John 12- Apart from the Holy Spirit

Apart from the Holy Spirit

We know that Judas was very much self serving. His following of Christ seems to be completely selfish and focused on what he could gain. Mary used oil to anoited Jesus before his death and Judas was focused on the oil being sold for money and then giving that miney to the poor. The truth is that Judas was in charge of the money and whatever was sold, he was now in charge of that money and would "dip his hand in the cookie jar" and steal what did not belong to him. 

The chief priests were also self serving. They liked their power and their control over people's ways by judging and condemning them for little things. They lorded over people rather than exposing people to the Lord. After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and the people came to see them both, the chief priests wanted to kill Lazarus. If they did this than that literally kills a huge miracle and evidence of Jesus being God in the flesh. This was waaaaaay before Twitter and Facebook so the only evidence was word of mouth. No photos. No videos. Just person to person proof. They wanted to do this because with Lazarus dead the people would stop leaving the chief priest's leadership and going to Jesus (John 12:9-11). They would stay doing what they were doing which was being mislead by underhanded people who were religious leaders.

When we seek Jesus and find him and let him in the old way is gone and the can be in us. It's like if your car is on its last legs and you get a new engine and transmission, those old problems are gone. Or if a tornado hits your house and your roof is torn apart. Once you get a new roof that problem is gone. This is what Jesus does, but he does it for our lives. He comes in (if we seek him and let him) and he gives us a new life. We must have faith in him and in that we will have a new life in eternity and not just life on earth (John 12:25). Heaven isn't for "good people," it is for people who believe Jesus is God in the flesh and have accepted him. It's more than just knowing. 

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Friday Focus #11

When The Storm Hits

Life isn't easy. There can be very, very tough times with no money, broken relationships, no where to live, no method of transportation to work, or even a death of a family member of friend. Each of those are storms....but what about when they all hit at once. Now what?

We can blame God and say that He did this to us. We can overlook how much we are in control of our own decisions that can lead to our storms. Some things do "just happen" but others are a result of decisions we have made that lead to the storm. Remember when Jesus walked on water and invited Peter out into the water, but as Peter started walked, he started sinking (Matthew 14:22-33)? Peter lacked faith that Jesus was able to walk on the water and even when he called out to Jesus, Jesus said "come." But, when Peter saw the wind he got scared and lost sight of Jesus and lost faith and started to sink. Peter was going to do something amazing through God's will and lost his focus and his faith and saw the problem as bigger than his Lord.

But what about those things that just happen not due to bad decisions (a lack of obedience) but just something bad happened? Your house burned down. Car accidents and injuries. Being assaulted. What do we do then? We don't blame God, we use our faith in God to stay on track and know that God will use that situation to be glorified. It can serve as a test, not a punishment (1 Peter 1:7). When God tests us we grow stronger to glorify Him. If everything is easy, how will we grow? We won't!! God doesn't want us to stay in our comfort zones. I used to "worship" the cars I owned or the women I have dated. God had every single one of them removed so that I could see Him better. Whether the car broke down, or was wrecked, or the girl was put on a pedestal, they all served as a set of blinders to keep me from seeing God's will.

From Kerry Shook on "Tracking a Miracle in the Storm"

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John 11:4- The Glory of God

The Glory of God

The more we read scripture the more we understand how Jesus was focused and how we should focus.

When Lazarus died, people thought that Jesus who had healed a blind man could have saved Lazarus from dying (John 11:37). Once again we see "naysayers" looking at things from the outside rather than with real righteousness (God's will). The focus is to glorify God through what we do, not appease people's opinions and thoughts on what we should do.

In John 11:4, Jesus said “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” That means this is not "it" for Lazarus. This isn't the end and God will be glorified through it. People came to Jesus in order for him to save Lazarus. He waited two more days before he left to see Lazarus. Why did he wait two days?? Look at it this way, the Pharisees were going to critique him and question everything Jesus does any way. If Jesus was to hurry and heal Lazarus, then the Pharisees could say that Lazarus wasn't really dying and probably would have attributed it to some medical anomaly. When Lazarus died Jesus was able to glorify the Kingdom through the Son of Man (himself) being able to resurrection and showcase the the power in him as he is God in the flesh.

