The House You're Building

I'm a runner who hates to run.  I do it because it makes me feel good when I'm done but it's hard work for me.  Yet there are those rare times where I feel good and run with my hands spread wide and my eyes closed for a few seconds, to feel the freedom in trusting what I can't see.  It makes me feel so close to God to run blind. And daughter of God, there is so many things we can't see and know, yet sometimes He pours His special presence on us and everything makes sense despite the darkness all around.  That is what faith is and the best way  I could explain it to someone who doesn't know Him.  It's not rules, it's romance.  It is my hope for all who stumble accross my blog that they live a life fully alive.  Aren't you tired of the constant disatisfaction?  Disappointed of all that life is? Aren't you weary of the continual pain? This place is broken. All I know is Christ and Him crusified.  He did it all so we could have ab...

Key Verse:   “And Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.’” John 9:39   In John chapter 9, Jesus opens the eyes of a man blind from birth and his life is changed forever.   He loses some things, but ultimately gains everything – just by seeing that Jesus is Lord.    On the other hand, others witnessed the same miracle and could not accept the truth.   They became blind because of it.   The key questions to ask yourself as you study this week are this: Have you accepted the truth?   Can you see?   Read John 9.   ·          Make a chart of the main characters of this chapter: Jesus, the Blind Man, His parents, and the Jews (Pharisees).   List everything you learn about each in this chapter.   How does each of the characters respond to Jesus’ miracle? What does it show about each of t...

Key Verse: Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”   (John 8:34-38 ESV)   When you ask people to give their testimony about how they got to know Christ, many people reference those who were examples in their life growing up.   Some people may even believe they are Christians because they went to church growing up or “it’s what my family believes.”   As we will discover this week, you don’t come to Christ by having a family history of church attendance.   You aren’t a demographic if you are a Christian—you are a new creation, humbled, repentant and covered in the blood of Jesus...

Key Verse:    So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” (John 7:28-29 ESV)   In Luke 12:51 Christ says He came not to bring peace to earth but division.   He also says in John 14:27 that He leaves his people with peace, to have untroubled hearts.   Later in John 16:33, He says that when we are scattered, His words will give our hearts peace.   So the division he brings is not emotional, but a separation of who is His and who is not.   Matt 25:32 says:      Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed b...

Key Verse:   “ I am the living bread that came down from heaven.   If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.   This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”   John 6:51 (NIV)   Jesus gave His life on earth so that we can live.   All that He asks in return is that we believe in Him.   In the second half of John 6, Jesus tells the Jews, His Disciples, and us how to do this – by eating His flesh and drinking His blood (v. 53).   Jesus is speaking metaphorically, yet the Pharisees and many of Jesus’ followers didn’t understand and therefore rejected His message.   As you study this week, please reflect on Jesus’ words. Think about your own response to Jesus’ message regarding His flesh and blood.   Reflect on how He was sacrificed so that you may truly live.     Read John 6:41-71   ·          Jesus makes several references to God c...

Key Verse of the Week :   “Jesus said to them:   ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’”   John 6:35 (ESV) Why do we seek temporary, immediate satisfaction from things on earth when Jesus provides everything we need and will do so for eternity?   This week’s passage illustrates how we can see the miracles that Jesus performs – even accept His gifts – and still not understand the depth of what Jesus provides for us.   As you read the first half of John chapter 6 (vv. 1-40), reflect on your own understanding of what Jesus provides for you.   What do you seek Him for?   Do you seek Him for the temporary or the eternal? Read John 6:1-40 and Exodus 16:4-15, 35 ·          Answer the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) about the two signs that Jesus performs in this section of chapter 6.   What was the people’s response ...

Key Verse of the Week: For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:21-24 ESV) Oh the compassion of Jesus! In chapter 5 of John we see the priorities of our Savior.   Despite the religiosity around Him and the disapproval of those who cared more about their own rules than the heart of God, He heals.   Jesus saw a man, lying there, lame and cripple for 38 years.   A friendless man with no one to help him.   His loneliness and lack of hope had been with him a long time.   So Jesus asks, “ Do you want to get well (v6) .”   Do you want ...