the daily devo

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1-2)

In the first chapter of his book about Jesus, John packs some huge ideas about Jesus into just a few simple sentences. That’s good writing. Even those of us who take God’s Word as just that don’t often give it credit for being well written. God took great care to make sure the words used to communicate his Word were not just meaningful, but also delivered with excellence.

It’s no accident, then, that John’s first big idea is to call Jesus “the Word.” You’ve probably heard that the original Greek word for “word” is logos. That word was known both to Greek philosophy and Jewish theology. It was a perfect word to introduce the idea of Jesus to everyone in John’s audience – on the way to introducing us to the reality of Jesus as the Son of God.

The first thing we learn about this logos is that it’s more than just a connection between God and the material world; it is a he. The logos is a person – a person who has been around since the beginning, a person who has been with God, a person who is God.

Think: Have you ever wondered why John called Jesus “the Word” and not “the Picture”? Why do you think God puts such value on words? Why not reveal his truth in video instead of text?

Pray: Ask God to help you get to know him better by better understanding his Word and all the words in it.

Do: Think about memorizing John 1:1-14 this week.

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:3-5)

John 1 reads like poetry in that you almost have to read every simple line two or three times to really get what it’s saying. John continues to make these giant claims about Jesus in very straightforward statements. From this passage, here’s what we know about him.

1) He is the Creator of all created things in the universe. (That includes us.)

2) Life is in him. He took part in igniting the spark of life – and he is the only path to eternal life.

3) His life is our light. Without him, we are in blind spiritual darkness.

4) His light is not hidden. It shines out for all to see.

5) The darkness cannot extinguish his light; it will never go out.

Think: Do you usually think of Jesus as the Creator? If not, how does that change your perception of him?

Pray: Thank God for sending the light into your darkness to give you real and eternal life with him.

Do: Make a list of 20 things that Jesus was involved in creating – things “made” by him at the beginning of time.

“There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” (John 1:6-9)

We usually think of John the Baptist from our Sunday School lessons as that rugged guy who lived in the wilderness dressed in itchy clothes eating locusts and honey. And he was that guy, the one who baptized Jesus. But what an amazing place he is given in John’s epic telling of Jesus, the Word. He is The Witness.

John is the first human mentioned by name in Jesus’ story. Like the prophets of the Old Testament, he was given a specific mission to tell God’s people God’s message for a specific place and time. The people, hungry to hear God’s voice after 400 years of silence (i.e., no true prophets), flocked to hear this radical man’s teaching.

The message: “You people live in darkness, and you’ve been waiting for the light. Change your ways now, because the light is here. Repent, be baptized, and get ready to really see for the first time in your lives.”

Think: What would it be like to live your whole life in total darkness (underground or something) and then one day suddenly see light for the first time? How would that change your life?

Pray: Thank God for sending John the Baptist to prepare the way for the light.

Do: Find a dark room in your house and sit in the darkness for five minutes. Think about the difference between living in darkness and living in light on a spiritual level.

“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:10-11)

It’s no wonder the plot of so many science fiction stories are based on the true story of Jesus. The whole thing is mind-blowing. The creator of all things manages to somehow squeeze himself into the world of his creation, to be one of them, to experience life from the perspective of a created thing without losing an ounce of his “godness.”

And the creation is not a sculpture garden or a novel or an animatronic stage play. It’s a living, breathing collection of individuals, every one of whom has chosen to “go his own way” away from the creator. Still, he has come to rescue them, the rebels, his creatures, his self-declared enemies. He has come to surrender and to suffer and to save them from their defiance. And yet when he arrives, nothing.

From pure willful pride and foolish ignorance, they could not see that blinding light blazing in the darkness. Some walked past as if he were a stranger. Others joined the plot to kill him. A very few, we’ll see tomorrow, believed the creator could wear sandals and take naps and reclaim their souls.

Think: Do you sometimes wonder if the story of Jesus is too fantastical to be true? Why do you believe it?

Pray: Thank God for creating you – and then sending the Son to rescue you for him.

Do: List any movies or books you can think of about a long-awaited chosen one sent to save the world. Or at least notice how that story meshes with the gospel next time you see it in another story.

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” As all 5th graders know, that’s from the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Our founders believed God had granted these rights to every single human being.

But God grants another right not listed in that document – and contrary to what many of us think, it’s not a right he gives to everyone. He only gives this special right to people who “receive him” and “believe in his name.” More specifically, it is a God-given right limited to those who believe Jesus is God and receive him as Savior. Those who do not believe Jesus is God don’t get this right. Those who do not receive Jesus as their only hope to be with God do not get this right. Believe and receive, John says.

Then and only then will Jesus give us the right to be God’s children, to be included in his own family, to belong with him in heaven forever. It is not a right we earn. And we do not make ourselves God’s children by believing and receiving. We are given the right and God immediately signs the adoption papers. We are his kids now.

Think: How do you feel about the idea that the right to be God’s child is not given freely to everyone no matter what they believe? Are you grateful to God for adopting you?

Pray: Thank God for helping you to believe in Jesus’ name and to receive him as the only way to be with God forever. (If you haven’t done that, what are you waiting for?)

Do: Make a short list of your God-given rights, as best as you understand them.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” (John 1:14)

Jesus, the Word, the logos, became flesh. As God, Jesus had always existed, but now he had become one of us (without becoming any less of God). And he didn’t come to visit for a holiday. He wasn’t a curious god on vacation. He “made his dwelling” here. He lived here. He experienced every temptation humans do. He worked himself to exhaustion. He slept, ate, and waited. He made friends and went to dinner parties. He told the truth.

He was human.

John reports that he and others saw Jesus, the Word, with their own eyes. And not just him, but his glory. (Is John talking about the transfiguration that he and two other disciples witnessed as described in Matthew 17?) He reports that everything Jesus claimed is true. He really did come from God the Father. And He did come with grace – free forgiveness of sin for all who believe and receive. Jesus is the truth. John saw it all.

Think: If you were describing Jesus from your own personal eyewitness point of view, what would you have to report about him? What difference has he made in your own personal life that you can point to as evidence of his grace and truth?

Pray: Thank God for what Jesus has done for you.

Do: Write down a few bullet points of your experience with Jesus. What has he done in your life? How has knowing God through him changed you?

“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17)

Tradition tells us that all of the disciples were eventually killed for preaching about Jesus, as was Paul. John may have outlived them all. Most scholars think he wrote this book somewhere around 90 A.D. and was later exiled to an island prison. (That’s where he wrote the book of Revelation.) He and many other early Christians lived difficult, persecuted lives.

So how can he say that “we have all received one blessing after another” from Jesus’ grace? Three quick ideas:

1) John was looking beyond life in this fallen, painful world. By Jesus’ grace, every believer can expect to spend forever in God’s blessing.

2) John was showing how much fuller and more joyful life is when lived according to Jesus’ grace than under the burden of Moses’ law.

3) John realized that every good thing – from a simple meal to our most cherished relationships – is a gift from God. Jesus’ half-brother James said that everything in our lives that can be called “good” comes from God. (James 1:17)

Think: How often do you give God the credit for the good things in your life? Why is it a sign of God’s grace when we experience anything that can be labeled “good”?

Pray: Ask God to help you to be grateful more often for all the blessings he gives you through Jesus.

Do: Make a list of 20 “blessings” you’ve experienced this week that you can give credit to God for. Then give him credit for them.