John 5:16-21 ~ Be Amazed

Jesus answered, "What I'm about to tell you is true. The Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does. This is because the Father loves the Son. He shows him everything he does. Yes, you will be amazed! The Father will show him even greater things than these.

John 5:19-20

You will be amazed.

I love that Jesus straight out tells us the truth. You will be amazed.

When I think about what it means to be amazed my thoughts go to things that are bigger than life.

I am amazed by the fact that airplanes stay in the sky.

I am amazed that hockey players can jump two feet off the ice and land on a quarter inch piece of metal.

I am amazed that an averaged size man can hit a round ball going ninety miles an hour 400 feet with a round bat.

I am amazed that rainbows exist.

I am amazed that babies figure out how to crawl pretty much on their own.

I am amazed by the overwhelming blessings in my life.

I am amazed by the overwhelming grace God offers.

I am amazed...are you?

Everyday we have the opportunity to be amazed by simply experiencing the life God has put before us. Instead of simply taking for granted that the water will come from the faucet or the gas will make the car run, we can take a moment and allow all of the modern conveniences God has inspired man to create are available to us - because not everyone has that gift.

We can be amazed.

We can take the opportunity to listen to a friend recount his or her story - allowing that story to transform us.

We can be amazed.

Tomorrow, as we face another hot, sultry day of summer, we can laugh with joy over the beauty which springs up in flowerbeds and gorgeous trees.

We can be amazed.

We can pull out our Bibles and read of the unabashed love God has showered on His creation.

We can be amazed.

We have opportunities to see the amazing wonderfulness of our Creator which overflow each day. Our responsibility is to take each of those moments, pause and truly be amazed.

Be amazed - because God is amazing.

Scripture

John 5:16-21

Quote of the Day

“If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.”

General George S. Patton

Question of the Day

What amazes you?

John 5:1-14 ~ Victim or Victorious

Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."

John 5:8

In life we have choices.

When we are faced with obstacles we can sit still and wait for our situation to change. We can be passive and complain when our situation remains stagnate.

Or, we can stand up and try to fix our problem. We can be proactive. We can choose to "pick up our mats and walk."

In the story of Jesus healing the cripple at the pools of Bethesda, we read of a man who had been sitting by the healing pools for thirty-eight years. The pools were assumed to have healing powers. Each time the waters stirred the first person who entered the pool would find healing. This man had been waiting to be the first one into the water for the better part of a lifetime. He waited. He showed extreme patience. And he was passive.

Jesus asked the man a very important question:

"Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6)

Do you want to get well?

 This man was waiting for the world to act upon him rather than taking an active role in his healing. He was choosing the status quo rather than seeking a better experience.

He was choosing to be a victim rather than victorious.

Do you want to get well?

Each of us has something, regardless of our age, our faith walk, our station of life, that needs healing in our lives. The something is a roadblock in your faith journey. Whatever your something might be, it is holding you back from experiencing the healing grace of Jesus in your life. Allowing your something to remain a roadblock is allowing yourself to be a victim. You are choosing your something over Jesus.

Do you want to get well?

Jesus is asking you this question just as plainly as he asked the man at the pools of Bethesda 2,000 years ago.

What is your answer?

Are you a victim or are you victorious?

Scripture

John 5:1-14

Quote of the Day

“A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction.”

Rita Mae Brown

Question of the Day

What is your choice?

John 4:27-36 - Being Fed for the Calling

But I tell you, open your eyes! Look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest right now. Those who gather the crop are already getting paid. They are already harvesting the crop for eternal life. So those who plant and those who gather can now be glad together.

John 4:35b-36

We are at the beginning of summer right now. For the past month or so farmers and gardeners have been planting a variety of fruits, vegetables and grains. Some of those products will available this summer, but much of what is planted now will be ready to harvest in the fall.

Farmers need to have patience and excellent timing. They sew seeds. Water the seeds. Fertilize them and tend them daily as the seeds grow to plants and then fruit for harvest. But before a seed is ever planted, the farmers must tend the soil. They prepare. They plan. All so they can reap the harvest.

When Jesus is talking to his disciples in  today's scripture, he is trying to show his disciples that God has been tending the soil of humanity and been nurturing the seeds of love and hope for generations. He is telling them that every prophet and man of God who came before them had prepared the people for this day's harvest. He was telling them that all they had to do was bring in the harvest because the soil was well nurtured. He was telling them that the people were ready.

