A Friend Like No Other
Lots of vigorous exercise today – two rounds of shoveling from two days of snow (totaling 9 ½ inches!) to clear from our driveway, has made me weary but jubilant, as well. Pounds lost is always a benefit! Thank You, Father, for the beauty and the opportunity to get in better shape!
John 1:1 (<<click here to read the passage)
Throughout my growing up years, we moved quite regularly. The longest we ever lived in one place was about five years. I was a PK…a preacher’s kid. For whatever reason, I took it all in stride. I didn’t focus on what I was leaving behind but focused on what I would find before me.
I can still remember many names of childhood friends. I made lots of friends over those years but not until middle school, did I start having “best” friends – individuals with whom I spent a lot of time beyond school. My middle school best friend was Richie. (I can still remember he was doing an experiment by keeping two eggs in their shells in a coffee can with the lid on They had been there for a long time and you didn’t dare break them!} My high school best friend was Rob. (With him, amongst many things, I learned about crepes, wassail, J.R.R. Tolkien – Hobbits and Gandalf, and the joys of RISK! I remember when the fair was set up in town, spending an entire evening running around in the pouring rain. We had a blast!)
Try as I might I have never been able to reconnect with Richie. But Rob and I, though we saw each other when we were in college, managed to find each other on Facebook and though we don’t have the relationship we once had, I care for him and his family deeply.
The Apostle John had a very special Friend – and they had a very special relationship. He and his Friend spent three and a half years together, along with eleven other good friends and the thronging multitudes of Israel.
They weren’t just passing acquaintances but truly became eternal friends. Though towards the end of that three and a half years, his friend’s life would be taken, it did not take away from their friendship. It was aided tremendously by the fact that though His life was taken, He was resurrected on the third day! John followed Jesus will all his heart from the first time they met. He carried the truth of who Jesus was forward, leaving us his writing about Jesus’ life and the resulting Good News of that life and impact upon the world.
All told John wrote his Gospel, three short letters (epistles) to encourage the faithful followers of Jesus and the Book of Revelation.
John in his writing shows clearly that he is speaking of Jesus (see especially John 1:14)-a human being he knew and loved, but at the same time the Creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, the living picture of God’s holiness, the one who “holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:17). *
In Jesus, John found a friend like no other. Toward the end of his life, John was exiled on an island, but he never lost his faith in his Friend and Savior. Through the ups and downs of his life, his Friend never left his side.
It reminds me of an old, old song…
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
~ What a Friend We Have in Jesus written in 1855 by Joseph M. Scriven
Jesus readily extends His hand of friendship to all. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Feb 2nd, 2021, Tues, 7:57 pm
Outside of Time
The beauty of freshly fallen snow has brightened my day, Father, regardless of the lack of sunshine. I find it encouraging to see all the brown and seemingly dead views covered in radiant white! In You, all old things are made new!
John 1:1 (<<click here to read the passage)
My son, Massey, recently received his doctorate in Aerospace Engineering. It was a huge accomplishment. And by no means was it a walk in the park. Because things got switched up on him, and by no choice of his own, it was a grueling six-year endeavor. It involved innumerable hours of blood, sweat, and tears. But we are so proud that he came through it victoriously. We had faith that that would be the case for him but honestly, it was totally up to him. If he had decided that enough was enough and thrown in the towel, that would have ended everything for him. It was his effort and heart and “stick-to-it-iveness” that got him through to the end.
Accompanying him along his journey was his advisor, whom we all came to refer to as Dr. G. Now Dr. G oversaw Massey’s progress from beginning to end. He saw the big picture of what needed to happen. He was over Massey and could be an encouragement…and in some cases a discouragement depending on what was said and what was expected. He communicated his will, such as it was, but it was not up to him to make it happen. He oversaw all that took place, but he did not do the work. That was Massey’s responsibility. He sat outside all the blood, sweat, and tears.
Many of us have been in similar situations – in school, at work, maybe even at home. Now I want to make one thing very clear, the fact is that in no way does Dr. G. or any of us come close to being the One to whom our passage refers. I just wanted to get our minds going in the right direction.
We must understand that the Apostle John was not writing a biography of Jesus, but instead, it was a thematic presentation of Jesus’ life. * He, John, was establishing the unarguable fact that, yes, Jesus was man but he was also God.
