The Simple Life

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. John  7:14-16  (ESV)   Jesus gives us the key to being wise. All we need to do is know Him, say what He has said, and we will be brilliant. I am amazed at how many times we think we need to add something to God's message to make sure it makes sense.   We need to add nothing to what God has and is saying.   Whenever I am asked where I get my material from for speaking, I usually say that I plagiarize it all. Anything true was true before I was born and will be valid after I die. If I am wise, I focus on representing the truth, not making it up.   It amazes me that I keep speaking about things that have never changed, and for some reason, people keep listening. Perhaps that is the key to being effective. ...

But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, "Where is he?" And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, "He is a good man," others said, "No, he is leading the people astray." Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him. About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. John  7:10-14  (ESV)   The most important discussion in history is that of who Jesus is. This was the most crucial discussion in His day, and it remains a critical discussion today. Whenever I meet someone who is not a Christian, I inevitably turn the conversation to who Jesus is, or, perhaps for their understanding, was. There is no future and no hope without Jesus, and our present world demonstrates how desperate a Godless culture becomes.   Jesus is the central figure in all of history, and without Him, we have ...

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. John 7:7 (ESV)   We are warned, over and over again, that evil people will hate the truth. Those who embrace the truth will be hated because they represent the truth. If the truth would change (which is an absurd idea), then we would be acceptable.   Satan loves messing with our minds and trying to attach our worth to others' acceptance. We must resist this notion and focus on the truth, who God is, and watch Him sustain us and defeat evil.   Satan is evil and sows destruction wherever he can.   I need to embrace the truth, accept the cost, and enjoy the deliverance. Learn More at Relate365.com https://www.podbean.com/relate365

Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.” John 7:6 (ESV)   The disciples often seemed confused. Jesus was a master at provoking honest thought and evaluation. He spoke of the fact that His job was specific and timely, and He was working towards completing His mission. He also made it clear, once again, that their job was the same regardless of His job.   Our job is always to point to Jesus as God. The disciple's job was to point to Jesus as God during His life, death, and resurrection, as well as post-resurrection. Their job remained achievable and straightforward.   There is nothing complicated about our job because Jesus paid it all, does it all, and sustains us through it all. All the pressure for success is upon Him, and He is capable.   I am thankful that this life is not about me, and that God has asked me to do something I can do https://www.podbean.com/relate365

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. John 7:1 (ESV)   We often forget the ramifications of our choices. Because God is love, we enjoy real choices with real consequences.   The people of Judea chose to believe lies about Jesus. Jesus was capable of changing their minds, yet He remained consistent with the way He created man to be. Some might accuse Jesus of abandoning the people of Judea, yet, in reality, the people of Judea abandoned Him.   Minimizing man's choices makes humanity irresponsible, and leaves the next generation a legacy of victimization. The connotation here is clear. If the people of Judea were willing to embrace who Jesus was, He would have gone there.   If I am willing to embrace who Jesus is, He will come and be with me. But, for now, the choice is mine. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil." He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him. John 6:65-71 (ESV)   Many of those who followed Christ decided that life would make more sense if they quit following Him.  In the crowd of "disciples," some were "disciples" for the wrong reason. But, in time, the false disciples were weeded out. If we follow Christ for any other reason than the fact that He is the Christ, we will one day...

But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) John 6:61-64 (ESV)   It is the Spirit who gives life. Jesus came to give us life. So often, we focus on Jesus coming to give us eternal life and we miss the idea of life today.   When God created Adam from clay, Adam was just a lump of dirt until God breathed the breath of life into him.  Imagine the excitement of the host of heaven when God took dirt and made it alive. Without God's breath, there would be no life, just dirt.  When we leave this life, the body we were entrusted with will become lifeless...

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. John 6:52-59 (ESV)   Describing color to those who have always been blind is most difficult. Describing life to those who only know death or separation from God is equally as tricky...

“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." John 6:48-51 (ESV)   We think bread gives us life. Jesus uses bread, something we know, to teach us the importance of Himself. He can perform miracles; He can keep us physically alive, and He uses bread to do so. Yet, He often talks about "life" and what it is, and the fact that He came to give us life.   Life is more than breathing, eating, and sleeping. Life is more than mere existence, and without Jesus, we will never experience it as it is meant to be. I am often guilty of associations life with existence when I know those who live apart from Christ are dead men walking.   The point is simple. Without Christ, we have not and can...

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me-- not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.” John 6:44-47 (ESV)   Credibility lies in Jesus. Jesus knows the Father, does the Father's will, has seen the Father, and represents the Father. The people talking do not really know Jesus, but talk like they do, have never sought the Father, and therefore do not know Him, yet talk like they do.   Talking "like you do know" when "you don't know" is always foolish. Those who speak confidently in what they do not understand will only fool those who understand less than themselves.   People talking to Jesus about His deity or about God need to be accurate because He knows...

So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" John 6:41-42   Some see what they see. Some see what is and place it in the context of what will be.   "Trees, in the wintertime, appear to the view of all men as if they were withered and quite dead, yet when the springtime comes, they become alive again, and, as before, do bring forth their buds, blossoms, leaves, and fruit, The reason is because the body, grain, and arms of the tree are all joined and fastened to the root where the sap lies all the wintertime, and from thence, by reason of so near conjunction, it is derived in the springtime to all parts of the tree. Even so the bodies of men have their winter also, and that is in death, in which time they are turned into dust, and so remain for a time. Yet in the springtim...

