John 8 is such a rich chapter as we follow this discourse between Jesus and the Pharisees taking place in the Temple Court. It begins with His declaration, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” and ends with, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus is openly declaring His deity in both statements, but it truly rings home in the last quote, in which there is no doubt to those hearing Him what He is saying. But midway in this confrontation, Christ gives us the key to our dilemma when He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We are slaves to what we do. When we sin, we are slaves to sin. It ultimately controls us. But when we become slaves to Christ, He frees us from the shackles of sin, and we ARE free indeed. What a wonderful promise for those lost and blinded in sin!
Thank You, Lord, for Your sacrifice through which we can be free indeed. Help us to open the eyes of those around us who are still slaves to their sin.
The thing that the Spirit seems to be saying to me is that if we’re seeing and living the way Jesus is calling us, it is done by being spiritually discerning.
Jesus is saying things like: You will die in your sins (John 8:21). If you do sin, you are a slave to that sin (John 8:34). If you really are Abraham’s descendants, you would know that I am from God and you would do the works that Abraham did. But in reality you can’t even see you are enslaved to sin and that sin is your idol. You are controlled by that sin (John 8:34-47).
“Practice, doing, did” in John 8:34-41 are all the same Greek word.
So, just as Jesus only does what He sees the Father doing. Jesus only speaks what He hears the Father speaking. And those who are of the Father know that that is true. So, Jesus is modeling for us this inner, spiritual connection we too can have with the Father. As Jesus’ followers, we will not always get it right, but it’s possible to say and do what He’s telling us to say and do. Jesus later tells us we will do what He’s been doing (John 14:12). (Notice the word “do” in John 14:12 as well.)
We “do” things because we’re compelled to do them. It doesn’t matter if it’s voluntary or involuntary, whether it’s for good or evil, whether it’s an inner or outer compulsion. If we’re compelled from evil, then that source of compulsion is an idol. Can we submit ourselves to being compelled by the Spirit of Jesus, the living Word?
I’m hearing that we can know God’s leading through His Spirit’s leading as we seek and discern through connecting Spirit to spirit in His written Word.
John 7 takes us (and Jesus) to the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. This is the final Sukkot for Jesus, as next spring He will be crucified, and we already see the hatred and dissention building among the Jews regarding Him. One of the major themes of Sukkot is Simchat Beit HaShoeva, or the water-drawing ritual. This is thanking God for the rains that have provided for the harvest as well as asking God for continued blessings. It involved drawing water from the Pool of Siloam and taking it to the alter of the Temple. On the final day of Sukkot, or Hoshana Rabbah, this ritual reaches a fever pitch and culminates in a major procession accompanied by music, dancing, and great celebration. This is the setting when “Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” This dramatic declaration connects Jesus’ message to the water-drawing ritual and the prayers for rain, symbolizing spiritual fulfillment through faith in Him. This can be seen as a fulfillment of the festival’s longing for salvation and spiritual renewal.
Lord, thank You that Jesus was bold enough to face those who in just a few months would crucify Him. Jesus knew this, and yet confronted these people with the truth about Himself. Thank You for Your faithfulness even while knowing where it would lead, and Your desire to draw us to You.
The material world is all around us. It’s what we see. Yet, there is another world. An unseen world. We see this world with unseen eyes. We have to use material things to sustain our material life. But there is another world we live in too. Jesus is who we live in, through, and for (John 6:26-40). We may not physically see Him, but He’s present with us.
Jesus, God’s anointed Son, who now sits at the right hand of the Father is the King. He’s mostly unseen, but He does reveal Himself to us in the material realm. But how He lived and what He did are signs that He was and is who He said He was and is (John 6:2)
Lord Jesus, help me today to see your signs that you’ve place all around me. The signs that point to you and that you are present. Help me to work for you (John 6:27).
Here in John 6 Jesus tells the crowd what is involved in being His follower, and it is a hard saying for many of them to comprehend, much less abide by. Of course, He is telling us, too, and it is just as hard for people to hear and understand today as it was in 28 A.D. Verse 40 is the pinnacle of this passage, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day.” This is literal; feeding on His body and blood is not. This is Jesus’ way of telling us that He must become our sustenance everyday, and we cannot spiritually live without Him. The chapter goes on to tell us that many left Him when they heard this, because they were looking for an earthly benefactor, not a heavenly one. So many people today are in this same state—they want a Jesus who will give them health, wealth, fame, and happiness on earth, not a Jesus who will change their hearts and make them fit for heaven. We saw this in Jesus’ day, and we still see it today.
Lord, let me feed on You everyday so that I might become more like You, and better fit for Your kingdom. Don’t let the temporal needs of life blind me or get in the way of loving You as You would have me to do. Thank you for giving me the desire and ability to do this, through Your Holy Spirit. Tune my heart to sing your praise everyday!
