Author: ianfrancoisdt

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene – the living God. I never cease to be amazed at the fact that the Creator of the universe invites me and each of you to meet personally with him. He who flung the stars into space has more than enough time for little old you and little old me. What a privilege that is!

”As I am gathering people from all over the world to sing to me and laud my name the prospect ahead is of a mighty multitude all together singing in harmony. A multitude identified by one single characteristic – that they have been washed clean by my blood which I shed on the cross. A multitude who are identified by that single characteristic – they are in Jesus – in Me. So all that separates has been washed away and there will be a mighty bond of love – fired and fed by my love which is immeasurable and the source of all love between my people. As you imagine this huge crowd you are able to get a small foretaste of what this is all about. The whole of this life I am preparing you for that wonderful gathering at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.”

John Ch 7:1 – 13. There is a lull now in John’s manuscript before the next body of teaching. In the background we must remember that the main theme of this Gospel is iterated in the questions, “Who is this man?” and then, “What did he come to do?” In today’s message we see how even Jesus‘s own brothers didn’t understand who he was at this stage. (vs 5). They were no doubt basking in the growing popularity of Jesus as he did amazing miracles. They didn’t understand that the real purpose of his Mission was going to be accomplished through his death, which was obviously not a popular thought.

In the background the clouds were gathering (vs 7) But for Jesus the time was not yet ripe for this final act to play out. Therefore he was keeping himself with a low visibility especially when he came to Jerusalem where the religious leaders were obviously more active.

John keeps the question of his identity alive through the discussions amongst the various players in his story. So we see for instance in versus 12 and 13 how the people were speculating about who this man is. The reader is invited to take the evidence that is laid before them and and make a decision for himself.

For me the key moment in this passage is in vss 6 & 7. Here Jesus repeats the statement twice that the time for me has not yet come. He is obviously referring to the final act of his life which would still be sometime ahead. This reminds me however very clearly of how carefully God plans out his creative purpose. Now you may be thinking it was obviously clear that he would have a plan for Jesus, but what about us? I want to make it clear that God is as much interested in each one of us and his timing in our lives is always perfect. I can attest to a number of incidents in my life which showed to what fine degree God timed certain events to accomplish its purpose.

It is a hugely comforting thought in my life when things just didn’t seem to be working out and sometimes even if there was apparent chaos, to know that in the background God was busy working out the plan that he has for me and those around me.

The other interesting point in this passage is the fact that Jesus’s own brothers, having grown up with him did not yet believe in him. Obviously familiarity breeds contempt. I don’t think that we should be too hard on them as it appears that later at least some of them came to believe fully in him and to follow him, for example we have James and Jude. Just like Jesus‘s mother Mary had to step past seeing him as her little boy and place her faith in him to be saved, so his brothers would have to do the same thing. This reminds me so clearly that we cannot inherit faith or membership of the kingdom of heaven. It is something which is acutely individual for each one of us.

May our Amazing Saviour continue to be the centre of your thoughts this week.

Oh Lord, how majestic is your Name, I am completely humbled at the thought of your mighty Majesty, power, wisdom and not least your (chesed) love.

” Ian look up to the heavens and see the multitude of stars in the sky. Each one has been crafted by Me. I know the properties and idiosyncrasies of each one – yet against that vast backdrop I have made a Home for you on Earth. That home is designed with you and your brothers and sisters in mind– To fit you and to fit My plan completely. It is good that you are filled with wonder and want to worship Me – but maybe the most amazing fact is that I have cared so much for you all that I sent my Son to die on the cross to make it possible to be at peace with Me and carry on a relationship with Me. Receive all this by faith and wonder and enjoy my Presence with you.“

We are in John chapter 6 from verse 60. Last week we saw how Jesus escalated His teaching about being the bread of life to revealing that it would be necessary for every disciple to eat of his body and his blood, if they are to have a relationship with Him into all eternity (vv 53-56). Today we see what the response of the folk that had followed him up to now was.

