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!!!     

A NEW Savior...?

For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.  And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.  You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.        

                                                                                                                                    -John 5:36b-40 (NIV)-

It is closing in on Christmas season and at some point soon you will probably drive by or see a Nativity Scene at a church or on a street corner, maybe even in your own yard or on a table or dresser in your house.   Many people, Christian or not, religious or not, know the Christmas story in some form or fashion; yet many of those same people do not believe Jesus is who the Bible says he is. 

            The truth is, a quick look into the writings of ancient non-biblical historians will show that there was a man named Jesus who lived and was crucified by Pontius Pilate precisely when the Bible says it happened.  I don’t have time to get specific on all the history stuff, but the point is, there is not any real argument that can say Jesus didn’t live and live an extraordinary life, nor is there any argument that can really dispute his death on a Roman cross.  My point is that Jesus’ life and death are undisputed fact. 

            However, I don’t find it odd or even out of the ordinary that people today, despite historical evidence, don’t believe that Jesus is who the Bible says he is or did what the Bible said he did.  It don’t find it odd mainly because the many of the people who were literally in the presence of Jesus, the people who actually watched him perform the miracles he performed couldn’t even believe that he was who he said he was.  These were people who would have known the prophecies about the coming Messiah by heart.  These were the people who were waiting for the Messiah to come.  They stood by and watched Jesus fulfill prophecy after prophecy and yet they still would not believe he was who he said he was. 

            With all this in mind; today I was reading in the Gospel of John and read the above statements by Jesus from John 5 and it hits me...its not that they didn’t see Jesus or experience his works and miracles, it’s not even that they weren’t really hoping for the Messiah to come because I believe they were still hoping; Jesus says, it’s not that you didn’t see me doing the work my Father has given me to do…the fact is you simply don’t believe that Salvation comes from me and therefore from the Father.  You have found other things to place your hope and trust in.  You have found new Saviors. 

            The problem of faith in the world and even in the church today isn’t that people don’t believe Jesus came, lived, did all he did, and died, which is what I originally thought.  I think the problem is that we have found new Saviors.  We have found other things to place our hope and trust in.   Things like money, possessions, stock market, bank account, or careers.  We have found new saviors in athletic figures, actors/actresses, music stars, college football teams, boyfriends or girlfriends, government or government figures, and the list goes on.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 that the person/place/thing that you place the most value on is where your heart will be also. 

            So, with this season that reminds us of the TRUE SAVIOR that came to the world to bring all things back to a right relationship with the Father through his life, death, burial, and resurrection; where do you place your hope?  In WHAT or WHOM do you place the highest value?  Have you found a new savior or is Jesus the Savior of your life?  Does your checkbook and calendar reflect Jesus as Savior or is it something or someone else?  As I said last month… ask yourself, To Whom or What do I Bow my Knee? 

What I am called to do is Why I have breath

It is my firm belief that each and every one of us has a calling and a purpose.  Your purpose may simply be to exude the Joy of Christ to the world around you or perhaps God has something else that He desires you to fulfill.  Whatever my purpose or your purpose we are called by God the creator of all things to fulfill that role. 

 

It is also my belief that if you have breath in your body God still has something for you to do.  God gives us each and every day that we have; the ultimate question we have to answer is, "Are we striving to fulfill God’s purpose for our life?"  Some people might say that they don’t know what that purpose is, but I believe that if you are following God’s will (which we discover and learn more about every time we open the Bible or come before Him in prayer or listen to Him in silence) then He will use you for His purpose.  Sometimes we may have a firm grasp on that purpose and sometimes we may not, but when we ‘man up’ and take God and His Word (the Bible) seriously He will use us in ways that we can’t imagine or understand.  In fact the full affect of our lives on this world may not be revealed to us until God shows us on the other side of this life. 

One of the prayers I often pray is that my son, Joshua, will grow to be a man of God. I pray that he will seek God’s will at all times and fully rest upon the truth that God is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do.  When we trust God that way and live lives that prove our faith, then we can all have confidence because the death & resurrection of Jesus promises that one day God will say to Joshua, you, and me: “Well done good and faithful servant, you are my child whom I love and I welcome you into my eternal presence.”  

“To WHOM do I Bow my knee?”

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.  Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

-1 Chronicles 29:11 (NIV)

There is a battle that is constantly being fought in my heart over why I do what I do.  This battle is for the glory, for the prominence, for the expansion of my influence beyond my current sphere, to see praise and honor ascribed to my life and work, and to be the one whom people turn to in their hour of need because I have wisdom that no one else can offer.  To WHOM do I bow my knee?

