Month: March 2014

Today’s reading picks up, “some time later,” after Jesus healed the official’s son. Until now, we have had more of a day-to-day account of what Jesus was doing, but today, a little time has passed. We know Jesus was in town for a feast. There were three that all Jewish males were required to attend, but the scripture doesn’t say which one.

Since Jesus was back in Jerusalem, he would be under much closer scrutiny by the Jewish leaders. He would have had more freedom in Galilee as well as Samaria to teach and heal without constant questions and objections from the people who considered themselves in charge. He had to have known that each time he healed or taught when he was in the area of the temple, would bring him a step closer to the cross. He healed and taught anyway.

There was a pool that attracted all sorts of disabled people from blind to lame to paralyzed. They believed that from time-to-time and angel of the Lord, stirred up the water and caused it to bubble.The first person in after the movement in the water was healed. So, these people sat day after day, hoping for a miracle, hoping for healing.

Jesus walks by and sees a man lying on a mat. The text tells us that he had been an invalid for 38 years. He may have been completely paralyzed or have had very little use of his legs; the Bible isn’t specific. Either way, he couldn’t make it to the pool without assistance.

Jesus asks him the simple question, “Do you want to get well?” It seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? Yet, it has a deeper meaning. Jesus asks every one of us on a daily basis, “Do you want to get well? Do you want to be whole? Do you want to be forgiven? Do you want to be free?” How do we answer these questions when they are directed at us?

The man answers, “Sir, I have no one to help me to the pool.” He doesn’t ask Jesus for help or for healing. He doesn’t appear to know who Jesus is. Until now, people have come to Jesus asking for help. Their faith heals them. But, in this instance, Jesus heals a man who has no idea who he is.

He tells him to pick up his mat and walk. Here’s the faith part in this story. He picks up his mat and walks. He doesn’t argue. He doesn’t hesitate or ask a bunch of questions. He does as he’s told. He hasn’t walked in 38 years, but stands up and walks away. Here’s another example of someone doing as Jesus tells them to, with fabulous results.

Jesus sees him later in the temple and tells him to stop sinning or something worse could happen. This man had been physically trapped for a long time, but Jesus wanted him to know  that there are eternal consequences for sinning. The the man tells the Jews who healed him.

Again, Jesus had to have known the trouble it would stir up for him by talking to the man in the temple, but he did it anyway. He had a mission.

What do you think about today’s reading?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

After two days with the Samaritans, Jesus and his disciples head for Galilee, his hometown. Apparently, Jesus didn’t expect much of a reception because he pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his hometown. In other words, the folks you grow up with, don’t have much respect for you.

His comment points to human nature in general. When you grow up with someone or watch someone grow up, I think it would be difficult to see them in a new light as a prophet. It would be even more difficult for them to believe he was the Messiah. If your next door neighbor was gone for a few years and came back home as a prophet with followers, it might be hard to believe. I think Jesus is tapping into our own human weaknesses and simply pointing them out to his disciples. He is stating the truth of human nature.

But, when he arrives, the Galileans welcome him. Had Jesus been wrong about his hometown welcome? Unfortunately, no. If we read carefully, we will see that they had “seen all he had done.” It says once again, he visited Cana. Remember what happened in Cana? Yep, the first miracle was there.

The Galileans weren’t welcoming the Messiah. They were welcoming a miracle worker. They welcomed Jesus because of what he could do for them. Does this sound painfully familiar to us today? How often do we seek Jesus when we need something physical, like healing? Do we wait to seek him when there’s nowhere else to go? Do we wait to seek him when we want something from him? I suspect most of us are a lot like these Galileans.

To make matters worse, a royal official in Herod’s service, heard Jesus was in town and asked him to heal his gravely ill son. This guy wasn’t even a Jew. He was a Roman; but as most parents know, was willing to do anything to save his child.

I picture Jesus saying wearily, with a sigh, “Unless, you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

The man persists, as any parent would, and Jesus simply tells him, “You may go. Your son is healed.”

The man took Jesus at his word and left. Let’s ponder that for a moment. The man took Jesus at his word. Here’s a Roman who likely knew nothing about God or Jesus or anything about the Jewish faith. He took Jesus at his word. Do we take Jesus at his word? Do we have the faith of this Roman officer in Jesus’ abilities?

His faith was rewarded and the boy was healed at the exact time Jesus said he would be. The official’s entire household believed. I once again, find myself wondering about these people. How many people were in that household? How many people did that miracle change forever? Did they go on to share their faith with others? Did they come to the aid of other new Christians down the road? We will never know; but my curious mind would love to.