I know it is hard to relate the works of Jesus and various parables to our life and see how we can see the sin in our lives and what in our lives is not focused on obedience to God.  I look at it like this, there are hard times and really, really tough times that we can go through in life and it just seems like there is no end to it and the world is crashing down around you. You cry out to God to save you and nothing happens. You pray day and night and nothing changes, or things get worse. Now you start to think "does God even exist or is He ignoring me?" Look at it this way, what am I doing in my life that is leading to death? Maybe not physical death, but maybe it is. Maybe it is emotional death? Maybe spiritual death? Jesus needs to be allowed to work in your life. That means you will need to see what it is he wants from you. You can believe all you want, but when you believe the actions follow. God wants you to follow Him and submit to Him. If you do not there will be more "death" in your life. It is time to submit to God's will for all parts of your life.

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Wednesday Wake Up #11

Righteous Judgement

Many people say "don't judge" or "judge not lest thee be judged." They take a Bible verse and misinterpret it by not reading the whole context of the verse, the section of the chapter or the Bible as a whole. The words they quote are from Jesus, but how it is often understood is different than how it is used.

Jesus saw that many judged based on appearance and not on what was the below the surface truth. Have you ever seen a homeless person and thought that they must have done that to themselves? People jump to conclusions and think the person must be a drunk or drug addict. They don't know that there are people with mental issues that have been left to fend for themselves. God knows the context for all of our situations. Just because you see someone at one moment it does not mean that the person is that person overall. We don't need condemnation for our mess ups, we need compassion. Christ was full of compassion whether you were blind (John 9:1-7), and adulterer (John 8:1-11) or a tax collector who was known for taxing too much (Luke 19:1-10).

Jesus was known to also respond accordingly when God's house was disrespected (Matthew 21:12-13) or religious leaders were misleading people (Matthew 23). We cannot judge on appearance and what we think unless it is in line with what God wants from us. We are not judging on personality and fashion sense and character. We don't know why people do what they do. Maybe they weren't raised well? Maybe they were abused? Do you really want to condemn an adult who may have been abused? We don't know motives. We don't have the full picture. I make mistakes and bad decisions just like you do. We can love each other through our sin and help one another with mercy and compassion, or we can condemn and keep reminding people of what they have done wrong. I don't need all of my sins brought up over and over again just like you don't.

It is okay to evaluate and confront a sinful brother/sister in Christ. That takes a judgment. It is a judgment call. We must use proper judgment when seeing who are the false teachers and false messiahs. We must use right judgment in order to serve God and encourage others, lovingly.

To hear a sermon on righteous judgment click here for John MacArthur

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John 10:34-38- Responding Like Jesus

Responding Like Jesus

Remember that saying and those elastic bracelets "What Would Jesus Do?" Do we ever really stop to think about it? I mean think about how we think and how act and react. Are we in line with how Christ would respond.

Now, in reading through the gospels, you know that the Pharisees hated Jesus and wanted to stone him for claiming that he was blaspheming and saying he was God when they didn't think he was. In John 10:31-33, the Pharisees said they were not mad at the works he did, but only at their accusations of his blaspheming. After the Pharisees picked up stones to stone him his response (instead of anger and threats and violence) was that of truth and a refocus. The Pharisees were schooled so to speak on who Jesus was and what he did. In verses 34-38, we see Jesus reaffirm him being in God and God working through him. He didn't back down and just give in. He didn't give a sarcastic answer, he said what was true. He also gave more evidence which serves as some what of a redirection. He tells them to look at the works he has done and also references scripture (Psalm 82:6) when he said "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods.'" He reminds them that the works he is doing are of God and speak to who he is, even if they didn't want to believe him.

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John 9- Whose Fault Was It?

Whose Fault Was It?

In John 9:1-12 Jesus heals a blind man and people try to find out whose sin caused the man to be blind. They ask if it was the man's fault or if it was his parents. The man was born that way and Jesus sets the issue straight and focuses on not what caused the sin or who is at fault but how God can be seen through this man. Jesus did his part and spit in the dirt to make mud and anointed the man's eyes. Then washed off where Jesus told him to and then could see for the first time.

