Method

Re:Verse reading–John 6:52-69 (day six)

You must be born again…a spring of water welling up to eternal life…If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Jesus had a way with words. So far, Jesus has used the tangible (new birth, water, bread) to make sense of spiritual realities, although no one fully understood him at the time. Even though Jesus rarely went out of his way to explain his metaphors (he did with his disciples), his methods say a lot about his character. Jesus chose words that were relevant, relatable, and meaningful. Yes, these truths were still challenging, but Jesus did not got out of his way to make them so; they are so, by their very nature juxtaposed to a broken world. His words are the kind of words that required presence; being with people in the moment.

That’s a very good method. A good method indeed.

Authority

Re:Verse passage – John 5:1-24 (day six)

You don’t walk away from this story thinking how sweet Jesus is; you shouldn’t. This is no cuddly Jesus; he is all power and authority. The kind of man who knows how to walk into trouble. The kind that commands decrepit old legs to get up and walk. The kind that demands, “Stop sinning.” And when confronted by the “powerful” he didn’t back pedal, or debate with them, he said plainly, “That’s right, I’m working on the Sabbath, just like my Father is working.”

Sometimes our Jesus is so cuddly and sweet, there is no need to obey him all the time or take him all that seriously. Just like a teddy bear we cozy up with from time to time, but give little thought of the rest of our day.

Maybe our view of Jesus needs to change. John would certainly insist on it. Oh, and so would Jesus.

Full

Re:Verse reading–John 4:4-30, 39-42 (day five)

”I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” -Jesus, John 4:32

You would think this brief conversation with his disciples is disconnected from the rest of the story, but it’s not. The disciples had no clue what he was talking about, in the same way the woman at the well couldn’t wrap her mind around living water. Food and water? It’s almost as if Jesus is trying to say something profound (that’s sarcasm).

They are two sides of the same coin. Both believing Jesus and doing what he says yield similar results-satisfaction, wholeness, restoration, or in other words never thirsting again and full from food of another kind.

Drink up and have your fill; you will never be disappointed.

Night

Re:Verse reading–John 3:1-21 (day six)

When do you visit with Jesus? We give Nicodemus a hard time because he came to Jesus under the cover of night to keep his reputation in tact. Jesus was a threat to the establishment, but he also could be the messiah, so Nicodemus thought. Jesus seemed not to be put out by Nicodemus’ timing; he didn’t make a big deal out of it or give him a hard time. No, Jesus didn’t waste one moment with Nicodemus; he pressed him to believe.

So, timing isn’t the issue, nor are the motives. Jesus can make the most of any moment as long as you come to him.

So, let me ask again. When do you visit with Jesus?

Legacy of a Wedding Story

Re:Verse reading–John 2:1-22 (day six) 

Jesus was no party crasher. He knew better. The day was for the bride and groom; it wasn’t his time to take center stage. What he chose to do instead was subtle, quiet, but deliberate: he turned water into the best wine at the party, and no one was the wiser. Save Mary, his new gaggle of disciples, and a handful of servants (maybe even the bridegroom), they knew what he did, and they marveled. That was the point after all, to manifest his glory to the disciples so they would see and believe, while cleverly pointing to the day he would take center stage (the cross).

A thousand times they retold that wedding story, and others after them. And John wrote it down. Why? So we could see what he saw that day at the wedding, and believe.

Boom

Re:Verse reading–John 1:1-18 (day six)

In the beginning…

John knew what he was doing; he was very intentional in echoing Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God …” These words are a literal explosion of reality: God is, and God speaks. John’s words millennia later are intended to be no different, an explosion of universe altering reality: the Word (Jesus) is GodThere are no greater truths than these, and they demand from us our greatest response. Without exception, every human being must and will respond to these two realities.

How will you respond today?

For Christ’s Sake

Re:Verse reading–2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (Day six)

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

Christ’s power turns the world on its head. He is not desperately looking for the next celebrity, or highly positioned politician to advance the cause. Nor is he wringing his hands wishing another highly visible QB would pray in the end zone or mention his name during a viral press conference. He’s not going through a stack of resumes looking for the right pedigree and experience to pastor the next mega-church. The Kingdom of God does not advance on the shoulders of giants, but through the lives of servants.

He is looking for anyone who says, “For Christ’s sake.”

Seeing

Re:Verse reading–2 Corinthians 10 (day six)

“…when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” 2 Corinthians 10:12b

Referring to Jesus, John wrote, “No one has seen God; the only God who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” (John 1:18) The author of Hebrews would apply that truth, “let us run with the endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2) This is how Paul is encouraging the Corinthians.

Do you want understanding? Do you really want to see? Do you want to run this race well? Then keep your eyes focused on Jesus. The moment we begin comparing ourselves to one another, rather than looking to Jesus, is the very moment we begin to lose sight of reality. We begin to think, “I’m not nearly as bad off as he is; I’m alright.” Soon we forget we need Jesus at all, or have any need to repent.

That’s the opposite of understanding; that’s foolishness. That’s not sight; it’s blindness.

Good Grief

Re:Verse passage – 2 Corinthians 7:5-16 (day six) 

There is a good kind of grief. The good kind moves a person forward instead of back. Paul teaches good grief leads us to repentance, a painful awareness of sin resulting in a change of heart, and a fresh dependence on the grace of God. Or said another way, genuine repentance will not happen without genuine grief over sin. One of the reasons many of us never find victory over a particular sin, is because we never repent of it (even though we are aware of its sinfulness and destructive nature), and we likely never repent because we have never grieved its presence.

Now worldly grief may lead to anger or frustration over the result of sin, bur rarely grieves the sin itself. That’s the kind of grief Esau experienced, he hated losing his blessing to his brother, but he didn’t really hate or grieve the sin that led him there. (Hebrews 12:17). Always reject that kind of shallow grief.

Also, the good kind of grief not only has a profound affect on the one repenting, but also their neighbor. Paul was comforted by the Corinthian’s repentance. Good grief leads to rejoicing for all; its not just good for your soul, but everyone else’s too.

Unveiled

Re:Verse reading–2 Corinthians 4 (day six)

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

Moses would veil his face after his meeting with GodHe had to, the people were terrified by the afterglow of God’s glory left on Moses’ face. The Glory of God in the face of Moses meant judgement and condemnation, not so with His glory in the face of Christ; Jesus brings righteousness and redemption. Paul desired his life and message to be an unveiled declaration of the Gospel, so that all would have an unobstructed view of the Glory of God in the face of Christ; knowing by faith the grace and forgiveness only He provides.

Do we want people to see Jesus in our life and hear about Him in our message? Is the story of Jesus veiled in us? What would it take for us to live out an unveiled Gospel?