The scripture ends saying this was the second miraculous sign, but specifically, it was the second time Jesus performed a miraculous sign after coming from Judea to Galilee.

What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today, we find Jesus on the move. The Pharisees had heard about his disciples baptizing people and began to take a special interest in Jesus and he knew it was time to go. He would come back eventually and eventually, that path would lead him to the cross. He knew that and accepted that, but now was not the time for that. His time had not yet come.

So, he and the disciples traveled through Samaria. Jesus was tired and thirsty and rested by a well, while the disciples went into the village to buy some food. I love this human glimpse of Jesus. He was tired and thirsty from his long walk. The Son of God was tired and thirsty. Don’t we all get tired? Jesus understands. He’s been there.

It was around noon and a woman comes out alone to draw some water. She had several strikes against her.  First of all, she was a Samaritan and Jews did not associate with the Samaritans. They were considered unclean. Secondly, she was a woman. Jewish men did not talk to women who were alone. Finally, she was an outcast of her own people, coming to the well by herself and not with other women. She had been married five times and was now living with a man she wasn’t even married to. Scandalous!

But, here the Messiah was asking her for a drink of water. She wants to know why he would even ask her for a drink of water. A Jew would become ceremonially unclean if he used a drinking vessel handled by a Samaritan, because the Samaritans were considered unclean. Jesus again, shows us that he sees people for who they are, not where they are from. He also shows us that he is quite comfortable talking with women, something completely unacceptable until this point.

Jesus tells her he has a kind of water to offer her that will keep her from ever being thirsty again and will give her eternal life. Her response was:  “Where do I get some?” I feel the same way as she did when I read this. It sounds so inviting doesn’t it?

Jesus tells her to go and get her husband. She tells him the truth. She doesn’t have one. He tells her that he already knows this and goes on to say that she has had five husbands and isn’t even married to the one she is living with. The woman is stunned.

Confession works the same way with us. Jesus already knows what we have done before we confess, so why is it so hard to confess? We know we will be forgiven. Why do we hesitate?

She asks Jesus why the Jews insisted that Jerusalem was the only place to worship. Jesus tells her that the time is coming when the place of worship will not matter. The worship will be about the person worshiping in Spirit and truth, not about the place.

She tells him she knows a Messiah is coming and then he says the magic words. “I am the Messiah.” NLT

The disciples return and are shocked to find Jesus talking to the woman, but don’t have the nerve to ask him why. They have to know by now, that everyday with Jesus is a wild ride. He’s performed miracles and driven unscrupulous people from the temple. Who knew what he would do next?

The woman ran into town and told the other Samaritans. She must have been believable because many people followed her to the well. Here is a great example of Jesus’ ability to change us.

The Samaritans ask him to stay with them and he stayed for two days and many believed. We don’t get the disciples’ reaction to them staying in Samaria, but that had to have been shocking to them too. That’s where today’s scripture ends.

What do you think about Jesus and the Samaritan woman?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today, a rivalry begins. Jesus is traveling around with his disciples and teaching. His disciples begin baptizing people. John the Baptist’s disciples hear about it and get upset. They are losing some of their followers to Jesus. They go and tell John.

Once again, we get a front row view of John’s humility. He tells them that he and Jesus have gifts given to them from God, so there is no place for envy. He is content to serve with what he has been given. He reminds them that he has told them from the very beginning that he is not the Christ, but someone sent ahead to prepare the way.

He then goes on to say that it is the bridegroom who marries the bride.  The bridegroom is the most important man at the wedding. The best man is happy to stand there and hear the vows. The best man is there to help, not to be in the spotlight. John says his joy is now complete.

John then goes on to say that Jesus must become more and John must become less. These are such wise words. So often, we can get enthralled with some kind of Biblical teacher, preacher or writer. We have a tendency to follow their teachings and their philosophies. We buy their books. We often forget, that while these people may have the ability to shine brilliant light on the Bible or on God, they are just teachers and helpers. The light has to shine on Jesus, not on man. John is a perfect example of humility, graciousness and truth.

John then goes on to say that people are from earth and can only speak as people from earth. Jesus is from heaven. He testifies from divine experience. When anyone accepts Jesus’ testimony, they accept the truth that Jesus came from heaven and that God was acting in him for the world’s salvation.

John ends this discussion by saying that, “The Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands.” That means Jesus has the wheel, if we give it to him. If we believe, Jesus is in charge, a fact I find very comforting. He then paraphrases Jesus’ earlier words that whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. But, then John goes a little bit further.

