John 6:41-59

1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 min)

2) Scripture Reading - John 6:41-59

⁴¹ At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

   ⁴³ “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. ⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

 ⁵² Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

 ⁵³ Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

3) Devotional
Isn't it funny how hard it is to simply take Jesus at His word?  To embrace the life giving power of His Spirit?  To rest in the peace that comes from trusting in His word?  In this passage, He spoke some pretty life giving truths to His disciples, and all they could do is murmur over what He meant by the phrase "I came down from heaven."  They missed the essence of who Jesus is, and what He could bring to the relationships he hoped to have with them.

Men (and women) are a mysterious bunch!  I think our natural bent is to search out conflict.  People thrive in it.  We so often get caught up in and fight over, the insignificant details and miss the true essence of the Gospel.  Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost!  He cares about the poor and the marginalized.  He loves people and so desires to be their life giving bread. . . just because.

People like. . . Anthony Weiner.  I feel sorry for him.  Here's a guy who has seemingly lost his way.  At one time a potential NY mayoral candidate, and now a broken man, ready to resign his Congressional seat.  He made bad choices.  Truth of the matter is. . . we all make them, and its for people like us, that Jesus came to be life giving bread.

As a follow of Jesus, pray for Congressman Weiner, and for the people you know that need life giving bread.  Walk away from contributing to the innuendo or seamy gossip, and instead pray that God Himself would speak into their lives (yours as well), and bring forgiveness, healing and peace.  It's why He came!!

4) Questions to Consider
Is there someone in my life who I can build up with the truth of the Gospel and pray for each day, instead of belittling through demeaning talk?  Ask God to show you. . . and I believe He will.  What father would give his son stones if he asks for life giving bread!

5) Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to be a channel of your peace.  Help me to love with the supernatural life giving love that can only come from being in a trust filled relationship with You.  Use me to encourage ___________________ (fill in the blank) today, instead of tearing him down.  Let my words by like a soothing ointment.  In Jesus name, amen!

John 5:15-23

1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 min)

2) Scripture Reading: John 5:15-23

15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

 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.

3) Devotional

 In this passage there are several important lessons to be learned. I will focus on two of the lessons. The first lesson is about being judgmental. Jesus healed a paralyzed man on the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders judged and persecuted him for breaking the Sabbath rather than glorifying God for healing the man. What is more important, that the man was healed or that Jesus did “work” on the Sabbath? We must be very careful when we accuse people of sin and/or unrighteous behavior. Most times, we do not know the facts and the motives for why people do what they do and when they do it. The Jewish leaders chose to judge Jesus as a Sabbath breaker without knowing the entire story. They jumped to conclusions about the event, just like I do on many occasions.

The second lesson is that God is at work all around us at all times. When it comes to ministry work, we can do nothing without His assistance. God is sovereign over all things. If you do not feel Gods presence during worship, prayer and ministry, it does not mean that God is not there. In fact, He is there. We must become more intimate with God in order to see and feel Him as we attempt to walk closer with Him.

4) Questions to Consider

Are you quick to show someone grace or judgement?  Are you sensitive to what God is doing around and through you?  If not, what needs to change?

5) Prayer

Lord, You love us so much. Forgive me when I don’t recognize that you go with me wherever I go. Forgive me when I choose not to trust you and rely on my own will to do what I want to do. Finally, forgive me when I judge others rather than giving them the benefit of the doubt. Help me to walk as Jesus walked and become more like Him every day. And it is in the name of Jesus that I pray these things, Amen.