There must have been something going on in Timothy's neighborhood involving word battles; 3 times Paul addresses it: 2:14, 16, 23
I love Paul's call in chapter 1 not to be ashamed of the good news or anyone that is spreading that good news:) He (Paul) really commends Onesiphorus in vs 16 fro not being ashamed.
RUN from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Don't just turn away or ignor -- be proactive! Pretty strong language.
Paul reminds us that the devil is there to trap us and hold us captive in 2:26.
Doncha love the praying night and day! (1:3) and I like it that grandmother Lois was sharing her faith from the start. You don't often hear much about the grandmothers being so proactive!!
Read John 10 this a.m. I know we're going to read it this Sabbath, but I won't be near a computer to comment on it so....
We might have mentioned this last year but it was like I saw it anew now. The sheepfold is where the safety is, ideally. It alludes to those that climb over the wall instead of entering in thru the gate, thru Christ. Those might masquerade as sheep & cause disruptions. If Jesus nabbed them & tossed them out, many other real sheep could get tossed out with them because they have followers themselves. Like the wheat & tares.
What really struck me was getting led out of the safety of the fold. Jesus said there were other sheep that He will gather into His fold. Does He use the existing sheep of His fold to bring in stragglers? I'd like to think so.
I noticed too, that He leads them out. They don't walk out of the gate by themselves & wander off. They know His voice & only go out with Him leading them. Therefore they have a safe Guide & a Protector against enemies.
Very important to know Who I am following. I must know His voice for myself, not just blindly follow other sheep.
He never mentions rams or lambs here. We are all sheep, there is no ranking in the fold. We are not to gather our own sheep followers, but to point them to the True Shepherd. He is everything we need.
Our best example EVER of letting Him lead is when Jesus was here on the earth. As you said in your previous blog Chris, He constantly reminded us that His time had not yet come. He was totally dedicated to being led.
Lord help me to follow more intentionally every day; not to whine and complain, to rest in Your leadership and adventure!
I have trouble with the subservient role women play in the OT. Chapter 5 talks about the humiliation a wife must go through if a husband is suspicious or jealous. However, if the pure love of marriage grows in a healthy way, I guess there will be no room for jealousy. Sin had really messed us up, even in the tight bonding of marriage.
I thought it was interesting reading about the Nazarite Laws and thinking of Sampson. In chpt 6, the Nazarite is told to shave off his hair if he comes into contact with a dead person (verse 9). That's a bit confusing when you think of all the people that Sampson slew - hmmmm.
Hair was an interesting illustration of something. Nazarites had to grow theirs until their vow was fulfilled; Levites had to shave their whole body 8:7 (I'm thinking even eyebrows and armpits!) I can't quite put my finger on if hair is an illustration of something good or something bad!
God told Moses that the light from the 7 lamps had to shine forward (8:2) I was thinking about using a flashlight to walk -- you always shine it forward to see where to go next. I was thinking about following His voice -- wait for His light to show you where your next step is.
It sounds like the Levites took the place of the first-born belonging to God -- I wonder if first-borns, up to that point, had any special requirements on them?
Retirement started at 50!! Different for our Pastors today!
Here's Numb 24-26, the priestly blessing from the Message:
24 God bless you and keep you,
25 God smile on you and gift you,
26 God look you full in the face and make you prosper.
but I kindof like the NLT better:
24 May the Lord bless you and protect you. (there's the shield)
25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. (grace is the main thing that gives me hope)
26 May the Lord show you his favor (I actually like the look you in the face -- that look of compassion) and give you His peace (peace -- we're all after that feeling of contentment!)
I've always liked those 3 verses of Numbers. I like the looking me in the face too.
David read the instructions of how to carry the Ark & the reverence due it this time. Just reinforces that we aren't excused from our sin when we have the Book right in front of us to read.
There was no fear this time either, because they had a clear conscience before God in what they were doing.
