Thursdays Child: John 6:61-71 Weeding, and Pruning

Well, it looks like we're going to finish John 6 today. In this section, the term disciple is used twice. The first time in verse 61, it refers to the twelve Jesus had chosen that we usually think of as His disciples. The second time is in verse 66, when Jesus refers to the crowd. They were also considered disciples because the word "disciple" means "to follow the teachings of another." Jesus specifically chose the twelve because He knew they would be the ones who would become His Apostles. "Apostle" means "one who is sent out." Jesus chose them to teach them, then send them out to become the ones who would start the early Christian church. The large group of people were Jesus' disciples, because they were His students, and followers. That doesn't mean they didn't tell others about Jesus, that just means they were always known only as disciples.
Jesus had just taught the crowd that He was the true bread from heaven. If they eat of His flesh and drink of His blood, they will have eternal life. He knew that some of them were complaining. He turned to them and asked "Does this offend you? Then what will you think if you see me, The Son of Man, return to heaven again?It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. But some of you don't believe me. This is what I meant when I said that people can't come to me unless the Father brings them to me." That was a bunch of the crowd left. In my last post, "Drawn To God" we talked about how it is our responsibility to have an open mind so the Holy Spirit can work in us. Even though the Holy Spirit didn't come on the scene until after Jesus' death and resurrection He gave us a hint here that, that is who touches our spirit.
When the crowd started leaving, Jesus turned to the twelve and asked "Are you going to leave too?" Peter said "Lord to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God."
Here again we are challenged to have an open mind. I believe we are still suppose to question, and seek answers. Let the Holy Spirit touch your spirit, and let Him give you the answers your are looking for.
Next we are going to start Chapter 7. That is going to be a little while. I have a story brewing in my head for my other blog "Damsels Ghosts and Heroes."  So I'll be back as soon as I clear my head. Until then keep searching and asking those questions.
Paul

Thursdays Child:John 6:37-45 Drawn To God

John six has really provided us with some good discussion material. On this Thursdays Child I would like to take a look at a phrase Jesus says a couple of times in chapter six. In verses 37, and 44 Jesus says "Those that the Father has given to Me will come to Me." and "For people can't come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them to Me." In these two verses Jesus is essentially is saying the same thing. People can't come to Jesus unless the Father draws them to Him. I have heard people argue that, God chooses people to find salvation, and if He doesn't choose you, you go to hell. They are trying to say "How can God be so cruel, and pick and choose who goes to heaven?" Well, let's look at John 6:37-40. Jesus says "However, those the Father has given to Me, will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want. And this is the will of God that I should not lose even one of all those He has given Me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day. For it is my Father's will that all who see His Son and believe in Him should have eternal life, that I should raise them at the last day."
Then in verse 45 Jesus says "As it is written in the scriptures 'They will all be taught by God', Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me."  
This last scripture tells me it is up to us to learn from what we hear being preached. How many times have heard something or seen something that we just can't accept. A recent news story comes to mind. A preacher who was having a service where they handled snakes, got bit by a rattle snake, didn't go to the hospital right away but, prayed for healing. When they saw he wasn't getting better, they took him to the hospital, but it was too late. He died. The outcome of this story isn't my point, my point is, I wouldn't have been in the service, because I'm just not that open minded when it comes to touching snakes. People who aren't open minded to hearing the word of God, don't accept it right away. We do like to say that every time  some tells another about Jesus, "it plants a seed," and the more people that share Jesus with that person, that seed grows. This is what verse 45 is talking about. That person continues to learn, then one day he or she comes to Jesus. These days we say it is the Holy Spirit that draws then. Back then Jesus says it is the Father, because Jesus hadn't died, rose, and ascended to heaven. It was after He went up to heaven that the Holy Spirit came. That passage also says "It is the will of God that I should not lose even one." That tells me, that God wants all of us to come to Jesus, but God also gives us the ability to chose, or not. This is called free will. The more people that share Jesus with someone, the more chances they have to exercise their free will. God wants us all to be raised in Jesus at the last day, and spend eternity in heaven. It's up to us. God just provides the opportunities. This would be one of those opportunities. If this is your first time reading this blog, or if you want to know more about what it means to come to Jesus, please leave a comment in the comment section, and I'll reply.
Next time we finish off chapter 6, which talks more about how the crowd following Jesus aren't able to accept Him as the Messiah.
Thanks for searching with me as we try to figure out how God draws us to Him.
Paul
  