 

I italicized "his part" in the previous paragraph to stress how important it is for Jesus to be able to do his part. His part is what can allow for miracles to happen. We cannot fix every problem in the world. We can do our part and allow God to come in and do his part.

Whether someone is born with an ailment or condition or they develop it, it doesn't matter. The healing power of Jesus wipes it away. We have to be able to do our part too though. We can always do something whether it is prayer, helping people get to doctors, or in other cases being a friend full of compassion. Jesus was very compassionate. He knew that the man had an ailment that needed fixing, not condemnation. Once again we see how Jesus was only focused on healing, not the politics of blame.

 

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John 8- Throwing Stones

Throwing Stones

Isn't interesting that when we see someone doing wrong we want to jump down their throats and tell them how wrong they are for what they did? Why do people get so angry about the sin of others? Do they get that mad at your their own sin?  

In this John 8:1-11, we see a woman brought before Jesus. She was caught in the act of adultery. They were asking what should they do with her as the law of Moses said that she should be stoned. Jesus knelt down and wrote in the dirt and told them that whoever was without sin should be the first one to throw a stone at her. We don't know what Jesus was writing. He could have been writing the sins of the men who brought her to Jesus or he may have been writing the names of the men she had been with that could have included the accusing men's names as well. We don't know. But we do know that Jesus did not want us to throw stones (physical or verbal) at people. After each man left, Jesus asked her where the accusers were and then he told her "Go and sin no more." He did not say "let and let live" or "to each his own." He said go and sin no more. Gentle. Direct. Compassionate.

We can learn from Jesus in this example as well. When people sin by lifestyle or by slip up, condemning them is not the way to get them to turn their life around. The don't need to be reminded of their sin. They need a scriptural response to their sin and compassion. If they mess up, that is not your job to fix them. It is your command from God to love them the same way Jesus loved us by dying for us selflessly. Think about that the next time You get outraged at a sin. Maybe that person just need a Christ like hug and God given direction. Try it. Condemnation turns people away from God.

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John 7- Judging Others

Judging Others

We have often heard that we should not judge and people will quote Matthew 7:1-3. They understand the quote from Christ but think that is the end on the subject of judgement. Jesus says "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." This is from the sermon on the mount and then goes in to the practice of unrighteous judgement where we see specks of dust in one person's eye and overlook the plank sticking out of our own eye. Jesus was not saying never judge.

In John 7 we see the subject of judgment come up again. Jesus is confronting those who think he has a demon in him and thought he was paranoid about him knowing that the rulers wanted to kill him for healing a man on the Sabbath. Jesus gives them an example of their false judgment. He said that people would ensure that the law of Moses was fulfilled by circumcising people even on the Sabbath, but they look at Jesus's miracle of healing a man on the Sabbath as sinful. They put their man interpretation of laws over what's God's will is. Jesus told them in verse 24 that they judge by appearances and not by righteous judgment. In other words, is what you are judging in accordance with what God's will is?

Lastly, there was division among the Pharisees, chief priests and officers. The Pharisees and chief priests wanted the officers to capture Jesus but the officers did not. There were discussions/arguments about whether a prophet could ever come from Galilee. Nicodemus (from John 3:1-15) tried to warn the religious leaders about judging Jesus wrongly. He said in verse 51, "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" In other words, if our human law gives people a chance to explain themselves, then why is it that they weren't applying the same thinking to Jesus.

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Friday Focus #10

We Do Not Have to Fall to Temptation

Life is full of temptations. We are tempted to do many things from act out on our aggression, lie on our taxes, cheat on spouses, look at adult oriented imagery, have too much alcohol to drink or over eat. Some of these temptations are so a part of our culture that we have accepted them as part of our life and acceptable. But, it isn't about what is culturally acceptable. Culture changes every so often, but God's Word stays the same. That is the measuring stick by which we live life, not what people think we should do or what we think we should do.

In James 1:13-15 we have to recognize that temptation is not coming from God. God doesn't tempt us He directs us. Satan tempts us by what our desires are. I do not have the temptation to get drunk, but someone else does. Others don't have the temptation to over eat or eat the wrong things, but I do. When we give into temptation is when it turns into sin and when sin is full grown it becomes death. Not physical death, but a spiritual one in that area that can spread to other areas of our lives.

