The 260 Journey
What Kind of Pilate/Pilot Are You?
Day 86
Today's Reading: John 18
I remember a few years ago flying out of a large midwestern city in the middle of bad storms. Planes were still taking off, but passengers were feeling uneasy. I have to tell you, as I waited at my gate, I wasn’t feeling it either, and fear started to hit me.
Then I saw our pilot come to our gate. He was this old, wrinkle-faced man. His uniform bore a lot of gold bars on his coat sleeve, and his bags, covered with stickers, were beat up and fa...
Lift Up Your Eyes in Prayer
Day 85
Today’s Reading: John 17
John 17 is holy ground. If I were God’s editor, I never would have allowed this chapter in the Bible. It’s sacred, it’s other-world, it’s uncomfortable . . . it’s the prayer closet of Jesus. This is a very solemn chapter, what we call the high priestly prayer of Jesus.
I have thousands of books in my library on so many topics. But to my amazement, I’ve seen only two authors ever venture to take on one of the most incredible chapters, prayers, and words ever penned to mank...
The Warning Sign or the Hospital
Day 84
Today’s Reading: John 16
In The Grace Awakening, author and pastor Charles Swindoll used an imaginative illustration for how best we can live: imagine driving on a treacherous mountain road with a cliff on both sides. As you approach a hairpin turn, you must decide which is better: a state-of-the-art hospital with the best doctors in the world at the bottom of the mountain or a giant yellow warning sign before the curve telling you, “Danger! Curve Ahead. Drive slowly”? The answer is obvious: a warning sign.
In John 16, we find Jesus giving...
Will You Accept the Challenge?
Day 83
Today’s Reading: John 15
Today’s reading is a challenge. It’s a second step that Jesus gives to those who choose to follow Him.
During Jesus’ life, He constantly said to those who were ready to start a journey with God to “follow Me.” And for those who accepted the challenge, he gave them a revolutionary second step: “Abide in Me.”
Listen to these challenging words of this new kind of relationship with God:
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless...
One Comes After Thirty-Eight
Day 82
Today’s Reading: John 14
I remember listening to one of my daughters as she was learning to count. When she got to the number eleven, what came next seemed normal to her. Unfortunately, it was wrong: eleventeen, twelveteen, thirteen . . . Why not? Seems logical.
In today’s reading, we see that Jesus had one of those logical moments. It happens in yesterday’s reading: John 13:38. Jesus’ eleventeen moment follows verse 38. It isn’t supposed to, but it does: one comes after thirty-eight.
John 14:1-6 is a popular passage for funerals. In fact, I ha...
Four Shouldn’t Follow Three
Day 81
Today’s Reading: John 13
I know in mathematics 4 always follows 3. But I have to tell you that there is one place in the Bible that 4 should not follow 3. And it’s only because it does not make sense. Or let me say it another way, my 4 and Jesus’ 4 are totally different.
In today’s reading, we come upon two verses that seem disconnected to the human mind, but not to Jesus. Listen to how powerful John 13:3 is: “Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from...
Paradoxical Christians
Day 80
Today’s Reading: John 12
A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself. It goes something like this:
“Deep down, I know you are shallow.”
“One thing I know—that I know nothing.”
“I am nobody.”
“He’s a wise fool.”
It’s putting opposite words in a sentence together that don’t seem to work.
These are silly paradoxes that have no bearing on anything of eternal importance. But in today’s reading, we run right into a very strange paradox that has great eternal consequenc...
Not Till It Stinks
Day 79
Today’s Reading: John 11
Has God ever been confusing to you? Have you ever asked Him, “What are You doing? I don’t understand?”
Our 260 Journey brings us to John 11 and to one of those moments. It’s the story of Lazarus—a man who went from health to sickness and from sickness to death. And here is where the confusion starts. This all happened with Jesus close enough to prevent his death but doesn’t.
What makes it confusing are two things Jesus does from the outset.
Let’s read the...
Sheep Need a Shepherd
Day 78
Today’s Reading: John 10
Jesus is called Shepherd three times in the New Testament. And each time, a special adjective is put in front of the word to show His role in their lives.
In John 10:11, Jesus is called the Good Shepherd, with the emphasis of laying down His life for the sheep.
In Hebrews 13:20, Jesus is called the Great Shepherd, with the emphasis on His resurrection and how He accomplishes His purposes through His sheep.