Thursdays Child John 6:35-60 Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Well, I hope you liked the last entry "Son Of Man." It was fun for me to research. If you didn't catch it, it is just below this one. We looked at what Jesus meant when He referred to Himself as "The Son Of Man." Check it out.
As we continue in the book of John, we'll take a look at how Jesus tries to explain to the crowd (the crowd of 5000 He had just fed the night before) that He is the "Bread Of Life." This passage has a lot of repetition in it. It probably could have been a lot shorter, but Jesus kept trying to convince the crowd that He had come to give them eternal life, and they just weren't able to accept it. As I was reading it, I was able to understand it from both perspectives. If we look at verse 38, Jesus says "I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent Me, not to do what I want." Then in verse 42 the people said "How can He say He came down from heaven, we know His mother and father." It doesn't say how long they had known Jesus' family, but I was thinking if they knew Him as He was growing up, it would be really hard to accept Him as the Messiah.
As we look at the next exchange between Jesus and the people, this is the part that spans twelve verses. Jesus is trying to explain to them that they are to eat of His flesh, and drink His blood. You can understand why the disciples said in verse 60 "This is very hard to understand. how can anyone accept it." It was back in verse 57 that help me understand. Jesus said "I live by the power of the living Father who sent me, in the same way, those who partake of Me will live because of Me." Jesus is saying here, if you totally take in and consume and live everything I teach, you will have eternal life. I don't know why, but the word "partake" helped me to realize what Jesus was saying. I think it's very cool that, after the people told Jesus they expected Him to take care of them while they followed Him, and brought up how Moses fed the Israelites with manna, Jesus compares himself to the manna. God supplied manna from heaven to sustain life for the Israelites, now Jesus is telling them, and us, that He has come from heaven and He is all the bread we need to "partake" of to have eternal life. When He says we will never hunger and thirst again, He means when we get to heaven. Naturally we will while we're still living as humans on earth, but when we get to heaven, when all is perfect, there will be no need for food or drink. If you were having a hard time understanding what Jesus meant when He said we are to eat His flesh, and drink His blood, I hope this helped make things a little clearer.
Just remember, things may not always be what they appear. The people in this passage would never have expected Jesus to be the Messiah (and some of them still didn't believe.) So keep an open mind, the most wonderful things could come to us where and when we least expect it.
In verse 37, and 44 Jesus said "those the Father has drawn to Me." I'd like to take a look at this next time. I have heard some debate about this in the past, and I'd like to see if we can shed a little light on this phrase. Until then keep questioning, and keep searching for the answers.
Thanks for searching with me,
Paul

Thursdays Child: "Son Of Man" Examined

As I mentioned in the last Thursdays Child, I would like to take a look at the phrase "Son Of Man." It's a phrase that I always wondered what it's meaning was. It is used 88 times in the New Testament, and one that Jesus used to refer to Himself.
What I found is that there are two possible meanings. One is from the book of Daniel, in a prophecy about Jesus being the Messiah. In Daniel 7:13-14 it says, "In my vision at night I looked and there before me was like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations, and men of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." The second meaning actually means born of a human. An interesting use of the phrase, is in the Old Testament, it is used to confirm a person's relationship to another person. They used the phrase, like we use "next of kin" today. If a person needed to be bought from slavery, or released from jail, the "son of man" could redeem them. Since Jesus was totally human He can be considered our relative by blood, and since He was totally God, He could forgive sins. Therefore, Jesus was able to forgive the sins of those who lived when He did, and since He died and rose from the grave He is also able to forgive our sins today.
It's interesting to learn that Jesus did things that were based in His tradition. He observed the laws that were given by God, but then He would turn around and do things contrary to the man made laws, like having the man at the Bethesda pool carry his mat on the Sabbath.
It's fun to research the things you wonder about. I have wondered about the "Son of Man"" phrase for  a while. I'm glad I decided to finally find out what it meant. I hope it was as interesting for you also.
Thanks for learning with me,
Paul

Thursdays Child John 6:22-35 The Original "Show Me" People

Well, we're back on track after getting sidetracked with a little geography.

As I was reading this passage, I started thinking about 1) How people can be so deceitful and fickle, and 2) It's funny to watch Jesus tell them what they are really thinking, and that they can't deceive Him.  

John doesn't say after Jesus had fed them (the five thousand) and listened to Him teach, whether they went home to sleep, or if they had to sleep on the hill. He just says, they started gathering on the shore the next morning. They knew the disciples had gone across the lake without Him, but what they didn't know was that Jesus had decided to take a walk ACROSS the lake to catch up to the disciples. For some reason they decided to go across the lake and check anyway. I can just imagine the looks on their faces when they found Him there. When they asked Him how He got there, Jesus didn't answer the question, He just said "The truth is you just want to be with me because I fed you, not because you witnessed a miracle." It was like, that crowd was the groupies of their day. As long as the popular prophet was providing them with what they needed, or wanted, they would hang around. When their free ride starts to cost them something (as we'll see later) Jesus' crowd starts to dwindle. But for now, He goes on to tell them not to be so concerned about perishable things like food. They need to focus their energy on seeking the eternal life that Jesus can give them. He specifically told them "I, the Son of Man, have been sent by God the Father to give you eternal life." They did respond by asking what God wants them to do. Jesus told them "Believe in the one He has sent." They had the nerve to say "Then you need to show us a miraculous sign. What will you do for us?" It makes you wonder why Jesus didn't say "I just fed over five thousand of you with five loaves of bread and two fish, what more do you want?" Evidently they wanted Jesus to feed them as long as they followed Him, because they said "Moses fed the people manna while they journeyed through the wilderness." Jesus told them it wasn't Moses that provided the manna, it was His Father, and now God is offering them the true bread of heaven, the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said "Sir give us that bread every day of our lives." At this point I picture Jesus pointing to His chest saying loudly in frustration "I Am The Bread Of Life." The people are probably still thinking about getting some breakfast, and having some bread that is edible, and Jesus is talking eternity, and they just aren't getting it.
We'll see how they finally understand later but, I want to stop here for today. I don't want to go too far past Jesus' "Son of Man" statement. I want to take a closer look at that, and what He could have meant by that, next time. Until then,
Thanks for searching with me, as we attempt to understand Jesus' relationship with His followers.
Paul  
             

Thursdays Child-Jesus' Geography

Just a little suggestion before you get started, If you click on the map it shows up better.

