Bloggin through the BOOK

OK, I admit it! I'm a busy Bible Blogger!

When I finally settle in to read the Word of God online, I want to write about it!

I'm a journalist - so watch for quick, sometimes grammatically butchered (Forgive me, English majors) blogs on the best guidebook around!

Let's READ and WRITE about God and His Love Letter to us. We may be busy, but never too busy for bloggin through the BOOK! -- Laurie


"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light
for my path." -- Psalm 119:105







Saturday, June 28, 2014

John Chapter 4: From Messy Life to Messiah Messenger!

"Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and 
who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him 
and he would have given you living water.”

 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?"    -- John 4:10-11


It's really hot in the middle east at noon time.  I'm sure anyone in their right mind would not be carrying heavy loads of water pots under the hot noonday sun....unless she was hiding something.

John 4:4-42  tells a wonderful story of a mess turned to message...a shunned woman...a hiding woman... being transformed into someone who influenced many people to follow Jesus.

Zowee! -- How does something like this happen? Did this woman have super powers?  -Was she a leader of a dynamic ministry?  
-Was she well-liked, respected and influential? hmmmm....

Let's take a closer look at the woman at the well.  

Who was she?
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Woman at the Well:

___She was a WOMAN -- Jewish men never spoke directly to women. Culture during Bible times considered women property -- of little consequence.  





When Jesus spoke directly to her, she was SHOCKED!

___She was a Samaritan. Jews traditionally despised Samaritans, considering them a "mixed breed" of folks. Jesus asked her to give him a drink. Jewish tradition holds  he would be unclean as soon as he touched the water she offered. Jesus did not seem to be worried by this. 

___She had a problem.  She had five failed marriages and was living with a man who was not her husband.  She was at the well at noon to avoid the gossip and piercing looks of the women who gathered water in the cool of the morning.  
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As always, Jesus looked beyond this woman's checkered history and saw what she lacked in her soul.  

Jesus continued to talk to this woman: 


 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 
 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 
-- John 4:17,18

Busted!  How many of us have carefully "hidden" some embarrassing flaw from the world and foolishly thought we were hiding from God, also?

The woman at the well was SMART, though.  She wanted to learn more.  She asked Jesus several religious questions.  


“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet." -- John 4:17-19

As Jesus answered her questions...this sharp woman began to understand....Jesus was not just a prophet.

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. 
When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” 
-- John 4:25,26

 Wowee!  The woman at the well knew she was in the presence of the MESSIAH!  She was so excited, she left her water jar and went rushing back to her community!  She had a MESSAGE to communicate! 

 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. 
Could this be the Messiah?”  They came out of the town and made their way toward him. -- John 4:28-30


The woman who came to the well at noon to hide from people was suddenly running down the streets of town telling people about Jesus!

She wasn't hiding her mess any more.  She had a message to share! In spite of her past, in spite of her mistakes, God used her to bring people to Jesus.  


Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers

-- John 4:39 - 41



OK...Let me get this straight.  The fallen woman, a woman who doesn't even get NAMED in the Bible, is used by God in a BIG way.....Hmmmm ... I'm figuring her life changed in a BIG way, too.



What does this mean to you?  



Stop hiding your mess.  Use it.  You could be hoarding a MESSAGE that could change a few lives!



Can you do this alone?  OF COURSE NOT!  Without an encounter with Jesus...I'm talking a significant "one-on-one" conversation - you and I will never get far with our message.



Talk to Jesus -- Ask Him to come into your life.  Thank Him for dying for you.  LISTEN to what He is telling you in prayer and in the Bible. 



Then - get out there and SHARE the message...but....


Keep it simple:  Here's what Jesus has done for me.  

Keep it personal:  Here's my mess and here's how Jesus turned it around OR helped me deal with it.

Oh, thank you, God, for the Woman at the Well!  I can relate to her in many ways.  

I like to hide from the disapproving eyes.  I would rather keep quiet than go to a lot of trouble speaking.  I have some messes to clean up.

I want to give them to you, Jesus.  Take them over.

Turn my mess into a MESSAGE.  I'll trust you with the results!  

John Chapter 3...Stop sneaking around!


Stop right now and read John Chapter 3!

Nick at Night...Sees the Light!


John Chapter 3 brings a smile to my face. The chapter features Nicodemus, a Pharisee, who comes to visit Jesus in the night.   This reminds me of a great group of kids I worked with in VBS years ago. We put on a play about John Chapter 3.

That summer many years ago,  my VBS kids performed a play I wrote called, "Nick at Night....Sees the Light!"  We had a such a great time performing this play! Two of my toughest boys played Jesus and Nicodemus -- I pray pray pray those boys and girls remember the message of being "born again,” the central message to John 3.

The first time I read John 3, I was shocked to read Jesus’ words:

 "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 
John 3:3 

WOWEE ! I always thought the "born again" phrase was made up by televangelists! WRONG, Laurie!
Jesus spoke these words long ago !

In John 3 Jesus explains that the process of being "born again" requires a total transformation, a rebirth through the Living Water and the Holy Spirit.

--More on that later!

This is such an important chapter. It is such a picture of who we are today and what Jesus can do for us!

In John 3 we meet old Nicodemus who is part of an elite group in the Jewish hierarchy. He is a pharisee, basically one leaders of the Jewish faith.  Nicodemus is curious about Jesus, but he’s afraid of what his associates may think if he is seen with this bold new “rabbi”.

