Changes They Are A' Comin

     Last year, I became convicted of a particular sin in my life.  I say this not to go into depth dissecting my sin, but to speak of the process of sanctification in the life of a Christ-follower.  Sanctification is a fancy word (and also a Biblical word) for a progressive process in a Christian's life.  Jesus continually sanctifies His children and transforms them into His image by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It doesn't mean we stop sinning.  That's impossible.  But as we are sanctified, our old ways become uncomfortable and feel wrong to us because we are drawing closer to God.  And then we ask forgiveness for that sin that feels wrong and leave it behind.

     I'll use my sin as an example.  Socializing with other parents and friends, I found great pleasure in discussing the faults and mistakes of our precious children.  It would somehow make me feel better about myself to talk bad about a child who was having sex or caught up in drugs or just too big for their britches. I'd justify my behavior by thinking things like, "if they are going to do stuff that bad, they can expect to be talked about."  I'd sometimes completely give up on that child and deem him or her worthless and bad.  Wow!  What a rotten person I was!  Can't believe I'm admitting this.

     When God is in the process of transforming/sanctifying us...the process can be painful indeed.  In fact, I have dealt with depression, anger, lonliness and deep sadness during this time of change.  He knocked down my pride in one fell swoop. God has put me in situations that have left me with no way of fixing them except to look to Him.  Was I that hard-headed and stuck in my sin?  Apparently so.  I have had to make life changes.  I can no longer be close and cozy with certain people who are still stuck in this lifestyle.  I have to keep a loving distance. 

     This process can apply to all sin and is personal to the individual.  Even though we would like to categorize sin and believe ours is not as bad as other people's sin, that is not the truth.  Sin is sin and all sin is equal in God's eyes.  For example, I believe that adultery and homosexuality are wrong.  The Bible tells us that it is.  But someone who is caught up in that sin must go through their own process of sanctification if they are truly following Christ.  An adulterer who has begun trusting in God may continue having an affair.  But God will surely work in that person's life to change and mold them.  In God's time, not ours...they will know that adultery and the Christian life are not compatible.  They will begin to view the world and their personal difficulties from a Biblical perspective.  Our job is to love them as God takes care of the details. 

   When we are saved, we are justified.  Sanctification occurs as a result of salvation.  Once saved, we are no longer held hostage by death but are sanctified simply because of His wonderful grace.  Does this make sense?  Hope so.  I know that I will forever be in the process of becoming more like Him.  What other yucky thing will I need to get rid of next?  The refining process might not be pretty but the rewards are out of this world. 

Losing My Religion

    

I haven't posted much lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't had things on my mind.  In fact, I've had something really big on my mind.  I've been thinking an awful lot about Jesus.  I'm as sick of religion as the next person.  In fact, even non-denominational Christianity is sometimes too religious for me.  It's so easy to go down that "I'm right, you're wrong" road with people.  And have you ever been in a church where you feel the people wouldn't know Jesus if He came and sat down right beside them?  On the other extreme, I hate it when a religion within Christianity is exclusive and has a private message that only a few privileged people can understand.  I'm as guilty as anyone of being judgemental of those who don't think like me. 

     But I challenge anyone to read the gospels and get up close and personal with Jesus.  He's amazing.  If you think you know all you need to know about Him, read about Him again.  You'll find He said and did things you didn't think He said and did.  You'll find Him perfectly loving, perfectly forgiving and full of grace and truth.  His life on earth was completely miraculous in every way.  The Old Testament is about Him.   The New Testament is about Him.  He is the Word.   People can find fault with religion and Christianity all day long.  But Jesus was and is PERFECT.  Even the greatest skeptic can only look at His life and be amazed.  No other prophet or so-called god can hold a candle to Jesus. 

     Religion can be good for our lives but it can't save someone.  Jesus didn't come to start a new religion.  He came to provide a model for how to live and a way to God.  He is it.  He is the way.  Think Jesus didn't want to be around sinners?  Seemed He preferred them to the religious people of His day.  Bet He still does. The worse they were, the more He liked them.  He loved them with great mercy and led them to a new way of life.  He doesn't have to be defended.  He is our friend and savior.  We don't even have to explain Him.  We can be like the blind man who was healed by Jesus in the Bible.  He said, "There is Jesus.  All I know is that He touched me, and where I was once blind, now I see." 

     Why don't we just get to know Jesus?  Really get to know Him by reading about His life and praying to Him often.  And then let's see what happens.  I think you're gonna love Him too.  He might even change your life.

    

  

It's Friday, But Sunday's Coming

Mean People

      Seems I encounter more than my fair share of mean people in my daily life.  What's the deal with that?  For the life of me, I just can't get into the mind of mean people.  I can be walking around minding my own business and someone will walk in and say something cutting and rude.  This has been one of those weeks  It sometimes feels like I have a target on my back. I've never understood why people wouldn't want to be kind to those around them.

     But mean people are here to stay.  And God created them and loves them just as much as He loves you and me.  And I'm supposed to love them too.  What needs to change is my reaction to those mean people.  What's a Christian response to meanness?  I know the first thoughts I have when I am deeply offended are often not Christian at all.  In fact, this week I thought of all the smart comebacks I could have said.  I even thought about egging a couple of cars and maybe toilet-papering a yard or two.  Yep.  I did.  But the old me is gone.  It doesn't take long for me to call on God and ask for His help.  I ultimately want to do it His way.

     We know that Jesus experienced meanness in the worst of all ways.  He was mocked, scorned and belittled.  People didn't like Him and didn't understand Him.  But I've found that Jesus, of course, reacted perfectly to the meanness around Him.  He reacted with grace and truth.  He didn't hold back from telling His enemies the truth...ever.  If people absolutely refused to listen, Jesus actually moved on.  He had little patience for continued meanness and knew the foolishness in their hearts.  Some people will hear the truth, others will never hear it.  We sometimes value our security and peace so much that we become enslaved to other people's meanness.  But oftentimes, the people need to understand how their bad behavior is negatively impacting those around them and themselves also.

