Saturday, December 30, 2006

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

THE WORLD IS RIPE FOR THE HARVEST!

READ JOHN 4:31-38

31-33) The disciples try to bring the events that they had witnessed back to earth. They wanted to bring the conversation back to a the comfort zone of phuscial food, but Jesus uses the opportunity to teach them a lesson about the harvest of spiritual food.
34) What is the food Jesus talks about?
First of all OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER
Second is the RESPONSIBILITY TO FINISH THE TASK
35-38) There are three very important words that we will take the time to look at:
1) HARVEST: In earthly terms the harvest comes but once a year and at a certain time of the year, but the spiritual harvest is year round, 24/7! (See 2 Timothy 4:1-5)
2) REAPING: When you reap you are 1) receiving wages, and 2) gathering fruit for life eternal. Jesus is saying that this woman, in winning over a far greater number of the Samaritans to the kingdom of God, will enjoy the fruits of the work, so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
3) SOWING: Jesus implanted into the woman's heart a seed and she in turn has gone out and sowed seeds into the hearts of the people of her village. Jesus had sent the disciples into the village with spiritual food to give, but what they did was buy physical food that would perish. The woman at the well went into the village with the same spiritual food and came back reaping the harvest and brought that harvest to Jesus, so that the One who sowed and the one who reaped would rejoice together.
FATHER, WE ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON A NEW YEAR AND THE COMMUNITY WE LIVE IN IS RIPE FOR THE HARVEST. LET US BE LIKE THE WOMEN AT THE WELL, OBEDIENT AND RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TASK THAT WE ARE GIVEN TO DO. AMEN

Thursday, December 21, 2006

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE DELISLE FAMILY

WOMAN AT THE WELL!

READ JOHN 4:1-30

1-6) SETTING: Jesus, wearied from His travels, sits down to rest. The sixth hour means around noon and the disciples had apparently left Him to go into the village for food. Jesus is sitting beside a well built many years before by Jacob and the woman enters.
7-15) LIVING WATER: Jesus gave the woman an option. Take the water from the well that only satisfies for a time or the water that He has to offer that is for all eternity.
God is often referenced as a life giving water that satisfies forever:
Old Testament: Ps. 36:8-9; 42:1-2 Rivers of delight; thirst for God.
Isaiah 55:1 free
Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13, fountain of living water, instead of a cracked
cistern that holds no water or a dry and dusty grave.
New Testament: John 7:37 come to Jesus and be satisfied
Rev. 7:17 water of life
Rev. 21:6 water of life without cost
Rev. 22:1 river of the water of life coming from the throne of God
and of the Lamb.
16-19) PROPHET: This woman realized that Jesus had supernatural powers since He had knowledge of her past and her present life. Jesus was a Jewish stranger and could not have had the access to this information by normal means.
20-24) WORSHIP: The woman was worried that Jesus was out of His place. He should have been in Jerusalem if He was a prophet. Jesus directed her to believe Him, believe His words!
1) There is coming an hour when the Temple will be no longer needed for worship. The worship of the Father will not need a localized place, a time when you will be able to worship wherever you are.
2) True worshipers are those who worship the Father in spirit and in truth. To worship in spirit and in truth is to worship according to fact and according to His Divine Nature as opposite to what is imperfect, defective, frail and uncertain. The Old Testament sacrificial system was good, but temporary, imperfect and defective. It could not save forever, sins had to be atoned for year after year. BUT, Jesus said, there will come a time when true worshipers (THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH) will worship the Father in spirit and in truth and the Father seeks to be His worshipers. Did you see that last part of v.23? Our Father longs to be worshiped by you and it will be without defect, imperfections, or uncertainty!
25-26) MESSIAH: There had developed over the years, with the study of scripture, an expactation of the an anointed one, a specific individual. (It is believed that this readlly developed over the intertestamental period.) This woman understood that when this Messiah came He would explain all things to them. Jesus says, "I who speak to you am He!" She gets excited!
27-30) A FLAMING EVANGELIST: The disciples must have seen something unusual going on, more than Jesus speaking to a Samaritan Woman, but something miraculous. Did you notice that they were speechless? This woman went out and shared with all the people of the city and they were so intrigued that they went to see Him for themselves.
FATHER, MAY WE THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON REMEMBER THE EXCITEMENT WE HAD WHEN WE FIRST MEET JESUS AND REALIZED THAT HE WAS OUR SAVIOR! AMEN

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

GRANDAUGHTER GRACE!


