Weeek 9

Thanks Tammy, Julie, Allyson and Callie for your posts!  I love how each post pushes me to continue to think about the scripture and reveals more and more layers of meaning. 

“He who speaks on his own….”  Obviously here this is said to show that Jesus is true because He speaks not to honor Himself but to honor God.  This verse also, however, speaks to me in several other ways.  It helps me to evaluate the “trueness” of other people (especially those in ministry)– I think it is a good measuring stick to look and see what motive someone has – is their motive to honor themselves or to bring honor to God.   If someone has proven to me that their goal is to honor God then I am likely to trust their advice, I am likely to join their team etc.   It also challenges me to take a hard look at my own motives.  A good thing isn’t really good if the motive is selfish. 

There are possible consequences for following Jesus. I agree with Allyson that these consequences are much less severe in the US and this should cause us to be grateful and to pray for Christians in other countries.   However, I still think there are costs to us when we take a stand for Christ – this is evident in the news, in our schools, in our personal lives.  The question is what we do with that threat.  Do we deny Jesus?  Do we compromise?  I know personally there have been many times when I have made a decision based on fear of what others might think or do.  The temple guards give a great example of what should happen.  We should be so in awe of Jesus – so amazed at who He is that we have no choice but to acknowledge Him and stand for Him regardless of what might happen.  We should be more worried about what God thinks than what man thinks.  This can be harder that it seems.  For me, the more I know of Jesus the easier it becomes.  The more I learn and the more I experience, the bolder I become.  That doesn’t mean that the response from the world will be any different but I guess it doesn’t seem to matter as much. 

This week we will do John chapter 8.  First we see a beautiful story of the woman caught in adultery.  Basically the Pharisees have set Jesus up – they know that the law of Rome says that a person can’t be put to death without their permission but the Old Testament law says that adultery is punishable by death.  They think they have found a situation where either way Jesus will be in trouble – either by the government leaders or by the religious leaders.  The problem is that the Pharisees don’t realize that Jesus knows all – that he knows their sin in this situation too.  Try to think about the real purpose of the law – the real purpose of Jesus as demonstrated by this event.  Think about justice versus mercy.  Think about sin and forgiveness.  Think of the Pharisees and the woman and Jesus’ attitude / treatment of both.  Just let God teach you through this story as there is so much to learn from it. 

In the rest of chapter 8 focus on the 2 following statements.  12- “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  31 – “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

This chapter shows many different reactions to Jesus: "wonderful man", "fraud", "demon-possessed", "The Messiah", and "The Prophet". I see this as part of the answer to Christine's question about what the verses say about Christianity and how we apply this to modern life. We all make a decision about Jesus and who is is. The bottom line is that our decision has eternal consequences. In our modern life, we have access to all the information-the full spectrum of Jesus' life and miracles and word. We have all the facts. Yet, some still don't believe. This makes me more curious of those who chose to believe back then. Is it easier or harder now? Was it easier then, seeing things first hand? is it easier now since we have all of the information?

There is more on "self" in this chapter. Not only were people having different reactions to Jesus, but it goes deeper and demonstrates what those reactions were causing people to do. Jesus' brothers were kind of taunting him. The temple guards weren't sure who to believe and then acted with indecision. Nicodemus stood up for Him. The pharisees were so concerned with saving face and their pride that it interfered with their ability to reason and what was no longer right mattered. We really need to be aware at all times don't we? Aware of our reactions, behavior, decisions, how we treat others, Jesus speaking to us.

