Every year I intentionally explore the Bible, reading a few chapters each day. Some years I focus on the New Testament and other years, the Old Testament, but usually I read the entire Bible in a year.
Will you join me? Will you commit to read the entire Bible next year?
To guide us, check out these Bible reading guides. They are available now. Get your Bible reading plan today.
Chronological Bible Reading Guide
Though a comprehensive chronological reading of the Bible requires a lot of details that won’t fit on a concise handout, it’s possible to make an approximate chronological reading guide by putting the books of the Bible in order.
What if you’re not ready to commit to reading the entire Bible in a year?
If the goal to read the entire Bible next year seems too big of a task, scale back to a more manageable goal. I have a series of other Bible reading plans to guide you.
Pick the one that works for you:
Read the New Testament next year. This plan will take you just 3 to 4 minutes a day, Monday through Friday.
Read the Old Testament next year by investing 10 to 12 minutes a day.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Early this morning we make our annual switch to Daylight Saving Time, a transition full of folly and one I wish we’d skip. I wake up tired. I don’t want to roll out of bed and so want to skip church, but I know Candy won’t stand for it.
“What church are we going to,” she asks, “and when does it start?”
“Next on the list is the church just north of us . . . 9:30.”
“When should we leave, 9:15?”
The drive will only take two minutes, and I don’t care if we arrive early or not. Even leaving at 9:25 will be fine, but it’s good to pad our schedule because one of us is bound to be late, so I nod my agreement.
“We better get moving.”
Preparing for Church
I wonder aloud if today we should pick a different church, one that starts later. Even 10:00 will help, but Candy shakes off my suggestion.
Considering my morning routine, I should pare back my activities so I don’t have to rush to make church.
But that would mean cutting out my morning prayer time and Bible study. It seems foolish to skip personal intimacy with God just to make it to church on time.
Another idea is omitting my shower, but I need its warm comfort to feel awake and act civilized.
Bypassing breakfast is another thought, but I know I should limit fasting to when I’m not around other people because sometimes an empty stomach makes me less patient.
Of all my considerations, church is the least significant. I could skip it. I’ve now come full circle in my deliberations. In the end, I try to squeeze in everything.
Diligent, I push forward: prayer, Bible reading, breakfast, and a shower. I emerge from the bathroom breathless, ready for church and thinking I’m on schedule. I’m not. My wife stands by the back door with her coat on.
It’s 9:25.
We can do this.
Two days ago, I began my weekend construction project by hitting my thumb with a hammer. Hard. Since then, it’s hampered everything I’ve done.
Even the slightest touch to my tender digit shoots pain through my body. Unfortunately, many common motions qualify.
These include holding my car keys, reaching into my pocket, turning on my cell phone, buttoning buttons, and tying shoes.
Anxious to get out the door, I pull on my boots with haste, jamming my thumb into the stiff leather. I yelp.
On a scale of one to ten, the pain is at eleven. I curse. Always inappropriate, my words seem even more unholy given that in a few minutes I’ll be at church to worship God.
Tears well up in my eyes as my thumb throbs, perhaps even worse now than when I first injured it. Gingerly, I lace my boots and tie them with care.
Reaching into my pocket for my keys, I jam my thumb again. The tenderness is excruciating. I set my jaw to prevent another errant outburst, but my glare says it anyway.
The drive to church is tense. Knowing that I’m in no mood to pray, my wise bride intercedes for our time at church.
A Just-In-Time Arrival
We pull into the lot from a side entrance and park in the back of an elongated facility sporting multiple additions. The clock in the car tells me it’s 8:28. Mentally adjusting for Daylight Saving Time, we have two minutes before church starts.
Ahead of us, one couple scurries in a back door, but we don’t follow them. Another family heads toward the front of the building. We trail behind, entering through a side door that deposits us into the narthex.
The service has begun. I scan for a coatrack but don’t see one. I head to the sanctuary with Candy following. With people everywhere, we stand in a daze.
There are no seats available in the back for us to slide into. A smiling usher hands Candy a bulletin and offers to help us find a place for two. Seeing plenty of spaces further in, I push forward.
Halfway up, I slide into the center section and move in a few spaces.
Sitting, I take a deep breath, which serves as a wordless prayer that Papa hears and graciously answers. I forget our late arrival, my throbbing thumb, and the unholy drama that surrounded it.
I am ready for church.
