To Know

John 1:5 (NIV) 

5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 

Understanding is moving toward the light

To know is to live

Become

John 1:12 (New International Version)  ¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Receive, believe, and become

Receiving

Receiving is more than believing, like climbing on a bike and riding is more than just looking at a picture of one in a catalog.  

Our Hearts Burning

Luke 24:32 ³²They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

Fiery tongue of the Spirit

Word given and opened

Warming the heart

As Spirit melds with spirit

New life takes form

They Recognized

^{Luke 24:30-31(NIV) 30}When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 

Their eyes were opened

To see Him vanish

Making way for the Spirit

He is still seen

But in a different way

With indwelling Spirit

Until the day He reappears

True Balance

True balance is when heart and life both align and agree with God.

Will Change

Jesus will come and change everything.

Preferred

John 1:15 (New King James Version)  ¹⁵ John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”

My soul cries out in witness as well.  The man I am is preferred over the man I was because He is before me and in me.

He is our rock, the cornerstone, the first, the beginning and the end.

Ignorance

All sin is ignorance, whether one knows it or not.

Change Continues

Jesus comes and that changes everything.

We Have Seen

John 1:14 (New International Version)  ¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This happens right now in the heart of the believer, for there He abides.  We are witness to His glory because He lives.  We have seen and give witness to the One and Only.  God is with us.

That Changed Everything

Then Jesus came and that changed everything.

Walking Together

Does your theology agree with the Word of God, and does it even matter?

What if it does?

Can two walk together and not agree?

So Let Me Dream

Joel 2:28 (NIV)  28 "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

So let me dream

Of peace when it can not be found

Of love where there is so little

Of hope when it is hopeless

Beside the still water

For I am no longer young

So let me dream

There God Begins

When we come to our end

It is there God begins

His Delight

Psalm 1:1-3(New International Version)

 ¹ Blessed is the man
       who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
       or stand in the way of sinners
       or sit in the seat of mockers. ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
       and on his law he meditates day and night.
 ³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
       which yields its fruit in season
       and whose leaf does not wither.
       Whatever he does prospers.
Where we are rooted impacts our fruit.  When the leaves start falling take note, for the stream always flows and all good things are from the Lord.

Do Whatever He Tells You

John 2:1-5 (New International Version)  ¹On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, ²and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."

 ⁴"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
 ⁵His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
Listen to His mother and you will drink new wine.

A Balanced Life

A balanced life in this world is out of balance with the Lord.  Being rooted in this world hinders walking in the kingdom of God.  The gravity of the things we cling to bind us to the earth.

It Is Enough

John 14:8 (New American Standard Bible)  8Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."

Philip has enough faith to ask Jesus this question, but does not realize that this has already been granted.  It will take the Holy Spirit to open his eyes to this truth.  It is enough.

Accomplished And Unfolding

Resurrection and being reborn are one-time events which continue in our lives.  Out of hardship and joy we arrive at new understanding and new places.  We are different because of them.  Our journey is reflected in the difference.  We move from grace to grace.  It is creation accomplished and unfolding.

Joy In Listening

Hebrews 1:1 (New International Version)  ¹In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

Even today with the revelation of Jesus in the flesh taking place so long ago, we find it true that God continues to speak to us in many and surprising ways.  His Spirit is ever present and working in our lives.  Our sense of this may vary, but that says more about our spirit than the Holy Spirit.  He continues to speak.  Our joy is in the listening.

Healing Of Jesus

The healing of Jesus

You will rise and walk in the kingdom of God.

You will see with eyes opened to the things of God.

You will be healed from the disfigurement of sin, cleansed with the righteousness of Christ.

The riches of heaven will be yours as you sit at the banquet table of the Lord, eating from the Bread of Life and drinking from the cup of living water.

And Yet

Luke 19:44 (New International Version)  ⁴⁴They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."

Jesus wept for the people as He was about to enter Jerusalem. Though they knew all about Him, they did not recognize Him.  They lived in the Holy City, spoke of the Holy One, even called themselves the people of God, and yet...

To Those Who Believed

John 1:12 (New International Version)  ¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Believing in Jesus frees us and gives us the power to become God's children.  It is only then we can enter into His presence with joy saying- "Father".

I Saw You

John 1:48 (New International Version)  ⁴⁸"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.  Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

He sees us all in our present condition no matter our distance from God.  He not only knows us, but knows our need.  He loves us despite what He sees.  His eyes are upon us, the eyes of mercy and understanding.

Word Was

John 1:1 (New International Version)  1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Greek word logos has as part of its meaning “the embodiment of an idea or concept”.  That’s what Jesus did.  God became flesh  before the eyes of man.  

When Tempted

James 1:13 (New International Version) ¹³When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

Seek God's desire and find your own.  Seek your own and you will find neither.

Temptation takes place within the heart.  That is the battlefield of the struggle. The Lord says we are more than conquerors when we place our trust in Him, because He overcame the world.

It does not appear from this verse that we are tempted by good things.  We are told all good things are from the hand of the Lord. Something held out by any other should make us very nervous.