At one point, or maybe it was on again/off again like we are, Joab seemed to trust God & rely on Him. I wonder at what point he lost sight of that.
I want to continue to be aware of His Presence with me at all times; since it is! I think that will help me make better choices. And I will talk things over with Him more than I do instead of impulsively reacting. It will help me take a step back & see the bigger picture instead of getting caught up in my own little world.
I like how Obed-Edom is honored; he cared for the ark, then he gets to help move it, then he's part of Asaph's group of musicians! I just like that!
Why do we worship? 16:4 to invoke blessing, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord!
Looking at David's song -- it's filled with verbs (that have understood You's) Here's some of those great verbs! Give thanks, Sing, Exult, Search, Remember, Give glory, Worship, Cry out, Praise! Worship is active!! so up out of your seat people!
David offers to build God a house -- even tho God has never been confined to a building before, He seems honored, and honors David back.
What I love is David's response: Who am I? well -- he was, at that time probably about the most powerful man in the world (according to how Israiselites were winning wars right and left), but David didn't seem to see it that way. He "sat before the Lord" vs 18 You know what your servant is really like. Boy howdy, isn't that true -- God knows what really drives us, and He loves us (me) anyway. Thank you God.
Thanks Linda, for pulling all that out of there for me. I'm being blessed by what you are sharing. Thank you! And yes, thank You Lord, for loving me in spite of knowing who I really am.
God just continually works with our flaws & as we're ready to let go of our self, He opens our eyes to see some (He doesn't overwhelm with ALL of them) of the areas we need to work on. Things that hold us back from our true potential, from true & complete happiness. And if you're like me, we usually don't have clue that it was even an issue. We have subconsciously accepted that this is how we are & we will not change. It's like a light has shined in the darkness & now we can see ourselves better.
I just compared Ps 119:130 in NLT, MSG & Amplified & wow! It's so cool! Reminds me of the small group stuff & it applies to what I said above. NLT "The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand". MSG "Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning." Amp "The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple."
Keep opening my eyes to Your Truth & reveal the lies in my life, in my belief system. And as You change me, let others have the hope that You can change them too. That You love them enough to heal them.
And that brings me to the sentence that I enjoyed most in today's reading. "Let all that I am praise the Lord!". It's repeated a few times. But let all that I am right now, let me praise God in the purity of my heart right now. In the way that I know right now. It may not be perfect, but it's with a sincere & open heart. Let me praise God because He knows my heart & accepts my imperfect praise as glorious & honoring to Him.
I wonder if the people who ran & told the Pharisees about Lazarus being raised did it in an awed fashion. Trying to convince them that this might be the Messiah. It seems like it to me in their response that "everyone is gonna believe in Him"! Like they felt they were fighting a losing battle - and they were.
I also am thinking of Isaiah's prophecy, how he worded it. He said God had blinded their eyes so they couldn't see, etc. I think of the sun & how it's so good, but when it shines directly at me, I can't see. There were so many overwhelming miracles & manifestations that Jesus was the Messiah. In this manner I believe they were blinded. Their pride was overrun with truth & they wouldn't back down & say they were wrong so their hearts were hardened. That's pretty sad.
I like the reminder that lifting Jesus up to people, draws them to Him. Not to me, another human being, another sheep. But to the only One who can really do them eternal good.
Well -- yesterday started out @ 3:30, and I was planning to ready/blog last night -- but my bags didn't make it to Charleston with me; so I'll blog on a little commentary of John that I have.
Today, I read about the blind man's healing -- and Chris, it goes along with so much that you said on August 29. First of all - he was in total darkness -- and it was a progression to finally being able to physically see the light. He had to admit, he had to wait for the healing mud, he had to obey to wash it off, he had to find the source of healing. But -- it was also a progression as he came to the spiritual light, to understand Who was the source of that spiritual light: "the man", "a prophet" "I'm a follower" "understand that He WAS the Messiah" and here's the sweetest part of the story -- once He understood, he worshiped Him. According to the commentary, this is the only record in John of someone worshiping Jesus! Let all that is within me praise the Lord!
