The House You're Building

        Orient  John 4:43-54  Today’s passage is a narrative account of Jesus’ 2 nd  major sign to show He was the Messiah.  The setting happens in Cana, getting us to reflect on the first miracle.  Rounding out his encounters with non-believers in chapters 3-4, this time Jesus interacts with a third “type,” a Gentile official.  Unlike Nicodemus or the woman at the well, this official represents someone outside religion who is a political figure, an oppressor of the Jews.  We see the theme of John stated clearly in verse 48 tying the miracles of Jesus to show the truth of His words.     Introduction Over my years in ministry, I’ve encountered people who were desperate for a miracle.  A few years ago, an acquaintance started asking about how to pray.  In finding out more about her situation, I discovered her husband had left her and she wanted to understand how to get what she wa...

    Orient  John 4:1-42 Today’s reading is another encounter story.  This time, instead of interacting with a Jewish male who is a respected teacher and leader, Jesus witnesses to Nicodemus’s polar opposite-- a Samaritan woman, who is living in sin. Yet the conversation has the same focus; everyone needs eternal life.  This vignette shows Jesus wants all to be saved no matter their ethnicity, gender or place in society.  At the end of the encounter with the woman, Jesus gets a chance to teach his disciples about salvation through symbolism of the harvest and how satisfying it is to do God’s will.  Ending the section, the transformation and testimony of the women, like the harvest Jesus speaks of, multiples into more believing He is the Messiah.  Interestingly, this section is the only place in John where Jesus clearly reveals himself as the Messiah before His trial before Pilate.    Introduction How do you avoid ...

  Orient   John 3:22-25 John the Baptist Exalts Christ    Beginning with a transition of travel, the story interacts once again with John the Baptist defending Christ, this time to his disciples.  We learn more about the superiority of Christ and his ministry over any human agent.  Starting in verse 35, scholars dispute the origin on the teaching starting in verse 31, is John the Baptist still speaking or is John the author of the book and apostle interjecting? Checking the quotation marks in your translation will indicate what the editors of your translation believe.  This section contains teaching about our role in ministry in comparison to Christ and the validity of the testimony of Christ in representing the Father.     Introduction In the age of social media, envy is a vice on the rise.  Constantly we are bombarded with perfect images of beauty, fashion, home decor, meals, and trips.  No matte...

How often do you think about your patterns and habits?     Is it only when something is going wrong or like many, do you become contemplative around the transition to a new year?     I’ve been thinking about my lifestyle for about 3 months now, so though December is winding down, and January is quickly approaching, the words I share with you aren’t a new thought in my mind.  Yet before God highlighted this passage as I was reading, I couldn’t quite put into words the cause of my disquiet:    You have sown much, and harvested little.  You eat, but you never have enough; you drink but you never have your fill.  You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm.  And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. Haggai 1:6 (ESV)   In a word, I’ve been weary.  At Christmas, the hymn [1]  tells us “the weary world rejoices” which sounds fantastic except I’m not rejoicing—I’m just tired. ...

        Orient  For God So Loved The World Jesus continues his conversation with Nicodemus and begins by explaining why the Son of Man will be lifted up.  Ties to the themes in the prologue are found in the light/dark contrast shared by John to describe the nature of man and their deeds. Much of the language in these verses communicates spiritual truth using legal terms.  This section contains one of the most well-known scriptures in the Bible (John 3:16) because of its succinct summary of the gospel but is not always understood fully when taken out of context.     Introduction Human nature has fascinated people for centuries.  At the root of the academic fields of ethics, philosophy, psychology, and sociology, thinkers and scientists try to study and explain the motivations of humanity. Previously in John, we learn that Jesus knows what is in man [1] .  In today’s meditation, we hear the teaching of Je...