Author: admin

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.¹⁹ Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” ²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Meditation:

1. Ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance for today’s devotion.  Make the reading a prayer in itself.
2. The Holy Spirit is the most neglected personhood of God.  Yet Jesus promises to leave His disciples (and us as his followers) with this important Friend.  What do you learn about the Holy Spirit in vv 16-17, and 25-27?
3. What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit in you and guiding you throughout your day, as this passage says: “But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you”?  Is it comforting? Discomforting? Frustrating?  Hard to understand?  Awesome?  How can you grow today in the awareness that the Friend lives in you?
4. As you drive, walk, work, study, and interact with others today, call on your Friend for his guidance with your thoughts, your words, and the decisions you make.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Refer to the Meditation questions for today’s family devotion.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 11:5-7

⁵ The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.  ⁶ The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.  ⁷ When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.

¹ Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ² During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

¹² When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Meditation

1. In the Last supper, Jesus acted out a lesson in servitude. Jesus also shows us the spirit he expects in those who follow him. Greatness in Christ’s eyes does not come from having many servants but from being the servant of many.
2. In your early spiritual life, who was one of the people that demonstrated to you what it means to “wash feet”?
3. How will you put Jesus’ teaching into practice in at least one relationship this week at home, work, or church?
4. Ask God to give you a humble spirit.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: In some Christian traditions literal foot-washing is practiced.  Have a “foot-washing” party at home today.  After everyone has washed and been washed, come back to share the experience.  What’s your feeling when you wash or being washed?  Why did Jesus do it?  What was he trying to teach his disciples?

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 11:1-4

¹ A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.  ² When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.  ³ The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.  ⁴ Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

²⁰ Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. ²¹ So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Meditation:

1. What does Jesus mean when he talks about a grain of wheat dying and reproducing itself?  Every spring, many of us would bury seeds in our gardens and in a few weeks enjoy the bloom of flowers and the nourishment of vegetables.  Jesus is teaching us that instead of grasping more tightly to whatever we value, we are to hold it more loosely, letting it fall from our hands into the ground.  Then, “if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.”(v24, The Message Bible)
2. Wait for Jesus to show an area of your life – a relationship, a decision to be made, and so on, – in which you are holding on to the status quo, and not allowing God to bring growth or change.  In what way might this be destructive or suffocating?
3. Sit a little longer.  Hold hands in tight fists.  Then relax them, open them, and turn palms upward and talk with Jesus about what a life of open hands would look like.  Ask him to show me what it means to be where he is(26).
4. Think again about the tightly held part of your life.  Try to let go just a little bit, with Jesus’ help.  Serve Jesus and follow him today.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Prepare some seed packages beforehand.  Go to your garden or prepare some pots and plant some of the seeds.  Remember to mark them with names on sticks.  Sit together and talk about this experience.  Have a discussion about how plants grow.  And discuss what Jesus means when he talks about a grain of wheat dying and reproducing itself.  What does that mean to each one?

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 10:29-32

²⁹ The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers.  ³⁰ The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.  ³¹ The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.  ³² The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. ²⁰ So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

²⁸ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”³⁵ Jesus wept.

Meditation:

1. What stands out and draws your attention in this passage? The deep love of the two sisters for their brother?  Their grief?  Jesus’ weeping?
2. Mary said to Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here…”. Have you also had similar thought?  What was your complaint or accusation of the Lord?
3. Have you felt lonely and burdened lately?  Sing or read the words as your prayer:
   WHEN I CRY by Marshall Hall and Ben Gaither: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=0JFFJ1NU

Makin’ a list of all of the good things You’ve done for me
Lord, I’ve never been one to complain
But right now I’m lost and I can’t find my way
My world’s come apart and it’s breakin’ my heart
But it helps to know Your heart is breakin’ too

When I cry, You cry; When I hurt, You hurt
When I’ve lost someone, It takes a piece of You, too
And when I fall on my face,  You fill me with grace
‘Cause nothin’ breaks Your heart, Or tears You apart, Like when I cry

Alone in the dark, face in my hands, crying out to You
Lord, there’s never been a time in my life
There’s so much at stake, there’s so much to lose
But I trust it to You
You’ll bring me through
And it helps me to know that I’m not alone

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: (The 7^th sign of Jesus in John’s Gospel is recorded in this chapter) Listen and learn this song “When I Cry” together.  Talk about feelings each have after listening or singing this song and what comfort and encouragement we can draw from God.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 10:26-28

