Today Daily Devotional

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. . . ."
— John 15:5

Before I married, I did not own a car. I did not know how to fix vehicles or install plumbing. (Still don’t.) But with a vow, suddenly I had access to all those riches through my husband.Being united to Jesus works in a way like that—only better. Jesus describes himself as a vine, and he says we are like branches—deeply connected to him and blessed with all the benefits of life in him.John Calvin wrote that through Christ all heavenly gifts flow to us. From him we get life, righteousness, holiness, and every true blessing. Imagine! Jesus’ joy, peace, strength, and reward. An old hymn proclaims: “How vast the benefits divine that we in Christ possess!”At the beginning of our reading for today, Jesus calls himself “the true vine.” There really is no other with whom we can have this flourishing relationship. Apart from him, we cannot bear fruit, so we need to remain in Jesus.What does “remaining” look like? I saw a short video called “If we treated our Bibles like our phones. . . .” As soon he woke in the morning, a man opened his Bible; he read it as he brushed his teeth, cooked his eggs, and ran on a treadmill. He even kept checking his Bible throughout the day.We know what it means to “remain” with our phones. Perhaps remaining in Christ looks something like that? We need to stay close with him, all day long.

Lord Jesus, how blessed we are to be united in you! Help us to remain in you always, in all we do, that we may bear your fruit. Amen.

He is the head of the body, the church. . . .
— Colossians 1:18

My daughter plays percussion for the Des Moines (Iowa) Youth Symphony. As we take our seats for a concert, the warmup sounds like cacophony and chaos. Every musician is doing their own thing as they tune up and warm up.Then . . . tap-tap-tap. The conductor calls everyone to attention, and everything changes! The mess becomes music. The chaos turns coherent. Every instrument finds its place in the unity of the written score. And beauty results.The church too has many parts, many “instruments.” Left to ourselves, we naturally do our own thing. We can also be competitive and chaotic, often resembling “a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal,” without love (1 Corinthians 13:1).But because we have Jesus as our Head, our Lord and Savior, we can “live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:16). He directs us with his song.The picture of Jesus as a conductor doesn’t go far enough, though. A symphony can survive without a conductor. But a body can’t survive, even for a moment, without a head. The head sends the signals that animate and orchestrate every part and every function of the body.In the same way Jesus, our Head, gives his life to his church. By his Spirit, he transmits to his body forgiveness, righteousness, selflessness, and love. What he gives is more than direction; he gives himself.

Lord Jesus, our Head, make us, as your body, a beautiful symphony for you. May we tune our lives to be in harmony with you always. Amen.

“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them. . . . I am the good shepherd. . . .”
— John 10:3,14

Our family lived for ten years in a border town of the Navajo Nation. We learned a little about herding sheep and tending cattle from our Navajo friends. We learned that different animals are led differently.Cattle are driven. Dogs or horses are used to spook them from behind so that they trot where you want them to go. We saw something similar with goats when we visited Israel. The goat herder constantly threw small stones just beyond and to the side of the goats, in order to startle them and drive them in the direction he wanted them to go.With sheep, it is often different. Sheep generally follow behind. Sheep learn the shepherd’s voice. And they follow the shepherd because they trust the shepherd.Jesus says he is the good shepherd. He does not use fear or tricks to drive his sheep. “He calls his own sheep by name . . . and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”Do we know our Shepherd’s voice? How do we learn it? We learn Jesus’ voice by going to where he speaks, in the Bible, and spending time listening to him each day. There we grow familiar with his cadence and tones. There we learn his ways and grow to trust him.Then, when he leads us in and through dark valleys, we will not fear, even when we can’t see him. For we know he is with us.

Good Shepherd, no one is as good as you. We follow you, and we trust you—even when it is dark. Guide us to trust you always. Amen.

The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.
— 1 Corinthians 15:47

Have you ever played the game “Grab the Bacon?” Two teams face each other in an open field, and a sock or towel (the “bacon”) is placed on the ground between them. A runner from each team races out to grab the “bacon,” and the one who brings it back gains a point for the whole team. The team’s success depends on one representative.Romans 5 teaches that our original “representative” was Adam (Genesis 2-3). And when Adam sinned, we all lost, taking on the curse of sin and death. But God sent a second Adam, Jesus. And for all who trust in him, Jesus puts right what Adam put wrong.The first Adam bore God’s image but marred it, seeking self-exaltation. The second Adam, Jesus, is the true image of God, “the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3), and Jesus puts his Father first.The first Adam gave in to temptation and lies. The second Adam, Jesus, defeated temptation by declaring the truth (Matthew 4:1-11). The first Adam brought misery. The second Adam brought mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation, and life everlasting.Jesus is the representative head we need.Have you heard him calling? He says, “Follow me!” (Matthew 4:19; John 21:19).

Dear Jesus, thank you for showing us how to live. Thank you for the victory you have won for us. Guide us to follow you as our head. We owe everything to you. Amen.

“They will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
— Matthew 1:23

After the First World War, British soldiers returned from the front lines devastated. Many were shell-shocked, disfigured, wounded, and scarred.Among the pastors who ministered to those hurting veterans was Edward Shillito. He wrote a poem, in 1919, in which he speaks as a soldier, seeking God. The poem expresses dismay and doubt: “The heavens frighten us; they are too calm. . . . Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?”Yet it shows that in seeing the scars of Jesus, Immanuel, hope and faith can be restored: “To our wounds only God’s wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.”For any of us who is suffering, we need to see Jesus, the one true God who came to be “with us” and who offered his life as the ultimate sacrifice for our sake. “By his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Scripture proclaims this holy mystery: God is not distant from us, sealed off, light years away. He is “with us.” Wounded, abused, with his flesh ripped open, “like one from whom people hide their faces” (53:3)—that’s Immanuel.What a holy mystery it is that the risen Jesus bears eternal scars on his eternal flesh (John 20:19-29). “He had to be made . . . fully human in every way . . . [to] make atonement for the sins of” us all.

See the scars. Scars of pain. Scars of victory. Scars of Immanuel. “Oh, love, how deep, how broad, how high”! Thank you, Jesus, for becoming “God with us.” Amen.