September 3, 2020 -- John 7:37-39 -- What thirsts are driving you?

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John 7:37-39 English Standard Version

Jesus cried out: “If anyone thirsts”—the first important point here is to know whether or not you are thirsty! After the initial phase of feeling thirsty a person who is becoming dehydrated will experience symptoms like: sunken eyes, dizziness, hot and dry skin because sweating has stopped, lack of energy, some people will eat when in fact they are thirsty. If you haven’t figured out the problem, you don’t know how to address it. There are many spiritually thirsty people in the world, parched for a true encounter and deep relationship with the God the Father and our Creator. Because they do not realize this is what they long for, they indulge in all kinds of things which is like chewing sand when one wants water.

When we meet Jesus Christ—believing in Him—our hearts are satisfied. In fact, there is such an abundance of life-giving water that from the overflow of our hearts we are able to speak with others about Jesus. We tell them the joy we have found in Him. We let others know our sinful inclinations and the wickedness that had gripped us these all have lost their powers because of the greater blessing and stronger pull of knowing Jesus Christ.

Notice what Jesus directed His hearers to: the Word and the Spirit (Who would be poured out at Pentecost). For us to remain at the spout where the blessings of God are poured out into our hearts because of Jesus Christ we must go to the Word asking for the help of the Spirit. In all things we must continually submit our lives and our words, our actions and our thought-life to Jesus Christ.

When I was at the Gather To Go event on Tuesday, I heard something Eli said. (Gather to Go is a time where youth and all those drawn by the Spirit of God gather to worship Him and pray in order that they may go and proclaim Jesus’s Name to others.) Eli said, “We are singing ‘And highest praises, Lord of all (We bring to You)’. What are those, highest praises? It is our obedience to God, not just words, but a life submitted to Him". That is wonderful insight.

As Voddie Baucham says it, often we just want our liver to quiver. We want a “worship experience” and then go home unchanged. It just means we will live as dehydrated people. For us to experience what Jesus promised, Living Water flowing out from us, we must go to Him Who is the Source. Delighting in Him in worship. Listening to His Word. Bathed in the Presence of the Spirit Who delights to bring us to Jesus and make Him known to us. From that place of refreshment and satiation it is both a discipline and a heart-satisfying impulse to live in obedience to Jesus in all things.

Forgive us, King Jesus, for the times we are choosing to crunch sand between our teeth and then complain because we are not finding You to be Living Water. Spirit of the Living God, show us our thirstiness for the things of Jesus. Spirit lead us away from all the siren songs of our age so that our hearts and ears are tuned to Your invitation to drink deeply from the wells of salvation: Jesus the Source of Living Water. Blessed are You, mighty God of Wonder, for You have in Your awesome love provided for us a way to know You, delight in You, and find in You soul satiation and satisfaction that starts now and will stretch into all eternity. Hallelujah, we sing to You, Triune God, highest praises. Amen.

Today’s song is a cover version. This man’s voice is not perfect. His quiet acoustic rendition of this song is quite inviting and I think the lyrics are quite clear as he sings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JomRoHM9NTk

September 2, 2020 -- John 7:33-34 -- A carnival for worms?

Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am going you cannot come.”

John 7:33-34 English Standard Version

While Jesus conducted His earthly ministry He appeared to young and old, Jewish and non-Jewish, those who had maintained the Jewish faith and those who were far from any knowledge of God. Now He spoke with Pharisees and those who should have recognized Him as the Promised One. Based on all the Old Testament said of the Father’s great love, the prophesies of the Suffering Servant and the One Who would take away Israel’s shame and guilt—they should have received Jesus on bended knee. Here Jesus is speaking directly to those who should have recognized Him and acknowledged Him, He is speaking to the crowd that merely wants a miracle-working magician rather than a Savior—they will not see Him after His crucifixion and resurrection from the dead. When Jesus rises, only believers will see Him and be encouraged.

Yesterday I was listening to a sermon which Charles Haddon Spurgeon preached in the mid 1800’s. The manuscript of that sermon was read by narrator and many of Spurgeon’s sermons are available on various platforms! That sermon I listened to was so encouraging. Spurgeon made a point, quite graphically, he said: “Soon this body of mine must become a carnival for worms”. All of us die. It is the consequence of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden. He was our representative, the head of our race. His sin affects us all. Those who heard Jesus guessed that “where I am going you cannot come” meant He was going to die. That He would be a carnival for worms. How wrong they were!

Jesus was placed in a tomb, but death could not hold Him. Three days later He rose from that grave and He appeared to the women, to the disciples and to 500 (!) witnesses. He encouraged the believers. He did not appear before skeptics and those who would deny Him. Jesus is the New Adam, the Representative of all who believe, the Head of all who believe.

Beloved, now is the day of salvation. If the Spirit of God is stirring your curiosity and causing you to ask questions about Jesus, pursue this. Seek Him out. The Father in heaven sent Jesus as His Interpreter and the One Who explains and demonstrates the Father’s love. But don’t miss the warning, the time will come when people will hear no more. The door will close and those who do not believe will face terrible and fierce punishment because they did not believe in Jesus Christ. Read the Bible. Find a friend whose faith you admire. Ask your questions and take hold of your questions until you know Jesus Christ and His wonderful salvation.

King Jesus thank You for revealing Yourself and the Father! Thank You for the fact that the God of Splendor and Glory, Radiance and Power is the Father of all who believe in You, Jesus. Spirit of God, thank You for the questions stirred up in the hearts of those around us—coworkers, neighbours, friends, and family members. May we, who know and love Jesus, be prepared to answer questions. When there are things we don’t know, give us holy boldness to help them search out answers until they know Jesus. Bless us, Jesus, with the joy of seeing many people come to know You and worship You and obey You because of our testimony! Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05jKxv8ApuI

September 1, 2020 -- John 7:32 -- Battle-scarred and witnessing

The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

John 7:32 English Standard Version

Jesus spoke of His Father in heaven. He revealed the wrath of God against sin. He represented the mercy of God the Just as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. The crowds of Jesus’s day were hearing a message radically different than any they would hear from their government, or from their religious leaders. Crowds of people were asking important questions about Jesus. That is why the establishment wanted to arrest Him. It is ominously “modern”. The people in power preach tolerance, the only “sin” in our world today is to be intolerant—except if it is Jesus and the Christian faith which is in view—then intolerance is the order of the day.

