This Side of The Cross

So perhaps this was more to me than it might be to you but I will reveal as much as I can in perspective. Somewhere along the way I came to a belief system that only allowed God generic emotions regarding preferences or choices as they were. The problem with that belief is the are scriptures that reflect a very emotional God with preferences and likes or dislikes that are not defined by mere logic. Case in point. Psa 87:2  the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. This verse has bothered me for many years.....Yes, I accept the weirdness of it all but that is my world. Why does God love one town more than another? Especially when you remove the criteria of the residents. Does God really care where we live? I mean other than the sake of ministry? I have asked about this many times but I didn't just want the pat answer that we have a tendency to lean toward when logic escapes us. While reading the other day I came across this scripture....

I re-posted a funny post from Facebook this morning that got me thinking. Dear White Crayon, What is it you do here, exactly? Sincerely, The other crayons. Funny but if you stop and think about it pretty darn sad. I daresay that many of us in church feel like that white crayon. At least when it comes to church. We go to church in our Sunday best, maybe greet a few people on our way to our seat. We then enjoy a few songs and an inspirational message. After church we reflect on the message and wonder "What does it mean to me?" We go back to our lives on Monday morning and forget all about the message and the good feeling the songs made us feel until the following Sunday. I must tell you, God has a better plan for you than that. God did not create "white crayons" who's only purpose in life is to provide contrast for the other crayons. God wants you to make a difference. His desire for you is to add color to your world wherever you find yourself. N...

Yes, I know I haven't finished the Book of John. I might not on this blog. I bought a new Chronological Study Bible and have started reading it from the beginning. So the next while will be things I pick up along the way. I hope they bless you, encourage you, challenge you. The first one is about Lot. Lot was Abraham's nephew. He left the land where Abraham was raised and traveled with Abraham towards the promised land. At one point, Abraham and Lot decide to go their separate ways. Both were very wealthy and had considerable flocks and servants. So Abraham gives Lot first choice in which area he wanted. This would normally be the choice of the elder relative as well as the more influential one. But Abraham was not as concerned with where He would end up. He knew God was preparing a place for him. Lot, on the other hand, wanted the easy life. Gen 13:8-12  Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my he...

I feel like I found a new chapter in my Bible this morning. I must of read this chapter 100 times but it all seemed new today. What an amazing prayer! There is so much here it may take a few days to digest it. So get this. Jesus is at the end of His ministry here on Earth. This is like the closing prayer before all the announcements are made, the chairs put away, the lights turned off. The stuff in this prayer is so rich with love and theology and promise. Things that stand out to me. 1. God had given Jesus all authority over all flesh. (yes, He said all) 2. Knowing God and Jesus translates to eternal life. (no coupons needed) 3.Jesus basically says that the work was done in the disciples (except for that whole sanctification thing). 4. Jesus said He didn't lose one that the Father had given Him (except for Judas).  I may have to come back to this one at a later date. 5. As the Father sent Jesus into the world, He is sending us. 6. Jesus glorified the Father h...

I have overcome the world. One of the boldest statements made by Jesus in my opinion. Here is Jesus, on the end of His time here on earth about to be taken by the "world", beaten, put on a cross to die, and He says "I have overcome the world" Not "might". Not even "will". I "have"! I often wonder about my life as a Christian. I know I am supposed to emulate Christ in my daily walk, but do I show such boldness? Am I letting my "Christian humility" get in the way of my "Christ-like boldness"? Maybe I don't believe He has overcome the world, yet. It is a lot easier to fit into my daily walk if Jesus hadn't already overcome the world. If we were waiting for a future event by Jesus before we really walked the walk. Think about it. If we still were waiting for Jesus to do the final blow to this world and it's power we could use that excuse to live lives less than the ones we were called to. On j...

What a great promise. Our sorrow will be turned into joy. Can you imagine? Those of us that have sorrowed over jobs, children, relationships, family, tribulations, etc. All that will be turned into joy! When? Well this is a tough passage for me and apparently many commentators as well. Is Jesus saying turned into joy after His rising from the dead? Or is He saying when He returns? I read several commentaries and they seem to disagree. I do know this, my sorrow has not turned into joy, yet. Does that mean I have missed the mark? Does that mean I am in sin and the sorrow that I feel is a result of that sin? Does that mean I need to change my priorities. Perhaps. More than likely, the wording on this passage is enough to mean at the return of Christ. Somehow it seems that the disciples understood it and needed no further explanation. I am slower than most so I would have asked for more. This one thing I know at some point, my sorrow will be turned into joy. Now when Jesu...

