Category: Bible Studies

John 12:37-50 (NIV)

37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”[h]
39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

40 “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
    nor understand with their hearts,
    nor turn—and I would heal them.”[i]
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

The answer is…Yes, Yes, Yes. Without even knowing the question, the answer is Yes! The question…”Do you want out of the dark?” Yes!

The dark is scary, but it’s easy. The dark hides what needs to be cleaned, but it’s easy. The dark allows you to sleep, and it’s easy. The light exposes all that requires cleansing, and it’s hard. Hard with a capital H. It’s hard friends. Hard. But oh is it gorgeous!!!

A life with the veil lifted is a life cleansed by God, but you must believe in Him. He was sent by God to lift your burden, not amplify it. If you are feeling exposed, then Amen! If you are feeling like everything you are doing is wrong and you need to stop, the Amen! You are on the right path.

Trust the Word of God, He does not feel that way about you. He doesn’t care for your sin. He doesn’t want your sin. He wants your heart. Give it to Him. Now! #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Believe.

John 11:1-16
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Lazarus was a dear friend to Jesus as He walked this earth. He loved all He came in contact with, but Lazarus held a special place in Jesus’ heart. It must have really hurt Jesus when He heard the news, yet was in constant contact with our Father IN heaven. He knew that God would be glorified through this difficult trial.

Jesus understood His job so well, that He waited another two days before He went to Lazarus. Those that were with Him could not understand why Jesus would wait, but it is in the wait that His plan would be revealed. Nothing through spontaneity. The plan was God’s and it must be according to God’s will. His plan never fails and is always perfect.

Patience is an amazing characteristic of Jesus. He truly understood the power of the wait. Paul was the essence of passionate patience. He knew, as Jesus did, that the power in the wait is stronger than the quick and eradicate action that can be wasted. We must learn to be patient in all we do. It is in the patience, coupled with a connection with the Holy Spirit through orayer, that we can act in His authority. In this patyern, we begin to act as Jesus did, and when that is done, we possess and can activate the power that He left in us at Calvary.

As we walk in the flesh, it is our job not to allow doubt or ignorance to overtake us. If we connect to Jesus through daily reading of His Word in the Bible, we can become more and more like Him. It’s not easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is. We must persevere and commit to becoming a true believer and friend of Jesus. Fear not, for fear is as much a sin as anybother. Instead, trust in the Lord. For He is always with us. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

I AM THE RIGHTEOUSSNESS OF GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST…

John 8:31-47
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.[b]”

39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would[c] do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Absolute emotion and fortitude . In these verses Jesus is crying out to us. He is God in human form, and He cries out to tell us who He is. He is begging us to see Him. It is His appeal to us to accept Him, and at that moment…many did not. Guess what…He still loves us. He still forgave us. He still REDEEMED us. All of us. He even saved the Gentiles like you and I.

Hallelujah! I have read Matthew, Mark, and Luke all the way through, and shared every step of the way. I thought Matthew was emotional…John is a beast of emotion. He captured everything. And he captured from the perspective of a universal man. Not one swayed by religion. I implore you, read the Gospels. Start in Matthew and make your way through them all. It is beautiful.

I do not belong to the devil. There are times I fail and sin, daily, but God has forgiven me by sending His son to die on the cross and carry away the very sin I just committed 2 minutes ago. Yes…even the one I will commit in 2 minutes. Yes! Yes! Yes! I know…Wow!

Your are the Righteousness of God through His son Jesus Christ. Let me repeat…You are the Righteousness of God!!!! You are. Yes, you are. I am His Righteousness because of Jesus Christ!!!! How??? Jesus Christ…that’s how. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

We must look past our own eyes to see Him…

John 8:21-30
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

25 “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

I do not doubt who Jesus is. But I often wonder if I would have if I were alive then. Would I have followed the crowd? Would I have fearful of persecution and retribution? Many men were. Many great men were. Those that stuck with Him. The Disciples of Jesus were marked and died horrible deaths, yet they persevered. They spread the Gospel and were killed because of it.

So here I stand, alive and blessed. God knows what I would have done, He wants me to learn about myself. This happens through reading the Bible. As I read, I see so much of myself in so many of the people that He loved and taught. So many, that even though they did not believe in Him, He loved them and without fail He taught them. So many times He would speak and be questioned and doubted, but He spoke and taught anyway. Thank God for the unbelievers, for they give us the chance to learn of Him.

Throughout the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus teaches the doubters, the sinners, the lovers of this earth what it means to believe. He is speaking to us. He is teaching us. As He does, as he speaks, new believers are joining the Kingdom of God. He came and got me. He pulled the wool from my eyes and showed me TRUTH. He showed me love and forgiveness. He cane and got me. Just the way He has come for you.

So, with that, let us move past the doubt and speculation. He died for us and forgave all of us. We are now cloaked in His righteousness. Forever free of sin. Hallelujah! #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

His own witness…

John 8:12-20
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

If all we do is search in the perceived light of this world for verification, we will remain blind. However, if we look to His light, the light of the Creator, we will find understanding, acceptance, and love.

This is another example of the “learned” not being able to see Him. They could not tell who He was. They were searching this world for answers as to who he was. They would not be found here. The are only found in faith and belief, both of which were lacking. They were lost.

The testimony of two witnesses is true. Words spoken by Jesus Himself. Stand with a friend today, and both of you go forth and witness for Jesus. Just as He said it would, your truth will be believed.
#JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Jesus is Messiah…

John 7:25-44
25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[c] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Confusion and unrest. Law had blinded so many people  that they couldn’t see Him. They couldn’t see Jesus. They just kept reaching for understanding on this earth. They searched for proof and distorted it when they found it. The wool had been firmly pulled over their eyes. Sin blinded them. Jesus knew it. He tried to tell them, but they would not listen. For this reason, I am saved. For this reason He turned to the Gentiles and saved all.

I know you have experienced sin. You are human, and whether you know it or not you are cloaked in sin. Just as I am. More importantly, we have been covered in the blood of Jesus and cleansed of that sin. This happens when we believe in Him who God sent o save us. He has delivered us. The Jews that were confused by Jesus believed that if they followed the distorted law that they would be saved. Jesus came to earth as man and saved us, lifting the cloudy laws and clarifying it for us… He simplified it.

I don’t know what I would have felt on that day that Jesus stood up and announced that He was sent by God. I don’t know. I can tell you that I would have jumped on board with Him right away and believed, but I don’t know. I firmly believe in Him now. I know what He did for me. I know He saved me and that I will stand face to face with Him in Heaven and fall to my knees to worship for eternity. I do know that. But some days are difficult.

Somedays it takes all I have to pick up my Bible and read. Not because I don’t love Him with all of my heart. I do. But I get distracted by this world. By things that don’t mean anything. It takes discipline on those days. It’s starts with great fervor and energy, then comes the drudgery, then the discipline, then habbit. I know He is always with me, but honestly there are some days that I can’t feel Him with me and I have to go searching for Him with all I have. He has never failed to let me find Him. He knows just where to be so that I will find Him just at the end of my rope. That’s where the growth is. Hang on…He is on His way. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK