The Better Way

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE BETTER WAY

John 11:47-57

47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." 49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. 55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, "What do you think? Isn't he coming to the Feast at all?" 57 But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.

NIV

Jesus had just been to Bethany where He raised Lazarus from the dead, an extraordinary miracle which had to bring more people to believe in him. His popularity was increasing and the Pharisees were getting more and more determined to do whatever it took to stop him from usurping their position with the people. In this portion of the narrative, we see the prophetic words of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. We are told he did not speak those words on his own, but yet we are not told anything other than he prophesied, which had to mean he was inspired by God. That is interesting in the fact that God was using a non-follower of Jesus to accomplish His plan for the salvation of the world, just as he used Judas to betray Jesus to the Pharisees. Although Judas seemed to be a follower. What is interesting is that we have experienced such a moving of God in our lives through people who do not know him as we do. Non-believers had been involved in various ways in order for God to do something in our lives. If we cloister ourselves off from the world completely as some religious men have done and still do in monasteries, maybe we believers might have a tendency to do that within the community of faith. We only socialize with other Christians, never really coming in contact with anyone else, except maybe at our work. Just a thought. Jesus knowing the plot of the Sanhedrin withdrew for a time because he also knew the right time for his action to save the world. Ephraim was one of the sons of Joseph and part of what is referred to as the lost tribes of Israel. The desert-like region is just north of Jerusalem near Samaria. It is not far so when the time is right Jesus will be close enough to be in Jerusalem to be crucified right on the timetable of God. Everything is going according to plan, which again we have to believe that our life should also be going according to the plan of God. Sometimes we get so involved in making our own plans, we could miss out on the plan God has for us. He does not take over our will, superimposing himself upon us, much as some might think the Spirit does when people speak in tongues. God does not make us like robots, unable to think on our own, but he does desire that we submit our will to his. This may not always bring about positive results at first, such as with Jesus. He submitted his will to the Father and it caused him to suffer immensely, even onto death. But it also brought about his resurrection, glorification, and ascension to sit at the right hand of the Father. He will also return as a conquering King, destroying all the forces of evil once and for all. The point is that we should be willing to live in the will of God no matter how that works out in our lives. There is always going to be the idea of the name it and claim it people, who always think God is a genie in a  bottle and obligated to give them whatever they claim, and they claim only good things, they want. That is not the way of the life of a believer. We are simply to believe God and allow Him to direct our lives. His ways are not our ways, and our ways are not his ways, so which would be better, his or ours? We have to know the right answer, his ways are the better way.    

Giving Honor and Praise

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

GIVING HONOR AND PRAISE

John 11:36-47

36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"  41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."  43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."  45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

NIV

Who else could raise a person from the dead other than God? We know from the accounts of the Exodus there is dark or black magic as some of the signs Moses performed in the presence of Pharaoh, his sorcerers and magicians did the same, like turning a staff into a snake, although Moses’s snake ate theirs. Nevertheless, there has always been and still is black magic which comes from the evil one who has always attempted to mimic the power of God, but he has not and cannot raise someone from the dead. Jesus has the power, his words are the power of God. Lazarus had been dead four days which proves that he was actually dead, dead. Because the Jews did not embalm as the Egyptians did, after four days in the grave, the body would already be in a state of decay, or at least rigor mortis would have begun its stages. Martha’s statement gives proof the body was already decaying and had a bad odor. The man, without a doubt, dead. But Jesus prayed, just to the people would know God sent him, and he had the power of God within him. Jesus was not talking the glory, but saying this so that the Father would get the Glory. This is the bigger lesson, they Lazarus coming back to life from the dead. We cannot raise people from the dead, but all we do can be for the glory of our Father. It is so easy to take credit for what we do. In fact, most people what recognition for their achievements. It makes us feel good to be praised for something we did right. The problem is when recognition is our motivation for our actions. Some employers have big boards with pictures of employees, such as the employee of the month, or highest sales, or most of something. They know other employees will try harder to win the spot, want to be recognized. It is a ploy to create completion so everyone will work harder, to do their very best. Even in the Body of Christ, there seems to be this concept of competition. Who knows more about the bible, we teach our children that with the bible quiz teams, or who is the best talent, with those regional, state, and national talent competitions. Why do we applaud the choir or the musicians? Are we really giving God praise of are we actually applauding their performance? Then what about those big named preachers, who write book and book, or have television broadcasts or videos for sale of their most famous sermons or teachings?  We say how wonderful they are, how insightful, how good their books or video series are. We get caught up in someone’s intellectual prowess, even quoting their words. Why? Should not everything we do be about bringing praise to God, giving glory to God for all we are, all we do, and all we say? Everything should be about giving our Father all the honor and praise.