The hatred and discomfort leading to rejection of Jesus is really such an interesting phenomenon to think about. He wasn't cruel to people; he wasn't killing or torturing, but was scarier to some than those who are that brutal. You see that now too, and I think part of the fear is that we all hate to be exposed. People clothe themselves in false righteousness and hide their sin. Sometimes they aren't even aware of or acknowledging their sin. Well, when some kind of "light" comes and exposes that sin, it's a very uncomfortable thing. It's also uncomfortable knowing others see it as it has been exposed. As a mom, one of my most frequent prayers for my kids has been to ask the Lord to bring their sin to light in their hearts and to make them very uncomfortable with it.
I think it's very cool to read about Jesus going from place to place and not being arrested as he had been ordered to be. First of all, in God's sovereign plan which won't be thwarted, it was not his time yet. Also, the people were in awe because noone had spoken the way he was speaking. The fact that the pharisees and those so familiar with the law didn't believe Jesus was who he said he was, but those who weren't so versed in the law did, is certainly something we can also see in this day and age. The self righteousness and judgemental attitude of "christians" can definitely cause blinders to the truth. You have to be freed of self for the truth to be received.

Week 8

Thanks Erin, Julie, Kara and Lindsey.  What an amazing concept – bread that never spoils and always satisfies!  Thanks for encouragement to believe IN that and to live FOR that. 

The crowd was seeking Jesus because they wanted more physical miracles – they wanted more bread – they wanted to get something from Jesus.  They were selfishly seeking Jesus and missing the real offer.  They were looking for the fix to their immediate needs and missing the fix to their ultimate needs.  This sounds so silly but then how often do I come to God not really seeking Jesus but seeking to get my needs met?  How often do I get stuck on the physical and miss the spiritual?  How often do I look for the immediate and overlook the ultimate?  I truly believe that God does care about the immediate, the trivial, the physical….but He cares even more about the eventual, the crucial, the spiritual.  He wants to be the bread that doesn’t just fill me for a day but fills me for an eternity. 

The crowd wasn’t satisfied with the one miracle – they wanted more.  Again, seems silly but how often do I question God despite clear evidence of who He is?  I have experienced God’s love, I have experienced God’s grace, I have experienced God’s power….so why would I question these things when faced with a crisis? 

The difference is that I may seek God improperly at times and I may question the power of God but these are not my intention nor my desire.  My goal is to seek Him properly and to trust Him completely but that is a process that will take a life time and more.  Thank goodness this is a relationship and that God is full love of love, grace and mercy.  He meets me where I am at and shows me evidence of Himself again and again. 

This week we will do John chapter 7.  The tension is mounting – the hate of Jesus is growing.  Really interesting when you think of it given what Jesus has been doing – what is there to hate.  That is the big question.  The Jews are rejecting Jesus, his brother are rejecting Him, the people are rejecting Him.  Why are the people rejecting/hating Jesus?  Why do people now reject or hate Jesus? 

When Jesus talks in this chapter He is trying to defend or explain Himself and therefore God and this “religion.”  Look at verses 18 and 24 – what do these teach us about Jesus and Christianity as a religion compared to other world religions.  How can we apply verse 18 to our life?

Look at the very interesting events at the end of the chapter.  The Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Jesus but in verse 45 we see that they didn’t do it and in verse 46 we see the reason.  I am sure the temple guards knew they would face significant consequences for not arresting Jesus but because of who they found Jesus to be they decided to take those consequences.  Apply this to modern life.  Then we see the Pharisees response in verses 47 and 48 – apply this as well. 

John 6

Jesus claims in chapter 26 that the people were seeking him for the food not for his miracles. He asks his people to seek him because of Gods work, not for something that parishes but for something that is everlasting. He says to them that they are longing for simple things, but that they should long for the bread of God.

What Jesus means by being the "bread of life" is eternal life and salvation. He is asking that we come to him for things larger than our immediate needs. I think about how I seek Jesus for fellowship, trust, love, forgiveness, and encouragement. So many times people reach for God for an immediate fix, but what he asks of us is to believe and trust in him and seek eternal life.