And in 1 Peter 5:4, He is called the Chief Shepherd, which stresses His se...
I Once Was Blind but Now I See
Day 77
Today’s Reading: John 9
"Amazing Grace” is considered to be one of the greatest hymns of all time, sung by Christians and non-Christians alike. It transcends religious boundaries. The hymn’s popularity would have surprised its composer, John Newton. The circumstances that inspired him to write the hymn more than two hundred years ago were amazing.
Newton was just a boy when he set sail as a sailor on his father’s ship. As he grew older, his life became one filled with debauchery. His duties on the ship included capturing West Africans...
Trying to Declaw the Lion
Day 76
Today’s Reading: John 8
In Christian Letters to a Post-Christian World, renowned English writer, Dorothy Sayers, aimed some powerful words at religious people who have watered down the Son of God and made Jesus accommodating:
The people who hanged Christ never accused Him of being a bore; on the contrary, they thought Him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround Him with the atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified Hi...
Now You Know the Rest of the Story
Day 75
Today’s Reading: John 7
Not many young people would know the radio show or his iconic voice, but some years ago, 21 million Americans would tune in on their radios to hear from the most listened-to voice in America. They would hold their breath in suspense as the storyteller recounted a true story with a surprise ending. It was called The Rest of the Story, a real-life mystery Paul Harvey would share. After he revealed the shocking ending, he would say, “Now you know . . .” pause . . . “the rest of the story.” And then close with his signature...
You Should Have Stopped at the Fish
Day 74
Today’s Reading: John 6
The Christian life is a journey, not an arrival. As part of that journey, we all have to do hard but noble stuff at some point:
• tell someone about Jesus • say no to something we used to say yes to • end a toxic relationship • decide to tithe
As Oswald Chambers said, “If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but the difficulty of it does not make us faint and ca...
You Don’t Need Bubbles Anymore
Day 73
Today’s Reading: John 5
Today we land on John 5, an up-close view to a phenomenon of miracle healing waters called the waters of Bethesda. When the waters moved, the first in the pool got healed. Here’s the first part of the story:
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and with...
Two Truths for Freedom
Day 72
Today's Reading: John 4
The average American is exposed to between four thousand and ten thousand commercial messages every day. But it’s truth that is a rarity. We have opinions but not truth.
One of my friends put it this way: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not everyone is entitled to their own truth.”
Truth is universal. It isn’t limited to individuals, geography, or ethnicity.
We see this in today’s reading of John 4, in which Jesus has such an important one-on-one conversation with a Samarita...
Don’t Make It Harder Than It Is
Day 71
Today’s Reading: John 3
There are a few chapters in our 260 Journey where you just pause, exhale, and know you are seeing beauty and majesty. John 3 is one of those chapters.
Plato said, “Whoever tells the stories shapes society.” Do we have a story to tell or what? We have the story—the gospel story. God’s story.
John 3:16 is God’s story stuffed into one verse. And Jesus tells it in twenty-five words—because that’s all He needed.
If we could choose one verse of the 31,102 verses of the Bi...
Bad Stuff Is Always Trying to Make Its Way Back in My Life
Day 70
Today’s Reading: John 2
Today our 260 Journey takes us to John 2. If we are not paying attention, we may feel as if we are at the end of the Gospel of John and not at the beginning. Let me explain why this can be confusing by reading something Jesus did in this chapter:
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a...
The First 10:00 A.M. Service
Day 69
Today’s Reading: John 1
I am excited that today on our 260 Journey we begin a journey through the Gospel of John. This is the most unique gospel because it doesn’t start out like the other three gospels. It takes us to the beginning . . . the real beginning. Listen to its opening verse: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
That sounds very much like Genesis 1:1 at creation: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Here’s what’s even cr...
A Fire Seven Miles Outside of Jerusalem
Day 68
Today’s Reading: Luke 24
It’s resurrection morning for Jesus. All of the Gospels highlight Jesus’ post-resurrection conversations with His disciples and followers, but only Luke highlights a conversation that happened seven miles outside of Jerusalem. To put it another way, a fire started seven miles outside of Jerusalem.
No building burst into flames.
No property was damaged.
No one was trapped.
No life was lost.
But two hearts caught on fire in a conversation with the resurrected Jesus. As someone once said, “Get on fire...
Just Breathe
Day 67
Today’s Reading: Luke 23
Today we come to the last solemn minutes of Jesus’ life on the cross. It is His final comment from the cross that catches my attention. It is a prayer but goes further than up. That prayer goes wide.
