This has been a great journey this year!  If you’re just joining us, we’re finishing the last seven days of a 21 day season of prayer and fasting.  We’ve had some wonderful prayer meetings on Tuesday nights and we’ve seen God’s hand move in amazing ways as we’ve sought Him daily.  I invite you to jump in wholeheartedly this week and to come to the celebration we’ll have at our annual Worship Night on the 23rd at 5pm.  It’s our way of celebrating the end of the fast and giving honor and place to the Lord!

His Continued Blessings,

PB

A Devotional For the 21 Day Fast: Days 15-21

Day 15    Chapter 15 of John

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser…” and so begins Chapter 15 of John.  You’ll notice that all the words of the chapter are in red and so yes, the entire chapter is a direct quote from the Lord to His disciples to prepare them for His soon absence in body.  No doubt, Jesus is the Source of our life in the same way that a vine’s branch must remain directly connected to the vine itself.  If disconnected from the vine, the branch dies and dries up, good only for burning in a brush fire.  (Verse 6)  The branch that remains or abides in the vital connection with the vine will not only live but likely bear fruit.  (Verses 2-8)  And so let’s ask ourselves the question: how is your personal, vital connection to the Lord Jesus?  Are you spending time with Him, asking Him what’s on His heart, casting your cares on Him?  Are you going to Him first, looking to Him for answers and telling Him that you trust Him to bring you to true fruitfulness?  Do you pray for things on His list, according to His will and priority, or do you just bring a laundry list of concerns and requests to voice to Him?  (Verses 7 and 16)  His plan and will for you is that you “go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”  (verse 16)  But what if you don’t feel as though you are bearing much fruit these days, yet you’re still abiding in Him?  Two things will happen.  (verse 2) Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away (or if you look at that phrase more deeply it means to “lift up”) and every branch that has been bearing fruit He prunes for more fruitfulness.  He lifts up the branches, followers, and encourages them, the ones that have drooped low and are soil covered and ties them up higher, in the sun.  And He prunes, cuts away the unnecessary and old, for a better future.  Personal relationship, the flow of life, personal attention and the resulting fruitfulness are God’s plan for His relationship with you.  Ask Him for all of that, now and in the year to come.

Day 16    Chapter 16 of John

This is yet another chapter of preparation for the followers of Jesus as He drew closer to His sacrifice.  All the words were meant to help the disciples but they were confused and didn’t really understand what He said until later when He was really gone bodily.  They needed what Jesus talked about here to understand what Jesus talked about here.  They needed the Holy Spirit.  Verse 7 remains one of the most amazing parts of Scripture.  “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”  Jesus said here that there was a better situation coming, better than walking with Him, talking with Him, watching Him and seeing Him do what no one had ever done before.  Better?  Yes, better.  You and I have a better situation because the Holy Spirit, God Himself, would come to live in your life as a believer.  He would lead you into all truth, telling you things to come, glorifying Jesus and helping you in ways you can’t relate to right now. (Verses 8-15)  Are you listening to the Holy Spirit as intently as you can?  Are you sensitive to His voice, His movements, and His convictions?  Are you asking the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to bear upon the world at large, the friend or family member that doesn’t know the Lord, the backslidden friend or your own heart?  He is the greatest Asset we could ever ask for.  Ask the Lord to make you more sensitive to the Spirit than ever before and cooperative with His movements and instruction this year.  You’ll be so much better off for doing so!

Day 17    Chapter 17 of John

This entire chapter is a prayer, the prayer that the Lord Jesus prayed for his followers.  The ones who were His followers at the time and the ones to come were the reasons for this prayer.  (Verse 20)  So what did Jesus pray for us?  That we would be “kept” and that we would be one, living in unity.  (verse 11)  That we would have His joy fulfilled in us and that the enemy wouldn’t get through to us. (verses 13 and 15)  And that we would be “sanctified” or set apart as holy, different than the world, by the truth, God’s word.  (verse 17)  Are you blessed by the fact that our Savior prayed for us?  That He knew just what we needed and asked the Father for it?  That He interceded and still intercedes for us personally and corporately?  We worry that things won’t go as we plan or hope.  We have conflicts with people and wonder if they’ll ever work out.  We fear that the enemy is going to pull us away from God and be successful in ruining everything of our walk with Christ.  We don’t think we’ll ever really be all that different than the world around us.  But Jesus intercedes for us.  He prayed and prays for us all the time.  He watches over us and has plans for us.  Thank the Lord today for His watchful care, His intercessory prayers and His goals for us.  Ask Him to show you where you can forgive and relate to others, especially Christians, so that His intent in this prayer is answered.  And follow His example and intercede for others who so desperately need the Father’s intervention in their lives.

