Monthly Archives: April 2013

John 13-14

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Jesus washes the disciples feet to teach them about humbleness and service. It is difficult to be proud when washing someone else’s feet, none of us are above serving others.  God was glorified in Jesus’ actions, and we are called to do the same, “love one another: just as I have loved you”. This sort of love sets us apart from others, identifies us as disciples of Christ.

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” We show Jesus’ love to each other by serving each other, but that love also involves belief in Jesus’ words and a genuine response to those words.  By doing so, we know that God will love us, “he who loves [Jesus] will be loved by [Jesus’] Father.”  That knowledge is a source of peace, a peace different from anything the world can offer.  “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Deuteronomy 2, John 12

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Moses writes “these 40 years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.” Although the Israelites complained numerous times, God was watching over them and keeping them safe until they reached the promised land.

We can be like those Israelites, taking every opportunity to complain, or we can instead be strengthened and encouraged by the knowledge that God is also with us. We lack nothing we need to serve Him.

Jesus came into the world as light, so that whoever believed on him wouldn’t remain in darkness. Let us “believe in the light, that we may become sons of light”, that we might reflect God’s character, knowing He is watching over us.

Proverbs 28, John 11

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Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” A difficult thing to hear when your brother has just died, but Jesus was using this tragedy to demonstrate the amazing hope that he offered, despite the personal grief that it caused.

We don’t know whether we’ll still be alive by the time Jesus returns, but we do know that if we believe Jesus words, if we reflect Jesus’ values in our life, then we can have eternal life.  Or as Proverbs records, “whoever walks in integrity will be delivered.”

 

Proverbs 27, John 9-10

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“Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit”.  This natural process reflects a spiritual process.  It takes time and effort to maintain a tree and subsequently enjoy the result.  Similarly, our spiritual productiveness requires time and effort to maintain and grow.

Jesus could describe himself as the good shepherd, because his actions reflected that idea.  Just as a good shepherd is willing to put the safety of the sheep above his own life, so Jesus was willing to sacrifice himself in order to protect the sheep that he led.

It is up to us to be familiar with the voice of the true shepherd, to follow him, for Jesus will give such people eternal life.  Maintaining that relationship between sheep and shepherd is like tending a fig tree, it requires a frequent and continual commitment.

Numbers 35, John 8

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Jesus said to his disciples, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  The freedom Jesus is talking about is the slavery to sin. We’re blessed to have access to God through the work of Christ, rather than relying on cities of refuge for a limited form of mercy.

By listening to and following Jesus’ words, we have guidance on the way to live as children of God, in a relationship of love instead of slavery, walking in light rather than darkness.  It’s up to us to hear and receive the words of God, since doing so identifies us as being of God.

 

John 7

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In John 7 we gain an insight into the difficulty of Jesus’ ministry. The Jews wanted to kill Jesus in order to silence him, even though his teaching was from God, offering living water for all who thirsted.

It’s up to us to seek Jesus, to follow his teaching and example, and drink of the living water he offers.

John 6

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Jesus said “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Coincidentally, I read these words while eating breakfast.  The natural man is never satisfied with food, money, or assets. Yet in Jesus we can have a contentedness that surpasses anything this world can offer.  “The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Jesus’ words “are spirit and life”, offering us an adoption and inheritance into God’s family.  Let us “look on the Son and believe in him” so that we too can “have eternal life.”

 

John 5

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Jesus said, “whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” He was the perfect representation of God’s will and character, to the extent that “whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”

Jesus is our example and guide in life, who also said “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.” Present tense, the future is so certain it’s as if we have eternal life now, if we listen and believe.

Proverbs 22, John 4

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Jesus offers to all living water, that will become in us “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  The saviour of the world offered that hope to Samaritans, hated by the Jews, and he offers us that same hope. People’s faith in Jesus was rewarded quickly and openly in Jesus’ time, yet we can be sure that our faith will also be rewarded.

So let us “worship the Father in spirit and truth”, and apply our heart to knowledge, that our trust may be in the Lord.

John 2-3

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Jesus “needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” Our great high priest knows exactly the difficulties we have in showing God’s character in our lives.  It is not easy to be “born again”, yet that is what we must do in order to “see the kingdom of God”.

Fortunately, we have great encouragement when we reflect on what God has done for us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” It is up to us now to respond to that love, to show that same light that Jesus showed, and strengthen our relationship with God.