God Speaks
Jesus’ First Miracle, a Public Demonstration and Three Individual Encounters
Verse of the Day: Whoever believes in the Son [Jesus] has evernal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. (John 3:36 NIV 2011)
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Watch TBR Day 279
We Respond
John 2
Reflection: This chapter relates that Jesus attended and performed His first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. During the Jewish Passover celebration Jesus cleansed the Temple. Instead of arresting Jesus for “insurrection” or at least “disturbing the peace,” the leaders asked Him what authority He had to do so. He quoted Psalm 69:9. Later, after He had risen from the dead, His disciples realized what He meant and believed both the Scriptures and what He had said. After that many people began to trust in Jesus, but Jesus didn’t entrust himself to people because He knew how untrustworthy we are.
Prayer: Dear gracious God, who loves people and their celebrations, thank You that Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding. Jesus, may I bring all my problems (big or small) to You just like Your mother Mary did at the wedding in Cana. Help me do whatever You say just like Your mother told the wedding servants to do. May whatever You do in my life manifest Your glory and cause people to believe in You. Jesus, as You cleansed the Temple, cleanse me, too. Please give me a zeal for Your “house” the church, not the physical building but the individual people in which You dwell. May many people come to believe the Old Testament Scriptures and the words Jesus has spoken as recorded in the New Testament. Jesus, thank You that You know whatever is within me and died for me anyway. Thank You for loving me so much, AMEN
Action (Ask the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will daily bring my problems (big or small) to Jesus just like His mother Mary did.
- I will do whatever Jesus says just like His mother told the wedding servants to do.
- I will examine my attitude toward God the Father’s house and change if necessary.
- I will remember that Jesus knows everything about me and then act according to that knowledge.
John 3
Reflection: This chapter contains probably the most familiar verse in the Bible, John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is the King James version which is familiar to most people and which many people have memorized. Jesus first said this to Nicodemus, a prominent Jewish teacher in New Testament times. God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn (judge or shame) us, but so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. Perish in verse 16 doesn’t mean that we will never die, but that physical death or our sin can never separate us from God and His great love. When we are born again by faith in Jesus, there is no longer any condemnation against us. We are free and enabled to obey Him and do what is right. We can walk in the light of His loving presence, but if we want to hold on to our sinful ways and refuse to believe in Jesus, we will be condemned to stumble around in the darkness of our sin and its consequences including hell. But those who trust Jesus will do what is right and come to the Light so that others can see God at work and what He is doing. The rest of the chapter covers John the Baptist and his ministry. John was asked how he felt about Jesus teaching and his disciples baptizing more people than he was. He said that he was happy the way the best man at a wedding is happy for the groom. He also said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Jesus was from God, full of the Holy Spirit; John was of the earth, empowered by the Spirit to point people to the true Messiah.
Prayer: Dear gracious Father God, thank You for Jesus loving the world (and me in particular) so much that He willingly came to die for our (my) sins. Believing in Him also means that I get to spend eternity with You in heaven instead of going to hell. Thank You for rescuing me. Thank You that neither physical death nor my sin can ever separate me from You and Your great love. As I maintain my faith in Jesus, I will be free and enabled to obey You and do what is right. I will walk in the light of Your loving presence. I want others to see God at work and what He is doing.May I rejoice, like John the Baptist, to see other people coming to faith in Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection on their behalf and continuing to trust and obey You. For Your glory. 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, like Nicodemus, seek to “interview” Jesus by a combination of reading the Gospels, asking questions, and listening for His voice.
- I will make sure that I am born again by confessing my sins to God and gratefully receiving the forgiveness Jesus died so I could have.
- I will call on the Holy Spirit to enable me to point people to Jesus, the Messiah, like John the Baptist did.
- I will tell someone how much God loves them, today.
