January 11

JOHN 2
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. – John 2:23-25

JOHN 2 NOTHING IS HIDDEN FROM JESUS
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Man’s nature is bent and will be that way without God’s grace
Humans tend to cater to his own cravings and the desires of his flesh
In our sinful state, we can never truly give glory to Jesus Christ
Because of sin, we are easily deceived by our own selfishness and pride
We can deceive another man but we can’t hide anything from God
He knows us in and out; he has counted every strand of hair in our head
Why continue to deceive yourself when there is nothing that he doesn’t know?
Why not open up your heart and receive the mercy and grace he gives you?

In this account, many believed in his name when they witnessed Jesus’ miracles, teachings and signs, but Jesus didn’t trust some of them for he knew exactly what was in their hearts. Some may have believed because they saw him doing these signs, but that could be short lived when they do not see anything more than what their limited minds expect. He also knew that many Jews were still skeptical and had unbelief.
Some commentators such as Morgan said ““If belief is nothing more than admiration for the spectacular, it will create in multitudes applause; but the Son of God cannot commit Himself to that kind of faith.” Bruce commented “Other leaders and teachers may be misled at times into giving their followers more credit for loyalty and understanding than they actually possess; not so Jesus, who could read the inmost thoughts of men and women like an open book.” Morris stated that “When many came to believe in Him, He did not commit Himself to them. He was not dependent on man’s approval.”

REFLECTION
• How can we be open to receive the faith that we are given by God?

January 10

JOHN 2
18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
– John 2:18-22

JOHN 2 JESUS FORETELLS HIS DEATH & RESURRECTION
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When asked under whose authority did he have to clear the temple
Jesus told them that if they destroy the temple, he’ll raise it up in 3 days
The Jews didn’t understand and thought it was impossible for him to do so
They didn’t understand that he was foretelling him his death & resurrection
He was referring to his own body that was going to be destroyed on the cross
And because he was God, he can resurrect and conquer death without any trouble.

As we read in the gospels, Jesus always spoke in parables and in language that only his disciples could have had the privilege to know after he explained it to them. Some instances, they get straight revelation from God’s Spirit himself.
In this account, the Jews were doing their best to catch him to blaspheme so they could stop his popularity. They felt so threatened with his teachings and miracles. They were doing their best to find a reason to put him to death. So, when they asked who he thought he was that he could hurl and whip the animals and stop the vendors from selling their goods in the temple, they were trapping him. Because they were adamant to find reason to do so, his answer was taken literally by the Jews. They already have made up their mind that he was making them look small and will take any word he said and twist it. They had no idea that they did what they did in order to fulfill the prophecy that he will be crucified in order to save mankind.

REFLECTION
• How is it that literal words cannot truly explain spiritual things as in this case?

January 6

JOHN 1
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” – John 1:43-51

JOHN 1 FOLLOW ME
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When you hear the voice of the Lord saying “Follow Me”
Do you need to have proof that it is your Lord himself?
When you are invited to serve in the kingdom of God
Do you heed without delay or do you have second thoughts?

In this account, Jesus found Philip and asked him to follow Him. There was no delay when Philip heard the call of Jesus. He looked for Nathanael right away and witnessed to him that they had found Jesus of Nazareth. But in Nathanael’s case, it was different. He was calculating and questioned if anything ever good comes from Nazareth. He needed to see evidence of this. But as soon as Jesus spoke something about his background and what he was doing before he was called, he changed his mind.
Why don’t we heed a call from our Lord right away when His Spirit calls us? Why do we doubt and need to be convinced that it is really Him? The human mind can be a hindrance in following God’s invitation. If he calls us, he also gives us the ability to accept it. If we belong to him, we would know his voice and we follow without question.

REFLECTION
• Share your insights when you were called by the Lord to follow him.

January 5

JOHN 1
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). – John 1:35-42

JOHN 1 JESUS’ FIRST DISCIPLES
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Andrew and another disciple of John followed Jesus
They wanted to be his students and they called him teacher
Simon told Peter his brother that they found the Messiah
And he took his brother to the Lord and he named him Cephas.

