John 1:19-28
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[d]
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201&version=NIV)
It is amazing to watch the story of history unfold. John is questioned by the Pharisees as to who he is and what his mission is, and he simply stated he was the fulfillment of a prophesy as the "voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" These words of Isaiah would have been familiar to the Pharisees, and they would have made the connection. John continues to proclaim the majesty of the one for whom he was paving the way, by contrasting his baptism by water to the presence of the One standing among them who was the Messiah. John is setting the stage for the arrival of Jesus, the one true Messiah who is the Savior. John makes no claim to anything beyond being the voice that fulfills prophecy, and even says he is not worthy to untie the sandals on Jesus' feet. The humility that John displays here is amazing and gives me pause when I set out to do something for God to make sure I am doing it for the right reasons. God gives us the call and the mission, and everything we accomplish for Him is because of His mercy, grace, and enabling power, and not of our own doing. I pray that I will be on mission for God, accomplishing what He has for me to accomplish, and giving Him the glory for what He enables me to do to further His kingdom.
Lord Jesus, thank you for the sacrifice you made to bring salvation to the world. Please help me to glorify your name by pursuing your will for me, and by being a witness for You. Please strengthen my resolve and provide opportunities to witness to those that are lost and in need of a Savior. Help me to humbly give Your Name the glory for everything, and that You will continue to bless and guide me and my family as we attempt to make a difference for You in our own home, our church, our community, and the world. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Our God in Human Flesh - John 1:14-18
John 1:14-18
New International Version (NIV)
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A14-15&version=NIV)
What an amazing story of love, mercy, and grace. Our God left the majesty and comfort of His Heavenly home to put on the flesh of His human creation, and lived among us in our torn and tattered world. The heart of Jesus breaks for humanity, and provided the ultimate sacrifice, so we could be delivered from sin and death to live in heaven with our God and Creator. He came from the Father, He was equal to the Father, He was submissive to the Father, He was obedient to the Father, He gave it all, so we might live! Jesus came with the fullness of grace and mercy, not to replace the law, but to fulfill the law. I love the contrast here, when we are given the free gift of salvation through Jesus and His grace and truth. The law was given by Moses through God to allow for a process of atonement, so the people could live. The penalty for sin is death, and without atonement, we would all be dead. Jesus came to fulfill the promise of God to His people to provide atonement through the blood of His very own Son. We are a people who have been set free to live for Christ.
A thought occurred to me this morning that we are at war everyday, fighting the devil and his minions for the souls of the lost. If this earth is our battlefield, and heaven is our home, how comfortable should we be as we live to battle for the cause of Christ? Just a thought to prayerfully ponder. Our church is beginning a journey of prayer and fasting for a God-like miraculous harvest for Easter, and I am excited to see what God is going to do as we step out in faith and obedience to the call of God to reach the Quad Cities and beyond. Check out Pastor Shawn's Blog as we journey through this together. http://livesent.heritageqc.com/blog/
Lord, thank you so much for Your sacrifice, love, mercy, grace, and truth. Thank you for saving us, and I pray for Your strength to seek opportunities to witness for you, and to be Your hands and feet. Help me to play whatever part you would have me to play in your plans for me, my family, and in our church as we work to win the lost to You. I love You, and I am humbled by Your presence and grateful for Your salvation. In Jesus' Precious Name I pray, Amen.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
God Among Us! Our Heritage through Jesus is Heavenly! John 1:6-13
Today's scripture is mind-blowing as we try to comprehend the Creator and His love for us, His children, adopted into the Family as sons and daughters of the Almighty God!
"6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201&version=NIV)
John the Baptist is introduced in this passage as the one who came before to bear witness to the arrival of the promised Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus came to visit His Creation, yet we did not recognize him, and we were not very receptive to His arrival or His claims to be our promised Savior. I cannot help but wonder how many times I have failed to recognize Him when walking down the street, or through the grocery store, rushing through so I can experience the comforts of home. How many times driving past someone struggling to carry their bags to the closest bus stop, or even those with whom God would have me to interact on His behalf. What does Jesus look like today? I remember the following verse: Matthew 25:45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’" (http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=the+least+of+these&qs_version=NIV). I have received my inheritance, and I do my best to walk in obedience and surrender by the power given by the Holy Spirit, but how often do I allow the "pressing" issues of the day cloud my ability to recognize our Savior in need. We have been given the right to become children of God! All we need to do is receive Jesus, and believe in His Name that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and that Jesus is our Savior. Confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, and accept Jesus as our Savior, believing that our sins are forgiven, and living, empowered by the Holy Spirit, a life of obedience to Him. How many of us would proclaim our wealth and success if we were found by a rich "king" and given our dream promotion that included riches and wealth beyond our imagination? I imagine we would find this type of "luck" to be more than we could contain. The joy and freedom of being able to live anywhere, travel anywhere, and purchase anything we wanted would be shouted to anyone who would listen. This being the case, why is it so hard to proclaim our heavenly wealth in light of an eternity spent with Jesus in luxury, versus and eternity in hell with immeasurable eternal anguish. I find myself truly convicted as I am writing, and I pray for the Holy Spirit of God to empower me so I can bear witness of the riches I have as a child of the King, the one true King over everything, and my eternal inheritance that puts any earthly wealth or fortune to shame. We who have received Jesus are born of God, and this is something for which to proclaim.
