Archive for the ‘Gospels’ Category

Scripture reading for November 5th: John 18-21

When you are in a covenant relationship with someone, it is always good to affirm our love for that person.  We go through seasons when the relationship may be strained or drifting rather than passionately connected. We go through personal trials and attacks of Satan that seek to knock us off our vows of commitment.  Today we will consider Peter, one of Jesus’ most trusted disciples who denied Jesus three times after His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. (John 18:22-27)

We don’t know exactly how long after the resurrection that the account in John 21 takes place.  Peter and a number of the disciples had decided to go fishing in the Sea of  Tiberius (Galilee).  They fished all night and by morning had nothing to show for.  As they were approaching shore, Jesus stood there and called out to them.  They told Him that they had no fish but didn’t recognize Him as the Lord.  He told them to throw their net on the right side of the boat.  When they did, they were unable to haul their net into the boat because of the great number of fish!  John recognized Jesus at that point and told Peter it was Him.  Peter immediately jumped into the water and came to Jesus, who had built a fire with fish already cooking and some bread for the tired fishermen.  John’s account states that this was the third time Jesus appeared to them.

After Jesus served them the meal, Jesus turned to Simon Peter and asked him a question. “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”  “Yes, Lord,” he said, you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15)  This was repeated three times in similar fashion.  Peter’s feelings were hurt because Jesus asked him this three times. (John 21:17)  Jesus made a statement of prophecy to Peter about how he would die to glorify God and then called Peter to follow Him.

Jesus wants us all to affirm our love for Him on a daily basis.  We can tell Him we love Him and that is well and good.  Actions also show our love for Jesus.  In Peter’s case, he was called to feed the lambs and sheep.  A shepherd must care for the animals, and a pastor is a shepherd!  Feeding lambs and sheep requires daily discipline and tender care.  We must follow the ‘Good Shepherd” in order to properly feed and care for His sheep!  They are His sheep, not ours!  Love for Jesus is demonstrated by obedience!

A final thought concerns Peter’s death.  Tradition says that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome.  He chose that because he felt unworthy to die as his Lord Jesus had!  Peter’s life and death brought glory to God!  We must live in obedience to the Lord!  “To live is Christ, to die is gain!” (Philippians 1:21)

Scripture reading for November 4th: John 13-17

Several years ago, I planted two grape vines in my back yard along the fence.  I had used these potted vines as a sermon illustration of Jesus’ teaching in John 15.  I studied grapes and found that they were one of the most widely grown crops in the world.   There are many different varieties and colors and people love to eat them fresh, as juice, or as wine.  They also need cultivation and tending to be the most fruitful and healthy.  Dead and diseased branches need trimmed off and the vines trained to grow in the arbor. The branches are not good for anything but producing fruit.  They will not make lumber but are only good for burning.

Jesus used this great agricultural example to teach his disciples about their need to stay attached to Him!  Jesus said that He is the true vine and the disciples are branches.  If they would just “abide” in Him and allow His Word to “abide” in them, they would produce much fruit. (John 15:7)  Being a branch is all about “abiding”!  Abiding branches ask the Father for what they need, and He answers!  We must stay attached and draw our nutrients from the vine and its roots.  It doesn’t sound too hard to understand!  A branch that doesn’t remain attached is good for nothing but the fire!

Jesus also went on to say that His Father is the gardener who tends the vine. (John 15:1) The gardener’s job is to keep the vine healthy and producing fruit.  Jesus’ Word is the means of pruning His branches.   All fruitless branches are pruned off to keep from wasting precious nutrients so that those branches that are abiding could use those nutrients to produce fruit.  Fruitful branches are pruned and trained to maximize fruit production.  God is glorified when His branches produce much fruit!  (John 15:8) Branches that produce no fruit are trimmed off and are good for nothing but the fire.  These are like people who refuse to abide in the vine and think that they can make it on their own.

