Live the Word Bible Studies

John Study 30: 21:1-25

Dear Student of the Word,

Well, here it is.  This is the last study in our series from John's gospel. What a great feeling it is to finish another book in the New Testament. What's more, with ten more studies, I will have finished the entire New Testament in verse-by-verse studies by the end of May, 2010.  I will take three weeks off before I begin sending out studies from 1 John.  But before we look at an excerpt from this week's study, may I wish you and yours a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Now let's look at one of the days from John's study

v. 24 – John finally revealed that he was the secret disciple whom Jesus loved.  It is interesting that Jesus had a favorite disciple, one He loved more than the others.  Or is that what John was saying here?  If he wasn’t saying that, why would he go out of his way to say that Jesus loved him, when we know that Jesus loved them all?  Is it offensive or inappropriate to think that Jesus would or could love one disciple more than the others, sort of like someone having a lot of friends, but one being the best friend? 

Is it possible to love one of your children more than the others and still be a good parent? I think it is possible.  How much more can a perfect God love a disciple with distinction without diminishing His love for the others?

v. 25 – Jesus was a busy man!  He was constantly on the move and did more than could possibly be recorded in His three and a half years of ministry.  John was an eyewitness of much of that and we know, as he wrote in the previous verse, that his testimony is true and accurate.  How do we know?  We know because the Spirit bears witness with your spirit that it is true.  Plus John wrote to exalt and honor Jesus and not to promote himself, as evidenced by his hesitancy to identify himself as the beloved disciple.

As we close this study of thirty weeks, we see that John wrote with purpose and chose to include the things Jesus did to support his purpose – that readers would believe that Jesus is the Son of God!  John could have included more, but did not. 

You don’t have to do or be it all to serve God. You can take your perspective and gifts and allow God to use them for His purpose and glory.  John told a story from his experience with the Spirit’s inspiration and it was true to who he was.  The same can happen to you. I am not implying you can write more of the inspired Word of God; that has already been done.  You can, however, be true to who you are and perform deeds that are consistent with your insight and passion.

So as we close, I pray that this special gospel study has ministered to your needs. I know it has to mine. I have learned a lot about the Lord and His work through Jesus.  John’s gospel has not always been my favorite, for I felt it was hard to understand at times.  This verse-by-verse study has helped me appreciate the beauty of John’s work and the story it has told of Jesus’ magnificence. 

The things that stand out to me as I close are:

1. Jesus was clear about who He was in an indirect kind of way. Those who did not want to see would not see, but those who wanted to do so heard loud and clear that He was the Son of God.
2. Jesus had enemies, not the least of which was Satan himself.
3. John’s gospel did not feel compelled to repeat stories of the other three gospels, making it unique.  I want to be unique in what I do as well.

Let’s close this study in prayer:

Father, I thank You for the grace to finish this work.  I commit it to You and Your watchful care and ask that You would use this study so that men may come to know you more fully.  I pray that You will breathe on this study and take it to places where men and women need the Word.  I pray that people will read this and see You, while they know that another John has endeavored to write about the Lord He loves.  Lord, this work was and is a labor of love for You and I thank You for the privilege of looking into Your word and seeing things, by Your grace.  Amen.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 30

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LETTERS FROM KENYA:   Please, please take the time to read my latest update on the Sophia Fund and the Deborah Foundation here, this time written by three Kenyans. You will see how critical this work is from those who are touched firsthand.  Then give as you can this holiday season.  Your giving will make a big difference in the lives of many children and adults.

Not a lot of money arrived this past week, but a lot of stuff did.  I have no idea how I will get all this over to Kenya, but I am not worried.  I have people going with me in February and we will take as much as we can.  I truly believe that God will work all this out, so I refuse to fret for even one minute.

After you read these updates, I hope you too will act to help today as we approach the Christmas holiday.  I need money and supplies to feed and educate them in a difficult environment. I am grateful for your prayerful and prompt response to the children's needs.  If you need more background or information, go to my blog to see my latest posts or go to my Facebook page. I will figure out a way to get everything to Kenya.  You just figure out a way to get them to me. 

NEXT STUDY:  Remember, you won't receive another study from 1 John until the first week of January. Happy New Year!

John Study 29: 20:1-31

Dear Student of the Word,

We are close to the end. The next installment will be the last one in our study of John's gospel, which we began last January.  I hope you have enjoyed the studies as much as I have, and learned a thing or two along the way.  This week, we look further at the events that came immediately after Jesus' resurrection, including His first appearances to the disciples.  This week I wrote on day seven of this seven-day study:

20:28 – Thomas’ response was to worship the Lord!  He identified Jesus as God and worshipped Him as such.  As I have said throughout these studies, if Jesus accepted this worship and He was not God (which of course He is), then He is worse than a false prophet.  I sat that because some will read scripture and determine that Jesus was a holy man, a righteous prophet, and a moral leader.  He is all those things, but He is also the Lord God, who is worthy of all our worship and praise. 

