John 13:21-30, Weaving w/ Failures

 “When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in his spirit and testified, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 

After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan entered him. So Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.””

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭21‬, ‭27‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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It is interesting that Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him to the people who wanted to kill Him, yet He didn’t stop him.  It was all part of the plan for Jesus sacrifice for our sin.  But is that how God deals with us as well?  When He knows we are headed into sin, he doesn’t force us to stop, but rather allows us to do what we have decided…I think that this is true!

What is even better and more exciting is that God uses even our sinful choices as part of our story that ultimately brings God glory!  Jesus was ultimately glorified BECAUSE he died on the cross…

I am so excited to see how God will be glorified in my story, despite all the stupid, sinful things I have done/will do.  Lord, I pray there are fewer and fewer of my failure that You need to weave with, but help me to glorify You!

John 13:12-20, Know or Do?!?

“For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. 

Truly I tell you, whoever receives anyone I send receives me, and the one who receives me receives him who sent me.””

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭15‬, ‭17‬, ‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord help me to live my life as an example that others can follow.  I will never do all the things perfectly, but allow me to grow daily in living like Jesus.

It is amazing that You call out so clearly that knowing all the right things is good, but the blessing only comes from following through with obeying what we know.  Help me obey with joy and confidence.

John 13:1-11, Eager Obedience

 “Now when it was time for supper, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray him. 

So he [Jesus] got up from supper, laid aside his outer clothing, took a towel, and tied it around himself. Next, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around him. 

…he knew who would betray him. This is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.””

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭2‬, ‭4‬-‭5‬, ‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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It is shocking that Jesus would wash his followers feet because that is the job of a slave/servant.  The Rabbi is the one with the power and esteem, and so should be on the receiving end.  But I think what is more incredible is that Jesus already knew Judas would betray Him, yet He still washes Judas’ feet.  Jesus still demonstrates humility and shows love to the very one who would hand Him over to be crucified.

Gods character is on display and this is an example of how God thinks about each of us.  He loves us unconditionally even though He knows the next sin we will commit…in fact He knows everything wrong we have ever done and will ever do…and still loves us and serves us in humility.

Aside from being mind blowing, this gives me so much love and thankfulness toward God!  I want to, in humility, attempt to do what He calls me to and I am eager to obey!

John 12:44-50, Fear & Funniness

 “For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a command to say everything I have said. I know that his command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me.””

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭49‬-‭50‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Two things I love about this passage: first, that Jesus conveyed exactly what God wanted Him to say and do.  Second, that the things Jesus communicated bring eternal life.  I want this to be true of me as well…but surely I am far from this being my reality.

Lord, guide my words today.  Allow me to speak life in conversations at work, with my kids and with those I counsel.  Don’t allow fear or funniness to sidetrack what You want me to say.  Give me boldness and compassion, confidence and perception to know exactly what the moment needs and trust You for the outcome.

John 12:37-43, Fearless Following

 “Nevertheless, many did believe in him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, so that they would not be banned from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than praise from God.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭42‬-‭43‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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How many ways does this happen to us?  We are convinced that something is true or right, but are afraid of the implications…of what it will require of us?

Lord, help me to care more about what You think and want from me than anyone else!  Let me follow you without any fear of what others think…

John 12:29-36, Light Magnet

 “As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself.” 

Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭32‬, ‭35‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Jesus plan had always been to save the world, and His works are magnetic, they get everyone’s attention!  He also knew that His time on earth was short.  Thankfully, we can walk in the light even today by following His commands!

John 12:20-28, Backwards Kingdom

“The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I love the backwards way of Gods kingdom…it is so confusing but beautiful!  Loosing what we love seems like the the opposite of what anyone desires…being honored to be a slave is upside down.  The only part of this that makes sense is that a servant must follow their master; go where He goes, do what He does.

Lord, all of this is the paths to freedom and away from pride…in that place is true peace, joy and hope!  Open the eyes of those who have trouble seeing the beauty of this backwards Kingdom!

John 12:12-19, Invisible Prophecy

“they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord — the King of Israel!” 

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt. 

His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬-‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Repeatedly during Jesus ministry, He is fulfilling prophecy but no body makes the connection.  It is only after Jesus is crucified that anyone puts all the pieces together.  I think from a history perspective that is the best possible way…if it was all a conspiracy, they would have been looking for all the possible ways to show He was the Messiah, but they didn’t. Jesus works spoke on their own merits.

Lord, I know You are doing the same type of miracles today that I don’t see.  They are accomplishing Your will perfectly and we can’t put the pieces together…help me to trust that you are active in my life and the lives of those around me!

John 12:9-11, Conspiracy & Cover-up

“Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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When we don’t get our way, we can quickly move to desperate ideas.  That is how weak we can be…

Lord help me to trust you, even when everything seems like it is shifting out of my favor or when the evidence is not going my way.  Your ways are good and You can overcome even the most damning evidence…just like our salvation!  You made a way when it was beyond impossible for me to help myself!!!