As I was getting ready for the next Thursdays Child I was reading John 6:22-59 and I started wondering, where was Jesus when He crossed the Sea Of Galilee, and just how far did He travel (walk) in His ministry. This map can give you an idea how far He traveled. He changed the water to wine at the wedding feast in Cana. Then, He went to Jerusalem to heal the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, which seems to be about sixty to seventy miles or so. After He healed the lame man is when He made all the Jewish leaders angry by claiming to be The Son Of God. That's when it says He crossed the Sea of Galilee and fed the five thousand. Well, the Sea of Galilee wasn't right there for Him to just hop in a boat and go. He had to walk another sixty miles or so. Then I started wondering, where did He feed the five thousand, so we would know where he landed. As I was looking for that I read an article that said, since Jesus celebrated the Jewish Festivals, and the timing of them, He probably fed the five thousand about six months after He healed the lame man. I have been trying to focus only on the book of John when writing this, but I wanted to know where Jesus landed when He crossed the Sea of Galilee, and found it in Luke. Luke says "He took the disciples and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed them there." If you check the map, that's at the top of the sea. Again, checking the map, it looks like the trip over to Capernaum may have just be possible to do overnight. Their route must have taken them far enough out to sea though, that a bad storm could have been very frightening.

If it really was six months from healing the lame man, to feeding the five thousand, that gave Jesus plenty of time to do a lot of other miracles. That makes me think of the very last verse in the book of John. If you're not familiar with it, I won't make you wait 'til we get there it says "I suppose that if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain the books." He had six months and over sixty miles of walking, to do a lot of miracles, and develop a huge following. Which is probably why He had five thousand people to feed when He got there.

Thanks for taking a break from the next scripture in line to satisfy my curiosity. As I have always said the more we question the more we learn.

Thanks for learning a little geography with me today,

Paul

Thursdays Child John 6:16-21 A Heck Of A Ride

As I read this passage, I remembered a Thursdays Child from June 2009. It was titled "Thursdays Child Matt 27:44 & Mark 15:32." I talked about the two criminals being crucified with Jesus and how Matthew just mentions the two criminals, Mark says both criminals mock Jesus, Luke is the only one that says one of the criminals repents. My question was, why do we only teach Luke's version? I know it makes for a better Sunday School class, and it teaches that no matter what we've done we can always ask for forgiveness, but I had really never heard the other two versions taught. It just goes to show, if you don't read the Bible on your own, you miss stuff like this. One of these days I'm going to write about some of the more obscure scriptures we don't hear much about. I do feel like I'm suppose to go all the way through John, then we'll see where God takes us.

I bring up the post from a few years ago because, John 6:16-21 is another one of those passages that isn't taught very much, if not at all. It's about Jesus walking on the water.

Yes, churches do teach about Jesus walking on the water, but they usually, if not always teach Matthews version. Matthew talks about the disciples seeing Jesus, and Peter getting out of the boat and walking on the water to go meet Him. I understand why we teach that version. It teaches about having faith in Jesus. When Peter took his eyes off of Jesus he started sinking in the water, and Jesus reached down, grabbed his hand and saved him. That's at Matthew 14:22-33 if you want to go check it out. In Mark 7:45-52 it just says Jesus gets in the boat and they go to the other side of the lake. For me, John's version is the most intriguing. Maybe because I'm into the supernatural stuff, but at the end of John's passage it doesn't say they just went to the other side of the lake. It says starting in verse eighteen "Soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified but He called out to them 'I am here! Don't be afraid.' Then they were eager to let Him in." Now here is the best part for me. The last half of verse twenty one says. "IMMEDIATELY the boat arrived at their destination." It doesn't say they continued on, it says immediately. I wonder how the disciple reacted. One minute they're in the middle of the lake, then, in a split second they are on the shore. I picture them looking around at each other, baffled. I know my words would have been "Whoa, what the heck just happened here?" Don't forget about the version in Matthew, because it's important to teach faith and to keep looking to Jesus to guide us but, I think it's also important not to get stuck in a rut. We need also to teach that Jesus did some pretty amazing things that sometimes sneaks under our radar, and we don't really grasp how great some of the things were that He did. How do we catch these things on our radar? Let God's word sink in as we read. If we read the Bible looking for inspiration from God, He will provide that inspiration, then maybe one day we can have a supernatural experience like the disciples, and we'll be able to say "Wow, what a heck of a ride!"

Always ask questions, always keep searching, and He will always keep providing the answers.

Thanks for searching with me.

Paul

Thursdays Child John 6:1-14 Generic Prayers

Wow, it really is amazing how fast time goes by. I checked how long it had been since I wrote a Thursdays Child. Approximately a year and a half. I have been trying to concentrate on short story writing over at www.paul-akaandrewpearson.blogspot.com. Between that, and researching how to publish ebooks, time has kind of gotten away from me. Hopefully before too long I'll be able to get Thursdays Child and my kids stories on an ebook. Until then let's get back into Thursdays Child.