CHAPTER 4!!

READ JOHN 4:1-4

1-4) Jesus leaves the area of Judea and heads for Galilee, but has to travel through a place called Samaria.
SAMARIA: Captial of the northern kingdom of Israel. (After Solomon died the kingdom split into two areas, the northern kingdom (10 tribes) and the southern kingdom (2 tribes). The northern kingdom was called Israel and the sourthern kingdom was caleed Judea. Assyrians captured Samaria in 722 BC. "Its people were exiled to Syria, Assyria and Babylonia, and replaced by colonists from different parts of the Assyrian empire. When Samaria fell, the kingdom of Israel ceased to exist, and the whole area (not just the city) became know as Samaria." (Information found in Nelson's Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Bible)
JESUS' TIME: The Samaritan area was despised and hated by Orthodox Jews. Jesus' decision of passing through the area was a surprise to his disciples, as well as the women He meets at the well as we will see in the next segment, for a true Jew would avoid going through Samaria at all cost.
HELP ME FATHER TO REMEMBER THAT ALL PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR YOUR WORD, NOT JUST A SELECT FEW.

Monday, December 11, 2006

PURIFICATION IS THROUGH JESUS

READ 22-36

22) Jesus spends time with His disciples to teach them in the Judean wilderness.
23-26) John is still baptizing and is still being questioned by the Jewish authorities, asking about Jesus right to baptize and purfication.
Purification - a symbol of moral cleansing under the Law. (See Ex. 19:10;29:4; Lev. 16:4,24; Num. 8:6-7)
27-36) John's answer:
1) Changed position: John had receive a work from God, but now that work was to be finished and John was to decrease while Jesus was to increase. John does not regret this position change for he says in v. 29, "my joy has been made full."
2) Bridegroom is Superior: Jesus is from above and is above all, John is earthly. As the bridegroom, Christ must occupy the prominent place, John the Baptist's place was as a friend and he participated in the joy of the bridegroom.
3) If you receive His Witness - can set your seal on this: 1) God is true, 2) He (Jesus, sent by God) speaks the Words of God, 3) Jesus gives the Spirit without measure, 4) Father loves the Son and gives all things in His hand, 5) We who believe have eternal life.
4) If you do not receive His witness - not see life and the wrath of God abides on you.
LORD JESUS, THANK YOU FOR CLEANSING US THROUGH YOUR BLOOD AND GIVING US THE TRUTH OF GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT, A LOVE BEYOND MEASURE AND ETERNITY WITH YOU. AMEN

Monday, December 04, 2006

ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS

READ JOHN 3:9-21
9) Nicodemus continues to question Jesus: How can these things be? These things refer to what Jesus had just told Nicodemus about being born of the water and the Spirit.
10-21) Jesus answers: You are a teacher of Israel and you don't understand these things?
Jesus was not telling Nicodemus anything that had not been revealed in the Old Testament through the fathers and the prophets. Look up the following verses and write down all that you learn about water and the Spirit.
WATER: Numbers 8:5-7, Amos 5:24, Jer. 2:13;17:13
SPIRIT: Isa. 11:2;42:1;59:21, Ezekiel 59:4, Jer. 31:34
These are just a few verses that declare the cleansing of water and the role of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was challenging Nicodemus to take what he knew of the Old Testament and put it together with the fact that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Nicodemus if you cannot believe the earthly things, then how can you believe the heavenly things? The way of salvation, Nicodemus, is this:
v.13-15 Cross - Son of Man must be lifted up in the same manner as the serpent was lifted up in the time of Moses.
v.16-17 Etermal Life: through the Son, who was sent by God.
v.18a Believe in Jesus: not judged
v.18b Not believe in Jesus: judged already (born condemned, only way out is through Jesus)
v.19 Judgment: light has come into the world, but men have refused that light and preferred the darkness.
v.19-21 Deeds is applied to conduct of men, measured by the standard of religion and righteousness, whether bad and become exposed, a non-believer (v.20), or good and manifested as from God, a believer (v.21) Practice truth means to act uprightly in a continuous or repeated action. Comes to the Light means to committ one self to Jesus and enter into fellowship with Him. Wrought in God means that believers works are from God.
FATHER, THANK YOU THAT JESUS HAS COME AND THROUGH HIM WE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE! AMEN