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About John D. Willome

I post a blog of daily devotions that are my prayer journals based on scripture.

Mark 1:14-20

12 Jan

14 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

16 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon[g] and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed him.

19 A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. 20 He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.

Mark 1:14-20

Dear God, I think it’s interesting that, at least in this translation, Mark doesn’t bother to give the circumstances around John’s arrest here. He waits until chapter 6 to describe the whole thing with Herodias. Here, he just wants us to know that John gets arrested and Jesus gets to work. He started preaching. He started recruiting disciples. It makes me wonder if you had to get John out of the way so Jesus could be Jesus.

So what does it mean that the Kingdom of God was at hand? What was he functionally telling them? It’s a question that seems like it should have an obvious answer, but as I try to type one out, it seems like it is a very nuanced answer. You were near through Jesus. Nearer than normal. People could see what you were like and hear directly what you had to say. And the closer you are the more my sin is evident to me.

I am also not sure how I feel about how simply Mark tells the stories of the calls of Peter, Ander, James, and John. Thinking about Peter being Mark’s source for this materials, I would have thought we would get a little more insight into what Peter saw and why he said yes.

Father, in this moment, I don’t really feel that close to you. Is it the “hangover” from coming off of the retreat? I would think I would feel more “on fire” afterward, but right now I’m just feeling a little mentally and emotionally scattered. So help me to hear your call today. Help me to answer it. Help me to worship you and love you well. And help me to pray for others thoroughly and through your Spirit.

And with that, I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 12, 2026 in Mark

 

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Isaiah 43:1-7

11 Jan

[1] “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.

[2] He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.

[3] A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

[4] he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

[5] This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

[6] “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,

[7] to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 42:1-7

Dear God, what kind of god talks like that? The gods I read about other than you are so selfish and insecure. It makes me wonder how “Allah” speaks in the Koran. They trace back to Abraham. Do they see you as interested in justice? Do they see the bruised reed you offer us in verse three? Does Allah offer hope? Does he hold their hands and call them to be a light to others? Does he open their eyes and free those in bondage?

The God of the Bible is absolutely amazing, and seemingly unique, or at least rare. I can’t imagine any of the Greek, Roman, Norse, or any other gods talking like this. They were made from men and those gods were made in man’s image. Based on the knowledge of ourselves. But we are made in your image. You are calling us to this higher standard that isn’t wallowing in insecurity and self-pity. It’s the standard set by a god, THE God, who is totally secure in himself. You don’t need to show off your majesty and power. It’s just there and we can’t help but see it.

Father, help me to know how to embrace the comfort in my own skin that you call me to. Help me to be part of bringing your justice and love into your world. Help me let go of the older son (see the Prodigal Son parable) in me and join the celebration. Help me to delight with you and be generous to a fault because I can rest in the abundance of your love.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 11, 2026 in Isaiah

 

John 3:22-36

10 Jan

Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.

At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. (This was before John was thrown into prison.) A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”

John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

“He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

John 1:22-36

Dear God, why were people finding John to be baptized? What were they looking for? What was the itch they were scratching? Was it just conviction and repentance? I mean, if I’m sitting in my town and I start to hear word about a prophet-like guy in the wilderness baptizing people in the river, why would I be compelled to go? Maybe I saw a change in my friend. A rededication to you that I want for myself. It makes be think of when revival goes viral. The revival at Asbury College almost three years ago. The Jesus movement back in the seventies. In Israel at the time, the people had John the Baptist and Jesus in their midst. I suppose there couldn’t help but be some amount of revival.

The other part of this story is the rivalry that some wanted to create between John and Jesus. Even John’s disciples brought it up to John. And had it been going the other way, I’m sure Jesus’s disciples would have been upset too. Why are we such insecure children, falling into sibling rivalry? I’m at a men’s retreat right now, and I confess that there’s a part of me that measures my “spiritual maturity” against the other men here. It’s a competition, and I want to be your favorite.