Day 18    Chapter 18 of John

And it begins.  Jesus is here arrested by a “detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees” in the middle of the night.  He and the disciples had just finished praying, well, at least Jesus was praying, in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Judas led the group of arresting soldiers and officers.  By the end of this chapter our Lord appeared before the high priest and eventually Pilate, the Roman governor of the region.  At first glance someone might say that Jesus was moved about and tormented by people at their whim.  However, look at Who’s really in charge.  The whole group of armed officers approaches Jesus in verse 3 and in verse 4 Jesus steps to the front and asks “Whom are you seeking?”  When they said “Jesus of Nazareth” and He replied, “I am He,” they “drew back and fell to the ground.”  Really?  Were those troops arresting Jesus against His will?  No, they were carrying out His will.  All through this chapter we see that Jesus is sovereign and in control.  He releases the disciples from arrest, verse 8. He doesn’t let Peter’s swordplay cause an all out fight, which it should have.  (Verses 10-11)  He answers the High Priests Annas and Caiaphas perfectly and calmly, even though He was struck in verse 23.  He had predicted Peter’s betrayal and watched it play out as the cock crowed.  And He controls the conversation with Pilate, witnessing that He was a King and getting Pilate to ask the question, “What is truth?”  Jesus was Lord, even when He was seemingly carried along by the will of men.  Question: are you attached to Jesus by faith and salvation?  Are you His?  You can expect that though it seems that people are in control of your destiny that God Himself is ruling over the affairs of men and bringing about His will in your life. Trust Him.  People aren’t in control this year.  God is.  Trust Him with your family, your job, your finances and keep your trust in the One who is really in charge.

Day 19    Chapter 19 of John

Here is the day that should ever live in the annals of injustice and depravity.  That man should torture and crucify the Lord of Life is the greatest irony of all time.  And yet Jesus chose this out of obedience to the Father and for the “joy set before Him,” as it says in Hebrews 12.2, choosing to be the Savior of man.  Thank the Lord that He did this for us or we would have no hope of ever being right with God.  The entire earth would have collapsed in upon itself if Jesus had not come, lived a perfect life and given that life as a substitute for we who are saved.  History would have ended if He had not come.  In that greater sense, He is the Savior of every man because all life would have ceased.  He endured the worst death that the Romans could devise for a person, inflicting horrible, long-term pain on its victim and controlling the populace with fear in observing it.  Many did not live through the scourging that went on before the crucifixion.  Jesus chose that death.  For you.  For me. For our children.  Our friends.  For people here.  For people far away.  For those who have lived before us and those who will live after us.  We have freedom because He was taken captive.  We have forgiveness because He became sin who knew no sin.  Ask Him to help you to live according to what has been done for you, in the shadow of the Cross.

Day 20    Chapter 20 of John

As terrible and wonderful the last chapter was, this chapter is just simply an account of pure joy, even disbelief on the part of the disciples.  We read the story of Mary Magdalene, Peter and John (he’s the “other disciple,” by the way) going to the tomb and finding it empty.  Jesus reveals Himself to Mary Magdalene first in the moving account in verses 11-18.  This is also the first time that we see that Jesus isn’t immediately recognizable to His followers after His resurrection.  Mary thinks He’s the gardener at first, but then He unveils His identity, calls her by name and she calls Him “Rabboni,” which means literally “My Great One.”  The disciples get a special visit from the Lord as they hide from the Jews in verses 19-23, but Thomas, one of the twelve, wasn’t there.  He, of course, doesn’t believe that they really saw Him and declares that he won’t believe unless he personally sees Jesus and touches His body where they put the nails and spear through His skin.  Thomas doesn’t miss the next meeting and Jesus calls Him out to address his unbelief.  Thomas answers the Lord’s call to believe and says, “My Lord and my God!”  Isn’t it wonderfully kind of the Lord to do what it took for Thomas to believe?  A human might have cast him out, but Jesus brought him close.  God wants to increase and solidify your faith.  He will do what needs to be done to bring you from unbelieving to believing if you’ll ask.  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” said Jesus in verse 29.  May He bless you with increased faith this year, not having seen like Thomas got to, but seeing instead with spiritual eyes.  God want you to believe.  All that we’ve read during the fast was recorded by John for one reason: “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”  Believe that He will lead you in marvelous ways this year as you pursue His will and path for your life.