After some of the disciples of John the Baptist heard him declare Jesus as the Lamb of God, two of them decided to follow Jesus. One of them was Andrew but the other one wasn’t named in this account. According to David Guzik’s commentary, he says “The other of the two is not identified, but for several reasons it is reasonable to think it was John the Gospel writer himself, who appears several times in his Gospel, but is never specifically named.” Guzik further comments on verse 39 of the specificity of the time of the hour that these things happened, so he truly thinks it was John, the actual writer of this account who was the other disciple who was with Andrew.
So, as soon as Jesus invited them over to see where he was staying, Andrew immediately announced to his brother that they had found the Messiah and he came to meet Jesus and he was named by Jesus himself as Cephas meaning “Peter.” These three were the first disciples of our Lord Jesus.

REFLECTION
• What do you think made John’s disciples follow Jesus and leave John?

January 4

JOHN 1
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
– John 1:29-34

JOHN 1 THE LAMB OF GOD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins
He is the perfect sacrifice to appease God of his wrath
He came into the world so that we might have life
Only through Him can we have freedom: He is light
Believe in him that you may receive eternity
If you don’t believe, you will live in total depravity.

In this account, John the Baptist declares the Lord as the Lamb of God. Let’s look at Leviticus 4:32-35 because this will give us an understanding why the lamb is important as atonement for sins. It says: 32 “If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish 33 and lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. 34 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 35 And all its fat he shall remove as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the LORD’s food offerings. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven. So, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of our sins because he was sinless. Hence, he is called the Lamb of God.

REFLECTION
• Why is it important for us to remember that Jesus is the Lamb of God?

January 3

JOHN 1
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. – John 1:19-28

JOHN 1 MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
John the Baptist was born to prepare the way of the Lord
He was to be a prophet to speak about God among man
He baptized with water to cleanse people from sin
Though he was a great prophet, he didn’t boast about it
When his disciples edified and placed him on a pedestal
He denied he was great since Christ is greater than him.

Isaiah 40:3-4 prophesies about John the Baptist when he said a voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. That prophecy came to pass in these following verses.
At that time, people were expecting that John the Baptist may be the Christ but John denied this and instead pointed out to them that even though he baptizes with water, the one greater than him will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:15-16). He humbly declares that he isn’t even worthy to strap the Messiah’s sandals.

REFLECTION
• What did John mean when he said “Make straight the way of the Lord?”

January 2

JOHN 1
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. – John 1:10-18

JOHN 1 REJECTED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
God gave his only begotten Son so we can be reconciled with him
He loved humans he allowed Christ to die on the cross to save us from sin
Jesus became like us so he can appease his Father’s wrath
But his own people did not receive or recognize him at all
They didn’t believe he was God’s Son and rejected him instead
By doing so, they failed to see God’s glory in the Savior he sent.

In this account, John shares to us the revelation of God’s design for all humans. We were all created through Christ and for one reason alone: to bring God the glory. We witness God’s steadfast love to his people when he solved the sinful nature of humans. He gave his one and only Son Jesus Christ so he could erase the gap that was built when we gave in to our sinful nature. If the world was created for the purpose of God being given glory which was ruined by the fall of Adam and Eve, how come we don’t give God the praise?
When Jesus was born, he was conceived in Mary’s womb. Because he was of virgin birth, his coming to this world was not received well. He was rejected by his own people. He came from humble origins and did not assume an earthly kingly position.

REFLECTION
• If Jesus himself was rejected, how should we react when people reject us?

January 1

JOHN 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
– John 1:1-9

JOHN 1 THE WORD WAS GOD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Before the world began, the Word already existed
The Word was Jesus and He was infinite and eternal
Every part of creation was made through him and for him
Without Christ, everything will be in chaos and in the dark
The Word brings true light that destroys the darkness
In his presence, there are no lies that are not exposed
The Word brings order in the chaos surrounding mankind
He frees all men from the bondage of sin and leads him to life.

Why did John call Jesus as “Word?” Psalm 33:6 David says “The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. According to gotquestions.org John is introducing Jesus with a word or a term that both his Jewish and Gentile readers would have been familiar with. The Greek word translated “Word” in this passage is Logos, and it was common in both Greek philosophy and Jewish thought of that day. For example, in the Old Testament the “word” of God is often personified as an instrument for the execution of God’s will.
It makes perfect sense that God physically manifested himself in Jesus when he became human, who spoke his word so that his will and plan will be revealed to mankind.

REFLECTION
• If the Word was God and he gave us his word, how should we handle it?