Bags are back; Bible is back! Wha-hoo! So this am, I decided to catch up on Ps and Pro and skip Hosea:):)
103 - it all begins with Let all that I am praise the Lord -- and ends with it -- Let all that I am praise the Lord. It was such an all consuming thought - that David started out the next chapter the same way. I want to be consumed with that -- praise; I know that I'm not always -- mostly ever; little inroads of discontent, whining, "that's-not-fair-ness" critism, come trickling in -- growing bigger - pushing out the praise. That's why I constantly have to keep turning - and pushing out the garbage with praise.
I LOVE all of the gratitude that comes pouring out in 103 - - I think that's a good technique for when I'm working to push out the garbage, or even sometimes content to sit down in the garbage. The only way to toss it out is to praise and count blessings! Thank you Lord -- a good chapter for me today!
104 -- what beautiful poetic language about God's creation and rulership. Right now, I'm in a little apartment on the ocean -- so 104:25 is a beautiful reminder of His creative power.
104:24 May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him! I guess that's the praise with all that I am in a different format! Often I can look ok on the outside -- but those lousy thoughts will double cross me every time! Thoughts -- motives; those go way deeper than the mask on the outside, but God knows our motives, our thoughts -- might as well admit our struggles! This thought comes out in Prov 20:27 too
PROVERBS: Pretty funny to compare 20:12 with 21:23!! 20:12 reminds us that ears and eyes are gifts -- that's how we learn, how we grow -- that old mouth and tongue (21:23) is what gets us into troooooouble!
20:24 The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? Really good reminder to rest in His direction -- to put my life in His hands and remember that what I think of as "bad" may be really "good"
vs 29 young = strength, old = experience. If you could just combine those two!! doesn't often happen, but when it does . . .
21:9 and 19 talk about the "wife" first you find the man in the attic because she's quarrelsome, then he moves out to the desert when she starts complaining!
I want to PURSUE righteousness and unfailing love -- I don't always.
21:30 I love David's thought, especially as we see the world's turmoil -- No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the Lord!
I like that thought about the spiritual progression as well as the physical one. Since we can't always see the spiritual progress like we can the physical we tend to expect them to just "arrive" at the mature point, at least where we're at, or we judge them if they don't manifest in some way (teaching, leadership, tongues, etc). Jesus never did this. He allowed people to grow & encouraged them where they were at.
I went back to John 10 today for a bit. Something immediately jumped out at me. The thief comes to steal, kill & destroy. It's all taking away from the sheep. We tend to think that kill & destroy are one & the same but they aren't. You can destroy a person & yet leave them breathing, walking & talking. Jesus came to give. It's true that sometimes God takes away from us, BUT He always gives more in return. A thief leaves nothing but emptiness & a feeling of helplessness, anger & bitterness.
The true sheep didn't listen & still don't listen to thieves & robbers. They are spending time getting to know the True Shepherd so they don't follow the others. So important to spend the time listening to His voice so I know it for me, to me. I can't stress that enough. Listening & following.
Here's another thought I got as I was pondering some more on the beginning of 10.
Jesus said in v14-15 "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.".
When I was in the army, we often wondered if our leadership had any clue about reality & if they were communicating with each other as we would get conflicting or unrealistic orders. Here Jesus is saying He knows His Father just as well as the Father knows Him. They are One as He says later in the chapter. That's really encouraging to me as a sheep. My leadership knows where He is going AND why. I just need to follow. (So why do I whine all the time? Another subject)
This knowledge of His Father causes Jesus to sacrifice - willingly (v18). How can I expect that He'll ask less of me? Again, so important to get to know God for ourselves. To listen & follow.
I was impressed with this reading in 10-12 about how everything done on this earth has a bigger picture; that bigger picture is to bring glory and attention to, worship to God.