Day 21    Chapter 21 of John

Here we are on the last day of our 21 day fast!  God has spoken so much to us as we’ve read and meditated on the book of John for these past three weeks.  However, there’s one more chapter to read and learn from.  I personally love this chapter and read it often, it’s one of my favorites.  Here’s Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James and John and a couple of other guys, just hanging out between appearances from the Lord over the 40 days He appeared to men after the Resurrection.  They, seemingly, get tired of waiting and go fishing at Peter’s suggestion.  Of course, they fish all night and don’t catch a thing.  Jesus, whom they don’t recognize but is with them, calls from the shore, asking about their fishing expedition.  They cast their net one more time and, as you know, they brought in a net full of fish, 153 to be exact.  There’s so much to see in this chapter.  Peter doesn’t run away from the Lord but runs, swims to Him, the nets didn’t break this time as they did in the first fishing story, the Lord already had breakfast on the fire when they came; all of that has wonderful meaning.  But here’s what I want to point out: Jesus restored and re-commissioned His disciples to go out, find and care for His flock by walking in faith along the individual path He outlined for each one.  Peter could have been disqualified, for that matter, all of them could have been, but Jesus had grace for each one.  He could have told them that they would have the same path in life and death but He had a different one for Peter and a different one for John.  He released them all to a life of Him being present but unseen by the human eye, fulfilling the call to go out into all the world and make disciples of the nations.  So here’s what God has to say to you.  He will forgive and restore you no matter how far you’ve fallen.  He will give you repentance and He will refocus you to His calling for your life.  You won’t have the same path that others will have, but you have been called to be His hands, His feet and His voice, His Body, His representative ambassadors in this world.  Ask the Lord to make this year a year of fulfillment in being His man or woman in the sphere in which He’s placed you.  If you love Him, you’ll feed His sheep.

A Fasting Devotional for Days 8-14

Day 8    John Chapter 8

In this chapter, John retells the story of the woman caught in adultery, His interactions with her accusers and the marvelous ending.  In that story He reveals more of Who He really is, as we see Him convict the consciences of the woman’s accusers and with only the words “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (verse 7)  In verse 12 He says, “I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”  Then He begins again to shine the light of truth on the Jews who challenged Him and what He was saying and continues until they are ready to stone Him at the end of the chapter.  Remember John’s stated purpose in writing this book.  It’s “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”  Light and truth are closely related.  Light is a revealer and in the same way Jesus the Light revealed some difficult things to the Jews.  “You are of your father the devil…” (verse 43) is the one that comes to mind.   Ouch!  But look at verses 31-36.  Jesus says this of the truth: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  Truth reveals.  Truth hurts, it cuts.  But the truth, when accepted and adhered to, makes you a free person.  Ask the Lord for the truth in a deeper way.  Ask Him to reveal Himself, and yourself, in a clearer picture.  There may be some uncomfortable moments when He answers (like the woman’s accusers and the Jews) but in the end, there’s freedom.  Remember, the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, but He often uses people, certainly situations, to help us to see what we need to see, coupled with the Scriptures.  It’s still Jesus behind it all, wanting to make you free.

