Three Minute Bible

June 6, 2019June 5, 2019

More Belief – John 14: 29

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.

Throughout the gospels, we see moments where the disciples are absolutely convinced of Jesus’ divinity. In John 6: 69 we see Peter affirming this when he says, “We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Yet there are levels of belief and we humans are bound in a temporal world. One minute Peter says “… you are the Holy One of God,” the next we see him denying he even knows Jesus.

Jesus wants us to really believe. When we possess the kind of belief that Jesus has in store for us it is no longer possible to doubt Jesus is who he says he is. When we really believe that Jesus is Lord is when the miracles happen.

June 5, 2019June 5, 2019

Going Away – John 14: 28

You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

There are many things about this verse that we could discuss. Jesus refers to what he said a few minutes earlier in verses 2 and 3, and also in verse 12. “I am going away and I am coming back…” Jesus sounds like a parent talking to a child.

Then he says, “If you loved me…” Taken at face value it sounds like he is saying that the disciples do not really know how to love him yet. That makes sense because they do not yet have the Holy Spirit. Only after the Holy Spirit is given them do they seem to start to understand what is going on.

The third thing of interest is Jesus’ statement that, “… the Father is greater than I”. I confess that I am one who struggles with the Trinitarian perspective. Thanks to Pastor Rich’s patience and guidance, I have come to see the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit in many places in the Bible. When Jesus says “I and the Father are one,” (John 10: 30) I want to assume certain equivalencies from a human/engineering point of view. But, in God’s economy, “oneness” is not the same as “sameness” or being “equal.”

June 4, 2019June 3, 2019

Switch – John 14: 27c

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

This may be one of the toughest challenges of being a Christian that I know. As Christians, we are in the world but not of the world. The world tends to be hostile to Christians. More so today than at any time in my life. In the midst of hostility, and sometimes just the everyday challenges of getting along with others, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled…”

How do you do that? How does one turn off the “being troubled” switch on the heart? The answer to that question has to do with faith.

Faith is all about trust. If you trust Jesus, and if you believe that he is the ultimate power in the universe, then what is there to worry about? Even short term pain and setbacks here on earth are insignificant when compared to eternity with our loving God.

June 3, 2019June 2, 2019

Giving and Getting – John 14: 27b

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Well now, there is an interesting thought! The way that Jesus gives to a person is different than the world’s way. How?

June 2, 2019June 1, 2019

Peace – John 14: 27a

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

When do you need God’s peace most?

Sometimes when I am awake in the middle of the night, my mind churns over the problems of the day. Sometimes Satan seems to use these lonely times to remind me of my shortcomings. The lack of peace can be excruciating.

When I come to my senses, I remember what Jesus says in today’s verse. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”

June 1, 2019May 31, 2019

God Calling – John 14: 25-26

All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

In the beginning, God spoke to a select few people. He spoke with Adam and Eve, then Cain and Able. He spoke with Enoch whom he took up to be with him. He spoke with Job, Abraham, and others. He spoke through Moses to the people of Israel. Then he spoke through the prophets.

When Jesus came to earth, God spoke to people as men speak; face to face. For a few short years, the living God lived as a man. Today’s passage marks the last day Jesus would have with his disciples. In this passage, Jesus looks forward to a time when God speaks to all who will listen through his Holy Spirit.

May 31, 2019May 30, 2019

Predictability – John 14: 24

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

One of the things I appreciate most about God’s creation is its logical nature. Everything of a material nature works according to the laws of physics. These laws have been in place since the beginning of time. The history of science has been one of discovering God’s laws in nature. Once understood, there is a comforting predictability about the nature of the physical world.

In verses twenty-three and twenty-four, Jesus explains another “law” if you will. It is a truism, a principle. He begins, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” He continues with, “Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” Then he adds that these words come directly from the Father.

Why does he tell us this? Why is it important?

May 30, 2019May 29, 2019

Moving In – John 14: 23

Jesus replied, ”Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

Today we complete the verse that we started in yesterday’s post. Jesus promises that love for Him opens the door to He and the Father coming into your life and living there. The last five words add a flavor to this verse that I find appealing. Jesus says that He and the Father will come and “make our home with them.” The God of the universe is willing to move into your life and take up residence!

May 29, 2019May 28, 2019

Obey – John 14: 23a

Jesus replied, ”Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.”

Obedience is a tough thing. We humans are not naturally obedient. Oftentimes we tend to the opposite end of the spectrum. When we do “obey” it isn’t always because of love.

In my work as a traffic engineer, I study the behavior of people who drive cars. Have you have ever seen two little black tubes stretched across the street when you are driving? Those are what I and other traffic engineers use to keep an eye on what you are doing. The amount of information they collect is amazing.

May 28, 2019May 27, 2019

Vision Test – John 14: 22

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, ”But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

Judas asks an interesting question here. This whole chapter in John’s gospel has been about Jesus’ last instructions to his disciples. Throughout this study of John’s gospel, we have repeatedly noted that Jesus speaks as one who is not from around here meaning not from earth. The disciples have a hard time getting their head around the reality that Jesus is God. Yet even when they get that part right, they still do not understand what that means.

Why wouldn’t Jesus show himself to the world?

Judas bases his question on a false premise. He assumes that “the world” sees things the same way those who believe in Jesus see them. This is most certainly not true.

Those who believe in God base everything on the premise that God exists and that there are eternal consequences for our choices in this life. “The world” consists of people who do not believe in God and judge by what they get in this life instead of what awaits them after this life.

Since the world does not accept that God exists, they can look straight at Jesus and not see him. At least for who He is.