Week 26 Day 5

The Daily Take 10

The Gospel of John

Week 26 Day 5

Introduction…The disciples had been with Jesus for nearly 3 years. During that time, Jesus changed their lives and this world forever! What an amazing journey of adventure, life changing learning, joy, love, purpose and life that was peaked to fullness! But for the disciples, life with Jesus on earth was coming to an end. Jesus was nearing the end of His life, successfully fulfilling His purpose for coming to earth and the disciples world was going to change dramatically. How would they be able to make it without Jesus?

Read John 14:1-3 “Don’t let your heart be distressed. Believe in God and believe in me. There are many abiding places in my Father’s house. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and I will welcome you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

Bible Study

• Get the theme of these verses…God loves us and wants us to be with Him forever
• The disciples were going to have to learn to live without the physical presence of Jesus. Their faith would be tested.
• For all believers of all times…God requires that we exercise our faith in Him. Psalms 141:8 says, “But my eyes are toward you, O Lord God. In you I seek refuge.”
  • In the Garden of Eden, by faith Abel offered a ‘better’ sacrifice.” He obeyed God and in faith offered a lamb to God. See Hebrews 11:4
  • In the Old Testament, Abraham had faith, believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness. See Romans 4:3
  • The Old Testament prophet declared, “The just shall live by faith.” See Habakkuk 2:4
• Jesus, with His work on earth nearly completed warns His disciples that he is returning to the Father. The disciples were now going to have to dig deep and live by faith, instead of sight. Would Jesus leave the disciples totally alone?
  • “Believe in God…believe in Me.” Jesus gives us the true and perfect picture of God. God is good. God loves us. God is merciful.
  • Romans 8:32 enlightens us saying, “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, will He not give us all things with Him?”
• Jesus, in love, begins to nurture them to deal with the departure from planet earth…and His words still comfort us today.
  • “Let not your heart be troubled…” Jesus doesn’t want us to give in to despair, a natural state we can fall into if we do not strengthen ourselves.
  • “You believe in God, believe also in me…” Jesus is giving us rationale that is based upon truth…there is a God…and the faith He gave us, now must be exercised.
  • “I am going to prepare a place for you…” Jesus allows us to know what He will be doing and assures us He is thinking of us.
  • “In my Father’s house are many mansions…” Jesus is making a place for each of us to live with Him forever. Oh happy day!
  • “I am coming again for you…” Jesus speaks of the Second Coming. As He ascended, He said He would return for us that where He is, we may be also. What a blessed hope and blessed assurance!

Application

• Are you troubled today? The spirit of this world is trouble.
• Be of good cheer…why? How?
  • Remember, Jesus has overcome the world
  • Remember, we are only pilgrims in this world that are just passing through.
  • The King of the Universe knows and loves us!
• Are your troubles getting smaller?
• Don’t exchange God’s Presence of peace for the troubled spirit of this world.
• Are you looking for His glorious appearing? His promised return for us?
• Fix your eyes on things above. Elevate your gaze. Lift up your head, your redemption is drawing near! Jesus is coming again for us, His Church!

Tags: Take 10

Week 16 Day 4

The Daily Take 10

The Gospel of John

Week 16 Day 4

Introduction…Moses and the Law, that is the first 5 books of the Bible, promised and prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren, him you shall heed.” But the people forgot the promise and missed the prophet, priest and king…Jesus. The people were mob-like in their behavior. They were ready to make Jesus king when they saw the miracles and food He provided.  Then just a short time later the people turned into a mob was ready to kill Him as they shouted ‘crucify him, crucify him’. How fickle, unstable and disloyal the people were! This kind of weak and feeble faith that looks for and depends upon good circumstances only, does not trust God and is not a saving faith.

Read John 6: 14-21 “Then those men when they had seen the sign that Jesus did said, ‘this is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him King, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. Now when evening came His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark and Jesus had not come to them. The the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat and they were afraid. ‘It is I, do not be afraid.’ Then they willingly received Him into the boat and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.”

Bible Study

• The people loved Jesus when He gave them what they wanted. Food, miracles and hope to overthrow Roman rule. All selfish desires, but not the will of God.
• God does not ‘buy us’ with miracles, nor would Jesus. Miracles point us to God and confirm Jesus as the Messiah, but it would take faith not fame to save souls.
• When God demands sacrifice, says no or not now, or requires us to take up our cross and follow Jesus as disciples, there is the test of our faith and trust in Him.
• We see Jesus saying what seems to be God’s favorite greeting, “fear not”. God is not about fear, showing us His awesome power or presence to scare us.
  • The angel said to Mary, “fear not for you have found favor with God.”
  • The angel said to Joseph, “fear not to take Mary as your wife.”
  • The angel said to the shepherds, “fear not for I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.”
• Let’s develop what God has given to us as believers. 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.”
• God care and helps us when in need. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.” Psalms 46:1
• Take God’s advice and cry out to Him. Psalms 107:28-30 says, “Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble and he brings them out of their distresses. He makes the storm calm…then they are glad because they are quiet and he brings them to their desired haven.”

