Matthew 19: 16-30
And, look, one came and said to Him, Good Master, what good thing should I do to have eternal life?
And He said to him, Why are you calling Me good? There is only one that is good, God. Are you testifying that I am the Son of God? The Lord God of Creation?
But if you want to enter into eternal life, then keep the Commandments. Obey what you already know God wants you to do.
He asked Him, Which commandments?
Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Just don't do anything against anyone else, always treat them as you want them to treat you. All the second Tablet of the Ten Commandments.
The young man said, All these I have kept since I was a child; but it doesn't seem to be enough; What else do I need to do?
Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect enough to live with God in Heaven, then go and sell what you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and then come and follow Me.
But when the young man heard Him saying this, he went away sorrowful, because he owned a great amount of possessions. And he valued his possessions over having eternal life!
Then Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, that a rich man has a very difficult time entering the Kingdom of Heaven.
And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.
When the disciples heard this, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
The prevailing opinion of that culture was that God would bless the most godly with the most material possessions.
But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. God does the impossible as a matter of course.
Then Peter said, Look, we've given up all our stuff and are following You; What will we get out of it?
And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the Regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on the Throne of His glory; you also will be sitting on twelve thrones ruling over the twelve Tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or real estate, for My Name's sake, shall receive a hundred times more in this life, and shall inherit eternal Life.
But many that are first in this life shall be last in the next, and the last shall be first.
The whole point here is about our priorities. Those that are wealthy in this World's goods most likely gained their riches by focusing on getting more stuff, rather than focusing on building their characters to be like God. Their priorities are skewed, putting material possessions over spiritual values.
That's why it's so hard for "rich people" to get saved. But when God draws even a rich person (No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him ... Jesus, in John 6:44), then He changes his heart, and shows him his need; then he can be saved.
And it's not always necessary to give up stuff, only the stuff that gets in the way. But even then, Jesus says we'll receive a hundred times as much in this life, and still inherit eternal Life!
And the impossible is possible with God. He's God and can do anything He wants! What I think is impossible for me, He can do for me, no problem! Wow!
O Father, You are so good! You are so generous! You Love me so much! You Love us all more than we can imagine! You want for all of us to come to You, but so many of us are still caught up in trying to "make ends meet," so we're focused on gathering this World's goods.
Father, don't let us get so caught up in the "rat race" that we forget who we are in You! And let those who don't know You yet realize how much better You are to Your own than the World is to those who belong to it.
Father, Your riches come without regret, without sorrow (Psalm 10:22); unlike the World's riches, that come with problems and troubles.
Father, help me always to remember how Your good is so much better than anything this World can give me, even if I am able to amass a great fortune, eventually. Teach me to use it wisely, for Your Kingdom; not foolishly waste it on my own comfort.
And send me and my words out over this whole World, Father, into every Nation, every tribe, every language; so that every creature will hear and have a clear, informed choice to choose You, and come to You, and willingly bend every knee, unlike all the rest who will be compelled to bow.
And every creature in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth will bow the knee, and every tongue in every language will proclaim Your authority and glory and praise and riches and blessing.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Saturday, March 30, 2019
The Bread Of Heaven For True Life
John 6: 26-69
After Jesus fed the five thousand and went back to Capernaum on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the people He had fed followed Him, and Jesus said that they were looking for Him not to see the miracles that validated His identity, but they only came for the food.
So Jesus talks about food, the Bread of Life.
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.
So they asked what they should do, and He said to believe in Him. So they asked, "Why You?" and then quoted Scripture about Moses, that, "He gave them bread out of Heaven to eat" (Psalm 78:24).
So Jesus tells them,
Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the Bread of Heaven, but it is My Father Who gives you the true Bread of Heaven; it's He who has come down out of Heaven to give Life to the World.
Then they said to Him, Lord, always give us this bread.
Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life. ...
(Read my blog entries of January 25 & 26, 2013 about, "Real Food And Real Drink," and "Nourishing My Real Life," for the basics on this.)
So those people grumbled about Jesus; they knew His parents and family, and who did He think He was, anyway!
When Jesus explained that the Bread of Life was His own body and blood, many of His disciples considered this too hard to understand, so they left Him.
So He asked The Twelve, "Are you going to leave, too?" And here's where we get Peter's wonderful confession, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of Life eternal life. We have believed You, and we have learned that You are the Holy One of God.
Peter's statement shows the proper order: #1-believe; then, #2-see, come to know and understand.
We must first decide to believe whatever He would say to us, even if it doesn't make sense. Then, and only then, will we be able to come to understand the reasoning and logic of it all, how it all fits together sensibly.
All life is spiritual; when the spiritual part leaves a living thing, it is dead, whether it is a plant, an animal, or a person. The spirit of life in the Earth is what gives life to everything that lives. Ecclesiastes says that the spirit of life of the beast returns to the Earth, and the spirit of Man returns to God who gave it (3:21; 12:7).
God put a spirit of living into this Earth that produces all the living matter upon it (Genesis 1:11-12, 20, 24). But then God made Man and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and Man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). So Mankind has more than the natural spirit of living, he also has a supernatural soul!
Only Mankind has a soul. So this soul is what gives us our intelligence, our will, and our ability to create ideas and communicate them to one another with language. We are creative, because we are made in the image and likeness of the Creator.
And only Mankind has a future beyond this Earth, because of his supernatural soul. Only Man will spend eternity with God or without Him. Living with God is eternal Life; living forever without Him is an eternal death.
To have the Life that will let us live forever, we need more than the food and drink this Earth provides--we need the food and drink that is spiritual. We need to nourish our bodies; we also need to nourish our spirits and souls.
Jesus explained this to His desciples. His words that He spoke, and that His prophets and evangelists wrote, is the spiritual nourishment we need for our spiritual life.
That is why I take such personal delight in studying Scripture--it is His Word, whether they are in red letters or black, they're all His love-letter to me.
O my Father, thank You so much for loving me so much! You know me, and yet You love me anyway! You have given me Your love-letter, and You have granted to me the intelligence and education to be able to understand so much of what You're telling us.
Thank You, Father, for allowing me to be able to share the wonderful things I am learning with others who are seeking You, also. May this missive help them to understand how wonderful and gracious You are, Father, and come to love You as I love you!
The more I learn of You and what You have done, and what You have planned for me; the more I am drawn to You. And the more I want others to know You, also.
Father, I look so eagerly to the culmination of this great Story of Scripture! I can hardly wait for all Your children to come to You and my Bridegroom/King returns to assume His Throne!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
After Jesus fed the five thousand and went back to Capernaum on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the people He had fed followed Him, and Jesus said that they were looking for Him not to see the miracles that validated His identity, but they only came for the food.
So Jesus talks about food, the Bread of Life.
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.
So they asked what they should do, and He said to believe in Him. So they asked, "Why You?" and then quoted Scripture about Moses, that, "He gave them bread out of Heaven to eat" (Psalm 78:24).
So Jesus tells them,
Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the Bread of Heaven, but it is My Father Who gives you the true Bread of Heaven; it's He who has come down out of Heaven to give Life to the World.
Then they said to Him, Lord, always give us this bread.
Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life. ...
(Read my blog entries of January 25 & 26, 2013 about, "Real Food And Real Drink," and "Nourishing My Real Life," for the basics on this.)
So those people grumbled about Jesus; they knew His parents and family, and who did He think He was, anyway!
When Jesus explained that the Bread of Life was His own body and blood, many of His disciples considered this too hard to understand, so they left Him.
So He asked The Twelve, "Are you going to leave, too?" And here's where we get Peter's wonderful confession, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of Life eternal life. We have believed You, and we have learned that You are the Holy One of God.
Peter's statement shows the proper order: #1-believe; then, #2-see, come to know and understand.
We must first decide to believe whatever He would say to us, even if it doesn't make sense. Then, and only then, will we be able to come to understand the reasoning and logic of it all, how it all fits together sensibly.
