5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide

Based on 3 John: Walking in Truth

Day 1: The Examined Life

Reading: 3 John 1:1-4; Psalm 139:23-24 (a prayer inviting God to search the heart and reveal anything displeasing to Him)

Devotional: The Apostle John opened his letter by praising Gaius for walking in truth -- not merely believing correct doctrine, but living it out visibly and consistently. John described having no greater joy than hearing that his spiritual children were walking in truth. This raises an honest and searching question: if someone were watching your life this week, what would they report? Truth is not a mask worn on Sunday. It is a daily, consistent walk that looks the same in public as it does in private. Ask God today to reveal the gap between who you appear to be and who you actually are.

Day 2: Love That Costs Something

Reading: 3 John 1:5-8; Romans 12:9-13 (instructions to practice genuine love, show hospitality, and cling to what is good)

Devotional: Gaius opened his home to traveling ministers at personal expense. He did not wait for a convenient season or a surplus in his budget. He gave what he had because the work of the kingdom mattered more than his own comfort. John praised him as a faithful partner in the mission -- not because he preached or led, but because he served. Hospitality is love made visible. It says, what I have is not entirely mine. It belongs to God, and God has placed you in front of me today. What would it look like this week to let your resources serve someone beyond yourself?

Day 3: The Danger of Pride

Reading: 3 John 1:9-11; Proverbs 16:18 (a warning that pride leads to destruction); James 4:6 (the reminder that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble)

Devotional: Diotrephes is a sobering portrait. He held a position of influence in the church, yet his love for being first poisoned everything around him. He refused godly leadership, spread malicious gossip, and drove out those who disagreed with him. Pride did not announce itself in him as arrogance -- it disguised itself as authority. The same danger exists for anyone who serves in any capacity today. The moment ministry becomes about your name, your platform, or your legacy, it has stopped being ministry. Examine your motivations honestly. Are you serving for an audience of One, or are you quietly keeping score?

Day 4: Faithful in Small Things

Reading: 3 John 1:5; Luke 16:10 (the principle that faithfulness in small matters reflects trustworthiness in greater ones); Colossians 3:23-24 (the call to work wholeheartedly as unto the Lord)

Devotional: John called Gaius faithful. Not famous. Not influential. Not the most gifted person in the room. Faithful. He did what God gave him to do, and he did it consistently, regardless of who was watching or how large the crowd was. This is one of the most undervalued qualities in the Christian life. We are a culture obsessed with scale and visibility, but God measures faithfulness, not fame. Whatever God has placed in your hands today -- a household, a career, a relationship, a small act of service -- do it with everything you have. Faithfulness is the language God rewards.

Day 5: All In or Playing Church

Reading: 3 John 1:11; Revelation 3:15-16 (a sobering warning against being lukewarm rather than fully committed); Luke 9:23 (the call to take up your cross daily and follow)

Devotional: The sermon asked a direct and uncomfortable question: are you a follower or a fraud? Not everyone who attends church has surrendered their life to the lordship of Jesus. Some have simply grown comfortable with the routine. But belief without action is not the belief the New Testament describes. To believe in Christ, as the original language conveys, carries an active quality -- it means to leap, to commit, to put your full weight on Him. Comfort was never the promise. Forgiveness was. Eternal life was. Purpose was. Today, push every chip to the center of the table. Stop playing church. Jump.

The sermon describes Gaius as someone whose faithfulness to the truth was so evident that others came to testify about it — what would the people closest to you say about the consistency between your faith and your daily life?

The pastor asks whether your physical health and spiritual health were linked, how well or ill would you be — what does your honest answer reveal about the current state of your walk with God?

Diotrephes loved to be first and used his position to silence others, exclude believers, and protect his own influence — in what subtle ways might pride be shaping how you lead, serve, or relate to others in your church or community?

The sermon draws a sharp distinction between merely believing that God exists and actually jumping off the diving board — have you truly surrendered your life to Jesus, or are you still standing on the board, believing without fully trusting?

The pastor challenges the congregation to consider whether they are playing church or genuinely all in — what specific areas of your life have you withheld from full surrender to the Lordship of Christ?

Gaius used his resources generously to support traveling ministers and further the kingdom, which is why John could confidently pray for his prosperity — how does the way you steward your time, money, and home reflect your priorities for God's kingdom?

The sermon emphasizes that walking in truth means being the same person in your prayer closet, at work, at home, and at church — where in your life is there the greatest gap between who you appear to be publicly and who you actually are privately?

John ends a letter filled with conflict and correction with a desire for peace, suggesting that Christians can carry peace even through difficulty — how are you cultivating that kind of deep, abiding peace in your own life, and are you bringing it with you into the rooms you enter?

The pastor points out that serving people and following Jesus costs you something, referencing David's refusal to offer God anything that did not cost him — what has your worship, generosity, or service actually cost you recently, and what does that reveal about how seriously you take your faith?

Demetrius receives a brief but powerful commendation — well spoken of by everyone and by the truth itself — and the sermon suggests that how we live speaks loudly without words; what does the testimony of your life currently say about your relationship with Jesus?

# Scripture References from the Sermon on 3 John

## Directly Referenced

**3 John 1** — The elder's greeting to Gaius, whom he loves in the truth

**3 John 2** — Prayer for Gaius's good health, tied to the well-being of his soul

**3 John 3-4** — Believers testifying about Gaius's faithfulness; John's joy over his children walking in truth

**3 John 5** — Gaius praised for his faithfulness toward brothers and sisters, even strangers

**3 John 9** — Diotrephes, who loves to be first, refuses to welcome John and his companions

**3 John 10** — Diotrephes spreads malicious nonsense and puts out of the church those who show hospitality

**3 John 11** — The exhortation to imitate what is good, not evil; those who do good are from God

**3 John 12** — Demetrius commended by everyone and by the truth itself

**3 John 13-14** — John prefers to speak face to face rather than write more

**3 John 15** — Closing with peace and greetings to friends by name

**Acts 19 and 20** — Mentions of a man named Gaius

**1 Corinthians 1** — Another mention of Gaius

**Romans 16** — Another mention of Gaius

**2 Chronicles 24:24 (alluded to)** — The account of David refusing to offer to God what costs him nothing, in reference to purchasing the threshing floor (the preacher attributes this to David and Solomon's temple; the account appears in 2 Samuel 24:24 and 1 Chronicles 21:24)

## Alluded to Without Direct Citation

**John 13:34-35** — The command to love one another, by which all people will know Jesus's disciples

**Matthew 25:21** — The commendation of the faithful servant: "Well done, good and faithful servant"

**Matthew 16:24** — Taking up one's cross and following Jesus

**Romans 12:9** — Hating what is evil and clinging to what is good

**John 14:6** — Jesus as the only way, truth, and life

**Proverbs 16:18** — Pride goes before destruction

**Ezekiel 36:26** — God replacing a heart of stone with a heart of flesh

**James 2:17** — Faith without works is dead; belief requires action

**Matthew 6:6** — Praying in private, in one's prayer closet