Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

As a nation we are becoming a people who want to believe what our leaders say to us but we are skeptical.  So many church leaders have fallen that we are leery about believing what they say from the platform unless their lives show evidence of their belief.  But this is our own fault.  If we are reading and studying God’s Word for ourselves, evaluating our own behaviors against the standard of Jesus with hearts of obedience and surrender, then we understand that perfection will not be found in the lives of humans.  Only Jesus is perfect.  Only Jesus saves us from the world of skepticism, darkness, deception and our own sins with redemption and truth. Only Jesus can provide the Way to Truth that leads us to eternal Life.  No human can provide all we need and should not be expected to—only Jesus who died and rose again can provide all we need to live life to the full. 

This truth alone, aside from all the miracles of healing, the provisions and protection of God through Jesus, is what should impress us to give our whole heart, mind, and soul to Him so that we may have a rich, loving, intimate relationship with God our Father.  God is searching for seeking hearts like this…who will He find?

“The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9a 

When we completely give our hearts to Him, He give us strength beyond ourselves in our daily walk with Him.  The last half of that verse is just as important; “What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”  2 Chronicles 16:9b God is speaking to those who refuse to do what He says.  We live foolish lives when we do life on our own, ignoring messages from God through His leaders who know Him and speak His words to us.  We succumb to foolish habits of calling out to God only in times of trouble, when we want him to please us or when the battle with the evil one overwhelms us.  At the end of ourselves we call out because we are impressed with what we know He can do; but our hearts are far from being fully His.

The back story of this verse in Chronicles that is quoted often is this:  God sent a prophet to tell the king that his treaty with the enemy is not going to work.  Everyone was happy with the results of the treaty except God. God sent the prophet Hanani to rebuke the king and rely God’s message.  

A prophet’s task was to rebuke kings and other leaders, including priests, when they had disobeyed God’s laws. The prophet’s message was clear: If Asa had relied on the Lord, the army of Judah would have defeated both Israel and Aram. Instead, Judah merely gained a few towns, the Lord’s treasury was robbed, and the king was entangled in a sinful alliance with the Arameans. 

So, you see how foolish it is to be merely impressed with God but not listen to what He says.  This is living half-heartedly, relying only on human wisdom.  From the experience of these prophets and now His own, “Jesus knew well from experience that a prophet is not respected in the place where he grew up…”  The home crowd wanted Jesus to perform for them.  They were merely impressed but did not whole heartedly believe in Jesus.   

“Dazzle us, Jesus.”  Oh, what fools we are when we play this game with the One who died for our sins and rose again in power and majesty.

John 4, The Message

^43-45 After the two days he left for Galilee. Now, Jesus knew well from experience that a prophet is not respected in the place where he grew up. So when he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, but only because they were impressed with what he had done in Jerusalem during the Passover Feast, not that they really had a clue about who he was or what he was up to.

^46-48 Now he was back in Cana of Galilee, the place where he made the water into wine. Meanwhile in Capernaum, there was a certain official from the king’s court whose son was sick. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and asked that he come down and heal his son, who was on the brink of death. Jesus put him off: “Unless you people are dazzled by a miracle, you refuse to believe.”

⁴⁹ But the court official wouldn’t be put off. “Come down! It’s life or death for my son.”

^50-51 Jesus simply replied, “Go home. Your son lives.”

The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home. On his way back, his servants intercepted him and announced, “Your son lives!”

^52-53 He asked them what time he began to get better. They said, “The fever broke yesterday afternoon at one o’clock.” The father knew that that was the very moment Jesus had said, “Your son lives.”

^53-54 That settled it. Not only he but his entire household believed. This was now the second sign Jesus gave after having come from Judea into Galilee.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Like easily impressed children who are looking to be entertained again by the mesmerizing water to wine miracle man, people’s hearts bear the lack of belief in who Jesus really was and is now.  People in his hometown do not go out of their way to honor Him either. From experience, Jesus is used to this.  How sad.  But from our own experiences, we can understand.  Hometown people who knew you as a kid, freeze frame you as a kid.  Family and friends you related to as a children do not realize you went through normal stages of growth with new experiences that transformed you, right?

But then there’s one man who rises above the crowd of skeptics who truly believes that Jesus is who He is says He is—A court official of the king.  This court official’s son will die unless Jesus intervenes.  His desperate faith in Jesus’ ability to heal his son stood firm as he persistently asked for Jesus’ help for his beloved son.

The court official wasn’t asking for another performance to dazzle onlookers.  His heart was broken for his son.  If you have children you know.  When our children are very ill, we would rather take their place to spare their hurt and pain.  Jesus saw the honest heart of this man and healed his son immediately.  The official went back home to find his son healed.  He believed Jesus then and especially now!  Imagine the testimony he told his family!  Now the whole household believed—because that’s how persistent faith works!

We discover, once again, that a sincere, honest heart of faith grabs the attention of Jesus.  What is in our hearts either fills our souls with His love, mercy, and grace and renews our minds that transforms our behaviors or it does not. It’s a matter of who we allow to control our hearts, minds and souls.

As for me, I choose the One who is looks for hearts committed to Him.  I choose the strength He promises when we commit to Him.  I choose the wisdom of God over folly of man.  I choose Jesus who redeemed me for life!  Thank you, Jesus!  Other choices lead to foolishness that leads to darkness and emptiness. 

Lord,

Thank you for teaching us a new perspective of your multifaceted love, mercy, and grace through this story of healing and faith. Thank you for seeking us and saving us. Thank you for always being with us to provide all we need with protection from the enemy who seeks to distract, deceive, dishearten, and ultimately destroy us.  The enemy cannot separate us from your love.  We can walk away but your love remains intact, so why turn away from a love like that?  There is no one like you, dear Jesus.  Greater are you in me than he that is in the world.  What a promise!

In Jesus Name, Amen

For centuries there has been a culture of hate between Samaritans and Jews.  Jews deemed the Samaritans “unclean” while Samaritans spit upon proud Jews who judged the validity of the “chosen of God” by keeping their genealogies pure.  The Samaritans were a mixed race, part Jew and part Gentile, that grew out of the Assyrian captivity of the ten northern tribes in 727 B.C. Rejected by the Jews because they could not prove their genealogy, the Samaritans established their own temple and religious services on Mount Gerizim.

Then God sent Jesus to Samaria.  Jesus changes everything, going “rogue” in tradition, doing things no one does, to save the lost of the world while demonstrating the love of God. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17.

In that day, it was not considered proper for any man, especially a rabbi, to speak in public to a strange woman (back up and read verse 27). But Jesus set aside the less important social customs for the most important because a soul’s eternal salvation was at stake.  Now, by her witness, Jesus is invited along with his confused disciples to hang out with Samaritans. 

Yes, when Jesus comes into our hearts and welcomed to hang out in our lives—Everything changes. 