All life is spiritual; when the spiritual part leaves a living thing, it is dead, whether it is a plant, an animal, or a person. The spirit of life in the Earth is what gives life to everything that lives. Ecclesiastes says that the spirit of life of the beast returns to the Earth, and the spirit of Man returns to God who gave it (3:21; 12:7).
God put a spirit of living into this Earth that produces all the living matter upon it (Genesis 1:11-12, 20, 24). But then God made Man and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and Man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). So Mankind has more than the natural spirit of living, he also has a supernatural soul!
Only Mankind has a soul. So this soul is what gives us our intelligence, our will, and our ability to create ideas and communicate them to one another with language. We are creative, because we are made in the image and likeness of the Creator.
And only Mankind has a future beyond this Earth, because of his supernatural soul. Only Man will spend eternity with God or without Him. Living with God is eternal Life; living forever without Him is an eternal death.
To have the Life that will let us live forever, we need more than the food and drink this Earth provides--we need the food and drink that is spiritual. We need to nourish our bodies; we also need to nourish our spirits and souls.
Jesus explained this to His desciples. His words that He spoke, and that His prophets and evangelists wrote, is the spiritual nourishment we need for our spiritual life.
That is why I take such personal delight in studying Scripture--it is His Word, whether they are in red letters or black, they're all His love-letter to me.
O my Father, thank You so much for loving me so much! You know me, and yet You love me anyway! You have given me Your love-letter, and You have granted to me the intelligence and education to be able to understand so much of what You're telling us.
Thank You, Father, for allowing me to be able to share the wonderful things I am learning with others who are seeking You, also. May this missive help them to understand how wonderful and gracious You are, Father, and come to love You as I love you!
The more I learn of You and what You have done, and what You have planned for me; the more I am drawn to You. And the more I want others to know You, also.
Father, I look so eagerly to the culmination of this great Story of Scripture! I can hardly wait for all Your children to come to You and my Bridegroom/King returns to assume His Throne!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, March 29, 2019
What Will It Cost?
Luke 14: 25-35
Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them,
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
Jesus is not advocating hatred here, He is comparing our love for our dear ones to the love we are to have for Him; it's an issue of priorities, what or who will come first in our loyalty.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
The cross was an instrument of execution. The one carrying a cross is admitting that they deserve death, and is on their way to die on it. We must live our lives daily in an attitude that we would die for Him; therefore we are living for Him, ready to follow His direction, regardless of what our loved ones tell us. Our first priority must be to do what is right, according to the Righteousness of God, and not let even our closest family members deter us from it.
For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
Otherwise, when he has laid an foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it will begin to ridicule him,
saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish.
Even if we want to accomplish something like building a building, it's only practical to make sure you can finance it before you start. If you run out of money or time, then people will make fun of you for leaving it half-finished.
There was a man in the city I lived in who bought a lot of the buildings in town and started to fix them up, but he seemed to lose interest before he finished anything. The other townspeople talked disdainfully about him, for leaving their town in a half-finished state. He couldn't seem to focus on one project long enough to get it done.
Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Here is a political example of looking before you leap. If the king with ten thousand cannot come up with a strategy to defeat the one with twice as many soldiers, then he would be better served not facing them in battle, but negotiating for peace instead. Reasoning and logic and planning.
God gave us brains and thinking powers that He wants us to use. And a will to choose what we would consider the best course to take.
Likewise, Jesus is saying we need to count the cost of following Him. He says:
So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
If becoming a Christian will cost you your family or your possessions, if you are living in a non-Christian country; or if you will lose your job in an evil society; or if you will face some other "undesirable" result of your turning from sinning to righteousness--then you will need to decide if He would be worth it. Is Jesus really your source of everything you really want, and is more valuable than anything you will end up giving up?
When God came to me to save me, I knew that I would be giving up all my boyfriends. But since He loved me so much, I didn't need those guys any more, anyway. And the life He gave me to live ever since that day has been so much better than it would have been, there's really no comparison.
Therefore, salt is good: but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
We are to be the salt of this World. Salt is used to season, give flavor, to food; it is also used to preserve food from rotting. And it is also used to make the soil unable to grow the weeds we want to kill, and to sanitize a manure pile.
But if salt loses its saltiness, then it's not good for anything at all.
If we're to be salt in our cultures and societies, then we need to give the flavor, kill the viruses, sanitize the stink, and preserve what is good. Unlike artificial antibiotics that kills everything, we need to discern what needs to be changed, and also what needs to be kept and improved.
And everyone who has ears, that means everybody, needs to listen to what Jesus is teaching us. Even non-Christians can do good in the World, and many do. But as Christians, the good that we can accomplish would not be mixed with anything that is not pure and righteous; it would be genuine and beneficial for everyone, without harming anyone.
O my Father, thank You for teaching us what is right. Thank You for showing us what seems to be good in the World, but really harmful to people or our environment. Father, give us the discernment to see how to love You and one another, to do what is right and righteous, and to avoid everything that would spoil or tear down the good that You have made in us and for us.
Strengthen us, Father, to give up all the things that will not help or be good for us, regardless of what we hear from others. All that You have for us is so much better than any things or possessions or people or wealth that this World gives.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it ever entered our imagination of what good things You are preparing for those who love You (Isaiah 64:4; I Corinthians 2:9). Even family members--Your own Family!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them,
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
Jesus is not advocating hatred here, He is comparing our love for our dear ones to the love we are to have for Him; it's an issue of priorities, what or who will come first in our loyalty.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
The cross was an instrument of execution. The one carrying a cross is admitting that they deserve death, and is on their way to die on it. We must live our lives daily in an attitude that we would die for Him; therefore we are living for Him, ready to follow His direction, regardless of what our loved ones tell us. Our first priority must be to do what is right, according to the Righteousness of God, and not let even our closest family members deter us from it.
For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
Otherwise, when he has laid an foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it will begin to ridicule him,
saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish.
Even if we want to accomplish something like building a building, it's only practical to make sure you can finance it before you start. If you run out of money or time, then people will make fun of you for leaving it half-finished.
There was a man in the city I lived in who bought a lot of the buildings in town and started to fix them up, but he seemed to lose interest before he finished anything. The other townspeople talked disdainfully about him, for leaving their town in a half-finished state. He couldn't seem to focus on one project long enough to get it done.
Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Here is a political example of looking before you leap. If the king with ten thousand cannot come up with a strategy to defeat the one with twice as many soldiers, then he would be better served not facing them in battle, but negotiating for peace instead. Reasoning and logic and planning.
God gave us brains and thinking powers that He wants us to use. And a will to choose what we would consider the best course to take.
Likewise, Jesus is saying we need to count the cost of following Him. He says:
So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
If becoming a Christian will cost you your family or your possessions, if you are living in a non-Christian country; or if you will lose your job in an evil society; or if you will face some other "undesirable" result of your turning from sinning to righteousness--then you will need to decide if He would be worth it. Is Jesus really your source of everything you really want, and is more valuable than anything you will end up giving up?
When God came to me to save me, I knew that I would be giving up all my boyfriends. But since He loved me so much, I didn't need those guys any more, anyway. And the life He gave me to live ever since that day has been so much better than it would have been, there's really no comparison.
Therefore, salt is good: but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
We are to be the salt of this World. Salt is used to season, give flavor, to food; it is also used to preserve food from rotting. And it is also used to make the soil unable to grow the weeds we want to kill, and to sanitize a manure pile.
But if salt loses its saltiness, then it's not good for anything at all.
If we're to be salt in our cultures and societies, then we need to give the flavor, kill the viruses, sanitize the stink, and preserve what is good. Unlike artificial antibiotics that kills everything, we need to discern what needs to be changed, and also what needs to be kept and improved.
And everyone who has ears, that means everybody, needs to listen to what Jesus is teaching us. Even non-Christians can do good in the World, and many do. But as Christians, the good that we can accomplish would not be mixed with anything that is not pure and righteous; it would be genuine and beneficial for everyone, without harming anyone.