As a sermon illustration this year, I took a branch off  this grape vine.  It had grown in 4 years to nearly 20 feet long and covered a section of a wooden fence that I planted it near.  I put the branch in water and brought it to church.  One branch had 12 clusters of grapes on it and a second branch had none!  I had cut them off and after just one hour, the were already wilted.  It is amazing how quickly they die without attachment!

The lesson for us is plain and simple.  We must stay attached to the vine and also bear fruit.  This takes a relationship with God through His Word and prayer!  He wants fruit that will last for eternity!  What a privilege to bear precious fruit for eternal life!  Are you securely attached and producing?

Scripture reading for November 3rd: John 9-12

My son Marshal and I visited Bethany as a part of our Bible history and geography study class that spent three weeks in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.  At Bethany one morning, we visited a place that was a probably like the tomb that Lazarus was laid in.  Marshal and I went down a narrow passageway carved out of the rock and entered the musty cave where there were some niches carved in the wall as places to lay the bodies.  The tomb was illuminated by an electric light.  After reading the Scriptures about this incident, I turned to leave first and right after I got out, I took my camera and called out, “Marshal, come out!”  I got a great picture and a real visual of what that might have looked like to those gathered around that tomb with Jesus!

Jesus often stayed at Lazarus’ home in Bethany, less than two miles from the Temple in Jerusalem.  (John 11:18)   Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha, who also loved Jesus and loved their brother.  They had sent word to Jesus that their brother was deathly sick, but Jesus purposely delayed coming.  (John 11:3-6)  When Jesus arrived, Lazarus was already dead and entombed for four days.  Martha came to meet Jesus and told Him that if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died.  She also made another key statement, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” (John 11:22)  Martha had faith in Jesus and His prayers!

Jesus gave her a Word of knowledge: “Your brother will rise again.” (John 11:23)  Martha’s understanding of the resurrection had come from studying the Old Testament Scriptures.  (Possibly Daniel 12:1-3, 13)  Jesus spoke again to her prophetically, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)  This time Martha confessed that she believed that Jesus was the Christ, Son of God!  Faith comes by hearing the voice of Jesus Christ!

Jesus went to the tomb and as He stood there, He wept! (John 11:35)  What compassion Jesus showed for this man that He loved!  The Author of Life was weeping over Lazarus swallowed by the grave and death!  He was the “resurrection and life” and was about to demonstrate the power of faith.  Jesus was deeply moved a second time and ordered the stone taken away from the mouth of the tomb.  Martha protested, but Jesus reassured her faith!  He is the Author and Finisher of our faith and helps us when our faith falters!  (John 11:40)  After thanking His Father that He always heard Him, Jesus spoke, “Lazarus, come out!” Sure enough, Lazarus came out, grave clothes and all!

Wow!  What a loving and compassionate Savior!  We are encouraged to simply believe that whatever Jesus said or says will be heard by the Father!  He is alive and praying for us now!  Why not ask Him for what He has promised?  Listen closely; His sheep hear His voice!

Scripture reading for November 2nd: John 6-8

Thirst is a great motivator!  When we were farming in Iowa, during the hot summers we had some jobs that made us very thirsty.  Picking up hay bales on a humid afternoon with no breeze really worked up a thirst.  The ones working in the barn out of the breeze had a “thirsty” job as well.   Another job was cutting sunflowers out of the soybean fields with a machete.  We had one farm with half-mile rows.  It would be a mile up and back.  In the hot summer sun, I would be thirsty before I got to the far end of the field.  I knew that I would have to cut my way back to the water jug.  It was a good motivator for the whole crew to work faster and make it back!

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living waster will flow from within him.” “By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.  Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” John 7:39-39

On this last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the custom was to get two large jars of water from the pool of Siloam and pour it out as an offering before the Lord.  It was probably at this time that Jesus stood up and spoke to the crowd.  He invited those that were spiritually thirsty to come to Him.  He promised that if they would drink of His life, a life-giving stream of “living water” would flow from within them.  John interprets this prophetic word of Jesus as referring to the Holy Spirit being poured out after Jesus’ ascension.   The Holy Spirit would be a life-giving spring that would bring rivers of refreshing and life to those who would believe on Jesus and receive the Father’s blessing!

