What is a Church Community?

I've been thinking about this question lately.

I beleive that, in the future, it'll take more intentionality, but as of today I am starting to answer the question.

Here's what I think a church should look like:

• It should focus on Jesus
• Everyone should participate
• It should meet the needs of the people
• The people should be active

It should focus on Jesus

God sent his son to be the sacrifice which saves us from the punishment of sin. The church should focus on this and the miracles that we see in our lives because of this.

Everyone should participate

It's a community and everyone has a part. I think it can be as simple as asking and answering questions:

What scripture speaks to you this week? 

Why? 

What has God done in your life this week?

What do you need God to do in your life?

How can we help?

It should meet the needs of the people

All of them. 

The people should be active

Church can only meet so much. You have to apply what God shows you to your life and your actions must reflect it. 

John 5

After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.

An important note here is that an angel of the Lord went down into the pool at certain seasons to make the water healing water.

A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?"

The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me."

Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk."

Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.

Jesus heals in any season because Jesus is higher than the angels.

Now it was the Sabbath on that day. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet."

But he answered them, "He who made me well was the one who said to me, 'Pick up your pallet and walk.'"

They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Pick up your pallet and walk'?"

But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you."

The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."

For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

Ah, so many rules to limit the power of God in the lives of men.

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

"For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 

"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 

"Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth;those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

"I can do nothing on My own initiative As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. 

"You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 

"But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish--the very works that I do--testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.

"And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. 

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 

"I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 

"For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

It's For those That Aren't

The Christian message is for those that aren't, not for those that are. It's a message of hope and freedom to the oppressed. It's a message of salvation to those trapped in sin. It's a message for the slaves, not their masters.

Of course, everyone is included in God's salvation. No one is excluded by virue of status. What I am speaking of specifically is the tranformational message. The Word of God - action and voice working together to bring change.

The power of the message is lost on Christian cultures. That's why we work so hard to build up the outward show of faith: the buildings, the speakers, the sermons, the worship teams, the magazines, the books, the faith-espousing T-shirts, the flip flops, the mints, the visible "proof" of our salvation.

The persecuted don't waste their time, they're too busy actually having faith. The secret believers don't put on their Jesus clothes, they praise Him in the quiet secret places. The Lord's servants among the children and the widows don't boast about the size and glory of their church or the education of their pastor, they boast of the glory of the Lord as He provides.

And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?"

And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There isonly One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep thecommandments."

Then he said to Him, "Which ones?"

And Jesus said, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."

The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?"

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. (Matthew 19:16-22)

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Our Shared Life and Other Thoughts

This idea has been rolling around in my head for a few weeks – some pieces much longer – and I’m going to try to put it into words. I’m not sure if I can make as much sense of it as I want to. For me, this is a starting point. Once these ideas are out, I will refine, explain and define them more as I see fit and necessary.

At the core of everything is the truth. By this I mean God and the story of God; his being and his essence and just his stuff for lack of a better word. I will refer to it as the truth to keep it simple. This truth exists beyond our ability to describe it with language. This leads to our inability to understand it in any real way, or at least in any way that comes close to the actual truth.

It’s the idea that we can only know a shadow of the truth. I don’t think shadow is the right word, though. It’s not that we’re not looking at the truth. We are, but we can’t understand fully what we see.

This relates to the post-modern idea that words have no inherent meaning. Now, I don’t claim to be an expert in post-modernism or certainly the ideas associated with deconstruction, but I find it fascinating. Any word I choose to use has no meaning outside of what I (or more rightly my society/culture) choose to give it. It’s most easily seen in the difference between languages. I call a dog a dog and you know what that means, but I could say that in Iraq, and people wouldn’t recognize it.

Moreover, once we decided on a way to communicate and understand the word we both use to describe the animal, the cultural association with the meaning of the word is very different. One of my favorite examples of this is that Kurdish people use the word Communist. It turns out, though, that the connotations of the word are very different. In Kurdistan a communist is someone who doesn’t believe in God, any non-religious person. The term is not necessarily used to describe one who believes in the communal ownership of the means of production and/or the inevitable rise of the proletariat.

Our languages are inadequate for communication in general and are woefully inadequate as a means to describe the divine.

God existed before the creation of the world. God existed before the creation of human language. God created language, but is, in fact, pre-language. Knowing this, we must also admit that God and his creation must be more than language.

