Day 21- our last day:-(

John 21

This is our last day blogging in the book of John... I cannot believe that it has been 21 days!

In this book, Jesus speaks to Peter. Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him. Peter says yes, but Jesus asks him three times. Peter is offended that Jesus asks him three times. I think that this is neat. Jesus, no matter waht wee have done, wants us to follow Him. We do not have to know all of the detalis, we just need to follow HIm. I am grateful that we have a God that loves us no matter what. How about you?

Prayer: Thank you for loving me no matter what. Thanks for being the kind, forgving friend. I love you! devin

Day 20

John 20:19-24

Here, Jesus has shown Himself to the disciples for the first time. Can you imagine how excited they must have been, how scared? Later in the book, some of the disciples were very skeptical of the man that stood in front of them. They did not think that it was Jesus. Even though He told them that He would rise again, they did not believe. What a test of faith for His disciples... Jesus even said ..."Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." This was one of the defining moments- How cool?? I am so thankful that Jesus rose again, aren't you!

Jesus- Thank you for coming to Earth to do God's work. Thank you for dieing a death on a cross and rising again, so that I may live with you In your Father's House for eternity.

Day 19

John 19:30


When Jesus therefore had received that sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And he bowed His haed, and gave up His spirit.



In this verse, Jesus is on the cross, and He gives up His spirit. What a proud moment that must have been for His Heavenly Father! Jesus came and accomplished what He was sent for on earth, and now, as He said, It was finished. Jesus would then rise, three days later.

Again, how cool is that??

We have a God that loved us so much, that He sent His only son to live for a short time the die for us so that we may live with Him for eternity... this book is a living testament to that.

-Devin

Day 18

John 18:38

Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no guilt in Him."

This verse fascinates me. Pilate found no guilt in Jesus, yet the people still wanted Him to be found guilty. He did nothing wrong, but He knew that His being "guilty" was all part of the plan. Jesus knew before He came to earth what would happen to Him. He knew what the cost would be, and He was still willing to pay it. What kind of love that must be! Jesus sacrificed His life so that we may have eternal life... how cool is that??

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for giving up your life for me. I cannot even imagine the cost, the pain the suffering. Thank you for rising again, so that I may life with you for eternity.

Day 17

John 17

Today, I am not going to pick a specific verse to relflect upon, but rather the entire book. This whole book, John 17, is Jesus praying. I find this book enjoyable to read, partly because of the example it gives to us. Here, Jesus is speaking like He would to anyone else. We, as followers, sometimes speak like we think we should or how we have heard other people pray. This is not the case, as we can talk to Him whenever or whereever. In this book, Jesus asks God to watch over us, His children, and He asks Him to protect from evil. How cool is that? I am thankful that He is watching over me!

Prayer: Thank you for watching over me. Let me speak like you would want me to, and not how I think I should.

Day 16(can you believe it??)

John 16:1

"These things I have spoken to you, that you may be kept from stumbling."

Jesus speaks to us so that we may live a better life. Through Him, life becomes great- there is a purpose, a drive, a meaning that fills you up inside with Joy forever. His words are encouraging, and sometimes harsh. They are simply spoken, yet the most difficult to follow sometimes. Life is tough, but with Christ, it just keeps getting better. These things that we are told, are not meant to be taken lightly. In these words we can find joy.

Prayer

Lord, when I stumble, thank You for picking me up. Thank you for giving words to lean on and learn from.

-Devin

Day 15

Verse- John 15:12
"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."

We have heard this constantly, or least I have, my entire life so far. This is an important life lesson, but a lot of times, the statement gets interpreted as less than it means. I mean, think about it... love someone else like Jesus loves me? That is some kind of love, and for us it takes work. It is easy to love people you like, but difficult to love people who are not always on your good side. This takes prayer, and a lot of it!

Prayer
Lord,
Help me to love as you did.
Help me especially to love those that are harf to love.
Thank you for loving me the way you do.

-Devin

Day 14

Verse- John 14:8
Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."

This is a fantastic statement. I hope that this is how I live. This reminds me of a Barlowgirl song!

Prayer

Let me see, and not only see, but live that You are enough!

-Devin

Day 13


John 13:22

The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking.


This is instinct. When someone tells you, or a group of people that one of you will do something wrong, you begin to wonder. You think to yourself, "Oh! That couldn't be me..." or "I know who he is talking about... they are in for it!". Here, the disciples did the exact same thing.

I would love to know what was going through their minds when Jesus brought this up.

It always seems to me that people think the worst in a situation. No matter what it is, they are coming up with the worst possible outcome. Why do we do this? I think that this is the way our society makes us think. Look at the news for instance... when was the last time that you heard some good news? Now however, as Christ-followers, we have to think of a way to think of the good, not the bad.


Prayer-
Lord, help me to think the good,
help me not to doubt-
others or myself.

Thank you for always believing, and forgiving
even when we mess up.

-Devin

Day 12

Verse- John 12:37
But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him;

I think that this verse tells of our faith. Jesus had performed miracle after miracle and His followers and others were still not believing in Him. I think that this should be motivation to believe and trust even when it is tough.

