Volatility
Volatility
John 18
Two times in this chapter, Jesus says, I AM who you say I am. Three times in this chapter, Peter says, I am not, who you say I am.
Then the slave girl who kept the door said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you? He said, ‘I am not.’
Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves...Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, ‘You are not also one of His disciples, are you? He denied it, and said, ‘I am not.’
One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with Him?’ Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.
The volatility of Peter has always been an interesting study of mine. He tells Jesus He will die with Him; Jesus tells Peter He will be a rock in his service to Jesus; with great courage, Peter pulls out his sword and takes (misguided) action when the soldiers come to rescue Jesus...but then he denies he knows Jesus 3 times in a matter of a few minutes. What's with that? Read more
Not of this World
Ryker wanted an accordion for Christmas from a street vendor in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Not of this World
John 18
Therefore, Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’... Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.’
Therefore, Pilate said to Him, ‘So You are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king. For this reason, I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.’ Pilate said to Him, ‘what is truth?’ John 18:33-38
(please be sure to read the verses above before you read my post below).
My Life in this world
I like my life. Primarily, I have the peace of knowing Jesus as my Lord and Savior. The general purpose of my life and my eternal destiny are set. By faith, I know that to be true. I do experience trials and difficulties, some of them have been fairly intense. But the Marco-view of my life is secure and rests in the grace and Sovereignty of God.Read more
John 18
John 18
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kindron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priest and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ They answered him, 'Jesus the Nazarene.’ He said to them, ‘I am He.’ So, when He said to them, ‘I am He’, they drew back and fell to the ground.
Therefore, He again asked them, ‘whom do you seek?’ They said to Him, ‘Jesus the Nazarene.’ I told you that I am He, so if you seek Me, let these go their way.’
This chapter contains the betrayal, arrest and trials of Jesus. It’s a chapter of contrasts. It’s a chapter of God’s power, sovereignty and loving sacrifice. It's also a somber chapter of greed, hatred and betrayal. In spite of the greed, hatred and betrayal, Jesus was in complete control. The deeds of the conspirators produced God's intended results. Jesus fulfilled His mission, the reason He came to earth. Read more
Someone’s Praying
I know where you can get a Christmas sweater! Some how, I resisted the temptation to buy it myself. :)
Someone’s Praying
John 17
Have you ever heard someone pray and you knew immediately that this person and their prayer was something special? I heard a woman pray several years ago at our Wednesday prayer service and I was mesmerized. She was intimately acquainted with God. That fact was crystal clear from the moment she opened her mouth. There was nothing routine about this prayer. She was passionate, intense, humble and worshipful.
In this chapter Jesus is praying to the Father, out loud and with great detail. It is a wonder! It gives us a picture into the intercessory prayer ministry of Jesus. Other passages tell us that Jesus is going to the wilderness to pray, that He prayed all night or in others sections, Jesus teaches us how to pray. But here in chapter 17, we see the actual content of His prayer. It is Jesus praying. There is not another portion of scripture like it. Read more
So That
Merry Christmas from the Bennett's. They are our life-long friends from Northern CA.
So That
John 17
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You. John 17:1
Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that Scripture would be fulfilled. But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. John 17:11-13
That they may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent me. John 17:21
(Please note that Jesus used the words "that" and "so that" in His prayer. I’ll refer to it later in this post). Read more
These Things
Today, Leigh and I fly to Bulgaria to spend Christmas and New Years with these guys!
These Things
These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full, John 15:11
These things I have spoken too you so that you may be kept from stumbling. John 16:1
These things I have spoken to you so that you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
What are these things? I want to know what these things are. Why? Because whatever these things are, they bring what everyone in this world is looking for. Jesus said these things will bring you and me: Read more
A Grain of Sand
A Grain of Sand
In Ben Bergeron’s the book, Chasing Excellence: A Story About Building the world’s fittest athletes, a young world-class athlete recaps the critical aspect of the training process that Bergeron took her through leading up to winning the 2015 and 2016 CrossFit Games. There was, of course, the relentless dedication to time in the gym, building strength and stamina, repetitively focusing on the fundamentals. But the real difference was the grueling application of training in the area of mental strength and mental stamina. Read more
That’s Not Nice
My daughter, Beri, sent this picture and said, “This is Nate at International Basketball camp (the shorty). He kept getting moved up to more advanced groups. My friend’s seventh grader said to her, “it’s weird guarding Nate because he’s so tiny but if I don’t guard him, he scores.” Nate is in 3rd grade. I’m kinda proud.
That’s Not Nice
John 15:18-26
If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you...But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hate Me without a cause.’
These things I have spoken to you so that you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
In my apartment complex in Houston there is a coffee room with a couple of machines that can create all manners of coffee. As I was leaving the room with both an espresso and a regular cup of coffee, I noticed that some careless person had spilled their coffee on the floor. Down the hall a worker was mopping the floor. I mentioned to him that someone had spilled coffee just outside the coffee room. As I said it, I gave a smirk as if to say with my facial expression, boy, some people are just careless and sloppy. He smiled and walked toward the spill. Read more
We Have a Theme!
Picture from a Christmas party for one of my departments, the Business Development group led by Nate Olsen!
We Have a Theme!
Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13
If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:14
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7
You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. John 15:16
I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I noticed a pattern here in Jesus’ upper room, 2-minute warning pep talk. Read more