John 4
Reflection: Chapter four breaks down into two sections: the woman at the well and the healing of a government official’s son. In these two situations Jesus modeled personal evangelism and healing respectively. Jesus’s model for personal evangelism goes like this: vs1-2 Be aware of the spiritual climate around you. What may the opposition be planning? The Jewish leaders were comparing Jesus and John the Baptist. vs3-4 Go wherever God directs, even if it isn’t where others would go. The Jews normally avoided going through Samaria. vs4-5 Use the ordinary situations in life, even if you are hot, tired, hungry, or thirsty. Jesus was all of these. vs7-9 Engage with people by asking questions, even if it isn’t the cultural norm. Jesus, a Jewish man, asked a Samaritan woman unrelated to Him to do something only expected of a family member. vs10 Counter their earthly response with one leaning toward spiritual matters, using a word they say or something in the surroundings. Jesus hinted at Himself as living water. vs11-13 Listen carefully to their answer, even their confusion. Don’t let their answer in the physical realm deter you from a spiritual discussion. Jesus didn’t. vs13-15 Make them eager to hear more. Make spiritual discussion attractive. Jesus made her thirsty for living water. vs16 Ask them to do something. Check with the Lord (silently) to be sure it is what He wants them to do. The Holy Spirit had already shown Jesus her marital situation. vs17-18 Only at the Lord’s direction, confront their specific sin. This is a personal matter between the person and the Savior. Jesus could do so because He is God. vs19-24 Don’t be distracted by theological rabbit trails. Bring them back to a spiritual truth to which they can relate. That’s what Jesus did with her. vs25-26 Seal the deal by helping them acknowledge who Jesus really is. Jesus is the Messiah (Christ), the answer to their deepest need.Jesus said, “I am He.” vs27 Don’t let the questions of others discourage you, even other believers, close friends, or family members. With Jesus it was His own disciples. vs28-30 Encourage new believers to tell others to investigate their new-found faith. This will ground their faith in Christ. This woman was so eager to share her faith she forgot her water jar. vs31-38 Enlist others to help in the harvest of souls, even if they don’t understand at first. Jesus instructed the disciples about the harvest that was coming. vs39-42 Follow up on the contacts of the new believers. This may result in many more coming to believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. This what happened with the Samaritans. The rest of the chapter, verses 43-54, tells of how Jesus went back to Cana in Galilee. In modeling healing Jesus followed this procedure: vs46-47 He heard the father’s request and the seriousness of the situation. The nobleman came to Jesus and pleaded with Him to heal his son (humbling himself). vs48 Jesus challenged the man’s faith. In essence Jesus was stating that the man only had faith to believe after he saw. Jesus wanted him to believe and then see. vs49-50 The desperate father again respectfully asked on behalf of his dying son. Jesus said, “Go home. Your son lives.” The father believed Jesus and headed home. vs51-52 His servants met him on the road and confirmed the miracle. vs 53-54 This resulted in many others believing that Jesus is who He says He is, and He does what He says He will do.
Prayer: Dear Almighty God who loves all people, thank You for loving me. You are willing to save and direct all those who will, by faith, repent and receive all that Christ Jesus has done for them. Because You love and direct me, Lord, please show me what the opposition is planning. May I go wherever You say. May I engage with people by asking questions even when I am hot, tired, hungry, or thirsty. May I follow Your direction despite cultural norms. Don’t let me get distracted by answers in the physical realm when You want me to be discussing spiritual things. Help me whet people’s appetite for things of God. Give me the Spirit-enabled courage to ask the person to act on what we have discussed. May I address the issue of specific sins with bold sensitivity prompted only by the Holy Spirit. Please grant me the privilege of seeing someone acknowledge their new-found faith in Jesus as the Christ, Savior, and Lord of their life. Help me to faithfully follow up on new believers so that even more people may come to know Jesus as the Savior of the world as well as them personally. I long to see a worldwide revival and a great harvest of souls. Miracles and healings are parts of such a revival as well as much repentance and reconciliation. Please show people in mighty ways that You are who You say You are, and You do what You say You will do. Thank You in advance, Lord God. 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 help me be aware of the spiritual climate around me.
- I will use this pattern to have a spiritual conversation with someone with whom I have much in common.
- I will follow the Lord’s leading regarding having a cross-cultural, spiritual discussion.
- I will ask the Lord if He might use me to bring His healing to someone for His glory.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.