Thoughts From the Bible

Read John 6: 61-70 -   God gives us a choice.  Some might think the God of the Universe would be so powerful that a choice is not given to any of His creation.  That is not the grand plan God set forth.  God has allowed us all to have a free will, a freedom of choice.  As we have seen through the ages, there are those who choose to follow Christ and there are those who do not.  Christ is pulling us toward Him. Satan is also pulling us toward himself.  We are in the middle and God has given us the ability to choose.   Think about verses 66 and 67, “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?”   Some who were following Jesus decided the let Him go and return to their previous lives.  They had that choice.  We have that choice.   The remaining twelve disciples believ...

Read  John 6: 53-70 -  Jesus challenged His disciples.   The people were struggling with Jesus’ message that day and Jesus knew some of His disciples were struggling with it too.   Keep in mind, many of them had seen the miracles Jesus had performed.   In spite of this, they were still struggling with the whole concept of eating of His body and drinking of His blood.   They did not get the whole, all-consuming approach to their spiritual lives Jesus wanted them to see. Jesus says in verse 63, “ It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing.   And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”   One of the lessons Jesus was beginning to teach those around Him was that He was the long hoped for Messiah and that a spiritual life dedicated to Him should be one that is lived every day, all day.   Many of us Christians still don’t get the concept today.   We live for Christ some days, other day, not so m...

Read John 6: 52- 59-   Verse 52 says, “Then the people began arguing with each other about what He meant, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” they asked . We have 20-20 hindsight.   We know where Jesus was headed in His conversation with the people and those who considered themselves disciples.   What Jesus was saying was extremely radical for those people to hear.   I am sure some thought it was blasphemous.   Some could not conceptualize the whole idea of eating His flesh and drinking His blood.   If the media of today heard original stuff like this, they would fly out of control calling on this person to be ignored, locked up and would certainly make fun of Him.    Jesus wanted the people to understand it was necessary for Him to become an intense part of their lives in order to live for eternity with God.   Some just could not get the concept.   Were they so steeped in their religious training and activities, they could not ...

  Read    John 6: 41-51 -        Jesus did come into the world with a great deal of heavenly fanfare.   Remember the angels and all the singing? After that and the visit from the Wise Men, things settled down.   Jesus grew and became a man without any fanfare at all.   Jesus was in the position to show himself to the people and let them know who He actually was.   The people were having a hard time with believing He was the Son of God even though Jesus had already performed some miracles.          How could Jesus be the bread of heaven?   He was from Nazareth.   The people had a hard time conceptualizing who Jesus was.   Jesus repeated several times who He was so they would actually hear and realize who He was. Verses 47 and 48 say, “I assure you, anyone who believes in me already has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life!”          Jesus Christ is the person we ne...

Read  John 6: 30-40 -  The Jews were looking for a Messiah that met their preconceived ideas of what the Messiah would look like.   Their ideas of the Messiah did not look like Jesus.   They were having a hard time understanding that trusting in Jesus would mean they would no longer  have to chase spiritual ideas or customs.   They did not understand Jesus would bring peace into their lives that would not go away depending upon what may have happened in their lives on a particular day.    Jesus very plainly said in verse 38, “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want.”    For a group of people who sometimes chased their daily meals, the Jews did not comprehend Jesus telling them they would never thirst or hunger again if they believed in Him.   Jesus was proclaiming Himself to be from and of God and the people just had a hard time believing and they were standing there listening to Him...

Read  John 6: 26-29 -  (29) Jesus told them, “This is what God wants you to do; believe in the One He has sent . ”    The people following Jesus around the country apparently needed the whole process of serving God simplified for them and Jesus did that.   Again, Christianity basics are not complicated.   Believe In Jesus Christ.   People who have been Christians for a long time sometime like to get involved in “deeper” things when related to studying about God and knowing God and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We need to never lose track of the basics.   Just like a good baseball player who practices taking ground balls even though he has been doing this for ten years, he still practices.   We need to not lose track of our Christian basics either.   We must be in Jesus Christ, His Words, His birth, His death, His resurrection, and His love for us.   There is a growing number of people in society who are finding it har...

        Read   John 6: 22-59-       There is so much in this section of the book.   I think verses 22 through 27 address the motivation of the people.   As a way of immediately getting their attention, He calls them out.   (26) Jesus replied, “The truth is, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you saw the miraculous sign.” That tells me the people were looking for a free lunch.   It maybe they were extremely poor and did not know where their next meal was coming.   It maybe they were just looking for free food because they didn’t have anything better to do.   Who knows? Jesus knew what they did need to hear though.   (27) But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food.   Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose.”        There are times when people want t...

