(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)
Worship
By singing praises and hymns, awake your soul, open your heart to the Lord, and prepare yourself to welcome the presence of God and receive the Word of God that will be given to you.
Thanksgiving
Petition with thanksgiving to God for a wonderful day and pray sincerely for a focused Scripture reading time! (Do not rush into reading the Bible without starting with prayers!) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)
Scripture Reading
Get the following items ready in advance: your devotional notebook, paper, pen, and/or electronic devotional articles so that you can easily write down the Bible verses, questions, and thoughts you have noticed! You are encouraged to open your Bible and vocally read out the scriptures (Try to practice this reading method daily or once a week)!
Scripture Reading: John Ch. 1 (ESV)
Meditation
Take a moment to quietly reflect on today’s Scriptures. Through such exercises, let God’s Word be gradually written into our hearts and be inscribed to our mind.
Devotional
Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.)
Jesus. He exists at the beginning of the universe, He is God, He is the Word, and all things were made through Him. He is the light of all mankind. Jesus, “the Word”, became flesh, the human being, and made his dwelling among us. He is the embodiment of grace and truth. He is God’s only beloved son and the world can be saved through him.
Compared with any other kingdom on earth, as in the case in the United States, it will require a lot of effort for someone to be qualified to be a citizen of this country. But the Bible tells us that to be a child of the heavenly kingdom, as long as you confess your sins and receive the grace and redemption of Jesus’ salvation, you are children of God. Verse 12 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” Let us once again offer our gratitude for the love of the Heavenly Father and the grace of Jesus. This passport of salvation is given freely to anyone who believes in Him and those who receive it will become children of the heavenly kingdom.
(vv.19–34) When John the Baptist began his ministry by the Jordan River, some priests and Levites saw what John had done and asked John who he was: Is he Christ? Or a prophet like Moses? Or is he Elijah who’s coming? John said “No” to all three questions (he is not the Messiah, nor the prophet or Elijah). John had come to make straight the way for Jesus, to witness that Jesus was the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the dead, and to witness that Jesus is the Son of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, in the course of serving God, have you ever felt flattered when your brothers and sisters appreciated your service? While you know you were serving God, have you ever felt proud of yourself and hoped to be acknowledged by everyone about your contribution? Have you ever felt that you were the one who contributed the most to your ministry? Let us learn from John again, change our attitude toward our ministry, and let our service today, whether on or off stage, in front of people or behind the scenes, let us focus on witnessing Jesus. Let us help people come before Jesus, and give glory to Jesus.
(vv.35–51) Peter and his brother Andrew originally were the disciple of John the Baptist. After hearing John’s testimony that Jesus was the Lamb of God, they began to follow Jesus. Jesus also called Philip, who was in the same city as them and then Philip found Nathaniel. Nathaniel did not believe in Jesus at first, thought nothing good would ever come from Nazareth, but he believed in Jesus after hearing from Jesus, “…when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” What made Nathaniel change his mind? Surely, under the fig tree, he had an experience that only he knew about God, so as soon as he heard the answer from Jesus, he knew it right away.
Likewise, when you have a personal relationship with God, you will know that certain life experience is only possible with God, and at that moment, you will recognize Jesus as the Son of God and know what kind of Lord we believe in. Jesus also said to Nathaniel, “You will see greater things than these.” Once we accept Jesus, may we all continue to grow in our faith so we can see how faithful God is to lead us through more and greater things.
In addition, there is one disciple of Jesus rarely commemorated and he is Peter’s brother Andrew, known as the brother of Peter. In today’s scripture reading, we learned that it was actually Andrew who had led Peter to Jesus. What does this tell us? While not everyone will be as famous as Peter, perhaps we can learn from Andrew by helping others come to know Jesus like he did with Peter. Perhaps, one of them will become enthusiastic about the Lord just like Peter. In this way, my dear brothers and sisters, let us bring people to Jesus, help them to know the Savior Jesus, and then accompany them to build a deeper relationship with Jesus.
Pray
Give thanks to God for His enabling us to read the Scriptures and for our response for living out the Word of God today! (e.g., You may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what/where are you going to lead me to today?”)