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John 6:14-21: OFTEN.(please click here for todays passage)

”But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 4:16).

What you decide to do ‘often’ is important to you. It is a priority.

In a time of pressure, demand, and possibly dangerous temptation, Jesus again withdrew to a solitary place (15b). This is also instructive for us. Like Jesus, we need to build into our lives a pattern of withdrawal in order to advance. This is not about escapism or laziness. We go away from people and noise, only temporarily, in order to come back in power, and do the will of God. As someone observed, ”You need to learn that if you’re going to minister effectively to people, you can’t always be with people.”

Time away from the pressure and clamour of the crowd will help you to regain composure and perspective.

Jesus, in God’s time, descended the mountain and walked on the lake to save His terrified followers (16-21).

Do you have a solitary place you can go to on a regular basis? Matthew Henry has commented that we are never less alone than when we are thus alone – alone with the Father. Jesus is our example. Like Him, we go to the ‘lonely places’ in order to pray. That is not just to make requests, but it is to enjoy communion. It is not simply about ‘asking of’ but ‘being with’ – and it is recreating.

We don’t go away from people to run from reality.

We do it to recharge.

We do it to refuel.

And we return powered up for more effective service – to do things we could not do without being with the Father.

Always remember that when we are ‘willing’ to receive Jesus into our situations, just as He is (21), that’s when miracles happen.

It also strikes me that Jesus here models the ability to say ‘No’ to other people’s agendas for your life.’God made you and has a wonderful plan for your life.’ But somebody quipped, ‘God made you, and other people have a wonderful plan for your life!!’ You need a strong sense of what the Father wants of you, and then you can feel secure in that to turn opportunities down that don’t fit, however enticing they may be.

 John 6:1-13: ‘…how far will they go…?'(please click for todays passage)

Andrew’s response to this food shortage was, perhaps, a little better than Philip’s (7, 9). At least it had a speck of faith in it. But not a lot. He could not imagine what use so small a picnic lunch could be:

”Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (9). He repeats the word ‘SMALL’. It is underlined in our thinking by repetition. 

We face the challenge of smallness in a world that is in love with the big, the bold and the brassy.

Our thinking is often similar:

”I’m such a small person – small in my own estimation – what great thing could I ever do?”

”My gifts seem so small and unspectacular, how could I be of help?”

”My financial contribution to this project is trivial compared to the sums certain people can donate? Does it really count for anything?”

”Our church is so small. We’re not a mega-church. We don’t have all the bells and whistles, the technological wizardry possessed by the church down the road. What’s the point of our existence? Do we have any meaningful role to play?”

The problem is, we tend to equate the word ‘small’ with another word – ‘insignificant’. At least, many of us do. But God doesn’t. Remember David (and Goliath!! Remember him?)

And this story shows that little becomes much when you place it in the mighty Hands of Jesus.

It was said of Hudson Taylor (I think) that he was ‘a man small enough for God to use.’ On one occasion he was being introduced at a meeting, and the convener gave him such a big build up, saying what a great man he was etc, etc. Hudson came to the platform and declared, ‘I am just the small servant of an illustrious Master.’

And look what God did with that one small life! Hudson Taylor placed his perceived smallness into the mighty Hands of God and see what happened. There was a multiplying effect and countless numbers of people were affected for good. Many were converted; many were called into Christian service. The nation of China was powerfully impacted.

It’s not about how small you are, but how big Jesus is. And Jesus already has ‘in mind’ what to do with little old you (6). So fear not.

”Christ often tests us to see what we shall say and do in the presence of overwhelming difficulty, but he always knows the way out…The world is to be fed by the cooperation of Christ and his Church.” F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.462.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I place my life afresh into you Hands today. Please make me more than I ever thought I could be.

John 5:37-47: Bibliolatry?(please click for todays passage)

It is possible to be a serious Bible student and miss the whole point. If we don’t see Jesus in its pages, and fail to enjoy a relationship with Him, we miss everything that matters.