God never said “Let there be light.” Of course we can’t know with absolute certainty that God didn’t utter his words of creation in English, but it seems highly unlikely. We, in fact, have no real idea what god said. We only know that he said something - insofar as we understand the idea of speech, that is.

We know that the Bible says God spoke. John tells us the word of God was with him from the beginning. The word was with god and the word was god. John tells us that the word of God is Jesus and that by that word, God created the earth.

We don’t know God’s words, but we know the outcome: creation. Action. The speech of god equals the action of god. There seems to be no difference. This means that Jesus, too, is the action of god. The word and the action.

Knowing this, then what do we say of the Bible? The Bible isn’t the word of god, right? That’s Jesus. It’s god’s own action. The Bible is a language-based representation of the story of God. God exists outside of the book. Certainly we know that God is known to people who can’t read and to people who have never heard the words of the Bible only the story of Jesus and the action of God. (Like everyone who believed before the Bible). I don’t mean to sound critical of the Bible. I’m not trying to be. I am trying to be critical of our limited understanding of the Bible and our limited understanding and use of the words therein. The power of the book is God.

We, as a culture of Christians, often argue over translations and meanings, but the book itself really has no inherent meaning. The words mean nothing outside of our context of understanding. It only means what someone told us that it means.

And most of us are okay with that. Someone else’s understanding of the story of God is good enough for us. Or the reverse is true. We’re okay with someone else’s criticism of the story of God.

We accept conventions as the truth and we settle for shallow understanding of the truth. We use words that don’t mean anything to describe our sacred faith and assume that everybody knows what we mean. We say, “ I met with my small-group for fellowship and we decided to do some servant evangelism to he non-churched.” Those words don’t mean anything. “Oh, I feel so blessed. Hallelujah.” That doesn’t mean anything either. “The worship service was followed by an alter call.” Nothing.

This all really a jumble of two ideas: the message/story/truth of God is more than the words Bible and our current use of language in reference to God is shamefully cheap and meaningless.

We use important words to describe things we don’t understand anymore. The church uses jargon as a crutch to stop thinking. What if we stopped? Or better, we talked about it. Let’s discuss our language. Tell me what salvation means. Tell me what it means to be blessed. Tell me what fellowship is. What does it mean to worship? What’s a worship service? What’s church?

After we discuss it let’s evaluate if our meanings hold any fidelity with the way we actually live. That’s the part that’s missing most, I think.

A couple of months ago, I discovered the Kurdish word for fellowship. I don’t remember the actual word, but it translates to “our shared life.” Not shared life, not a shared life, not the shared life, but our shared life. Our. I love it.

You may say so what? Who cares? That’s not the Greek word. I like it because it means something in a way that fellowship doesn’t. Fellowship is an idea, but our shared life is a description.

I guess this is really beside the point, but, like I said, there’s a lot swirling around my brain tonight and I wanted to get it out.

John 4:31-54

Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."

This makes me think about my time in Kurdistan. The Kurdish for "Rabbi, eat" is "Mamosta, bixo." Although in Kurdish it would be followed with the equivalent of "Eat! Why aren't you eating? Don't be shy! Eat."

In Kurdish, mamosta means teacher (like Rabbi in Hebrew). It helps me remember the intent of the word Rabbi whener I see it used. In Kurdish, mamosta is a common title used to show respect for someone who has knowledge (actual teachers and otherwise). Drawing the link between mamosta and Rabbi helps me remember that Jesus is being held up as someone who has knowledge to give rather than as a member of a religious institution.

But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."
So the disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?"
Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

The water that Jesus has to offer is everlasting life and the food that he eats is to follow the will of God and do His work. We seek to be as Jesus, so we must eat the same food.

"Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.'
"I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor."

The food to be eaten is the will and work of God. It is ready to be harvested and eaten. There is no waiting. It is being harvested now. We don't have to plant the seeds, someone else has already done that. We are not at the beginning of the cycle, but at the end - it's not even the beginning of the harvest, the workers are already hired and working. We are eating the labor of those that have come before.

The Samaritans from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done." So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world."

The Samaritan woman becomes an early missionary. She spreads Jesus to her people and she gets a quite a reward in return: the people begin to believe of their own faith, no longer relying on her!

After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast. Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

Jesus said to him, "Go; your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.

