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John 6:16-24
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

A following. A group to lead. Not lead them to some place magnificent in their, but rather a place of magnificence because that is where Jesus is. People were will to cross the sea to get to Jesus and His disciples. It was worth it, and they noticed. It was their eyes that made the observation, but it was their heart that prompted them to move.

We all have those times when we are unsure of where to go next. Which direction to turn, what friend to lean on in times of trouble. In those instances, many times we are weak and indecisive. It is that moment that we worry and concern ourselves about the things of this world and forget to follow Jesus.

When all else is falling apart and withering away, there will always be one constant. And when I say Always, I mean ETERNITY! Forever. It is Jesus. Jesus is the rock, the cornerstone, foundation of our lives, and if we choose to follow Him, that action will save the lives of hundreds even thousands people.

Today, let us choose to seek Him as soon as we get up in the morning. Let us give Him our first fruits. As we actively seek Him through prayer and Reading scripture, we have FAITH that God will answer our prayers and that His will be done in every situation.

Lord we thank you. We love you. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray for all those that do not know you. We pray that they find you so that their lives will be come a living sacrifice for you name.

Amen
DK

The miracle is incredible, but yet it happened. Jesus is the Son of God…

John 6:1-15
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

“Lord, I ask that you help me with my unbelief this day.” Perhaps that is something we should all day every morning, and ever night. We simply do not have the capacity to love at the level that Jesus lived without His gifts to us. Through Jesus were are made pure and righteous, sobrhst we can freely accept the gift that had been unearned.

Jesus was super – aware of the goings on around Him. He was aware of those that wished Him dead, as He held the keys to all secrets. Many began to show their intent to crown Jesus and fight for those that wanted the power. This was not what He came for…

He came for us…you and I. He came to save not to destroy. He came to provide an example to live by, and it is a perfect example. In God’s time, all will be revealed and we will all be going home. Before that day, let us ask His will to be done on our lives. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Jesus had three to testify for Him, as He did not begin His ministry by testifying about Himself…

John 5:31-47
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[d]?

45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

John the Baptist was the first to testify about Jesus to the world. The second testimony came in the form of His miracles and works. The third and final witness to testify for Jesus is the Word of God. These were the three required by Jewish tradition, belief, and law.

So then, why didn’t the “religious” of the day not see Him? What blinded them? The answer is the same thing that blinds many today. Reading and acquiring knowledge for personal gain rather than for the gain and glorification of the Father.

Jesus performed miracles on the Sabbath deliberately to make sure that those that were stuck in tradition and law would learn. Hiwever, in order to learn, they must have God in their hearts. The Word is alive and it lives in us. It is activated through reading, faith, and believing. The very scripture that the “learned” Jewish officials lived on was actually blinding them. They failed to acknowledge Jesus was the Messiah because after all they would’ve known right?

Jesus reminds them that because of this, they will be judged by Moses rather than He who had come to deliver them. The point…move past law and towards a standard higher than rules. God will see Jesus rather than your sin, and as He does, you are forgiven. Ransom paid. Freedom granted. Eternal life awaits. Love poured out into us.

Now, we can witness for Jesus. We can do this daily. We are called to testify and speak the Gospel to all. We are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. We are to love ourselves, and then love our neighbors. So, ask Jesus to come into your life, step toward what you have been called to do, and speak the mighty name of Jesus. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Walking in the authority og God the Father…

John 5:16-30
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

At no point did Jesus act without the approval of God the Father in Heaven. When He healed, whether it was on the Sabbath or not, He did not do it unless He was instructed to do so by God. Those that were stuck in law could not truly see Him who was sent to set us all free if we believe.

Jesus walked this earth with authority as the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Messiah. As He did, He taught us how to love. Each interaction and conversation with those chosen in the Gospel was tailored to fit them and give them the most valuable of testimonies.

Such is true for for our lives as well. Our Faith can be different, can look different, can feel different. But friends, a person with just a mustard seed of faith can move mountains. Faith and love are powerful actions. Add Hope and watch out, for it is Hope that pulls you through when Love and Faith may seem fleeting. Hang on…

He will come again soon, and when He does, what a glorious day that will be. Until then, God use me as your will sees fit. Here Am I, Send ME! #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Another healed…

John 5:1-15
1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] [b] 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Stop sinning. This is exactly what it means. Stop sinning, or worse could happen to you. Those were the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ then, and they are His words now. Worse could happen to you.

Ask for help. Ask Him. He will respond. We must listen when He does. You will get clear direction from the Holy Spirit. That was a promise from Jesus as well, a Spirit that is always with us to help guide us as we grow toward God. Son, hiqever, can cause us to fall away or divert from God’s plan in our lives. He never fails and He will make it right, but if we would only listen the first time.

Get up, grab your mat, and walk. Amen! Can you picture the scene? How amazing that must’ve been to see that in person. We are all hurting in one way, shape, or form on this earth. It’s not home. The devil was given free feign here, and he tries daily to get us and drag us away. He is good at it. Don’t try to fight Him alone. You need Jesus to conquer the devil, like He did so many times in His life. Run to Him, and always get up and walk. #JesusSaves

Listen to what the official demands…

John 4:43-54
43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.

46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.

54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

Jesus did not even have to go and see the boy. He healed him from a distance. He did it through the faithful the Father of the boy. The Father believed and demanded that Jesus come down and heal his son. Expectation!

