312 - “Do You Really Love Me?” John 19-21

John does not mince his words about the Crucifixion of Jesus. He offers such detail. John 19. In a world where people try to protect Jesus, promote Jesus, this disciple tells the true story with no holding back.

The Disciple that Jesus loved.  John is the first to recognize the Risen Christ on the Sea of Galilee.  He saw the miracle of multiplying fish where these skilled fishermen had worked all night with nothing to show.  Until.  Christ moves into the picture.  John 21:12 "Come and have breakfast."  An invitation.  Early Morn.  And the disciples ventured not to question Him.  And this Christ asks the probing question:  "Do you love Me?"  Three times.  One for each betrayal.  And we all see our hearts in Peter.  Yes, LORD!

Do You Love Me?
May I be more consumed with how I break His Heart than how I break the rules.

311 - “Jesus Prayed For Me Today” John 17-18

  

Jesus prayed for the disciples that they may be made holy. Sanctifying Grace. And that Sanctifying Grace comes through Truth, the Word. May Your Hand go with all of us. A living faith. A working faith. And if the way we think about life has no sanctifying grace effect on us, there is no Divine truth Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. Oh God, let us receive this living faith, this Divine sanctifying workNot for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word,  that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. John 17:20

PHOTO/ My heart has fallen into this ocean so many times. My God is always accomplishing what concerns me. 

310 - •Loved to the Uttermost” John 13-16

 

He loves us to the uttermost, the Greek says. To the end! John 13:1. To the ends of the earth.  To the end of anything we face.  So, do not let your heart be troubled.  

How do we then live without troubled hearts. There is no "do-able" life.  "I think about living a full life meaning: more do-able, like going to church, working hard, being good, praying, reading the Bible every day, trusting God for blessing." 66LL. But God defines real life so differently.  Even if our suffering gets worse, we can live a life of love.  Stand up!  Do what it takes to advance His Kingdom. Live a life of love because you are loved to the uttermost.  You are in an opportunity for Christ to do His Work in you, your family, your kids, your friends, your co-workers.  Be fully present.  Meanwhile... The point is t.h.i.s. Christ goes to prepare a place for you and for me. Think on heaven, love on earth.

H.e.r.e. Christ leaves us with Another Helper, John 14:6

Why does the next worship service have to be better than the one before?  Why does the next song need to be more powerful than the last?  Why are we always trying to outdo ourselves?  Jesus wrapped a coarse everyday towel around his waist.  He dipped His Hands in a worn porcelain water basin and poured water. John 13:5. He spit in the dirt to stir up some mud to spread on a blind man.  He didn't use the spectacular.  He used the ordinary to reach, to touch, to give life. May I not be caught up in thinking I have to have the next best book or song or experience.  Seek Truth not the blessings of this life.

309 - "Like Lazarus, Awaken My Soul" John 11-12

Is there ever a prayer that is unanswered. No. God answers all of them---it's just that maybe the answer we hoped for; or it is not the one we receive;the timing we require is revealed to be our will not His. In John 11:41 ~ Jesus lifts up his eyes and says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me. Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. Did anyone really believe that God would bring him back to life? If we ask, He will answer. Don't be silent. Please be near to me. 

Psalm 35:22 Please hear my voice as I cry for mercy. Psalm 31:22 Just like Lazarus, awaken my soul to see life again. Just like Lazarus, send people my way to unbind what I cannot. Thank you, God, for the invitation to pray without ceasing. 

PHOTO: Eatonville, Washington. The street where the Morgans and Brandons once lived.

308 - "Go To The Place With Mud on Your Face" John 9-10

Whether we can see or not, believe for the sake of His Glory. John 9:30 "Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes." Since the world began, no one has ever even heard of anyone who can open blind eyes. So, why is it that we don't believe God? 

As Christ passed by the very people who despised Him, he healed one of their neighbors. Lifted a burden off the community who took care of this blind helpless man for 3 decades. In transitu, as he passed by. May we live to love as we pass by. Blind men and sighted. Never stop doing them good, even if treated invisible. With common elements of mud and saliva. He used what He had. The very thing the Pharisees had a fit over---how the eyes of the blind man were opened. You would have thought they would have thrown him an all-town parade. Instead the Pharisees threw him out! No longer blind. No beggar job; no family support; no community behind him. But, because he went to the pool of Siloam, he was healed. May we go to places we are called to go with mud on our faces.

