God Speaks
Jesus Heals a Man At the Pool of Bethesda, Is Questioned By Jewish Leaders and Responds
Verse of the Day: Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only hat he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. for the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.” (John 5:19-20 NIV 2011) [May we all have this attitude as we live our daily lives. Then we will be amazed and praise the LORD.]
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Watch TBR Day 281
We Respond
John 5
Reflection: This chapter can be broken into three parts. Part 1: Jesus healed a man at the pool of Bethesda. First, Jesus assessed the situation. He knew about the pool’s reputation of being a place of healing and the man’s 38 year-long condition. Jesus’s first question to the man was, “Do you want to get well?” Jesus listened to him but didn’t accept his reasoning. As in so many other healings, Jesus healed him but told him to take action that would verify his healing. When Jesus talked with the man later, He warned him to avoid sinning so that his blessing would continue. Part 2: True life is found by aligning ourselves with Father God. He has ordained that eternal life and blessing come to us through our relationship with Jesus, the Son. Part 3: There are three witnesses that testify about Jesus being who He says He is–John the Baptist, the works that Jesus did when He was here on earth, and Father God Himself. Many people study the Bible diligently but don’t receive eternal life because they don’t receive and put into practice what the Scriptures say about Jesus. They lose out on all that God has for them. Dear reader, don’t be like them. Turn to Jesus in repentance and faith and receive all that He and the Father have for You.
Prayer: Dear loving heavenly Father, thank You that Jesus had compassion on a man who had suffered an infirmity for 38 years. You have the same compassion for whoever is suffering today. You just want us to bring our problems to You and ask for Your help. We must be willing to follow Your instructions (especially avoiding sinning) so the blessings of our miracle will continue. Lord, since You were harassed for healing on the Sabbath, please bless the people who are being harassed for doing good today. Please help Your people to keep doing what is right and true and good despite opposition. Jesus, help us to do only what we see the Father doing, just as You did. Remind us that we should never be ashamed to admit that we are children of God by trusting in You and all You did for us on the cross. May we honor the Father by honoring His Son. Thank You, Father, that You have ordained that eternal life and blessing come to me through my relationship with Jesus, the Son. May my decisions and actions be based not on my own will, but on the will of God my Father. May I study the Scriptures to know what John the Baptist, the works that Jesus did when He was here on earth, and Father God Himself have to say about who Jesus is and put that into practice in my daily life. For Your glory, Lord. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask the Lord to whom He wants me to show compassion today, then do what He says.
- I will take a moment alone whenever I have a problem to talk with Jesus about it, listen for His answer, and do what He says.
- I will take some time each day this week to honor (praise) the Son of God.
- I will write one scriptural example from each of these of their testimony about Jesus: John the Baptist, works that Jesus did, and Father God Himself, so that I can act on it.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.