1 John 1:1-2:6 – Who is Jesus?

Read 1 John 1:1-2:6

The book of 1 John starts out in a similar fashion as John’s gospel, identifying Jesus as having been present at creation as well as calling out his identity as the Word. John also masterfully testifies on behalf of himself and others as to having personally seen and touched Jesus. To me, that fact alone is mind-boggling. This author hung out with Jesus and knew Him well.

How else does John describe Jesus to his audience? Jesus is: (1) “life itself,” (2) “the one who is eternal life,” (3) “with the Father,” and we can fellowship with Jesus and the Father, just like John and the others. John hopes that by knowing and experiencing Jesus, we can know and experience the same joy. It’s true what we’ve heard that there is joy in the Lord. Even Nehemiah proclaimed, “For the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10) Continue reading “1 John 1:1-2:6 – Who is Jesus?”

Isaiah 61:1-11 – Joy

Read Isaiah 61:1-11

Our Advent journey continues, and we’ll be encountering more prophecies this week. Did you recognize the first few verses of Isaiah’s prophecy? When Jesus preached in his hometown of Nazareth, he was given the scroll of Isaiah, and the text he read was the first two verses of our reading (see Luke 4:16-21).

How profound it must have been for Jesus to read those words, speaking about himself. This prophecy is another example of a refreshing message speaking about both Jesus’ first coming and his return. In other words, it speaks of restoration, both spiritual and physical. The physical has yet to happen completely, but the spiritual was our awakening or transformation into followers of Jesus. Continue reading “Isaiah 61:1-11 – Joy”

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