Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"
Yosemite National Park
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways; He is the only way.
A. W. Tozer
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Trusting in Jesus Christ my savior, there is still a blessed quietness in the deep caverns of my soul, though upon the surface, a rough tempest may be raging, and there may be little apparent calm.
Charles Spurgeon
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
"If you find it hard to believe in God, I strongly advise you to begin your search not with philosophical questions...but with Jesus of Nazareth."
John Stott
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
"When Jesus says he is Alpha and Omega, he is saying ’I am sufficient for everything; nothing is missing; I am all that you need."
Warren Wiersbe
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Ansel Adams Wilderness, CA
Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone but in every leaf of springtime.
Martin Luther
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
"Jesus came because there is something broken inside us that can only be, will only be fixed by his person, presence, and redeeming work."
Paul David Tripp
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus was not just a prophet but the fulfillment of all prophecy.
Kevin DeYoung
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Yosemite National Park
Be convinced of the utter insufficiency and inability of anything below Christ Jesus to minister relief to your soul.
Matthew Mead
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Jesus did not come to impress the crowds, but to die for sinners.
D.A. Carson
I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.
If we want proof of God's love for us, then we must look first at the Cross where God offered up his son as a sacrifice for our sins. Calvary is the one objective, absolute, irrefutable proof of God's love for us.
Jerry Bridges
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
"The risen Lord alive and well in heaven today is not somehow less approachable and less compassionate than he was when he walked the earth."
Dane Ortlund
"For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Child of God, you cost Christ too much for him to forget you.
C.H. Spurgeon
Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
"We are not Christians so that we can be part of a cause; we are Christians so that we can know a person: Jesus Christ."
Michael Kruger
And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Yosemite National Park
We are justified and saved by the very righteousness of Christ, and no other. He wrought it, though we wear it.
John Flavel
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
The evidence of Christ’s mercy toward you is not your life. The evidence of his mercy toward you is his—mistreated, misunderstood, betrayed, abandoned. Eternally. In your place.
Dane Ortlund
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
"No pen, no words, no image can express to you the loveliness of my only Lord Jesus."
Samuel Rutherford
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
We don't just need a perspective or a strategy. We need a Savior, right here, right now.
David Powlison
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Leave it all in the hands that were wounded for you.
Elisabeth Elliot
Yosemite National Park
"O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
Through Jesus, the Father shows us his innermost being–in the form of a servant, dying to give us life.
Michael Reeves
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Our cross may be heavy, but one sight of Christ will make us forget all our former sorrows.
Thomas Watson
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee."
The only way back to the tree of life is to trust in the one who hung upon the tree of death.
Trevor Laurence
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
Hope is not a situation. Hope is not a location. Hope is not a possession. Hope is not an experience. Hope is more than an insight or a truism. Hope is a person, and his name is Jesus!
Paul David Tripp
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us."
"The all-victorious Christ is like a great rock in a weary land, to whose shelter we may flee in every time of sorrow or trial, finding quiet refuge and peace in him."
J.R. Miller
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Proxy Falls, OR
We are free to confess weakness because Jesus is our strength.
Paul David Tripp
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.
Richard Sibbes
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling with earth’s broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty.
J.R. Miller
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If our souls are resting in Christ, if our hearts be filled with a tranquil gladness, work will be easy, duties pleasant, sorrow bearable, endurance possible.
A.W. Pink
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
It is not great talents that God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.
Robert Murray McCheyne
Yosemite National Park
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Even when we're wave-tossed and lost at sea, Jesus remains that captain of the ship and the commander of the storm.
Elliot Clark
They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
Silver Falls State Park, OR
A Jesus who never wept could never wipe away my tears.
C.H. Spurgeon
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
When we see salvation whole–its every single part is found in Christ, we must beware lest we derive the smallest drop from somewhere else.
Sinclair Ferguson
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Christ went more willingly to the cross than we do to the throne of grace.
Thomas Watson
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Ice Detail, Yosemite NationalPark
You must keep all your earthly treasures out of your heart, and let Christ be your treasure, and let Him have your heart.
C.H. Spurgeon
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Faith in Jesus will not replace your fears. Instead your faith will coexist with your fears and begin to quiet them. You will learn, by faith, to see your life from Jesus' perspective and to trust that he is our ever-present help in trouble.
Ed Welch
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
"Every day we may see some new thing in Christ. His love has neither brim nor bottom."
Samuel Rutherford
For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
"Jesus cannot fit around our lives, brought in when he’s convenient. He’s either Lord of everything we have, and are, and ever will become—or he is not."
Rebecca McLaughlin
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
There is an immediateness about the calls of Christ. Whatever he bids us to do, we must not delay to do. Duties that are put off tend to harden the heart.
Charles Spurgeon
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.
It’s not change, then you get Christ; it’s Christ, then you get change. It’s not try to change and then God will accept you; it’s accept Christ and he’ll change you."
David Murray
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
John Muir Wilderness, CA
"Delight yourself in the Lord’ . . . is a radical call to pursue your fullest satisfaction in all that God promises to be for you in Jesus."
John Piper
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
He came the first time to die; He is coming again to raise the dead. When He came the first time, they questioned whether He was King; the next time the world will know that He is King of kings and Lord of lords. The first time He wore a crown of thorns; the next time He will be wearing a crown of glory. The first time He came in poverty; the next time He is coming in power. The first time He had an escort of angels; the next time He will come with ten thousands of His saints. The first time He came in meekness; He is coming again in majesty.