Lord Jesus, thank you for your love, mercy, grace, and salvation. Thank you for living among us in various forms, and I pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to recognize You in those who are in need, and that I will take the time to speak into their lives for Your glory. Please help me to proclaim Your Gospel to others, and let them know of the riches that are available to those who receive Jesus as Savior, and become born of God and adopted as sons and daughters into Your family. I love you, and pray for Your guidance and blessing on this day, and on anyone reading this that You will minister to them as You have ministered to me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
"6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201&version=NIV)
John the Baptist is introduced in this passage as the one who came before to bear witness to the arrival of the promised Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus came to visit His Creation, yet we did not recognize him, and we were not very receptive to His arrival or His claims to be our promised Savior. I cannot help but wonder how many times I have failed to recognize Him when walking down the street, or through the grocery store, rushing through so I can experience the comforts of home. How many times driving past someone struggling to carry their bags to the closest bus stop, or even those with whom God would have me to interact on His behalf. What does Jesus look like today? I remember the following verse: Matthew 25:45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’" (http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=the+least+of+these&qs_version=NIV). I have received my inheritance, and I do my best to walk in obedience and surrender by the power given by the Holy Spirit, but how often do I allow the "pressing" issues of the day cloud my ability to recognize our Savior in need. We have been given the right to become children of God! All we need to do is receive Jesus, and believe in His Name that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and that Jesus is our Savior. Confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, and accept Jesus as our Savior, believing that our sins are forgiven, and living, empowered by the Holy Spirit, a life of obedience to Him. How many of us would proclaim our wealth and success if we were found by a rich "king" and given our dream promotion that included riches and wealth beyond our imagination? I imagine we would find this type of "luck" to be more than we could contain. The joy and freedom of being able to live anywhere, travel anywhere, and purchase anything we wanted would be shouted to anyone who would listen. This being the case, why is it so hard to proclaim our heavenly wealth in light of an eternity spent with Jesus in luxury, versus and eternity in hell with immeasurable eternal anguish. I find myself truly convicted as I am writing, and I pray for the Holy Spirit of God to empower me so I can bear witness of the riches I have as a child of the King, the one true King over everything, and my eternal inheritance that puts any earthly wealth or fortune to shame. We who have received Jesus are born of God, and this is something for which to proclaim.
Lord Jesus, thank you for your love, mercy, grace, and salvation. Thank you for living among us in various forms, and I pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to recognize You in those who are in need, and that I will take the time to speak into their lives for Your glory. Please help me to proclaim Your Gospel to others, and let them know of the riches that are available to those who receive Jesus as Savior, and become born of God and adopted as sons and daughters into Your family. I love you, and pray for Your guidance and blessing on this day, and on anyone reading this that You will minister to them as You have ministered to me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
A Devotional View of The Book of John - John 1:1-5
Working through the Book of John in a prayerful, meditative, and reflective way, will open our minds and hearts to what the Spirit would have us to learn. As I go through the Book of John, I want us to pray that God will guide our hearts and minds to hear what He wants us to hear, and that we will find practical ways to apply the truth of God's Word in our everyday lives.