I believe this is one of the most comforting portions of scripture. Jesus is telling us He is not going to leave us by ourselves. He is sending The Holy Spirit to be our helper. He goes on to say this is to our advantage. Now it may seem odd because we would think having Jesus by our side would be the very best option. That's not what Jesus thinks. He said to our advantage. When we read through the Book of Acts, we see He is right. No longer are the disciples tossed around by every trial, and event that goes against them. They turn into these courageous man full of wisdom strength, doing miracles preaching awesome sermons. Basically, they are changing the world. That is the work of the Holy Spirit inside of them. We don't see that during the time Jesus was with them. No I am not saying we don't need Jesus. I am saying there is a plan for our lives. To do this plan we need to leave the "shelter of Jesus's side" and trust the work of The Holy Spi...

Ever feel persecuted? Ever feel like the world hates you? I kind of think that if it doesn't you are doing this Christian walk all wrong. Not that we should invite persecution into our lives. But if we are walking the walk we would be conflicted with the world. Jesus said if he had not come into the world and lived the life He had the world would not be judged. Let that sink in a bit. It goes on to say, because He did and they saw, they are judged and found wanting. The bible says we are not greater than Jesus so the world will hate us too. Do you have people that feel condemned for what they do when you come around? Do you rub people the wrong way when you love on them? Or when you stand up for what's right? I know we are supposed to love the people in the world. Our love shouldn't be mistaken for love of the world. We need to be a light just as Jesus was the light. That means exposing sin by our lives. That light doesn't come from us but comes from t...

You will not get a more clear more simple view of the church's role in the world. Or your role in the world for that matter. Jesus is a vine and if we are "in Him", we are branches to that vine. If we are not bearing fruit, we will be taken away. If we bear fruit we will be pruned. That kind of hurts doesn't it? You will surely either be cut off or cut back. Sounds like fun to me! I think that we bearers of the Grace message struggle with this passage. We would hate to think that something is actually required of us. Well here it is. No clearer message. We must bear fruit. Good news! A branch of a vine does not face each morning thinking "I must bear fruit". A branch produces fruit because of the life coming from the vine flowing through it. A good branch has lots of life flowing through it and therefore produces good fruit. So we don't concentrate on bearing fruit. We concentrate on connecting to the vine in such a manner that lots of life...

This is a very treasured part of the gospel, as far as I am concerned. Jesus is winding down His time here on Earth and promises some very special things. As one that grew up without a father and a mom that worked long hours to support us I can tell you this is very special. Jesus said He would not leave us as orphans. I know many of you might not fully understand this. But to have the promise of not being left alone is a wonderful thing. It was very hard growing up not knowing when my mom would get home to fix us dinner. Or when she would show up to help us with our homework. Or to have someone to cry on their shoulder when things went bad. And things did go bad quite often. So Jesus knows the disciples didn't understand what was soon to happen. But He comforts them with words they needed to hear. "I will not leave you as orphans". So He promises them the Holy Spirit. What a gift! The Spirit of God that is every bit an active part in our walk with Jesus as ...

Wow! What a statement! This is why the world hates Jesus. If only Jesus said "I am a way, I am part of the truth, I bring some life!" We would have peace in the world today. That's not what He said. The Way. The Truth. The Life. No getting around that. We want so badly for there to be another way to the Father. Or to Heaven. So many religions teach that there are many truths, many paths to enlightenment. So here you get to pick. Do you believe Jesus? Or do you believe the world? This is why "religion" is one of the topics we don't discuss in certain circles. Too much truth is hard to handle. Often times I find myself wanting to water down this message to make my beliefs more palatable to my friends. Many times I am tempted to include good works or good intentions as pathways to God. I must warn you, Don't do it! Don't water down this truth. This really is the make it or break it point of the gospel. We don't have to fit into...