Read  John 6: 16-21 -  Jesus had moved away from the throng of people following Him because He knew it was not time for Him to be made a leader of the people in a physical sense.   The disciples apparently went their way and took off across the lake to go home.   Jesus came walking on the water.   That would have been a wild view for the disciples, so wild, the Bible says they were terrified.   Once the disciples realized it was Jesus, and Peter had asked to walk on the water too, the second (or maybe the third) miracles occurred.   They were immediately at their destination. John 6:21 says, “Then they were eager to let Him in, and immediately the boat arrived at their destination!”   No outboard motors, just Jesus’ power.    We need to continue to look around us if we think we have seen the hand of God in a situation because there may be other things at work than just the one thing staring us in the face.   Jesus shows He works to ...

  Read  John 6: 14-15 -   Jesus had just fed more than 5000 people with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish.   Not only that, but there was also a load of leftovers.   The people had surely seen the work of the Messiah and they were excited.   No longer hungry and excited.   That group of 5000 plus were ready to make Jesus the King over everything.   Jesus sensed that things were getting out of hand.   There is a phrase they will put on my tombstone when I die, “Timing is Everything!”.   Jesus knew it was not time for Him to become an earthly king.   He still had work to do, and He knew His own timing, God’s timing.   The people in the crowd that day were no different than we are today.   They had their own ideas about what and when Jesus should ascend to His throne.   It was not Jesus’ timing.   We have to know our sense of time and Jesus’ sense of time are two totally different things.   We have to adjust to Jesus’...

Read John 6: 1-15 -  Jesus did something with Philip that day that we all should notice and try to repeat.   Jesus is the Son of God.   Jesus knew what was going to happen, so He used it as a teaching opportunity. Jesus challenged Philip’s faith while at the same time He was showing the other disciples they would have more to talk about.   Verse 11- "Then Jesus took, the loaves, gave thanks to God, and passed them out to the people. Afterward, He did the same with the fish.  And they all ate until they were full."   All 5000 plus of them.   Jesus wanted the disciples to see a process.   See a situation, pray about it and then act on it with whatever you have.   Jesus handles the rest.   That is a simple process we should all incorporate into our lives.

Read  John 5: 41-46  Jesus continued to confront the Jewish leadership about who He was, and He even brought up Moses, who they all revered. Verses 41 and 42 tell us all we need to know about the Jewish leaders, “Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me, because I know you don’t have God’s love within you.” That was the core problem with the Jewish leaders and remains a core problem in our society today.   The Jewish leaders did not have God’s love within them, and people today do not have God’s love within themselves.   Life can get complicated.   Problems arise and situations change, and people find themselves in situations that leave them wondering what the right thing to do actually is.   That is where we have to go back to the very core of our being and recognize again what our core beliefs are and what we, as a people, are based on.   Do we change day to day, or do we have a set of beliefs that are consistent? Do we believe in Jesus and ...

Read John 5: 31-40   Jesus continues to speak to the Jewish leaders.   He tells them very bluntly; He is the Messiah.   They don’t believe Him.   There were probably two things at play in their refusing to acknowledge who Jesus really was.   First, their religious tradition made them believe the Messiah would come in grand fashion and would put Rome under His authority.   The Jewish tradition and leaders probably felt this would be their time to rule over others.   Again, not actually looking for the Messiah but how they could turn the tables on those who oppressed or controlled them. Secondly, this person standing before them didn’t look the part and they were not going to freely give their positions of authority to someone that did not fit their preconceived ideas of what Jesus should look like and how He should act.    He wasn’t finished with the Jewish leaders though.   Verses 39 and 40, “You search the Scriptures because you be...

Read  John 5: 25-30-   Jesus tells those who are spiritually dead at the time that He is their path to spiritual life, to eternal life.   Can you imagine what they Jewish leaders were thinking?   The son of a carpenter was telling those in spiritual authority, He was actually God’s Son. I’m sure they were indignant and astounded to hear what Jesus was giving them.   I’m also sure their responses were tempered since they had just seen the lame man telling everyone Jesus had healed him.   Some of the Jewish leaders were probably desperate.   They didn’t want to lose their positions of power, prestige and influence to this traveling preacher who spoke with more authority than they had heard in their lives.    Then Jesus tells them this, “(29) …Those who have done good will rise to eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to judgment.” Not only is Jesus their way to spiritual life, but He will also judge those who have li...

