John 10:31-42
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
Jesus Claims to Be The Son of God
31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”
33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ 36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. 37 Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”
39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. 40 He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. 41 And many followed him. “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.” 42 And many who were there believed in Jesus.
The ‘seminary’ definition of blasphemy is speech which is defamatory of Devine Majesty. Jesus spoke (Matt. 12:31-32) of anyone with evidence before their eyes of this Devine Majesty, who gives credit for it to Satan, as being beyond God’s reach and hopeless.
Jesus was no blasphemer. When He spoke of the good works He did, He was quick to give credit to His Father … my Father’s direction … the Father set me apart … I carry out my Father’s work … I do His work … the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.
When we do a good work, let us be careful and quick to give God the glory, just as Jesus did!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
IN GOD’S HAND
John 10:22-30
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God
22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
Max Lucado titled one of his books “In The Grip of Grace”. When you come to God, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, He gets a hold on you that the devil and all his demons cannot break. When you are in the grip of grace, nothing and no one can snatch you away.
The assurance of my salvation comforts my spirit as I face trials, tribulation, sickness, weakness, grief, disappointment or heavy burdens. You pick a word that describes where you are. When you are in Christ, wherever your external circumstances has you, the eternal grip of God holds you.
“No on can snatch them from the Father’s hand.”
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God
22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
Max Lucado titled one of his books “In The Grip of Grace”. When you come to God, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, He gets a hold on you that the devil and all his demons cannot break. When you are in the grip of grace, nothing and no one can snatch you away.
The assurance of my salvation comforts my spirit as I face trials, tribulation, sickness, weakness, grief, disappointment or heavy burdens. You pick a word that describes where you are. When you are in Christ, wherever your external circumstances has you, the eternal grip of God holds you.
“No on can snatch them from the Father’s hand.”
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
THE VOLUNTEER
John 10:17-21
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
19 When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. 20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” 21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
In my mind, I can imagine this conversation.
God the Father says, “I need a perfect sacrifice, an unblemished lamb … one that will satisfy the sin debt once and for all.”
Jesus speaks up and says, “I’ll go.”
God says, “I’m going to perform this sacrifice in a way never done before. I’ll raise the lamb from the dead.”
Jesus replies, “Fine by me.”
God says, “So be it.”
God expresses His will. Jesus volunteers. God commands it be as they discussed. No committee meetings … no debate … no argument … no vote. A simple conversation between the Father and The Son and the plan for the salvation of humankind is finished.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
19 When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. 20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” 21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
In my mind, I can imagine this conversation.
God the Father says, “I need a perfect sacrifice, an unblemished lamb … one that will satisfy the sin debt once and for all.”
Jesus speaks up and says, “I’ll go.”
God says, “I’m going to perform this sacrifice in a way never done before. I’ll raise the lamb from the dead.”
Jesus replies, “Fine by me.”
God says, “So be it.”
God expresses His will. Jesus volunteers. God commands it be as they discussed. No committee meetings … no debate … no argument … no vote. A simple conversation between the Father and The Son and the plan for the salvation of humankind is finished.
Monday, July 28, 2008
NOT ABOUT GETTING RICH
John 10:6-16
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
Despite what you may hear from what I call ‘prosperity preachers’, the Christian life is not about getting rich. When Jesus states His “purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life”, He is not talking about filling our bank accounts. If it was all about money, the hired hand would not run away in the face of an attack.
Jesus gives other indications here of the Christian life for us to consider. It is a life lived in the presence of the Lord (v.8 … all who come before me). It is a life of freedom, not bondage (v.9 … they will come and go freely). It is a life with security (v.11,12 … the good shepherd sacrifices his life … when he sees a wolf coming). It is a life in fellowship with like believers (v.16 … there will be one flock with one shepherd).
A life lived following Christian beliefs and values may lead to financial riches but that is not God’s sole purpose. The Christian life is “rich and satisfying” in ways far greater than a bank balance.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
Despite what you may hear from what I call ‘prosperity preachers’, the Christian life is not about getting rich. When Jesus states His “purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life”, He is not talking about filling our bank accounts. If it was all about money, the hired hand would not run away in the face of an attack.
Jesus gives other indications here of the Christian life for us to consider. It is a life lived in the presence of the Lord (v.8 … all who come before me). It is a life of freedom, not bondage (v.9 … they will come and go freely). It is a life with security (v.11,12 … the good shepherd sacrifices his life … when he sees a wolf coming). It is a life in fellowship with like believers (v.16 … there will be one flock with one shepherd).
A life lived following Christian beliefs and values may lead to financial riches but that is not God’s sole purpose. The Christian life is “rich and satisfying” in ways far greater than a bank balance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