Thomas responded as every human should respond to Jesus.  Do you like or admire Jesus, or do you worship Him?  There is a big difference.

v. 29 – Jesus told Thomas that he believed because Thomas had seen Jesus scarred body.  Yet He proclaimed that those who have not seen and believed are blessed.  God by His grace appeared to Thomas, giving Thomas what He had required in order to believe.  Jesus did not have to do that, but He did it out of love for Thomas.  This makes me think of what the Lord did for Gideon when Gideon requested and received more than one confirmation of God’s will to bolster Gideon’s faith:

Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised- look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water (Judges 6:36-38).

While you can ask for a “fleece’ like Gideon and Thomas did, there is no guarantee that the Lord will provide one for you.  So best to settle the faith issue once and for all, and learn to trust the Lord with as few stipulations as possible. 

v. 30 – John reported that Jesus did many other miraculous signs for the disciples, also aimed at bolstering their faith for the future work He had for them to do.  Have you seen any miracles?  Do you expect to see any?  When was the last one you witnessed?  Was it personal or for someone else?

v. 31 – John was clear in his purpose for writing and for including the material that he did:  he wanted the reader to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  It’s good to work with purpose.  Do you know why you are doing what you are doing?

John knew that once the reader believed in Jesus that he or she would then have life in His marvelous name.  Do you have life in all that you do?  Answer truthfully.  Are there activities and roles you play that take life from you and don’t give life to you? Then how connected are those activities to your faith in Christ?  What adjustments do you need to make so that you will have life?

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 29

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HELP IS ARRIVING:  A lot of books, toys and other children's supplies arrived this week for The Deborah Foundation. What's more, $155 came in for The Sophia Fund.  I wrote an update on The Sophia Fund the other day, including two emails from Kenya that describe what the latest Sophia Fund allotment has meant for their work. You can read about it here. 

After you read the update, I hope you will act to help today as we approach the Christmas holiday.  I need money and supplies to feed and educate them in a difficult environment. I am grateful for your prayerful and prompt response to the children's needs.  If you need more background or information, go to my blog to see my latest post or go to my Facebook page. I will figure out a way to get everything to Kenya.  You just figure out a way to get them to me. 

DAILY PROVERB: I am now posting a short daily devotional focusing on one verse every day on my blog site. If you would like to read it or subscribe to receive it, just go to my site and register there. I promise to have it updated every day.

John Study 28: 19:17-42

Dear Student of the Word,

It has been two weeks since your last installment from John's gospel. There will only be two more until we are finished when we will move on to John's epistles.  This week we study Jesus' crucifixion, the most heinous form of execution man has ever devised.  This week I wrote on day four of this seven-day study, which you download below:

v. 28 – It seems that fulfilling Scripture was of paramount importance in this whole story in Jesus’ mind.  John told us in John 13 that “Jesus knew” and in this verse He knew as well that His mission was nearing an end.  It helps if you “know” what season or time it is in your life. Then you can act accordingly.  What’s more, God wants you to know.  So where are you going and do you now what time it is?  Here is an example of what I mean:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

Paul knew his purpose and the work God had given him to do.  He could say with confidence that he had finished it.  If Paul knew and Jesus knew, you and I can know, too.

v. 29 – Jesus had said he was thirsty and in some small show of compassion, He was given a drink of vinegar.  I am not sure that is what I would want to drink in that situation, and it was interesting that they had wine vinegar nearby.  Jesus had begun His earthly ministry by changing water to wine and ended the first phase by drinking wine that had soured and gone to vinegar.  Jesus drank the cup of suffering that the Father had served and He did it with no shortcuts or easy steps.  Having thirsted for God’s righteousness, He was now given wine vinegar to satisfy His human thirst. 

v. 30 – Jesus took the drink, the final act in this whole sad but necessary drama.  He had received the best that man could give Him at that point – wine vinegar – and then it was time to expire.  Jesus bowed His head and died, or rather it says that He gave up his spirit.  It was not taken from him; He gave it up. This reminds me of what Jesus said elsewhere:

“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10:18).

