AnotherJohn.Com

Posts

Pick Up a Towel

John 13:12-17 Click here to listen to today’s devotional Jesus didn't just wash his disciples' feet. There's too much happening around the story for it to just be a lesson on humility. Before Jesus picked up a towel, John tells us something important that Jesus knew. He knew and understood that God "had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God" (John 13:3). Secure in who he was and confident in what God had entrusted to him, Jesus took what had been placed in his hands and used those hands to wash dirty feet. The room must've been full of tension. Judas had begun to feel his betrayal. Peter was about to object. None of the disciples knew or understood what was unfolding. The Lord didn't explain what he was about to do. There was no leadership briefing. He simply stood up from the table, wrapped a towel around himself, poured water into a basin, and knelt before the first disciple. One by one, he washed every pair...

Knowing Enough

Psalm 131 Click here to listen to today’s devotional Every once in a while, people ask me if I get nervous before I preach. I have to be honest and answer that I don't. When I first started preaching, I didn't know enough to be nervous. I was young. I had a sermon, a Bible, and more confidence than wisdom. I had no idea what it meant to stand before people and speak on behalf of God's Word. If I had known then what I know now! If I understood the weight of the calling, the responsibility, and even the privilege, I probably would have been terrified. Funny how that works. The more we grow, the more we realize how much we don't know. Psalm 131 expresses that kind of humility. The psalmist says, "my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me." Instead, he says, "I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother." That isn't a word against educa...

What Time Can't Do

Genesis 27:41-45 Click here to listen to today’s devotional Time heals all wounds. At least, that's what we're told. But does it? In the book of Genesis, Jacob steals his older brother Esau's blessing. Siblings know how frustrating it can be when a brother or sister messes with their things. Well, this was much more than that. Esau's rage builds, and he vows to kill his brother. The boys' mother, Rebekah, orchestrated this whole scenario. And when she hears what Esau plans to do, she tells Jacob to run away to an uncle for a while. A literal translation of the text could be to tarry for a few days. Rebekah assumes Esau's fury and anger will cool down in a few days. It almost sounds reasonable to give him time to cool his temper. Except Jacob doesn't stay away for a few days. He stays away for about twenty years. And as far as Genesis tells us, Rebekah never sees her son again. Sometimes, we assume time will do the work that only truth, repentance, forgiven...

Hope is Real

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 Listen to today’s devotional Hard times and hopelessness don't have to belong together. I've met a lot of people who've lost their jobs or received a diagnosis that felt like every good thing had disappeared from their lives. Sometimes, goodbyes feel like hope goes with them. But let's reflect on something the Bible tells us. The apostle Paul wrote some of the most hope-filled words in the New Testament while sitting in prison and enduring more hardship than most of us will ever know. True Christianity has never promised an easy road through life. But it does promise something better...the presence of God on every road. The word translated "hope" in the New Testament isn't wishful thinking. The Greek word elpis describes a confident expectation. For us, hope is a settled assurance that God will keep God's promises. So, biblical hope isn't crossing your fingers, but standing on a strong foundation. That's why Paul could w...

Serve Somebody

Romans 7:4-6 Listen to today’s devotional I remember the first time I heard a preacher reference Bob Dylan. The preacher mentioned the song, "You're gonna have to serve somebody." If you don't know the lyrics, the song goes on to list all kinds of people. There are rich and poor, famous and unknown, religious and rebellious. But the point is that all of them serve somebody. The apostle Paul would probably like that song. We like to think we're completely free and accountable to no one but ourselves. But Romans 7 reminds us that the question isn't whether we'll serve. No, you’re gonna have to serve somebody. Some people serve success. So, every decision is measured by their accomplishments. Others serve approval, living for likes, compliments, or the opinions of people they'll never even meet. Some of us serve fear and end up letting anxiety make our choices. Even religion can become a master when faith turns into keeping score and trying to earn Go...

You Were Here

Matthew 11:20-24 Listen to today’s devotional From time to time after worship, someone will say to me, "Oh, I wish so-and-so had been here to hear that." Maybe you've said it too. Sometimes you're right. Maybe they did need to hear it. But whenever someone says that to me, I usually smile and respond, "They should've heard it. But you were here." In Matthew 11, Jesus rebukes the cities where he had performed miracle after miracle. The people of the cities had seen God's work with their own eyes, yet nothing had changed. There was plenty of evidence, but no repentance. This is one of those passages that sound like it's for someone else to hear. We all know people who should be in church or who could use a come-to-Jesus moment. There are people you can probably picture in your mind who you know need a little humility, or just a little wake-up call. But Jesus wasn't speaking to absent people. He was speaking to the ones standing in front of hi...