This is more positive fallout from the miracle of water to wine. The royal official knows that Jesus can perform miracles from either being present at the wedding or hearing the stories and he asks Jesus to save his dying son.

As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."

So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives"; and he himself believed and his whole household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

John 4:1-30

I want to preface the following post with a little bit of context for me as the author - where I am, what I'm doing, how I feel.

I am sitting in an office, a call center if you will. I am the only one here because it's 6 am on a Sunday morning. I've been here since 5.

I hate it. I don't know another word that quite describes how I feel about the job I currently work. I could go into all the reasons why I hate it, but it doesn't much matter.

On the other hand, I am grateful to have a job that pays money and I prayed pretty hard for a job to get us through. I am waiting for a clear sign from God that I can quit.

Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.

And He had to pass through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

I think it might be hard for many of us to understand why the woman reacts the way she does in the following passage. I don't really understand it, but I have been in situations where it would have been impolite or even rude to speak directly to a woman (in conservative Muslim-Kurdish homes), but never in a situation where the rules were based on race or ethnicity.

The woman is fairly brazen here, I think. She's not the one in the power position - she's Samaritan and a woman - yet, she doesn't simply do as she's asked. She calls Jesus on his people's ethnocentrism.

Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."

She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?"

Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."

The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw."

The woman is interested in what Jesus is offering, but I'm not sure she's convinced that he can deliver what he's offering.

He said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here."

The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."

Jesus said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly."

The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."

This is the second time that Jesus has spoken a simple truth that led to belief. The first was when he told Nathanael that he'd been sitting under a tree.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

The promise of being accepted into God's Kingdom for all, not just the Jews, spoken to the woman becasue she was brave enough to ask the question "Why are you even talking to me?"

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us."

Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why do You speak with her?"

So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men,

"Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?"

They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

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John 3

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."

Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?"

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?"

Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will n Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

Do you notice what Jesus just said? Those who beleive in Him are not judged. I think of the cultural imagery of the final Judgement Day. Jesus suggests that day may not be as we expect; everyone's already been judged. We've chosen light or darkness already. The light saves us and the darkness condemns.

I've already written about the serpent in the wilderness.

"For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized-- for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purification. And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him."

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent ahead of Him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice So this joy of mine has been
made full.

"He must increase, but I must decrease.

"He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives
the Spirit without measure.

"The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Here John restates what Jesus has just explained to Nicodemus. I imagine that the followers came to John hoping to stir a little jealousy in him or a bit of anger, but John responds instead with the truth.

John 2:13-25

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business." 

His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME." 

The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" 

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 

The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" 

But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. 

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to  them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

Here is more foreshadowing of what's to come.

I know that one of my goals is to read this as if it's the first time I've done so and, therefore, don't know what's to come. The author himself refers to the future, so I feel justified.

These verses make me think of how believers today spend so much money on the things of the Christian culture and the industry of the church.

The dove buyers are as guilty as the dove sellers.

Church of the Bronze Serpent

I was reading john 3 with some friends tonight and we came across the following verse:

14 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

I asked what serpent was Jesus referring to. Was it the serpent and the staff story?

We weren't sure so we looked at the footnotes. It is a reference to Numbers 21:4-9 which says:

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"

Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

I'm sure it's not true, but I felt as though I had never heard that story before.

Jesus compares himself with this bronze serpent? What can that mean?

Just as those bitten by the serpents were saved by looking at the bronze serpent, so can we be saved by looking to Jesus.

I think I was most struck how unlike western Christianity this story seems. And to think Jesus himself uses this story to describe himself and his role.

Turns out there's a lot of good stuff in the Bible!

John 2: 1-12, Wine from Water

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 

And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." 

His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 

Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him. 

When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.

Why did Jesus turn water into wine?

Perhaps it was foreshadowing for the symbolism to follow. At the last supper, Jesus uses the wine to represent his own blood and his own blood washes us of sin; it is the new fluid of the baptism of the Spirit.
(Blood=Wine);Water, so to speak.

John 1: 35-51

I vowed to read John as if it were the first time I had done so, but it's harder than I imagined.

I read passages like the following and my only thought is "Uh huh. yes. Indeed. Go on."

Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi (which translatedmeans Teacher), where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).

Ideas such as "Lamb of God" and "Messiah" are too familiar to me. At least, my immediate understanding of the words makes it difficult to force myself to dig deeper; to take the role of one who has never heard.