I often hear a debate about whether people should pray before they do things as they go about their daily routine. Mainly praying before they eat, or before bed. The argument is, “It’s just a rote prayer, that isn't being said with any meaning anyway, so what’s the point?” Actually one of the definitions of the word rote says, “without meaning.” Well, let’s look at the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand.

After Jesus healed the lame man, and was harassed by the Jewish leaders, He crossed the Sea of Galilee. He went into the hills and sat down with His disciples. Soon a crowd of people came looking for Him. The culture at that time was a very male centered culture, therefore only the men were counted, and there were five thousand men in that crowd. Now, if we take into consideration that maybe some of the men were alone, maybe some brought their wives, possibly others had wives and kids. I guess it’s possible some women came on their own, not accompanied by a man. We know there was at least one boy there as we’ll see in a minute. It makes you wonder if you could double that number of five thousand. To put that number into perspective, I imagine a large concert or sports arena that might hold ten thousand people.

When Jesus saw these people coming up the hill, He asked His disciples “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” Philip answered Him by saying “It would take a small fortune to feed them all.” Then Andrew spoke up and said “ There’s a young boy here with five loaves of barley and two fish, but what good will that do with this large of a crowd." This also makes me wonder if some kids, if they were old enough to be out by themselves also followed Jesus but weren’t counted in the five thousand. So given all the different options, the total number of people could have been significantly higher than five thousand.

Jesus told the disciples to have everyone sit down, and here’s the point I want to make, He Gave Thanks To God, then He passed out the bread and fish. Now imagine again, that large sports arena. Walking up and down the rows of people handing out bread and fish. You know you only started with five loaves of bread and two fish, but it just doesn't seem to run out. Then, after everyone is fed, and has had enough to get full, the disciples pick up the leftovers, and have enough bread to fill twelve baskets. When the people saw the miracle, they started exclaiming that Jesus is surely the prophet they have been waiting for. Knowing they were going to try to make him their king, He left right away and went higher into the hills.

I've always been taught that God provides us with everything we have. Jobs to make money, to pay rent or mortgage, food, cars, and any extras we may be able to afford. Everything we have God has provided, so even if seems habitual, and meaningless I feel we should follow Jesus’ example and give thanks to God for our food before we eat. I’m not going to say there haven’t been times my family hasn't prayed before a meal, I’m just saying that, even if we’re praying the memorized, rote prayers, we are still making a conscious effort to say them, therefore we’re making a conscious effort to thank God for what he has provided.

Kids are taught early in Sunday school classes and kids’ church to offer prayer requests, to ask God for things they need, or things other people need. We also need to teach them to give thanks when those prayers are answered, and even though it seems redundant at times, to teach them to give thanks in all things.

Thank you as always for searching with me. Let me know what you think, I’m always interested in your feedback.

Paul

Thursdays Child John 5 Religious Frustration

Before I get started I need to mention another story I just posted over at www.paul-akaandrewpearson.blogspot.com. Short stories are going to go over there now, so I can devote this blog strictly to Thursdays Child, and random thoughts of my not so normal mind. Or, maybe it is normal, and everyone else just isn't ready to admit it. HHHMMM. Check out the story, and let me know what you think.

I know I haven't had a Thursdays Child for a while and for those stop by mainly for that, I apologize.

I have a feeling we're going to have more titles with "religious frustrations" in them now that we're going to get into more and more of Jesus' teachings. This post is going to include all of John 5. The first part of the passage is about Jesus performing a miracle, but I think the real lesson is the last part, where he reprimands the religious leaders.

The story is about a man who has been sick for thirty eight years and lies by the pool of Bethesda waiting to be healed. The only way to be healed is, if you are the first person to get in to the water, while the angel is stirring it. Since there is no one to help him in, someone else always gets there first. He explained this to Jesus when Jesus asked him if he wanted to be well. So, Jesus told him to pick up his sleeping mat, and walk. What we don't know, and what I wonder is, does someone bring him there every day, on their way to work maybe, and pick him up on their way home? Does he stay there for days, until someone takes him home? And where are they when the water is stirred? Why don't they tell us this information. It would probably help us to understand it a lot more. ANYWAY, He's walking with his mat, and guess what? It's the Sabbath, and the Jewish leaders saw him. They asked the man why he was carrying his mat on the Sabbath, he told them the man who healed him told him to. At first, he wasn't sure who healed him since Jesus had left but, eventually he was able to tell them it was Jesus. After that the leaders started harassing Jesus. Starting in verse 17, and continues through verse 47, the end of the chapter. I won't write all 30 verses here, but the ones that really stood out to me were, verses 41, and 42. Jesus tells them, "Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me, because I know you don't have God's love within you." Isn't that how we should all feel? As long as the things we do glorify God, why should we care what other people think? I know certain denominations have rules they abide by. Where do these rules come from? Why aren't some allowed to dance? Why do some think speaking in tongues is wrong? On one hand I think, if we just lived our lives, and treated people the way Jesus would, we would be fine. But, we would miss out on so much. The Holy Spirit came because Jesus went to be with the Father. The Holy Spirit is the one who provides us with the power that Jesus had while He was on the earth. If we did live as Jesus did, yes, that would ensure our salvation, or ticket to heaven. But, getting to know the Holy Spirit and experiencing God in that way, makes life a whole lot more rewarding. The restrictions denominations put on people are actually preventing God from using them to their full potential. That's what frustrating to me. We teach our kids to do their best, so they will learn to live up to their full potential. That shouldn't to school and work. That should apply to doing living for God also, and should continue as we grow into adulthood. If you've never experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to just ask God to show Himself more in your life. Ask Him where to start, then, just be aware of all thoughts as they come to mind. He'll direct you. He just might direct you right over to Google. There are Christian sites on the internet too. Just keep searching.

