Category: From Pastor

This week’s devotions are based on the message: “Not Enough” Week 4 of Signs (LISTEN HERE)

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Happy Monday morning!  I pray this week is one you see is blessed and guided by the Lord!  Yesterday we looked at a fourth miracle from the Gospel of John, one that is commonly known as “The Feeding of the 5000.” (Click the link above to listen to the message from July 23.)

If I were to ask you what the key part of this miracle was, many of you would be able to relate that Jesus fed over 5000 (when you include women and children) individuals with a boy’s lunch of two small fish and five loaves of bread.

Truly an incredible miracle.

While the “what” of the miracle is well known, why did Jesus perform it?

Perhaps it’s just me, but I was one of those kids that after an answer to one question, I would ask the question “Why?”

Mom: “Michael, you can’t have a cookie before dinner.”

Me: “Why?”

Mom: “Because you will spoil your appetite.”

Me: “Why?”

Mom: Because a cookie will fill your tummy before the good food.”

Me: “Why can’t I have dessert first?”

Enough said.

I want to know why.  Why did Jesus do THIS miracle?  Why did Jesus do it when he did it?  Why is it significant?

Truly asking “Why?” can be a dangerous thing when we seek God’s truth, only in that sometimes the Lord in his infinite wisdom simply tells us “What” happened and not always “Why” it happened.  But in many cases, the quest for the answer to the question “Why” is to be found.  It actually has served me well and I invite you to use it as a question as you search and study the Scriptures…of course always asking the Spirit of God to answer the question for you.

So this week, let’s ask a few “Why?” questions about the Feeding of the 5000.

So why did Jesus perform this miracle?  In John 6, we will see multiple answers to this question and settle on a key one by the end of the week.  However, let’s start at the beginning:

John 6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Jesus was at the height of his popularity and probably at the beginning of his third year of public ministry.  The signs Jesus was doing was gaining not only attention, but a following…a large following.  While Jesus was trying to spend some time with his disciples the large crowd found him on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus saw the crowd coming and already knew what he was going to do, however he didn’t want this miracle just to be one on the list without a lasting impact.

So he sets it up with a question to Philip, but evidently a question that the other disciples heard.  Philip was just the one who made eye contact with the teacher! 🙂

“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”

Jesus already knew the answer, but the question was a test.  How would Philip answer?  How would you answer?  (We’ll look at the answers tomorrow…)

The situation that was unfolding was going to be a test for the disciples.  They had studied and followed Jesus for two plus years.  They had seen many miraculous signs, heard his teaching, and engaged the people who followed him.  How would they respond?  Would the learning about Jesus and who he was pay off?  Or was there still learning to do?

It is not beyond the realm of the Lord to allow situations to come into our lives that give us an opportunity to put our faith into practice.  Where will we find enough money to pay the bills?  Where will we find medicine to heal my illness?  Where will we find a spouse when I’ve been alone so long?  WHere will I find a job when I’ve been unemployed for over three months?  The list goes on when we face situations where the question is asked, but the answer is uncertain or the solution unclear.

We may ask “Lord, why?”

He may be answering, “I know what I am going to do, but I want to test you.”

How will you answer the test question?

 

Apply: What situation are you facing that the Lord may be using to allow a test of your faith?  What changes about your approach to the situation when you consider it may be a test the Lord is putting before you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for always having a reason for the things that happen in my life.  Allow me to discern the test in front of me and answer the question with the wisdom of your Spirit.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion is based on Sunday’s message: Signs – Beyond Superstition (CLICK HERE TO LISTEN)

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The bigger picture

At its core, the healing Jesus  did at the pool of the one who was an invalid for 38 years was an amazing restoration of health.  However, the miracles that Jesus did had more purpose than just the external change of one’s condition.

Remember that the Apostle John is recording these seven key miracles in his Gospel to do one thing:

John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 

So, what spiritual impact did this miracle have?  It wasn’t at the pool, but later at the temple:

John 5:14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

At first glance it appears that the physical suffering the man had was due to some sin he committed, although this was a popular opinion about ailments in Jesus’ day.  Sometimes our sins do cause physical harm (addictions; doing illegal activity, etc.) However, in this case we just don’t know.  