²⁶ Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.  ²⁷ The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.  ²⁸ The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

¹“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Meditation

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. Jesus uses the scene of a shepherd enclosing his sheep in a sheepfold to explain our salvation and security in Christ.  If you’ve ever doubted the love of Christ, read these words of Jesus aloud slowly as if he were explaining this to you personally.  Notice that the repeated word know.  Jesus knows his sheep; they know Jesus.  The Father knows Jesus; Jesus knows the Father.
3. What usually prompts you to have doubts about your salvation or your walk with Christ? —Your own sin? Feelings of unworthiness? Personal failures? Talk honestly with Christ about your doubts.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Watch this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coq_grSFlNs  and talk about how sheep respond to shepherd’s calling.  Read today’s passage and discuss how each person can respond to Jesus as the sheep do to the shepherd.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 10:22-25

²² The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.  ²³ Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.  ²⁴ What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.  ²⁵ When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever.

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. ¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹ and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” ²⁰ His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”²² (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) ²³ Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

 Meditation

1. The Pharisees could say whatever they wanted about Jesus.  But they had to face the fact that He gave sight to a man born blind.  Today, people can pass any judgment on Jesus.  But if they are honest they have to face the fact that millions testify to Jesus’ transforming work in their lives.  John Newton, once a slave trader, experienced a transformation expressed and wrote this hymn:
   “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,  That saved a wretch like me….
   I once was lost but now am found,  Was blind, but now, I see.
   T’was Grace that taught…  my heart to fear.  And Grace, my fears relieved.
   How precious did that Grace appear…  the hour I first believed.
2. Sing softly this hymn and reflect on your life before and after encountering God’s grace.  Use this hymn as your thanksgiving to God for His wonderful transforming “work in progress” in you.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: (This is the 6^th signs of Jesus in the Gospel of John.)  Refer to today’s meditation.  Read the lyrics of Amazing Grace by John Newton.  Discuss, “Why did John Newton write: ‘I once was lost but am found, was blind, but now, I see.’?”   Sing this song a few times encouraging everyone to sing it as his/her own prayer to God.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 10:18-21

¹⁸ The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.  ¹⁹ When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.  ²⁰ The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.  ²¹ The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

¹ But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst ⁴ they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” ⁶ This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. ⁷ And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰ Jesus stood up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Meditation:

1. Imagine yourself in the crowd that day.  Picture the embarrassed and shamed expression on the woman’s face.  Hear the condescending voices of the religious leaders.  Feel the dirt blowing against me as Jesus bends down and writes something in it.
2. Come honestly before God and ask the Spirit to reveal to you the sins you’ve engaged in recently.  Then imagine yourself in the same situation as this woman.  You’re caught in this sin, exposed.  Imagine you and Jesus having the same conversation: “Does no one condemn you?”  “No one, Master.”  He looks you in the eye.  “Neither do I.  Go on your way.  From now on don’t sin.”  What are you feeling?  Thinking?

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Have you ever been caught doing something you are not supposed to do?  How did you feel then?  Why?  Read this passage.  What was this woman’s feeling when she was brought to Jesus?  What did she expect to happen to her?  What did Jesus do? Imagine how this woman must have felt compare with her feelings when first brought to Jesus.  What do you learn about Jesus from this story?  Close with a thanksgiving prayer of God forgiving our sins.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 10:15-17

¹⁵ A rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.  ¹⁶ The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.  ¹⁷ Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

³⁷ On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”³⁹ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

⁴⁰ When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” ⁴¹ Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? ⁴² Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” ⁴³ So there wasa division among the people over him. ⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

⁴⁵ The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?”⁴⁶ The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” ⁴⁷ The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? ⁴⁸ Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” ⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them,⁵¹ “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” ⁵² They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

Meditation:

1. The temple guards impressed with Jesus’ teaching didn’t arrest Jesus.  Nicodemus, the Pharisee that visited Jesus at night (ch 3) had apparently became a believer, despite the overwhelming hatred of Jesus from his fellowmen.  He risked his reputation and defended for Jesus.  He attacked them for breaking their own rules and exposed their hypocritical motive.
2. How do you respond when you hear people around you (relatives or strangers) criticizing or blaspheming Jesus?
3. Sit quietly before the Lord.  Try to imagine what Jesus encountered, vicious attack and murder threat.  What feelings are stirred up in you?  Talk to Jesus and listen to His response.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Bring pencil and paper as your family gathers for a time of discussion about how people respond to Jesus.  Based on experiences and observations, encourage family members to give examples of ways people either accept or reject Christ.  Make a list of responses.  What role can we as Christians play to help them have a better understanding of Jesus?