The building is large, with comfortable padded chairs for over four hundred. It’s half full, mostly seniors, with some young adults but hardly any kids.
Many of the older men wear suits, with some ladies in dresses, but the rest of the crowd dresses more casually.
A Greeting Experiment
After the opening remarks, which occurred as we walked in, there’s the official greeting time. I shake hands and exchange hellos with the young man next to me, surprising him when I ask, “How are you?”
Stunned, he does a double take and gives a socially acceptable response but then quickly turns away as if uncomfortable with my unexpected question.
As an experiment, I try this with everyone I greet. None of them are ready for anything beyond “Hello.”
Worship Time
Next, we sing an opening three-song set.
In addition to a suit-clad worship leader are three vocalists and a bass guitar, all on stage. On the sides are the organist, pianist, keyboardist, and drummer.
They start the first song before the bass guitarist is ready, but it doesn’t matter because I can’t hear him when he does start to play.
The piano and organ carry the music, with an out-of-place percussionist tapping a rhythm that doesn’t seem to fit with what everyone else does.
The group’s light pop sound from a bygone era feels out of place with their hymns and older choruses.
Without hymnals, we follow along with the words displayed overhead. Only about half the crowd sings, and they do it with little enthusiasm.
For the second song, the worship leader straps on a guitar. A man wearing a suit while playing a guitar looks strange. Though he acts comfortable with this dichotomy, it strikes me as odd.
The third song, “Amazing Grace,” garners full participation from the crowd, the only number to do so.
An offertory prayer precedes the collection, which coincides with a special music number. The soloist sings as ushers pass the plates. But few people add anything to the offering.
When the man finishes his song, applause erupts. Since this is the only clapping all morning, I assume the praise is for him and not for God.
Teaching Time
Next week starts their two-week missions festival. Today serves as the warm-up, with a message titled, “What Is a Call?”
Though his delivery is good, the preacher is hard for me to watch. When he’s not looking down, he fixes his gaze over us, as though he’s watching something behind us and ignoring us.
I desperately want to turn around to see what he sees, but I resist the urge.
For the bulk of his message, he reels through a list of biblical characters and what God called them to do. He emphasizes, “God calls people in turn,” but I’m not sure what he means.
It’s not until he nears the end of his message that he mentions the text for today, Ephesians 2:8–10.
He wraps up with three practical, self-help style tips to discern our calling.
Though disappointed he didn’t mention hearing our call from the Holy Spirit, I’m not surprised. We’re at a quintessential fundamentalist church and not a charismatic gathering.
Sadly, I’m quite used to churches ignoring one third of the Trinity.
Life Groups
He closes the service with prayer and invites us to stay for “life groups.” I’m surprised at his mention of the more modern life group phenomenon.
I’m perplexed at them taking place when most traditional churches hold Sunday school.
As we slowly gather our things to leave, a suit-wearing man of our age introduces himself. He, too, invites us to stay for life groups.
“In fact, I teach one of them.” He beams, expecting we’ll jump at the chance. His smile disappears when I decline.
His assertion that life groups have an instructor confuses me. Life groups, as I know them, don’t have a teacher. Though some groups might have a leader or facilitator, many are egalitarian and there’s seldom a lesson.
I wonder if their label of “life groups” is a ruse, merely attempting to put a new spin on the old practice of Sunday school.
I don’t need to wonder long. An older woman walks by us as she defiantly declares, “I’m going to Sunday school!”
I smile at her honesty.
All the people sitting around us have scattered. None of those I greeted—those I dared to ask, “How are you?”—tarry to say “Goodbye” or invite us back.
One Person to Talk To
One elderly man approaches us as we’re about to leave. We actually talk, sharing information and learning about each other. This one person attempts to connect with us. He warms my heart.
As we say our goodbyes, he invites us back and hopes we’ll return. His sincerity touches me.
In the short drive home, we discuss our experience. I’m critical over some sloppy details in the preacher’s message. Candy is more generous. We both agree, however, that we connected with his main premise about knowing our call.
I’m not interested in returning to this church and don’t want to give them further consideration. However, I’m unsure of Candy’s perspective.
This church is like the one we met at and the churches she attended growing up. I’m relieved when she shakes her head.
We pull into the garage. There’s only one thing left to do: reset the clock in the car to Daylight Saving Time. Lunch and a nap await us inside.
Takeaway
Don’t put a new label on something old and think you’ve made a meaningful change. Instead, make changes that matter.
