John 1

As I was reading John 1 today I decided to pull out some of the text that really speaks to me.  This is not an exhaustive study but rather what God is using to engage my heart today.

John, Chapter 1 (ESV)

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 enlightens 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: And 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.


This reminder not only of the Deity of Jesus but also the deep reality of why He came.  He came to enlighten us.  This may sound all new age and spacey but the enlightenment is about the light that shines in the darkness.  You see Jesus exposes our darkness through His light.  His light is our only answer for the darkness of sin in our hearts.  Through this same Jesus we are given the right to become children of God!  Not just servants, not just hired hands or mute followers, but children.  We can be a part of His family.


This same Jesus brought us Grace and Truth.  Jesus by grace offers forgiveness and through Truth exposes sin and gives wisdom.  When we surrender our lives to Him we receive grace upon grace.  I am so reminded that when we repent of our sins He extends grace to us as His children.  Then He continues to extend that grace to us as His children because we are still not free from the ties to the sinful flesh of this body in this world.  Our sin is always our own to take responsibility for but PRAISE GOD we are set free from our sin to live as His children.  we no longer have to live in our sins, we receive forgiveness and the strength to move forward away from that sin.


i am reminded that God does not want some weekend children, He does not want visitation rights.  God wants you to be all His... ALL HIS ... giving part of yourself to Him was never the deal.  ALL is the deal, anything less is some form of religion and NOT what Jesus came for.


Lets live 2011 as fully surrendered children of God.