     We shouldn't withhold the truth just as we should also sprinkle the truth liberally with grace.  The Bible tells us not to tell the truth to others in order to make ourselves look right and the other person look wrong.  Speaking the truth with grace means that we are intent on building up and helping the other person.  We also must have a forgiving spirit and use kindness.  The ability to use truth and grace together takes tremendous inner character and strength.  And I'm not there yet.  But I will get there with His help.  "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8  

Is Christ Really the Only Way to God?

Today's post is taken from a favorite website.  I feel like there are many friends and readers struggling with these doubts. If we really want answers to our doubts, I believe He will give us all the answers we seek if we only ask Him.    Read this wonderful answer to a common question and pray for wisdom and understanding.

Is Christ Really the Only Way?

By Karina (Alcorn) Franklin

A question from a college student, answered by Randy's daughter, Karina, when she also was in college.

---

I am a senior studying electrical engineering at a California university. I was raised by a Christian family and attended a Christian school up until college.
     Maybe it was my exposure to secular education that first caused me to question the fundamentals of my beliefs, though I would like to say it was the rational part of me that naturally led me to question. I don’t like to use the word brainwashed, but I realize it was a one-sided story that was told to me from birth. In other words, as I suppose many fundamentally Christian families raise their children, I was not exposed to other world religions.
     At the suggestion of my mother, I’ve been reading Deadline. It would be an understatement to simply say she liked it. In fact, she alone might account for a percentage of the copies sold. I know she bought many copies for her friends as well. 
     Under the assumption that you are a Christian, your portrayal of heaven is consistent with theistic beliefs and opinions, as is evident in Deadline. My question is, how can you be certain that the Christian God is the correct choice? In other words, the Hindu or Muslim believer would not agree with your portrayal of God or heaven. Neither would the Buddhist, the Taoist, or the other thousand religions encompassed in the world.
     Had I been born and raised in India a hundred years ago and stumbled across Deadline then, needless to say I would not believe a word of it. I mean, it seems all too obvious I could have been a Buddhist just as easily as I could have been Christian were I born in China. As you know, this is not a new philosophical question, but it is not one that I believe has been reasonably answered.
     I’m not asking you to sell me on Christianity. I believe it myself. I would just like you to give me your opinion or maybe even some insight on this issue. I question this issue because it has some startling implications into Christian evangelism. For example, is it right for the Christian to preach the Word of God, not knowing themselves if their God is THE God?
     Furthermore, should Christians not acknowledge to the “unpeople” (www.epm.org) the possibility of other religions, allowing each individual to independently choose from the entire spectrum of religions? To be honest, I think this is how it should be done regardless of my monotheistic view of God. Shouldn’t everyone be at liberty to choose with the benefit of knowing the entire picture, not a biased and one-sided picture?
     I could explore a thousand tangents to this subject, but I realize you must be very busy. If you would respond to any of this at all, I would be very appreciative and grateful. Thank you very much for your time.

---

Randy asked me to write out a few of my thoughts for you. I’m Randy’s daughter, Karina, and I’m a junior at The Master’s College in Valencia, CA. Like you, I was raised in a Christian home and attended a Christian grade school and middle school, but I went to a public high school.
In the last year, I’ve had the privilege of living and studying in China for three weeks, Israel for 3 1/2 months, and Turkey for two weeks. Needless to say, I gained some first-hand exposure to both eastern religions (Buddhism in China) and the monotheistic traditions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Israel and Turkey.) I’ve also taken a World Religions class at school where we focused primarily on the eastern schools of Hinduism. There sure are a lot of different approaches to religion out there! Along with you, I sometimes find myself thinking: “I could have been a Buddhist just as easily as I could have been Christian were I born in China.” And that’s when I have to take a long, hard look at my Christianity.
If I’m a Christian just because my parents and grandparents were Christians, then it’s meaningless to me. It’s nothing more than an outward cultural expression. Most of my friends that I met in China were atheists. If they were going to claim a religion, they would say they were Buddhists because it was part of their culture, but they didn’t really believe in Buddhism. They saw it as a superstition. Islam is also very cultural in Turkey. One of my friends there told me that she was Turkish/Muslim and I was American/Christian. She didn’t believe me when I told her that I know Americans who are Muslim and Turks who are Christians. To her, it was just part of her culture.
I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t want to base my eternal well-being on a cultural expression of religion! If it’s okay for Turks to be Muslim and Chinese to be Buddhist and Europeans to be Christians and we all end up in the same place, then what’s the point? Why even bother with religion?
But, I’ve also learned that Christianity is a whole lot more than a cultural phenomenon. After all, the first Christians weren’t Europeans, they were Jews. There was a thriving Christian community in Africa centuries before Europe was ever “civilized.” I’ve had the privilege of seeing believers in Jesus all over the world, in totally different cultures, worshipping the same God. The Lord promised Abraham that through his seed, all the nations of the world would be blessed! And He kept that promise by sending Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to die for the sins of the world. (Not to found a sectarian religion for western culture.)
It’s arrogant for me to say that I have the only way to God, right? Sure is, if I’m the one who came up with the idea. But if God says there’s only one way to eternal life, then I had better listen. And I had better tell others, too. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). That seems like a narrow-minded version of the truth. But when you think about it, God is a whole lot smarter than you or I. Just because we don’t understand His way of doing things, doesn’t mean that God made a mistake. “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:9).
There is no way that we could understand God’s ways unless He chose to reveal them to us. And He did, in the Bible. Throughout the course of human history, God has intervened. He has gradually revealed His plan of salvation down through the centuries. This unfolding drama of redemption is meant to bring Him glory; after all, He is the Creator, and we are the creatures.
I would encourage you to go back and read the gospel of John. Read about Jesus Christ and who He is. Read about the way He broke down cultural and religious barriers. You have spent a lot of time studying for a career, but how much time have you spent studying God’s Word? If the God of the Universe took the time to stoop to our level and express Himself in a way we can understand, we should be diligent to read and study that Word.
Being a Christian is not about a cultural or a family tradition. It’s a decision each person has to make for him or herself. Have you ever submitted your life to the will of God? Have you given Jesus Christ control of every aspect of your life? Are you living to please Him or to please yourself? I know these questions may seem harsh, but they come from a sincere heart. If Christianity is true, then we should be diligent to spread the news of Jesus Christ to all the world. But if it is not the only way to God, then we should reject it entirely because that is what it claims to be.
Jesus doesn’t allow us to dismiss Him as just one more religious leader. He forces us to make the choice of either rejecting Him and His message altogether, or embracing Him fully. There is no middle ground.
One of your main questions was about Christian evangelism. It’s impossible to separate true Christianity from spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. After all, it’s commanded in the Great Commission. We are to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them everything Jesus commanded us. In 1 Peter, we are called “aliens and strangers.” This world is not our home. Once you and I committed our lives to God and accepted Jesus’ atoning death on our behalf, we were transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Now we have the responsibility and the honor of showing our fellow human beings the one true way of salvation.
It would be arrogant of us to go overseas and try to change a whole culture to make it fit with western Christianity in the name of “evangelism.” But it would be cruel and wrong of us not to share the truth of the gospel for fear that we offend others by demeaning their local religion. You’re right in saying before we share the gospel with people we had better be sure we’re not giving a biased, one-sided picture. If we’re not certain of the truth of the gospel, we have no business trying to share it with other people.
I have seen the transforming power of God in my own life and in the lives of my friends and family. I have seen that being a follower of Jesus Christ is not about following a cultural religion. In fact, at times it’s quite counter-cultural. I’ve seen that the family of God can and does include people from every tribe, tongue and nation. I have a lot more in common with a tribal woman in Africa who has accepted the free gift of salvation than I do with my religious neighbor who is trying to earn her way to heaven.
I hope this sheds some light on the things you’ve been considering lately.
Karina (Alcorn) Franklin