Prayer-

Lord, help me to trust and believe when I start to lose faith. Help me to show others how to do the same.

-Devin

Day 11

Verse- John 11:35
Jesus wept.

Here is another example of Jesus being human. Lazarus was His friend, and when he died, Jesus was sad. He mourned, like any human would. He paid His respects to Lazarus family.

But then, He let Lazarus rise from the dead. This is not something you see on a normal day- I would have loved to be a fly on the wall!

Prayer-
Thank you for Your example
of how to live, and breathe all the time.

Day 10

Key Verses-

John 10:9

"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture."

John 10:11

"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."

These verses remind us of all of Christs different names. He has many, and each of them, I believe, serves a different purpose... however they mean the same thing. That is a little confusing, phrased like that, but bear with me. Christ is a leader, an example, a model of love, forgiveness, peace, and kindness. He shows us how we should live out every second of our lives, how we should give it all to him, accept him as our Savior, and through this, we are saved. His names are Holy, they are Pure and Good.

Prayer-

Thank you for your many names-

thank you for their purpose,

and thank you for living out your names

to the Full.

-Devin

Day 9

Verse- John 9:3

Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him."

This verse is a reminder to us that God has had a plan for our lives since the beginning of time.

How cool is that? My entire life, your entire life has been planned out completely be God himself. Everything that occurs in our lives was planned by God. Even when we do not like what is happening, we have to trust Him, and know that he is in control. That can be hard, but it is a test of faith.

Prayer

Thank You for planning my entire life! Let me follow your will for my life so that I may carry out your plan how you want me to.

Until next time,

Devin

Day 8

Verse- John 8:43
"Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My Word."

I think that this is completely relevent to today. We cannot understand, because we do not hear. Hearing is key.

Prayer-

Help me to hear you, so that I may
understand.

-Devin

Day 7

We are off of school today...SNOW DAY!! What a way to start the day!

Verse- John 7:4

"For no one does anything in secret, when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If you do these things, show Yourself to the world."

This verse blows my mind for a few reasons. First, the disciples were questioning Jesus- they didn't understand why he was so secretive about his work. Second, I think that the disciples had a better understanding of the situation than they knew. We are told to lives like an open book, and not be secretive. This way, we can let others in and walk our journeys together. However, we are also told not to serve just for "self-gain". When I say this, I do not mean that helping others can not make us feel good, but we should not brag about what we do. We serve for the Lord, and he is our only judge- no one else should matter. Jesus was the perfect example. He was humble and hard-working, all for His Father. He taught His brothers in Christ, and everyone else lessons that would last beyond a lifetime- they would last an eternity!

Prayer

Lord,

Help me to live as an open book,

but serve solely for an audience of one.

Thank you for teaching me this lesson.

-Devin

Day 6

Verse- John 6:28

They said therefore to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"

This verse is so cool! It is such an example to us as Christ-followers. The disciples wanted to know what they could do to serve the Lord. They wanted to see what kind of work they could and should be doing. How neat is that? They wanted to know-they wanted to know how to advance the Kingdom, so they asked. I love it!

Prayer

Lord help me to ask

all the time,

about what I can do the advance the Kingdom!

Thank you for answering.

Day 5
















Verse- John 5:8

Jesus said to him, "Arise, take up your pallet, and walk."


Jesus healed this man- just like that. The man was greatful, and I am sure curious about the man who cured him. To be one way your whole life, then another way the next would be frightening. It would also be exhilerating. You would get to see things with a new found appreciation. Here Jesus tells the man to walk in a simple sentence.




This reminds me of the way Jesus forgives-




He healed him, He forgives us
just like that,
no strings attached.






Prayer

Thank you for healing, forgiving, and loving us
just like that.
Let me to forgive and love others
full out,
with no strings attached.





-Devin

Day 4

John 4:34
Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work."

Here, Jesus was spelling out His mission to the disciples. This was why He came to Earth, He came to do God's work. I like how He uses the word food. Food is used to nourish us physically, much like God's work, serving, and prayer nourish us spiritually.

Prayer

Help me to live for the sole purpose
of serving for the Lord
and help me to feed others
the Word of God.

-Devin

Day 3

Before I blogged this morning, I was informed that my picture would not be as good as Dads, on his blog, so here are two pictures of three girls that I know.
















This chapter if famous for a certain verse. That verse is important, and instrumental, but I think that the few verses that come after it are just as important. So the verse for the day...

Verse- John 3:17

"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world would be saved through Him."

I think that Gods purpose for sending Jesus was simple. He wanted not for the world to be judged, but loved. He wanted, and still wants the world to be saved, so that everyone may live an eternal life. He wants an awesome relationship with each, individual person- one that will last a lifetime. I can't imagine being Nicodemus in this situation- what a big idea to take in at once!

Prayer


As I build my relationship with you
help me to always do as you would.


Thank you for not judging,
but loving and accepting.


Please help me to not judge,
but love,
so that others may come to know you.


-Devin