John begins the journey into this Gospel, not with the baptism or birth of Jesus, but from "the beginning." I love the words spoken here that refer to Jesus as both the Word, as well as the life. Jesus was with God and is God. What a powerful statement and truth, one which I have believed since I was old enough to understand the meaning of words, but one that continues to grow in its breadth and depth of everyday application. Jesus, our Creator, knew from the beginning that the result of His creation would be the death of Him. He knew, even before creating us, that we would torture and crucify Him on an old rugged, Roman cross, and that he would be our Savior, the Giver of Life. How amazing to consider that level of love and commitment to a people, humankind, that are so undeserving, but it was part of the original plan. Although the expectations were clear, and the opportunity for the perfect relationship was given, Jesus knew from the beginning what would happen. In my own human thinking, I cannot help but wonder if our loving Savior considered the possibility that we would prove to be more than expected, or if He considered that given the perfect environment with limited conditions of obedience and surrender, we might prove the future wrong. I know on an intellectual basis that, even in the absence of time, Jesus knows all , and for His perfect plan to work, there had to be the ability to choose. It is easy to sit in judgement of Adam and Eve wondering how they could possibly give into Satan's temptation for something as insignificant as a piece of fruit, but then I consider my own tendency to sin when tempted by something equally insignificant. The issue is that it goes beyond the what, but speaks more to the why. We are individuals, created in the image of God (therefore beautiful, and loved by God), who have been given freewill. It is our own pride and desire to control our destiny, or to make our own decisions that allows us to fall prey to Satan's temptations. I have never been tempted to do something I did not first find appealing, and I have yet to be sad, depressed, or hurt when I have resisted temptation, and defeated Satan through the Word of God, and the Precious, Powerful Name and Blood of Jesus. John says that it is through Jesus that we have life, which in turn is light to dispel the darkness of sin. When you view temptation in the light of Jesus, you are able to see the ugly truth, and that truth is that sin is death. Jesus is our life and light, and through Him, we can resist the temptations of Satan and live a life of complete surrender in obedience to the will of Jesus.
Lord Jesus, the giver of everything, the giver of life and light, thank you for creating us and for loving us despite our propensity to hurt You. Please grant each of us the clear view of Your love for us from the light of Scripture and the indwelling Holy Spirit, so we will be able to resist Satan and his temptations. Strengthen us so we will live in complete surrender and obedience to Your will and desire for us to be a light to those around us, and that we will live in such a way as to bring glory to Your Holy Name, and lead others to a place of salvation and surrender to You. In Jesus' Precious and Holy Name I pray, Amen.
The Word Became Flesh
"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201&version=NIV).John begins the journey into this Gospel, not with the baptism or birth of Jesus, but from "the beginning." I love the words spoken here that refer to Jesus as both the Word, as well as the life. Jesus was with God and is God. What a powerful statement and truth, one which I have believed since I was old enough to understand the meaning of words, but one that continues to grow in its breadth and depth of everyday application. Jesus, our Creator, knew from the beginning that the result of His creation would be the death of Him. He knew, even before creating us, that we would torture and crucify Him on an old rugged, Roman cross, and that he would be our Savior, the Giver of Life. How amazing to consider that level of love and commitment to a people, humankind, that are so undeserving, but it was part of the original plan. Although the expectations were clear, and the opportunity for the perfect relationship was given, Jesus knew from the beginning what would happen. In my own human thinking, I cannot help but wonder if our loving Savior considered the possibility that we would prove to be more than expected, or if He considered that given the perfect environment with limited conditions of obedience and surrender, we might prove the future wrong. I know on an intellectual basis that, even in the absence of time, Jesus knows all , and for His perfect plan to work, there had to be the ability to choose. It is easy to sit in judgement of Adam and Eve wondering how they could possibly give into Satan's temptation for something as insignificant as a piece of fruit, but then I consider my own tendency to sin when tempted by something equally insignificant. The issue is that it goes beyond the what, but speaks more to the why. We are individuals, created in the image of God (therefore beautiful, and loved by God), who have been given freewill. It is our own pride and desire to control our destiny, or to make our own decisions that allows us to fall prey to Satan's temptations. I have never been tempted to do something I did not first find appealing, and I have yet to be sad, depressed, or hurt when I have resisted temptation, and defeated Satan through the Word of God, and the Precious, Powerful Name and Blood of Jesus. John says that it is through Jesus that we have life, which in turn is light to dispel the darkness of sin. When you view temptation in the light of Jesus, you are able to see the ugly truth, and that truth is that sin is death. Jesus is our life and light, and through Him, we can resist the temptations of Satan and live a life of complete surrender in obedience to the will of Jesus.
Lord Jesus, the giver of everything, the giver of life and light, thank you for creating us and for loving us despite our propensity to hurt You. Please grant each of us the clear view of Your love for us from the light of Scripture and the indwelling Holy Spirit, so we will be able to resist Satan and his temptations. Strengthen us so we will live in complete surrender and obedience to Your will and desire for us to be a light to those around us, and that we will live in such a way as to bring glory to Your Holy Name, and lead others to a place of salvation and surrender to You. In Jesus' Precious and Holy Name I pray, Amen.
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