You Are Invited!

      While reading through various books of the Bible, I sometimes feel like I just have to go back to the gospels and hear exactly what Jesus said.  I know that all the books of the Bible are God-breathed.  But sometimes I get excited knowing I can read  Jesus' actual spoken words anytime I want.

     Surprisingly, His words don't always say just what we think  They sometimes sound harsh to us until we realize He spoke the truth in love.  In fact, His words sometimes hurt, sting and hit all to close to home.

     One thing I noticed today in my reading is how often Jesus spoke to us in parables to get us to understand that all the people who think they are Christians are not.  Consider the parable in Matthew about the wedding banquet.  Jesus tells us that God's kingdom is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son.  Everything was perfect and the meal was ready.  He sent his messengers out to tell the guests to come to the feast!  Some were too busy, some didn't care and some even beat up the messengers and killed them.  He ended up inviting everyone on the streets!  When they came in, some weren't fit for the kingdom and were thrown out. Jesus says, "that's what I mean when I say, "many get invited; only a few make it.'"

     Think about that parable.  God has promised us an eternal banquet.  He's given us free admission if we choose to follow Him, by His amazing grace.  But most of us don't even care enough to get ready for the feast. It's a lot of trouble and might make us miss out on some earthly pleasure.

     It's been 2000 years ago, but people haven't changed much.  Jesus said it best, "I've had it with you!  You're hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees!  Frauds!  Your lives are roadblocks to God's kingdom.  You refuse to enter, and won't let anyone else in either."  Here in America, many of us have the idea that all of us will go to heaven except the really, really bad people.  This is not the message of the Bible.  Jesus is clear that few will enter His kingdom even though He extends the invitation to everyone.

     I pray that we all can listen and obey Jesus' words.  He wants us to join Him in paradise and feast with Him eternally.  Are we ashamed of Him?  Are we too busy to care?  Are we dressed like Pharisees?

Are You Afraid to Die?

 Are you afraid to die?  If you are truly believing and trusting in Jesus Christ, you don't need to be afraid.  While other religions stress the works to be done, Christianity says "it is finished".  This doesn't mean we can live like the devil and go to heaven anyway when we die.  If we are living comfortably in blatant sin...guess what?  We aren't Christians.  If you love your sin and don't want to let it go, Christ is not in you.  The end.

     Jesus told the adultress that she was forgiven when she believed and placed her faith in Him,  but to go and sin no more.  As Christians, we will falter, stumble and sin.  But sinning won't feel comfortable any longer.  We will quickly turn from our sins out of thankfulness for His gift and love for our Savior.  We are new creations. 

     God does not intend for Christians to doubt their salvation.  And the Bible really does tell us plainly and God doesn't want us to speculate.  God desires us to know where we are headed. Today, I can honestly say, "death, where is your victory?  Grave, where is your sting?"    Read these verses and let it sink in...

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW you have eternal life."  1 John 5:13

"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. " Romans 10:9

"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." John 3:16

I borrowed today's blog post from a well-known pastor and writer.  I never want to grow weary of sharing the greatest of all messages.  This is the answer to all our questions.  This is the key to eternal life and peace on earth.  Take your mustard-seed of faith and grab hold of the gospel.  We are strengthened by it every day.