            You probably noticed a recurrence of the word ‘my’ in that description and that is the problem.  I know with every fiber of my being that as the Chronicler stated above “the greatness, the power, the glory, the majesty, and the splendor are the Lord’s.”  Everything is God’s, all I have, all I am, all my gifts, talents, and abilities.  Everything God gave me through inspiration and revelation, as well as everything that I have learned through my life experience is HIS.  Nothing I have comes from my own ability to do anything.  Everything we have comes from or through the hands of God and so we can know that God is in control of all. 

            My struggle is not in the knowledge of this truth.  My struggle comes in the motivation behind doing what I do.  Do I write this article to prove how faithful I am to the will of God, secretly seeking glory for myself through a show of humility?  Do I write this article simply to give honor and glory to God, the giver of all things?  Do I write this article because I am moved by the Holy Spirit to share a struggle of mine so that others can know they are not alone in this battle?  Why do I do what I do?  To WHOM do I bow my knee?

            I am confident in saying that my motivations typically begin with a desire to be transparent, to connect with others, to lift up the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to carry a word of the Lord that has been revealed to me by the Holy Spirit, and more.  These are generally the initial driving forces behind why I do what I do, but I have to admit that as I am doing what I have been driven to do by God, my selfish motivations come calling and then I care more about how I can benefit from this call of God.  I ask myself, how can I show my wisdom in this?  How can I be made great through this?  How can I extend my influence beyond my borders through this calling of God?  To WHOM do I bow my knee?

            The struggle here is, I am following the call of God, BUT I am making it about ME.  This is a struggle that is always being fought.  The only way I know to keep myself behind the scenes is to continually come back to the initial reason that I do what I do, which is the Call of God.  It is to the one who called me that I must continually come back and bow at HIS feet.  It is he that must receive all the glory, all the majesty, all the splendor; because if I receive these things, then I will FAIL.  When HE receives all the glory, majesty, and splendor then I no longer live but it is Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2.20).  To WHOM do I bow my knee?         

Mistakes vs Sins?

“God, please forgive me for my…MISTAKES.”

“Jesus died to take away the…MISTAKES…of the world.”

“For the wages of…MISTAKES…is death”

          There’s something very wrong with these statements, isn’t there?  Now to be honest, I have never actually heard these statements said.  However, I regularly hear the word ‘Mistake’ substituted for the word ‘Sin’.  It’s scary how often I have to fight the urge to use this word and just as scary how often I hear this word used by others instead of SIN.  Some people might push back and say, ‘Mistake’ doesn’t sound so mean; ‘Sin’ is such a harsh word; or it’s not really PC to use the word SIN because you’re implying that someone actually did something wrong…well that’s pretty much what ‘Sin’ implies.  Just to be clear, let’s define what sin is and what a mistake is, and then talk about why we should care about the difference.

Mistake – Noun- An error in action, judgment, perception, impression, etc

                 Verb-To understand wrongly; misinterpret

Sin – Noun- 1 A transgression* against moral or religious law or divine authority, especially when deliberate. 2 Any action or condition regarded as morally wrong or deplorable.

*Transgress means to disregard & go beyond the bounds of something; for example, a law

          Mistakes and Sins are both words for incorrect actions, perceptions, judgements, etc.  However, the difference between the two lies in the intent and foreknowledge.  A mistake is like a blunder, a miscalculation, ‘an error in judgment’, or even better, ‘acting in ignorance’.  On the other hand, a sin is a deliberate disregard for what is right.  What makes a sin sinful is that the offender absolutely knew that what they were about to do was wrong and yet they followed through with it anyway.  On the other hand, a mistake is a decision or action based solely on only the incomplete knowledge available at the time.  I know without a doubt that it is illegal and even more importantly dangerous to text and drive at the same time and yet on rare occasion, I still do.  By definition this qualifies as SIN; as opposed to someone who truly did not know that texting and driving was illegal.  They would be making a mistake were they to break this law; they would be acting in ignorance.   

          So why say all this??  Why bring this up and possibly split hairs??  First off I need to say that honestly, I am really only speaking to Christians with what I am about to say.  It is time that we (Christians) eliminate the word MISTAKE from our vocabulary when we talk about our SIN.  As far as our walk with God goes, once we understand (based on the Bible, teachings of others, and revelations of God) that something is against the will of God, we no longer have the right to use the word MISTAKE.  A mistake is an error done in ignorance and once someone is no longer ignorant of the wrong, all other instances of disobeying God in the same way is SIN.   

         Please understand, I’m not saying mistakes get free passes and don’t require forgiveness from God.  Both mistakes and sins need repentance, correction, and forgiveness.  However, based on my study of the Bible, we are accountable for what we know and SIN is what God hates; so, being the one who knowingly does what God hates cannot be a good place to be.  God said “My grace is sufficient for you,” (2 Corinthians 12:9) and that grace saves us from our sins.  So we should seek the instruction and will of God, rest safely in the grace of God and run from the SIN that snares and enslaves us.