It happens in the raising of Lazarus (11:4) and it happened in the blind man's healing (9:3), it happens with the Greeks (12:23)
Another theme throughout Jesus ministry is the I AM statements -- He's not only the Good Shepherd, He's the Gate, He's the Resurrection and the Life. Basically -- He's everything that is Good, everything that is Healing, everything that can give meaning, purpose, and abundance.
The Good Shepherd is referred to in Zech 9:16 - - and His purpose is to give me a rich and satisfying life (vs 10) that may not be a cushy life -- but a life with purpose and meaning - - THAT's satisfaction!
People are SO manipulative; in 10: 24 they try to weasle a clear declaration of Messiahship out of Jesus; when He alludes to proof He's given them, and the One-ness of His Father -- they try to stone Him -- no wonder He wouldn't put His trust in Man, but kept focused on His Father - - the people were confused, because they had never witnessed or experienced this Purity rubbing shoulders with normal humanity.
Notice that the disciples are NOT wanting to go back to Bethany. YOu can almost hear the relief in their voices once they hear that Lazarus is sleeping so he'll get better on his own. When Jesus says, ok, it's time -- Thomas says it all -- they are consumed (and I would have been in the same boat) with fear -- walking into a death trap)
I love Martha's bold declaration of "I have always believed you ARE the Messiah" No one else seemed that bold, well - maybe Peter was that bold -- but at that point, Peter would blurt out all kinds of things. I just love that Martha declared this in her grief; that's when trust is tested to the max.
Seems like Mary had quite a following. It's when Mary got up to leave that people followed her; and in 11:43 it says that Many of the people who were with "Mary" believed in Jesus. Maybe Mary was an evangelist personality?
The kernel illustration, I know it applies to Jesus here -- but personalizing it a bit, I think that many of our expectations about what life will look like must die. Once these are dead, God is able to bring about His plan.
There must have been something going on in Timothy's neighborhood involving word battles; 3 times Paul addresses it: 2:14, 16, 23
ReplyDeleteI love Paul's call in chapter 1 not to be ashamed of the good news or anyone that is spreading that good news:) He (Paul) really commends Onesiphorus in vs 16 fro not being ashamed.
RUN from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Don't just turn away or ignor -- be proactive! Pretty strong language.
Paul reminds us that the devil is there to trap us and hold us captive in 2:26.
Doncha love the praying night and day! (1:3) and I like it that grandmother Lois was sharing her faith from the start. You don't often hear much about the grandmothers being so proactive!!
Read John 10 this a.m. I know we're going to read it this Sabbath, but I won't be near a computer to comment on it so....
ReplyDeleteWe might have mentioned this last year but it was like I saw it anew now. The sheepfold is where the safety is, ideally. It alludes to those that climb over the wall instead of entering in thru the gate, thru Christ. Those might masquerade as sheep & cause disruptions. If Jesus nabbed them & tossed them out, many other real sheep could get tossed out with them because they have followers themselves. Like the wheat & tares.
What really struck me was getting led out of the safety of the fold. Jesus said there were other sheep that He will gather into His fold. Does He use the existing sheep of His fold to bring in stragglers? I'd like to think so.
I noticed too, that He leads them out. They don't walk out of the gate by themselves & wander off. They know His voice & only go out with Him leading them. Therefore they have a safe Guide & a Protector against enemies.
Very important to know Who I am following. I must know His voice for myself, not just blindly follow other sheep.
He never mentions rams or lambs here. We are all sheep, there is no ranking in the fold. We are not to gather our own sheep followers, but to point them to the True Shepherd. He is everything we need.
Our best example EVER of letting Him lead is when Jesus was here on the earth. As you said in your previous blog Chris, He constantly reminded us that His time had not yet come. He was totally dedicated to being led.
ReplyDeleteLord help me to follow more intentionally every day; not to whine and complain, to rest in Your leadership and adventure!