Our world today forgets the long-suffering patience of God the Glorious and Almighty. He hates sin. He cannot tolerate evil to be in His presence. Yet God is not willing that any should perish, so He allowed the wickedness of our world to continue so that confronted with Jesus Christ some will turn from their evil ways and find their sins punished in Him in order that they can rise to new life. Do not mistake the delay of God’s final judgment of the earth as tolerant acceptance of our wickedness and sinfulness and licentiousness. There will be a moment when the trumpet shall sound, the LORD Jesus will descend and all the earth will be judged. All wrongs will be addressed.

We live in an age where statues of our founding fathers are torn down (case in point, the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald torn down in a park in Montreal on Aug. 29th). This is tolerance? We live in a time of “cancel culture”, any public speaker considered intolerant or privileged is shouted down by an intolerant crowd, ironically doing so in the name of tolerance. Mobs protesting wrongful death at the hands of police are allowed to rampage, assaulting officers, breaking windows, looting store owners and themselves causing terror, inciting fatal violence. Where does it all end?

Intolerance ends, when Christians serve Jesus, bearing in their bodies the marks of Christ—the marks of Jesus are evidences of the world’s hatred of their message. Such marks show Christians will be mocked, hated, jailed, fined, beaten, and more—we should expect this. We are speaking the most radical message of hope to each generation. We do not cower in the face of cancel culture. We do not back down because of consequences to ourselves of our property. We take a stand for Jesus Christ, by the power of His Spirit living within us, so that the love of our Father in heaven and His great salvation will be made known to our violence-loving, tolerance-imploding, cancel-culture. I leave you with the words of Jesus:

Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.'

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also”

(John 15:20).

Blessed Jesus give us an ever greater measure of Your Spirit so that we will withstand the raging of this world and the firehose blasts of hatred poured out against us. As we suffer for Your Name’s sake, may the truth of our Father’s love reverberate through-out our culture and our age so that many sons and daughters be brought to You in repentance and holy wonder. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1GiZL60c80

August 31, 2020 -- John 7:31 -- Following your questions

Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

John 7:31 English Standard Version

In this passage Jesus is called the Christ . This highlights something about Jesus. Christ means anointed one. The signs Jesus performed (walking on water John 6:19; feeding 5,000 John 6:1ff; healing a man who had been paralyzed 38 years John 5:5ff and so on) all pointed to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. He was sent by the Father to reveal the Father’s proper, just, anger against sin. Jesus’s perfections show us our own sinfulness and inclinations to doing wrong. And Jesus, the Christ, is the Lamb of God Who takes away our sins—He is punished so that we are set free to worship God the Father and serve Him in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’s day, some in the crowd believed because of the signs, the miracles. What is it about Jesus that has grabbed your attention today? Perhaps you see a Christian who handles difficult work situations and an angry boss with great grace and calm and you are driven to wonder, “is there something to this Jesus?” Maybe you see a friend struggling against illness and you admire her perseverance and confidence in Jesus, even though she is suffering so greatly. It could be you have heard snippets of teaching which are credited to Jesus and you think, “If even a tenth of this were true, I’d follow this man to the ends of the earth”. This is the Spirit. God is getting your attention by these people or that circumstance. Now is the time to listen.

Explore the holy tug on your heart. My pastor, Michael Jaatinen, says “sin will seduce you'“. By that Jaatinen means sin will always take you on a dark path away from God. However, God Who is Holy, He is the Light of Life—His way will intrigue you and require you to stir yourself from the seductive ways of sin in order to rise in newness of life. Today, if you hear Jesus’s voice, do not harden your heart. Find a Christian friend whose walk you admire and ask your questions. Know Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart. He is ready to be found by you!

Fellow Christians, keep your heart tender and your attention open to the possibility that the way you are living is drawing others to the Light of Christ. Remember, when you love Jesus His light shines out from you. Be prepared to answer questions. Be prepared for times of lots of questions and times when there are silences as people ponder what you are saying. Pray. Give thanks to God the Father that He has qualified you in Jesus Christ to be a witness to all the Christ is doing. The Spirit will direct you into all truth.

You are infinitely creative and masterful, Mighty God of Wonders. Blessed are You. Thank You for the glorious gift of Jesus Christ. Thank You for the many ways in which Your Spirit draws Jesus into our peripheral vision, so that we catch many intriguing glimpses of His majesty until our Spirit-pricked consciences seek Him out. Spirit of God, help us, who love Jesus and seek to make Him known by our words and actions, keep us so gentle in Jesus as to be open to all inquiries and ready to give an answer for the faith that is in us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fpUvEKd91w

August 30, 2020 -- John 7:30 -- Kept Safe

So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

John 7:30 English Standard Version

What is clear through-out the whole Gospel of John is the fact that Jesus is in charge of all that happens to Him. Repeatedly the conflict between the sons of the First Adam and the Son of God—our final, true Adam, the head of all who believe—are laid bare. Right from John 1 the very people who were His own did not receive him (John 1:11). The Pharisees sent people to investigate—they were keenly aware of all the prophesies of Messiah—but they rejected Jesus. Again and again the very people who should have pointed others to Jesus did themselves reject Jesus and they aimed to have others turn from Him also. They showed themselves to be the children of sin, the children of the first Adam, in whom there is only death.

This conflict traces through the whole Gospel and Jesus is never trapped, never cornered by the corrupt. Instead, Jesus preached and taught until the hour appointed by the Father when His redeeming work on the cross had come. In fact, even Jesus’ arrest and trial required His cooperation. But that is for later devotionals.

How is this brief text comforting for us today? The Sovereign of Heaven and Earth knows the purpose of our lives and the length of our days. Our lives and the moment of our death are in His hands. We need not fear health crises. We need not be overcome by our sins—Jesus paid it all!