Thanks for searching with me,

Paul

Thursdays Child John 4:40-54 Blind Faith

When I read these verses I started thinking about the times we pray for something and the prayer is answered and other times it doesn't appear to be. There are some people who will tell you that it was answered, the answer was just "no". Well, that doesn't make the person praying feel any better. I have experienced both. I have been prayed for, and received healing. I have prayed for others and have seen them healed. I have seen the opposite. Our preacher is legally blind. He tells how he has prayed for, and has been prayed for his whole life for his eyes to be healed. The answer has always been no. He is an amazing musician. I always think of Stevie Wonder when I watch him play. If he was healed now, as an adult , I could see how that could mess up how he plays. So, why wasn't he healed as a child before he learned? I guess if we knew God's master plan we wouldn't need faith. Sometimes it's just frustrating not knowing. I do think God knows those times when our faith starts to weaken so He does something to give us a boost. Like Jesus said in verse 48 "Must I do miraculous signs and wonders before you people will believe in me?" Well, I say yes, sometimes. Not to really, truly, believe, but sometimes we need that boost. We need that confirmation. Like children needing confirmation that their parents love them. As children of God He takes care of us also. We teach our kids as they grow, then we have to sit back and watch them apply what they've learned. Sometimes we have to let them make mistakes so they can figure out the correct answer, but we naturally help when we see them becoming frustrated and discouraged. As we grow as Christians, God shows us He's there, then maybe He steps back to let us apply what we've learned. When we start to feel too overwhelmed He jumps in again as any good dad would do. Like a good dad, Jesus wasn't going to let the government official in this passage down. The official could have gone home discouraged when Jesus didn't go with him, but he believed, so his son lived. Why do some people die even when we pray for them? No one knows. Not even the most educated theologian, who would have you believe he has a direct link to God knows. Don't get discouraged. If you read the book of Psalm, you'll see how David became frustrated. There were times when he didn't hold back he just yelled at God and laid it right out there, and you see how God blessed him. Maybe that's the key-honesty. Being honest with God. I don't think we have to worry about being disrespectful with God as long as we're being honest with Him. He knows our heart anyway, why try to B.S. Him (sorry, I can't think of any other phrase that fits.) Trust in His master plan. Sometimes we may not understand it. We may need to yell and get things off of our chest. Blind faith is hard but remember as a child of God, your dad won't let you down. Keep searching with me, leave comments, maybe together we can make some sense of it all. Thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child John 4:31-38 Patient Evangelism

I've been feeling a little guilty lately for unintentionally neglecting Thursdays Child. So let's continue on with John 4. As the Samaritan people came out to see Jesus the disciples were trying to get him to eat, He told them He gets nourished just by doing the will of God. That was great for Jesus but doesn't it really bug you when some of the holier than thou's try to pull that fake crap on you. Even though we could probably rant on that for awhile we'll keep it positive. He went on to explain that harvesting isn't just for the Fall season, and neither is planting just for Spring. Joy comes to the one who plants and the one who harvests. I feel like the people that try to evangelize others and push to get them saved in one meeting turn them off more toward Christianity. That's what Jesus is saying here. Just plant that seed. You'll probably get to bring someone else to Christ another day. If we just show the love of Jesus and plant the seed people will naturally wonder what is different about us. We'll eventually be able to respond to their curiosity and some days we'll experience the planting and some days the harvesting. So keep planting, keep harvesting, and most of all never stop searching. Thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child John 4:1-30 Thirsty?

As we start John 4, the first three verses tell us that Jesus decides to leave Judea because He finds out the Pharisees were told He was baptizing more people than John. It makes me wonder what it was about John that the Pharisees preferred over Jesus. For the purpose of this story it doesn't really matter. They are just telling us why He left, and that He is now going back to Galilee. On the way to Galilee He has to go through Samaria, which is where the actual story begins.

