Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

 John 12:27-36

Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:30-32

I continue my study of John and today I focus on John 12:27-36, where we Jesus talking and teaching a crowd in Jerusalem during Passover.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method. 

• What do we learn from the text about God?: As the Incarnate Son of God, both fully God and fully human, Jesus experiences what all people experience, including pain and suffering - see v27 where Jesus is "troubled" as He knows the hour for His crucifixion is near.  As God, He can stop this but He does not as He shares that "for this purpose I have come to this hour."  Jesus asks God to glorify the Father's name in v28 and the Father responds yes I have and yes I will again.  Jesus was sent by the Father and we must recall from John 10:30 that God and the Father are One.  Jesus shares in v30 that the voice from Heaven was come for the sake of those listening to Him so that they can believe.  Vv31-32 shares how judgement is coming to the world and that Jesus will die and rise to Heaven and save others through their faith in Him.  We must understand Jesus' plan to seek and save the lost - that is why He came (Luke 19:10) - this believers' purpose also.  Jesus wants to save as many as possible - see vv35-36 where Jesus warns people that He will not be around very much longer (He will die, rise and be seated on right hand of the Father) and if they do not believe, they will face eternal damnation and darkness.     
• What do we learn from the text about people?: Those in the crowd listening to Jesus heard the Father speak to Jesus and believed it was thunder or an angel - v29.  This was indeed a divine moment yet most (except perhaps the disciples who were nearly always with Jesus) in attendance did not see it as the Father speaking to the Son and we will see later how the people did not believe in Him (v37). V34 demonstrates this unbelief due to their questioning of what He is teaching.    
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We should avoid trusting in our own understanding but instead in wisdom and understanding that comes from God alone (Proverbs 3:5). We should claim the promise that faith in God will give us eternal life.  We should follow the example of Jesus who obeyed the will of the Father to die on the cross - we too must deny our earthly desires and instead do His will.  We should believe and walk in the light - Jesus Christ.  

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves.  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.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness...But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

1 John 1:5-2:2

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness...But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 1:9, 2:1

This morning, I continue my study of 1,2,3 John using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for these books.  My study today focuses on a commentary-assisted review of 1 John 1:5-2:2. 

Per the commentary main idea for the text: "Jesus is our atonement and our advocate who reconciles us to God and sends us out to share the gospel message with the world."

Excerpts from the introduction to the commentary:

• Sin is humanity's most fundamental problem
• John seeks to underscore this fundamental reality and to avoid challenging God as a liar by claiming we have no sin
• Believers must think correctly about sin
• "When you see sin for what it is you will immediately see your need—the world’s need—for Jesus as your advocate (2:1) and your “atoning sacrifice” (2:2 NIV). You will also avoid the error of calling God a liar."
  

Divisions:

1. The World Must Know What God Says about Himself (1:5): "Having met this Savior in repentance and faith, we have a divine assignment that involves the proclamation of a specific gospel with a universal scope (2:2). This message is for the whole world."  All believers must play a role in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20).  We are encouraged to both be a light so that others can see the True Light that is Jesus Christ.  The commentary points us back to scripture where there are numerous references to God as Light, including how the word light appears more than 275 times in scripture, including Psalm 27:1, 36:9, Isaiah 60:1, 3, 19-20, Micah 7:8, John 1:9, 8:12, 12:36, 46. For us to proclaim the Good News of Jesus, Christ we must understand the nature of Jesus and John seeks for us to understand how Jesus is the Light (Holy/Life) and how He is Truth.
2. The World Must Know What God Says about Sin (1:6-10): The world wants to define sin on its terms but John knows this is dangerous and instead encourages (warns) us to see sin as God sees it - as leading to eternal damnation. We are warned not to lie about our own sin. This includes lies to ourselves and to others. We are referred to Proverbs 28:13 and to confess our own sin...continually. "It should be noted that the apostle John does not deny our need to be seen as sinless. He simply notes that we cannot find it in ourselves. We need an advocate. We need an atonement. We need another."  We should be careful not to lie to ourselves and others because we will soon lie about God and this is dangerous indeed! 
   
3. The World Must Know What God Says about Jesus (2:1-2): "John has made it clear that in this life we cannot be sinless (but note again the future promise of 3:2!), but he does believe we can sin less because we are now in intimate fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (1:3)." Jesus is our Advocate because He is our Atonement.  See also Revelation 5:9.
   

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are SO good...that You continually intercede and advocate for me on behalf of the Father to forgive my sins...and for so much more!  I am not deserving of how You 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 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.

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:13-14

I continue my study of Ephesians via my participation in a Discipleship (D) Group that is part of my church. For this morning, I move on to Ephesians 5, focusing on initial observations for the chapter as a whole. At the start of this chapter, we see how Paul continues the theme of unity within the church by saying "therefore" (v1).  V1-2 states that our unity should then cause us to be "imitators of God, as beloved children....[a]nd [we should] walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."  We are then warned of sin spreading within the church and encouraged to be thankful (v4). We are to avoid partnerships with "the sons of disobedience" (v7) and instead to not just walk in love but also to walk in light as we are a light (Holy Spirit within us) (v8-9).  If we walk in love and light we stand in contrast to the sin of the world and therefore expose sin and draw others to the light as light leads us where we should go and helps us avoid darkness (v8-14).  V15-20 focus on Paul urging us to make best use of our time (v16), avoid sinful traps, and to fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit - and Paul gives us more details of how we do this.  The remainder of the chapter - v22-33 - focuses on Godly instructions for wives and husbands.

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My Prayer: What an awesome God You are that You are light and that You guide my path and help me avoid darkness - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a blessing.  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 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.

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Romans 12-13

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:11-12

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I continued with chapter sixteen Living in View of That Day, which covers Romans 12:17-13:14.  My focus today is v13:11-14, which my commentary refers to under the heading "Live in the Light." As Romans 13 closes, Paul urges believers to act - we've seen and experienced the Light and now we must put into practice what we preach and hear. He gives us warnings against debased living...against living in the flesh.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105

My commentary reminds me that Paul's urgency is important because we never know the hour of our own demise nor the hour of Jesus' promised return (Matthew 24:36). We are urged as well to review similar text in 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8.  We must "cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." Similar text is found in Ephesians 6:10-17.  How we do this is with and through Christ and the Holy Spirit as He enables a Christ-centered life. 

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My Prayer: Heavenly Father - You are an awesome God and You provide the full armor of God and You are a lamp for my feet - thank You for walking with me and protecting me as I go.  I am grateful!  Yet I am undeserving of how You bless me and how You provide salvation.  My sin continues - worry primarily.  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 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.