your breath away with His love and promises. Let God’s Word
give you hope for today and comfort for tomorrow. And if you
don’t initially feel encouraged or hopeful while reading the
Bible, don’t give up! Make it a point, before you begin reading,
to simply ask God to talk to you through His Word. Then wait
in expectation for some direction or inspiration, no matter how
small, to be whispered into the ear of your heart and mind.
God Talks Through His Son, Jesus
Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, a paraphrase of the
Bible, describes the writer of the New Testament book of 1
John as a pastor to those struggling to understand two of life’s
most difficult concepts—God and love. In the first of John’s
three letters, written after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, he
begins by passionately explaining to them who Jesus was and
is. In 1 John 1:1–4 (THE MESSAGE) he writes,
From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it
with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own
hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it
happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we
witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took
shape before us. We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so
you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion
with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is
simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double
our joy!John desperately wanted those who had never seen Jesus—
firsthand—to know that Jesus was real and always present,
that He can be seen and heard.