Do You Want Jesus To Change You?

Do You Want Jesus To Change You?

Scripture Reading: John 5:1-15

Focus Verse: John 5:6  “When Jesus saw the lame man and knew he had been ill for a long time, He asked him, would you like to get well?”

John tells us that there was a lame man who couldn’t walk for 38 years.  That’s a long time.  One day Jesus was passing by and asked the lame man “would you like to get well?”  The lame man did not answer Jesus' question.  Instead he began to give Jesus all the reasons that he could not be healed. Jesus didn’t even acknowledge the reasons, but told him to stand up and walk! The man immediately stood up and picked up his mat.  

That lame man had been there for such a long time feeling discouraged. I don’t think the man knew that it was Jesus who spoke to him.  He was so concerned with getting into the pool after the waters had been stirred.  He didn’t realize this visitor before him could heal him with one spoken word.  This man was focused on what he needed to do on his own to be healed. Let us be more focused on the changes that Jesus can make in our lives when we surrender to Him. 

After the Jewish leaders complained about Jesus healing on the Sabbath, Jesus spoke to the healed man about not sinning anymore. Jesus changes us and wants our lives to reflect these changes.  And do we want these changes to occur? Jesus doesn’t want to leave us where we are.  God desires to change us and grow us into the image of His Son Jesus. Ephesians 4:24 says, "And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

My Hope is in the Lord

My Hope is in the Lord

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:1-11

Focus Verses:  Romans 5:3-5  "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.   And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

Psalm 38:15 says, “For in You, O Lord, I hope, You will hear, O Lord my God."  David also tells us in another Psalm, “In the Word of the Lord I do hope.”  The world will never give you lasting satisfaction.  You may find temporary happiness in the world, but in the end you will be left empty.

There is a generation living in the world today who were born between 1995 to 2015.  Many in this generation live with hopelessness.  We know this because it has been observed that the rate of suicide is higher in this generation than any other generation.  I think this is because they are looking for hope and happiness in the things of the world.  This is lost thinking.  

 

 Only Jesus can give you lasting hope, peace, and happiness.  Many of us are now coming out of one of the hardest years of our lives.  Covid-19 has ruined many people's hopes and dreams for this life.  That’s because they have placed all their hopes in this world, in their money, and in their possessions.  Everything in this world is only temporary and will not last.  Gladly, when your hope is in Jesus, we know as believers in Him, He will walk with us now and carry us safely into eternity one day.   I have heard that Christians are like tea bags.  When you add hot water then you know if the flavor is good or bad.  We say someone is in "hot water" when they are having troubles.  Therefore, when Christians go through adversity and trials you find out what their faith is made of.  As we face this world let us say, “my hope is in the Lord, and in Him I will put my trust."  He will never let us down, because He loves us that much.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

What Are You Known For?

Scripture Reading:  Matthew 6:19-34

Focus Verse: Matthew 6:33  “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else….”

Jesus said “Seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness above everything else.  God’s Kingdom can never be taken away from those who have put their trust in Christ.  In the Bible reading today, Jesus tells us not to worry about money and possessions and that He will provide for our needs.

This past week we watched on TV as more than 12,000 homes burned to the ground here in the US in the state of California.  Wildfires spread by very high winds burned everything in its path, and many also lost their lives.  This was very sad to see. Yes, we need homes to live in.  Yes, we need money to buy things and provide for our families.  Yes, it's important to have an education, but let’s not put these temporary things above what Jesus has told us is the most important thing.

This is an important question to ask yourself.  What are you known for? We want to be known for the right things as children of God because of our relationship with Christ.   I go to Kenya often on missions and people know that I’m the director of Interlocking Ministries.  Most importantly I hope that people know I’m seeking God's Kingdom.  Whatever is important to God is what should be important to us.  

Does your life reflect the life of a child of God?  Many people are known for their accomplishments. While others are known for material possessions they have acquired.  Maybe it’s large amounts of money, or a large home that they are known for.  Maybe it’s a university education that some people are known for.  But what happens to these people if these things are taken away?  Let's remember that Jesus tells us not to worry about money and possessions and that He will be everything that we need because He cares for us.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Walking Step by Step

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 4: 7-18

Focus Verses: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18   Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

In the new year, we don't know what our days will be like, but as followers of Christ, we know that God is with us.  As we walk through this Christian life we understand that we will go through difficult times.  Most times we would like to see what is ahead for us, especially when difficult times are coming.  Sometimes we even face storms in life when we are doing our best to be in a right relationship with the Lord.  You may have read the verse in Psalm 34:19 that says “many are the afflictions of the righteous”.  But sometimes we fail to read the rest of the verse that says “But the Lord delivers us from them all.” 

Today's scripture reading tells us to make a comparison between the temporary with the eternal.  The light afflictions we have here on earth compared to the glory of heaven,  and the seen to the unseen.  If we have the right perspective on life with God’s help we can endure any trial by taking it one step at a time.  The unseen of heaven one day we will see.  Then the trials of this world will just be a faded memory.  So take this journey with the Lord step by step and remember to look for the unseen eternal.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Daily Devotion by Greg Laurie: “The Word Became Flesh”

 Daily Devotion by Greg Laurie: “The Word Became Flesh”

Bible Reading John 1

Focus Verse: "In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God." John 1:1

John wastes no time in establishing Jesus’ identity. The apostle begins his Gospel with the same wording Moses used in Genesis 1:1 to show that God existed before creation. John’s point is that Jesus, too, existed before the world was created. Not only was He with God at the beginning, but He also was God. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity—that is, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gave life and light to creation. And when the people who received life turned their backs on Him to pursue their own sinful ways, Jesus did something so amazing that John can barely find the words to do it justice.

Jesus, God Himself, entered the world He created. He squeezed His infinite presence into a small container of flesh. He made Himself susceptible to pain, weakness, sorrow, and rejection. He lived among us. He humbly, faithfully, and lovingly served the people He created.

John refers to Him as the Word because He embodied everything that God the Father wanted to communicate to us. Everything Jesus said and did reveals something about God.

Very few people recognized Him as God, even though the Jewish people of His day were waiting for the Messiah, the Son of God. The problem was that they’d already made up their minds about what the Messiah would be like and what He would do. And Jesus didn’t meet their expectations. So they rejected Him. And the ones who led the rejection were the ones who should have recognized Him first: the Jewish leaders of Israel.

Of course, God anticipated that people wouldn’t recognize His Son. So He sent John the Baptist to announce His coming. And He gave John the Baptist a sign so that he would recognize Jesus. When John the Baptist saw a dove descend on Him, he knew Jesus was the Chosen One. That’s why he was able to confidently point to Jesus and announce, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (verse 29)

Still, most people—including the Jewish religious leaders—refused to recognize the truth. The leaders even sent a delegation to John the Baptist to ask if he was the Messiah. All the while, John the Baptist kept pointing to Jesus.

While he was standing with two of his own disciples, John the Baptist saw Jesus and said, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples immediately left John the Baptist to follow Jesus.

Two thousand years later, this same scenario is still being played out. People still refuse to recognize the truth about Jesus because He doesn’t fit their idea of what the Son of God should be. And those of us who do recognize and follow Him still have the opportunity and responsibility to say, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

 Source: https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-word-became-flesh/