But the disciples were like we often are...They took Jesus's analogy and turned it literal.

His disciples were saying to him, "Rabbi, eat something!"
 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
 Then his disciples asked each other, "Did someone bring him food?"
Jesus said, "My food is to do what my Father sent me to do. My food is to finish his work.
John 4:31-34

The disciples were focused on the physical of Jesus when Jesus was focused on the spiritual. So often we become focused on our basic needs we don't allow Jesus to work on our spiritual needs.
But what Jesus was trying to share with his disciples thousands of years ago and with us today is that we need to keep our focus on what the Lord wants of us. He gives us everything we need and our nourishment isn't simply basic food but it is the fulfilment of God's calling our our lives.

As you eat breakfast, or lunch or dinner today, take a moment not only to thank God for the food at your table but also to thank Him for the food that feeds your calling in this life - even if you aren't quite sure what the calling is. Just like milk builds strong bones and muscles when you are young which help to support you as you mature, the spiritual food Jesus is feeding to you today will help to develop you so that you can fulfill the calling God has created for you.

Scripture
John 4:27-36

Quote of the Day


Question of the Day

Take some time today to think about what calling God is nourishing your spirit for today.



John 4:1-26,39-42 - Meeting Jesus at the Well

Many of the Samaritans from the town of Sychar believed in Jesus. They believed because of the woman's witness. She said, "He told me everything I've ever done."

John 4:39

The woman at the well is one of my favorite stories in scripture. This story in John 4 tells of Jesus meeting a woman - with a past - as he was making his way back to Galilee.

I love this story because it has two distinct parts which give us an image of how our faith should evolve as Christians.

First - Jesus meets this woman one-on-one. Each of us has a personal relationship with Jesus. Salvation is dependent upon you and I personally  knowing Jesus. I have heard many people say, "My grandma was a wonderful Christian." or "My friends go to church." Here's the deal: Heaven isn't a cool club or sorority you can get into because you know one of the cool members - rather it is dependent on one relationship - yours with Jesus. This first meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman is poignant because it is just the two of them. They can be real and honest because no one is there to pass judgement or interfere. When we first truly meet Jesus it is a one-on-one personal relationship which depends solely on us being open to Jesus's invitation:

 "Jesus answered, "All who drink this water will be thirsty again. But anyone who drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty. In fact, the water I give him will become a spring of water in him. It will flow up into eternal life."

John 4:13-14

Second - The woman shares her love for Jesus with others. The woman at the well is so excited by the fact that Jesus knows exactly who she is and still chooses to talk with her and share with her how she can accept salvation, she is compelled to tell everyone in her town - to tell anyone who will listen. When we truly experience an encounter with Jesus it is life changing and we can't help but want others to have a similar experience. Sharing our love for Jesus is an authentic and yet humbling experience for each of us. Jesus is depending on that excitement and enthusiasm to spill out of you onto those around you so that they might be open to their own personal, one-on-one experience with Jesus. Once you are a believer you have the tremendous honor of helping others realize that Jesus is sitting at the well waiting for them as well.

Even though we may not have gone down the path of the woman at the well, each of us has something in our lives which might make us believe we are not worthy to be with Jesus. But the cool thing, the amazingly cool thing, about this story is that Jesus is waiting for the woman at the well. He is already there when she arrives, just as he is waiting for us to arrive at our own "wells".

There is nothing in your life which makes you unworthy of meeting Jesus at the well. Nothing.

He is waiting for you to come to him - and he is patient.

But once you meet him, embrace the wonderful gift of being able to run back to your friends and family to share with them the impact Jesus has made on your lives - - give them the gift of coming to their own wells to meet Jesus.

He is waiting for them too.

Scripture

John 4:1-26,39-42

Quote of the Day

  
 Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.

 –Blaise Pascal

Question of the Day

Have you made time to meet Jesus at the well today?

John 3:22-36 ~ Living God's Call - Doing God-work

For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God^[i] gives the Spirit without limit.

John 3:34

Today’s reading is a reiteration of John the Baptist’s assertion that Jesus is the One. “He’s it. He’s the real deal.” John tells his followers and anyone happening to pass by.

