John 11: The God-man

This chapter is filled incredible!!! 
Danger, suspense, grief, misunderstanding, death, miracle, life, jealousy, revenge, and more fills out this chapter. 
Sounds like a drama, sounds like life, and it is.

Jesus gets a frantic message about a dear friend who is utterly sick.  The God-man Jesus waits 2 more days before leavin' to see him. His disciples believe his delay is because of the danger that the attempt to stone him again as he has to travel through Jerusalem to reach Bethany.  So Thomas, puffs his chest, builds the adrenaline and says, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." 

Jesus and his disciples arrive and Lazarus had been dead for 4 days! Mary & Martha (Lazarus' sisters) knew that Jesus could have healed Lazarus… but in v. 21 & 32 they both expressed their disappointment with Jesus’ “failure.”

Here's a shock, Jesus’ responds with a question…. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26)

They are reminded that all who believe though they die physically (the consequence of sin) they will live forever.  Also He is capable of doing more than we can even imagine - like raising a dead, decaying body back to newness of life! After weeping with them, "Jesus wept. So the Jews said, 'See how he loved him!'"
Jesus asks for the stone to be rolled away. 

The overwhelming odor and fumes from a decaying 4 day old body overwhelms those present and Jesus commands Lazarus to come out and the linens to fall from his Lazarus' face and body.  The God-man Jesus in front of many (including his disciples, Jews, believers and unbelievers) raises a 4 day old dead man to life.

The Jewish religious leaders recognize his popularity, are fearful of losing their position/status with their people and the favor of the Roman governor. And so they are further hardened in their opposition to Jesus.  Unbelief causes ones' heart to harden towards God's acts of grace, mercy, and compassion.

It is heard in the prophesy of Caiaphas the head religious leader, a plan to stop the madness, "... it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." (50) Jesus must die. 

God reached the same decision.  If Jesus would not die on the cross for the sins of the world,  then we would all be destroyed, but if this one man, this God-man, Jesus, died then all of us could live if we believed.  So John points out in v52 that Caiaphas did not say this on his own, but he Holy Spirit led him to say it. 

"Do YOU believe this?" (v26) 

• If so, then when you get discouraged, are having a rough time, are feeling depressed, then be reminded that Jesus knows our future and your future is secure. 
• If not, find a Christian and ask questions, express your concerns.  Jesus was a good teacher and a good man, but here in John 11 through His actions He is demonstrating that He is more.  Let's dialogue...

John 10: You are Significant

"The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." (10:4)

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (10:11)

So often we feel insignificant.  Often you are identified just as a number, sometimes even "called by a number".

• The government calls you by your Social Security number.
• The university calls you by your Student ID number.
• The church counts you as 1 of xxx who attended church.
• In your family you are the "3rd of five".

God is different.  He knows everyone of His Sheep by NAME.  The individuality of each believer is desperately important to God.  If you were the only one to have lived-- Jesus would have died on the cross for you.  Romans 5:6 says Christ died for the ungodly.  John 10:15, "...I lay down my life for my sheep."  Brother and sister in Christ this is you and me.

Are feeling insignificant?  Are you thinking you are the least?  Are you feeling undeserving? unlovable? No matter how you feel, Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd.  I know my own..." (v14) He knows you and knows you and knows you wander and stray and struggle with such thoughts.  He knows you often like sheep are prone to go your own way...

So Listen to Him, get in hearing distance of Him who doesn't call you by number, but calls you by NAME and KNOWS you.  "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and now one will snatch them out of my hand." (10:27-28). 

• You are significant to God.
• You are known by Name. 
• You are Known by God.
• You are His Sheep.

John 8: I am second

The woman caught in adultery learned that Jesus was not there to cast judgment on her, BUT to deliver her.  Through repentance and faith Jesus came into the world to save sinners like her through the cross.

She could say, "I am second".

Listen/Watch the story of Karen Green, she was caught up in prostitution.  But she can now say, "I AM SECOND."  http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/#prostitution

Jesus said, "If you abide in my word, you are truly; y disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  Those Jews who believed in him could say, "I am second".

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin...So if the the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (v34,36) Those who have been liberated from the slavery say, "I am second."

"Whoever is of God hears the words of God...if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death (everlasting)" (v47, 51) Those who hear the word of God can say, "I am second."

"But you have not known him..." Jesus said this to those debating with Him about whether He had ever seen God, The father.   They ask him if He say Abraham and Jesus responds. "Truly truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." "I am" Jesus calls himself the very name of God.  Their response... "So they picked up stones to throw at him..."

So John 8 starts with a woman caught in adultery about to be stoned, Jesus comes to her aid.  John 8 ends with Jesus being the possible victim of a stoning (though Jesus did get away).

Could you say, "I am second." because Jesus is God and Jesus has delivered you and set you free like the woman who was a slave to sin? or Would you say Jesus is a good teacher, a moral/upright man who fought for justice?

