Ian’s lets listen to Jesus

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.

None above Him, none before Him, all of time in His hands – because my God is the Ancient of Days – yet he knows my name.

Glorious, massive, wonderful, beautiful – all the adjectives you can gather together to describe Me. Yet this name – the “Ancient of Days” has special meaning because it shows how I have always been and will always be. No new development or invention takes me by surprise – because I am already there. I am outside of time and will take you outside of time when you come to be with me. Then you will truly see and comprehend what you were singing about that I am the Ancient of Days. Yet I am also “I am” – so I am always present with you, always contemporary, always one step ahead of you as you walk with me. Enjoy me today for who I am, the “Ancient of Days.”

We go back today to where Jesus is leaving Samaria after spending a few days in a village which has been transformed by His presence. We pick up the story in John 4:43. There is an interesting editorial comment in vs 44 that Jesus had pointed out that He was not honoured in His own country. Presumably this explained why He was again leaving the area to take His ministry elsewhere, ie Galilee. He was becoming more prominent there after visiting Jerusalem for the Passover feast.

We are now treated to the next miracle that Jesus did, the second one according to 4:54. This section then describes His encounter with another man, this time a royal official, who is probably a gentile. The progression is interesting as some commentators suggest that it parallels Jesus’ instruction to the disciples in Acts 1:8, where He told them to go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. He had met Nicodemus in Jerusalem, ministered to the woman in Samaria and now was ministering to someone outside of the Jewish faith.

Be that as it may, this encounter once again is with a person of some importance and influence, contrasting to the Samarian woman and incidentally with the man Jesus heals at the pool in ch 5, which we will look at next week. Here we see the official approaching Jesus for His help, similar to the Meeting with Nicodemus, where Jesus had instigated the meeting with the Samarian woman and would do so with the man at the pool in ch 5.

So, what is the main message of this passage and the whole section since the miracle of turning water into wine in ch 2? The two miracles sort of bracket the whole section, indicating a common theme. The clue is in vs 48 which links with the main message of John. Jesus makes the statement after the man had asked for a miracle, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe”. This almost seems incongruous as Jesus then says to the man, “You may go your son will live”. The NIV translates the latter part of that verse 4:50 as “the man took Jesus at His word“. The Greek actually says simply “the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken“, using the same word that is translated elsewhere as believed, “pisteo”. (The ESV gets this right.)

Remember the main message of John in 20:30,31 “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name”.

So, despite Jesus’ apparent accusation, this miracle has been recorded to bring us, the reader to faith. Now if we step back and look at this whole section, bracketed by two miracles, one of the main themes has simply been an emphasis on believing or on faith. In this section alone the word “believe” is repeated 5 times: vv 39, 41, 42, 50, 53.

So, are you tired of hearing this word “faith” or the concept of “believing” repeated constantly? It seems to me that one of the main purposes of Jesus in our lives is to continue to build our faith. He uses many ways, but one of the main ways is through His word and reading and understanding passages like this and the whole of the gospel accounts. Worth spending a bit of time pondering how your faith is doing.

May God bless you all until we meet again next week.

But this I know his wounds have paid my ransom – oh the deep deep love of the Father – to give us his Son – my mocking voice among the many holding him to the cross – yet his arms wide open in welcome into His ultimate plan of salvation.

”My plan, my plan from the beginning was to reverse the effects of Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the garden. To reverse the curse which I have placed on the world and all mankind. To reverse it ultimately so that many would truly be able to experience My great love and mercy. These thoughts are too high for you to fully comprehend them. Yet you can bask in the effect and enjoy them as part of my enormous growing family of faithful, loving believers.“

We continue today with the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. John 4:27-42. The disciples return at this moment and are astounded to find Jesus the, great Messiah talking to a pagan woman. She is so overcome that she dropped her water jar and fled back to the village where she had come from. But she had been transformed from a fearful outcast to running into the village proclaiming at the top of her voice, “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

Hold on, didn’t Jesus just confirm to her that He is indeed the Christ? 4:26. I suppose the truth was so great, so impossible to really take in that she was still processing it. Yet her actions tell us that she wanted to and yes, did believe that she had just met the Messiah. We are taken back to to ch 3 to the notion that belief is the fulcrum on which the rebirth occurs.

In the meantime the disciples ply Jesus with the need for earthly sustenance. Jesus’ reply in 4 ff shows how He skillfully uses earthly pictures to illustrate spiritual or heavenly truths. We have already seen how he had used the concept of birth to describe the heavenly rebirth. Then just recently He had turned the conversation about water to illustrate the concept of eternal life. Now he uses the idea of food to illustrate that His priorities are doing God’s will. Obedience to the Father would give Him full satisfaction.