Application

• When we pray, is it, “Father give me strength to do your will and what you want done, or to do our will and what we intend to get done?”
• Are we using God or is He using us?

Tags: Take 10

January 25, 2010 – Restart, Part 4

John Maxwell, the leadership guru, who has written over 50 books and sold over 13 million copies of those books says:  Why do we miss out on using our “todays” –  We over exaggerate yesterday - We overestimate tomorrow - We underestimate today.  That is what this series and Lam. 3:22 is all about – that we get a fresh start everyday.  In this final installment I want to emphasize today!

Ps. 90:12 Teach me Oh Lord to number my days, That I may gain a heart of wisdom.  David is saying there is wisdom in understanding the value of today.  God has our days numbered and ordered we need to place the same value on them as he does.  Everyday is a gift from him – live it to its fullest and learn to value it like He does.  To keep the correct perspective and for you to live each day as a gift here are some thoughts.

Know that there will be unpredictability (Prov. 27:1).  Sometimes our days have heaven surprises and sometime our days have hell invasions but each one has been given to you for a purpose.

Each day given is equal to all. We all feel that there are not enough hours in a day but the laziest person on the planet and the most productive person all get the same exact resource of 24 hours.  There is wisdom in numbering your days or knowing the value that each one is a gift

Don’t waste the day on what doesn’t matter.  Too many people live in yesterday, too many people live in someday but the only day that you have a hold onto is today so don’t waste it.  Ps. 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Anticipate the value of each day to increase.  Ps. 84:10 One day in the house of the Lord is better than a thousand days in the world.  A single day, 1 day, in God house (or in God’s kingdom) is better than 3 years in your old lifestyle or where you are coming from.  Are you living each day with the thought of increasing that one day?  Are you living each day with the anticipation that God will increase your impact, your reach, your influence in your life for tomorrow?  Are you living each day with the thought of increasing the productivity of getting 1,000 more things done tomorrow?  Are you putting in the time in your studies, in building your businesses, in making those relational connections, in making the sacrifices, in planting that seed that one day the value of your today will be greater in the days to come?  Lifting the value of your day – that the same person, the same hours in the day, the same talent, the same resource but you are increasing your impact for tomorrow.  What a great thought to live by in valuing the gift of today.

You cant add value to each day when you hold onto the failures of yesterday.  You can add value to your today by letting the fear of tomorrow rule the hours you have today.  You cannot increase your tomorrow by wasting time in areas that are not fruitful put them to bed tonight and don’t wake up with them tomorrow.  Live each day as though they are numbered gifts from God.  Live each day with the passion to increase your day to 1000.  This is the day that the Lord has made rejoice in it!!

Cease the day,

Jonathan

Tags: Jonathan Spuler

January 18, 2010 – Restart, Part 3

Just like holding onto our yesterday, or failing to move beyond the good intentions of today – the fear of tomorrow can rob us of the fresh start we get today.  Fear in general can be debilitating – fear is a powerful thing…phobias can keep us from all that God wants us to be.  Carrying fear into tomorrow can keep us from embracing the fresh start we have with God.

But the Bible is not silent on the subject of fear (II Tim 1:7).  God knew as humans we would face fear and that is why the Bible says “fear not” over 189 times.  But God’s spirit does not produce fear – it produces love, power and a sound mind or another version says a disciplined mind.  Keeping your mind disciplined by not allowing it to run through the “what if” scenario game.  Here are 2 thoughts that can help keep your mind disciplined.

One – don’t go retro.  Don’t look back, borrowing from your past bringing fear about what you do today or how you act in your future.  Examples:

• Looking back and saying, “oh, I remember that comment someone made” – and it alters our esteem today
• The scar of a poor decision made – not wanting the pain of another mistake so not taking the risk but settling for the status quo
• The memory of how one handled a relationship and it ending poorly – never opening up and being vulnerable again
• Cant stop thinking about that moral turnover – never being able to forgive yourself

It produces a feeling in you that God can’t use you today or that you are damaged goods for making impacts for the Kingdom in the future.  All false thinking so don’t go retro bringing up fear of future robbing you from the restart we get today.

Second suggestion is don’t deify fear.  FDR said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” and that is so very true.  We don’t need to ever bow down to our fears making them bigger than they are.  Ps 46:10 Be still and know that I am God.  Stop and think about the God you serve and the bigger He gets in your windshield the smaller your fears will become in comparison of Him.

Ps. 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

What are you afraid of in this new year…what is keeping you from having peace today, and the boldness for tomorrow.  Hit the restart button and lets face the freedom we have of a new beginning.

No fear,

Jonathan

Tags: Jonathan Spuler