It is human nature to want to be on someone's good side, especially those who have the power to harm you or worse. If a police officer were to question you, whether or not you liked him/her, you would respect the uniform or at least watch your mouth so you do not get into bigger trouble. Likewise, if you knew a teacher had it out for you, you wouldn't get smart with her.
Jesus knew they had it out for Him yet when He was questioned He did not just give them a direct answer. Like always Jesus answered the question with a question. Jewish people in Jesus day respected their religious leaders knowing they had the power to judge them in court. Annas was probably used to being respected and maybe even feared and to have Jesus in front of him, just a young man questioning him, left Annas speechless. After the guard struck Jesus for not addressing Annas with the respect he felt he was due, Jesus bound him by the Law. Everything had to be confirmed by two or three witnesses. "You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Deuteronomy 19:15 Yet here is Jesus standing by Himself being accused with no witnesses against Him. Speechless, Annas sends Jesus to Caiaphas the high priest. One thing that is interesting is that Jesus basically tells Annas- My words and actions line up and speak for themselves. Can we, as believers, say same? Is who we are at work, school and home the same person? Can we say, like Jesus, my words and actions line up and they speak for themselves? If not we need to realign them so they do. God is good and this is His desire, will and promise to each believer that we would conformed into the likeness our our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not something that just do but rather we called to surrender our will for His and the Holy Spirit will lead, empower and bring about this change in our lives for the glory of God. Have a great day Loved Ones and God bless you real good!
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It's interesting that Peter is always highlighted in scripture as the one who denied Jesus but it was all 11 who did. In today's reading of thelifebook we read about another disciple who followed Jesus into the court. This disciple was none other than John himself. Peter, for all the times he stuck his foot in his mouth, he was still with Jesus to the end. He may have denied Him but he had to be there to do it. The Bible does not say that John denied Jesus so it would seem that God was preparing Peter in a special way. He was humbling Him in such a way that he would never forget the grace of God in calling him to be His disciple. We can hear this humility in the book of Acts and the 2 letters that Peter wrote but also the great power of the Holy Spirit that flowed in and through Him because of it.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 1Peter 1:3-5 There are various ways we can deny Jesus and we all do it in some way, shape or form. This should remind us of the grace given to us and how we too were called to follow Jesus. Thank God for that because NONE OF US would qualified. I've heard it said before, God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Thank you Jesus. Have a great day Loved Ones and God bless you real good! Good morning Loved Ones! Today we start our VBS/Vacation Bible School at out local Church which we like to call SST/Super Summer Time. I will try to write our devotionals for study of John but SST will require much of my attention. I apologize beforehand, I will do my best. Even this morning I find myself up early and wanting to review the details of SST while it's quite and I can concentrate. Please continue reading thelifebook. Today we are on page 71, the second part entitled...
"The Work of the Holy Spirit." Have a great day and God bless you real good! For the first time ever, I saw advertising on a billboard for Moody Bible Institute. We were getting on the expressway and there it was, a nice, clean, giant sign saying, "Good News. For a Change. WMBI 90.1"
This makes Dylan's comment stand out even more, "I can see the commercial now - “Follow Jesus and be hated!” This is exactly what Jesus was saying. To read Jesus saying, " I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." is quite shocking if you have never heard it before. Some may wonder why would anyone hate Christians they are nice people and others may say they had it coming because they think they are better than everyone else. In the end I hope it is plainly because we are following Jesus and speaking truth in love even as He did. Christians in the US are seeing increased hostility nowadays, some even persecution but around the world it has existed since the time Jesus walked this earth. This is not because we are better than those around world or because they deserve what they are getting. You would think that one is a blessing and the other a curse but history has shown that those who suffer for Christ's sake experience a closeness to Jesus that the other can not. Although we shouldn't go out and look for persecution, it shouldn't be looked at as a curse or a blessing. It is simply the reaction of those who do not know God. They do not want to be reminded of it by having a Bible believing, Jesus following believer around so they will do their worst to get you to go away. Paul said something crazy that only makes sense in Jesus' kingdom, "That I may know [Jesus], and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings," Philippians 3:10a Normal people want to know or experience the power of Jesus' resurrection but not the fellowship of His suffering. But Paul was anything but normal, he was absolutely surrendered to Christ and He already knew suffering and the closeness it brought him to His Savior. If we are hated because of Jesus, let it be because we are truly following Him not because we're being self righteous. And remember we don't have to go looking for trouble it will come, if God wills it and it will be God's best for us at that time. Have a great day Loved Ones and God bless you real good! Jesus starts out by talking about the branches and describes them as "in Him". This tells me that they belong to Him. If they belong to Him then NO one can snatch them out of His hand, which is what He said just a few chapters earlier. The word used here translated taken, removed or cut can be translated lifted as well. Lifted is fitting when you consider the picture of the vine and it's branches. A grape vine branch would lie on the floor and get covered in mud unable to receive the light it needs to grow. For this reason it is lifted, cleansed and placed on a rock so it will no longer lie on the ground. This is a beautiful picture of the Vine Dresser's work in the believer's life. We are lifted, made clean and put in a place where we can grow and bear fruit.