Day 9    John Chapter 9

“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.”  (Verse 1)  Did you ever read that sentence and ask why He “saw” this man?  This chapter is all about blindness, the physical blindness that this young man had and the spiritual blindness that the Pharisees retained.  The entire story is contained in this chapter, the story of how Jesus asks the man to hold still while He made some clay from His spit and some earth, applied it to his eyes and told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam.  Jesus then disappeared until the now healed, interrogated young man was found by Jesus, giving thanks to God in the Temple.  Because Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath (verse 14) and He didn’t fit into their rules regarding the Sabbath, they couldn’t believe that the miracle could possibly indicate that Jesus was the Messiah.  And so the formerly blind man (verses 27-33), presumably uneducated and common, now tells the blind Pharisees the common sense answer to the real question: just who is this Jesus?  Then the seeing man was finally introduced officially to Jesus and he confessed that he believed.  Jesus was the dividing line between those who believed and those who didn’t.  Those who believed saw, but the stubborn Jews refused to humble themselves and believe and so remained blind.   And it cost the now seeing man, as the Jews disfellowshipped him, allowing him no more contact with the bulk of Jewish society.  Two questions: are you humble enough to allow God to work in your life so that you believe and will you believe to the point that you stand out from the rest of the world around you?  Ask the Lord to help you to “see,” even if it means that in seeing and believing that others are divided from you.  It takes courage but it’s worth it!

Day 10    John Chapter 10

In this chapter, Jesus identifies Himself as the Great Shepherd of the Sheep.  He talks freely about the so called shepherds that have come before Him and identifies the “hireling,” a leader who runs when danger comes and leaves the sheep with the wolves.  All very vivid imagery describing how God cares for those who are truly His.  Those who are truly His, “believe.” (Verses 25 and 26)  And what is the characteristic of one of His Sheep?  Look at verses 27-30.  They hear His voice, they have relationship with Him and they follow and obey Him.  The promise to those who are His is that He will give them eternal life and security in their standing with God.   How are the characteristics of sheep applying to your life these days?  Do you listen for His voice?  God loves to speak to His people, but distractions, apathy and other factors are allowed to get in the way.  It’s not God’s voice that’s the problem, but our ears!  How is your relationship with Him?  Also distracted and forgotten?  And when you hear Him by the Spirit, through the Scriptures, do you follow His directives?  You see, Jesus may be the Great Shepherd, but are we the kind of sheep that are identifiably His?  Ask the Lord to help you to hear Him much better this year.  Make plans to set aside time to actually pray in the Spirit and pause long enough to find out what’s on His heart.  Have a Bible reading program that takes you through the Bible in a significant way this year.  Relate to Him, practice His Presence.  And then ask Him to give you a heart and determination to follow His directives.  After all, He is the Great Shepherd and He won’t lead you astray!

Day 11    John Chapter 11 Halfway through the fast already!

If there were a chapter in John that you would have read before, right behind John 3 is John 11.  In this portion of the Scripture we read the miraculous story of Lazarus, his death and his raising from the dead.  Jesus’ uttered those famous words at his tomb, “Lazarus, come forth!”  Of course, he did!  Many have said that if Jesus didn’t specify “Lazarus” that everyone in the tombs there might have come back to life and out of their graves.  Yes, the Word of God is that powerful.

The relationship Jesus had with Mary, Martha and Lazarus is another marvel of this chapter.  Jesus plainly had a personal interest in this family of three siblings and loved them.  Not that He didn’t love others or that He doesn’t love you and me, but the chapter features His very personal closeness to people.  Jesus weeps at the “funeral,” but have you thought that since Jesus is the express image of God that this reveals how the Father feels about human tragedy and unbelief?  I love what this tells us about God and His heart.  Yes, He weeps with you at your tragedies.

Notice the most remarkable part of this chapter, though, from a human standpoint.  After Lazarus came out of the tomb you would think that there would be no one remaining in unbelief regarding the Lord Jesus.  C’mon, how could you not say that this is God in the flesh, having given life to the dead right in front of your eyes?  Yet in verses 45-57 at the end of the chapter we find that while many did believe, others still did not.  They went from there to the Pharisees and they plotted His death, even though Jesus did what no man could do.  Miracles, signs and wonders are marvelous.  They are evidences of God’s witness to the Gospel.  But they, in themselves, are never enough to save anyone.  It always has been and always will be faith that saves.  Pray today that God would draw people to Himself and grant them the gift of faith.  Pray for faith to arise in the hearts of your friends and loved ones.  And ask Him to strengthen your own faith as you pray.

