John 6:60-70 ~ Stepping Out in Faith

"Do you also want to leave?"

 Peter replied, "Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We've already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God."

John 6:67-69 (MSG)





Here is the worst kept secret in the history of man:

Life isn't easy.

But the crazy thing is - most people expect to find an easy way or a short cut in life. Many people feel entitled to an "A" for little effort. Who wouldn't want that?

But, when some are challenged with the reality of the cost of that "A" - the hard work and study required - people often give up.

In John's Gospel we read of the reaction to Jesus's message that he was the bread of life; that he was the way to heave. Many people were turned off by his imagery of Jesus being the conduit to grace. The thought of having to literally eat Jesus's flesh turned many away. They couldn't see what he was trying to teach them - that he was the ONLY way to get to the Father. He was - and is -the Messiah.

With this teaching at Capernaum, many of Jesus's devoted turned their backs on him. And he was left with the twelve - even though he knew they would not be truly faithful in the end.

In Jesus's message about the bread of life, he was challenging those who claimed to have deep devotion to him. These were followers who had witnessed his miracles - who had seen him heal and who had seen him feed thousands - and yet when one teaching challenged their ability to have faith in what they could not see - they fled.

They didn't have faith in the gift of grace Jesus offered. Those who turned their backs on him in Capernaum were sycophants who wanted the candy of life. They were not looking for the nutrition that Jesus offered. They were people who, like so many today, wanted to pick and choose the pieces of faith that they "liked" but quickly move away when they discovered challenges which were uncomfortable.

Faith in Jesus isn't about always liking the path you are on - but it is about having the faith to trust him each step of the way. Sometimes the choices and direction he will lead you will be bumpy, even treacherous, but the faith that his path for you is better than any path you could create is the key.

The first step is always the hardest - the trusting without seeing. But if we only trust what we can see, our faith in Jesus is no different than the many who deserted him when his teaching challenged them.

Having faith is a choice. And stepping out in that faith - trusting Jesus - is even a harder choice. But ultimately the choice is yours.

Will you be a disciple - - or will you be a sycophant?

Scripture

John 6:60-70

Quote of the Day

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Question of the Day

When do you have a hard time believing Jesus and his teaching?

John 6:25-59 Bread of Life

For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven^(N) and gives life to the world.”

John 6:33

I love bread.

I love to eat it. I love to make it. I love the smell of it baking.

Bread - whether in a basket on a table in a restaurant or in a case at supermarket or in a bag at my house - always makes we want to eat it. I truly hunger for bread - even when I am not hungry at all.

When I think about Jesus using bread as an analogy for the mission God had sent him to complete, it makes perfect sense to me.

Bread was - and still is today - a staple for most meals served in most homes around the world.

Bread is a basic building block for how we live our lives.

Bread provides nourishment and energy.

Bread is relatable.

Jesus was offering us all of these things and so much more in his sacrifice on our behalves.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes  in me will never be thirsty.  But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives mewill come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.⁽And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 6: 35-40

Jesus wasn't simply offering us bread - made of flour, water, yeast and salt - he was offering life - his life.

When we eat bread, we are energized, but only for a short while.

When we take in and know - truly feast on the Bread of Life Jesus - we are never hungry - except for the hunger to know him more.

Jesus was offering his followers the opportunity of eternal life and he used the simple image of bread to try and help explain the tremendous gift to his people.

Some believed and were drawn to him. Some couldn't understand his message and turned away.

Today - 2,000+ years later the same holds true.

Some believe Jesus and accept his offer of life giving bread, while others cannot accept the most amazing gift every offered because it seems too simple - eternal life without doing anything but accepting the gift.

So the question for you and for me today is - will you go hungryor will you feast on the Bread of Life and never hunger again?

Scripture

John 6:25-59

 Quote of the Day
“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”

 Mother Teresa

Question of the Day

When have you shared the Bread of Life this week? 

John 6:16-24 - Being Okay in the Fear

...they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened.

John 6:19b 

When was the last time you were afraid? Really, really frightened?

I'll admit that sometimes when I watch certain TV shows I am thankful my sister talked me into getting DVR so I can fast-forward until that moment of frightful tension has passed. I hate being scared or feeling out of control - but ultimately, doesn't true faith have a little fear tagging along with it?

Stepping out in faith, much like the disciples did, takes an enormous amount of trust and willingness to be the passenger instead of the driver. Truly being obedient in Christ means that we can't see what the future holds but we trust that the promises we have in Jesus are worth taking the step.

When I read this passage of scripture I can see the disciples, sailing off into the middle of the Sea (or rather super big lake) of Galilee chatting away. Maybe they were talking about their wives and girlfriends who were back at home. Maybe they were discussing Jesus and how they really didn't understand everything they were seeing. Maybe they were talking about the weather. Regardless of their discussion, I believe they were relaxed doing what they had done since they were children - fishing. Even as the storm approached, they knew how to handle it. They had been in storms their whole lives.

 And then, like some scary movie, they look out into the distance and see someone walking toward them on the water.

I imagine they would have rubbed their eyes a bit - maybe even cried out to God to be rescued - but then they see that it is Jesus. Jesus - this man - this teacher - whom they have chosen to follow is doing the impossible. He is walking on water - in the middle of a storm. I don't know about you but I would have been pretty afraid. If I am truly honest, even though I know all about Jesus, his miracles, his death and resurrection, even though I know all about him, I think I would still be pretty afraid if I saw him walking on the water toward me.

But here is the amazing thing. The disciples - who were rightly afraid - let him into the boat as soon as he said, "It is I. Don't be afraid." (John 6:20)

How often do we not hear Jesus when he says, "I am with you. Do not be afraid."? Too often our human minds take over and we want to control, fix and twist the situation to what we think it should be instead of allowing God to be in control. I am guilty of this more often then I care to acknowledge. But when I do step back - when I do allow that fear to be quieted because I know Jesus is in control - the result is often more than I could have ever wished or hoped for.

