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Correction on January 10 Devotion
2 Corinthians 3:16 should be 1 Corinthians 3:16. Oops!
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House of Prayer
Start with prayer.
Praise God for as many blessings as you can think of.
Confess your sins to God and ask for strength to be faithful to him.
Ask God to help you focus as you read and pray.
Read John 2:13-22
What did Jesus find in the temple?
What should he have found in the temple?
“zeal for your house” is a reference to Psalm 69:9 and points to Jesus zeal for God’s house.
He valued the temple and wanted to keep it holy as a place to honor and worship God.
When Jesus said “destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” what was he referring to?
Read 2 Corinthians 3:16. What does that say about believers?
Read 1 Peter 2:4-5 What does that say about believers?
If you as a born again Christian are a temple of God do you have zeal for it?
Do you fight to keep it holy?
Are you a place of prayer or just a place of business?
Does your life look more like a holy God or more like a fallen world?
How can you increase your zeal for your temple?
End with prayer.
Thank God for this passage.
Thank Jesus for making you into a temple of God.
Ask God to continue to help you live a holy life pleasing to him.
Pray for the person that is not yet a temple of God. Pray that they would hear the gospel and be saved.
Pray for the next person or family in the church directory.
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God Signs
Start with prayer.
Praise God for a new day, a fresh start, for his grace and love and mercy.
Thank him for his word which helps us know him more and sets us free from the lies of the world.
Confess your sins to God and ask for forgiveness. Ask him to help you change. Ask him to help you to be faithful to him.
Ask him to help you focus and help you understand as you read.
Read John 2:1-12
This is Jesus third day in the public eye since John declared him “The Lamb of God”.
Where is Jesus?
Who was with Jesus?
Why was the wedding party about to be ruined?
Jesus addresses his mom as “woman”. This may seem disrespectful in our culture but not their culture at that time. Jesus is respectful to his mom and her silly request to make more wine.
What does Jesus mean by “my hour has not come yet”? What hour is he referring to?
What miracle did Jesus perform?
v.11 says this was the first of his signs.
What does a sign do today? Think about traffic signs.
What was the purpose of these signs?
How did his disciples respond?
How would you respond?
Do you believe in Jesus miracles or only the things you can explain by science?
What about creation? What about your salvation? What about the resurrection?
Is God limited by science or is he the founder and creator of science?
God is Lord over physical things. Jesus is God in the flesh so Jesus proved his divinity by performing his first miracle.
This was the first indicator or sign pointing to who he really was. A lot more than just a carpenter or teacher or prophet. He was God in the flesh.
Close with prayer.
Tell Jesus that you believe in his miracles and thank him for his signs proving that he is God in the flesh, The Messiah, The Christ, The lamb of God.
Pray for things that you need to entrust to God.
Pray for the person that does not have faith in Jesus. Pray that they would come to believe in Jesus miracles and that they would trust him to save them from their sins.
Pray for the next person or family in the church directory.
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Follow Jesus
This daily devotional is intended to provide a quick but impactful time of worship for those with busy schedules. I encourage you to take what we have and go deeper or read ahead if you have a desire for more.
Start with Prayer
Spend time praising God for a new day and for the life he has given you. Praise him for other blessings like family and friends. Praise him for your salvation.
Confess your sins to God and ask for forgiveness and for his strength and power to help you change.
Ask him to help you focus as you read and study and pray.
Read John 1:35-51
How many times does some form of the word “follow” occur in this passage?
Whenever a word repeats itself several times you need to focus on that word and think about it.
What is significant about that word “follow”? Remember playing the follow the leader game as a kid?
Its interesting that Jesus does not ask them, he tells them to follow him.
What kind of reactions does Jesus get from his command to follow him?
What claims do these men make about Jesus?
Read v.51, now read Genesis 28:10-12. What claim is Jesus making about himself?
Read Hebrews 10:19-22 to get clarity on this answer.Basically Jesus is the way to Heaven.
In John 14 there is a discussion on “the way”. Jesus says in John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.
Later in Acts Jesus’ followers (disciples) became known as “The Way”.
