But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

John 3:1-21

But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. John 3:21

I continue my study of John, reviewing John 3:1-21 using the Sword Bible Study Method, where I started yesterday at vv1-15, and today my focus is vv16-21.   

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: Nicodemus continues his evening discussion with Jesus, with Jesus building on v15 where He shares that "whoever believes in him may have eternal life."  Next we have the very oft-quoted v16 (and v17 which really should be read and spoken together with v16) that is the core gospel message: (1) God loved us SO MUCH that He gave His only Son Jesus to save the world for a full life now reborn through Christ, and for eternity with Jesus in Heaven with all the saints (other believers); (2) we should be be clear that the gospel is a HOPEFUL message, not one of judgment - yes, all will be judged, but this is NOT WHY Jesus came to earth as the Incarnate Son of God.  The gospel is a SAVING message, not one of CONDEMNATION.  Yes, there will be condemnation but that is because they are rejecting the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.  God knows why people reject Him....it is because people don't want to come to terms that everyone is a sinner and that accepting Jesus means you have to confess sin and turn to Him as Your Lord and Savior.      
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: Fear and shame grip people into holding onto their sin as a secret - vv19-20.  In contrast, believers are no longer slaves to their sin, and as we bear fruit from our faith, believers become a light onto others where we reflect the light of Jesus as we become image-bearers and ambassadors of God - v21.    
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Scripture is clear that believers should not judge those who don't believe - it is NOT our role to judge.  Jude 22-23 is instructive here - we are to show mercy not judge. Claim your free gift of salvation - confess sin, repent and believe!             

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves!  Thank You Jesus for giving me the greatest gift of all time....I am not deserving of such a gift.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and. Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

John 3:1-21

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? John 3:11-12

I continue my study of John, and today, I start to unpack John 3:1-21 using the Sword Bible Study Method, looking at vv1-15, and tomorrow I will look at vv16-21.   

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: As Nicodemus questions Him, Jesus prefaces His response with "truly, truly" (3x - vv3,5,11).  He does this to emphasize that what He is saying is absolutely true because He is the King of Kings and source of God's Word (see John 1:1).  Jesus then focuses on the important doctrine of regeneration - that believers must be born again to have faith.  See also Ezekiel 36:26 where God alone gives His people a new heart, replacing the heart of stone with a heart of flesh.  There should be no mystery about how one comes to faith - although it works like the wind (v8) in the sense that the timing or circumstances are not known, faith comes from God alone via the Spirit living in our hearts (Ephesians 2:8).  God wants us to have faith - even when we cannot see or comprehend everything.  It is true that many aspects of faith are hard to understand (more accurately not fully understood on this side of Heaven) but there are aspects of faith that should be absolutely clear from both the OT and NT - we all sin, need a Savior, and Jesus is that Savior (see also Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8, Romans 3:10, Psalms 14:2-3, 53:2-3).           
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: People want answers for everything yet people will find it futile because we cannot understand all there is to understand - see Ecclesiastes 1:1-10. Israel (and any other non believer) did not believe even with both earthly and heavenly signs - see also Romans 1:20. 
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid leaning on own understanding (Proverbs 3:5); but instead acknowledge, trust and follow God; belief in Jesus will give new/transformed life and eternal life; we should follow Nicodemus' example and earnestly seek Him and Truth because God promises that if seek Him with all of our heart we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).    

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love and save.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

John 2:23-25

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. John 2:23-25

I continue my study of John, and today, I further unpack John 2:23-25 using the Sword Bible Study Method, and I summarize my thoughts from both today and yesterday by providing an outline/divisions and main point for the text.  

Main point: Jesus is the Promised Messiah, is self-sufficient, and He wants a relationship with us.  

1. Jesus is the Son of God, and King of Kings - all knowing, all powerful and ever present from the beginning to the end (Alpha and Omega). 
2. God knows what is in the hearts and minds of all of humanity - He sees everything. 
3. Belief in Jesus must be based on an understanding of who He is and that He exists to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: God is all knowing, all powerful and ever present from the beginning to the end (Alpha and Omega).  God knows what is in the hearts in men - nothing can be hidden from Him.  God will not commit Himself to nor save those whose faith is paper thin.  
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: People try and hide their motives, beliefs and motives, yet Jesus sees it all.  
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?):  Avoid superficial faith - Know and love Him with all of your, heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:36).  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (Jeremiah 29:13, James 4:8). 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love and save.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

John 2:23-25

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. John 2:23-25

I continue my study of John, and today, I unpack John 2:23-25 using the Sword Bible Study Method, and tomorrow I will take another pass at the text and summarize my thoughts from both today and tomorrow by providing an outline/divisions and main point for the text.  

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: Jesus is in Jerusalem during the Passover Feast and performing signs.  He did not entrust Himself to those believing in His name because He did not need them.  Jesus, while fully man, is also fully God, so He does not need anything from anyone - including anyone to bear witness to Him.  He is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and in control of all matters in the universe (see also Colossians 1:15-20).  Jesus knows what is in people's hearts and He alone reveals Himself to people.   
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: The text implies that the people believing in His name were more interested in the signs He was performing than they were about who Jesus really is - the Promised Messiah and the Son of God.  Note the contrast here to chapter one where  Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael's respond to Jesus based on a more true understanding of Jesus' identity.  
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Know God and believe in His name based on who He actually is.  Understand that God alone hardens and softens hearts, we should share the gospel with others, and pray to Him to soften the hearts of those to whom we do share.  We should support and disciple those who do believe in Jesus based on a right understanding of Him.   