Why is it important to understand the reference to lamb of God here? Well, lambs are sacrificed unto God as a sin offering and Jesus is God's own sacrifice to erase the sin of the world and fulfill the promise of the law of Moses. If we know that, then the reference in this chapter is a foreshadowing of what's to come.

But what does it mean to us if we don't know? Nothing?

The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip And Jesus said to him, "Follow Me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

All it takes for Nathanael to believe that Jesus is the Son of God is that Jesus says he saw him under the fig tree? A little clairvoyance. That's the least of the miracles we'll see! Jesus says as much to Nathanael. "You will see greater things than these.

I know that Jesus' first miracle is understood to be the changing of water to wine, but this is the first one in the book of John and I think it's important. Some people don't need much convincing. There's something to be said for knowing and it's clear that Nathanael knows what's what.

John 1: 19-34

I want to really hear what John says - what both Johns say. I want to understand how he says it and why. I want to know what it was like to hear the gospel for the first time; to not have preconceived notions about the message.

This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not " "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said."

Make straight the way of the Lord. John is not concerned with anything other than the truth. He's not the Christ, he's not Elijah. He's a messenger and his message is to get ready for the coming of the Lord.

Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. "It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! "This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' "I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water." John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. "I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' "I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God."

John was given a vision by God and here it is realized. John recognizes Jesus as the sacrificial lamb who comes to take the sin from the world.

John actually tells us a lot of what we can expect in the coming story. If I were hearing this for the first time, I might not understand the foreshadowing here. John's comparison to Jesus with a lamb is important as is the note that Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

Something tells me we'll hear that again and that it'll be important.

John 1: 1-18

I said before that I'd go through John's gospel and focus on the following questions:

• What is Jesus doing?
• What is Jesus saying?
  What are his followers doing/How are they following him?

I'll do that, but, of course, I will feel free to write what I feel led to write.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come intobeing. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The Word has always been with God because the Word is God. God made everything through the Word.
This is one of the most complex and densest pieces of scripture, I think. It says so much and means even more. I don't even know how to unpack it!
I think about it a lot, though. People often use Word to mean Bible or the things therein. "You'd better get into the Word."
But it's so much more. Word here is the very method of God. The mechanism through which he created the world and everything that exists. That Word is the light of men, life itself.

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John the Baptist testified about the Light (the Word), but he was not the Light only a messenger. Just as today, we may spread the gospel of Jesus, but we are not the gospel.
If this book stood alone and it was all we had, we'd know immediately what God was trying to tell us: If we accept the Light, we have been given the right to become children of God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we sawHis glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace andtruth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For theLaw was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Here we see that the Word that was with God in the beginning became flesh in Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God. The same method that He uses to create the world, He uses to save and redeem it.

The Promise

Readers, this site hasn't been updated in a while, but it will be again soon.

Previously, I worked through the book of Hebrews because itwas important to me. Next, I'll be working through the book of John.

With the gospel of John, I want to focus on three things:

• What is Jesus doing?
• What is Jesus saying?
• What are his followers doing/How are they following him?

I think it should be very interesting, so stick around.

My Desire

I was listening to the following song this morning and thinking about why it always creates such a strong reaction in me.

It came to me quite simply. This song is the desire of my heart. It's what I desire from my God. It's why I serve Him. It's why my motives get screwed up sometimes and I can be so easily frustrated.

I find that I get caught up in what I have to do and I try to earn it from God, but He gives it freely. He's given it to me before and it's those experiences that I strive to gain rather than striving to gain the Lord.

The song is "Welcome Home" by Dolly Parton.

I wanted just the song, but the video was what I could find.

I remember once when I was first earnestly seeking to learn about the Lord, I prayed on a treadmill. I felt God hold me hand and comfort me.

That's why I am a Christian. God cares for me.

I want to know He's here everyday. I want to see Him and feel Him. Like the song, I long to hear Him say I knew that you'd return to me the place where you were meant to be. Rest now, for you've been gone too long .

Well done my faithful son...Welcome home.

Here are the lyrics:

With great anticipation he waited at the door
His only son was due from overseas
For months now he'd been waitin' since he'd gone off to war
And his eyes were filled with tears of great relief

Welcome home, son
His loving arms held open and his heart so full of love
Welcome home, son
I've been praying and been hoping and I never did give up
I knew that you'd return to me
The place where you were meant to be
Rest now, for you've been gone too long
I heard him say as they embraced
"I've waited so long for this day
My son, my very own...Welcome home."