It’s a lot to wrap our minds around but regardless it is the truth. John begins his Gospel with the statement, In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ)…
You see the Word that is Christ (which means Anointed One), who we know as Jesus, in the beginning, and the Amplified Bible expounds saying, [before all time] was. The Word was…
What I was trying to help us to understand is the fact that Jesus is eternal. He always has been, and he always will be. He exists outside of time. (Now that’s a tough nut to crack!) Before all time Jesus was and when time ceases to exist, Jesus will be.
He sees all that has transpired with His creation. He sees us – individually – amid all the joy and heartache. He sees us in the throws of our blood, sweat, and tears. He is not so above us that He cannot understand all we go through but He sees the big picture. He sees us smack dab in the middle of eternity. Truly a speck of dust in the vast cosmos of it all. Yet…though we may be inconsequential, smaller than small, and of extremely little worth, He does not see us that way. To Jesus, we have the utmost value. To Jesus, we are held in high esteem and though we have decided enough was enough and thrown in the towel, in essence irreparably separating ourselves from Him, He sacrificed His very life so that He could bring that separation to an end.
Lord Jesus, help us to see us in Your eyes. We are of so little value that it might as well be no value at all but because You see us as valuable, we are valuable. Enable us to embrace that worth. For when we begin there, we can then start to move onward and upward. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Feb 1st, 2021, Mon, 5:16 pm
Can You See Them?
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
….He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
….no shadow of shame will darken their faces. Psalm 34:4-5 NLT
*******
Shortly after I had acquired my driver’s license, oh so many years ago, I had a very tragic experience. I hit a rabbit… Many wouldn’t have given it a second thought, even if they had realized they had done it. But I did. I didn’t pull over and fall apart or anything like that, but it definitely gave me a jolt. I don’t think I had ever killed anything up to that point in my life.
Just this past week, as I drove my route, I saw the remains of a rabbit just off the right side of the road. It had been hit by a passing vehicle and had not survived the encounter. Did the assailant realize their act? Did it sadden their heart? Was it done maliciously? Did they do all that was within their power to bring that life to an end? Only God knows.
How many people do we go past throughout our day have been struck and injured and left to die or survive…maybe? The assailant(s) not caring and possibly even relishing in the fact that they contributed to the victim’s downfall.
Unlike the poor rabbit by the roadside – which was obviously dead – how many of us are the walking dead…and I’m not a believer in zombies. Life has beat upon them so severely that in so many ways, they no longer live. They are just empty shells, going through the motions…day in day out.
Their assailants may have assaulted them physically, sexually, or one of the hardest to recognize from afar…verbally and emotionally. They go through the motions of “living” if you can call it that, but for all intents and purposes, they are dead. And worse yet, many feel that they have absolutely nothing worth living for.
Yes, we go through life and rarely see them. Part of the problem is that we never get close enough to see them….and I’m not talking about being close in proximity physically. Many times, the only way to “see” what’s going on, is to take time to interact and get intimately close to people. Now I’m not talking anything so crass as to imply sexual intimacy! But we (hopefully) have all had a least a couple of people with whom we were close in our lives. We knew the comings and goings of each other, and any secrets shared we knew would be kept with the utmost of discretion.
We, as followers of Christ, are to be like Him. We are to love…unconditionally. It may even involve loving until it hurts – Jesus did. Hear the words of the Apostle John from his first epistle.
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love]. We love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:18-19 AMP
Lord Jesus, may we see those by the wayside. Those hurt and dying souls that everyone else zooms by in the hustle and bustle of life, may we not be ones who pass by. Help us to love as You loved – and still love today. Amen.
Jan 31st, 2021, Sun, 6:36 pm
The Journey Ahead
Father, I come before You in humble need. I realize You enable me to express what You want my small corner of the world to hear. Use my mind and heart as You see fit. Amen.
********
Well for someone with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, where I find myself at this point in journaling is a little out of whack. When I first started writing, almost 6 years ago, I picked up right about where I was in reading through the New Testament at the time, and that was the Book of Ephesians. Since then, I have written in conjunction with those passages from that point to the end of the New Testament (I began Revelation but soon skipped back to the Gospels).
As of yesterday, we have tracked through the first three Gospels – i.e., Mathew, Mark, and Luke, and that alone has taken a little over three years! But today we begin the Gospel of the Apostle John.