In verse 60 the disciples said that this is a hard teaching, according to the NIV. A better translation may be that they were disgusted by his teaching. Now we need to ask ourselves why they were disgusted and why they found this teaching so unacceptable. Going back to verse 26 we remember that Jesus accused the people of simply following him for what they could get out of him. This followed after he had fed the 5000 miraculously and it seemed that this idea of a miraculous provision was sufficient to attract many people.

in verse 53 Jesus escalates the concept of him being THE bread that they should eat. Bread would indicate sustenance. Now he starts speaking of them eating his body and drinking his blood. This speaks of death. He is introducing the fact that his mission is much more than just revealing his ability to provide sustenance. To complete his mission He would have to die. What is more this was not an esoteric idea. It was something that his followers would have to take to heart and participate in. While Jesus spoke these words it is probable that the majority, if not all those who follow him would not have understood the full implications of what He was saying. So why were they so disgusted?

Jesus was doing what He often did, that is to use physical lessons to teach spiritual truths. One of our greatest problems is to be able to understand spiritual things which we cannot see. Yet as we read this passage today we must understand that the real lesson is spiritual. Those original disciples may have had a much greater difficulty in relating the physical to the spiritual than us. So being told that they would have to eat His flesh and drink His blood must have brought pictures of cannibalism to mind.

Even His chosen 12 were mostly slow to really understand the full meaning of His teaching. We should not be too hard on them though because we ourselves are mostly slow to understand. Sometimes even things which should be quite obvious. There is a dimension in the spiritual which requires His revelation for us to fully grasp the meaning and we need to be ready to respond to what He is saying to receive the full revelation.

In verse 61 we are once again told that the disciples were grumbling. This attitude of dissatisfaction reveals the opposite of faith and an open mind to receive Jesus’s revelation. As the chapter comes to the conclusion we see that many of the disciples are disillusioned and stop following him. He challenges his own disciples who confirmed that they won’t turn away. In the process we can see how fully Jesus knew all these people when he warns that there is one of the 12 who would later betray him.

Now friends, one of the prominent lessons from this passage is a reminder that there are many who appear to follow Jesus as long as it suits them. The church is probably full of people like that. When difficulties arise these people turn away from Jesus in disappointment because they had the wrong expectations from him. I had to examine again my own expectations from my relationship with Jesus to be sure that I don’t fall into that category even in a small way.

Another important reminder in this chapter is the danger of grumbling along with others who you feel that you agree with. The reminder here is that when we grumble we are demonstrating the fact that we don’t really believe that the circumstances that we are experiencing are completely providential from God. It is often the most visible symptom of a lack of faith.

The story of the path to the cross was one which was obviously going to be very difficult for those disciples to understand and to appreciate. I suppose it is the one aspect of Christianity which puts many people off from believing in him. We should never be tempted to play down the importance of the cross because that is the the key moment in the whole of the gospel and in history in general. Without the cross there is no Christianity.

God bless till next week. Enjoy the Spring.

As I sit here at my desk in the room where I meet with my lord every day – I imagine Hm sitting on a chair here with me. I don’t need to go into a special “prophetic” mode, I can simply speak to him and listen to what he says.

“This presence of mine which I am glad you are learning to appreciate, is available to everyone of my dear children. I am speaking continually to you all, yet the noise of the world and your heart’s desires drowns out much of it. That is why you need my written word to bring you back to what you know is true and you can take your communication forward from there. As you have said at the beginning – ours is a real relationship, an interaction between the two of us, so as you speak to me I am answering you in various ways. When you look back at the end of the day you will be able to detect how I have guided you and be able to just rejoice and enjoy our daily togetherness.”

Today we are looking back again at John’s Gospel from chapter 6:34 to 59. Last time we focused on God’s grace in calling us and including us in his kingdom plan. We focused on the reality that on our own we would not come to God, but that he draws us to himself. With the important reminder that we have to accept this gift by faith for it to become real.

