A Christ Follower: The Journey

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one  another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one  another.  “By this all men will know that you are My disciples,  if you have love for one another.” Jesus--John 13:34 & 35           Jesus was habitually making things better.  One time he even said, "Look I am making all things new."   Revelation 21:5 (John Speaking.) Years prior to saying such words, he was followed by crowds seeking something new. His miracles made lives new and well ... better. His words were words that were new, refreshing and authoritative.  No one ever spoke like he spoke.  As a matter of fact, he spoke like no one had ever spoken before, with authority unequaled. Now, after John has written way over half of this gospel that he wrote about Jesus, and about whom he said, "And there also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose e...

Peace I Leave With You; My Peace I Give to you, And It Is Not The Kind of Peace The World Gives You.  Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled. Neither Let It Be Afraid. John: 14:27 Jesus       We live in an a time where peace seems more scarce than hen's teeth. Anxiety and depression seems to be overwhelming us.  Add to this the " wars and rumors of war " or violence that is spreading throughout the streets and cities of nearly every continent and or island, and lack of peace appears to be epidemic. Our times are not unlike the days when Jesus was born. Fear raged as Herod sought to destroy all the male children in the region in his attempts to kill Jesus.       Then we have the context of today's Jesus quote:  It's surrounded by a conversation he has with his disciples that could certainly be quite unsettling. Jesus talks to them about the Holy Spirit ... a topic they had not discussed much and t...

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself. Jesus           Jesus had just worked a wonderful miracle.  He raised Lazarus from the dead.  He had just ridden a borrowed donkey through the streets of Jerusalem. Crowds celebrated him.  Mary and Martha (I suspect Martha did most of the work) had prepared a dinner in his honor.  Crowds from all over flocked to him by the thousands.  Religious leaders were stymied by his popularity, and they really wanted to kill both Lazarus and Jesus in hopes of toning down the Jesus fervor.  But they were VERY wrong. Persecuting him, punishing him, crucifying him would not damp down the power of God.  It would ignite a fire that would circle the globe.      Jesus observed all the goings on, including the behavior of the religious leaders, and he began to speak of his death on the Cross and the impact it would have.  He looked around,...

Why Should I Allow Satan Control?      Decades ago a comedian known as Flip Wilson use to cause people to roar with laughter as he excused his weird behavior by saying, "The Devil made me do it."   Sadly in real life a lot of Christ-Followers live defeated lives because they do not realize that the Devil cannot make a child of God do anything unless she or he allows it to be so.  John said it best when he proclaimed in 1 John 3:8, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the Devil's work."  He went on to say, "Greater is He who is within me than he who is in the world." 1 John 4:4b.  James knew all this when he told us "Submit yourself to God, resist the Devil and he has to run from you." James 4:7. It's clear who really is in the driver's seat when it comes to standing up to that which is evil.      The problem arises for Christ-followers when they believe Satan's lies: He cannot defeat you, but he can lie to ...

I AM The Way The Truth and The Life. No one comes to The Father Unless They Come Through Me. Jesus      So Jesus is having a conversation with  his grieving disciples, and he has done all he can to comfort them.  Just check out John 14:1-27 to get the whole story.  He is encouraging them that they don't have to let their hearts be troubled.  Neither do they have to let them be afraid. He gives them the remedy for their troubles and their fears.  He explains it as simply as possible.  He says, "Believe in God and believe also in me."  Then he tells them about some dwellings that he is going to make for them, and that he will one day come back and get them.  He explains he does so in order that where he is in Heaven, they will also be.  Then the questions come:   Thomas asks the first one -- the only one we will address in todays blog: "Lord how can we know the way?"  In response to Thomas, Jesus declares ...