He says, “Whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath will remain on him.” God’s wrath is a strong expression and is only found in this Gospel. It means that God is actively opposed to everything evil. The wrath will not fade away; it is permanent. John the Baptist is telling his followers that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, period. He has been preparing the way and hopefully, preparing his own disciples for Jesus, but this is it. Jesus is the real deal and they need to accept him, just as John has.

What do you think about today’s scripture? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

 

In today’s reading, we find Nicodemus intently trying to understand Jesus’ message.We learn that he is a Pharisee. We love to think badly of those guys because they always seemed to be in conflict with Jesus, but in all fairness, they were trying to be good Jews. They were a lot like Christians today, who attend church and try to follow all of the rules. We have to remember that grace was not a concept the Jews were familiar with. They had the law to guide them, not grace.

Modern Christians can fall into that trap as well if we are not careful. Sometimes we can quote scripture all day long, but are we living in the love that comes from the Gospel? Are we a reflection of the grace that comes from Jesus? We have the luxury of knowing how this story ends. We live on the Easter side of the cross. The Pharisees did not.

So, Nicodemus, a respected Pharisee, meaning he was well acquainted with Jewish teachings and the law, sought out Jesus to try to learn more. The scripture says he met with Jesus at night. Maybe he was embarrassed  about being seen with Jesus. Maybe he knew that Jesus was surrounded by crowds during daylight hours and he wanted to have uninterrupted alone time to ask his questions. The scripture doesn’t tell us, so we can only speculate.

Whatever his motives were, Jesus certainly knew what they were and he was more than happy to share the truth with him. This is such a fantastic picture of Jesus. It doesn’t matter who seeks him or the circumstances; he will always share his truth and his grace. If we seek him, we will find him.

Nicodemus tells Jesus that he knows he is from God, because of all of the miraculous signs he has performed, but he wants to know more. Jesus talks to Nicodemus about the concept of being born again. Nicodemus is confused by this revelation. Jesus explains that humans can only make human life, but the Holy Spirit gives spiritual life. The Holy Spirit works as he pleases in his renewal of the human heart.

Jesus then goes on to say one of most Christians’ very favorite Biblical lines, John 3:16:  “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.” I also really like the following verse: “For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Jesus has summed up the Christian faith in a nutshell. It’s at the heart of what we believe. It’s about love and sacrifice. It’s about hope. Unfortunately, we don’t see a reply from Nicodemus. How did he react to those deep words of truth? Did he get his answers or did he have more questions? I really would love to know.

The exchange ends with Jesus saying the light that has come into the world and evil hates the light. People who live by truth come to the light. I think, the question for us is how are we doing at seeking the light, at seeking more of Jesus? Do we seek him in the light for all to see or do we seek him behind closed doors?

What do you think about Nicodemus and his exchange with Jesus? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

After the wedding at Cana, Jesus and his family, and his disciples, spent a few days in Capernaum. When it was almost time for the Passover Feast, which all Jews were required to celebrate, Jesus went to the temple and was angered by what he saw.

There were money changers and merchants selling cattle, sheep and doves in the outer court of the temple. The Jews were required to offer a sacrifice and those traveling from far away, often needed to purchase one. That in itself, was not the problem. These people were offering a needed service. There was also only certain currency that was allowed to be used in the temple. The money changers were providing a service. This was not the problem either.

The problem was, that in jockeying for the “best position,” these folks had decided not to just provide these services when the traveling pilgrims got close to the temple; they decided to go onto the temple property itself. This outer court, was the only place that the Gentiles, the non-Jews who may be seeking God, were allowed to pray. The Gentiles were not allowed inside the temple.

So, if a Gentile were to come to pray during Passover, they were greeted with a marketplace and since they weren’t allowed to go inside, this would be all they would get to witness of the Jews worshiping God. This made Jesus very angry.

We rarely think of Jesus as being angry. This is the man who willingly gave his life for all of mankind. This is the man who asked God to forgive those who taunted him as he was dying on the cross. But, defiling God’s house made him angry. Not only did it make him angry, he fashioned a whip out of cords and drove them out.

What does this display tell us? Well, it’s kind of comforting to me to know that it is okay to get angry about something we are passionate about. The Bible has many places where God gets angry. Anger is a natural emotion for us and is sometimes justified.

But, I think the bigger story here may be that the greed of these merchants may have been a stumbling block for those who were seeking God. I don’t think he had a problem with them providing a service or even making a reasonable amount of money. I think his issue was they had taken their greed and moved it into the temple, into God’s house. That made him furious.