”You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.” The Message.

The Jews in general, and the religious leaders in particular, ‘diligently’ studied the Scriptures (39) They counted how many letters there were in each book and so on. They knew a lot about IT. But when their Messiah came, they failed to recognise HIM. They were, it’s been said, like people who value the medicine bottle but do not take the medicine. Or, they are to be compared with someone who admires the jewellery box, but not the treasure it contains. They prided themselves on knowing the works of ‘Moses’ (45-47), but missed the One who was at the heart of Moses’ writings; the very One he pointed a long finger towards spanning across the centuries.

Some people’s knowledge of the Bible makes them hard and harsh and judgmental, and you can’t help but wonder if they are missing the whole point.  You think, ‘Where is the heart and spirit of Jesus in such ferocious behaviour? ‘

As a preacher who tries to make a habit of expounding the Scriptures, I need to take to heart this reminder that it is all about Jesus. Wherever I am in the Bible I need to be pointing people to Jesus. Bible Study should lead to a relationship with Jesus, and to an ever-deepening relationship at that. It must never become an arid, academic pursuit that is an end in itself. David Pawson said once that we evangelicals accuse Roman Catholics of having a Trinity of Father, Son and Blessed Virgin. But we ourselves have often been guilty of believing in a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Scriptures. Beware!

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your Word. It is a remarkable Book. Enable me please, whenever I open it, to meet you there and receive your life. If I am ‘refusing’ you in any area today, please show me and bring me back to a place of full surrender.

John 5:30-38: Prove it!(please click for todays passage)

John 5:16-46 is a theologically BIG section of the New Testament. It’s clear message is that’s Jesus is God. He is equal with God, and He is God.

But how do we know the claim is true? How can it be proved?

Jesus, as it were, calls witnesses to the dock to testify on His behalf:

There is the Father Himself (32,37). At His baptism, His Father publicly owned Him as His ‘beloved Son’ (Matthew 3:17). 

There are the works the Father gave Christ to accomplish (36). These works include the healing, the raising, the judgment, as we have seen (16-29).

There is the testimony of John the Baptist (33-35). There may be in (35) the idea that John ‘burned up’. His witness to Jesus was costly. He was a martyr.

Tomorrow we will hear a fourth witness bringing evidence to the court room, I.e. God’s Word (37-47).

But I finish today’s thought with a musing of F.B. Meyer. He said that Jesus clung to God’s will as to a handrail all the way down the staircase to Calvary (30). As he writes, God’s will is goodwill.

Prayer: Lord show me your will and help me delight to do it.

 John 5:1-9: ‘Do you want to be healed?'(please click here for todays passage)

It’s a fair question: ‘Do you want to be healed?’ Some people, I am convinced, ENJOY bad health. There can be comfort zones in sickness. Pastors sometimes wonder whether certain people who expose their problems (and sins) really do want to be healed. Or do they just want to vent, have a jolly good moan, get things off their chest, without ever having to go through the trouble of changing? There is also the even bigger question of, ‘Do you really want Jesus in your life at all?’ Do you want Him to re-connect you to God? Or does that appear just too pricey, not to say inconvenient? 

Could it be that this man was making an excuse for remaining in his invalid condition? (6). It may not be fair to ask this, but you can’t help but wonder. Whatever, out of this great heaving crowd of human need, it would appear that Jesus homed in on just one man and set him free. So we see Christ’s sovereignty in the work of healing.

You may have heard the joke, ‘How many counsellors does it take to change a light bulb?’ The answer is, ‘Only one. But the light bulb has really got to want to change!!’ There is something in that.

‘Are you a withered soul? Healing and wholeness are in Christ for you. Receive from him the power that waits to flow through your wasted muscles. Believe that it is passing through you. And act accordingly. Spring to your feet, roll up your bed, and carry that which has so long carried you.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’,p.461.