How do you fight against the temptation to go against God's will? Well, after recognizing that you are being tempted you can immediately go to God. Ask God to cover and protect you as you face this temptation (Luke 22:40). You don't have to go at it alone. Not only can you talk to God, but you can also tell another believer. Do you have an older person to confide or a friend that also follows Christ? Tell them what you are struggling with. I would hate to struggle in an area and not be able to open up to another believer (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). Two people + God = a three fold chord that is not easily broken.

 Remember too, that whatever you deal with, is something that someone else has already gone through. Someone else has had the same temptations you have already had (1 Corinthians 10:13). God provides a way out and will not let you be tempted past what you can deal with. Follow His path.

Facing Temptation- Open Bible verses

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John 6:26- In Need of Jesus

In Need of Jesus

Jesus had fed 5,000. That was a miracle. People saw that happen. People saw that it was Jesus. Jesus walked on water. That too was a miracle and an example of how when we keep our eyes on Jesus, amazing things can happen. But, even after Jesus provided miracles and examples of great faith, people wanted more. They desired more. They desired more of what they wanted than what they needed. They had their fill (verse 12) but still sought Jesus for more of their wants and not their needs.

Jesus traveled from the Sea of Galilee to Capernum by walking on water for a bit and then riding in a boat with the disciples the rest of the way. The crowd that had been on the other side of the sea saw Jesus the next day and wondered how he got from one side to another when they never saw him get on a boat. This is when Jesus calls out their infatuation with his travels. In John 6:26 he says to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves." He knows that they aren't concerned with Jesus in this moment outside of what they want, not anything else.

In verse 27, Jesus really straightens their focus on what is the most important. He tells them to focus on the food that brings eternal life, not the food that perishes. Didn't he say something like that to the Samaritan woman at the well?

In verse 35 Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life. He says that whoever comes to him will not hunger and will not thirst (this unifies what he said to the Samaritan woman and in this chapter). He does not mean physically hunger and thirst, but spiritual hunger and thirst. Jesus wants us to come to him. Not just when we need something. Not just in an emergency, but before that. Jesus is not a genie. To follow him takes effort and a humble spirit (James 4:6) that is ready to leave the old life and begin anew in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

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Wednesday Wake Up #10

Thankless Serving

Christianity is not just about liking Jesus. It is not just about knowing that Jesus existed. Nor it is about just going to church and reading the Bible and "stuff." Stuff could include Bible studies, conferences, retreats and other "stuff" that we do to grow in our faith. There is nothing wrong with anything I have mentioned, but not many people see selfless serving as part of the Christian walk.

Have you ever read through 1 Corinthians 13? This chapter describes what love is and what it looks like in real life situations. In verse 4 we see that love is patient and kind. We also see that love is not boastful, prideful or arrogant. When we serve other needs we are not serving to get noticed. We are not serving to get acknowledged. And dare I say, we are not serving toi even get a mere thank you. a thank you might seem like something we should expect from helping those in need, but do we need a "thank you" to serve? If you need a "thank you" from someone to serve then you are not serving. You are looking for human validation to fulfill a need for others. That sounds like being in it for more than helping those in need. Remember when Jesus healed a leper in Matthew 8:1-4? He didn't ask for or demand a thank you. He just wanted the man to tell the priests of the healing (but that was for fulfilling prophecies, not for selfish credit).

Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that between faith, hope and love, the greatest of those three in love. We can tell people we love them, but we can say it even louder when we serve their needs and do it selflessly. Just remember how Jesus died on the cross for you and served our need to be connected to God. He didn't waste his energy or breath asking or demanding for a thank you. Our love for God is number 1 and our love for people comes from loving God (Matthew 26:36-40).

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John 5- The Authority of Jesus

The Authority of Jesus

Jesus really wanted to validate his presence and who he was. He was not a stand alone guy just doing stuff because he wanted to (verse 19). If that were the case, then would he have been the Son of God and the Son of Man? No, he would have been like a cult leader who do things on their own accord for their own purposes.

