#BackToBasics Devo - John 17-21

John 17 - Eternal is knowing the Father and the Son. Jesus prayed that we would not be taken out of the world, but preserved and sanctified (set apart) by the truth of God's word! Jesus prays for unity in the body.

John 18 - It's amazing that the religious rulers were mindful to try to keep the technicalities of the religious law while try kill Jesus. "What is truth?" That is an age old question.

John 19 - In the darkest moment of Jesus' life, He trusted in the sovereignty of His Father. 

John 20 - "As my Father has sent me, so am I sending you." Then He breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Ghost!" We must be sent by the Father with the power of the Holy Spirit!

John 21 - Even after Peter denied Jesus, Peter receives another invitation to follow Jesus. What a gracious God!

#BackToBasics Devo - 11-13

John 11 - Jesus let's Lazarus' condition get worse so that the Father could get greater glory and so that his followers could believe. 

John 12 - I can't experience the fruit until the seed falls into the ground and dies. Don't love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God!

John 13 - In Jesus' final hours, he chose to display and act of service. He sets an example for His followers. How we react to being served shows the condition of our hearts. Prophecy can encourage the heart and prepare it for upcoming hard times. 

#BackToBasics Devo - John 8-10

John 8 - True disciples are those who abide in God's word. "Before Abraham was, I AM!"

John 9 - The most knowledgeable people couldn't understand that Jesus was the Christ, but a person who experienced the power of Jesus believed in Him.

John 10 - The good shephered lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand abandons the sheep when danger comes. God's idea was always one flock and one shepherd.

#BackToBasics Devo - John 5-7

John 5 - Jesus asked a man with a longstanding illness if he actually wanted to be healed. The man offered the excuse of immobility as the reason why he wasn't healed. Jesus supernaturally healed him by commanding him to be mobile. The scriptures point to the person of Jesus who is the life.

John 6 - Supernatural provision for a big crowd is handled with administration and obedient stewardship.

John 7 - The world won't begin to hate me until I testify that it's works are evil. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory. Don't judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.

#BackToBasics Devo - John 1-4

John 1 - Jesus shows up in the old testament as "The Word". People are not born of God by their own will or by the will of man. In this chapter, people are bringing friends to follow Jesus.

John 2 - Jesus didn't believe his own press, and He didn't put his emotional well being in the hands of people. He knows how people can be.

John 3 - People who don't like the light, love their evils deeds. Darkness is a cloak for evil deeds. People who do right love the light. "Jesus must increase, and must decrease."

John 4 - In conversations with people, Jesus talked with them on a deeper level. "God is a spirit, and those that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth (reality)!" We must be aware that we are in partnership with generations before us to bring in God's harvest.

#BackToBasics Devo - Luke 22-24

Luke 22 - "Rise and pray so that you will not enter into temptation." Focusing on the sorrows of this life can make us spiritually unaware. Prayer is the key to casting our burdens on Jesus.

Luke 23 - Ungodly civil leaders who didn't get along united at the persecution of Jesus.

Luke 24 - "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen!" Jesus is alive! "They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" Jesus opens the mind of his disciples to understand the scriptures. Jesus is the fulfillment of the scriptures.
 

#BackToBasics Devo - Mark 13-16

Mark 13 - The first warning that Jesus gives about the end times is a warning against deception. I also love the encouragement to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through me during difficult times instead of leaning on my own premeditated speeches.

Mark 14 - The story of the perfume being poured over Jesus  (and Jesus' reaction to the disciples) reminds me to value time & intimacy with Jesus over working for Jesus. Someone will always need help and we can help them whenever we want. 

Mark 15 - The temple curtain was torn from top to bottom at the death of Jesus. His sacrifice gave us full and unhindered access to God.

Mark 16 - Jesus' disciples did just as Jesus did. They preached and demonstrated the kingdom with signs and wonders by the same Spirit.