Meeting Jesus will change your life, perspective, and personal mission. 

Jesus traveled from Judea on His way to Galilee. The route that he chose took Him through Samaria where the Samaritans lived. The Jewish people and Samaritans hated one another because of their different races. The racial tension would have been thick enough to cut with a knife. Racism was present but Jesus traveled through Samaria. 

Because He was tired from his journey, Jesus sat down by a well. A Samaritan woman came out in the heat of the day to gather water. This is odd because water was drawn in the cool of the morning or evening – not during the heat of the day. Through the account we find out that this woman has had multiple marriages and, at the time, was living with a man who was not her husband. She most likely avoided the other women’s comments and insults by drawing water when no one else would be around. 

Jesus meets the woman, reveals her sin, offers her living water, and tells her that He is the Messiah. She believed and was so moved that she ran into her village to talk to the people that she desperately avoided. 

Don’t miss this. She was ashamed of her story before she met Jesus. Once she found salvation and freedom from her past, she shared her story with her community. This resulted in many of the people in her town putting their faith in Jesus. 

The woman used the one thing that she wanted to avoid – her story. 

Do you realize that you have a story? It is full of ups and downs, twists and turns. If you have put your faith in Jesus you have a spiritual story that shares your life before you met Jesus, how Jesus changed your life, and your life since giving your life to Jesus. It is as simple as that. The power of the cross overcame the power of your sin and gave you freedom and forgiveness. 

The power of your story isn’t in your past sin but in the redemption found in your Savior. When we share our spiritual stories we connect others to the love and mercy that is found in Jesus. 

Live It:

• When you came to know Jesus, did you experience the same level of openness and the same eagerness to share that the woman at the well did? Why or why not? 
• Are you sometimes hesitant to share your spiritual story? Why do you think that happens? 
• What can you do this week to challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone and serve how God has called you? 

Christ Chronological: John 4:1-42

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There is so much that we can learn from John the Baptist’s statement. 

John understood that it is dangerous to call attention to ourselves. Why is it dangerous to bring attention to ourselves?

It is dangerous for two reasons:

1. When we make our lives about us we fail to make our lives about Jesus.

2. When we make our lives about us we spend our time making sure that others see our awesomeness, not the awesomeness of Jesus.  

Pride stunts our spiritual growth and taints our witness. Pride is when we are overly satisfied with our own achievements. Romans 12:3 says, “For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.”

Living a life of humility isn’t living with a sense of self-loathing but with a recognition that everything we have, everything that we are, and every strength that we have comes from God and should be used for the glory of God. John the Baptist understood this truth. We must decrease and Jesus must increase. We must deny ourselves and take up our crosses everyday (Matthew 16:24). 

Our lives need more of Jesus, not more of us. 

Our families need more of Jesus, not more of us.

Our communities need more of Jesus, not more of us. 

Our social media feeds need more of Jesus, not more of us. 

Live It: 

• How must Jesus increase in your life? 

Christ Chronological: John 3:22-36

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John 3:16 is one of the most famous passages in the Bible. Here are a few thoughts on this passage. 

1. To love is to give. The more you love the more you give. God loves humanity so much that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for sins.

2. Jesus was fully aware of His purpose on earth. He came to live the perfect life that we are unable to live, to die the death that we should die, so that we may have the life that we don’t deserve. 

3. Eternal life is made possible through Jesus alone. There are no other pathways to righteousness. There are no other ways to reach heaven. There are no other beliefs or actions that can redeem your life. Life is found only in the Giver of life. 

4. The decision for eternal life and salvation lies in the individual’s choice. Your family can’t bring you into the family of God. Your culture can’t make you a Christian. Being familiar with Jesus isn’t the same as being faithful to Jesus. Cultural Christians are those who believe that they are in the family of God because of their church attendance, their political conversations, or their belief that a god does exist. 

5. John 3:19 tells us why individuals do not follow Jesus: “This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil”  (John 3:19). Humanity is a sucker for sin. We stray into the darkness instead of staying in the Light. 

