John

The following message “God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes the Mission of the Church” by Michael Reeves was given at the 2025 Shepherds Conference.

To “abide,” then, is not some special spiritual technique, but instead the posture of trust in Jesus, resting in his love (15:9), lived out in glad obedience to him (15:10). It’s joy-full (15:11). And every branch united to him in two-way friendship is guaranteed fruit that will stand the test of time.

Know that in that day, when Christ takes us to himself fully and finally, one moment in heaven will be worth a thousand lifetimes of trial. All of our regrets, failures, worries, will be assigned to oblivion when we enter into the joyful presence of our supremely kind Saviour and Friend, our Lord and Brother, our King and our God.

Jesus goes out of his way to meet this woman. But why? Perhaps it was not because she was righteous or that she was worthy, but simply that she was: thirsty. Thirsty for more than what she could haul home with her own feeble hands. A thirst that was deeper than Jacob’s well could ever go, deep down in the parched places of her heart.

What kind of love is this? What kind of God is this?  The kind who says, “Come.”   “Come to the wedding feast.”  So, come, hungry. Come, thirsty. He has prepared a table for you. And it is only here, with him, where your hunger is satisfied, and your cup overflows. 

To catch a glimpse of Jesus is to be intrigued. There has never been a man as wise, kind, good, and compelling. There has never been another man in whom we find all the fullness of God.

O Lord, make us like John in the wilderness, with our gaze, hearts, and lives consumed by Jesus, your glorious Son.

Eat this bread, for there are no benefits apart from him. He is good: eat of him. He is rich: delight yourself in him. For Christ is the true bread of heaven.

There is more love, more life, more light in our God than there is hate, death, and darkness in us. Jesus is full of grace and truth, and he is everything we need.

Day by day, we feel like we are struggling to hold onto Jesus. But he has received us. We have been born again into the light. And one day we will walk in that kingdom of eternal light with the darkness finally gone and our hearts finally home.