The Gospel in 6 Minutes

by: John Piper

What's the Gospel?

What’s the gospel? I’ll put it in a sentence.
The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy.
That’s the gospel.

You Can't Outgrow the Gospel

You never, never, never outgrow your need for it. Don’t ever think of the gospel as, “That’s the way you get saved, and then you get strong by leaving it and doing something else.”
No! We are strengthened by God through the gospel every day, till the day we drop.
You never outgrow the need to preach to yourself the gospel.

How the Gospel Strengthens

Here’s an illustration, and I use it not because it’s any big deal to speak from my life, but because it’s what I walked through and where I most pointedly in the last year experienced the power of the gospel to make me strong. (Many of you are walking through things much heavier than prostate cancer—much heavier.)
Do you remember the verses that I shared with you back in February that were almighty for me? It was that moment right after the doctor says, “I think we need to do a biopsy,” when this stab of fear comes. It didn’t last long, mercifully.
And then came—what? 1Thessalonians 5:9-10. It’s just as pure gospel as you can get.

God has not destined you for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,who died for you so that whether you wake or sleep you will live with him.

Settled. Peace like a river.

The Gospel Is Perfect for Your Needs

That’s just gospel—perfectly timed, perfectly applied, perfectly suited to my need. That’s why the Bible is so thick—because there are so many different needs that you have. And there are suitable places where the gospel is unfolded for you, so that if you immerse yourself in the whole book, always with an eye for what Christ has wrought for you and purchased for you in this thick, glorious history of God’s interaction with people, he will give you what you need.
Therefore, everything in me says, and I hope to say until the day I die, “Now, to him who is able to strengthen me, according to Paul’s gospel, to him—to that God—be glory forever and ever.”
God came into history in Jesus Christ; he died in order to destroy the power of hell and death and Satan and sin; and he did it through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A Plea to Believe

I know that there are people reading this who are not trusting Jesus Christ, and therefore can only expect condemnation. So I’m just going to plead with you here at the end, lay down that rebellion. Lay it down. And simply embrace the gospel that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Righteous One, died for your sins. He was raised on the third day, triumphant over all his enemies. He reigns until he puts all of his enemies under his feet. Forgiveness of sins and a right standing with God comes freely through him alone, by faith alone.
I plead with you, don’t try to be strong in your own strength; it will not be there when you need it. Only one strength will be there—the strength that God gives according to the gospel.
Don’t put it off.

Freedom from Mothering Fears...Ongoing

     I once fancied myself the best mother ever to my young children.  I was the mom who created the happiest birthday parties, cool educational outings and the home where all the kiddos in the neighborhood were welcomed with open arms.  I was blessed to stay home with them and give them cuddles, kisses and yummy home-cooked meals.  This created happy children and a contented mom.  It seemed mothering was my purpose...more important than God to me if I'm being honest with myself.

     Fast forward ten years.  I now have teens.  One is a strong-willed 18 year old.  Although I still strive to be the very best and do everything right, I'm continually defeated and come up short.  Why don't they believe all the things I taught them?  Why do they make choices that leave me in a tailspin of insecurity and depression?  Some days I want to throw in the towel and head to a faraway land.  I certainly don't want to talk to those moms of perfect teens who inevitably assume my bad parenting is to blame for my children's choices.

     But in the midst of the turmoil, something beautiful and exciting has happened.  I've begun to commune with God.  I'm learning what it's like to trust in God and not in my own understanding.  And yet, as I give up my struggles to Him, I begin to believe He won't fix it they way I want and I take all that fear back again and wrap it around me like a security blanket.  But like a slow-learner, I again realize I can't do it by myself.  Only He can.  I give it back to Him again.

     I'm coming to realize bad things might happen.  My children may know hurt and hardship for a very long time.  But I also know that He is listening to my near-constant prayers and I can trust Him because His answers are perfect.  I must also trust in His perfect timing. 

    I believe we are driven into corners to realize how necessary God is.  We suffer in all kinds of ways and God will use the suffering to bring us to Him.  Prayer is my new way of life.  And the Bible has become my sword as I bring up it's promises over and over in time of need.  Through my mothering struggles, God has become my only hope.  I've fallen in love with Him in a way that wouldn't have become possible if all had remained perfect. 

     Do you have struggles and fears?  He's calling out to you to put it all on Him.  He can handle it.  Nothing is hopeless because Jesus lives.  He wants your total dependence.  I can no longer function any other way.

     "Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6-7

Day 21/All Done

I'm saying  "all done" for two reasons.  #1 We've completed reading the book of John.  #2  Christ's work on the cross is complete.  He came and lived among us, taught and loved us, lived a sinless life and then sacrificed Himself on the cross.  But then, He defeated the grave and rose again!  He was the Perfect Lamb who sacrificed Himself so we could have eternal life. 

This final chapter in John is extremely rich in symbolism and doctrine.  It is a chapter of critical importance to the Christian who seeks to serve Jesus Christ.  Listen closely as Jesus teaches His disciples through divine symbolism what He wants them to do when He leaves them.   Hope you've enjoyed this journey. 

Day 21

John 21

Fishing

 ^1-3After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea of Galilee). This is how he did it: Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed "Twin"), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, "I'm going fishing."  ^3-4The rest of them replied, "We're going with you." They went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn't recognize him.
 ⁵Jesus spoke to them: "Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?"
   They answered, "No."
 ⁶He said, "Throw the net off the right side of the boat and see what happens."
   They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish in it, they weren't strong enough to pull it in.
 ^7-9Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's the Master!"
   When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the sea. The other disciples came in by boat for they weren't far from land, a hundred yards or so, pulling along the net full of fish. When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with fish and bread cooking on it.
 ^10-11Jesus said, "Bring some of the fish you've just caught." Simon Peter joined them and pulled the net to shore—153 big fish! And even with all those fish, the net didn't rip.
 ¹²Jesus said, "Breakfast is ready." Not one of the disciples dared ask, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Master.
 ^13-14Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.