As I reflect on the reasons/ways I seek Jesus I find that I have a on going conversation in my head with him. Am I seeking him enough or for the right reasons? He is always there showing me His way and why do I not always see it? Just as he uses the bread and wine to feed thousands, amazing. And we still can't see or believe, I wonder sometimes if God is asking himself how much more do they need? He is here always! To steal from Joyce Meyer, "God knew exactly what he was getting when He made you"
Kara

Christine's suggestion to reflect on the ways and reasons we seek Jesus was really convicting to me. I'm asking myself when it is that I am most prayerful and I'm not real happy with the answer. I don't like that I go to Jesus most in times of my perceived need. Verse 27 says not to"work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life." So often my "work", (the times I am seeking the Lord), is definitely for that which spoils. Even things that truly are important like health and relationships. Obviously there's nothing wrong with asking God for those things, but those aren't eternal things. I hope that I continue to grow in a way that my pursuit of Jesus is more involved with praise, adoration, fellowship and thanksgiving than in my wish list. I know that he rejoices in fellowhip with us and wants that type of relationship with us. I have to once again refer to one of my favorite verses as I did when we studied Phillipians. Zephaniah 3:17 tells us that "He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Amazing!!

I am the bread of life.

Jesus makes it so simple and straightforward with this statement yet we and all the world are constantly searching for satisfaction and 'the way'.  As direct as this statement is, it is very easy to get side-tracked and put importance in every thing else; work, family friends, success, etc.  Yet as believers we should always have this simple sentence in the back of our heads throughout our busy days.  I easily get off track, worry about my job or success or my future....all the time! 
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry." People throughout life are looking for peace, the way, satisfaction, etc.  This is all in v. 35.  Let us be reminders to the world of this very statement and consider it our job to let everyone 'in' on this secret of life.  There is no 'self-help' book better than the bible yet they are at the top of the 'best sellers' list.
Believing that Jesus is the 'bread of life' is a show of trust in Him and reassures as that we need nothing else, we will never go hungry again.  Like Christine said, God's timing is impeccable.  For me, it's easy to get impatient and try to make my own way, but if I remember this portion of John, I will be showing trust in God.  Have a great rest of the week.

Week 7

Thamk you Julie, Tammy, April and April for your posts.  What amazing things God showed you through your reading - thanks for sharing and for teaching us. 

I love your comments about Philip's instinct to try to solve the problem without including Jesus - I can relate!  I also love the comments about the signifcance of the leftovers - but leftovers that were not "waste."  I love how Jesus takes something insignificant (a few loaves and fishes) from an insignificant boy and turns it into more than sufficient. 

It seems the disciples are really starting to trust Jesus.  First of all they obey Him without question when He tells them to go out on the boat.  Then when the storm comes it doesn’t mention their fear.   They don’t give up working or expect Jesus just to fix it yet they seem to have some faith that Jesus is aware and is in control somehow.  I think this is a great example.  True faith trusts in the person of Jesus despite the circumstances.  I was reading about how since God is omnipotent with infinite wisdom and love, His timing is always right – He doesn’t have to hurry and He can’t be late. In this story, Jesus lets the disciples work and struggle for awhile.  Then He shows up and the struggle is over immediately.  Sure, Jesus could have come at the beginning of the storm or yelled words of instruction to them throughout the storm.  Jesus knew the outcome would be the same either way because He was in control but the journey would produce character while developing and displaying faith.  It is hard to trust the outcome and endure the journey at the same time but easier when we remember the nature of Jesus – loving and sovereign. 

This week we will do the end of chapter 6.  This first half of chapter 6 describes two miracles but what are miracles by themselves?  Miracles show us the power of Christ but they don’t explain the purpose or plan of Christ.  Miracles are physical but their purpose is spiritual.  So, John doesn’t just tell us about the miracle – He follows with the direct words of Christ.  We start by seeing the crowds searching and finding Jesus. 

What was the real reason the crowds were seeking Jesus?  Did they really find Him?  What was Jesus’ response?  Reflect on the ways and reasons we seek Jesus. 

Think about verse 27 and apply it to your life. 

What do you think about the fact that the crowd demanded another miracle so that they might “believe.”

Think about Jesus’ claim to be “the bread of life.”