You think we should ask like that? It isn’t wrong to demand what we need from God. He will listen. Many times He will give you what you ask for. Many times not. But one thing is for certain, it will be in His time and not ours. His plan and not ours. We must understand though, that unless we ask we will never receive. That is truth.

“Sir, come down before my child dies.”, was the officials statement. In the name of Jesus politely demand what you need right now. Say it clearly, so that you will hear it as well as God. Pray. Ask, Seek, Knock…ASK. Knock until your knuckles bleed. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

One witness changes many…

John 4:39-42
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when Samaritans came to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days. 41 And because of ahis words, many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer just believe because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the World.”

Powerful stuff right there. This woman, as you remember, was just getting water at the well and met Jesus. She felt unacceptable, unforgivable, separated from all that is right. Jesus offers her freedom and salvation despite her circumstances because He knows her heart. He knew she would tell others. He knew she would be His witness here on earth. Wow!

As she began to tell others, they believed her. Why? Why would they believe her? It is my belief that they believed her because she now walked with the Holy Spirit and the power that it brings. She had accepted Jesus at the well, and God’s promise is always fulfilled.

It is time to share how we came to know Christ with others. Thre are many others that need to hear it from you. That is why He chose you. Because He knew that you would share your story and be a witness for Christ He chose YOU. It is time to activate. Not only activate yourself, but to activate others with the power of the Holy Spirit that you possess. It is His gift to you. Let’s act on that today! Share… #JesusSaves
Amen
DK

You reap what you sow, and sow what you reap…

John 4:27-39
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Sow my friends. It is what we are called to do. If someone told you that you are to plant a tree that you will never sit in the shade of, would you still plant it? The answer is YES! We are sent to spread the news, not hold it for personal gain. Jesus has come and will come again. Do not be fooled by your eyes. Listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

Be fulfilled, not just filled. If you hunt for what your stomach wants only, will not your soul thirst and hunger for more? It will and it does. Daily you fill your belly yet I am almost sure that you can recall one moment where you satisfied your flesh yet yearned for calmness in you soul and heart. That is what Jesus is talking about.

You can chase what your eyes and ears hear and see, but it isn’t until your heart and soul are fulfilled with the love and forgiveness of the Holy Spirit that you will find rest and peace. The love of the Father trumps all things. It is enough to make you fall to your knees and praise the God of the Universe.

Let us sow today, and reap the gift of Jesus Christ from God the Father. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Drink from the well of Living Waters…

John 4:1-26
1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

What was to be the back wayhome, became the revealing His Truth to a Samaritan woman. Revealed for all of us to know. Jesus was our access to Living Water, and thus woman was so blessed to hear it from Christ Himself. Wow!

In meeting Jesus, this woman had been allowed to witness the initial tearing down of the barrier that kept us from God. The tearing down of sin and distortion of His Truth had begun. No longer we going to have to jump through hoops to supposedly have access to God. Jesus was here to eradicate all of that nonsense that man had placed between us and God. Jesus was here to quench our thirst.

To never be thirsty again. What a beautiful product of His love. Living Waters will flow through us and into others from us. This conversation can be had now with all of those that we as believers come into contact with. We can share the way Jesus did.

The woman was sitting with the Messiah at the well. She was with the One who brought truth to this world. And now, He lives in all of us. Jesus saved us all. Spread the Good News! #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

John knew it, as should we all. We have a calling. We are to be filled and allow our blessings to bless others…

John 3:22-36
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[h]

31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[i] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

John is so faithful and receiving of the gift that God so graciously bestowed on all of us. He knew what was to come. He expected it to come as it was written long before he set foot on this earth. Without a shadow of a doubt John knew who Jesus was, even if it meant the end of his ministry. John knew that it was his time to step aside allow others to receive as well.

God has this calling on all of our lives as well. We are to prepare the way for others. Our testimonies are to be used for the benefit of others. We become living, breathing examples of His graciousness and love. We are not to use this gift to further our own interests for they do not belong to us. Because we are His, all gifts bestowed upon is are His. They are gifts given to all believers to once again be given away.

Once we understand this and we begin to give away the gifts that are so gratefully and graciously given to us, our lives will be filled to the point of overflow. At this point, we will receive so much blessing that many times they will go unnoticed. All of the wishes and dreams that we thought meant so much to us, will fill our lives and flow from us to others around us. It is how He works.

It is summed up in this great story:

There Are Two Seas in Palestine…
The Sea of Galilee is beautiful. It has blue water and is full of fauna and flora. Life exists. Trees line its banks where children splash and play. The Jordan River makes this sea, flowing from the sunny hills. And life is happy and vibrant around this sea.

Through the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River continues to flow south. Into another sea the cool rolling waters flow. Into the Dead Sea. Here there are no fish swimming, no birds flying above, no families sunning near the shoreline. No man or animal will drink the water here. Life does not exist and no one wants to be here.

One might ask: What makes this enormous difference between these neighboring seas? Could it be the Jordan River? No. The same flowing waters empty into both bodies. It is also not the soil, not the people, not the geography.

So what is the difference?

The Sea of Galilee receives, but does not keep the Jordan. For every drop that flows into, another drop flows out. The Sea of Galilee gives equally as it receives.

But the Dead Sea keeps the Jordan. It has no outlet. Every drop it gets, it keeps. It is not tempted to share and stockpiles its incoming waters aggressively.

There are two seas in Palestine. The Sea of Galilee gives, lives and flourishes. And the Dead Sea keeps everything, shares nothing and is dead.

We are to be the Sea of Life through Jesus Christ.

Amen
DK