We are comforted by the teaching of today’s text because we learn that our Father in heaven will give us all we need as we need it. Jesus faced tremendous hardship and persecution, but He was given the Spirit of God to sustain Him. All who believe in Jesus Christ will be given the same Spirit, the Spirit of Comfort and of Power, so that we will be able to face whatever our Father in heaven has appointed for us. We have times of joy and times of sorrow we will have times of testing and times of Sabbath. All of these are used by our Father in heaven in order to forge in us that faith that will be perfected in eternity.

Do not lose heart nor be discouraged if the day is particularly hard. Our Father is near. His Spirit will anchor you on the Rock of our Salvation, Jesus Christ.

Thank You, Father in heaven, that You have numbered our days. Thank You for the work of Jesus Christ because of Whom we are counted as Your beloved sons and daughters. Thank You for the Spirit of God, given and sealed in us until the day of Jesus’s return in glory. We pray, faithful Father, for our friends and family members who do not know You. May this day be for them the day of salvation and wondrous joy. Guide us, by Your Word and Spirit to be open and ready for every opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus, our Savior-King. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihJAJA4ibEs&list=RDW-U4Rv_d_Ws&index=4

August 29, 2020 -- John 7:18 -- God the Foundation of all knowing

The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

John 7:18 English Standard Version

“There is no god.” It is a (ridiculous) statement you will hear as men debate morality, origins of the universe and the grounds for science or understanding. My question is this: how do you know there is no god? By what authority have you determined this to be true?

Stephen Hawking, the great thinker, cosmologist, and atheist was quoted as saying:

The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance,

it is the illusion of knowledge.

His words are ironic. He himself was trapped in his own illusion of knowledge. He had opinions about heaven (there isn’t one); about death (our lives are like computers when we die they just shut off)—this is from Time magazine, March 14, 2018.. For all Hawking’s great insights and prodigious learning and exploration of mysteries, he cut himself off from the possibility of deep and true knowledge, knowledge that is rooted in God, Who is the creator of heaven and earth. He is proves himself to be part of a long heritage of thinkers who are trapped in the illusion of knowledge.

Protagoras, 490 BC to 420 BC, stated man is the measure of all things. By this he believed man set the standards for morality and for value—no god is necessary. Again, what we encounter is a man boxed in by the illusion of knowledge, someone who at first glance seems profound and deep in his thinking, but is, in fact, deeply ignorant and incapable of true insight. Protagoras, and others who speak like the Father of Lies, cannot grasp the true nature of knowledge.

The majestic glory of the LORD Most High, Who is the source of all wisdom, knowledge and understanding invites thinkers and philosophers, explorers and theologians to dive into seeking out all knowledge and understanding. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, it is the glory of kings (philosophers, cosmologists, geologists, and theologians) to search it out (Proverbs 25:2). The reason Jesus was credited with authority, and crowds longed to hear and know more, can be traced to the fact that His speaking and teaching were anchored in the glory of the Father. Jesus was not boxed in by the illusion of knowledge, Jesus was trusting in His Father in heaven, seeking all knowledge and revealing all truth which can only be found in Him Who is All-knowing.

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:1-2

Great are You, LORD, and worthy of glory. High and deep are the marvelous mysteries of creation. Thank You for the wonderful joy of seeking to learn, exploring to understanding and examining closely so that we, puny as we are, may grow in knowledge. You are the Source of all Truth. You undergird creation so that it all hangs together in Jesus Christ—the Head. By Your Word and Spirit continue to grant men and women the wonderful privilege of delving deeply into matters as diverse as religion and cosmology, biology and languages so that Your great splendour and awesome beauty may be known among us. As we learn, as we make new discoveries, may Your Name be praised and the wondrous intricacies of creation cause us to bless You with ever greater wonder, delight, thanksgiving and praise. Amen.

Note it takes about one minute to start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTfLcIKQ3dU

August 27, 2020 -- John 7:17 -- Breathing in His will

If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

John 7:17 English Standard Version

The Contemporary Christian Music group (wait, does anyone actually use the expression CCM anymore?!) “All Sons and Daughters” sings “Its Your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise”. (The song is “Great Are You Lord"). To argue against God is to borrow breath, breathing in deeply His gift of oxygen into the lungs He has given you which are located in the body which He has wonderfully knit together in your mother’s womb in order to tell Him Who Is All-Knowing, All-Powerful, that you know better than He does. Our very DNA—A, T, C, G—the four letters which represent the chemical building blocks of our DNA—declares the language, the information He spoke in you so that you are unique, created for His purposes and His glory.

What Jesus declared to His listeners then and to us today is simple and profound and easy to miss. He is drawing from centuries of prayers represented in the Psalms—the Bible’s prayer book. Consider this: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…but his delight is in the law of the LORD” Psalm 1:1,2. The Mighty One of heaven and earth has decreed blessedness for those who follow Him, seeking to know Him.

“So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight” (Psalm 18:24). As the believer determines to honour God in His thoughts and actions, his words and way of living, so the LORD brings His great blessing and reward on that man, that woman, that child. So awesome to contemplate

“To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust; let me knot be put to shame; let not my enemies exult (triumph) over me. Indeed, none who wait for your shall be put to shame;” Psalm 25:1-2. The whole of this Psalm shows how one writer wrestled against great odds and circumstances to find the goodness of the LORD and God showed up in power and glory.

Straight up, willingness on our part to do God’s will is sufficient so that Jesus Christ will be revealed as true and as the Messenger sent from our Father in heaven. Willingness on our part to read the Bible and hear what the Spirit of God teaches will confirm Jesus Christ to be exactly Who He claimed to be: the One sent by the Father to show us the Father’s love and rescue us from our sins and bring us up from our deadness in sin into the life and light found in the authority and blessedness of Jesus.

