Jeff Englund

February 20, 2019February 19, 2019

Dying – John 11: 1- 4

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ”Lord, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, ”This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

This is the story of the man, Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. John begins by giving us a proper introduction to Lazarus; where he lives, who his relations are, and that he is well known to Jesus. Then John tells us that Lazarus is sick.

You and I know what it is like to have a cold or stomach flu. People in Jesus’ day probably suffered from similar ailments. This sickness was different. Lazarus was ill enough that his sisters thought his life was in danger. Why else would they have taken the trouble to send a messenger to Jesus? In short, Lazarus was dying.

February 19, 2019February 18, 2019

Place – John 10: 40-42

Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, and many people came to him. They said, ”Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” And in that place many believed in Jesus.

One of the many things we take for granted is our place in the world. Place, as an abstract concept, is important because it is the reference point for everything that happens to or about a particular person at a particular moment in that particular place.

February 18, 2019February 18, 2019

A Kind of Pill – John 10: 37-39

“Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

What do you look to your father for? Help; guidance; discipline; comfort? What you see in a father probably depends a lot on the kind of father you had, if you were fortunate enough to have a father in your life.

What kind of father is God? In the Old Testament, he is the one who allows Job to be tested, who tells Noah to build the ark and then floods the world, he calls Abraham to the Promised Land, gives him a son in his old age, then tests him by asking that he sacrifice his son. The Old Testament God leads the Israelites into Egypt and then out again. He gives them his law; He gives them a place to live; He is faithful to be patient with them and faithful to punish them.

February 17, 2019February 16, 2019

Competition – John 10: 34-36

Jesus answered them, ”Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? “

To tell the truth, I have been dreading this passage. Jesus is standing before a crowd of Jewish leaders arguing with them. They want to stone him because Jesus “claim(s) to be God.” Jesus response is, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods [human judges representing God, not divine beings]’? (Amplified Bible)

February 16, 2019February 15, 2019

Mere Man – John 10: 33

“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, ”but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

In 1959 a man named John Griffin did something quite unique. He lived in an America that was still segregated by race. As a white man, he was aware of the injustice of racism, but he wanted to know more about its effect, so he underwent treatments that turned his skin black, and then he traveled the deep South for six weeks to explore what life was like on the other side of the race line. The effect of the skin treatment was so startling that he didn’t even recognize himself in the mirror.

Have you ever wondered how Jesus felt giving up life in heaven to become a man? To be transformed from the most powerful being in the universe, in all of existence really, to a human that the Bible describes as a man of common appearance:

February 15, 2019February 14, 2019

Courage – John 10: 31-32

Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘’I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

Some things never change. People talk about bad behavior online all the time and how violent the arguments sometimes get, but really …

In Jesus’ day, there was no “Facebook” or “Instagram” or online chatrooms to engage in. Everything was face to face, and instead of just ANGRILY TYPING EVERYTHING IN CAPITAL LETTERS!!!!!! the people back then actually picked up rocks to throw at Jesus.

February 14, 2019February 13, 2019

Oneness – John 10: 30

“I and the Father are one.”

What does he mean by saying, “one?” A quick look in Strong’s Concordance suggests that the English translation here is every bit as clear and oblique as the Greek. One means one. It can mean ‘one’ as in one thing, or it can mean ‘one’ as in whole, or complete.

“I and the Father are one.”

In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, in the second chapter and the twenty-fourth verse God says, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” What does that mean, “one flesh?” Is that the same kind of thing that Jesus is talking about or different? It is mentioned again and again in the New Testament as an example of oneness.

February 13, 2019February 12, 2019

Assurance – John 10: 27 – 29

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

Life is a scary business. We are not always conscious of this truth, but in a moment something critical can change and suddenly we are no longer self-assured; instead, we are scared. And with good reason. There is so little we really know about this life. There is really very little we have control over.

February 12, 2019February 11, 2019

Heart Work – John 10: 25b – 26

“The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.”

Are you a sheep, and if so whose sheep are you? Do you have a sense of belonging? Do you recognize the voice of your Maker when He calls? Do you listen only to the voices inside your own head? Do you want to be able to hear God’s voice?

February 11, 2019February 10, 2019

A Winter’s Walk – John 10: 22-25a

Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, ”How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered, ”I did tell you, but you do not believe.

Over the past several days we have watched Jesus explain himself over and over again to an audience who is unwilling to accept his message. Now, in this passage, the scene has changed again. Walking under the covered porch of the temple wall Jesus is pestered by the Jews. “Tell us plainly,” they say. This is almost a childish simplification of the situation.