the yardstick

John starts his Gospel with this huge statement about who Jesus is.

Read it, but hold on to something, because it's pretty big.

You may wonder why I told less & quote more verses from the Bible.

The Bible is the yardstick by which I measure everything.

For decades I didn't read it every day, without fail.

Since I started reading ever day, without fail,

it has filled my life,

messed with it,

shown me the way to believe & do some thing I would NEVER have done on my own.

But most of all, I quote it because I believe it is God speaking to us.

So why shouldn't I quote sections of it?

John 1

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.

  The Word was with God,

  and the Word was God.

2 He existed in the beginning with God.

3 God created everything through him,

  and nothing was created except through him.

4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,

  and his life brought light to everyone.

5 The light shines in the darkness,

  and the darkness can never extinguish it.

  6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.

8 John himself was not the light;

he was simply a witness to tell about the light.

9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He came into the very world he created,

but the world didn't recognize him.

11 He came to his own people,

and even they rejected him.

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him,

he gave the right to become children of God.

13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

  14 So the Word became human and made his home among us.

He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.

And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.

15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds,

"This is the one I was talking about when I said, 'Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.'"

16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

17 For the law was given through Moses,

but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God.

But the unique One,

who is himself God,

is near to the Father's heart.

He has revealed God to us.