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?