PHOTO: Free Bible images. 

307 - "No Delays in God's Provision" John 6-8

                                                            

Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" John 6:5

Philip knows where to buy bread in his hometown and he knows that they could come up with 200 denarii but it wouldn't buy enough bread.  200 Denarri!!!!  One denarii is a day's wage. 200!!!!  That's six months of daily wages. What disciple had that kind of wealth?  In today's economy, at minimum wage, six months of working every single day would net almost $12,000.  And that still wouldn't be enough to feed them a full meal.  

And where could Philip find that much barley bread and fish in Bethsaida?  The town was emptied----they were all there.  There were 15,000, maybe 20,000 hungry people sitting there.  It would take 15,000 pounds of bread and fish to feed that many.  And how long would that take to serve 20,000 people?  Have you ever tried to serve 500 people at a reception real fast?  20,000!!!!  

This is a major miracle before their eyes.  Not only does Christ have the power to deliver the food instantaneously (each disciple taking one second to feed the 20,000----you can make it through no more than 3,000 per hour and probably collapse right there staring at another 17,000 hungry people),  but there are 12 baskets left over. No delays with God's Hand, God's Power. 

You know, some of those 20,000 people are poverty-stricken and don't eat that well.  Yet, they weren't grabbing for more.  They were satisfied.  This is a parable of Abundance.  

Do I know His Power to supply all of my needs and so much more?  Am I trusting Him for more?  He is stirring up faith in our hearts. He will fulfill every desire we have to do what's right.  Those desires aren't coming from the enemy of your soul.  May you press into and lean hard on the Christ, this day, our Abundant Provider and His Infinite Resources for whatever need you hold in your heart!  

Whatever you face this day, there are 5 barley loaves and 2 fish waiting.  At the lowest point of my life, a friend said to me when I cried out to him for help:  "Five Loaves & Two Fish."  Somehow, at that moment, I knew a little bit more than the moment before, that God was going to show up in my despair.  And He did...with so much more than I could have ever imagined!

306 - "Waiting 38 Years...Arise & Walk to The Temple" John 4-5

     

The sun will rise this morning

on the sick, the blind, the lame.

On all of us withered in our souls.

Will we rise and walk?

38 years is a very long time not to be well. By our sinful nature, we are all--- 

Sick. Blind. Lame. Withered in our souls. And. 

Cured by this Christ. All.  

I cannot fathom this crippled man, waiting & hoping it will happen to him

for almost four decades of his life.  Did he just live by the pool?

And look at his response to Jesus' question: "Do you wish to get well?" 

He believed it would happen if just someone were there to help him. 

No relative. No friend. No passer-by. No Good Samaritan.

For 38 years. 13,870 days.  

God kept this man; kept account of his every day.  

Yet, the hurting man's response is not a demeaning one. 

Humbly spoken: "I have no man to put me in…" John 5:7. 

"Arise and walk."

And the lame man walked straight to the temple

even though he did not know who this Healer was.

When our good friends do not respond to our well wishes; when our family stiff arms us in distance; when our community passes us by unnoticed; let us pick up our pallet, rise up and walk, and go to the temple. For that's where you'll find cured, healed, whole souls. The temple. They go to Jesus so that they may have life. They search the Scriptures to find Jesus not to worship the Word, not to worship the temple. John 5:39-40. "Come to Me, so that you may have life."  Arise and walk.

PRAYER FROM PSALMS
Psalm 105:4 - Father, we seek You LORD and Your Strength. We seek Your Presence continually!

305 - "Grace Upon Grace Upon Grace" John 1-3

The Word that became flesh and blood moved into John's life in John 1:14. God-begotten. John saw the glory with his own eyes. This is the One, says the thunder in the desert...Make the road straight for God! John 1:23.