Live It: 

• Have you accepted Jesus as the Lord of your life?
• How can you be thankful for the gift of salvation?

Christ Chronological: John 3:14-21

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Have you ever wrestled with a question or idea that kept you up at night?

In John 3 we learn about a Pharisee named Nicodemus who approached Jesus in the middle of the night with a deep theological question about salvation. Even though it was early in Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Pharisees and religious leaders of the day were skeptical of Jesus. Nicodemus probably met Jesus at night to conceal his visit with the controversial figure.

 Jesus is not upset that Nicodemus came to Jesus in the middle of the night. He still has a conversation with him. I love that Jesus has spiritual conversations. Seekers, skeptics, and the unspiritual are welcome to approach Jesus and ask whatever question that is on their hearts.

 Before Nicodemus could voice the reason for his visit, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus had questions about salvation and Jesus cut straight to the heart of his visit. This spiritual leader was confused about salvation.

Unless Someone Is Born Again

What was your first reaction when you read this passage? Being born again is a weird concept for us to grasp. Nicodemus was thrown off as well. He responds to Jesus saying, “‘How can anyone be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked him. ‘Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?’” (John 3:4). No one can be physically born a second time – it is impossible. Your life has already begun. The statement doesn’t make sense.

The statement doesn’t make sense if you are trying to understand it as a physical rebirth. There cannot be a new life when you are already alive. Jesus isn’t saying that entrance into the family of God is contingent on a second physical birth but a spiritual birth.

Sin corrupts the spiritual life – leading it to death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin leads to death. The only way to live in the family of God is to be spiritually born again, that is, to take hold of the new life and identity that is found in Jesus Christ when you repent of your sins and follow Him. You must be spiritually born into a heavenly kingdom.

Your earthly birth and family name will not grant you access to God. You must experience transformation from the inside out Jesus. Jesus isn’t an addition to your lifestyle. Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection makes a spiritual rebirth possible for every person.

Live It:

• What was your first reaction when you read that you must be born again?
• Have you placed your faith and life in Jesus?

 Christ Chronological: John 2:23-3:13

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Why did Jesus cleanse the temple?

Well, Jesus actually cleared out the temple twice during his life – once at the beginning of his ministry (John 2:2-13) and once before His death on the cross (Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48). Jesus made a whip to drive out the merchants during the first cleansing of the temple and he overturned the tables during the second cleansing. Jesus cleared the temple during two separate occasions nearly three years apart.

 Why? Was it wrong to sell things in the temple?

 The Law of the Old Testament allowed the priests to sell animals to those who were traveling to the temple from another region. Some travelers were unable to bring animals to sacrifice at the temple so selling animals was permitted to accommodate these situations. This opportunity to help became an opportunity to make money sometime during Israel’s history.

 Jesus entered the temple close to the Passover to worship. One of the first things that Jesus saw when he entered the temple was the merchants who were focused on doing business. Jesus, full of righteous anger because of the misuse of the Lord’s House, made a whip, and drove the merchants out of the temple saying, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” (John 2:16). Jesus was unwilling to allow the temple to be used for selfish gain. 

• These merchants came to the temple to fill their pockets, not to be filled with the Spirit.
• These merchants made the focus of worship about themselves, not about God.
• These merchants came to the temple to see what they could get, not give.

 There is a right and wrong way to approach the worship of God. This hits home when we begin to evaluate our motives for attending or leaving a church.

• Do you need someone else to spiritually feed you?
• Do you go to church to see what you can receive?
• Do you complain when there is nothing for you?
• Do you join a church to have your needs met?

Worship is never about what we can get but what we can give. Church involvement is largely to give ourselves to the worship of Jesus and to the service of others. In Jesus, we have already received everything that we need – grace upon grace.

[Read: Are You Fully Devoted To The Work and Worship of Jesus?]

