Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany
12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
Some Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
The Unbelief of the People
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and turn,
and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
Jesus Came to Save the World
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (ESV)
25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
This statement should make us question: How much time are we investing in this life, and how much are we investing in our future lives, in heaven, with the Lord? This verse makes it clear that this life should not be nearly as important to us as our eternal lives. We need to desire to go to heaven and to see Jesus more than anything.
Great question Kelly!
John 12:32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
And He does draw all men to Him – some now and everyone later. Please share the truth with someone today…
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Jesus is very clear about who will have eternal life. If I live a life that puts the world and its priorities as my own, then I am showing that the devil is my lord and I do not have salvation. Even if I go to church, went to Christian school, and read my Bible, if my life and its priorities show that I care most about myself and worldly things I am not saved. On the other hand if I give up the pleasures of this life and the acceptance of the world and live a life of obedience, submission and service to Christ I show that I am truly saved and that I will inherit eternal life. It is difficult to deny myself, give up instant gratification, and wait until the next life to receive my reward, but God is clear in Scripture that a life lived for Him on earth will be well rewarded in heaven. Lord, please help me to continue to turn my eyes away from the worthless things of this world. Help me to live my life entirely for you, even if it costs me my time, my friends, my reputation, my money, and my comfort. You are WORTH it!
24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
This verse always stands out to me. I agree with Kelly that I need to ask that question to myself daily.
Jesus makes it clear that he is looking for an “all or nothing” response to his free gift of eternal life. While we obviously don’t earn our salvation, to follow Christ means we can’t follow the things we used to in the same degree. We have to be willing to put everything on the table. Somethings God takes, others he gives back, and other things we may still enjoy on a different level. The key is that we think so highly of God and value Him and His kingdom more than anything else in this life. When God asks for something or redirects our life we obediently lay aside anything in order to follow Him better. This is a mindset I want to keep everyday and it is great to be reminded of it this morning.
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
this versde is really calling us out, just think how much time we spend on ourselves, and preparing for the fututre and just how much time we spend in our life and trying to make it perfect. But really we should want to and need to be spending that time with the Lord because there is so no salvation without him, and we need to be spending much more attention to him than on ourselves and the world.
ELLO… I read
I like verse 9-10,”Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,”
I like these verses because it is talking about the pharisees doing anything to keep their seat of power. They loved their place so much that they didn’t even try to get something out of CHRIST’s teaching. Even after hearing of a man being raised from the dead they wanted to kill him instead of believing that JESUS was GOD and what HE said was true. These people are like people who now will set the bar so high for CHRISTianity that its impossible to reach and will use every excuse they can find to avoid CHRIST and HIS unfailing love, it doesn’t make much sense at all to me why people would want to do such a thing.
CYA
43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
This, I can struggle with. It is so easy to make worship of the Lord just a show for other people to see. This was so strong with the Pharisees that they were afraid to confess openly that they believed. How common is this today?!
People, for fear of what others think, refuse to stand up boldly for God. So often do I even struggle with this that I compromise in situations in which I should be standing out for God, sharing the gospel or living blamelessly. I need to renew the perspective that what others think doesn’t really matter, only what God thinks is eternally worth it.