To be sure, being an invalid for 38 years is something we would consider “bad.”  However it was temporal and Jesus showed power over the temporal issue by performing the miracle.  But Jesus didn’t want the physical healing to be the end of the story.  Jesus wanted to move the man’s mind away from the physical issue to that which is eternal.  Living in sin, apart from knowing and believing Jesus as your Savior, has a much worse consequence than any physical ailment, no matter how long it lasted.

We don’t know why Jesus chose this man to heal.  We don’t know why he didn’t reveal himself at the pool.  But we do know Jesus’ desire for this man was primarily spiritual.  As John wrote, it was true for this man: Jesus wanted the man to know that he was the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing he would have life in his name.

The Jews wanted to persecute Jesus more.  Yet Jesus took the opportunity to proclaim this truth:

John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 

True to his mission, Jesus is ALWAYS interested in the eternal wellbeing of people.  The miracles were just a tool used to convince or gain an audience to proclaim what was really important: Believe in Jesus as your Savior.

The same is true today.

We all go through physical challenges and trials.  Should we be delivered or healed is not the important outcome.  What God desires is that every event in life leads us closer to him.  His desire is that nothing worse happens and we spend eternity with Jesus forever.

 

APPLY: What physical situation is happening in your life today?  How might God be using it to draw you closer to him or to trust him more?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the physical challenges in life.  Use them as you did for the invalid you healed to bring your truth closer to my heart.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion is based on Sunday’s message: Signs – Beyond Superstition (CLICK HERE TO LISTEN)

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The man who was healed had one perspective on how he could be healed: Get into the water first when it moved. Jesus healed him apart from him getting into the pool. One would think that a miracle of this proportion would catch the attention of everyone who was around and there would be celebrating around the pool.

But it didn’t and there wasn’t.

The healing was overshadowed by the Sabbath police:

John 5:9 The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

For 38 years the invalid had no problem obeying the Sabbath laws imposed by the Jewish leaders.  He couldn’t get up and carry his mat so he never did.  Now the FIRST time he could get up and carry his mat was on a Sabbath and the Jewish leaders caught him.  They didn’t celebrate the miracle, but instead they interrogated the one who was healed to understand by what authority he was walking and carrying his mat on the Sabbath.  In their estimation, the one who would give such a direction was in greater violation than the one who was healed and carrying his mat.

Eventually the man found out who it was and told the Jewish leaders.  Here’s what happened:

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

The Jewish leaders couldn’t see the truth about Jesus because they were convinced Jesus was a threat to their religious ideals and laws.  Although all the evidence showed that Jesus was the Son of God, they refused to believe in him. Their minds were on the one track: Jesus was NOT the Son of God.  

While many readers of this devotion may see and believe Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior, our sinful nature can blind us to truths about Jesus and his Word. Our sinful nature gets us  fixed on its own belief system rather than being open to seeing the truth about Jesus and what he does. The man healed was fixed on his human limitations.  The Jewish leaders were fixed on their legal obligations.

Jesus came to change both perspectives, to see he is the Son of God who doesn’t have limitations and to believe he was the Savior, the one who gives greater rest for our souls than the Sabbath gave rest for one’s body.

Let the evidence of the miracle testify to your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and by believing be assured you have life in his name.

 

Apply: What aspect of Jesus is it hard for you to believe even though the evidence recorded in Scripture proves otherwise?

Prayer: Spirit of God, open my eyes and my heart to the evidence of Jesus so that my trust and confidence grow in Jesus as my Savior.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion is based on Sunday’s message: Signs – Beyond Superstition (CLICK HERE TO LISTEN)

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Do any of these apply to you?

• Once I’ve determined a way to do something, I am extremely resistant to trying a new way.
• “There’s no other way” is often a fixation in my mind which leads to a problem never being solved.
• Things we wish would happen, we see no way that they ever will happen.

I can carry these thoughts myself.  Perhaps not always and in ever situation, but it is not difficult to get fixated on one way of doing things which leads to our determining if something is possible or not based on what we determine the probability is.

Ok that sounds a bit philosophical.  So let’s put a biblical example to it.