This lesson reinforces my amazement of how so much of the scripture is still relevant in our world today. I was not surprised by Phillip’s response to Jesus and think many of us would have had a similar response. We often think of all of the reasons something is not going to work rather than focus on ways it can. These versus were powerful to me because not only did Jesus provide enough bread for the people, he had leftovers! How blessed we are that God gives us more than we need.

I felt a sense of peace after reading versus 16-21 for the third time this week. I tried to picture myself in the boat out in the middle of a storm seeing Jesus walking on water toward me. The first time I read this I thought it would be terrifying, as mentioned in the scripture. However, after reading this several times I started to think how relieved I would be to realize that Jesus was there to help me through the storm. Once they let Jesus onto the boat, they were quickly at shore and no longer in the storm.

thoughts

When Phillip is tested by Jesus with the question "where will we get enough food...?" Phillip does what most us do, he looks at how impossible something must be. He says "Don't you know it would take almost a year's wages just to buy only a little bread...?". In other words, "there's NO way". Many of us (definitely me) react to situations that seem overwhelming exactly like Phillip. We think "there is no way this can work out". We look at how impossible it seems. Many times I automatically think about the negatives and how am I going to deal with this. When instead my first reaction should be to TRUST that God is in control and he will lead me to the right actions if I will stop worrying long enough to listen and obey. I wish I could avoid the overwhelming panic and realize that God is in control. He can handle it.

Not only does Jesus meets the needs of the 5000. He exceeds it! He does the same for us. He not only meets our needs, his love and grace exceeds anything we can imagine. Of course, sometimes what we think we need may not be the same thing God thinks we need. I'm disappointed that although I know this, my faith isn't always strong enough to believe it. But....I'm working on it and I am definitely making progress : )

Don't waste.

God's provision is so awesome! Bill and I are in the toughest financial situation we've ever faced. It's so easy to worry and fret and wonder how we'll ever make it. I feel like Philip so much of the time when he challenged Jesus- "It would take more than half a years wages........". Mine is- "There's no way I'm coming up with enough money to pay these property taxes." Why haven't I learned yet that we have always been provided for above and beyond what we need.
Later Jesus says, "let nothing be wasted." It seems a little odd that he would perform a miracle of that magnitude that he could do over and over again if he wanted, but still makes a point to say that. What that says to me is that my salvation is a miracle. The fact the God decided to choose me and give me the gift of eternity is truly miraculous. The grace that he continues to pour on me in spite of my selfishness, ugliness and lack of faith is a miracle. The waste would be if the overflow of all that grace would not be extended to those around me. How dare I not extend grace to my husband in his sin, to my kids in theirs, etc., when God's grace is so richly poured out in abundance with overflowing onto me.

One verse that stood out to me was verse 5. “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?” Okay, granted Jesus could perform miracles as much as he wanted, but didn’t this man ever get tired? Did he ever NOT think of other’s first? I guess this is why Jesus is so perfect and powerful J I don’t think the first thing I would think of is how to feed all the people. I think I may be curious to know how I would get something to eat. Or how silly I’m going to look if we run out of food, etc- so self focused. And then the following verse, verse 6, “He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” I can’t help but wonder what Jesus is thinking when I doubt, when I’m filled with fear, when I’m unsure of how a situation is going to turn out, or when I don’t even trust that God is gonna pull through. I’m sure (in the not so serious situations) he’s kinda laughing and shaking his head at me- because Jesus truly does always, always “have in mind what he is going to do.” It’s a matter of faithful prayer and trust in Him! Those are a couple of the light hearted standout verses to me this week!!

Week 6

Welcome to my sister, Erin, who just joined the blog and thanks to the group for some great posts with profound life applications! 