Send out Your Spirit Jesus, so that our hearts and minds will be teachable, so that our wills may be conquered and subdued enough to be willing to do the Father’s will. Let the prayer book of the Bible, the Psalms, become so precious to us that we will grow in our ability to speak to and listen to You. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jCnAAeEJSQ

August 26, 2020 -- John 7:12-13 -- Why we tell others about Jesus

And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

John 7:12-13 English Standard Version

It is the most important question for us to answer: “Who is Jesus?” It was the critical question that needed to be answered when Jesus walked the earth among the people whom He had created. The Gospel of John records these damning words: “He came to his own and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11). In this devotional series I have been carefully going through various passages and texts in the Gospel of John. This book so beautifully clarifies Who Jesus is. Jesus is:

~Co-eternal with His Father in Heaven (John 1:1)

~Co-Creator with His Father in Heaven (John 1:3)

~True light that gives light to everyone (John 1:9)

~He is the Exegete, the One Who shows and explains Who the Father is (John 1:14, 18)

~He is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)

~He is the Messiah, the anointed prophet of God (John 1:41)

~He is the King of Israel and by extension the true King of all the earth, and the Son of God (John 1:49)

~He is the One Who is seated in glory and power at the Father’s right hand ruling until history will end at

His return and all the living and dead will be judged (John 1:51)

Those who affirm these statements find Jesus to be their soul’s Salvation and Chief Desire and Blessing Who alone is worthy of worship. We conquer every rebel sigh and wayward inclination of our stubborn hearts. We are prone to wander, so in the strength of the Holy Spirit Who lives within us and by the bright light of the Word of God, we subdue every traitorous thought which would rise up in us against His glory.

One of the most powerful ways to grow in faithfulness and deepen our joy is to share the Good News with others. Last night I attended part of the Gather to Go meeting. Seeing fifty or so young people, high school and college-aged youth, declaring their love for Jesus and their commitment to boldly preach Him stirred up joy and delight in my own soul. I was reminded why evangelism is so critical. When we tell others Who Jesus is:

~the Spirit within us confirms Jesus as Lord of our lives

~the Word and Spirit bear down to unmask the lies of Satan

~the Triune Gods show the tremendous unity that is ours, a unity that is greater than denominations

~the Spirit applies the Word in us so we grow in our tremendous anticipation of His return in glory when every eye shall see Him and every knee shall bow and declare Him the Son of God to the glory of the Father

~all of this increases the joy of our salvation and our ability to withstand persecution and trials in the holy cause of serving Jesus with all we have and all we are.

Blessed Jesus, Holy and True, give to us a fuller and greater measure of Your Spirit so that we will understand the Word, grow in our knowledge of the Omnipotent God of Heaven Who, by Your saving work Jesus, is now our Father. We believe, help us overcome any unbelief. We believe, help us to declare Your great Name to all the people to whom You send us. Forgive us our timidity and increase in us a holy boldness, in Your Name Jesus and for the glory of the Triune God we pray. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCcX8frsWr0

August 25, 2020 -- John 7:2 -- Satiated by His Faithfulness

Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand.

John 7:2 English Standard Version

This is pivotal information. Jesus had just declared “I AM the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger” John 6:35. As this chapter unfolds we learn Jesus will travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This was a seven-day festival and as the people celebrated it they recognized that God Almighty had provided mana in the wilderness. Six days a week for the forty years of desert wandering there was bread from heaven on the ground available for the people to eat. The mana was available six days a week, and on the sixth day the people were to gather up a double portion so that they did not have to work the next day, on the Sabbath, which was the day of rest. The forty year span stretched between the Exodus and the Israelites’ entry into the Promised Land. Through-out those forty years, the LORD provided water. Later in this chapter Jesus will declare “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:18).

Imagine one million people who left Egypt by the mighty power and outstretched hand of God’s victorious grace wandering in the desert! He fed and sustained His people through-out. It was miraculous. And it was important that the people of the LORD then, and today, understand He provides for our daily needs. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread”. In some ways it seems strange to our ears to pray this. I mean, don’t I take care of my own needs? I work. I make money. I shop. I cook the food. This is my doing, right? No!

Who gives you the strength to work? Who gives you the talents and abilities to be employable? Who has given fruitfulness to the fields? Who has provided, in drought years and in plenty for supply systems that allow us, in North America, to enjoy such food security? It is God our Father Who in great faithfulness has given this all. The Christian acknowledges God is our Provider and faithful in all this. Certainly Covid-19 has taught us how vulnerable we truly are. How a little speck of infection can bring the world to its knees! Truly we are dependent on God’s gracious, daily, sustaining care!

More than just a focus on our physical needs, we understand from Jesus’s teaching at the Festival of Booths, that He Himself is the Bread of Life and the Living Water that wells up to eternal life in us. To neglect the daily feast of Jesus the bread of life is to slowly starve oneself. Neglecting to drink this living water means we are dying of thirst. If we are not delighting in Jesus Christ we do not see the vast storehouse of blessings being poured out into our lives! The Spirit of God takes the bible reading and makes it for us living and precious. The Spirit of God connects us to Jesus Christ so that in Him our souls are refreshed, the Living Water wells up within us flowing and overflowing unto eternal life.

Father in heaven, glorious and blessed, Jesus taught us to pray “give us this day our daily bread”. By the powerful presence of Your Spirit in us, may we give you thanks for our physical food and drink and urgently look to the Word to find our truest sustenance, the Living Bread and Living Water—Jesus Christ. Revive us in Him so that our souls will be satisfied and from this place of overflowing blessing sin will lose its appeal because we are already deeply contented in You! Amen.

August 24, 2020 -- John 7:1 -- No more gloom!

After this Jesus went about in Galilee.

He would not go in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.

John 7:1 English Standard Version

There are no throw-away sentences in Scripture, no verses which are not in some way informative. Today’s verse is an example of one that could easily be skipped over. That is why we rest on these words today and briefly consider them.

Galilee is the region where Jesus grew up. Nazareth, His home town, is in that region. Capernaum, one of Jesus’ key ministry towns is located in the region of Galilee as well. The Gospel of John records Jesus’ first sign, the turning of water into wine, which happened in Cana, and you guessed it, Cana is located in Galilee of the Gentiles as well. Why does this matter?

