But we are also getting into the wonderful book of John. Charles presented a really good introduction to some really important info on the book. I'm not sure if you're supposed to have a favorite book of the Bible, but if you are, for me it's definitely John. It's really interesting and contains one of the best summaries of the gospel I can think of. If you read the thing from front to back you get a clear picture of who Jesus is and why he came to die and what it means that he rose from the dead. In today's passage we get Jesus stepping on the scene. John the Baptist prepares the way, calling for repentance from sins, and Jesus is now revealed as the prophesied Lamb of God. Jesus is proclaimed as the one who will 'baptize with the Holy Spirit', foreshadowing his important work of rescue and renewal of his people. Next we begin reading about how Jesus' disciples were compelled to leave all (and for Simon, even his former name) to follow Jesus. These men were compelled by Jesus, wishing to follow him anywhere. For us this may or may not mean changing our actual geographical location, but following Jesus as Lord will certainly require us to forsake all that we think makes life important apart from him.
Friday, May 1, 2009
May 1, 2009 (Friday)
Today we reach a very interesting figure in Judges, even by the standards of that book. Samson is a very interesting Judge and is characterized both by his being both a good and a notorious judge. In this story we read about him killing a lion, tearing it apart, coming back and finding a bunch of bees and then getting honey from the bees and giving it to his father in law (and not letting him know exactly where he got it). Samson also did all of this because the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. And don't worry, there's more on Samson tomorrow...
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You're right, Matt. Following Jesus is more than just labeling ourselves as Christians. It means we have to lift Jesus up --> which means we have to put aside the cares of this world. If we keep the cares of this world up high & try to lift Jesus up high, then Jesus is sharing first place.
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