Day 12    John Chapter 12

As Jesus approaches His final Passover He has dinner with Mary, Martha and our friend Lazarus.  Imagine sitting at the table with the man Jesus raised from the dead?  Mary, in a manner similar to the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, anoints Jesus’ feet with costly spikenard and wiped the excess with her hair.  It was done of love and sacrifice and prepared Him for the day of His burial.  In these first 8 verses we see a foreshadow of His betrayal and His death and burial.  There are so many things we could focus on in this chapter, but let’s settle on verses 25 and 26.  “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”  How much do you love your life in this world?  Is it all you think about and care about?  Not that you should neglect your responsibilities and relationships, but just where is your heart?  Do you prioritize the Heavenly over the Earthly?  Are you pursuing Eternal fruitfulness and a real relationship with God or is He a “part” of your life? Do you follow Him to where He is, and where His Heart is?  Where He is, “there (His) servant will be also.”  Ask God to show you where your priorities lie and ask Him to take you where He wants you to be.

Day 13    Chapter 13

This chapter takes place at the last Passover supper (seder) Jesus has with His Disciples.  It nearly entirely takes place in an upper room that we read details of in other Gospels.  Again, there is so much here for us to take in; His foot-washing lesson, His betrayal’s beginning and His prophetic conversation with Peter about roosters crowing during his denial are all in this chapter.  Again, let’s focus on two verses, 34 and 35 this time.  “Love one another as I have loved you,” the Lord said, and then He tells them that this kind of love would identify them as His disciples to the world.  How is your love toward, especially, other Christians?  The most obvious expressions of love belong to our spouses and children, but Jesus said that His new commandment was that we were to love, in a sacrificial way, people only related to us by our common faith.  Do you mean that the Christian across the church aisle, who I am not related to nor do I especially like, is someone I need to show extravagant love toward?  Does that mean that I need to forgive them when they wrong me, give to them when they are in need, express love toward them at all times and sacrifice myself for their sakes?  What kind of love, other than that, would make us stand out in the world as His disciples and most closely imitate what our Master has done for us?  Ask Him, during this prolonged time of prayer and fasting, to show you how to love like that.  Ask Him to show you where you stand on the issue of loving like He does and to show you who the specific people are that need you to love in His way of loving.  Go beyond toleration to love that reflects His amazing love.

Day 14    Chapter 14

This chapter is preparation for the days following Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, days in which the Disciples would seemingly be on their own.  There are many wonderful words in this chapter, but let’s draw our attention to verses 15 through 17.  “If you love Me,” said Jesus, “keep My commandments.”  Wow, how can I do that, you might ask, when I’ve never been able to come close at any time in the past?  Are we back to earning God’s favor by our adherence to rules and regulations?  Not at all.  Jesus here speaks of a love relationship that’s not based on our perfection, but on grace.  Remember, Jesus is full of grace (to relate) and truth (to reveal).  But if you love Him, really love Him, you’ll want to do what He holds dear and important.  Again, how could I possibly be consistent in even that?  Ah, that’s where the Holy Spirit comes in.  The Helper, the One who is the Spirit of Truth, Who will guide you into all truth, Who will abide with you forever (!) will be the One who will enable you to keep His commandments of love and sacrifice in holiness.  He dwells with you (like someone living in your house with you)  and will be in you!  Wait a minute.  Did we read that right?  That God Himself would live in you to enable you to live according to God’s commands?  Yes.  It’s the privilege of everyone who believes on Jesus and is further reinforced by what is said in verse 23.  If you are His, He will come and make His home with you.  Do you doubt that you can live a godly, overcoming life?  Do you live life like every other person you meet?  Or does your life manifest the truth of the amazing words recorded here?  Ask God to enable you to believe that, as a Christian, you have the Lord living in you.  Ask God to burn out the ungodly in your life so that your outsides match the Holy Spirit on the inside.  Ask the Lord to use you as His instrument so that you decrease as He increases in His work through you to love and reach every life around you.  And thank Him for a privilege that none of us fully understand or appreciate.  That’s “Emmanuel” in a way we can hardly grasp!