John 4, The Message

It’s Harvest Time

³¹ In the meantime, the disciples pressed him, “Rabbi, eat. Aren’t you going to eat?”

³² He told them, “I have food to eat you know nothing about.”

³³ The disciples were puzzled. “Who could have brought him food?”

^34-35 Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!

^36-38 “The Harvester isn’t waiting. He’s taking his pay, gathering in this grain that’s ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. That’s the truth of the saying, ‘This one sows, that one harvests.’ I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others.”

^39-42 Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Because of one woman loved, forgiven and transformed by the One and Only, many lives committed their lives to Jesus.  It seems the more we realize the depth of love Jesus has for us—we must tell someone—anyone!  The more we realize the incredible, undeniable complete transaction of redemption, secured, as a binding contract, sealed by the blood of Jesus, we must tell everyone!

Not a burden but a blessed opportunity!  Jesus did not look on the Father’s will as a heavy burden or a distasteful task. He viewed His work as the very nourishment of His soul. Doing the Father’s will fed Him and satisfied Him inwardly. “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). Because of the attitude and heart of Jesus, the Samaritan woman was now doing the Father’s will and finding excitement and enrichment in it, too!  Jesus changes everything.

Prayerfully pause and ask—

Do I really believe that what Jesus did for me is really real?

Life transformation begins with believing in Jesus.  Excitement and joy builds as we discover new ways of Kingdom of God thinking which births new behaviors as we learn to lean into the wisdom of His Holy Spirit now living in us. 

Our trust in the Life-Changer builds or collapses with each challenge the enemy presents or when unexpected circumstances arise based on who we believe.  Who do we believe?  Life is a continual test of trust. But when the power that raised Jesus from death to life is realized, relied on, and released—our test becomes a testament of our faith in Jesus!

We quickly discover we cannot do life without Jesus’ help.  We cannot transform our lives without His Holy Spirit sent from God to help us. We can profess to know Him and our desire to follow Him all day long; but it is our transformed behaviors that will prove the true measure of our faith.

Who we talk about most is who we love most.  What occupies our minds reflects what we treasure most and are storing in our hearts.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” –Jesus, Matthew 6:20

The woman met Jesus who changed everything about her.  She no longer worried about her reputation and avoidance of people who despised her for who she was because now she is different—made new!  She has a new way of thinking.  Jesus showed her a love and compassion she had been looking for in all the wrong places her entire life.  This woman is a life that was changed by the grace of God who would affect an entire village!  “Come and see!”  “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!”  I think He is the Messiah! 

The people of Samaria were changed: “We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!”

Yes, the souls of all the people of the world who God created and loves are ripe for harvest.  God prepares harvest.  Jesus provides salvation.  The Holy Spirit guides us to reap what we did not sow—souls in need of a Savior!  If we remember, God sent someone lead us and point us to Christ—now we do the same!

We might be asked to go and hang out with those we never thought of before knowing Jesus.  Go with it, I have learned that God’s surprises are always worth the risk.  All people have one thing in common—we are all in need of a Savior and He is Jesus. 

Jesus indeed changes everything.  His relentless, unchanging love brings us together as one as we give our lives as an offering back to Him in gratitude for giving us Life.  (See Romans 12:1-2)

Lord,

It occurs to me that the people of Samaria must have been a joy for you to hang out with as a respite from the harassment of the Jewish leaders for a while.  And what a joy for them to hear and believe in Someone they never thought they would until they came to know You!  You went where you were led and did what you were sent to do.  What a demonstration of your love for all people!

Thank you for this lesson of sowing and reaping in unexpected places.  Open our eyes to see who you see with hearts open to your will and leading.

In Jesus Name, Amen

From the moment we begin to utter a few sounds of communication as toddlers, we are taught to count.  We count our fingers and toes.  We count how many blocks we are stacking. We count how many sleeps before Christmas or vacations.  We count how many more bites we must take from our plate left with yucky peas and swallow.  (Yeah, I still don’t like peas!)  We count as a way of life. How many reps of this exercise are left?  How many steps will I complete today?  How many…the list goes on and on.

Counting tells us how much we have and don’t have. Counting helps us plan for what we need in supplies.  Counting points in a game become seriously important if you are close to winning—or losing.  Counting can drive us to compete and compare which can lead our hearts to fill with envy, discontent, and jealousy. Counting to measure our highest level of performance for the purpose of being known as better than anyone else can lead to pride and arrogance.

The Pharisees counted.  They kept score between the ministries of Jesus and John, the Baptist by counting the number of baptisms.  Jesus’ response?  He left.  (Church, we’ll just leave that right here.)  God then led Jesus down a dangerous road to Samaria to what really counts—saving a soul that opened the door to salvation for everyone!  Wow.

John 4, The Message

The Woman at the Well

^1-3 Jesus realized that the Pharisees were keeping count of the baptisms that he and John performed (although his disciples, not Jesus, did the actual baptizing). They had posted the score that Jesus was ahead, turning him and John into rivals in the eyes of the people. So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee.

^4-6 To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon.

^7-8 A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.”

^11-12 The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?”

^13-14 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

¹⁵ The woman said, “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!”

¹⁶ He said, “Go call your husband and then come back.”

^17-18 “I have no husband,” she said.

“That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.”

^19-20 “Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?”

^21-23 “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.

^23-24 “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.”

²⁶ “I am he,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.”

²⁷ Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.

^28-30 The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” And they went out to see for themselves.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The Samarian women came to the well at noon to avoid the gossip and ridicule of the other people of the village who despised her and her lifestyle.

The Son of Man was tired and thirsty.  We see the physical human side of Jesus who ask for drink from the bucket of the woman who has come from the village to simply get enough water for the day. This leads to a discussion that begins with sarcasm from the lips of a very weary woman who has simply come to draw water at the hottest time of day—noon.

“I have no husband.”  Honestly said as she finishes getting water from the well.  Jesus, Son of God, knew the real headcount of husbands but accepted her honesty as she reported her current condition.

Jesus’ “knowing” unnerves her.  What could she be thinking?  We get an answer in her response…” Oh, so you’re a prophet” …we can almost hear the sarcasm dripping from her voice as she thinks, great, someone else to add up my sins and hold the count over my head.  She is used to the condemnation of others so she craftily deflects the conversation to a different discussion of theology.

Jesus hears and sees her.  Her well-crafted comeback led to Truth that she could not ignore and walk away from as Jesus tells her (and us) what really counts:

“God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.” “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth.”

Imagine all the weight bearing down on this woman from years of living a life that you didn’t really ask for, didn’t enjoy, but felt trapped in as a woman searching for real love and compassion. 

Imagine knowing enough about God to hear of the promise of a Messiah who would come to save you and then hearing from this man: “I am He.” 

“You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.” 

Real love found at last!  Truth gently removed her heavy backpack of burden and set her free.  Freedom renewed her energy to run back to the village—without her water bucket—because of being filled with the Living Water from the Messiah. 

