by Susan Barnes | 5 Oct 2023 | Short Devotion
“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 We learn how to love, by the way God loves us. As we focus on God’s love for us, our love for him will grow. God’s gracious loving-kindness towards his wayward people is evident in the Old Testament but even more so in...
by Susan Barnes | 28 Sep 2023 | Short Devotion
“But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3 If we desire to be pure, “as he is pure,” we acknowledge that we are God’s children (verse...
by Susan Barnes | 14 Sep 2023 | Short Devotion
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2 Atonement is an activity that provides recompense for past wrongdoings. In the Old Testament, God required the Israelites to make sacrifices on the...
by Susan Barnes | 7 Sep 2023 | Short Devotion
“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another …” 1 John 1:6-7 To “walk in the light” is the same as “walking in God’s...
by Susan Barnes | 31 Aug 2023 | Short Devotion
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.” John 21:10-11 Jesus doesn’t rebuke them for returning...
by Susan Barnes | 24 Aug 2023 | Short Devotion
“I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22 This reminds us of God breathing on Adam and imparting life (Genesis 2:7). The disciples have many encounters with God through his Spirit. Initially, they respond to...
by Susan Barnes | 17 Aug 2023 | Short Devotion
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. John 19:26-27 In his final hours, Jesus...
by Susan Barnes | 10 Aug 2023 | Short Devotion
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:37 If anyone is genuinely interested in seeking and...