Read these words:

Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined. Isaiah 9:1-2 NKJV

Zebulun and Naphtali were two tribes given the land in the Northern Territories of Israel, by the Sea of Galilee. These were the regions which were greatly distressed because of the sinfulness of the all the Northern tribes. They were the peoples who were the first to experience enemy incursions. Their territory and people were overrun and thrown into exile as the first conquests which eventually would swallow up all of the Northern Territory. They experienced great oppression. But now, that is the place, seven centuries later, which is bathed in the light of Jesus Christ. His work and His ministry is the shining light that breaks oppression and throws off distress.

Today’s simple verse is more than a geographical reference. It is a strong invitation to walk in the light of Jesus Christ. It is a call to examine your life, are you walking in despair in these Covid-19 times? Are you feeling hopeless because of circumstances in your life? Ah, look to Jesus Christ. He is the Light of Life.

The Jews were seeking to kill Jesus. He was fully aware of the plots and trials wicked people would hurl against Him, but He walked in the blessedness of His Father’s protection, sharing the love and mercy of His Father in heaven with all who were in need and did so, until the hour was right for Him to become the sacrifice that takes away sin. Perhaps today is the time of light breaking through the gloom of your heart and soul, perhaps now is the hour when the shining presence of Jesus Christ will transform you.

Mighty Father in heaven, if You should record all our sins, who among us could withstand Your judgment and wrath. But the Bible teaches us You hold in Your hand forgiveness—full forgiveness that meets our every need. Oh God of Glory, thank You for the shining light of Jesus Christ and His great salvation. Today, Jesus, You Who are the radiance of the Father’s glory, bring many sons and daughters to glory. Encourage those who are wandering, discouraged in gloom and darkness. Triune God of Splendor, Blessed are You, now and always. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8pCbtLeXzc&list=RDzyIR4N5EFt8&index=3

August 22, 2020 -- John 6:70-71 -- Every chance to be sheltered by mercy

 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”  He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

John 6:70-71 English Standard Version

You know the old expression hindsight is 20/20. While we as humans cannot see the future clearly, and often we can’t even determine what is going on around us in the presence, when we look back we can connect events and circumstances and realize what was really going on.

Jesus, however, was informed by the Spirit of God of the condition of Judas Iscariot’s [J.I.] heart. Why didn’t Jesus just dump him, or expose him or hold him up as an example to the others? It was recently pointed out to me that the other disciples didn’t realize how corrupt J.I. was. When they were all gathered at the Last Supper Jesus declared one of the disciples would betray Him. They were all shocked and surprised. In fact, each one asked: “Is it I, Lord"?

Let me phrase what I’m going to say bluntly, why would Jesus waste His time on J.I.? I believe Jesus was highlighting the patient mercy of God. Our Father is not willing that any one should perish. For as long as J.I. walked with Jesus, he was exposed to the mercy, love and kindness of the Living God. J.I. had every opportunity to repent and believe on Jesus. Every act of mercy and miracle exposed the goodness of God and His faithfulness. J.I. had a front-row seat and despite it all hardened his heart against Jesus.

As long as we draw breath we can see the goodness of God, the extravagant blessings displayed in creation and we are living in the radiance of His great mercy. We have every opportunity to see our sin for what it is, to hate it, believe in Jesus as the One sent by the Father. If the Spirit of God is prompting you, encouraging you, find a Christian friend whose walk with God you admire and ask about Jesus. Now is the day of God’s kindness.

Who is like You, O God, great in mercy and lovingkindness?! Move us by Your Spirit to respond deeply and truly to all You are showing us in Jesus Christ. Give us the courage to speak with a Christian friend and so drink deeply of Your salvation. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG_IXFEO8yE

August 21, 2020 -- John 6:60-66 -- The Flesh is of no help

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 

J0hn 6:60-66 English Standard Version

The flesh is no help at all those startling words Jesus spoke are as true today as they were when they were first spoken. How do we understand the magnificence of creation? A secular scientist who does not acknowledge the glory and power of God will seek answers to origins with no reference to Him Who Is All-Powerful. Frankly, the flesh is of no help at all. When one is bound up in humanistic ways of thinking their words are of the flesh and lead to death. When one is trying to interpret the splendors of all God has set into motion without reference to God, their ideas are nonsensical.

The flesh is no help at all when one is trying to sort out government regulations with regards to worship. Laws are promulgated which not only curtail freedoms but deny the central requirement Christians have to worship the Living God. It is baffling to me that so many churches are still not open for public worship so that people cannot gather together. We are commanded to gather together. Jesus promised where two or three are gathered, there He is in the middle of that gathering (Matthew 18:20). It seems to me our government, federal and provincial, are running on fear and seeking to control people through fears. The humanistic way of thinking leads to death. We are commanded to gather and worship—the flesh is no help at all when trying to interpret what God demands of His people.

The flesh is no help at all when seeking to understand our times. We are called to turn to Jesus. Notice in the text how many people left off of following Jesus. The way became so difficult. They didn’t sign up for that. It is so in our day as well—this pandemic has separated wheat from chaff—people willing to endure for Jesus Christ. In our land we have a government applauding abortions right up to the ninth month, exporting the violence of abortion and funding it in other lands. Medical assistance in dying is touted as compassionate. While our ethics impaired Prime Minister staggers from one scandal to another know this, the flesh is of no help at all. As one new friend put it to me yesterday, “If the churches aren’t going to be open during these troubled times, there is no point in opening their doors when all is well”.

Jesus proclaimed no one can come to Him unless it is granted by the Father. All across our land may the doors of our churches be thrown wide open so that those who long for the Savior, those who perhaps for the first time in their lives realize the flesh is of no help at all will finally be able to run to Jesus. May these confusing times result in a revival across our land, so the glory of the LORD will cover Canada from sea to sea to shining sea, and people from the various tribes and languages and cultures of this great land will stream together to worship Him!

