John’s tweets for today:

• Jesus says “Stick w/ my teaching, living it out. Then you’ll experience truth & the truth will set you free.”
• The people say they’ve never been slaves. Jesus: “Anyone who chooses life of sin is a slave who can’t come & go at will”

• “A slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. If the Son sets you free, you will surely be free.”
• Jesus says “I tell you the truth, if a person doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate, but sneaks in another way, he’s only a thief…”

• “The shepherd walks in through the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep know his voice.”

• “I am the Gate for the sheep. All the others before me were thieves who came to steal, kill & destroy.”

• “Anyone who goes through me will be taken care of. I came so they will have real, eternal life. Full and abundant life.”

• “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep & they know me. I lay my life down for my sheep & take it up again.”

One of the things that jumps out at me in this story, is the people didn’t recognize that they were in bondage.  They claim they have never been slaves.

We often walk around caged in and enslaved to attitudes or perceptions or addictions or…  We get so used to the bars that we no longer recognize them as something other than ourselves, as something that’s holding us down.

But Jesus offers freedom and life.  He wants to set us free from slavery and give us a permanent place as children of God.  He is truly our Redeemer and Rescuer.

Bible reference: John 8:31-36, John 10:1-21

photo credit: Steve Snodgrass

I’ve gotten a bit behind on copying and pasting John’s tweets here to the blog.  If you want to read all the tweets, please visit John’s Twitter page.

John’s tweets for today:

• Jesus is teaching near the temple in Jerusalem. Religious leaders have led a woman to him, saying she was caught in adultery.
• They want to stone her & want Jesus to agree b/c Moses law prescribes it. Jesus isn’t answering, but writing in the dirt w/ his finger.
• The religious leaders keep after him, calling to stone her. Jesus stands up and says “The sinless one go first. Throw the stone.”
• He started writing in the dirt again. One by one, they all walked away, leaving the woman standing alone.
• Jesus looks up & sees her alone. “Does anyone condemn you? Neither do I. Go, but from now on don’t sin.”

Other than trying to understand the book of Revelation, the most wondered about question has to be “What did Jesus write in the dirt?”  This story is only in the book of John.  I wonder why he didn’t tell us what Jesus wrote?  It sure does make me curious.

Bible reference: John 8:1-11

John’s tweets for today:

• Coming down the mountain from that amazing experience of seeing Jesus w/ Moses & Elijah. Another crowd is waiting for Jesus.
• A man brought his son to the other disciples.  He wanted them to drive an evil spirit out of the boy, but they couldn’t.
• The man said the demon made the boy mute & throws him to the ground so he writhes & foams at the mouth.
• Jesus is upset that they couldn’t drive out the demon. He called us unbelieving generation & wondered how long he’d have to put up w/ us.
• They brought the boy to Jesus. He was having a seizure, writhing on the ground. Jesus asked the dad how long this has been going on.
• The dad said since boy was very little, the demon has even tried to throw him in the fire or river to kill him.
• “If you can do anything, please help him.” Jesus told the man “There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.”
• The man said “I want to believe. Help me w/ my doubts.”
• A crowd is running up to see it all now. Jesus commands the demon to get out. It left w/ lots of screaming & thrashing.
• Now the boy looks dead, pale. The people think he’s dead but Jesus takes his hand & he’s getting up!
• Later, the other disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t drive out the demon. He said it takes prayer to get rid of that kind.

There’s so much going on in this scene.  Jesus is coming down from the mountain with Peter, James and John.  They had just seen Jesus transfigured before their eyes.  The disciples who didn’t go with them are trying to cast a demon out of a boy.  They have evidently been able to do this before, but this time it isn’t working.

The boy’s father wants to believe Jesus can help his son, but he’s having trouble.  And no wonder.  The boy is writhing on the ground and a crowd is gathering.  It would be hard to believe with all of that swirling around, especially since the disciples have already tried to cast out the demon unsuccessfully.

The father asks for Jesus to help him believe.  I think this must be one of the most powerful prayers we can pray.  When the darkness swirls around us, we only need to ask Jesus for his help in believing that He can do what He says He can do.

Our situation may not turn out the way we hope or imagine.  But we can know that God will never leave us and He is always more powerful than any situation we may face.  And if we have trouble believing that, He will help us believe.

Bible reference: Mark 9:14-29

John’s Twitter Stream Today

- Getting out of the boat at Gennesaret, the people are gathering already, bringing the sick.

- They asked to touch Jesus’ clothes and everyone who touches him is healed.