When the nation of Israel was wandering in the desert, they gathered manna, bread from heaven, each day to feed themselves. They had nothing else and depended on it for their very lives. But they had to gather each day. Each day the manna was there for them and each day they were sustained by it.
Jesus is our manna now! Each day I start the day by going to Him as my very sustenance for life! But he is so much more than the manna because he gives eternal life. But still, I must rely on him and trust him every day. I am nothing without him. When the troubles and struggles of this world seem too much,,He sustains me. But when I feel full, I still must be in relationship with Him daily or I fail, sometimes falling flat on my face. I need him today and I will need him tomorrow and I will be with him eternally. He alone is life! We love you Lord!
John 5:6 – Jesus saw. Jesus knew. Jesus said. “Do you want to be healed?” “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
It’s amazing that Jesus notices circumstances and is not bashful about talking to strangers. Though no one is really a stranger to him. He engages.
And He engages because He loves us and wants the best for us, just like the Father. Our best is in relating in, to, and through Him.
I was drawn to the fact that the Father and Son are the same being. The son only does what He sees the Father doing. They are one. That rubs the religious leaders the wrong way because they believe they know who Jesus is, but they don’t. They miss Him. They miss His message (John 5:17-24, 30, 39-40). And it leads to all kinds of wrong ideas and wrong ways of living.
So, we must know who Jesus is. There’s no one like Him. I must know Him and be like Him. Help me, Jesus.
The aspect of John 5 that has always blown me away is the fact that Jesus completely heals a man who everyone has seen laying by the Pool of Bethesda for 38 years and all the Jews can think is, “how dare He tell this man to carry his mat on the Sabbath?” The fact that a true miracle from God has occurred right before their eyes, and the man who was lame for 38 years is walking normally before them is completely ignored because one of their made-up rules regarding the Sabbath has been violated. It is stunning to me how man can choose to ignore the miraculous when he has a pre-determined agenda to advance. Christ is displaying the power of the Creator before their eyes and giving them words of life while they are concerned about a Sabbath violation. It ultimately is the reason they will end up crucifying Him; they refuse to acknowledge who He really is. Lord, please protect me from getting hung up in details when the important thing is keeping my eyes on You. Your words are life, and I must return to them daily to keep them alive and active in my soul and mind. Thank you for Your faithfulness to me!
John 8 is such a rich chapter as we follow this discourse between Jesus and the Pharisees taking place in the Temple Court. It begins with His declaration, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” and ends with, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus is openly declaring His deity in both statements, but it truly rings home in the last quote, in which there is no doubt to those hearing Him what He is saying. But midway in this confrontation, Christ gives us the key to our dilemma when He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We are slaves to what we do. When we sin, we are slaves to sin. It ultimately controls us. But when we become slaves to Christ, He frees us from the shackles of sin, and we ARE free indeed. What a wonderful promise for those lost and blinded in sin!
Thank You, Lord, for Your sacrifice through which we can be free indeed. Help us to open the eyes of those around us who are still slaves to their sin.
The thing that the Spirit seems to be saying to me is that if we’re seeing and living the way Jesus is calling us, it is done by being spiritually discerning.
Jesus is saying things like: You will die in your sins (John 8:21). If you do sin, you are a slave to that sin (John 8:34). If you really are Abraham’s descendants, you would know that I am from God and you would do the works that Abraham did. But in reality you can’t even see you are enslaved to sin and that sin is your idol. You are controlled by that sin (John 8:34-47).
“Practice, doing, did” in John 8:34-41 are all the same Greek word.
So, just as Jesus only does what He sees the Father doing. Jesus only speaks what He hears the Father speaking. And those who are of the Father know that that is true. So, Jesus is modeling for us this inner, spiritual connection we too can have with the Father. As Jesus’ followers, we will not always get it right, but it’s possible to say and do what He’s telling us to say and do. Jesus later tells us we will do what He’s been doing (John 14:12). (Notice the word “do” in John 14:12 as well.)
We “do” things because we’re compelled to do them. It doesn’t matter if it’s voluntary or involuntary, whether it’s for good or evil, whether it’s an inner or outer compulsion. If we’re compelled from evil, then that source of compulsion is an idol. Can we submit ourselves to being compelled by the Spirit of Jesus, the living Word?
I’m hearing that we can know God’s leading through His Spirit’s leading as we seek and discern through connecting Spirit to spirit in His written Word.