So much has been said about Peter's denial of Jesus. I almost passed over this portion of scripture. But to remain true to the goal I will add my two cents worth. Remember who Peter is when you read of his denial of Jesus. This same Peter walked out of the boat in the middle of the storm. This same Peter left his boats and livelihood to follow this Jesus from Galilee. This same Peter pulled out his sword and cut of the soldier's ear in the garden of Gethsemane. We wouldn't call him a coward by any stretch of the imagination. So what would cause him to deny knowing Jesus when it was obvious to everyone that he did? Knowing. I believe it was knowing the plan that caused Peter to fail. Or more to the point, not knowing. It is a whole lot easier to follow someone when you know the plan. Knowing where youare going, knowing what to do when you get there. That is the hardest thing for me. I want to know what the plan is. What is the backup plan. What is the bac...

Well you would think that in the last day or so before Jesus was to be crucified, some of His most important words to us would be spoken. Wouldn't you? So here He tells us that there is a "new commandment".  Love one another. Is that really "new"? It seems we have heard this before. Didn't He say that all the law and commandments are contained in Love God and Love each other? I think there is a message in His words we so easily glide right over. That is why I really wanted to bo a journal through John this way. One section at a time. Not through the Bible in a year or month or week. Slowly, surely, just to be sure I didn't miss anything. Yes I know if I broke it down by word and got out my concordance and lexicon etc I would learn even more. I am not that smart. This fits my purpose just fine. I guess what I would say is "new" is that part where we are to love each other as He loved us. Now that is a new thought. I have heard this...

What a title! How would you feel if you were one of the disciples at the last supper and Jesus spoke those words? Would you feel fear? Betrayal? Anger? Guilt? Sadness? Astonishment? Shock? Maybe some of each. The one that stands out most to me would be shock. I know many things have happened the last few days. Lazarus was raised from the dead, many people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem, many people left and now this. Surely Jesus was just feeling overwhelmed with the events of the last days. No one of the disciples would betray Him. None of the closest friends would even entertain the idea. Maybe if we just stop and take a breath here...... I think, in a small way, we all have betrayed Him to some degree. Maybe not to the point of death but by making those choices that would seem to crucify Him a little more. It's hard to always make those right choices. Not to make light of what Judas did, but in a lessor way, perhaps we are all guilty. The amazin...

Wow! There is a lot packed in this 20 verses! You could read this from an evangelistic perspective or a pastoral perspective or an elders perspective and get three different thoughts. Let me just give a couple of the things that stick out to me. Jesus washed the disciples feet. Not some of the disciples. Not all but one disciple. All of them. Did you catch that? Jesus washed Judas' feet . He already mentioned that one of them would betray him. He wasn't unaware. He wasn't just playing some little "guess who" game. Jesus washed the feet of the one that would betray him. You don't find that kind of humility in the church today. Or outside the church either. We would rather surround ourselves with people that love us. Keep out those that don't. Stay next to like minded people that don't rock our boat. I keep thinking of times when as a pastor or leader in a church I felt compelled to "guard the flock" against the sinners. Not l...

A funny thought occurred to me while reading this passage. Jesus didn't come to show us all what a wonderful guy He is. He came to be the light of the world. I know this may be a weird concept but bear with me. When you use a flashlight, you don't just sit there and stare at the light. The light become a tool to illuminate what is around the light. Jesus seems to be going to great length to point this out in these verses. I know, I know He is the truth and all of that. But take a minute and consider what He is saying. He says, "If you have seen me, you have seen the one who sent me." He also says "If you b believe in me, you believe in the one who sent me." This is not just a sense of modesty here. That is the way I have always thought it to be. No, He is trying to teach us something very important on the one of the last times He speaks openly to us before the crucifixion. It has to be more than that. I believe it is contained in the nex...

This is one of the saddest portions of scripture that I can recall. Unbelief. Here we see Jesus hiding himself from the people because they did not believe. So many miracles so many teachings so much love, and yet they still did not believe. I would like to say with all assurance that I would have believed. I cannot. I look at examples in my own life where the Lord has come through time and time again and yet I still don't trust Him in that area of my life. I see other areas in my life where I am able to trust Him completely (well in my perspective). I don't honestly know where I would fall if I lived in Jesus' time. The saddest part is that there were some that believed but choose not to follow Jesus because they "loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that come from God" I could not, would not fall into that category. Surely not me! The scripture says they would not confess their belief so they would not be put out of the syn...