O my Father, thank You for teaching us what is right. Thank You for showing us what seems to be good in the World, but really harmful to people or our environment. Father, give us the discernment to see how to love You and one another, to do what is right and righteous, and to avoid everything that would spoil or tear down the good that You have made in us and for us.
Strengthen us, Father, to give up all the things that will not help or be good for us, regardless of what we hear from others. All that You have for us is so much better than any things or possessions or people or wealth that this World gives.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it ever entered our imagination of what good things You are preparing for those who love You (Isaiah 64:4; I Corinthians 2:9). Even family members--Your own Family!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, March 28, 2019
What's Your Excuse?
Luke 14: 15-24
When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God!
But He said to him, A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;
and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, Come; for everything is ready now.
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.
Another one said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.
Another one said, I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.
And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.
And the slave said, Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.
And the master said to the slave, go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.
Jesus had one more story to tell these dinner guests at the Chief Pharisee's house that day. When one of the guests commented about God's Dinner Party, Jesus replied with a story about all the invited guests who gave excuses to get out of going; they all had something that was more important to them.
Jesus was telling them that the twelve tribes of Israel had the invitation to God's Kingdom, but since they had hardly ever really bought into God's program, then the way would be open for all the imperfect, Gentile and Barbarian and disabled and other non-acceptable people, to come and enjoy God's Reception into His Kingdom.
A lot of people give their own plans a higher priority than they do to God's program. They figure God can take care of His own plans, they have better things to do for themselves.
So anyone; Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, healthy or sick, city-slicker or country-bumpkin; has the opportunity to accept God's invitation, through His servants, the prophets and evangelists, to enter His Kingdom, through His Son, Christ our Lord.
Many today also have their own excuses, and think that they can always come to God later, at a more convenient time. But Scripture says that today, right now is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2); we don't know what tomorrow holds, or even if we will have a tomorrow. We never know when we are in the last day of our life.
Today is the only time we really have; yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never come. So what would you be doing if you knew that today was your last day? Are you sure of your Eternity? Have you loose threads that need to be tied up in your relationships? Have you debts to pay?
No excuse will stand up for you when you face your Judge at the moment of death. And whenever you do decide to come to Him, you will wish you had done so a long time ago, because you missed out on so much, even in this life.
O my Father, thank You that You have opened the door to Salvation to every person alive. You are so generous and lavish in Your giving! Everyone is loved by You, and You are not willing that any should perish in a forever without You, but that every one of us would come to repentance and faith, trusting You. (II Peter 3:9.)
I know that most people are not willing to turn to You, because they are deceived by the enemy into thinking they don't need to, or have never heard. But, there are also those who do want to, but are putting You off, with their own ideas and plans, not realizing how much better Yours are for them.
I pray for all Your lost sheep, Father; those who haven't found their way to You yet, that You would be the Hound of Heaven to dog them until they turn to You, thay they would have no rest until they rest in You.
Send more workers into Your fields, Father; find them all, draw them all into that One Fold with One Shepherd.
And every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And You will receive all the glory and honor and blessing and riches and praise, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God!
But He said to him, A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;
and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, Come; for everything is ready now.
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.
Another one said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.
Another one said, I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.
And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.
And the slave said, Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.
And the master said to the slave, go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.
Jesus had one more story to tell these dinner guests at the Chief Pharisee's house that day. When one of the guests commented about God's Dinner Party, Jesus replied with a story about all the invited guests who gave excuses to get out of going; they all had something that was more important to them.
Jesus was telling them that the twelve tribes of Israel had the invitation to God's Kingdom, but since they had hardly ever really bought into God's program, then the way would be open for all the imperfect, Gentile and Barbarian and disabled and other non-acceptable people, to come and enjoy God's Reception into His Kingdom.
A lot of people give their own plans a higher priority than they do to God's program. They figure God can take care of His own plans, they have better things to do for themselves.
So anyone; Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, healthy or sick, city-slicker or country-bumpkin; has the opportunity to accept God's invitation, through His servants, the prophets and evangelists, to enter His Kingdom, through His Son, Christ our Lord.
Many today also have their own excuses, and think that they can always come to God later, at a more convenient time. But Scripture says that today, right now is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2); we don't know what tomorrow holds, or even if we will have a tomorrow. We never know when we are in the last day of our life.
Today is the only time we really have; yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never come. So what would you be doing if you knew that today was your last day? Are you sure of your Eternity? Have you loose threads that need to be tied up in your relationships? Have you debts to pay?
No excuse will stand up for you when you face your Judge at the moment of death. And whenever you do decide to come to Him, you will wish you had done so a long time ago, because you missed out on so much, even in this life.
O my Father, thank You that You have opened the door to Salvation to every person alive. You are so generous and lavish in Your giving! Everyone is loved by You, and You are not willing that any should perish in a forever without You, but that every one of us would come to repentance and faith, trusting You. (II Peter 3:9.)
I know that most people are not willing to turn to You, because they are deceived by the enemy into thinking they don't need to, or have never heard. But, there are also those who do want to, but are putting You off, with their own ideas and plans, not realizing how much better Yours are for them.
I pray for all Your lost sheep, Father; those who haven't found their way to You yet, that You would be the Hound of Heaven to dog them until they turn to You, thay they would have no rest until they rest in You.
Send more workers into Your fields, Father; find them all, draw them all into that One Fold with One Shepherd.
And every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And You will receive all the glory and honor and blessing and riches and praise, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Invite Who?
Luke 14: 12-14
And Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Jesus is still at this dinner that the prominent Pharisee had invited Him to. And He is still lecturing them.
Now He's turning to His host, and telling him who to invite to the next party. If you remember, this religious leader had wanted to trap Jesus into doing something that their additional rules forbade that they had added to God's Law so that they would be able to accuse Him, but He had seen through their plot.
Now it seems like He is going on and on about the right way to go about things, to this group of people who just didn't get it.
So He told His host to just simply look for rewards that will last forever, instead of what will blow away or burn up. Jesus knew people, He could see into their hearts, to discern their motives. He could see that this man wanted to be repaid, rewarded for his good deeds, so He told him how to get valuable rewards that will last, instead of the cheap trinkets he had been gathering.
Jesus really did want to help him and his guests to do right. He wants us all to do right. That's why the Holy Spirit had Doctor Luke write these teachings for us to learn, too.
If we're only being nice to people who are nice to us, then we're not "being Christ" to those we associate with. Even worldly and evil people do this.
Jesus associated with the out-casts, the shunned, the rejected people of His day. When was the last time you did something for someone who could never return the favor? What is your attitude toward those others are disgusted with?
O my Father, help me to always see others through Your eyes, to look for what is good in others, regardless of how they look or act or smell. You have made each of us members of Mankind in Your own image and likeness, even though we have marred and twisted that image.
Help me to look past all the mistakes and dirt and infirmities of others in my world, to see the desire in their hearts for good, even when they don't realize You are that good they want. Just as I didn't know that You are the Truth I was looking for.
Father, send me to those who are seeking You, in whatever aspect of Your personality they are looking for. Show me how to show them Who You are, that You are the Source of everything they could ever want or need.
Continue to send workers into Your fields to reap those who are ripe for harvest. Continue to cultivate Your fields, Father, preparing Your lost sheep to come to You when You have made them ready. Then have Your worker there to show You to them, and You will draw them into the safety of the One Fold with One Shepherd.
And You will receive all the praise, all the credit, all the glory and honor and blessing; when every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Jesus is still at this dinner that the prominent Pharisee had invited Him to. And He is still lecturing them.
Now He's turning to His host, and telling him who to invite to the next party. If you remember, this religious leader had wanted to trap Jesus into doing something that their additional rules forbade that they had added to God's Law so that they would be able to accuse Him, but He had seen through their plot.
