John 12:1-8
1So six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, the one having died, whom He raised from dead. 2So they made Him dinner there, and Martha was serving. But Lazarus was one of the ones reclining to eat with Him.
3Then Mary, having taken a litra (about 12 ounces/340 grams) of very valuable, pure spikenard ointment, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled from the fragrance of the ointment. 4Therefore one of His disciples (Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, the one about to betray Him) says, 5“Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred denarii (300 days’ wages) and given to poor?” 6Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief and holding the money bag and was stealing that being put in. 7Then Jesus said, “Allow her; she has kept it for the day of My burial preparation. 8For the poor always have with yourselves, but Me do not always have.”
Good Day Child of God! "Father? Please teach us as we open our hearts and minds to your leading. Thank you. Amen." If ever there were a group of verses that were used more than any other for sermons that concerned money, these must be in that group.
Almost as though it was a second thought, Lazarus being raised from the dead is mentioned above. Truthfully, the reason for the whole celebration has to do with that Miracle! The thing is, when we hear messages concerning these verses they usually have to do with the money, and what it represents.
Today's easy lesson: There have been discussions taken from the verses above that allude to a lover's relationship between Mary and Jesus. More so, when the need for money is the primary focus of the pastor and his church, the idea of sacrificial giving shows up. It appears that is what Mary is doing above, and similarly what is needed from the congregation.
Let's ask a question. What was Mary before she met Jesus, that is, what job did she have. It had to be something with good wages to make enough money to buy, using nearly a years worth of wages, less than a pint of perfume to wash the feet of Jesus. It was commonly taught until just recently that Mary was a prostitute. Then not too long ago, that she was simply a repentant woman who followed Jesus and Trusted in Him. Mary's sister Martha and brother Lazarus, who's home this celebration was taking place Trusted Jesus as well. Mary Magdalene, her full name, has no historical record to come to any conclusion except that of a Trusting follower of Jesus. No doubt closer to Him than most, as the whole family treated Jesus as though He were their own blood. In fact, Mary is brought up twice in Scripture. Once in our verses above, and once at the time of Jesus' Crucifixion, where she is found offering comfort to Jesus on His way to the Cross.
How does this help you in your daily walk with the Father? Some people do notice the one thing Mary is doing without thinking about the money. That is, Mary is so thankful to Jesus for bringing her brother Lazarus back to Life, and honoring Lazarus as they are about to eat together, she does the one thing she can do. She gives Jesus not her body, nor Judas her perfume, but she takes her prized possession and uses it for the most common activity, washing one's feet before coming together for a meal. She asks for nothing more from Jesus, in Him she has found everything, so she does the only thing she can. She says "Thank You" in a way that allows everyone to notice that Jesus is there. The house is filled with the perfume of thanks. Without regard to herself she wipes His feet with her hair, then disappears from the scene so Jesus alone will be spoken of, rather than focusing on what she had done.
Jesus said that when you give, give so that your left hand doesn't know what your right hand has done. It is called being humble, and when the Father leads you to do a good deed, He isn't asking you to tell the world of the good thing you have done. After all God lead you to that needy person or situation, and if you are keeping count, that is wrong. Keep it to yourself, allow your Father to be satisfied with your good works. Build on your relationship by allowing Him the Glory. This is one way that you will find true joy in your Life. Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
John 11:53-57
53So from that day they plotted among themselves so that they should kill Him. 54Therefore,
Jesus was no more freely walking about among the Jews, but He went away
from there to the countryside near the wilderness, to a city being
called Ephraim. And there He stayed with His disciples.
55But
the Passover of the Jews was near. And many went up to Jerusalem out of
the countryside before the Passover so that they should purify
themselves. 56So
they were seeking Jesus and were speaking one with another, having
stood in the Temple, “What do you think, that He shall not at all come
to the feast?” 57Now
both the Chief Priests and the Pharisees had given a command that if
anyone knew where He is, they should report it, in order that they
should seize Him.