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:37-40 (ESV)   Those who come to Christ are safe for eternity. It is Christ's finished work that we trust in, not our feeble attempts to behave. Those who have accepted God's gift of salvation through Christ are secure in Christ.   His provision is adequate, permanent, and permeating. Our trust in Him drives away all fears and rejection, and replaces them with confidence and purpose. In Christ alone we find our hope, purpose, and fulfillment.   What are you trying to find in this life? Are you looking in ...

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.” John 6:35-36 (ESV)   I so often serve the provision rather than the Provider. I often associate the provision with the love of the Provider. Satan can mess with my mind by whispering lies in my head about God ignoring me as I do this.   This crowd focused on what God could do for them in our physical world, not knowing that Christ overcame the world. Food, money, power, and the like will never satisfy our souls. Those "things" may benefit our physical lives, but will always leave our souls emaciated.   We all seek life satisfaction, and Christ is the only way to obtain that. When we seek the things that only satisfy the physical, we eventually experience an emptiness that drives us to despair. All who live for this life will eventually be disappointed, because it cannot deliver o...

So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:30-35 (ESV)   Trying to gauge God's love by the circumstances in life is futile. So many factors drive circumstances; peace is available only through God. Jesus is the answer to life's problems--Jesus, Himself.   We often pray that God would change the circumstance when we should cry out to Him to draw ...

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him, God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." John 6:25-29 (ESV)   Some seek God for what they get out of it. That seems reasonable, to a degree, yet "what we get out of it" is a by-product and cannot be predetermined (other than eternal life).  This crowd wanted Jesus because He gave them food. This was the easy way to have provisions for the future. Yet many sought Jesus, who knew Jesus, who would be and are hungr...

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. John  6:16-21  (ESV)   Some things never change. When we see Christ, we will either be petrified or peaceful. Perhaps, like the disciples, we will need to be told to calm down because Jesus is our advocate, savior, and brother.   The present dangers in which we live are easy to see and quickly drive us to fear. Yet, during life's storms, we can choose to focus on the one capable of walking calmly through the storm. It is rather sad when the one who can bring...

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. John 6:15 (ESV)   "They draw from the sign a correct conclusion (a true doctrine) and a false application (a bad moral). So with orthodox faith, a false (ecclesiastical or secular) morality is often associated." (J. P. Lange, D. D.)   "Some men have greatness thrust upon them. From all such Christ separates Himself, knowing that what is done by compulsion may by compulsion be undone. So He would not have a kingdom forced upon Him, nor would He be forced on a kingdom. Wonderful words are written on His royal banner: "Put up thy sword," "My kingdom is not of this world." " "While all this is true on the human side, the real point to be considered is that JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF WOULD NEVER REIGN BY MERE FORCE. If you could force men to Christ, you could never force Christ to men. It is the Infinite that declines. J...

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. John 6:15 (ESV)   People wanting to control God is not a new idea. But, God, removing Himself from people, regardless of the reason, is tragic.   Religion has always attempted to make a self-serving God. Religion often tries to appease God and then expects Him to deliver a personal abundance of joy, finance, health, fame, and fortune. The only way Jesus could control the crowd was to leave. Staying there would have been a distraction while fueling arguments and discord.   It is ironic that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, often stirred the crowd into a frenzy. However, the crowd was never about Him and was always about themselves.  Jesus was and is driven to action because of His concern for people. The crowd was stirred to act because it was concerned for itself.   Healthy relationships are concerned for others, and this concern fuels...

And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!" John  6:12-14  (ESV)   J. N. Norton made three observations on this passage. 1. The quality of the food was not changed, but its quantity was increased. Our Lord does not pamper luxury but satisfies hunger. 2. The people received the bread from the apostles. Thus Christ taught respect for His ministers, because they act on His behalf. 3. The same miracle is repeated every day by a different process, and we give no heed to it.   Psalm 104:14 (ESV) speaks to the exact miracle we experience today by saying this: "You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring ...

And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!" John  6:12-14  (ESV)   The "ministry" of feeding the five thousand was successful, if you call it a ministry. How did this success take place?  Before it happened, there were discussions, as there are today. Philip was stating the business side of the matter. He was concerned that a tremendous amount of resources would never cover the expenses needed to accomplish this task.  Andrew, however, was focused on what they had, and presenting that to Jesus.   Charles Spurgeon said this: "Philip says, ‘Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient,’ and Andrew says, ‘Well, no, it is not, but there i...

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. John  6:10-11  (ESV)   The idea of feeding five thousand men is incredible. Yet, Jesus not only fed them, but He also fed them all they wanted to eat.   This was a free meal to people who could eat as much as they wanted at a time where there was no refrigeration, no massive food distribution programs, and they were out in the wilderness. The logistics are beyond imagination. The thought of bread and fish somehow reproducing as the disciples passed them out is mind-blowing. This incident has become so commonplace to many other older Christians and me that we lose the complexity of the actual miracle. If I were there that day, I would think that I would be changed forever from this experience alo...