My truth, Your truth, Who's truth

There are two realities that exist in this modern world we live in that makes faith, especially Christian Faith, extremely hard to accept and live out.  Obviously there are more than just two, but as I was sitting thinking about this and what I wanted to say, two in particular came to mind. 

First, we live in a time in history when options are expected for everything.  Whether it be cars, computers, appliances, phones, drinks, food, musical instruments, on and on and on and...  There are different competitors and brands for any product you can think of, but beyond that within every single brand there are almost always a variety of choices to choose from as well.  Just look around you, wherever you are; I’m sitting at my desk and every single thing sitting on my desk has multiple other possibilities that could have been chosen instead of what is present, both multiple brands and in-brand options.  We live in a world where we demand options.  Cars are a great illustration of this…for example: the car I drive everyday is a 1998 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT Limited.  Look at all the options in that name; the year, the make/brand, the model, the engine size & type, and the trim level.  Each of those options has multiple other possibilities that could have been chosen instead.  Could you imagine living in a world where you didn’t have all the options you are used to?

Second, we live in a time when tolerance is expected for everything under the Sun; well, Tolerance as our Society defines it.  Tolerance comes from the word “Tolerate” and tolerate is defined as:

1) to allow without opposition; 2) to concede, as the right to opinions or participation

Tolerance is allowing something to go on without creating opposition or setting up roadblocks to keep it from happening.  You don't have to buy into it or even think it has merit, just allow it to happen.  The problem is that our society has taken the word “tolerate” where "allow" is the key word and redefined it publicly where the word "accept" has replaced “allow.”  Tolerance is now a word that tells us we don’t have to be a part of whatever it is, but we do have to see it as acceptable or correct in its own right.  That idea of tolerance has to be squeezed into the definitions above like trying to squeeze into a pair of jeans that are three sizes to small, but in truth it just isn’t there…or...well, it is if you think it should be, according to today’s idea of tolerance.  Maybe we should just rewrite the dictionary with meanings that we want to be in there?

           

          We live in a time that expects acceptance for anything and everything that anyone creates as their own truth.  Any truth is good because it is what someone sees as truth.  Wait a minute…any truth is good, and any truth is truth?  Yes, that is what is expected of us.  Maybe we should be tolerant of theft because someone is living in poverty and that is the only way for them to survive OR let's be tolerant of murder because someone stole from me or hurt me or just looked at me wrong and I believe I’m justified in my actions.  This is what takes place when we are allowed to create our own truth; when everyone creates their own truth, there really is no truth; only CHAOS.  

 

          The problem for the world in all this is, there is ONLY ONE TRUTH.  And that one truth dictates whether or not all other things are acceptable or detestable.  That one truth also allows us to LOVE ALL PEOPLE while still knowing they are wrong.  That ONE TRUTH allows us to LOVE ALL PEOPLE even when they know they are wrong; this gives us the freedom to love them into THE ONE TRUTH. 

 
          Depending on who you ask or what kind of search you use you’ll find anywhere from 4 to 40 major religions currently in existence (20 seems to be a solid middle ground from my light checking) and some 270 or so minor religions and/or branches of the major religions, not including all the tribal religions that only exist within small people groups around the world.   
         Who is right?  Who is wrong?  Are all right?  Are all wrong?  “Tolerance/Acceptance” would say all are right because everyone can have their own options of truth to choose from. This is the dilemma we all face in today's "modern" world.  And this is one of the major reasons why so many people out there have so much trouble with Christianity; Christianity says there is ONLY ONE TRUTH.  Christianity says there is ONE GOD and is only ONE WAY to Salvation and eternal life and that ONE WAY is through JESUS CHRIST. This way of life, this way of faith, this Christianity allows for no other options, no other choices, and no compromises.  It sounds confining, it sounds binding, it sounds exclusive; in fact, it is actually extremely liberating, it is very freeing, it is incredibly inclusive because all are welcome, all are invited. It is through Jesus that all can be saved from the great addiction of self-gratification, from the sin that enslaves man, sin is what binds us and keeps us from living a life of freedom.  
           We aren't called by Jesus to live a life bogged down by rules; we are called by Jesus to live a life where we want to live by his example and we desire to live how he calls us to live and that life lived out will grant you more freedom than you could ever imagine.  Rules can't bring happiness, good deeds can't bring you lasting satisfaction, it is only in Jesus Christ that we can find fulfillment; it is only in Jesus Christ that we can fill that gaping hole deep down in our soul that so many of us have tried to fill with so many other things: i.e. - various relationships, sex, drugs, alcohol, work/career, possessions, money, other religions that promise peace but leave you empty and bogged down by...RULES and demanded DEEDS. All these things wind up enslaving your time, energy, and resources; while Jesus came to give us LIFE in ABUNDANCE.  He came to free us from all the things that enslave us and give us freedom from this world and its demands.  So, no there is not a wealth of "options" for lifestyle in the Christian life, but there is a wealth of LIFE, there is a wealth of FREEDOM, and there is a wealth of BLESSING.