Jesus Wept

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

JESUS WEPT

John 11:28-35

28 And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 35 Jesus wept.

NIV

The shortest verse in the bible and it would seem there is actually no explanation why Jesus wept. Our scholars are all over the map with trying to look scholarly, giving us their various attempts to give a reason why he wept. Here he is at the tomb of a dear friend and he sees the two sisters, also dear friends filled with grief. The main thrust of our scholars points to the humanity of Jesus and his sorrow over the death of his friend. They make the point that it is human to weep over the death of a loved one, and Jesus was fully human and he was showing his humanity, empathizing with all who were mourning.  It sounds good, but we have to remember that Jesus told his disciples that the sickness of Lazarus would not end in death. The reason he waited until Lazarus died was so that God could bring glory to Jesus through this situation. He had full knowledge that he was going to bring Lazarus back to life. The fact he wept might be connected to the lack of faith of his friends, Mary and Martha. Both of them expressed faith in him that he could have healed their brother had he come sooner, but neither of them had faith enough to even consider Jesus could bring Lazarus out from the tomb. It seems right to think Jesus had spent a considerable amount of time with the three of them. Mary was the one who poured perfume over his feet and wiped them with her hair. That could have been the same time when he was with them and Martha was so busy making dinner preparations and was so upset because Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus instead of helping. The three of them had to have known him closely and knew he was the Holy One of God, but still both Mary and Martha did not ask him or think he would bring Lazarus back from the dead. Maybe that is why he wept. How much time he spent teaching them the truth of God, and still they had not gotten it fully. They were still thinking with physical minds. How many years have we been in the word of God? How much have we studied the truth? How much has the Spirit poured into us the reality of God, the realm of heaven and have we fully come to a complete understanding? Some have even rejected portions of the Holy Scriptures, or rather dismissed them by accounting them only to historic happenings. Could we believe Jesus still can do miraculous things, including raising someone from the dead? In some sense, he has already raised us from the dead. When we lived in our sin, we were simply dead men walking, but now we have life. Could we believe Jesus is still in the healing business? We have to believe that as we have experienced divine healing. Can we believe that God will give us whatever we ask for in the name of Jesus? Just how real is our faith? We believe enough for our salvation. We believe enough to expect to go to heaven when we die. We believe enough to be healed. We wonder if all believers really do. That is not judgmental, but if the church really believed there would be more miraculous healing, wouldn’t there? So it may be back to believing enough for salvation, but is that all there is to our faith? Is it possible that Jesus weeps over our lack of faith?

Do You Believe This?

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS

John 11:11-27

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."  12 His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. 14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."  16 Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." 17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"  27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

NIV

Jesus has just been explaining to his disciples that the sickness of Lazarus was not going to end in death, but this whole situation was so God could bring glory to Jesus. We have been told that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus and that they lived in Bethany. Here we are told it is only two miles from Jerusalem. It sits just on the far side of the Mount of Olives from which one can see Jerusalem just across the Kidron Valley. We had that privilege of standing there where Jesus might have walked up from the Kidron Valley to the town of Bethany. Before the journey from the Galilee area, he told his disciples it was time to go wake up Lazarus. They thought he meant that Lazarus was in bed sleeping and it was best because he would get better through rest. Sometimes it is difficult to catch the meaning of a metaphor and his disciples were no different. So Jesus makes it plain, Lazarus is dead. There is a strange and interesting remark by Thomas which seems to just be inserted within the narrative. What was Thomas saying and why did he say it? It is thought this gave some clues to the character of Thomas as to his difficulty in believing. The thought is he was worried about going back to the area of Jerusalem where people were looking for a way to kill Jesus. Thomas was thinking that as long as Jesus was going to be killed, the disciple should go with and be killed along with Jesus. However, what John may have been indicating in this narrative, is how Thomas was having doubts that Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, that all would go wrong instead. Nevertheless, they did get to Bethany and we have this first exchange between Jesus and Martha. She came out to meet him and her first remarks are interesting.  First, she sort of chides Jesus. “If you have been here my brother would not have died”. This was meaning she was not happy Jesus took so long to get here, but at the same time, she was expressing her faith that if Jesus had been there, he would have healed her brother. But, she is also expressing in her next words that Jesus is still capable of doing a miracle that God will do anything he asks. What powerful faith. Sometimes we get it wrong, seeing Mary's response as the better one, but Martha is saying she believes Jesus could still do something. But after Jesus assures her Lazarus will rise again, she gets is right, but is also wrong in understanding what Jesus is saying. We wonder how often we get it wrong about what Jesus has said. Yet, Jesus makes it clear to her. He is the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in him will live even though they die. He goes on to say that whoever lives and believes in him will never die. He is speaking of having eternal life, even after the death of the body. Oh death, where is thy sting! We have nothing to fear of growing old and coming to the end of our life in this body as we know it. As we already know Jesus does bring Lazarus from the grave, but at some time later Lazarus still will come to the end of his life in the body, but he will live forever, as we will. It does seem strange to us, that so many people, believers spend so much effort to prepare for old age, or make so much effort to remain here. All that seems rather futile because the death of the body awaits us all, but at that moment we raise to be with our Lord. However, expressing the same sentiment as Paul wrote to the Philippians. He was torn between two courses of life. He would rather die and be with Christ, but also remain so he could continue to minister to their progress and joy in the faith. This leads us to an understanding of why we remain. It is not a self-centered reason, just not wanting to die, but for the purpose of ministering to others. As we age, as we get to the older years of our life, we are not to just sit and soak so to speak, or get lazy doing nothing for others, just being concerned about our comfort. Just as Paul continued on till the death of his body, and Jesus continued to teach, to be concerned about those he loved, even on the cross, until the death of his body, and of course beyond. Jesus never quits ministering to us. Why should we be any different? Why should we quit? No, we labor on, we continue to do that which he has called us to do, until the last day of our last breathe, then and only then, will we rest. We believe this.

Walking in the Light or Stumbling in the Dark

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

WALKING IN THE LIGHT

OR

STUMBLING IN THE DARK

John 11:1-10

11:1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."  5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. 7 Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."  8 "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?" 9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. 10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light." 

