John 15

I just want to start this one off with the Key verse this time. What was true then holds true to this day.

Key Verse: The people of the world will hate you because you belong to me, for they don’t know God who sent me. They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Anyone who hates me hates my Father too.

This holds just as true today as it did  back then. You see it in the news everyday, and in people’s reactions when you talk to them about Christ.  The debate about the Ten Commandments being displayed in a courthouse, people trying to have “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, and even trying to take “In God We Trust” off of our money.  Basically doing anything to take God out of everything. But Jesus does offer us some hope, He does tell us that he will send us the Counselor, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the strength and the ability to withstand the attacks, and the hostility offered by this world.

My prayer: Lord, as this world becomes increasingly hostile toward you,  and anyone who follows and believes in you,  I pray that you help give us the strength to persevere and continue to tell everyone we can about you. You do tell us that the world would love us if we belonged to it, and that would be all too easy, but the world cannot replace the love you give to us. And I thank you for that love.  Amen.

John 14

Jesus talks to his disciples about his leaving. But he is basically explaining to them that there is no need to worry. Actually that’s the fist thing he tells them. He says “Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me.” He tells them that he is preparing a place for them and when everything is ready, he will come and get them. He spends a lot of time here reassuring them. “No, I will not abandon you as an orphan – I will come to you. In just a little while the world will not see me again, but you will. For I will live again, and you will too.” It almost sounds like he is talking to children. And basically we are His children. He is basically saying Shhh, it’s ok, don’t worry, I’ll be back, and I will come to get you. But the verse that really sticks out to me is verse 27.

Key verse. I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

If you look at the world today, a lot of people are really stressed out. So in order to deal with their stress, they go to see a doctor who gives them medication to help with their stress. You could say that this is a chemical peace, but is it truly peace?The peace of Christ is a much deeper peace. There is no need to worry about the stresses of the present or the future. That no matter what is going on in your life, God is there, and so is His peace. We just have to trust and love him to hand it all over to Him. I have found this to be absolutely true within my own experience. I was prescribed chemical peace a while back when my life was in complete chaos and I was totally stressed out. But after about a week into my “chemical peace”, I realized that I was so stressed out because I was trying to handle it all on my own. It was only when I stopped, and cried out to God for His help and His peace that I truly stopped being under a lot of stress. It was amazing.

My prayer: Lord I know that in the past I have had moments of severe stress, that I was able to get through it because you were there in my life helping me. I pray that when I am faced with more stress in the future, and You and I know that I will, that with your help and guiding hand we can get through it. And that i can help others to see the same lesson here that I have learned.

John 13

Jesus does really profound things here, and I am not talking about His miracles either. One of the first things he does in this chapter is he takes off his robe and wraps a towel around his waist, much like one of the lowest salves would do in this period of time. He fills a basin with water and  starts to wash his disciples feet, and wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. The Son of God, lowers himself down to a servant and washes peoples feet. But there was a purpose to this. A lesson that really strikes  me as something that should be true today in all leaders. He also shows his unconditional love. He knows that one of his disciples there will betray him, and yet he still loves him, and even puts him in a high place. “Jesus said, “It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce.”And when he dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.”  (This was usually done for an honored guest.) He also knew that he would be denied by another and even abandoned by the rest of them, and still he showed his love. How awesome is that?  But the key verse here really is the lesson of Jesus washing the disciples feet. “After washing their feet he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “do you understand what I was doing?”"

Key verse:  You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and you are right because it is true. And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you and example to follow. Do as I have done to you. How true is it that  a servant is not greater than the master. No are messengers more important than the one who sends them? You know these things — now do them.”

His act of washing their feet and telling that they must follow his example was not Jesus teaching them to  be nice to each other. He was trying to get them to be servant leaders. For if God is willing to serve, shouldn’t we also do likewise?

My prayer: Lord, I know it is not enough to simply say hey go this way, or do it that way, we all must lead by example, and doing so show that we are willing to just as Jesus did, and serve in any way that glorifies you. I pray that, you can help me to see those opportunities and be able humble myself to be that servant leader that Jesus so exemplified. Amen.

John 12

There were so many poignant things said in this chapter that I found it hard to just kinda narrow it down to one. Like in verse 42 it says that “The Jewish leaders believed in Christ, but they would not admit it to anyone because if their fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.” Much like people today, they were afraid of standing up for Jesus for fear of ridicule, scorn, or even rejection by their peers. With all I hear and see in the news, with the fact that schools are having “Holiday” pageants, or “Winter Solstice” festivals, anyone who comes out and stands up for Christ is labeled a zealot, or fanatic, and basically torn apart. Which makes it even harder to stand up for Him. But what if I had to choose a really key verse I would have to choose 46.