Let’s read Jesus’ final words before He breathed His last breath:
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a r...
Plotting Satan and Praying Christ
Day 66
Today’s Reading: Luke 22
In today’s reading we are entering into Luke’s telling of the Passion Week. While Jesus is with His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane, He speaks some remarkable words to Peter, which will be important to all of us, because it is what Jesus does right now for every one of His children.
At the Last Supper, right after Jesus says that one of the Twelve will betray Him, He then says these words to Peter:
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you...
No Noise Offerings
Day 65
Today’s Reading: Luke 21
When I begin to think about what Jesus can see, I am amazed. Consider these:
• Jesus sees the past. In John 1, He tells Nathaniel the day he was under a fig tree. • Jesus sees the future. He prophesies in John 21 about Peter’s death. • Jesus sees into the heavenly realm and the spiritual battle that goes on when sickness is being conquered. He says in Luke 10 that He saw Satan falling like lightning as the disciples were doing their calling. • Jesus sees into the minds of people. In Mark 2 when...
Taking a Page From Jesus’ Method in Hostile Environments
Day 64
Today’s Reading: Luke 20
Not everyone who asks you a question wants an answer or wants the truth. Listen to one of the most profound questions ever asked. It was a question someone asked of Jesus, and the one who asked it never stopped to hear the answer: “Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’ And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews . . .” (John 18:38).
Pilate asked the question and did not even give the One who is called “the truth” a moment to answer. I don’t know if he was r...
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures
Day 63
Today’s Reading: Luke 19
Today’s reading contains the story of a crazy conversion of a rich man. But in order to get its full picture, we have to read something from the previous chapter about a crazy miracle healing of a blind man.
Luke 18:35 says, “As Jesus was approaching Jericho . . .” (Remember Jericho, because we’ll come back to that.) “As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging.” The blind man’s name is Bartimaeus. Everyone tells him not to ask Jesus to do anything for him, but he does...
It Should Be Easy to Pick Out Who God Likes Best . . . or Maybe Not
Day 62
Today’s Reading: Luke 18
In today’s reading, Jesus tells a story on prayer. But I think through the story, He wants us to pick the guy we think God likes best so He can teach us a lesson. Sometimes we assume that God likes who we like and what we like. It should be easy to pick out who God likes best:
He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to...
Getting More Than You Asked For
Day 61
Today's Reading: Luke 17
My goal today is to put you in a special category, which not many are in. My goal is to move you to the 10 percent category, because if I can get you there, I can get you some extra help on what God has already done for you.
How many want more miracles happening in their lives?
They can have that. And it is as simple as saying, “Thank You, God.”
Our 260 Journey leads us to Luke 17, where we read about an amazing miracle and then...
Hell Is a Real Place
Day 60
Today’s Reading: Luke 16
What if you could hear from someone who had died, and they could tell you what’s on the other side? That’s what a story in today’s reading is. It’s a story that will stop you in your tracks. It’s the story of eternity. It’s the story of what’s beyond. More specifically, it’s a story about hell, realized too late.
There was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named L...
The Father Is More Prodigal Than the Son
Day 59
Today’s Reading: Luke 15
Today’s reading contains one of the most incredible stories ever told. We call it the story of the prodigal son. Let’s read it together:
[Jesus] said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now...
Excuses! Excuses! Excuses!
Day 58
Today’s Reading: Luke 14
You’ve been invited to a big party. Not just a party but God’s party. And it lasts a really long time . . . for eternity. In order to understand how this party works, Jesus told a parable. And what makes this parable amazing is when and where He told it.
I come from a family in which dinner table talk was the norm. Dinner would last a long time not because eating took long but because the conversation did. And here in Luke 14, this dinner conversation started in verse...
How to Face Tragic Death
Day 57
Today’s Reading: Luke 13
There are more than 7 billion people on earth. Nearly sixty million of them will die this year. That is approximately 153,000 people dying every day, 6,400 people dying every hour, 107 people dying every minute, two people dying every second. Not a great thought to start your day.
Death is unavoidable and undeniable, and you will one day become one of these statistics. Statistics tell us that one out of one will die. I know that is hard to believe, but it is true.
We try to sanitize the to...
