He's Alive! He's Alive!

The Empty Tomb is NOT The End.

We woke up this morning to another freezing morning [at least there was some real snow though!]. I am a warm weather type of girl so I am counting down to Spring! But my favorite thing about Spring is celebrating one of my favorite holidays.  Easter is coming - Which leads to our LAST 2 chapters in John!

After reading these last two chapters I couldn’t help but sing one of my favorite songs the rest of the day, “Christ is Risen” by Matt Maher.

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling over death by death, Come awake! Come awake!

Come and rise up from the grave!

As I am singing this song – I am quickly reminded that I am supposed to be living AWAKE – not walking along as if I were dead. [[ just getting through my checklists each day and maybe adding in a few extra “nice deeds”]] It’s time to W A K E   U P!  And the song isn’t referring to Jesus waking up…. HE’s ALREADY AWAKE!  HE HAS RISEN!

Ladies it’s time for us to open our eyes and live!

In John 21 Jesus is talking with Peter, [Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”  Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”]

Jesus is very straightforward with Peter in v. 22, You follow Me. This is a clear message for us as well. It’s not our business what our peers / friends / family have, are doing, where they are going but to SIMPLY – FOLLOW HIM!

Come awake ladies; leave the darkness that fills your heart [worry, jealousy, unforgiveness, selfishness, etc.]

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. {John 20:21-22}

Jesus has sent us to do a job BUT he didn’t send us alone.  He has given us the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task he has called us each to do!

Oh Church! Come stand in the light!
The glory of God has defeated the night!

It may be winter now but Spring is coming! Let us live a life that is AWAKE and on fire for Jesus.

CHRIST IS READY TO USE US – ARE WE READY TO BE USED?

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us - Ephesians 3:20

True Joy In Christ

John 17:13
But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have MY JOY fulfilled in themselves. 

Recently, when reading a study that was asked to a number of people in various stages of life, the question was asked, "What is the number 1 thing people are seeking in life?"
The overwhelming answer to this question was happiness. True happiness and joy may seem hard to attain to some people. We live in a world full of pain and disappointments. As a follower of Christ, God wants us to experience true joy through him. Outside of Christ, our circumstances in life may never allow us to experience a lifetime of true joy. We as Christians can have the power over our circumstances and live a life filled with joy. How is this possible? Through an intimate, daily relationship with Christ, who is the source of all our joy. Just a few chapters ago we read
that Jesus came that we may have an abundant life. This same verse also warns us that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. When life seems to give us circumstances that we feel like we can't rise above and be victorious over, we must draw closer to Him. As followers of Christ, we know that we will experience good and bad circumstances in our life. When the suffering and tragedy comes in life, try not to ask "Why me" and instead ask God to give you strength for the suffering and an insight into what He is trying to teach you through it. There is JOY in the Lord and knowing "He will never leave us or forsake us." Ladies, regardless of your circumstances today, ask God to give you full
joy and the ability to see past todays circumstances. When you are a woman filled with true joy, this is a testimony to the world of His goodness and victory in a believers life.

As we read in John 17 today, let's look closely at Jesus prayer and learn that though we are in a spiritual battle, we can experience joy in Him and Him alone! Ladies, no matter our circumstances, let's choose joy and speaking life. A favorite saying of mine is "Everything is a choice." When we experience negative things, we have a choice. Will we complain to all our friends or will we seek God in prayer about our circumstance? Will we look to the world to find answers to our problems or will we dig into Scripture to see what it says about our problems. We have the choice, will we be women of happiness that depends on our daily circumstances or will we be women filled with the joy of Christ regardless of our current circumstances?

We are only about a week away from finishing our reading in John. As we finish ladies, let's finish this study strong. The enemy will try all ways to keep us from our time spent in God's word growing closer to Him and learning more. If you have missed some of the reading, don't let this stop you from continuing. Jump back in with us where we are and continue studying and growing.

Katie

The Vine

Abiding in Christ.
It's the secret of the Christian life.
John 14:6
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Jesus is saying farewell to the disciples.  He knows He will go to the cross soon.  He tells them of the Holy Spirit coming.  My Bible says 'on the way to the garden' He talks about the Vine. (yes, the garden, the one where He prays right before He is taken to be crucified!) When something major is about to happen and you only have so much time to get something across to someone.. you choose your words careful , right?  what you say is bound to be pretty important, right?   I can't help but think Jesus said this with such urgency.. like, "please get this guys!!"  I know everything Jesus said was important.. but for some reason.. my sanctified imagination just makes me think so! =)
In John 15 Jesus compares himself to a vine and God to the vine dresser.  In order to bear fruit we must abide in the vine.  Abide in Christ.
 This is a picture of our life in Christ.  He's  trying to explain to the disciples how they are to live when He is gone.
 Jesus is the source of life.  If we remain in Christ as the branch remains in the vine we will bear fruit.    The branch cannot bear fruit unless it is getting its source of life from the vine! If the branch is cut off, it cannot bear fruit on its own.  It is nothing without the vine.
The branches that do not bear fruit are taken away and burned. The branches that do bear fruit are pruned so that they bear even more fruit.