Mighty Father in Heaven, thank You for the people You have given to Jesus Christ for the glory of His Name and the victorious exclamation of “Amen” on His work. Forgive us, O LORD of All Power, forgive us for our times of cowering in fear and leaving our churches shut up. Forgive us for leaving people at the mercy of a government’s scandalous acts of intimidation in these plague-filled times. Cause Your church to rise in the strength of the Spirit Who gives life in Jesus’ Name. Jesus, our Sure Hope in these bewildering times, gather in Your people by Your Word and Spirit so that we may know the protection of our Father in Heaven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyIR4N5EFt8&list=RDW-U4Rv_d_Ws&index=6

August 19, 2020 -- John 6:47 -- Awesome and Awe-filled Everlasting Life

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

John 6:47 English Standard Version

That seems too simple, doesn’t it? Believe in Jesus and whoever believes in Him has eternal life. Right now. Eternal life that begins now, will not be defeated by death, and stretches throughout eternity. The verb to believe is used about 100 times in the Gospel of John. It is the work of believers, to put their trust and whole confidence in Jesus Christ. So sure is this promise that Jesus uses the emphatic expression truly, truly. The double use of truly (some translations have “amen, amen” which is also accurate) underscores how sure this promise is.

Believing in Jesus means our lives reflect our confidence in Him. We tell others. We ask questions about Who He is. We desire to know more. We find the things of God sweet and good. It does not mean we are perfect. I was listening to a wonderful sermon by A. W. Tozer where he noted Christians are not morally better than others. Christians are those who are drawn to Jesus Christ. As we are drawn to Him we are indeed, transformed and changed. But look at the evidence of history. Paul and Barnabas had such a row that they had to go their separate ways. Euodia and Synteche, sisters in the Lord, had to be called out for their disagreements. Those are just two examples. Scripture is filled with stories and examples which prove we are not morally superior to anyone else, we are those who are been called by the Father and given to Jesus for the glory of His Name and are guarded in this new life by the Spirit.

Thanks be to God He has made the way clear for us to be healed in Christ. Thanks be to God the way is not shut against us when we sin. He has given us His Spirit so that we will be convicted of our sins and drawn back to the way of salvation. We are neither lawless Christians who serve our own purposes nor are we driven merely to keep laws for their own sake. We are born again, so that our souls hunger and thirst for the Living Jesus. This is what distinguishes us from all others. We confess our sins as the Spirit points them out to us. We turn from them, learning to hate them and trusting the Spirit will continually root out all that is not holy, all that is not true.

It is beautiful as well that Jesus emphasizes eternal life. He is the Living Bread, the True Bread from heaven. Those who believe in Jesus have life, now, it is ours. And death will not be able to hold us down. The grave is already defeated. In fact, death and the grave will serve one last purpose for us who are in Christ, it is the final resting place for our sin. Death and the grave will affirm Jesus’s victory at the cross. When, after our death, we rise to new life in Christ we will not be able to sin, we will be free from sin and its contaminations. This is what it means to know Jesus as the Bread of Life. This is what it means to partake of Him. What joy and blessing is ours now already.

Jesus thank You for the wonderful gift of life which has taken hold of us! Thank You for the rich and glorious promise that our new life has already conquered death. Direct us by Your Word and Spirit so that we will conform more and more to Your will and Your ways thus bringing glory and praise and honour to our Father in heaven. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7TFuqp97cs

August 18, 2020 -- John 6:35 -- What can truly satisfy?

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whomever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

John 6:35 English Standard Version

Endless hungers that are unsatisfied and a plaguing thirst that cannot be sated, these are the judgments of God on the wicked. Consider these words “You shall eat, but not be satisfied, and there shall be hunger within you” (Micah 6:14 ESV). You see this in our world around us. Though fortunes are being lost, there are food trends, expensive and crazy.

If you look up food trends, you’ll see all kinds of mash-ups of various cultures and traditional foods—despite the fact that much of the world is hungry. You can read of the newest mixes of drinks, even though countless many lives have been ruined and are being ruined by alcoholism. There is a restless longing hunger and endless thirst for new things. What is fashionable this week becomes so yesterday as this restlessly hungry and bored world seeks rushes in a different direction to fill its hunger in new ways.

In sharp contrast Jesus is the Person in Whom our souls are satisfied. Those who follow Him no longer chase the latest crazy food fad nor move discontentedly and idly from one thing to the next. He is the soul’s great desire, He is the One in Whom our hungers find themselves satisfied. In Him we learn to be content, whatever our circumstances, because He is our soul’s joy and our life’s crowning pleasure.

This is so intimately linked with what we considered yesterday. What is the work the Father has given us to do? It is to believe in Jesus, the One Whom He, the Father, sent. Many of us have spent so much time chasing after pleasures and friends and worldly things that we have trained our tastes for anything other than Jesus and His Word. Little wonder, then, that it is work to taste and see that Jesus truly is the Bread from heaven that satisfies. The restless, bored, thirsty searching which never seems to be satisfied is only ever fully satisfied in Jesus Christ and knowing Him. Truly, it is so sweet to trust in Jesus. Truly it is the most excellent way to take Him at His word and spend our lives learning to believe Him, trust Him, love Him more and more.

Jesus, Your words are familiar to many of us, and almost too simple. How can it be that we can step off the treadmill of endless yearnings and restless unfulfilled longings and find true satisfaction in You? Jesus, send Your Spirit to teach us this way of being filled and delighted in You. Jesus, have Your Spirit so lead us that we are equipped to do the work of believing the Father in heaven sent You and in You our lives find their purpose. Many of us turn unfilled to You again, fill us up, Lord Jesus, so that all our life and hope, all our joy and longings are fixed on You. Amen.

August 17, 2020 -- John 6:28-29 -- The Only Work Jesus Gives Us

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”

Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

John 6:28-29 English Standard Version

Who is Jesus? Depending on who you ask, you’ll receive a lot of different answers. A follower of Mohammed will say Jesus is a lesser prophet than Mohammed. A Jehovah’s Witness will say Jesus is a created being and he is actually the Archangel Michael. A Hindu would say Jesus is worthy, along with the millions of other gods in their pantheon, of respect perhaps even worship. Some use Jesus’s Name as a swear word. There are people today who think of Jesus as a good teacher, but he was helpless in His challenge to the political system that ultimately put Him to death.

Who did Jesus claim to be? Jesus identified Himself as the One sent by God. Jesus is the One Who perfectly reveals God the Father. The crowd assembled there in front of Jesus had been fed by Him. They knew He was some sort of prophet. They were looking for the prophet to tell them how to serve God. The implication, in the context, is how to serve God so that they can get what they want. What Jesus tells them is to deny themselves.

