It was another wonderful week in “31 Days in the Gospel of John” as we dwelt on the following passages:
- Father and Son. In John 5:16-23, we see God and Jesus at work in conjunction with one another. There is complete harmony as they work in our lives. They both have always been at work in the world, and in our lives. Never idle. Always working. The means by which they work in our lives is through the Holy Spirit. He is our Advocate, our Comforter, Our Guide. He reveals truth to us.
- Jesus – The Bread of Heaven. In John 6:32-35, we find Jesus speaking of the giving of the true bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. There are so many choices by which we can feast on each day. Reading online – yes, even Bible verses, is not the same thing as ingesting God’s Word for ourselves. We need His Word for ourselves and the best way is the old-fashioned way – our own in our hands Bible. The choice is ours each day and may we choose the best spiritual nutrition to sustain us – the Living Bread.
- Jesus – The Rejected One. In John 6:66 and Isaiah 53:3a, we find Jesus – the One being rejected. Rejection – not being accepted, not being recognized, but refused. Rejection causes such deep wounding, often affecting a person for a lengthy time. Jesus was rejected and He knows exactly what we feel when rejection strikes at our hearts. Notice in John 6:66, it was many of His disciples who turned away, who deserted Him. It was not strangers, or the scribes and Pharisees. It was His own. And it has been me. Perhaps even you. In verse 67, Jesus turns to the twelve and asks, “Are you going to leave too?”. Jesus wonders just how far reaching the rejection will go. Peter replies, “Lord, to whom would we go?” Only when our response is the same will we remain close to Jesus. We must recognize only He has the answers to every one of our questions. Only He can supply our every need. There is no where else for us to go but to Him. How do you handle rejection? May learn how to succeed in handling offense so that we do not walk away.
- Jesus, the brother. Family can surely be the most difficult of relationships. In John 7:3-5, we find that Jesus offended His siblings. They were offended by Him. I had to sit and think on this a bit. My words, even good words, God’s Word, can offend my family members if I have not prayed before speaking. May we pray not only for God-guided words, but for our actions to speak more than our words.
- Jesus – Our Teacher. We are reading John 7:16-17 where we find Jesus’ own words. Jesus was taught by non one but His Father. This brought a smile as I thought >>”This was ‘homeschooling’ at its best!!!” The longer I have walked with Jesus, the more I depend on the “nudges”. We are to test, or judge, our thoughts, the words we hear or read from others, in order to discern whether or not they are of the Lord and what we are to do with it all. In 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 we are told, “Test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.” May we be careful to steer clear of any false teacher, no matter how popular they may be with the masses. False teaching has just enough truth, even a shred of truth, which makes it believable. When the Holy Spirit nudges best to stay away. Today “let’s pray for wisdom and discernment and sharpen our “knowing meters.”
Jesus.
Son.
Bread of Life.
Rejected One.
Brother.
Teacher.
Jesus.
You can find the first post in this series: Jesus – The Light, The Lamb & The Living Water – HERE.
Today I am joining … Trekking Thru the Week and #RaRaLInkup and Grace Full Tuesday and Tell His Story .
Jesus had so many different roles in order to bring us life. Thank you for your wonderful examination of the Gospel of John. I was drawn to the word “bread” in your title. I was thinking about bread this week, too, and wrote a post on it that will be published next week.
Susan has written a wonderful study and it has been a blessing to go through it. I will look for your post for sure!
Amen! The book of John is usually recommended for those who want to begin seriously feasting on the Word. It’s not that hard to see why. Thanks for sharing, Joanne. Blessings to you.
The Gospel of John is so rich. No matter how many times I read it, I learn something new.
I’ve been in Jeremiah for a year now, and am just salivating at the idea of finishing up and reading in the gospels!
Michele, your salivating comment brought a smile to my face. Jeremiah has you salivating as he ate the scrolls 🙂 When we devour the Word, we will find ourselves both filled and wanting more. Blessings, friend.
Joanne, you share such beautiful insights into Jesus . . . all that He is, things He endured. The reminder you shared that spoke to me was of the necessity of prayer before talking with family. There may be a time to speak truth, even when it offends, but that’s not every time. I have some strained relationships in my family, and I’ve been praying about how to make them right on my end.
I love the series you chose for 31 days of writing!
Susan has written a wonderful devotional on this Gospel. No matter how familiar the stories, we have only just begun to plumb the depths of its truths. So grateful you found insight in this post!
John is such a good book. There is so much to learn. Thank you for sharing your gleanings from this Gospel along with Susan’s devotional.