Before we go on, let us take a step back again and look at the wider context of this passage. It started with a miraculous feeding of the 5000. We saw that this event happened at the time of the Passover. (v4). We reflected that the miracle was a reminder to the people and to us of God’s rescue of his people from Egypt, which was celebrated at the Passover annually. Having rescued the people God took them into the desert. One of the things that they had to learn was to be totally dependent on Him for everything. To teach them this in the desert surroundings where there was nothing else available he fed them with manna every day. This was a reminder that they were able to and should depend on him entirely for their sustenance. This is a very real reminder to us today as well.

The people demonstrated their lack of faith and appreciation by grumbling, instead of being thankful. This made God very angry. Today, we are reminded in chapter 6:43 of this attitude which demonstrates a clear lack of trust in the fact that God does provide and knows what’s best for us.

From verse 44 Jesus returns to the central message of obtaining eternal life. He first reminds the reader that the initial step is to listen to the Father which will lead them to Jesus. However, he takes this a step further in revealing that he represents the Father. That in Him we can actually meet with and listen to what the Father has to say (vv45, 46).

He now escalates his message by saying that true faith is demonstrated by actually eating the bread. He then reminds them, verse 48, that he is the bread, Verse 51. He then takes this a step further and reveals that the bread is actually his flesh which he will give by his life for the world. Going on from verse 53 he takes this concept of eating the flesh and drinking the blood a step further. What he is doing here is drawing this whole teaching of the bread to a point which indicates the central teaching of the gospel. The teaching that he has to die on the cross. for the sins of the world. And what is more it is not just enough to know this but that one must actually partake of this by faith represented by actually eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Saviour.

Standing back and looking at the bigger picture we can see that setting the whole narrative against the backdrop of the Passover was pointing to the real Passover which happened in the week when Jesus was crucified. Placing this teaching of the centrality of Jesus‘s work on the cross to provide eternal life against the backdrop of the Passover in the center of the first half of the gospel highlights its centrality in the life and mission of Jesus.

Reading this message and seeing how John has structured it to enable us, the reader to understand the real nature of Jesus’s mission to the world and how we need to relate to that to benefit from it as we believe it and trust in the One who the message is about, has been really exciting. Making it all the more real. I trust that this has been an exercise which has strengthened your faith. If there is anyone who who may read this and has not yet placed their trust in Jesus, maybe this will encourage you to do that.

May our Lord bless you all. Till next week then.

” Your Grace still amazes me, your Love still a mystery.“ These words from this song speak to the depths of my heart and soul.

” You are right to be amazed by my grace. My grace is the starting point in the entire creation process. It is the engine which keeps the whole of my creation going and it covers the wonderful, glorious conclusion of my process to bring my kingdom about. While you are already amazed at my grace you, like most of my children have not yet plumbed the full depths of what it truly means, because it is an attitude which is so foreign to the self-centred attitude of mankind in general. So it has been and still is my purpose to continue to introduce you and all who read this to new and greater insights as to what my grace is all about so that as you respond, you will be more and more amazed.”

As we tackle the next section of John chapter 6:34–59, I want to deal with it in two sessions. The golden thread that has been running through the text till now has been the word “belief” or faith. In the first paragraph from verse 35 John repeats the word believe three times. But in this paragraph he brings the full impact of that to a point out.

Can you see that? In verse 37 Jesus states, “ All that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” He then goes on to say that what he is speaking about is access to eternal life; verse 40. Stop and consider the full impact of what that statement is saying. If we take these words at their full meaning then our entrance into eternal life depends entirely on God.

Yet we have been continually reading about the key response that each person that was accepted by Jesus had is belief. So here is the conundrum. On the one hand God has chosen His people even before he has created them. On the other hand from our perspective we will not be accepted into eternal life unless we exercise faith or belief.

Perhaps verse 44 throws some light on to this apparent mystery. “ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me, draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” If we stand back and ponder this mystery, we may see that while we have the responsibility of responding to God’s revelation and actions, the whole process is under his control. This is what I call the “truth in tension”. The truth lying in tension between two apparently opposite ideas.

Standing back again to get a better perspective, there is one word that comes to mind that covers this whole process. That word is Grace. The whole concept of God’s grace is perhaps so foreign to our human nature that we find it difficult to fully take it on board.

