John 13 - Less Words, More Love
“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” - John 13:1 NIV
Jesus and his disciples gathered one last time for an evening meal, and Jesus decided to act out a parable instead of speaking it. Jesus got up from the table and did culturally the unimaginable.
Read MoreJohn 12 - Fear, Faith, and Focus
For they loved human praise more than praise from God. Ouch! This hits home, and really reminds me to check my focus, where is my focus, attention, and motivation? The Jews in this story believed in Jesus but did not openly acknowledge their faith.
“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.” - John 12:42-43 NIV
Read MoreJohn 12 - Power of Reflection
Jesus had developed quite a following; the raising of Lazarus had spread throughout the lands, and people were being drawn to Jesus and believing in him. So much so, we read this in v10,11.
“So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.” - John 12:10-11
Tensions were high, and as I read John 12 it’s hard to imagine how Jesus was enjoying his time with his friends…
Read MoreJohn 12 - A Life Centered on Jesus
Jesus' death was approaching, just days away, and yet he is attending a dinner party with friends. Many commentaries mention this gathering would have been celebrating Lazarus' life, which is a bit ironic to me because we were days away from Jesus' death. Nevertheless, Mary is the centerpiece of this story for me this morning.
Read MoreJohn 11 - Motivated by Fear
Fear motivates. Think about how natural and wired into our being fear is. If you wake up in the middle of the night, and your smoke detector is going off, and you notice a fire in your home, that instant fear will become a motivator to get you and your family out of the house. Fear, as a primal instinct, works and is powerful.
Researching this, I ran into an excellent Psychology Today article; here is an excerpt:
Read MoreJohn 11 - Christ in All
Jesus came to Lazarus' tomb, asked for the stone to be taken away, and then he prayed.
“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 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.”” - John 11:41-42 NIV
Lazarus, four days dead, then responded to Jesus’s calling, and he awoke and came out…
Read MoreJohn 11 - The Death of Lazarus
John chapter 11 is the story of Lazarus, a dear friend of Jesus.
“Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (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.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”- John 11:1-3 NIV
There is so much in this story that just makes me wonder and ask a lot of questions. Today, I am just going to write about some of the odd things that jump out…
Read MoreJohn 10 - Stollen Abundance
Jesus is continuing to press on the religious leaders about their blindness. Its irony is thick that Jesus heals a blind man, gives him sight, and he believes Jesus is the Messiah...and yet the religious leaders see the miracle healing and are still spiritually blind.
This again must be a warning sign to any of us who could fall into the religious leader camp, what spiritual blindness could we be faced with? What thoughts, beliefs, idols, religious dogma are we carrying around that is not in line with Jesus teaching? My guess is, it’s way more than we realize.
Read MoreJohn 8:31-47 - Freedom or Bondage
In this passage and verbal exchange between Jesus and the religious leaders, there is so much wisdom and application.
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:31-32 NIV
Holding to Jesus' teachings, knowing the truth, the truth will set you free. Freedom or bondage, this is ultimately our choice, our Lord and Savior gives us this choice and ability to guide our steps and path. What is so sad…
Read MoreJohn 8:31-47 - Freedom or Bondage
In this passage and verbal exchange between Jesus and the religious leaders, there is so much wisdom and application.
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:31-32 NIV
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