Thoughts From the Bible

Read  I John 1: 1-4 - John cuts to the chase in the opening statement of this Epistle. In reading this, we see John was writing this letter from a joyful perspective and from a perspective of wanting people to know about the goodness of Jesus Christ. Verse 1, “We proclaim to you the One who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. He is the Word of Life. John was working to show everyone Jesus is real, and He is the only way for eternal peace. After making his proclamation, John reaches out to his readers in verse 4 with this, “We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.” There was no longer any sadness of Jesus’ death because of His glorious resurrection. It would do us good to have the same joy John was speaking of and make sure we do not lose opportunities to share this same joy of Jesus’ resurrection and gift of life to us all .

Read John 21: 18-19- Jesus gave the disciples a lesson in life at this point. He wanted them to know how life progresses and how God rewards the long lives most of us live. I n verses 18 and 19 we read, “Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, ‘Follow me.’ ‘I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.’”   We are responsible for our lives and if we decided to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we have a responsible to live that life until our life is finished. If we are to follow Christ, we will need to help others and given time, we must be prepared for others to help us. That’s a lot easier said than done and that may be one reason why Jesus brought that situation into the light.  

Read John 21: 15- 17- Repetition has always been one tool used to teach new things and to learn important aspects of life. This concept was not lost on Jesus. The lesson He wanted Peter and the other disciples to get was that He wanted them to see what their role would be going forward. In verse 17 we read this, “A third time He asked him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, ‘Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Then feed my sheep.’” Jesus made His point. Christianity is all about taking care of the individual. There is so much included in Jesus’ sentence, “Feed my sheep.” This is caring for their souls and their decision to follow Christ. It is also about clothing people, feeding people, training people for sustainable work, teaching Biblical life principals. There is so much wrapped up in Jesus’ lesson of repetition. The government may be responsible for the masses a...

Read John 21: 1-14 - Jesus knew providing for people was important. This story shows His concern for people’s daily needs. The disciples were lacking for basic food and Jesus provided but it did still require some work on the part of the disciples. The disciples’ work was multiplied. Verse 6, “Then He said, ‘Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!’ So, they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.” Some people want God’s blessings to simply fall into their lap otherwise they don’t believe. They don’t always realize God will multiply our efforts and allow us to have full nets or provide all our needs.  

John 20: 30-31 - There are two things in these two verses that are very important. First in verse 30, “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.” One might say we are reading through the highlight reel of all Jesus did while on earth. I think it’s important to not lose this fact too casually. Jesus served the people and many times this required a miracle to serve them. We cannot imagine how thick the New Testament would be if all the miracles and acts of Jesus were recorded. There is also a purpose to all the miracles and actions written. Jesus wants us to believe in Him. This historical account is a beginning to what all Jesus may do in our lives if we allow Him. Do we have faith? Do we believe? Verse 31, “But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life by the power of His name.  

Read  John 20: 24-29 Jesus is alive. Most all the disciples have seen Jesus and talked to him. Thomas wasn’t there and earned his nickname, “Doubting Thomas ”. Jesus appeared to Thomas and had a word of wisdom for the ages and lesson for us all to learn. (29) Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” Jesus’ statement was for Thomas, but it was for us too. We don’t have the physical access to Jesus as Thomas and the disciples did. We do have the Holy Spirit to confirm to our souls the reality of Jesus. When we open our souls to the power of God, the Holy Spirit will continually confirm the reality of Jesus Christ in us. We will have that confirmation in every situation in our lives as we learn and continue to learn to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit whether in our souls or through the written word in the Bible. We can know Jesus is as real as Thomas in our souls if we allow the Holy Spirit a v...

Read John 20: 23- This one verse says a lot. Jesus is telling the disciples they have been the first to receive the essence of the Holy Spirit from Him. Now Jesus is telling the disciples if they forgive someone of their sins, then it is done. What type of spiritual authority was Jesus giving the disciples? Verse 23, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” The disciples have already heard and believed there is only one way for salvation and that is through accepting Jesus Christ as their LORD and savior. Jesus has given the disciples the spiritual authority to act on His behalf and He also gave them the Holy Spirit to guide them and help them to discern the spiritual nature of given situations. I want to personalize this whole idea of forgiving the sins of others and realize, I need to be prepared to forgive others who may wrong me. Jesus has spoken to the disciples to forgive 7 times 70 or continuously, I need to ...

