grow deeper day by day in the ways we trust Him. It’s a beautiful story that gets better every time we hear it.

It’s the story Thru the Bible tells every day on the air and invites people to listen. Its radio ministry is globally available in over 100 languages.

The late Dr. J. Vernon McGee, the founder of Thru the Bible, pastor and teacher, said, “The only way you and I are going to stay close to Jesus is to stay close to His Word. . .when you spend time studying the Bible, you can’t help but be drawn to the Person of Jesus.”

Listen to a message by Dr. J. Vernon McGee and follow the Bible Reading Schedule

21012 NET Bible

The JO App contains the NET (New English Translation) Bible.

Read the NET Bible in this JO App

The web version of NET Bible (external link at netbible.org) is an amazing free resource for serious Bible students.

The NET Bible (New English Translation) is a completely new translation of the Bible with 60,932 translators’ notes! It was completed by more than 25 scholars – experts in the original biblical languages – who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Turn the pages and see the breadth of the translators’ notes, documenting their decisions and choices as they worked.

The translators’ notes make the original languages far more accessible, allowing you to look over the translator’s shoulder at the very process of translation. This level of documentation is a first for a Bible translation, making transparent the textual basis and the rationale for key renderings (including major interpretive options and alternative translations).

This unparalleled level of detail helps connect people to the Bible in the original languages in a way never before possible without years of study of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It unlocks the riches of the Bible’s truth from entirely new perspectives. (“Our Story”, NETBible.com)

Read the NET Bible in this JO App

47157 Two-way Communication with God

Because the Christian life is a relationship with God, good communication with Him is essential to growing in your fellowship with Him.

The Bible and prayer are two primary channels of communication with God.

The Bible

The Bible is the written Word of God. It consists of 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.

There are different ways to be “in the Word”:

When you open the Bible, first ask the Holy Spirit to open your mind and heart to understand the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit who is also known as the Spirit of truth will guide you to all the truth found in the Bible.

It is equally important to put into practice what you discover in the Bible. God commands us to “continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence” (Philippians 2:12) and “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16), He wants us to make the truths of the Bible our daily habits.

The Bible is available in many different languages. You may be able to find one in your native language. For example, bible.com offers free online Bibles in over 1,000 different languages.

Select the article series below and learn more about having daily time with God.

Select the article series below and discover tools and resources for spending time in the Word.

Prayer

We all know instinctively to pray, especially in times of great need. Prayer is usually a petition to a higher power.

The Christian prayer is far more than that! It is a conversation with your heavenly Father through Jesus your Lord and Savior.

When you pray, you know with whom you are talking. You know that you are addressing the Holy God, Creator and King of all creation who loves and embraces you as His dearest child.

Through prayers, you can tell God how much you love Him and appreciate what He has done and what He is doing.

One powerful way to pray is to pray on behalf of others. This is known as intercession.

Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father Almighty, and the Holy Spirit, who dwells in every believer in Christ, both intercede for His people (see Romans 8:26, 34). Intercession is so important that both the Son and the Holy Spirit are engaged in it.

Select the article series below and learn more about prayer.

Select the article series below and discover the power of praying the Lord’s Prayer.

47154 The Assurance of Your Eternal Destiny

You can know for certain that you are a Christian and that you belong to Jesus.

There is a threefold confirmation that Christ is in you.

  1. The Word of God (Bible)
  2. The Holy Spirit
  3. The Changed Life

The Word of God

The Bible, the written Word of God, testifies that those who have Jesus have eternal life.

But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children. (John 1:12)

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life. (1 John 5:11–12)

You can know that you are in Christ because the Bible says so.

We have faith in the trustworthiness of the Bible because it is the Word of God. Even though strong feelings often accompany your fellowship with God, we do not rely on feelings.

Christian living is a life of faith in God and in Jesus Christ.

Faith, Facts, and Feelings

Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. So, anyone can have faith. People can have faith in science, faith in themselves, faith in their parents, faith in their friends, etc.

When the Bible talks about faith, it is talking about faith (trust and confidence) in God the Father and His Son, Jesus the Messiah (Christ) as the Lord and Savior.

Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Practically, to have faith in God involves trusting His Word, the Bible.

Our faith in God and in His Word is what drives our Christian living.

The facts of the Bible — all the promises and commands of God as well as many truths about Him, and examples through His dealing with His people — are the basis for our trust and confidence in Him.

Feelings are unreliable when it comes to knowing spiritual truths. Because we are physical-spiritual-relational beings, any number of physical and relational situations can influence our feelings.

Even though the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit often accompanies a sense of peace or joy, He remains present with us even when we don’t feel anything.

We don’t trust feelings. We trust God and His Word.

Thus, there is truth to the saying, “God says it. I believe it. That settles it.”

The Holy Spirit

In addition to the external witness of the Word of God, there is an internal witness of the Spirit of God.

When you trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He gives you His Holy Spirit to dwell in you.

The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:16)

Pastor John Piper explains it this way:

It means a heartfelt cry rises up in us to God as our Father and Christ as our Lord: “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit.”

So, when there arises in the believer’s heart a humble, authentic, dependent, thankful, happy, “Father, Father,” that is the Holy Spirit, because a person who is without Christ cannot call out to God in a dependent, loving, thankful, humble way. They are too selfish. They are too self-reliant. They don’t treat God that way. And the reason I said it is also a heart cry to Jesus as Lord is because he says almost the same thing in 1 Corinthians 12:3: “Therefore I want you to understand no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.”

So if your heart rises up not only to say, “Father, Father, I need you,” but also rises up to say, “Jesus, my Master, my Lord, my God, my everything,” that is the Holy Spirit in you. That is the evidence of God in your life. That is part of his assuring work.

Changed Life

The third confirmation is your changed life.

Just as marriage changes you from the life of a single person to that of a husband or of a wife, you will begin to see changes in your life as one in a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

You may have dramatic or miraculous changes. There are times and seasons when you may not see any visible changes. But over the course of months and years, as you faithfully cultivate your fellowship with Jesus, your life will become more conformed to that of Jesus.

The fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22–23)

The fruit of the Spirit is the result of walking daily with Jesus, being guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The late Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) explains that the fruit of the Spirit is love expressed in eight different ways: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The more you know and experience the love of God your heavenly Father in Christ Jesus, the more you will be assured and confident that you belong to Him.

Video Resources

Be Sure You’re A Christian, Part 1 of 4

Be Sure You’re A Christian Part 2 of 4

Be Sure You’re A Christian Part 3 of 4

Be Sure You’re A Christian Part 4 of 4