Are you willingly laying down your life to the will of the Father?  This is to be just as Jesus said: You must pick up your cross and follow Him, dying daily to self and the desires of the flesh. 

v. 31 - Jesus died on a Friday, the day the Jews prepared the Passover, and a special Sabbath was at hand the next day.  The Jews wanted to clean up the road in preparation for the Sabbath celebration, so they asked Pilate to hasten the death of those crucified by breaking their legs.  A crucified person could last for days on the cross, dying an agonizing death and drowning in his own bodily fluids that would fill the lungs.  When their legs were broken, those crucified could not lift themselves up to breathe, using the foot stand to which their feet were nailed. So the Jews wanted them to die faster than it would take without any such intervention.

This again reveals the hypocrisy of the Jews, who wanted Jesus hung but then wanted any evidence of the hanging gone so they could celebrate their Passover and Sabbath.  There is a bit of the Jew in me, for I also want to maintain my religious façade while doing evil deeds, without feeling the slightest pangs of conscience.  Help me, Lord!

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 28

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THE SOPHIA FUND & DEBORAH FOUNDATION:  Books, toys and money have begun to arrive for our Christmas project for the Kenya orphans, with promises of much more to come. This is so much fun to sit back and see what will happen with all this.  I am grateful for your prayerful and prompt response to the children's needs.  To read all about what's going on, go to my blog to see my latest post or go to my Facebook page.  I need books and educational toys and I need you to help me get them. I will figure out a way to get them to Kenya.  You just figure out a way to get them to me. 

I also need help to continue feeding the orphans and widows there from The Sophia Fund.  When you do your Christmas shopping and giving this year, please remember The Sophia Fund and The Deborah Foundation.  I know you will be blessed when you do. 

John Study 27: 18:28-19:16

Dear Student of the Word,

Only three more studies after this and we will finish John's gospel.  It took us all of 2009 to get through, but we have just about made it, by God's grace. This week we look at Jesus' time with Pilate from John's perspective and we learn some things that the other gospels did not include.  In this study, I raise the question of how John knew so much of what happened between Pilate and Jesus, especially since John's gospel was written years after the other gospels.  We will never know.  We don't need to know, however, for there is plenty to study and focus on in this week's account.  This week I wrote on the seventh day of this seven-day study:

v. 13 – Pilate indicated that he was ready to pass judgment as he sat down on the judgment seat.  Perhaps Jesus’ words caused him to be less afraid of the decision as he was about to sentence Jesus to death.  This scenario was ominous and strangely reminiscent of what will take place at the Last Judgment, when God will sit on His throne and judge men.  Here man was judging God.  Pilate was a willing but reluctant player and the Jews were the protagonists. 

v. 14 – It was the day of the Passover celebration, so what meal did the disciples eat with Jesus the night before?  Did they move their Passover dinner up a night because of what would take place with Pilate?  At any rate, Pilate tried once more to impress the people with the gravity of who Jesus was and what they were proposing to do.  The people had their king before them and they cried out that He should be crucified.  In other words, they ordered the slaying of Jesus the Passover Lamb so that all those who apply His blood would be saved from the avenging angel. 

v. 15 – The people shouted that Jesus should be taken away and crucified. Pilate was still bewildered by their demands, or perhaps he was mocking them at this point.  They wanted to crucify one who proclaimed to be their king and he was amused.  He had already washed his hands of the matter and was not in the final stages of passing sentence.  Perhaps he enjoyed the scene of the Jews making fools of themselves, hanging an innocent man.  At any rate, Pilate had done all he could do at that point.

v. 16 – So the Jews declared that they had no king but Caesar and they spoke the truth.  They had rejected God as their king back when they demanded a king in the time of Samuel and nothing had changed.  Those Jews did not want God ruling over them. 

But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.  And the Lord told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do” (1 Samuel 8:6-9).

So Pilate gave the order and handed Jesus over to be crucified.  From then on, the soldiers were in charge of Jesus and would do what needed to be done to kill Him. 

Forgive us, Lord, for there is a part of me in each one of those involved in this story. I am part the mob, choosing rebellion over submission.  I am part the leaders, who want no King over them but my own limited perspective. There is part Pilate in me, who knows the truth but is too cowardly and weak to carry it out.  And there is part soldier in me, who wants to treat you as I choose and not as you deserve.  Forgive me, Lord.

Can you identify any parts or actions of this cast of characters that are a part of your life, past or present? 

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site
where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 27

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THE SOPHIA FUND & DEBORAH FOUNDATION:  Books, toys and money have begun to arrive for our Christmas project for the Kenya orphans, with promises of much more to come. This is so much fun to sit back and see what will happen with all this.  I am grateful for your prayerful and prompt response to the children's needs.  To read all about what's going on, go to my blog to see my latest post or go to my Facebook page.  I need books and educational toys and I need you to help me get them. I will figure out a way to get them to Kenya.  You just figure out a way to get them to me. 

