Focus
Breathe in clear thoughts of peace and reflection as you prepare to hear God speak to you through the scripture and the writer. Put aside all the things the world says you have to accomplish today and use this time to rest in God’s presence.
Read
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
Reflect
As I think back on the last year, I have made plenty of mistakes. Some of those mistakes were simply carelessness, some of them was that I tried to do something and I just did not have the skill and competency to actually do it correctly. When I am careless, I just go back and fix my mistake, but when it comes to the mistakes I made because I wasn’t skillful or competent enough, I am smart enough to ask for help from those that can do the job right.
When I read this passage, I am reminded that I have no spiritual power to make myself a child of God. I can not make myself righteous before God. I can not make myself acceptable to this Almighty, Holy God. So, I must ask for help, I must receive help from Jesus Christ. Verse 12 says that Jesus gives us the power to become children of God. No one else; no preacher or teacher, no parent or friend, has the skill or power to make me a child of God. Only Jesus.
Thank God for Jesus Christ that gives us the victory
Pray
Lord, let us remember that we are only human, yet you love us and in you, we have all things to go into this next year. Amen