Father, thank you that you see through my pettiness and love me anyway. Thank you that, at least at some level, you give me eyes to see just how insecure and petty I can be. And regarding my request to teach me to pray this weekend, you are showing me all kinds of things just in my family that need more prayer. I need to be better at intercessory prayer. Show me how to do this effectively so that your kingdom will come and your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. If my prayers can be part of that, teach me to pray.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 10, 2026 in John

 

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Luke 5:12-16

09 Jan

In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
Luke 5:12-16

Dear God, I was listening to a Bible Project podcast yesterday introducing the book of Jude. They’re about to do a series on it, and this week’s episode was just setting up the background and context. Jude was thought to be Jesus’s “brother.” But what did brother mean? It could have meant everything from a subsequent child born to Mary and Joseph to a step brother from Joseph’s life before Mary, to a cousin. But at the end of the day, that doesn’t matter. What is clear is that there were relatives of some sort who knew Jesus as a boy and saw him grow up. Jesus is clear that he had strained relationships with his earthly family (Mark 6:4) and there’s the story of Jesus’s brothers trying to goad him into showing off at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2-5). So these relationships are definitely there. And they are hard. And they don’t believe in him. But then, post-resurrection, they are believers and leaders in the church. They are also writing letters like James and Jude.

So what was their issue before the resurrection? That brings me back to stories like this. The Jesus of this sorry in Luke 5 is a celebrity on the rise, but these “brothers” knew him when he was just a boy learning and discerning who he was. It must have been so hard for their egos to have Jesus as a—I’m going to keep saying brother with the understanding it could mean one of the three options I mentioned above. What was it like to interact with him. I have a half-brother and half-sister. I am closer to one than the other, but I’m not in open conflict with either. We are all in our 50s and 60s now and we’ve figured out who we are apart from each other, but there was a time when our differences in personality was a great source of conflict. Well, I can’t even imagine the animosity the would grow in me if my brother was literally “holier than thou.”

Father, as I sit here this morning and think about takeaways from this prayer, I think my big one is to appreciate the complexities of my ego and dangers of comparing myself with other people. I’m not competing with anyone for your love. I don’t have to be more mature, wise, pious, etc. than anyone else. All I have to be is present to you. So I’m here to offer my presence to you this morning, today, and this weekend. I love you, Lord. Here am I. Break me. Melt me. Mold me. Fill me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit.

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 9, 2026 in Luke

 

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Luke 4:14-28

08 Jan

14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19     and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

22 Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ 24 But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

25 “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”

28 When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. 29 Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

Luke 4:14-28

Dear God, we are so predictable. It kind of makes me wonder why Jesus even went back to Nazareth in the first place. And he certainly poked the bear intentionally when he started saying that the Kingdom of Heaven that was at hand included Gentiles too.

I think it was about a year ago that I heard someone point out that it wasn’t the fact that he was claiming the be chosen one Isaiah spoke of, but that he was also going to be bringing in the Gentiles. Our selfishness can’t handle this.

I have to admit that I’m incredibly disturbed by what our country is doing internationally right now. It feels like we aren’t only trying to weaken the other nations around us, but that we also wanting to take advantage of them to strengthen ourselves. We are the people that morning sitting in front of Jesus, incensed that he would claim that our neighbors deserve healing more than we do. If Jesus were to come today and say, “I’m here for the people who live south of this country and I’m calling you to help them,” we would throw him out and try to kill him.

Father, I need to have eyes for others and not myself. I need to be who you call me to be. I need to be willing to take a step back so that someone else might take a step forward. I’m about to receive a community service award in a couple of months, and I feel completely inadequate to receive it. Give me a clear head today. Give me a clear head this weekend on the retreat. Going back to yesterday’s prayer, teach me to pray. I love you, Lord.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 8, 2026 in Luke

 

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Mark 6:45-46

07 Jan

45 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. 46 After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

Mark 6:45-46

Dear God, I wonder what Jesus’s alone prayer time looked like. I’m sure it was completely different than mine. And better. Much, much better. I wonder if Moses and Elijah (and you) visited directly with him during these times. Did he transfigure like he did the one time he took James, John, and Peter along with him? How much time did he spend hearing for you and learning? How much time did he spend being encouraged? How much time did he spend praying for his disciples and the people he knew? I just thought of the time in Luke 22 when Jesus tells Peter he prayed for him: 31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. 32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” Was that during one of these times. Has Satan asked to sift me like wheat. What would that sifting look like? Is it happening now? So many questions.

