AFRAID TO TRULY BELIEVE

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.”

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

John 12:37-43

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The days of Jesus’ ministry were coming to an end. He had labored hard to help people find salvation through believing in Him as the promised Messiah, the One who would come to deliver them. Through those labors, He had performed many, many miracles, acts that left all those who witnessed in amazement because no mere man had ever been able to do what He had done before.

And yet, despite His efforts, many people still refused to believe in Him, something that should not have been surprising as the prophet Isaiah had not just predicted Jesus’ coming but His rejection when he said:

“Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 53:1

The prophet would also explain why the people chose to not believe, saying:

“He (the Lord) has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.”

By introducing Jesus into the fold of mankind, God gave all people a chance to see His great love for them, a love that intended to save them from their sins and allow them to live with Him forever. All the people had to do was believe in His Son. Those who chose to believe were those who opened their eyes and hearts to graciously accept God’s offer. Conversely, there were people who refused to accept God’s gift and place their belief in His Son. They were the ones who became spiritually blind with hearts that were hardened from an unwillingness to understand what God was trying to do for them through His Son.

So we know that many people refused to believe because they chose to not receive Jesus as their Messiah Savior, resulting in them becoming spiritually blind with hardened hearts. But this wasn’t the only reason people decided to not follow Jesus in full. Others opted to not publicly make their beliefs known because of the fear of rejection. Look again at these words from today’s passage:

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

Here we have people who believed internally but that belief was artificial because it failed to stand up to the test of faith and courage. These leaders wanted to have one foot in Christ and the other in their social standing, particularly in regard to the synagogue. Rather than risk being evicted from the synagogue by the Pharisees by pronouncing their allegiance to Jesus, these people remained silent. As the scriptures explain, they “loved human praise more than praise from God”.

Why is this part of the Jesus narrative important to us today?

Because perhaps we still have many people in our world who are afraid of the way they will be viewed by others if they proclaim their belief in Jesus. Perhaps people are more afraid of the opinions of others - whether family, friends, or work connections - than they are the consequences of rejecting Jesus. They are unwilling to turn from the world to the One who can save them from it. Or they hold hope that everything will remain the same if they choose Jesus when the very truth of the matter is that receiving Jesus as Savior immediately changes everything. As Paul put it, a person born again in Christ becomes a new creation, their past gone as things spring up fresh (2 Corinthians 5:17).

So the question becomes, “How much are we willing to surrender for the Savior who surrendered everything for us?”

The leaders in our scripture passage were too attached to human praise to give it up in exchange for God’s praise. They desired the acceptance and approval of the world more than they wanted the acceptance and approval of their divine and holy Maker and Master.

In regard to this message, where do you stand today?

Have you freely sacrificed your desires and accepted the desires God has for you through Christ Jesus, His Son?

Or are you afraid to truly believe in Him, more interested in human praise and the opinion of mere mortal people than you are in securing your place in eternity with the God who wants to live with you forever through His Son?

The choice is up to each of us and I pray today that you have made your choice to believe in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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ARE YOU WALKING IN THE LIGHT OR IN DARKNESS?

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the Light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the Light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the Light while you have the Light, so that you may become children of Light.”

When He had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid Himself from them.

John 12:34-36

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Jesus was in Jerusalem for His final week of earthly human life. He fully knew His destiny, that in just a few days He would suffer and die by crucifixion to pay the price for the sins of all mankind. This bitter end was the will of His Father and Jesus would be obedient to Him the entire way.  

Of course, Jesus also knew that His death was not the end. For He understood that God, His Father, would lift Him up from the grave through resurrection power, bringing Him from death to life before returning Him back to the heavens to sit at His right hand in authority over heaven and earth.

A price was required to bring salvation to all people and Jesus was that sin sacrifice that would bring atonement to all who would believe in Him as Savior.

This message of salvation to all people was important in first century AD because the belief at the time was that salvation belonged only to the Jews. Anyone who was not a Jew was without hope, that is until Jesus came. Through Him, the opportunity for eternal life would be offered to the Jew and the Gentile. All could qualify if they placed their trust in Jesus, the One who was the only way to the Father as He would proclaim later in this Gospel (John 14:6).

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus had proclaimed Himself as something else and this directly applies to the words found in today’s scripture passage as Jesus addresses a group which included some Greeks in the area outside the temple, the area designated for Gentiles to pray, the area that had been used as a marketplace before Jesus cleared it for its proper use.

Here’s what Jesus had said about Himself earlier:

“I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

With this as a backdrop, now look at today’s passage from John’s twelfth chapter:

The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the Light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the Light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the Light while you have the Light, so that you may become children of Light.”

When He had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid Himself from them.

Note here the people listening to Jesus were getting confused by the number of names used to describe Jesus. The name “Messiah” was very familiar to them through the words of the Law and the prophets but Jesus referring to Himself as the Son of Man had them confused. So we find Jesus shifting the discussion to matters that would be simpler to talk about: light and darkness.

As we saw prior, Jesus had declared Himself as the Light of the world and now He lets them know that the Light would only be with them a little longer. In fact, Jesus would be dead on the cross in just four days. And so He encouraged His listeners to walk with the Light while the Light was still with them. They were to avoid the darkness because without light present, there is no way to see the direction one is going. This is why the darkness is Satan’s domain. He wants to keep people from the Light because if they found it, then they would see they were heading in the wrong direction and change course to walk with and in the Light. Jesus encouraged everyone gathered to believe in the Light and follow it for this would be the only way that they might be children of the Light (or in other words, seen as intimately connected to the Light like family).