Who/What  is first in your life?
Who/What is second?

Seconds - I Am Second

Seconds - I Am Second

John 7: Misperceptions

A few random thoughts and questions from our reading today concerning different people. If you are short on time jsut concentrate on one section.

Jesus' biological brothers on their way to the harvest festival mocked Him for not "making a name for himself" (v3-5).  Jesus' response focuses on TIME.  The TIME for Jesus' death/resurrection was not now.  Though, these brothers did not believe (v5) now, we  come to learn that after His death/resurrection, "THE TIME", some brothers did come to faith (e.g. James; 1 Cor. 15:7)

• How does Jesus' time compare to our notion that "anytime is right?"
• Those who tried to size Jesus could not "because his time had not yet come".  What can I learn from this and how can I be encouraged to trust's God's time?

The "worshipers" in the temple ask two questions.  "How is it that that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" (v15) Jesus responds (v16-19) and they respond, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?"Jesus ends his response, "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." (v24)

• Jesus' point is that the Law must be applied in the context of God's grace and mercy (see Matthew 12:1-8) instead of legalism.  Likewise we jump to conclusions with out hearing someone out. 
• When you began reading John did you see Jesus as meek and quiet? Have you begun to see His courage and commitment?  

The believers  are the ones he speaks of on the last day of the feast, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (v38-39) 

• Notice this invitation for anyone, which we heard in John 4 as well at Jacob's well.  Is God inviting you to quench your thirst? Is God calling you to believe?
• How can the experience of this living water, stream to others?

Nicodemus, John 3, comes back on scene (just like the words spoken to the women at the well) not in the dark this time, but in the daylight of the religious leaders saying "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?"  Today, people continue to misjudge Jesus on the basis of their own feelings and perceptions. 

• The Pharisees' were prideful and stubborn. (v47-52).  Is there any way in which I am prideful, stubborn, or prejudice that causes me to demonize others?
• Do I pause and allow myself to repent when my contradictions or pride are pointed out?

 People Today continue to misjudge Jesus as another lawgiver.  They fail to see that Jesus is a merciful Savior who would bear our misdeeds on the cross and rise to new life, so we too may receive the living water.  Just yesterday, I heard again the misperception of Jesus.  "No, it's to late for me to believe; I'm too far gone."  If you are still breathing it is not too late.

John 6: Needs for Life

After reading John 6, I came away with @ least two things: 
1.  Jesus' reigns!

•  He defies the culinary world, collecting 12 baskets of leftovers after feeding thousands with only 2 fish and 5 loaves.  
• He defies all rules of physics by walkin' on the turbulent sea, he rules creation.

2. Jesus gives life!

•  He draws a parallel (v32-33; v48-51) between how God provided for Moses and the Israelites by giving them manna in the wilderness, which gave them life.
• To the eternal LIFE sustaining/giving gift of faith/life that only the Father can give. (which dismantles the idea that we "initiate" faith, instead we receive it v44; 14:6).

 You also will be highly familiar with Jesus phrase, "I am..."
 "I am the bread of life." (v35, 48)  "I am the bread that came down from heaven." (v41) "I am the living bread." (v51)
This is the most frequent name for God in the Old Testament (over 5,000 times). God spoke of His name to Moses for the first time, "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14).  Moses would say, "He Is' sent me" literally "Yahweh sent me."  The 5,000 who ate the bread and those Jesus taught in the synagogue (v59) new of this Moses' story about the "I AM" about Yahweh. 

Try this it out...
Breathe in and breathe out. Listen as you breathe. Breathe from your mouth, in and now out. Can you hear it? If not, as you breathe in say, Yah, and breathe-out saying Weh.  Again, Yah-weh.

Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." 

From the first breath we take as a new born until the our very last draw of oxygen, we breathe the name of God.  Whether one believes in the "I AM" for eternal life or not, every creature God has created utters the name of God as they live.  So, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." This is a fact, not a command!

Just as breath is necessary to live and  food is necessary for earthly life, Christ is necessary for life eternal.

John 5: God's Healing

Something happens overtime.  It happens often to Christians after many years of belief.  It seems even more prevalent in Christians who have always "gone to church".  What is it?

In my experiences I have personally seen and experienced a slow fade.  This fade to acquire more and more knowledge about God rather than a knowledge of God.  It is a fascination with the knowledge about God versus a knowledge of God. 

A famous Christian musician Rich Mullins said it this way, "People don’t read the Bible to know stuff; they read it to know God.”
Jesus said this to the religious elite, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." John 5:39-40

So I began reading John 5 specifically asking, “How does this apply to me?” Go ahead and read John 5 searching for a knowledge of God.