So this is how I understand it. God has a plan, a magnificent plan, which includes every person that he has created. Within that plan he has created a people who will eventually become part of his kingdom into eternity. You and I are part of that plan. He has a specific plan for each one of us. Your eternal destiny has already been determined as part of that plan. However it is necessary in some mystical way for us to buy into that plan, as it were and to receive this blessing of being part of his chosen people – by faith. The only action from our perspective is that we need to respond by receiving what he wants to give us. It’s just that – a gift. Any effort on our part to do something to enable us to be part of this great plan is counter-productive and acts against the whole concept of grace.

But you say to me, if the destiny of each person has already been determined, why would it be necessary for us to be witnesses to this fact, to go out and share our faith and take this message, this incredible message to the ends of the Earth? The closest that I can come to an answer to that question is that, that is the way God has determined that his message should be spread. In just the same way as he has determined that for him to give us eternal life as a gift is necessary for us to receive it by faith before it is activated, as it were.

The huge and basic difference between Christianity and all the other religions is this whole concept of grace. God has done it all! We only need to believe and demonstrate that by receiving. Go and digest this fact. I have been struggling to do that the whole week. May our dear Lord bless you all till next week.

I become acutely aware that my time spent in singing worship songs as I prepare myself for my special one on one time with my Lord – is in danger of becoming a mechanical repetition, a rote – while my mind is really not focused on actually meeting my Lord one on one.

” How hard it may seem for you to keep your focus on Me and My loving communication with you. But, this is in the nature of the human condition, surrounded by spiritual forces dragging your attention away from Me. And touching the deep core of sin which remains in each one of my children even when they have been redeemed and set free. However, even as you became aware of the danger of a mechanical repetition – it was Me calling you back to My side where you can experience My real love – even though I am not physically present. Remember though, every person who loves you and expresses that in My name is acting on My behalf.“

Let us turn now again to John’s telling of the story of Jesus. We are looking at chapter 6:25-34. The setting, just to remind you is the feeding of the 5000 and the subsequent walk by Jesus on the water as He moved to the other side of the lake. In short order we have seen two amazing miraculous signs. In verse 25 we now see that the crowd has followed Jesus and found him again.

In verses 26 and 27 Jesus puts his finger on a subject which should resonate universally. The question is, “Why was the crowd so eager to follow Jesus”? That is perhaps the same question everybody who prays to him should ask themselves, including us. Jesus points out to the crowd that the reason they are following him is because of the bread that he had produced. What he was meaning is they were following him for what they could get out of him. Many, many people who pray to Jesus simply see him as someone who will respond to their needs, without recognising that what he desires is something far greater.

In verse 27 Jesus points out to them that the miracle was a physical representation of what he wants to do spiritually for them and for us. His aim, as he puts it, is that they should have “food that endures to eternal life which only the Son of Man, (Jesus) can give them”.

Then comes the key statement which governs the whole of our relationship with him. When the people ask him what work they must do (presumably to attain eternal life), Jesus replies the only work that they need to do is to have faith in God. That is really the key to the whole of the gospel. As hard as it must have been for them it is perhaps universally true that mankind in general finds it difficult to appreciate the full extent of God’s grace. Our whole relationship with him is governed by the concept of grace. There is no work, nothing that we can do to enable us to receive this huge gift of eternal life. As much as we would like to believe that we in someway can contribute to it, it remains a free gift and any attempt by us to earn it totally nullifies its amazing value. All we need to do is to receive it by faith.

This was true for those people following after Jesus then, but it is equally true for each one of us. Even though we may have received this gift, there is always the possibility that when we do anything of value for the Kingdom, we may think that in some way what we have done has earned us something more of God’s love and attention. The true secret of living the gospel life is understanding this important aspect of God’s grace. He loves us to the maximum and nothing we can do will make him love us more.

In verse 32 we see Jesus taking this teaching one step further. He has been revealing up to now that the bread miracle has a deeper spiritual meaning representing the spiritual food that God wants to give the people. In verse 32 Jesus reveals that in fact the spiritual food comes from His Father and in vs 33 is actually embodied in him personally, “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives His life to the world”. This introduces the next part of his discussion which we will look at next week.