Nicodemus is skulking around at night cause he's ashamed to be seen with Jesus. Are we ashamed ? Truth be told, maybe we hide our faith in the dark of indifference when we are out in the world. Hmmmmm

Jesus tells Nicodemus  what he needs to do to be born again, but Nick does not get it.

Duh...I didn't get it either 20 years ago. It seemed too simple for my Type A,  list-making mind!

In John 3:16, Jesus says,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, 
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." 
John 3:16 

We all repeat this verse like a chant.  A lot of us memorized it in Sunday School,  but do we realize JESUS said it?  This verse is  key to being “born again.”

To be "born again" is to pray to ask forgiveness for your sins (that stuff you know you do wrong) and also to ask Jesus to come into every part of your life, public and private, good, bad and downright ugly.

This prayer requires total belief and commitment to the One who loves you most, Jesus Christ.  It is the key to eternal life with Jesus, the LIGHT of the world.

In verses John 3:19 - 21, Jesus refers to himself as the LIGHT.  Jesus explains to us why people are so afraid of Him.  His light reveals their sins....

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, 
but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 
Everyone who does evil hates the light, 
and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, 
so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done 
has been done in the sight of God.” 

Jesus is the light, but some people hate the Light.  I’ve noticed, when I share my faith,  people don't seem to mind when I talk about God, but when I mention Jesus, they  get agitated. They shift from foot to foot.  Their heads drop.  The Light is just too personal.  Jesus is just too close for comfort.

John 3:22 switches back over to John the Baptist. I love his words:

John Chapter 2

-- Hold on to your hats, girls ! God's got great, glorious, grungy, 
growing, gripping, goal-filled things in store for YOU!
Happy Friday -- I'm behind so let's read John 2. 
This has been quite a week. Someday, I will tell you........ 

John is an account of a few events in Jesus ministry. Read John 2.

John 2 tells about Jesus’ first miracle,  turning water into wine at a wedding.

Why does he do this? Hmmm....was Jesus a "party animal" ? Was He in to good wines? OR Is there something more the Word is saying to us here?

First of all, before you get all bent out of shape, when Jesus says, "Woman" in John 2:4,  this is not a sign of disrespect: The Greek word  for Woman does not denote any disrespect. Nuff said.

Why water into wine?

I tried to figure this out last night, but it was after work so my brain was fried.  I’ve looked at a commentary and here is what the smart people said: This account symbolizes how Jesus makes things NEW and DIFFERENT.

When we accept Christ, we are NEW and DIFFERENT.  Changing water to wine is creating a whole NEW drink.

The water to wine transformation also filled a NEED of the wedding party.  Wine  was needed at wedding celebrations.  This party had run out of drink.  Jesus saw the need and helped his mother, Mary, out.

Jesus sees our needs and fills them.

In this case, Jesus' mom needed wine for the party.  Jesus filled the need.

Jesus later in the Bible says you can't put new wine into old wineskins.  That’s a good thought.   Once we've been changed, why do we insist on going back to those same old habits and hang-ups (old wine skins)?

Don't we understand we are NEW?

Water into Wine -- We are something different  when we place ourselves into the hands of Jesus.

YOU and I are NEW.  Let's start acting zesty and attractive and be the life of the party (without the alcohol, please!)

WOOOOOHOOOOO!

NEXT in John 2, we find Jesus in the Temple.  Jesus is very angry.

Long story short, Jesus does not like the hypocrisy of the temple leaders who are basically "users.” They plant themselves in the temple (church) just to reap the benefits of the association and the perks.

Jesus doesn’t like any form of hypocrisy.  He talks about this throughout the Gospels.

Hmmmmm -- lesson learned.

Jesus also predicts his death in John 2:

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”  -- John 2:19

The temple leaders don't get this, but we do.

After all, we know “the rest of the story.“  Jesus will die and live again in three days.

We serve a risen, living Savior who makes us new and fills our needs.  I am so grateful for that! 

Now move on to John 3 -- Enjoy your weekend!

John Chapter 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. -- John 1: 1-5


The Book of John....Who is this Jesus?   


OK, guys! Here we are starting the first chapter of John! FIRST - let's say a prayer and ask God for insight.  NOW, let's read the first chapter.   Here's the link: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+1&version=NIV


This book was written by John for folks like us: normal, every-day workers.  We need to know who Jesus is and the special qualities He brought to earth.

We also need to know Jesus and God are One: Father and Son, joined in the perfect unity of the Trinity:  Father/Son and Holy Spirit.

You may recall the words to an old hymn:

"God in three persons....blessed Trinity!"  

The Book of John starts with the words: "In the beginning was the Word...."   Jesus is "The Word."  If you substitute Jesus for "Word," you begin to understand who Jesus is.

There is no doubt Jesus has been around a while! Jesus created us.  He was with God in the beginning.

Check out all the terms which are used for Jesus throughout John Chapter 1. Each refers to a quality of Jesus.

___The Light of the World
___The Word - which became flesh and lived with us
___The Truth
___The Nazarene
___The Rabbi - Teacher
___The Son of Man

The analogy of Jesus as LIGHT is very beautiful.  It's easy to see the darkness does not understand the LIGHT today.

Our world is so full of dark thought and action - One can see how people want to hide from the LIGHT. No one wants to be exposed.

The Truth - This name tells us Jesus is the measure of all things good.
The Nazarene takes us back to Old Testament prophesy.
The Rabbi/Teacher sets the stage for future lessons we can learn

Go ahead and explore more of the Book of John !  We are on to Chapter 2 Chapter 3!