I was with a group of men last night from the Christian Men’s Life Skills program I’m involved with, and we talked about everything around us that we can’t see. As the Nicene Creed puts it, you are the creator of everything visible and invisible. What all is invisible around me right now that I am just ignorant to? It’s all a reminder that I’m so small.

I’m going to a men’s retreat this weekend. Maybe what I need to explore is the idea of getting alone in prayer and how I need to pray. For whom I need to pray. I know I should be much better about praying for others.

Father, teach me to pray. That’s my request this morning. It’s actually a scary thing to ask. I don’t know what I’m unleashing on myself if I make this request, but my life isn’t about me and my comfort. It’s about you. Please teach me to pray.

I ask this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 7, 2026 in Mark

 

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Mark 6:30-44

06 Jan

30 The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. 31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.

32 So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. 33 But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. 34 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

35 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. 36 Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.”

37 But Jesus said, “You feed them.”

“With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”

38 “How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”

They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.”

39 Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.

41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. 42 They all ate as much as they wanted, 43 and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. 44 A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed.

Mark 6:30-44

Dear God, I had two thoughts come to mind when I read this passage this morning. First, you “[taught] them many things.” (verse 34) If I had been there that day, what lessons would I have taken home with me? How would my life have changed for having been around you? I was watching a video clip of Paul Rudd the other day. He was with some other actors doing press for a movie, and the interviewer asked them if they could go back and meet someone in history who would it be. He said Jesus. He went on to explain that it was a real answer. To have the opportunity to be around someone who influenced the course of history and the world in such a way would be incredible. Well, these people did get to meet you when you were here in the flesh through the part of you that is Jesus. What lessons would I take from your teaching if I sat with you? I have to be frank. While it’s nice to sit with you in these times of prayer, talk to you, and read about you, it is much more comfortable having this veil between us. If someone told me that you, through Jesus, are in my living room right now, I would be reluctant to leave my study. I wouldn’t run. I might first get the nerve to peek my head out and get a look at you first, Oh, I would be so overwhelmed by your physical presence! I’ve gotten very used to this paradigm of you being invisible to my eyes. I don’t know how I would respond.

I got so lost in the that thought that I cannot even remember what my second one was. You are too much for me. You are too great for me. It’s interesting, because I simultaneously feel completely inadequate to be in your presence, and, at the same time, completely comfortable in the idea that you love me and want me anyway.

Father, there is a lot of work for me to do today. Help me to do it well. We have to make a big decision for our clinic regarding a contractor to do some work for us. Help us to choose wisely. To see beyond price. To understand something that we cannot see. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Thank you for bringing us this far. Help us to have your discernment as we continue down this road.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 6, 2026 in Mark

 

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Matthew 4:12-25

05 Jan

12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 13 He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
    beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
    in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
16 the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
    a light has shined.”

17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.

21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

23 Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 24 News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all. 25 Large crowds followed him wherever he went—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.

Matthew 4:12-25

Dear God, I want to focus on verse 17 this morning: 17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” It was a pretty simple message. And we’ll see more of it right after this in the next chapter when Matthew gives us Jesus’s stump speech. So we know this wasn’t all he said, but this was the main message Matthew shared with us: “Repent of your sins and turn to God.”

Does that need to be my message for people today? Before I go there, is this your message for me today? “John, repent of your sins and turn to God.” I think my conscience is clear before you, but I haven’t really examined it. I need to do that. Where am I failing you and myself right now? Where do I need to repent. Search my heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

I have some friends who I know are struggling, and I would love to see them walk through the narrow gate. I just know they would be so much happier than they currently are. And I get it. The narrow gate is narrow for a reason. It takes self-discipline. It takes intentionality. It takes resolve and determination. It takes humility, submission, and perseverance.

