My writing through the book of John stalled last Autumn, when I came to the wedding at Cana. Just before Christmas I made a bit of progress, writing a post about the symbolism of the wine, connecting with it through Advent, but those words just made it to the draft folder. There was something I was […]
Joy and Delight and A God Who is Better Than I Imagined
Today I’m floored by the preposterousness of God, in daring to invite us into enjoyment, celebration and joy. We are studying Jennie Allen’s book Proven, which, through delving into the gospel of John, is basically aiming straight for the heart with the intention of undoing all the things that hold us together but just aren’t […]
Is There Something Greater Than Being Known By God?
If you’ve poked around my website much, you know that I place a high value on knowing God through the experience of being known by him. My last two posts about Nathanael have as their take away the reality – the TRUTH! – of our being able to be seen and known and loved by Jesus. The opening lines […]
You are Seen. You are Known. You are Loved.
Being Seen, Being Known Few things matter to us like being seen, and being known. The elemental questions of our heart all echo these desires, as do the elemental fears. Nathanael is a man who knows what this means. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is […]
What Possible Good Could Ever Come From This Thing In My Life?
There was this moment in which all my fears twisted into something tighter and heavier than I could hold. David and I had just collapsed into bed after an exhausting night of packing, and our conversation tipped into all of the Unknowns. Less than two weeks away from filling our moving truck, we were about to make the scariest change […]
Wednesdays In The Word: John 1:43-45 (Witnesses of Jesus)
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and sad to him, “We have found the One of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth!” (John […]
Wednesdays in the Word: John 1:43b (Jesus Found)
Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Upon arriving: He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” (vs. 43) This word found is active voice in Greek – it is an active finding rather than a passive, meaning Jesus didn’t stumble upon Philip out of the blue, but instead actively sought him out. Jesus looked […]
Wednesdays In The Word: John 1:43a (Jesus Decided)
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “follow me.” John 1:43 Jesus decided. These two words catch me, because after the Baptism in the Jordan, Luke says Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit;” Mark describes Him as “driven by the Holy Spirit;” and Matthew writes that he is […]
Hiatus (wednesdays in the word)
I’m taking a summer hiatus from my Wednesday in the Word posts, but the itch is growing and I might return to it sooner than I think. 🙂 Tonight I re-read several posts and I smiled and cried my way through this one about faithfulness–I was so tired that it barely jogged my writer-memory, and instead read […]
“I Know You” (wednesdays in the word; john 1:40-42)
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “we have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You shall be […]