Sunday, January 08, 2006

Today Our Daily Bread John 1 ++

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
John 1:1-51
Christ, the Eternal Word
1In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. 4Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. 5The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
6God sent John the Baptist 7to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8John himself was not the light; he was only a witness to the light. 9The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world.
10But although the world was made through him, the world didn't recognize him when he came. 11Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. 12But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan—this rebirth comes from God.
14So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. F1 And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.
15John pointed him out to the people. He shouted to the crowds, "This is the one I was talking about when I said, 'Someone is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before I did.'"
16We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us—one gracious blessing after another. F2 17For the law was given through Moses; God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, F3 is near to the Father's heart; he has told us about him.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19This was the testimony of John when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants F4 from Jerusalem to ask John whether he claimed to be the Messiah. 20He flatly denied it. "I am not the Messiah," he said.
21"Well then, who are you?" they asked. "Are you Elijah?" "No," he replied. "Are you the Prophet?" F5 "No."
22"Then who are you? Tell us, so we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?"
23John replied in the words of Isaiah:
"I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare a straight pathway for the Lord's coming!'" F6
24Then those who were sent by the Pharisees 25asked him, "If you aren't the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?"
26John told them, "I baptize with F7 water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not know, 27who will soon begin his ministry. I am not even worthy to be his slave. F8 " 28This incident took place at Bethany, a village east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

Jesus, the Lamb of God
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30He is the one I was talking about when I said, 'Soon a man is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before I did.' 31I didn't know he was the one, but I have been baptizing with water in order to point him out to Israel."
32Then John said, "I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33I didn't know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, 'When you see the Holy Spirit descending and resting upon someone, he is the one you are looking for. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Son of God. F9 "
The First Disciples
35The following day, John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and then declared, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" 37Then John's two disciples turned and followed Jesus.
38Jesus looked around and saw them following. "What do you want?" he asked them. They replied, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39"Come and see," he said. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place, and they stayed there the rest of the day.
40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of these men who had heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother, Simon, and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means the Christ).
42Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, "You are Simon, the son of John—but you will be called Cephas" (which means Peter F10 ).
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Come, be my disciple." 44Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter's hometown.
45Philip went off to look for Nathanael and told him, "We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth."
46"Nazareth!" exclaimed Nathanael. "Can anything good come from there?" "Just come and see for yourself," Philip said.
47As they approached, Jesus said, "Here comes an honest man—a true son of Israel."
48"How do you know about me?" Nathanael asked. And Jesus replied, "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you."
49Nathanael replied, "Teacher, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!"
50Jesus asked him, "Do you believe all this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this." 51Then he said, "The truth is, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man." F11
FOOTNOTES:F1: Greek grace and truth; also in 1:17. F2: Greek grace upon grace. F3: Some manuscripts read his one and only Son. F4: Greek and Levites. F5: See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6. F6: Isa 40:3. F7: Or in; also in 1:31, 33. F8: Greek to untie his sandals. F9: Some manuscripts read the chosen One of God. F10: The names Cephas and Peter both mean "rock." F11: See Gen 28:10-17, the account of Jacob's ladder.

~Lena’s Journalin’~
Good Sunday Morning to you!
Psalm 122:1
1 When they said, "Let's go to the house of God," my heart leaped for joy.

Already, even this early in the morning, on Sunday, my heart is stirred for the word of God and the fellowship of the Lord and the worship in His house. Does your heart leap for joy when someone invites you to go with them to the house of the Lord?
If no one has invited you today. I’d like to extend an invitation to you. I’d love to see you today at Rock Church, of course many of you would have to fly in an airplane to get here, so I understand if I don’t see you at Rock, but maybe someone around you where you live has invited you to the house of the Lord? That’s like receiving an invitation from God Himself. The person who has asked you, maybe more than one time, is being obedient to God’s word and has the heart of God working inside of them and has probably been praying over your life as led by God’s Spirit. I wonder who else has you in their prayers regularly.
I pray you will consider today, giving this day in acceptance of the invitation extended you and “Let US go to the house of the Lord!” Our pastor has a saying, “It takes a me to make a we, it takes a we to make an us, and it takes an us to make a Him!, Come unto Him.” If I’m not there, we’re not there, if you’re not there, we’re not there…..
I saw something here in vs 22, It says the people were asking John the Baptist to vouch for himself, they pressed him, asking him, what does he have to say about himself…..I love his answer- he says,” I am the voice of one crying/shouting in deserted places, Make READY, clear the WAY for the Lord to come (to you)!”
I printed this in a different translation than what I remember this verse as stating, so I went back to look it up and rather than saying a voice, it says, THE voice! Then if we look closer we see it says the voice of ONE. For those of you who’ve been reading “daily Bread” here for awhile, you know the understanding I have expressed of “ONE”. One is God and all that is of God and comes from God and serves and loves God IS ONE. Everything else that is against God or is not with God could be considered “two, three, four etc., etc”. In other words, that which is for God and works with God in unity and the same vision, purpose and plan is considered “ONE”, even if it is 50 people doing that, or 500 angelic beings doing that, they can be ONE. Jesus’ prayer was, Father make US ONE. He was not only referring to He-himself and God, He went on to say, ALL who believe and all who would ever believe after His time on earth. John was declaring ONE voice, the voice of God being spoken through men on earth. Do you know the meaning of Universe? Uni = ONE, verse = Word, One-Word. Isn’t that interesting? No matter how many the quantity of words there may be, if we speak as God would speak we are One with Him. John boldly declared, that he did not need to vouch for himself, he was sent by God, as each of us are also, to speak that One word into the whole earth and beyond! As John is so are we, not here to vouch for ourselves, but give way, make way, for Jesus’ coming into the hearts and lives of living people, who still have time on earth to receive Him.
A truly humble man, points to another and is not afraid to exalt someone else. Humility is security in God. We do not have to stand up and fight battles He’s already won, we just have to be His, He wins the wars, because He’s overcome.
John did not fight with the accusers, he just spoke the word that he was sent to speak! He didn’t even have to insist, as though it were his own words that needed to be expressed and enforced by natural convincing. He just spoke God’s own words, given to him in that day.
When the Lord showed up he recognized him. Ever wonder if you’d recognize Jesus if He’d come here in the flesh today? Know His words, know Him. Know Him and make Him known through knowing His words.
Oh something else I saw, in looking up some of the meanings of John’s words. He said he wasn’t even worthy of loosing Jesus’ sandal ties. I looked up loosened and a few other words around this text and I saw how we try to advise other people, and give them answers, as friends would give advice. How we try to help them grow up and get through some things.
John was saying, Jesus was God, far superior to the need of any advice a friend or cousin, for that matter, could ever give. The fellowship would be in John receiving from Him only and obeying His words as more than mere advice, but His words were God’s words, ONE verse. The esteem was so high there was no question John’s appointment, to make way for Jesus’ ministry, not help Him along in His walk.
I see the spirit of One, the spirit of humility so strong that even the disciples who had been following after John as preparers, could hear the voice of God in John’s voice and so they recognized it when Jesus came, when Jesus spoke. It was the same voice, it was the voice of ONE, and for them there was no other ONE to follow except that voice. John prepared the way alright. He made clear the ONE voice of God, the ONE voice to follow after and listen to. He did well in that they also recognized Him when He came and they followed Jesus and became His disciples.


Proverbs 27:17-19
17 You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another. 18 If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you'll be honored. 19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.


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