New Bible Study

​Welcome to a new year!  Christmas has passed and 2020 is behind us.  Now, as we step forward into the future and possibilities of 2021, let us ground ourselves in God’s Word.  As life slows back down after the excitement of the holidays, may we not forget to re-immerse ourselves in the truth of God’s Word.  Therefore, as we start this new month and new year, I will be starting a new Bible study.

​After studying and pondering the Christmas story over the past month, I felt prompted to continue the story beyond Mary and Joseph’s flight to Egypt.  The baby Jesus returned to Israel and grew into a man who walked the earth and brought truth and light.  He is the Savior of the world, and during His short time on earth He touched countless lives, bringing hope and healing.  Therefore, the next Bible study will be on the first six chapters of John. 
 
This blog started out with a Bible study on John 7-21.  Now, five and a half years later, I feel led to circle back around and complete the book by studying and writing on the first six chapters.  I pray that we would all learn from life of Jesus and be filled with renewed awe at the wonder and glory of our Savior—Emmanuel, God with us.

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​Dusty feet.  Hunger.  Thirst.  Weariness.  Pain.  Joy.  Sorrow.  Emmanuel.  God with us. 
 
Jesus was fully God and fully man.  Although Christmas is where His story begins, it does not end in Egypt or Mary and Joseph’s return to Nazareth.  No, the baby in the manger grew and needed to learn how to walk and talk.  The infant became a toddler and then a child, needing to explore and experience the physical world, learn math and reading, and take care of younger siblings.  That child then grew into a teen who navigated the same awkward struggles of puberty we all experienced, learned a trade, and made that transition from childhood to adulthood.
 
The incarnation doesn’t just mean that God became one of us, but it also means that He came to share in our struggles, experience our trials, and walk among us.  Life is punctuated by basic human needs, emotions, and experiences.  No human is exempt from experiencing life with its wide spectrum of experiences both good, bad, and ugly. 
 
However, the One who created all things and sits enthroned above the earth was free from the mire of sin and hardship of earth and chose to step down and enter the human world.  He decided that in order for us to fully understand and grasp His immeasurable love, He needed to walk among us.  He needed to give us hope by giving us the bond of shared experiences.  He needed to give us life by willingly sacrificing His. 
 
So God stepped down from heaven and came to earth as a baby—fully human and fully divine.  God incarnate.  The Word made flesh.  Jesus.  God saves. 
 
Therefore, as we dive into the pages of John’s Gospel, I hope and pray that you will be profoundly touched by the life of Christ.  Awe and wonder should continually fill our hearts as we study and ponder the truth that the God of eternity stepped into time for us.  The Maker of the world become like His creation.  The King of kings came as the humblest servant.  So through this study, may John’s central declaration resonate in our hearts, giving us hope for the future and confidence in God’s unending love.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
~John 1:14