God's Object in Sending Trials, Andrew Murray

"...every branch that does bear fruit he prunes [purges] so that it will be even more fruitful" (Jn 15:2).

The Father's object in sending trials is for us to Abide in Christ--"remain in me" (Jn 15:4). In the storm the tree strikes deeper roots in the soil; in the hurricane the inhabitants of the house abide within, and rejoice in its shelter. So by suffering the Father would lead us to enter more deeply into the love of Christ. Our hearts are continually prone to wander from Him; prosperity and enjoyment all too easily satisfy us, dull our spiritual perception, and unfit us for full communion with Himself.

It is an unspeakable mercy that the Father comes with His chastisement, makes the world round us all dark and unattractive, leads us to feel more deeply our sinfulness, and for a time lose our joy in what was becoming so dangerous. He does it in the hope that, when we have found our rest in Christ in time of trouble, we shall learn to choose abiding in Him as our only portion; and when the affliction is removed, have so grown more firmlly into Him, that in prosperity He still shall be our only joy. So much has He set His heart on this, that though He has indeed no pleasure in afflicting us, He will not keep back even the most painful chastisement if He can but thereby guide His beloved child to come home and abide in the beloved Son. Christian! pray for grace to see in every trouble, small or great, the Father's finger pointing to Jesus, and saying, Abide in Him; remain in Him.

Agents of Divine Mercy - Bishop Barron Sunday Sermon

I Was Blind and Now I See - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

What John and Paul say about Christ (Jn 1:1-2, 14; Col 1:15; 2:9; Heb 1:3)

• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-2, 14).

• "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation" (Col 1:15).

• "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Col 2:9).

• "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being" (Heb 1:3).

Resurrection in the Face of Death (John 11)

Life Amidst Death (John 11:1-44). 

• Do you truly believe in the resurrection in the face of death, such as from Covid-19?
• Is your faith in the resurrection theoretical or practical? Rooted in theology or reality?
• What do you do when there is the (probable, possible, potential, problematic) palpable panic from the pandemic?

"...whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:26)

• Do Christians who are familiar with John 11 think of this famous story positively as victory over death?
• When we consider those around dead Lazarus at Bethany, were they positive and victorious [or negative and wailing] after they heard Jesus' words of being the Resurrection and the Life (Jn 11:25)?

1. What is the implication of Mary and Martha's urgent message to Jesus (Jn 11:3)?
2. What does Jesus' response show us about his priority (Jn 11:4, 40)? What is your priority in the time of grave illness?
3. How is Jesus' love for Mary and Martha (Jn 11:5) expressed (Jn 11:6)? Is this how you would have responded to someone you love?
4. Why did the disciples caution Jesus about returning to Judea (Jn 11:7-8)? What does this show about their main concern? How about you? What does Jesus' answer teach us about our life and death (Jn 11:9-10)?
5. How did the disciples misunderstand Jesus (Jn 11:11-14)? Why was Jesus glad that Lazarus had died (Jn 11:15)? What was his primary concern? Your primary concern? What does Thomas' response show about him (Jn 11:16)?
6. What was Martha [and later Mary] implying by her statement upon seeing Jesus (Jn 11:21, 32)? What did Martha "know" (Jn 11:22-24)?
7. Do you experience life and that you will never die...when you are dying or your loved one is dying (Jn 11:26)? What did Jesus want Martha to believe (Jn 11:25-26)? Did she (Jn 11:27)?
8. Why was Jesus deeply moved/angry (Jn 11:33)? Why did he weep (Jn 11:35)? How did the Jews interpret it (Jn 11:36-37)? How were they both right and wrong?
9. What did Jesus want Martha [and us] to believe and see (Jn 11:40)? What is the disconnect between what she knew and believed (Jn 11:22, 24, 27, 39)? Will you have such a disconnect when death hits home?
10. Is there a "downside" to Lazarus being raised from the dead (Jn 11:13, 17, 44)?

See & Hear in 2019 & 2020

See Jesus More Clearly in 2019; Hear our Good Shepherd in 2020 (12/19/2019)

2019: "Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes…and he saw everything clearly" (Mk 8:25).

2020: "The sheep hear his voice … for they know his voice" (Jn 10:3b-4).

A wholesome Christian requires orthodoxy (right beliefs), orthopraxy (right practices) and osteopathy (right emotions / feelings). Since I became a Christian in 1980, I focused exclusively on orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Once I even said to my wife to her chagrin, "Feelings don't matter." It took me 3 decades to realize the error and distastefulness of my insensitive statement. So in my attempts to rectify myself…

Hear & Know God's Voice (John 10:3b-4)

"The sheep hear his voice … for they know his voice" (Jn 10:3b-4).

Literally sheep know the voice of their good shepherd. So when they hear his voice, they will follow him.

To hear is to listen and obey. We will hear, listen and obey someone we know. If we do not know (trust) that person, we'll not hear them out, and disregard or ignore what they say.

The Good Shepherd

"Always insightful, always fresh, consistently surprising, Bailey has produced yet another book that will get many of us rethinking beloved passages of Scripture in completely new ways."

"What a feast Ken Bailey has prepared for us in this book, and what an overflowing cupful of insights and illumination."

"Kenneth Bailey refreshes the souls of readers... he deftly introduces us to a fresh understanding of the Good Shepherd. Anyone who loves the 23rd Psalm will love this book."

God Became Weak (John's Christmas Message) (John 1:14)

"The Word became flesh" (John 1:14).

John 1:1-18, the introduction/prologue of John's gospel, may not be thought of as a Christmas message, unlike Matthew and Luke chapters 1 and 2. We think of Christmas as a baby in a manger (Lk 2:1-7), a baby visited by Magi (Mt 2:1-12). But there is no baby Jesus in John 1. So, is there a Christmas message in John 1?

Matthew and Luke report the facts of Christmas, about what happened: Mary's visit by the angel Gabriel, the angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph in a dream, Mary's conception by the Holy Spirit, Caesar's decree, Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem, no room in the inn, born in a manger, the shepherds in the field, the angel's chorus, the star of Bethlehem. But John does not mention any of this. However, John tells us not the facts of Christmas, but the meaning of Christmas. John doesn't tell us about how the baby Jesus came to be, but who the baby Jesus is.

Freedom (John 8:31-32)

This morning, Lyndon, a member of Philippines UBF, asked me to address the topic of "freedom." I quoted what I considered the most famous verse in the Bible about freedom--John 8:31-32--which says, "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” (This appealing popular verse has often been quoted out of context.) I also mentioned Gal 5:1 and 2 Cor 3:17. Then for an hour, these are the points regarding freedom that I shared in no particular order:

The God Who Becomes a Human Being (John 1:1-18)

"The Word became flesh" (John 1:14).

J.C. Ryle says about John's Gospel: “The things which are peculiar to John’s Gospel are among the most precious possessions of the church of Christ. No one of the four Gospel writers has given us such full statements about the divinity of Christ as we read in these pages.”

Indeed, John's Gospel is one of the world's treasures. John is so simple that children memorize their first verses from its pages and so profound that dying adults ask to hear it as they pass from this world. It is said that John is a pool safe enough for a child to wade in and deep enough for an elephant to drown.  Martin Luther wrote, “This is the unique, tender, genuine, chief Gospel… Should a tyrant succeed in destroying the Holy Scriptures and only a single copy of the Epistle to the Romans and the Gospel according to John escape him, Christianity would be saved.”