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
haha this reminds me of the many conversations I’ve had with Stephanie Z. at schoolio and at home. We always talked about, welll she always said she hated this Earth and she just wanted to see Jesus..haha IIII never realized that there was a verse about hating your life like how Stephanie says! :) We just can’t wait to be with Christ…I never realized how often we talked about it. :D That makes me so happy and grateful for a Christian friends who understands. We need our accountability partners just as Paul needed His Christian friends by his side. Philip went to Andrew when he had a message for Jesus..I’m sure they hung out alllll the time! Which reminds me….I need to tell Stephanie to do SOTD today. I admit I’m lacking on my accountability! How awesome it is that Scripture reminds me to do the things I’m supposed to do. :D
43for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Many people were beginning to believe in Jesus. Yet some were scared to confess their faith in Him for fear of the reactions of the Pharisees. They knew that they would become angry with them as they hated Jesus. And so it showed in their lives that they love the praise of men such as the Pharisees more than they loved the praise of God. And this is a scary idea. When you think of it, it is really valuing the creation over the Creator. It’s easy to recognize this as bad. It’s even easy to say that I’m going to value God more than anything else, more than anything this world can ever offer. “Actions speak louder than words.” It’s one thing to say that I am going to do something, but that doesn’t speak for whether or not I actually do it. I need to really be all about God, focused on glorifying Him and seeking to live a life pleasing to Him. I will not compromise in anything I do for God because of fear of men. I won’t let any authority or relationship hinder or stop me from pursuing a life after God. In fact, I need to spend my time constantly around other Christians who will spur me on in living a life for the praise of God, not for the praise of men! I need to watch what I spend my time doing: Hanging with friends and sleeping and playing video games, or praying and reading the Bible and meditating on it? My time and the things that I spend my time doing need to point to the fact that I value the praise of God over the praise of men, that I love to please God and care not about the world’s opinions of me!
24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
in this verse jesus is talking about himself, how he is going to be killed and because he is killed many people will come to a saving faith in him
c u all at church today
27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
28 Father, glorify your name!”…
Jesus was the ultimate example of submission to the Father’s will. He knew what lay in store for HIm, and yet His goal was to bring the Father glory. And so He went through with it, pouring HImself out for us and enduring the worst imaginable pain – having God turn His back on Him and put our sin on Him. Jesus’ complete submission is the example that we need to follow in our lives as well. There are many times that the Christian life calls us to do things that require sacrifice. Choosing to obey and follow God will not be easy, but it was never promised that it would be. Christ sacrificed everything in leaving his glory in heaven and descending to earth, into the body of one of His creations. COmpared to this, any sacrifice or hardship we might endure is trivial and bearable. I need to be willing to follow God’s will anytime, anywhere, in anything, placing His plan for me above my own desires and plans.
26b My Father will honor the one who serves me.
this verse shows one of the many benefits of giving Christ our lives in this life and following Him. the Father will honor those who serve Him on earth. we will be heartily rewarded based on our works as Christians. Bent’s message this weekend was about living life without regrets, and we know that we will be giving an account to God for our whole life at our judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10). this is encouraging but also a bit scary. God will recount with us all of our sin, and all of the things we should have done. but we will not be punished for them due to Christ. we will be rewarded for our works though, which is what this verse is talking about. we will be rewarded many times as much (as Jesus says to His disciples after talking to the rich young ruler) for our service to God! that is a great motivator to live a life that is on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ!
47″As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
Jesus came down to earth as God in a human body not only to take our punishment and the wrath of God, but to give us a chance to live for eternal life. God could have ended the world at any time before that, but He chose to give us His one and only Son to take our punishment so that we may live if we choose Him. I need to show that I am greatful to Him more often. Rather then being afraid of men, I should proclaim faith and trust in God no matter where I am. I must praise God daily because He is the one that has blessed me with another day of life.
29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.
I have never realized how cool the Bible is! Don’t take that the wrong way because i read it all the time ‘n stuff and i love it, but i’m just starting to realize a bunch of different stuff that Jesus pointed out/did/or said. Don’t take this the wrong way, but if you read it just for non-spiritual means…i feel guilty for saying that…it’s not your modern day action thriller, but it’s a really awesome book! Basicall, what you can take out of this comment is: i love/am excited to read the Bible!
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;
43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
These guys heard what Jesus had been saying and they put their faith in Him; that is awesome, but it’s so sad that they didn’t make their position known. Tragically they cared more about what men thought than what God thought. I don’t want to make the same tragic mistake. Although their situation was vastly different back then, the same exact thing can happen to me today. In the same way, I can keep silent because I don’t want be thought of differently, or be outcast/rejected from the “cool” crowd. In reality, however, praise from God–being able to stand before Him on that day with no regrets–is so, so much better. That’s what I want. Lord, please help me to preach the Bible, regardless of how I feel and what others think.
42Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;
43for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
This verse should be a great wake up call for all of us. Whose praise do we seek? GOD’s or man’s? It’s an important question because, as we see here, a desire to please man can hurt our relationship with GOD.
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
I am actually really confused on this verse? I cant tell if it means that if you love earthl things that you will lose them and be without them in heaven or does it mean the person who is happy with his life is living for God and that because he is living for God that is why he loves his life. i think its my 2nd one:)
43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Awesome post Steffen!!! Actions really do speak louder than words. It is simple to say you are going to do something, such as, “I am going to make it a resolution to read my bible everyday!” Then again, it is really easy to get distracted. If something is important, then you will do it is what I have learned. There have been excuses where I “forgot” to read my bible, but yet I do consider it important to me! I guess its just a huge motivation to step it up with my actions in that area. Ever since I realized that, I read my bible daily because I value God’s word, it is important to me. Also, it is easy to be deceived by thinking you are doing something Godly for the wrong reasons, such as to get praise from men instead of to grow in your relationship with the Lord. I want to seek what God wants for me and to fully devote myself to his will with an obedient heart! I want to evaluate and make sure that I do everything for the glory of God and to please him!
John 12:46- I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
If Jesus comes into the world as light, and we believe in him, we should not stay in darkness. As Jesus says in Matthew 5, us, Christians are the light of the world. I shouldn’t be hiding this light, but instead be shining, and standing out in this dark world, that people may see, and glorify God!
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
This….is an amazing chapter. So full of truth!
Like Jesus said, we are not of this world. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we turn away from our sin and put our focus on Him. Striving to finish the race, setting ourselves apart from the sinful world, yet still trying to reach out to them. This was very convicting to me because I love alot of things about my life that tie me to this world. Material things, things that are temporal, while God is eternal. I need to pray for strength and wisdom that I might turn away from these things and focus on the Lord.
49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.
5 0I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
MMMMMMMM, this reminds me of another verse.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
It’s very important to know that all scripture was GOD”S word. The authors of the bible were used as tools to communicate God’s message to the world. Many religions believe normal humans can be God’s, when in reality God used a human body just to save us. It really helps give me confidence when I can know for a fact that the bible isn’t some crazy man writing a book. Its written by the LORD and communicates the LORD’S will. I love every bit of it!!! Maranatha!!!
____________________________________________________________________
Maranatha!!!!!!!!!!!
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;
43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
That’s really sad that even though they believed in him, they weren’t able to confess their faith because they feared people more than they feared God. This still happens today and when I talk about Jesus or evangelize I have to ask myself Who do I really care about pleasing the most? What God thinks about me or what other people think about me. People can make things uncomfortable/awkward but it’s really not a big deal because Jesus is so worth it! Which reminds me of theophobia and what Rick Snyder said that” My love for Jesus is greater than the fear of what other people have to say.” I am going to pray for boldness and fearlessness for everyone at TrueNorth (Ephesians 6:19-20)
John 12:3 “Then Mary took about a pink of pure nard, and expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” Mary is a great example guys!! This perfume that she pours on Jesus’ feet is VERY expensive and very valuable. People would think she is crazy to just pour it on some man’s feet. But Mary knows that Jesus is the Son of God and she is willing to give up any worldly thing for Jesus! i need to have this attitude.
John 12:11 “for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.” I really liked this part. The Pharisees not only wanted to kill Jesus, but they wanted to kill Lazarus too! why? because Lazarus was being a shining light for Christ. because of him people were coming to know Jesus and repenting! I need to be a light like Lazarus!!
26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
This verse reminds me to be a servant and not try to be first but put others first. I need to be like Christ and do things for others and not just my self.
