And we are up and running! Finally the blogger has been fixed for all of us. Praise The Lord! I have been trying to post this since 7:45am and it's just now up.
Well last night I did not sleep very well. There is so much excitement in my spirit right now. A beautiful college girl stood next to me in the church choir. She normally would not stand next to me for I am an alto and she is a soprano. But as we lined up to get in our places, she was late and since the service had already started and I am on the very end, she had to stand next to me and be an alto for a service. Accident for her but not for me! The pastor asked us to pray for the person standing next to us. I don't know if she was praying for me or the person standing on the other side but I heard, "Give her a fire!" Regardless, I claimed that prayer for myself. So last night I tossed and turned and prayed for all of you reading John with me. I thought about each of you and the lives that you live. I asked the Holy Spirit to show me specifically how to pray for you and He did. The fire I feel is for you ladies. I feel God is going to reveal himself to you in a big way. As you read His word, I pray that a fire burns inside of you. I pray that you will see what a big God we serve! I pray that your joy will be contagious and that your families will see a change in you. I pray that you will have a spirit of expectation, expect God to talk to you. Expect Him to change you! Expect Him to set you free!
When I read John, I am amazed by the very first scripture. In my human mind it is so hard to grasp that the Word has always been here. As Humans we always see a beginning and end in our life. So the fact that the WORD already existed is such a mind boggling thing. I don't have trouble believing it, I just think it's amazing to think about how the WORD is GOD! So if you ever read your Bible and don't understand, that's okay. You can read anything in the bible and your spirit will soak it up. It can't help but to change you! Why? It's God! The Word is GOD! Then the Word became flesh (JESUS). Can you see why the WORD is a must in our lives?
Most of us have heard the term "Born again". In verse twelve it explains this born again term we have heard. As we give our lives to Christ we become children of God and this gives us a brand new life. We know it's not a physical birth, it's a birth that comes straight from God because we have chosen to live for Him.
Verse 14 tells us that the Word became Human and lived among us. So again we know that the Word was God and became flesh. The Word lived among us. The Word has a heartbeat! This is such an incredible reminder that the Word that we spend time studying is living and breathing.
When I think of John I tend to always think "John the Baptist." But as I read this passage I think "John the Witness". Often witnesses are not reliable or trust worthy, John was. John had seen with His own eyes, so he had no problem going around telling people about Jesus. What about us? Many of us KNOW Jesus. We know Him because of his healing in our lives. We know him because of his provision, his joy, his peace, his love. Shouldn't we be witnessing? We are credible because our lives have been changed!
In verse 45, Philip says, "Hey we found the same guy that Moses talked about!" (Amanda's translation) And that is a cool thing for me and you to think about now. The same God in the Old Testament is our God. These men began to realize that the Messiah that was predicted in the Old Testament was here. When Nathanael was under the Fig tree what was He doing? I did a search in a commentary on the Fig Tree. In that day I read that "Under The Fig Tree" was a term that Rabbis used to describe meditation on the scriptures. So was Nathanael meditating on scripture? Was he meditating on scripture regarding the Messiah? When Jesus said to Him "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you" Nathanael instantly believed!
Well that's chapter one in a nutshell for me. I pray that I will continue soaking it all in today. If you have any questions, I am here for you. Maybe we all need to get "under the fig tree" today!
17 comments:
it is hard to explain on email but i had a thought that sometimes word is easier to understand than a voice. When you want to remember something you write it down and read it. When you read something you also take it on your own terms-slow or fast. Understanding some parts and not understanding other parts. We don't have to look for a voice or have other tell us, we can read it for ourselves and absorb either slow or fast. We understand some parts and don't understand other parts but it is still God. IT means that he is so big and my human mind can never get the whole picture but I want to get as much as I can. I hope that made sense.
All I Read Today: John 1
Best Thing I Marked: John 1:50
Thought: "Jesus said, 'You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.' "
How It Impressed Me: Jesus is talking to Nathanael after Philip brought him to meet Jesus for the very first time. Nathanael had major doubts about who Jesus really was. Nathanael even said, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" As he met Him, Jesus spoke to Nathanael about something personal - something Jesus shouldn't have known if He was just a 'regular' old guy. Nathanael then recognized Jesus as the Son of God. That is where verse 50 comes in for me. There have been specific times in my life that God used people to speak very detailed, personal words over me - stuff they shouldn't have known! Those times definitely got my attention and at times helped me refocus if needed. The fact still remains that I must believe God for who He says He is and for what His Word reveals about Him. Those 'WHOA - NO WAY!!' times are cool, but my faith must be grounded and nourished in God Himself. God - Help me seek You and not the emotions of cool happenings. When I desperately need an answer from you, I pray I will dig into Your Word for wisdom. I can't do this without You!!
Kelly, you and I have been in an awesome study fo John for a while now. Girl, i love how God speaks to you. I love this revelation that God gave you. It's amazing how God can use the same exact verse to speak to us in different ways. You minister to me so much.
Today was a great reading... I am really glad that we began this!