What I love about this passage is the consistency and the pure passion you feel as you read John’s words,

“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.” (John 3:29)

John understands his role. He also understands that his role in the beautiful story is an important piece – that because he accepted his role from God, God was able to use him.

Each of us has an important role to play in the Body of Christ – in the story of the salvation of the world. Each of us is being called not only to serve God with the skills and gifts He has blessed us with, but also to serve those He has placed in our lives. We are called to show and to share love on behalf of Him. This calling may seem overwhelming, as I am sure John the Baptist’s call felt to him at times, but we are assured that God will give us everything we need when we act as an intercessor for Him.

God gives the Spirit without limit.When we are going out, into the world to do God’s will there are no limits to what God can and will do through us. The Holy Spirit gives us power in everything we do and we have the opportunity to step out in that power.

When we follow God’s will and fulfill our role in the Body of Christ; when we work for God, we will feel what John felt, “That joy is mine, and it is now complete.”

Doing God-work is good work. There aren’t many other jobs on this planet that do not have limits.

Enjoy the role God has created for you – because when you fulfill that role you will find your joy.

Scripture of the Day

 John 3:22-36

Quote of the Day

“God places the heaviest burden on those who can carry its weight.”

Reggie White

Question of the Day

What do you think God is calling you to do in the Body of Christ on His behalf?

Please comment below (on the blog). I would love to read your comments!

John 3:18-21 ~ Living in Sunrise or Sunset

"Everyone who does evil things hates the light. They will not come into the light. They are afraid that what they do will be seen. But anyone who lives by the truth comes into the light. He does this so that it will be easy to see that what he has done is with God's help."

John 3:20-21

Have you ever seen the sunrise over the mountains or over the ocean on the East Coast?

One minute you are standing in complete darkness - only a few stars filling the sky - and then there is this burning red orange light rising on the horizon. The light is so small at first you think you could almost hold it in your hand, but then the color starts to grow and spread. The tiny ball of light changes every part of the sky and the earth surrounding it until the sky is a vast array of colors from soft pastels to deep bold hues and the earth below is an ombre of shades and tones reflecting the beauty rising in the East. And then a few minutes later the sun is on its ascent and within an hour, light touches everything the eye can see.

Or have you seen the sunset on the West Coast?

As the sun descends the colors are as beautiful as the sunrise. Rich tones of color wash the ocean and the beach for miles, but in what seems like mere seconds, the light is snuffed out and you are surrounded by utter darkness with only a few stars to light your way.

Before Jesus came to Earth, it was as if the world was living in a perpetual sunset. People would experience flashes of light but often turn toward the darkness, somewhat afraid of what the light might reveal.

Once Jesus arrived, he brought the light of God with him and with that light he was like the sunrise: spreading his light until nothing was free to hide.

We have a choice - we are free-willed beings after all. We can choose to live in the sunrise - allowing Jesus to light up our worlds and spread his light on everything we do.

Or we can live in the sunset - only enjoying the briefest moments of light before we turn our backs on the Son and live in the darkness of this world.

If we choose the sunrise, we choose a life filled with color - and although there will be pain - the joy of the light will help to heal the wounds of this world.

If we choose to live in the sunset, we choose a life of denial and darkness - and although there will be some spurts of color our blindness due to the dark world we have chosen will not allow us to see it.

Both a sunrise and a sunset give us beauty which is not easily captured in a picture or a painting, but the gift of the sunrise is a day filled with light - where as the gift of the sunset is a night filled with darkness.

You can only live in one place - and the choice is all yours.

Sunrise or Sunset?

Scripture

John 3:18-21

Quote of the Day

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.

~Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Question of the Day

How can you spread light in your world?



John 3:13-18 - What will your response be?

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16

This is one of the most famous, often quoted and promising scriptures in the New Testament. Here we read of God's all-encompassing love and grace for His beloved creation.

When we stop and truly think of the sacrifice God and Jesus made for each one of us, the thought becomes overwhelming.

Have you ever loved someone so much you were willing to sacrifice everything - even your very life - for that person? That is what Jesus did. That is what God did.

And what are our responses to this generous expression of love?

#1 Some of us accept the gift with open armed humility; so amazingly thankful for the gift we return the love to Jesus feeling the love grow more intensely and more fully each day we are in his presence. Because of this offer of grace we have developed a deepening relationship with the Father and the Son.