This book picks up the mantle from 52 Churches, their year-long sabbatical of visiting churches.
Here’s what happens:
My wife and I move. Now we need to find a new church. It’s not as easy as it sounds. She wants two things; I seek three others.
But this time the stakes are higher. I’ll write about the churches we visit, and my wife will pick which one we’ll call home. It sounds simple. What could possibly go wrong?
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” (Malachi 3:1)
The opening of Mark’s gospel quotes two Old Testament prophecies about John the Baptist. The first is from Malachi, the final book in the Old Testament.
But Malachi isn’t speaking his own words. He quotes directly from God, the Lord Almighty. In this way, we hear our Lord’s own words through his prophet and servant Malachi.
God says he will one day send someone to go before him and prepare the way for him. The messenger, as we’ll later learn, is John the Baptist. He will go ahead of Jesus to make the way for him.
Malachi writes that the people have wearied God with their words.
“How?” the people ask, not understanding their failings.
They do so by calling evil good (see Isaiah 5:20–21) and assuming God is pleased with them. They also question God’s apparent lack of justice.
In response to these people who weary God with their twisting of words and insulting accusations, he shares his solution. He’ll send a messenger tasked with preparing the way for me to come. And by me, he means Jesus.
After God’s messenger makes the way, then Jesus will suddenly appear. He’ll be the one they seek, the solution they desire.
“But who can endure his coming?” Malachi asks. “Who can stand before him?” These questions may seem like Jesus is someone we should fear. But we can also see this as a reason to revere God as the awesome Lord that he is.
In addition, Malachi writes that the message will purify them and refine them to make them—and us—right before God.
He’ll also speak out against sorcerers (false religions), adulterers (sexually immoral practices), and perjurers (liars). He will oppose those who cheat their workers, take advantage of widows and orphans, and prevent outsiders from receiving justice.
This is our Lord’s response to the naysayers who ask, “Where is God’s justice?”
Jesus will come to bring justice (see Luke 11:42 and Acts 17:31). Even more importantly, Jesus will provide a solution to make us right with Father God.
In what ways might we weary God with our words?
Do we care as much about justice as God does?
Most significantly, have we allowed Jesus to make us right with his Father?
Prayer: Jesus, may we have a heart aligned with yours for justice and then act to pursue it. May our actions to promote justice serve as both an act of worship and as a witness.
[This devotional is taken from the November 29 reading from The Advent of Jesus.]
Celebrate Christmas in a fresh way with The Advent of Jesus. It’s a forty-day devotional that prepares our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus in an engaging read. Begin your Advent journey now and gain a greater sense of wonder for the season.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
The Depth of Love is Revealed by How Much We are Willing to Give Up
It is easy to say we love others. It is harder to show it, to prove our words through action.
Despite what I may profess, I fear I may be more selfish than I care to admit. I may not love those closest to me as fully as I think I do. And to be honest, I may not love those who are not so close that much at all.
However Jesus shows his love for us by dying in our place. We mess up; we deserve punishment. In fact our mistakes are so many, that our sentence is death.
Out of his deep love for us Jesus volunteers to take our place and receive our punishment. He dies so we don’t have to. This is the ultimate expression of true love.
Yes, there are some I would die for. But not everyone. My love has limits. God’s love does not. Jesus proves that.
Yet as incredible as it seems, Paul offers to take love one step farther. His love for his people is so deep, his compassion so strong, that he is willing to be forever separated from Jesus if it will save them, the Jewish people.
Not some of them, but all of them, even those who are trying to kill him and want him dead.
Paul claims he is willing to spend eternity in hell, forever separated from Jesus, so that his people can spend eternity in heaven, forever in community with Jesus.
He offers to give up so much. Frankly I wonder if he really means it or maybe it’s just hyperbole, an exaggeration to make his point.
Of course he can’t actually carry out such a grand offer, an extravagant show of love. Yet this certainly gives me something to consider, professing love deeply like Paul and showing it profoundly like Jesus.
Are we willing to die for others? Would we go to hell so others can go to heaven?
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Focus verse:If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
As a young teen, I had a Sunday school teacher who claimed he sometimes would go an entire day without sinning. Granted, he didn’t claim to be without sin, only that he had some days where he avoided it.
Though he was a godly man and I respected him deeply, I questioned if such a thing were possible. At least I doubted it was for me.
It could be I was too sensitive to sin or wrongly confused temptation with sin, but I wondered if I could even go one hour without sinning, let alone twenty-four.