I think it’s also important to note that Jesus wasn’t just some passive person. He was the Son of God. He was strong and he was passionate. I think we would like to put him in a neat little box where he was never angry and always had a smile on his face. The scripture paints a different story.

The chapter ends with him telling the religious leaders who were angry at his display that they could destroy the temple and he would rebuild it in three days. They thought he was crazy, but he was already referring to his death and resurrection. Jesus knew exactly what was coming.

What do you think about Jesus clearing the temple? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

In yesterday’s reading, John the Baptist proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah. Immediately, five of the future twelve disciples, follow him. Within the next day or so, (depending on the translation in your Bible), the group is invited to a wedding.

Little is known exactly what a wedding would have looked like in those days, but it would definitely have been a big celebration feast. The Jews of the day had very little to celebrate and so something like a wedding was a really big deal. The celebration would probably have lasted for a week.

So, they find themselves at a wedding and the host has run out of wine. This would have been a huge embarrassment for this family. Jesus’ mother, Mary gets wind of the predicament and approaches her son. She is obviously well aware of his capabilities. Why else would she have told him?

I love what happens next. Jesus tells his mother, “My time has not yet come.” We get the feeling they may have discussed this previously. But, Mary seems to know that her son won’t refuse her, because she doesn’t argue with him or reason with him. She simply goes to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.”

There’s so much going on here. There’s the human side of Jesus and his love for his mother. There’s a mother who believes a hundred percent in her son. Aren’t most mothers like that? We believe in our hearts that our children can do anything they set their minds to. Mary is no different.

Then there’s the famous words, “Do whatever he tells you.” How often do we do whatever Jesus tells us to do? When we do, aren’t we often in awe, like these servants were when they obeyed? How many more miracles might we see in our own lives if we “do whatever he tells” us to do?

Jesus wasn’t ready yet to begin his ministry, but the opportunity presented itself, and he complied. Perhaps he had hoped to assemble the entire twelve first. Perhaps he knew that once he performed that first miracle, his life on earth would never be the same. Word would surely get out and people would demand more. The scripture doesn’t tell us why he wasn’t ready, so we can only speculate.

I do know that there have been times in my own life when I didn’t feel like I was “ready” to do some type of ministry. I didn’t know enough about the Bible or didn’t have the time at the moment. Maybe, this is an illustration, that when we are called to do something for God, we are ready enough, whether we feel like we are or not.

What we do know, is that Jesus had five disciples and he hit he ground running with the miraculous. The scripture says, “his disciples put their faith in him.”

We are only in the first part of chapter two and Jesus has been baptized and been proclaimed to be the Lamb of God, by John the Baptist. He has called five disciples and performed his first miracle. Things are getting interesting fast!

What do you think about the Wedding at Cana? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Today’s reading picks up on the following day. Yesterday, John the Baptist told all of the Jewish religious leaders that he was not the Messiah, but the Messiah was coming. Today, John sees Jesus and says, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” He goes onto say, this is the man he was talking about earlier, and that he did not know who he was until now. He says that he saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and rest on him and that’s how John knows that Jesus is the Messiah.

He goes onto to say that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark record the actual baptism of Jesus, where God’s words are spoken, “This is my son who I love, with him I am well pleased.” John’s gospel just gives a re-cap.

As soon as Jesus’ identity is revealed to John the Baptist, he wastes no time in telling others. The next day, Jesus walks by and John the B tells his two disciples, “Look, there is the Lamb of God.” John’s disciples immediately leave John and follow Jesus.

This is a fabulous picture of John’s character. He’s been living in the wilderness and baptizing people and Jesus strolls in. The minute John realizes who Jesus is, he starts telling people that this is who they should be following. He puts his own feelings and pride aside. With complete humility, he honors God by pointing to Jesus, someone other than himself.

I wonder if this was at all difficult for John to just move over. He had his own following, many disciples of his own, but he doesn’t appear to pause even for a moment when Jesus enters the picture. This is an act we can all learn from, pointing the spotlight on Jesus and away from ourselves.

So, two of John the B’s disciples follow Jesus. One is named as Andrew and the other is generally accepted to be the Apostle John, the author of this gospel. They spend the day with him and then Andrew goes and gets his brother Simon. The NIV says,the first thing Andrew did was go and tell his brother they had found the Messiah. Isn’t that always what happens when we first meet Jesus? We are so excited that we have to tell someone about him.