A 21 Day Devotional for Fasting and Prayer January 3 – 23, 2011

Day One  John 1

Just a note, these devotionals can in no way cover all that’s in these marvelous chapters!  I can only take a piece, a snippet, of each one and comment on that alone.  My suggestion to each of you is to read the chapter for the day, pray before you do so, and find more of what the Lord has placed in this book to convince you of the Truth, the Lord Jesus Christ….

In chapter one, verses 29-34, the greatest prophet ever, John the Baptist, gives his witness to Who Jesus is.  He looks ahead and sees (verse 29) that He is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” as Jesus walks toward him.  And then he says something in verse 31 that he repeats in verse 33.  “I did not know Him.”  And yet, John the Baptist tells us things about Jesus that are eternal in nature and profoundly spiritual.  How did he go from not knowing to knowing?  From two sources: the Scriptures and the Spirit.  The Baptist had studied and read over the Scriptures from the time he was young, taught at his father Zechariah’s feet.  He knew that Messiah was to come and it had to have a strange warmth to him, as his life was to point to Him.  But how would he know the specific One out of so many faces?  The Spirit of the Lord instructed him specifically: “Upon Whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”

How do you and I know Him, we who live so many years beyond this moment in history?  The same way!  We read and study the Scriptures and we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Him to us.  We seek in the same way John the Baptist did and we get the same results, Jesus is revealed.  Not by human eyes or ears can He be known, but by the work of the Holy Spirit of God.  That’s how we go from not knowing Him to knowing who He really is and then declaring Him to a lost world.  Ask Him to reveal Himself to you in new ways this year!

Day Two   John 2

In this chapter we find a story that is not related in the other Gospels.  John tells us selected stories from the myriads of events surrounding the Lord in order to convince us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing in Him you might have life in His name.  (see 20.31)  Here is the story of His first recorded miracle, which happened at the wedding He and His disciples were attending in Cana of Galilee.  He turns ordinary water, meant for ceremonial washing, into the finest of wines once they had run out at the wedding feast.  Interesting to me is the fact that it wasn’t exactly a public miracle, but one that His disciples, His mother and the servants saw and not the rest of those gathered there.  He was primarily teaching His disciples who He was through this miracle.  However, note carefully that this miracle has much to say about servanthood.  Jesus, the Lord of All, took on the role of a servant in responding to His mother’s “request” of sorts in verse 3.  And then she told the household servants “Whatever He says to you, do it.”  Jesus serves.  And if you’ll notice the practice of the human servants, they serve, just doing what they’re asked without questioning.  They filled the waterpots “to the brim”, drew out the liquid inside, which they might not have seen was wine when they were asked, and took it to the Master of the Feast.  They had a front row seat to the first miracle and even had a part in it; lowly servants!  When will you see the miracles of God through your life?  When you humble yourself, obey instantly as a servant and carry out His promptings without question.  Risk the embarrassment of maybe bringing plain water to the people in charge, it’s always going to be a marvelous miracle ending if you humble yourself and obey.  Ask the Lord to make you more His servant this year, more able to hear His voice and more instant to obey!

Day 3   Chapter 3

This is such a familiar chapter to most of us who have been reading the Bible for any length of time!  Here we listen in on the Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, and hear Him speak of being born again by believing in His Name.  Of course, John 3.16 is the most quoted verse in the Bible.  But let me draw your attention to the end of the chapter where once again John the Baptist is speaking.  He is addressing his own disciples here and responds to their questions regarding Jesus and His new found popularity which rivaled John the Baptist’s fame.  John answers humbly in verse 27-30, ending with the famous line in verse 30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  But read on and hear John the Baptist’s witness in verses 31-36.  Plainly he’s learned much of Who Jesus is by the Spirit!  Verse 36 says “he who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believer the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God aides on him.” Profoundly deep and accurate is his conclusion to Chapter 3.  So let’s ask ourselves: are we as clear with ourselves and the world around us when we answer the question, “Who is Jesus?”  Are we the clear message givers that we could be if we were as humble and truthful as John the Baptist?  Could we say these same words to someone that doesn’t know the Lord yet?  Pray that God would make us humble, clear and truthful in declaring to others the message of Who Jesus is and how important it is to believe the Son.