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 10:11-14

¹¹ The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.  ¹² Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.  ¹³ On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.  ¹⁴ The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

⁴¹ So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— ⁴⁶ not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Meditation:

1. Some folks “hope” they have eternal life.  Others “trust they will have” eternal life.  And other folks insist “How can you know until you’re dead?”  Others will say, “What makes you think you’re so much better than me?”  Pause for a moment and ask yourself: what is your understanding or belief about eternal life?
2. Jesus wants us to know that we have eternal life (v37).  After we responded to God, He will keep us safe, forever.  Again, in vv 39-40, it’s not “will have” eternal life, not “may have”, and not “maybe has”.  It’s “he who believes has everlasting life.”(v47)
3. Since Jesus says you have eternal life and you can take His word for it. Take the time to thank God for His salvation and eternal life for you.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: (If you are keeping track of the 7 signs of Jesus, both 4^th & 5^th signs are in 6:1-15 & 6:16-23 respectively.)  As you gather your family together, ask, “Do you know that you have eternal life?”  If some are not sure, read and discuss the meaning of vv39-40, 47.  Continue with Q#3 above and conclude with a prayer of thanksgiving.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 10:8-10

⁸ The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.  ⁹ Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.  ¹⁰ Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will come to ruin.

¹ After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. ³ In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. ⁵ One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”⁷ The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” ⁸ Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” ⁹ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

 Meditation:

1. This is Jesus’ third sign recorded by John.
2. “Do you want to get well”(v6)?  This was what Jesus asked the man who had been paralyzed for most of his life.   It might be obvious to answer “Of course!” for the man.  However, for some 38 years the paralyzed man had lived a dependent life.  If he were healed, he would have to take care of himself.  So, Jesus’ question is a penetrating one.
3. This is a question we have to ask ourselves as Christians.  Do we want Christ to heal the areas in our lives where we’ve been damaged?  Or do we want to keep feeling anger and resentment, or bitterness, or hurt and betrayal?  Too many Christians hold on tightly to the things that paralyze them spiritually.  Christ can heal us of these things.  So, do we want to be healed so that we will no longer be able to delude ourselves and cry, “My life isn’t my fault, others are to blame.”
4. So, Jesus’ question echoes on today: “Do you want to get well?”  What will be your reply?

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Who wrote the Gospel of John?  John made a point to write down seven miraculous signs performed by Jesus.  Do you still remember what the first one was?  What about the second one?  Today’s passage tells us the third one.  What do you think of Jesus when you saw all these signs Jesus did?

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 10:4-7

⁴ A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.  ⁵ He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.  ⁶ Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.  ⁷ The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁴³ After the two days he departed for Galilee. ⁴⁴ (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) ⁴⁵ So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

⁴⁶ So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. ⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” ⁴⁹ The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. ⁵¹ As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. ⁵² So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”⁵³ The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. ⁵⁴ This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

Meditation

1. When the anxious father came, Jesus seemed quite indifferent and said to the father: “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe.”   And when the father asked Jesus again, Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”
2. This is the dilemma of faith.  God, in response to our desperate appeals, speaks to us and says, “It’s done.  Go home and you’ll find the sick healed.”  Faith is very much the same.  We come to God desperate for salvation.  And all He said is, “you may go.”  The work is done, your healing accomplished.  And, though we lack evidence, in faith, we walk away as Jesus said.
3. Reflect: When you bring your problem to God, do you tend to accept his word or keep fretting and fussing?   Do you actually live out your life in a way that demonstrates that you really believe God is in control and wants the best for you?   Talk to God about this and listen to His response.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Ask:  In v54, it says this was the second miraculous sign Jesus performed.  What was the first sign?  Refer to Ch 2’s devotion if nobody remembers.  Discuss what miraculous sign means, has anyone seen a sign yet?  What was the result of this sign (vv51-53)?  Do such miraculous signs still happen?  Share and conclude by thanking God for showing His power and His love for people in need.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 10:1-3