Jesus’s answer is surprising then, and now. The one who desires to obey God has this one task which is to believe in Jesus, Whom the Father sent. This is huge. Understand that what a person believes impacts how he behaves. What one believes in the depths of his being will be translated into words and actions.

It is work to believe in Jesus. It is work to read the Bible and understand what it says of Jesus in contrast to all the clamoring voices and clashing opinions out in our world today. It is work to go to church and hear the word preached and explained. It is work to constantly pray to Jesus asking Him for His Spirit to open the heart and mind so that it is prepared to learn more about Jesus. It is work to gain a real understanding of Jesus, one which is radically at odds with what the world believes of Him.

The point is the work of believing in Jesus is the work of faith. It is the purpose for our existence. Believing in Jesus is the only way sin is de-fanged and removed from us. Believing in Jesus the way in which we start to truly know the Father and the Son and the Spirit as One God forever blessed and glorious.

Jesus, I believe. Give me all the help I need to believe. Jesus, send Your Spirit into every part of my life so that I will understand more fully Who You are and more truly believe You have been sent by the Father. Spirit of God, make the Bible rich and alive for me so that as I read it, I will desire to read more and more of it in my quest to know and more fully believe in Jesus. Amen.

August 16, 2020 -- John 6:18-21 -- Footprints on the waves

The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.  When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.  But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

John 6:18-21 English Standard Version

Many of the disciples were experienced fishermen before Jesus called them to Himself. That is an important piece to remember when reading this story. They knew the weather. They knew how to handle themselves. But, fellow believers, even in the areas we are more experienced, we will experience great challenges and difficulties. God our Father uses every circumstance in our life to train us in holiness and trust. If we are relying on ourselves, we have misplaced our faith.

Commentaries on this passage, and study bibles with good footnotes, will point to a Psalm that seems to be echoed here. It is Psalm 77:

Your way was through the sea,

your path was through the great waters;

yet your footprints were unseen.

You led your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 77:19-20 ESV

God the Great opened the Red Sea for His people Israel, when they were caught between the powerful army of Pharaoh his chariots and army and the impenetrable Red Sea. The God of Creation opened the Red Sea so that His people could pass through safely. Steeped as they were in the Old Testament, the disciples would know that passage well and remember the events to which it referred.

Now Jesus’s disciples were facing the terrors of another sea and it threatened to overwhelm them. Jesus walked on the water. He proved Himself greater than the storm, more powerful than churning tumultuous waters and stronger even than their fears which had overtaken them. He showed Himself to be God the LORD, even as the people in the Old Testament were saved by the LORD, so would the LORD save His people. That is our confidence today also, He will use all circumstances in our life to expose our haughty pride and bring us to our knees in awareness of our utter need for Him to be King of our lives and Him alone the Sovereign.

Where are you experiencing fears that threaten to overwhelm you? Where are you recognizing you are out of your depths and beginning to panic? Jesus Christ is our salvation. He is greater than the storms of our lives and more powerful than any circumstances. Beleaguered, weary people turn to Jesus. He is our peace. He is our salvation. He is Master of such storms so that we take our eyes off ourselves and our pride is smashed to the ground and we learn humble reliance on Him.

Today’s prayer is based completely on Psalm 77. May the LORD our God give us victory in the places where we most need it, so that for us, Jesus is all in all.

I cry aloud to You, Living God,

aloud to You, and You will hear me.

In the day of trouble I seek You, Mighty LORD;

in the night, tired and worn I continually stretch out my hands appealing to You.

Then Your Spirit stirred me to remember Your past faithfulnesses to me.

I will remember the deeds of the LORD and ponder all your work.

What god is great like You, O LORD my God?!

When the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
 The clouds poured out water;
    the skies gave forth thunder;
    your arrows flashed on every side.
 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth trembled and shook.
 Your way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints were unseen.
 You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Amen.

August 13, 2020 -- John 6:15 -- Subjecting our will to His

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

John 6:15 English Standard Version

Jesus had just performed the miracle, what is referred to as a sign in John’s Gospel, of feeding five thousand people. With the gift of five barley loaves and two small fish from a young boy in the crowd, Jesus gave thanks to His Father and broke the bread and fish. The entire crowd ate and there was an abundance of left-overs which indicated all the people had eaten their fill. It is a sign that confirmed Jesus is sent by the Father. It is a sign that confirms Jesus is Who He says He Is.

The people who had just eaten misunderstood the sign. They were expecting a Messiah, a King, who would be political. They expected Jesus would conform to their expectations. The problem is human expectations are base and sinful. People then and people today, we are so bound up in our sins and selfishness, lusts and self-centred desires we cannot see things the way God intended.

Jesus withdrew. More than this, there is an emphasis that is easy for us to miss, Jesus withdrew again. He went up to the mountain to pray, as was His habit. Luke in His Gospel makes this clear. Frequently Jesus would spend time in prayer, even the whole night in prayer. Jesus’s desire was to be directed by His Father in heaven in all things. Jesus would, in His humanity, seek to do the will of His Father in heaven. By His times in prayer, the times He delighted in speaking to and listening to His Father, Jesus put the things of this world into their proper perspective.

Dearly loved children of God, how we need this lesson. As those who are washed by the blood of Jesus so that our sins are forgiven, how much we need to learn to delight in spending time with God our Father. So often we are presented with choices and opportunities that seem golden and perfect for the taking and we are prepared to pursue them. But we do not withdraw and spend time with our Father in heaven. The gentle prompting of the Spirit is ignored, the same Spirit Who would drive us to ask: “Father, is this Your will for me?” We do not search out the Word of God and rely on the Spirit of God to quench our wanton desires and deflate our egos. We wind up in places or situations which make us cry out: “God, how did I get here?!” The simple answer is that we did not withdraw again, to a place by ourselves and spend time with our Father in heaven.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15 This is what Jesus so beautifully demonstrated. He would seek out His Father’s will. He would spend time in prayer. He would withdraw from the clamoring people, remove Himself from the demanding circumstances and allow the Spirit which was given to Him without measure, to direct Him in bringing His deepest needs, joys, sorrows and thoughts before His Father in heaven.