Key Verse: I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness. If anyone hears me and doesn’t obey me, I am not his judge – for I have come to save the world and not judge it. But all who reject me and my message will be judged at the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.”

Jesus did not come here the first time to judge people, but to show them the way to salvation and eternal life. The next time he comes, on the day of judgment, He will judge us for how we lived. He does say that if we do not accept Him and obey Him, then that condemns us. The decision on what you will do for say, a career, has ramifications only in this life, the decision to accept or reject Christ is much more serious. The consequences of that decision last for an eternity.

My prayer: Lord God, Thank you so much for the gift of Your Son Jesus, who came here to show us the way to salvation. I pray that as hard as it may be sometimes to stand up for you, you can give me the strength to do what is right so that others may come to know you, and accept you. For the decision to do this, is the most important decision they will ever make. Amen

John 11

This chapter start out very simply. “A man named Lazarus was sick.” So? Lazarus is sick. Lot’s of people are sick, what so different about Lazarus? Well Lazarus’ two sisters went to Jesus and said, “Lord, the one You love is very sick.” So now we know, Lazarus is rather important to Jesus noted here by the sisters saying “the one You love”. Now I know personally if a person said that someone I loved was very sick, I would drop everything and go to see that person. But Jesus did not. He said to the sisters that “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God. I, the Son of God, will receive Glory from this.” But what he says next is what really stuck with me.

Key Verse:Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days and did not go to them. Finally after two days, he said to his disciples, Let’s go to Judea again.“

This comes down to God’s timing. We must remember God has a plan, and no matter what we go through, God knows it. We pray and ask for His intervention or His help, it may not happen right away or in the way we expect it, He has a plan and He does things according to His timing not ours. He did come and answer the call for Lazarus, but not in the way the sisters had thought. Lazarus did die and he was buried for several days. Even the sisters had told Jesus that if he had arrived sooner he would have been able to heal Lazarus, but that wasn’t a part of God’s plan, or His timing. Jesus came and raised Lazarus from the dead, in front of many witnesses. So in the end, Jesus did help Lazarus, but not in the way it was expected, or in the time frame either. But either way, God received the Glory.

My prayer: Lord I know sometimes I fall to my knees and cry out to you for help, and sometimes it feels like you don’t answer. But when I read about the way Jesus responded to the cries for help for Lazarus, it reminds me that, you already have my best interest and my needs taken care of, and that I need to be patient and trust in you. That you do answer my prayers, just not in the way I expect it, or think I want it. You know my needs better than I do Lord, and it is comforting to know. Amen.

John 8

Finding a key verse in this chapter is just very hard. So many amazing things occurred here. At the end of this chapter we find Jesus talking to a group of people who are questioning Him after He tells the that Abraham was looking forward to His coming. They ask Him, that since He’s not even fifty years old yet, how can He have seen Abraham? And He replies with an incredibly powerful answer. Jesus answered, “The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!” That one statement right there proclaims He is God. He is eternal. This did not sit well with the Jewish leaders so they tried to stone Him for basically making Himself an equal to God.

But before all this took place, Jesus was talking to the Jewish leaders about the fact the He was “going away”. He tells them that they cannot come where He is going. And they all start to wonder, what He means by that. “is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?” To which Jesus tells them that they are from below where He is from above, and that leads into the verse that really grabbed me.

Key Verse: That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins.”

He is basically saying that by rejecting Him, they are rejecting the only way to be saved, and receive the eternal gifts that Jesus is offering. He did tell them that “whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” The problem is that everyone is so wrapped up in the things of this world, that they are just blinded or outright reject these gifts. So they will miss out, “die in their sins” It is so easy to shift one’s focus off of Christ and become caught up with what the world has to offer. I struggle with it all the time. But when you keep your focus on God, all the other things just kind of fade into the background.

My prayer: Lord, I know that each day brings new opportunities and new temptations to take our focus off of you and more on this world, I pray that with your help, and by continually reading your word, You can help keep our focus on where it belongs, on You. Amen.

John 7

This particular chapter really hits home to a lot of people, and really describes what goes on even to this day. Jesus was in Judea teaching at a temple even though the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. The leaders were at the festival trying to find him and were asking anyone if they had seen him. Privately people were discussing Jesus and saying great things about Him, but when it came to talk about Him publicly, everyone was too afraid to speak up on His behalf. Which brings me to the key verse in this chapter.