Instead of writing the story out verse by verse, I'll just summarize it. Jesus and His disciples had to through Samaria to get to Galilee. The disciples were in the village of Sychar getting food. Jesus was sitting beside Jacob's Well by himself. A woman came up to get some water. Jesus asked her to draw Him some water. This surprised her because Jews didn't associate or even talk to Samarians, not to mention a male Jew talking to a female. She asked Him why He was talking to her. He said if you knew who I was you would be asking me for a drink of living water, the kind where you won't get thirsty again. She asked for some of that water, He told her to go get her husband. Then He went on to tell her she had had five husbands and the man she was living with now wasn't even her husband. Even though He just freaked her out, it seems funny that she doesn't just run off. She just says "oh you must be a prophet," and asks where the correct place to worship is. He told her "soon it's not going to matter where you worship, as long as you worship in spirit and truth. The spirit He is talking about is the connection I've been referring to the past few posts. When you can block everything else out and focus on God. This is also where the truth comes in. Like I said last time, when you honestly search for Him He will be there, so the two kind of go together. I naturally don't know everyone's experience, but for myself, if I'm listening to Christian music, or praying and focus on the words being sung or prayerful thoughts in my head, I can tell I have that connection. You can just tell God is there with you. There is no way to describe it except to say, Jesus tells her since God is Spirit we have to worship Him in spirit. When we are able to do that we have connected spirit to spirit. Next she says "when the Messiah comes He will explain everything to us." So Jesus tells her "I am the Messiah." This time she leaves her water jug and runs off. It says she tells everyone in the village. I was wondering, is this an exaggeration or a literal statement? If it is literal, how long did it take? How small was this village? Did she just run through the town screaming? It says the people came streaming from the town to meet him.

I encourage you today to search for that connection. Get some Christian music. You can listen to some for free online. Check out Mercy Me, Third Day, or Casting Crowns. These are Christian rock bands but, they are more of a softer rock. They are easy to get in to. Search for that connection. Leave me some comments and let me know how it goes. Thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child John 3:33-36 John 3 Condensed Version

Verse 33 starts out by saying "Those who believe Him discover that God is true. (34) For He is sent by God. He speaks God's words, for God's Spirit is upon Him without measure or limit." As I read this it dawned on me how true this is. Before we start following Jesus we always wonder if He is real. Even if you grow up in the church, that uncertainty is still there. In the public schools they teach that there is no God. So you are taught about God on Sunday and the opposite Monday through Friday. That alone is enough to make you have questions. Then when you add TV, movies, and secular music, you're little visit for that hour, maybe two, on Sunday, maybe three if you go on Sunday night, has just become way outnumbered. But, once you decide, and you call His name telling Him you want him to be in charge of your life, something happens inside of you, and you know without question God is true. It's at that moment you want to learn everything you can. One thing I wish everyone would learn first is, our eternal life starts right at that moment, and so does verse 34. God's Spirit is upon Him without measure or limit. The same applies to us since we have been adopted by the father. We have all have all the benefits granted to His Son, Jesus. (35) – The Father loves His Son (kids) and gives Him (them) authority over everything. I know this because if we jump ahead to John 14:12,13 it says we are able to do the things Jesus did, even greater things. Anything we ask in His name will be done so the Father will be glorified. (36) And all who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Those who don't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them. Let's examine the last part of verse 36. Why did He use the word obey? Why didn't He just stick with the word believe. If you check it out, the Greek word they use for the word believe means "to have a relationship with." So, not only do you have to have knowledge of Him and believe He is real you have to have that connection with Him. Now, why the word obey? Does it mean doing what you're called to do? Am I obeying now? Is this my calling? I like to teach. Adult classes, kid's classes, whatever. I write this because I like to. I don't know if anyone will stop by to read it. I do have a visitor counter so I know people do. But I do it because I enjoy it. Does God give me that enjoyment? When it's time to move on to something else will He take the joy away? Who knows. But for now I feel like this is what I'm supposed to be doing. If I didn't, would I be subjected to the wrath of God? Would He just continue to put the desire in me until I did? As we search, search for that desire in you. What do you feel drawn to? If you truly search for Him, He will be there. Thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child John 3:22-32 A Loyal Friend

After Jesus was finished talking to Nicodemus, they left Jerusalem but stayed in Judea and baptized there for a while. John the Baptist was still baptizing when one of John's disciples came up to him and said Jesus was still baptizing across the river. John informed him God has appointed us each to our own work, and that he was sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. The bridegroom's friend goes where the bridegroom goes. He is Jesus' friend and rejoices at His success. As Jesus becomes greater and greater John must become less and less. John's understanding is limited to the things of the earth but, Jesus is greater than anyone because he has come from heaven. Although He has come from heaven very few people believe Him.

This is another one of those times I wish we knew more about Jesus' early childhood. I found some interesting stuff researching this. All I'm doing is flipping between books in the Bible. I'm not using any other references. We always think of the wise men going to the manger where Jesus was born. The book of Matthew says they went to the house where He was. We know after the wise men left Jesus, an angel told Mary and Joseph to flee to Egypt. The book of Luke says Jesus was circumcised and dedicated in Jerusalem at eight days old. So when did they have to leave? The book of Matthew says they came back to Nazareth after King Herod died. The book of Luke says Jesus' parents went every year to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. So did they travel back and forth every year? If so, how long did they do this before they were able to move back? They were there for the Passover when Jesus was twelve, that's when they forgot Him. The main question I had that caused me to look all this stuff up was; as cousins, did Jesus and John The Baptist grow up together? Did they play together? If Jesus was at the temple every year, you would think John would have been there too. Did John grow up knowing that the Messiah was his cousin? When did John take off to live in the wilderness?