Day 6 - John 6: Provision, Sovereignty, Challenge...Desertion

In John 6 (Read Chapter here) there is A LOT that takes place.  This chapter is 71 verses in all, but it is broken up nicely into 4 different sections.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand (verses 1-15)
     This is a miracle of Jesus that is talked about very regularly.  All four Gospels give an account of this particular miracle which gives a clue as to the level of amazement and impact this miracle had on Jesus' followers.  You can find the other accounts in Matthew 14 (includes Jesus walking on the Water), Mark 6 (also includes Jesus walking on the Water), and Luke 9.  It is rare to find an event in the Life of Jesus where ALL four gospels talk about it so this particular event was extremely important to the gospel writers.  
      In short summary of this account, we see Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee and a crowd of people follow him, these people had seen him do a number of miracles and healings and are amazed enough by Jesus to walk away from home, work, family, responsibilities, etc to watch Jesus do more miracles.  Jesus notices the crowd and sits down on a mountainside.  He decides that he and his apostles need to feed the crowd, but the crowd is at minimum, numbering 5000 because that is how many MEN were there.  This number doesn't include women and children; so the number could easily be 10k-15k.  Think about trying to feed that many people a decent, filling, lunch...very expensive Philip told Jesus it would take 8 months of wages to pay for everyone to simply have a bite; let alone a full meal.  Then Andrew brings a boy he found who has 5 loaves of Bread and 2 small Fish, but this can't do anything to help feed 5000+ people.  Jesus tells the people to sit, he "gave thanks" then distributes the food and there is enough to feed all the people so they "all had enough to eat".   Then the disciples gather 12 baskets full (like bushel size baskets is my understanding) of leftovers.  
      The people there who witnessed the miracle talked amongst themselves saying this guy is the real deal, he has to be from God.  And Jesus knew that they wanted to make him their King so he slipped away alone.  
     One thing that I wanted to point out was that Jesus provided.  This wasn't something the people asked for.  They didn't come to Jesus saying we're hungry, please feed us.  Jesus saw the crowd coming, the other 3 gospels tell us it was late in the afternoon, late in the day, and becoming evening; so seeing that these people were probably hungry he decided to feed them.  They had a need and he met it.  
     God delights in providing for his children just as most parents delight in giving their own children what they need.  There is great Joy in being a dependable provider for one's children.  There is a sense of fulfilled responsibility and purpose, "a job well done" kind of feeling...except there is a deeper more personal emotion attached to it that creates a deeper feeling of Joy than simply completing a task.  Providing for one's children could easily be described as a labor of Love.  Jesus shows us in this miracle the fulfillment of one of God's primary promises to us throughout scripture, "Provider".  

Jesus Walks on Water (verses 16-24)
     So Jesus has disappeared on the apostles and they are probably thinking, "not again" cause he tended to do this to them from time to time.  So they are making their way across the sea to Capernum and they had gone, John says, 3 or 3.5 miles and the water would starts getting rough and the wind starts blowing and they are rowing hard fighting the waves in the dark of the evening; then they see this guy walking towards them on the water.  What would your first reaction be?  FEAR is a good word for it.  But he spoke, telling them it was just him, Jesus; their fear was eased and they let him in the boat.  Then interestingly the boat immediately reached the shore where they were heading.  We don't know if they were actually really close to the shore at this point or if there was a divine transport to the shore, but much like Jesus walking on the water, we don't necessarily need to know everything to have faith in the sovereignty of God.  
     The next day the crowds realized that Jesus and his disciples were gone so they hopped some ship that had just arrived and went to Capernum looking for Jesus.
     
