Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

We have made it to the end of the book of John. So, let’s take a quick look back at where we started. John wrote this book to prove conclusively that Jesus is the Son of God and that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. Over 90% of John is unique to this Gospel, and of the eight miracles recorded, six are unique to the book of John.

John’s gospel discloses Jesus’ identity with his very first words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1-2)

In every chapter that follows in this book, Jesus’ deity is revealed. The greatest sign is the resurrection! John provides an eyewitness account of finding the empty tomb. John’s purpose for writing his gospel was to show that Jesus was the son of God.

Our challenge at the beginning of the week was to show up to read scripture with the intent to be transformed, not to dismiss passages that we think we are familiar with or passages that might seem difficult to understand. But to approach them with a prayerful heart and an open mind and allow the truth of God's word to transform us.
Keep doing this! Keep showing up with reverence and bold confidence!

Now, John 21 has one of my favorite and one of the coolest verses in the Bible. We are going to end the book of John by looking at the very end - literally, the very last verse, John 21:25.

“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

Sometimes I am guilty of forgetting that the characters, the figures, in the Bible, like John, were actually real people. I love this verse so much because it reminds me that this entire book, like the entire Bible, was written by a real person. That this person was an eyewitness to the events that he recorded! I mean, doesn’t it sound like something you or I would say? He has spent 21 chapters systematically presenting the evidence showing that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. What else can he say to convince us? At some point, we all have to decide for ourselves what to do with the knowledge of Jesus' identity.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Have you decided what to do with Jesus? Are you going to follow Him? Let me remind you that He was and is always in control! Let Him take control of your life!

Family Devo: John 21

By: Amanda Carpenter

Do you like candy? Do you like candy? Do you like candy? I’m going to guess that most of you said yes, and most of you are wondering why I asked THREE times! In John 21, Jesus asks Simon Peter THREE times, “Do you love me?” By the third time, Simon Peter finally asked why He kept asking him this when Jesus knew that Simon loved Him. You may remember that Simon Peter denied Jesus three times before Jesus died on the cross. Jesus now gave Simon Peter three opportunities to tell Jesus how much he loves Him. Jesus also told Simon Peter to “feed [his] sheep.” When Jesus said this, He wasn’t talking about the fluffy white sheep. He was talking about the people who love and follow Jesus. We are Jesus’ sheep. Simon was forgiven for his mistakes and was told to serve Jesus by teaching other people about Him and taking care of His followers.

We often make mistakes like Simon Peter did. Like Simon, we are also forgiven if we admit that we make mistakes and accept Jesus’ gift of salvation. God will use us, even when we make mistakes. In fact, He often uses those mistakes and turns them into good things. We can learn from those mistakes and help teach others what we learned. I love how God turns bad things into good.

• What are some ways God can use you to teach others about Him?
• Prayer: Lord, we thank You for being a forgiving God. Sometimes I make mistakes. Forgive me for my mistakes, and help me use my mistakes to teach other people about You. Amen.