Now it seems like He is going on and on about the right way to go about things, to this group of people who just didn't get it.
So He told His host to just simply look for rewards that will last forever, instead of what will blow away or burn up. Jesus knew people, He could see into their hearts, to discern their motives. He could see that this man wanted to be repaid, rewarded for his good deeds, so He told him how to get valuable rewards that will last, instead of the cheap trinkets he had been gathering.
Jesus really did want to help him and his guests to do right. He wants us all to do right. That's why the Holy Spirit had Doctor Luke write these teachings for us to learn, too.
If we're only being nice to people who are nice to us, then we're not "being Christ" to those we associate with. Even worldly and evil people do this.
Jesus associated with the out-casts, the shunned, the rejected people of His day. When was the last time you did something for someone who could never return the favor? What is your attitude toward those others are disgusted with?
O my Father, help me to always see others through Your eyes, to look for what is good in others, regardless of how they look or act or smell. You have made each of us members of Mankind in Your own image and likeness, even though we have marred and twisted that image.
Help me to look past all the mistakes and dirt and infirmities of others in my world, to see the desire in their hearts for good, even when they don't realize You are that good they want. Just as I didn't know that You are the Truth I was looking for.
Father, send me to those who are seeking You, in whatever aspect of Your personality they are looking for. Show me how to show them Who You are, that You are the Source of everything they could ever want or need.
Continue to send workers into Your fields to reap those who are ripe for harvest. Continue to cultivate Your fields, Father, preparing Your lost sheep to come to You when You have made them ready. Then have Your worker there to show You to them, and You will draw them into the safety of the One Fold with One Shepherd.
And You will receive all the praise, all the credit, all the glory and honor and blessing; when every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Self-Importance
Luke 14: 7-11
And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,
When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,
and he who invited you both will come and say to you, Give your place to this man, and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.
But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, Friend, move up higher; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you,
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
When Jesus went to dinner on the Sabbath at this prominent Pharisee's house, He had a lot to say to him and his other guests. But He wasn't very complimentary at all.
Here He's dressing them down for their self-promotion.
The culture He lived in was very aware of the varying degrees of importance of each member of the society, and the seating arrangements at every social gathering was rather precise. So where someone was seated at the table was a reflection of their importance in relation to everyone else.
A parallel I can think of right now would be at a wedding reception, where the wedding party is at a table separate from all the other tables. If one of the groomsmen would take the central seat of the groom, he would be asked to move.
But the principle here applies to anywhere we would want to promote ourselves over someone else. I remember how my husband would sometimes look in the mirror and compliment himself on his good looks, and I would respond by telling him that was for me to say; now that he said it, I couldn't. I didn't want to put him down; I did consider him to be very good-looking, but I felt he was preventing me from saying it by taking that place himself.
Self-promotion is one exteme, and putting oneself down is the other extreme. But to measure ourselves by ourselves, and to compare ourselves among ourselves, is not wise, is lacking understanding (II Corinthians 10:12).
We need to have true humility: recognizing our true worth, without elevating it or lowering it, or being competitive with one another. We are all valuable, and God loves us all more than we can imagine; He has gifted each of us in our own way, according to each of our personality and ability. We are to use our talents and skills to help one another, to lift up one another, and to bless one another with God's blessings.
O my Father, thank You for all Your gifts and giftings to us all. You are so generous, Father, to have given all of us Your wonderful and useful gifts.
Help us, Father, to not be envious of others' gifts, but to recognize how You have made each of us differently, with varied combinations of gifts, abilities, personalities, intellects, skills, experiences, and heart desires. Help us to be grateful and thankful for what You have given to each of us, using all these traits unselfishly to benefit one another, and bring You praise.
And You will receive all the credit, all the glory, all the fame and renown; because only You deserve it all, from every knee bowed and every tongue in every language, throughout all eternity, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,
When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,
and he who invited you both will come and say to you, Give your place to this man, and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.
But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, Friend, move up higher; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you,
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
When Jesus went to dinner on the Sabbath at this prominent Pharisee's house, He had a lot to say to him and his other guests. But He wasn't very complimentary at all.
Here He's dressing them down for their self-promotion.
The culture He lived in was very aware of the varying degrees of importance of each member of the society, and the seating arrangements at every social gathering was rather precise. So where someone was seated at the table was a reflection of their importance in relation to everyone else.
A parallel I can think of right now would be at a wedding reception, where the wedding party is at a table separate from all the other tables. If one of the groomsmen would take the central seat of the groom, he would be asked to move.
But the principle here applies to anywhere we would want to promote ourselves over someone else. I remember how my husband would sometimes look in the mirror and compliment himself on his good looks, and I would respond by telling him that was for me to say; now that he said it, I couldn't. I didn't want to put him down; I did consider him to be very good-looking, but I felt he was preventing me from saying it by taking that place himself.
Self-promotion is one exteme, and putting oneself down is the other extreme. But to measure ourselves by ourselves, and to compare ourselves among ourselves, is not wise, is lacking understanding (II Corinthians 10:12).
We need to have true humility: recognizing our true worth, without elevating it or lowering it, or being competitive with one another. We are all valuable, and God loves us all more than we can imagine; He has gifted each of us in our own way, according to each of our personality and ability. We are to use our talents and skills to help one another, to lift up one another, and to bless one another with God's blessings.
O my Father, thank You for all Your gifts and giftings to us all. You are so generous, Father, to have given all of us Your wonderful and useful gifts.
Help us, Father, to not be envious of others' gifts, but to recognize how You have made each of us differently, with varied combinations of gifts, abilities, personalities, intellects, skills, experiences, and heart desires. Help us to be grateful and thankful for what You have given to each of us, using all these traits unselfishly to benefit one another, and bring You praise.
And You will receive all the credit, all the glory, all the fame and renown; because only You deserve it all, from every knee bowed and every tongue in every language, throughout all eternity, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, March 25, 2019
Why A Day To Rest?
Luke 14: 1-6
And it came to pass, when He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, they were watching Him closely.
And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.
And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?
But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.
And He said to them, Which one of you will have a donkey or an ox fall into a well, and not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?
And they could make no reply to this.
Jesus was invited to have a meal at the home of this prominent Pharisee on a Sabbath day, and they set Him up putting this sick man in front of Him. They were trying to trip Him up so they would have an accusation against Him.
But Jesus knew what they were up to. He even asked them if they thought it was lawful, but they didn't answer.
So He did what He knew was right to do, then allowed this man to go home before He called these lawyers to task.
Then He gave the example of an animal slipping into a well, and that they would immediately pull it out, even if it was a Sabbath day; and a person is worth so much more than an animal, even a valuable animal used to earn a living to support the family.
Jesus acted like He had authority over the Sabbath, because He did. He said in another place,
So all the extra rules the Jewish leaders added to the Sabbath law only made it a burden, instead of the blessing it was intended to be.
And since Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, He could tell them this, and trip them up instead, so that they had no answer.
O my Father, thank You for giving us an opportunity to take a day off each week, and that our culture respects that. Thank You for all Your rules and precepts to guide us in our attitudes, to teach us how to love You and ourselves and one another.
Thank You, Father, that we can take a Sunday to go to church, and worship with others of like precious faith. I pray for Your church, Your children: Help us to be able to get to church, to set our schedules to be able to attend services, and Bible studies, and whatever meetings we can; to get to know one another so we can learn how to share and encourage and help one another where needed.
O Father, You have lavished Your Love upon us so generously! You have given us more than everything we need, so we can enjoy this life, and have good health, and healthy relationships, and grow Your family, and promote Your Kingdom so that Your will will be done here on this Earth as it is in Heaven.
And I look for the Glorious Appearing of my King, to bring Heaven's rule down to us and give this World its Golden Age.
And every eye shall see, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess in every language, that Christ Jesus is our Lord God over all, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And it came to pass, when He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, they were watching Him closely.
And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.
And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?
But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.