Key Verse: But no one had the courage to speak favorably about Him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

This happens all too frequently even with Christians today. When Christians are in church with other Christians, it’s really easy to talk about God and speak openly and freely. It’s when they are out in public, they pretty much clam up, mostly out of fear, or they are uncomfortable talking about their faith in public. I know, it happens to me as well. I sometimes don’t have the courage to speak up and share Christ with the people around me. I guess that’s what it all boils down to. Fear. Fear of what people’s reactions are going to be, fear of how they will react, fear of what they will think. We all need to put our fears aside and shout to everyone about Christ.

My Prayer: Lord, I know people struggle with this everyday, not just me. I just pray that you give us the strength and the courage to overcome this fear and uncertainty and just go out and spread your word, because there are people out there who are seeking. Amen.

John 6

The list of miracles Jesus performs just keep growing in this chapter. Some of the more well known miracles happen here. The feeding of the 5000, and of course Jesus walking on water! Now I am not sure how anyone else feels but if I were to witness these things firsthand, there would be absolutely no doubt in my mind who Jesus was. Yet as we continue to read in this chapter, some of Jesus’ disciples start to question Him. ” This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” And shortly thereafter, some of them leave. But Jesus knew who believed and who didn’t and he also knew there was one among the twelve still remaining who would betray him.

Key verse: At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, “Are you going to leave, too?”

The disciples who left were complaining, they were saying things like Oh man, this is too hard, and how can anyone accept or believe this? And Jesus turned to the remaining disciples and asked if they were going to leave too. Basically what it boils down to is, either you accept Jesus or you reject him. There is no ” I accept him BUT….” Someone else once said, “walk on left side of road, safe, walk on right side of road, safe, walk in middle of road….squished like grape!” ( Oh man, I think I’m going to Hell. I just quoted the Bible and The Karate Kid in one blog. Now that’s just wrong!) As we grow in our faith, some of his teachings and words hit really close to home, and make us examine ourselves on a deeper level, and this can be a very hard thing to do. Some people just turn away because it is too hard, or it is too difficult to understand.

My prayer: Lord, as I grow in my faith and delve into your word, please help me to understand what it is your words are teaching me, to give me the wisdom to apply it in my life, and the strength to be able to face my shortcomings. To grow, to change, and to be a better disciple and example to others. Amen.

John 3

Let me just start off by noting that there is a whole lot going on in this chapter. From the beginning you have Nicodemus, a Pharisee, seeking Jesus out himself. Now Pharisees were the ruling council back then and rather jealous of Jesus since he challenged their views and really undermined their authority. So Nicodemus seeking out Jesus is quite a huge thing. And after speaking to Jesus, Nicodemus later became convinced Jesus was the Messiah and actually would speak up on His behalf. This is also where you get the verse everyone knows, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that any who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Now it would be easy to say that this is the key verse in this chapter, Well, it really is, but I would like to dig a little deeper into this one. Jesus goes on to talk about those who refuse to believe in him, or just reject Him outright, and the reasons why they do this. And it really does shed some light into why this happens.

Key Verse (for me anyway): Jesus says, Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. They hated the light because they want to sin in the darkness.They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. A lot of people don’t want God’s light shining on their lives for what it may reveal. And that they do not want to be changed. These same people are threatened by our desire to do what is right by God, since it just may expose the darkness in their own lives.

My prayer: Lord, I strive everyday to do what is right, to be more Christlike in my actions and words, and my daily life. I pray that I can be a better example, rather Living Proof ,to those I come into contact with on a daily basis and that by witnessing my example they might come to seek You out much like Nicodemus did. And in so doing come to know you, and believe in you.

John 2

Key verse: All right, Jesus replied, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

My Reflections: Now the Jewish leaders, completely freaked out thinking He was talking about their Temple, which had been around for about 500 years, and had taken many years just to build. But he was really talking about Himself . This is Jesus basically telling everyone what was going to happen and what He was going to do. He was describing His death and resurrection! Now later on, after His resurrection, His disciples would remember these words and those words would become the greatest proof that Christ was God.

My Prayer: Lord, as I read through John, I see people who are prejudiced against you, approach you with disbelief, but as soon as they see your glory, and your truth, they are forever changed! I pray that, as leaders, we can guide more people to come to see your glory just like these people here did, and in turn be forever changed.