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor my faith as I know that is from You alone not of anything I have done.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

John 2:13-22

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. John 2:18-21

I continue my study of John, and today, I take another pass at unpacking John 2:13-22 using the Sword Bible Study Method, and I summarize my thoughts from both yesterday and today by providing an outline and main point for the text.  

Main point: God wants us to be consumed by zeal for Jesus and both each believer and the church exist to glorify God through zeal for Him. 

1. God wants us to have zeal for Jesus - He is the temple of God.
2. Jesus lives in believers' hearts and bodies - we are also the temple of God.
3. The church (as a collection of believers both via the local and global organization) is also the body of Christ and therefore also the temple of God.  

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: God seeks for us to be consumed by zeal for Himself.  V17 shares how the disciples remembered David's words from Psalm 69:9, yet later in the text (v21) Jesus refers to Himself as the temple.  God is not seeking zeal for a building.  Instead He is seeking zeal for God through His Son Jesus and through people who are created in His image and in whom the Holy Spirit lives in hearts and bodies - animating us to live for His glory.     
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: Jesus' reference to Himself as the temple is further amplified by text elsewhere - see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 and 3:16 where believers are described as the temple given that the Holy Spirit and God reside in our hearts (and therefore our bodies).  We can extend this thought by looking at how scripture shares how the church is the body of Christ - see 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Romans 12:4-5, Ephesians 1:23.     
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): God wants us to be consumed by zeal for Jesus and both each believer and the church exist to glorify God through zeal for Him. 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an amazing God that lives in me to bring You glory.  You are worthy of all glory, honor and praise as You save and bless beyond comprehension.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You save and bless.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

His disciples remembered that it was written,“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

John 2:13-22

His disciples remembered that it was written,“Zeal for your house will consume me.” John 2:17

I continue my study of John, and today, I unpack John 2:13-22 using the Sword Bible Study Method, and tomorrow I will take another pass at the text and summarize my thoughts from both today and tomorrow by providing an outline/divisions and main point for the text.  

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: It's not that Jesus despises trade or people making money, instead Jesus does not like it when people exploit a prominent Jewish holiday to serve their own interests.  We must remember that we exist to glorify God - not the other way around.  Passover served as a time of remembrance for what God did during the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.  The text shares that the disciples remembered Psalm 69:9 where David writes how he was consumed with "zeal for [God's] house."  This zeal is what God seeks from us - we should be consumed for zeal and love for God.  God chooses those to whom He reveals Himself.  He reveals Himself to His disciples but not the Jewish leadership (with exception to Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea).  God alone hardens and softens hearts. 
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: The disciples understood what Jesus was doing with His righteous anger over what was happening in the temple courtyard - v17; the Jewish leadership should not have allowed such activities in the temple but they did and unlike the disciples they were not consumed with "zeal for [God's] house."  Instead they were consumed with zeal for their own interests - status, power, etc.  Both the the Jewish leadership and the disciples (at the time) did not understand what Jesus was referring to when Jesus said that the temple will be destroyed and rebuilt in 3 days - v19; the disciples ultimately understood what Jesus was referring to - v21 - after Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, and this furthered their understanding and conviction in God's Word as Truth and as God (John 1:1, 2 Timothy 3:16).  
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We should not seek our own glory above God's.  We should claim God's Word as Truth, that "no word from God will ever fail (Luke 1:37 NIV)," and that scripture is perfect and God breathed.  We should follow David and Jesus' examples to be consumed with zeal for both God and His house.  We should bring glory to God in all that we do (1 Corinthians 10:31).     

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who saves!  I am not deserving of how You choose who to save and who not to save - that You chose me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

John 2:1-12

When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” John 2:9-10

I continue my study of John, and today, I take another pass at unpacking John 2:1-12 using the Sword Bible Study Method, and today I summarize my thoughts from both yesterday and today by providing an outline/divisions and main point for the text.  

Main point: Jesus responds to prayers but we must understand that His plan will not be thwarted.

1. Jesus acts with intent and a plan.
2. Jesus does respond to the cares and concerns of His people.
3. Jesus' response to our prayers and concerns does not conflict with nor deter His will.  

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: As I posted yesterday, Jesus does respond to our prayers while still sticking to His plan - in this case, you can see how Jesus made a point to His mother that His "hour [had] not yet come" - v4.  While the text is not clear, Jesus does accede to His mother's request and Jesus gives instructions to the servants and once the servants follow these instructions, water is turned into wine - v9. Because it was not Jesus' hour, He did not want His true identity to be more widely known, so His power was used in such a way that He revealed only a glimpse of His true identity to only a limited number of people.
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: While the servants did know that Jesus turned the water into wine - the text implies that this miracle was not well known among the wedding guests as even the master of the feast did not know - v9; those in the know included Jesus, the servants, Jesus' mother, and the disciples - v11.  
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Jesus responds to prayers but we must understand that His plan will not be thwarted (see also Job 42:2, Isaiah 14:27).      

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves.  You acted with intent and a plan to save me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor how You continue to work in me.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.