He knows, He cares

S: John 10:9-18

⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them. ¹³ The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and doesn’t care for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; ¹⁵ even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. ¹⁷ Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.”

O: Jesus knows our troubles and he cares. He is our good shepherd. He lays his life down for us.

A: As we go through the difficulties in life, we can trust God cares for us.

P: Father, as we go through these difficulties, though we are tempted to feel there’s no solution, there’s no way out, we know you always keep your promises. You know our struggles and you care. And you were wililng to lay down your life for us. O Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Dia Mengerti, Dia Peduli
(He knows, He cares)

English translation of the song:

Verse 1
Sometimes we feel
There is no open way
No more time
It’s too late

Verse 2
God never lies
He always keeps His promises
For those who believe
Miracles are real

Chorus 1
He understands, He cares
About the problems that are happening
He understands, He cares
About the problems we are facing

Chorus 2
But one thing He asks
Is that we believe
Until the miracle becomes real

Lessons from the man born blind

S: John 9

O: Bad things are not always someone's fault.

The blind man’s parents were scared of the Pharisees’ decree and said, “He is of age. Ask him.”

The blind man was convinced Jesus was of God because of the miracle, but the Pharisees had already declared him a sinner because of their prejudice against his not fitting their preconceived notions.

A: I have to be careful when things don’t fit my theology. Don’t put God in a box.

P: Father, give me the wisdom to change my mind when it’s correct to do so, but not be blown by every wind of doctrine. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

As the blind man was sitting there by the way,
He cried to Jesus for mercy that day.
Jesus commanded and gave him his sight.
As he followed Jesus, I'm sure he cried,
 
 
"Jesus passed by my way,
And He made me whole that day!
Just a sinner was I, but then Jesus passed by,
And, Oh! What a change in my life
Since Jesus passed by!"
 
 
And just like that blind man, I wondered along
In the darkness of sin I was always alone.
But one day I met Him, and He made things right!
And, Oh! What a difference when Jesus passed by!

Jesus: before Abraham came into existence, I AM

S: 

John 8:1-11 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now very early in the morning, he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him. He sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in the middle, they told him, “Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act. Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What then do you say about her?” They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of.

But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger.

They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle. Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?”

She said, “No one, Lord.”

Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.”

John 8:54-59 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God. You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.”

The Jews therefore said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?”

Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”

Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.

O:

The Jews knew exactly what Jesus was saying when he said, “I AM.” They knew from Exodus 3:14 who the I AM was - YHWH, God. In the context of that culture then, it was a clear claim.

Jesus is God. He claimed it and he proved it by His miracles.

A:

Jesus is our example — loving the sinner while not condoning sin. God does not desire the death of sinners, but their repentance. Once we have come to Him, we need to live as children of God and follow Him. So we have to go and sin no more.

P:

Father, thank you for sending your son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I want to stay away from sin and obey you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mysteries & Contradictions

S:
John 7:40-44 Many of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, “This is truly the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “What, does the Christ come out of Galilee? Hasn’t the Scripture said that the Christ comes of the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”  So a division arose in the multitude because of him.

O:
We know the solution to this prophecy problem because we have the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke. Matthew 2:1-6 tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, while Luke 2:1-7 explains why these Galileans were there in Bethlehem in the first place. 

But it’s interesting that John doesn’t tell us this part of the story. If we didn't have Matthew and Luke, we would have been left with a mystery or contradiction. It makes me wonder, how many of our mysteries and contradictions in scripture are because of such lack of information? Perhaps all of them.

A:
Given the overwhelming evidence that Jesus is trustworthy, in those cases where we have such mysteries and contradictions, we will have to exercise faith that we can trust Him that there’s an explanation, even if we don’t know what it is yet. It’s OK to say, “I don’t know yet.”

P: 

When You don’t move the mountains I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers as I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

Truth is, You know what tomorrow brings
There’s not a day ahead You have not seen
So, in all things be my life and breath
I want what You want, Lord, and nothing less

You are my strength and comfort
You are my steady hand
You are my firm foundation; the rock on which I stand
Your ways are always higher
Your plans are always good
There’s not a place where I’ll go, You’ve not already stood

When You don’t move the mountains I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers as I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

It is good to fear Yahweh

1 Chronicles 16:8-36 

[8] Oh give thanks to Yahweh. Call on his name. Make what he has done known among the peoples. [9] Sing to him. Sing praises to him. Tell of all his marvelous works. [10] Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice. [11] Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more. [12] Remember his marvelous works that he has done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth, [13] you offspring of Israel his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones. [14] He is Yahweh our God. His judgments are in all the earth. [15] Remember his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, [16] the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac. [17] He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, [18] saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance,” [19] when you were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it. [20] They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. [21] He allowed no man to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes, [22] “Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!”