If you know Jesus and follow Jesus you know “the way” to salvation and the way to heaven and eternal life.
Are you truly following Jesus with your life?
In what ways are you not following him?
End with Prayer.
Thank God for this passage and ask him to continue to help you understand it.
Thank Jesus for making a way for a sinner like you to be with God.
Confess that you are not following Jesus as much as you should and thank God for his grace.
Ask God to help you follow Jesus in certain ways.
Pray for that person that doesn’t know Jesus and pray that they would believe in him and follow him.
Pray for the next person or family on the church directory.
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Taking Away Sin
Purpose
The purpose of this daily devotional is to help you develop a healthy pattern of daily worship time with God. It is not for the sole purpose of knowing facts. Satan knows lots of facts about the Bible but he is not a friend or a child of God. Our goal is to know God’s word but the purpose of knowing God’s word is to lead us into a time of worship which helps us get to know God himself. God is the prize not knowledge. God is our greatest need not discipline or religion.
Prayer
Confess your sins to God and ask for forgiveness. Ask God to renew a right spirit within you. Ask God to make you strong against satan’s schemes today. Ask God to remove your distractions and help you focus.
Read John 1:29-34
What description did John the Baptist give to Jesus in v.29?
In the Old Testament there was a sacrificial system to atone for sins. Lambs were one of the animal sacrifices. Jesus is called the Lamb because in his death on the cross he was the final sacrifice putting an end to that sacrificial system.
What was Jesus sacrifice for? v.29
If someone asked you what sin was what would be your definition?
Name some examples of sin?
Have you sinned? In what ways?
If you have sinned what did Jesus do for you?
If your sins have been paid for through the final sacrificial lamb Jesus Christ, what do you NOT have to do?
Don’t go through life weighted down with guilt and shame. Jesus died to set you free from that religious mindset.
Don’t ask “Is this a sin?”, but instead ask “Does this glorify God?”.
Make life about glorifying God, not avoiding sin.
Prayer
Praise Jesus for being your sacrificial lamb and for taking away your sin. Praise Him for connecting you to God and setting you free from sinful habits. Pray that God would continue to set you free from more sin and make you more like Christ.
Pray for the same person that is lost and without Christ. Pray that they would come to realize what Jesus did for them. Pray that God would soften their heart and open their eyes to spiritual things.
Pray of the next family or person in the church directory.
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Living A Christ Centered Life
Start with Prayer.
Praise God for another day of life. Praise him for the life he has given you. Praise him for other things that come to mind. Ask God to help you focus on him and studying his word. Pray that nothing will distract you from this time with him.
Read John 1:19-28
If someone asked who you were what would you tell them?
How does John the Baptist answer this question in v.19-21?
How does John the Baptist answer this question in v.22-23?
Why was John baptizing?
What is John revealing about Jesus?
John’s sole purpose was to prepare people to meet Jesus Christ.
His identity was wrapped up in telling others about Jesus. Later in John 3 John’s disciples were concerned because everyone was going to Jesus and John says “this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase and I must decrease.” This should describe the life of the Christian. Does this describe you? Is your joy found in pointing people to Christ? This is the goal of every church service. We want people to leave our services completely in awe of who Jesus is. This is the answer to so many of our problems. If we could just forget about ourselves and focus on Christ so many of our issues would dwindle away to nothing and we would experience the freedom that Christ offers. This is the goal for this devotional. Not knowing facts but knowing Jesus Christ.
How can I focus on Christ more this week?
How can I point others to Christ this week?
End with Prayer.
Confess your sins to God. Ask God to renew a right spirit within you. Ask God to move in you in a mighty way and to pour out his spirit on your life.
Ask God to help you live a Christ-centered life.
Pray for the person that you know is lost and without God.
Pray for the next person or family in the church directory.
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Grace, the undeserved gift from God
Grace, the undeserved gift from God
Begin with Prayer
Thank God for adopting you as his child and allowing you into his presence. Ask him to forgive you for your sins and for strength and power to change. Ask him to help you focus and understand his word.
