Christ The Eternal Word
Hi everyone, it’s Pastor Dave. Welcome to the Word By Mail Alone With God journal guide for today. If you’ve got your Alone With God journal, open it. Grab it and open it. If you don’t have an Alone With God journal, check it out at wordbymail.com.
Today, for our journal guide, last night at our Wednesday night Bible study, we began a New Testament survey. We’re using the book called The Story, which surveys the Bible using the Bible. So, we’re surveying the New Testament. And so, I thought I’d start a series of journal guides that go with that New Testament survey. You’ll get a feel for what we’re doing on Wednesday nights, and if you attend Wednesday nights, you’ll get a refresher.
Today, turn in your Bibles, get your Bibles, open your Bibles, and have your Bibles. If you’re not journaling as I talk or after I talk, then make some dedicated time to really be focused and give God your complete attention. Grab your Bible and really get ready to hear from him. Turn it to John Chapter 1.
We have to start a New Testament survey in John 1. Verse 1. Not only is this where it starts, this is before it starts, before the beginning. We’re just going to four verses today; I could teach on these verses for hours. But for today, we’re just going to survey them. We’re just going to look at them enough so that you can spend time meditating on these verses, applying these verses to your life, and responding to God based on these verses. Those are the steps in the Alone With God journal, and that’s what we hope to be able to help you do every day.
John 1:1-4 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
Verse 1 says, 1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. Let me expand on that a little bit. In the beginning . . . When the beginning began, the Word was already there. The Word already existed. This is LOGOS in the Greek. The Word in your Bible should be capitalized. This is Jesus, and this is the Apostle John’s favorite title for Jesus. The Word. This is “God in Expression.” “God in Communication.” It’s God becoming man to communicate, to express God to us. In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God . . . That’s a relational term. It means “Bosom to bosom.” “Face to face.” And the Word was God. There’s no little “a” inserted there. The Word was God. And the Word is God. That’s Jesus.
Verse 2 says, 2 He existed in the beginning with God. It’s a re-statement of such an important fact that Jesus Christ is the Eternal God, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Verse 3 says, 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. We call Jesus the “Agent of Creation” because it was through Christ, it was through Jesus, that all things were created. God created all things through him. Nothing that was created was created without Jesus.
And then, verse 4 says, 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. Jesus Christ is the Author and the Giver of Life. And Jesus is the one who, not only were all things created through him, but he gave life to everything that was created. And his life brought light to everyone.
Let’s just stop there. There’s one more verse there, but you can read it on your own. These four verses are enough.
Guys, we have to stop and Meditate on what these verses say. This is WHO Jesus IS. This is who your Savior and your Lord is (if you’ve received him into your life, put your full faith and trust in him as Savior and Lord), this is who your Savior and Lord IS. He is the Eternal God. He is the Agent of Creation. And he is the Giver of Life.
And so often (if you don’t mind if I can say), moving to the Apply section, we see Jesus as the big blue genie in the Aladdin movie. Like, Jesus, do this for me. Jesus, do that for me. Jesus, I need this. Jesus, I need that. And the Lord wants you to bring your burdens to him. We are encouraged and exhorted to roll our burdens over to the Lord. But first, we’ve got to know who he is, and these verses tell you very clearly who has saved you. Who has given you life. Who lives inside you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Take some time. Read over these verses again. Get the magnitude, the magnificence of them. And then write in your journal. First, under Meditate in the Alone With God journal, it says, “What is God’s Word saying? What are the spiritual principles here?” And I just shared some of that with you. So write that down in your Meditate section.
And then move to Apply. “How does this apply to my life today, personally and specifically?” That’s the instruction in the Alone With God journal. How does this apply that this is who Jesus Christ is? The Lover of Your Soul is the Eternal God who created everything and gave life to everything, and who gave his life for you to pay for your sin and, in exchange, your sin for his righteousness. How does that apply to your life?
And then Respond to it. Man, write something. Your Alone With God journal says, “What action will I take today in response to this truth?” And I hope it’s a relational action today. I hope it’s relational with the Lord. I hope that your response is really a prayer to God recognizing who your Savior truly is. And recognizing that he lives in you if you’ve given your life to him today, and realizing that he’s given you life. Not just this temporal vapor of a life, but eternal life. So, respond to him.
And then there’s room in your journal for prayer, to Pray. It says, “My prayer to align my heart with the will of God on this truth is:” But maybe today you would just pray through those whole two sections, the Respond and the Pray sections. And really try to grasp the depth, the breadth, the height, the incredible majesty of who your Lord Jesus is. Take a minute to take this in. Apply it to your life and respond to it.
So, I’m going to pray with you, and then I’m going to turn it over to you to hopefully do some of these things—just spend some time with the Lord on your own.
Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, you are the Eternal God in Communication to us. Lord, in Expression to us. You are God in the Flesh Incarnate, fully God and fully man. And Lord, you existed with God before time began. And you were God before time began, and everything that was created, including us, was created through you, and you gave creation life, Lord. You are the Author and the Giver of Life, and you’ve given us life. And Lord, we’ve surrendered our life to you. We’ve put our full faith and trust into your hands as Savior and Lord. And Lord, that life of yours has brought light to us. It’s taken us out of darkness, and it’s placed us in the eternal light of your life. And we are in awe of that today. In your mighty, precious, magnificent name, Jesus, thank you. Amen.
Alright, guys, take some time. These are huge verses. Take some time and really Meditate, Apply, and Respond to these verses. And I will see you tomorrow, or Daisy, one of us will see you tomorrow. Thanks for joining us. Have an awesome day. Bye-bye.