Jesus did as he saw what God doing (verses 19-22). Jesus did what God did because whatever God does, Jesus would do. God raised the dead and Jesus did so as the God did. God stopped judging and gave all judgement authority to Jesus. That further supports the understanding that denying Christ is denying God.

Jesus received his authority from God (verse 27). Jesus was sent by God to do a job or in other words fulfill a purpose. Those who witnessed what Jesus did and said and still denied him were denying God. With all that we know of Jesus and can test his existence with the prophecies he fulfilled, you cannot overlook Jesus as God in the flesh.

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John 4: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

If there is one thing to learn from Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, it was that Jesus did not care about public perception. If the culture said one thing, Jesus did not follow that. His primary and even only concern was is it in God's will. If it is in God's will then Jesus did that. If it was not in God's will, Jesus would not go along with it. 

In John 4:7, Jesus is at a well with a Samaritan woman and tell her to give him a drink. She was surprised by this because Jews thought Samaritans were cursed and did not deal with them. Jesus is breaking so many man made rules here by speaking with a woman in public as he is a Rabbi. A rabbi would not even speak to his own wife in public. He also, as seen in verse 18, was speaking with a woman known to have numerous husbands. She had sex with 5 other men in addition to the one she was living with at that time that was not her husband. Jesus knew this and spoke with her anyway. Jesus knew that their nationalities did not mix, but he was far more concerned with sharing living water with her.

In breaking cultural man made barriers Jesus was able to share living water (John 4:10-15) which is the Spirit of God. Have you ever been on fire for God? In other words there is a passion that cannot be extinguished fueled by the Holy Spirit to serve God. What that passion is aflame you don't need anything else. That desire to serve God overwhelms your whole being. There is no other need that surfaces. With water that you drink, you will need another drink again. But living water fulfills forever. When we look past the skin we have more opportunities to give the living water of the Father.

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John 3:36- Eternal Life or Wrath of God

Eternal Life or Wrath of God

Scripture is pretty clear...okay, no...it is VERY CLEAR on who Jesus was and what his purpose was. Scripture is clear on what happens when we believe in Jesus and what happens when we do not.

There are still many who believe Jesus was the Son of God but do not follow his example and do not accept him as their Lord and Savior. That is there choice. We as believers are not to force or condemn anyone. If they are to come to Christ, then that is a decision they must make on their own. Since Jesus is God in the flesh then wouldn't you really, really want to know what he said and follow that? In John 3:36, we read part of John's testimony of Jesus. John says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." I would rather not have God's wrath on me due to my disobedience.

But where does John even get this idea from? He got it from Jesus. In John 3:14, Jesus is telling Nicodemus that "the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." This is reference is connected to Jesus being lifted on the cross. If you believe in Jesus as the Son of God then you will have eternal life. Jesus also says in John 3:5 that we must be born again of "water and spirit" or we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Think of birth and the water breaking before the birth of a child. Now, think of submerged water baptisms. You are submerged under the water and brought back up as rebirth with the Holy Spirit as you are expressing that you are a believer in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Jesus wants us to be born again in the Holy Spirit in order to be with us in the Kingdom. 
 

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John 2:16- A House of Trade

A House of Trade

How often in the bible to do you see Jesus getting angry? The Pharisees tried to back him into corners, but never could. He was scoffed at and mocked. The ONLY time we ever read of Jesus's anger in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) at the church toward those who turned the temple into a "den of thieves" or a house of trade as in John 2:16. That incident alone should be an example of righteous anger (breaking God's commandments) versus human anger over things like misunderstandings.
 

Jesus was not mad that the temple was selling a book or a Biblical aid or something. Jesus was upset that the focus was completely turned away from God. People who visited the temple during the Passover had to pay a temple tax (like paying to go to church) and money changers served as the one who could convert Roman coins into "acceptable" currency for the temple offerings and the temple tax. 

This is not the same as a tithe or offering. Even in today's times, if I use a foreign bill or coin as an offering or tithe, there shouldn't be anyone there who is working at the church as a foreign cash exchange. That business should be done at the appropriate time and place like at a bank, not during the time of worship to God. When we go to church, we are going to worship God. He is the focus, not the person we find attractive, not the person you want to rub elbows with for political or  personal gain. God's word and teaching is the focus.