God, through Moses had already given that thought. Take time to read Deut 8:1-5 to see where Jesus had picked up this concept. Especially vs 3b: “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”. This is also reflected in the Lord’s prayer. It is interesting to note in the passage in Deut that God’s word only becomes sustenance when one is obedient to it. See Deut 8:1.

This theme of Jesus claiming to be bread is going to be picked up in the chapters ahead. In the meantime the woman’s testimony back in the village has been received with such enthusiasm that the people go and invite Jesus to stay for two days, during which time many of them come to believe. The key vs is in vs 42 where they say ..“and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.” picking up again the main theme of John reflected in 20:31. They have also come to believe. At this stage they would not have had the whole story but simply recognized that Jesus was/is indeed the Messiah.

This passage is a timely reminder of the value and importance of our witness and testimony. It reminded me of several aspects. Firstly we cannot testify to a life-changing event if we have not experienced it ourselves. Secondly it is not necessary to have a complete gospel exposition. Witness is simply telling what you have experienced, seen and heard. The result of our testimony does not depend on us but on the supernatural work of the Lord who enlivens and drives home our words. Once again, giving a testimony about something you are clearly not experiencing is empty and meaningless, hence the importance of our daily, growing walk with God.

This is one of the main ways of God growing His kingdom and that is why it is important to do this as a church group where we can support and encourage one another.

On reflection there is one thing which I am guilty of and many of my brothers and sisters. That is what I called becoming part of the “Ain’t it awful” brigade”. ie When someone starts telling how awful something is: politics, sickness, crime etc you chime in with something even worse, instead of sharing how your relationship with God and depending on His souvereign power gives you a different perspective.

May your testimony indeed be genuine this coming week and may God give you the opportunity to be His witness. God bless you all.

His arms stretched out wide – on a Cross – how does that look beautiful, how does that reveal His glory? It is because this is the greatest act of love imaginable – an act encompassing all his outstretched arms can signify.

”The cross becomes faint as you draw near to Me, yet it is the only way that makes it possible for you to communicate with Me, to have a real relationship with me. At the moment when the curtain in the temple tore the way was opened for us to see each other, at this stage by faith but later by sight – that torn curtain became the Way, the only Way, the Truth and the Spirit which join you to Me forever and fulfilled your full status as a son. That is why it is beautiful that is why it reveals My glory.“

Now to John 4:1-26. Having described Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus, who could be described as one of Israel’s religious aristocracy, John describes a meeting with someone who is at the opposite end of the social scale. Someone who is a bastard Jew, a woman whose name is not even given, who could be described in many ways but is an outcast in her society because of her loose morals. Jewish men were not supposed to speak to strange women and even less to a foreigner, yet Jesus seems to have set this meeting up for our education to get a much wider view of who He is exactly and what He has come to do.

The story is so beautifully told that you can actually picture the scene. The sun burning down at midday, Jesus exhausted, dusty and thirsty and this lone woman coming to draw water when there should be no-one else around. It is interesting to compare the differences and similarities in how Jesus deals with these two seekers, Nicodemus and her.

We have mentioned their completely different backgrounds and social status. although Nicodemus comes to Him with a question. He simply asks only who He is, Jesus steers the conversation towards his salvation. The woman has no expectations and even shies away from Jesus. However, Jesus speaks to her first and offers her something equally supernatural that He had offered Nicodemus. Only here He calls it “water that wells up to eternal life.“Just as Nicodemus had questions or objections, the woman also has a question. In her case it has to do with the place of worship which was a contentious point between the Samaritans and Jews.

John gives Jesus’ answer which fits nicely into the continuing revelation of Jesus We have already heard that Jesus was going to replace the temple in ch 2, John uses this interaction to raise that issue again. The place of worship under the New Covenant changes from a place to a person, the person of Jesus. Worship from now onward will be “in Spirit and Truth”.

What does that mean? Well, it is actually quite simple, Once Jesus had ascended to heaven, we would worship God through Him. In other words, He is “The Spirit and Truth” that we all worship through (4:22). Our worship is not bound to a place, as I said but to a person – Jesus.

The section ends with an open statement by Jesus of His real identity. He is the expected Messiah.

Just keep in mind all the time what the purpose of John’s gospel is, according to the author, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name”. John 20:30 The Samaritan woman did believe, and we will see how this affected her as she experienced springs of living water welling up in her, a parallel description to the instruction by Jesus to Nicodemus to be born again, in the next part of ch 4.