Today’s trio of verses addresses sin and our attitude toward it. This passage opens and closes with parallel verses that restate the same idea: if we claim to live a life without sin, we delude ourselves. (My teacher only claimed to be sinless for a day, not a lifetime.)
Scripture says that everyone has sinned and falls short of God’s expectations (Romans 3:23). Therefore, if we claim we’re sinless, we make God out to be a liar and do not accept his truth.
Fortunately, we don’t need to wallow in our sinfulness. Sandwiched between these two verses about our sin-filled nature, we find a most encouraging promise.
John says if we confess our sins, God will forgive them, purifying us from our unrighteousness, that is, from our wrong behavior. We can count on it.
John also writes that Jesus died for the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:2), but we don’t automatically receive his forgiveness. Through this sacrificial death, Jesus has prepared the gift of salvation for everyone. But until we receive his present it’s not ours.
We can receive Jesus’s gift of salvation when we admit our faults. But to do that, we must first acknowledge that our sins need forgiving.
When we confess our sins, that is, admit our faults to Jesus, we can have confidence in his response of forgiveness. This is because he’s already died for our sins to make us right with Father God.
He will be faithful to forgive. And his forgiveness is because his death satisfied what justice demands. This is what it means when John writes that Jesus is faithful and just.
When we confess our sins, we will receive his forgiveness. This purifies us from all the wrongs we have done and all the wrong things we will do.
Questions:
How do you define sin?
Why does the world oppose the word sin?
Have you confessed your sins to Jesus and received his forgiveness?
What does confession look like to you?
How should we live our life knowing that he has purified us from our unrighteousness?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
The Service that Members Want Isn’t What Unchurched People Need
Over the years I’ve wanted to invite friends to church. Too often I don’t. This isn’t due to a lack of courage on my part but a fear that the church service would drive them from Jesus instead of drawing them closer.
And for those times I took the risk and invited friends to church, I can’t ever remember once when the outcome was positive. They came once and never returned. When I asked why, they often cited an aspect of the service that confused them, turned them off, or offended them.
I may have been more successful at pointing them to Jesus if I hadn’t invited them to go to church with me.
Dogmatic Preaching
At one fundamental church I attended, the teaching pastor delighted in decrying sinful behavior. He was legalistic to the extreme. He had a lengthy list of things we should not do as followers of Jesus. And the list of things we could do was short and dreary.
He had the zeal of a Pharisee. And he seldom mentioned God’s grace or mercy. Given this, why would anyone want to follow Jesus?
When we invite friends to church, they need to hear a compelling message, not a repelling one.
Miserable Music
The worship music at many churches struggles to speak to unchurched people. Sometimes it’s a dated style that’s irrelevant in today’s world. It’s out of touch and inaccessible, sending the wrong signal about Jesus and his church.
Other times it’s a quality issue. True, from a worship standpoint, it’s what’s in the musicians’ hearts that matters to God, not the sound of their voice or the skill of their playing. Yet to someone on the outside, unprofessional music is a huge turnoff.
When we invite friends to church, they deserve, and expect, to experience professional music that connects with them and draws them to God—not makes them cringe.
Unfriendly People
What happens before and after the service, of course, is critical too. Some churches are friendly toward visitors and welcome them well. But most people at most churches don’t talk with those they don’t know. This means they ignore visitors.
When we invite friends to church, we shouldn’t be the only ones to talk to them. But too often we are.
A Seeker Sensitive Solution
This problem of inviting people to church is not a new issue, but one that’s been around for a while. It’s just that it’s become more pronounced in recent years. There is now a bigger comprehension and expectation gap between people who go to church and people who don’t.
If you decades ago, the pronounced solution was to have a seeker sensitive service. The goal was to recast what happened on Sunday morning to appeal to the unchurched who showed up.
The vision was that members would invite friends to church, and the church would give them a service that connected with them and drew them in.
Though this was an insightful vision, it neglected to address the spiritual growth of members, directing everything that happened on Sunday morning to those on the outside. A seeker sensitive service addressed one problem and created another one.
The Purpose of Church
As we grapple with this problem, we should consider the purpose of church. Let’s look at the early church as recorded in the New Testament of the Bible. The churches were a gathering of believers.
Their goal wasn’t to invite friends to church to encounter Jesus. Instead, they first invited their friends to follow Jesus. Then they would go to church to receive encouragement from other believers and grow in their faith.