I also need help to continue feeding the orphans and widows there from The Sophia Fund.  When you do your Christmas shopping and giving this year, please remember The Sophia Fund and The Deborah Foundation.  I know you will be blessed when you do. 

John Study 26: 18:1-27

Dear Student of the Word,

I trust that you are well and in the Word on a regular basis.  I hope that these studies are contributing toward that end in your life. This week we move into John 18 where Jesus is arrested and the events leading to His death unfolded quickly and in secret.  This week I wrote on day seven of this seven-day study:

v. 25 – I am told that the question was posed to Peter in such a way that a ‘no’ answer was expected.  Peter, who was ready to face the Roman army on behalf of his Lord, lost his nerve when he had to face the upper echelon of his own people, the Jews. This was not the last time he would lose nerve in the face of Jewish peer pressure, for many years later, Paul had to confront him about some hypocritical behavior:

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray (Galatians 2:11-13).

v. 26 – Malchus’ relative also recognized Peter as having been in the Garden with Jesus.  This all happened just as Jesus predicted:

Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” (John 13:37-39).

Jesus knew Peter better than Peter knew himself, which is no great revelation.  The interesting thing is that we don’t always believe that someone, including God, can know us that well.  I recently had a man come to me who is my age and has had all kinds of job problems.  When I gave him the advice I had and told him what I saw him doing, he politely but categorically rejected what I said.  Now, that is his prerogative and I cannot hear the Spirit for him or direct his life.  Yet he was so confident that he could correct what he had messed up that he quickly and arrogantly brushed aside what I was saying. 

I can’t judge Peter too harshly because I have done the same thing!  I have a master’s degree in economics, but it took me many decades to acknowledge that I am not such a good money manager.  I would mess up and then redouble my efforts to get a handle on things.  I never listened to anyone else; I knew better. Where do you know better than anyone else, thus missing what the Lord may be trying to tell you through them?

Peter knew better.  He was brash and brave but now he was face-to-face with himself and all his weakness.  It was a painful experience as Peter had to look at the reality that he had been denying.  That denial led him to another – the denial that he even knew Jesus, His Lord and Master.

v. 29 – At that moment, the rooster crowed, just as Jesus had predicted and Peter had denied the Lord three times.  I wonder if Peter ever heard a rooster crow again and failed to think of that moment in his life.  When God brings you face-to-face with the ugly side of you, it isn’t meant to be pleasant.  Yet it doesn’t have to be fatal, either.  You can face your own dark side and come out stronger, just like Peter did. 

Later in this gospel, we will see how Jesus made Peter face and relive this incident, not to rub Peter’s nose in the mess, but to help him come to grips with the call and purpose of God on Peter’s life. That purpose could not be accomplished in the same attitude and blind confidence that Peter had expressed in John 13.  It had to be done in the spirit of humility and sense of his need for God’s help in his life.  Are there any lessons in this story for you?  What aren’t you facing that you need to face?  What failure are you trying to cover up or get away from that God wants you to face so you can learn and grow? 

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 26

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KENYA VIDEOS:  I invite you to watch two short videos that I shot at the orphanage I visited in Kenya a few weeks ago. The children sang me a song and the founder said a brief word of thanks.  Once you watch them, read the post below and do what your heart moves you to do to help these children and others like them.

THE SOPHIA FUND & THE DEBORAH FOUNDATION:  I announced last week a new initiative in time for Christmas that will allow you to help me open learning centers all over Kenya.  We will start small, but will deliberately work to help the orphans in Kenya learn how to love books and learning.  You can play an important part in making this happen.  To read all about it, go to my blog to see my latest post or go to my Facebook page.  I need books and educational toys and I need you to help me get them. I will figure out a way to get them to Kenya.  You just figure out a way to get them to me. 

I also need help to continue feeding the orphans and widows there from The Sophia Fund.  When you do your Christmas shopping and giving this year, please remember The Sophia Fund and The Deborah Foundation.  I know you will be blessed when you do. 

John Study 25: 17:1-26

Dear Student of the Word,

It is my privilege to bring you yet another installment from our study of John's gospel. We are nearing the end and have only five more studies after this one, which should allow us to finish John by year's end.  This week we look at Jesus' lengthy prayer in John 17, which is full of evidence that Jesus is divine.  Here is what I wrote on day seven of this week's seven-day study:

17:24 – Was Jesus referring to His heavenly dwelling here?  He wanted His followers to see Him in all His majesty, the majesty that came from the Father on high.  Jesus loved His followers so much that He wanted them to be with Him wherever He was.  That is love!  Jesus wasn’t praying that He could take a break or have a rest.  He pursued His mission to the end and His mission was fellowship with His own as He had fellowship with the Father.  That is pretty impressive in my mind.  Yet again, everything Jesus did, was and is, is impressive.  What unselfishness the Father and Son exhibit. 

