Tag Archives: John

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.

 

Proverbs 20, John 1

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John writes of Jesus, “to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. We’ve been offered that right, to be a child of God, which is an incredible act of love and grace. God knows our every thought and action, yet He has offered us “grace upon grace”, to be part of an eternal inheritance.

Solomon writes “even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright”, and the same applies to us. It’s up to us to follow Jesus’ example and be part of the light of this world.