We have more girls! I have put their names on the post entitled JOHN GIRLS.
I read today! :) Sitting in the truck waiting on Shelby at the dentist....second trip today!!!
hiya - good start!
Can you add me to the prayer list?
V.
I did John 1 today but will post tomorrow. Check out my blog for more info.
Thanks Amanda!
Kristina
i love that FIRE you have!!
Hey, just found you, and I would LOVE to participate in the online study of John. I will go read the first 2 chapters and catch up, then report in later. I am excited about this, because I have been looking for something like this. I can't afford to participate in the Beth Moore stuff and other studies that you have to pay for. Count me in. :)
John 1-
My thoughts are this:
Jesus is the Word, He has been since the beginning of time. He was present at creation.(v1-2)
Those who receive him are children of God; BORN of GOD. (v12-13) A new birth that begins with belief and faith.
Jesus dwells among us. Glory seen. (v14)
God bless John. He shows humility. He doesnt clai atitle. He states his minisry: I baptize with water. Introduces Jesus. States Jesus' ministry: to baptize with the Holy Spirit. Did you know that Jesus did not baptize with water, that was not his ministry. He came to baptize with the Holy Spirit.(v33) HE HAD TO BE BAPTIZED BY ONE WHOS CALL WAS TO BAPTIZE. Which was a confirmation to John that this IS the Messiah. For the dove came and rested on him and the Spirit was with Him.
Nathanael: He had doubt and a little speculation (can anything good come from Nazareth) yet he went to investigate. He went to see for himself. Sometimes we hear something and discredit it before we even look into it. We need to be ones that look into the Word for ourselves and see what the scriptures say. For in his coming he was blessed with the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God.
That is a great word Sarah. I love your revelation.
John 2
"My timing has not yet come." (v4) Timing is everything! He has a plan for us, it is important to do things in his timing.
Jesus made wine! Safe to say it is ok to have wine at a wedding celebration. When Jesus makes wine he makes the best. (v10) "you saved the best til now."
This was the FIRST of his MIRACULOUS SIGNS. It revealed his glory and caused his disciples to put their faith in him. Seeing increases faith. Like in chapter one, those little things that are spoken that could only be known by God speaks to us and increases our faith. I also believe that miraculous signs are still alive today. I saw miracles and healings this weekend that I can barely begin to comprehend let alone explain. Yet I know this; they were of God and he is alive and well and still active this very day. No doubt or denying.
"Zeal for your house will consume me." (v17) Oh, my does his righteous anger burn. He has no complacenecy for it. If it disgraces his house it angers him. I also saw his righteous anger this last weekend. Wake up church. His anger was for things against his father. What do you get angry about?
In response to what miraculous sign would show his authority he answered; "Destroy this temple, and raise it again in three days." They challenged this with man's thinking. (took 46 years) The temple spoken was his body. Which as we know was accomplished on the cross and the raising on the third day. Served as witness to the disciples when they remembered his words.
(v23) saw and believed in his name.
(v24) Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He knows when our faith is sincere. He knows that all who see the miracles will not remember all he has done. That some of those very people stood and screamed "Crucify him!"
Keep the faith not only in moments of spiritual highs but in all things. Even when it is not received by man. Even when you are the only one who believes with the depth that you do. Keep the faith.
Diane, so glad you are joining us!!
I am so excited to have a great group of women to hold me accountable for staying in the Word. Thanks Amanda!
Courtney
I was just caught by the fact that these guys were very human and real to me. They were all like, "Whoa, that's the guy? Yea, that's HIM." And "Hey you won't believe it but HE is finally here. The one in the books of Moses."
I read John 1. You can see my post.
The part of John chapter 1 that I wanted to focus on is verses 1-5. I was also checking out our Matthew Henry's Commentary for John chapter 1. The commentary had a few interesting points as well.
The first few verses of John are just amazing. I don't even know where to begin! God is the Word, he was there since the beginning, and he created all things. That's a summary and I actually love the way verses 1-4 flow. So poetic, inspirational and so packed with powerful truths. I have memorized verses 1-4, however I have not yet memorized verse 5. This caught my attention. "The Light shines in the darkenss, and the darkness did not comprehend it..." God's life was described as the light of men, and then it follows that darkness did not overpower it.
Verse 4 the commentary talks about how this proves that "life in man is greater and nobler than it is in other creaters. When man became a living soul, his life was light, his capacities such as distinguished him from, and dignified him above, the beasts that perish. "
Think about darkness versus light in our lives now. If you are in a dark room, there is no peep of light. Then you decide to turn on a flashlight. What happens? Does darkness overpower the light of the flashlight? NO! The light comes in, you can see it. The same thing happens in the life of man, God's wonder cannot be overpowered by darkness.
The commentary states regarding verse 5 "Light is self evidencing, and will make itself known; this is light...
All this made me think. As Christians, do we shine a light? I know we should, we should live lives seperate than "the world" but do we live in such a way that others see the light of Christ in our lives? My goal is that others would be able to say that about me, and through that learn who Jesus Christ is.
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