Indeed, today as it was then, people are called to come to the Light of Jesus before the darkness of Satan and sin overtakes them. That darkness could even be extended to dying without having been saved, a situation that would destine someone to live in eternal darkness and the torment of damnation.

And this leads to the question which forms the title for this message:

Are you walking in the Light or walking in the darkness?

The answer hinges on your relationship with Jesus.

If you have one, then you are walking in the Light as He is the Light of the world, the Light who has come to lead all people out of darkness and into salvation.

However, if you have rejected Jesus then you have rejected the Light and chosen to live in darkness instead, the place where Satan and sin abide.

The good news today is that you can come to the Light if you have been walking in darkness. Jesus is ready to receive you if you would just surrender your life to Him, repent of your sins, and commit yourself to live as He did, following His will and way as you help seek others who are in the dark find the Light themselves (Matthew 28:18-20).

For there’s no higher calling we have been given by God, our Maker and Master, than to live in the ways of Jesus, ways that will always bring us into the light.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

GLORIFIED

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”

Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.”

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to Him.

Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not Mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.”

He said this to show the kind of death He was going to die.

John 12:20-33

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It was Monday, the day after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. After spending the evening in Bethany, Jesus came back to the city, only to find money changers and salespeople having turned the place of prayer for Gentiles, located outside the temple, into a marketplace. You’ll recall His words to those who were denigrating a holy spot:

“Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” Mark 11:17

In regard to the house of prayer for all nations, Jesus was quoting the very words of the prophet Isaiah (56:7), scriptures the people should have been familiar with.

Not coincidentally, there were a group of Greeks present. It’s obvious they were God-believers but not willing to convert to Judaism, thus their relegation to pray in the court occupied by the money changers, the court outside the actual temple grounds.

We read where these Greeks approach one of Jesus’ disciples, Philip, with a request. They wished to interview Jesus (the words “to see” actually conveyed an interest to interview Jesus). Philip took the request to his counterpart Andrew and they both in turn told Jesus about it.

As we look at our passage, we find Jesus making the first comments, saying:

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.”

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!”

Before I go much further, we need to look at the words “glorified” and “glorify”.

The first, “glorified”, is defined as representing something so it appears more elevated or special. Through His words, we find Jesus telling His listeners that His time had come to be elevated to a high and special place. Now conventional wisdom would lead a person to believe that this would happen by doing something in life but Jesus was anything but conventional.

You see, Jesus knew that He would be glorified through death in order so He might bring life to others. This is why He uses the analogy of wheat, an analogy that would be easily grasped by those presence who were familiar with agriculture and how things grew. A kernel of wheat could not produce new life in the way of other wheat plants if it didn’t first die and fall to the ground. In other words, it provided a greater yield in death than when it was alive.

Jesus knew that in order to bring eternal life to sinners, He had to first die and pay the sin penalty that was on them. It was the only way to remove God’s judgment and bridge the separation between all people and their Maker. Before He could be lifted up in miraculous glory by God through resurrection, Jesus had to first lose His life.

This same principle applies to all people who wish to be resurrected and experience everlasting life themselves. They need to follow the lead of Jesus and be willing to give up all in order to gain everything. This means surrendering our will for the will of our Lord when we choose to believe and follow Him. Through Christ, we will enter into glory after our life of serving God through Him, just as our Savior did. Indeed, every servant of Jesus will be honored by their Heavenly Father who longs to spend forever with them.

Conversely, note that anyone who is unwilling to give up their worldly life in exchange for following Jesus will lose it when death comes. They will not be glorified but rather be damnified, not gaining salvation but entering into eternal torment. This is a place no one should want to be.

Back to Jesus who had full knowledge of what He would have to endure. Great suffering was just ahead for Him as He entered Jerusalem to live His last week of human existence. And yet, He did not begrudge His destiny. Rather, He longed to glorify the name of God through obedience.

This leads us to the word, “glorify”. It means to make magnificent by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration. Jesus longed to bring honor to God, His Father, who was supremely magnificent and omnipotent. It was His chief desire to do this through submitting completely to His Father’s will.

It’s of critical importance that all Christ believers know that are to follow the lead of Jesus. In other words, to be Christ-like. Following the will of God is not for the faint of heart. It requires great sacrifice and indeed many disciples every day are laying their lives on the line (and sometimes losing them) for the cause of Jesus and the God who sent Him.

Well, as we go back to the scriptures, imagine the amazement of the crowd gathered when suddenly a voice thundered from the heavens proclaiming this in regard to Jesus:

“I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

To which Jesus said:

“This voice was for your benefit, not Mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.”

Those plotting Jesus’ death, led by the spirit of Satan himself, were sure that killing Him would put an end to this Christian uprising. With Jesus out of the world, Satan, its prince, could reign supreme.

But that’s not the way it was going to go.

In describing His death, Jesus made it clear that His crucifixion followed by His subsequent resurrection and lifting up from the earth would drive Satan out. Jesus would have the ultimate victory and that would extend to anyone else who placed their belief, hope, and trust in Him. They would be drawn to Jesus and be lifted up into glory themselves and live with Him and God forever.

And this opportunity would be open to all, whether Jew or Gentile such as the Greeks who asked for an audience with Jesus. Through His words, He told them (and reminded us) that the best is ahead for all Christ believers but before that time comes, it’s important to surrender our own will for the will of the Father so that He might be glorified by all we do.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com