To abide in Jesus is to keep His commandments.  If we love Him , we will keep His commandments. We will abide in Him.  We will grow in character to become more like Christ.

In John 15:5 it says apart from Him we can do NOTHING!
This is good news!  We don't have to be strong enough!   He provides the grace and strength we need!
We have to acknowledge we need Him in order to bear fruit.
Jesus says we are His friends ( let that sink in a minute) if we obey his commandments (15:14).  That commandment is fulfilled through abiding .  Because if we are abiding in Him we will Love as he tells us to!
Matthew 22:37-39 tells us to love the Lord God will all our being, and to even love our neighbor as ourselves.
Wednesday our post was about John 13 where Jesus says by our love people will know we are His disciples.
John 14:15.. "If you love me, keep my commandments".
By abiding in Christ we show we have a transformed heart.

My daughter Lucy does the same thing my other girls did when they were little.  She will pick a flower ( well, sometimes its just a weed or just a type of grass ) and bring it to me.  She is always taken back when she realizes that it will not continue to live.  She thinks it will just stay in that state of "beauty" that she sees forever!   I explain to her that because it is no longer connected to it's roots it cannot get all that it needs to continue living.  She would suggest to put it in the sunshine coming in the window or add more water to the vase. =)  She just turned 4 and I think she is finally understanding.
Just like that flower, we have to stay connected to the source = JESUS!   We have to remain in Him!  HE is our source of true life!!   Through Him we will produce fruit that remains.
If we are not abiding in Jesus (loving Him, obeying Him) then we will not produce any real fruit.

If we aren't spending daily time with Him we are not going to be producing the fruit God desires for us to produce.
 For it is through that daily time with Him He teaches us and we learn more about who God is and with that we will love Him more.
We love him because he first loved us!
 We draw even closer to Him.
 Because we love Him we will keep His commandments.
The more time we spend with Him the more we will want to spend time with Him.
   Do you see how abiding takes place?

Listen to what happens when we abide:
15:5 says we will bear much fruit
15:7 says our prayers will be answered
15:11 says we will experience fullness of joy

The Bible doesn't say being a Christ follower will always be easy.  Actually, in verse 18-19 Jesus tells his disciples we would be hated by the world just like the world hated Him.   I don't think he was trying to sugar coat it.
Even though it may not be easy.. It can be blessed.  God wants us to live a life abundantly full!          { John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly"}
That abundant life will only come as we abide in Him!

16:33 ends our reading for today:
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world."

If we are faithful to abide in Him He will give us the strength we need to face whatever this world sends our way. 

LOVE GOD. LOVE PEOPLE.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another;

as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-45

As I read through John 13 I can't help but think of how Jesus was feeling and what was going through his mind. When Jesus spoke these words he knew that one of his followers would betray him, a close friend would deny him 3 times, and he soon would be crucified! And here we see Jesus preaching LOVE! 

LOVE, such a small word with a lot of meaning. Do we really understand the meaning of True Love as Jesus is commanding us to love!? I can say that I know the great love of my parents, family and friends. But True Love as Jesus speaks of love, how do we do that? 

In order to love like Jesus we need to understand how Jesus loves. We can look to the cross and see clearly as to what Jesus meant when he said love one another.  Jesus loved sacrificially! Jesus felt compassion when he saw us in our distress and he was moved to do something. This is how He loved us. 

So can we truly love sacrificially as Jesus loves? 

Our culture teaches us to put ourselves first - to look out for number one. Follow your dreams, do what makes you happy. So loving sacrificially is almost unheard of or a radical kind of love. Jesus isn't speaking of living one another when it's easy and beneficial. True Love is hard and sacrificing. It's forgiving when you've already had to forgive this person over and over, it's giving until it hurts, and serving even when you'd rather be somewhere else! It's giving up for others to gain. 

And this is where the verse really pierces my heart ... "By this everyone will know you are my disciples." 

Let’s ask ourselves a few questions:

If someone were to overhear us talking to our friends, would they hear forgiveness, grace, and love or would they have to listen to complaining, gossip, and slander?

Would they know by the things we say that we are Christ followers?

Would people see us in our homes sacrificially loving our family? 

If we are being completely honest, we know that it depends on the day (sometimes the hour). I know I have lots of room for improvement.

Thankfully, I don’t have to look far to find instructions on TRUE LOVE. I just have to open my Bible.

I truly want others to see Him, by how I show my love to others; through obediently sacrificially loving like Jesus.  We are all born broken and in desperate need of someone to show us, not just tell us, what grace and TRUE LOVE look like.  Let’s find that strength and courage to live out LOVE even when it costs everything, because we have a Savior that did just that for us! 

~ Jessica 

I Am His

John 10:27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 

"And I know them".... Do you believe that? Do you believe that God knows you?? Sometimes it is hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that He knows ME! He knows me in an intimate and loving relationship. He not only knows me but He also goes on to tell us that once we know Him, we can never be taken away from Him {verse 28: And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish: neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.} Ladies, in a fallen world with so many hurts and dissapointments, this is the ultimate good news!! Once we come to Christ, we are HIS and no one and nothing can change that! 