John 12:1-7, Worship Arrested

 “Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot (who was about to betray him), said, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?””

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Mary worships Jesus by washing His feet and anointing them with perfume…it was kind of an odd thing to do.  But it was her act of worship!  Judas however, sees only the practical and is irritated.  He uses some excuse to make his irritation sound more socially acceptable by sounding like he actually cared for the poor.  But the reality is that he wasn’t getting what he wanted, and he had to let everyone know his perspective…because his ideas were so correct.

Lord, I have that same pride in me…confident of why my ideas are so right that it is obvious everyone should agree with me…yet I’m oblivious to what other people are doing or saying.  Help me to see my prideful heart motivations and control my words to enable others to worship You!

John 11:45-57, Selfish Manipulation

 “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” “You’re not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.” So from that day on they plotted to kill him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭48‬, ‭50‬, ‭53‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Fear of losing power and freedom was driving the Pharisees to plot to kill Jesus.  They had a good thing going and were worried that Jesus was going to mess it up.  It really is crazy how much they were willing to do to silence Him…because their own desires would be trampled…

That hits close to home…how many times have I tried to manipulate a situation to get the outcome I wanted?  In what ways do I still try to force a result that makes things better for me?  

Lord, help me to see the greater perspective of Your plan.  I know that Your ways ultimately result in the best thing for me.  I know you are trustworthy, because You have always been so.  You have been so good to me!  Thank You for loving me!  Help me to trust You at every turn!!!

John 11:38-44, IF you Believe

“Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.””

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭38‬, ‭40‬, ‭43‬-‭44‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord, I want to see Gods glory…give me eyes to see the work You are doing.  I know You are actively working all around me, and I believe that You are actively doing the impossible…but I am often blind to it.

John 11:28-37, Believing Goodness

“As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!” 

When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. Jesus wept.”

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭32‬-‭33‬, ‭35‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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It is surprising to me that Jesus weeps for the sorrow they have over Lazarus’s death.  If I were Jesus, I would be so excited to raise him back to life that I would be hyping the crowd and telling them that they didn’t have to be sad.  I would be waving away the real grief they were experiencing…clearly, not the right way to handle it.

We don’t know exactly what Jesus was thinking here, but we do see His compassion.  We see His empathy.  We see His humanity.  And we see the heart of God on display!

Even though God knows the next part of our stories, where everything wrong is fixed, He still grieves with us in our suffering.  He knows our pain, sadness, fear and anxieties!  And He wants us to trust Him like Mary and Martha who just knew that Jesus could have fixed everything.  Or maybe better yet, knew that He was already making things better, even through the pain…

John 11:17-27, Strategic Orchestration

Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 

“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭21‬, ‭25‬-‭27‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Why is it that Gods plans are often so different than mine?  I am an excellent planner, decision maker and all around strategist…well, I think I am anyway!  Yet most often God has a better plan.

The good news is that Gods plans are always better!  I may have strategized to avoid one small pain point, Yet Christ is working a master plan that will transform me and bring glory to God.  He is playing 4D chess compared to my tic-tac-toe…why don’t I just trust Him completely?

Lord, give me faith to trust that You are working, strategically planning and even manipulating the world around me for my good and Your glory!  Give me eyes to see Your fingerprints and patience to wait for You!

John 11:1-16, Gods Plan!?!

So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 

When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. 

So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭3‬-‭6‬, ‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This narrative shows that Gods ways are not our ways!  His plans are always deeper and more profitable than my small mind can comprehend.  I would have wanted Jesus to heal my brother before he died…that would have avoided so much pain and sadness.  That is what I want after all…minimum pain, minimum sadness, minimum suffering.  When those things are increased, I am tempted to feel like God isn’t there, or at least He is not helping.

Yet this passage tells us that sometimes God allows things we would never choose because He LOVES us!  He knows our hearts need to see the impossible so that we can trust Him even more.

Lord, admittedly, I don’t like this strategy…help me to trust Your plan, because I know You ALWAYS do what is BEST for me.

John 10:40-42, Life & Peace

 “Many came to him and said, “John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭41‬-‭42‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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The true testimony of who Jesus is, is enough for people to believe.  Lord, help me to talk about You enough that people can believe and have what You promise: LIFE and PEACE!

John 10:31-39, Word & Deed

 “If I am not doing my Father’s works, don’t believe me. But if I am doing them and you don’t believe me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.””

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Jesus is basically saying, “the proof is in the pudding”! Watch what I am doing, if you don’t trust what I am saying.

Lord, help my life to declare so clearly that I am Yours that people can listen to me or watch what I do and know that I follow You!

John 10:22-30, Empowering the Impossible

 “The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 

“I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭24‬-‭28‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord, thank You for choosing me, help me to listen to Your voice and do what You tell me!  I know that on my own, every step of this is IMPOSSIBLE!

Hearing.

Listening.

Following.

Thank You for empowering me to know You!