Jesus not only set her free, God gave her message:

“’Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?’ And they went out to see for themselves.”

Salvation is for everyone.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”  John 3:17

“That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” –Jesus

Believe, repent and be saved for life!  Leave behind the past count of sins and look forward to a new life with a clean slate with the One who is the Only Way to God, the Truth of God that leads to Life with God now and for eternity!  That’s what counts!

Lord,

Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole. You know me, too.  You see and hear me.  You love me no matter what I’ve done.  Thank you for taking the burdens of my past off my shoulders and setting me free to love like you love us.  Thank you for teaching us what counts before God and enriches our lives.  Lead and guide my thoughts and behaviors today.  May others see you in me.  May your glory be seen in me.  Thank you for not counting my repented sins against me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

The church, by definition, is not a temple or structure of brick and mortar of any kind.  The church is not a shade tree by the river.  The church is not even a thatched roof over the heads of gatherers in a hot climate.  The church is not the home of a person who hosts a meeting or an abandoned store front where people meet to worship. 

The “church” as Jesus defines church are people who meet in His Name.  I know we have heard this concept and definition many times if we grew up living a “church life” but are we really listening and internalizing Jesus’ definition of church?  There are many scriptural references to help us understand.  I feel the need to go over this again as I watch leaders of congregation be driven by competition and manipulation for their fair “market share” of attenders who will come to their place of worship to support their programs of ministry. 

John, the Baptist, took more joy in seeing the One coming after him do even greater things than what he was doing himself.  All glory to God!  We can learn so much from John, the Baptist that is applicable to the church.  Jesus is the Head of His Body called church. if we really lean into to what God is saying through John to all of us who believe—really believe and call ourselves church we might be led to repent.

John 3, The Message

The Bridegroom’s Friend

^22-26 After this conversation, Jesus went on with his disciples into the Judean countryside and relaxed with them there. He was also baptizing. At the same time, John was baptizing over at Aenon near Salim, where water was abundant. This was before John was thrown into jail. John’s disciples got into an argument with the establishment Jews over the nature of baptism. They came to John and said, “Rabbi, you know the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan? The one you authorized with your witness? Well, he’s now competing with us. He’s baptizing, too, and everyone’s going to him instead of us.”

^27-29 John answered, “It’s not possible for a person to succeed—I’m talking about eternal success—without heaven’s help. You yourselves were there when I made it public that I was not the Messiah but simply the one sent ahead of him to get things ready. The one who gets the bride is, by definition, the bridegroom. And the bridegroom’s friend, his ‘best man’—that’s me—in place at his side where he can hear every word, is genuinely happy. How could he be jealous when he knows that the wedding is finished and the marriage is off to a good start?

^29-30 “That’s why my cup is running over. This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines.

^31-33 “The One who comes from above is head and shoulders over other messengers from God. The earthborn is earthbound and speaks earth language; the heavenborn is in a league of his own. He sets out the evidence of what he saw and heard in heaven. No one wants to deal with these facts. But anyone who examines this evidence will come to stake his life on this: that God himself is the truth.

^34-36 “The One that God sent speaks God’s words. And don’t think he rations out the Spirit in bits and pieces. The Father loves the Son extravagantly. He turned everything over to him so he could give it away—a lavish distribution of gifts. That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! And that is also why the person who avoids and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn’t see life. All he experiences of God is darkness, and an angry darkness at that.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Over the centuries, temple worship became big business.  It still included religious leaders assigned to go behind a curtain to ceremoniously ask God to cover the sins of the people but this behavior meant to honor God became tainted as unholy leaders tried to become gods and lord it over the people seeking God.  These leaders used religious ceremonies as a way to line their pockets with the sacrifices of the poor who came in obedience to The Law of God. 

The religious had little to no relationship with God as they were more concerned with gaining more power as they competed piously within the ranks for the attention from all who saw them and bowed down to them in fear.  These leaders, teachers, and scribes wanted everyone to know that the only way to be holy was to do what they said.  The leaders would meet to discuss The Law which became nothing more than heated debates over who was right and who was wrong, completely missing the point of God’s longing to love and bless His people in relationship.  The leaders even dared to create new additions to The Law to suit their fancy and bring in more funds from people disobeying their addendums. God’s leaders, who knew Him not, became manipulators of justice and mutilators of mercy to the lowly who must obey at all costs.  God came in last to the self-appointed humans in first place and who thought they were in charge.  God was not pleased.  This gives us greater understanding of Jesus’ trip to the Temple that day to “clean house”!

NEW PLAN—

God sent His Son to earth to seek and to save the lost caught up in this manmade unholy system as well their own sins.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Belief in Jesus as God’s Son drew new believers to gather to learn from Jesus as they followed Him.  A new connection to God was found by listening to a new message of Truth.  They leaned into what Jesus told them about His Father, who was their God above all!  God loves you, cares for you, and wants you to love Him back in a relationship that leads to eternal life with Him. This is different.  This is Jesus telling the world who God really is and what He expects from the people He loves and what they can expect from Him!

The new believers (and nearly believers) gathered to simply hear what Jesus had to say next.  “We’ve never heard anyone speak this way” was said often by the hearers as God spoke to them through Jesus, His Son.  Jesus came to set the world right side up by turning the religious and political systems upside down.  He taught Kingdom of God thinking with examples of holy living that pleased God.  (See Matthew 5-7).  Jesus taught us to love each other the way God loves us.  Jesus brought “all who believe”, individually, into a relationship with God by His once and for all sacrifice for our sins on the cross. Upon his death that day, the curtain to the holy of holies where leaders would meet with God was significantly torn in two pieces that had hung in the Temple for centuries.  The Way to God was now open to all who believe in Jesus, His Son. 

“For God so loved…” What’s love got to do with it?  Everything.

God is Love.  To know love is to know God.  If we do not know God then we do not know love.  (See 1 John 4) God’s Love was not new but needed a new understanding of the depth of His love. Jesus provided what the world was seeking most. Love is a relationship with God and that relationship with God was missing among His leaders.  God sent Jesus “to seek and to save the lost” who did not have this loving relationship.

Jesus provided exactly what was needed most to clarify—a demonstration of God’s love.  Jesus showed the followers how to love like the Father God loves them.  Jesus demonstrated this love by serving others, healing the sick, explain truth to the confused, with teaching and reteaching his disciples with patience and grace.  Jesus showed the “full extent of His love” by bending down to wash the dirty feet of his disciples—even the feet of the one who betrayed Him later that night.  (John 13)

The final demonstration was willingly laying down His life to redeem our lives from the punishment of our own sins.  “For God so loved…” His Son, that after the sacrifice was complete, God resurrected His Son in power, scars and all!  Jesus then appeared to all who would carry on the work in the Name of Jesus!  Hope was secured.

Authority and power was given from God through Jesus to all who believe and follow to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20. 

What kind of love is this?  Relentless, unchanging, unconditional—full of mercy and grace with a promise to be with us—always—until Jesus comes back!