     This section is heavy on the Sovereignty of God; meaning God has power over all things.  Nothing is outside of his abilities.  God created the winds and the waves and so he can do with them what he wants, walk on them, stop them, start them, etc.  Jesus as God's son has this same sovereignty over all things and he shows it here by doing this great feat of walking on the water.

Jesus the Bread of Life
     In the Old Testament, God provided daily food (Manna) for the Israelites while they were wondering in the desert/wilderness on their way to the land God promised would be theirs to begin a nation in.  Jesus tells the crowd once they find him that yesterday he gave them bread that filled them for a few hours, but they need to eat of the bread of life, bread that allow them never to be hungry again.  They want this bread, of course, and ask how to get it and Jesus says, I AM that bread, but you don't get it.  You want more miracles and signs from me to "prove" that I am the one sent by God.  Then Jesus goes into this really weird bit of talking where he literally says I am the bread that has come down from heaven (meaning I am of God), unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you are will not have eternal life.  
    There are 2 Major problems here for the crowd: 1) By saying he is the bread of life come down from heaven, he is claiming divinity and specifically he is claiming to be the son of God.  These people knew Jesus from his hometown, they knew his parents, some probably watched him grow up and now he claiming to have come down from heaven.  They can't bring the 2 ideas together and reconcile that the sovereignty of God could allow something like this.  Plus the Jews fully expected the coming "Savior" to be a "knight in shining armor" kind of character that would throw down the Roman Government and reestablish the Jewish nation as a the power of the world.  So you can probably see the problem they have with a poor carpenter's son who hangs out with fishermen and tax collectors claiming to be the Divine son of God.  2) By telling the people they must eat his flesh and drink his blood, they really think he intends for them to become cannibals and gain eternal life through eating his body.  But the problem is that this crowd has so deceived themselves that they can't listen to what Jesus is trying to plainly tell them because they are so caught up with what they want to hear.  Jesus is speaking very basic metaphors and they are listening with literal ears.  Jesus is trying to compare the manna that gave daily nourishment to the Old Testament Jews in the wilderness to him as Savior who gives eternal life.  They hear flesh and Jesus is speaking spirit.  They are actually asking some decent questions, but because Jesus already shot down their attempt to make him king, they have began to turn negative against him and "can't see the forest for the trees."  No matter what Jesus says here they are caught up in their own personal ideas of what the "Savior" will be and are blinded by themselves to the Savior who is right in front of them.  These people are asking for signs and miracles from Jesus to prove that he is of God as he says he is when just the day before he fed a ridiculous amount of people front nearly nothing.  Miracles he gave them, but they weren't really looking for a Savior all they wanted was a free meal and a show. 
    Ultimately what this interaction does is begin the downward spiral of Jesus' popularity as he increasingly reveals who he is as the Son of God, Savior of the world, Messiah, etc.   

Many Disciples Desert Jesus
     After this discussion that seems to take up most of the day and the reality that these people aren't going to see any more miracles they decide Jesus isn't what they were hoping he was and he definitely is not what they were looking for and they leave.  Jesus' disciples comment to him saying, Jesus, this hard stuff for you to say, and he basically responds by saying "if you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen."  And a number of his disciples desert him.  Jesus then turns to his 12 apostles and says do you want to leave too?  And Peter despite his often thoughtless comments makes one of the most simple yet profound statements I have ever seen; he says, "LORD, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."  In other words, what other option is there?  We believe you are who you say you are and so therefore, where else could we go?  This is a major statement of Faith by Peter.  BUT...
     Jesus takes this response and says, you may believe I am who I say I am, but remember something: I chose you, you didn't choose me.  These people were trying to choose me as king.  I am not campaigning for a position here, I am teaching with words of truth.  These people have seen me do many miracles and yet they still can't believe my words.  I chose you and the father gave you the ability to believe in me.  I chose you, and yet one of you is my enemy/the devil (referring to Judas Iscariot who would later betray him).  This statement by Jesus gives some insight.  It reminds us that we can only come to Jesus when invited to come, which we see multiple times from Jesus that through the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection all are invited, but not everyone will come.  So there is an open invitation, but there also must be a response.  Secondly, that response MUST be a continual response.  Judas Iscariot responded and followed Jesus for almost his entire ministry, but he then betray Jesus to be turned over to the Jewish leaders and turned his back on him.  Salvation doesn't come just through a one-time response to the invitation of Jesus.  Salvation come through a lifetime of continual following the call of Christ to take his Gospel to the world.

