A Daily Devotional Bible Reading
Based on Sunday's Sermon: A Parade of Witnesses / John 1:6-51
Day 1: The Light Has Come
Reading: John 1:1-9
Devotional: John opens his gospel with a staggering declaration: the Word who existed before all creation entered the world as flesh and light. Darkness has never been able to extinguish that light, and it never will. Just as John the Baptist was sent not to be the light but to bear witness to it, so every believer carries that same calling. We are not the source. We are the signal. Consider today where you may be tempted to draw attention to yourself rather than to Christ. Redirect every conversation, every act of service, and every moment of worship toward the one true light.
Day 2: Behold the Lamb
Reading: John 1:29-34; Exodus 12:1-13; Isaiah 53:4-7
Devotional: From Abel's offering to the Passover lamb to the sacrifices of Leviticus, the Old Testament asks one urgent question: where is the lamb? John the Baptist answered that question with four words that changed history. Jesus is not merely a lamb. He is the Lamb of God, offered not for one person, not for one household, not for one nation, but for the sin of the entire world. The wrath that should have fallen on you fell on him instead. Meditate on that exchange today. Let gratitude move from your mind into your heart, and let your heart move you into worship.
Day 3: Come and See
Reading: John 1:35-42; Psalm 34:8
Devotional: Andrew did not construct a theological argument to bring his brother Peter to Jesus. He simply said, we have found the Messiah, and he brought him. That is the entire model of personal evangelism in two actions: find and bring. Andrew had spent only one afternoon with Jesus, yet that single encounter was enough to redirect the rest of his life and the life of his brother. You do not need to have all the answers before you invite someone to encounter Christ. You only need to have met him yourself. Who in your life needs you to say, come and see?
Day 4: Grace Upon Grace
Reading: John 1:14-17; Romans 5:18-21; Ephesians 2:4-9
Devotional: The law revealed the righteousness of God and exposed the sinfulness of man, but it could not transform the heart. Grace does what the law never could. John describes the fullness of Christ as grace upon grace, a phrase that captures the inexhaustible, continually replenishing nature of God's favor toward those who trust in his Son. No matter how deep your sin runs, grace runs deeper. No matter how many times you return to the Father burdened and broken, the supply of his grace has not diminished. Rest today not in your performance but in the overflowing fullness of Christ given freely to you.
Day 5: The Ladder to Heaven
Reading: John 1:43-51; Genesis 28:10-17; John 14:6
Devotional: When Nathanael sat beneath his fig tree reading of Jacob's ladder stretching from earth into the presence of God, he could not have known that the one fulfilling that image was about to walk toward him. Jesus declared himself to be that ladder, the one and only way from a sin-broken earth into the holy presence of the Father. There is no other staircase. There is no alternate route. Every religion, every philosophy, and every human effort to ascend to God apart from Christ ends at the foot of a wall it cannot climb. Today, give thanks that the way has been opened and the door has been left wide.
Day 1: The Light Has Come
Reading: John 1:1-9
Devotional: John opens his gospel with a staggering declaration: the Word who existed before all creation entered the world as flesh and light. Darkness has never been able to extinguish that light, and it never will. Just as John the Baptist was sent not to be the light but to bear witness to it, so every believer carries that same calling. We are not the source. We are the signal. Consider today where you may be tempted to draw attention to yourself rather than to Christ. Redirect every conversation, every act of service, and every moment of worship toward the one true light.
Day 2: Behold the Lamb
Reading: John 1:29-34; Exodus 12:1-13; Isaiah 53:4-7
Devotional: From Abel's offering to the Passover lamb to the sacrifices of Leviticus, the Old Testament asks one urgent question: where is the lamb? John the Baptist answered that question with four words that changed history. Jesus is not merely a lamb. He is the Lamb of God, offered not for one person, not for one household, not for one nation, but for the sin of the entire world. The wrath that should have fallen on you fell on him instead. Meditate on that exchange today. Let gratitude move from your mind into your heart, and let your heart move you into worship.
Day 3: Come and See
Reading: John 1:35-42; Psalm 34:8
Devotional: Andrew did not construct a theological argument to bring his brother Peter to Jesus. He simply said, we have found the Messiah, and he brought him. That is the entire model of personal evangelism in two actions: find and bring. Andrew had spent only one afternoon with Jesus, yet that single encounter was enough to redirect the rest of his life and the life of his brother. You do not need to have all the answers before you invite someone to encounter Christ. You only need to have met him yourself. Who in your life needs you to say, come and see?
Day 4: Grace Upon Grace
Reading: John 1:14-17; Romans 5:18-21; Ephesians 2:4-9
Devotional: The law revealed the righteousness of God and exposed the sinfulness of man, but it could not transform the heart. Grace does what the law never could. John describes the fullness of Christ as grace upon grace, a phrase that captures the inexhaustible, continually replenishing nature of God's favor toward those who trust in his Son. No matter how deep your sin runs, grace runs deeper. No matter how many times you return to the Father burdened and broken, the supply of his grace has not diminished. Rest today not in your performance but in the overflowing fullness of Christ given freely to you.
Day 5: The Ladder to Heaven
Reading: John 1:43-51; Genesis 28:10-17; John 14:6
Devotional: When Nathanael sat beneath his fig tree reading of Jacob's ladder stretching from earth into the presence of God, he could not have known that the one fulfilling that image was about to walk toward him. Jesus declared himself to be that ladder, the one and only way from a sin-broken earth into the holy presence of the Father. There is no other staircase. There is no alternate route. Every religion, every philosophy, and every human effort to ascend to God apart from Christ ends at the foot of a wall it cannot climb. Today, give thanks that the way has been opened and the door has been left wide.