There are some very hard sayings in this portion of scripture. For me harder than anything else we have come across in John. Thinking that God would be "glorified" by Jesus being tortured, whipped, beaten then put on a cross to die a brutal death is beyond my comprehension. Nonetheless that is what the Word says. Obviously, my way of thinking has to change. I kind of like the type of gospel where nobody get hurts where we all get to go to heaven and be with Jesus for eternity. No pain. No fuss. No problem! We here is the brutal truth. There was a painful bloody death awaiting someone. The someone was me. Never in a million years could I have prayed "Not my will but yours Lord"! I would have been begging those Greeks to take me away from there. So we are left with the way the Father gets "glorified". He trades the death of His only son for me. The one that deserved to die. The one that deserved to be left alone up on that hill. The one tha...

It wasn't just any "Greeks". It was "some Greeks"! This is another passage that, if just reading over to get to the end of our "daily reading plan", we could easily miss. In fact, the statement "Sir, we would see Jesus" was posted on the wall of the church I went to when I was a younger Christian. Even though I saw this for several years, several times each week, I still missed it. Here are some Greeks that have come to talk to Jesus. Was Jesus impressed? Here some of the "enlightened ones" that have come to discuss His cause. Greeks were well known for trying to find truth wherever it may be. Not necessarily to be changed by the truth. Simply to be enlightened by knowledge of the truth. Jesus speaks directly to their need to hear the truth while putting them in a position of decision. It is not nearly enough to know the truth, you must react to the truth for it to be of value to you. Jesus was on a schedule so in a br...

I find it rather interesting that John does not talk much about the Triumphal Entry. Other gospels are much more informative about this event. One of the reasons may be the intent of the writer. John's purpose was not to inform the reader of events that occurred. His purpose was to explain the events that would lead the reader to believe. What does that mean to us? I would think that there are certain parts of his Gospel that were expounded on more or less so that we would get more than just a history lesson. Yes I know all scripture is inspired and alive and powerful enough to change us. John is just somehow different. (in my opinion) The thing that stuck out to me in this passage was that the disciples did not understand these events as they were happening. John points that out in verse 16. He then goes on to point out that after Jesus "was glorified", they remembered that these things were written about Him before hand. Isn't it funny that when we are...

I must confess. I was going to skip over this section. Three verses. Not much to say. Not much to account for. Wrong. Once I quit reasoning my way and listened to the Holy Spirit There was some very important points in these three verses. 1. Often times great persecution or tribulation follow great victories. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched myself and others have great victory in an area of our walk with Jesus, only to see great failure follow. Marriages financial successes, relationships, salvations, deliverences, freedom from addictions, you name it. Sometimes I think it would be better to not have the triumphs just to avoid the failures. Wrong thinking. God brings us successes to bring glory to Him. that brings me to point number two. 2. Make sure the focus of the successes stays squarely on God's grace. Not your own efforts, or luck, or good fortune. Can you imagine Lazarus telling the crowds "Look at me! I conquered death" "I ...

This is such a beautiful passage. Just the image of Mary pouring out expensive ointment on Jesus' feet then drying His feet with her hair, leave a lasting impression. In another gospel it states the jar was made from alabaster. All of this points to a very expensive tribute to the one that had raised her brother from the dead. If that was truly what the point was a way to thank Jesus then it would be easy to understand. Jesus rebuked Judas for saying the ointment should have been sold and the money used to help the poor. He said to let her keep this for his burial. What an interesting statement to make. Do you think Mary knew? Do you think it was perhaps more than a very expensive thank you? Jesus also makes a very pointed statement about the poor being with us always but to set apart time, resources and convenience to worship Him while he is with us. For me, it is so very easy to get wrapped up in "good works" that I forget to worship the very one I a...

You know I hate to even title this "Jesus Raises Lazarus" Yes, it is the coolest miracle ever. Yes, it is an important reference in our faith. Yes it has become one of the more sermon topics ever. But I want to talk about the shortest verse in the Bible. Verse 35. Did you see verse 35? Did you? Did you really study it? Did you get out your Bible concordance and study every word? Jesus wept. You don't know how this leaps out at me. How this touches me in places no other scripture does! Why did Jesus weep? It sure wasn't for Lazarus. Jesus already said several times that Lazarus was going to live. Jesus wept because He saw the anguish that Mary was going through! He wept because He cared so much for Mary He felt her pain even when He knew the end result was going to bless her socks off! What a savior! What a friend! What a deliverer! Of course we know He cares about each of us like that. He is moved when when are suffering when we are lonely, whe...