God does want to allay our fears. He doesn't want us to be afraid. But in our humanness we need to be okay with just a little fear - because it is that twinge of fear - that desire to fast forward on the DVR - that let's us know that we are not in control but God is.

 

Scripture

John 6:16-24

Quote of the Day
“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”

Thich Nhat Hanh, Monk

John 6:1-15 - Having Faith When You Have Little

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

John 6:5-6

The story of Jesus and the multiplication of loaves and fishes is one of the most well known stories in scripture. The story is the only miracle in all four Gospels and is often referred to as a story of faith. The disciples were freaking out - yes that is a theological term - about the thousands of people that came to hear Jesus speak. They were freaking out - not because of the number of people who came to hear him preach; this was a pretty regular occurrence - because Jesus asked the disciples, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5)


Let's put ourselves in the disciples sandals for a moment....
This man, whom you had seen accomplish dozens of miracles and preach with amazingly divine conviction, looks to you and says, "You want to throw a party?"


Now if I had been a disciple, my first thought would have been just like the disciples. My Master wants to throw a party so we need to figure out how we are going to do it. Then my second thought would have been much like the practical Phillip, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” (John 6:6)


Now, I wish I would have been a little more like Andrew, Peter's brother, who didn't ask "How?", but rather went Jesus with the resources he had available to him and offered those resources to Jesus. 

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 

John 6:8-9

Andrew didn't question Jesus's motives in wanting to feed the crowd. He didn't question how Jesus would throw the party. He went to Jesus with what he had and offered them to Jesus. Andrew wasn't perfect - I think a detect a little doubt in his voice - but he was faithful.

Just as Andrew approached Jesus with what he had to offer, and trusted that Jesus would make the most of this offering, we too need to go to Jesus with everything we have to offer him and allow Jesus to create the miracle.

Maybe you think you don't have anything to offer because you are too young. Or maybe you think that you are too old. Or maybe you think you do not have enough talents. Or maybe you think you have sinned too much. Or maybe....

There are A LOT of maybe's in this world.  We could be crippled by the maybe's and the doubts in our lives. Jesus doesn't expect us to create enough food for 5,000 out of two fish and five loaves of bread, but he does expect us to take our fish and our loaves - whatever form they might come in - to him and allow him to perform the miracle. 

When we take Jesus all we have to offer we will be amazed and what he will do. And there will be such an abundance we won't know what to do with it.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

John 6:12-13

^{Scripture of the Day}

^John6:1-15 

^{Quote of the Day}

Don't believe in miracles - depend on them.
Laurence J. Peter 

Question of the Day

When was the last time you believed God would show up BIG?

Sorry we haven't had a blog in awhile. Thank you for your patience and grace while I have been wrapping up some projects! 

Don't Forget AUGUST 10th - First EVER GOD's GIRLS Slumber Party!!!!  

John 5:31-46 - Believing your Own PR

You accept praise from one another. But you make no effort to receive the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe?

John 5:44

Public Relations....it is a funny thing.

The whole idea is to shine someone up to look like a better version of themselves. To accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.

If we aren't careful we can begin to believe the PR about ourselves. When people tell you that you are wonderful and amazing and "no one could ever be as good as you are", it is flattering and can build you up. But, we need to be careful to remember who made is wonderful and amazing and better than anyone.

The gifts and graces we display are reflections of those gifts God placed in our lives. Yes, they all require our participation. You aren't going to hit a home run by simply standing at the plate and willing the ball over the outfield fence. You need to practice and hone the natural talent God gave you, but the talents - the gifts - those started with God.

Humility is at the core of who we are as Christians. Recognizing that God works through us and strengthens us to do the work He calls us to do.

As Jesus first confronted the Pharisees, the most learned and highest ranking of the Jews, he was calling the out on the fact that they were boasting in their own skills and talents, disregarding that their true gifts came from God.

The Pharisees - who had studied every inch of scripture - were so caught up in being Pharisees that the couldn't see that the ONE they had been learning about their whole lives was now standing directly in front of them. The Messiah had come and instead of embracing him and praising God for answered prayers, they discounted him and spun a negative campaign against him. Instead of believing in him they tried to thwart God at every turn.

The Pharisees had begun listening to their own PR. They believed that they were better than other Jews. They believed that they were smarter than everyone else. They believed that they were infalliable. They believed all of this and confirmed it with each other. Jesus confronts the Pharisees with their falacies, but instead of being humble and being accountable to their failings they chose to embrace the PR and turn an attack on Jesus.

All too often when someone challenges our state of thinking - when someone holds us accountable for how we are falling short of the grace and love Jesus offers - we go on the offensive. We look for ways to discount the person who is trying to be a voice of reason in our lives. Instead of looking within to see if they are right, we chose to look outward and try and find the hole in the arguement.

Jesus was trying to help the Pharisees - but all they could see was a threat to the beautifully orchastrated Public Relations machine they had created. They had to destroy the threat.

They chose their public image over the Messiah.

Long term - not the best PR move.

As you are challenged in your thinking and in your life - even as you are praised for being the wonderful you - you are - check everything with God and His will for your life.

PR is a great tool - as long as you understand the truth and remain humble in the midst of all of the praise - because when we start to believe the praise more than we embrace the humility we find we are on the slippery slope of the Pharisees. And no one wants to have bad PR with God.

Scripture

John 5:31-46

Quote of the Day

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.”

Daniel J. Boorstin, American Educator

 

Question of the Day

 

What is the difference between being great in the world's eyes and being great in the eyes of God?