Do You Love Me?

 ¹⁵After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"    "Yes, Master, you know I love you."
   Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
 ¹⁶He then asked a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
   "Yes, Master, you know I love you."
   Jesus said, "Shepherd my sheep."
 ^17-19Then he said it a third time: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
   Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, "Do you love me?" so he answered, "Master, you know everything there is to know. You've got to know that I love you."
   Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I'm telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you'll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don't want to go." He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, "Follow me."
 ^20-21Turning his head, Peter noticed the disciple Jesus loved following right behind. When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, "Master, what's going to happen to him?"
 ^22-23Jesus said, "If I want him to live until I come again, what's that to you? You—follow me." That is how the rumor got out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn't die. But that is not what Jesus said. He simply said, "If I want him to live until I come again, what's that to you?"
 ²⁴This is the same disciple who was eyewitness to all these things and wrote them down. And we all know that his eyewitness account is reliable and accurate.
 ²⁵There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can't imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.

Day 20/ I Saw the Master!

This chapter is about an empty tomb and a risen Savior!  Jesus tells them that they believe because they've seen it with their own eyes...but even better those who believe but have not seen.  I will let the power of these verses speak for themselves.

Day 20

John 20

Resurrection!

 ^1-2 Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, breathlessly panting, "They took the Master from the tomb. We don't know where they've put him."  ^3-10Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb. They ran, neck and neck. The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter. Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, observed the linen cloths lying there, and the kerchief used to cover his head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded by itself. Then the other disciple, the one who had gotten there first, went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed. No one yet knew from the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. The disciples then went back home.
 ^11-13But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus' body had been laid. They said to her, "Woman, why do you weep?"
 ^13-14"They took my Master," she said, "and I don't know where they put him." After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn't recognize him.
 ¹⁵Jesus spoke to her, "Woman, why do you weep? Who are you looking for?"
   She, thinking that he was the gardener, said, "Mister, if you took him, tell me where you put him so I can care for him."
 ¹⁶Jesus said, "Mary."
   Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" meaning "Teacher!"
 ¹⁷Jesus said, "Don't cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.'"
 ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went, telling the news to the disciples: "I saw the Master!" And she told them everything he said to her.

To Believe

 ^19-20Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you." Then he showed them his hands and side.  ^20-21The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: "Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you."
 ^22-23Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. "Receive the Holy Spirit," he said. "If you forgive someone's sins, they're gone for good. If you don't forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?"
 ^24-25But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, "We saw the Master."
   But he said, "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won't believe it."
 ²⁶Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you."
 ²⁷Then he focused his attention on Thomas. "Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don't be unbelieving. Believe."
 ²⁸Thomas said, "My Master! My God!"
 ²⁹Jesus said, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing."
 ^30-31Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

Day 19/The Crucifixion

Day 19

John 19

The Thorn Crown of the King

 ^1-3 So Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped. The soldiers, having braided a crown from thorns, set it on his head, threw a purple robe over him, and approached him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they greeted him with slaps in the face.  ^4-5Pilate went back out again and said to them, "I present him to you, but I want you to know that I do not find him guilty of any crime." Just then Jesus came out wearing the thorn crown and purple robe.
   Pilate announced, "Here he is: the Man."
 ⁶When the high priests and police saw him, they shouted in a frenzy, "Crucify! Crucify!"
   Pilate told them, "You take him. You crucify him. I find nothing wrong with him."
 ⁷The Jews answered, "We have a law, and by that law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God."
 ^8-9When Pilate heard this, he became even more scared. He went back into the palace and said to Jesus, "Where did you come from?"
   Jesus gave no answer.
 ¹⁰Pilate said, "You won't talk? Don't you know that I have the authority to pardon you, and the authority to—crucify you?"
 ¹¹Jesus said, "You haven't a shred of authority over me except what has been given you from heaven. That's why the one who betrayed me to you has committed a far greater fault."
 ¹²At this, Pilate tried his best to pardon him, but the Jews shouted him down: "If you pardon this man, you're no friend of Caesar's. Anyone setting himself up as 'king' defies Caesar."
 ^13-14When Pilate heard those words, he led Jesus outside. He sat down at the judgment seat in the area designated Stone Court (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). It was the preparation day for Passover. The hour was noon. Pilate said to the Jews, "Here is your king."
 ¹⁵They shouted back, "Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!"
   Pilate said, "I am to crucify your king?"
   The high priests answered, "We have no king except Caesar."
 ^16-19Pilate caved in to their demand. He turned him over to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

   They took Jesus away. Carrying his cross, Jesus went out to the place called Skull Hill (the name in Hebrew is Golgotha), where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote a sign and had it placed on the cross. It read:

   jesus the nazarene
   the king of the jews.  ^20-21Many of the Jews read the sign because the place where Jesus was crucified was right next to the city. It was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The Jewish high priests objected. "Don't write," they said to Pilate, "'The King of the Jews.' Make it, 'This man said, "I am the King of the Jews."'"
 ²²Pilate said, "What I've written, I've written."
 ^23-24When they crucified him, the Roman soldiers took his clothes and divided them up four ways, to each soldier a fourth. But his robe was seamless, a single piece of weaving, so they said to each other, "Let's not tear it up. Let's throw dice to see who gets it." This confirmed the Scripture that said, "They divided up my clothes among them and threw dice for my coat." (The soldiers validated the Scriptures!)
 ^24-27While the soldiers were looking after themselves, Jesus' mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her. He said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.
 ²⁸Jesus, seeing that everything had been completed so that the Scripture record might also be complete, then said, "I'm thirsty."
 ^29-30A jug of sour wine was standing by. Someone put a sponge soaked with the wine on a javelin and lifted it to his mouth. After he took the wine, Jesus said, "It's done . . . complete." Bowing his head, he offered up his spirit.
 ^31-34Then the Jews, since it was the day of Sabbath preparation, and so the bodies wouldn't stay on the crosses over the Sabbath (it was a high holy day that year), petitioned Pilate that their legs be broken to speed death, and the bodies taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man crucified with Jesus, and then the other. When they got to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn't break his legs. One of the soldiers stabbed him in the side with his spear. Blood and water gushed out.
 ³⁵The eyewitness to these things has presented an accurate report. He saw it himself and is telling the truth so that you, also, will believe.
 ^36-37These things that happened confirmed the Scripture, "Not a bone in his body was broken," and the other Scripture that reads, "They will stare at the one they pierced."
 ³⁸After all this, Joseph of Arimathea (he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, because he was intimidated by the Jews) petitioned Pilate to take the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission. So Joseph came and took the body.
 ^39-42Nicodemus, who had first come to Jesus at night, came now in broad daylight carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. They took Jesus' body and, following the Jewish burial custom, wrapped it in linen with the spices. There was a garden near the place he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. So, because it was Sabbath preparation for the Jews and the tomb was convenient, they placed Jesus in it.

Day 18/King of the Jews

These next chapters are hard to read, but necessary.  Because of this, we are redeemed.  To get an even better picture of what is going on, you can read the other gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).  John leaves out some details that the others shared.  In this chapter, man begins to do his very worst.  But God will do His very best.

 

John 18

Seized in the Garden at Night

 ¹ Jesus, having prayed this prayer, left with his disciples and crossed over the brook Kidron at a place where there was a garden. He and his disciples entered it.  ^2-4Judas, his betrayer, knew the place because Jesus and his disciples went there often. So Judas led the way to the garden, and the Roman soldiers and police sent by the high priests and Pharisees followed. They arrived there with lanterns and torches and swords. Jesus, knowing by now everything that was coming down on him, went out and met them. He said, "Who are you after?"
   They answered, "Jesus the Nazarene."
 ^5-6He said, "That's me." The soldiers recoiled, totally taken aback. Judas, his betrayer, stood out like a sore thumb.
 ⁷Jesus asked again, "Who are you after?"
   They answered, "Jesus the Nazarene."
 ^8-9"I told you," said Jesus, "that's me. I'm the one. So if it's me you're after, let these others go." (This validated the words in his prayer, "I didn't lose one of those you gave.")
 ¹⁰Just then Simon Peter, who was carrying a sword, pulled it from its sheath and struck the Chief Priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. Malchus was the servant's name.
 ¹¹Jesus ordered Peter, "Put back your sword. Do you think for a minute I'm not going to drink this cup the Father gave me?"
 ^12-14Then the Roman soldiers under their commander, joined by the Jewish police, seized Jesus and tied him up. They took him first to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the Chief Priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was to their advantage that one man die for the people.
 ^15-16Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That other disciple was known to the Chief Priest, and so he went in with Jesus to the Chief Priest's courtyard. Peter had to stay outside. Then the other disciple went out, spoke to the doorkeeper, and got Peter in.
 ¹⁷The young woman who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, "Aren't you one of this man's disciples?"
   He said, "No, I'm not."
 ¹⁸The servants and police had made a fire because of the cold and were huddled there warming themselves. Peter stood with them, trying to get warm.

The Interrogation

 ^19-21Annas interrogated Jesus regarding his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered, "I've spoken openly in public. I've taught regularly in meeting places and the Temple, where the Jews all come together. Everything has been out in the open. I've said nothing in secret. So why are you treating me like a conspirator? Question those who have been listening to me. They know well what I have said. My teachings have all been aboveboard."  ²²When he said this, one of the policemen standing there slapped Jesus across the face, saying, "How dare you speak to the Chief Priest like that!"
 ²³Jesus replied, "If I've said something wrong, prove it. But if I've spoken the plain truth, why this slapping around?"
 ²⁴Then Annas sent him, still tied up, to the Chief Priest Caiaphas.
 ²⁵Meanwhile, Simon Peter was back at the fire, still trying to get warm. The others there said to him, "Aren't you one of his disciples?"
   He denied it, "Not me."
 ²⁶One of the Chief Priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"
 ²⁷Again, Peter denied it. Just then a rooster crowed.

The King of the Jews

 ^28-29They led Jesus then from Caiaphas to the Roman governor's palace. It was early morning. They themselves didn't enter the palace because they didn't want to be disqualified from eating the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and spoke. "What charge do you bring against this man?"  ³⁰They said, "If he hadn't been doing something evil, do you think we'd be here bothering you?"
 ^31-32Pilate said, "You take him. Judge him by your law."
   The Jews said, "We're not allowed to kill anyone." (This would confirm Jesus' word indicating the way he would die.)
 ³³Pilate went back into the palace and called for Jesus. He said, "Are you the 'King of the Jews'?"
 ³⁴Jesus answered, "Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?"
 ³⁵Pilate said, "Do I look like a Jew? Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?"
 ³⁶"My kingdom," said Jesus, "doesn't consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn't be handed over to the Jews. But I'm not that kind of king, not the world's kind of king."
 ³⁷Then Pilate said, "So, are you a king or not?"
   Jesus answered, "You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice."
 ^38-39Pilate said, "What is truth?"
   Then he went back out to the Jews and told them, "I find nothing wrong in this man. It's your custom that I pardon one prisoner at Passover. Do you want me to pardon the 'King of the Jews'?"
 ⁴⁰They shouted back, "Not this one, but Barabbas!" Barabbas was a Jewish freedom fighter.