The Father loved Jesus before the creation of the world.  That means that they had fellowship before creation, which means that Jesus was eternal, which means that He is God.  As stated earlier, I have never seen these proofs of Jesus’ divinity as clearly as I have seen them in this study.  Thank you, Lord!

v. 25 – The world does not know the Father, and that includes those Jewish leaders who were about to kill Jesus.  They were part of the world’s system and they could not accept Jesus or His disciples.  Jesus called the Father “righteous,” for His ways are only good and pure.  Unrighteous men constantly question God’s intentions and motives, wondering why God would do this and why He doesn’t do that.  Jesus, who has beheld the Father in all His glory, can say that He (the Father) is righteous.

v. 26 – The Son had made the Father known to His followers and will continue to do so.  He will do this so that the love of the Father that is in Him will also be in His followers and so that the Son will also live in the followers.  What a magnificent cooperative effort, where the Father and Son share all things so that each may be revealed and glorified in the disciples.  There is no territorialism in the Father and Son. They share with one another freely.  They also share with those who believe in them as well.

As you can tell, this entire chapter has impacted me as I have studied and written.  I have never seen the interconnection between the Father, the Son and the believers as I have in this study.  We are not just observers in this process, we are participants and we share freely in the love and unity of the Father and Son.  We have the same love in us and their presence and glory are revealed to us.  Praise You, Lord! 

There is no way to participate in these blessings without first putting faith in the Son, Jesus Christ.  He is the door to all of these blessings and the union with God the Father.  Jesus did not say He was one way to the Father; He said He is the only way.  Therefore, anyone who wants this union with God but who does not want to obtain it through Jesus, cannot obtain it any other way.

Jesus was clear as to who He was, His relationship to the Father and what He could provide for His followers.  For there to be another way to the Father makes Jesus a liar, which cannot be the case.  You and I have the good news of this way to God, which is why we must urgently share it. There is no other way to God. 

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 25

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RETURN HOME:  I just returned from a great visit to the UK and Kenya but I am ready to get back to work here at home.  I visited the ministries who are receiving The Sophia Fund money and I was pleased with what I saw.  I will have a report for you soon.

I am also planning to start what I am calling The Deborah Foundation, which will begin to establish children's libraries and learning centers around Kenya.  I will announce a special Christmas promotion when I will ask you to buy an educational toy or book for the children (ages 8 and under) and send it me.  I will then transport them over and set up three such centers next year.  Watch this space for more information in the weeks to come of how you can buy a toy for the Kids in Kenya. 

And don't forget to give your $5 or more to The Sophia Fund.  When you see the pictures and read my report, I know you will see what a good investment it is and how much good it is doing.  For now, you can read my last report on The Sophia Fund here, which includes instructions on how to give. 

John Study 24: 16:1-33

Dear Student of the Word,

Greetings from cloudy England! I have had a great visit so far, having spoken six time - reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.  I have been doing a lot of writing while here, working on this week's attached and working on school papers.  I feel at times like I am more productive while on the road simply because there are less distractions:  I sit in my hotel and write. 

At any rate, this week we proceed into Jesus' words in John 16, where He spent a great deal of time comforting the disciples concerning His imminent departure.  Their relationship would change for the better once He had left, for the Spirit would come to lead, teach and guide.  Yet it was not easy for the men to grasp that at that point.  So this week I wrote on day three of this seven-day study:

16:12 – Jesus was full of things He wanted to say as He prepared to depart.  Yet He knew that the men were not ready to receive it all.  Jesus knew the hearts and condition of those who followed Him.  I want the same kind of sensitivity.  I know I have shared too much with some who were not ready to hear what I had to say.  I was not sensitive to their situation or their ability to accept and comprehend the truth, or at least the truth as I saw it.  Help me, Lord, to be a good shepherd like Jesus was and is.

v. 13 – Jesus did not have to share it all, for the Spirit was coming who lead and guide them into all truth. We see the Spirit working and moving in the book of Acts, as these same men came to realize more fully their purpose and the work God had called them to do.  What’s more, the Spirit gave them the power to do it all. 