Friends, these are amazing truths that are expressed in this section. We are probably familiar with these concepts but it is possible that they lose their impact over time. So this passage brought me to reconsider my time with and approach to Jesus and my loving service for him, which is a gift which he has given to me and I should be careful to not have the wrong attitude towards it.

Lovely chatting to you all again this afternoon. May the Lord bless you until we meet again next week.

Singing The old classic hymn about the Old Rugged Cross, I realize how we can romanticize something which was cruel beyond imagination. Yet as I think through this I also realize it is because what was accomplished there has come to mean so much to me and all of us.

”Never, never get tired of contemplating what happened that day at Calvary. Yes it was the cruelest death that could have been devised by the Romans – yet through that so much was accomplished. The whole course of history was re-set and a new era arose. In my word I don’t focus on the drops of blood mingling with the soil, but rather on what was being accomplished. Yet it is good to remember that all that happened was and is a sure sign of my love for you and my whole creation and as much as I was prepared to go the whole way how much more am I prepared to give you all things – all things you need for life and godliness.”

We follow the unfolding story of Jesus as told by John in ch 6:14-24.By now Jesus has attracted a huge crowd which had followed Him to a deserted mountainside, where, after some teaching, He again transcends the natural with a supernatural feeding of the multitude. This is not happening in a vacuum. The people of Israel had high expectations that the promised Messiah was due to come at any moment. vs 14. (Deut 18:15-19, was widely regarded as the prophecy of the future Messiah). As I have mentioned before their expectation was very much on a worldly King who would come and lead Israel to freedom again like Moses had done in Egypt.

Having demonstrated His divine power Jesus now senses that the people are so excited that they intended to take Him by force and make Him king. (6:15) so He slips away and disappears.

The story of Him walking on the water links this above story to the discussion from v 26 on the bread of life or heaven. It is easy to rush on to the discussion from v 26, but let us stop a moment and consider what this passage means and how it applies to us. If we were doing an in depth bible study we would compare this story in all the gospels to get the best understanding of it. However when John wrote this gospel it was intended to be a stand alone account of Jesus’ life and works. So, let Jesus speak to us from it like it is in the context it is situated.

We have been following the progressive revelation of who Jesus is and what He has come to do. So we last saw that the miracle of the feeding was a fulfilment of the Passover and God’s rescue from Israel. The people picked that up too, it seems. So this is possibly a picture of the miraculous crossing of the Israelites over the Red Sea. It is easy to become so used to stories like this that they lose their impact as to how supernatural this event is. Jesus is transcending all the laws of nature to be able to actually walk on top of water. No human has ever managed that except with a surf ski to stand on.

On top of this there is the mention of the fact that there was a storm brewing and the fisherman were in trouble. Not only does Jesus arrive on the scene at just the right time and instantly, after they take Him into the boat they find themselves at the shore. Jesus only utters 4 words. “I am, don’t be afraid!”. I am being the title of Yahweh.

Now these things need to be taken seriously and personally. As much as Jesus was aware of the disciples being in trouble and arriving on the scene at just the right time and then taking them straight away to their destination, He is aware of exactly where you are at every given moment emotionally and physically. He has the supernatural power to do whatever is necessary to take you through. We should never, never underestimate His power or His purpose to care for us. We just need to remind ourselves that, as Christians, He is already in the boat with us. Yes, like the disciples, He allows us to row into storms, sometimes extremely vicious storms, but He is always in control and will never let you be tested more that you can handle with His help.

So, may you be comforted and strengthened by this very familiar passage as you apply it to yourself personally. Have a blessed week, see you next week.

The love of God so rich, so pure, like the endless waves of the ocean, like the sand on the shore. Thank you Lord for the attitude of love towards your creation which has motivated all your actions.