 There is a difference in being in need and being needy. Sure, there will be times where you are in need and the local church will step in to serve you. The church is beautiful when it edifies and serves each member. But we must keep our eyes on what we can bring to the local church and to the worship of Jesus, not what we can receive from attending a gathering.

Live It:

• What are your motivations for attending weekly worship gatherings at a local congregation?
• Have you fallen into a selfish mindset with church and/or worship?
• Are you more concerned with what the church does/doesn’t give you or what you can give Jesus and the church?

 Christ Chronological: John 2:13-22

Did Jesus turn water into wine? Yes, He did.

Jesus revealed the first sign of His supernatural power at a wedding in Cana. Jesus’ mother is attending the wedding and the disciples show up with Jesus to celebrate. John 2:1-12 records the wedding celebration and we are brought into the story when the party was in full swing. I’m sure that this was a joyous wedding celebration, that is, until they ran out of wine.

Weddings were community events. For a small town like Cana, this would have been a large celebration for all of the people who lived there. Refreshments would have been provided to all of the guests. Did more people show up than expected? Did they forget to buy enough wine? While we don’t know why they ran out of wine the fact remains: the wedding party ran out of wine. Running out of wine was not a life-or-death situation, but it was a large error on the wedding party that would have caused embarrassment.

What would they do? Walmart didn’t exist. Heading down to a grocery store was out of the question. There was no way to solve this problem.

Mary Saw A Problem

Mary saw a problem and believed that Jesus could do something about it.

“When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him, ‘They don’t have any wine.’” John 2:3

Mary didn’t tell Jesus what to do, while the solution is implied. She presented the problem to Jesus believing that He was able to solve it.

Jesus told the wedding servants to fill six stone water jars that were used for Jewish purification (John 2:6-7). The servants took the jars, filled them with water, and presented them to Jesus. Jesus told the servants to draw some of the liquid out and take it to the headwaiter (John 2:8). The water was miraculously turned into wine and the wedding celebration continued.

Water to Wine

So, why did Jesus turn water into wine? There are two reasons that Jesus performed miracles.

First, all of Jesus’ miracles served a specific purpose – bring glory to God. Jesus’ miracles showed his power over the physical and spiritual realms. These displays of power and dominion pointed to the glory of God.

Secondly, Jesus performed miracles to help humans both physically and spiritually. Jesus’ miracles met physical and spiritual needs of humanity to, as Luke 19:10 says, “seek and save the lost.” Every miracle was a moment to bring spiritual healing to those who believed in His power and goodness.

Does turning water into wine seem like a small problem to solve? It does to me. While I don’t want to downplay the power that Jesus displayed in the miracle (I can’t turn water into wine), this miracle seems smaller than some of the miracles Jesus completes later in His ministry. After all, Jesus walks on water, brings people back from the dead, feeds over 5,000 men with a few pieces of bread and fish, and defeats the sting of death and penalty of sin.

While turning water into wine wasn’t one of the larger miracles that Jesus performed, we can learn an important truth about Jesus’ heart and character. Jesus is concerned with the small aspects of our lives.

 Jesus is concerned with the small aspects of our lives.

It seems like we are quick to call out to Jesus in the insurmountable moments in life. You know the moments: a bad health diagnosis, the loss of your job, the death of a loved one, or the pain of a broken relationship. In these heavy moments I know that I instinctively call out to Jesus for peace, rescue, and hope.

It isn’t just the heavy moments that I can cry out to Jesus. Mary saw a problem and took it to Jesus. Mary never told Jesus what to do. She brought the need to Jesus and allowed Him to make the decisions. Jesus, in His perfect wisdom and goodness, decides when to move in miraculous ways.

 Jesus cares about the large and small aspects of your life. You should never feel like a prayer request is too small or insignificant. We can bring all of our pains and praises to Jesus.

Live It:

• Do you overlook smaller prayer requests? Are you diligent to present those to Jesus?
• Spend a few minutes thanking Jesus for His character and compassion. He cares about the large and small in our lives.

Christ Chronological: John 2:1-12

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