And He said to them, Which one of you will have a donkey or an ox fall into a well, and not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?
And they could make no reply to this.
Jesus was invited to have a meal at the home of this prominent Pharisee on a Sabbath day, and they set Him up putting this sick man in front of Him. They were trying to trip Him up so they would have an accusation against Him.
But Jesus knew what they were up to. He even asked them if they thought it was lawful, but they didn't answer.
So He did what He knew was right to do, then allowed this man to go home before He called these lawyers to task.
Then He gave the example of an animal slipping into a well, and that they would immediately pull it out, even if it was a Sabbath day; and a person is worth so much more than an animal, even a valuable animal used to earn a living to support the family.
Jesus acted like He had authority over the Sabbath, because He did. He said in another place,
The Sabbath was made for Man, and not Man for the Sabbath; therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)So God gave the Sabbath days for our benefit, so that we would have a day to rest and relax from the daily grind. He knows that we need respite because we are vulnerable to burning out. For our good health, God wants us to take a day off each week, and to take vacations, and to break up the monotony so we can accomplish all the work He planned out for us to do.
So all the extra rules the Jewish leaders added to the Sabbath law only made it a burden, instead of the blessing it was intended to be.
And since Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, He could tell them this, and trip them up instead, so that they had no answer.
O my Father, thank You for giving us an opportunity to take a day off each week, and that our culture respects that. Thank You for all Your rules and precepts to guide us in our attitudes, to teach us how to love You and ourselves and one another.
Thank You, Father, that we can take a Sunday to go to church, and worship with others of like precious faith. I pray for Your church, Your children: Help us to be able to get to church, to set our schedules to be able to attend services, and Bible studies, and whatever meetings we can; to get to know one another so we can learn how to share and encourage and help one another where needed.
O Father, You have lavished Your Love upon us so generously! You have given us more than everything we need, so we can enjoy this life, and have good health, and healthy relationships, and grow Your family, and promote Your Kingdom so that Your will will be done here on this Earth as it is in Heaven.
And I look for the Glorious Appearing of my King, to bring Heaven's rule down to us and give this World its Golden Age.
And every eye shall see, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess in every language, that Christ Jesus is our Lord God over all, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Long-Distance Healing
John 4: 43-53
After two days (in Samaria) He went forth from there into Galilee.
This is because the people of Sychar asked Him to stay, so He spent two days teaching them.
For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
Jesus grew up in Galilee, in the town of Nazareth. We'll see how things go when he reaches that town.
So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the Feast; for they themselves also went to the Feast (of Passover).
These people had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, in obedience to the Law, and personally saw the miracles Jesus performed there. So they welcomed Him.
Therefore He came again unto Cana of Galilee where He had made water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.
News got around of where Jesus was, word of mouth travelled far and wide. And the stories of His miracles were growing His popularity. Everyone with a need thought Jesus could fix it.
This royal official knew Jesus could heal, but he thought Jesus would have to come all the way to Capernaum to do the miracle.
So Jesus said to him, Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.
The royal official said to Him, Come down before my child dies.
Jesus said to him, Go, your son lives.
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.
As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living.
So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour (1:00 pm) the fever left him.
So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, Your son lives; and he himself believed and his whole household.
So because Jesus did this miracle, they believed, just as Jesus had said.
This is the second time Jesus healed at a distance, from Cana to Capernaum. The other time was when He healed the Centurian's servant (Matthew 8:5-13). This is a most amazing thing. Not only can He touch the person, or the person touches His clothes; but when He simply says a word, and the sickness obeys and leaves the person at a distance. This is proof that Jesus has authority over all Creation, He's not just doing slight-of-hand tricks.
Jesus understood Quantum Entanglement, because He made everything, from the atoms and molecules up into planets and people. He knows how everything works, and He is Lord (Boss) over it all. So it all obeys Him.
O my Father, You have put all things into Jesus' hand. You, God: Father and Son and Spirit; thought up, designed, planned out, created, and made everything that exists. And Your Son agreed to be Lord over the Earth, to have the responsibility for Mankind. So He has been the Lord of the First Covenant, as well as the New Covenant.
He appeared to Moses to give him the Law, so that Mankind would recognize Him as doing all the Law and the Prophets, fulfilling what they wrote so long ago. Now, because He has fulfilled the requirements for our complete cleansing, He has made us fit to live with You where You are, in Heaven.
And because He was willing to pour Himself out as the Sacrifice, You have put all Creation into His possession, to be Lord over all (Philippians 2:6-11).
So now every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord over all, and has authority over all. He is our Lord God Almighty, our Brother in the New Birth, our Bridegroom as His church the bride, as our King over all other kings and Lord over every other lord.
All praise and honor and glory and riches and blessing are to You Alone, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
After two days (in Samaria) He went forth from there into Galilee.
This is because the people of Sychar asked Him to stay, so He spent two days teaching them.
For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
Jesus grew up in Galilee, in the town of Nazareth. We'll see how things go when he reaches that town.
So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the Feast; for they themselves also went to the Feast (of Passover).
These people had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, in obedience to the Law, and personally saw the miracles Jesus performed there. So they welcomed Him.
Therefore He came again unto Cana of Galilee where He had made water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.
News got around of where Jesus was, word of mouth travelled far and wide. And the stories of His miracles were growing His popularity. Everyone with a need thought Jesus could fix it.
This royal official knew Jesus could heal, but he thought Jesus would have to come all the way to Capernaum to do the miracle.
So Jesus said to him, Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.
The royal official said to Him, Come down before my child dies.
Jesus said to him, Go, your son lives.
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.
As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living.
So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour (1:00 pm) the fever left him.
So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, Your son lives; and he himself believed and his whole household.
So because Jesus did this miracle, they believed, just as Jesus had said.
This is the second time Jesus healed at a distance, from Cana to Capernaum. The other time was when He healed the Centurian's servant (Matthew 8:5-13). This is a most amazing thing. Not only can He touch the person, or the person touches His clothes; but when He simply says a word, and the sickness obeys and leaves the person at a distance. This is proof that Jesus has authority over all Creation, He's not just doing slight-of-hand tricks.
Jesus understood Quantum Entanglement, because He made everything, from the atoms and molecules up into planets and people. He knows how everything works, and He is Lord (Boss) over it all. So it all obeys Him.
O my Father, You have put all things into Jesus' hand. You, God: Father and Son and Spirit; thought up, designed, planned out, created, and made everything that exists. And Your Son agreed to be Lord over the Earth, to have the responsibility for Mankind. So He has been the Lord of the First Covenant, as well as the New Covenant.
He appeared to Moses to give him the Law, so that Mankind would recognize Him as doing all the Law and the Prophets, fulfilling what they wrote so long ago. Now, because He has fulfilled the requirements for our complete cleansing, He has made us fit to live with You where You are, in Heaven.
And because He was willing to pour Himself out as the Sacrifice, You have put all Creation into His possession, to be Lord over all (Philippians 2:6-11).
So now every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord over all, and has authority over all. He is our Lord God Almighty, our Brother in the New Birth, our Bridegroom as His church the bride, as our King over all other kings and Lord over every other lord.
All praise and honor and glory and riches and blessing are to You Alone, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, March 23, 2019
The Woman At The Well
John 4: 5-42
The Woman at the Well
When Jesus knew that the Pharasees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John, He knew it was getting dangerous to stay in Judea, so He went to Galilee, where He was from. To get there, he took the short route, through Samaria. Most Judeans who wanted to go between Judea and Galilee took the long way, around Samaria on the other side of the Jordan River, to avoid those people they considered to be half-breeds, mongrels.
But Jesus wanted to go through that territory.
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
And Jacob's Well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about the sixth hour (noon).
Jesus had been walking all morning, and it was noon now, and He was tired and thirsty, so He was sitting by the well.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give Me a drink.
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan and a woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Jesus was asking her for a drink, not making a demand. He always showed respect for people, and He was not predjudiced against her like the Jewish leaders were. He wanted to give this woman the opportunity to know the Truth.
Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.
Jesus is referring to Himself in the third person, a common way to speak, explaining a vital part of what He wants to do for her.
She said to Him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do you get that living water?
She is thinking in Earthly terms, just like Nicodemus did. It's natural for us to do that, since we live here, under the Sun, so we tend to think this is all there is in life.
You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you, who gave us this well, and he drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?
Now she's suspecting that this Man may be more than He appears to be ...
Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.
She's getting an idea, but still doesn't get the full scope of what He's saying. Jesus is talking about water, because they're by a well. And this woman came out to get water at the hottest part of the day, when no one else would be there.
The woman said, Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.
This sounds good to her, to not have to come out to the well every day and haul water back to town. How convenient!
He said to her, Go, call your husband and come here.
This would be expected, as women were not leaders, they were under their husbands' authority, and the husband would need to know what the wife was learning so He could lead her in it. But Jesus also had another reason.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband.
He knew she would say this.
Jesus said to her, You have correctly said, I have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.
He was complimenting her on her honesty, and letting her know that He really did know her, and accepted her anyway.
The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
She's getting closer. Since He knew what an ordinary stranger wouldn't, then He must at least be a prophet. So she'll pursue this, and ask Him something she's been thinking about.
Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
So who's right?
Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.
He's laid it all out for her here, about carnal and spiritual Truth.
The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.
Now her understanding is expanding, and she's starting to get the picture. So she is asking if He really is the One. So He tells her right out.
Jesus said to her, I Who speak to you am He.
Here's where the disciples return with the food, right at the climax of their conversation.
So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, Come, see a Man who told me all the things I have done; this is not the Christ, is it? (Could this actually be the Christ?)
Jesus had summed up her whole life with what He said to her, and she probably knew all the men of the town, so she's going to let them see for themselves.
They went out of the city and were coming to Him.
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Him, saying, Rabbi, eat.
But He said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about.
So the disciples were saying to one another, No one brought Him anything to eat, did they?
Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
He was "eating" so much spiritually that He wasn't even aware of His physical hunger any more!
Do you not say, There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. [The mission fields.]
Already he who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
For in this case the saying is true, One sows and another reaps.
I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.
We are all, as children of our Father, to be "laboring" in scattering the seed of His Word. All of us are given the assignment to plant all over the World, to spread God's Truth among all the Nations; and others of us are sent to harvest, to reap the ripened crop, and lead individuals to faith in Christ.
It has been said that each person must hear the Gospel multiple times (7? 12?) before it will sink in and produce Salvation in that individual. So don't expect every person to come to faith as soon as you share with them. They may need to hear from several sources, to validate the Truth in their minds. Many are planting, others are reaping.
Now we return to today's story.
From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, He told me all the things that I have done.
So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
Many more believed because of His word;
And they were saying to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the World.
Now, because the woman shared her testimony, there are many of the people of this town believing in Jesus as Messiah; not just from her account, but because they were listening to Jesus Himself, and were certain of His identity, and put their faith in Him.
O my Father, help Your children to realize their responsibility to share their witness of what You have done for them, just like this unnamed woman that came to the well where Jesus rested. She didn't stay there with Him alone, she ran into the city and gathered them all with her words, to come see for themselves. This is what we all should be doing.
Help me, Father, to get out of my little comfortable cocoon into the wide world and cast the seed of Your Word broadly to reach many fields; that some may land on that fertile soil that will produce much fruit.
And permit me, my Lord of the Harvest, to help You reap some of that fruit, with others of Your missionaries, to gather into Your barns to overflowing. To find all the lost sheep and corral them into the safety of Your fold.
Then I look for my King to return to His Kingdom on the Earth, to rule in righteousness and justice.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Woman at the Well
When Jesus knew that the Pharasees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John, He knew it was getting dangerous to stay in Judea, so He went to Galilee, where He was from. To get there, he took the short route, through Samaria. Most Judeans who wanted to go between Judea and Galilee took the long way, around Samaria on the other side of the Jordan River, to avoid those people they considered to be half-breeds, mongrels.
But Jesus wanted to go through that territory.
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
And Jacob's Well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about the sixth hour (noon).
Jesus had been walking all morning, and it was noon now, and He was tired and thirsty, so He was sitting by the well.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give Me a drink.
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan and a woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Jesus was asking her for a drink, not making a demand. He always showed respect for people, and He was not predjudiced against her like the Jewish leaders were. He wanted to give this woman the opportunity to know the Truth.
Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.
Jesus is referring to Himself in the third person, a common way to speak, explaining a vital part of what He wants to do for her.
She said to Him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do you get that living water?
She is thinking in Earthly terms, just like Nicodemus did. It's natural for us to do that, since we live here, under the Sun, so we tend to think this is all there is in life.
You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you, who gave us this well, and he drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?
Now she's suspecting that this Man may be more than He appears to be ...
Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.
She's getting an idea, but still doesn't get the full scope of what He's saying. Jesus is talking about water, because they're by a well. And this woman came out to get water at the hottest part of the day, when no one else would be there.
The woman said, Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.
This sounds good to her, to not have to come out to the well every day and haul water back to town. How convenient!
He said to her, Go, call your husband and come here.
This would be expected, as women were not leaders, they were under their husbands' authority, and the husband would need to know what the wife was learning so He could lead her in it. But Jesus also had another reason.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband.
He knew she would say this.
Jesus said to her, You have correctly said, I have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.
He was complimenting her on her honesty, and letting her know that He really did know her, and accepted her anyway.
The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
She's getting closer. Since He knew what an ordinary stranger wouldn't, then He must at least be a prophet. So she'll pursue this, and ask Him something she's been thinking about.
Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
So who's right?
Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.
He's laid it all out for her here, about carnal and spiritual Truth.
The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.
Now her understanding is expanding, and she's starting to get the picture. So she is asking if He really is the One. So He tells her right out.
Jesus said to her, I Who speak to you am He.
Here's where the disciples return with the food, right at the climax of their conversation.
So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, Come, see a Man who told me all the things I have done; this is not the Christ, is it? (Could this actually be the Christ?)
Jesus had summed up her whole life with what He said to her, and she probably knew all the men of the town, so she's going to let them see for themselves.
They went out of the city and were coming to Him.
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Him, saying, Rabbi, eat.
But He said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about.
So the disciples were saying to one another, No one brought Him anything to eat, did they?
Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
He was "eating" so much spiritually that He wasn't even aware of His physical hunger any more!
Do you not say, There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. [The mission fields.]
Already he who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
For in this case the saying is true, One sows and another reaps.
I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.
We are all, as children of our Father, to be "laboring" in scattering the seed of His Word. All of us are given the assignment to plant all over the World, to spread God's Truth among all the Nations; and others of us are sent to harvest, to reap the ripened crop, and lead individuals to faith in Christ.
It has been said that each person must hear the Gospel multiple times (7? 12?) before it will sink in and produce Salvation in that individual. So don't expect every person to come to faith as soon as you share with them. They may need to hear from several sources, to validate the Truth in their minds. Many are planting, others are reaping.
Now we return to today's story.
From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, He told me all the things that I have done.
So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
Many more believed because of His word;
And they were saying to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the World.
Now, because the woman shared her testimony, there are many of the people of this town believing in Jesus as Messiah; not just from her account, but because they were listening to Jesus Himself, and were certain of His identity, and put their faith in Him.
O my Father, help Your children to realize their responsibility to share their witness of what You have done for them, just like this unnamed woman that came to the well where Jesus rested. She didn't stay there with Him alone, she ran into the city and gathered them all with her words, to come see for themselves. This is what we all should be doing.
Help me, Father, to get out of my little comfortable cocoon into the wide world and cast the seed of Your Word broadly to reach many fields; that some may land on that fertile soil that will produce much fruit.
