Saturday, January 7, 2012

DAILY BIBLE READING GUIDE (Jan. 9th – Jan. 14th)

Monday – John 15.1-17
Meditation: The life of the believer is a life totally found in Christ alone. He is our salvation, the foundation of our hope, he is the source of our life. He is the vine, we are the branches. To live, we must abide in him. Jesus tells us of the great joy that comes to those who abide in him and thus abide in his love. We surely want to abide in his love, so what must our lives look like? As we answer that question this week, pray that you would abide in him and in his love. That Christ would be your life and your joy. What an earnest prayer. Isn’t it?

Tuesday – John 15.12-13; 1 John 3.10-18
Meditation: Christ commands us “That you love one another as I have loved you.” What a simple and yet deeply difficult command? In our world, we are often taught to seek our own good first. To try and get our way. To speak our mind. Because after all we must be true to ourselves. We are saturated with a “me first” world. Here and in 1 John, God warns us that that attitude will kill us. To abide in the vine, we must love each other to the point of being willingly to lay down our lives for one another? Is that how you love the others in our church? It must be. We cannot survive and you are not abiding in Christ if it is not. Pray that God would work in your heart this love that he commands.

Wednesday – John 15.14; John 15.10; 1 John 3.6-10; 2 John 8-9
Meditation: Not everyone is Jesus’ friend, but only those who keep his commands. He is not saying that keeping his commands is what makes us his friend, but rather that we obey him because we are his friends. It is simply what we do if we are abiding in him. As fruit comes naturally from the vine, so obedience comes naturally from Christ’s friends. So the question this verse begs is “Do you keep his commands? Are you living like one who is a friend of Christ?” Pray that this week you would live like a friend not of the world but of Christ.

Thursday – John 15.15; Romans 10.17; 2 Timothy 3.14-16; Nehemiah 8.8,12
Meditation: The blessing of knowing God’s word is a gift meant to be cherished by Christ’s friends. Believers have been told by Christ the will and word of God. What a blessing! How essential is this word? The entirety of the Christian life is said to revolve around this blessing of his word. It is his word that leads us to salvation. Making clear his word is the job of those called to lead the church. The Holy Spirit is sent to teach and remind us of that word. The word of God is a gift like nothing else. If we understand our lives as his friends, then we will cherish that word - that word that is a testimony to our friendship…to our salvation.

Friday – John 15.16; Ephesians 1.4; Ephesians 2.8-9
Meditation: How easy it would be to be puffed up after reading this passage. We are the “friends of Jesus”. Yet God is quick as always to remind us that we are his friends, not because we chose him but because he chose us. What great humility there is in our salvation? Enemies made his children, children of the devil made friends of Christ. Rejoice in your salvation this week. And when you do, you will be rejoicing not in yourself but in God through Christ - in the vine who gives life to the branches.

Saturday – John 15.12-17

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