“True worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth. . . . God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” — John 4:23-24 Jesus shares this important teaching while he is talking one day with a Samaritan woman (John 4:1-26). Worship is a sacred act that connects us intimately with God. It goes beyond rituals and outward expressions. It is a heartfelt response to God’s majesty and goodness. In worship, we surrender our hearts and minds to God,...

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. — Ephesians 5:25 Marriage is a sacred union designed by God, a reflection of his love and commitment to his people. It is a covenant relationship that calls us to sacrificial love, selflessness, and mutual support. In a world that often prioritizes self-gratification, marriage is meant to show the beauty of sacrificial love. As husbands and wives, we are called to follow the example of Christ’s love for...

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. — Psalm 103:13 Fatherhood is a sacred role for dads, an opportunity to reflect the heart of our heavenly Father in the lives of children. This is a responsibility that carries great significance and impact, as fathers have the privilege of nurturing, guiding, and loving their children. In a world longing for strong and loving father figures, we are called to show the compassion, grace, and wisdom...

I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. — Revelation 7:9 In his grand design God calls us to embrace cross-cultural connections and celebrate the diversity among us. The vision in Revelation reveals a glimpse of the eternal kingdom, where people from every nation, tribe, and language will stand united before the throne, worshiping our Lord and...

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said. . . . At once they left their nets and followed him. — Matthew 4:19-20 When Jesus called his disciples, he issued an invitation that went beyond mere companionship. He called for a radical commitment to follow him completely. This call echoes through time, extending to us as his followers today, urging us to embrace the path of discipleship. Discipleship is more than attending church or learning about Jesus. It is a transformative journey of surrender,...

Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent. . . . I am slow of speech and tongue.” — Exodus 4:10 In our life of faith, there are times when God calls us to tasks that can seem beyond our abilities. Like Moses, we might think we lack the skills or eloquence to do what God has asked. Doubts and insecurities can grip our hearts, causing us to question whether we can truly serve God’s purpose. When God called Moses to go before Pharaoh and lead the Israelites...

Now [God] has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. — Colossians 1:22 I have friends and family who have been estranged from one another. It is, at best, unpleasant. At worst, it is horrible and painful. Spouses despise each other; children and parents don’t speak to each other for years; business partners want to be rid of each other. Things can get ugly in this old world. This is why the news of...

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. . . . — John 15:5 Are we really united to Jesus like branches to a vine? Yes, and amen! And does that mean we are also united with other people who are Christians? Yes, it does. If we are united with Christ, we are like a branch of the holy vine of God. Yet there are other branches too, and the people represented by all those branches are loved by God just as we are—even if we might disagree...

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” — John 11:25 This quotation is a brief summary of the good news of Jesus. He says that anyone who believes in him will live, even after death. He says that life comes only through him. And he does not merely say that he knows how to find the resurrection and the life; he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” This occurs amid the dramatic story of the raising of Lazarus,...

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life. . . . — Deuteronomy 30:19 In Deuteronomy, Moses is giving his farewell speech to God’s people Israel. So he tells the Israelites straight up: “You can go one of two ways—the way of blessings and life, or the way of curses and death. Choose life!” The choice seems rather simple and obvious, right? I can’t imagine people saying, “Well, I’ll...

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. — John 3:16 Notice that God loves this whole, great big world. He doesn’t just love only a few people—or even all people—but the whole world. That includes all creation. Wow, that’s a big love! All of nature is God’s, and God loves all of it. True, we humans are the capstone of creation, but we are still very much a part of it. All of us, and all of creation, can and should...

Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers . . . nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Romans 8:38-39 Most of the conquerors in history have been egotistical thugs. They established kingdoms by their own power and for their own glory, often killing many thousands of people to do so. But what we learn from Scripture is that Jesus, the King of kings and...

