Today’s passage: 3 John 1:1–4 Focus verse: I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 1:4) John’s third letter is to his dear friend Gaius, a man John loves in the truth. Loving in the truth is the same affirmation he writes to the chosen lady in […]
John’s letter to Gaius is a short one. It’s a warm note, full of encouragement and affirmation. John also reinforces some teachings with Gaius. The Bible preserves this letter for us to read in 3 John. This is likely the same Gaius grabbed by the riotous crowd in Ephesus. He, along with Aristarchus, travels with Paul […]
Today’s passage: 2 John 1:10–13 Focus verse: Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work. (2 John 1:11) Building upon his instruction about the deceivers—the antichrists—John warns the chosen lady to not welcome anyone who holds to their teaching and to not show them hospitality. If she does, she aligns herself with their misguided ways and […]
Today’s passage: 2 John 1:7–9 Focus verse: Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. (2 John 1:8) John moves from his encouragement to walk in love to a warning about being on alert for deceivers, whom he calls antichrists (see Day 10). These deceivers share […]
Today’s passage: 2 John 1:5–6 Focus verse: As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. (2 John 1:6) In John’s second letter, he continues to repeat themes from his first one. He tells the lady chosen by God the same things he writes to his first audience. This is not […]
Today’s passage: 2 John 1:4 Focus verse: It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth. (2 John 1:4) Truth is a recurring theme in John’s writing. He addresses it in twenty-three verses in his biography of Jesus, the gospel of John. The word appears more there than in any […]
Today’s passage: 2 John 1:1–3 Focus verse: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. (2 John 1:3) John opens his letter calling himself simply “the elder.” Though he could have used more prestigious labels, such as “one of Jesus’s twelve disciples” […]
John writes a letter to the elect, the chosen lady, along with her kids. Some people assume John uses this intimate metaphor to refer to the church (the chosen lady) and its members (her children). But this interpretation falls apart because the New Testament considers the people as the church, not as two separate parts. […]
Today’s passage: 1 John 5:21 Focus verse: Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21) After John writes a fitting conclusion to his letter in 1 John 5:18–20, he tacks on one more verse. He simply tells his audience to keep themselves from idols. I imagine John finishing his letter and then reading it. He gets to […]
Today’s passage: 1 John 5:18–20 Focus verse: He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20) Today’s trio of verses each begins with the same phrasing: We know that. What follows them are seven concepts John wants to remind his audience about. He has covered them throughout his letter and reinforces these key points now. […]