If you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth,
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved. Explain more »
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full.
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
I want to have joy, and to have it in full-- And I know people who want that. Don't you? Right after talking about that, the Lord says that we ought to love each other as He has loved us.
Let's love each other with that same greatest kind of love that led the Lord to lay down His life for us.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Let's work on praying more for the things we care about, according to the Lord's will, and in faith.
The slothful [man] saith, [There is] a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
A lazy person would always be worried about obstacles, and that would prevent him from going and doing what he needs to do. If we're going to be diligent, we should focus on opportunities, not obstacles.
I'll envision myself succeeding at the things I should do.
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
I thought of how being intoxicated is kind of like being partly unconscious or asleep. It says, Noah awoke from his wine.
Getting drunk, which was sin, brought shame. Also, I have a problem with sleeping too much, which has some similarities to drunkenness.
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
I'll strive to get up on time, viewing it as part of the battle for righteousness in my life.
Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren [did]. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
What I see again and again in this chapter is people's selfishness, Judah's and Onan's. It was a lack of care about other people, just wanting what would be good for themselves. We shouldn't be selfish like that.
Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
In order to not be selfish like Judah and Onan were, I'll work on creating and implementing a specific "battle plan" against the sins which so easily beset me.
By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
This is the thing that the Lord wanted to say shortly before He died. This is the thing that's important for us to know, while we don't have Him here, physically, with us. Let's take an opportunity to show that we care about each other today.
The king's heart [is] in the hand of the LORD, [as] the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Sometimes we get frustrated because we feel like we can't do something about a bad situation that we care a lot about. For example, situations with relatives, the government, and friends that we want to see walking with the Lord.
But we can do something about it: We can pray that the Lord would change their hearts, and He can. We should be provoked to pray more with passion about these cares, because the Lord is ...a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
(Hebrews 11:6) Calling on Him when we're in trouble is actually a way to glorify Him: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
(Psalm 50:15)
There are many areas where I could apply this, but one specific example is a local University, which is considering the expansion of embryonic stem cell research, which would, in my opinion, provide an incentive for abortions. I know that a board of Regents aren't literally kings, but I think this key verse (Proverbs 21:1) still applies. I'll pray, and the Lord can change their hearts.
And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
I suppose, if Noah wasn't as wise, he could have been upset at the Lord for destroying the wicked. But instead, I think he was thankful to be alive. When he offered a great sacrifice to the Lord, it resulted in a great blessing for everyone.
When something that seems horrible happens, instead of getting upset about it, I'll be thankful to the Lord for the good things He's done for me.
Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess [him], lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
We shouldn't be like those chief rulers. What good is preserving our place in a synagogue if we miss our Savior?
If we believe in the Lord, we should confess the Lord. We shouldn't do things (or not do things), so people will speak well of us, when the Lord wouldn't speak well of us for it.
And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
There was a question of what the Lord could do. Sure, He could make a blind man see, but could he heal a man on the verge of death? He could do better than that. He would raise him from the dead.
The point isn't that "We should check whether a person's miracles are powerful enough, to see if the person is true." Because #666 will have much deceitful power, including to give life to an image. But the point is to have a relationship with the Lord, and know and believe Him.
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.
There are some parts of the Bible that are hard to understand. Some of those seem to be saying that someone who has received eternal life can loose it and end up perishing. But this verse shows that isn't true. It also reminds me of:
John 5:24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Once we've heard His Word and believed on Him, it's as if we've been moved from one path, the path to condemnation, onto another path, the path to life. And we don't have to worry about getting back onto the path to everlasting death, because there's no way we can.
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; [therefore] shall he beg in harvest, and [have] nothing.
Cold makes me think of all kinds of discomforts. For example, we can delay the work we're supposed to do because we're tired, hungry, or thirsty, or because it's too loud or too quiet. But if everything has to be convenient before we'll apply ourselves, we'll end up as poverty-stricken beggars!
When I have something to do, and I think of some other little thing to fix first, like getting a cup of coffee, I'll won't let it be an excuse. It seems like those little things always turn into bigger things that take a lot longer than I planned.
And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
It's very important to walk with the Lord, because He's going to do amazing things, and few will escape.
And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
Noah must have done a lot of hard work to get every detail right with the ark, so that himself, his family, and all the kinds of living things in the world would survive. I'll be diligent to repent from my sins and get things right with the Lord.
And he knew it, and said, [It is] my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
We shouldn't be presumptuous and jump to conclusions, like Jacob did. Just because things really seem to be a certain way, doesn't necessarily mean that's the way they are.
When I remember what people said and did, I shouldn't exaggerating it in my mind, even a little bit, with what I think it means. I'll keep working on sticking to the actual facts, even if something worse seems really likely to me.
And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
The Pharisees seemed to be able see, because they thought they were good, but the missed the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, so they ended up being blinded. The blind man might have been blind, but at least he knew he was blind, and he could see his need to believe on the Lord.
Really being made able to see, is being made able to see that we have sin, and a need for belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. If we think we're good, and can already see just fine, we'll be blinded to the real truth of our need for Him.
...If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free...
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
As we continue in Jesus' Word, He makes us free from sin, so we don't have to give in to temptation any more. Just like Jesus didn't have to be stoned, because it wasn't the right time for Him to give His life yet, we can escape sin.
v20These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.v59
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
So continue in His Word; And, next time you're tempted, remember that the Lord has made you free indeed. Don't give in to sin, because you don't have to. Sneak out of temptation and save yourself, like Jesus sneaked away from being killed.
He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
Jesus went up to the feast at a time that was to seek His Father's glory, not His own. His brothers had asked him to go up earlier:
v4For [there is] no man [that] doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
He didn't go up to the feast then, because His objective wasn't seeking to be know openly. He went up to the feast later, because He wanted other people to believe on Him and be saved:
v31And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this [man] hath done?
We, like Jesus, should seek the glory of God our Father, not our own. The way we do things, like our timing in doing them, shouldn't be to show ourselves to the world, but so that people would believe on Him.
And we shouldn't necessarily do things at the same time other people do them, or at the time they expect:
v6Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.
I get the idea that people of the world are always just sitting there on the edge, ready to be destroyed for their sin at any moment. Psalm 73 speaks of the foolishness of being envious of the wicked, because of how they prosper, but:
Psalm 73:18 & 19Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
How are they [brought] into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.
But Jesus knew that the Lord had a certain time that it was His will for Him to go to the cross:
John 7:30Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.
In the same way, we should consider the Lord's will for the timing in the things that we do.
Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
When we read about the way Noah was supposed to build and pack the ark, it must have been a huge job. He must have felt bored at some point of his work.
Like Noah, the Lord has given us something to build up and to bring people into; That's the Church. We build it up by helping each other, serving, praying for, and sharing with believers. We're also supposed to bring many different people into it, to be saved. We should be diligent with this job, like Noah was with the ark.
When it seems boring or hard to do the jobs the Lord has given me, I'll remember how Noah did ...according to all that God commanded him...
, and I need to do the same thing.
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
This is a good promise to remember, that there's no way the Lord will throw out anybody who comes to Him.
For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
I'm thankful that through Jesus' mercy and intercession, we were forgiven.
Posts
All Comments
E-Mail This
