Thoughts From the Bible

Read John 14: 1-4 This is the way to begin a chapter. John 14:1- Don't let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God, and trust also in me . Jesus spoke these words to the disciples.  There was much going on and the disciples had questions, but Jesus did what He was consistently doing to teach the disciples.  He went straight to the core issue.  Jesus told the disciple to not be anxious about everything that was going on around them.  God is God.  Trusting in Jesus through all of the situations that were beginning to unfold before them was a lesson they would take with them through the rest of their lives.  It also needs to be a lesson for us to carry through our lives.  Trusting in Jesus will help us deal with the struggles we all face.  Too often, we pray to God last rather than first.  We need to work on that.

Read John 13: 36-38 We know Peter was a very energetic and emotional man.  Like some of the other disciples, the life Peter lived was a hard life and it would continue to be hard after Jesus was crucified.  Many times, we hear Peter criticized for emotional nature but that is the nature God blessed Peter with.  If we take just a little time to look at ourselves, we will see that our personalities are given to us by God and He intends for us to do the work He has for us, and our personalities are many times part of that work.   We are human and humans make mistakes.  Sometimes big mistakes.  Peter's emotional response to Jesus is something we should all have.  We need to know what our emotional responses require of us also.  Peter didn't always get that.  In verse 37 we read, "But why can't I come now, Lord? he asked.  'I'm ready to die for you.' Jesus answered, "Die for me? I tell you the truth Peter, before the rooster crows tomorr...

 Read John 13: 31-35 Jesus is letting the disciples know things are getting ready to change.  The life the disciples had come to know following Jesus was soon to make a dramatic turn.  Before all of the events were to start happening, Jesus added an Eleventh Commandment. John 13: 34-35- "So Now I am giving you a new comment: Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. (35) Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."  Jesus commanded them to love each. For Jesus, that is an unconditional love.  We are to love each other and in so doing, it strengthens our witness to the rest of the world.  It is a powerful type of love that does not have other motivations and this type of love causes people to stop and consider why that type of love is being given. We need to be ever conscious of the type of witness we are portraying to the world, and we need to make sure loving others without ulterior motive...

  Read John 13: 18-30- As I read this passage of scripture in John, it caused me to stop and really consider that moment in time.  Jesus knew what was beginning to happen and He knew Judas Iscariot would be the catalyst.  It was Judas' desire for money that was his weakness.  I would argue Judas' commitment to Jesus was superficial at best because his love of money took priority.   How hard was it for Jesus to allow Satan to enter Judas?  In verse 27 we read, "When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him.  Then Jesus told him, "Hurry and do what you're going to do.'"   There are times in our lives when we really need to examine our commitment to Jesus.  Are we working within the will of Jesus?  Are we doing our best for Jesus?  Are we doing the things Jesus needs for us to do at any given time?  I think we need to be reminded our commitment to Jesus is a 24/7 commitment.  It is a commitment of our souls for ...

  Read John 13: 12-17 Jesus washed the feet of the disciples to teach them a lesson in servanthood.  It's good for leaders to have times when they must serve others rather than always being in a position to direct other people or given orders for others to follow.  Over a longer period of time, leaders can very easily find themselves in positions of authority that lead to them have a much greater opinion of themselves than is truly warranted.  Some leaders go off the deep end and actually oppress those they lead.   Servanthood is more of a state of mind that it is an action.  Sure, washing the disciples' feet showed Christ as a leader who knew when it was appropriate and necessary to be a servant and to think as a servant.  Leaders can continue to be servants in a leadership position by simply thinking about the impact their directives are having on those who are supposed to carry out the directives.  Is the request being made, allowing the r...

Read John 13: 10-11 God had a plan that had to be fulfilled so the story of redemption and salvation could be written for us. At this point in Jesus’ story, Judas Iscariot was the person who would prove to be disloyal to Jesus and hand Him over to the authorities to be tried and killed. Verse 10, “Jesus replied, ‘A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” (11) For Jesus knew who would betray Him. That is what He meant when He said, “Not all of you are clean.” Judas could have changed but His dependence on money appeared to be his undoing. Judas would not turn loose of the money of the world to go with Jesus. God’s plan would have happened without Judas. Something else would have given way to allow Jesus to become the ultimate sacrifice. We need to know we are never too far gone as a person that Jesus would not take us and save us. We also need to know God’s plan will ...

  Read John 13: 1-9- I know we cannot fully realize the enormity of this specific time for Jesus. He knew what was coming. He knew what Judas was going to do. Jesus chose this time to perform the most humbling act anyone could do. Jesus was their Teacher . He was their leader. He was the Messiah. He was part of the God head yet, He bent down and started to wash the disciples' feet. This lesson was an enormous one for the disciples. Peter did not want Jesus to do it, but Jesus knew this lesson would never be forgotten by the disciples. In verse 8, “No, Peter protested, ‘You will never ever wash my feet! Jesus replied, ‘Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.’” In this act, Jesus shows us how important it is to serve others and how important our attitudes are in all we do. Are we humble in all our daily activities? Do we approach life with an attitude of humility and holding others higher than ourselves. That is a goal that is very difficult to achieve in these day...

Read  John 12: 44-50- “Don’t judge me for that.” “You don’t have a right to judge me.” “Don’t be judgey .” We all hear people say these things. Whether it’s about the clothes they are wearing or what lifestyle they choose to live, no one wants their behavior to be judged and determined to be lacking in a specific area. On the other hand, many like to judge others. Their opinions of others suffer when they judge another person to have fallen short in their life in some way. That is usually based on a subjective list of standards. Also, if you look close enough, you will probably find a certain amount of hypocrisy involved. We don’t want to be judged and we shouldn’t judge others. There will come a time, however, when we all will be judged. In verse 48 we hear Jesus saying, “But all who reject me, and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.” The first and most important question will be, “Did you accept my Son or not?” At that give...

Read John 12: 41-43 Other people in our lives can have a huge impact on how we behave and what we believe. Whether we’re trying to avoid their wrath or trying to win their praise, too many times, we adjust our behavior in order to satisfy other people. There are many self-help experts who advocate not allowing others to influence us. We are our own people, they tell us. We need to stand up for what we believe regardless of what other people think. What we see in this short passage in John Chapter 12 is a situation where social and religious status dictated some people’s response to Jesus. Verse 42 and 43, “Many people did believe in Him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. but they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. (43) for they loved human praise more than the praise of God.” We simply cannot allow other people to stand between us and our relationship with Jesus. We are human. Some people thrive on the approval...

Read  John 12: 37-41 This passage is a very interesting passage because it hints at how God allows people to  ignore what they saw in Jesus.  They were so excited about Jesus and how His message  was so different and how He changed so many lives.  Yet, they chose to not believe.    Why? Look at verse 40, “ He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.” According to things I have read, there were certain things that had to happen so the plan of God could be realized.    Allowing Judas Iscariot to be turned over to Satan is another such instance.    Pharaoh’s heart was hardened so he would eventually see the power of God.    The people of this time allowed their hearts to wander, and the plan of God was to allow this to happen so His ultimate plan would be fulfilled.    As Chris...

  Read  John 12: 35-36- Jesus was talking to the people standing before Him. He was wanting them to understand He would not physically be there for much longer. He was working to get them to see He was the light that would continually show them how to live their lives whether he was there in their presence or not. Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. (36) Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.” Jesus did not leave us without His presence because He knew we needed Him in our lives. The power of the Holy Spirit in our world gives us the advantage we need in life to deal with all of our everyday issues in life and to help us deal with Satan who is working to bring us down. To speak about the Holy Spirit for society as a whole makes people very uncom...