John 2:23-25

John says something about Jesus n chapter2:23-25 that is GINORMOUS! And,it conveys things that we gotta take to heart/to LIFE!John says,”Now when he(Jesus)was n Jerusalem at the Passover Feast,many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing & many believed n his name.But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them,For he knew all men.He did not need man’s testimony about man,For he knew what was n a man.”John is telling us that when we have truly/sincerely received God’s Mercy/Grace through our trusting Christ’s “finishing” work on The Cross,and Christ lives n our hearts/lives through His Holy Spirit...that Jesus has ENTRUSTED us with HIMSELF...HIS HOLY SPIRIT! God doesn’t need to trust anyone with or for anything! BUT,God being The Father that HE IS,n HIS awesome Mercy/Grace/Love for us...HE has decided those that become HIS children through Christ will b ENTRUSTED with HIS Spirit as revealed through Christ&through HIS Word!In my life,when I consider this,I do not see myself as trustworthy ENOUGH,nor having demonstrated this trustworthiness n my life since trusting n Christ when I was 7!I am sure that the apostle Peter would’ve said the same thing!After all,he went on from this point to deny even knowing Jesus 3 times! But Jesus sees deep into our hearts,as He saw into Peters’s heart.Jesus sees us not for “who&what” we r,but for “who&what” we will become as we walk with Jesus through the ups&downs of life...through all life experiences that will lead us to trusting HIM more&more,&grow us to become what HE sees us becoming...as we trust Him more&more->what we were created to become,as God knit us n the womb to become!(Psalm139:13-16,”For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.).We who have trusted n our hearts that Christ has saved us from sin & from what IT DESERVES,need to “marinate on/think on/meditate on/pray about/seek out...the significance n my life of Christ ENTRUSTING me with HIS SPIRIT!This has endless meaning for me!And it “devastatingly humbles” me as it did Peter after he denied Christ 3 times!But,as n Peter’s life the humbling led to not only deeper intimacy w Christ,it also led to Peter becoming more&more of what Jesus saw n Peter years before when Peter first decided to follow Christ!Dear Lord Jesus! This breaks my heart to look into my life and see the UNtrustworthiness n my heart/mind/life!Lord,let this not discourage me!Let it ENCOURAGE me that YOU see what I “can become”,& not what I am!LORD,turn my eyes/heart/life onto YOU more&more,so I can become more&more like what YOU see n me/what YOU knit me to become!

John 1:1-2

To believe that Jesus is The One that came to save us from the penalty of sin,& provide The Way for us to have a Right Relationship w God is admitting to what Satan himself is sorta ok w us admitting to!When the Apostle John wrote his Gospel,he knew this!Therefore,John begins his gospel with stating in no uncertain terms that Jesus is God!That Jesus was “in the beginning”,& that he “was with God”,&that he “was God”!(John1:1-2,”In the beginning was the Word,& the Word was w God,& the Word was God.He was w God n the beginning.”).John goes even further n the next verse when he says that “Through him all things were made;w/out him nothing was made.In him was life,& that life was the light of the men.”N verse 14 John leaves no doubt that Jesus IS THE WORD!SO-Jesus is infinitely MORE than our Savior!He is GOD,& that GOD HIMSELF came to our rescue!God did not send His most powerful angel to rescue us;He did not send the most wise&special prophet of all times to rescue us;He did not send a subordinate of any kind to rescue us!HE CAME HIMSELF!!!!!The powers of sin r so great,& the penalties of sin so overwhelming,that it took THE POWER OF CREATION to rescue us!Nothing else/No one else has what it takes to rescue us forever!And nothing else/no one else has what it takes to give us The Life that has Eternal meaning/purpose/joy/peace,etc.,the Life that we were created to have!Life w/out Eternal meaning/purpose/joy/peace,etc.,is the “darkness” that John mentions n vs4,”In him(Jesus)was life,& that life was the light of men.The light shines n the darkness,but the darkness has not understood it.”Without the Power of Creation being where we make the bedrock of our life,we will have lives similar to what Jesus describes n Matthew7:26-28(“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall(darkness) of it”).BUT when we do build/trust our lives on the bedrock on the Power of Creation,our lives will be like what Jesus describes n Matthew7:24-25(“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock”).Unless we acknowledge that Jesus is God,we will not give Jesus the REVERENCE/RESPECT that he should have n our life!Only when we reckon w The Truth about WHO Jesus is,will our lives begin to b “built on the bedROCK”,& not “the sand”.Only then will we open the door of our heart to let The Power of Creation come in & make a difference n our lives...only then do we allow “the true light give light/life” to us personally(John1:9,”The true light that gives light to every man...”)Dearest Jesus! May my life revere You as God,&may I always b n Awe of WHO You are,&what only You can do for me that will forever make me a child of God,as John states n chapter1:12(Yet to all who received him(Jesus),to those who believed in his name(GOD),he gave the right to become children of God.”).May I always praise You for WHO You are,& for what You have done for me!And for Your eternal  Mercy&Grace!May my heart/mind/life be shaped by Your Truths,& sustained by Your Mercy&Grace.

