THE WORD OF GOD  Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed…” —Luke 2:34-35  For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. —Hebrews 4:12              Light, whether it is the Word who became flesh or the written or spoken Word of God, exposes the thoughts and attitudes of the…

FEAR NOT, STAND FIRM AND TRUST OUR LORD!  For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. —Psalm 112:6-7              Those who have truly trusted Jesus, have received His righteousness and are proving that they truly have repented by the life they are living— these followers of Jesus will never be moved. There are “good works” in their lives showing they have truly called on His Name (James 2:14-26). So let me ask this question— What and where are the good works that truly prove you have repented and are following Jesus?             For…

IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION!   So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” —John 19:10-11  Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” —John 20:21  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these…

KING OF TRUTH  Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried…

EXPECTATIONS FOR FOLLOWERS OF JESUS  Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” —John 13:20  Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.  Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”  Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home…

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT!  And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.  I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. —John 12:44-46  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  To believe in Jesus is to believe in the Father.  To see Jesus is to see the Father.  Once we believe in Jesus we are no longer in the darkness but now…

HIS WORK BRINGS JOY AND REJECTION  As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. —John 9:1-3  Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast…

THE GODLY TEACHER  The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. —John 7:15-18  The Lord GOD has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to…

LIVE FOR THE ETERNAL, NOT THE TEMPORAL!  Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” —John 6:26-29  Jesus said to them, “I am the…

ETERNAL THIRST IS QUENCHED!  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” —John 3:8  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. —John 3:17-18  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son…