Day 315 (Saturday) - John 8:21-10:18

John 8 has a verse that means so much to me. Early in my adult Christian walk, I used to listen to Christian radio, not music, but teachers. I can remember listening to Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, CA. His radio broadcast is called Word for Today and his teachings helped me so much in those early years and if I hear him today on the radio, I’ll stick there to hear him again. At the beginning of each broadcast, the bumper music was a song called “If the Son Sets You Free” (you will be freed indeed). I can still hear that song and the message it contained. Thank God for the Chuck Smiths in the world and the truth of that song.

Day 314 (Friday) - John 6:52-8:20

I love the story of the adulterous woman that Jesus forgives. I need that story because sometimes I’m the adulterous woman (the one who has sinned) and other times I’m the one who wants to call out the sin of others to take the focus off me and keep me busy with policing the world around me (also sin). I am forgiven and it is not my job to call out and identify the sin in others. I have enough work just working on me, than to have to work on everyone else as well!

Day 313 (Thursday) - John 4:39-6:51

I’d like to offer a thought on 4:43-44. I was told early in my ministry that my most difficult ministry would be to those that knew me before I became a Christian or a Pastor. Because I was told this I believed it and because I believed it, I saw it. Any time I met resistance, I remembered that I will not be fruitful in my homeland and that I’d be better off somewhere else. I guess it’s true, but im not exactly sure that’s what Jesus wanted us to get from this. I still worked with a family member that was far from God and is now close. I still took the role as Lead Pastor when I was told the congregation would never accept me because I was just a lowly youth pastor…umm. Being a prophet at home might be difficult but the difficulty does not exempt you from it. I argue that some of the most rewarding fruit comes from your work at home.

Day 312 (Wednesday) - John 2:12-4:38

By far, the most recognized passage in the entire Bible is John 3:16. You can see it on signs at football games and it is used more by teachers and pastors than any other scripture. In fact, many would say a presentation of the Gospel is incomplete without it. The problem is this, most people use this passage as a passage of condemnation, in other words, believe or else. I personally believe that 3:16 cannot and should not be used without verse 17 because verse 17 gives the context. We must be careful to not use verses alone but explain why God loved the world by giving Christ…it is because God did not come to condemn but to save. God’s gift is about his love for all.

Day 311 (Tuesday) - Luke 24:24-53; John 1:1-2:11

The beginning of the book of John is most known for the teaching that God became human in the person of Jesus. This is not an easy teaching because of our lack of understanding outside our reality. We live in space and time, but God is separate. When we think of God coming in the form of a man we can’t help but think of God in that same time/space reality. If God is here, how can he still be there? 100% man but 100% God makes 200%...it’s confusing. We need to remember that we do not understand God or his reality at the depth necessary to put the truth that “God came as a man” into a neat little package.

Day 310 (Monday) - Luke 22:47-24:23

There were Pharisees, Sadducees, Priests and Scribes but the governing body for the Jews was the Sanhedrin. It was made up of the Jerusalem nobility and Jews from each of these camps. Throughout history, their power and influence changed as the Jewish, Roman and Greek governance changed and allowed the Sanhedrin to function. During Jesus’ days, it held great power but when Herod the Great was in power, he had the entire Sanhedrin executed and held the replacement council in a tight grip during his reign.

Day 309 (Sunday) - Luke 21:10-22:46

An interesting fact about the Last Supper is that the main focus of the meal (Passover Meal) was the Lamb. The Passover lamb would be sacrificed and the family would eat it at the meal. There is no mention of this lamb at the Last Supper and once the Temple was destroyed 30 years later, all Jewish Passover Meals were absent the lamb because sacrifices were no longer possible. They would, and still do, put a roasted lamb bone on the plate to remind them that the Temple is still missing.