First of all, a quick explanation of the word Gospel. The word gospel is derived from the Anglo-Saxon term god-spell – god meaning “good” and spell meaning “news, a story”, hence “good news”. And that good news is the proclamation of Jesus and all He said and did while living here amongst us.
Mathew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels. The word “synoptic” comes from the Greek word meaning “able to be seen together.”
This is from an online news article: The synoptics cover many of the same miracles, parables and events of Jesus’ life and ministry. There is a lot of overlap, repetition and even some parallel passages that are nearly identical. Generally speaking, the synoptics tell us what Jesus said and did; John tells us who Jesus is. The synoptics focus on the signs and sayings of Christ; John emphasizes the identity of Christ. (emphasis mine)
They all are the inspired Word of God, dispensed to the writers of each, which accounts for each of their perspectives. While the synoptics are similar the Gospel of John is unique, again telling us who Jesus is and emphasizing His identity.
There is definitely something special about John and what He had to say about Jesus, and I have been looking forward to diving into what the Lord has for us over the up-and-coming weeks!
Let me close with an excerpt from my study Bible’s introduction to John.
The mighty Creator became a part of the creation, limited by time and space and susceptible to aging, sickness, and death. But love propelled him, and so he came to rescue and save those who were lost and to give them the gift of eternity. He is the Word, he is Jesus, the Messiah.
John’s Gospel is not a life of Christ, it is a powerful argument for the incarnation, a conclusive demonstration that Jesus was, and is the very heaven-sent Son of God and the only source of eternal life.
Pray that this journey we are about to undertake will change and challenge us as only God can do!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Jan 28th, 2021, Thurs, 1:15 pm
Find Yourself
Dear Father, there has been a lot on today and it’s beginning or catch up with me. The day is almost done with just a bit more to wrap up. Guide my heart and thoughts toward You. Amen.
Luke 24:44-53 (<<click here to read the passage)
When I was younger it was a “hip” thing to leave what you had known for the better part of your life to go “find yourself”. I would think that would still be a viable life-goal, though I’m not sure that I’ve heard anyone label it that way recently.
Yourdictionary.com defines it this way: To learn, or attempt to learn, what kind of person one is and what one wants in life.
Some people know from an early age what they want to do with their lives and their lives just seem to go that way. And in the end, all is well and good.
Others pursue the same path but eventually discover that the end result wasn’t all that they thought it was going to be. Then they feel sort of stuck, not knowing what to do or where to go.
And yet others, have no clear direction at all but flit from one thing to another never really getting anywhere. A job here, a project there but when all is said and done, they had nothing to show for all their efforts.
The study Bible* note on verse 53, the last verse of Luke’s Gospel, sums up Jesus’ life and goals pretty well.
Luke’s Gospel portrays Jesus as a perfect life lived according to God’s plan. As a child, he was obedient to his parents and amazed the religious leaders in the Temple. As an adult, he served God and others through preaching and healing, and finally, as a condemned man, he suffered without complaint. This portrayal of Jesus was well suited to Luke’s Greek audience, who placed high value on being an example and improving oneself, and who often discussed the meaning of perfection. The Greeks, however, had a difficult time understanding the spiritual importance of the physical world. To them, the spiritual was always more important than the physical. To help them understand the God-man who united the spiritual and the physical, Luke emphasized that Jesus was not a phantom but a real human being who healed people and fed them because he was concerned with their physical health as well as the state of their souls.
As believers living according to God’s plan, we, too should obey our Lord in every detail as we seek to bring wholeness to people’s bodies and souls. If others want to know how to live a perfect life, we can point them to Jesus.
Jesus’ life and goals were pretty well laid out. He knew what needed to be done. He knew how to do it, but it didn’t make it any less grueling for Him. He was determined but…well, honestly, it still hurt. It hurt physically. It hurt emotionally. It hurt spiritually. I cannot begin to comprehend how the One who created every single thing in the universe took everything that was literally thrown back in His face. But He did…no hate, just love. Not rejection, just forgiveness.
Yes, we are most definitely not God, but we are called to be like Him. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:1-2 states,
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. NLT
You may know exactly where you are going, you found yourself long ago. You may have no clue where you’re going – you may not even know where you’re at! Either way, you can only truly find yourself in Christ. Ans regardless of where you are, He is the only Way.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Jan 27th, 2021, Wed, 7:27 pm