There was a lot that happened in this chapter, please ask questions and make comments if something needs more details or if something leads you to a question about something else.  Any comments are welcome.  thanks.   




 

Day 5 - John 5: Jesus defends himself for doing God's will

This Study is from John 5 and yet again as will be for the next few chapters we see a long chapter with 47 verses. 

An "Illegal" Healing (verses 1-15)
     Jesus is in Jerusalem at the Temple and takes notice of a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years lying beside the pool called Bethsada.  The pool supposedly gets churned from time to time by an angel of God and those needing healed would rush to get into the pool first, because the first one in would be healed of whatever ailed them.  This man because of his paralyzed state couldn't get into the pool without help so he never made it in.  Jesus comes to him and simply tells him to "Pick up his mat and walk" and he does.
     The problem with what he did was that it was sinful according to the Jewish law to work on the sabbath and carrying your mat was apparently considered work.  Its eventually found out that Jesus is the one who basically told the man to break the law, never-mind the fact that he healed him of a 38 year paralysis. 

     When you think about it, the incredible legalism of these Jewish leaders is absolutely astounding.  They are completely missing the fact that this guy was just FULLY healed of a 38 year paralysis and instead they are focusing on the fact that he was healed (which is considered work for the healer) on the Sabbath and then followed the instruction of Jesus to work on the Sabbath by picking up his mat and walk. 
     As incredibly frustrating as the reactions of these Jewish leaders are, if you spend some time looking back on your life I bet you could find moments when you were just as blind to something great that someone did.  But because they did it in a way you didn't like or maybe because of who it actually was that the great thing you ignored the accomplishment and persecuted them in whatever way to chose to do so and made yourself just as guilty and legalistic as these Jewish leaders.
     The thing to remember here is that God can and will use anyone he wants and any circumstance to do his work and fulfill his plans.  We may not like how he does it; in fact, we probably won't like his ways more than we do like his ways because his ways usually make us get very uncomfortable and his ways usually test us beyond our own perceived capabilities and comforts.  What we have to remember is that we as Christians are simply called to continually seek the will of God and continually do the work of God as he is continually working in, through, and around us.  

Jesus Claims Divinity (verses 16-30)
      Jesus gets persecuted for his "illegal healing" and in response he tells his accusers that he is simply doing exactly what his Father in Heaven is doing which is always working.  Jesus is literally claiming to be the Son of God; this is a statement that probably further enrages these Jewish leaders into a frenzy.  Now they not only have him for breaking the Sabbath, but they also have him for blaspheme...Calling himself God (the nerve of this guy)...Jesus even goes so far as to say that he is not only the Son of God and therefore divine himself, but that God the Father has given him the power and authority to be the judge over the world and the eternities of all men.   

Jesus Defends His Actions (verses 31-47)
     Essentially what Jesus does in this section is say, "Look, my words about who I am and what am doing don't really mean anything.  Instead of worrying about my words...pay attention to what I am doing.  What I do speaks volumes about who I am.  If I wasn't who I say I am, I couldn't do all I am doing.  It is by the Father that I do what I do, because it is he who gives me the ability to do what I do."  

     Although this section is about Jesus spending time defending who he is, I think we should be reminded of something extremely important with regards to our Christian walks.  Jesus states that is because of what he does that his words are proven true.  It is by his actions that we can know he is who he says he is.  This should be an example to us as Christians that it is through our actions that we prove or disprove our identity as followers of Christ.  If think, speak, and act out of Love for God than it will be impossible for anyone who spends time with us to mistake where our allegiance lies, because we simply cannot help thinking, speaking, and acting in the name of Jesus.  


Jesus did what he did to Give GLORY TO GOD.  We are here for the same purpose.  In all things to God be the Glory!!!   

