And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

 John 6:60-71

And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” John 6:65

I continue my study of John and today I focus on John 6:60-71, where we see Jesus turning His attention to the disciples who are struggling to comprehend Jesus' words in response to the Jews vv41-59.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method. 

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God wants us to follow Him even when we have doubts and questions about what He says...even when it is scary what He is asking us to do. Once again we should not grumble about (or to) God but do His will.  V65 reinforces how we are to lean into Him to help us with our unbelief - see also Mark 9:24 where the father of a son with a spirit that makes him mute" cries out to Jesus "help my unbelief." It is only Him who gives us faith - Ephesians 2:8-9. Stay close to God - maintain a daily practice of scripture study and prayer. 
• What do we learn from the text about people?: It's not just the Jews who struggle to comprehend Jesus' words that He is the Bread of Life and that to abide and follow Him you must "feed on [His] flesh and drink [His] blood" (vv53-58).  The disciples struggle, sharing that "[t]his is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" (v60).  The Gospel message trips up many people - see also the story of the rich young ruler from Mark 10:17-31, Matthew 19:16-30, and Luke 18:18-30.  Ultimately, there are those who cannot overcome their questions and doubts about the Gospel message, what it requires of them, and do not believe - it is these who are not believers anyway, they fall away and are condemned eternally - like we see with those who fall away in v66 and also with Judas in vv70-71.  In contrast, Peter has faith, sharing that he will not leave or betray Jesus, sharing "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God (vv68-69).  
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid grumbling and complaining about what Jesus says or wants us to do, claim the promise that every word of God is perfect, follow the example of Peter who has nowhere else to go and is desperate for Jesus, abide in Him through daily study of His Word and through prayer.     

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God full of mercy and love.  Thank You for Your patience and mercy with me and for the love that You show me to save.  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.

It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

Proverbs 25-29

It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. Proverbs 25:2

I wrap my study of Proverbs week 9 from my study workbook, which focuses on Proverbs 25-29.  My focus for today is the commentary provided at the end of the lesson to assist in the review and understanding of the entire text for the week (Proverbs 25-29).  The commentary provides seven (7) takeaways, using the following text (and other references) as basis for application:

• Proverbs 25:13 (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1, Matthew 3:1-3, Mark 1:1-3, Luke 1:76-79) points to a faithful messenger and other scripture clarifies how the OT pointed to Jesus as this faithful messenger.
• Proverbs 28:13 (1 John 1:6-9, Exodus 34:6, Hebrews 4:16) shows how God is full of mercy for those who repent and receive His forgiveness. 
• Proverbs 25:4 (Jeremiah 18:4, Romans 9:21, Hebrews 12:7-11) encourages us to see how God sanctifies His people through the refiner's fire.
  
• Proverbs 25:26 (Ezekiel 34:18-19, Revelation 3:15-16) warns believers against lukewarm faith.
• Proverbs 28:14 (Exodus 4:21, 7:3, 8:15, 9:12, 34, 10:20, Romans 9:1-18, Hebrews 3:7-12) encourages believers to guard against influences that may harden our hearts.
• Proverbs 25:2 (Deuteronomy 29:29, Romans 11:33) seeks for us to appreciate the mystery of God.
• Proverbs 29:25 (Jeremiah 17:5-10) describes how seeking the approval of men (over God) is a snare and idolatry.

Proverbs 25:2, in particular this morning, encourages me to continue to press into my Bible study.  This DesiringGod.com post indicates "[v]ery often, God is not interested in merely handing us the truth; he instead wants us to hunt for it[.]" Believers should relish the hunt!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and Your thoughts and ways are a mystery but You bless those who seek wisdom.  My search for wisdom continues and will will continue until I am home with You but You bless me as I search for truth.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless 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 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.

Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

John 3

Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? v11-12

Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, comes to Jesus in the night (v1-2) to speak with Him.  God wants us to engage with Him questions of faith - including our doubts, questions, frustration, etc.  Jacob even wrestled with God (see also DesiringGod.com on this topic of wrestling with God).  However, at some point, we must just believe.  

John Piper posits that the story of Nicodemus emphasizes that our faith requires us to be born again - in other words we cannot be "alive to religion" but "dead to God", referencing Luke 9:59-60 to illustrate how one can be dead to God. 

We must recognize and believe in our heart that we all need a Savior, Jesus is that Savior, and that He died and rose to redeem us - faith then becomes a gift from God. 

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.  Romans 10:9-10

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who died and rose for me - thank You Jesus!  I am undeserving of such a gift...I worry far too much!  Please forgive me 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.

“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Mark 2

“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” v24

As Jesus spends time with sinners and continues with His ministry, the Pharisees continue to question Jesus' authority and His legitimacy - first regarding fasting (v18) then regarding working on the Sabbath (v24).  God does want us to engage with Him daily, and this includes bringing Him our questions and doubts.  Yet the Pharisees are not asking to deepen their understanding of Jesus, they are asking with a sense of righteousness and arrogance - denying Jesus entirely.

We all have doubts and questions regarding God - yet at some point we must come to the conclusion - that Jesus is real, He died for my sins, He loves me, and He desires to save me from the sting of sin and death.

God welcomes our questions and He is willing to wrestle with us...just as Jacob did.  Check this out from DesiringGod - Will You Wrestle With God. 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who has answered all of my prayers - not with what I have expected but You always hear and respond to my prayers - thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love.  I daily miss the mark.  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.