” I conceived and created the whole concept of love. Behind every action I take and behind every relationship I have is a banner – the banner of love. It is easy to speak of love and the word is so widely used it has lost much of its original significance and meaning, but in its purist form it is inseparable from the idea of mercy and grace. The greatest gift anyone can receive is the knowledge and understanding of my love – which I demonstrated practically in the sacrifice of my Son. Starting by knowing that intellectually opens the door for you to experience it throughout your whole being. It is a lifelong growing experience and that is why Paul in his prayer in Ephesians prayed that you should know the height breadth, depth and length of my love which is inseparable from my almighty power.”

We move on to John 6:1-15, which describes what has been suggested is His most important miracle. Up till now His miracles have all had to do with healing and exorcism. This one is totally different.

The scene is set in the first paragraph. The place and the large crowd, who by now were following Jesus, are described . Then there is a small note which is quite important. v 4 Tells us the Passover feast was near. Now we must remember that the Passover was big for the Jews. It embodied the most important event in the Israeli history. The rescue of God’s people from slavery in Egypt was the great backdrop to the Israeli culture and faith. God had made it clear that the people should continue to remember this event annually with a feast. We’ll come back to that, but first let us note a few things.

In v 5 we see that the events described here were clearly initiated by Jesus, as He set the scene to do what He was going to do. The next vv highlight the impossibility of the situation. 5 small bread rolls and two fish was all that was apparently available.

Unfazed by the apparent impossibility of the situation Jesus instructs the people to sit down. Once again the number of people is mentioned to show the hopelessness of the situation.

Nevertheless Jesus starts distributing the food. In the other accounts in the other gospels we are told that the disciples actually handed out the food, but clearly it was Jesus who was multiplying it. The amount that was left over is staggering and just acts to reinforce the magnitude of what Jesus had done.

Up to now in this gospel we have been following John’s description of how Jesus was gradually revealing who He really was/is. The context and the magnitude of what Jesus did serves to connect the reader and presumably those who were there and able to understand to the great Exodus from Egypt. We are reminded here of how God took the people into a desert and in the light of the complete lack of food and water provided for them, bringing water from a rock and then providing daily the manna that they needed to live on. This manna was provided for them the entire time they were in the desert.

Who could do this? Only God Himself. Hence – who is this man Jesus? The people make some sort of connection. They speak of the “prophet who was prophesied to come” in Deuteronomy. One of the early prophecies of a Messiah who would eventually come. However they are looking for the wrong sort of King. They are looking for a king who would, 1. save them from the Roman yoke and 2. be someone who would provide for their needs (6:26). Hence Jesus slips away. He is not ready to reveal the true nature of His mission yet.

What did this mean to me? Well obviously the growing picture of who this man is has continued to reinforce my faith. On a micro level there is also a reminder that, while this was not His prime goal, there are many references to the fact elsewhere in the scriptures that, if we are part of the New Kingdom, God will never let us want. He is always there and always able and willing to make sure we are cared for.

As we move further on into the gospel we will see that John/Jesus uses this story as a prologue to His later discussion on being the “Bread of Life”. See you next week, God bless.

As the deer pants for water – so my soul pants for you oh lord. I sit at the Master’s feet and wait on what He wants to give me. I am reminded that He is always a giving God, eager to share His grace and love.

” Yes, from the beginning of time, as I decided to create – I had this desire to give, to make out of nothing, to turn around that which may be evil or negative. To turn that so that My people may experience My immeasurable generosity. Even as I have allowed evil and pain into the world it has been allowed benevolently so that you can truly appreciate My love, mercy, grace and generosity. Even that longing you feel for Me and My grace and love has been placed there so that you will turn away from your own desires and plans to gaze upon Me and to follow Me, so that I can gather you up into My arms along with all those others who have responded to My love.“

We come now to John 5:31. Up to now we have been introduced to Jesus by John, the Baptist and by the miracles He performed. Jesus now starts putting the miracles into perspective. Remember that the theme of John’s gospel is described in John 20:30,31. The miracles have been described so that the reader may believe and in believing have eternal life. However, how do they know who this is that they are seeing doing miracles? So there needs to be an explanation or commentary (testimony) which will explain who the miracles are pointing to.