The answer to any of these questions wouldn't have had any effect on John's loyalty to Jesus. Whether he knew he was related or not, they were obviously friends it says that. Ego being part of human nature he could have gotten upset that Jesus was becoming popular but, he knew God had sent him prepare the way for the Messiah, and he was being obedient. I think that is why his disciple was upset because he felt bad for John. John's love and loyalty to God and his friend and cousin was stronger than his ego. We can all learn a lot from John's actions. In our day it's all about becoming successful at any cost, no matter who you have to step on to get there. Loyalty doesn't mean much to those who are trying to move up the ladder. As we continue on our search, let's remember friendship and loyalty. Once again that boils down to Jesus' teaching –Love One Another- Thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child John 3:18-21 Heaven or Hell It's Our Choice

This passage is pretty deep. Almost makes you want to skip over it and go back to changing water into wine. But I guess if we're going to go straight through we can't pick and choose, so we better suck it up and get started. Verse 18 says "There is no judgment for those who trust Him (Jesus). But those who do not trust Him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. This is a good argument for those who want to debate whether a loving God would actually send people to hell. It says if we don't believe we are already judged. I think they are using the word judged to mean condemned. If you have kids I don't know how you can't believe in God. When each of my six kids were little and I held them to feed them or sat and watched them sleep I knew there was a God. The human body is too detailed and intricate. It has to have been designed. Something so precise couldn't have just evolved from a fish that walked up onto shore millions of years ago. I remember specifically looking at their ears-I don't know why the ear- but I remember noticing the circular shape and how each one is essentially the same. Some may be bigger, smaller or different in some way but all have the same basic design. Then if you think about how our body's organs function to keep us alive, we have to have been created. So if we admit there is a God, then we either have to accept or deny Jesus. Whichever one we choose decides where we spend the rest of forever. You know, I hate salvation scare tactics, but this is one of the passages that teach it. Plain and simple if you don't believe Jesus is the Son of God you are condemned to hell. The way I have always looked at it is, God created the universe including us, why wouldn't we worship Him? Verses 19-21 talks about Jesus being the light, and those who don't believe, love the darkness more than the light. When we sin we want to sin in darkness, because the light will expose our sin and we will be punished. One thing we have to remember is that we weren't born Christians. We were born without Jesus, so it is our nature to sin. We have to decide. That's why God gave us the freedom to choose, or free will. So ultimately heaven or hell it is our choice. We're all searching for something to worship. Money, power, status, why not worship the one who created you, it's a lot more fulfilling. Keep checking back and we'll search together. Thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child: John 3:13,16,17 Round Trip Ticket

As I mentioned last time, I purposely stopped at John 3:16. I also omitted verse 13 in the last post because I saw that they go together.
Verse 13 says, and this is Jesus talking "For only I, the Son of Man have come to earth and will return to heaven again."
I wrote in one of my first posts, how I have heard it bothers some people that God sent His Son to earth to die. The thought was "How could a loving God do this?" This scripture explains it. God the father didn't make the Son do it. All three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are God. So, it was basically Jesus' job to make the sacrifice. Yes, He was born the way all humans are born, and no we don't know at what age He realized He was God. We do know that at 12 years old He was teaching the church leaders in the temple, and when His parents were looking for Him He said "Didn't you know I would be about my fathers business." That leads me to believe He knew then.
John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world the He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." In human terms this statement is true. The Holy Spirit got Mary pregnant. Jesus grew inside of her -I'm not even going to try to figure out they accomplished that-and was born as a human baby. They knew that the human race would never be "good enough" to go to heaven, so they had to give us a way to not burn in hell forever. That's why verse 17 says "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save it. Maybe this is a good time to talk about this. It's been a few weeks since Easter. We're back to the daily routine. It's probably a good time to remind ourselves what Jesus did for us. As we learn other things all year long, it's a good idea to get back to that Easter feeling periodically. Keep searching for that Easter feeling, and thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child John 3:1-15 A Humble Leader

This time on Thursdays Child I'd like to talk about Nicodemus. As John 3 starts out it says, "after dark one evening." I wondered if that meant Nicodemus went to Jesus in secret so the other Pharisees wouldn't know, because the next sentence says "WE ALL KNOW that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you." It's funny how you read things over and over and, and different things come to mind at different times. This is the first time I noticed Nicodemus saying "We all know." I just always thought the Pharisees thought Jesus was a fake and killed Him for blasphemy, and defying Jewish law. This tells me they were worried they would lose their power, and their ability to control the people. They felt that the people would discover that faith in God is about love, not following a strict law. Next Jesus tells him, "Unless you are born again you can never see the kingdom of God." Where did that come from? Why did He say that? His divinity showing again I guess. Nicodemus never asked anything about that. All I can think is, Jesus knew Nicodemus was going to ask it. Then Jesus explains to him that born again doesn't mean going back into the womb. It means being given a new life by the Holy Spirit. It's the same as being able to hear the wind and you can't tell where it comes from or where it's going, it's impossible to explain to people how to be born of the Spirit. Nicodemus once again asked Jesus what He meant. Jesus just told him if you don't believe the things that I tell you about what is happening on earth how will you believe what's going on in heaven? It makes me wonder why they were so wrapped up in the law set down in the old testament. The also had the stories of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Daniel, and others and how they were devoted to God and prayed hours on end. I'm sure these guys understood what new life from the Holy Spirit was all about. It is all about your connection with God. The Pharisees were all about themselves and their power and control. If you look at things that have happened even in our modern times, and the preachers that have fallen because of money and power. Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert, and the ones that have stayed true to God and have continually been blessed by God, Billy Graham, Greg Laurie, and many more. Fortunately there are more that have stayed true than have been consumed by power. That connection with God is what we're searching for here. I intentionally stopped at verse 15 so we can start at John 3:16 next time. I know I've said it before but, as I search for a deeper connection with God, I hope this also helps you in your search. Thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child Contentment = Thankfullness

