Believe and Live

John 1-21

Need something to believe in?  Read the Gospel of John.  Read it more than once.  Read it straight through, cover to cover.  In it, I find Jesus.  He reveals Himself to any who would recognize His signs and listen to his testimony.  Those who looked at Him and asked “Is he it?” got their answer.  Jesus is the Son of God!  John finds this to be of first importance.   The pages of his Gospel are filled with this message: Believe and live. 

Who is the Son of God?  He is the I Am.  He is the bread of life, the light of the world, the door of the sheep, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth and the life, the true vine!  My soul is hungry and I cannot satisfy it.  I need Jesus!  Life is dark.  I cannot find my way and I have no hope.  I need Jesus!  I cannot get past my sin.  I need Jesus!  I need someone to care for me. I need Jesus!  I am dead inside.  I need Jesus!  Nothing sustains me.  I need Jesus!  John shares the truth that Jesus is not just anyone, He is the only One uniquely able to save.  He is the Only One uniquely able to give life to every man, woman and child who will believe.

 Jesus does not leave us to wonder what new life looks like.  John records Jesus’ words to the disciples just before he is handed over to the authorities, the final words and prayer he wants all believers to remember.  Jesus spoke to them about love.  God loves each one of us to the end.  We are to love one another. 

Life is complicated.  It is easy overlook what is essential.  John saw that, perhaps, in his own day.  He writes with laser-beam focus.  He records signs that we may see, testimony that we may hear, and he bears witness that we may believe.  Jesus is the Son of God!  Believe and have life!  What will that life look like?  It will be filled with love.  I cannot wait to dive in to John and study the book more closely, because after reading John with a broad lens, looking for major themes and the big picture, I find myself wrestling with these questions that reach the core of who I am.  What do I really believe about Jesus?  Am I taking hold of the gift of life I have been given?  Do I love with the love the Son of God himself has shown to me?  Or have I lost sight of the essential?


What is my Bible open to right now?  The Gospel of John. I will read it again, studying it section by section, writing down questions and looking for answers. I hope you will have your Bibles open, too!  

I Repeat...

Psalm 18 and 2 Samuel 22

“For it is you who light my lamp;

  The LORD my God lightens my darkness.

For by you I can run against a troop,

And by my God I can leap over a wall.”

-Psalm 18:28-29

 In life, I find myself repeating things.  It is not enough to say “I love you” only once.  (Too often, it is not enough to say “Clean your room” only once!)  If I want what I say to be remembered, I find that repetition helps.   When I find something repeated in the Bible, I sit up straighter and read more carefully, because God must really want to drive his point home.  When I discovered that Psalm 18 is almost identical to David’s song found in 2 Samuel 22, I thought “this must be important!” They are.  These songs are amazing!

2 Samuel 22 is David’s personal song of praise for God’s deliverance in his life, and then he adapted the song to be used in public worship, which is how we find it in the Psalter.  Both songs are found in the scriptures—not just one of them.  Pondering this, I see how important it is to stop and personally praise God for his faithfulness in my life…when no one else is watching.  This personal song, found in 2 Samuel 22, is no short thank you note jotted on the back of a note card.  No.  I realize that I need to stop for a while and allow my heart to sing God’s praises!  In Psalm 18, David shared his experience by adapting his song so that it might be used in public worship.  I'm so glad he did!  I wonder how many have read these verses and found strength, hope and encouragement through his testimony of God’s faithfulness. 

What promise I find in this psalm!  The LORD my God lightens my darkness.   When my heart is sad and dark, when I don’t see what is ahead and cannot make sense of what is around me, I whisper, “I need a lamp, Lord!”  It is He who is my lamp. Only He can give me hope!  When I come to a wall in my life, an obstacle I can’t fathom scaling, I can trust that with God by my side, in His strength, I can leap over anything. 

We would not be encouraged by this at all if our God was weak, if he was unwise, if he was not good.  But David takes the time to remind us, vividly, that our God is Almighty and All-Wise.  He is Good!  Two times, in 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18,  God calls out to us in the pages of His Word.  Let us sit up straight and hear His Almighty, All-loving Voice!  Whatever danger you encounter, whatever difficulty you face, in whatever hopelessness you are entangled, however desperate your prayer, I HEAR!  I RESPOND!  I RESCUE!

Heavenly Father,

            Please, light my lamp!  My way is dark.   I cannot see you.  Help me remember who you are.     I am in need!  I call to you for help and look to you for deliverance.   There is a wall.  Help me scale it!  You are my Answer.  I love you, O LORD, my strength!

“This God—his way is perfect,

The word of the LORD proves true;

He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”

Psalm 18:30