John 13 Feet Washing

Jesus is nearing the end of His life. He is keenly aware of it and very burdened by it. He wants to give His disciples everything they need to succeed in His work. They, on the other hand do not seem to realize what an important time this is. They seem to sense that something is coming. Yet, even though Jesus had told them plainly that He must die, they do not seem to grasp the full reality. In this situation, Jesus institutes an ordinance of the church that is still literally practiced by true Christians today: feet washing. Jesus, as a symbol of being a servant, washed His disciples feet. This was a menial task often performed by a slave. Earlier the disciples had been arguing who would do this. They were all too proud to stoop and become humble enough to do it. Yet, Jesus, the Lord of the Universe, was willing to do it. After, He was finished, He told them that they should do the same to one another to show there submission and humility to each other. What a blessing! As we do this today, we can feel the brotherly love flowing as we each submit to each other and the blessing of God rests on His people as they obey this command that Jesus gave 2,000 years ago.

Vital Truth for Victorious Living

http://www.charityministries.org/audio/3884.mp3

John 12 We Would See Jesus

There is much in this chapter that we could consider, but I'd like to focus on the Greeks who came to worship at the Passover. They were not part of the Jewish nation and so could not participate fully in the temple worship. Yet, they still came to Jerusalem for the Passover. They seem to be more dedicated than even some of the Jews were. They also were more perceptive of the truth. They realized that Jesus was fulfilling all the Old Testament and He was even more important than this Passover Feast. So, they sought for Jesus. They wanted to see Him and speak with Him. They wanted to learn more about Him and His work.

 
 

How are we doing today? Are we seeking Jesus? Do we want to learn all we can about Him? Are we learning everything we can? Are we giving time to Bible study and prayer? Lord, help us to seek Jesus every day of our lives.

John 11, The Resurrection of Lazarus

In John 11, we have a very touching story that shows the tender, loving heart of Jesus. He had been in the area where John had baptized because the Jewish leaders were trying to kill Him. While he was there, He got the news that His friend, Lazarus, was sick. When He heard that, He stayed there two more days. At the end of two days, He told His disciples that Lazarus had died. He said that He was glad He had not been there to heal Lazarus because now more glory could be brought to God. He then said to His disciples, "Let us go unto him." The disciples tried to convince Jesus not to go because they knew that He could be killed by the Jews because they were seeking His life. But, Jesus boldly followed where duty called, and when He arrived, Martha met him outside the village. She told Him that if He had been there her brother would not have died. Then, Jesus explained to her that He was the resurrection and the life and her brother would rise again. It was a stretch of her faith, but she believed. Jesus then went to the sepulcher and asked them to roll away the stone. When they had done so, he called Lazarus in a loud voice, and the dead man arose and walked out of the sepulcher. What an amazing miracle! This man, who had been dead for four days, was walking out of his tomb. What happiness, what rejoicing! Jesus again displayed His power over death.

 
 

Jesus still has that power today. He has power over life-dominating sin. He controls life and death. Every detail of our lives is in His care and control, and He, through the Holy Spirit, lives within us if we allow Him to. We can experience that same power in our lives. We only need to have faith like Martha. We must believe like she did. We must obey and roll away the stone when Jesus asks us to. Praise the Lord for His awesome power that delivers us from sin and eternal death!

John 10 Jesus, the Good Shepherd

I apologize for missing my post for the last two days. I'll try to do better.

 
 

In the beginning John 10, Jesus talks about being the Good Shepherd. There are many false shepherds who climb over the wall into the sheep fold and try to get the sheep to follow him. But, only the True Shepherd enters by the door. The sheep (us) follow Him and He provides for them. There are many thieves and robbers that would like to steal the sheep out of the fold. We must be very careful not to listen to them, lest we be deceived. Sometimes they can be very convincing. Sometimes, what they say is mostly true. Sometimes, they may be famous evangelists. Sometimes, many people follow them, but if there words do not agree with the Bible in every way, we must disregard them and look to Jesus for the Truth. The True Shepherd also laid down His life to save us. Any false shepherd is not willing to do that . When he sees danger coming, he runs to save his own life. Some false shepherds even lead their flock straight into the mouth of danger.

 
 

Let's be sure that we are only listening to the True Shepherd and the shepherds who follow Him completely. If anyone tries to discredit any part of the Bible in any way, we should not follow them. We WILL be mislead. Let's keep our focus on Jesus and listen to what He has to say to us.

 
 

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John 9 Blindness: Physical & Spiritual

As Jesus was walking, He came upon a beggar. He had been blind since birth and our compassionate Lord took mercy on Him. He spit on the ground and made clay and daubed it on the man's eyes. Then he told the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. When the man did so, his sight was restored. What a wonderful miracle! But, of course some were offended. Jesus had done this miracle on the Sabbath. Someone told the Pharisees about this and the man was brought for trial. What had he done? He had violated a new law that they had made against Jesus. They had decreed that anyone who confessed that Jesus was the Messiah would be cast out of the synagogue. During the trial, this man boldly showed them that he had been healed and that anyone who could heal a man born blind must be of God. In their own desire to remain spiritually blind and not see the light, they cast him out of the synagogue. When Jesus heard about it, He went to the man and offered him salvation.

 
 

What a wonderful Savior is Jesus! He takes away our blindness and gives us sight. He teaches us how to leave the darkness and sin and see new light in Him. Praise the Lord!

John 8

Here we have the story of the woman taken in adultery. The Pharisees brought this woman to Christ to see what His verdict would be. She had been taken in the act of adultery and the Law commanded her to be put to death. They wanted to see what Jesus would say. This was not an honest interest in the teachings of Jesus, but an attempt to trap Him in His words and find fault with His teachings. Jesus did not immediately answer them, but rather stooped down and wrote in the dust. We are not told what it was that He wrote. Then he told them that any of them who were free from sin, should cast the first stone. Then He wrote on the ground again (possibly a list of their sins). When He stood up, all the Pharisees were gone and only the woman was there. And, He, who was sinless and could have justly condemned her, said, "Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more."

What amazing forgiveness! What a relief this poor, penitent sinner! I see here to lessons for us. First, we need to inspect our own lives before we accuse others. It is so easy to see sin and weakness in another person and so hard to see it in ourselves. And, it is often weaknesses that we ourselves have that are the most glaring in others. Second, Jesus has great mercy and forgiveness for all those that repent. This is not a license for us to sin freely. Jesus tells this woman to go and sin no more. Jesus' mercy to not last forever and does not apply to the wanton sinner. It only applies to His people who, when they fail, repent and turn from their sin. Let's always thank the Lord for His great mercy and love to us, poor mortals.