John 10:14-21, Selfless Obedience

 “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Jesus’ obedience to God demonstrates His love.  Further, Jesus has the ability to choose what He will do, God isn’t forcing Him.  

We have the same free will and the same opportunity to receive love from God.

Secondly, Jesus is selfless in His actions, thinking about what would be best for others. We should imitate that as well…if we did, people would know we love them!

John 10:1-13, Thief vs Shepherd

 “The gatekeeper opens it for [the Shepherd], and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. 

A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 

I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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One way we can tell if we are following Jesus is if He is giving us life in abundance…that doesn’t necessarily mean everything is going perfectly or that we are not experiencing trials, but it does mean that He is with us, and through whatever we face, we see His fingerprints and feel His peace.  He knows us intimately, who I am, where I struggle and what my weaknesses are.

That is just as true if we are following a thief or a liar.  Death and destruction abound.  Joy is consistently stolen.  We are facing trials, with no peace, full of fear and confusion.  Every step seems to be trudging uphill through calf-deep mud sucking away our hope and energy.

Lord, I want to follow You!  Remove the blinders when I am following the thief…let me hear Your voice and follow You!

John 9:35-41, Pride Blocked

 “Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.” 

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?” 

“If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭39‬-‭41‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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The Pharisees pride makes them fall and miss the overall message.  So prideful, they didn’t for one moment reflect on what Jesus was saying…to consider how this may be true, but rather instantly were filled with confidence that they had nothing to confess.  Their unwillingness to reflect was the very thing that condemned them.

Lord, open my ears and eyes to see where my pride is blocking me from being transformed.  I want to be Yours in every part of my life!

John 9:24-34, Irrefutable Evidence

 “He answered, “Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”

 “This is an amazing thing!” the man told them. “You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. Throughout history no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind.  If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭25‬, ‭30‬, ‭32-33‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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What we do is evidence of who we are…this was true of Jesus and it is true of us.

Lord, help me to follow in Your way so that everyone knows that I am Yours!

John 9:13-23, Bigger God

 “Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was a division among them. 

They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 

“We know this is our son and that he was born blind,” his parents answered. His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭16‬, ‭19‬-‭20‬, ‭22‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Jesus intentionally healed on the sabbath to help the Pharisees see their own blindness.  Jesus still acts differently than I would expect ,even today…he needs us to see that He is bigger and more powerful than the box we imagine for him.

John 9:1-12, Shame to Glory

“His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him. 

He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So when I went and washed I received my sight.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭2‬-‭3‬, ‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This man lived blind for his entire life, he was used to it, but there was suffering and ridicule, it was not a happy existence.  Blindness was his identity, it is all he knew…most people felt like he had to live this way because it was punishment for something bad.  Then Jesus flips the script and shows how the blind man’s suffering and identity was instantly turned into a powerful tool in the hands of God.

Yes, the man gained sight, but even more powerfully he gained a testimony and new identity.  His biggest weakness was now used by God as the most convincing evidence of the power of God.

Lord, let me to give You my biggest weaknesses so that Your power may be displayed through them.  Help me to see Your hand at work as I lay down my pride.

John 8:48-59, Obedience not Performance

“If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father — about whom you say, ‘He is our God’ — he is the one who glorifies me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭54‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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All glory to God alone!  He alone is worthy to receive glory!  Jesus is defending the honor that He is getting but makes a great statement that is true of Him and true of me.  If I get honored because I am doing something great, it really is worthless…there is no eternal reward in that.  It sounds more like pride…

However, if I am recognized by God for accomplishing His will, that is something to be blessed by, that is something with eternal value.

Lord, help me to focus on obeying Your Word and coming to You when that is challenging!

John 8:33-47, Truth vs Lies

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 

Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭44‬-‭47‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Truth vs lies is the argument Jesus is making in a very true but offensive way.  The religious leaders He is talking to are discounting everything Jesus is saying because they don’t like it.  They are not evaluating it based on truth or reality.  In fact their arguments ignore plain facts about who they are and where their people have been.

Jesus is pointing out that they are not listening to Him or even processing the words He is speaking.  What they don’t understand is that Jesus words are perfect and true and they literally bring eternal life…if they would just critically listen and evaluate.

lord, help me to listen intently to Your Word so that I can know you more and draw near to You!

John 8:30-32, Believe & Follow

 “As he was saying these things, many believed in him. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭30‬-‭32‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord, help me to hear, read or remember Your Word and believe it.  Give me a faith that is confident in whatever You say and FOLLOW it, even if it is hard or uncomfortable.  I want to follow You and experience the true freedom You promise!!!

John 8:21-29, God in Us

“Who are you?” they questioned. “Exactly what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them. 

So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own. But just as the Father taught me, I say these things. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭25‬, ‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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While Jesus was on earth doing His ministry, everyone wanted to know who He was.  He rarely said outright that He was the messiah, but He alluded to it in many ways and constantly talked about God as His Father.  I love how Jesus reminds the that God is always with Him…just like He is with us today!

Lord, help me to live like God was living inside me, because He is!!!!