Hearing God Through the Gospel of John

 Jesus and his disciples and his mom were at a wedding. His mom says to him "They have no more wine." And Jesus replies "Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come." And then she tells the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." And Jesus ends up saving the party by supplying more wine and making the hosts look really good. I find this conversation between Jesus and his mom fascinating. She calmly asks him to do something in a very subtle way - just stating the problem. But he gets it. He knows she wants him to do something. He acts annoyed. How strange! And she ends up changing his mind. Maybe he wasn't prepared to start his ministry of signs and miracles. But because he listened to his mom, he let her give him a little kickstart. Did God speak through Mary, maybe during a time when Jesus wasn't fully dialed in to his father? Like at the garden of Gesthemane, where he shows his dread of his death.   There's a lot here! I want to sit

 This is the part where John's disciples start getting curious about Jesus. They want to know where he's staying and he responds by saying "Come and you will see." Then Jesus gathers two more followers. He seems to already know them before they get a chance to introduce themselves. They all seemed to be excited and intrigued at the possibility of him being the Messiah. His first question to them was "what do you want?". Jesus wanted to know their intention. Although he already knew their hearts! He wanted/needed them to say it. I feel like this is important for me to see today. I need to see how Jesus is eager to hear our requests ... our needs .. our curiousities.  Lord, I am really quite mixed up a lot of the time. Like currently ... I have no idea how I feel about throwing this party for Brookly in 2 days. Also, I have no idea how I feel about house church. I have lots of guesses, but I don't know if I could unravel it into a simple statement.  So wha

This is the part where the priests came to ask John the Baptist. WHO ARE YOU? I love his response. He quotes Isaiah "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord'." He's so sure. And he doesn't say "I'm John from this place and I do this work, etc" He goes straight into his role for God, which seems to be such a dominant force in his life, that he gives himself the label: "The Voice of One Calling in the Desert". I LOVE THIS! What would I say? Imagine a group of church leaders come to my house and say WHO ARE YOU? I would say: "I am one who loves and serves the people God puts in front of me". John is clear on who he is and who he is not.  Am I? I'm getting there.  Lord, please help me today. Help me to be like John the Baptist - COURAGEOUS, HUMBLE and STEADFAST.  Help me to walk with your strength, knowing WHO I AM. Give me my identity and my mission daily. Make it crystal clear who I A

 v12 "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed his name, he gave the right to become children of God" The word receive kept popping up for me while we were studying this passage in church. He makes himself available and we just receive. I can share the love of Jesus with someone and maybe ... they will receive him. This is his will. His intention. This is the entire reason why he came.  A part of me wants to embrace this with zeal and go out to find people to share Jesus's love with. And a part of me just wants to be a comfortable Christian, keeping to myself.  The morning after house church, I shared with the Simple Churches prayer group that I have been wondering how to 'share' Jesus with my family members who seem so closed to him. From past teachings, I feel like I am supposed to just do it and remember that tomorrow may never come. I feel that is so icky. So desparate. Like a sales pitch. Or a project you need to complete. Something you can brag

The last few months, I've been exploring the possibility that I have bipolar disorder. During this time, I've been finding it very difficult to hear from God. The voices in my head feel loud and powerful. One voice in particular tells me that since I hear God so clearly during my 'manic' eposides, it must all just be a result of my disorder. I am making it up and it''s not really God.  But I know that God is real and that he speaks. And I also know that he uses the Bible to speak to us.  Our house church will be studying the Book of John, so I already have these resources: - "Life Lessons from John" by Max Lucado - "Finding I Am" by Lysa TerKeurst - "JOHN: Jesus - the Word, the Messiah, the Son of God" by John MacArthur  My blog entries will include nuggets I glean from the bible, as well as reflections on how it applies to my life. In this sense, it will be very much documenting my spiritual journey in 2022. The year I turn 45 and