AnotherJohn.Com

  Genesis 33:4-11 Click here to listen to today’s devotional Jacob saw Esau coming. This scene should begin with an ominous soundtrack. For years, Jacob probably thought about the day he deceived his brother, stole his blessing, and ran away because he was afraid of the consequences. Now, after all that time, Esau was coming toward Jacob with 400 men. And Jacob prepared for the worst. Wouldn't you? But Genesis 33 tells a different story. One of my favorites, actually. The text says that when Esau saw Jacob, he ran to meet him, embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. Jacob saw Esau and expected a fight. Esau saw Jacob and saw his little brother. We're not told how or why Esau changed his mind about what he wanted to do to Jacob all those years ago. But he offers me great hope for what our relationships with each other and with God can be. We're good at carrying our failures and our regrets around. So many of us are shame bearers more than we feel like i...

  Revelation 22:16-21 Listen to today's devotional Last night, our church hosted a service of the Longest Night. For several years, this has been one of the gatherings I look forward to most. It's a time to acknowledge our pain and need before God and one another, especially in the midst of a holiday season that can fly by. Of course, we all need healing and peace. But what I've observed is that this service is a gathering some of us need sometimes. So, guessing how many people will show up is impossible. Some years, more people feel like they need to be there. Others, not as much. This year, more than ever, I think, I needed to be there. I prepared everything for the service a week before, and was ready to lead. As the service began, everything went as planned. By design, it's a simple gathering. I do most of the talking, and we sing only a few verses throughout the entire time. This year, we sang "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." Who knows how many times I've ...

  Matthew 8:14-17 Listen to today's devotional This weekend, I'm going to become someone's in-law. So, today's reading has a little bit more connection for me. When Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law, the story moves along quickly. Almost too quickly. He touches her hand, the fever leaves, and Matthew tells us, “She got up and began to serve him.” I remember reading that the first time and feeling a little bad for her. At first glance, it can sound like Jesus healed her so she could get back to work. But Matthew isn’t describing an obligation she had, but a restoration Jesus gave her. Before the fever hit, she had a role. She had a place everyone knew and loved. A way of loving others through hospitality. So, as she lay in bed with a fever, her illness didn’t just take her strength. It took away her ability to participate in the life of her household. When Jesus heals her, he doesn’t simply make her comfortable again. He gives her life back. Service here is not some burd...

  Ruth 1:14-18 Listen to today's devotional The modern worship song many of us know, based on the line from Ruth 1, is about following where God leads. To be sure, that is an important idea to think about, how willing we are to follow where the Holy Spirit leads us. Sometimes, it's through the valleys and other times it's beside the still waters. But Ruth has something else in mind. In fact, Ruth would not have thought about following God the way we do. When Ruth makes her vow to Naomi, she is doing more than offering companionship. Listen again: Your people will be my people, and your God my God. She is stepping into Naomi's grief and letting it shape her own life. Ruth doesn't try to fix Naomi's pain, explain it away, or lighten it with easy, awkward words. Instead, she does something more powerful. She shares it. Think about the beauty of that kind of faithfulness toward another person. Scripture speaks of bearing one another's burdens, but this is a vivi...

  Psalm 137:1-3 Listen to today's devotional Many preachers have heard the warning: No one comes to church on Sunday wondering what happened to the Jebusites. That's a reminder that when we preach, our job isn't just to give a history lesson. Our people don't need lectures, but wisdom and inspiration that help them make sense of their lives right now. God's word doesn't live in the past. It also speaks to our present. I think about that opening quote sometimes when we talk about exile. Most of the people I have pastored don't know what it's like to be carried off to another land; I don't. Exile sounds like an abstract idea. At least, we think it does. Psalm 137 shows us we might understand exile more than we realize. Unless you've been torn from your homeland, stripped of everything familiar in life, even separated from your family, you haven't experienced the kind of exile the psalmist writes about. But when he says, "By the rivers of B...