NEW TEMPLE—NEW CHURCH!

Our bodies are now God’s temple in which He chooses to dwell.  We love God because He first loved us.  God’s church are His people who gather in Jesus Name in unity of purpose—to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Jesus is the Head of His church.  Jesus assigned Peter as the Rock upon He would build His church. Peter, a former fisherman, obeyed Jesus upon receiving the Holy Spirit’s power to preach the Good News to thousands.  (See Acts 1-2) The church(people), built on Jesus begins and flourishes when built on the solid foundation of the love of God expressed through His Son, Jesus. 

Peter explains church to the believers.  Jesus is the cornerstone upon which each life aligns to in the building of His church—people, not a building—but with our very lives. 

“Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. The Scriptures provide precedent:

Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion,
    a cornerstone in the place of honor.
Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation
    will never have cause to regret it.”  1 Peter 2:4-8, MSG

“Do this in remembrance of Me” –Jesus

To remember Jesus is to love like He taught us to love and serve like He taught us to serve—humbly, mercifully, graciously, without reservation.  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

God’s love is what draws us together and keeps us in unity.  When human love competes, unity is lost.

God’s love does not compete for attention, boast, manipulate, or demand its own way. (1 Corinthians 13)

Love like Jesus.  Serve like Jesus.  Be more and more like Jesus as we remember what He has done for us.

God’s Love is Life.  Loving His way is a life worth living. 

The promised bonus for doing this in remembrance of Jesus:  “And I will be with you always”—Jesus 

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  Jesus died and rose again to set us free from sins and give us hope and a future of eternal life.

Simply believe with all your heart, mind and soul and be saved.

Lord,

Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole. Thank you for transforming my life by renewing my mind. Thank you for refreshing my soul each day with your new mercies. Thank you for restoring the joy of your salvation consistently at work within me. I owe you my life, so my life is yours to lead into all that you have waiting for me to be and do.

In Jesus Name, Amen

There is a new trend in our world today—the world tells us we must have a life coach if we want to reach higher levels of achievement.  I have lived long enough to realize that this really isn’t a new idea, however, as I experienced, well timed people of wisdom come into my life to guide me but were called mentors.  Life Coach seems to be an upgrade of the mentor process.  People with the gift and ability to mentor, are now trained with specific ways to “coach” people to realizing their gifts and abilities so they can effectively reach their goals in life. 

Defined, a life coach is now a type of wellness professional who is paid to help people make progress in their lives to attain greater fulfillment.  This “professional” becomes an advisor in every area of your life as you make decisions, set and reach goals, and deal with problems that arise along the way.  Life coaching is the process of helping clients gain clarity about different aspects of their lives.

Jesus, Son of God is The Coach of Life!  Let’s listen in as Jesus coaches Nicodemus!  In this coaching session, Jesus listens to this “well respected teacher of Israel” and leads him to Truth by explaining the basics of Life.  Real Life.  Eternal Life.

John 3, The Message

Born from Above

^1-2 There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we all know you’re a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren’t in on it.”

³ Jesus said, “You’re absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s kingdom.”

⁴ “How can anyone,” said Nicodemus, “be born who has already been born and grown up? You can’t re-enter your mother’s womb and be born again. What are you saying with this ‘born-from-above’ talk?”

^5-6 Jesus said, “You’re not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the ‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.

^7-8 “So don’t be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be ‘born from above’—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next. That’s the way it is with everyone ‘born from above’ by the wind of God, the Spirit of God.”

⁹ Nicodemus asked, “What do you mean by this? How does this happen?”

^10-12 Jesus said, “You’re a respected teacher of Israel and you don’t know these basics? Listen carefully. I’m speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God?

^13-15 “No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.

^16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

^19-21 “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Jesus—The greatest Life Coach of all!  Watch, listen and learn how Jesus coaches Nicodemus:

• Jesus listens to Nicodemus express his thoughts before telling Him what He needs to know.  This helps Nicodemus see for himself where he stands with God.  By saying his questioning thoughts out loud to Someone who is really listening to him, he is put at ease to express more and ask more. 

• Jesus understands what Nicodemus currently believes about God as it relates to his faith in God.  Jesus knows who Nicodemus is and who he associates with in the religious community of leaders.

• Jesus presents new information to extend what Nicodemus already knows about Scripture.  Jesus begins with where he is, accepts him, then presents new information that leads to salvation—spiritually “born again” into a new life—eternal life with God!

• Jesus patiently clarifies Truth by saying it in a way Nicodemus can understand.  “Let me say it again” …   “When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.”

• Jesus follows up with more examples about God’s Spirit that Nicodemus can relate to in his world.  “You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next.”  “That’s the way it is with God’s Spirit.”

• Jesus does not give up on Nicodemus. Jesus see the heart of Nicodemus and knows he is still having a hard time relating his past knowledge and diligent obedience to The Law while trying to understand that Jesus is showing the way to have a new relationship with God.  So, Jesus stops to go over the “basics” once more.  I am reminded of scripture that tells us it is not God’s desire that anyone perish.  (2 Peter 3:9)

• Jesus is the Truth who tells the Truth of who He is to Nicodemus—so that Nicodemus might grasp the love of God that is in Him.  That love is so great, Nicodemus, that “He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”

• Jesus did not come to condemn but to reconcile all people to God.  “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.”

• Jesus is the Way to God who gives life eternal!  Jesus relates information that not many in the community have heard yet:  I am the Way, the Only Way, to an intimate relationship with God.  “In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.

• Jesus teaches opposing views to point out the difference between living life to the full here with the bonus of eternal life with God and living a life that only leads to death.
• “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

Bottomline, we have two choices:  God-Light of Life Eternal or the eternal darkness of death.  What we say we believe will be reflected in our behaviors each day.  We will mess up and allow evil to distract and deceive us at times or we will react to circumstances in our lives that are less than holy know this:  Jesus does not give up on us.  He made a way for us to be perfectly forgiven.  All we need to do is ask. 

Who is your life coach?  Want the best life coach known to mankind? 

When we repent of our sins, God’s Holy Spirit rushes in immediately to live within us as our “life coach” who guides us to all that is of God.  His Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus, and sent by God is our ever-present Counselor and Helper in decision making, discernment of right and wrong, while leading us to grow in our intimate, loving relationship with God.  God’s Holy Spirit helps us design holy priorities for living a life that develops the character of Jesus in us. When we remain in Jesus as He remains in us, we will see our behaviors begin to change to reflect these holy traits!  The behaviors we are striving to develop as we live to reflect the love of God in our lives are listed in Galatians 5:22-23; “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Lord,

Thank you for not giving up on me but teaching me your love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  All for God nothing less. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m not where I was.  All because of You, dear Jesus.  I trust you with my life because you ARE Life! 