Yesterday I said there would be two parts but I guess there will be three. This is a beautiful passage that shows Martha's confidence in Jesus....almost. I love that she is so sure that Jesus can heal the sick. She had seen Him do it. Not a question that He could do it again. Reminds me of an evangelist I saw when I was younger. He had prayed for someone with a shortened leg and God had healed it. Well this evangelist became well know for praying for people with shortened legs. I don't remember seeing him pray for anything else. I guess we are all like that to some extent. We have faith for the things we have seen but not really in the one that did the miracle in the first place. It would be wonderful if this were not the case. It would be wonderful if we just believed the words He spoke. "Yes Martha, you brother will live again" "Yes, Roger, I love you so much. Enough to see you through this crises in your life." From this part of the story ...

My Bible program on my Nook separates the raising of Lazarus into two parts. I thought that was weird until I took a closer look. There are so many key points from part one that are different then the points in part two. I call this The Raising of Lazarus - The Going We can tend to skip some of the detail here because of the huge finish of the story, but don't do it. Jesus says some very key statements here. One of them is found in verse 4  But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." This really speaks of our lives having purpose for God and not just our own life events. Granted, death is a pretty big event in our lives but God has purpose even for that. I remember being a baby Christian and declaring to Jesus that "I would die for Him" "I would go to the ends of the Earth for Him", all he had to do was ask. Now, if I am being p...

This chapter contains one of the most precious promises in the Bible (as far as I am concerned). Joh 10:27-28  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. To think that once we are in Jesus' hands, we cannot be taken out of them. Or at least "snatched". I know a lot of people use this to support their view of "once saved - always saved". I do not fall into that camp. I am not trying to get into the discussion of the points of that doctrine. This scripture is full of promise regardless of which side you align your belief on. Just to know that resting in Jesus is  so secure that not even the enemy can take us away from him. Not life of death, not creatures above or below, not peril, not heartache, not anything. The question for me, then, is can boredom?, can betrayal?, can false teachers?, can temptation?, can hurt? It is so good to k...

This passage of scripture can easily be skimmed over like there is nothing new. We have heard this quoted so many times that it rolls off our minds and our hearts like water. I encourage you to take a look at the reactions of the people hearing this. They were angry, saying Jesus was possessed by a demon. This is not the results of a cute little bedtime story. Perhaps the reason for the anger was the statement the Jesus was the "good shepherd" and "all whom came before were thieves and robbers". Yeah, that would make me mad! I would like to point out two things that struck me from this section. 1. The good shepherd comes by the front door. We all have seen those pastor types that want to minister to the sheep that they have no passion for. Ones that come along actually dividing the flock in the name of revival or awakening or whatever the current buzz word is. They are likened to thieves and robbers. Hired hands that run when the wolves come calling. W...

This is one of my favorite miracles in the Bible. (is it okay to have favorites?) First of all, The religious leaders try so hard to discredit Jesus, dispute the miracle, then attack the man's character. All because it didn't go down like they expected. I feel sorry for the man because he had no idea who healed him, except his name was Jesus. (reminds me of the song "There's something About That Name") As soon as he is healed he gets attacked from the religious leaders. Can you imagine? I would want to run and see all that I could, I would want to party with my friends and family, I would want to do anything else but be verbally attacked for such a blessing. Isn't that a lot like what happens to us? God comes and does a miracle in our life. Then the enemy comes to pick it apart. "No, it wasn't really a miracle" No God doesn't really care" It could have happened all on it's own" Can you hear the voices in your head? I...

Today I went "Home"! Now that may seem like a mundane statement to most of you. But is was significant to me. I had to take Brenda to work this morning up in Salt Lake so I decided to visit the Adventure - Draper for their early service. One of the Pastors greeted me with the "Welcome Home" statement. I had to chuckle because that is exactly what it feels like when I visit there. I started my Christian walk long before The Adventure came to be. I was part of many churches before then but, for now The Adventure feels most like home. If you have moved away from your parents home and gone back to visit you will understand. Providing your home life was a nurturing, caring one. While, doctrinally speaking, I grew up elsewhere the Adventure is where I learned how God really can will, and desires to use me for His kingdom. That is such a monumental thing for this ex-mormon with no self esteem to understand. I just didn't think it could be true. Much t...

