Today's Text and Thought of Encouragement: "Be still and rest in the Lord: wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass." Psalm 37: 7 Amplified Bible Fret Not Thyself "Far in the future Lieth a fear, Like a long, low mist of grey, Gathering to fall in dreary rain; Thus doth thy heart within thee complain; And even now thou art afraid, for round thy dwelling The flying winds are ever telling Of the fear that lieth grey Like a gloom of brooding mist upon the way. But the Lord is always kind; Be not blind, Be not blind, To the shining of His face, To the comforts of His grace. Hath He ever failed thee yet Oh, fret not thyself, nor let Thy heart be troubled, Neither let it be afraid." Amy Carmichael In Toward Jerusalem Today's Study Text: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." John 1: 1, 2 N.I.V. EXPLORATION: "He's My Friend" – Part 2 "He's Called 'The Word'" "Jesus was God spelling Himself out in language humanity could understand." S. D. Gordon What does it mean to me when I read these words, "In the beginning was the Word"? How do I get to know "The Word"? What does "The Word" reveal to me about God my Father? "When Jesus Christ utters a word, He opens His mouth so wide that it embraces all heaven and earth, even though that word be but a whisper." Martin Luther INSPIRATION: "If Jesus is the Son of God, His teachings are more than just good ideas from a wise teacher; they are divine insights on which I can confidently build my life." Lee Strobel The Case for Christ (1998) There is nothing I enjoy more than being able to hear the performance of Handel's "Messiah" live in a large concert hall. At the beginning of this musical extravaganza, there is what can be called an "Overture," an instrumental introduction to the beautiful musical rendition performed by soloists and chorus. Common in opera productions beginning in the 17th century and incorporated into the Romantic era of music by composers like Beethoven and Mendelssohn, overtures act as independent works that come before symphonic poems. Interestingly, we see the same technique incorporated into the book of John. Noted by contemporary Biblical scholars and pastors, we find that John 1: 1-18 is described as the "overture" to the entire book of John. Pastor James C. Howell, in his commentary on John 1: 1-18, uses the grandest words possible to explain the rhetoric chosen by the Apostle John to explain the phrase, "In the beginning was the Word": "The soaring symphony tries to express the inexpressible. God's inner self, God's loving heart, God's eternal fellowship, spilling over and making a world, knowing full well that the world would miss the point, and be downright recalcitrant (stubbornly disobedient) in reply. But Love loves anyway." | 
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