And permit me, my Lord of the Harvest, to help You reap some of that fruit, with others of Your missionaries, to gather into Your barns to overflowing. To find all the lost sheep and corral them into the safety of Your fold.
Then I look for my King to return to His Kingdom on the Earth, to rule in righteousness and justice.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, March 22, 2019
John The Baptist And Jesus
John 3: 22-36
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and being baptized--
for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purification.
And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.
John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from Heaven.
You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, I am not the Christ; but, I have been sent ahead of Him.
He who has the bride is the Bridegroom; but the friend of the Bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly because of the Bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the Earth is from the Earth and speaks of the Earth. He who comes from Heaven is above all.
What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is True.
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see Life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover when Nicodemus came to Him by night, and we were able to listen in on what He was teaching him.
Now after these things, He left the city and was out in the countryside of Judea, baptizing. And John the Baptist was still baptizing, too. But an argument arose, because John was baptizing first, but more people were coming to Jesus to be baptized by His disciples than were coming to John.
When they asked John about it, we get his comment, that "He must increase but I must decrease." John displays a very complete and coherent understanding of just who Jesus is, the Son of God Himself. This must be the Holy Spirit speaking through him, because later, when he was in prison, he sent a messenger to ask Jesus if He really was "the One."
And Jesus said that John was among the greatest of God's prophets of all time.
John clearly told them that he was not the Messiah, but God had sent him to go before the Messiah to prepare for Him. He is only the friend of the Bridegroom, like the best man, who stands up with the Bridegroom, but bows out at the proper time, and is happy for Him, enjoying the party.
But it is the Bridegroom Himself who is from Heaven, and talks about Heavenly things. John can only talk about Earthly stuff, to get ready for Messiah's coming.
John pointed to Jesus as the One to follow. Jesus is the Son, loved by the Father, and come to Earth specifically to rescue us.
Jesus is the only One Who could save us: He was God, the eternal Person Who could pay our eternal debt to God in Time, when it would take us eternity to pay it; and He had a genuine human nature, He was a real Man, which qualified Him to die a human death for each of us. He is the only Savior, the only Mediator between God and man.
So we need to trust Jesus, Who is our Christ. There is no other. Without Christ, the wrath of God is upon us all.
O my Father, You are so good to us to reveal to us Who You are, to let us get to know You. Unless You had chosen to do so, there is no way we could ever know anything about You. You are totally Other than everything You created. We are all Your imagination--if You would not be thinking about us, we would not exist!
And Your Love and care for us extends all the way to sending Your own Son to come and be one of us! It's like if my son loved his Lego people so much that he decided to be a Lego guy with them to help them! Yes, impossible; but that's exactly what You did. You are outside our whole Universe, yet You came into History as one of us! Nothing is impossible with You, God! You're incredible!
I can hardly wait to see my King Jesus return to this vale of tears to wipe all tears from our eyes, to rule in perfect righteousness and purity, and this World will experience its only true Golden Age!
Then we will reign with Him forever, in the New Heaven and the New Earth; and every other World that will come after that, forever and ever!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and being baptized--
for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purification.
And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.
John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from Heaven.
You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, I am not the Christ; but, I have been sent ahead of Him.
He who has the bride is the Bridegroom; but the friend of the Bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly because of the Bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the Earth is from the Earth and speaks of the Earth. He who comes from Heaven is above all.
What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is True.
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see Life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover when Nicodemus came to Him by night, and we were able to listen in on what He was teaching him.
Now after these things, He left the city and was out in the countryside of Judea, baptizing. And John the Baptist was still baptizing, too. But an argument arose, because John was baptizing first, but more people were coming to Jesus to be baptized by His disciples than were coming to John.
When they asked John about it, we get his comment, that "He must increase but I must decrease." John displays a very complete and coherent understanding of just who Jesus is, the Son of God Himself. This must be the Holy Spirit speaking through him, because later, when he was in prison, he sent a messenger to ask Jesus if He really was "the One."
And Jesus said that John was among the greatest of God's prophets of all time.
John clearly told them that he was not the Messiah, but God had sent him to go before the Messiah to prepare for Him. He is only the friend of the Bridegroom, like the best man, who stands up with the Bridegroom, but bows out at the proper time, and is happy for Him, enjoying the party.
But it is the Bridegroom Himself who is from Heaven, and talks about Heavenly things. John can only talk about Earthly stuff, to get ready for Messiah's coming.
John pointed to Jesus as the One to follow. Jesus is the Son, loved by the Father, and come to Earth specifically to rescue us.
Jesus is the only One Who could save us: He was God, the eternal Person Who could pay our eternal debt to God in Time, when it would take us eternity to pay it; and He had a genuine human nature, He was a real Man, which qualified Him to die a human death for each of us. He is the only Savior, the only Mediator between God and man.
So we need to trust Jesus, Who is our Christ. There is no other. Without Christ, the wrath of God is upon us all.
O my Father, You are so good to us to reveal to us Who You are, to let us get to know You. Unless You had chosen to do so, there is no way we could ever know anything about You. You are totally Other than everything You created. We are all Your imagination--if You would not be thinking about us, we would not exist!
And Your Love and care for us extends all the way to sending Your own Son to come and be one of us! It's like if my son loved his Lego people so much that he decided to be a Lego guy with them to help them! Yes, impossible; but that's exactly what You did. You are outside our whole Universe, yet You came into History as one of us! Nothing is impossible with You, God! You're incredible!
I can hardly wait to see my King Jesus return to this vale of tears to wipe all tears from our eyes, to rule in perfect righteousness and purity, and this World will experience its only true Golden Age!
Then we will reign with Him forever, in the New Heaven and the New Earth; and every other World that will come after that, forever and ever!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Nicodemus
John 3: 1-21
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
This man was one of the high-ranking VIPs in the Jewish system of religious government.
The same came to Jesus by night,
He would not come in the daylight, because he didn't want it known that he had sought Him out, to take Him seriously. Nicodemus was sneaking out to see Him.
and said to Him, Rabbi,
This is a title of respect, given to teachers of the Scriptures.
We know that You are a Teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that You do except God be with him.
Now Nicodemus is professing faith in Jesus, and seeking Truth.
Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you [He's teaching here], Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Here Jesus is teaching him a basic Truth.
Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?
Nicodemus took Jesus literally, in an earthy way.
Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you [He's teaching again], Except a man be born of water [material] and of the Spirit [spiritual], he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God [also spiritual and material].
God is Spirit, and Life is spirit, so God's Kingdom is spiritual; and when it comes here to be actualized on the Earth, it will also be material.
So Jesus explains this to Nicodemus:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the water breaks and the child is born], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit [the Holy Spirit comes into our human spirit and makes it alive].
Marvel not that I said to you that you must be born again [Don't be surprised at this].
The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound of it but you cannot discern where it comes from or where it goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Jesus is telling Nicodemus that just as you can't see the wind, but you can feel it and see what it does; that's how the Spirit works in our spirit, you don't see the spiritual with your carnal eyes, but you do see its affects, what He does through us.
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be?
He's asking Him how all this works out, similar to when Mary asked Gabriel how she was going to conceive without a man. Not doubting the Truth of it, but asking about the mechanics of it, how it works out.
Jesus answered and said to him, Are you a master in Israel, and you don't know these things?
Jesus is chiding him, as Nicodemus has studied the Scriptures all his life and is considered an expert, but he hasn't grasped this basic Truth that undergirds all the rest. You have to have spiritual life to communicate with God Who is Spirit.
Truly, truly, I say to you [Teaching again], We speak what we know, and we testify to what we have eyewitnessed; and you have not received our witness.
The Jewish leadership was not open to hearing His Truth; they were expecting something else, and afraid of the Romans who had conquered them.
If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how can you believe if I tell you about Heavenly things?
We must choose to believe the foundational things, then we will be able to build on them and trust the higher concepts. The material comes first, then the spiritual (I Corinthians 15:45-46).