  Read  John 5: 19-24 -  Jesus boldly told the Jewish leadership who He was.   He didn’t disguise His message.   It was clear.   Jesus also stated some conditions they needed to know about Him and His Father. “(22) And the Father leaves all judgment to His Son. (23) so that everyone will honor the Son just as they honor the Father.   But if you refuse to honor the Son, then you are certainly not honoring the Father who sent Him. When people in society talk about spiritual matters, they like to use the word “faith” or “spiritual belief” or other generalized words or phrases, all designed to not raise any anxieties.   When those few do use the name of Jesus, the whole conversation changes.   It changed conversation over 2000 years ago and it really changes conversation today.   A person goes from someone who has a “strong faith” to someone more radical who freely uses the name of Jesus.   It’s okay to use the name of Mohammed.  ...

Read  John 5: 16-18- God rested on the seventh day of creation.  That has been further interpreted that the Sabbath or the day we should be setting aside to keep holy and focused on God should be void of work.  In the Ten Commandments, God told Moses and the Jewish people to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.  We haven't done a great job of following that commandment in modern times but in this passage of John, we need to look at it and determine what keeping the Sabbath holy really means.   I was going to review this whole section of 14 verses but there’s too much going on as Jesus tells the Jewish leaders He is the Son of God.   They had to hear it directly from Him at some point and this was it.  On the Sabbath.    Following the healing of the lame man on the Sabbath, Jesus was later seen in the Temple and identified by the lame man as the person who had healed him.   Jesus saw no limitations in helping others.   Healing...

 Read John  5: 1-13 - The Lame Man at the Pool of Bethesda.  This man had been lame for 38 years.  Considering those days and times, what kind of physical shape do you think this man was in? Unless another person came along and helped him, he had to drag himself to get anywhere, and that was why he had not been healed.  He was dependent upon other people for everything.  How did he get food and drink? How was he able to use the bathroom?  Can you imagine the difficulty this man encountered on a daily basis just to be close to the Pool of Bethesda whenever it was stirred and desperately hoping someone would be there to get him into the pool?  He had failed for so many years. He was dependent on other people for everything in his life.  You can also assume there was not much in this man’s life to start with, if anything more than the clothes someone had apparently provided for him.  This man was dest...

Read  John 4: 43-54-  Verses 52-53- (52) He asked them when the boy had begun to feel better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!” (53) Then the father realized it was the same time that Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.”   If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you will have heard someone say, “We don’t know God’s timing.” We might hear someone say, “Our time is not necessarily God’s time.” We have a sense of time being mortals on earth.   God has a sense of timing also, but His timing is based on what is best for His plan on earth.   Jesus knew the man’s son would be healed when Jesus spoke the word.   The Roman official had seen and heard enough to know that Jesus was his son’s only hope and when Jesus spoke the boy’s healing into existence, the Roman official accepted it and went to his son.  There is obedience in this story, there is healing in this story and there is ultimate pa...

  Read  John 4: 27-42- Verse 37- “You know the saying, ‘One person plants and someone else harvests,’ and it’s true.” We all have a job to do.   Jesus was telling the disciples a basic principle they knew well about farming.   You sow the fields at one time and others harvest the fields at another time.   Jesus was telling the disciples it is time to harvest.   People were coming to them wanting to know and accept Jesus for who He was, and the disciples needed to be ready to teach and disciple those new believers.    Jesus has placed us in the same position as He placed His disciples.   We all need to be prepared to both sow and harvest.   We need to be prepared to help others believe in Jesus and learn more about Jesus and His principles. That means we need to be prepared on a daily basis to help others in situations where they are looking for Jesus to be there.   We need to know Jesus’ principles and we must live out our belief’s...

  John 13-14- (13) Jesus replied, “People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. (14) But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether.  It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.”   When Jesus first started talking to the Samaritan woman at the well, she had no clue what Jesus was talking about.   As she continued to talk with Him, her real world gradually came more and more into focus.   She not only saw the real world, but she began to get a glimpse into the spiritual world she had obviously abandoned at some point.   She continued to talk to Jesus until He told her He was the Messiah. At that point, her real world and her spiritual world became one and she went into the town to tell everyone.    Even as Christians, we don’t always seem to grasp that continuing to talk with Jesus will give us greater insight and knowledge into our real world and our spiritual world, hopefully getting us to the poi...

    John 3: 22-36- John the Baptist knew what his work on earth was and he did it.  He taught his disciples that Jesus was the true Messiah and Jesus was the only way to eternal life. These disciples of John the Baptist may have heard the message before, but they appeared to have some loyalty to John the Baptist because of how they voiced their concern about people leaving the teaching of John the Baptist and turning to Jesus.  Loyalty is great but it can also cause blindness at times.  John the Baptist made sure his disciples understood Jesus was the one who should be followed.  Why? God had given Jesus all there was to give.  The wisdom of the ages lived in Jesus Christ as the world would begin to see.   The main message though was this, verses 35 and 36, “(35) The Father loves His Son and has put everything into His hands. (36) And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life.”