In Jesus Name, Amen 

Have you ever come between a mother bear and her cubs?  We were in gathered as a family in the mountains of Tennessee one summer to celebrate our 50^th anniversary of marriage with our kids and grandkids.  What a fun few days this was!  We rented a huge cabin that housed all of us high in the mountains.  The wraparound deck was the place to gather to gaze at the magnificent mountain views.  One morning, Randy decided to take walk down the mountain to stretch his legs.  Not used to the altitude, he tired when he began to hike the steep road back to the lodge.  Something within me, decided that he was taking too long to return so a couple of granddaughters followed me to see where he was.  He was okay but we sent for a car to come and get us. 

Only minutes later, we all decided to pile into our vans to go sight-seeing.  As we came down the mountain, a mother bear with three cubs following close behind her, appeared on the path—the same path that Randy had walked.  She guarded her cubs by bringing them close to her, then she angrily looked at our stopped vans.  Time stood still.  We had enough wisdom not to get out our vans, but we did stop to take video of the scene.  She rose up to let us know, this is where she lived with her family and we were intruding!  And she was right!  We respected her territory and at the same time, admired the way she protected her cubs.  She would have given her life for theirs, if necessary.  This God-created instinct to protect and draw your offspring close to you is prevalent in the animal kingdom.

When we read the display of emotion of what seems to us to be anger and retaliation of Jesus at the Temple, our minds are troubled.  Jesus is kind, compassionate, gentle, and loving—just like His Father!  So why is this happening? 

John 2, The Message

Tear Down This Temple . . .

^13-14 When the Passover Feast, celebrated each spring by the Jews, was about to take place, Jesus traveled up to Jerusalem. He found the Temple teeming with people selling cattle and sheep and doves. The loan sharks were also there in full strength.

^15-17 Jesus put together a whip out of strips of leather and chased them out of the Temple, stampeding the sheep and cattle, upending the tables of the loan sharks, spilling coins left and right. He told the dove merchants, “Get your things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a shopping mall!” That’s when his disciples remembered the Scripture, “Zeal for your house consumes me.”

^18-19 But the Jews were upset. They asked, “What credentials can you present to justify this?” Jesus answered, “Tear down this Temple and in three days I’ll put it back together.”

^20-22 They were indignant: “It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and you’re going to rebuild it in three days?” But Jesus was talking about his body as the Temple. Later, after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this. They then put two and two together and believed both what was written in Scripture and what Jesus had said.

^23-25 During the time he was in Jerusalem, those days of the Passover Feast, many people noticed the signs he was displaying and, seeing they pointed straight to God, entrusted their lives to him. But Jesus didn’t entrust his life to them. He knew them inside and out, knew how untrustworthy they were. He didn’t need any help in seeing right through them.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Jesus loves like His Father.  The Temple was built as a safe, beautiful haven for God’s people to come to Him in prayer and receive word from Him.  The sins of His people were ceremoniously placed on the heads of animals as directed by God and then sacrificed as a offering to God.  This sacrifice was the way for God to “cover” over their sins with the blood of an animal.  So, when Jesus sees that The Temple had become anything but what it was meant to be, His love for God, His love for God’s place of worship for His people, along with the love of God’s people stirred within Him.  Jesus’ heart of protection for God’s people rose up within Him.  He saw for Himself how God’s people were being cheated by the riff-raff and carnival barkers trying to sell them “sacrifices” at gouged prices.  The Temple because a market place for the profit of individuals.

It was Jesus’ deep love for His Father and for God’s people that drove him to protect His people from this obvious threat of disrespect, distraction, and deception; that if left unnoticed would eventually result in destroying the purpose of God and His Temple.  There is nothing that will destroy God but the evil one opposed to God will do every thing in his limited power to bring destruction to the souls of God’s people.  Jesus knows this.  Jesus loves us so greatly that He will rise up to protect his own, giving His own life, to save us! 

Jesus has authority from God and is in consistent communication with God, the Father. It was the God in Jesus who had been angered by the idolatry of the courtyard carnies.  Our God is a compassionate Father who so loved the world that He gave us His Son as the once and for all sacrifice for our sins.  Our God so loved that He protects us from the evil one’s advances.  Our God so loved that he laid down the life of His One and Only Son so that we would receive eternal life when we believe and repent in Jesus’ Name.

Jesus is the Temple.  Jesus tells his opponents exactly what they will do later…try to destroy His mission to seek and to save lost people and reconcile (connect) them to God by killing his Body.  “Tear down this Temple and in three days I’ll put it back together.”  Jesus declares who He is but they do not recognize Him.  The scriptures point to Jesus as Messiah, but His very own do not accept Him.  The religious leaders only see brick and mortar but are blind to the Son of God standing right in front of them in power, authority, mixed with a love and compassion they have never known or experienced.

We are God’s Temple.  Upon believing that Jesus died to pay the debt of our own sins, repenting by asking for forgiveness, we are redeemed.  By believing that Jesus rose from death to life, victorious over death forever on that third day; we become His Temple of Hope where His Holy Spirit comes to reside.  “Remain in Me and I will remain in you,” says Jesus. 

Jesus is still cleaning out the Temples of our hearts!  Like a mother bear, God’s Holy Spirit will rise up within us to warn us again the evil schemes of this world meant to distract us from God.  God’s Holy Spirit is our Counselor who lives in us to confront us when the “chief among liars” attempts to deceive us with what looks right but is not of God. The Holy Spirit of God flashes warning lights in our minds when we prefer to think we can do life all by ourselves because we think our way is the best way without knowing what lies ahead.  His Holy Spirit protects us from destructive, negative thinking that is prompted by our real enemy. 

God’s Spirit, our Helper who lives within us protects, guides, comforts, draws us close in adversity, challenges us to learn and grow in our faith and teaches us how to love like God loves—sacrificially.

So, when we read this passage, I now think of the great love of Jesus.  Jesus loved enough to confront sin.  Jesus loved us enough to die for our sins.  Jesus loved His Father and His House enough to be “consumed with zeal” for God with protection for God’s people.  “Like Father, like Son.”

Lord,

This passage no longer bothers my heart for I see the love expressed by you for people wanting to worship you in spirit and in truth. I pray for your churches today to be on guard against the enemy who is in our midst trying to distract and deceive us within the walls of brick and mortar.  I pray that we would rise up when warned by Your Spirit to clean out the Temple of our hearts daily, removing all that is not You.  Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, refresh our souls with your new mercies, and restore the joy of your salvation at work within us.  I believe.  I will remain in You.  Come, Holy Spirit for you are welcome.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

There are many biblical catch phrases we use in our English language today that many may not realize where they come from such as; “turn this water to wine then tell me how good you are” or “bless it to stretch it” meaning if we ask for God’s blessing on the amount of food we have hastily prepared for guests, maybe it will be enough.  Our attitudes border unholy thinking with a bit of arrogance thrown in.  Yikes!

