Feb. 26, 2017
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in John? Here’s today’s reading:
“but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one”… Continue Reading
*If you click “Continue Reading”, you will leave this page and navigate to “bible.com” where you can read the rest of the chapter. Be sure to come back to this page to share what God has revealed to you by commenting below.
Already registered? Click here to log in.
Not registered? Click here (LHCC members only)
In John 8:31-32, Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” He then says in John 8:47, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
This reminds me of Matthew 13:10-11, “Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
It seems from reading the book of John that nothing Jesus said or did would ever change their hard hearts – as if the secrets of the kingdom of heaven had not been given to them.
Father, give me a heart that longs to know you and desires to abide in your Word.
The columns in my Bible are filling up with notes as I read and reflect on John, just for me, for my own relationship with God. This is so different from reading and note taking to prepare a lesson. How can I possibly share all that God is showing me? Impossible.
As I read John 8 this morning, the sense I got was one of urgency, as Jesus publicly and boldly reveals EVERYTHING previously hidden. He names God as His Father, claims to be sent by God to do His will and speak the words God tells Him to speak, and says those who do not believe Him are unable to because they are of THEIR father — the devil. It’s on. My gut clenches at what He has just done.
That urgency is coming alive in me as I read. Urgency. The time is always short, every minute, for every man/woman/child to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ before he or she takes one final breath here on earth and stands before the judgment throne of a holy and righteous God. Scripture is clear that it is appointed for every man to die and to face judgment! (Hebrews 9:27-28) We are His ambassadors and witnesses, taking His message and ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) to a world so hungry and thirsty and in desperate need for what only Jesus can give.
Because of LOVE (John 3:16), Jesus was willing to not only be rejected and hated, but to go to the cross to prove His testimony about Himself. Am I willing to do the same (Matthew 16:24-26) for Him, and for those I say I love? Do I really love with God’s love if I’m not willing to risk being hated, rejected, persecuted, mocked, and even possibly killed by those who oppose the gospel? Even to my neighbor? Even to my enemy?
Oh, God…I want to love like You love. Boldly. Fiercely. Fearlessly. I want to love YOU the way you love ME. Fill me to overflowing with a love that is willing to lay down my very life so that even one might be saved for Your glory.