I know it appears I skipped several verses here but actually I used those verses earlier. See the Archives.
Again John the Baptist points out Jesus as the Lamb of God and two of his own disciples (students under his teaching) heard him and then followed Jesus as He was walking by. Jesus turned to them and asked, "What are you seeking?" When it appears to us that someone is turning to follow Jesus we too should ask the question. "What are you seeking?" What are you looking for?
These disciples wanted to know where Jesus was staying. Already they wanted to be with Him, spend time with Him, get to know Him. Hopefully this will be the response we get when we ask this question to those who appear to be seeking Jesus. Then we can respond as Jesus did, "Come and See." When Jesus invites to come and see there is a positive response as there was with these disciples. They came and saw and stayed with Him that day.
In fact they stayed with Him for all eternity. More about these two disciples next.
What about you- what are you seeking? I invite you to come and see Jesus. May He open the eyes of your heart so that you may know Him for all eternity.
to the praise of His glorious grace!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
John 1: 19- 28
The testimony of John the Baptist, when questioned by priests and Levites about who he was and what he was doing, was a confession of who he was not. He said he was not the Christ- not the Coming Anointed One- not the Messiah. He confessed that he was a voice crying out in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord", as the prophet Isaiah had said. He was preparing them for the Coming One! He was trying to get their attention focused on preparing for Messiah's coming. By quoting Is. 40: 3, in John 1: 23, John is applying to Christ what is said of YAHWEH. John was preparing them for God in flesh which is why in verse 27 he says, "He who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie..." John considered himself lower than a servant in comparison to Who was coming, the One the people were to prepare themselves for.
O my Lord Jesus, help me to have this same spirit. The spirit of a slave. A slave was the one who tied and untied the sandals, who washed the dirty feet, the lowest of low. May I consider myself lower than a slave and serve You in true, pure, genuine humility. I get so puffed up- please cleanse it, burn it out of me with Your holy fire. I do hate it. I do pray that You will take the intense desire of my heart for purity of Your Holy Word and make/ cause the words of my mouth and the thoughts and intentions of my heart to be pleasing to You My Rock, Refuge and Redeemer. May the words that I sing, speak, and pray be wholly devoted to You, may You be glorified in using this vessel to do Your holy will. Control me, Lord Jesus. Please use me to get peoples attention focused on preparing to meet You- in salvation, in daily sanctification and/or in Your soon coming return.
O my Lord Jesus, help me to have this same spirit. The spirit of a slave. A slave was the one who tied and untied the sandals, who washed the dirty feet, the lowest of low. May I consider myself lower than a slave and serve You in true, pure, genuine humility. I get so puffed up- please cleanse it, burn it out of me with Your holy fire. I do hate it. I do pray that You will take the intense desire of my heart for purity of Your Holy Word and make/ cause the words of my mouth and the thoughts and intentions of my heart to be pleasing to You My Rock, Refuge and Redeemer. May the words that I sing, speak, and pray be wholly devoted to You, may You be glorified in using this vessel to do Your holy will. Control me, Lord Jesus. Please use me to get peoples attention focused on preparing to meet You- in salvation, in daily sanctification and/or in Your soon coming return.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
John 1: 18
"No one has ever seen God..."
This takes me back to Moses who asked of God, "Please, show me Your glory." Yet Moses only got to see the backside as God passed by him in the cleft of the rock. God showed Moses His goodness and equaled it with His glory as seen in Ex. 33: 12- 23. We are shown God's goodness and in it we see His glory.
"...the only God who is at the Father's side..." This is Jesus our Lord.
"...He has made Him known." Jesus has made the Father known to us.
This is sometimes a difficult concept to grasp. God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world. But man cannot save himself, it is impossible for anyone to be saved apart from the Lord Jesus Christ who must make the Father known to the one being saved. If Jesus does not make it known it cannot happen. Matthew 11: 27, says, "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."
The Father and the Son are in perfect unity in man's salvation. Throughout the gospel of John it says that the Son can do nothing of His own accord but only what He sees the Father doing. John 5: 19. The Father has given all authority and all judgment to the Son (also in John 5). The Father granted the Son to give life to whom He will..v: 21. Jesus made the Father known by being obedient to the Father in everything. Jesus came to do the work of Him who sent Him and that work was to actually save those the Father had given Him before the world began. John 6: 29, 37-40.
All the goodness of God is seen in Jesus Christ as He reveals to men and women the salvation from God, the full atonement paid on our behalf, the love of the Father, the kindness of God.....and on and on.....!
Jesus has made the Father known to us and I praise the glory of His grace to me and to you.
This takes me back to Moses who asked of God, "Please, show me Your glory." Yet Moses only got to see the backside as God passed by him in the cleft of the rock. God showed Moses His goodness and equaled it with His glory as seen in Ex. 33: 12- 23. We are shown God's goodness and in it we see His glory.
"...the only God who is at the Father's side..." This is Jesus our Lord.
"...He has made Him known." Jesus has made the Father known to us.
This is sometimes a difficult concept to grasp. God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world. But man cannot save himself, it is impossible for anyone to be saved apart from the Lord Jesus Christ who must make the Father known to the one being saved. If Jesus does not make it known it cannot happen. Matthew 11: 27, says, "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."
The Father and the Son are in perfect unity in man's salvation. Throughout the gospel of John it says that the Son can do nothing of His own accord but only what He sees the Father doing. John 5: 19. The Father has given all authority and all judgment to the Son (also in John 5). The Father granted the Son to give life to whom He will..v: 21. Jesus made the Father known by being obedient to the Father in everything. Jesus came to do the work of Him who sent Him and that work was to actually save those the Father had given Him before the world began. John 6: 29, 37-40.
All the goodness of God is seen in Jesus Christ as He reveals to men and women the salvation from God, the full atonement paid on our behalf, the love of the Father, the kindness of God.....and on and on.....!
Jesus has made the Father known to us and I praise the glory of His grace to me and to you.
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