Today, for our journal guide, last night at our Wednesday night Bible study, we began a New Testament survey. We’re using the book called The Story, which surveys the Bible using the Bible. So, we’re surveying the New Testament. And so, I thought I’d start a series of journal guides that go with that New Testament survey. You’ll get a feel for what we’re doing on Wednesday nights, and if you attend Wednesday nights, you’ll get a refresher.
Today, turn in your Bibles, get your Bibles, open your Bibles, and have your Bibles. If you’re not journaling as I talk or after I talk, then make some dedicated time to really be focused and give God your complete attention. Grab your Bible and really get ready to hear from him. Turn it to John Chapter 1.
We have to start a New Testament survey in John 1. Verse 1. Not only is this where it starts, this is before it starts, before the beginning. We’re just going to four verses today; I could teach on these verses for hours. But for today, we’re just going to survey them. We’re just going to look at them enough so that you can spend time meditating on these verses, applying these verses to your life, and responding to God based on these verses. Those are the steps in the Alone With God journal, and that’s what we hope to be able to help you do every day.
John 1:1-4 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
Verse 1 says, 1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. Let me expand on that a little bit. In the beginning . . . When the beginning began, the Word was already there. The Word already existed. This is LOGOS in the Greek. The Word in your Bible should be capitalized. This is Jesus, and this is the Apostle John’s favorite title for Jesus. The Word. This is “God in Expression.” “God in Communication.” It’s God becoming man to communicate, to express God to us. In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God . . . That’s a relational term. It means “Bosom to bosom.” “Face to face.” And the Word was God. There’s no little “a” inserted there. The Word was God. And the Word is God. That’s Jesus.
Verse 2 says, 2 He existed in the beginning with God. It’s a re-statement of such an important fact that Jesus Christ is the Eternal God, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Verse 3 says, 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. We call Jesus the “Agent of Creation” because it was through Christ, it was through Jesus, that all things were created. God created all things through him. Nothing that was created was created without Jesus.
And then, verse 4 says, 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. Jesus Christ is the Author and the Giver of Life. And Jesus is the one who, not only were all things created through him, but he gave life to everything that was created. And his life brought light to everyone.
Let’s just stop there. There’s one more verse there, but you can read it on your own. These four verses are enough.
Guys, we have to stop and Meditate on what these verses say. This is WHO Jesus IS. This is who your Savior and your Lord is (if you’ve received him into your life, put your full faith and trust in him as Savior and Lord), this is who your Savior and Lord IS. He is the Eternal God. He is the Agent of Creation. And he is the Giver of Life.
And so often (if you don’t mind if I can say), moving to the Apply section, we see Jesus as the big blue genie in the Aladdin movie. Like, Jesus, do this for me. Jesus, do that for me. Jesus, I need this. Jesus, I need that. And the Lord wants you to bring your burdens to him. We are encouraged and exhorted to roll our burdens over to the Lord. But first, we’ve got to know who he is, and these verses tell you very clearly who has saved you. Who has given you life. Who lives inside you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Take some time. Read over these verses again. Get the magnitude, the magnificence of them. And then write in your journal. First, under Meditate in the Alone With God journal, it says, “What is God’s Word saying? What are the spiritual principles here?” And I just shared some of that with you. So write that down in your Meditate section.
And then move to Apply. “How does this apply to my life today, personally and specifically?” That’s the instruction in the Alone With God journal. How does this apply that this is who Jesus Christ is? The Lover of Your Soul is the Eternal God who created everything and gave life to everything, and who gave his life for you to pay for your sin and, in exchange, your sin for his righteousness. How does that apply to your life?
And then Respond to it. Man, write something. Your Alone With God journal says, “What action will I take today in response to this truth?” And I hope it’s a relational action today. I hope it’s relational with the Lord. I hope that your response is really a prayer to God recognizing who your Savior truly is. And recognizing that he lives in you if you’ve given your life to him today, and realizing that he’s given you life. Not just this temporal vapor of a life, but eternal life. So, respond to him.
And then there’s room in your journal for prayer, to Pray. It says, “My prayer to align my heart with the will of God on this truth is:” But maybe today you would just pray through those whole two sections, the Respond and the Pray sections. And really try to grasp the depth, the breadth, the height, the incredible majesty of who your Lord Jesus is. Take a minute to take this in. Apply it to your life and respond to it.
So, I’m going to pray with you, and then I’m going to turn it over to you to hopefully do some of these things—just spend some time with the Lord on your own.
Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, you are the Eternal God in Communication to us. Lord, in Expression to us. You are God in the Flesh Incarnate, fully God and fully man. And Lord, you existed with God before time began. And you were God before time began, and everything that was created, including us, was created through you, and you gave creation life, Lord. You are the Author and the Giver of Life, and you’ve given us life. And Lord, we’ve surrendered our life to you. We’ve put our full faith and trust into your hands as Savior and Lord. And Lord, that life of yours has brought light to us. It’s taken us out of darkness, and it’s placed us in the eternal light of your life. And we are in awe of that today. In your mighty, precious, magnificent name, Jesus, thank you. Amen.
Alright, guys, take some time. These are huge verses. Take some time and really Meditate, Apply, and Respond to these verses. And I will see you tomorrow, or Daisy, one of us will see you tomorrow. Thanks for joining us. Have an awesome day. Bye-bye.
Posted in Journal Guides, Month 1 Week 2
Tagged with Alone With God Journal Guide, Journal Guide, Daily Journal, Devotions, Who Jesus IS, Knowing God, Jesus Christ, Month01-Week02
Tagged with Alone With God Journal Guide, Journal Guide, Daily Journal, Devotions, Who Jesus IS, Knowing God, Jesus Christ, Month01-Week02
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