The House You're Building

Key Verse:   “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”   John 15:16   Imagine a gardener tending to his garden.   He looks at the various branches, and lovingly chooses which branches to prune.   The gardener removes the dead, useless branches and tosses them in the burn pile.   He then prunes the remaining branches so that eventually they will bear more fruit than they ever did before.   Now imagine God as the gardener, Jesus as the vine, and you as the branch.   What type of branch are you?   If you abide in Jesus, you are the pruned branch that will bear fruit.   If you don’t, you will be thrown away and burned.   Read John 15   ·          What are the different relationships that Jesus’ describes in this chapt...

Key Verse: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17 ESV)   In John 12:32-33, Jesus explained He knew His hour, for He knew when and how He would die.   In John 2:4, 7:30, and 8:20 among others, we see that though Jesus was asked to do miracles and people were conspiring to control His ministry, His hour had not yet come so they were powerless; this same hour is recorded in 13:31 as the hour that has finally come for God to be glorified.     How is God glorified? God has a plan for Jesus, a mission for Him on earth.   Just as He came into Jerusalem on a donkey, signifying peace, God’s plan in this hour is that Jesus will usher in ultimate peace.   Not a peace on earth, though that ...

Key Verses:   ·          “So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?   You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.   If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.   For I gave you an example that you also should do I as I did to you.” John 13:12-15   ·          “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.   By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”   John 13:34-35   God calls us to love.   But He didn’t just command love; he demonstrated it.   He wept when he saw sorrow in others.   He washed the feet of his disciples and the feet of his enemy. ...

Key Verse: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”   (John 12:32-36 ESV)   What would you do if you only had one week to live?   What things would you say?   Who would you spend time with?   In this chapter we get insight into what Jesus does His last week before His crucifixion.   This section contains the highs of His triumphal entry and the sorrow that follows and many still with hardened hear...

John Part 13:   Life and Death   Key Verse:   “Jesus said to [Martha], ‘I am the resurrection and the life.   The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.   Do you believe this?”   John 11:25-26     In John Chapter 11, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead and demonstrates His power over death.   He also portends His true purpose for coming to earth, which is to save us from death.   Not earthly death, but true death, which leads to permanent separation from God.   This week reflect on your understanding of death and whether you can answer “Yes” to Jesus’ question “Do you believe this?”     Read John 11:   ·          How did Jesus respond to the news of Lazarus’ death?   How did He respond when He met Mary outside the village?   What did He do when He arrived at the tomb?...

Key Verse: So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”   John 10:24-30 ESV   Jesus loves to speak in analogies, giving us examples of things in this world we do understand to teach us about our faith.   In chapter 10 he uses the example of how sheep behave to show us we are like that in our relationship to God.   In his book A Shepard Looks at Psalm 23 , Phillip Keller gives us helpful things about s...

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...