This miracle shows how Jesus came to the weak and helpless – physically yes but also spiritually.  So this miracle applies to us all – without God we are blind, lame and paralyzed spiritually.  This man didn’t recognize Jesus, He didn’t believe in Jesus.  Jesus, by His grace, had compassion and mercy toward this man – went to him and spoke words of life to him.  This is how salvation is.  This man’s healing had nothing to do with his faith – it had everything to do with God’s grace.  Then the healing led to faith.  Through this chapter we see Jesus’ love, then His power then His person.  Amazing that the Jews can’t see this beauty, this grace – all they see is someone threatening their legalistic ways.  What I really love about this chapter is how Jesus responds when the Jews accuse Him of heresy because He claims to be the Son of God.  He doesn’t shy away from this – he goes on to show all the reasons why He is God incarnate.  He forces the Jews to make a choice – either they believe Him or they will have to call Him a lunatic or a liar.  Same thing is true for all men – we have to choose how we will respond to the claims of Jesus in His Word. 

I was trying to do one chapter each week but I just can’t do it this time.  There is too much in chapter 6 for one week so we will do verses 1-24 this week – great verses that I know you will love to study!

Philip is presented with a problem.  How does he respond?  Does this surprise you? 

Look at what Jesus starts with in the feeding of the five thousand, what happens and what he ends with.  What significance does this have? 

As Jesus withdraws to the mountain it is told in Matthew and Mark that he told his disciples to get into a boat and go ahead of Him.  The disciples go and while out there encounter a storm.  Not immediately but later Jesus walks out to them and then as soon as He gets there the struggle is over and they reach shore.  What do you think of the disciples?  What can we learn from this?

John 5

What comes to my mind as I read John 5 is the misery sin has brought into the world. We read about a man who had been sick for no less than thirty- eight years! God didn't create man to be full of aches and pains. There would have been no sickness, if there had been no sin. Jesus is truly amazing in his love towards man. When Jesus returns there will be no more suffering, sorrow, or sin. What a truely wonderful thing that is.

Like Kara, the Pharisees reaction to the miracle resonated with me. This man hadn't walked for 38 years, but they were more concerned with their rules than the well being of a person. What silly stuff do I focus on instead of the big picture? I'm sure this is a weakness as a mom for me-worrying about the laundry that a certain activity will create (for example) instead of the memory or moment my kids could be having.

There is a lot of "meat" in John, but never the less, i feel like God is telling ME to get over myself and open my eyes.

John 5

Hello,

I am continually amazed at what Jesus can do. These last couple of weeks readings have emphasized to me how he sometime has to hit us/me over the head to get me to see him. We are not convinced of His power and strength until we see a miracle happen or ask for him to show us a sign. We can't just take his word for it! I find myself getting caught up in the rules, just as the Jews did when they got mad at Jesus for working on the Sabbath. I have to remind myself to slow down and think through whatever situation is before me.

As I was thinking about the man at the pool, it struck me that his focus was on just the supposed healing properties of the water. (His response to Jesus question in v.6- "do you want to get well?" was to say that noone was there to help him into the water.) He didn't see Jesus as a healer, and I feel like that I sometimes forget that he is my healer, both short term and infinitely. I can focus on so many other things to make me "well", things that are temporary and material, like my marriage going the way I think it should be, my kids making all the right choices, my health being great, etc. I forget that true health is based on my realtionship with the Lord and my complete dependence on him for everything.

Also, when Jesus met him the 2nd time and told him to stop sinning or something worse would happen (worse than his previous illness), I think he was referring to eternal damnation. It's a reminder not to forget about why we have eternal security in the first place. It's so easy to focus on the less important things and lose my eternal perspective.

Sorry I've been late to post on Chapters 3 and 4, but I had a few thoughts/questions there first before I go on to Chapter 5...

I noticed something interesting about my own understanding of the story of Nicodemus when I read it this time - I just realized that the story ends without letting us know whether or not Nicodemus responded to Jesus with belief or unbelief. I've heard the story many times, and I guess I always thought that Jesus' comments about being born again were confusing to Nicodemus, but then he believed after Jesus' explanation - but the text doesn't say that. It makes me wonder what the end of the story is - did Nicodemus believe? Or did he continue with the other Pharisees in trying to trip up Jesus at every turn...

