Daily Walk Through the New Testament

August 21

Read John 8:12-41

Do you have a religion or a relationship? Religion involves working your way to God. But Christ is the only way to the Father, and He came to reveal the Father’s love. It is likely that God’s favorite name for Himself is Father. What does every father want? A family — relationships with those He loves. While God is everyone’s Creator, He’s NOT everyone’s Father. Jesus knows His Father and has an eternal relationship with Him. Do you? To know the Father, you have to know the Son. Come close to the Father through the Son today.

Daily Walk Through the New Testament

August 20

Read John 7:32-8:11

Are you like the Pharisees who judged and condemned others, forgetting that they themselves were sinners? Or are you like Jesus, compassionate and forgiving? It is easy to be judgmental, but the truth is no one is perfect! All have sinned. All of us need God’s grace and forgiveness.
Jesus saw the hypocrisy of those who wanted to stone the adulterous woman. He forgave her and gave her a second chance, telling her to leave her life of sin. We are not called to overlook or minimize sin; it’s ok to call a sin a sin, just as Jesus did. However, you must also remember what God has done for you and show love and compassion to others.

Daily Walk Through the New Testament

August 19

Read John 7:1-31

Sadly, people’s memories are often dependent on their wills. Peter spoke of those who “willfully forget” God’s works (2 Peter 3:5). There are thousands of people in the present day who are just as blind as the Jews were. They shut their eyes to the plainest facts and doctrines of Christianity. We point them to Christ, to the Person they need to be saved from their sins, but they do not believe what they do not like. It is a willful ignorance. They refuse to listen, read, contemplate, and seek sincerely for truth. Jeremiah described foolish people as those “who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not” (Jeremiah 5:21).
Sinful people don’t want to hear about their sinfulness. They hated Jesus because He told the truth. They hate Christ’s followers for the same reason. But that does not change the fact that we are called to love our neighbors and to share God’s truth. Be prayerful, asking for opportunities to reach people. Be bold, knowing you can help others be set free by the truth. Be like Jesus. Share the truth in love.

Daily Walk Through the New Testament

August 18

Answer the following questions regarding your readings from this past week:

1.) For what are you hungering and thirsting that is not of God? What changes need to take place in your life in order for you to pursue Him more passionately?

2.) In what areas of your life do you need to step out in faith? What doubts, questions, and fears do you need to place in the hands of God?

Daily Walk Through the New Testament

August 17

Read John 6:41-71

Will you walk in the dark with Jesus, or will you walk in the light alone? In this life you will face questions. Before that time comes, you must answer this question: “Will I press on, even if I don’t have answers?”
Ponder these words from John 6: “Many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (vs. 66). Why would people who had previously chosen to follow Jesus, seen His miracles, and experienced the life-changing power of His message choose to leave Him? To put it simply, they didn’t understand.
Often in life, unanswered questions become the impetus for falling away. But as Christ followers, unanswered questions should lead us to take steps of faith that forge our relationship with God. Your questions do not intimidate God — He is bigger than your biggest questions. But you must decide if your are willing to follow without having all the answers.
Choosing to follow Jesus means finding the answer to the question, “Who is He?” When you find that answer, you discover that the answer to “Why am I hurting?” Is not that important, because you would rather walk in the dark with Jesus than walk in the light alone.

Daily Walk Through the New Testament
August 16
Read John 6:15-40

God promised he will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5), but he never promised to fulfill our desires the way we expect Him to. Unfortunately, our tendency is to long for His power and look past His presence.
Jesus reprimanded His followers for seeking Him only because of the miracle He demonstrated during the feeding of the 5000. They were amazed by the power of the sign, but they failed to see the purpose behind the sign. While God constantly works for our good, He also always works for His glory. He wants the adoration that is due Him, the adoration we can offer.
We desire to live in the constant supply of His provisions, but He desires that we understand He is our constant supply (vs. 34-35). Jesus promised all of our needs will be met in Him, but we must first come to Him. He is enough. Remember this simple, often quoted phrase: Jesus + Nothing = Everything.
Beware of becoming so focused on what God does that you fail to see Him for who He is. It is important to believe God does miracles, but it is essential to believe in the God of miracles. Thank God today for glimpses of His mighty power, and then determine to bask in His amazing presence.

Daily Walk Through the New Testament
August 15
Read John 5:31-6:14

What will it take for you to believe? For some people, no amount of evidence will lead to belief. Jesus repeatedly found Himself defending and discussing His deity with the Jewish religious leaders of His day. On the occasion recorded in John 5:1-15, He offered several reasons they should believe He is the Son of God. The religious leaders just wanted to debate doctrine, but Jesus pointed them to the truth. Unfortunately, they still rejected Him.
For others, evidence of God’s provision yields faith. Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5000 in John 6 occurred in the presence of those following Jesus “because they saw His signs” (vs. 2). Even those closest to Him, the disciples, did not naturally assume He would meet the great need of the crowd’s hunger through His mighty power. The ensuing miracle prompted both the disciples and those in the crowd to trust Him more.
It is interesting to note that Jesus tested His disciples (John 6:6). God already has a plan in place for every situation we face, but He earnestly desires that we too trust His sovereign abilities. Jesus is willing to defend His deity, demonstrate His power, and even display His miraculous provision, but in the end, He demands — and deserves — your trust in Him simply for who He is.

Daily Walk Through the New Testament

August 14

Read John 5:1-30

Jesus constantly encountered people in need, and on some occasions, their needs resulted from their sins. We don’t know if that was the case for the man in John 5, but we do know that the brokenness of this world is a result of sin. Our unexpected circumstances, unexplained illnesses, unresolved relationships, unforgettable tragedies, and unrelenting pain all come back to the reality of sin. The only antidote for the sickness of sin is the healing touch of Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can make us well as we put our faith in Him.
Today, give Jesus praise because He healed us from the disease of sin through His work on the cross, and because He “heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). Thank God for His healing touch in your life.

Daily Walk Through the New Testament

August 13

Read John 4:27-54

What must you leave in order to achieve God’s best for your life? The woman at the well left her water pot so that she might become a witness to the miracle of God’s life-changing power. She left the very thing God had used as a tool to introduce her to her Savior so she could introduce others to Him. Sometimes we must walk away from the things that have been important to us in order to accomplish what is important to God.
Walking away from something familiar always requires faith. It took great faith for Abraham to leave everything and set out for the land God promised to show him (Hebrews 11:8). You too must step out in faith into unknown territory if you expect to accomplish the great things God has planned for you.
The faith to step out and accomplish something great for God comes from the awareness of the great thing He has already accomplished in you. Step out of your comfort and into His control.

Daily Walk Through the New Testament

August 12

Read John 3:31-4:26

Do you live like Jesus is above all else in your life? When He is, your thirsts change. His living water fills your every longing. Do you thirst for more in your life — more love, more attention, more satisfaction, more pleasure, more stuff? When He is above all, you simply thirst for more of Him.
This is not our natural inclination. We want what our human nature wants, and we meet our needs according to our abilities. But when we want what He wants, He meets our needs according to His riches. Usually, we have to try it our way and fail before we truly trust Him. In Jeremiah 2:13, the Lord spoke of His people leaving Him, “the fountain of living waters,” and turning to their own sources for fulfillment — “broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
History is full of men & women who resisted God’s invitation to be above all else in their lives. God desires to meet us in our places of greatest resistance in order to demonstrate His plan for greater assistance, but we must trust the One who is above all!