Lets get started..... If you are like me, there are days when I'm so busy navigating through my day, that God's word takes a backseat. Well, someone has challenged me to read one chapter per day from the book of John and post comments. I would like to challenge you as well... In 21 days we will have completed the Book of John. If You want to join in that would be great. Together we can form the habit of spending daily time in God's Word. (And post your own devotional thoughts please!)
So... Day 1 I did it! I read John 1. Now the difficult part..... forming a thought (ha). Wow, there is so much happening in that chapter. I'm sure you could do a daily devotional for each verse. But, I will pick verse 3 "All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being, that has come into being".
Jesus... created. And, Jesus created me. On this Easter Sunday, I need to reflect on the fact that He, who created me, loves me so much he took my sin... to Calvary. The creator of the universe
could have called 10,000 angels to save Him from the cross. But, He chose to die in my place. It reminds me of the words from a hymn, "How can it be... that thou my God should die for me?"
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Day 2 John 2
ReplyDeleteJesus begins to reveal who He is through miracles, by fulfilling prophecy, and by prophecying his own death and ressurection. Verses 14 -17 are interesting where Jesus drives the merchants from the temple. I wonder if we do activities in our churches today that still cause anger in Jesus. I think we always need to treat God's House with great reverence. In the Old Testament, only the high priest could go into the 'holy of holies' area in the temple. This priest was the intercessor between God and the rest of the people. This area of the temple was treated with great respect.
When Jesus died on the cross... the curtain in the temple was ripped open into the holy of holies. This was because Jesus is now our intercessor, and we don't need a priest to represent us before God. We can now come directly to God with our prayers... But, I wonder... Shouldn't we still have that same sense of awe?... that same sense of respect that the Old Testament people had for coming into God's presence? I wonder if we aren't way to casual about Gods house, and prayer... We are coming before the king of kings and Lord of Lords.
Chapter 1 Vs 14 ---- "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."
ReplyDeleteReally! God almighty - the same 'Word' who created it all - everything - came and made His dwelling among us?! What makes that even more spectacular - is He knew how it would end - before it even began, on a cross, for us.
Day 3 John 3
ReplyDeleteA argument I frequently get is that there are many differemt paths that lead to God.
V16 "God so loved the world that He gave His Son".. Would Jehovah God send His Son Jesus to suffer on the cross if there was any other way?
v18 "Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God'd one and only Son"
v36 "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them"
We must not be decieved... Belief in Christ is the only way to eternal life. All other belief systems are false. We must not be shy in telling people the truth.
Hello there! This is Sonia here by the way. Sorry for the late participation. To make up I shall share my thoughts and what I've learned from the three chapters I've went through so far.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1:
I concur with you Papa Brett... that Jesus existed as part of the Holy Trinity right from the beginning. When I first read this verse some years ago I found myself surprised - I guess I was subconsciously used to the existence of Jesus after His virgin birth, when the fact is that He was present during the creation of the world.
There are two verses that appealed to me:
1)"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God..." (v12)
Isn't that wonderful? That we, such lowly sinners should have the privilege of being called children of God; to be able to call God Abba, Father. To have such an intimate relationship with such a holy God. We do not deserve that, but yet in receiving Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we are able to enter a deep level of communication with God.
2)"For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (v17)
Indeed, we are no longer bound to the Mosaic Law, but can now find salvation through Jesus Christ. This reminds me about the great debate of whether we Christians should still follow the Law of Moses. I read in a Christian website that the Law of Moses was made for the people of Israel to distinguish them from other people, and to set an example to prepare themselves for the coming of Christ. But as Christians the Ten Commandments are our priority; by living the Ten Commandments we are already in a sense fulfilling the Law. Added to this the wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ... what is there to complain about?
Chapter 2:
ReplyDeleteI have thought about that too - having the same Old Testament kind of reverence for God eventhough the 'curtain has been ripped apart'. While God is indeed loving and understanding, we should not make the mistake of being too buddy-buddy with Him. He is after all, still so much higher than we are. We need to have reverence for a Father who is King of Kings, Creator of the Universe.
I think it's also interesting regarding the wedding in Cana how Jesus responds to his mother's concern about the wine running out, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." I think it shows very much how we do not solve any problems by worrying; bring them to the Lord. Also, how we should let God do things in His own perfect time.
Chapter 3:
As a child, I used to believe that everyone worships the same God, eventhough I came from a Christian family. Same God, but different ways of worship and through different messengers or prophets. While it doesn't make those other religions 'right', it did not instill in me the sense of urgency or realisation that other people really need to know the Lord.
I thank the Lord that I do not see it the same way anymore. Believing that Jesus is the truth and the light risks us being seen as arrogant, intolerant and politically incorrect, and I think that is why a lot of Christians fear sharing the gospel or compromise by agreeing that we worship the same God, just in different ways. It is stated very clearly here that God gave gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for our sins, and that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
My weakness is that I do not like confrontations... I want everyone to be happy, not hurt their feelings, not prick their comfort bubble. Funnily enough people can feel free to insult my beliefs. So why can't I have the same courage to share the Gospel? I pray that God will give me - give us - the strength and courage to share our beliefs.
Last but not least... John the Baptist is an inspiration. He was such a humble man. I loved his words: "He (Christ) must increase, I must decrease." A very powerful statement in a world that glorifies fame and wealth.
Yes, John the Baptist is quite the guy. He had his own disciples, but he definetly never let his ego get in the way. I also was thinking about John the Baptist as I read that story. He must have walked very very close to God. He knew who Jesus right away.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed all your comments Sonia... And you also Pastor Curtis. Thanks
This is so amazing,i now begin to realize that the light of God can be found any where,He suffered for me to know,if He didn't die,may be we couldn't be here,prophecies wouldn't become true,John wouldn't have wrote inspiring VERSES for us!!
ReplyDeleteMy father died while believing in God,he always took us to church to pray,however after his death life became hard,i began to think that God wasn't fair to me,for all that time ihave lived aweak spritual life,
On fourth of this month i attended a church service and the preachings greatly tourched me,because i had now completed A-LEVEL,I felt it wasn't my ability but God's wish,HIS only son had died for me to be happy.
Though, i still remained in the middle of the ideas only because there was no one to help me join the University,now i realize there's something missing in my life to realize true happiness,"The WORD OF GOD",We can please share this.Awesome!!
Matovu, I recognise you from Mailfriends. Feel free to join us! I'm sorry to hear about your father. I can relate with what you said... my aunt's death started a long road of depression for me eventhough there were times when I felt closer to God. However it was as easy for me to slip away too. We need the Word of God to keep us grounded and remind us of God's grace.
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