References- Got Questions and Study Light- Dave Guzik (Section B:1a-d)

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Friday Focus #9

What's On Your Mind?

Have you ever been through a really, really hard time in life? Maybe it was a broken heart from an ex or the death of a loved one. Maybe it was a traumatic experience like a house fire, car accident or some kind of abuse. When we experience these things, does it help us to always talk about them and bring them up over and over again? Or are we doing damage to ourselves, God's children (for those who believe in Him- John 1:12)? 

Personally I have been through some of the things I have mentioned and by the grace of God, He put people around me that could help me through those times during and after. But, after it is over says a lot about me. For instance, if I am going to keep referring to and replaying something that hurts me time and time again, I'm probably not going to be a very happy person. I don't know anyone who dwells in hurts that has a joyful demeanor about them. God wants us to be joyful for it is good for the heart (Proverbs 17:22), not be in pain whether it be physical, emotional or otherwise. So how do we get to the point of being more joyful?

We have to give our hurts to God. Have you prayed about how God can use you through it as much as you have talked about how painful it was? Through God there is power to turn the horrible into something wonderful. David and Bathsheba's story in 2 Samuel 11 shows how adultery can end up producing one of the wisest and richest godly men in Solomon. It takes a turning toward God. That takes a choice. The choices others make are not your fault, but what you do with what happens to you is up to you. Proverbs 19:21 tells us that no matter what we think and plan will only stand if it is unison with God's purpose. Deep!

It's one thing to have a hurt and turn that into a lesson to learn from and teach others. But, it is another to keep bringing up something that still brings you pain when you remember it. What good does that do to you? It probably upsets you or brings you to tears. The bad can be used to do good. Isaiah 26:3 tells us to keep our minds on God and what is godly as it bring us peace. Thinking of pain does not bring peace. Seek God's peace and love for you by turning over your hurts to Him.

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John 1:14- And the Word Became Flesh

And the Word Became Flesh

Maybe not for me or you, but I have this feeling it is "easy" for some to forget that Jesus was God in the flesh. Not just a good guy, but the human version of God who was both God and Man at the same time.

God is not the type to overlook you. Remember that. In John 1:14 we see it clearly with "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

"The Word became flesh" breaks down how God became human and was Jesus. "Dwelt among us" shows us how Jesus walked with people and did not just live up on some cloud in the sky. "And we have seen his glory" refers to the physical evidence that shows that it was not some fairy tale told generation after generation, but witnesses seeing the same great things Jesus did. "Glory as of the only Son" tells us that God only had one Son. The S in Son is capitalized to reference that God was in Him. Remember Jesus was half Mary's and half God's. Joseph would be Jesus's step-father so to speak. We have earthly parents while Jesus had one earthly parent. "Full of grace and truth" identifies Jesus's character and his fulfillment of the prophecies.

The next time you think you are having a bad day or think no one cares about you, understand that God came down on earth to walk among us. He didn't do it out of obligation, but out of unconditional love. In that Jesus died for our sins forever uniting us with God if we accept Jesus as being God in the flesh and follow him.

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Wednesday Wake Up #9

Service When Stressed

For the last few weeks I have had several stressors in my life and a big one which was a lot of school work. That sense of stress felt very overwhelming. I felt like I wasn't going to get everything finished or tended to. I even had two dreams/nightmares Saturday night that my projects were not completed by the rights dates and were incomplete. Pretty scary stuff. But today I realized, after 80% of the stress was completed, I really had been focusing on myself for a while. I wasn't making time to spend with people. I would have a phone call here or there, but I wasn't making time to sit with people face to face. I also wasn't serving in areas where God has shaped me. I was focusing WAY TOO MUCH on myself. Then Monday night, I went for a drive and passed by a homeless man sitting on a bus stop with what appeared to be all of his belongings. Before I left the house I took a cold water bottle with me. I keep these water bottles with me for the homeless people that I see. I was able to give that homeless man that cold water bottle. He didn't speak much English, but was able to say thank you.

