Day 142 Bible Reading - John 12: 44-46 (ESV)

1 Samuel 10-11, John 12: 27-50, John 13: 1-17

John 12: 44-46 (ESV)

“And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

I love verses 44 through 46 from John 12 where Jesus talks about his unity with God the father. For me, God and Christ are one and the same, so I use the words Christ and God interchangeably. I’m not sure all people who believe in Christ do this, but I do. For me, Jesus Christ and God are one. I also believe that my belief in Christ brings light to my world. I know that without my belief in God, my world would be a very dark and fearful place.

In the bible commentaries I read on John 12, these words were the last words Jesus said to public before he was arrested. I believe Jesus wanted to tell his followers and the public what he needed us to remember about him. That he was one with God and that he came into the world to bring to our darkness.

Day 141 Bible Reading - John 12: 23-24 (ESV)

1 Samuel 8 & 9, John 12: 1-26, Psalm 78: 17-31

John 12: 23-24 (ESV)

“And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Verses 23 and 24 are Jesus’ prophetic words about what was about to happen to him. He knew that his time on the cross was almost upon him, and that he would need to die like wheat to bear much fruit. And that fruit would be become the sacrificial Lamb of God for our sins, and his glorification when he would be resurrected three (3) days later.

I am always astonished when I read about Christ’s calm acceptance of his fate. He loved his people so much and he was completely surrendered to his father’s will for his life. Christ provides a model for us for how we need to accept our fate in lfe. We must be totally surrendered to God’s will for our life, and we must have the faith to know that we are doing will ultimately serve God’s plan not only for us but for all of humanity.

Day 140 Bible Reading - 1 Samuel 5: 6 (ESV)

1 Samuel 5-7, John 11: 45-57, Psalm 78: 9-16

1 Samuel 5: 6 (ESV)

“The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.

Verse 6 from 1 Samuel 5 talks about what happens to people when touch the Ark of the Covenant when they’re not supposed to touch it. I love this description of the Ark of the Covenant. Verse 6 reminds me of the Indiana Jones movie -  "The Raiders of the  Lost Ark." This description of the Ark of the Covenant is about the extraordinary power of God. The Ark of the Covenant caused tumors to the Philistines until they returned it back to Israel. But returning it to Israel wasn’t enough. The Ark had to be returned to the right people because it killed 70 men who looked at Ark after it was returned.

These stories about the power of God in the Old Testament still aren’t enough to keep his people faithful to him. We seem to be a miracle hungry people. We constantly need to be reminded of the power of God in miracles or acts of power to keep our faith in him. I tell myself I’m not like that, but I know I am because I’m a sinner deep down. I’ve had a couple of near-death experiences which I know were miracles of God, and my faith in God was strengthened for a while. But then I forgot about these miracles and started to lose faith and doubt God again. Until another miracle happened and my faith was restored. I hate that my faith is so dependent on seeing miracles in my life, but it is. The only good thing now is I don’t forget God the way I used to that I did in my youth, because I make a conscious effort to keep God always in my life. And that conscious effort is on it’s a miracle in and of itself.

Day 139 Bible Reading - John 11: 21-22 (ESV)

1 Samuel 2: 27-36, 1 Samuel 3 & 4, John 11: 1-44, Psalm 78: 1-8

John 11: 21-22 (ESV)

“Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

Verses 21 through 22 from John 11 shows the faith of Martha, the sister of Lazarus. Even in her grief over her brother’s death, she tells Jesus she still has faith in him. This is the test for anyone who believes in Christ. Will your faith still be there even though God has not answered your prayers? Will you still have faith even in the depths of your sorrow and grief and disappointment that God did give you the miracle you were asking for?

I don’t think I have this kind of faith. I never gave up on my faith in God even when I was disappointed in not having my prayers answered, but I don’t remember still having faith in God during my disappointment and grief. My prayers are that one day, when I am in grief and sadness, I will still have faith in God like Martha did. I think that’s why her story is included in the gospels, because she is a role model for the depth of faith in times of grief and sadness.