The whole passage is about bearing fruit and how this occurs. We cannot produce fruit ourselves, it only happens by abiding or remaining connected to the vine. The Holy Spirit produces fruit as the Father, who is Vine Dresser cultivates the Vine. The Vine is Christ Himself. A beautiful illustration of the Trinity at work in the life of a believer. Jesus is telling His disciples to stay connected. Only through the Spirit of God will we grow and produce good works. The disciples were about to experience physical separation from Jesus but now they would know 1.) that through His Spirit they will never be alone and 2.) the plan that God the Father has to grow them and bear fruit for His glory. The word cloud above says it all. It is made up of the all the words in John 15:1-17. The more a word is used the bigger it appears in the word cloud. So you can plainly see that Fruit is the largest which is fitting because it's the point of the passage. Abide is next which leads to bear and love which is how it all happens. then we have the Vine and Vine Dresser- Father and Branch. Like a natural cloud this beautiful word cloud reminds us we can't produce it but we can enjoy it along with others. Have great day Loved Ones and God bless you real good! Which one of us, as children, did not say to our parents, If you love me you would...fill in the blank. I don't think we really believed that, even at that time. When Jesus said, "If you love Me you would keep my commandments.", He was NOT saying that we prove our love by keeping His commands. What He was saying is that from love will flow obedience. Once again this is a description not prescription.At the end of today's portion of thelifebook Jesus says,"I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Jesus, the Good Shepherd leads by example.
It's incredible that Jesus spent His last day before the crucifixion serving, instructing and comforting the disciples. Many of the things Jesus said and did, did not even make sense to them at the time but the promised Holy Spirit and His work in and through them would be what ultimately empowers the Church and gave us God's Word. It is for the same reason we can have confidence that Bible is God's word today. That same Holy Spirit that lived in the Apostles lives in us and He will illuminate God's word in our heart and mind as well. I love the focus Jesus had when He said "the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me." Jesus had confidence in who He was and that confidence gave Him great boldness to move forward in His mission. May we also know that the enemy has no claim on us and in love move forward with God's plan for us as a church. Have great day Loved Ones and God bless you real good! Today we celebrate our freedom. For some this freedom is priceless and for others it just is what it is. It is not something they give much thought to and therefore do not appreciate what they have. It can be the same as a believer. For many the thought of their independence form sin, shame and guilt are priceless when they consider what was paid for it, the very blood of the Son of God. Yet there are others who maybe believe that this freedom is their birthright, something that belongs to them just because they are part of the human race. Unless these people recognize Jesus for who He is and what He came to accomplish for us they will spend an eternity separated from Him.
Jesus disciples where confused when He told them He was going away and would return for them, especially when He said they knew the way. The answer Jesus gave them when they said, "Lord we do not where you are going, how can we know the way?" is quite revealing and one of the most quoted verses with the evangelical church. Jesus answered them, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus was letting them know that it is NOT how much they know but WHO they know that will get them to their final destination. Some of us may not even know why we celebrate Independence Day but we still enjoy it. If you belong to Jesus, He is the Way, The Truth and the Life and we will come to the Father through Him. This is not because we deserve it but because Jesus paid the price for our freedom. Let us celebrate the superior freedom we have in Christ today. Have great day Loved Ones and God bless you real good! There is always that one kid, teenager or adult in the group that claims he or she has done greater things than everyone else. We like to call these individuals "one uppers". Their story has to be just a bit more over the top than yours. It may be that they believe themselves or they just want the attention on themselves. It can be fun to be around people like this but eventually it grows old an even sad to be around.
