5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide
Based on the Sermon: “Why Jesus Came”
Day 1: The God Who Came to Save, Not Condemn
Reading: John 3:16-21
Devotional: The world is full of pain, evil, and brokenness. It would be reasonable to expect a holy God to respond with swift condemnation. Yet Jesus declared that the Father sent him not to condemn but to save. This is not a soft dismissal of sin — sin is real and its consequences are severe. But God’s first move toward a broken world was rescue, not punishment. Before judgment comes the offer of grace. Consider the weight of that. The God who has every right to condemn chose instead to enter our suffering. How does knowing that shape the way you see God today?
Day 2: Eternal Life Begins Now
Reading: John 6:37-40; John 17:3
Devotional: Many people think of eternal life as something that begins after death — a future reward for faithful living. But Jesus defined eternal life differently. In John 17:3, he described it as knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. Eternal life is relational, not merely chronological. It begins the moment a person enters into genuine relationship with God through Christ. Physical death, then, is not the end of that relationship — it is simply a passage within it. Ask yourself today: is eternal life something you are waiting for, or something you are already living?
Day 3: The Judgment That Comes Through Truth
Reading: John 9:1-41; John 12:44-50
Devotional: The healing of the man born blind reveals something unsettling. The man who could not see came to see clearly — both physically and spiritually. The religious leaders who claimed to see were exposed as blind. Jesus did not come to pronounce sentence on the world, but his presence among us creates an unavoidable moment of reckoning. The light reveals what was always there. When we encounter Jesus and his words, we are not passive observers. We are being asked to respond. The Pharisees chose pride over truth and were left in darkness. What might pride or comfort be keeping you from seeing clearly today?
Day 4: Truth in a World Built on Lies
Reading: John 8:31-47; John 18:33-38
Devotional: Standing before Pilate, Jesus declared that the very reason he was born and entered the world was to testify to the truth. Pilate responded with a dismissive question that still echoes through culture today: “What is truth?” Jesus had already answered that question. He told his disciples that holding tightly to his teaching would lead them into truth that sets them free. Sin entered the world through a lie. Deception continues to distort our understanding of identity, morality, and purpose. In a world that reshapes truth to suit its own desires, the words of Jesus remain the fixed and reliable standard. Are you gripping his teaching tightly enough to resist what the world insists is true?
Day 5: Two Prayers, Two Directions
Reading: Luke 22:39-44; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 2:7
Devotional: The sermon closed with a striking contrast between two prayers: “Not my will, Father, but yours be done,” and the unspoken alternative — “Not your will. Mine be done.” Every person, in the course of their life, is essentially praying one of these. Jesus himself prayed the first in the most difficult moment of his earthly life, and it led to the salvation of the world. The same Jesus who knelt in Gethsemane is the one John saw in Revelation — riding as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, with justice and truth as his weapons. We will encounter him one way or another. The question is whether we meet him now as Savior or later as Judge. Which prayer is defining your life today?