NIV

Two things going on at this beginning of the narrative regarding Jesus, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, who live in the town of Bethany. As we stood on the Mount of Olives, we were within a just a little less than a half of mile where Bethany was, at the time of Jesus. Although Jerusalem is in plain view from the Mount of Olives, we cannot be sure if it can be seen from Bethany, yet it is very close to Jerusalem where the Jews who tried to kill Jesus were living. This is why his disciples were concerned about returning to Judea. Because of the close proximity of Bethany to Jerusalem and it is plainly in view of the Mount of Olives, it is quite possible that those in Jerusalem would have been able to see Jesus and his troop of followers walking around the Mount of Olives near Bethany. Then we have the reason for Jesus going there, the sickness of his friend Lazarus and the concern of Mary and Martha whom Jesus loved. We can see his omniscient in knowing the sickness of Lazarus will not end in death. His foreknowledge was either due to his omniscient or it was revealed to him by the Spirit, yet he knew and told his disciples. He could have left that part a secret and just raised Lazarus when he got there, but no, he wanted his disciples to know the truth ahead of time so they would have more proof of his divinity, and the whole reason for Lazarus being sick was to bring glory to Jesus. The second thing going on here is in the words of Jesus to his disciples in response to their warning about going back to Judea. Some might try to make something about the remarks about twelve hours of daylight, indicating the exact time of the year, the summer solstice, but that is not the point Jesus was making. We can see our way when we walk in the light, but we can surely stumble when we walk in the dark. Was Jesus simply just talking about being able to see in order to get to Bethany if they only walk during the day and rest at night? Could they not know the location even by the light of the moon? It is never absolute dark when the moon is present. Maybe it was a new moon and very little light was visible. We can see we cannot apply his words to the actual sunlight and nighttime. He is making reference to walking in the light verses in the darkness, walking in his light, knowing, living by the truth, then stumbling around in the darkness due to ignorance of the truth. Jesus is always teaching, everything he says is a teaching moment, even when he was on the cross, every word from his mouth teaches a divine, eternal truth. He wastes no time on trivia, he speaks only of the eternal truths of God. Maybe we should take a lesson from him. How much effort do we spend on trivial matters, talking about trivial matters? Sure, we have to live in the world and discuss the things of work, as well as our shopping needs, and paying bills, household matters, fixing that which is broken, even weeding the garden. But, the trivia stuff, oh we might be meddling if we name all the worldly trivia that is meaningless from the perspective of eternity. However, we would also be remiss if we did not consider naming a few of those trivial matters, such as sporting teams or specifics about a certain player, or being overly concerned about securing future financial security. It seems the radio ads are full of retirement, investment strategy firms. Money is a big topic. There is a two-hour daily program of a man who always says he is about us keeping more of our money. How much time can we spend on money or sports or the weather for that matter? That is not to say we should ignore it all, but is it trivia or is it eternal matters. How much time do we spend in the matters of God, in our bible, in the study of scripture, in learning? How much time do we spend in the presence of Jesus, so we can become like him, thus reflecting him to the world? It is just a question. Maybe we have an incorrect perspective on these issues. Maybe we are being too judgmental about those who seem to be invested in the ways of the world. What people choose for entertainment or leisure time, or concerns should not matter. What we know is Jesus was only concerned about the eternal matters of God, and if we say we want to be more like Jesus, well then the truth should be clear, as we walk in the light, so we would not stumble in the dark.

Do They See Jesus

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

DO THEY SEE JESUS

John 10:31-42

31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"  33 "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." 34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? 35 If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came — and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? 37 Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. 38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."  39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. 40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed 41 and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true." 42 And in that place, many believed in Jesus.

NIV

Jesus had just made the statement, “I and the Father are one”, at which the Jews were inflamed enough to want to stone him. It would seem the reason is not that he claims to be one with the Father, and that is truly blasphemy, but that they knew he was and he was overshadowing their power over the people or challenging everything they believed. They were happy in the law, they believed by obedience to the law it brought salvation. Their traditions were their god, although they believed in God. Jesus threatened everything in their lives. Then to top it off claims to be the Son of God. Yet in response to their anger, their self-righteousness, he quotes from the eighty-second Psalm where David writes,

Ps 82:6-7

6 "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.' 7 But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler."

NIV

Mere men are gods, sons of the Most High. We have been given the right to be called the children of God, sons, and daughters of God, yet who would stone us for making that claim? Of course, we know Jesus was the true one and only divine Son of God. Jesus makes the point that he only does what the Father does, that he and the Father are one. We have been told that we are in Christ and he is in us, therefore it would make sense that we should only do want Jesus does. But then again, Jesus was perfect, he was divine although he was also fully man. We are not perfect although, through the power of the Spirit, he purifies us, that is a process, Jesus has always been holy, pure, without sin. They just could not come to terms with Jesus being the One. So as they were getting ready to stone him, which that alone proves them unworthy of purity, he slipped away. It does not seem that he just walked away from them, as they would have encircled him to stone him. He had to slip away in some divine manner, disappear from their view somehow, or they would have chased after him. How can one mere man escape the grasp of many men? So Jesus leaves the area and goes back to the Jordan River where John was baptizing, where Jesus’s ministry began, where he was affirmed by the Spirit and the voice of the Father. Much is said by our scholars about Jesus going across the Jordan. Some say he did not actually cross over the Jordan, leaving the Promised Land, into Palestine. It does not really matter, the point is he went to the Jordan River and many people who had seen and heard John the Baptist understood he did not do miracles like Jesus, yet he spoke about Jesus being the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. When Jesus showed up, they knew it was him and they believed. It would seem right that when Jesus shows up, people believe. Of course, those steeped in their own form of religion or traditional views of religion, like the Pharisees, will not believe, even in the presence of Jesus. Yet we would have to believe when Jesus appears, and when he does what he does, people believe. So then could we say that if Jesus showed up in us, as he should, if we let him, if we get our “Self” out of the way, that people would believe? The question then is: do people see Jesus in us?

Following to do

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

FOLLOWING TO DO

John 10:19-30

19 At these words the Jews were again divided. 20 Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" 21 But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" 22 Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one." 