Jesus was in Jerusalem near the pool of Bethsaida.  The thinking was that periodically “angels” stirred the waters and whoever was the first to get into the water would be healed.  So around the pool were those with infirmities and illnesses that the medical knowledge of the day could not fix.

So the people lying there were fixated on one thing: Get in the water as soon as it moved.

Unless you couldn’t.

And this was true for an invalid of 38 years…38 years. How long had he been lying at the pool just trying, hoping he could somehow be the first one in.  It’s not too much of a stretch to think that it was a life-long dream to get in first, but a dream that had very little hope of ever being realized.

He had a one-track mind.

John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Did the man want to get well? Of course he did.  However, he had a one track mind and the pathway to healing was blocked by his inability to get into the pool.  He wanted to get well, but his response indicated it would probably never happen.  He didn’t even ask Jesus if he would help him to the pool (maybe it is implied, but not directly asked).RememberR

Can we get like this?  

I will never get well because there is no medicine to help me.

I will never get a job because I am not good at anything.

I will never…

You fill in the blank.  When we operate on our human limitations, we run up against our human limitations.

But when we run up against our limitations, we miss out on God’s solutions.

8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

Remember, God is not limited by human limitations.

 

Apply: What seems impossible to you to accomplish, navigate or solve today in your life?  Is it possible that God might have a solution you haven’t even thought of?  Pray for your problem to be solved by His solution!

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for having a one track mind that is limited by my abilities and my perspective.  Give me a heart of faith to believe and live knowing that you are not limited by human limitations.  AMEN.

Good morning!  Let me first apologize to all my devotion readers for a two-week absence from posting daily devotions.  We have been on vacation the last two weeks to see family and attend a relative’s wedding in the midwest.  It was an enjoyable time away…but now back to a more regular rhythm again!

 

Can you believe it?

We often use this phrase when we see or witness something that is seemingly beyond the normal.  Perhaps we believe it because we witness it, but the person to whom we relate the event is a bit skeptical.  We may even qualify these events with the phrase, “I wouldn’t have believed it unless I saw it!”

Stories that fit these categories perhaps an account of the fish that “got away.”  Or perhaps a sports team come back late in the game that defied the odds of coming out with a win.  Perhaps it’s an unexpected promotion or job offer.  These events may be hard to believe, but because we experienced or trust the source. We believe it.

The Apostle John witnessed many things that the disciples looked at each other and said in Aramaic, “Can you believe it?”  Perhaps one would respond, “I wouldn’t believe it except I saw it.”

This attitude is easy to transfer to more important things…matters of life and death…eternal life and death.

In discussions of heaven or hell, people ask, “Do you believe they are real?”

In matters of Jesus and being the only way to heaven, people surmise, “Do you really believe he is the only way to heaven?”

In asking about the Bible as the inspired word of God, “Really, do you believe that?”

Many aspects of faith challenge our hearts and minds because we weren’t there to see everything the Bible talks about…in fact we were not first-hand witness of any of the events that are recorded in the Bible.

So can you believe it?

The Apostle John was challenged by people asking the same question.  Can you believe it?  Can you believe Jesus is the Messiah?  Can you believe he is real?  Can you believe he is the Son of God?  Can you believe he accomplished all for eternal life?

The Apostle John didn’t give a dissertation on the doctrine of Christ, although he could have.  Rather he simply shared what convinced him that Jesus was the Christ, that he was the Son of God and eternal life came through him.

What was that? Signs.

Miracles.  Things that only Jesus as the Son of God could do.  Change water into wine.  Heal from a distance.  Make the lame walk.  Feed 5000 with minimal food.  Raise the dead.

John chose seven miracles to record in his Gospel with one key purpose:

To answer the question, “Can you believe it?” The Apostle John wrote:

John 20:30 Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

Apply: What questions about Jesus do you have?  Begin reading the Gospel of John.  See and hear the things John records as if you were there first-hand.  Do they build confidence and trust that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, your Savior.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for revealing who you are and what you’ve done to John and the other Apostles so that we too might have certainty that you are the Christ, the Son of God and by believing, we may have life in his name.  AMEN.