1 John

April 2, 2022

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God of Moses,
the everlasting I Am,
help me to learn
that I am not what others
think of me–
I am not even what I think of me.
May I remember
that my worth is found in you,
for I am who I am–
your beloved child.

Exodus 3:13-15 Then Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, ‘The God of your fathers sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What do I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, ‘I-AM sent me to you.’” God continued with Moses: “This is what you’re to say to the Israelites: ‘God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.’ This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known.

1 John 3: 1 What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are.

February 12, 2022

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Creator of all, you named me into being
stitched me together in my mother’s womb
and called me good.
May I remember–
deeper than in my bones–
may I remember in the depths of my soul:
I am good. I am valuable. I am loved.
Because I forget over and over,
and in the forgetting I follow any path
and lose the very person you created me to be.
So may I remember
every day
every hour
every minute
every moment
because you, oh creator, loved me first.
Because in you, oh creator, I am held.
Because in you, oh creator, I am found.

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Psalm 139: 13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.

1 John 4:19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.


January 16, 2022

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Jesus, writer in the dirt,
your way is not one of shame.
Help us move
through our feelings of shame, inadequacy and brokenness
toward your true story
of acceptance, wholeness, grace, and love–
for you are greater than our worried hearts,
and know more about us
than we do ourselves.

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John 8:1-11 Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them. The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?” “No one, Master.” “Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”

1 John 3:18-20 My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.