The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. — Romans 8:21 Did you know that God’s plan of salvation includes more than the saving of human souls? For many Christians “Jesus saves” means that Jesus saves us from our sins, and that is true—but there is also much more. Jesus came to save the whole world, all of creation. So, when Jesus comes again, the world will not be obliterated—it will be renewed. The...

“My father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” — John 14:2 There is nothing like a good homecoming. Perhaps you enjoyed one recently. Family members return home. Children, grandchildren, and other relations gather around, delighted to see each other and renew relationships. Or maybe a reunion brought together old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. If you were making preparations, didn’t you...

Like living stones, [you] are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. — 1 Peter 2:5 Jesus came as the Savior to bring us into God’s family, providing us a home with God. As Peter describes it, Jesus is also the cornerstone of our faith: “The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (See also Psalm 25:3; Isaiah 28:16.) And “like living stones,” we “are being built into a spiritual house” to...

“Father . . . glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. . . . Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” — John 17:1-3 Many years before Jesus came, the Lord God Almighty called Abraham and made promises to him—and Abraham trusted and followed (Genesis 12:1-8). At that time most people believed in many different gods, and all the nations claimed they had gods of their own. The Lord, however, taught Abraham and his...

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13 In our Scripture reading for today we see that Jesus calls his disciples “friends.” Friendship is based on mutual love. A friend is someone you can talk with about anything. A friend is someone whom you look forward to seeing. A friend is someone you care about. Jesus is the best friend you and I have ever had. He laid down his life for us so that we could be freed from the curse of sin and death and...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. — John 1:1 In John 1 the Greek term for “Word” is logos. John chose this word carefully. In Greek philosophy the word logos referred to divine reason, or the power that made order out of chaos. This idea fits well with the scriptural teaching that God—whose word is always faithful and true, and who created all things—has revealed himself in a new way through his Son, the Word of God, who “became flesh and made...

“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” — John 4:14 Water is basic and fundamental to life. I once heard a biologist say that when God decided to create water, the rest of creation was details. This is not meant to minimize all the complexities of God’s creation, but it can help us to see how important water is. When Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink of water, he was...

“I am the way and the truth and the life.” — John 14:6 It is sometimes hard to face the truth, especially when the truth is that we have messed up. Instead we make excuses. We think we are exceptional: “I didn’t really mean it that way.” “I thought it would be OK if . . .” And so on. But the truth is the truth. And Jesus is the Truth. The worst thing we can do is to ignore or deny this absolute and final Truth—that Jesus is the one and only Son of God who saves sinners. Though the truth...

We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption. . . . — Romans 8:23 This passage in Romans says that we become adopted into God’s family through the finished work of Jesus Christ and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. This makes us “heirs of God and coheirs with Christ.” Amazing! So, while blood relation can determine who is part of a family, so can adoption. And this involves love—unconditional love—as well as deep, lasting,...

He . . . shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. — Hebrews 2:14-15 In the beginning, when the first human beings brought sin into the world (Genesis 3), we became enslaved by the power of death—and that put us under the tyranny of the devil. But that is not the end of the story. Ever since that time, God also promised to...

Just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. — Romans 5:18 Hell is not an easy subject to discuss when we are talking about faith in Jesus. It’s much more pleasant to focus on the love of God through Jesus that saves us from death and hell. Nevertheless, the subject of hell is mentioned in Scripture, and it is probably best described as condemnation or complete separation from God. Romans 5 helps...

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” — John 3:14-15 In John 3, Jesus teaches that the strange story about a bronze snake in Numbers 21 points to him and his work of healing. Jesus saves us from sin and death. The book of Numbers includes many stories about the Israelites’ complaining to God as they trekked through the wilderness. In Numbers 21 they complain again about the food....

“It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. — John 2:20-22 Did you know that the tabernacle in the Old Testament (Exodus 36-40), and the temple afterward (1 Kings 6-8), were made from heavenly blueprints? Hebrews 8 helps us to see this. All the features and furnishings were meant to show that the temple on earth was just a copy of the sanctuary in heaven. When Jesus came to live among us, he...