Day 128 Bible Reading - John 5: 31-32 (ESV)

Judges 7: 9-25, Judges 8, John 5: 31-47, Psalm 71: 19-24

John 5: 31-32 (ESV)

“If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.”

I like verses 31 through 32 from John 5 because Jesus is saying and I paraphrase “Look, don’t my word for it about who I am and the miracles I have performed. I have a witness for you.” In fact, Jesus had three witnesses he could talk about. The bible commentaries I’ve read also reference that Jesus was following Old Testament law that was established in Deuteronomy 19: 15 which says, “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.” Christ did not commit a crime, but the principle in this verse from Deuteronomy establishes that you need two or three witnesses as evidence of what you have done.

I like this principle of having three witnesses to establish who you are and what you’ve done, so people can’t just claim to be something. They’ve got to be able to prove to others that they have an established pattern and evidence of what they and what they’ve done or evidentiary documentation. It’s a good rule to follow as well to gauge if you’ve changed something about yourself. Can you point to three times where you’ve done something differently than what you might have done? Are there three different circumstances where you chose something other than your normal pattern of behavior? If you can establish the pattern of three in your behavior, I think you can take it as an indication that you have changed and call that a success.

Day 127 Bible Reading - Judges 6: 14-16 (ESV)

Judges 6, Judges 7: 1-8, John 5: 16-30, Psalm 71: 9-18

Judges 6: 14-16 (ESV)

“And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

Verses 14 through 16 from Judges 6 shows how Gideon, who was being called by God, reacted to God asking him to serve. Gideon was surprised and probably shocked because he wasn’t a warrior or a soldier, and his family was weak. But God often picks people to do his will who might not necessarily fit the job description of what he is asking, but who in their heart are obedient to God and will do his will gladly. And yes, Gideon was right he couldn’t save Israel by himself but what he didn’t take into account was that God would be with him the whole time. God would give him the strength and tell him what to say and do. If God is with us, we can do whatever he asks.

I know for myself; I often forget that when God asks me to do something I often think why me? I don’t have the skills or education to do what God is asking. But I always find if I just submit to God and do whatever he is asking, I can do the task. And the only reason I can do the task is because God is with me the whole time and guiding me and telling me what to do. I think if I can just quiet the fear inside of myself like Gideon and trust in God,  then God will be able to use me more to fulfill his will for whatever his plan is for my life.

Day 126 Bible Reading - John 5: 2-9 (ESV)

Judges 4 & 5, John 4: 43-54, John 5: 1-15, Psalm 71: 1-8

John 5: 2-9 (ESV)

“Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.”

I love the way The Chosen TV series dramatized verses 2 through 9 from John 5. They added extra dialogue, but the essence of the scene is the same. The actor who played the paralyzed man did such a great job portraying the agony of someone who had been lying at the pool for that length of time. The makeup people did such a great job on the actor as well. The paralyzed man looked dirty and totally looked like he hadn’t taken a bath in years. When I watch the scene, I can almost smell the stink coming from the paralyzed man. They also portrayed John writing this healing scene down in his journal which was a nice touch.

When Jesus healed the paralyzed man at the pool, I loved his reaction. His spontaneous and almost hysterical laughter and tears of joy felt so real. The depiction of Christ healing someone through a person’s faith in him was depicted so well. When I feel the love of Christ in my heart, I almost get the same type of reaction. I’m not hysterical with laughter, but I feel tears and joy at the same time radiating throughout my body.

Enjoy the scene!

War and Peace Film Series (1966-67) on Max and YouTube

I decided to watch the War and Peace 4-part movie on Max just to see what the films were about compared to the 2016 version created by the BBC starring Paul Dano.

War and Peace Film Series

This movie was directed and co-written by Sergei Bondarchuk, and was made during the Soviet era of Russia. It's all in Russian with English subtitles, although they seem to skip subtitles on some conversations. There is also a commentary for most of the scenes. 

For a 1960's film, I was amazed at the number of cast members. This film was made before CGI and special film effects, so the people on the set are real and the cast was HUGE! It's really amazing to see the practical effects and crowd scenes knowing they are all real people and not fake scenery.

The movie is long, but it's fun to watch if you're a film buff and enjoy watching a movie made before CGI. The folks who put this movie together really did an amazing job of crowd and war scenes. There are not many close-ups and the scenes are often filmed with a stationary camera, which remind me of old 1950's Japanese movies.

If you have Max, I would recommend a view. It's worth watching!

I found the 4 movies on YouTube - check it out.