#2 Some of us respond to the gift by trying to earn it. We work and serve out of a sense of duty or guilt over the sacrifice which was made for us. We feel completely unworthy and unlovable. We assume that if we don't keep working we will never actually receive the gift.

# 3But, some of us turn our back on the gift. We deny its existence or discount its unmeasurable value. We go about our daily lives with little thought or care towards the One Who gave us everything out of an unending love. We simply ignore the gift.

We are all human beings with the amazing gift of free will. And in that free will we have options about how we will accept or deny Jesus's offer of grace.

Response number three is often how the world perceives God's grace. Many of the people of this world will celebrate Christmas and all of its trappings but deny the fullness of the story and the beautiful sacrifice in love of Easter. These are people who have heard the message of God's overwhelming love and have chosen to deny it. In all reality, many of these persons are good people who have simply chosen to believe only what they can see with their eyes instead of choosing to see with their hearts.

Response number two is one which many Christians unknowingly fall into. Out of sense of being unworthy, we push and we pull and we yank all of our different service obligations around until we become so weighted down in service we forget what motivated the service in the beginning. We cannot believe that God, the Mighty Wonderful Creator of the Universe would want to give us anything without us first jumping through at least one hoop. We who fall into this response rely on ourselves, rather than God to try and earn our salvation.

And response number one is given by Christians who recognize the love that God offers is freely given. We understand - regardless of how unbelievable the gift might be - that God gives us salvation not because we deserve it, but because He wants to be with us. We recognize that God's love is a gift given to us because of His desire for a relationship with each of us. We cannot explain it but we can live it. We can love as God teaches us to love - without limits.

Your response to God's offer of grace and love shown in John 3:16 is yours alone. Maybe it looks like one of the three responses above or maybe it is entirely different. God will not force you to accept His love - but He does offer it - with NO STRINGS ATTACHED.

So...what will you say to Him?

Scripture

John 3:13-18

Quote of the Day

“If thou desire the love of God and man, be humble, for the proud heart, as it loves none but itself, is beloved of none but itself. Humility enforces where neither virtue, nor strength, nor reason can prevail.”

Francis Quarles, English Poet during the 16th Century

Question of the Day

What will your response to God's love be?

John 3:1-12 ~ What Jesus Says is True....

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. We know that God is with you. If he weren't, you couldn't do the miraculous signs you are doing."

John 3:1-2

When Jesus was first fully in his ministry, the stories of the miracles he was performing and the people he was healing traveled throughout Israel. Nearly everyone knew who Jesus was and this was before YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and even the good old fashioned telephone. 

Everyone knew because the stories of Jesus were so powerful, so amazing, that they had to be shared. And soon, by way of the Israeli pre-phone tree, the leaders of the church were discussing Jesus and his great power.

The leaders were torn and were unsure how to address this unknown teacher who was performing miracles beyond their broadest imaginings. Some wanted to ignore him, considering him a liar and a fraud, but others wanted to understand him. However, they feared, like many of us, stepping out in faith and aligning themselves with someone who would make them unpopular amongst their friends.

Nicodemus was one of the Jewish elite. He was a Pharisee and he was in power. He was a celebrity of sorts - a cross between an actor and a politician in our modern translation of fame. And by aligning with Jesus, he felt he had everything to lose.

If Nicodemus was found meeting with Jesus, he would face certain ridicule, possible ostracising from his friends, and a likely loss of power. So, Nicodemus went under the cloak of darkness so no one would see him, to learn more about Jesus.

His faith was weak at best - but it was there. A tiny grain of faith which Jesus tried to fertilize and grow by confirming who he was and what he said was true.

In his conversation with Nicodemus that evening, it is recorded that Jesus says, "What I am about to tell is true" three times. I believe Jesus did this for Nicodemus to help him trust in what Jesus was doing and to help him believe Jesus was the One and Only Son of God.

We are often like Nicodemus. We need the constant, gentle reassurance of Jesus - confirming who he is and how much he loves us. The love of Jesus and the unconditional nature of his sacrifice on our behalves can be overwhelming and doubtful, but we need to be like Nicodemus. We need to take that first step toward Jesus and trust that through his reassurance, his love and his grace we will come to understand that what he tells us is true.

He came so that we might one day be with him and the Father in heaven. He came so that we might be born again in faith. He came so that we might truly know the power and the love of God.