Today we get the real story from John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, who saw Him turn water to wine at the request of Mary so that the hosts of a family wedding would not be disgraced for running out.  Weddings in that culture lasted more than a few hours.  The celebration might go on until the next day!  Guests would have traveled by foot to get there—like Jesus and his followers along with his mother, so the hosts must “have enough” to accommodate them.  At the urging of his mother, whose heart went out to the hosts who were probably family, Jesus intervened.  Everyone in the “know” that day learned that Jesus is truly more than enough for every life circumstance.

Jesus is the One who can and will provide more than enough as His Father God provides the power. According to John, this “act” was Jesus’ first miracle used to declare God’s glory and show his disciples who He really is; Son of God.  Mary already knew.

John 2, The Message

From Water to Wine

2 ^1-3 Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus and his disciples were guests also. When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus’ mother told him, “They’re just about out of wine.”

⁴ Jesus said, “Is that any of our business, Mother—yours or mine? This isn’t my time. Don’t push me.”

⁵ She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.”

^6-7 Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus ordered the servants, “Fill the pots with water.” And they filled them to the brim.

⁸ “Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host,” Jesus said, and they did.

^9-10 When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn’t know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you’ve saved the best till now!”

¹¹ This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

¹² After this he went down to Capernaum along with his mother, brothers, and disciples, and stayed several days.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“Whatever he tells you, do it.”  Mary has lived her days know who Jesus is from birth!  She knows His Father God as well as she knows His Son. She knows, without doubt, that God can do anything and that nothing is impossible with God.  Mary is devoted to God and His Son.  She has staked her upon believing in all that God says.  She watched as God provided for her family all these years.  Now, Jesus is coming into his own ministry—with followers who are learning from Him.  Mary knows Jesus can help, but the help must be done as God directs.  “Whatever He tells you, do it.”  This statement of command carries a strong, unflappable faith in Mary in the One who can. 

Weddings were an important part of Jewish culture. An entire village or town often participated in the festivities. Mary seems pushy, yes, but she knows Jesus well. Mary’s love for Jesus and for others is displayed by her request.  Why allow others to suffer humiliation when you know Who can help?

“Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.”

“Why would we go to a wedding?”  This might have been the question on the minds of Jesus’ new followers…is this a big deal?  Max Lucado offers: “I think so. I think it’s significant that common folk in a little town enjoyed being with Jesus. Jesus was a likable fellow. And his disciples should be the same. I’m not talking debauchery, drunkenness, and adultery. I’m not endorsing compromise, coarseness, or obscenity. I am simply crusading for the freedom to enjoy a good joke, enliven a dull party, and appreciate a fun evening.  Jesus wants us to rejoice and enjoy life. Celebrate!”

Just make sure there is more than enough food and drink!

But, let’s go deeper…remembering that all scripture, “old and new”, point to Jesus! 

Warren Wiersbe writes;

“Jesus would certainly have a special message here for His people, Israel. In the Old Testament, the nation is pictured as “married” to God and unfaithful to her marriage covenant (Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 31:32; Hosea 2:2). The wine ran out, and all Israel had left were six empty waterpots! They held water for external washings, but they could provide nothing for internal cleansing and joy. In this miracle, Jesus brought fullness where there was emptiness, joy where there was disappointment, and something internal for that which was only external (water for ceremonial washings).

Whoa, let that settle in. Everything God does through His Son is significant for living our lives to the full!  Do you long for an abundant, joy-filled life to replace the emptiness you feel? God provides many verses in His Word to us about how to live life to the fill!  Here are a few:

“…Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land…” Deuteronomy 30:19-20 

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11

With the knowledge of choice found in Deuteronomy we may wonder how exactly to follow through on that choice. The beautiful truth is that God clearly lays out the path of life for us. We are not left to guess His will for our lives. His very presence blesses us with fullness of joy and pleasures evermore. 

Remember, God’s idea of joy and eternal blessing is different from what the prosperity gospel teaches. It very well might be forged through times of fire in our lives. Remember also that God always without a doubt knows what is best for our hearts. He knows the path we will each take. As we walk through challenging seasons of life, we must not lose sight of the full life He longs to provide and will—because HE is the One who can and will.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

“Delight yourself also in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

Since it is human nature to battle against self-worship, we are tempted to focus on the latter half of this verse which seems to promise that God will give us whatever our little heart’s desire.  Delight in the heart desires of God, then pray that God’s desires match our desires for He knows what we need most and knows what lies ahead.  As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, the closer we come near to Him to know Him better.  Our hearts begin to beat like His and our desires reflect what He would have for us.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  Matthew 6:33

“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.’” Mark 8:34-35

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 This is perhaps one of the best-known verses when it comes to the abundant life. Jesus clarifies what God wants for us versus what the enemy plans for us. Satan’s desire is for us to be destroyed, he has a target on our backs as believers. That is the cold hard truth. He will fight against us to distract, deceive, with allusions of what is best until the day we die.

The good news Jesus is the One who can and will always have the final victory. While our fullest life will be found in heaven, the promise of abundance plays into our time on earth as well. “My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens. The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.” 1 John 4:4-6

Or in the NIV— “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

So, like Mary said, ““Whatever he tells you, do it.”  This is our response to live life to the full.

Lord,

Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds.  Fill our emptiness with life to the full that can only be found in You.  Transform us from the waters of merely getting by in this world to the new wine of your salvation at work within us that produces the joy and peace of abundant living with You!  I’m listening, ready to do what you tell me.

In Jesus Name, Amen! Yes!  I believe! 

When a real person you know and trust who is not an actor in a commercial, tells you about a product they have used and how it benefitted their life, you believe.  You might be skeptical and ask questions, but if your questions are answered to your satisfaction, you believe.

Word of mouth is the best way to present something new.  Producers of new products know that.  Producers will give their new product, at no cost, to a few “reviewers” before mass production to see how they like it.  The reviewers test the product and readily tell their unbiased, honest opinion.  Production companies know that word of mouth is the best way to advertise a new product.  The “buzz” begins when a few influencers try it!  Producers know, without doubt, that getting the new product in the hands of consumers who will be honest and open is a solid investment that pays off!  “Come and try this, it really works and will do what it says it will do.”  “Come and see…I’ll show you how it works!”

“You heard it through the grapevine” …  Word of mouth, also called viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a story about a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and traditions transmitted by word of mouth through successive generations. Storytelling and oral tradition are forms of word of mouth that play important roles in folklore and mythology. Another example of oral communication is oral history—the recording, preservation, and interpretation of historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the speaker. Oral history preservation is the field that deals with the care and upkeep of oral history materials collected by word of mouth, whatever format they may be in.

But, above all that, what happens when Someone you have heard about through oral tradition and history and have been waiting for all your life— “moves into your neighborhood”? 

“The Word became flesh and blood,
    and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
    the one-of-a-kind glory,
    like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
    true from start to finish.”

John the Baptizer was the first to tell who Jesus was and why He came in one statement of Truth; “Here He is, God’s Passover Lamb.”  The rest is the history of how Jesus, Truth and Light, came to reconcile people back to God. 

