Archive for the Read Thru The Bible 2021 Category

It is so painful to read of Jesus being beaten, tortured, and crucified. But we must remember that Jesus allowed these horrors to happen to Him of His own free will. At any moment, He could have removed himself from his torturer’s evil clutches in any millions of ways. He could have instantly struck them all dead. But He did not. He willingly endured their abuse and presented His own body to be sacrificed for you and me.

This is one of the gifts that the Holy Spirit offers us… deep profound joy that is not dependent upon our outward circumstances… joy that can sustain us through the most difficult times of life.It is up to use to access that peace and joy by diving into our relationship with Jesus. Sometimes we must wrestle with our own imperfect human emotions and wills first to get to that peace and joy. But it IS there for the taking, promised and ready for us when we seek it.

There is no one size fits all way to follow Jesus. Life is complicated but God is intimately personal. He has an individual customized plan for each of us. Sometimes we need to be quiet and avoid conflict. Other times we should boldly publicly confront wickedness. And other times we should offer ourselves to be abused by the enemy.

I am so happy that John gave us a glimpse into Jesus’ prayer life in John 17. Jesus said that He was not only praying for His disciples, but “also for those who believe in me through their word.” (v.21) That is US!! So when Jesus prayed about those “You gave Me out of the world,” He was talking about you and me. WE are the ones who have received His words and “truly understood that [He] came forth from [God].” We are the ones who believe the disciples’ witness that Jesus was sent by God. (v.8) In John 17, Jesus was praying for US!

The Israelites had been so terrified of Goliath. But all it took was a young shepherd boy and a stone. All of Goliath’s ferocious threats turned out to be nothing at all. Remember that next time you feel afraid and overwhelmed by something (including a virus…). God is in the giant slaying business!

Jesus is our sustenance and life, the food for our souls. We remain in Him by spending time with Him in prayer, meditation and Scripture. Church is helpful and awesome but just going to church won’t get you there. Sitting and listening to someone for 30 minutes once a week is not relationship. It is not “remaining” in Jesus. Relationship requires your TIME, your HEART, your MIND, and your SOUL…

My message was the verse on the back of the card:

“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:1-3

And then the very next day, guess what verse showed up in my scheduled Bible reading for that day??? I just LOVE it when God does things like that!!

Thank You, Jesus, for that comforting message right now as our lives are in upheaval. Jesus has a plan for us. We don’t know what it is but He does. We don’t need to be anxious or troubled. He’s got this. We only need to trust Him…

I am bold about my faith in God because of what He has done for my soul. I was physically dead but He brought me back to life. I was suicidally depressed, addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol, and He miraculously healed me from all of those. I was a selfish stupid person chasing after meaningless vanities. He gave my life meaning and filled my heart with love and joy. I cried out to Him from the deep dark pit I had dug for myself and He rescued me. I praise Him because He has given me a new soul. I praise Him because “He has given attention to the sound of my prayer. Blessed be God who has not turned away my prayer nor His favor from me.” (v.19-20)

So many things Jesus said and did, He knew the disciples would not readily understand. But He also knew these were the men who would write much of the New Testament. These men would be tasked with explaining Jesus to the rest of the world and all coming generations. (What a huge task!) Much of what Jesus did and said was Him consciously laying a foundation of signs and symbols that the disciples could pull from as they later pieced it all together. He knew the Holy Spirit would be helping them make sense of it all after He had physically left them.

In one way, I envy those who got to physically interact with Jesus while He walked the earth, during that short time that “the light” was among us. But I am so grateful to have the New Testament Scriptures and the Holy Spirit’s help to put all of this into proper perspective. Jesus’ contemporaries had neither of those aids. And they were understandably clueless.