Bible Verses: John 12:20-332 Thessalonians 3:1-5Jude 1:21Ephesians 3:17-19
Read MoreFor Reading and Meditation: Mark 10:46-52
We are seeing that the first step to mental and spiritual health is receptivity - we must be willing to empty our hands of whatever we are holding and receive Christ. Life has been defined as response to environment. You and I live physically when we respond to our physical environment - we take in food, light and air....
Bible Verses: Mark 10:46-52Matthew 19:16-29Matthew 16:25John 12:24
Read MoreFor Reading and Meditation: Luke 9:18-27
Suppose a tiny seed had a will of its own and decided to save itself by refusing to be buried. It would abide alone. It would save itself but would not save others. When it decided to be buried and die, then the result would be a golden harvest. Take a mother: she goes down into the valley of the shadow of death to bring...
Bible Verses: Luke 9:18-27John 12:17-26John 10:11Romans 5:6
Read More"If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor." John 12:26
The highest service is imitation. If I would be Christ's servant I must be His follower. To do as Jesus did is the surest way of bringing honor to His name. Let me mind this every day.
If I imitate Jesus I shall have His company: if I am like Him I shall be with Him. In due...
Bible Verses: John 12:26
Read MoreOne day some Greeks came to Philip with the noble request, "Sir, we would see Jesus!" But why did they want to see Him? Perhaps they wanted to take Him back to Athens as a popular new philosopher. Or perhaps they wanted to save Him from crucifixion and death, which now seemed inevitable.
Jesus answered with one of the great laws of harvest: a kernel of grain must fall into the ground and die if it is to become productive. If He were to save Himself from death, He would abide alone. He...
Bible Verses: John 12:24
Read MoreGod had just spoken from heaven in clear, articulate tones. Some said that it thundered. They gave a naturalistic explanation for what was divine and miraculous. That is one attitude we can take toward miracles today. We can try to explain them away as nothing more than natural occurrences. Or we can say flatly that the age of miracles has passed. We can conveniently relegate them to a dispensational pigeonhole.
A third attitude is to go to the other extreme and claim to...
Bible Verses: John 12:29Revelation 13:1-18
Read MoreBible Verses: Mark 4:26-32Matthew 6:28-30John 12:24Mark 4:30-32
Read MoreThe time of the triumphal entry was five days before the crucifixion. There was an immense contrast between the two events. Here we see Jesus riding as a King into the holy city, followed by a great multitude of wildly enthusiastic people. It is a glimpse in earthly expression of the Messianic glory of Jesus. His reign was to be spiritual - but here once, it took on...
Bible Verses: John 12:12-26
Read More"Whoever serves me - must follow me." If he would be My servant; if he would belong to Me - let him follow me. Let him live as I live, come close after Me in spirit, in manner of life, walk in My steps. "Where I am - there shall also my servant be." To follow Christ here, in this world, in the way He marks out, is to follow Him also in His exaltation, to reward, to heavenly honor. To share His cross ...
Bible Verses: John 12:26Genesis 18:19Proverbs 21:3
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Now comes My hour of heart-break, and what can I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? No, it was for this very purpose that I came to this hour. (John 12:27 Phillips)
There is one all-comprehending, all-embracing,
all-governing purpose to which God has committed Himself, by creation, by
redemption, and by union. That purpose is the conformity of a race to the image
of...
Bible Verses: John 12:27
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For Reading and Meditation: John 12:20-33
The love for God that burns in our hearts must never be seen as the fruit of our labor, as if it is something we manufacture. Seeing the love of God for us, our own heart responds with love. We give love for love. We cannot help it. Let's be done with the idea that love for God is something we work at. It issues forth...