Day 4   Chapter 4

This is the chapter that tells us the story of Jesus’ challenge to the Woman at the Well, which took place in Samaria.  Samaria was a region within Israel that was occupied by a sort of mixed breed of people, partly Jewish and partly pagan, leftovers from the occupation of Assyria in previous times.  The pure Jews just wouldn’t deal with them and considered them to be unworthy of contact and fellowship.  In other words, they were prejudiced against this race of “misfits,” at least that’s how they saw them.  Jesus, taking a trip and passing through this region, taught us how God sees people that we might see as unworthy.  First of all, Jesus, left alone by the town water well, speaks to a woman directly.  Women of the day were not seen as equals to men and a Jewish Rabbi like Jesus was especially not to have a conversation with a woman like this, Samaritan and common.  He shows no hesitancy in conversing with her and addressing the present, the past, and the future.  He shows that He cares for her and knows all about her, sins and all.  He offers her the hope of Living Water and reveals Himself as the Messiah.  A woman and a Samaritan!  Of course we read that Jesus ends up revealing Himself to the entire town and they all believe for themselves, asking Jesus to stay for a couple of days.  Which He and the disciples do!  The message here?  Believing in Jesus is to be offered to everyone.  God doesn’t keep His goodness through His Son to just your kind of people.  He made all for His glory and all souls are His.  Jesus, the Light and Life, is that for everyone.  Even though the Samaritans hadn’t gotten much right about the Lord, they did know they needed a Savior, humbled themselves and believed Him.  Don’t withhold the goodness of God from someone you can’t relate to.  Ask God to use you to reach the unlovely, the different, the repulsive, as well as the easy love, this year.  If Jesus could, you can.  Note: He went from the Samaritans right to the nobleman’s request to heal his son.  God is no respecter of persons!  Aren’t you glad for that?

Day 5   Chapter 5

Here Jesus goes up to a feast in Jerusalem, likely Pentecost, and heals a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years.  Interesting to me is the fact that this man was still seeking the Lord’s healing by laying beside a pool of water in Bethesda, waiting for an Angel to stir the waters.  (He was nothing if not persistent.)  When that happened, the first person in the water was healed.  As you can imagine, there were lots of people waiting around the pool and watching the water for the first sign of movement.  It was a desperate lot.  Jesus, ever the obedient Son, knew what the Father was going to do.  No one knows why just him, but Jesus heals the man by simply speaking to him, commanding him to get up, take his bed in hand and walk away.  It was the most important moment in that man’s life.  He encountered God and was healed in the same moment.  Later Jesus finds him in the Temple, giving thanks to the Lord presumably and finds more accurately Who healed him.  The Jews, however, seek to persecute and kill Jesus because He dared to heal this man on a Sabbath day, a day on which no one was to work.  The Jews carefully made up their own rules as to what the definition of work was and they took great pride in those carefully made up, carefully enforced, rules.  They were offended at the challenge to their authority and pride.  The man who was healed trusted in a system of healing that didn’t work.  The Jews made up rules that didn’t work either.  Jesus broke both systems because the things of God are about God Himself and His Person is extended to those who believe, not those who follow rules perfectly.  Do you still think that God relates to you, moves in your life, according to how well you’re performing?  Not that we shouldn’t want to obey Him out of love and humility, but that’s not why God extends Himself to you.  It’s grace through faith that God cares about.  The Son of God is full of Grace and Truth.  Abandon your thoughts if you think that you’ve earned a place at His Feet.  Ask God to give you a humble heart and faith to simply believe that He loves you and wants to relate to you.  Believe in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And rest from your efforts to relate by something you have to offer this year.

Day 6   Chapter 6

This is a rather long chapter and there’s much to be learned from it!  It begins with the story of the feeding of the 5,000 and then the stormy boat trip that ended with Jesus walking on the water.  (These incidents, by the way, are among the very few that John repeats with the other Gospel writers.)  Who but God could do such things?  Both incidents were amazing and especially with the feeding of the 5,000, very public.  Jesus gained many followers from the events of that day!  But what were their motives for following Him?  Look at verse 26.  They were into the miraculous meal and ignored the One who served it!  They loved what He could do for them, but were missing the more significant gift, God Himself!  They looked at the temporal (bread) and didn’t think the eternal was very important. They missed the message: “I am the Bread of Life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (verse 35)  Are you asking God to give you things this year?  That’s not wrong of itself.  God wants to supply what you need.  But are you preoccupied with what He can give you in the way of earthly things and not preoccupied with Him?  That’s a huge mistake!  Believing in Him brings everlasting life. (verse 47)  He is the “Bread of Life” and it’s He Himself that sustains us and gives us all we need.  As you pray for the year ahead, ask the Lord to forgive you for prioritizing things and not the Son.  Seek God for more of Him and believe in the One who has the words of eternal life.  (verse 68)  It makes all the difference.

