You might be surprised to hear the real reason Christ appeared. 1 John 3:7-10 (ESV) 7  Little children John writes, "Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he [Christ] is righteous. John is speaking in very general terms here. style ), John explains in no uncertain terms why Jesus came. "The reason the Son of God appeared," John explains, "was to destroy the works of the devil."

Summary In this letter John is writing to a church during a time of struggle to encourage them after John reaffirms what the false teachers tried to deny: the full divinity and humanity of Christ. In the third chapter of this letter, John addresses how to respond to what had occurred. John gives a means of testing to see where one’s allegiance lies, writing that “anyone who does not do Dig Deeper John lays out the difference between those whom he labels the children of God and the children

been familiar with the Old Testament metaphor of Israel as God’s vineyard (Psalm 80:8–16; Isaiah 5:1– words, and commands; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1

Hebrews 1:1–4 (ESV) 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become Moses says that God “created the world”; and John says that “all things were created by the Word,” which Yesterday we read the beginning of Jesus' prayer in John 17.

Summary John 16 comes in the middle of one of the most intense conversations in history, as Jesus spoke These chapters in John's gospel form the basis for much of our theology and understanding of God's Tri-une

John 3 illustrates this supernatural work of God and where the often used phrase “born again” originates where the “perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 knowledge, but go to him as the King of Glory with faith in the one who has the words of eternal life (John

Summary As is his habit, Satan shows up at Jesus' weakest moment, after He's been alone and fasting for 40 You must certainly trust the Lord, but: do not put the Lord your God to the test (Matt. 4:7, Deut 6:16 you safe as Jesus did; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 John 4

Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 1 We all believe in our hearts and If you've read John 1 before, and you likely have, you know that the primary purpose of this passage Near the close of what's come to be known as the prologue to John's gospel, John drops a huge theological Today: Mark 4

Summary As John begins to close his letter, he makes clear his intention in writing it: so that those Not only is this the theme of John's first letter, it's the theme of the entire Bible: that you might Let passages like this one here in 1 John build your confidence that "God will surely listen to your according to His will; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John

You can't produce fruit if you're disconnected from Christ. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 64 Q. But doesn’t this teaching (that our works do not contribute to our salvation) make people indifferent and wicked? A. No. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ by true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude. Summary There are two words the Bible uses to describe how to live a fruitful life. The word used most often to describe successful Christians is the word Jesus uses in the example of a grape plant which bears fruit. This word has a passive feel to it. Jesus explains that as long as a branch remains connected to the vine, it will bear fruit. In other words, the fruit is going to come as long as the connection is maintained, just like a grape branch, when given the proper inputs, can't help but bear fruit. Sadly this isn't the case for every branch. Some grow off as long, wild shoots with lots of stem but no leaves or flowers. Others bury themselves under other branches, hidden from the sunlight. Still others seem to be in just the right condition, getting plenty of water, nutrients and sunlight, but for whatever reason nothing comes out of them. In each of these cases the unfruitful branches are cut of and thrown into the burn pile. In the second half of this passage, Jesus puts 'flesh' on this metaphor so to speak. He is the vine, and you and I are the branches. As long as we remain connected to Him - that is, as long as His Word and Spirit are flowing into our lives - He assures us that we will bear fruit. But some people are not content with this relationship, and shoot off on their own. Many bury themselves in the busyness of life, and although connected to the nutrients, do not absorb them. Apart from me, Jesus says, these people can do nothing, and their unfruitful lives will be cut off and thrown away. Dig Deeper Our instinct is to prefer the other word the Bible uses in regards to fruitfulness. We want to be people who produce fruit in our lives. Produce is a much more active word, and conjures up images of hard work, resourcefulness, and downright determination. Those are all good things, but most of the time the Bible uses the word produce, it does so in a negative way. Pharisees are quite often the people the Bible speaks of in connection with trying to produce fruit. They work super hard to impress their neighbors and appease their own consciences, but their reliance is totally on themselves, disconnected from the nutrients of the the true vine. The result is often like a Red Delicious apple: it looks really good and shiny on the outside, but not very appealing when the skin is peeled back. You've been created to be fruitful - to do and make things that reflect and glorify the image of God that you've been created in. Most of this world, separated from the vine by sin, is either desperately expending energy trying to produce fruit on their own, or they've given up trying and consequentially have very little meaning in their lives. So stay connected to the Vine - Jesus Christ. As you immerse yourself in the nutrients that flow from His Word, your life will naturally bear fruit. NOTE: The English Bible translations often use 'bear' and 'produce' interchangeably (even the Catechism uses the word produce). The contrast is much more noticeable in the Greek. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the gardner, who cuts away unfruitful branches; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you remain connected to the vine so that your life bears the fruit it was designed for. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Philippians 2