Jesus promised that the Spirit was coming to continue the work and teaching that He had introduced. This Spirit was coming from God and was God, or else He could not have done what Jesus promised He would do.  The Sprit would not speak on His own initiative, but would share what Jesus said according to the Father’s purpose.

v. 14 – Jesus came to glorify the Father, the Spirit would glorify Jesus the Son.  And the Father would glorify them both.  The Spirit is a teaching Spirit, for He takes what belongs to Jesus and shares it with Jesus’ followers.  Therefore the Spirit must know who those followers are, another indication that He is the Lord God Himself.  He knows all things and teaches all things.  I know I have never seen such biblical evidence for the reality of the unity in the Godhead as I have in this study of John.  Can you see it too? 

v. 15 – So the Spirit will take what belongs to Jesus and share it with the disciples, but all that Jesus has came from the Father.  Do you see how interconnected they are?  How they take from one another, glorify one another and are unified in their work and purpose, even though their roles vary?  I have seen more on this subject than I ever have and I am grateful for what God is showing me.  These studies over the last eight years have changed my life.  I know they have changed others as well, for they have told me so.

v. 16 – Jesus told them a bit of a riddle, that they would not see him and then see Him again.  We look back and know that Jesus was referring to His death and subsequent resurrection.  The disciples did not understand and could not even comprehend it fully when He did come back to life.  That is what Holy Spirit came to do: Provide the witness and conviction that Jesus was and is alive.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 24

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1. THE SOPHIA FUND UPDATE:  I will be in Kenya next week and have set a time to visit the orphans and those overseeing The Sophia Fund when I am there.  I am excited and grateful that the fund continues to grow. You can read my latest report on The Sophia Fund here (written about three weeks ago).  You can also read about my rationale for The Fund here (named after my late mother).

Now that the Revelation Project is complete, please consider a contribution of at least $5 toward the fund and hopefully more. You can use the "Chipin" widget on the Monday Memo site to contribute, or go directly to my website to contribute there through PayPal, or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Make sure you let me know it is for The Sophia Fund. Don't delay; give today and make a difference in the world.

2. DAILY PROVERB: I am now posting a short daily devotional focusing on one verse every day on my blog site. If you would like to read it or subscribe to receive it, just go to my site and register there. I promise to have it updated every day.

John Study 23: 14:25-15:27

Dear Student of the Word,

We continue our journey through John's gospel this week and look at Jesus' last words to His disciples. This week we look at Jesus famous words about bearing fruit and abiding in the Him as a branch would abide in a vine. On the fifth day of this seven-day study, which you can download below, I wrote:

15:14 – The relationship with Jesus isn’t one of servant and master, but one of friendship. It is easier to stay in a servant relationship where you say, “Lord, I will do whatever You want me to do.” That is a good thing.  Yet God wants your relationship to grow and develop to the place where you perform His commands not because you are ordered to do so, but because you choose to do so, before you are ever commanded to do this or that. Many are comfortable with being God’s servant; they are less comfortable with being God’s friend.  Are you a friend of Jesus?

v. 15 – If Jesus no longer thought of the disciples as servants but friends, then the disciples should see themselves as friends as well.  The same is true for you.  There may be a time of training and discipling when you are a servant and God directs you very specifically.  Yet the goal isn’t for that to be perpetuated, but that you graduate to become a friend at some point in time. Jesus wants to share the Father’s business with you – the ways and things of God – and once He does and you prove your faithfulness, you can be a friend and not a slave.  Does this make sense?  Do you want to be a friend of God?

Friends are not ordered to do this and that.  They do things out of love, not compulsion. They also do things from the heart.  Are you a friend of God or a servant of God?  Yes, you are both, but the ultimate goal is for you be a friend in your service to Him.

v. 16 – Jesus stated that He chose you and me to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.  There are some who see this as a statement that the Lord made only to those present at the Last Supper and that they in turn went and bore fruit all over the world.  I would think that this address was given to those men on behalf of all disciples everywhere for all time.  That is why the Spirit had John record this:  not as a historical report but as a mandate for the future.

If that is true, then it leads to a few questions you must ask yourself:

1. What is my fruit?  What has God appointed me to produce?
2. Where should I go?  What is the sphere or world in which God wants me to bear     fruit?
3. Are my prayers being answered where my fruit is concerned?
4. Is my work and fruit glorifying the Father?

v. 17 – Jesus kept returning to the main point of His message: Love one another. Yet this command was not new at all, for Jesus referred to it when asked what the greatest commandment was:

This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:38-40).

Do you love your brothers and sisters?  How can you tell that you do?

v. 18 – Jesus warned that the world, those not part of God’s family, would not love the disciples. They hated Jesus and would hate His followers.  Does this hatred surprise you?  It should not, for the hatred, while directed at you, is really hatred toward God!  It is hard to imagine that anyone would hate our God, but they do and they take their hatred out on His saints. 

