The Follow Up Talk

Taste of Goodness Have you tasted that the Lord is good? In 1 Peter 2 , right off the bat,  Peter makes a side comment that is very interesting. He asks whether we’ve truly ever experienced that the Lord is good? His question makes the point that if we have, this should make us yearn for God and the life sustaining power that God offers. When we have a real yearning for God, we want to be brand new people living new lives that emulate God’s likeness. We should ask ourselves: Do we actually feel this yearning? If not, maybe we should first ask God to give us a true taste of his faithfulness and his love. Getting a real experience of God’s goodness can change our hearts and give us a yearning to be more like God. Succeed in Your Deeds In chapter 2, Peter is very concerned about Christians doing good deeds. To him, it’s not only about professing your faith in Jesus. As he’s talking to exiles, people living in places and in situations where they lack power and influence, Peter realizes...

While reading the Book of John, I became very curious about the ministry of Peter.  I plan to explore the other books of the Bible to learn about him and I am currently reading through Peter's letters. Similar to how I studied John, I will jot down some of my thoughts from the Books of Peter here. I'm finding these chapters interesting and full of good truths to ponder over. What strikes me is how it is plain to see how Jesus has taught Peter to be passionate about his commission and loving. This love is evident in the advice that Peter offers in his letters. Let's look at 1 Peter, chapter 1 together. 1 Peter 1 I thought about how Peter is talking to people exiled from their homeland and living in different places. It's interesting how he encourages them to behave in a new way - a way of holiness. To me, it would seem like the natural thing to tell a person living in a strange land is to either: (1) blend in to fit in with the people in their new surroundings; or (2) st...

I've come to the end of my study of John with this post. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I didn't know I would enjoy reading from John's perspective so much. It's a good exercise to read a whole chapter and sit back to think through what was written. I gained so much from just doing that. There were other thoughts that I reflected on and didn't write down. I plan on doing another study of a book of the Bible and share my thoughts here again. Now, on to the last chapters of John! John 19 : What Moves Us? I’m touched that Jesus while dying thought to care for his mother, and also sickened at the thought of a person watching their family die in front of them. I’m reflecting on how calculative the priests were in their arguments in order to make sure they persuaded Pilate to crucify Jesus. Sometimes, we too are so stuck on our agenda that we will make any kind of argument to persuade others into seeing things the same way we see things, or into doing something ...

Worthiness...That's a word on my mind today as I think about this past week. I've had a few examples of friends showing me that I am worthy of love, at work and at my church. I'm reflecting on that word as I think about how God showed the world his love by sending us Jesus. We are all worthy of love, despite our background and situation. Jesus commands us Christians to love, something the book of John repeats over and over - and why is this? Because the world we live in and the people in it are broken and have a very hard time showing true love to each other. I hope everyone experiences this truth - that you are worthy of love - from the people and community surrounding you. Below are some more of my thoughts from my study on the book of John. John 15 : Worthy Investment Jesus invested a lot of time and teaching into his disciples. Verse 27 says, “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit and ...

Hi there! Here are my thoughts after reading a couple more chapters in John. John 12 : True Worship & Testimony My first thought is about how I show gratitude. Mary was a perfect example for us to copy. For her family, Jesus had brought Lazarus back to life and probably did other things that we do not know. We do know that they were all close. Mary literally poured out her gratitude to Jesus by giving him an expensive and precious gift and by serving Jesus in one of the most humblest of ways- anointing his feet with oil using her “crown of glory”. Her actions remind me of Revelations 4 where it depicts rulers bowing before God and laying their crowns down to him. This was Mary’s way of laying down her crown and honoring Jesus. How do I honor Jesus? What is most precious and valuable to me? How can I lay it before Jesus to show that I am thankful he’s my God? How can I use it to honor him, in private and in public? These questions are worth asking to help bring us to a place of tru...

Another week has passed and I hope it was a good one for you all. One of my highlights was my son waking up super early and looking for me. He found me in the living room reading my Bible and said he would love to join me for devotions! It was just too cute hearing a four year old say that, and super sweet getting some cuddles while reading the Word - before the day really starts and I have to wrestle him to get any extra cuddles! Here are some of my thoughts while going through a few more chapters in the book of John. There are so many things to talk about in each chapter, but I focused my thoughts on the first things that jumped out at me. John 9 - God's Purpose in our Weakness Here we see an amazing miracle of Jesus giving sight to a man who was born blind. The disciples asked Jesus - whose sin caused this man to be born with blindness? Jesus replied - neither; his blindness was meant to fulfill God’s purpose. ( verses 2-3 ) What is confusing for today is whether the answer Jes...

Hi there! I am enjoying reading John a chapter at a time and spending the time to think about the message John is sharing. Below are my reflections from chapters 6 through 8. If you are also reading John, I hope you are enjoying it and that it's provoking reflections of your own too! John 6 - Eat this Bread I kept reflecting on the fact that this was Passover time and the significance of this setting. Crowds of people left their homes to seek Jesus- who later became the ultimate sacrificial lamb slain for all our sins. Passover is a time to remember the miracle God did for the Israelites. God saved their firstborn children and allowed them to finally escape Egypt. It’s a time where Israelites are careful about the bread they eat in order to recognize the significance of their escape. Here in this passage, we have crowds seeking Jesus and being fed with bread. We see them seeking more bread on the following day - as Jesus comments that they only wished for more food. As Jesus expla...

Lately I've been reading the book of John and have had more reflections jump out of me than I originally thought I would. I've jotted them down in my bible and then realized that I might as well capture these thoughts here too. Out of the four New Testament books about Jesus' birth, ministry, and death, I am most drawn to the book of John. There I can see the beauty in how God's Word is crafted together. John doesn't just tell what he saw, he points out the deeper purpose and connection that Jesus has to the Old Testament, to God, to Israelite traditions, and to the creation of the world! I invite you to journey with me as I chronicle my musings on the book of John! John 3 - Nicodemus - Born Again It's interesting how this chapter starts with Jesus teaching Nicodemus about the Spirit - how you need to be born in it and how it moves in ways unknown and unseen - then ends with John the Baptist teaching his disciples that Jesus has the Spirit! John 4 - Samaritan W...