  John 3: 1-21- This is the total message of the Bible.   If anyone wants to know what they must do to have eternal spiritual life, it is given by Jesus in this passage.   The most impactful verses of this passage are verses 14 through 18.   John 3: 16 is the most quoted verse in the Bible, as it should be, but the verses surrounding it are very important and add to the impact of verse 16.   Jesus spells it out plainly for Nicodemus and for us.     Verse 14, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (15) that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. (16) For God the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. (18) Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because h...

  John 2: 23-25- It is important to know the Creator of us all knows us.   He also knows how we think and what are motivations are.   Things happen as we walk through life where our imperfect humanness becomes evident.   We’re not perfect and we’re not going to behave perfectly all the time.   Jesus certainly knows that.   He does want us to work at being better though.   This passage shows Jesus knows how we’re wired and what is truly motivating our souls. Jesus knew the Jewish leaders felt threatened by Him and knew what was motivating their actions.   He knows us too.   We need to purpose to be better and let Jesus be our help in the process.

Throwing out the money changers- This really ticked Jesus off.  Chapter 2:17,  “Then His disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures, “Passion for God’s house burns within me. ” We have a bookstore in our church.  I have wondered on occasion is Jesus is really okay with that or not.  I know the purpose of the store is to provide Christian materials to the people who attend there and is different from what the moneychangers were doing in the Temple when Jesus decided to create a disturbance.  Those people were basically cheating the people while the church bookstore is providing Christian material.  I get that but I also see people frequently come to the church to sell their books.  It’s a book signing.  Again, good material but is that the proper place for book signing?  I’m not sure when I read that Jesus felt the Temple should be a house of prayer.   All of that being said, since ...

Jesus’ mother presented Jesus with a situation that was important to her and a lot of other people attending a wedding.   Although Jesus told her “Hs time had not yet come”, like many mothers probably would, she told the servants to do whatever He told them to do.   Mary knew what Jesus could do, she knew who He was and why He was there.   D id she know miracles were coming?   What had Mary seen in Jesus as He grew up that led her to know what Jesus was capable of as a human?   Yes, she knew He was the Son of God but what would all of that mean here on earth? Mary had probably seen many things in Jesus' 33 years that told Her she probably could not imagine everything Jesus would do.  Those are some of the things that are not recorded that would probably send chills up our spines.         So, Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding.  It also appears heavenly wine is far superior to the best wine they had at the time.

Read  John 1:  35-37 - The following day, John was again standing with two of his disciples. (36) As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and the declared, “Look!  There is the Lamb of God!” (37) Then John’s two disciples turned and followed Jesus.       Look at the level of decision making these two disciples of John the Baptist had.  John said, “There is Jesus, the Messiah.” They immediately started following Jesus.  Looking at the scriptures, there doesn’t appear to be much discussion or spending time wondering what John might think.  They were prepared.  They were prepared because they were listening and believing in the message John the Baptist had.  These disciples of John’s were not listening and believing in John the Baptist.  It was his message they believed in.  That is what caused their decision making to be so quick and easy.        Many Christians today are attracted to personalities ...

  1.        Read John 1: 29-34 John the Baptist had a unique mission.   He was to simply tell about the coming of Jesus.   What he experienced in this call is actually no different from the call each of us has.   We are to announce the soon coming of Jesus Christ to the world.   Let’s just say, not everyone is listening.   God the Father blessed Jesus by anointing Him and that was evidence by the descending dove to Jesus.   This was sort of like walking across the stage of graduation.   God was announcing it was time for Jesus to begin His ministry to all mankind.   God had told John the Baptist what sign to look for when he was looking for the Messiah.   John’s message changed at that moment.   He began to focus on Jesus and when he preached, it was about getting people to focus on Jesus.   We are living in a time when all the signs of the world point to the soon coming of Jesus.  There are many w...

  1.       “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, “Prepare a straight pathway for the Lord’s coming”.  The translation in the New Living Bible is interesting because it says John the Baptist was shouting his message of Jesus being there.  I also have to give the Jewish leaders some credit.  When they heard about the following John was attracting, they went directly to John the Baptist and wanted to know who he thought he was.  His answer was quick and to the point.  He was letting them know the Messiah was now among them.  Instead of asking who it was, the Jewish leaders asked John the Baptist why he was baptizing people.  The Jewish leaders did not understand the spiritual nature of God much less their own spiritual nature.  John the Baptist was not wrapped up in all of the traditions and legalistic do’s and don’ts of religion.  His message was Jesus and nothing but Jesus, so help him God. There is something...