“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5
“Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that men can understand.” S. D. Gordon
- Remember to call your prayer partner! Never underestimate the power of praying with a friend. Just a 10-minute prayer can change your whole outlook!
- It’s time to meet with Jesus! Grab your Bible, journal, a pen, a candle, and something delicious to drink. Go to the place where you meet with God.
- Take a moment to read the first chapter of the Gospel of John (John 1:1-51). Before you start to read the Scriptures, be sure to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what you are reading and to teach you what He wants you to know about Jesus. Be sure to ask God to show you how much He loves you!
Many years ago, while my children were growing up, I loved getting up early in the morning to read the Bible and spend some precious time with Jesus before my day began. Afterward, I often hopped onto my treadmill in the basement to grab a quick run before anyone in the house awoke. During these little exercise sessions, I watched and re-watched the word-for-word Scripture movie, “The Gospel of John,” and learned a great deal about the Bible in the process. This wonderful habit literally changed me from the inside out as the words from Scripture were acted out and came to life in the movie. I especially love the very beginning of the movie where they spoke some of the most
beautiful and poetic words of Scripture: John 1:1-5.
Each time I watched it on the treadmill, I remember holding my breath a little as the beginning scene in the movie unfolded, as the narrator spoke this powerful passage of Scripture about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I imagine the Apostle John as he sits at his table, pen poised in hand, praying for the perfect words to open up one of the most loved books in the Bible, the book of John. In my mind, I see God breathing His very words onto the papyrus as John perhaps hesitates, knowing that these beginning words of God are weighty because they tell us the truth of Jesus’ existence before the world even began. I often think about the Holy Spirit speaking through John and bringing his mind back to countless conversations he had with the Master while they walked on the earth together, and his great desire to compose them in a way that reflected the truth of those conversations well.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1-2)
I love how the Apostle John accurately refers to Jesus as the Word. Read the wonderful words from Matthew Henry, an amazing Bible commentator, as he explains:
The plainest reason why the Son of God is called the Word, seems to be, that as our words explain our minds to others, so was the Son of God sent in order to reveal his Father’s mind to the world.
Imagine this for a second: Jesus came to teach us about the Father and give us an understanding and view of Him that we can better comprehend. It would be challenging for our minds to fathom the complexity and greatness of God, so He sent Jesus, His one and only Son, to earth to explain and show us the Father’s character and His love. When we want to know more about who God is, we simply need to look closely at Jesus, His words, and His life. When we see Jesus, we are actually seeing the Father too, just in human form.
In these verses, we can see the awesome truth: when we talk about the Word, we are talking about a person, Jesus Christ! If you look closely, you can see the writer capitalizes “Word.” That means it’s a proper noun; it’s the person of Jesus. Further, these verses show us that Jesus has always existed with God, since before the earth was even created, and that He is God.
I then imagine the Spirit speaking to John about adding that Jesus created the world. Jesus was not created, He and the Father and the Holy Spirit have always existed together, and they created all things.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3)
It may seem challenging to understand the complexity of the Trinity, the three-in-one God, but the Scriptures tell us in 1 Corinthians 13:9 and 12 the truth that as long as we are on this earth, we only have the capability to partially understand everything about God. After all, He is God, and part of His majesty is that He is not to be fully known, but we can rest assured the rest of that Scripture in 1 Corinthians 13:12 is the fact that we are fully known by God.
We can trust God when He says that our world was designed by the triune God, and we can know deeply that we did not randomly evolve. You were “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). What’s more, we have the delight of knowing this same God in a personal way—through the person of Jesus Christ!
I love how this passage wraps up with the powerful person of Jesus Christ also being called “The Light.”
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1: 4-5)
Jesus is referred to many times in the Bible as “the light.” What we know about light is that it illuminates the darkness. This world can be a dark place, but Jesus lights up the darkness with His presence and His love. He offers us hope and healing from the difficulties and pain we face on earth. He will shine His light into the dark corners of our hearts and lives. We are given new life when we turn away from our sin (darkness) and give our lives to Jesus.
Not everyone will choose to believe in Jesus; He does give us a choice. Jesus will not force us to follow Him or turn away from our sin, but He desires it (1 Timothy 2:4)! If we do choose to surrender our lives to Jesus, then the love and transformation that follow are life-changing; you will never be the same!
Blessings and Love,
Deb
Questions to Ponder
- What is God teaching you today about Jesus and His love for you?
- Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? It’s so easy to turn to Him and ask Him to be Lord of your life.
Pray this simple prayer from the Reverend Billy Graham with me today:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer for the first time, we want to know about it! Email us at admin@helpclubformoms.com. We would love to be the first to welcome you into the family of God! Be sure to tell a pastor or a minister about your decision to follow Jesus. He or she will be so glad you did!
Faith-Filled Ideas
Praying with a prayer partner is one of the most powerful habits you could start! Every week in the Help Club, we all pray with someone. I have a prayer partner too, and we pray every week! My life is better, and I feel so much more at peace after we pray. If you don’t have a prayer partner, ask God for one! He is faithful and will provide!
I remember going into my daughter's room night after night and kneeling beside her bed and crying my heart out to God because I didn’t know how to be a Christian mom; I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. You know what? God is so faithful! He answered me and simply said, “Spend time with me, Deb.” And so I did. I began arising 15-30 minutes earlier each day so I could read my Bible and pray, and plan out my day with my family.
If there was one thing I would love to share with you is that God is personal and loves you as you are. You don’t have to be perfect to be loved by our amazing God! Come as you are! His loving presence can be practically known and experienced. He is not a God who is far away, He is near and easily found. He longs for you to come to Him!
Randy and I have been married for 33 years and we have two grown children, Christie, and Jack, and one answer to prayer son-in-law named Alex. And now I get to be a Gigi to my sweet little grandbabies, Aspen and Skylar, and Piper. Yay!
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- Hearing God Episode Four: Hearing God For Your Kids - April 14, 2024