I have trouble with the subservient role women play in the OT. Chapter 5 talks about the humiliation a wife must go through if a husband is suspicious or jealous. However, if the pure love of marriage grows in a healthy way, I guess there will be no room for jealousy. Sin had really messed us up, even in the tight bonding of marriage.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting reading about the Nazarite Laws and thinking of Sampson. In chpt 6, the Nazarite is told to shave off his hair if he comes into contact with a dead person (verse 9). That's a bit confusing when you think of all the people that Sampson slew - hmmmm.
Hair was an interesting illustration of something. Nazarites had to grow theirs until their vow was fulfilled; Levites had to shave their whole body 8:7 (I'm thinking even eyebrows and armpits!) I can't quite put my finger on if hair is an illustration of something good or something bad!
God told Moses that the light from the 7 lamps had to shine forward (8:2) I was thinking about using a flashlight to walk -- you always shine it forward to see where to go next. I was thinking about following His voice -- wait for His light to show you where your next step is.
It sounds like the Levites took the place of the first-born belonging to God -- I wonder if first-borns, up to that point, had any special requirements on them?
Retirement started at 50!! Different for our Pastors today!
Here's Numb 24-26, the priestly blessing from the Message:
24 God bless you and keep you,
25 God smile on you and gift you,
26 God look you full in the face
and make you prosper.
but I kindof like the NLT better:
24 May the Lord bless you and protect you. (there's the shield)
25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. (grace is the main thing that gives me hope)
26 May the Lord show you his favor (I actually like the look you in the face -- that look of compassion) and give you His peace (peace -- we're all after that feeling of contentment!)
I've always liked those 3 verses of Numbers. I like the looking me in the face too.
ReplyDeleteDavid read the instructions of how to carry the Ark & the reverence due it this time. Just reinforces that we aren't excused from our sin when we have the Book right in front of us to read.
There was no fear this time either, because they had a clear conscience before God in what they were doing.
At one point, or maybe it was on again/off again like we are, Joab seemed to trust God & rely on Him. I wonder at what point he lost sight of that.
I want to continue to be aware of His Presence with me at all times; since it is! I think that will help me make better choices. And I will talk things over with Him more than I do instead of impulsively reacting. It will help me take a step back & see the bigger picture instead of getting caught up in my own little world.
I like how Obed-Edom is honored; he cared for the ark, then he gets to help move it, then he's part of Asaph's group of musicians! I just like that!
ReplyDeleteWhy do we worship? 16:4 to invoke blessing, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord!
Looking at David's song -- it's filled with verbs (that have understood You's) Here's some of those great verbs! Give thanks, Sing, Exult, Search, Remember, Give glory, Worship, Cry out, Praise! Worship is active!! so up out of your seat people!
David offers to build God a house -- even tho God has never been confined to a building before, He seems honored, and honors David back.
What I love is David's response: Who am I? well -- he was, at that time probably about the most powerful man in the world (according to how Israiselites were winning wars right and left), but David didn't seem to see it that way. He "sat before the Lord" vs 18 You know what your servant is really like. Boy howdy, isn't that true -- God knows what really drives us, and He loves us (me) anyway. Thank you God.
Thanks Linda, for pulling all that out of there for me. I'm being blessed by what you are sharing. Thank you! And yes, thank You Lord, for loving me in spite of knowing who I really am.
ReplyDeleteGod just continually works with our flaws & as we're ready to let go of our self, He opens our eyes to see some (He doesn't overwhelm with ALL of them) of the areas we need to work on. Things that hold us back from our true potential, from true & complete happiness. And if you're like me, we usually don't have clue that it was even an issue. We have subconsciously accepted that this is how we are & we will not change. It's like a light has shined in the darkness & now we can see ourselves better.
I just compared Ps 119:130 in NLT, MSG & Amplified & wow! It's so cool! Reminds me of the small group stuff & it applies to what I said above.
NLT "The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand".
MSG "Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning."
Amp "The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple."