[23] Sing to Yahweh, all the earth! Display his salvation from day to day. [24] Declare his glory among the nations, and his marvelous works among all the peoples. [25] For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods. [26] For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens. [27] Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and gladness are in his place.

[28] Ascribe to Yahweh, you families of the peoples, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength! [29] Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship Yahweh in holy array. [30] Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is established that it can’t be moved.

[31] Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice! Let them say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns!” [32] Let the sea roar, and its fullness! Let the field exult, and all that is in it! [33] Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth.

[34] Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. [35] Say, “Save us, God of our salvation! Gather us together and deliver us from the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise.”

[36] Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. All the people said, “Amen,” and praised Yahweh.

I was at the MenAlive Time Out 2024 Faith Ablaze and they recommended we use the SOAR method for these devotions.

Share a quick take: Which one or two points really grabs your attention?

vv 25-26 For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens.

Observe: What does God seem to be saying and revealing to you?

Yahweh is the creator. I need not fear idols, spirits, etc. but I need to fear Him. Awe of Him should overwhelm me.

In light of the above, fear of Yahweh should keep me from sin. It’s like what Jimmy Swaggart confessed after he fell: “The problem was not that I didn’t love God. I loved Him. But I didn’t fear Him.”

I have a similar danger. I need to fear Yahweh. I love Him, but the fact that I still give in to sin shows that I don’t fear Him enough. He is holy. He does not tolerate sin. I must not allow my trust in His grace and forgiveness to stop me from fearing Him. The consequences of sin are terrible, as we saw in David’s life.

Action: Share what specific action steps that you will now take in light of what God has spoken to you.

When the temptation comes to linger my eyes on those sexy advertisements that pop up online, on those girls in midriff-baring outfits I must bounce my eyes. Remember to fear Yahweh! Remember the wrath of God and the consequences.

Similarly, when I go to sleep, I need to guard my mind. Prepare myself with good thoughts.

Then I can praise and rejoice in God in purity and without hypocrisy. Then I can rejoice together with the heavens and the earth and be glad. I then can join them and say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns!” Let the sea roar, and its fullness! Let the field exult, and all that is in it! Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth.

Request for prayer: What is your specific prayer request for yourself in light of this?

Father, You know how hard it is for me to do the above. I want to be intimate with You. I want to honour You and my wife. I want to fear You with great reverent awe and stay far away from sin. I want to celebrate with creation and praise You in purity and holiness. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mind-blowing

S: John 6

O: Jesus fed 5000 families with 5 loves and 2 fish, then sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee where they encountered a storm.

I remember Pastor Daniel Ho's joke from maybe 20 years ago: When Jesus came walking on the water to them in the middle of that storm, they cried, "Hantu!" But Jesus replied, "Bukan, Tuhan." 🤣 Indeed, that's pretty much what it says - makes a great pun, if you know Malay. (Hantu = ghost, Tuhan is how "The Lord" is usually translated in Malay Bibles.) That detail is left out in John's account, but is in Matthew and Mark's accounts.

Then, the next day, when the crowd found him again in Capernaum, they revealed that they were more interested in the physical food of Jesus' feeding miracle than the spiritual food of Jesus' teaching, and he related the manna of the Exodus with himself being the Bread of Life. This is of course before the Last Supper and his sacrifice on the cross, and many left him because he said that their ancestors ate the manna bread and yet died, but if they eat his flesh bread and drink his blood, they would have eternal life and be raised up on the last day.

John tells us that many disciples outside the 12 left him at that point. It just blew their minds when he said we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. How would I have taken it at that point, not knowing about Holy Communion?

A: Jesus may call me to do something difficult and mind-blowing. I must know him well enough and be committed enough to him that I don't run away when that happens. So in the meantime, I need to grow closer and closer to him, to grow in intimacy with him.

P: Father, when the test comes, let me stick with Jesus and what he calls me to do. In Jesus' name, amen.

Expectations

S:	John 5
O:	The paralysed man expected God to work in a certain way if he was going to be healed - that he would need to be the first to get into the pool of Bethesda when the water was troubled. But then he encountered Jesus and had his mind changed. The religious leaders expected the Messiah to follow their interpretation of the Law of Moses, so when Jesus healed the paralysed man on the Sabbath, they were so hung up on that, that they ignored the miracle that happened and persecuted Jesus instead.
A:	I need to beware that I'm not so set in my interpretation of scripture that I'm not willing to consider when perhaps my interpretation is wrong. This needs to be balanced with not being blown by every wind of doctrine.
P:	Father, lead me and guide me by the Holy Spirit so that I will have the wisdom to consider if the doctrine I'm holding on to is correct or not. In Jesus' name, amen.