Jesus, the Messiah, promised by God, talked about by His Prophets long ago, is here—Come and See for yourself!

John 1, The Message

Come, See for Yourself

^35-36 The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.”

^37-38 The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

³⁹ He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.”

They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened.

^40-42 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”). He immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter, which means “Rock”).

^43-44 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, “Come, follow me.” (Philip’s hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter.)

^45-46 Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, “We’ve found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!” Nathanael said, “Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding.”

But Philip said, “Come, see for yourself.”

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw him coming he said, “There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.”

⁴⁸ Nathanael said, “Where did you get that idea? You don’t know me.”

Jesus answered, “One day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree.”

⁴⁹ Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”

^50-51 Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

As soon as Jesus was announced by John the Baptist as the One, word spread. 

It only took the word of John who believed relentlessly and unreservedly in Jesus as Messiah for others to believe. People believed John because he was a Truth teller who could be trusted.  In this short passage we get a ringside seat to see how the Word begins to spread like an untamed fire in a dry forest!  “We found the Messiah!”

• Andrew believed and quickly told his brother, Simon. 
• Phillip, from Andrew and Simon Peter’s hometown, interacted with Jesus and believed.  He told his brother Nathaniel, who needed a bit more convincing, so Jesus provided exactly what he needed.
• Four energetic young men with unique talents and abilities came to Jesus  because of John’s witness of Truth. 
• These men will leave their former life behind to follow Jesus for the rest of their lives.

John’s gospel shows us how the life-changing, life-transforming Good News of Jesus is spread to the world.  Life won’t be easy for these new believing followers but their investment pays off with their redemption of sins with the bonus of eternal life. When we follow up with the reading of the Acts of the Apostles (Disciples), we learn how word of mouth spreads the Truth of Jesus’ saving grace to thousands in a short period of time—because of the faithful Truth telling of Jesus’ obedient followers.  (See Acts) 

We begin where we are right now to tell the Truth, who is Jesus in us, with the same intensity and excitement as we would when a new product does what it says it would.  Truth telling is a matter of life or death for all we love and care for.  Come and see for yourselves, is our Truth.  “Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”—Jesus

So, come and see and believe, really believe, in the One who saves us and set us free!  Then go and tell …there is so much more to come!  Be the one who can be trusted with Truth then be a Truth teller!  We can only tell what we truly believe.

Lord,

The energy of this passage is explosive with love, excitement, dedication, and devotion to You.  You came to seek and to save the lost.  You moved into the neighborhood of humanity to show us how Truth loves, forgives, shows mercy and compassion, heals and helps.  You give hope to the hopeless and help to the helpless.  You show us the way back home and then You welcome us as we are into your family.  You don’t stop there.  You guide us to a better way to live that is pleasing to You and brings out your best in us!  You are amazing!  You are God!  You are Messiah who saved us from ourselves.  Give us boldness, energy, and the tenacity to go and tell others about You on a moment’s notice with your words of Truth flowing from us.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen.  I believe.

The term “advance man” was first used in 1925-1930.  The advance man, used as a noun is defined as an employee or close associate who makes arrangements, plans meetings with influential people, secures a safe environment, and handles publicity in advance of an appearance or engagement by the employer. Most known in the political world as those advance persons sent ahead of the candidate to cities and towns to explore the best ways and means of influencing people for support of the candidate. 

It was Billy Graham’s organization, however, that used this tactic as the Biblical way to advance the work of the Kingdom of God in evangelistic crusades attended by thousands for optimum success in reaching and teaching the lost!  “Advance men” were sent months ahead of a crusade planned for a certain city to form teams of people to help their salvation efforts.  These advance men would meet with local community leaders to train and encourage them to help the lost find and follow Jesus!  This training included learning the logistics of managing a crowd of individuals seeking to know Jesus after the call to repent was delivered by Billy Graham each evening.  Encouragement was given to help others know Jesus by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead them.  The advance men also recruited and trained men and women of the extreme importance of follow up in the lives of the new believers.  “Open your hearts and church doors to these new babes in Christ” with weekly encouragement to grow and mature in the faith so they won’t fall away and go back to the “old life”.

We discover that the idea of sending an advance man is not really a new concept.  This unique plan of advanced action was created by God who sent John the Baptizer as the “advance man” for Jesus, the Messiah.  John was born to be the advance man for Jesus!  Remember the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth?  (See Luke 1:5-19).  Zechariah was a Jewish high priest and the husband of Elizabeth. Both Elizabeth and Zechariah were very old and they were never able to have any children. In this passage, an angel tells Zechariah that he and Elizabeth are going to have a baby and to name him John. Later, Elizabeth gave birth to a son, John. As an adult, he was known as John the Baptist, who proclaimed that Jesus was coming—the advance man of God to prepare the way for His Son! 

Now, let’s dive in…

John 1, The Message

^6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.

^9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
    Every person entering Life
    he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
    the world was there through him,
    and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people,
    but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him,
    who believed he was who he claimed
    and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
    their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
    not blood-begotten,
    not flesh-begotten,
    not sex-begotten.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and blood,
    and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
    the one-of-a-kind glory,
    like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
    true from start to finish.

¹⁵John pointed him out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.”

^16-18 We all live off his generous abundance,
    gift after gift after gift.
We got the basics from Moses,
    and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
This endless knowing and understanding—
    all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
No one has ever seen God,
    not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
    who exists at the very heart of the Father,
    has made him plain as day.

Thunder in the Desert

^19-20 When Jews from Jerusalem sent a group of priests and officials to ask John who he was, he was completely honest. He didn’t evade the question. He told the plain truth: “I am not the Messiah.”

²¹ They pressed him, “Who, then? Elijah?”

“I am not.”

“The Prophet?”

“No.”

²² Exasperated, they said, “Who, then? We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something—anything!—about yourself.”

²³ “I’m thunder in the desert: ‘Make the road straight for God!’ I’m doing what the prophet Isaiah preached.”

^24-25 Those sent to question him were from the Pharisee party. Now they had a question of their own: “If you’re neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”

^26-27 John answered, “I only baptize using water. A person you don’t recognize has taken his stand in your midst. He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I’m not even worthy to hold his coat for him.”

²⁸ These conversations took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing at the time.

The God-Revealer

^29-31 The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’ I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”

^32-34 John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

John was born with the sole purpose of preparing the way for Jesus, the Savior of the world.  God has a purpose and plan for each one of us!

John was born miraculously to an elderly couple who had given up bearing children.  We know, or should know, that God is in the miracle business.  “Nothing is too hard or impossible with God.”

“Call him John” said God’s angel to Zechariah.  This naming directive reminds us of Mary’s encounter with God’s angel, who said, “and His name will be Jesus.” 

Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin, a beloved family member who was probably the only person who would be able to understand Mary’s Holy Spirit pregnancy.  Think of the orchestration of God who provided encouragement and help to both devoted women of God by giving them each other! (I’m not crying…you’re crying!)

John knew his position and mission.  He was relentlessly focused on what God created him to be and do.  He was honest and open to the world.  He was not afraid of those who opposed him.  We can learn much from John’s character and behavior!

John lived a humble life, unrestrained, and traveled light.  He had a work to do and avoided anything that got in the way of that work given to Him by God.  He was “born to be wild”—wildly devoted to God who gave him life and meaning!  He was truly excited when John saw his cousin, Jesus, the Messiah, coming down the road.  He knew his days were coming to an end when he said, “He must increase; I must decrease.” 

Yes, later in John 3:30, John, the gospel writer, will share John, the Baptizer’s humble words; “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John the Baptist is talking about Jesus, saying his purpose in this world is to decrease. John, the Baptist realizes he has done the advance work according to God’s will and purpose.  Now, Jesus must increase in the work of seeking and saving the lost. Jesus saves.  John introduces them to the One who saves and redeems forever!  John the Baptist’s purpose in this world was to exalt Christ, not himself.

If you really think about it, as believers in Jesus we are the “advance men and women” to the lost-not-yet-saved of the world. But first, In Jesus Name, we pray for God’s Spirit to prepare hearts to receive Jesus!  We pray for opportunities to tell His story.  Don’t worry, God will provide them for it is not His desire that anyone should perish without Him!  We pray for boldness, courage, and clarity in telling; as led by His Spirit with the right words at the right time—because that’s what it means to be a “disciple” of Jesus.

Jesus calls and commands all disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:19-20

Just as God was with John, the Baptizer and affirmed by Jesus, God’s Son, God is with us as wetell the Truth:  Jesus IS the Son of God, Messiah, the One who saves us from all our sins once and for all.  –And Jesus is coming back someday soon!

Lord,

It is inspiring and encouraging to read about your advance man, John, the Baptizer.  You take us deeper in to the story each time we read it and meditate on the significance of each role of the participants.  Thank you for teaching us that we all have purpose in you. Thank you for loving us the way you do for that teaches us to love well.  Thank you for John who introduced Jesus as the One and Only who removes the sins of the world who believes.  I pray for the lost around me who need to know you and for those reading this right now who want to grow in your love.  Help us.  Lead us.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen.  I believe.

What would it mean to you to be called “someone’s beloved”? What if it came from the lips of our Lord, Jesus?  What did Jesus mean when he called John “His beloved” disciple? As we begin to read the gospel of John, we will notice that the word, “beloved,” carries a great deal of responsibility for John. 

Recap of the gospels:  Matthew tells us about how the Son of Man fits into the history of the Jewish people with who Jesus is.  He is The Messiah promised who will fulfill everything about God’s Law to them.  Mark excitedly tells us the basic facts of Truth with meaningful concepts of Jesus’ teachings so we can become more like Jesus in following Him.  Luke proclaims how lost and downtrodden people are sought after with compassion and saved for eternity by Jesus’ touch, a word from God, while showing mankind the love of God. John takes us farther down the road of understanding God’s love with what it really means to be His Beloved.

Take notice as John impresses on the hearts of his readers to know love—like God loves them.  His entire, God-inspired writing is so that others may believe Jesus and follow in the way Jesus loves.  His goal is for us to know God, for only then will we know the real, relentless, unconditional, never changing love found only by knowing God.  God is Love.  In fact, it is John who tells us how God demonstrated His Love for us: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16—the most quoted verse in the world!

John is the one who clarifies why Jesus came to earth with the verses that follows: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17

Towards the end of John’s gospel, he declares, once more, his purpose for writing as inspired by God: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31

Two major themes for John:  So that we would know the love of God and so that we would be believe in Jesus.  Hold that thought as we read about Jesus through the eyewitness of John—about Jesus, who knew us and loved us so much He died and rose again for us— “just as He said He would.” 

At the foot of the cross of Jesus, John is given the greatest responsibility of all—”When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”  John 19:26

John is writing of himself.  John’s devoted love was proven to known by Jesus with this act of compassionate love.  John, the beloved of Jesus was trusted to become Mary’s beloved son.  John would care for the earthly mother of Jesus for the rest of Mary’s  days on earth.  Jesus trusted the love of John!  What an amazing snapshot of John’s love for Jesus and Jesus’ love for John and Mary!  Yes, this is a precious moment between Jesus and John.

We who love Jesus with all that is in us love because Jesus first loved us!  We who believe what Jesus did to demonstrate God’s Love for us by dying for our sins and rising a victor over death for eternity so that we would have eternal life only then begin to realize the depth and breadth of God’s Love.  Love is a responsible response to God’s relentless Love of us.  We, too, are His beloved who experience His love, knowing the full extent of His love.  God’s Love is expressed in those precious moments when He intervenes on our behalf to show us His Love. 

This is what John wants us to know and believe.  Let us begin—

John 1, The Message

The Life-Light

^1-2 The Word was first,
    the Word present to God,
    God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
    in readiness for God from day one.

^3-5 Everything was created through him;
    nothing—not one thing!—
    came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
    and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
    the darkness couldn’t put it out.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

As much as our words reveal to others our hearts and minds, so Jesus Christ is God’s “Word” to reveal His heart and mind to us. According to John, and is repeated, Jesus is the Light that the darkness of this world cannot extinguish. The “Life-Light” is still blazing a trail to our darkened hearts to reveal Truth.

Jesus was there with God at the beginning of Creation.  Jesus is “Alpha and Omega,” John writes in Revelation 1:8, the beginning and the end.  According to Hebrews 1:1-3, Jesus Christ is God’s last Word to mankind, for Jesus is the climax of divine revelation.

John explains The Light who is opposed to darkness.

God is light (1 John 1:5), while Satan is “the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). People love either the light or the darkness, and this love controls their actions (1 John 3:16–19). Those who believe on Christ are the “sons of light” (John 12:35, 36). Just as the first creation began with “Let there be light!” so the new creation begins with the entrance of light into the heart of the believer (2 Corinthians 4:3–6).

The coming of Jesus Christ into the world was the dawning of a new day for sinful man (Luke 1:78, 79).  Truth made flesh.  This is the beginning of “all things made new” through our decision to believe, repent, and follow Jesus who made all things new for us by His sacrificial act of love.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Jesus declares The Light: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”—Jesus, John 8:12

May the Love-Light be found in us today. 

Lord,

Thank you for bring the light of Truth into a world of darkness.  You not only shed light but you dispel darkness.  When Light enters, darkness flees for it is no match for you!  Thank you for loving us so much that you created a plan from the beginning to save us.  Cleanse our hearts, remove all the darkness with your Light of Truth.  Renew our minds, refresh our souls with knowledge of You.  Restore the joy of your salvation at work within us.  Thank you for the peace that comes from knowing and following you.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen.  I believe.