¹ A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.  ² Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.  ³ The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.²¹ But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Meditation:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. Slowly read through the passage twice.
3. As you read this passage, what is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What do you think God is trying to tell you?  What does God tell you to do?
4. Prayer: Talk to God about both the phrases that confused you and those that really captivated you.
5. Memorize vv16-17.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Begin by reciting together John 3:16.  Ask each family member which word in the verse means the most and why.  After everyone has shared, sing: “O, How I Love Jesus.”  Recite the verse again in unison.  Ask one person to thank God for Jesus Christ.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 9:13-18

¹³ The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing.  ¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, ¹⁵ calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, ¹⁶ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”  And to him who lacks sense she says, ¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”  ¹⁸ But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

¹ On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. ⁹ When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”¹¹ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

¹² After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

¹³ The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. ¹⁵ And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

 Meditation:

1. Jesus, in the first incident (vv1-11), miraculously transformed water into wine bringing joy and blessing to an otherwise would-be-embarrassed groom and displayed His glory. Miraculous signs serve as pointers to God’s glory and entries to belief.  It reveals to us that loving and all-wise God in Jesus is still at work in his creation.
2. In the second event (vv13-17), Jesus purified the temple.  He drove out corruption and insisted that the worship of God be holy and clean.
3. He does this in our lives too.  As He transforms He cleanses, until, purified, we exhibit a holiness which is appropriate to those who worship and honour God.  The transforming and purifying ministry of Christ is costly.  The price of our renewal was the sacrificial death of God’s unique and only Son.
4. Reflect on.  What have you noticed of God’s transforming and purifying work in your life lately?  How did you respond to it?

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Play out either or both of the events in this passage.  Discuss the problems, emotions, and solution (result).  Paraphrase Q#3 to the children level.  Ask if anyone have noticed God’s working in his/her life lately.  End with a prayer of commitment.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 9:10-12

¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.  ¹¹ For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.  ¹² If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

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. 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.

Meditation:

1. John opens his Gospel with a hymn of praise to Christ. It is one of the most profound passages in all the Bible written in simple, straightforward language, yet in studying the depths of its meaning, it is a passage where we never reach bottom.
2. Read over this passage a few times taking the time to let everything sink in. What strikes you the most in the passage?
3. John tells us that Jesus, the Word of God, is the one through whom we hear God’s voice.  He is the One in whom we meet God and welcome God into our lives.  The life Christ offers us shines in our world as a bright light.  Like a beacon to a lost traveler, the light shining in Jesus offers all men hope, not only hope for life after death, but hope for a rich and meaningful life here and now.
4. When it says “and dwelt among us” (v14) , how does that make you feel? What would your life be like if God moved to your street or shared the workspace with you?  How would the environment of your neighbourhood be different if God had moved in? How might your life be different?
5. Meditate on these words “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (vv4-5)

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time: Gather your family in a totally dark room.  Light a single candle.  Read vv4-5.  Point out how much light one candle provides in complete darkness.  What did John mean when he said “that life (Jesus) was the light of men”?  As your candle burns in the dark room, react to John’s statement, “The darkness has not understood it”.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 9:7-9

⁷ Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.  ⁸ Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.  ⁹ Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

¹³Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶but they were kept from recognizing him.  ¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”  They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”  ¹⁹“What things?” he asked.  “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²²In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”  ²⁵He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.  ²⁸As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.  ³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³²They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Meditation:

1. How many times have we lurched with broken spirits because the unexpected seized the place of the expected and that with a wrenching disappointment?  In such moods even if what was expected comes to us, we cannot see it.  It is unrecognizable to our pain and our splintered hopes and wishes.  The two disciples saw it when Jesus broke the bread and blessed it.  Their hearts began to burn.
2. So we too can be surprised and blessed by the God who is expected, but rarely appears where and when and how we imagine.  It is God’s way to come disguised.  It is his way to come when the storm is peaking or fear deepest or when hope is almost gone or, if we are honest, utterly gone.  It has always been his way.  No resurrection without Golgotha.  No freedom without Gethsemane.
3. Tell it all to Jesus, all the heartaches, broken spirit, dashed expectations.  Then, wait quietly for God’s whispering and His hidden cloaked work.

Suggestion for Family Devotional Time:  Play a game of “Blind man’s bluff” for 5 min.  Discuss what being blind means.  Ask, “is it also possible even though we can see but sometimes we don’t see the things in front of us?”    That’s what happened to these two disciples.  How did they see finally?  What did they see?  How did they feel then?  What did they do afterward?

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 9:4-6

⁴ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says, ⁵ “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. ⁶ Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”