John 8:31-33 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him,  "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will  know the truth, and the truth  will set you free." ESV Such an interesting promise. Please scroll down to read the fine print! (not really) I have known several people that were what I would call "Bible scholars". Some of them lived lives that showed freedom. Most did not. So how do I reconcile this promise. We know God, or in this case, Jesus can't lie. Some how we have to come to terms with this statement, and many others made by Jesus. It is way to easy to say "Well this works for the other guy, just not me" So lets take a look at the defining word in this promise "Abide". What does that mean to you. Read 10 hours every day? Memorize 5 verses a day? Study original manuscripts? :  to wait for  :   await 2 a   :  to endure without yielding  :   withstand b   :  t...

What a bold statement! In fact this entire section is filled with bold, statements. Not really the calm, humble, pacified Jesus we sometimes believe He is. Then at the end of this section, Jesus states that He only declares to the world what He heard from His Father. What an awesome thought. Jesus was hearing from His Father "You are the Light of the World". But I guess that makes sense. The Father would speak to us things as well. Perhaps "You are my child and I love you". Maybe, "You can do it if you trust in me." or how about "I am so very proud of you!" Well that is the Fathers heart towards us. We should be declaring that to the world. Christians, He really does love us! The enemy would have us declaring to the world "I am a sinner", "I am worthless". "I am a failure". Would you want your children going around saying things like that to their friends? I think not. God loves us! Let's tell...

This passage seems a bit appropriate considering the events of the past few days. Seems like there is always division in the church. Here some are arguing whether or not Jesus could be Christ because of the area they thought He came from. None were disputing His words. No one denounced Him because of His works (at least in this passage). They were judging Him by what the scriptures said about the Christ. Today we have a well known media evangelist wanting to attack the church because of their liturgy. Yes, he has stronger names for it. He even uses old testament scripture referring to a prophet coming against Israel as his example. I don't think he was claiming to be a prophet but I am not sure on that. For several years, this man was well known for attacking the LDS church and it's leaders. I really didn't approve of his tactics then. Nor do I agree with them now. I would encourage us all to stop and take a second or third look before making judgement. It wou...

John 7:37-39 37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  NKJV This is such an amazing promise to us. I know, us old timers have heard this phrase a million time. we have even sung songs about it a million or more times. Sit back and take another look! I cant remember ever hearing this in context. At one point we are talking about one who is thirsty. Another point in time, we are talking about rivers of living water coming out of a persons own heart! What is the world happened to that person? the only thing I see is belief in Jesus. Not holiness, not church attendance, not a bunch of othe...

This is an interesting section of scripture. If you read it without any other perspective, you might agree with the people surrounding Jesus. They knew the prophecies concerning the Messiah. They knew that they said you would not know where the Messiah came from. Clearly, they could track Jesus's life here on earth and tell you where He came from. Obviously Jesus was not the Messiah! What they didn't understand is Jesus did not come in His own name or His own authority or His own will. He came doing what the Father gave Him to do. Just like the ambassadors we have today. When they represent the US in a foreign country, we would not concern ourselves with where they came from. Just who they represent. So how does this apply to me? Funny you should ask. I need to remember that when I reach out to people, in Jesus' name, I do not come from a little town called Springville. I come from heaven with a message and a purpose that is not my own. I also come with an...

It's so funny to me that as I work through the Gospel of John I find parts I swear I never read. I used to read through the New Testament several times a year. So I know I have read this passage at least 30 times. The one takeaway that sticks out to me from this passage is the part where Jesus says If our will is to do God's will then we would know if His teachings are from God or not. When I consider the application of that into modern day living I think of all the false and partial truth teachings and teachers that are out there today. Does that statement hold true today? If that statement holds true then what does it say of my own heart? Can I really discern truth (or untruth) in the messages coming from the church leaders? I know there are many messages out there that give me pause. I find myself listening to less and less of the popular preachers out there and searching for ones that I trust. While they all sound like amazing truths from God and would seem to b...