I remember when I was growing up and I wanted to have the latest fad or clothes, some of the time I got it, some of the time I was told "You don't want to be like everyone else do you?" I am thankful for that lesson. That's not really the topic of this Thursdays Child, that's just a thankful freebie I threw in. I struggled with the idea of doing a "Thankful" topic for today, because I figured that's what everyone is writing about. As I went about my day on Wednesday however, I became more and more aware of Philippians 4. As we go through life we encounter a variety of circumstances, many enjoyable, many not. If we allow them to, the adverse circumstances could leave us angry and bitter. As Paul says in verse 11, Paul the Apostle that is, whether we have need or abundance we can learn to be content in all circumstances. In verse 13 he says "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." When I think about going from being married and sharing marital duties to being single again and having to take care of everything, it can be quite overwhelming. But, at the end of the day when everything is done I realized that I learned an important lesson God's strength, and contentment, and that in turn made me realize that I am thankful, for my kids, grandkids, and yes, even my kids' mothers, because without them, I obviously wouldn't have the kids or the grandkids. So, if your circumstances seem so overwhelming, take a moment today to search for that strength find the positive things in your life, and all the things you have to be thankful for. Then I believe you to will find contentment. Thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child John 1: 40-51

Well, It looks like we're going to have another edition of Thursdays Child on Monday. I started blogging because on an overnight shift there has usually been time to get something written, especially in the fall. Well this hasn't been a typical fall because it seems like it has been a long time since I've been able to write at work. Maybe we're back to normal.
First of all what I find interesting in this passage is, John describes Andrew as Simon Peter's brother, like we already know how important he is going to be, then tells us he went to get him. An interesting note I heard once about Andrew is that you don't hear much about him but the times that you do he is bringing someone to Jesus. Here's something that I found weird. Verse 43 tells us the next day Jesus decides to go to Galilee. Back in verse 28 it tells us that all this stuff is taking place in Bethany. According to the maps in the back of my Bible, oh that's why they're there, that's approximately 100 miles. Now, it doesn't say He made it in a day but it doesn't say He didn't, but once He got there He found Philip and told Philip to follow him, who in turn went to find Nathanael. When he found him he told him they had found the person Moses and the other prophets had written about. His name is Jesus, Joseph's son from Nazareth. Nathanael said "can anything good come out of Nazareth?" I'm going to have to do some research and find out why Nazareth was looked down on. Or if someone knows you can leave a comment.
As they got close to Jesus, Jesus described Nathanael. Nathanael asked him how he knew that. Jesus said He had seen him under the fig tree. Nathanael knew Jesus hadn't been around when he was under the fig tree. As I was reading this I imagined the following dialogue going something like this, Nathanael says "whoa you really are the son of God" and Jesus says, "you believe that just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You ain't seen nothin' yet. You're all going to see heaven open up and the angels of God going up and down on me." Needless to say Nathanael followed. I encourage you to read the Bible in a way that it will speak to you, like how I imagined this dialogue in a humorous way. Anything we can do to make Jesus more personal helps, so He doesn't seem so distant and ominous. Keep searching for your way. Thanks for searching with me, Paul

Thursdays Child John 1:35-42

Welcome to Thursdays Child on Monday. It's like Monday Night Football on Thursday Night only different. Do they still do that? I haven't watched football in so long I don't even know. I wonder what John The Baptist was like. As I read this I just had to laugh at how I imagined John was talking. He was talking to two of his disciples and Jesus walked by. I got a whole different picture of him than I did when he was baptizing. In this passage I got the picture of the nerdy kind of guy saying, and not just saying but declaring, exclaiming, "Hey, look there He is again, The Lamb of God. Wow can you believe it we saw the Lamb Of God twice in two days." Or maybe he had been in the wilderness so long, he was so in touch with God that he just couldn't contain himself, like we are when we are excited about the things of God. We just want to scream it to the world. What I was concerned about when I read this was, John's disciples just flat out left him. It was a good choice for them but, how did they truly know John knew what he was talking about. It is my understanding that people claiming to be the Messiah were pretty plentiful around that time. It was a pretty big gamble. My concern is, they seem to me to be kind of fickle. Maybe John encouraged them to go. It doesn't say. It just says they left to follow Jesus. When he saw them Jesus asked them "What do you want?" I wish you could hear expression in text. It makes me wonder how Jesus said this. I can't imagine Him saying it rude but you could read it that way. After reading on, I get the impression He said it in a what is it you're searching for tone. They never answered Him they just asked where He was staying. Naturally He knew what they wanted (He's God after all) that's why He invited them to come along. I would really warn against being wishy washy, or lukewarm and following the current religious trend. Continue to study God's Word so you won't be decieved. Noone really knows when "the last days" will be, every generation has predicted it. The Bible does say many will be decieved in the last days. So, be careful, keep searching, and stay strong. Thanks for searching with me, Paul.