NIV

It seems there was and is always going to be division among people as to who Jesus is. Of course, even the people who refuse to acknowledge he is God in the flesh, do not profess he was a demon-possessed man, just merely a man, that is if they believe he really was a historical figure at all. However, those who refuse to see and believe he is the Christ, do make comments similar to, “Why listen to him?” In the narrative, we now move to a time of the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. This feast has been observed by the Jews from the time of the cleansing of the temple after it was desecrated by the enemies of Israel. This feast is also called Hanukkah and lasts for eight days and is still observed today. Jesus was in the temple area walking around. We have to wonder why. The narrative tells us the Jews gathered around him and ask an important question. They wanted a plain answer. Isn’t that just like most people? Who wants to listen to people who always talk in riddles or parables? Give us a straight answer, just tell us are you God or not. Well, they asked if he was the Christ, the Messiah, but that meant the same thing, someone who came from heaven, a divine being, God. Jesus tells them he has told them plainly, it is just they could not believe because they were not his sheep. What did he mean by that? Were they predestined to not be his sheep? They were Jews, the chosen people of God, how could they not be his sheep? The answer to that is in the words of Jesus. “My sheep listen to my voice”. They obviously were not listening to his voice, they did not get the truth of his words. They were thinking in the physicality of their minds, not with their hearts. To follow Jesus means more than to walk around in the same area, asking him to prove who he is, all the while not really believing, but trying to undermine the truth. Following Jesus means to walk the same path, in his footsteps, to believe his words, to accept his divine personage. But it is more than that. To follow Jesus is to go to the cross, die, be buried and be resurrected a new, glorified person and evidentially ascend into heaven, having eternal life. This eternal life begins the moment we die on that cross. That is what Jesus meant when he told his disciples, his sheep, to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him, Matt 16:24. It is not that we are not saved by faith, by the grace of God, but after we are saved, after we are securely in the hand of God, where no one can snatch us from, we have following to do.

Wherever He Leads

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

WHEREVER HE LEADS

John 10:16-18

16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." 

NIV

Jesus has been telling the people he is the good shepherd and that he lays down his life for his sheep. We took a look at the hired hand who is just in the game for the fleece and the fat, but when the wolf shows up they high tail it out of there, leaving the sheep defenseless. But we also talked about the wolves, those who come in sheep’s clothing. Now we take a look at the rest of the words of Jesus and that he says he has sheep that are not of this sheep pen. As he is talking to the Jews, he is telling them the gentiles are also his sheep, although we could be certain the Jews have no idea what he is talking about. They are the chosen people, the descendants of Abraham, and children of the promise. The gentiles are pagans, consider nothing, despised much like us Christians are considered by the Muslims today. But Jesus says that we who have not been born a Jew are also his sheep. It was always meant to be this way, for God so loved the world, not just the Jews. The fact is he did chose them, but we think it was for the purpose of revealing Himself to the whole world, not because they are any better of a people, or a special race or creed. The fact is that whosoever believes in Jesus will be saved. That whosoever includes every type of person on earth, whatever they ethnic or national background. We have listened to the voice of Jesus, all people whoever they are who listen to the voice of Jesus are his flock and he is our shepherd. We have a tendency to divide ourselves up into groups, nation groups, racial or ethnic groups, political groups, ideologist groups, intellectual groups, financial groups, and us Christian regardless of whatever other groups we belong in, we divide ourselves into denominational groups. But Jesus says there are one flock and one shepherd. Among a flock of sheep, there may be some white one, some spotted ones and some black ones, but they are all one flock, with one shepherd. Jesus is the shepherd of this one flock, all us believers and he lays his life down for us. Jesus also takes up his life again. We are the sheep of a risen shepherd, a living shepherd who cares for his sheep. We do not have to wander about this land alone and subject to the wolves or other dangers. He goes before us, leading our way to green pastures, he makes us lay down beside still waters, and he restores our soul. Even though we will travel through the shadow of death we will fear no evil for his rod and his staff they comfort us and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This is a beautiful picture of our shepherd, let us always hear his voice and follow wherever he leads.

The Good Shepherd

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

John 10:11-15

11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. NIV

Jesus continues talking about the shepherd and the sheep, making the point that he is the only good Shepherd who lays his life down for his sheep. What we have here is a reference to the hired hand who does not own the sheep. Who is Jesus making reference to? Who is this hired hand? Who looks after sheep, but does not own them? This is the hired priest, in the time of Jesus, this would be the Pharisees or even the line of Levites who serve in the temple, or the teachers of the law. They are only hired hands, so to speak. Today it could be many of the so-called popular leaders of the church, just hired hands, being paid to care for the flock, but not in ownership if it and in most cases not willing or worthy to lay their life down for any meaningful reason, as Jesus does. He lays his life down for the remission of our sins, no hired hand can so that. In addition, Jesus makes the point the hired hand runs away when he sees a wolf coming and the wolf scatters the flock. Here we have the picture of wolfs in sheep’s clothing. As long as the sheep produce a profit for the hired hand all is good and he stays with the flock, in fact for the fleece and fat of the flock, but when trouble comes he takes off, with the profit and leaves the sheep to flounder on their own. We would have to think the Pharisees fit that bill in those days, but Jesus speaks in eternal matters, and it has applied to hired hands throughout the ages. Today we see many hired hands who work to fleece the flock and enjoy their fat. They will remain with the flock as long as the profit is available, but they do not run when the wolf appears for they are the wolf in sheep’s clothing. They have decimated the sheep, the church. Jesus takes his stand against that type of leadership of the church. He is the only one who will lay down his life for the church and owns his people, we belong to Jesus, not some earthly organization. Yet are there any hired hands who will speak up against the wolves?  Will we all run? How many Pastors of local churches speak out openly against those wolves who would work only for the fleece and fat of the sheep? There are many who have gathered great fame and fortune fleecing the flock, big names known to many. We know their names, but they do not know ours, they have no idea who we are, or anything about our lives, or care about our lives, for that matter. Jesus, however, knows everything about us, our name, our very being, our innermost thoughts, even the number of hairs on our head. When we lose one hair he knows. There is no a single aspect of our lives he does not know about, and still, he lays down his life so we can have eternal life. What a great good shepherd we have in Jesus. We know his voice, we follow his voice, not the voice of a hired hand. Let us follow only the Good Shepherd.