He came because he loves you.

Scripture

John 3:1-12

Quote of the Day

People see God every day, they just don't recognize him.

Pearl Bailey

Question of the Day

How can you make time to see God right before you?



John 2:23-25 ~ Jesus Knows the Heart of Man

He didn't need others to tell him what people are like. He already knew what was in the human heart.

John 2:25

For me it has always been a curious thing to know that God always knows what I am thinking, what I am doing and what I about to do. He knows me at the deepest part of my heart. He knows all the good about me and He knows all the bad - even the bad I do not know or will not admit to myself exists.

God knows all.

And as God in human flesh, Jesus knew all too. He knew the hearts and the minds of all of those around him. He knew when people, who professed faith were untrue. He knew when those who believed him were honestly in love with him.

And just as he knew the hearts of men and women two thousand years ago, he knows our hearts today.

There is a laundry list of differences between mankind and God, but one which I think is most evident is that we as men and women see with our eyes; God sees with His heart.

Often I hear people question the devotion of another's faith. I will hear people say that someone is full of faith or maybe that someone has a shallow faith - all based on what they see on the outside of a person. For sure, people will glow with the joy of salvation when they are followers of Christ, but it is not our place nor is it within our skill set to determine what is in the heart of another man or woman.

The judgement for how deeply another believes is only in the hands of God - not of man.

If you think about it, all of the disciples trusted Judas for three years. And if anyone had asked them about Judas, they surely would have stated that he was the most devout and faithful of men, when in fact he was known to the Lord to be his betrayer from the very on set.

 We see with our eyes and must trust what we see.

Only God can judge the hearts of men and women, because only God truly knows what is our hearts.

Scripture

John 2:23-23 (NIRV)

 Quote of the Day

"A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything..." 

The Crucible

Question of the Day

What can God reveal to you of your heart?



John 2:13-22 ~ Loving the person / Hating the sin

So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

John 2:15-17

People tend to characterize Jesus as super tolerant, but in reality Jesus was love wrapped in a justice package. Jesus loves freely. He loved everyone he met and still today sends his love through the Holy Spirit in the world.

But Jesus was and is just.

Where there is wrong he demands that it be righted. When people are not living according to God and His will demands that they right their ways. Just because the world says it is "okay" doesn't mean that God thinks it is okay. He does not tolerate sinful behavior or wrong doing - regardless of what the world thinks.

Loving someone does not mean accepting their wrong behavior.

When Jesus entered the Temple, he was disgusted by what he saw. People were making a mockery of the holy place set aside purely for the worship of God. He showed righteous anger. This is anger we feel towards injustice in the world. This is the anger we feel towards habitual sinful behavior.

It may be hard to grasp, but Jesus driving the "money-changers" out of the Temple with a whip was Jesus showing love to them. If he had gone up to those who had been making their livings by profiting off of the needs of others and simply said, "Dude, this isn't right. You need to take this some place else." They would have laughed in his face. Even with his great show of force many still didn't want to listen to him:

The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

John 2:18

Sometimes to truly show love we must rise up with great force against injustice and tyranny. Love comes in many different forms but at its core is acceptance of the other person - not necessarily acceptance of their actions.

Jesus did not condemn the people, rather he condemned their actions. When we show love, this is what we are called to do: to love all regardless of the sin - but we are not called to accept the sin simply because we love.

This can be a hard line to walk, but the first place to look is yourself and how Jesus loves you.

Jesus showers you with love - but he hates the sin you commit in your life. He hates it when you are disrespectful or ungrateful. He hates it when you gossip or treat another poorly. He hates when you lie - even just a little white one. He hates it when you hate. But despite his hatred for your sin, and for my sin, Jesus loves us - all of us, even the money changers - UNCONDITIONALLY.

By driving out the money changers with a whip - he was doing justice. And he was also showing them love by bringing to light the sinful nature of their actions which were socially acceptable. Sometimes we all need the sin in our lives revealed to us so that we can cleanse ourselves of what seems to be "okay" in the eyes of the world.

Because, even if the world thinks what we are doing is okay - the Lord may seeing things differently.

Scripture

John 2:13-22

Quote of the Day

"No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life."

Albert Einstein

Question of the Day

Where has God shown you sin in your life which seems okay in the eyes of the world?