Good
Day Child of God! "Father? Thank You that we can come to You and ask
that You teach us, lead us, and burn Your Wisdom on our hearts, which
You will do as we allow it. Amen"
How
many times have we spoken about taking small bites of Scripture at a
time and Studying it so as to not over do our ability to understand? To
many to count it seems. The thing is, as simple as the verses are above,
just the opposite of those from the previous two Studies, each and
every group has lessons and meaning for our Life.
To
me hearing the same teaching in different verses and Books of the Bible
not only bring us to the point of learning, then remembering, and
ultimately Living the lessons.
Today's easy lesson: A
quick reminder of the gist of the last Study: Lazarus is called back to
Life, he is standing in the tomb entrance looking more or less like a
Mummy, and most that witness this miracle now Trust Jesus. Yet there are
those that ran off immediately to tell the High Priest, along with the
ruling body called the Sanhedrin, and to what end? To ensure that those
in control of the Religious Jews would have reason to put together a
plan to put Jesus to death. Nothing should stop them now. They do not
want to lose power over this One's ability to do things they cannot.
Obviously they believe Jesus is a subversive with magical powers, not
God's Son, and certainly not Israel's Savior.
How does this help you in your daily walk as a Christian? In
the 1960's a rush to freedom from tradition became popular to the
degree of looking just as Jesus did to the Jewish Leadership, some kind
of subversion. Rock and Roll and many movements began, all of which had
at their heart to bring about several things, from the freedom from
prejudice, freedom from war, and even from traditional church teaching.
If you could go back to that time you would hear that a whole generation
of young people from their teens were gathering and crying out against
the way things were in our country for decades. The idea that one person
was not as good as another was found to be something that should no
longer be tolerated. The idea that war was a necessity but instead
befriending and loving one another was a better way, made its way
through the music, the theater, the books, and the movies of the time.
The older folks that had to suffer in so many ways, enduring losses of
family members from a lack of good work conditions to being used as
nothing more than what seemed like a shooting gallery in wars, thought
all of which was necessary to keep America a wonderful place to live for
everyone, mostly those that were trying to change things. Yet the
younger just weren't seeing things the way they thought America could
be. A hard line was drawn in the sand if you will, "Love America or
Leave It." Yet the love of America was the reason both did what they
did. Those contentious days of the sixties are what brought us to where
America is today. The question is did we take the right path? In Truth,
God sees to that in the case of His Son, or in the case of this nation,
He will see to it that this nation be needed to favor His People,
Israel, in the decades to come.
The
fact is, that both groups in the Scripture above have God in mind, but
only one group was taking the better path. God had to allow the
inevitable crushing beating of His only begotten Son to come to
fruition, even help it come along. Then watch Him die on a Cross not
even looking like a human being, Jesus was beaten so badly. Why would
our Father, Jesus' Father allow that? It was the only way to make peace
between He and His Creation since we would not listen to the way of
Love. Self centered thinking which creates things like hatred, war,
abortion, personal gain and more are not the ways to our Father's Heart.
How did He put it? Oh yes, "Allow me to be the judge," as the Lord says
"Vengeance is mine." In other words you keep following the God of Love,
(Agape' Love: Absolute Commitment Under All Circumstances) and allow
Him His rightful place in Wisdom and Grace. We are to Live and Love in
Peace.
Remember
this; We only use the things of this world a short time, then it is
someone else's until the next one gets it, and so on. All we can leave
here on earth and bring to heaven when we go is the legacy of Agape'
Love. Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
John 11:45-52
45Therefore, many of the Jews, the ones having come to Mary and having seen what Jesus did, believed [or, trusted] in Him. 46But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus did. 47Therefore, the Chief Priests and the Pharisees gathered together a High Council (Sanhedrin) and said, “What are we doing? For this Person is performing many signs! 48If we leave Him in this way, all will Trust in Him, and the Romans will come and will take away both our place and nation.”