Day 17/Jesus Prays

In chapter 17, Jesus prayed this prayer with His disciples after they'd eaten the last supper and right before He was arrested.  It was His last teaching opportunity with His disciples before going to the cross.  It was meant for not only His disciples, but us too.  He prays for our protection from evil and that we'd be taught the truth and that the truth would make us holy.  Then He prays that we will experience a unity with the Father so we will have perfect unity with the church and the world will see the source of our love.

Day 17

John 17

Jesus' Prayer for His Followers

 ^1-5 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said:
   Father, it's time.
   Display the bright splendor of your Son
   So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
   You put him in charge of everything human
   So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.
   And this is the real and eternal life:
   That they know you,
   The one and only true God,
   And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
   I glorified you on earth
   By completing down to the last detail
   What you assigned me to do.
   And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
   The very splendor I had in your presence
   Before there was a world.  ^6-12I spelled out your character in detail
   To the men and women you gave me.
   They were yours in the first place;
   Then you gave them to me,
   And they have now done what you said.
   They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
   That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
   For the message you gave me, I gave them;
   And they took it, and were convinced
   That I came from you.
   They believed that you sent me.
   I pray for them.
   I'm not praying for the God-rejecting world
   But for those you gave me,
   For they are yours by right.
   Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,
   And my life is on display in them.
   For I'm no longer going to be visible in the world;
   They'll continue in the world
   While I return to you.
   Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life
   That you conferred as a gift through me,
   So they can be one heart and mind
   As we are one heart and mind.
   As long as I was with them, I guarded them
   In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;
   I even posted a night watch.
   And not one of them got away,
   Except for the rebel bent on destruction
   (the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).
 ^13-19Now I'm returning to you.
   I'm saying these things in the world's hearing
   So my people can experience
   My joy completed in them.
   I gave them your word;
   The godless world hated them because of it,
   Because they didn't join the world's ways,
   Just as I didn't join the world's ways.
   I'm not asking that you take them out of the world
   But that you guard them from the Evil One.
   They are no more defined by the world
   Than I am defined by the world.
   Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth;
   Your word is consecrating truth.
   In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world,
   I give them a mission in the world.
   I'm consecrating myself for their sakes
   So they'll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
 ^20-23I'm praying not only for them
   But also for those who will believe in me
   Because of them and their witness about me.
   The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
   Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
   So they might be one heart and mind with us.
   Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
   The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
   So they'll be as unified and together as we are—
   I in them and you in me.
   Then they'll be mature in this oneness,
   And give the godless world evidence
   That you've sent me and loved them
   In the same way you've loved me.
 ^24-26Father, I want those you gave me
   To be with me, right where I am,
   So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
   Having loved me
   Long before there ever was a world.
   Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
   But I have known you, and these disciples know
   That you sent me on this mission.
   I have made your very being known to them—
   Who you are and what you do—
   And continue to make it known,
   So that your love for me
   Might be in them
   Exactly as I am in them.

Day 16/I've Conquered the World!

Jesus tells His disciples how the world will hate them for being His followers.  In this godless world they will face difficulties.  But then He goes on to explain, "But take heart, for I've conquered the world!"  Love it.

Day 16

John 16

 ^1-4 "I've told you these things to prepare you for rough times ahead. They are going to throw you out of the meeting places. There will even come a time when anyone who kills you will think he's doing God a favor. They will do these things because they never really understood the Father. I've told you these things so that when the time comes and they start in on you, you'll be well-warned and ready for them.

The Friend Will Come

 ^4-7"I didn't tell you this earlier because I was with you every day. But now I am on my way to the One who sent me. Not one of you has asked, 'Where are you going?' Instead, the longer I've talked, the sadder you've become. So let me say it again, this truth: It's better for you that I leave. If I don't leave, the Friend won't come. But if I go, I'll send him to you.  ^8-11"When he comes, he'll expose the error of the godless world's view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He'll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.
 ^12-15"I still have many things to tell you, but you can't handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won't draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I've said, 'He takes from me and delivers to you.'
 ¹⁶"In a day or so you're not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me."

Joy Like a River Overflowing

 ^17-18That stirred up a hornet's nest of questions among the disciples: "What's he talking about: 'In a day or so you're not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me'? And, 'Because I'm on my way to the Father'? What is this 'day or so'? We don't know what he's talking about."  ^19-20Jesus knew they were dying to ask him what he meant, so he said, "Are you trying to figure out among yourselves what I meant when I said, 'In a day or so you're not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me'? Then fix this firmly in your minds: You're going to be in deep mourning while the godless world throws a party. You'll be sad, very sad, but your sadness will develop into gladness.
 ^21-23"When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there's no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you'll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You'll no longer be so full of questions.
 ^23-24"This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I've revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he'll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!
 ^25-28"I've used figures of speech in telling you these things. Soon I'll drop the figures and tell you about the Father in plain language. Then you can make your requests directly to him in relation to this life I've revealed to you. I won't continue making requests of the Father on your behalf. I won't need to. Because you've gone out on a limb, committed yourselves to love and trust in me, believing I came directly from the Father, the Father loves you directly. First, I left the Father and arrived in the world; now I leave the world and travel to the Father."
 ^29-30His disciples said, "Finally! You're giving it to us straight, in plain talk—no more figures of speech. Now we know that you know everything—it all comes together in you. You won't have to put up with our questions anymore. We're convinced you came from God."

 ^31-33Jesus answered them, "Do you finally believe? In fact, you're about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I'm not abandoned. The Father is with me. I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world."