Father, help me to first, live up to the task of walking through the narrow gate today, and then help me to guide others into the gate so that they might repent and turn to you. You love us. You want us. You are for us. Help us to build our lives so that they are yours wholly and completely.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 5, 2026 in Matthew

 

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Matthew 2:1-12

04 Jan

2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
    are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Matthew 2:1-12

Dear God, it’s always interesting when we meet these characters in stories and then we don’t hear from them again. In this case, we get these guys from the East, and they were following some sort of sign. I don’t think we are ever told the source of their knowledge for the sign, but here they are, and they are right. Now, they are a little clumsy about it. They just kind of brazenly go in making it a public thing when you had kind of gone out of your way to make it more low-key, and their clumsiness tipped off Herod which caused problems of tragic proportions, but they were just earnestly looking for this child. Why they wanted to worship him, I don’t know. In fact, I checked different translations, and they all use the word “worship.”

So they found him. The worshipped him. The gave him/Mary gifts. And then they left. It’s important to note here that you spoke to them and warned them to go home a different way. You knew they were there, and they were worthy of your attention and care. Of course, you were also protecting Jesus, Mary, and Joseph by keeping them away from Herod as well, but still, this is just another example of how you loved Gentiles, spoke to Gentiles, and let Gentiles know about your plans. Jesus was for them too.

Father, I’m a Gentile sitting here grateful to be your servant. Worshipping you, Three in One. My Father. My Jesus. My Holy Spirit. As Christmas comes to a close, I thank you and commit to walking with you this year. Beyond Christmas. You are my God. I am your grateful child. Part of your creation. You have my worship. Show me how to love you and how to love others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 4, 2026 in Matthew

 

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John 1:29-34

03 Jan

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

John 1:29-34

Dear God, Jesus and John had an interesting relationship. I wish I knew more about how they knew each other over the previous 30 years. We never see them together before this, but I’m sure this isn’t the first time they met. After all, their mothers were cousins and they certainly would have sought each other out over the years. So I wonder what kinds of conversations John and Jesus had as they grew up. The way John describes it here, John knew Jesus but it hadn’t been revealed to him who Jesus was until he had the prophecy fulfilled that you had given to him. It took the Jesus he knew and made him Jesus the Messiah. It all changed.

I’m also impressed that his leadoff description of Jesus is that he said Jesus was about taking away the sins of the world. He didn’t say, “Here comes our conquering Messiah!” He called him the “Lamb of God,” your lamb. He might not have completely understood how this would all play out because later, when John is in prison, he will question if Jesus is the Messiah or if there is someone else coming (Luke 7:20). But he also seemed to know that there was more to this Messiah thing than making Israel great again. He knew you were trying to rewrite the covenant between you and your creation. He just didn’t have the picture of what that would look like.

So I don’t know what you’re doing either. I mean, I think I know what you were doing through Jesus, but even that gets convoluted in our modern Christianity. Some would say that Jesus came to save us from hell and eternal torment and damnation. To save us from suffering by forgiving us of our sins. But that seems ridiculous to me now, even though that’s what I was sold as a child. Not that there won’t be a sorting one day. Jesus was clear there would be. But if you wanted to save us from eternal damnation you’d have just let our souls die when we die and be done with us. No, you wanted relationship with us. I don’t understand why, but you want to love us and you want us to love you. You want relationship with us. You took away my sin not so that I would get a great perk after my death, but so that I could learn to walk through the narrow gate.

Father, I give you this day. I’m about to spend a few hours with a friend. Sharpen him through me and me through him. My wife and I will spend time together this afternoon. Sharpen us through each other. We will spend some times with friends over dinner. Sharpen us through each other. We are about to start working with a couple who is contemplating marriage. Make our relationship with them part of all of our journeys. Teach me to walk this narrow path through this narrow gate. Oh, and I just learned yesterday that a friend lost her brother to death. I’m so sorry for her. Please comfort her and her family through this tragedy. Show me how to be her friend through this. Raise up people around her who will love her with your love.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2026 in John

 

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