Day 4: John 4 - Jesus, healer to all people

Please forgive me for my hiatus over the last week.  There have been some things happen that didn't really permit me the time I need to write these daily blogs for study.  So, for the current time being I will do my best to catch us up and do as many of these studies as I can per day till we are back on track.  Hopefully you have been reading as planned (1 chapter in John per day) and you can simply read these studies and review what you've read as I write and post them.  Once again I'm sorry for getting so behind.  

JOHN 4: (read the chapter here)
 This is a long chapter, 54 verses in all, and as is with most chapters in John it is loaded.  I will try and keep the content of this post as short and to the point as possible so it isn't a massive undertaking to read. 

The Samaritan Woman (verses 1-26, 39-42):
     Jesus was creating quite a stir in Judea and not wanting to do this yet, he and his apostles left the area and headed back to Galilee.  To do this from Judea they had to go through Samaria which is where the Samaritans lived.  Samaritans where like the Jew's reject cousins.  They were all related way back in the family tree, but they hated each other.  And this point is important to remember going forward.  Jesus stops at a well in Sychar (a town in Samaria) at about the 6th hour (that would be Noon/12pm) and a woman comes to the well while he is there.  This is BIG...woman in this day typically went to the wells for water in the morning; partially because it was cool, but it was also like their social hour.  It was a time for the woman of the town to meet, chat, gossip, etc.  This woman apparently was not welcome at the well in the morning, we'll find out why in the next few verses.  
     Jesus asks the woman for a drink of water...STOP...a big deal here; Jesus, a JEW, asks a SAMARITAN (most Jews hate Samaritans)...WOMAN (men did not chat with woman they weren't married to, it was even considered by some to be stooping below yourself to look a woman in the eye that wasn't your wife)...for a drink of water.  This was a massive NO-NO for a Jewish man, and the woman knows it and calls him out on it in verse 9.  But Jesus had a reason (as he always does), he tells here she should actually be the one asking him for a drink, because the water he has gives everlasting life and she will never go thirsty again.  She thinks he is still actually talking about literal water and asks him for this water so she'll never be thirsty again and have to come to the well everyday.
     Before "giving her" this water; Jesus needs to address a problem, rather a sin in her life.  So he tells her to go get her husband, which he knows she has none.  He tells her she has in fact had five husbands and currently is living with a man who is not her husband (now we see why she isn't welcome at the well in the mornings).  She is shocked at his knowledge and understanding he is someone who is very close to God (she says a "prophet") she asks him a religious question about the appropriate places to worship God.  Jesus' response is that soon there will not be a need for a place to worship properly, because true worship will take place through the Spirit (referring to the Holy Spirit).  The woman responds, acknowledging that she knows about the coming Messiah and that when he comes he will make all things clear and understandable to all people; Jesus says: "he's here, and I am he!!"  
     In verse 27-30 Jesus' Disciples return and the woman runs off and tells everyone she knows about Jesus; then jumping ahead to verse 39-42 we see that because of the woman's testimony about Jesus many people come to meet him, hear him speak and believe in his teachings and who he says he is.  In fact, they ask him to stay as their guests for more time and he stays for 2 more days.  

   
Teaching the Disciples (verses 27-38):
     Back to verses 27-38; Jesus' disciples return and the woman runs off to tell everyone about her encounter with Jesus.  The disciples are somewhat stunned at Jesus for having this private conversation with a Woman...a Samaritan Woman (as we often are today, the disciples were often caught up in keeping a certain public profile and reputation that they thought would appeal to "everyone").  Despite their surprise no one dare call Jesus out on this because they knew better.  
     After the woman ran off the disciples tried to get Jesus to eat and he says, I don't need food because I have food that you know nothing about.  Jesus says, I survive on the nourishment of doing the will of my father who sent me.  Then in verse 35-38 he says something that has puzzled me as to what he is actually talking about.  1) On one level I think he is trying to get it through his followers heads that now, here, in Samaria is a time to love people and bring them to my father, because he wants all people to be his followers, not just Jews.  Jesus is showing his followers that he is not here just for Jews, he is here to bring salvation to the entire world.  2) But on another level, I think he may simply be trying to tell them that many people participate in the work of God.  Some people do the sewing of the gospel seed into the hearts of the world and other people do the watering and still others  may actually get to see the fruit of all that work come to bear.  3) But he also makes it pretty clear in verse 38 that the hard work is done for us...the hard work of the teaching the Law (Moses and the Rabbis), preaching repentance (the Prophets of the OT and John the Baptist), and even more so the hard work of Jesus dying on the Cross and Rising from the dead wiping all sins of the earth away.