Keep opening my eyes to Your Truth & reveal the lies in my life, in my belief system. And as You change me, let others have the hope that You can change them too. That You love them enough to heal them.
And that brings me to the sentence that I enjoyed most in today's reading. "Let all that I am praise the Lord!". It's repeated a few times. But let all that I am right now, let me praise God in the purity of my heart right now. In the way that I know right now. It may not be perfect, but it's with a sincere & open heart. Let me praise God because He knows my heart & accepts my imperfect praise as glorious & honoring to Him.
I wonder if the people who ran & told the Pharisees about Lazarus being raised did it in an awed fashion. Trying to convince them that this might be the Messiah. It seems like it to me in their response that "everyone is gonna believe in Him"! Like they felt they were fighting a losing battle - and they were.
ReplyDeleteI also am thinking of Isaiah's prophecy, how he worded it. He said God had blinded their eyes so they couldn't see, etc. I think of the sun & how it's so good, but when it shines directly at me, I can't see. There were so many overwhelming miracles & manifestations that Jesus was the Messiah. In this manner I believe they were blinded. Their pride was overrun with truth & they wouldn't back down & say they were wrong so their hearts were hardened. That's pretty sad.
I like the reminder that lifting Jesus up to people, draws them to Him. Not to me, another human being, another sheep. But to the only One who can really do them eternal good.
Well -- yesterday started out @ 3:30, and I was planning to ready/blog last night -- but my bags didn't make it to Charleston with me; so I'll blog on a little commentary of John that I have.
ReplyDeleteToday, I read about the blind man's healing -- and Chris, it goes along with so much that you said on August 29. First of all - he was in total darkness -- and it was a progression to finally being able to physically see the light. He had to admit, he had to wait for the healing mud, he had to obey to wash it off, he had to find the source of healing. But -- it was also a progression as he came to the spiritual light, to understand Who was the source of that spiritual light: "the man", "a prophet" "I'm a follower" "understand that He WAS the Messiah" and here's the sweetest part of the story -- once He understood, he worshiped Him. According to the commentary, this is the only record in John of someone worshiping Jesus! Let all that is within me praise the Lord!
Bags are back; Bible is back! Wha-hoo! So this am, I decided to catch up on Ps and Pro and skip Hosea:):)
ReplyDelete103 - it all begins with Let all that I am praise the Lord -- and ends with it -- Let all that I am praise the Lord. It was such an all consuming thought - that David started out the next chapter the same way. I want to be consumed with that -- praise; I know that I'm not always -- mostly ever; little inroads of discontent, whining, "that's-not-fair-ness" critism, come trickling in -- growing bigger - pushing out the praise. That's why I constantly have to keep turning - and pushing out the garbage with praise.
I LOVE all of the gratitude that comes pouring out in 103 - - I think that's a good technique for when I'm working to push out the garbage, or even sometimes content to sit down in the garbage. The only way to toss it out is to praise and count blessings! Thank you Lord -- a good chapter for me today!
104 -- what beautiful poetic language about God's creation and rulership. Right now, I'm in a little apartment on the ocean -- so 104:25 is a beautiful reminder of His creative power.
104:24 May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him! I guess that's the praise with all that I am in a different format! Often I can look ok on the outside -- but those lousy thoughts will double cross me every time! Thoughts -- motives; those go way deeper than the mask on the outside, but God knows our motives, our thoughts -- might as well admit our struggles! This thought comes out in Prov 20:27 too
PROVERBS: Pretty funny to compare 20:12 with 21:23!! 20:12 reminds us that ears and eyes are gifts -- that's how we learn, how we grow -- that old mouth and tongue (21:23) is what gets us into troooooouble!
20:24 The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? Really good reminder to rest in His direction -- to put my life in His hands and remember that what I think of as "bad" may be really "good"
vs 29 young = strength, old = experience. If you could just combine those two!! doesn't often happen, but when it does . . .
21:9 and 19 talk about the "wife" first you find the man in the attic because she's quarrelsome, then he moves out to the desert when she starts complaining!