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 23

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1. GOOD NEWS FOR THE REVELATION PROJECT!  Hallelujah!  We reached our goal!  Enough money came in to get the matching grant with a little extra left over.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for your help, giving and prayers that enabled us to see this campaign come to a successful conclusion.  Now I will work on cleaning up the manuscript and will try to have it published by year's end.  I will keep you posted.

2. THE SOPHIA FUND UPDATE:  I will be in Kenya from September 28 to October 4 and have set a time to visit the orphans and those overseeing The Sophia Fund when i am there.  I am excited that the fund continues to grow.  Last week about $200 came in again and I am truly grateful.  You can read my latest report on The Sophia Fund here (written about three weeks ago).  You can also read about my rationale for The Fund here (named after my late mother).

Now that the Revelation Project is complete, please consider a contribution of at least $5 toward the fund and hopefully more. You can use the "Chipin" widget on the Monday Memo site to contribute, or go directly to my website to contribute there through PayPal, or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Make sure you let me know it is for The Sophia Fund. Don't delay; give today and make a difference in the world.

3. DAILY PROVERB: I am now posting a short daily devotional focusing on one verse every day on my blog site. If you would like to read it or subscribe to receive it, just go to my site and register there. I promise to have it updated every day.

John Study 22: 13:31-14:24

Dear Student of the Word,

It's been two weeks since your last post from John's gospel, so I am sure you are ready to hear from me again (well, maybe I am just hoping you are ready).  This week we continue with Jesus' discourse at the Last Supper, where He gave His followers much that would only make sense later, after His resurrection.  This week I wrote on day four of this seven-day study:

14:6 – How did the disciples know the way?  They knew because they knew Jesus.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  Jesus then made a statement that many would challenge then and today: that He is the only way to the Father.  They would say that this is true only of those who have heard of Jesus.  If anyone is sincere, then perhaps there could be another way to the Father.  Jesus was clear:  No one comes to the Father except through Him.  Who does the “no one” cover?  Why, it covers everyone!

Rather than debating whether or not this is true, we need to be spending our time declaring it to everyone without earshot.  If it is true, then we have a message that many must hear who have never heard it, for Jesus is the only way. What are you doing to promote world missions and the propagation of the gospel to the ends of the earth?

v. 7 – Jesus could declare with confidence that anyone who knew Him also knew the Father!  Anyone who had seen Jesus had also seen the Father! That is another bold statement Jesus made. No other prophet could say that, but Jesus was more than a prophet. He was and is the Son of God!

v. 8 – Philip indicated that the disciples didn’t fully understand what Jesus was trying to tell them.  He made a simple plea known:  Show us the Father and we will be happy!  That is the cry of every human heart, whether each person realizes it or not.  We were made to know the Father.  We try to substitute many things for that knowledge, but those things never fill the void or satisfy the need to know God. 

While this is the heart cry of many, the rebellion in man’s heart still says, “I want God, but I want Him on my terms.  I want to come to Him the way that is most meaningful to me.”  So you have man seeking God, but often seeking Him in ways that are most sensible to each and not according to the way God established, which is through Christ.

v. 9 – Jesus mildly rebuked Philip for making such a statement.  Jesus told them that they should know that they could see the Father when they beheld Him.  They were still not seeing clearly, but Jesus was about to change all that by doing what He had to do in the next few days.  Paul later summarized for us what Jesus was trying to say here:

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority (Colossians 2:9-10).

Do you fully comprehend and grasp the nature of your relationship with Jesus?  Do you understand what that enables you to do in regards to your relationship with the Lord God? 

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 22

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1. YOUR URGENT HELP NEEDED!  As I wrote three weeks ago, I had a major breakthrough in my attempt to publish my Revelation Studies. A donor made a matching grant challenge for the month of August, promising to match every dollar donated with another dollar of his own.  Last week $100 came in, so that means we have $700 of the $4,000 needed to publish. I am still confident the rest will arrive by August 31, but you must act fast to help me make what I am calling The Revelation Project a reality. 

Every dollar you give will be doubled this month, so when you give, you are exercising good stewardship.  What's more, you will be part of publishing and distributing this work that will help reclaim Revelation as a rich devotional book of victory and worship!  You can make a contribution this month by going directly to my website to contribute there through PayPal, or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Please make sure you mark you donation for Revelation and don't forget that every dollar you give is actually two until August 31.

2. THE SOPHIA FUND UPDATE:  Last week, I posted a new report from Kenya concerning The Sophia Fund.  You can read it here.  $50 came in last week for The Sophia Fund, and I am always blessed when people and readers respond. I am heading to Africa in late September and will check on the status of our donations then to make sure all is going well.  As you know by now, I am using the money to feed AIDS orphans and widows in Kenya and Zimbabwe. You can also read about my rationale for The Fund here (named after my late mother). Even though I am raising money for my Revelation Project, I will not neglect The Sophia Fund.  The orphans and widows need our help now more than ever.