Are you “thirsty” from your hard work and labors in this sin-filled world?   Has keeping the Law of God worn you out?  Do you need a rest and refreshing?   Jesus calls for us to come to Him for the relief we need. He was glorified  as He ascended into heaven and was seated at God’s right hand.  He poured out the Spirit on the day of Pentecost!  He alone is the source of this spring of special “living water”.  This water is obtained by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God!  There is no other means of obtaining it!  That should motivate you to work your way back to the source and take a long drink!  Living water: there’s no other drink quite like it!

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ!  Welcome to another day of rest in His finished work of redemption!  It is at the cross that we find our rest with God and can enter into relationship with Him.  The cross of Christ draws our attention and draws us Him.

As I reflect back on this week’s reading in the Gospels of Luke and John, I am drawn today to chapter three of John.  Jesus had an encounter with a prominent teacher of the Jews, Nicodemus.  He came to Jesus by night to ask Him some questions.  Nicodemus recognized that Jesus was a teacher sent from God and noted the miracles that He had done.  Jesus told Nicodemus that no one could see the kingdom of God unless they were born again!  (John 3:3)  Nicodemus had trouble grasping how this might take place.  He was thinking about natural birth and growth when Jesus told him about the Spirit bringing the second birth. Nicodemus asked him how this could take place and Jesus answered him with one of the most famous verses in the Bible.

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:14-16

Jesus used an incident in the life of Moses where the people were dying from a plague of poisonous snakes.  Moses had prayed to the Lord and God showed him what to do.  He was to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole and lift it up in the center of the camp.  Any Israelite who was bitten could look at the bronze serpent in faith, believing that God would heal him and receive that healing.  (Numbers 21:1-8)  Jesus presented Himself as the one who would be lifted up between heaven and earth.  All who looked at Him and believed, would be saved from the universal bite of the ancient serpent, Satan.

God’s great love for us motivated Him to send His Son to be lifted up for us!  Jesus, who knew no sin, was made sin for us that we might be saved.  All who would believe on Him would be born again by the Holy Spirit.  They would receive the gift of God’s heavenly Breath or Wind!  Eternal life is the realm of God Himself!  What amazing truth comes as we contemplate the lifting up of the Son of Man!

Now God has lifted Him to the highest place!  He is risen from the dead and ascended into heaven!  He is praying and interceding for us today!  We who believe are seated with Him and will see Him soon!  Hallelujah!

In His Love, Pastor John

Scripture reading for October 31st: John 3-5

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is Spirit and His worshipers must worship in Spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24

What is worship?  Is it just singing some songs or hymns to the Lord?   Is it gathering to hear a great worship band or leader perform?  Is it a feeling in your body that you get when you sense God’s presence near you?  Where must you go to worship?   These questions are not new with us and our culture.  Jesus encountered a woman in Samaria who asked some of the same questions of Him.  Jesus answered her with a promise and a command that we will consider this day.

Worship is ascribing worth and honor to someone who is due this honor.  God is the only “worthy” one due our worship.  Worship involves us as whole people and is not a spectator sport.  It involves individuals as well as more than one person.  But all true worship centers on God as the only worthy subject!  God is a Spirit.  His presence fills the universe.  He is Truth and there is no falsehood or lie found in Him.  Therefore, those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth.

We have a body that we use as the tent of our soul and spirit.  We are born the first time with our spirit dead to God because of sin.  We cannot worship God, because we don’t really know God.  God must reveal Himself to us for us to understand who He is.  Because of His love for us, He seeks us out.   Throughout man’s history, God has sought to reveal Himself to man through conscience and through nature.  He has also broken in on man and spoken to him on various occasions.  Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David are all examples of God’s revelation to individuals.

Worship is difficult for us because of sin.  Sin centers us on ourselves and rather than on God.  Sin separates us from God who is holy.  Jesus Christ came to enable true worship by redeeming lost mankind from the sin nature by new birth through the Holy Spirit.  This enables us to worship God in Spirit and Truth!  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth!  He leads us into all truth.