Jesus says to an ill man who is sitting next to a healing pool hoping we will be restored.  John 5:6 says, "When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, 'Do you want to be healed?'" Jesus healed the man.

So, "How does this apply to me?" 
Two responses comparing the knowledge about God and knowledge of God.
1.Knowledge about God response:  Jesus, God's Son and Son of Man- has authority  because of his Father (v30-46), has the ability and power to heal the ill, even when it is against the "Sabbath laws" of the religious elite in Jesus' day. 
2.  Knowledge of God response:  The very core of Jesus' character is a desire to heal (physically, emotionally, and spiritually), so "Do I want to be healed?" "Where do I need Jesus to heal me in my life?"

John 5:25 "Truly, Truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here, when the dead (spiritually) will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."  In order to live fully in Jesus' plan for our lives it requires not just an acquiring of knowledge about God, but also a knowledge of God's character an how he wants that character to be part of my life NOW and forever.  Hear from Jesus, "...I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  I am the good shepherd." John 10.

Heavenly Father, through Jesus and the power of your Holy Spirit increase in me a knowledge about you and what you say.  Increase in me too a knowledge of you, so that your healing may come to different corners of my life. Help em to develop a healthy balance of knowledge to know who you are and who you want to be through me.  In Jesus name, AMEN.

John 4: Lifewater

"Obey Your Thirst" .... Sprite's tag line and encouragement to fill yourself with their product. 

"Obey OUR Thirst"... Our tag line in much of life, isn't it?  I mean we consume and purchase about anything.  

If you want an iPhone, buy it or get as a gift for your birthday.  If you want an education, take out loans.  If you want to tell someone right away you are thinking of them; text 'em or Facebook 'em.  If you need a pick me up it won't take long to buy it, drink it, or seek out that person.  "Obey OUR Thirst" is often our lifeline.

But eventually we always come back again and again asking, "Why am I so dry/parched?"

These "Obey Your Thirst" items are like well water... Yes they are useful at times, but eventually leave you dry.  So we try something new or a new fad or new friends or a new relationship and we are dry again and even more thirsty than before.

This is the same pattern we see at Jacob's well in John 4.  The Samaritan women was in the same pattern of "obeying Her thirst". In a dialogue with her Jesus says, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and one you now have is not your husband..." (17, 18). Whether you have been with multiple partners like this woman or whether you have tried to quench your thirst time and time again by "obeying your thirst".  Jesus' provides Life-giving water.

Jesus meets us in the deepest, most raw parts of our lives. He meets us in the place we are most wounded. Jesus' Water- John 4:14...”is life-giving water in you!”…

Life-giving water replenishes not just when you were brought to faith, but continually. It’s the spring that never runs dry. Jesus' water is physical, here are three ways.

• Baptism brings a New Life and the Holy Spirit.
• The Community of Believers tangibly serve one another and the world.
• The Holy Spirit is our liaison bringing physical and spiritual healing).  Jesus' water is useful; it is replenishing and even Quenches the Soul.

Nutritional Label for "Life-Giving Water":  Replenishes and Refuels, when you spend time with God (prayer, worship, devotion, serving,see yourself as he sees you). The effect is an Overflowing in your life to others.  So once you get filled how is the overflowing into others lives. 

Application:  Let's thank and praise God for replenishing us and give thanks and praise for the ways He is using us.  Spend some time giving thanks to God for the way the gift of life He's given you and the ways He is overflowing through you specifically [if you can't answer it then consider how the Holy Spirit is calling you to overflow; tell a friend how you see the Holy Spirit overflowing in their life; or ask a friend what they see in you] And no it is not bragging, it is thanking God for His work in your life; we call that worship!!

John 3: God Heals darkness... with True Light

Up to this point John has used short storeis, but now as John uses a longer conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus.  This helps to enlighten and reveal Jesus' central message of his life and mission. Read John 3, if you are in a rush... check out the video link below (2 min.) and here are a few "outtakes" from chapter 3.

"Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3

"Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."  John 3:5

"Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness  to what we have seen..." John 3:11

"...the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light..." John 3:19

Click on the link and watch this video entitled "Collide".  Watch it completely! It is worth your time!http://vimeo.com/10662312

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condmen the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." John 3:16-17

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life..." John 3: 36

Share your reflections:

• So, what is true?
• In what ways is this challenging?
• In what ways is this affirming?

John 2: Jesus is Constant and Dependable

"Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.  But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man." John 1:23-25.

This is sobering and maybe a bit troubling.  Jesus "knew what was in man".  He knew we are fickle or inconsistent.  We have this ability to be passionate for one thing  and the next day be passionate about the opposite.  Jesus had just turned water for cleansing into wine for celebrating (the bride/groom would have been humiliated instead they got 120-180 gallons of the best wine!!).  "But Jesus..." knows that many believed because of miracles and could easily get bored and move on to the next "flavor of the day" tomorrow.  See the parable of the sower for another instance (Mark 4:1-20)

We creatures change very slowly, if at all.  The thrilling, the spectacular, the breathe-taking is more foundational than the constant and dependable.  What do I mean?  I know I get caught up in looking forward to the next celebration instead of the here and now. 

