John 8

Today, I am reading John 8. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

Here are two of the verses that stood out to me...

John 8

43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me!

44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

I love the way God’s timing works. Today, we are reading through John 8. This weekend in the message, we are going to be talking about these two verses; but you’ll have to stop by to hear the other verses that stood out to me and what I think God wants to teach us about them.

Next Monday through Wednesday, I am going to be out of town visiting family.

I will see you next Thursday.

John 7

Today, I am reading John 7. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

Here are the verses/thoughts that stood out to me...

John 7

40 When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”

41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee?

42 For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”

43 So the crowd was divided about him.

This scene saddens me for a couple of reasons. The first is that the world today ... 2,000 years later ... is still divided in its view of Jesus. The second, and more important, is that the reason they weren’t accepting Him was because of misinformation. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a city in the region of Galilee; but had been born in Bethlehem. Misinformation is still a reason that too many people haven’t accepted Jesus today. They believe that God doesn’t love them or can’t forgive them or won’t accept them. As Jesus followers, it is our responsibility to make sure God’s grace is demonstrated in our lives and shared in our words.

Free* Part 2

This past weekend, Jonathan continued the Free* series by talking about Jesus’ role as the “freedom-giver”. As a side note, a video version of our messages are available at vimeo.com/eastsideonline.

Here is one of the verses/thoughts that stood out to me in the message...

Galatians 5

1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

If you are anything like me, you have searched for freedom in a variety of places ... places that offer anything but freedom. True freedom can only be found in Jesus. If you have never done so, I pray you will accept the freedom He came to offer.

John 6

Today, I am reading John 6. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

Here are the verses/thoughts that stood out to me...

John 6

9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

Too many times, we think that what we have to offer God isn’t good enough; but you would be amazed what God can do through you when you give it to Him.

19 They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!”

Too many times in the midst of the storms in our lives, we are so busy “rowing” that we forget to look for God. Then, when we finally see Him, we are startled instead of comforted. Instead, when ever we see the storm clouds of life rolling in, we should look for Him first and begin “rowing” toward Him.

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” 68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

Prior to this exchange, Jesus had been using some challenging metaphorical language to teach that following Him would require more than a “surface-level” commitment. There will be times in your journey when the challenges Jesus offers you will require you to reevaluate (and hopefully reaffirm) your belief of who Jesus really is.

John 5

Today, I am reading John 5. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

Here are the verses/thoughts that stood out to me...

John 5

6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

This question has always saddened me. You would think/hope everyone wants to “get well”; but there will always be those that prefer to remain “sick”. There are some people you just can’t help because they don’t want to be helped.

9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

My prayer is that I don’t “object” to good things that God is doing in my life, or the lives of others, just because He isn’t doing it the way I think it should be done.

39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!”

It is important to remember that, even though it is a collection of 66 books, the Bible is telling one story ... a story focused on Jesus. Every time you read the Bible, you need to “look” for Jesus so you can see how that passage/chapter helps tell the story.