The Full Life

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE FULL LIFE

John 10:1-10

10:1 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."  6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

NIV

Jesus has more to say regarding the shepherd and the sheep, but we should camp out here for a moment. Who is the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate? It has to be the law which Jesus is making reference to. Because he has been talking with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, who are steeped in sin and the law cannot save them, he is telling them if they try to enter the pen by the law, if they try to enter heaven by observing the law, they are a thief or a robber. Jesus is the shepherd, he comes through the gate, in fact, he is the gate. The whole idea is we know the voice of our shepherd but the Pharisees think the law is the gate and want the sheep, the people of Israel, to listen to their voice. Jesus says his voice is the only one to listen to. Today we have many voices screaming for our attention, wanting us to follow after their teaching, but they are strangers. They do not know us, they do not even know our name, all they want is for us to follow them and support their lifestyle. We need to run from them as fast as we can because we do not recognize their voice. We do not recognize the words they speak, because they speak non-truths, lies. Jesus is the only voice, he goes before us. Who else can go before us, lead us to green pastures and still waters? Who else, what other voice can give us life everlasting? These other voices, the voices of the world and of the false teachers, all are thieves and robbers. When Christians start quoting these voices rather than the voice of God they are in danger of wandering off from the shepherd and his pen. Jesus is the only one who goes before us, he lived, died, was resurrected and ascended into heaven. Who else has done that? He is the way, the truth and the life, no one enters through anyone else but him. These false voices only come to steal and kill and destroy. We have seen so many through our lifetime who have come to do just that. They come and go, showing up, making a big splash and then all of a sudden they are but a drip in the ocean. The words of Jesus are eternal. They come to swallow up followers and their money, seeking fame and fortune, Jesus comes so we can have life, and have it to the full.  

To See or Not to See

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

TO SEE OF NOT TO SEE

John 9:35-41

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." 37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."  38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."  40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?" 41 Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

NIV

We have come to the concluding remarks in the situation over Jesus healing the blind man on the Sabbath by making mud, putting it on his eyes and telling him to go wash it off. That meant both Jesus and the man worked on the Sabbath, but the Jews were only accusing Jesus because the disliked him so much they wanted to find some way to kill him. Jesus reveals himself to the man he healed from blindness, but at the same time, he condemns those who think they have sight as being blind. The idea here is they are many people who think they have the truth because of their adherence to some form of religion or religious activity. They put their belief in their “works” so to speak. Being a good person, even if their goodness is connected to the spiritual qualities, as the Pharisees were, does not mean they can see but are still blind to the truth of God. Of course, the determination or judgment as to which people are, blind or sighted is not up to us, but that judgment belongs only to Jesus. Our task is first, to recognize we are blind and need the work of Christ in our lives. We need him to open our eyes so we can see. We cannot open our own eyes, we cannot think that we have the ability of sight based on our efforts, our study, our thinking. Our sight, our ability to see is only a result of the work of Christ, such as putting mud on our eyes and telling us to go wash it off, then and only than only then can we see. To claim we can see because of our determination of the truth, our works, our effort to gain insight, only means we are still blind. How foolish to look to the ways of the blind to find the truth, when all we need is Jesus to do the work in our lives. That does not mean that once we can see, we such not look into his word and discover all his truth to live by, or what the future of our eternal life looks like, but education alone is not the answer, it all starts with Jesus taking mud and putting on our blind eyes so we can see.

Self-righteousness

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS

John 9:24-34

24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner." 25 He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" 26 Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" 27 He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" 28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from." 30 The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." 34 To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out. 

NIV

How did they know God spoke to Moses? They have the scrolls, a written record which they have to accept on faith. None of them actually ever heard from God, they only believe God spoke to Moses, yet they cannot believe what is really right in front of them. We believe God spoke to Moses because we believe the word of God, the bible is accurate and inerrant. We have this written record, indicating God did speak to Moses, but also that Jesus is the Son of God, one of the persons of the triune God. We have to believe that on faith, for we have not seen Jesus as these Pharisees did. It is interesting how people will choose what they want to believe and what they do not want to believe. Although we have the complete bible, we have decided which portions to accept and act on while leaving other portions alone, not acting in accordance with them. It is easy for us to see how self-righteous the Pharisees were, but we miss our own prideful attitudes which a form of self-righteousness is. The Pharisees accused this man of being steeped in sin from birth, and that he had no right to lecture them, after all, they were without sin, they followed the law. Self-righteousness is sin, yet they could not see it, they were blind. This man knew Jesus was from God. It is simple logic, God does not listen to sinners, and he listens to godly men who do his will. In effect, he was letting the Pharisees know they did not listen to God and they are not doing God’s will, which would be accepting Jesus as the Messiah. We know we have done God’s will, we heard the voice of God, the conviction of the Spirit and accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The problem is some get a little off track by getting bogged down in the law. Many have developed so many do’s and don’ts they may have missed the larger picture. Some have developed all these big fancy words that have to be defined in order to understand them. The simple truth is Jesus. If we know is he from God, and we have heard his word in our heart, then we live by faith, believing he is the Christ and he has opened our eyes. We also know that we were steeped in sin from birth as all men are, but God has forgiven our sin, wiped the slate clean, and keeps it clean because our sin has been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Sure, we make every effort to live a holy life, but the one who can live a perfect sinless life is Jesus. We will see again in the next exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees that blind and seeing concept again. But in this conversation between the man and the Pharisees, it is all about self-righteousness. How foolish people can become looking at themselves, believing in their own righteousness.