When we serve, it is not out of pressure from others. We serve out of our hearts and souls with our body in alignment with God's will in Christ's name for the benefit of those in need to glorify the Kingdom. Matthew 25:40, Jesus tells us that what we do for the least of his brothers (all people) then it is like doing it for him. We don't serve for photo opportunities or to brag about it on social media, we serve out of love, plain and simple.

By serving in this way, I get to see how something so simple and easy something easy for me can mean so much to someone else. I repeated what I did by giving out two more water bottles last night to another homeless man who resides on a bus stop by my school. I even put the bottles in the freezer for a bit so they would be cool for him when he received them. I do this out of love and their necessity to honor God. The next time you feel stressed, try taking the focus off of yourself and put it onto something else that God could want from you. If you don't know what it is like to know that you have been serving a purpose, I can't explain it, but it is very humbling.

How will you be serving in the future?

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Luke 24:46-47- The Resurrection Fulfills Prophecies

The Resurrection Fulfills Prophecies 

When you seek to understand the life of Christ and why he was the Messiah (proof) you will need to not only study the New Testament but the Old Testament as well.

In Luke 24:46-47, Jesus reminds the disciples of what was said in Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. When he does this, he puts the pieces of the puzzle together. 

For instance, Mosiac Law is seen as the 10 Commandments. When you break down each commandment from putting God first and honoring the Sabbath to not bearing false witness and not murdering, we are to do all of this because we are with Christ and seeking to be more like him. Since he was able to fulfill these laws (or even guidelines) and not sin, then the law is fulfilled.

One verse in Psalm 41:9, David references Jesus (before Jesus was born) being betrayed by Judas. 

We do not live by blind faith in Jesus and just accept things as they are because someone told us that is the truth. That is how you can be tricked and fooled if you do not investigate on your own. I am still learning and seeking various tools to assist in my knowledge of Christ and growth in him. 

If you seek knowledge and evidence please feel free to use 100 Prophecies and Got Questions. These two sites have helped me and will continue to do so as I strive to bring you meat and not just milk on a daily basis.

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Luke 23:5- He Stirs Up the People

He Stirs Up the People 

As Jesus was bought before Pilate, Pilate could not see why the people wanted him crucified. Their reasoning was that Jesus "stirs up the people" with teaching in various places. They didn't say he was wrong. They didn't say that he lied. They said that he stirs up the people. Is that really a crime?

People were so concerned with keeping things the way they were (afraid to change, much?) that they would rather have a murdered named Barabbas released to them rather than be "stirred." They felt more comfortable with someone who was guilty of murder than they were around Jesus. Jesus made them think. He challenged the culture. He challenged their traditions and their beliefs. He challenged their connection to and understanding of God. Jesus was God in the flesh and that scared people so much that they would rather have him killed than be challenged.

This leads me to ask the only question I can think of; what are you allowing in your life that is taking priority over Jesus? Yes, we all slip up from time to time and make mistakes, but to me there is a difference between slipping up and living a lifestyle that is not Christ-like. Please remember, just because you are "stirred up" does not mean that it is a bad thing. It takes a clam to be irritated in order to create a pearl. Let Jesus "irritate you" to show you the pearl you can be with him.

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Luke 22:19- And when he had given thanks

And when he had given thanks...

Sometimes we can over look something so simple and easy. It may sound silly but when I come home late and there is a good parking spot in front of my house, I thank Jesus. When I make it home safely and pray before bed, I thank Jesus for my safety. I give thanks. In Luke 22:19, it is literally right in front our faces and we overlook because it is not a major part of the story, but still gives insight into who Jesus was and how we can interact with God.

During the Lord's Supper as he takes his bread, Jesus says thanks. It's just a piece of bread. Nothing major, but still food to eat and something that Jesus gives thanks to God for. Pretty simple and insignificant for some people. But for me, it shows how even in the small things, we can be thankful.

The small thing of giving thanks before eating the bread shows how Jesus could be thankful for something seemingly insignificant and small. remember Luke 16:10, "one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much." If Jesus were the type to over look even the smallest of things to be thankful for and to be faithful in such as giving thanks and his personal prayer life, then that would be evidence to show him to not be the Messiah.

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." This is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus knew his body would be broken and his blood would be spilled but still gave thanks to God anyway before telling the disciples about the upcoming events. Give thanks.

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