Luke 24:36

Jesus came to the world to confirm everything the Old Testament promises and describes and teaches about life;challenges;redemption;restoration;character;Righteousness;Glory;Mercy&Grace!AND to literally show us glimpses of Heaven!Jesus came;lived;suffered;died,& was raised from the dead to teach&show us TRUTHS that should give us a perspective on life that should not only give us never ending hope,but an Eternal Perspective of life that we r not “in the dark” about.And,so we will not have the despairing perspective of “is this all there is”!Additionally,whether we reckon with it or not,our PURPOSE in life is shaped by our PERSPECTIVE on life!AND, our HOPE&JOY&PEACE n this life r determined by our PERSPECTIVE on life!What kind of perspective do I have? Is it a “this is all there is PERSPECTIVE”?Or,do I have an “ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE” that is based on TRUTHS conveyed and confirmed through the life of Christ?One of the greatest challenges to an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE,is “what will I be like in Heaven;what will my body be like in Heaven;will I eat;will I recognize those I love that are also n Heaven;will I get together w friends n Heaven;will I b able to travel,etc.?Jesus came to SHOW us the answers to these questions!After Jesus has been crucified;dead for 3 days;& then raises from the dead in His Glorified body,N Luke 24:36 Jesus appears n the midst of His disciples,instantaneously n His glorified body!The disciples r startled&frightened..thinking they r seeing a ghost!Jesus tells them to touch him...feel that He has flesh&bones...assuring them that ghosts do not have these things!AND THEN,Jesus asks if they have anything to eat!AND THEN Jesus eats a meal w them!(Luke24:36-43).Jesus is SHOWING us what our resurrected bodies will b like-> 1Cor15:42-43 says,”So it will b w the resurrection of the dead.The body that is sewn(the one we r born with)is perishable(becuz of sin),it is raised imperishable....it is sown a natural body,it is raised a spiritual body.”1Cor15:49 goes on to say,”And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man,so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven(Jesus after being raised from the dead).”The Bible says that we will have eternal bodies like that of Jesus!Jesus PROVES IT through His resurrection!AND Jesus SHOWS us what our bodies will b like! We will b able to move about like Jesus did!We will walk&talk like Jesus did!We will meet new friends as Jesus did on the road to Emmaus!We will recognize our friends&loved ones as Jesus did!We will b hungry as Jesus was!We will eat as Jesus did!& ETCETERA!These Truths r the very ones that cemented an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE into the lives of the 1st century Christians!Many were either eye witnesses to Jesus’ glorified body,or had trusted family&friends that were!And their lives were turned inside out!They found a PURPOSE for living that gave them a MESSAGE and a HOPE & a JOY that shook the 1st century world...&continues impacting our lives today!They KNEW that ONLY Jesus shows us THE WAY to the life filled w the JOY&HOPE&PEACE that is PROMISED by GOD!Dear Lord!Help me to have my life changed by the Truths of Eternity that You came to teach me and to show me!May my perspective on life be so changed by Your Lessons & Your Examples that my PURPOSE for living is full of the Hope&Joy&Peace that You desire to be the driving forces of my life.