I want to PURSUE righteousness and unfailing love -- I don't always.
21:30 I love David's thought, especially as we see the world's turmoil -- No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the Lord!
I like that thought about the spiritual progression as well as the physical one. Since we can't always see the spiritual progress like we can the physical we tend to expect them to just "arrive" at the mature point, at least where we're at, or we judge them if they don't manifest in some way (teaching, leadership, tongues, etc). Jesus never did this. He allowed people to grow & encouraged them where they were at.
ReplyDeleteI went back to John 10 today for a bit. Something immediately jumped out at me. The thief comes to steal, kill & destroy. It's all taking away from the sheep. We tend to think that kill & destroy are one & the same but they aren't. You can destroy a person & yet leave them breathing, walking & talking. Jesus came to give. It's true that sometimes God takes away from us, BUT He always gives more in return. A thief leaves nothing but emptiness & a feeling of helplessness, anger & bitterness.
The true sheep didn't listen & still don't listen to thieves & robbers. They are spending time getting to know the True Shepherd so they don't follow the others. So important to spend the time listening to His voice so I know it for me, to me. I can't stress that enough. Listening & following.
Glad you got your stuff. Enjoyed your thoughts on Ps & Prov. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's another thought I got as I was pondering some more on the beginning of 10.
ReplyDeleteJesus said in v14-15 "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.".
When I was in the army, we often wondered if our leadership had any clue about reality & if they were communicating with each other as we would get conflicting or unrealistic orders. Here Jesus is saying He knows His Father just as well as the Father knows Him. They are One as He says later in the chapter. That's really encouraging to me as a sheep. My leadership knows where He is going AND why. I just need to follow. (So why do I whine all the time? Another subject)
This knowledge of His Father causes Jesus to sacrifice - willingly (v18). How can I expect that He'll ask less of me? Again, so important to get to know God for ourselves. To listen & follow.
I was impressed with this reading in 10-12 about how everything done on this earth has a bigger picture; that bigger picture is to bring glory and attention to, worship to God.
ReplyDeleteIt happens in the raising of Lazarus (11:4) and it happened in the blind man's healing (9:3), it happens with the Greeks (12:23)
Another theme throughout Jesus ministry is the I AM statements -- He's not only the Good Shepherd, He's the Gate, He's the Resurrection and the Life. Basically -- He's everything that is Good, everything that is Healing, everything that can give meaning, purpose, and abundance.
The Good Shepherd is referred to in Zech 9:16 - - and His purpose is to give me a rich and satisfying life (vs 10) that may not be a cushy life -- but a life with purpose and meaning - - THAT's satisfaction!
People are SO manipulative; in 10: 24 they try to weasle a clear declaration of Messiahship out of Jesus; when He alludes to proof He's given them, and the One-ness of His Father -- they try to stone Him -- no wonder He wouldn't put His trust in Man, but kept focused on His Father - - the people were confused, because they had never witnessed or experienced this Purity rubbing shoulders with normal humanity.
Notice that the disciples are NOT wanting to go back to Bethany. YOu can almost hear the relief in their voices once they hear that Lazarus is sleeping so he'll get better on his own. When Jesus says, ok, it's time -- Thomas says it all -- they are consumed (and I would have been in the same boat) with fear -- walking into a death trap)
I love Martha's bold declaration of "I have always believed you ARE the Messiah" No one else seemed that bold, well - maybe Peter was that bold -- but at that point, Peter would blurt out all kinds of things. I just love that Martha declared this in her grief; that's when trust is tested to the max.
Seems like Mary had quite a following. It's when Mary got up to leave that people followed her; and in 11:43 it says that Many of the people who were with "Mary" believed in Jesus. Maybe Mary was an evangelist personality?
The kernel illustration, I know it applies to Jesus here -- but personalizing it a bit, I think that many of our expectations about what life will look like must die. Once these are dead, God is able to bring about His plan.