As you go through this day, allow the Holy Spirit to help you to live a life of worship!  Everything you do can be done in Spirit and Truth as unto the Lord!  He is worthy of all our worship each day, everyday, all day and night! The time is now!

Scripture reading for October 30th: John 1-2

The Gospel of John, the beloved disciple, is exciting reading.  John was the youngest disciple and one of the “sons of thunder” brothers.  James and John were evidently very emotional and yet very likable.  These brothers were in the inner circle of three in the company of disciples and John was the one resting his head on Jesus’ chest in the famous picture of the Last Supper.  John was also the disciple who Jesus asked from the Cross to take care of His mother. (John 19:26-27)  The theme of his Gospel is “Jesus, the Son of God” and John goes back to Genesis as he begins his account.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made; and without Him nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4)

John starts with a revelation of the Son of God!  He is the eternal Word!  He was with God in the beginning!  Of course, eternity is the realm of God.  There is no time in His realm, so there is no beginning from God’s perspective.  He always was, is, and will be.  The beginning spoken of by John is the beginning of created things.  Everything we can see was created by God and by His Word.  He is the source and beginning of it all.  By speaking His powerful Word in faith He created the visible world and heavens.  When we think of how vast and huge these creations are, we are humbled by the power of that Word!

But at the right time, this Word became flesh and dwelt among His people!  The word for “dwelt” is the same word used to describe the pitching of a tent.  He “tabernacled” with His people!  This is what God did when Israel was in the desert after Mt. Sinai.  Moses was given instructions to build a special tent and furniture as a place for God to dwell in the midst of His people.  This tent was called a “tabernacle”. God’s presence marked His people as separate and blessed above all others on the earth.  No enemy could defeat them as they marched with Him, no sickness could attack, and even clothes and shoes did not wear out!  (Nehemiah 9:19-21)

Jesus Christ came to His own people, but they did not receive Him!  (John 1:11-12)  Most rejected Him and ended up crucifying Him.  But to those who would and did receive Him, Jesus gave the power to become children of God!  They would be “born again” into God’s family!  He would send them the Holy Spirit to live in them and they would become “living tabernacles” of God’s presence!  What a blessed people are those who receive Him!  Why not invite Him to be your Savior today and let Him pitch His tent in you!  His powerful Word brings new birth and eternal life!

Scripture reading for October 29th: Luke 22-24

Our theme for our church fellowship for 2009 is found in today’s reading in the last chapter of Luke’s Gospel.  It is the story of the two disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus on Sunday afternoon after the resurrection of Jesus Christ earlier that same day.  One was named Cleopas and the other disciple is not named.  It is good for us to review this story and renew our commitment to find Jesus Christ in each passage of Scripture we read.  We should encounter Christ in every verse and chapter of His holy word!

These two disciples were walking along discussing the events of the Passover week that had just finished.  They were disciples of Jesus who were still reeling from their Master’s sudden crucifixion.  And now, that morning, the women came and told them that Jesus was risen!  (Luke 24:9-12)  Peter went and found only the grave clothes lying there by themselves.  All were perplexed and wondered what had happened.  As they were walking and talking, Jesus joined them on the road and walked with them.  They did not initially recognize Him, but He struck up a conversation.

They began to tell Him their experience of the past week as He asked them what had happened.  They told Him the whole story about the crucifixion of Jesus and the empty tomb.  Jesus then spoke clearly to them from the Law and the Prophets, showing them how the Messiah must suffer and die and enter His glory.  I imagine it was an interesting Bible Study on that road that day and the time passed quickly.  Suddenly, they were at their destination and they had hardly begun.  They invited Jesus to stay and eat with them.