Whether or not Peter was a "one upper" is debatable but one thing is for sure he was not the type to fade into the background although I believe his intentions were good. He was always the first one to comment or promise something, this would prove to be good and bad. He was the only one to climb out of the boat and walk on water but then he sank. He was the first to confess, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Matthew 16:16 but just after was told "Get behind me Satan." Matthew 16:23 In today's portion of thelifebook Peter tells Jesus "I will lay down my life for you." then he receives another blast of reality, "Will you lay down your life for me?". Jesus was not trying to mean to him, He simply told him what will be and Peter did not argue with Him. With that image of a rooster crowing proudly, Peter must have thought of timing as well, in 12 hours or so, Peter will have denied knowing Jesus three times. As I have said before, thank God that it is not our faithfulness that secures our eternity, it is Jesus' faithfulness. This is why Jesus' words are so important, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now,". This was more than likely a reference to the Cross. Tradition tells us that Peter was also crucified which may have been why Jesus said, "but you will follow afterward." In the end Peter experienced some of the greatest highs and lows and none of them would have happened if he wasn't willing to stick out and step out. We too should be willing to stick out and step out if we want to experience something besides what the average person can. One thing is for sure if we try nothing, nothing is what we get. How can you stick out and step out? God has made us all different but the same Spirit of God indwells, empowers and gifts each us according to His will and for the glory of God. Have a great day Loved Ones and God bless you real good! There are a number of people that will run the Chicago marathon this year. They have all trained and are paying the price that is necessary to get to this level and compete with those willing to make the same sacrifice. Although they will all be running the same race what makes them distinct from one another is why they are running in the first place.
There is a group from our church that will be running but they are running to raise money for World Vision, specifically to provide clean drinking water for children in Africa. The interesting thing is that they were inspired by others who have done what they are setting out to do. They have an example. As believers we are all running a race as well. The price has been paid for us. We have been qualified not by our own sacrifice but that of our Savior Jesus Christ. The question is why are you running? I hope the answer is for Christ anything less would miss the mark. Jesus told His disciples that He was giving them a new commandment. This commandment was not what they are to do as much as how they are do it. They and we as believers are called to love one another as Jesus loves us. Jesus set a whole new standard of love. This love was greater than that of family or neighbor, it is sacrificial love. This kind of love was unheard of among the Greco-Roman world they lived in and even among the Jews. They knew they were commanded to love one another but now Jesus says to do so as He has loved them. To think, that how we love another would make the distinction that we are Jesus' disciples. It is a heavy responsibility but we are not left without example and power. We do not have to produce this kind of love, we merely allow it to flow through us. It is produced by the Holy Spirit who lives in every believer. In the end, we have two choices on the shelf loving God or loving self. Have a great day Loved Ones and God bless you real good! Having washed the disciples feet (including Judas who would betray Him) the Bible tells us, "Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” It would seem that the act of washing His betrayer's feet may have been why, "Jesus was troubled in his spirit " or it could have been that His crucifixion was just around the corner. The disciples then ask Jesus who He was talking about. They believed it could have been one of them. So many today worry about the same thing, they wonder if they themselves will betray Jesus. One thing I want us all to remember and something that Jesus Himself said often, it is NOT our ability to be faithful to Jesus but rather His ability and promise to be faithful to us that will secure our eternity with Him. Fascinating that we are told the progression of Judas' fall. First he was influenced then possessed by devil. There are times that our thoughts may not be our own but we are responsible for what we do with them. In Judas' case it led o betraying the Son of God and opened the door to being possessed by the devil. Scary thoughts! If is often quoted, "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" 1John 4:4 but this does not mean as believers that we are beyond temptation and ugly sin. May we scream at the devil when we are tempted to sin- Greater is he who is me than you who are in the world! In the end it's all about my weakness but Jesus' and His pardon, power, presence in His own. Have a great day Loved Ones and God bless you real good! |
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