The purpose of church wasn’t to bring about their salvation but to help them grow in it.
Therefore, our goal shouldn’t be to invite friends to church, but to invite them to follow Jesus first. Church comes later.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Today, in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving! But wherever you live, take time to give thanks for all we have.
In the US, however, Thanksgiving Day has morphed into a day of eating too much, watching football on television, and starting Christmas shopping in earnest.
No matter where you live or what you’re doing today, take a moment to thank God for what he’s done in your life over the past year and how he’s cared for you.
As we do this, we might want to consider what the Bible says about thanksgiving.
The word “thanksgiving” occurs twenty-two times in the Bible (thirty, if you include the headings that were added later).
Leviticus mentions offerings of thanksgiving.
In Ezra and Nehemiah, there is much thanksgiving as the people return to their homeland and rebuild the city.
Of course, Psalms uses the word, too.
Even the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, which have little to celebrate, both mention thanksgiving, albeit as a future event.
Lastly, many of Paul’s letters include thanksgiving in them.
That’s a lot of thanksgiving to consider!
Wherever you live in the world, may you and your family have a happy Thanksgiving!
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Most Christians and their churches celebrate Christmas to commemorate Jesus coming to earth as a baby. And many build up to Christmas by observing Advent—the time that precedes our Savior’s birth.
This book, The Advent of Jesus, is designed to guide us in this important season as we celebrate Jesus.
In doing so, we’ll take a holistic approach so we can better appreciate the coming of our Savior to earth. We’ll center on the gospel accounts in the Bible, giving primary attention to the beloved passage from the beginning of the book of Luke.
Then we’ll incorporate Old Testament prophecy about the coming Messiah to deepen our understanding. Along the way we’ll tap into our imagination to better see things from the perspective of Mary and Joseph.
The goal is to consider Jesus’s arrival from several different vantages to offer a comprehensive Advent devotional. And for maximum flexibility, there are options to fit your preferences and schedule. Here’s why:
Traditionally, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas.
As a result, Advent can start as early as November 27 or as late as December 3. This means that the length of Advent varies from 22 to 28 days.
It ends with the celebration of Jesus’s birth on December 25, even though this date is one of convenience and probably does not mark Jesus’s actual birth.
In this devotional we’ll celebrate the arrival of Jesus for all twenty-eight days of Advent. You can start on November 27, regardless of the year’s calendar. Or begin on whatever date marks the beginning of Advent for the current year.
We’ll build up to the grand culmination of Jesus’s birth.
Then, if you want more, continue the celebration past Christmas to Epiphany on January 6, which traditionally marks the coming of the Magi to celebrate Jesus. This event serves as a fitting conclusion to the Christmas story.
To cover all the essential parts of the story, we’ll compress some parts of our timeline and expand others. For example, we’ll look at Jesus’s birth for five days, not just on Christmas. And we’ll do the same for Epiphany.
The result is a comprehensive devotional that celebrates Jesus coming to earth as an infant who grows up to save humanity. May God speak to you through this book during the Advent season and beyond.
[This devotional is taken from the November 22 reading from The Advent of Jesus.]
Celebrate Christmas in a fresh way with The Advent of Jesus. It’s a forty-day devotional that prepares our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus in an engaging read. Begin your Advent journey now and gain a greater sense of wonder for the season.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Someone once surprised me, catching me off guard by calling me a “man of integrity.” Though honored by their perception, I shook my head. Yes, I aspire to be a person of integrity, but I’m not there. I have a long way to go and will never fully arrive. Still it’s a worthy pursuit.
Do You Cheat at Solitaire?
I recall someone saying that integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking. I suspect most of you have never played solitaire old school, using a deck of cards, but it’s an easy way to understand this idea of integrity in private.
As someone who has played solitaire with cards, I understand this too well. Holding cards in our hands makes it all too easy to peek at what lies ahead.
Yes, there have been times of integrity when I refused to cheat. And there have been other times when I gave in because I felt that peeking was my only chance to win.
That’s a lack of integrity.
How we play solitaire seems like a small thing with little consequence. But it’s indicative of the whole person. If we maintain our integrity in small things that no one sees, we’re much more likely to do so with the important things that people do see.
It takes conducting both our private and public life well to be a person of integrity.
Are You Honest and Moral?
Two key components of integrity are honesty and morality. Honesty speaks truth even when it’s difficult to do so.