And no man has ascended up to Heaven but He who has come down from Heaven, even the Son of Man who is in Heaven.
Jesus is talking about Himself here, He is the Son who was given, by being born as a human child (Isaiah 9:6, the [new] child is born, but the Son [from Eternity past] is given).
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up:
That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Jesus is referring to when poisonous serpents were biting the people, and God had Moses make a serpent of brass and set it up high on a pole, and whoever had been bitten by a snake, if he looked up at that brass serpent & believed that God would work through it for healing, then he lived (Numbers 21:8-9).
Jesus will also be lifted up on a pole, the Cross, as the Lamb of God, dying in our place to rescue us from death.
For God so loved the World, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Here's the verse that is memorized by every Christian child. This is Jesus' purpose for coming to Earth. His whole reason. He doesn't want us to perish, but to live with Him where He lives, forever. That's why He came.
For God did not send His Son into the World to condemn the World: but that the World through Him might be saved.
Jesus' Blood has unlimited value, its worth is more than enough to pay for the sinfulness of every person who ever lived. His invitation is open to every living creature, in every Nation, every language; to every sinner who faces the truth of his own sinfulness and turns to Him for cleansing.
He didn't say that the World will be saved, but that it might be saved. He won't force Himself on anyone. We each must choose to accept His authority over us, and admit our culpability. Then His Blood will wash us white as snow (Isaiah 1:18), fit to live with Him in His perfect Heaven.
He that believes in Him is not condemned: but he that does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only-begotten Son of God.
He says they are condemned already, we are all born in sin, the sin-nature that we inherit as humans from Adam. So we're all born deserving death.
And this is the condemnation, that Light has come into the World, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For everyone who does evil hates the Light, neither comes to the Light, lest his deeds should be discovered.
They want to hide what they're doing because they know it's not right, and they want to avoid punishment or any consequences.
But he that does Truth comes to the Light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The one who lives with integrity is not hiding, and is willing for others to know what he is doing, because it's all right and beneficial. It's what God planned for us to accomplish to promote His Kingdom by doing what is right.
Nicodemus did believe Jesus, and he spoke up for Him to the other Pharisees in John 7:50-51, when they wanted to arrest Him. And when Joseph of Arimathea claimed Jesus' body when He was dead, Nicodemus was with him with spices to wrap His body with in the linen sheets for burial (John 19:38-42).
O my Father, You had John write about this Pharisee, Nicodemus, so that we could also hear what Jesus was teaching him.
Thank You, Father, for loving us so much, to send Your very best for us.
Father, I pray for all those who are seeking You, that they would find You. And I pray for Your children, that they all might acquire the skill in testifying of what You are doing in and for each one of us. That we would use the right words to convey Your Truth with understanding, and be able to discern the times we are living in.
Father, I know it won't be long before all the End-Time events will be upon us, with all the chaos and confusion that it will bring, and then the Glorious Appearing of our majestic King!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
This man was one of the high-ranking VIPs in the Jewish system of religious government.
The same came to Jesus by night,
He would not come in the daylight, because he didn't want it known that he had sought Him out, to take Him seriously. Nicodemus was sneaking out to see Him.
and said to Him, Rabbi,
This is a title of respect, given to teachers of the Scriptures.
We know that You are a Teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that You do except God be with him.
Now Nicodemus is professing faith in Jesus, and seeking Truth.
Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you [He's teaching here], Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Here Jesus is teaching him a basic Truth.
Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?
Nicodemus took Jesus literally, in an earthy way.
Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you [He's teaching again], Except a man be born of water [material] and of the Spirit [spiritual], he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God [also spiritual and material].
God is Spirit, and Life is spirit, so God's Kingdom is spiritual; and when it comes here to be actualized on the Earth, it will also be material.
So Jesus explains this to Nicodemus:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the water breaks and the child is born], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit [the Holy Spirit comes into our human spirit and makes it alive].
Marvel not that I said to you that you must be born again [Don't be surprised at this].
The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound of it but you cannot discern where it comes from or where it goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Jesus is telling Nicodemus that just as you can't see the wind, but you can feel it and see what it does; that's how the Spirit works in our spirit, you don't see the spiritual with your carnal eyes, but you do see its affects, what He does through us.
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be?
He's asking Him how all this works out, similar to when Mary asked Gabriel how she was going to conceive without a man. Not doubting the Truth of it, but asking about the mechanics of it, how it works out.
Jesus answered and said to him, Are you a master in Israel, and you don't know these things?
Jesus is chiding him, as Nicodemus has studied the Scriptures all his life and is considered an expert, but he hasn't grasped this basic Truth that undergirds all the rest. You have to have spiritual life to communicate with God Who is Spirit.
Truly, truly, I say to you [Teaching again], We speak what we know, and we testify to what we have eyewitnessed; and you have not received our witness.
The Jewish leadership was not open to hearing His Truth; they were expecting something else, and afraid of the Romans who had conquered them.
If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how can you believe if I tell you about Heavenly things?
We must choose to believe the foundational things, then we will be able to build on them and trust the higher concepts. The material comes first, then the spiritual (I Corinthians 15:45-46).
And no man has ascended up to Heaven but He who has come down from Heaven, even the Son of Man who is in Heaven.
Jesus is talking about Himself here, He is the Son who was given, by being born as a human child (Isaiah 9:6, the [new] child is born, but the Son [from Eternity past] is given).
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up:
That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Jesus is referring to when poisonous serpents were biting the people, and God had Moses make a serpent of brass and set it up high on a pole, and whoever had been bitten by a snake, if he looked up at that brass serpent & believed that God would work through it for healing, then he lived (Numbers 21:8-9).
Jesus will also be lifted up on a pole, the Cross, as the Lamb of God, dying in our place to rescue us from death.
For God so loved the World, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Here's the verse that is memorized by every Christian child. This is Jesus' purpose for coming to Earth. His whole reason. He doesn't want us to perish, but to live with Him where He lives, forever. That's why He came.
For God did not send His Son into the World to condemn the World: but that the World through Him might be saved.
Jesus' Blood has unlimited value, its worth is more than enough to pay for the sinfulness of every person who ever lived. His invitation is open to every living creature, in every Nation, every language; to every sinner who faces the truth of his own sinfulness and turns to Him for cleansing.
He didn't say that the World will be saved, but that it might be saved. He won't force Himself on anyone. We each must choose to accept His authority over us, and admit our culpability. Then His Blood will wash us white as snow (Isaiah 1:18), fit to live with Him in His perfect Heaven.
He that believes in Him is not condemned: but he that does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only-begotten Son of God.
He says they are condemned already, we are all born in sin, the sin-nature that we inherit as humans from Adam. So we're all born deserving death.
And this is the condemnation, that Light has come into the World, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For everyone who does evil hates the Light, neither comes to the Light, lest his deeds should be discovered.
They want to hide what they're doing because they know it's not right, and they want to avoid punishment or any consequences.
But he that does Truth comes to the Light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The one who lives with integrity is not hiding, and is willing for others to know what he is doing, because it's all right and beneficial. It's what God planned for us to accomplish to promote His Kingdom by doing what is right.
Nicodemus did believe Jesus, and he spoke up for Him to the other Pharisees in John 7:50-51, when they wanted to arrest Him. And when Joseph of Arimathea claimed Jesus' body when He was dead, Nicodemus was with him with spices to wrap His body with in the linen sheets for burial (John 19:38-42).
O my Father, You had John write about this Pharisee, Nicodemus, so that we could also hear what Jesus was teaching him.
Thank You, Father, for loving us so much, to send Your very best for us.
Father, I pray for all those who are seeking You, that they would find You. And I pray for Your children, that they all might acquire the skill in testifying of what You are doing in and for each one of us. That we would use the right words to convey Your Truth with understanding, and be able to discern the times we are living in.
Father, I know it won't be long before all the End-Time events will be upon us, with all the chaos and confusion that it will bring, and then the Glorious Appearing of our majestic King!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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