49But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being High Priest of that year, said to them, “Do not know anything, 50nor do take into account that it is advantageous for us that one person should die on behalf of the people, and the whole nation shall not perish.” 51But this he said not from himself, but being High Priest of that year, that one prophesied that Jesus was about to be dying on behalf of the nation. 52And not on behalf of that nation only, but so that He shall also gather together into one the children of God, the ones having been scattered abroad. (John 10:16; 12:32)
Good Day Child of God! "Father? Thank You for teaching, guiding and directing us this day. Take charge now and write your Wisdom on our hearts. Amen"
The thing that sounds a loud, deep symbol in our verses above is that Jesus just brought a man back from the dead, everyone seemed to believe it, but some to Trust and Admiration, yet some to Trust and Fear.
This type of reaction is common to mankind, is it not? We are not people of a singular thought. We, as a whole were not knowingly destined to the opportunity of becoming Children of God. Really. Let's look into it.
Today's easy lesson: Do you know the meaning of John 10:16, 12:32? In case you don't it is a reference that the Bible Transcriber is using to support the last sentence above. It is left in place because they support that all of mankind fits into God's Plan. As in the Trust in Jesus toward Admiration, and the Trust in Jesus to Fear, this fits in nicely.
The reason this can be said is as a Gentile, we have not been spoken of by the Father through Jesus in any detail, that is in acceptance as His Children then, nor in foretelling God's Plan. Only Israelites and Jews have been the focus. Even the High Priest did not know he was involved in Prophecy at the time he uttered the words of Jesus dying on the Cross for His People. We as Gentiles find ourselves included with this Prophecy, and it is a great and wonderful thing!
How does this help you in your daily walk with the Father? If it hasn't hit you yet, we are studying verses that are written from Israelites and Jews to Israelites and Jews. All of a sudden God is revealing that Gentiles are included in His Plan of Grace, and the reason it doesn't make a large impact on us, is that we forget that we are not God's Chosen. In His Plan B however, to bring sensible thinking back to the Israelites and Jews, He is going to turn the Promise and the Grace Gospel over to the Gentiles. We will grasp it, grab it, and in time the Chosen become jealous over being placed second. Keep in mind that Judaism seems to have creeped in and is just another impediment to keeping God in the Hearts of His Chosen as first and foremost. It is the same with the Gentiles in too many cases, and in the end religion does not promote a relationship to the Father, it holds people at arms length from Him, making behavior the link between a loving, personal relationship and worshiping the Father in Spirit and Truth.
As Gentiles we are so privileged in our place in God's Heart, yet we don't take it seriously enough to look into it, to take time to foster that relationship, and find where the most joy in our lives can come from. Choices, Trust to Admiration, Trust to Fear. Which are you? I know this to be Truth; God your Father Loves you like no other is able too. Take time with Him today, for your own good. Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
This blog link: http://askgodsword.blogspot.com/
John 11:38-44
38So Jesus, again being deeply moved in Himself, comes to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against
it. 39Jesus says, “Take away the stone.” Martha,
the sister of the one having died, says to Him, “Lord, already he
stinks, for it is the fourth day.”
40Jesus says to her, “I said to you that if you believe you will see the
Glory of God, did I not?”
41Then they took away the stone from where the one
having died was lying. And Jesus lifted His eyes upwards and said,
“Father, I give thanks to You because You heard Me.
42Now, I knew that You always hear Me, but because
of the crowd, the ones having stood around, I said, so that they shall
be convinced that You sent Me.”
43And having said these things, with a loud voice He cried out, “Lazarus...come out!”
44And the one having died came out, feet and hands
having been bound with grave-clothes, and his face had been wrapped
around with a facecloth. Jesus says to them, “Loose him, and allow to be
going.”
Good Day Child Of God!
"Father? Hear our prayer so that you teach and mold us into Children
that would have you say, 'Well done good and faithful servant'"
The
last two Studies could be made into a nice comedy skit if the subject
weren't so serious. Maybe in Heaven when the Father has everyone
recalling their lives He will
bring up how some of the mourners may have been doing their best acting
job possible, really never believing Jesus could do a thing to help
Lazarus. And Lazarus! Standing at the cave entrance hardly able to walk
with all the grave bandages on, and for all
the world looking like the first mummy.
A
smile aside, this is really a serious moment, second only to the time
leading up to the death, burial and Resurrection of Jesus. How can this
be? Let's see what the Holy
Spirit has in mind for us in this lesson.