***Like I said, this chapter is loaded***  

 Healing an Official's Son (verses 43-54)
      Here Jesus returns to his home region of Galilee, specifically Cana (which was basically home, very near Nazareth).  While there an Official, a royal official (meaning, again probably not a JEW), comes to Jesus and asks him, in fact begs him to come heal his son in Capernum (a major city in Galilee).  Something of note to mention here, this royal official heard Jesus was in Cana, and came out from the big city to find him in the country region of Cana to BEG him to come heal his son.  Jesus tells the people near him, I think maybe with some frustration in his heart, that unless they see him do miracles they will not believe.
      So what does Jesus do...he tells the guy go home your son will be healed and on the way home a servant meets the official to tell him his son is well and they discover that it was actually at the same time Jesus told him his son would be healed that was healed all the way over in Capernum.  This healing is interesting to because Jesus tells the people that they need to see miracles in order to believe in him, but the then he does a miracle they can't see, so they and the official have to take him at his word that he does what he says he is doing.  

Jesus cares for, has compassion on, heals, and saves those that we (his followers) think he should have no business even talking to.  This is the "upside-down Gospel", Jesus upside-down way of doing things.  It's upside-down to us, but we are actually the ones who need to change our point of view. 

"Give me you eyes for just one second; Give me your eyes so I can see everything that I've keep missing. Give me your LOVE for Humanity."  -Brandon Heath-  
 

Day 3 - John 3: Water & Spirit

So, after driving the 10 or so hours from Cincinnati back to Elberton yesterday, unloading from the trip and winding down from the drive I was not able to get the December 3rd study on John 3 done yesterday.  SO, today is a double dose.  They will be separate blog posts, but I intend to drop both today.  For those of you that are doing better than I am and did read yesterday and have been waiting patiently, thanks for bearing with me while I was on vacation.  Here we go with John 3
 
Today's Reading is from John 3.  The first section covers verses 1-21: 

    This first section contains in it probably the most famous and most quoted scripture worldwide.  And we'll get to it soon, but I don't want to jump to it first like a kid in a candy store,  I want to work towards it like an art lover in a museum, appreciating all the great art surrounding it and making it what it is.  This section begins with Nicodemus who is a Jewish religious leader; he is a Pharisee; he is someone who knew the Jewish Law backwards and forwards and probably would have had his own followers and disciples like Jesus.  But he comes to Jesus in secret, at night, so he won't be seen by his pharisee buddies belittling himself by going to Jesus the "Rebel Rabbi" for teaching.  
     First, he admits that the pharisees know that Jesus comes by the power of God (this is the first step of salvation by the way, believing Jesus is who he says he is); next Jesus seems to interrupt him and tell him that you have to be "born again" in order to see the Kingdom of God.  Nicodemus is confused because he assumes Jesus is speaking literally, meaning physically being born again.  But Jesus is speaking of a spiritual birth; he says, "no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and Spirit."  Now some people have read this and assumed Jesus is speaking about being baptized then being filled with the Holy Spirit; but Jesus is literally talking about being born of water, (actual child-birth includes a lot of water) that is the first birth.  Then being born of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, upon acceptance of Jesus as Savior, makes us brand new beings, cleansed of our sins upon faith in Christ.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says we are "new creations" upon our acceptance of Jesus as Savior.  This is what Jesus means by birth of Water & Spirit.  
     Then Jesus goes on to tell us how this new birth is made possible in the most well-known verse in the Bible, John 3:16.  One final thing I want to comment on before moving to the next section is a verse that is often overlooked, but honestly just as powerful and it happens to be John 3:17.  But you need to read both 16 & 17 together to get the full effect (Go ahead and read them now).  
     So often the Church as a whole is misunderstood by the world and seen as a giant finger pointing out the wrongs and the misbehaviors of the world, but verse 17 shows us that the purpose of the church is exactly the same as the purpose of Jesus, "not to condemn the world, but to bring it to salvation" THROUGH CHRIST!!!  And how do we accomplish this...by getting people to a place where they can meet Jesus, namely CHURCH.  Not by forcing it down there throats, rather by loving them, caring for them, having a strong friendship with them.  People don't care about what or how much you know until they know how much you care.  You will never debate or argue someone into a relationship with Jesus, (in the words of Taylor Swift) you will NEVER EVER, EVER, EVER get them and Jesus together by arguing.   It is love that opens the door, and not just love for those who don't know Jesus yet, but also unfailing love for fellow believers, Jesus said in John 13:34-35 in order for the world to know you are my followers you have got to show love to one another.  I think the world has gotten tired of watching the church as a whole fighting in and amongst itself; that one issue alone, and the resulting problems it creates, is probably the biggest reason why so many people want nothing to do with the church once they've experienced the so-called "Love" of church members.  