Simon meets Jesus and I love what happens next. Jesus looks at him and says, “You will be called Peter.” This translates to “The Rock,” which as we read on, we will find that Peter is anything, but a rock. He’s impulsive and mouthy, but Jesus knows there’s deep potential in Peter, just as he knows that about us. Peter will become worthy of the title Jesus gives him.

Next, Jesus calls Philip and Philip tells Nathanael. They can’t seem to help themselves about sharing the exciting news. Nathanael has doubts because of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. How could the Messiah, the one to save us all, come from here? But, then Jesus personally calls him and Nathanael is onboard.

Like, Nathanael, some people need more nudging than others. But, when Nathanael joins him, Jesus basically tells him, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!” Jesus will be the one to bridge the gap between heaven and earth. And here we end for today.

What do you think about today’s passage? Do you feel a kinship with John the Baptist or Peter or perhaps Andrew, Philip or Nathanael? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

John begins his gospel by stating that Jesus was God, not from God, but God, himself. This is two of the parts of the trinity. In verse 4, he says that, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” He goes on to say that through Jesus, we are given the right to become children of God.

John uses the term life, 36 times. It’s an important concept in this gospel. No other New Testament book uses it more than 17 times and the most it is used in the other Gospels is three. He also uses the term testify, 33 times, also more than any other New Testament book. The term believe, is used 98 times.

While Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus and Luke begins with the birth of John the Baptist being foretold, Mark and John go right to the teaching of John the Baptist.

He tells us from the start, that John the Baptist was not the Messiah the Jews were looking for. Let’s get a little background here. John the Baptist, was different. His birth was touched by the Divine. His parents were well beyond child-bearing years, when his father Zechariah, who was working in the temple at the time, was visited by the Angel Gabriel. Gabriel  told him his wife, Elizabeth would become pregnant. He didn’t believe the angel and apparently angered him, so he was not allowed to speak until he child was born. (Don’t mess with Gabriel!)

Gabriel also told him the child was never to touch wine or alcohol and would be filled with the Holy Spirit from the day he was born. We also know that when Mary visited Elizabeth while pregnant with Jesus, John “leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” This is all pretty miraculous, supernatural stuff.

Gabriel told Zechariah that John would prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. Let’s keep in mind the small towns and villages these people lived in. Everyone had to have known about the miraculous birth of John. The Jews desperately wanted a Messiah to come and rescue them from the horrors of being Roman subjects. They knew of all of the prophets of the past like Elijah who never died, but was “taken up to heaven.” They were hoping John might be their guy.

But, in verse 19, John is very clear on his answer. He’s an unauthorized preacher out in the wilderness who doesn’t cut his hair and eats honey and locusts. He’s baptizing people in the river who repent. The Jewish leaders, you know our friends the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin, have sent a delegation to investigate. They can’t have folks just baptizing people because they are “led by the Holy Spirit.” Religious leaders required proper training and a stamp of approval by those in charge.

They ask him if he’s the Messiah, if he’s Elijah, if he’s the Prophet. No, to all three counts. Now they are annoyed as he quotes from the Prophet Isaiah, ” I am the voice shouting in the wilderness, clear the way for he Lord is coming!” This does not satisfy them. They ask him, if he is none of those people, then what gives him the right to baptize? He replies that he baptizes with water, but there is one coming who is way greater than himself.

I love the way John the B is always so straight to the point. He never plays games with the people in charge. They have only law to rely on, but John already has the understanding of grace through the Holy Spirit. He readily states that he is working for someone much greater than himself, a message we can all learn from.

What do you think about John the Baptist and the first 28 chapters of John? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

March 5th- John 1:1-1:28                                                                    April 1st 11:45-57

6th 1:29-51                                                                                                               2nd 12:1-19

7th 2:1-11                                                                                                                   3rd 12:20-50

10th 2:12-25                                                                                                             4th 13:1-17

11th 3:1-21                                                                                                                  7th 13:18-38

12th 3:22-36                                                                                                              8th 14:1-31

13th 4:1-42                                                                                                                 9th 15:1-26

14th 4:43-54                                                                                                            10th 16:1-33

17th 5:1-15                                                                                                                 11th 17:1-26

18th 5:16-30                                                                                                              14th  18:1-40

19th 5:31-47                                                                                                               15th 19:1-42

20th 6:1-24                                                                                                                  16th 20:1-18

21st 6:25-70                                                                                                                 17th 20:19-31

24th 7:1-53                                                                                                                   18th 21:1-25

25th 8:1-30

26th 8:31-59

27th 9:1-41

28th 10:1-42

31st 11:1-44