Best of 2024: The 21 Day Experiment - Day 1, "The Word of Life"

This week we are sharing some of your favorite Moments of Hope from 2024. Thank you for taking a moment of your day to grow in your discipleship journey with us. To explore additional resources from Moments of Hope Church, please click here to visit our website.

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by Marilynn Chadwick

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:4 (ESV)

It’s been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. For me, the beginning of every new year is the perfect time to launch a new habit. Forming a habit is much like an experiment. An experiment gives me permission to try something on for size. If I’m pleased with the results, I can repeat the steps. If not, I can toss it aside. Simple as that.

If you were to ask me my single most important habit, I would say, hands down, it’s the daily reading of Scripture. Saints of old like Charles Spurgeon and George Mueller pointed to Scripture reading as the secret to their legendary faith. They combined Scripture reading with prayer—thereby turbo-charging their prayers.

Starting today, I invite you to join me for what I like to call “The 21 Day Experiment.” We’ll devote just fifteen minutes each day to reading one chapter from the Gospel of John. It's a good place to start, since John has exactly twenty-one chapters. This simple experiment could change your life. I know it changed mine.

Many years ago, when I was a new believer, I heard about a former atheist and newspaper reporter who told of her dramatic transformation after reading the Gospel of John—as a skeptic, not as a seeker. Her story captivated me, since just one year earlier, I had been an atheist who happened to be a journalism major in college. The reporter said her “experiment” opened her eyes to the reality of Christ. Instead of confirming her conviction that the Bible was a “dead book,” she became a totally devoted follower of Jesus. What’s more, she challenged fellow skeptics to set aside 21 days to read John’s Gospel. Miraculously, many of those same friends were also born again.

I like to conduct my own version of “The 21 Day Experiment,” adding a few ground rules: 

• Set aside 15 minutes each day to prayerfully read one chapter of John’s Gospel. Ask the Holy Spirit to “highlight” a verse from your reading. I call this my “watchword.”

• Write your “watchword” on a card (I use a 3x5 note card). Then list a few prayer needs on the back of the card. Simply pray that verse over each need.

• Find other times to reflect on the verse and pray. I keep my card handy for when I’m stuck in traffic, folding clothes, waiting in line, or going for a walk.

During today’s reading of Chapter 1, I noticed Jesus anew as the Creator. John writes: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3 NIV). I was also struck by references to the word “life.” “In him was life and that life was the light of mankind" (John 1:4 NIV). I’ve decided John 1:4 will be my "watchword" today. This theme of “life” has prompted me to ponder God’s astounding gift.

I encourage you to stick with this experiment. Don’t evaluate until the END of the 21 days. You can even say to yourself, “Well, nothing seems to be happening today, but I will postpone judging its impact until after 21 days.” Over the years, without fail, each time I have repeated this 21 Day Experiment, God has spoken to me in a special way. I am praying the same will be true for you.

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This Moment of Hope was adapted from the book Sometimes He Whispers Sometimes He Roars by Marilynn Chadwick. Please click here to order a copy of this book and find additional resources from Marilynn and David Chadwick.

I Came: To Preach the Gospel

by David Chadwick

Jesus came for many reasons. From the cradle to the cross. To bring life. To destroy the works of the devil. To bring light. To judge.

Finally, he came to preach the gospel!

In Mark 1:38, Jesus said, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out."

Jesus gives us yet another reason why he “came out” of the beauty of heaven to enter the mess of this world: to preach the gospel. To preach the kingdom of God.

Preaching is a valuable asset to the soul of any believer. To encourage, exhort, challenge, and strengthen. It is imperative for all who follow Jesus to find a gospel-centered and kingdom-oriented church where the preacher unabashedly preaches God's Word and truth. We are not to be ashamed of the gospel (Romans 1:16).

Preaching is also one of the ways that God calls lost souls to be saved.

How will people know the good news of Jesus unless there are preachers willing and able to preach? Romans 10:14-15, "And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?" Verse 15 goes on to say how blessed are the feet of those who proclaim the good news of the gospel.

How beautiful Jesus's feet must have been! And think of missionaries who go into really hard places, where the gospel has never been preached before, risking their own lives because they know the value of eternal souls for Jesus. Their feet are immeasurably beautiful as well.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to find preachers who will boldly and courageously stand before a congregation and say, "Thus says the Lord." But they are there. Find one. Settle in that body. Pray for the preacher: his protection, boldness, and commitment to Christ. And stand by him as he stands for Jesus and the preaching of the gospel.

And pray for places where you, too, can proclaim the gospel. Places where you can be sent to be Jesus's voice of truth. Where your feet are beautiful as well!

Jesus CAME to preach the gospel. He wants you to do the same!

I Came: To Bring Judgment

by David Chadwick

You can’t have good news without first having bad news. You can’t come to bring light unless there is darkness.

Jesus came to the cradle and the cross. He came to give abundant life and to destroy the works of the devil. He came to bring light.

He also came to bring judgment. This reason for Jesus’s coming is a bit more solemn, but nevertheless is true and needs to be noted during the Christmas season. He could never have offered mercy without first bringing judgment.

Jesus told us that his message would divide people, even family members (Matthew 10:34). Among friends. Within society and culture. Think especially of the persecuted church worldwide. It has already happened. It will continue to happen. Jesus told us it would.

Look at the following Bible verses.

Jesus said in John 9:39, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” And in Matthew 10:34, he says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Jesus came to bring judgment upon this world so that the blind will see and those who think they see will become blind. What does this mean? It’s referring to spiritual sight. Jesus came to open up people's spiritual eyes so they can walk in truth. He also came so that people who walk in darkness--evil and sin--will be judged. We live in a world where it seems that people get away with anything and everything that’s sad, bad, and evil. But one day Jesus will bring perfect justice!

As for division with family and friends, please know during this Christmas season that Jesus knew it would happen. It’s one of the reasons that he came. One day, he will make all things new. He will overcome all evil. In heaven, there will be no division. Only perfect unity. In the first coming, he came in love, but in the second coming, he will come in judgment and justice. His love and judgment fit perfectly together.

Until then, we have the church. The family of God on earth. And for those cast out by an unbelieving family, there’s a new set of brothers and sisters in Jesus’s church.

That’s the power of the Christmas story.