Jesus is addressing the Jews, who were completely hostile towards Him. He starts by saying that His testimony, at this stage cannot just be from Himself, so where must it come from? Firstly, there has been John the Baptist. However as much as that shone a light forward which they had enjoyed, it did not, on its own carry enough weight to be a final proof of who He is.

So, vs 36 Jesus turns to the miracles (note: He calls them signs as they were done to point to Him), as proof that “The Father” was behind them, thus revealing His deity. He turns then to the very testimony of the Father Himself. Where should they find this testimony? He is bringing them to the point of this whole section. That testimony is in the very scriptures which the Jews pride themselves on being such experts.

What is the problem? He comes back to that at the end of the piece in v 45. They base their whole lives on the law of Moses. Yet in doing this they are simply following the law, a list of rules. They don’t see or understand that this very law points beyond itself to the person of Jesus, the expected Messiah. The problem is one of faith, belief. cf v 40. It is not just that they don’t believe, according to Jesus they “refuse to believe”.

What is the proof of this? The proof is in their fruit (vs 41-44). They show no real love for God because they are more interested in receiving praise for themselves. Their focus is entirely on themselves and are not interested in finding how they can praise God and receive praise from Him.

Ultimately the very “signs” He was doing were meaningless unless they were put into the context of scripture, explaining who He was/is. Basically, the problem started with their self-centered attitude. They were more interested in themselves and being praised for their knowledge than submitting to the scriptures and letting God reveal Himself in them.

Friends, our denomination’s motto is: “Thy word above all things”. It is a very good motto, however we need to remember that knowing and reading God’s word, the scriptures are not, in themselves enough to live our Christian lives. The scriptures are always a conduit, a “way” of finding and meeting the Lord Himself. We “listen to Jesus” in and through the scriptures and look at how they point to Him and then we derive from that what He is saying to us, so that our lives may be changed by understanding them and by the application and power of the Holy Spirit.

If we read them in any other way, we just become legalists, like those Jews, trying to please God by obeying the “rules”. It is very easy even for us, as Christians who love the Lord to fall back into reading the Word as an end in itself, without seeing them as part of our dynamic relationship with Jesus. What a privilege that is, we should never pass that up for second best.

A thought-provoking reminder. See you all again next week.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I will not want. He leads me by still, still waters, and I will trust in You alone, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

” I am your Goodness, I am your Grace, I am your Mercy and yes, I follow you all the days of your life. But there is more, I not only follow you I go before you, preparing the way and all the time as you make your way through this life I am by your side. When the sun shines and when the rain comes, in the green pastures and also through the dark, dark valley. So – yes, rest in Me and trust in Me, I am totally trustworthy, I will never let you down. I hold you close to my bosom with my arms clutched around you.“

As we proceed in John ch 5, Lilly has made a very insightful point in the comments column. To read it just tap the title of last week’s blog and it will open up.

John uses this healing miracle (the lame man by the pool) as a springboard for Jesus’ discussion which relates to how the miracle reflects His divinity which is closely associated with His relationship with the Father. Behind the discussion is the thread that this miracle, as all the others were merely predictions of our ultimate healing at our resurrection. In vs 29 He says, “All those who have done good will rise up and live”, speaking of their resurrection. The Greek word for rise up is the same as the one Jesus uses in vs 8 where He says to the paralyzed man, “Get up“.

Jesus opens the discussion from vs 19 concerning the unique relationship He has with His Father. We must remember He is speaking from His incarnate nature. He reveals He is totally dependent on the Father to be led what to do. He is motivated only by the Father’s love for Him and doing His will. From the Father He draws the power which even reaches the raising of the dead, which He had not shown up to that time yet.

Ultimately it is only the Father that can give life. He has delegated this power to the Son as well as giving Him the independence to decide whom He should raise. Ultimately God has delegated the task of Judgement to the Son. This task is extremely important and according to vv will be exercised at a future time when everything will be drawn to a close.

The question of judgement is closely associated with the provision of eternal life and Jesus in v 24 reminds us that this eternal life is only available to those who hear Jesus’ word and believe Him who sent Jesus. IOW faith. The results of His judgement are shown in vv 28 ff.