As they sat at the table, Jesus took the bread, and gave thanks, and broke it to give to them.  As soon as He did this simple act of fellowship around the table, their eyes were opened and they beheld Him!  He then disappeared from their sight!  They recognized how their hearts had burned when Jesus had opened the Scriptures and talked with them.  (Luke 24:30-32)

This story is heart-warming for us even today!  What a gracious Savior we have who would care so dearly for His followers!  As we read the Scriptures, we now have the Holy Spirit living in us who will take these words and unveil them in our hearts!  (John 16:13-16)  He sets our hearts on fire for Him daily!  Each time we partake of the “Lord’s Supper”, we have Him revealed to us afresh and in a new way! (Luke 22:17-19)  We are so blessed to know Him and enjoy His heart-warming love!

Scripture reading for October 28th: Luke 19-21

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.“  “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.  For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.  Be always on the watch, and pray that you will be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:33-36

None of us like change, unless it is for the better!  According to Scripture, there is nothing in this world that is permanent and lasting.  Everything is in a temporary state.  It is all decaying or passing away.  Change is inevitable in our present world.  Even our own bodies are decaying and changing. (2nd Corinthians 4:16a)  We are born with a sentence of death because of sin in us and this world.  This world is groaning and in it’s present state will ultimately pass away.

Now I am not in some kind of negative mood this morning that all I can think about is change and decay!  No, I am encouraged as I read the Word of God that there is something permanent that I can hang on to!  God’s Word is permanent and eternal.  What God has written for us is ultimate truth and reality!  We can be certain of it!  We can build our lives on it!  We can tell our children about it and pass it on to our friends!

Jesus warned His followers to be careful because of these eternal truths.  Heaven and earth would pass away one day.  There was a day of judgment like no other day when this would happen.  It would come upon those living on the earth suddenly, like a trap catching an unsuspecting animal.  (Luke 21:34)  Jesus encouraged His followers to be watchful and in prayer because of these unchanging truths.  There would be many who would be overcome with a reckless attitude.  Some would be drunken and unable to rouse themselves.  Others would be overcome with the fears and worries of life.  They would not be prepared for that day and it would catch them unaware!

Those who are watching and praying, however, would be able to stand before the Son of Man.  They would be trusting in His grace and be ready to meet Him.  Let’s be certain today that we are really believing what Jesus taught.  A day is coming when the heavens and earth will pass away!  His Word will never pass away!

Scripture reading for October 27th: Luke 16-18

“No servant can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.” “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.” Luke 16:13-14

Jesus spoke very plainly:  “You cannot serve both God and Money.” In Christian circles today, there is a popular variation of the Gospel called the “prosperity” teaching.  This teaching takes all the verses about God’s blessings and twists them to say that God wants you to be rich and to use your riches as a testimony to the world of the blessings of God’s kingdom.  Now God’s word does proclaim blessing on God’s people for obedience and faith.  Those who walked in faith were often blessed and obtained great wealth in this world.  But God is more concerned about our hearts.  He said it is impossible to serve two masters.

The Pharisees of Jesus time had a teaching very similar to this prosperity message of today.  They taught that God’s blessing was on the rich and that if a person was poor, he was under a curse.  This had some scriptural truth to it from Deuteronomy 28 and other places in the Old Testament.  However, Jesus came to help them and us to see things in a different light.  He told a story about a rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus.  These two real people lived on earth and both died.  At death there was a great reversal.  The rich man ended up in the torment of Hell, the place of the departed wicked dead.  The poor beggar, Lazarus, ended up in Abraham’s bosom, a place of comfort and blessing. They could see each other but were separated by a great gulf.  (Luke 16:22-26)

This in itself struck at the hearts of those who loved “Money”!  Jesus went on to tell about the conversation in the underworld between this rich man and Father Abraham.  The rich man asked to have Lazarus come and bring a drop of water to comfort him in his torment.  This request was refused.  It was impossible!  This rich man then asked about sending Lazarus back to earth to warn his five brothers so that they would not end up in Hell.  This request was also denied.  The Law and Prophets provided all the warning that God was offering to them.

We have this Word from Jesus today to warn us as well!  He has risen from the dead and is speaking to us with an unchanging Word.  Pursue the kingdom of God and His righteousness, not money!  Beware of the spirit of the Pharisees, who loved money.  Beware of those who preach a false prosperity gospel!  Check out your own heart for Jesus Christ is Lord alone!