John 7 takes us (and Jesus) to the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. This is the final Sukkot for Jesus, as next spring He will be crucified, and we already see the hatred and dissention building among the Jews regarding Him. One of the major themes of Sukkot is Simchat Beit HaShoeva, or the water-drawing ritual. This is thanking God for the rains that have provided for the harvest as well as asking God for continued blessings. It involved drawing water from the Pool of Siloam and taking it to the alter of the Temple. On the final day of Sukkot, or Hoshana Rabbah, this ritual reaches a fever pitch and culminates in a major procession accompanied by music, dancing, and great celebration. This is the setting when “Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” This dramatic declaration connects Jesus’ message to the water-drawing ritual and the prayers for rain, symbolizing spiritual fulfillment through faith in Him. This can be seen as a fulfillment of the festival’s longing for salvation and spiritual renewal.
Lord, thank You that Jesus was bold enough to face those who in just a few months would crucify Him. Jesus knew this, and yet confronted these people with the truth about Himself. Thank You for Your faithfulness even while knowing where it would lead, and Your desire to draw us to You.
The material world is all around us. It’s what we see. Yet, there is another world. An unseen world. We see this world with unseen eyes. We have to use material things to sustain our material life. But there is another world we live in too. Jesus is who we live in, through, and for (John 6:26-40). We may not physically see Him, but He’s present with us.
Jesus, God’s anointed Son, who now sits at the right hand of the Father is the King. He’s mostly unseen, but He does reveal Himself to us in the material realm. But how He lived and what He did are signs that He was and is who He said He was and is (John 6:2)
Lord Jesus, help me today to see your signs that you’ve place all around me. The signs that point to you and that you are present. Help me to work for you (John 6:27).
Here in John 6 Jesus tells the crowd what is involved in being His follower, and it is a hard saying for many of them to comprehend, much less abide by. Of course, He is telling us, too, and it is just as hard for people to hear and understand today as it was in 28 A.D. Verse 40 is the pinnacle of this passage, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day.” This is literal; feeding on His body and blood is not. This is Jesus’ way of telling us that He must become our sustenance everyday, and we cannot spiritually live without Him. The chapter goes on to tell us that many left Him when they heard this, because they were looking for an earthly benefactor, not a heavenly one. So many people today are in this same state—they want a Jesus who will give them health, wealth, fame, and happiness on earth, not a Jesus who will change their hearts and make them fit for heaven. We saw this in Jesus’ day, and we still see it today.
Lord, let me feed on You everyday so that I might become more like You, and better fit for Your kingdom. Don’t let the temporal needs of life blind me or get in the way of loving You as You would have me to do. Thank you for giving me the desire and ability to do this, through Your Holy Spirit. Tune my heart to sing your praise everyday!
When the nation of Israel was wandering in the desert, they gathered manna, bread from heaven, each day to feed themselves. They had nothing else and depended on it for their very lives. But they had to gather each day. Each day the manna was there for them and each day they were sustained by it.
Jesus is our manna now! Each day I start the day by going to Him as my very sustenance for life! But he is so much more than the manna because he gives eternal life. But still, I must rely on him and trust him every day. I am nothing without him. When the troubles and struggles of this world seem too much,,He sustains me. But when I feel full, I still must be in relationship with Him daily or I fail, sometimes falling flat on my face. I need him today and I will need him tomorrow and I will be with him eternally. He alone is life! We love you Lord!
Thank you, Sharon.
John 5:6 – Jesus saw. Jesus knew. Jesus said. “Do you want to be healed?” “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
It’s amazing that Jesus notices circumstances and is not bashful about talking to strangers. Though no one is really a stranger to him. He engages.
And He engages because He loves us and wants the best for us, just like the Father. Our best is in relating in, to, and through Him.
I was drawn to the fact that the Father and Son are the same being. The son only does what He sees the Father doing. They are one. That rubs the religious leaders the wrong way because they believe they know who Jesus is, but they don’t. They miss Him. They miss His message (John 5:17-24, 30, 39-40). And it leads to all kinds of wrong ideas and wrong ways of living.
So, we must know who Jesus is. There’s no one like Him. I must know Him and be like Him. Help me, Jesus.
The aspect of John 5 that has always blown me away is the fact that Jesus completely heals a man who everyone has seen laying by the Pool of Bethesda for 38 years and all the Jews can think is, “how dare He tell this man to carry his mat on the Sabbath?” The fact that a true miracle from God has occurred right before their eyes, and the man who was lame for 38 years is walking normally before them is completely ignored because one of their made-up rules regarding the Sabbath has been violated. It is stunning to me how man can choose to ignore the miraculous when he has a pre-determined agenda to advance. Christ is displaying the power of the Creator before their eyes and giving them words of life while they are concerned about a Sabbath violation. It ultimately is the reason they will end up crucifying Him; they refuse to acknowledge who He really is. Lord, please protect me from getting hung up in details when the important thing is keeping my eyes on You. Your words are life, and I must return to them daily to keep them alive and active in my soul and mind. Thank you for Your faithfulness to me!