37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.
This verse came to me as a surprise. If i wasnt a believer in Jesus and i saw that he brought a man back to life, brought blind to be able to see, ect. i think that i would drop down and worship him right away, but i can relate to how the non-believers then and the non-believers today are alike. Even then when Jesus preformed amazing things people did not believe in him, yet just being able to breathe is already a miracle in itself; no one believes most believe in things like a star blew up and all this was created. Which i believe to be a BIG mistake the world is portraying. We need to always trust in God and pray that people wouldnt think we came from monkeys or whatever, we need to hope that one day someone will tell them what really happened the days that earth was created; and its never to late to be that person. :)
Wow! The Gospel of John is so rich…better than any food I can imagine!
A few things stood out to me in this chapter, but I will comment on the story about Mary at the beginning of the chapter. We see Mary express her devotion for Christ through this somewhat odd act of worship. But the point is clear: she loved Jesus and was willing to sacrifice this perfume to worship Christ (she thought he was worth it!)
Mary appears in a different story in the gospel of Luke. Jesus is coming to visit Mary and Martha’s house; Martha is busy preparing dinner, but Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet. Jesus says Mary chose the important thing.
I cannot help but think about the connection between the two stories. The same heart that sits at the feet of Jesus in the midst of business is the one the pours out the perfume as an act of worship. If I want my worship of Christ to be meaningful (like Mary’s) then I must be coming to Jesus, reading his word, thinking about him, seeking his kingdom.
mmmm :P
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.—This convicts me so much because I know sometimes I give into the evilness of this world and that is horrible! I definitely need to start hating my life here on earth and start looking forward to my eternal life with Jesus Christ! Just thinking about it! That life is going to to be soo much better than this earthly life! I will get spend all of my days 24/7 with my Creator just woshipping Him! I am going to start getting ready for those days and jsut have my mind focused on up above!
MARANATHA!!!
cannot wait for Jesus to return!
10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well
I think this verse is hilarious. Although the whole killing part isn’t funny, it is funny that Lazarus was just raised from the dead and now the priests want to kill him again. People are coming to Christ because of Lazarus being revived and now they want to kills him. This verse also contains a lesson too. This verse shows that one must constantly check their heart to see why they are doing things. Is it for God or for oneself? I am encouraged to ask myself this question whenever I do something “for God”.
27″Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
28Father, glorify your name!”
In these verses, Christ shows that his ultimate priority was to glorify the Father. Although he knew the pain that his sacrifice on the cross would bring, he chose to be obedient to the Father’s plan because it would bring the Father glory. I need to make sure that I am also submissive to the Father’s plan for his glory. Obedience is not always the easy choice, but my purpose on earth is to bring the Father glory. I want my response to always be like Christ’s and submit fully to his plan.
8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
This verse just makes me think about 1: Jesus died on the cross for ME to take MY punishment to die the death I deserved, 2: Jesus WAS here on earth and this just makes me think MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!! where he would come back to the earth, and 3: when Jesus says “you will not always have me.” it made me realize how short of a time Jesus was here and how short our lives compared to the eternity we will be able to spend with Jesus in heaven. When thinking of being in Heaven, it makes me wish that God would call me home, to be with Him in Heaven. I am ready!! MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
Hosanna means a cry out of worship to God. This is such a simple but important application in my life. I need to worship God not only through song on the weekends, but throughout the day I need to be thinking about the wonderful things God has done and is doing in my life, and praise him for it! God deserves all my praise, and I need to simply think about him more often and praise him with my thoughts!
5″Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”
6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
The way that Judas lies here is a lot like the way that satan lies to us. He mixes just enough truth with the lie in order to deceive us and confuse us. We can not let this happen to us! This encourages me to hold onto what i know is biblically true, and this also reminds me to know my Bible throughly so that i can use it’s truths to fight back against satan!
28Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
As 2010 approaches, I am thinking a lot about how we can glorify God’s name at True North! I want to have the attitude that Jesus has here. This is even something we are going to talk about at Revival Winter Edition.
How awesome would it be to have God answer like this?! Even though we won’t hear his voice like this, I know God will get the glory and I want to make sure I am a part of what he is doing!
Please join me in praying for True North 2010 and see you next weekend as we get going!
“Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. ” It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ”
Just like Bent said today–works in the name of Jesus are to be encouraged, because not only do they glorify God, but they also build up the rewards to come in heaven!
13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
43for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
These are some of the verses that really stood out to me. Verse 13 gets me excited for heaven when i will be shouting hosanna and singing praises to the Lord! I cannot wait for that day when i get to meet the Lord my God and worship him in perfection. Verse 25 and 26 are great! If a man loves his life and enjoys sin then he will lose it! If a man hates his life in the world and gives it up for the Lord, then he will keep it and enjoy it in heaven with God! I really like verse 26 because it shows me that if i am truly Gods servant, then i must be where he is at all times. I cannot follow God and then wander away for a little bit and fall into sin, i must follow Him everywhere or not follow him at all. I choose to follow him where ever he goes because his way is always the better way!
Verse 43 showed me that those nonbelievers loved and favored praise from men more than praise from God. Sometimes i feel like i am doing that. For example, i will do a good thing because i want to receive praise from people instead of doing it out of the goodness of my heart and for the Lord. I will pray that i will serve and give out of the goodness of my heart not because i expect and want praise.
Praise God (:
26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
As Christians we’re supposed to be servants, like Christ was. God will honor us when we’re serving others. When we serve others it’s like we’re serving Jesus Himself. Pretty cool, huh? I want to be a servant like Christ, and want God to honor me for it!
25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
We never want to start enjoying how we are living down here on earth!!! If anything, we should dispise our current state of living!!!! We are Christ’s children living in sinful body which is corrupted and full of sin!! I cannot wait to leave these earthly bodies, which urges us to fall into sin, and then be with God in our new heavenly bodies where we will never sin again and constantly be worshipping God!!! It is definately hard living in these bodies but I encourage everyone to keep strong and I ask for prayer too because it is pretty difficult but with God’s guidance and help we will get through this!!!!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
27″Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
I definitely need to be showing more of the attitude of Jesus here! Even though he was facing trials and was even about to be put to death, he still wanted to glorify God in all situations. When I’m going through tough times, I need to realize that God may be using the situation to glorify his name. I know that God “works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). I want to glorify God’s name in all aspects of my life, especially when things in life get tough! Out of those situations, God brings good!
MARANTHA!!
27 Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
28 Father, glorify your name!”
Jesus is the perfect example for us as Christians. Jesus’ response when his heart was troubled is not an escape from a hard situation, but an outburst of desiring God to receive the glory. Especially as I look forward to 2010 and what God has in store for me, I want the cry of heart, in good situations and in more difficult ones, to be like that of Christ, “Father, glorify your name.” That is truly what this life is about, having Christ glorified and seeing this world as nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Jesus is calling us as Christians to give EVERYTHING up for him. Sure, it’s easy to read my bible fairly regularly, post on sotd, etc. but I need to devote EVERYTHING I have to Him. Jesus says I need to hate the things of this world. If anything of the world is causing me to divert my focus from God, I need to remove that from my life! He is completely worth it!!!
PRAISE THE LORD!!!
MARANATHA!!!!
26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Lovely verse! So, basically, our life belongs to the Lord! I want to serve him whole heartedly. It’s so easy to get caught up in earthly things but let’s focus on our purpose in life and find ways in our every day life to serve him and bring him glory!
10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
11for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.
What a great and solid reminder that the world aggressively goes after those on Jesus’s team…
47″As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
God is going to judge us on judgement day but He came to this world to save us and we need to listen and study His Word and spread do something about it live with no regrets!