Today's easy lesson:
What do we have here in comparing the Gospel that Jesus is spreading,
the Gospel that the eventual Apostle to the Gentiles, the Apostle Paul,
will teach, compared to what was being taught by the Jews then, and the
traditional Christian Churches now. Christian
Independents or Protestants and those of the Roman Catholic Church and
similar persuasions?
Let's
take a quick, short list of the differences in the two Gospels. One,
the One Jesus intended to be the Good News-the Gospel of Grace, and the
other we will call
simply Religious. For one thing, the Good News-Grace does not claim a
Gospel of works by mankind to please God enough to earn a place by His
side. The Religious most certainly includes works by mankind to get to
Heaven. In the Good News, Jesus did not take
away worship, days of Spiritual Holidays and Remembrances, nor the time
for the good of mankind to rest and to build on that important
relationship with the Father. In a similar way, the Religious also takes
note of the importance of tradition, rest, worship
and so on, but not in a personal relationship, but in the way of
obedience.
However,
the Good News-Grace does put aside sin, the Ten Commandments, which are
for the good of mankind, not a test to see if you are measuring up to
the Father's Standards,
and other minor Laws within the larger Law. Yet the Religious did no
such thing, as it sees as part and parcel for our good in God's eyes to
be obedient, serious, and when they see that someone is not doing as
they might consider an action or inaction, incorrectly
they take their understanding and start a similar but new style of
Christianity. All that did was create tens of thousands of Christian
Churches, so called. Who is right by God's Standard?
This
will help you in understanding your Father. God
wants to lead us. Not just now, since Adam and Eve. He didn't tell them
what they had to do, He warned them and in that way, they with their
Free Will as
we have today could follow Him or not. They decided not. They wanted to
become like God and lead. So it is with how we think today. We want
something, anything from a larger sanctuary to a new pair of shoes, we
go and get it started before having the money
or a plan to be sure everything is just right, and then ask our Father
to Bless our great plan. Something often goes wrong in life, or so it
seems, and our leadership doesn't seem to be getting that Blessing from
God we expected. I know why! God just says
no to prayer sometimes. Or, maybe He says yes all the time, but we are
outrunning His ideas where something better that He had in mind but was
never given to Him to do. Jesus never once took the lead. He only said
what he heard the Father say, and did what
the Father told Him to do. Are you and I better, smarter, or closer to
the Father than Jesus? No, we in fact are Children from God, born of
Adam and Eve, who died when they took a bite of the fruit, deciding they
could do as good as God. What did God say to
them if they would not follow but lead? "You will surely die," and they
did, Spiritually. Right there and then. They were allot like God at
first, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, able to walk and talk with the
Father, but upon their decision to go it their way,
the Holy Spirit was taken from them and they died Spiritually. Yes they
lived a physical, earthly life, but no Spirit. Eventually dying
physically, all along Hidden from seeing God, and there mistake caused
all mankind to become children of Adam and Eve. That
is why Jesus is called the Second Adam. Adam had the Holy Spirit just
as Jesus did, and thankfully, Jesus did not quit on us so we could
acquire the Holy Spirit too. Only this time by Faith, Trust, not
works-that was Jesus' Job.
Jesus
came, took our sin that separated us from God, took the punishment for
it, He defeated death by coming back to Life, tearing the Curtain in
half top to bottom in
the Temple allowing mankind to once again the opportunity to walk and
talk and be with their Father without an intermediator. Not only after
physical death on earth, but Living now as the Holy Spirit indwells you
the moment you accept Jesus' works on your
behalf, and Trust Him which is greater than just understanding the
reason. Trust meaning putting Him first, and you following His lead.
Lazarus is an exact example of what the Father wanted Jesus to accomplish. Once
you were dead, the walking dead, but now you Live if you Trust in
Jesus' Works. You Follow your Leader, you never Lead the God of God's,
the God of Love, He Who Does for You, and You Benefit from His Agape'
Love as it was always intended to be. Your
will is rightly given to the One Who is so superior to us in every way,
that it would be silly not to allow Him to Bless His Children.