As we see these various encounters by Jesus, we can learn a lot about how we could interact with others, especially non-believers

May you all be truly blessed as you take these beautiful truths to heart. See you all next week.

To my God be the glory, to my God be the praise for I know Your glory is my good.

”Perceive My glory, as I have shown very small previews of it over the years, for instance on the mountain at Sinai and at the inauguration of the temple. But when you ultimately come to be with Me you will experience my glory in all its fullness. It will overwhelm you and fill you with wonder and joy. In the meantime, I am working out everything in your life to bring you to your full glory so that you can experience My glory in its fullness. You may not always think you are experiencing My glory continually yet if you lift up your eyes it is always all around you. See it in the magnificent sunset, see it in the roaring oceans, see it in the wonder and diversity of My creation, see it in the ones you love. But most of all see it in My Son on a cross – see Him there by faith – emptying himself of glory so that you can have and experience our glory in its fullness. So go out today rejoicing”.

While most people know the first half of John ch 3, few people probably give much attention to the second half of the chapter, yet it is actually part of the story which has been unfolding and it rounds off that section. The clue lies in the repetition of the phrase in vs 13 “everyone who believes in him may have eternal life”, in vs 36, where it is slightly expanded, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life”. which brackets this section. So, this passage seems to complete the picture John has been painting using Nicodemus as a starting point.

It is a reminder that John is still bringing the Old Covenant to a close. In choosing Nicodemus as the protagonist, he has chosen someone who would have been a prominent figure under the Old Covenant. Showing that the birthright of Abraham for every true Israelite was not going to be sufficient, even for the aristocracy of the religious hierarchy, to give him membership of the new kingdom Jesus was coming to inaugurate. He needed to be born again, born afresh to be part of that.

As John expands this concept of the rebirth he emphasizes the vehicle through which this rebirth would happen, faith. As we saw last time, he emphasizes this several times and in several ways. The question now arises as to who one must believe in to receive this new birth. In whom must we have faith. From vs 13 to vs 19 John identifies this Person as either the Son of Man or simply The Son or God’s one and only Son. He repeats this 5 times. vv 13, 1, 16, 17, 18.

Who is this Son? John now takes us back to John the Baptist to expand on that and give us a clearer picture. At the same time, once again connecting to the Old Covenant. He starts the picture using the practice of baptism. The emphasis here is not actually on the baptism as much as it is in the difference between the two’s baptism. This should remind the reader of the statement in ch 1:33 “I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit“. He then identifies this “One” as: I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.

John (the gospel writer) then in 3:22 ff picks up this previous statement to amplify the understanding of who this Son is. He is the one who baptizes in a different way. Incidentally the concept of the “Baptism in the Spirit” which is used elsewhere is nothing other than a different terminology for being born again.

Then follows a paragraph which is a repeat and expansion of 1:19, 20. Basically John (the B) compares his own ministry with the one who he clearly identifies in vs 28 as “the Christ”, or Messiah. He insists he, himself is not the Messiah and his ministry is fading in comparison. He also uses the language of marriage, bridegroom etc, designating himself as just the attendant, which recalls the time of Jesus’ first miracle at a wedding, giving that act significance. He declares that his ministry is fading away as the messenger, pointing forward so that the real One, who this book is about can come to the fore.

The chapter builds to a climax in the last paragraph, where John (the B) amplifies the description of who the Son is, having connected Him to the designation of Messiah in the previous paragraph. “He speaks the words of God and has received the Spirit without limit, completely beloved by God the Father, who has placed everything in His hands“. This is the One in whom we must believe and through whom the new birth will happen if we look up to Him, trusting in Him, lifted up on a cross to die for our sins. And finally, a repeated warning, without this rebirth God’s wrath remains on every person.

Friends this is important stuff and I trust you all have embraced it. It is THE message of the gospel. No one can function as a Christian if they have not been reborn into the kingdom and identifying Jesus as the one who gives the rebirth. So many people out there labour under the misconception that being a Christian means something else and hence fall short of God’s glory. Part of all this is the understanding that an integral part of the new birth is that we are baptized in the Spirit, who is the active third Person of the Trinity acting as an agent who gives us life and power to live as witnesses to God and His great salvation plan.

As I have studied this well-known part of God’s word, I have sensed again the welling up of a joy unspeakable and a huge gratitude that I have been given this privilege despite knowing that I could never deserve it.

Next week we will pick up the story with Jesus’ encounter with someone at the other end of the social structure. May God bless you all as you read and meditate on this amazing passage in the scriptures.