My, My, My, My
Day 56
Today’s Reading: Luke 12
A. W. Tozer, the famous Christian writer, said that there are seven ways to really know ourselves and know what our character is like. He called them rules for self discovery. They are:
1. What we want most
2. What we think about most
3. What we laugh at
4. What we do with our leisure time
5. The company we enjoy
6. Who and what we admire
7. How we use our money
How we use our money . . . Number 7 is a...
I Am Not Going to Have Another Unused Gift
Day 55
Today’s Reading: Luke 11
When it comes to giving a gift today, one of the most popular gifts, which doesn’t require much thought or effort, is a gift card.
According to the National Retail Federation, about 59 percent of shoppers will purchase a gift card for friends and family. According to estimates, the typical American home has an average of $300 in unused or “unredeemed” gift cards in their house right now. These cards are often misplaced, accidentally thrown out, or only partially redeemed. Over a period of seven years in America, $41 billion in gift...
Helping People I Hate
Day 54
Today’s Reading: Luke 10
A politician finds their opponent on the side of the road with their car broken down, do they stop and help her? If a die-hard Yankees fan sees a Boston Red Sox fan at a check-out at a local store and he is short money, does the Yankees fan help him?
More serious: if a racial justice advocate sees an adversary standing at a stop light with a legitimate sign that says that person needs food or assistance, do they keep on driving?
This is not cr...
“Jesus, You Promised and Now I Can’t—I Don’t Understand”
Day 53
Today’s Reading: Luke 9
Can we have a promise from Jesus that doesn’t work for us? Can Jesus tell us what we are to do and then we can’t do it?
That’s the situation we find in today’s reading. In Luke 9, we are filled with faith and expectation from the very first verses and then just forty verses later, we are overcome with failure in what we were told to do.
“Jesus, You promised, and now I can’t. I don’t understand.” Let’s read so we see how both co...
Living a High-Def Life
Day 52
Today's Reading: Luke 8
A friend of mine said, “You’re only as sick as your secrets.” Christianity is not something that works well with secrets.
In fact, in today’s reading we come to an amazing chapter packed with teaching, healing, and miracles. Tucked away in this long chapter is one thing that Jesus taught that particularly stands out to me:
Nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. (Luke 8:17)
Or as The Message paraphrase puts it:
<...What Do I Do With All These Tears?
Day 51
Today's Reading: Luke 7
Today we land on Luke 7. In the last story of the chapter (verses 36-50), Jesus is in a house with a number of religious people and a prostitute comes in and washes His feet with her hair. This is how pastor and author Chuck Swindoll explains it in a chapter titled “Jesus at His Best:”
While families gather for dinner and close their door for the night, her workday begins. With saffron scarves and lavender veils, dangling earrings and a dab of perfume, she dresses herself for show. . . . [she] surv...
A Christian’s Retaliation Response
Day 50
Today's Reading: Luke 6
I know there is a lot of folklore that goes with the masterpiece of the Lord’s Supper painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. Whether this is true or not, I love this story I read recently about the painting.
When Leonardo Da Vinci was working on this famous Last Supper painting, he became angry with one of his assistants, berating the man without mercy. After banishing his assistant from his studio, he went back to work. As an act of revenge, he used the person’s face who had offe...
I Want My Own Fish Story
Day 49
Today's Reading: Luke 5
I have a prayer I pray that a pastor friend from Alabama taught me. It goes like this: “Lord, the answer is yes even before You ask.”
I want to be able to say yes to the Lord at all times. I want you to be able to do that too, so let me talk to you about fishing and your yes, Lord agreement.
I don’t really fish. I have been fishing but I am by no means a fisherman nor do I enjoy it.
You...
Satan Quotes the Bible
Day 48
Today's Reading: Luke 4
In today’s reading we actually get to read one of the most amazing chapters of a different book—Psalm 91. Psalm 91 starts off with these familiar words:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!” (Verses 1-2)
And then Psalm 91 ends with these powerful words from God:
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be...
John the Baptist’s Water Baptism Instructional Class
Day 47
Today's Reading: Luke 3
Today I want to take you to a water baptism class. I believe that water baptism displays the difference between the casual Christian and a serious follower of Jesus, because it is clear in the Bible that it is a next step after being born again. As Max Lucado says, “Baptism separates the tire kickers from the car buyers.”
Water Baptism does not mark an arrival but a beginning. Let me tell you four things that are important about water baptism:
1. It’s Scriptural
Water baptis...