By the way that I act today, will I share that I care more about God?  Today, God sent someone to me who spoke like a messenger from God.  An affirmation beyond words.  All these things that we think are so important in our day---how important are they in light of eternity?  Trying to wrap thoughts around the Philistines take on such holy things.  We cannot treat lightly the things of God and be able to rest. 

We open the book of John. John presents a Glory that "though dimly visible now" will one day fill the earth.  Everything was created through Him!  "The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness (John 1:5)."   And John pointed the way for those who will believe. God will make you your true selves begotten of God.  John 1:13. Most people are living to make themselves a better version of who they are. God is making us our true self.

In the world you now inhabit, communion wth Me is not defined by an experience of Me.  Nor does it depend on blessings from Me. To really live is to release My Son's life through yours, in any circumstance, no matter what you feel, to relate as He related, giving when no one gives back, loving when no one returns love, forgiving when no one deserves forgiveness, suffering in the place of those who should suffer."  66 LL

"Don't look at your inability.  Look at My Son's ability." 66 LL

John presents a Glory that "though dimly visible now" will one day fill the earth.  Everything was created through Him!  "The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness (John 1:5)."   And God sent a man named John to point out a way to the Life-Light.  

"We all live off His Generous Bounty, Gift after Gift after Gift (John 1:16)."  Grace Upon Grace. 

"Come, see for yourself (John 1:46)."

PHOTO:  Ezri Joy. Blood moved into your life. Inhabit the earth and become your true self. You are. You will. 

304 - “Be Killing Sin or It Will Be Killing You” Luke 23-24

                             

The Thief on the Cross gave pause: "Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same as him. We deserve this, but not him—he did nothing to deserve this. (Luke 23:40)"  We all deserve death for if we are guilty of one sin, guilty of all.  

"Those who have the knowledge of Christ crucified, should seek to spread that knowledge. Our Lord Jesus reproved them for the weakness of their faith in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. Did we know more of the Divine counsels as far as they are made known in the Scriptures, we should not be subject to the perplexities we often entangle ourselves in."  Perplexities of Life. Luke 24:14. They engaged each other to know Him more. And where two are gathered, here He comes. 

Because of the Resurrection, it changed everything.  In Luke 24:45-49, God shares:  Jesus opened their uderstanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.  He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations---starting from here, from Jerusalem!"

Praise God that He made provision for our sins.  In John Owen's book Overcoming Sin and Temptation,  Owen writes:  "Be acquainted then, with your own heart:  though it be deep, search it; though it be dark, inquire into it; though it give all its distempers other names that what are their due, believe it not.  Don't justify your own particular sin, but seek to recognize it so that you might fight against it with all your strength.  Christians are called to wage war against this enemy, knowing that there are only two points:  Be killing sin or it will be killing you."  John Owen.  "The only hope John Owen can promise in his book comes not through further self-examination but by embracing the Love and Provision of God."  Open our eyes this day to see your Wild Love and Undeserving Provision.

As we close the pages of Dr. Luke's book, what stirs in your heart?

PHOTO: Living 33,000 feet above the earth doesn't work. Why can't I live real?

303 - "The Word is my Oxygen" Luke 21-22

Fearless Courage to both of you! You have already shown it. May you live it fully.

One Day, the heavens and earth will pass away.  

White-hot stars will melt to a crisp, 

the stunning shimmering sun will melt forever. 

And it will happen in a blink. 

Another lovely generation of generations passes away.  

But, the Word of God will never ever pass away. Luke 21:32. 

We hold this Word in our hearts this day and forever more.  

It's the One Thing my anchor holds within the veil.  

This Word is my oxygen; 

the hammer that breaks the rock hard pieces of my soul; the snow that melts my heart;                            my very next breath. The Living Word. 

 

So, how do we stand before that? 

Go to Him now. Today. Move into Him. 

The One Who will ask all the right questions of us. 

Live the Word of God every day. Deut 32:45 - these words are our very life.

PHOTO:  Zeke & Ezri at Bristol's 4th birthday party in KC.  They really really liked each other at 6 & 7.         

Fearless Courage is my prayer for you both.