Day 15/Just Read

As I began reading this chapter, I began thinking about how mixed up and distorted people's views of the Bible become because they take something they've heard and add to it.  Or they think they know what the Bible says about something without reading it.  Then false teaching begins and insanity ensues.  I truly believe the Bible is meant to be read by the average layperson.  It can be understood by the least or the most educated and it's not burdensome.  Just read it.  And then remember the root command, "Love one Another".

John 15

The Vine and the Branches

 ^1-3 "I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.  ⁴"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
 ^5-8"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
 ^9-10"I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done—kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love.
 ^11-15"I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father.
 ¹⁶"You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.
 ¹⁷"But remember the root command: Love one another.

Hated by the World

^18-19"If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world's terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God's terms and no longer on the world's terms, the world is going to hate you.  ²⁰"When that happens, remember this: Servants don't get better treatment than their masters. If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you. If they did what I told them, they will do what you tell them.
 ^21-25"They are going to do all these things to you because of the way they treated me, because they don't know the One who sent me. If I hadn't come and told them all this in plain language, it wouldn't be so bad. As it is, they have no excuse. Hate me, hate my Father—it's all the same. If I hadn't done what I have done among them, works no one has ever done, they wouldn't be to blame. But they saw the God-signs and hated anyway, both me and my Father. Interesting—they have verified the truth of their own Scriptures where it is written, 'They hated me for no good reason.'
 ^26-27"When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes—the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father—he will confirm everything about me. You, too, from your side must give your confirming evidence, since you are in this with me from the start."

Day 14/Comforting Words

In this chapter, Jesus explains the way of salvation and comforts His disciples.  He is preparing a place for us in heaven.  And He is the ONLY Way to heaven.  Also, He will not leave us alone while we wait but will send us the promised Holy Spirit to be our comforter and friend. 

Day 14

John 14

The Road

 ^1-4 "Don't let this throw you. You trust God, don't you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home. If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I'm on my way to get your room ready, I'll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I'm taking."  ⁵Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?"
 ^6-7Jesus said, "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!"
 ⁸Philip said, "Master, show us the Father; then we'll be content."
 ^9-10"You've been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don't understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, 'Where is the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren't mere words. I don't just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.
 ^11-14"Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.

The Spirit of Truth

^15-17"If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!  ^18-20"I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I'm in my Father, and you're in me, and I'm in you.
 ²¹"The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that's who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him."
 ²²Judas (not Iscariot) said, "Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?"
 ^23-24"Because a loveless world," said Jesus, "is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we'll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn't mine. It's the message of the Father who sent me.
 ^25-27"I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.
 ²⁸"You've heard me tell you, 'I'm going away, and I'm coming back.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I'm on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.
 ^29-31"I've told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I'll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don't worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father's instructions right down to the last detail.
   "Get up. Let's go. It's time to leave here."

Day 13/Love

Again, there is so much I could say.  I could write volumes about this chapter alone.  But my goal here has been to just get you reading.  In this chapter, Jesus shows His disciples the meaning of love.  In preparation for the ultimate act of love (the laying down of His life for us all), Jesus begins teaching them by washing their feet.  This is the love of humble service.  Imagine the God who created everything serving His disciples by washing their dirty feet. He gives us a new commandment, "Love one another".   Jesus wants us to take on the role of a loving servant.  If we can manage that one, all the other commandments will fall naturally in place. 

Day 13

John 13

Washing His Disciples' Feet

 ^1-2 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.  ^3-6Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, "Master, you wash my feet?"
 ⁷Jesus answered, "You don't understand now what I'm doing, but it will be clear enough to you later."
 ⁸Peter persisted, "You're not going to wash my feet—ever!"
   Jesus said, "If I don't wash you, you can't be part of what I'm doing."
 ⁹"Master!" said Peter. "Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!"
 ^10-12Jesus said, "If you've had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you're clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you're clean. But not every one of you." (He knew who was betraying him. That's why he said, "Not every one of you.") After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.
 ^12-17Then he said, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Master,' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.

The One Who Ate Bread at My Table

 ^18-20"I'm not including all of you in this. I know precisely whom I've selected, so as not to interfere with the fulfillment of this Scripture:    The one who ate bread at my table
    Turned on his heel against me.
"I'm telling you all this ahead of time so that when it happens you will believe that I am who I say I am. Make sure you get this right: Receiving someone I send is the same as receiving me, just as receiving me is the same as receiving the One who sent me."
 ²¹After he said these things, Jesus became visibly upset, and then he told them why. "One of you is going to betray me."
 ^22-25The disciples looked around at one another, wondering who on earth he was talking about. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved dearly, was reclining against him, his head on his shoulder. Peter motioned to him to ask who Jesus might be talking about. So, being the closest, he said, "Master, who?"
 ^26-27Jesus said, "The one to whom I give this crust of bread after I've dipped it." Then he dipped the crust and gave it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. As soon as the bread was in his hand, Satan entered him.
   "What you must do," said Jesus, "do. Do it and get it over with."
 ^28-29No one around the supper table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas was their treasurer, Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the Feast, or that he should give something to the poor.
 ³⁰Judas, with the piece of bread, left. It was night.

A New Command

 ^31-32When he had left, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is seen for who he is, and God seen for who he is in him. The moment God is seen in him, God's glory will be on display. In glorifying him, he himself is glorified—glory all around!  ³³"Children, I am with you for only a short time longer. You are going to look high and low for me. But just as I told the Jews, I'm telling you: 'Where I go, you are not able to come.'
 ^34-35"Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."
 ³⁶Simon Peter asked, "Master, just where are you going?"
   Jesus answered, "You can't now follow me where I'm going. You will follow later."
 ³⁷"Master," said Peter, "why can't I follow now? I'll lay down my life for you!"
 ³⁸"Really? You'll lay down your life for me? The truth is that before the rooster crows, you'll deny me three times."