Being of Age

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

BEING OF AGE

John 9:17-23

17 Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet." 18 The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. 19 "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?" 20 "We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

NIV

It is really a good thing that we are not put out of the church because we believe something a little different than the leadership. The Pharisees held so much power over people, that if someone confessed they believed Jesus could be the Messiah they would be refused membership in the synagogue. It always comes down to agree or get out. Every denomination today has its set of beliefs, written out as a statement of faith or a constitution or in some other form, but the point is if you want membership into the club, a person needs to agree. There is no room for disagreement. That is just the way it is. There might be a little wiggle room, but like the Pharisees, it always comes down to how they interpret the law, or in our case the scripture. In this text, the issue about is working on the Sabbath, making mud was work, healing was work, so Jesus broke the law. This blind man who was healed was not being accused of walking to the pool of Siloam and washing, both would have been considered work, depending on how many steps he took to get to the pool. The Pharisees really did not care about the law that much, as they most likely were not perfect at keeping it either, except the wanted people to think they were. They were simple after Jesus, trying any way they could to get them for breaking the law and thus discredit him and find some way to have him killed. Everything he does and says is good and right, bringing the truth to the people, healing them both physically and spiritually. Under the law, the Pharisees look to for righteousness, actually brought death. It was to show their need for Jesus, but they refused to see the truth, they were too steeped in their traditional ideas. We are not much different today, as we denominationalists have a whole lot of traditional views, which may or may not be steeped in the truth. That is why we have so many different denominations, all being sort of like Pharisees, holding to the truth we have made the truth. Somebody has to be wrong, otherwise, all denominations would be in complete agreement. What is the answer? How do we choose which to belong to? How do we determine the correct course, the right belief system? The blind man’s parents did not want to buck the system of the Pharisees for fear of being throw out, cast out, becoming a non-member. A Jew without a synagogue would be terrible. Is a Christian without a denomination terrible? It seems we have a few non-denominational churches, but alas, non-denominational churches are a denomination. Oh, the complexity of being a believer. Why isn’t just accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior enough? Why does it always seem it is Jesus plus something, in order to belong? If we disagree too much we might be labeled a dissident, and thrown out. We guess, just like this blind man, we are of age and we should speak for ourselves. It is Jesus who made us able to see. It is a matter of being of age, in order to speak up.

Divided

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

DIVIDED

John 9:6-16

6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7 "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. 8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man." 10 "How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded. 11 He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see." 12 "Where is this man?" they asked him. "I don't know," he said. 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see." 16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.

NIV

The division begins because of the work of God. One of the gifts of the Spirit is healing. Of course, Jesus is God and he has all the gifts available to him including healing which he always does whenever he wants to or is asked to. In this particular case, it was to show the reason this man was blind, so that he would be healed by the work of God. This would demonstrate the power of God over all the universe or all of creation which includes mankind. The point is the blind man who had eyes which had never seen before, being born blind, were made to see. This may be seen as a restoring of sight, but his eyes had never seen, so maybe it could be more like a recreation of his eyes. But the point we think is in need of exploring is this division among the Jews. Because Jesus “worked” on the Sabbath, according to their interpretation of the Law of Moses, they could not see him as a man of God. While others had to believe he was because there is no way a sinner could do such a miracle of healing. This division over the work of God has been going on ever since. Healing is a work of God, as with all the gifts of God. Today because of the New Testament, the witness’s report of the life, death, resurrection, ascension and the sending of the Spirit, we have a record of many more of the gifts of God. This list is not all-inclusive for God is able to gift whatever he chooses to gift and maybe those which have been listed are just a small fraction of the gifts he would bestow on us. Nevertheless, the people of God have been divided over just the ones which are given to us throughout the New Testament as described as the Gifts of the Spirit. It might be good to list the ones which are given to us. In Roman 8 we have the gifts of prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing, leadership, governing, and mercy. From 1 Corinthians 12, the first list includes the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation. In the same chapter, we have the gifts of, first the list of gifts given to the church, apostles, prophets, and teachers, then also workers of miracles, helps, administration, and tongues. From Ephesians 4 we have the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. In all those letters God, through Paul, includes words about unity in the faith and all these gifts are from the same Spirit. The key for us is the fact that all the gifts are the work of God and are given as the Spirit sees fit. However, we, mankind have circumvented as the Spirit sees fit, as to how we see fit. We cherry-pick the gifts, thinking this one we will take and this one we will refuse. We are in no way united, or live in harmony, or are of one mind, having the unity in the faith. We have divided ourselves up into multiple denominations, writing out what we believe, rather than want God declares. An army will destroy itself and lose the battle if there is division among the ranks. It is difficult to understand how we think we all are right and that we are going to win the battle against the forces of evil when we are so divided.  

The Blind Can See

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE BLIND CAN SEE

John 9:1-5

9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." ,

NIV

There is more to follow regarding Jesus healing this blind man. There is going to be much questioning and doubting and accusing, but for now, we should focus on the first question from his disciples and the response by Jesus. It was an immediate thought of his disciples that because a man who was blind from birth, it was a result of sin. That is sort of a self-righteous position to think, it would seem they came to the conclusion because they were born with sight, they had no sin. Jesus sets the record straight right away by telling them the man’s blindness was not a result of sin. Jesus continues to explain the reason for this man’s blindness was so the work of God might be displayed in his life. There could be a couple ways we could ponder about this reason this man was born blind. The first would be to start thinking that every person who is born with some sort of abnormal condition, was born like that so the work of God might be shown in their lives. That would then bring us to the conclusion they could and have to be healed to reveal the work of God. It does not appear that it is happening. So then maybe the second avenue of thought would be more accurate. This is we are all born blind so the work of God can be displayed in our lives. We all are born unable to see the spiritual realm or without seeing, in effect blind, to Jesus. We all are born in the dark, and in need of the light of the world, Jesus. But we cannot see him until the work of God becomes displayed in our lives. He sends the Holy Spirit to awaken us, to shed the light into our lives, to give us sight. It is true that when we are born as an infant we do have the original sin in us, at least that is what God declares, but how much, if any, personal sin can an infant have. However as we go up in the dark, we find all sorts of ways to sin and we continue to live in darkness, unable to see, blind to the truth of God. Jesus has given us his light, he has healed our blindness, and we can see the truth now. One of those truths is in the words of Jesus about as long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent him. The night is coming when no one can work. This bears the idea of our life, being the day and our death being the night. Jesus made that clear when he said, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” He was not going to remain in the world, but return to heaven, and he told us we should now be the light of the world. Yet it still remains the work of the Spirit to convict people of their sin and need of repentance. We can share the light, we can work in concert with the Spirit, as he convicts, we can give sight to the blind by revealing the light to them. Then the blind can see.

