Jesus is the truth – Be Still…

John 6:63 – Hard Truth

“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63)

This verse isn’t giving us the okay to be lazy. Far from it! Jesus is really challenging us here to accept the hard truths he spoke about while he walked this earth. Jesus knew we humans would try to impress him, doing great things, thinking we could earn our way into heaven. That’s not how it works.

Context (John 6): A lot happens in Chapter 6 of John’s gospel. We find the accounts of the feeding of the 5,000, of Jesus walking on water, and of Jesus explaining he is the bread of life. This is significant because Jesus explains some really hard concepts difficult for most to accept. If he is the bread of life coming down from heaven, how can he also be from Nazareth? Jesus began to lose followers whose faith was not ready to believe all that he had to say. That’s where our verse comes in as Jesus further clarifies in verse 66 that “people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” Continue reading “John 6:63 – Hard Truth”

Ecclesiastes 6:1-9 – Enjoy Life!

Read Ecclesiastes 6:1-9

That old wind Solomon is chasing or dreaming of chasing! The last line is great! “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.”

Before he gets to that realization, Solomon took a bit of a turn down a dark road in this reading. I’m sure you also noticed the enormous amount of (one hundred) children referred to in his lament. With hundreds of wives, he likely had many offspring, so 100 would not have sounded too lavish to be believable!

Ezra 6:1-12 – Stamp of Approval

Read Ezra 6:1-12

As we expected, King Darius confirmed the Israelite’s story. It took a little digging from the sounds of it, but the message was exactly as Tattenai had been told. Did you love King Darius’ response to the meddling Tattenai and his cohorts! “[S]tay away from there!” In other words, don’t mess with the Israelites.

King Darius took it a step farther as well. He decreed that Tattenai actually help the Israelites. The king’s instructions left little doubt of what should be done. I can just about feel Tattenai’s blood boiling even after all of these generations. He was probably very sorry that he had “opened that can of worms” when he first made his inquiries.

2 Peter 3:1-7 – Last Days

Read 2 Peter 3:1-7

Peter believed this “last days” discussion to be of utmost importance for us moving forward in faith. He isn’t discussing the “when” or “how” the last days will take place but tells of a sign we can expect. We may even be seeing good examples of Peter’s description today. He said, to expect people to be “mocking the truth and following their own desires.” You can’t turn on a news program or read news on the internet without seeing some group or individual challenging Christians and mocking the truth on which we stand. And with such a self-seeking society, people regularly follow their own desires seeking to “be happy” or to live “their” truth.

The truth Christians profess is Jesus, the Word made flesh. We know there is no other truth, yet we stand by and let other people do their “own thing” in the guise of “freedom.” Certainly, we expect the same courtesy to be able to speak the truth about Jesus, without being criticized or marginalized. Sadly, many Christ-followers keep quiet out of fear because we do take the heat for trusting Jesus.

James 5:19-20 – Are You Wandering?

Read James 5:19-20

James has an interesting way of bringing this letter to a close. There’s no “see you soon” or “have a nice life” kind of ending. This letter has been full of content from the start. Certainly, James’ parting thoughts have been full of wisdom. And his devotion to his readers by calling them “dear brothers and sisters” concludes what has been a recurring theme. James is not a stranger to his audience.

In these two short verses, we see James’ version of searching after the lost. Matthew’s gospel reveals a series of stories about lost items. Jesus used those parables to emphasize the importance of not leaving anybody behind. Or, as Paul puts it, God “wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)