There is an important remark in v 23 that the way we treat the Son reflects what we think of the Father. The two are inseparable. The whole theme of this section is interwoven with continued reaffirmation of the close relationship of the Father with the Son.

As we read this section, we can see how John is drawing the various events which he has been describing up to now in Jesus’ life together to show a more complete picture of who Jesus is and what He has come to do. I find the whole question of the interaction within the trinitarian relationship still a mystery. Just as one thinks you have fully grasped it, it seems to slip away. Truly God yet truly man at this stage.

There are several points that struck me from this passage: The way the material takes us forward to the future. The importance again of seeing eternal life from faith and the remarkable danger of judgement for those outside of this relationship that we may have with Jesus. Also, being reminded that the way we treat and speak about Jesus reflects what we think of God.

Enjoy meditating on this discussion which will be taken up again next week. God bless you all.

As the rain teems down, I am reminded that it represents Your abundant blessings on me and Your whole creation, at the same time the enigma is that it also represents hardship and difficulty for many. The enigma of Christianity is that what appears as weakness and disaster is often actually the way to greatest blessing – even as we view the cross – perhaps apparently the greatest moment of weakness and disaster – was and is Your greatest triumph.

”Yes, there is apparently much in this world which appears as an enigma. Something beyond your comprehension. How weakness and hurt can actually be for My glory and your good. Only I, as a loving and all-powerful God – full of grace, can see the bigger picture and see how all these enigmas fit together and contribute to your good, as well as the good of all My loving children. I see everything, I see the finest details of your thoughts and motives and I am drawing them all together for my glory and your good“.

The next story in John 5:1-18 picks up the theme of healing and presents the third miracle described in the gospel. Remember, according to 20:30,31, the miracles are presented as proof of who Jesus is. So, the central question of this passage is in v 12 “Who is this fellow…?” There is no direct answer, the reader is left to draw his/her own conclusion.

There is another clue however. That is in the fact that Jesus chose to do this miracle, openly on the Sabbath, in what may appear a purposeful provocation of the people here referred to as “the Jews”. vv 10, 15, 18. This is another move by Jesus to show the difference that the coming of the New Covenant was going to make. Just as in His coming Jesus was going to replace the temple as the place to worship God, so He also was replacing the Sabbath. The Sabbath which represented rest and the opportunity to worship God was now to be found in Jesus. In Him we find our true rest and through and in Him we worship the Father in spirit and truth.

In the background we also see the storm clouds gathering. vs 16 Shows how this open confrontation of the traditions of the Jews was going to contribute to His final persecution and death.

What about the healing, which I have not yet mentioned, which actually acts as a backdrop to the main theme in this part of John’s gospel?

There is the sharp contrast to the healing in the previous chapter, where the subject was the child of an important royal official. Here the subject is a “nobody”, who has been disabled for 38 years. What is not so apparent is the answer to the question, “Why did Jesus choose this man from the number who were all needing healing?” After all Jesus took the initiative here. There is no answer and we could guess anything. It does seem to highlight the whole question of God’s election, which is another Christian enigma and best not attempted to be explained here though.

The other question is in the statement to this anonymous man in vs 14, “See you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you”. We may be tempted to link his disability to the fact that he had committed a specific sin or in his general state of being a sinner. This, according to the rest of the bible does not seem to fit eg, the story of Job. Later in John’s gospel Jesus also heals a blind man and gives an explanation that his blindness was for God’s glory. John 9:3. I take this warning that Jesus gave the man was simply to repent and turn his life around.

So. in the last 3 chapters we have been shown Jesus’ interaction with several people, with diverse backgrounds and it shows how He was interested in people from every sphere of life. What an encouragement it should be for each of us. His wings are spread over the whole of His creation, knowing and caring for each one. No-one is outside His reach.

As the story of Jesus is unfolding, I am sure we are all enjoying a growing faith as we see the proofs of who He is and what he has come to do. Enigmas? There are always things which appear strange to our limited human brain, but if we can relax and trust Jesus and let Him be who He is that takes all the tension out of these apparent contradictions.

God bless you all in the rain till next week. Stay warm.