John, the apostle and author of the Gospel, wrote much of light and dark in his records of Jesus. He continued the theme in a letter we now know at 1 John:

God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

No shadiness with the Lord, or dealing from the bottom of the deck. No need for doorbell cameras to keep him honest. Forget to hide your credit cards? No problem. The contract contains no surprises.

I expect a wink at my unsavory proclivities. As Satan told Eve, Did God actually say…? God can’t really be that strict, can he? He surely doesn’t expect me to live by a standard only he himself meets?

Actually he does. When it comes to absolute purity, God means it. In him is no darkness at all, only stark raving brightness. I cannot carry my darkness into any relationship with him. Light only lives with light. But how do I drag my murky crevices to one who dwells in unapproachable light?

Fortunately, the one who proclaimed let there be light hands us a beacon of our own. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As I open my pitch black corners to the Lord he forgives and renews.

It just takes admitting what I already know—I’m sinful and enjoy sitting in dark places—then humbly turning toward the keeper of the light. Thanks to God’s grace I can enjoy his brilliance, no longer finding it searing, but now warm and enveloping.

1 John 1 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Jeremy Bishop

The psalmist writes, Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

The English term Almighty comes from the Hebrew El Shaddai. The name can also mean the overpowerer, pointing to God’s ultimate power to accomplish all he wishes. It’s impossible for anyone, or anything, to stop him from doing what he wants to do.

Don’t stand in the way of the Almighty.

But the beautiful aspect of this psalm is that we can settle in close to El Shaddai. He casts a long shadow, with plenty of room for all of us. Go to your knees under his gentle care, and find a place to rest.

Psalm 91 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2023

Photo by adrien olichon

One never drifts too far away from the Lord to be restored. Take Peter for example, denying Jesus three times in the hours before the crucifixion. Only a few days after his resurrection, Jesus met Peter on a beach and asked the same question three times:

Simon son of John, do you love me?

Peter answered over and over, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

Peter screwed up the night his Lord was taken, then struggled with guilt and shame and frustration. But Jesus specifically took Peter to his place of struggle and cleaned out the gunk. Peter responded zealously until his own crucifixion in Rome, upside down (by his request) because he felt unworthy to die like his Savior.

It’s never too late to return to the Lord, or rather, let the Lord return to you.

After Peter’s collapse Jesus sought him out, found him out fishing, and restored their relationship. Peter’s gruff exterior masked a deep wound of the heart which Jesus addressed.

Jesus returns and forgives. Again and again. Like he did for Peter, he looks to do the same for you and me.

John 21 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Motoki Tonn

I don’t believe the shiny new phone touted across my screens will make me into a hip dude. That’s going to take a lot more than an expensive gadget in my pocket. I’m skeptical of politicians promising change, diets leading to six-pack abs, and gluten-free bread.

So when Thomas expresses his doubt about the resurrection of Jesus, I follow with a hearty Amen!

The most famous doubter of all time said, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

It only took a week to call his bluff. The resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples, turned to Thomas and said, Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop doubting and believe.

Thomas responded, My Lord and my God!

How gracious of Jesus to confront Thomas in the midst of his doubts. Thomas responded enthusiastically, spreading the good news of Jesus’s resurrection far and wide. Tradition holds he was martyred in India by a spear in the side, much like his Savior on the cross. Once his doubts were settled, Thomas never turned back.

I like knowing I can doubt. Jesus knows how to handle doubt, and it’s best to take our doubts straight to the Lord. Thomas challenged what he heard about Jesus, who then met him in his doubting state. I can take my doubts to Jesus in a similar way, converse and argue with God, then see if and how the Holy Spirit settles my questions.

Maybe not as dramatic as Jesus showing up in my room and asking me to poke him in the side, but I’ll never know until I ask.

John 20 in reading the Bible in 2023

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio, 1601