"I AM"

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

“I AM”

John 8:48-59

48 The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?" 49 "I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."  52 At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?" 54 Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."  57 "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" 58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"  59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

NIV                    

   

We are at the end of this exchange between Jesus and the Jews. After all he said to them, they now accuse him of being possessed by a demon. Is it not the way of the world, even those who think themselves religious, but do not have a personal relationship with the Lord. Those of us who are “Jesus freaks” are weirdos, or crazy. Because Jesus spoke the truth, they had to make him appear to be out of his mind or possessed by a demon so it made them look like the right ones. Jesus makes it clear the right way is to honor God. The wrong way is to dishonor Jesus. Again he makes it clear the right way is not to seek glory for ourselves, but to give glory and honor the only one who is worthy and he is the judge of all. Jesus also makes it clear that in order not to taste death, we much keep his word. This word translated as keep, in the Greek means to attend to, or take care of. It can also mean to observe. The idea is not as to the letter, but to the idea, to attend to his word, to use it to live by. We can make it into law, a set of commands that require absolute adherence to, as the Pharisees did to the Law of Moses. That would mean that one slip up would mean forfeiting eternal life. One act of disobedience means losing our salvation if we are to keep his word in that manner. Yes, there are many areas of our life that are transformed as a result of keeping or attending to his word. But his word as he has said, sets us free. We just heard him say the if we hold to his teaching, that is to accept what he says is true, then we are his disciples and the truth will set us free. If we are bound to a set of rules to live by, rules we say are his commands, nevertheless, we have made law from his word and we are not free, but bound by a law of our making. Again, once we have become born again, or justified, there is a process of scarification or transformation which occurs in our lives, but it comes from the work of the Spirit within us, and not by our efforts at “Good works”. Once more Jesus makes it clear that he has seen the Father, that he came from heaven to earth and he is the Divine Holy One of God. The people are still refusing to hear the truth, they can only conceive in natural life. Abraham is dead, therefore you could not have seen him. We know have one of the great “I AM” statements of Jesus. Overall, there are seven times this “I AM” appears. It is always present tense. Jesus is the “I AM”. He has always been and will always be, he is one of the three in one, the living God. At present, he is at the right hand of the Father and he has sent the other person of the trinity to work in our lives, to sustain us, to reveal the truth to us, to work in our, transforming us from our old self into a new life in Christ, bringing us into the likeness of Christ. Again, we cannot do this on our own efforts. We cannot set up a law to live by, rules and regulations, even if we think they are from the word of God. We will always fail, but the Spirit never fails. So should we continue to live by our efforts or by the Spirit? If we live by the Spirit, then we keep in step with the Spirit, which means we allow him to set the cadence. This means he directs our path, our journey, just as God directed the Israelites with the pillar of smoke by day and fire by night. They only moved when he moved. So it is with us and the Spirit. They may be times we need to camp out in some area, other times we need to move on. They may be places he brings us to, calls us to specific tasks, and uses us by empowering us with one of his gifts, at that same time producing his fruit in our lives. It is all God, none of us, we are to keep, attend his word, for he is the “I AM”, we are not.

Hear Him

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

HEAR HIM

John 8:39-47

39 "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the things your own father does." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." 42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." 

NIV

We continue with this discussion between Jesus and the Jews, which were the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. Jesus had just told them he was aware they were Abraham’s descendants, but he had also told them that God was his Father. So they claim that Abraham is their father. Before we get into this truth about their father Abraham, the Muslin also claim Abraham is their father. Jesus has been and continues to tell them that although the Jews claim Abraham as their father they are trying to kill him. Their father is the devil who is the father of lies. Here we also see the Muslims trying to kill Jesus, as whenever they kill Christians they are in essence trying to kill Jesus. It is interesting how Jesus speaks the truth right into their hearts. He tells them plainly that he is from God, that he was sent by God, that God is his Father. Yet, he tells them they cannot hear what he has to say because only the people who belong to God can hear from God. He tells them they are not from God, but from the devil who is the father of lies. When he speaks he lies, which is his native language. The devil cannot tell the truth. So many people today cannot hear the truth of God, because they belong to the devil, they have not yet been born again. They had not died to sin and been reborn of the Spirit. They hear the lies of the devil as truth. They are deceived by lies. We hear people say they believe they are going to heaven because they are a good person, which they are believing a lie, told to them by the devil. If someone actually hears from God, they would know they are a sinner that needs the free gift of God, salvation through Jesus Christ. Some believe good works are going to aid them in attaining heaven, another lie, as it is only through faith we are saved by the grace of God. It is true that good works are going to be a result of being saved because we love God and want to do what he has called us to do. Yet the work that God requires is to believe in the one he sent, Jesus. God does not require any other good works, but works are a part of the believer’s life. With so many false teachers and preachers out there, spewing lies, false doctrine, and are gathering followers unto themselves, instead of pointing people to Jesus, it is easy to get deceived and listen to the devil rather than God. However, the true believer, the one who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who has been born again, baptized in the water of life, and filled with the Holy Spirit, knows the voice of God. They can discern between lies and the truth because discernment is one of the gifts of the Spirit. Unlike the Muslins who might believe Jesus was only a prophet, and as such only a man, who could have sinned, we know Jesus is God and was and is without sin. Even as God in the flesh, and as being in the flesh was capable of sin, as a man, he did not sin. He lived a perfect sin free life so he could be the perfect Lamb of God, without spot or blemish, so he could take away our sin, and because we are in Christ and him in us, God sees us as holy and blameless. That is the truth because Jesus said so. Although we might hear some lies, we do not listen to lies, we only hear and listen to what God has to say. Does that mean we are perfect and without sin? No, not at all, we cannot accept that lie either, that we do not sin anymore, which we have heard some Christians claim. The truth is we are sinners saved by Grace. Of course, we do not go about finding how many ways we can sin, just so God’s grace can increase, but the fact is we do still commit sin but do not live in sin. However, we still belong to God and we hear him.