Luke 24:13-24

We all have a God Created/God Given Heart/Spirit that makes us unique to all livings things.Because God desires to b our Father,& not our dictator,HE also gives us Free Will!God created absolutely EVERYTHING to reveal HIS Glory,INCLUDING HIS WORD!HE gives us the freedom to realize on our own that we NEED to have HIS Glory in our life,or we can make our own decision to deny HIS Glory.God’s revelation of HIS Glory is for our GOOD!We r Eternal Beings,that will either b clothed n HIS Glory by receiving the offer of HIS Glory through Christ(John1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,and we have seen HIS Glory,Glory as the only Son from the Father,fully of grace and truth.”),or decide on our own to reject God’s offer.The 1st “option” blesses us w a life n Heaven forever!The 2nd option leaves us to our own arrogant&selfish choices that lead us to denying God’s GIFT of forever being n Heaven. Deciding to SINCERELY accept HIS offer will change our lives,just as our lives are changed a bit when we “clean up” for a special event.The difference is that if we decide n earnest to accept God’s offer,HIS Glory will change us from the inside out,if we truly appreciate The Gift of HIS Glory with our life!After Jesus raises from the dead and walks out of the tomb,there r 2 men that have personal experiences w God’s Glory through Christ,& make their personal decisions to recognize/trust that Jesus is The Glory of God offering HIS Glory to them!N Luke24:13-34,these 2 men r on their way 2 Emmaus,looking downcast/depressed/sad/forlorn,etc.Jesus asked them why they were feeling this way!These 2 men were feeling this way bcuz of the same yearning we all have n the depths of our heart/spirit!They yearned for THE PEACE(harmony in personal relations w GOD;a state of concord or tranquility w GOD)that is only possible when we r n a close personal relationship w GOD our FATHER n HEAVEN!They thought that Jesus of Nazareth was “the way”.But now that HE was dead,they had lost hope-they were downcast/sad.Jesus is WITH them at this very moment of despair!He reminds them(Luke24:27) of all the prophecies the Old Testament(between 300-400!1 person fulfilling 8 prophecies:1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.1 person fulfilling 48 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power 1 person fulfilling 300+ prophecies: Only Jesus!)told about The Life&Sufferings&Death&Resurrection of The Christ/The Son of God!Something about this conversation made them urge Jesus strongly(Luke24:29)2 stay w them for dinner!Something about their asking Jesus to b with them personally for a meal...opened their eyes to WHO JESUS WAS! When they do this,they acknowledge that their hearts/spirits “burned within them”(Luke24:32a)while The Scriptures were open up to them(Luke24:32b).These men were exposed to The Glory of God through HIS Word!(John1:14).And they made the personal decision to reckon their lives w THIS TRUTH,and they rose...and did something about it!They shared the Truth of Christ & His Word w others.They didn’t prop up soapboxes and start preaching on street corners!They ran to share w those that had hearts/spirits prepared by The Lord Himself to hear The Truth!And these became those that would prepare The Way...as John the Baptist had been called go n2 the wilderness to prepare The Way of The Lord n the lives of people!We r called to go n2 the world to prepare THE WAY OF THE LORD,to make HIS Grace&Mercy know to people around us!We r not called to MAKE the world know these things! We r called to live lives that will “prepare” those around us to learn of HIS Grace&Mercy as Jesus only knows when&how to do!We all will experience the same “burning in our hearts/spirits” that the 2 men on the road 2 Emmaus had during our lives!(God creates EVERYTHING to reveal His Glory to us!).We will have the same decision 2 make that these 2 men had!Will we accept/ receive God’s Glory as these men did when their hearts/spirits burned inside them?Or will we decide not to?Then,will we run with The Message of Christ,as these men did?Or not?Dear Lord,I confess that my heart/spirit has burned inside me so many times that I did not listen to what Your Spirit&Word were saying/instructing!Help me to be more like these 2 men were!Help me to also run with Your Message n my life/heart/mind as these 2 guys did also!

Luke23:39-42

After Jesus’ betrayal,Jesus withstands mental,emotional,& physical beatings that in themselves would at the very least the kill the spirit of any man...let alone bring any man to the brink of death.Yet Jesus is determined to make it ALL THE WAY to The Cross;so He could suffer&die n ways that would fulfill ALL PROPHECY & “FINISH” what needed to be DONE for my sake!The WAY that Jesus suffers & endures is beyond the capacity of anyone! EXCEPT for The ONE that MUST BE The Son of God!THIS does not go without notice by at least one!One of the criminals being crucified beside Jesus!There is something in this man’s heart that enables him to see through all of the “rhetoric” about Jesus.When the criminal on 1 side of Jesus insults/mocks Jesus,the other 1 rebukes him & says to him,”Don’t u fear God...since u r under the same sentence?We r punished justly,for we r getting what our deeds justly deserve.But this man has done nothing wrong.”Then he said to Jesus,”Jesus,remember me when you come into your kingdom.”(Luke23:39-42).This man saw through all of the “rhetoric” that had been building over the three years of Jesus’ ministry,and saw The Way He was enduring extremes of lashings,beatings,spitting,slandering,etc.In the endurance of Jesus was something “otherworldly” that convinced this criminal that none of the “rhetoric” was true,& that this Man Jesus was the Son of God,The Messiah!When Jesus hears this man’s confession of faith in HIM,Jesus turns to this criminal and says,”I tell you THE TRUTH,2day you will b with me n paradise.”(Luke23:43).Over the last 2000 years,the same type of “rhetoric”(&much more) about Jesus has grown,grown,grown....& grown!This begs the question!”What am I missing n my life/heart/mind/spirit...because of accepting any part of the “rhetoric” about Jesus?”We have mountains & mountains of “rhetoric” about Jesus that have been growing&accumulating over 2000 years!We must seek to know THE TRUTH,& then let THE TRUTH peel away all the nasty UNTRUTH that is “rhetoric”!We must seek TRUTH with a fervor that challenges the webs of deceit sewn by “rhetoric” about Jesus;about God;about The Holy Spirit;about God’s Word;about anything that sets itself up against THE TRUTH!(2Cor10:5,”We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”).If not,we will miss much of what Jesus came,lived,suffered,&died for us to have in this life(John10:10,Jesus says,”I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.),& we may ultimately b like the OTHER CRIMINAL beside Jesus...the one that was NOT with Jesus n paradise the day of his physical death!Dear Lord Jesus!I know there r mountains of “rhetoric” n my heart/mind/life that r keeping me from knowing The Truth fully,and keeping me from much of the “life more abundant” that You suffered&died for me to live.Please guide me through the mountains of “rhetoric”,& help me to level them so that nothing will impede me from seeing and knowing more&more of You!