Moving on to Chapter 5... You bring up an interesting question Christine, about which came first in this miracle - faith or healing. If I'm reading it correctly, I think that Jesus' healing came first, and the man's faith was in response to his healing. I think that many of Jesus early miracles were healing/miracle first, then people having faith as a response - which makes sense if we remember that Jesus was using these miracles to show people that he is God. And it also makes those miracles where healing comes first (like the official's son in Chapter 4) even more amazing - that these people were able to believe and have faith because of what they saw Jesus doing for others, before seeing Jesus act in their own lives. It reminds me that we are currently living in a time like that - where we need to show Jesus to others through the lives that we lead - and then perhaps they will choose to let Jesus into their own lives too.

Week 5

Thanks Julie, Callie and Tammy for your posts.  Callie – your post really challenged me to ask the question, “What barriers or prejudices do I have that prevent me from being able to love those around me?”  Julie, I loved your comment about the Samaritan woman needing to see her sin.  I recently heard a pastor describe salvation like a person unknowingly standing on the edge of a cliff surrounded by fog.  God is the wind who blows away the fog leaving the person aware of where they are.  The next action is a natural reaction but is still a choice.  Tammy, I love your attention to the differences between Nicodemus and the Samaritan.   Man, woman.  Jew, Samaritan.  Educated, ignorant.  High class, outcast.  Wealth, poor.  Moral, prostitute.  But Jesus doesn’t care.  He comes to them both.  He has come for all.  How beautiful.  This teaches us so much about God’s love – God’s love isn’t  determined by object, it is determined by character – God’s character.  This challenges me to examine my love for others – can I love because of my character or more accurately because of God’s character through me or do I only loved based on the attributes of the other person?  The other interesting thing is the difference between knowledge and revelation.  It is actually the woman who has a better understanding of who Jesus is – even though Nicodemus had much more knowledge, the woman had a revelation and that mattered more than all the knowledge.  Although Nicodemus and the Samaritan women are so different they both have the same spiritual need.  They are equal in the spiritual sense – they are both lost and both in need of Jesus.  One doesn’t need Jesus more than the other, one doesn’t deserve Jesus more than the other.  Jesus offers Himself equally to them both. 

In all this talk about water and thirst, Jesus is claiming to be the only person or thing that can satisfy human longing.  I love the image of the water becoming a spring welling up within us.  God fills us, satisfies us, changes us and spills out of us.  Many things entice me and distract me.  They may satisfy me temporarily but only Jesus can satisfy me forever and fill me to bursting.  Why then do I continue to look to other things to fill me?

This week we will do John chapter 5.  First we see the third of John’s recorded miracles (the second was the healing of the sick boy in chapter 4).   Then we see the Jews get mad because Jesus did this miracle on the Sabbath and even madder because He is claims to be God.  This starts the momentum of hate toward Jesus that culminates with His death on the cross.  Lastly we see Jesus’ response to the Jews accusations.  Remember that the Jews only knew the Old Testament – they only knew God and they are trying to figure out who Jesus is.  This chapter again illustrates John’s main purpose in showing Jesus as God’s son and his secondary purposes of detailing Christ’s message and the different ways men can respond to it. 

What can we learn about Jesus through this miracle?

Think about the chronology of the events in this story.  Which came first – faith or healing?  What do you think of that?

Think of what Jesus is claiming in verses19-47.  What strikes you?  How do you respond?

Have a great week everyone!!!

As I was reading, I really found myself dwelling on how Jesus crosses all barriers. He spoke to the Samaritan woman, although he was a Jew, and this was a big deal. And because of this (Him breaking some kind of social rule) she went back and told other's of her experience. Many from her village then came to hear him speak and then believed because the heard in first hand. What if Jesus had followed some silly social or religious rule? Believers are not meant to isolate themselves, but we are to get out there and "be" with people.