Many days, I look around me at all the pain and hurt in the world and I begin to feel discouraged but in the scriptures we are reading today, we see HOPE! We read that He is our Shepard and that He loved us enough to lay down His life for us. In John 10:11, Jesus contrasts the Shepard to the hireling {the hired help.} the hireling tends the sheep for money and when trouble comes, he flees. The Shepard tends the sheep because He loves them and is committed to them. What a beautiful picture of how He loves us and cares for is. Oh how he loves us and is committed to us. Do you fully grasp that love that He has for you? 

As we read today, let's thank Him for His never ending love for us and that we are given such an opportunity to be known by Him and to hear His voice and follow Him. 

FREE

  

Chapter 8 

In reading this I wondered what Jesus was writing on the ground when he "FREED" the woman accused of  adultery.  I wonder.

 ( that's really a side note.. but have you ever wondered?)  =)

I see Him show grace and forgiveness, while still calling sin for what it is.  

 I can learn through this passage that my job is not to condemn others.. but to point them to Jesus.

That is always a good reminder for us  who "know" this .......but   (cough cough)                    don't always live it out! 

Here is what really stuck out to me  in reading through this part of John this time around:

                      v.31~ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

v.32~ And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

These were Jews who we see in verse 30 started to believe.. .. He told them If they continued in His word  it meant they truly were His disciples and that then they would know the TRUTH and the TRUTH would set them free!

Then as I read  down further I saw verse 36:

"Jesus answered them, verily, verily, I say unto you. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 

And the servant abideth not in the house forever: but the Son abideth forever.  

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."

When we sin we become slaves to that sin. Jesus is the only way to be set free!     

JESUS=SON=TRUTH

When we trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior we become a child of the King. We are bought with the blood of Jesus.  He bought us to set us free! 

It's only by our faith and trust in Him that we can be free. 

I look at my sin and feel the failure.  But Jesus is saying  

YOU ARE FORGIVEN.

 YOU ARE SET FREE.

Yes, there is a punishment for sin but John 3:17 tells us that Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn it, but so that the world through Him might be saved!

Thank you Jesus for the cross! Thank you for paying for my sin debt!   It is because of YOU I am free!  I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was a preteen. Therefore I know my debt is paid.  I have been set free!   

That Impresses Me!

And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the 

Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; 

and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:40

I may have to say John 6 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible.  It amazes me thinking about what Jesus does here!

Let's just paraphrase what happens:

By this point, word has spread that Jesus heals people so MANY people start following him. At the beginning of John 6, Jesus has over 5,000 people that have followed him out to the side of a mountain where He and his disciples are. Jesus looks out over the crowd and then says to his disciples, "Where are we going to get bread to feed all of these people?" The disciples find one young boy with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. After Jesus gave thanks miraculously there was enough bread & fish for EVERY.BODY.  That’s right.  There were even leftovers.

But that’s not what impresses me the most. 

When people saw what Jesus had done they were all ready to force him to be their king!  Jesus knew this, so he decided to get away from them. He withdrew alone to the mountain.

That night, the 12 disciples got on a boat to cross the sea. As the disciples are crossing the sea it became very windy. They look up and become frightened as they see Jesus WALKING on water. Jesus says to them, “It is I, do not be afraid.” Scripture then says in verse 21, “Then they willingly received him into the boat, and IMMEDIATELY the boat was at the land where they were going.”

But that’s not what impresses me.

The next morning, the crowd woke up wondering where Jesus went. So they got in boats and found him on the other side of the sea.  What does Jesus do next?
He gives this speech about how he knows they want him just for what he can give them and not because he is who he is.  In fact, they don’t even realize that He is God himself.  They didn't quite understand what Jesus was saying so he says again:  “You need to eat my flesh and drink my blood.  I am the bread of life.”  This confused them even more.  He kept saying this over and over again. How can we eat you and drink your blood?? – – They didn't get it.

Eventually, many of the people went back home and left Jesus.
Jesus was not afraid to get rid of the fake people.  Jesus was not afraid to speak up to get rid of the selfish. Jesus only wanted true followers, he didn't care about big numbers.  

THIS. IMPRESSES. ME.
 
THEN, Jesus turns to his closest 12 and asks them:  “Do you also want to go away?”And then there’s Simon Peter’s beautiful honest response:  “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life…You are the Holy One.” The disciples knew this, they believed this!  There is no one else!
 
I want this to be my response to Jesus every. day.  I don’t want to be a follower of Jesus just to what blessing I can receive, or to feel better about myself.  In fact, the longer I follow Jesus, the worse I feel about myself, but the better I feel about Him. 

The crowd in John 6 was not ready to go all in.  They wanted to stay on the sidelines and benefit from the flying candy as if they were at a parade.

John 6 is definitely a favorite.   Following Jesus for who HE is is much more satisfying than just hanging out on the side to feel good about myself for “doing the right thing.”
                                                 
Taste Him and see that He is life and he IS the Holy One of God.  And once you see Jesus and not his stuff, you will find that there is nowhere else you’d rather be because nothing at all makes sense outside of Him.
 Jessica