- The crowd Jesus fed yesterday has come in boats looking for him. Jesus told them “You’re not looking for me because you saw God in the miracle…”

- “…You’re looking for me because I filled your stomachs for free. Don’t waste energy chasing food that rots…”

- “Work for food that nourishes true life, food the Son of Man provides.” The crowd asked “What do we have to do to get in on God’s work?”

- Jesus told them, “The work of God is to trust in the one he sent.”

- The crowd wants to see a miracle so they’ll believe in Jesus, something like the manna God sent to our ancestors.

- Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, my Father gives you true bread from heaven. Bread of God came from heaven & gives life to the world.

- “I’m the bread of life. Anyone who comes to me will never go hungry or thirsty. But you’ve seen me & still don’t believe.”

- “Everyone the Father gives me will come to me & I won’t drive them away, but hold onto them.”

- “I haven’t come from heaven to do my will, but the will of him who sent me.”

- “My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and trusts him will have real, eternal life.”

So often – too often – I go to God to get something from Him, instead of to know Him better.

Bible Reference: Matthew 14:34-36, Mark 6:53-56, John 6:22-59

photo credit: Mr. Kris

Do you ever wish you were different?  I do.  I wish I were more impulsive and quick to take action, like Peter.

As soon as Peter heard Jesus’ voice, he was out of the boat.  John and the others stood by and watched.  Peter actually walked on the water.

And yeah, he sank too.  But I bet he never forgot the feel of Jesus taking his hand and helping him out of the icy water and back into the boat.  I bet Peter never forgot the look on Jesus’ face as he sat in the boat with him, the wind blowing cold across his wet skin.

The other disciples were spectators but Peter participated.  He lived it out, lived it all.  I know this is John’s story, John’s perspective in the tweets.  But right now I admire Peter.

Bible reference: Matthew 14: 24-33, Mark 6:47:52, John 6:16-21

photo credit: IMISSMYJUNO

I just finished reading Donald Miller’s new book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It’s a fantastic book about writing a good story with your life.  And how God always has the best story planned for us.  Miller talks about characters and settings and scenes in our lives and intentionally using them to write a good life story.

This Bible story of Jesus feeding 5000 people with a few loaves of bread and a couple fish makes me think of the props in our lives.  Sometimes in a story, a seemingly insignificant object can turn a whole story.  Like a pair of ruby slippers or a wardrobe in an unused room, or a single penny found on a sidewalk that’s being turned into a million dollars of food for the hungry.  Or a few loaves of bread and a couple fish.

Pay attention!  God may use one of the props in your life to write a good story.

Bible Reference: Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9: 12-17, John 6:4-13

photo credit: hoyasmeg

“It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider.  This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.” – John 5:24, The Message

A giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.

Bigger than the step from Earth to the Moon.

I take it so much for granted.

Bible reference for today’s tweets: John 5:1-38

Have you ever heard someone scream at the preacher in church?  While he was teaching?

I haven’t.  But that’s exactly what happened to Jesus in the synagogue.  A man screamed at him while he was teaching.  Jesus immediately recognizes the man has a demon and he commands it to leave.  It throws the man to the ground and leaves.

Can you imagine?  What must John and the others thought about that?

Later the same day, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law and then the whole town shows up at the door.  He touches sick people and they are well again.  Demons are coming out of people, calling Jesus “Son of God”.  Darkness is falling on this scene at Peter’s house.

What would have been going through John’s mind as he lay down to sleep that night?  Jesus isn’t just turning water into wine on this day.  He’s turned the whole town upside down – right side up!

Bible Reference: Mark 1: 21-34, Luke 4:31-44, Matthew 8:14-17

photo credit: batega

I love this story.

Jesus’ first miracle takes place at a wedding – relationships, love, family, celebration.

It wasn’t “needed”. No one was suffering or dying.  It wasn’t urgent. Having wine seems to fall under the category of “want”. A nice “want”, to be sure, but not a need like food or water.

Jesus was extravagant.  He didn’t make a glass of wine.  He made 6 jars of wine, 20-30 gallons each.  Rough math says that is well over 800 bottles of wine!  That is a lot of wine!

He made good wine, really good.  Wine isn’t made in a day (or a minute).  It takes years to make good wine.  Aged wine, instantly.

He didn’t wave a wand or say a magic spell or draw attention to himself.  He asked the servants to fill the empty jars with water. They obeyed and there was wine.

He’s the same, yesterday, today, forever.

Bible reference: John 2:1-11

photo credit: iwona kellie