Without Reserve

Love all completely

Without reserve as He loves

By this you will know

Beginning

Genesis 1:1 (New International Version) ¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

It began with God and it will end with Him, Who was before the beginning. That will be the beginning without end. Amen.

That Is True

One might say they are Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, or whatever, because they go to a certain church, and that would be true.  Being a Christian has more to do with being where Christ is, where the Holy Spirit dwells, and that is true.  Many take Him with them even as they follow Him.

Grace For Grace

John 1:16 (New King James Version)  ¹⁶ And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

Through His grace we have access to His grace.  It is grace that makes grace possible.

We Also Will Live

John 14:19 (New International Version)  ¹⁹Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.

Through the eyes of the Spirit, His presence in the heart, we witness the Son of God.  He left behind the body of death and assumed the body of life.  He freed His Spirit and abides in the heart of the believer.  We can experience Him on an intimate level.  We are unable to place our hands on His arm as the apostles once did, but the same indwelling of the Spirit that possessed them is available to us.  Because He lives, we also will live.

Who Does These Things

Galatians 3:12 (New International Version)

¹²The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."
The problem was and is that no one could do it, not one. 

Behold The Lamb Of God

John 1:29 (New King James Version)  ²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

The Old Testament gives meaning to John's declaration.  God's revelation through His chosen people brought sin into sharp focus, and the resulting distance from our loving God.  That same Holy and Loving God provided the way of salvation through His own Son. 

He reaches across the distance using the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  We know what is meant by "The Lamb of God".  We come to understand justice and righteousness in the commands of the law.  The time was right for grace and truth.  Behold!

Appearance

Matthew 28:3 (NIV)

3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

The angel shown with an intense brightness, a fitting messenger for the light of the world. Lightning is as close at John could come to relay some sense of this incredible light. 

Snow is a sign of purity of those things from heaven, it reflects the full light shown upon it, undimmed by earth.

We shall be like this son of God when we make our appearance in the kingdom of heaven, and the angels will marvel.

The Change

A story changes with the audience.  What it can understand and accept can often affect how the facts are presented, without changing the facts themselves.  What is understood depends on the context, content, and frame of reference of the one who receives.  

I have found this to be true of myself.

Live By Faith

Galatians 3:11 (New International Version)

¹¹Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."
This does not take away from the law.  Jesus fulfilled the law and said that not one stroke of it would disappear.  Only faith in the Son of God will meet the demands of that law, which is righteousness.  Those who choose not to place their faith in Him remain subject to the law.  It is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

On This Mountain

Isaiah 25:6-9 (NIV)
⁶ On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine-- the best of meats and the finest of wines.
⁷ On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
⁸ he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
⁹ In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

The mountain of the Lord
His Son, Jesus
Spreads a feast before all peoples
For those who come to the table
Life is brought forth
Death has been defeated
No longer are we shrouded in clothing of the grave, but in the garment of His righteousness

How great is His salvation, our trust is in His mighty arm

It Has Happened Before

John 15:18 (New International Version)

¹⁸"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

Isn't resisting the love of Christ the same thing as hate? Doesn't hate reflect a distance from God?  It has happened before.

Love The Father

John 14:31 (New International Version)

³¹but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
      "Come now; let us leave.
He has shown us the way and calls us to follow; rise and leave.  Love the Father.

Who Will Believe

John 17:20 (New King James Version)

²⁰ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

God's word, brought to the world through His Son, fulfilled by those who receive and give witness to it, for those who will believe.

Been On Both Sides

John 13:6 (New International Version)

 ⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

Helping someone wash their feet is more desirable than stepping on their toes, but there are times are times when it looks and feels like the same thing.

Been on both sides.

The Darkness Has Blinded Him

1 John 2:11 (New International Version)

¹¹But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.


Blinded by the darkness
Fear begins to turn to hate
Only to fill the void

As I Have Loved You

John 13:34 (New International Version)

 ³⁴"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
He speaks of love understood in a new way, in the light of His revelation.  The boundaries of love as we knew it have dissolved.  The limitless breadth and depth of God's love are to flow through us, then to others.

A New And Living Way

Hebrews 10:19-21 NIV
¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God,²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
The temple and its operation prepared us for the understanding of holy, and that we are not.  Only then would we be ready for the coming of Christ.

Though Not Every One Of You

John 13:7-11 NIV

⁷Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

 ⁸"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
      Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

 ⁹"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

 ¹⁰Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." ¹¹For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

Jesus had touched and washed Judas' feet, but He was not able to touch his heart.  Judas would not receive the cleansing bath of God's mercy and grace the others had received.  It was offered, but refused.

One can be completely clean in the eyes of the Lord, yet still have dirty feet, for now we are still in the flesh and the world.

The Key

In a hologram, somehow a partial image is still able to display a whole image if the right light is applied.  An incomplete, two-dimensional representation somehow is able to communicate a complete, multidimensional message.  The key is the light.

So it is with Scripture.  The key is the Holy Spirit, the One Who is the light of the world.