Dishonesty can occur by saying what is untruthful. But it can also occur by not saying what needs saying. Withholding needed information is just as dishonest as speaking lies.
Morality is doing the right thing. It means living the right way. The Bible calls this righteousness, which is not a very popular topic in today’s culture. In fact, morality is not very popular either.
Both honesty and morality are integral requirements for a person of integrity.
Do You Wrap-up Things Well?
I’ve often said that a person reveals their true character by how they leave a job.
Do they quit without notice, leaving their employer in a difficult situation? Or do they give their two-week’s notice and then work hard until the last hour, striving to wrap up their projects and leave on the best possible terms?
That’s integrity.
But this goes beyond ending well each time we leave a job. It’s finishing everything with excellence. It’s completing what we start. When you launch into a project do people suspect you’ll never finish? Or do they know they can depend on you to complete what you said you would do?
That’s a person of integrity.
Will You Finish Strong?
The final wrap-up occurs at the end of our lives. Will we finish the race strong? That was Paul’s goal (Acts 20:24 and 2 Timothy 4:7). Too many people coast toward the finish line of life, and some even give up or make a U-turn to head in the wrong direction.
As for me, I don’t want to lose sight of the goal. I want to run hard to get there. I want to finish strong. I want to be a person of integrity when my life here on earth winds down.
Be a Person of Integrity
Becoming a person of integrity is not a grand, one-time decision. It’s a series of little decisions, moment by moment, day by day. Each one of these helps us establish a habit of integrity. Each one helps us move toward the goal of being a person of integrity.
The opposite is also true. Each time we fail to do what is right, each time we take a shortcut because it’s expedient, and each time we spew a white lie because it’s easier than speaking truth, we move away from integrity.
These also combine over time to lessen our integrity. We then risk becoming dishonest, immoral, and corrupt.
When I think of integrity, I think of righteousness. The opposite of righteousness is unrighteousness. The Bible talks a lot about that—and warns against it.
Each day I strive toward the goal of righteousness, with the intent of becoming a person of integrity. This is not only to serve as an example to others, but also as an act of worship to God. I long to one day hear him say, “Well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Focus verse:God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
As John continues in his letter, he moves from fellowship and joy, to talking about the light. God is light. That is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit give us light.
In their light there is no darkness. The good light of Jesus overcomes the darkness of the enemy where sin and evil abound.
John discusses this light—the light that shines in the darkness—in depth in his biography of Jesus (John 1:4–9). It’s a great parallel passage to today’s reading, with the two smartly complementing each other. But there’s more.
Let’s go back to the beginning, back to creation. Jesus is at creation, and all created things come through him (John 1:2–3).
When creating our reality, God first makes light. He declares that this light is good. He separates light from darkness. This marks the first day of creation (Genesis 1:3–5).
Not only is Jesus—who gives light and is light—present at creation, he’ll also be present at the end of the age. This is when God ushers in a new heaven and a new earth.
This new heaven and new earth will contain a new Jerusalem. This city will not need sun or moon to illuminate it, for God will light it through the lamp of the Lamb, the light of Jesus.
All nations and their rulers will walk by this light and give their glory to it—that is, to Jesus, the light (Revelation 21:23–24).
From their thrones in the great city, God the Father and Jesus the Lamb will rule. They’ll give light to all, without the need for sun or lamps. In the light of our Lord there will be no more night, with God’s light forever chasing away darkness (Revelation 22:5).
Throughout this we see Jesus as light: at creation, during his time on earth, and for all eternity. And, as followers of him, he is our light today.
The light of Jesus pushes away all darkness.
Now John ties this back to fellowship. If we claim to have fellowship with our Lord yet continue to walk in darkness—that is, in sin—we delude ourselves. But if we walk in his light, we’ll enjoy fellowship with other believers because Jesus has purified us from all sin.
We may worry that our sinful actions remove us from fellowship and make us liars. But we must remember that as followers of Jesus he has forgiven our sins (Hebrews 8:12 and 1 John 1:9; see Day 5).
This includes both in the past and for the future. As a result, we’re qualified to experience fellowship with one another and with God.
Thank you, Jesus!
Questions:
Have we received the light of Jesus?
What can we do to shine the light of Jesus into the darkness of our world?
How can we fully embrace the truth that when Jesus died for our sins, he has forgiven them and remembers them no more?
Why do we remember our sins when Jesus doesn’t?
What do you think about Jesus being the light at creation, for us now, and later in heaven?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