Please consider a contribution of at least $5 toward the fund and hopefully more. You can use the "Chipin" widget on the Monday Memo site to contribute, or go directly to my website to contribute there through PayPal, or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Make sure you let me know it is for The Sophia Fund. Don't delay; give today and make a difference in the world.

3. DAILY PROVERB: I am now posting a short daily devotional focusing on one verse every day on my blog site. If you would like to read it or subscribe to receive it, just go to my site and register there. I promise to have it updated every day.

John Study 21: 13:1-30

Dear Student of the Word,

I missed a week last week, so you are overdue for your next installment of God's Word as we study John's gospel together. This week we move into John 13, where Jesus washed the feet of the disciples.  Then He said that He expected them to do the same for one another.  This week I wrote on day six of this seven-day study:

13:23 – Jesus said that one of the disciples was going to betray him, yet none of them knew who.  So a disciple whom Jesus loved was sitting next to Him.  Does this mean that Jesus had a favorite among the group?  Apparently He did!  Does this offend you that God may have one He loves more than the other?  When you hear something like that, it is almost impossible to fathom because for us it smacks of favoritism or something unfair.  Yet God can love all and still have His special friends, such as Moses, Abraham or David. Don’t you have a best friend along with other friends?  Does that make you biased against some because you love one most?  Not at all!  That is how it is with God.

v. 24 – Peter wanted to know who the traitor was, so he directed to the disciple to ask Jesus who it was. When you don’t have the answers to life, ask the Lord! Peter knew that Jesus would tell the disciple He loved.  What secrets are you asking God to reveal to you?  What don’t you know that you would like to know, but don’t know because you haven’t asked to know?

vs. 25&26 – So the disciple asked and Jesus was ready to tell him who it was.  He did not tell Him directly, however, but He did something symbolic to indicate that it was Judas.  He dipped a piece of bread and gave it to Judas to eat.  The traitor was willing to take bread from Jesus on minute and betray Him the next. There are some modern portrayals of Judas that make him out to be a sympathetic figure who was confused, concerned for Israel or disillusioned.  While those portrayals may make for interesting conversation, they are misdirected. Judas was a thief who saw a chance to make money on Jesus and did it.

There are still many who make money off Jesus one way or the other.  Paul even said that some men make money off the preaching of the Word:

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God (2 Corinthians 2:7).

And then there are others whose livelihood is damaged when the Lord arrives on the scene. They usually react violently, even in modern times. 

About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty” (Acts 19:23-27).

Judas was eager to make some cash off His relationship with the Lord. Be careful that you don’t ever do the same thing, for Jesus was clear concerning the ramifications:

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matthew 6:24).

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, Colossians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download John Study 21

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1. REVELATION PROJECT UPDATE!  As I wrote last week, I had a major breakthrough in my attempt to publish my Revelation Studies. A donor made a matching grant challenge for the month of August, promising to match every dollar donated with another dollar of his own.  Last week $135 came in, so that means we have $270 of the $4,000 needed to publish. I am confident the rest will arrive by August 31.

Every dollar you give will be doubled this month, so when you give, you are exercising good stewardship.  What's more, you will be part of publishing and distributing this work that will help reclaim Revelation as a rich devotional book of victory and worship!  You can make a contribution this month by going directly to my website to contribute there through PayPal, or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Please make sure you mark you donation for Revelation and don't forget that every dollar you give is actually two until August 31.

2. THE SOPHIA FUND UPDATE:  Only about $10 came in last week for The Sophia Fund. I am heading to Africa in late September and will check on the status of our donations then to make sure all is going well.  As you know by now, I am using the money to feed AIDS orphans and widows in Kenya and Zimbabwe. I posted a report from Kenya on the last payment I sent there that you can read on my blog. You can also read about my rationale for The Fund here (named after my late mother). Even though I am raising money for my Revelation Project, I will not neglect The Sophia Fund.  The orphans and widows need our help now more than ever.

Please consider a contribution of at least $5 toward the fund and hopefully more. You can use the "Chipin" widget on the Monday Memo site to contribute, or go directly to my website to contribute there through PayPal, or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Make sure you let me know it is for The Sophia Fund. Don't delay; give today and make a difference in the world.

3. DAILY PROVERB: I am now posting a short daily devotional focusing on one verse every day on my blog site. If you would like to read it or subscribe to receive it, just go to my site and register there. I promise to have it updated every day.