"Thank you Father for Lazarus' example, and thank You for being the ever loving leader we need in our Life at every moment." Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
This blog link: http://askgodsword.blogspot.com/
John 11:28-37
28And having said these things, she went away and called Mary her sister privately, saying, “The Teacher is present and is calling you.” 29Then that one, when she heard, rises up quickly and comes to Him. 30Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but He was in the place where Martha met Him. 31Therefore, the Jews, the ones being with her in the house and comforting her, having seen Mary that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going off to the tomb so that she should weep there.”
32So Mary, when she came where Jesus was, having seen Him, fell to His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You were here my brother would not died.” 33Then Jesus, when He saw her weeping, and the Jews having come with her weeping, was deeply moved in His spirit and was disturbed. 34And He said, “Where have laid him?” They say to Him, “Lord, be coming and see.” 35Jesus wept. 36So the Jews said, “Look how He was affectionately loving him!” 37But some of them said, “This One, the One having opened the eyes of the blind man, He was able to do so that also this one would not have died, was He not?”
Good Day Child of God! "Father? For words so simple to read, these are quite the opposite to understand. Teach, lead, and stamp upon our open hearts your Wisdom that we may follow you and glorify you in doing so."
The story of Mary and Martha above is easy enough to follow, but that last verse, verse 37. It changes what was simple to very difficult when we transfer the way the language of Jesus' time was understood, to the way we speak today. Another good reason to keep things in context.
Today's easy lesson: In our verses in the prior Study and above, Martha is outside waiting on Jesus, and when she speaks to Him, she runs to the house and to find Mary because Jesus wants to speak with her. Martha is usually the one working hard and Mary just hanging out waiting for something to happen, but Martha was not happy that Lazarus has passed away, so she, as the more responsible one, wanted to tell Jesus something He should have known; "If you were here, Lazarus wouldn't have died." Of course Mary repeated that statement, and then there are the verse 37 group, who in short are saying "Oh, He stayed back, curing sight is one thing, but raising the dead? This He cannot do, can He?"
Everyone that was in the house crying and making a big fuss over Lazarus dying, when they saw Jesus as they followed Mary, must have been so sincere in their mourning, that Jesus was moved by their tears. It shows the Father and the Son's Priority that Jesus is so moved by Love, the outpouring of kindness and caring, in this case for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus and those of their family. Jesus pushes forward in what seems to be a rush to have Lazarus' tomb opened. Some are surprised by Jesus in His asking to move the stone, but they'll understand soon enough because their sadness soon turn to great joy. We can anticipate why, but more, there is a lesson that opens our eyes wide so that understanding our Father's Will brings us closer to Him, His ways, and His Loving actions.
How does this help our daily walk with the Father?
It
is no easy task to read and understand the words of the Bible. Impossible without
the Father leading to come up with the real meaning and lesson. Some will tell you if you cannot understand
what a verse says to skip by it, mark it, and come back to it later to see
if you have gained insight. Truly you will get more from your Bible if
you first give your study to the Father, and stay with each section until you
understand it, even if you have to research other scholars ideas of what is
being said. However, be careful that what ever others may think, that it fits exactly into the rest of the lessons you have read. There are no exceptions, there is no taking portions of Scripture out of context, and certainly there in only one Gospel, One God, and One Savior. Regardless of what Bible type you read, or who has translated it. Their is only One Gospel. Period. Often the words of the Bible that follow the verse you don't
understand will answer your question. Either way, small bites at a time
is key to understanding the lesson the Father has to help open your mind.
Each time making you more excited to go on studying. In doing so, the
Father's ways become more of your ways. The more victories you have in understanding the Bible, the more you will want to continue reading. The more you read, the more you understand, but it is not a race, it is a journey. In the same way the more you sit and talk to the Father, the more confidence you will have in what value your life has, and the assurances there are in God's Promises, especially concerning Eternal Life! Remember everything we read is about our Father doing things for us, in Love, to help us gain Spiritual Confidence, not a new worldly object. Live and Love fellow Students, and in that way we honor the Father. Isn't that what Jesus does every chance He gets? Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