Free in Christ

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

FREE IN CHRIST

John 8:31-38

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" 34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father." 

NIV

We may or may not be descendants of Abraham, although we are not Jewish, or live in the Promised Land, in some sense we are his descendants. Just as we are a descendant of Adam in that all men come from the first man and are born with that original sin and we are also all descendants of Noah because he believed God, we are also descendants of Abraham because of his faith was counted to him as righteousness. That might be a stretch, but because we have faith  because we believe, we have been grafted into the natural olive tree, or Israel. The Apostle Paul, through the power of the Spirit, makes it clear that true Israel is those who have circumcised their heart, rather than in the flesh, which was the difference between Jew and gentile from the time of the promise and covenant God made with Abraham regarding circumcision. The other fact is that we also have to hold to the teaching of Jesus. What does that mean? The Greek word translated in this version as hold means to continue, or remain. As we will see later in this gospel, Jesus said that if we remain in him and he is us, we will bear much fruit, he says the same thing here, we must remain, continue, hold on to his teaching. This carries the idea of not straying from or adding on to his teaching. It is only his teaching which leads to the truth, the truth of God and because we know the truth, we have been set free. Of course, we were never slaves in the sense of slavery to men. Some people today may still be opposed, and maybe somewhere in the world today a form of slavery exists. But the fact we all are or have been slaves to sin. Jesus breaks those chains of sin which bind us. He sets us free from the bondage of sin. Does that mean we never sin once we have been set free? No, because we also know that we do still have sin in our lives. But, we are free from the bondage or total control of sin and its penalty of death. It is the bondage of death which sin holds for people. Jesus has set us free from death if we hold to his teaching. When we were in bondage to sin, we have no room in our heart for Jesus. All we could think about was to satisfy our own desires. Everything was about self, sin controlled our motivation, we were not concerned about Jesus or his truth, and in fact, we were in the dark. But now, we have room in our heart, in fact, he is supposed to fill our heart, so there is no room for self. The old self, the old nature is supposed to be dead and our new self, born of the Spirit is supposed to be whole and in Christ. We are not supposed to share Jesus and self in our hearts, but we cannot say we have fully like Christ, as we do still have sin. We do still have some of that old nature within us, we still want to have want we want, when we want it. Most of the time we do not think about self, but it creeps in without warning. However, we do want that room in our hearts for his word. We desire for his word to be in our heart, we want to do that which is good, but the bad is still there. However, what keeps us going is the fact we have been set free and we are no longer a slave to that sin, the bad and its penalty. We are free in Christ.

Jesus is Lord

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

JESUS IS LORD

John 8:21-30

21 Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come."  22 This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?" 23 But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins."  25 "Who are you?" they asked. "Just what I have been claiming all along," Jesus replied. 26 "I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world."  27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him."  30 Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.

NIV

There is still more of this exchange between Jesus and the Jews, who would be the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. They are the ones who are steeped in the law and are refusing to see Jesus for who he is, the Messiah. From other sources, we know these Pharisees are very upset with Jesus because so many people are following him, which means they are losing control over the people. Jesus declares the truth between him and them. He is from above and they are from below. The idea is that Jesus sees the world from the view of God and man sees the world from his own view. If we put our faith in Jesus, if we are Jesus followers, believers, Christians, then it would seem right to say that we should have the view of God, rather than our own view. If, however, we live as if we are of this world, then we cannot see the view of God. Jesus seems to make the distinction between those who live in the world, they will die in their sins. Because we are believers, we will not die in our sins, but we will die in Christ and so be resurrected as Christ was and live for all eternity. Because of having a world view, the whole idea of a resurrection is based on the good works of the Pharisees or because of what they believe in their own righteousness, but at least they believe in a resurrection, unlike the Sadducees. This sort of resembles how many people think in our culture. The idea of being a good person gains entrance of heaven is nothing more them a world view, seeing from below, rather than from above. We cannot do anything other than to believe in Jesus in order to have eternal life. Even our belief, our faith is a gift from God. God makes it very clear through the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. No one can say, “Jesus is Lord” except through by the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3). In order to have a heavenly view, we must yield to the Spirit. It is the people who refuse to accept Jesus who refuse the convicting power of the Spirit. At the time Jesus tells them they will die in their sin, the Spirit had not yet been given, but they had the Son right in their midst, who is God, and surely they should have been convicted by his testimony and of the testimony of the Spirit and the Father on that day with Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. The other truth, which we might be one of the few people who believe, God did not forsake Jesus on the cross. Jesus makes it clear here in his conversation with the Jews. “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." The purpose Jesus came to earth was to be lifted up on that cross, to take away all our sins. That pleased the Father and so the Father who sent him did not leave him alone. If we are to believe God turned his back on Jesus in the midst of his doing the perfect will of the Father, then what are we to believe about God when we fail him when we are not doing his perfect will? Does he turn his back on us? Jesus said he would never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus is God. It makes absolutely no sense at all the Father would turn away from Jesus. When Jesus made that statement from the cross he was quoting the well-known 22^nd Psalm, which also declares the Lord will rule over nations, as well as many other prophetic words about Jesus. Again many people see from a world view, and if we are going to be believers, followers of Jesus, then we have to see through the eyes of God. We cannot see with physical eyes, but with spiritual eyes, with our heart, not just with our mind, with our spirit, not just with our body and its physical limitations. So, by the Spirit, we say, “Jesus is Lord”.