Read John 1:14-18
We have established that “the word” refers to Jesus. What does verse 14 tell us about Jesus?
What was Jesus full of?
Are you full of the same 2 things? Would that be a good description of your life?
What does verse 16 tell us we receive from Jesus?
How does verse 17 compare Jesus to Moses? How did Jesus change everything?
What does verse 18 tell us Jesus made possible?
A key word in this passage is grace. Grace can be described as an undeserved gift. This passage tells us Jesus is full of grace and it tells us that he pours his grace unto us.
The thing about a gift is that it has to be received. You have to acknowledge it is there and reach out and grab it. We receive God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The proof that we value a gift is how we use it. Have you put God’s grace to work in your life? Do you use it daily? Do you show others grace?
Take a minute to think about what you deserve and what God offers you. This will help you understand the riches of God’s grace.
Example: Death – Life
Example: Conflict – Peace
Close in prayer
Praise God for his word. Pray that you would understand it and apply it.
Praise God that you are his child through Jesus Christ. Pray that you would grow and mature in your faith this year.
Pray for the same person you have been praying for that does not know Jesus and is not a child of God. Pray that they would hear the gospel and be born again. Ask God to use you to lead them to Christ.
Pray for the next person or family in the church directory. Pray that they would grow in their faith this year. Pray that they would be delivered from evil would stand strong against the devil and his schemes. Praise God for his grace through Jesus Christ. Ask him to fill you with grace and truth. Ask him to help you understand these things deeper.
If you are struggling with any kind of sin ask God to free you from that and ask him to help you overcome that sin by focusing more on him and knowing him more.
Pray for the next family or person in the church directory. Pray that they would mature in their faith. Pray that God would encourage them and inspire them to serve him faithfully.
Tell God that you love him and that you surrender your life to him 100%. Tell him that you will do anything he asks you to do
– Pastor Jon Beall
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Are you a child of God?
Are you a child of God?
Start with Prayer
Praise God for specific blessings. Ask God to help you focus and grow closer to him through your time this morning.
Read John 1:6-13
A different John was sent by God. He is often called John the Baptist or John the Baptizer. What was his God given task?
Hopefully you have clarified by now that “the word” is Jesus and “the light” is Jesus. What does verse 10 tell us about the light?
Verse 11 tells us his own people did not receive him. Who were Jesus’ people? Why do you think they did not receive him?
According to verses 12-13 who did Jesus give the right to become children of God?
What happens to someone when they become a child of God? Verse 13
Are you a child of God? Have you been born of the spirit? Have you done what it says in verses 12-13?
Do you think about those who are not children of God? If they do not believe in Jesus they are not children of God. Ephesians tells us they are children of wrath. They are walking in darkness. What does all this mean for those who do not know Jesus?
Close in prayer
Praise God for his word. Pray that you would understand it and apply it.
Praise God that you are his child through Jesus Christ. Pray that you would grow and mature in your faith this year.
Pray for the same person you have been praying for that does not know Jesus and is not a child of God. Pray that God would use you to lead them to Christ.
Pray for the next person or family in the church directory. Pray that they would grow in their faith this year. Pray that they would be delivered from evil would stand strong against the devil and his schemes.
– Pastor Jon Beall
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Your greatest need is knowing God more
Prayer:
Spend time praising God and ask Him to help you focus.
Read John 1:1-5
What other book begins the same way as John does? This connects the Old and New Testaments.
What does John say about “the word”?
Who is “the word”?
What was found in “the word”?
What was the purpose of his life?
What is the darkness?
Think about what the light does and compare it to Jesus. What does a flashlight do? What does a lighthouse do?
You don’t need more stuff, more education, more discipline this year. Your greatest need is knowing God more. Make your #1 goal for 2020 to know God more. How can you come to know him more?
Close in prayer
Ask God to help you understand and apply this passage. Tell God that you want to know Him better. Ask Him to help you study scripture and pray every day.
Pray again for the person that doesn’t know God. Pray that God would use you to lead them to faith in Christ.
Pray for the next person or family in the church directory.
Praise God for different spiritual blessings like His Grace or Peace.
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