Thursday, January 2, 2014

Day 2 of 21 Day Challenge

In case you hadn't tuned it, we are taking a 21-day challenge of reading the book of John chapter by chapter. It's not really a "challenge" compared to the difficult things we do every day, it's more of a commitment to most of us. However, to those who hold the Lord responsible for deep wounds or other difficulties it might be a challenge to open their hearts and see what He has to say each day. So, I hope you are following this or something like it. 

I don't want to put my own thoughts on the same day as a certain reading, because I don't want to hamper anyone else's understanding. But it seems weird to just write the chapter and nothing else, so I'll put each day's comments with a delay. From yesterday's reading I had these thoughts: 1) The Word is Jesus, and it's confusing but cool to think that He was there before the world, but still came to earth as a child. And I wonder if part of the plan when He came here was that He would only have earthly memories. It's hard to picture Baby Jesus, unable to talk or crawl, but reminiscing about the days of old. I concluded that it's all hard for us to understand because heaven/eternity is not on a time frame the way we are, so somehow it's probably a non-issue. Also, if He was fully man (e.g. John 4:6) he probably had a manly memory set. 2) The bit about the light shining in the darkness is encouraging when times are tough, especially how the darkness has not overcome it. God wins. Always. We just don't always see it or understand it. Because we don't have the whole picture! 3) He came to save the jews but most of them didn't receive Him. But those who did receive Him earned the RIGHT to be His child. That's cool. We often talk about how we don't deserve His grace, and we definitely don't. But our acceptance of His love makes us righteous enough to be adopted into His family. Awesome. 4) We see that the Holy Spirit helped John the Baptist (not the same John who wrote this book!) to recognize the Messiah, but how did the disciples know Him? I can't imagine anyone I've ever met giving off the impression of authority that would convince me to get up and leave everything to follow. 5)


John 2

     On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
    “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
    Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
    They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

     When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
     The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
     Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

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