As Jesus taught us, by example and instruction, so we pray Father in heaven, hallowed, praised and blessed, be Your Name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We pray, Father, let Your will be done in our lives also. Jesus is for us the Way and the Truth and the Life. Spirit instruct our hearts, fill our imaginations with the wonders of what a fuller life in communion with the Father would look like. Spirit direct us so that we, like Jesus and based on the exalted position His redeeming work has given us, will withdraw again and again, to lonely and quiet places so that we can delight in our Father in heaven. Amen.

August 12, 2020 -- John 6:2 -- Liver quiver or arrow straight service

And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

John 6:2 English Standard Version

Crowds were following Jesus because He was doing amazing things. If you think about it, that is no different than people going to a Cirque du Soleil performance. The acrobatics are beyond description. The sounds and costumes and constant activity grip the mind and fire the imagination. And then one goes back to ordinary life. Sure you may tell a few friends, but the experience fades away.

It is the warning carried in this short verse today. Why are you following Jesus? Is it for performance? Do you expect that He will heal you? Do you expect He will manage your finances? Do you imagine He will somehow thrill you?

When Jesus began to teach this fickle crowd, many of them drifted off They wanted signs. They wanted the miraculous. What they didn’t want is transformation. They didn’t want the Savior, Who in Himself is altogether excellent, beautiful and worthy of praise. Jesus asked Peter and the disciples if they were ready to abandon Him as well. Listen to the answer. “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” (John 6:68 ESV). What a beautiful truth. Where else would we go, but to Jesus?!

In contrast to “Cirque du Soleil” or a sporting event—Jesus changes His followers from the inside out. Each day is given in faith-filled service to Him. Each moment an opportunity to learn of Him, praise Him, teach others of His glory and offer the ordinary tasks of our day as a chance to bless those He has put in our lives. Those captured by Christ find in Him their hope and joy, their life’s great reward.

King Jesus with those first disciples and Your followers through-out the ages we declare: “You have the words of life, to whom shall we go?” Fill us with Your Spirit so that our days will be transformed in dedicated service to You, praise to You, and blessing to the people You have placed in our lives. Father in heaven, gather in the full measure of the people You have entrusted to Jesus our Savior. Let Your renown and splendor echo across this earth. Amen.

August 10, 2020 -- John 6:1 -- Faithful

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

John 6:1 English Standard Version

Details matter in the Bible. It seems like a near pointless piece of information that Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee—but consider this, where Jesus goes, who He meets, and those who receive His teaching, these are not haphazard events or coincidences. In Luke, when Jesus was asked to stay in Capernaum, He declared: “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the others towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43). Through-out His earthly ministry, Jesus was directed by the Spirit of God and Jesus went to the places determined by the Father so that He could make the Father known to all whom He had given to Jesus.

Jesus’s disciples went with Him. They were being mentored by Jesus. They were learning as well that the Father in heaven is purposeful in all He does. The Spirit of God will direct believers to the people who need to know the Savior. What seems like random events to us are in fact used for the glory of Jesus Christ. They were learning to make the most of every opportunity in service to God.

Many of you know that I have been a volunteer police chaplain for many years. I have not served in that capacity for a few years now. Last year I thought I might begin again, but realized the timing was not right. So I have not been involved with it for a year now. On the holiday Monday I went to PEI. We have what is known as an “Atlantic Bubble”, which means residents of the four Atlantic provinces can freely move about. After crossing the Confederation Bridge from NB to PEI, I learned there is a border check! It was a surprise to me.

At the border check I noticed the car ahead of us had Quebec license plates and it seemed the people were in process of being denied entry into PEI. So the peace officer who was assigned to speak with us was already a bit frazzled by dealing with a carload of angry people. When he came to speak with me and my traveling companion, my passenger did not have I.D. which would identify him as a resident of Moncton. So we were denied entrance. The peace officer led us to a waiting area where we met a police officer. This police officer approached with some trepidation, knowing we might be irritated at being denied entrance. The Spirit prompted me to mention chaplaincy.

So, when the officer approached, I was at ease. I told him I realize his job probably has him encounter many frustrated and angry people. I appreciate his work and wanted him to know, as someone who has served as a volunteer police chaplain, he is appreciated and supported in his work. His shoulders relaxed. He smiled. We talked about ten minutes on chaplaincy, which he’d never heard of, and exchanged business cards. Though we were not able to visit PEI, I realized what had happened is that God brought us to the right person at the right time for His purposes. My friend and I had a wonderful teaching moment—we learned that what we plan to do can easily be overturned by what the Spirit is planning. The question is: will we be open to what the Spirit is doing and to whom the Spirit is bringing us?!

LORD of heaven and earth, thank You for the greatness of our salvation, applied to us in the majestic work of Jesus Christ. Father in heaven, thank You for the way in which You direct our lives, in the great sweeping events as in the details. Keep us humble, O God our Father, and alert, to all the opportunities You give us for holy service. Thank You for those You have placed in our own lives who recognized the meeting as a divine appointment and taught us of Jesus Christ. Thank You for those who have been faithful along the way, and prompted by the Spirit continued to sharpen us and bless us for holy service. We bless You and thank You that our lives are in Your hands, Triune God of all blessedness. Amen.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=may+those+who+come+behind+us+find+us+faithful&view=detail&mid=6215F2FD8A04AB5839766215F2FD8A04AB583976&FORM=VIRE0&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dmay%2bthose%2bwho%2bcome%2bbehind%2bus%2bfind%2bus%2bfaithful%26cvid%3d9761954c916046cda3b30c50a78ebd50%26FORM%3dANNTA1%26PC%3dASTS

August 9, 2020 -- John 17:6-19 -- Richard preaching via Livestream

This morning I will be preaching at Mt. Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 10 AM Atlantic Daylight Time (9 AM EDT).

The link is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zanMrRHhGW0

July 26th’s AM sermon is available immediately at this link, and the service begins at 13:40:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmPUlGWySCA

Have a blessed Sunday Shalom. Richard