Adrian Rogers
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
As you walk through the valley of the unknown, you will find the footprints of Jesus both in front of you and beside you.
Charles Stanley
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds, in a believer's ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear.
John Newton
And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
God doesn't just give us grace; He gives us Jesus, the Lord of grace.
Joni Eareckson Tada
Eastern Sierra, CA
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.”
If you had a thousand crowns you should put them all on the head of Christ! And if you had a thousand tongues they should all sing his praise, for he is worthy!"
William Tiptaft
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast howling wilderness. Then he is like a rose blooming in the midst of the desolation, a rock rising above the storm.
Robert Murray McCheyne
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Our faith itself, though it be the bond of our union with Christ through which we receive all His blessings, is not our savior. We have but one Savior; and that one Savior is Jesus Christ our Lord. Nothing that we are and nothing that we can do enters in the slightest measure into the ground of our acceptance with God. Jesus did it all.
B.B. Warfield
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
All our bad does not make us harder to save, and all our good does not make us easier to save. What saves us is Christ, and therefore all we contribute is honesty—admitting we are sinners and casting ourselves on him.
Dane Ortlund
Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Mono Lake, CA
It is not hard to deceive ministers, relatives and friends. But it is impossible to deceive Christ.
J.C. Ryle
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
We find Christ in all the scriptures. In the Old Testament he is predicted, in the Gospels he is revealed, in Acts he is preached, in the Epistles he is explained, and in Revelation he is expected.
Alistair Begg
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
When I consider my best duties, I sink, I die, I despair; but when I think of Christ, I have enough; he is all and in all.
Simeon Ashe
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
The resurrection of Christ is the Amen of all His promises.
John Boys
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In the darkest night of the soul, Christians have something to hold onto...Christ crucified.
D.A. Carson
But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,
To every believer, the debt–book is crossed; the black lines of sin are crossed out in the red lines of Christ’s blood.
Thomas Watson
Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Christ is the true bridegroom of the soul, the true physician of the heart, the real father of all his people. Let us show that we feel this by being unreserved in our communications with him.
J.C. Ryle
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
The all-victorious Christ is like a great rock in a weary land, to whose shelter we may flee in every time of sorrow or trial, finding quiet refuge and peace in him.
J.R. Miller
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
"If you are in Christ, your scars will not have the last word over your life. His scars will."
Sarah Walton
They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
I may know all the doctrines in the Bible, but unless I know Christ, there, is not one of them that can save me.
Charles Spurgeon
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
There is no death of sin without the death of Christ.
John Owen
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Yosemite National Park
The Glories of Christ
Scripture reveals that Christ is completely sufficient for all matters of life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3, 4)! He is sufficient for creation (Col 1:16,17), salvation (Heb 10:10-12), sanctification (Eph 5:26,27), and glorification (Rom 8:30). So pure is He that there is no blemish, stain, spot of sin, defilement, lying, deception, corruption, error, or imperfection (1 Pet 1:18-20).
So complete is He that there is no other God besides Him (Is 45:5); He is the only begotten Son (John 1:14,18); all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him (Col 2:3); the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him (Col 2:9); He is heir of all things (Heb 1:2); He created all things and all things were made by Him, through Him, and for Him (Col 1:16); He upholds all things by the word of His power (Col 1:17; Heb 1:3); He is the firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15); He is the exact representation of God (Heb 1:3).
He is the only Mediator between God and man; He is the Sun that enlightens; the Physician that heals; the Wall of Fire that defends; the Friend that comforts; the Pearl that enriches; the Ark that supports; and the Rock to sustain under the heaviest of pressures; He is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high (Heb 1:3; 8:1); He is better than the angels (Heb 1:4-14); better than Moses; better than Aaron; better than Joshua; better than Melchizedek; better than all the prophets; greater than Satan (Luke 4:1-12) and stronger than death (1 Cor 15:55).
He has no beginning and no end (Rev 1:17,18); He is the spotless Lamb of God; He is our Peace (Eph 2:14); He is our Hope (1 Tim 1:1); He is our Life (Col 3:4); He is the living and true Way (John 14:6); He is the Strength of Israel (1 Sam 15:29); He is the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star (Rev 22:16); He is Faithful and True (Rev 19:11); He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:1,2); He is the Captain of our Salvation (Heb 2:10); He is the Champion; He is the Elect One (Is 42:1); He is the Apostle and High-Priest of our confession (Heb. 3:1); He is the Righteous Servant (Is 53:11).
He is the Lord of Hosts, the Redeemer-the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth (Is 54:5); He is the Man of Sorrows (Is 53:3); He is the Light; He is the Son of Man (Matt 20:28); He is the Vine; He is the Bread of Life; He is the Door; He is Lord (Phil 2:10-13); He is Prophet, Priest, and King (Heb 1:1-3); He is our Sabbath rest (Heb 4:9); He is our Righteousness (Jer 23:6); He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Is 9:6); He is the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet 5:4); He is Lord God of hosts; He is Lord of the nations; He is the Lion of Judah; the Living Word; the Rock of Salvation; the Eternal Spirit; He is the Ancient of Days; Creator and Comforter; Messiah; and He is the great I AM (John 8:58)!
An excerpt from The MacArthur Study Bible, 2nd Edition (Thomas Nelson Books, 2020), 1582.