• So I jump from Labor Day to Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years to Valentines Day to St. Patrick's Day.  I just covered half of the year with six days and skipped the other approximate 182 days.  One big celebration after another.  
• This happens in our faith journey as well.  We tempted to jump from one "high" to the next "high" to the next "high".  We expect a most uplifting worship service every week, and expect an awe-inspiring devotional time everyday, and the "high" of the retreat to last for months. 

We get duped from culture and ourselves that the pattern of life is...living from one high to the next; instead of the dependable and constant. In John's Gospel, Jesus did signs or miracles, unexplainable events to communicate a truth. 

"But Jesus'..."  focus is not on the sign itself, but on what it communicated.  So what does John 2 communicate? 

•  To the Jews of Jesus' day it was to communicate that the traditions of cleansing and worship in the temple were fulfilled not in the actions, but that God's agent in creation came in Jesus (1:1-3) and that foundations of faith are in the one who would be raised from the dead (2:19-22). 
• And to us, Jesus' death and resurrection reveal God's heart of love for the world; they are the foundation of faith and hope for now and the time to come.  He too is calling us from this superficial faith based on the "highs" to a faith grounded in Him who is consistent and dependable.

Application: 

•   Think of a time when God actually helped you in a small matter.
•   Write down when you knew God answered one of your prayers.

John 1

This last weekend was a range of emotions. 

On the excitement side of things was the excellent time with my two kids all weekend because  my wife being out of town.  Yep, daddy-kid time, there is nothing better! 

On the other side of the spectrum was this dark reminder that on the other side of the Pacific were children who had been separated from their parents due to the dark forces of an earthquake and tsunami in Japan. 

Excitement and mourning.  Light and Dark.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5)  My son at the age of two understood this basic principle.  "Daddy I am scared?"  "Why?"  "It's dark!" All it takes is a very dim night light to calm his fears.  A flicker of  light overcomes the darkness. 

The tragedies in Japan are all too real. The world right now is not the way God made it the beginning.  Events of darkness like earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, tornadoes, and so much more seem to cast a dark range of emotions and thoughts over our lives.  (for more see Romans 8:18-25)

This weekend again my kids reminded me of the "the light that shines in the darkness."  My two year old daughter touches this flannel banner in her room every night, it says, "I am Jesus little Lamb".  Today it reminds me of John 1:12-13, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."  The banner is from her baptism when God choose her to be a child of God.  The bright message of the gift of deliverance that Jesus gives, hangs there in the middle of the night.  A good reminder of the Light in our lives in the midst of dark times.

You know that is all and good and safe for those of us Christians here in the US away from the pains of Japan.  What about those physical signs of darkness?  This same Light, Jesus Christ, gives hope and light in the midst of darkness, whether its spiritual or physical, the solution is the same, Jesus the Light of the world.

 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." Psalm 46:1-3

"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8

"...nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:39

an invitation

During Lent at Our Redeemer we are preaching six weeks on "God's plan for healing in the Gospel of John".  So for the next several weeks come along and join me in reading through the book the Gospel of John. Several times a week I will be posting my thoughts on the chapters.  I pray that you would pray for God to open His Words to your life and that He would "break into your life" in significant ways.

Read a chapter a day (4 days a week) and check out the blog for commentary from my life and thoughts about what the readings are showing me.  This is a place too for you too share what God is teaching you, questions you have, and to interact with others.  So let's get started. 

Worship in actions

You know the desk calendars that have a picture or phrase for everyday... well I finally opened one of them for 2011, timely, huh?  Well today the verse is Deuteronomy 13:4.  "It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere.  Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him."

That reminds me of a thought provoking question by a teenager about the creation story in Genesis.  "Why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden? ... Was it just a 'tease'?"  Why would God create something that He told Adam and Eve they were banned from eating its fruit?

Did God set them up?

The Genesis account does tell us that the garden was full of other trees from which to eat fruit.  In the midst of an abundant grove of fruit trees God clearly informs them to refrain from the fruit of this one tree. We also know what happened, Eve and Adam chose to not believe God and trust Him. Instead they chose Satan and his lies.  God does and did not not create puppets.  God does and did desire people to worship Him through obedience (belief and trust).

So it is.  In the Garden of Eden and outside the Garden. In the beginning and in the now, 2011.  God desires us to worship Him by belief and trust that His plan for us and our actions will bear abundant fruit because of Him.  His ways are like the abundant groves of Eden, much more nutritious and tasty.  So in what area of your walk is God calling you to worship Him? 

"It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere (i.e. worship). Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him."