I AM: Discovering the Nature of Jesus!
Monday, March 1, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, You alone are worthy of my worship and praise, for You alone are God. Thank You so much for Jesus and for His willingness to become one of us, so that we could become one with You through Him. I pray that as I go about this day, my every thought, word and action will be committed to You, and that by Your Holy Spirit I will live in Jesus’ light, which leads to life, now and forever. I pray that You will bless every person who is in need of Your healing, saving touch. Use me as an agent of Your healing and love. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word Today
John 8:12, 21-27
12Jesus said to the people, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
21Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for me and die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”
22The Jewish leaders asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23Then he said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not. 24That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins.”
25“Tell us who you are,” they demanded.
Jesus replied, “I am the one I have always claimed to be. 26I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is true.” 27But they still didn’t understand that he was talking to them about his Father.
Reflecting on God's Word
What does it mean to you that Jesus is “from above”?
When was the last time you were confused by something Jesus said in the Gospels? How did you resolve it, or have you?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
What statement does Jesus make that confuses the Pharisees in today’s reading? (8:21)
How do the Pharisees respond to Jesus’ statement? (8:22)
Who does Jesus tell the Pharisees He is? (8:25-27)
Understanding God's Purpose
Why do you suppose that Jesus continuously made statements that the Pharisees couldn’t understand?
What is the most difficult thing that Jesus says in today’s Scripture from your perspective?
Applying God's Word to Our Lives
What do you need to apply from today’s Scripture in your life right now?
Thoughts... I Am Going Away...
Jesus told the Pharisees that He was “going away,” and that they could not go where He was going. The Pharisees immediately assumed that Jesus was going to kill Himself! They must have thought that Jesus was really crazy to assume that just because He said He was going somewhere they couldn’t come that He was going to kill Himself! The Pharisees never understood Jesus. Maybe they didn’t try, or maybe His perspective was so different than theirs that they simply couldn’t. Either way, we gain an important insight as His followers from today’s Scripture: When a person doesn’t identify with Jesus, it’s easy to make the assumption that He is a liar or a lunatic. After all, He said that He is God. If He IS God, and we don’t accept that, we will never understand Him. That’s what happened with the Pharisees! They couldn’t accept that He was God, so they labeled Him a liar and a lunatic. As we go about our daily lives, our assumptions about Jesus make all the difference—when we accept that He IS the Son of the living God, then we live with Him in charge of our lives. If we don’t, then He won’t transform us into the people He designed us to be. Let’s live so that the Pharisees false assumptions, don’t become ours!
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