But a dreary rain was falling while another soldier fell
And a mother wakes up cryin' in the night
She thought she'd heard him calling in that moment she could tell
Her only son had passed into the light

Welcome home, son
His loving arms held open and his heart so full of love
Welcome home, son
As Jesus stood there glowing, their hands reached out and touched
I knew that you'd return to me
The place that you were meant to be
Rest now, for you've been gone too long
As they embraced, I heard him say
"I've waited so long for this day
My son, my very own...Welcome home."

Now I think of all the families that have lost a darling one
And I think how Jesus died for all our sins
And I think how much God loved us to send his only son
To live and die, and then to live again

Welcome home, son
I hear God saying when they nailed Christ to the cross that day
Welcome home, son
And when he sent his angels to roll that stone away
I knew that you'd return to me
The place where you were meant to be
Rest now, for you've been gone too long
I hear God say as they embrace
"I've waited so long for this day
Well done my faithful son...Welcome home."

Welcome home
I hope to hear God sayin when it's my time to go
Welcome home
While the angel band is playin' and God comes to claim my soul
The angels will be singing and joybells will be ringing
Rejoicing I'll shout and sing along
When there are no more wars to fight
And we're all children of the light
When the father and the Son say
"Welcome home"

Welcome home, welcome home, welcome home

The Crabslide

Once there was a crabslide blog that never quite caught on...

Now that list has come here to rest.

In December 2005, I was first introduced to a study either based on or directly from Unity of the Bible written by Daniel Fuller. The study is also written by Fuller, though, even if it's not directly from the book.

Oversimplified, the study is about the various ways one defies God by disbelieving His promises and reminds how we can fight disbelief in God - which leads to death - by remembering God's clear promises to us.

Envy

The Lie: God doesn't have good plans for my future.
This post is a reminder of a lie and a promise. 
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

The Scripture: John 21:18-19, Psalm 73:25-26, Romans 10:12

John 21:18-19

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”

Psalm 73:25-26

Whom have I in heaven but You?

 Romans 10:12

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him

Note: In December 2005, I was first introduced to a study either based on or directly from Unity of the Bible written by Daniel Fuller. The study is also written by Fuller, though, even if it's not directly from the book.

Oversimplified, the study is about the various ways one defies God by disbelieving His promises and reminds how we can fight disbelief in God - which leads to death - by remembering God's clear promises to us.

Despondency

The Lie: God is incapable to provide a good future.

The Scripture: Philippians 4:4, Romans 12:12, Hebrews 10:35-38

Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Romans 12:12
rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

Hebrews 10:35-38
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

Note: In December 2005, I was first introduced to a study either based on or directly from Unity of the Bible written by Daniel Fuller. The study is also written by Fuller, though, even if it's not directly from the book.

Oversimplified, the study is about the various ways one defies God by disbelieving His promises and reminds how we can fight disbelief in God - which leads to death - by remembering God's clear promises to us.

This post is a reminder of a lie and a promise. 

Impatience

The Lie: God doesn't know the right time. He isn't quick enough. He isn't doing anything.

The Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Isaiah 55:7-9, Romans 8:28

Note: In December 2005, I was first introduced to a study either based on or directly from Unity of the Bible written by Daniel Fuller. The study is also written by Fuller, though, even if it's not directly from the book.

Oversimplified, the study is about the various ways one defies God by disbelieving His promises and reminds how we can fight disbelief in God - which leads to death - by remembering God's clear promises to us.

This post is a reminder of a lie and a promise. 

Listlessness

The Lie: Since God has no plan for me, there's nothing I can do which will fulfill me. God has nothing for me to do to fulfill me.

The Scripture: Psalm 16:11, John 4:34, Psalm 23:2-3

Psalm 16:11
You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

John 4:34
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

Psalm 23:2-3
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Note: In December 2005, I was first introduced to a study either based on or directly from Unity of the Bible written by Daniel Fuller. The study is also written by Fuller, though, even if it's not directly from the book.

Oversimplified, the study is about the various ways one defies God by disbelieving His promises and reminds how we can fight disbelief in God - which leads to death - by remembering God's clear promises to us.

This post is a reminder of a lie and a promise.