Day 7   Chapter 7

Chapter seven describes some interactions the Lord Jesus had with the Jews in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, a Fall feast at the end of harvest.  It has much to do with timing.  In the beginning of the chapter, Jesus’ natural half-brothers give Him some advice regarding where He should go and when.  Jesus ignores them when He says in verses 6-8 that His timing is not man’s timing.  At the right moment, He goes to the Feast and speaks to the crowds at the Temple.  (Verse 14)  The Jews challenge Him and even try to arrest Him (Verse 30) but “His hour had not yet come.”  Even later when officers were sent to arrest Him again, they returned empty handed saying, “No man ever spoke liked this man!” (Verse 46)  God’s timing is always perfect but is most often misunderstood and in opposition to ours!  He came at the right time in history and gave His life when it was just the right moment, not the time that men thought He should give His life.  So God uses time, comes at the right time and sees time as His tool to accomplish His will.  Are you yielding to His timing?  Sure, there are things that you would like to see happen this year and you should ask Him for them, presuming that they are the right kinds of things to ask for!  But are you content to believe Him and trust that His timing is the right timing?  As you pray today, let God know what you have in your heart.  But focus on Him, yield to Him and tell Him that you trust Him to time the fulfillment of every important turn of your life.

God is really the One who brings us to long lasting fruitfulness in our lives.  It’s not in how hard you work, although that’s important.  It’s not in how smart you are or how well placed you are.  What you build in your life isn’t really what you build as much as it’s the result of God’s work in building through you. People are proud creatures and as a result are insecure creatures.  There are quite a few people who are very confident that they can pull off a life of plenty, security and accomplishment.  But get them alone, at night when they should be sleeping and you’ll find even the best, worrying about tomorrow.  The universal answer to worry?  Give in to the truth that God builds what is lasting and God guards what remains.  Ask Him for wisdom in what He wants you to do and then prayerfully place today and tomorrow in His Hands.  Let Him build something lasting through you by following His leading and then, go to sleep at night resting in the fact that it’s not all up to you to pull off the perfect life.  He’s more than able to build something through you and through your children.  True security comes from the Lord.  PB

I’m just thankful that God never stops teaching us and that He’s a Father without compare!  PB

Thanks.  Gratitude.  We have a porcelain plate on our mantle that simply says that one word, “Gratitude.”  And yes, we are grateful all year long in big and small ways, but Thanksgiving is our family’s big opportunity to voice it to each other.  And voice it we do.  Around the dinner table, talking on the couch and praying together.  We review what’s happened in the last year and we take a fresh stock of what God has brought into our lives.  That’s really the point.  Every good thing comes from Heaven, from God Himself.  We turn our hearts and our attention to Him and we say “Thank You!” with everything in us.  Will you do the same?  No matter how easy or difficult your situation this year?  I’ve met quite a few people in my life, all with differing circumstances.  Do you know what distinguishes the joyful and the depressed?  It’s not what they’ve been through or not been through.  It’s how much they say “Thank You” to the Lord.  Gratitude.  PB

It’s really a very practical book.  For example, I was reading Chapter 18 today, which reveals God’s heart regarding repentance.  Verse 31 says “Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.  For why should you die, O house of Israel?  ‘For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord God.  ‘Therefore, turn and live!’ “  That was directed toward His people, Israel.  And what does that say to us?  Examine our lives and hearts.  Turn away from what’s wrong.  And let that be a process that continues in you indefinitely!  The Lord doesn’t want death and trouble to be our lot.  Repentance is meant to be a long term part of our walk with God.  And when we do, He renews our lives.  PB