Okay I need to move on...verses 22-36 is a quick look into an argument that John the Baptist had to be brought in on to settle.  And it was basically over the growing popularity of Jesus and the waning(lessening) popularity of John.  The key thing I want to mention here is what John says about how he views the popularity he once had...in verse 30; he says "He (Jesus) must become greater; I must become less."  This single verse could be and truly should THE life verse for every person who claims to be a Christian, who claims to follow Jesus.  Our entire society is built around making myself greater; really, its about making myself the only priority.  John tells us the opposite should be true.  We must become less; in fact, we need to live as if we have nothing that we need.  Our needs should simply be the needs of Jesus.  When we see with his eyes, think with his mind, and love with his heart then nothing else matters except everyone else and their needs.  That's exactly how Jesus lived his life.  Check out what Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-34 for more on this subject.  Selfless love is what we are called to; "He must become Greater; I must become Less."  This is a verse to live by, give it an honest shot and I guarantee you will never lack for what you really truly need.  

I think that's plenty for now.  But I'll catch you later today in my post on John 4.  So read it and be ready for more of what God has to say to us today!!!

Day 2: John 2 - Jesus Goes Public

Just a note/suggestion I should have made yesterday: I would encourage you to always read the chapter of the day before getting into my writings and ramblings so you have a basic knowledge of what I will be talking about.  Then as you read what I've written go back and reread the sections of the chapter I'm talking about.  Typically I will work through the chapters in sections and rereading the sections as I talk about them will help you follow my thoughts as you read them. 

Chapter 2 of John gives a description of Jesus' first recorded miracle (verses 1-11); he and his disciples/apostles are at a wedding in the town/city of Cana and his mother, Mary, is there as well.  While at the wedding the wine runs out and Mary pushes Jesus (because he knows what he can do) into providing the wine for the rest of the wedding party.  Although he seems hesitant, Jesus miraculously turns over 120 gallons of water into the best wine provided at the party.  In fact, the wine is so good that the master of the banquet, who is probably at least a little tipsy, can tell that this wine is better than any other wine they had served that day (the idea is when you get drunk you can't tell good alcohol from the cheap stuff, but this wine was so good you could tell a difference).  
     I think it is interesting that Jesus' first recorded miracle is providing drunk people with more alcohol.  But there is something here I want to make a point of mentioning.  Despite the seemingly simple and almost pointless nature of the miracle there is a quick comment that I have never heard mentioned in a Bible Study or by a preacher (doesn't mean it has never been said, I'm not that smart, I've just never heard it said).  In verse 11 the author John (on of Jesus' apostle; meaning he was there for this) tells us:

¹¹ What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The key for this story, I think, is seen here at the very end, "and his disciples believed him".  A quick little statement by John giving us some big insight into why Jesus reluctantly went along with his mother's request to miraculously provide the wine for the rest of this party.  His disciples needed something to grab their attention.  His disciples needed to see the Glory of God revealed through him.  If you remember back to the end of chapter 1 verse 50, Jesus told Nathanael that he would see even greater things than this"?   Maybe the disciples hearing Jesus make that statement to Nathanael were waiting for something greater to happen.  Maybe they were kind of hanging on by a thread waiting for Jesus to prove himself as to why they should be following him, and so Jesus gives them something; not his biggest or most amazing miracle he will do, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Verses 12-25 is John's account of Jesus clearing the temple.  Here we see Jesus' disdain for people who claim to be "of God" misusing the temple, "God's House" for personal gain.  That very thing happens way too much today as well and I'm sure Jesus has great frustration and pain when this happens today.  The church is not here for our personal gain, we are here for the gain of the church and the body of Christ.  I don't have as much to say about this section, but that doesn't mean it isn't as important.  I think this section is extremely important it reminds us we are NOT to take God for granted, he may just come along, clean house, and wreck our world as we know it.  But honestly if he has to come along and do that, then its a solid assumption that our world needs wrecking anyway and he in his wisdom and power and Love is setting us up to follow him the way he wants us to.  Sometimes we need to be broken and experience pain, and experience tragedy before we can be given great triumph.  

Once again sorry this is so late in the day; tomorrow's entry will most likely be a late one as well, but Tuesday, Day 4 should be a morning entry.  Hope you are keeping up so far, and please as always reply to this post with comments and questions.  I love feedback.   Go ALL IN!!!

John 1 - Life Comes with & through Jesus

As I promised this is the first of a month of posts that are my reflections from the day's reading; my hope is to post most of these in the mornings, but I'm on vacation right now and so I'm not on my normal schedule; so bear with me for a day or two.
Today's reading is from John 1.  If you have yet to read that stop now, pull out your Bible and turn to John 1 or click this link for an online Bible and read the chapter.  There is a lot that happens in this chapter, so just as you normally would or should take your time, pull out a journal, and write down your questions & thoughts as you go along.  It may be that my thoughts might help you with yours, but if not feel free to comment to my blog with your questions and comments. 

The author, John the Apostle of Jesus, begins his account of the life of Jesus in verses 1-18 by telling us exactly who Jesus is and where he comes from and why this is important.  John tells us that Jesus was with God, his Father, from the beginning; in fact, not only was Jesus with God from the beginning, but it was through Jesus that the entire world came into being.  It was through Jesus that life exists.  It is through Jesus that life still exists today.  It is through Jesus that you and I have breathe in our lungs.  You see the importance of these 18 verses in John is to make it known that it was simply God the father speaking life into existence; it was God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) and God the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) who all created the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the universe, literally all things.  John is telling us that without Jesus nothing can exist.  Without Jesus nothing has life.

Then John goes on to tell us a little about John the Baptist (not the same John) and his role in the coming of Jesus to his public ministry, this takes place in verses 19-34.  The main point during this section, in as simple terms as I can put it, is that John's role was to prepare the way; to bring the attention of the people not to himself, rather to the fact that the Messiah, the Savior was coming and it was time for people to be aware and ready to accept him (Jesus) as the coming King of the World.  John says that Jesus is the one the prophets wrote about long ago and he will do everything spoken about him in the law and prophets (law & prophets = Old Testament).  Jesus was the one who came to prepare the way for Jesus to come; John came to "roll out the red carpet" for Jesus.

Verses 35-51 is a quick account of Jesus calling his first 5 apostles to follow him in his ministry.  One key verse that gives a large amount of insight into the way Jesus wants to have relationships is in verse 43.  It says, "Finding Philip...".  Jesus found Philip and asked him to "follow me".  We don't "find Jesus", he finds us, get ourselves saved and we don't get saved by our pastor or friend or T.V. evangelist.  We are saved by the Grace and Love of God offered to us and made possible through the sacrificial death and following resurrection of God's Son Jesus.  Once we come to an understanding of this sacrificial gift and accept it making Jesus our lord and master we are called to bring others to a place where they can meet Jesus and experience the same understanding and salvation.  We see this in verses 45-49, Jesus first found Philip, then Philip went and found Nathanael and brought him to Jesus and when Philip got Nathanael in the presence of Jesus Nathanael's life was changed forever.

Those are quick overviews of the three big sections of this chapter.  Please comment to this with any comments or questions you may have and I'll do my best to help.  I'm really excited about this study we are going to be doing together this month, the Entire book of John, a couple chapters in Luke, and the book of James.  So get ready, buckle up and stay committed to this cause when we are seeking God in his word he will come reveal himself to us.  So get ready to meet God this month if you take this seriously.

GO ALL IN!!!