Read  John 20: 19-22- The unbelievable happened. Jesus had said He would live again. He was now standing in the middle of the disciples. It says the disciples were filled with joy. How large of an understatement is that? I would think the joy they experienced came just after the shock of what was actually happening. Jesus continued with His guidance of the disciples though. He also announced the reality of the Holy Spirit. Verse 21 and 22, “Again He said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.’ (22) Then he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” I am sure the disciples did not fully grasp what they were receiving when Jesus breathed on them. The power of God was now in their lives. No longer were they simply relying on Jesus or their overall faith in God. Jesus had breathed His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, into them in order for them to do His work. Our minds cannot fathom that individual experience, but we can fathom the power...

Read John 20: 11-18- Eight amazing verses. If you take just a minute to stop and slowly read these verses, you find a situation that is shocking and stirring to the soul. First, Mary sees the stone rolled away from in front of the tomb where Jesus had been laid. That would be shocking in and of itself. Mary enters the tomb, and this happens, “(2) She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. (3) ‘Dear woman, why are you crying?’ the angels asked her.” When was the last time you had a conversation with two angels in a tomb? I think this is all part of God showing the world for generations to come the wonder of what He is capable of doing. Then there is verse 18, “Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, ‘I have seen the LORD!’ Then she gave them His message.” Can you imagine the silence that followed her statement? Mary’s excitement would have been overwhelming but how would the ...

Read John 20:1-10 - This is the chapter that validates Christianity. This is why we celebrate Easter. This is the thought that should be on our calendars to remember. Can you imagine the electricity in the air that Sunday morning? Read verse 8 and 9, “Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed, (9) for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.” Yes, this is a phenomenal happening, but we are talking about God creating a way for us to find redemption. It is not complicated but it does require our faith.  

Read John 19: 38-42- Joseph of Arimathea is always seen by Christians as someone who cared for Jesus and cared for his body after Jesus died. Joseph was a secret follower. He was afraid of the Jewish leadership. Joseph was a conflicted man. He would consider himself a follower of Jesus, yet he really didn’t want people to know because he saw following Jesus a risky proposition. (38) Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. How many of us are like Joseph? How many of us following Jesus but in certain situations we decide we don’t necessarily want others to know that. There is an internal fear that acknowledging Jesus in a given situation might not cause us to be accepted. We need to know there are going to be situations when we will be required to step up and acknowledge Jesus. We d...

Read  John 19: 31-37 -  So much was written as prophecy in the Bible and in many cases, the prophecies referred to Jesus and things that would touch His life.     It is interesting to see the cruelty of the age in this chapter.     If the condemned did not die fast enough, the people in authority had no problem inflicting yet more harm to hasten death.     That type of cruelty is simply staggering.     In Jesus’ situation, it actually showed the fulfillment of prophecy.  ( 36) “For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones will be broken.’ (37) and again, another Scripture says, ‘They will look on Him whom they have pierced.’”   At this point, I think we not only see prophecy fulfilled but we see God’s mercy to Jesus.     God allowed so much to happen to Jesus knowing what the ultimate plan was.     I see a level of mercy from God.     I also see a level o...

Read  John 19: 28-30-   Verse 30, “ When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished,’ and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”     Three words.     There are those who have said the three most important words anyone can say is, “I love you.” Isn’t that exactly what Jesus said on the cross when He said, “If is finished”?     Three different words that actually said the same thing.     God’s plan required Jesus to say those three words and then die.     When we think about those famous three words, “I love you”, we need to never forget Jesus said the same thing when He said, “It is finished.”

Read John 19: 25-27-   We are living in a world filled with division.     In our society, it is as if there are two warring sides on almost every issue.     We also have a lot of talk about how we should care more about people and help those more who have legitimate needs.     There are many people who are doing just that, helping others who really need the help. We are actually beginning to hear about a lot of the efforts being made to help people considered less fortunate.     Jesus set an example of caring for others at His most difficult time.     He cared for His mother and actually mentioned it while dying on the cross.  Starting in verse 25, “… but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (26) When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple who He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’     (27) Then He said ...