February 15. I John 1:1-4 It's Monday morning and the third week of our study. We are halfway through and I've enjoyed it SO much! It's been fun to discover more about John, "the disciple Jesus loved!" Now, we get to look at how John writes a letter. In fact, we are going to read all three of the carefully preserved letters that John wrote to the churches surrounding Ephesus, which was his home base in his later adult years until he was banished to the Island of Patmos. In fact, these letters probably occurred during a time of increased persecution, as John was exiled, we believe, shortly after he wrote them. We only have four little verses to read this morning, but they are […] Read more »

Let's talk about the week ahead after a little chat about the week before, shall we? This video ends abruptly. Technical difficulties! So, rather than re-do it all, let me finish my sentence. The rest of it is all complete: "He wants to tell them and tell us that Jesus truly is The Way, The Truth and The Life." Enjoy the chat, friends, and pray for my computer. Ha! Read more »

February 14. John 17:1-26 How fitting, on Valentine's Day, to be reading Jesus' prayer for His disciples and ... for us. You and me. He prayed for us right before He died for us. How amazing is that?!!  Whether you are celebrating Valentine's Day with the love of your life who knows exactly how to make your day perfect or ... whether you are living in a less-than-perfect Valentine world ... YOU ARE LOVED. Just soak that in for a moment and feel it wash over you. Jesus loved you so much He prayed for you before you were even born. Let's unpack what He prayed for those who would believe because of His disciples' testimony.  I pray that they will all be one, just […] Read more »

February 13. John 15:1-17 Happy Saturday, friend. And if you are here, today, it means you have made time on a weekend to sit with the Lord for awhile. Well done! I love this passage about the Vine and the branches. It's such a clear illustration of our need to stay attached to Christ. All that we do of any value - any "fruit that lasts" - is done through Christ's power flowing in us and out of us to others. When you sit in the morning with the Lord and His Word, it's like you are getting a fresh infusion of truth and love in order to go out and share it! I see three dominant themes in this portion of John's Gospel: Bear […] Read more »

Happy Friday, friend! Make sure you have a good plan for when you will meet with the Lord on Saturday and Sunday and have a lovely weekend. Watch for a video, again, on Sunday getting us ready for the week ahead as we dive into John's letters in depth. I love studying with you! When my daughters went off to college, I was filled with a desire to tell them many, many things. I realized my time with them at home was almost over, and there were so many pieces of advice and wisdom that I wanted to pour into them before they were on their own in a college dorm. So, when I read John 14-17, I identify with Jesus, who has just washed […] Read more »

February 11. John 10:1-18 So ... how's it going? Are you enjoying your little bit of quiet each day, studying God's Word and meeting with Him? I have such a happy picture in my mind of all of us nestled in close to the Father, learning as He teaches us! So how familiar are you with sheep and shepherds? I didn't know too much about either until we moved to Stuttgart, Germany in 1989. We lived in a huge military apartment complex in a place called Robinson Barracks. The buildings were huge and drab. They each housed 6 families and the top floor of each one was a general recreation room, a bathroom, and 6 "maids quarters", although none of us had maids - ha! […] Read more »

February 10. John 6:22-40 Hello friends and welcome to Day 10 of our study. Today, we look at ... bread. First of all, bread has been around just about as long as people have been around. It's a known commodity in almost every culture. So, how appropriate that Jesus calls Himself the "Bread of Life." He knew that throughout the centuries in multiple different cultures, this would still make sense to people. Just as bread is pretty basic to life, so is Jesus. We need HIM within us, guiding and directing even more than we might want or need physical bread within us when we are hungry. The problem with the crowd that followed Jesus in this passage was that they weren't interested in long-term […] Read more »

Dear friends, Do you know what makes us smile??? Little checks sent in the mail to cover the costs of this course. That's what! Or, a donation sent to us via our secure website: http://sweetselah.org/donations/. If everyone sent $5 ... well we'd be dancing, that's for sure. The nice thing about a course with lots of attendees? You really don't have to give much. If everyone gives a teensy bit, it more than covers the costs. (And yes, it all costs. Pictures that we use cost. We pay for a service that makes sure we aren't violating any copyright laws with our pictures. Computers cost money to run, especially when you need to do back up and have strong virus protection. Internet costs. And we […] Read more »

February 9. John 3:1-21 And here we are, this fine Tuesday morning, looking at one of the most famous passages in the Bible - the passage that holds John 3:16 within it. Did you know the context of that verse before reading it in context today? Did you notice the follow up verse, John 3:17 that stresses that Jesus' first coming was to save and not to judge? Oh, there is a richness in reading verses within their setting in Scripture! The setting is a conversation that Jesus has with a religious leader who actually believes that Jesus is from God because of the miraculous signs he has seen. He comes at night, Nicodemus, does, so he's not quite ready to give up his status […] Read more »