  Psalm 140:1-3 Listen to today's devotional We've all heard the saying: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Wouldn’t it be nice if more people lived by that? It’s simple, practical wisdom. And we’d do well to encourage it more often. But I like to add a follow-up question: "If you don't have anything nice to say, why not?" What’s going on in the heart that makes bitterness or venom feel like the only option? Psalm 140 opens with an urgent cry for help. The psalmist names God as deliverer. That's good because danger is close. Violent evildoers are not just attacking with weapons. They’re scheming with their words. Before the first interlude, the psalmist compares their speech to the venom of snakes. That poison starts long before it’s spoken. It begins in the heart and mind: “They plan evil things… they stir up wars.” That sounds a lot like something Jesus said: "The good person out of the good treasure o...

  2 Kings 2:19-22 Listen to today's devotional I’ve lived in some great places. Each town or city we’ve called home has shaped our family, our story and our ministry in unique ways. Every place offers its own kind of beauty, opportunity, or culture. Of course, no place is perfect. As great as these cities are, each has its needs. Some have more needs than others. In 2 Kings 2, the people of Jericho tell Elisha, “The location of this city is good.” They probably didn't know how right they were. Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world today. But not everything's good. There's a great need in the city. The people say, “The water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” There's an idea that the unfruitfulness of the land is akin to loosing a child or being barren. That represents a great loss. Having bad water is no small issue. Think of the people in Flint, MI. They've been fighting for ten years for water justice. Contaminated water means poor health, failed ...

Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube Monday: Jesus Among Us Scripture Reading: Luke 8:26-39 Devotional Thought: We often think of Jesus as concerned only with spiritual realms and heavenly matters. Yet, the sermon reminds us that Jesus steps into our worldly experience, confronting not just spiritual darkness but also the real-world issues we face. His presence affirms that he walks with us in our pain and struggles. Reflection Questions: In what ways have you limited your understanding of Jesus' concern to only spiritual matters? How does knowing that Jesus walks with you in real-world struggles change your perspective on your current challenges? Additional Scripture: John 1:14 - Reflect on the significance of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Tuesday: A Collision with Power Scripture Reading: Luke 8:30-33 Devotional Thought: The man possessed by demons shouted, "My name is Legion." This name, a Roman military t...

  1 Chronicles 12:16-18 Listen to today's devotional "The ultimate witness is withness." That's a great quote I read the other day. Even though I read it around two in the morning because I couldn't sleep, it's something I've been reflecting on since. Most historians don't blame the fall of the Roman Empire on plagues. But in the second and third centuries, the empire suffered greatly as the result of, at least, two to three. The plagues decimated the Roman population and exposed some of its weaknesses. It's estimated the Antonine plague, the first epidemic recorded in history, killed up to 10 million people. That would represent a third of the population. The emperor blamed Christians for the plague. Their unwillingness to offer sacrifices angered the gods, he argued. History, though, shows something else about the Christians. Those Romans who could flee the devastation did. Consequently, many people were left to die. But Christians stayed. They h...

  Psalm 120 "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." That's the singsong lie we repeated as kids. I don't recall how much we ever believed that or not. But I'm sure we knew the truth. Words can hurt. They do hurt. They hurt us as children who get made to feel unworthy or unloved. And they sting the ego and confidence of many adults just the same. And yet we know words can bring life as well. After all, we are a people that cling to the words of God. Christians affirm with joy "The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!" Today's reading offers a two-fold reminder for us about words. First, the words that hang over our lives can be of great burden. How often do we hold on to a snide remark someone made years ago? A comment they soon forgot or even, perhaps, meant little by? Greater still is the pain of the intentional insults that come our way. Or the steady dose of verbal abuse. The psalmist cried to the Lord...

  Luke 4:38-44 The incarnation of Jesus only means as much to us as we're willing to share it. That is, if everything we celebrate at Christmas is true, that God came to us in the form of a child, that reality must become a part of our shared experience. We share the experience of  God with us  in worship, of course. But we're also called to share that experience beyond our sanctuaries and holy meeting places. When many of us Christians talk about sharing, our first thoughts go to sharing a message. Something we know about who Jesus is and what he did. Now, yes, we have a message. Jesus is Lord is a powerful affirmation. Plus, how can anyone believe in Jesus without hearing of him (Romans 10:14)? But the incarnation was more than a message, wasn't it? It was the beauty of seeing God's grace and truth with our own eyes. You and I weren't there to see and hear Jesus tell stories or perform miracles--I would've loved to see the reactions when he flipped tables. Sti...