Creative Space for Wanderers
Read The story of Lazarus being brought back to life spread like wildfire. Many believed in Jesus while others somehow saw a completely different message. There’s a lot going on here for us to wrestle with, much of which I can only pretend to understand because I don’t have any firsthand experience with the Sanhedrin, …
I’m incredibly thankful for many things, but most of all for a God who isn’t fair. I’m thankful for a Creator God that loves us so much that he allows us to choose right or wrong in our own eyes, who honors wise choices, disciplines poor decisions, and loves us completely in any case. I’m …
Read Once again John provides a detailed story that demonstrates the humanity of the immortal, the love of God so vast that it transcends time and strikes us in the deepest parts of our being. I titled this, Jesus Wept, because I think this is the point of the story beyond His ability to raise …
The closing section of chapter 7 includes no words from Jesus. Instead, it’s a very brief debate between religious leaders as they try to figure out what to do with Jesus. As if their decision. When we zoom out a bit we see this is a midpoint of the discussion during the Feast of Tabernacles. …
Read The last section in this chapter challenges us all to accept that which is hard to understand. Those of us that have worn the Christian badge for many years might have a hard time understanding the challenge here, but I want to strongly encourage you (exhort) to read this chapter from the eyes of …
Read John records some incredibly striking words in the continuation of Jesus’s response to the religious leaders who were so upset that they literally couldn’t think straight. The passage begins with a discussion about who is testifying for whom. Then we read some very convicting words like, “nor does his word dwell in you” and “I …
Continue reading “John: Testimonies About Jesus — The Canal”
As we head into chapter 5, I found it interesting that the NIV Application Commentary suggests the purpose of chapter 5 is to begin building the case against Jesus (cite below this post). This outline is helpful to give us some context for discussion: The Crime () A man at Bethesda is healed on the …
Continue reading “John: Healing at the Pool — Do You Want to Get Well?”
If we could find a place beyond the city lights, on a clear night we would see a billion stars in the sky. Some of these, on closer observation, would be planets and moons, asteroids and comets. The wonder of the heavenly bodies would become apparent to us when someone reveals their existence. A constellation is a …
Read: I know we just discussed this here, but there is much more to say before moving on. As I read the NIV Application Commentary over and over again, I’m struck by the need to explain John’s statements further. The phrase that leaps off the page is the title of this post: God did not …
Continue reading “God Did Not Send Jesus to do His Dirty Work”
Read: The reading today takes us up to the infamous verse, . It’s important to remember the context, so the title I chose for this post is intentionally focused on Nicodemus. He’s the Pharisee that heard about Jesus and sought Him after hours, under cover of darkness. Jesus has a lot to say to Nicodemus …