FREEDOM

 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2^nd Corinthians 3:17 ESV

I think this is a great verse to meditate on in the times we are faced with. I sometimes think we focus a little too much on the temporal, when we should be focusing more on the eternal. Ultimately God is in charge, he knows our wants and our needs. He will provide for us. Ultimately, no matter how many freedoms we fear losing in this life, we will always be free in Christ. I am not saying we should give up on fighting for what is right. We should always fight for what is right, but we must always do it as Christians first.

A lot of folks are looking at our current leadership and wonder why God is allowing the things we see going on around us. We must always remember, He has not forsaken His people. I think at times we tend to think of America as “God's Holy Nation” instead of thinking of His church in that light. So, even though we may see America going in a way we are not comfortable with, it is not “God's Holy Nation” going in the wrong direction.

Lets never forget that the Lord's church began and flourished in a far more repressive era than we currently live in. Neither Jesus, nor Paul worried as much about the government they were living under as they did about reaching the lost with the gospel. “God's Holy Nation” is going forward and we should be working and doing our part in supporting that. The more lost souls that are reached by the gospel, the more people there will be to stand for what is right.

One more thing to think on today “This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through, my treasure are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.” This world is not ”it”. God has much greater things in store for us.

God is in charge!

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Blessed is the one

 And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

Luke 7:22,23 ESV

John the baptist had sent some men to see Jesus to find out if He was the one that was expected. John himself wanted to know for sure that Jesus was the messiah. Jesus didn't disappoint him in his response.

Jesus told them to let John know about everything they had seen themselves. He listed all the miracles they had witnessed. Jesus had healed many diseases, birth defects and even raised the dead. On top of all the miracles attesting to who Jesus was, He also preached to them about the coming kingdom and His role in establishing it.

Jesus ends His interaction with John's disciples with this statement; “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me”. In this statement Jesus is saying, that those that believe in Him and are not offended by Him and His message will be happy.

When we think about what Jesus is saying in this brief exchange it is quite profound. He wants John and everyone else to know that the miracles He performs are proof of who He is and the authority He has. As well as letting everyone know that God was fulfilling prophecy in their midst. If anyone is offended by Jesus, they are offending the one that sent Him.

We must look at it in the same way when we share the good news. If someone is offended by what we are saying concerning the good news about Jesus, we shouldn't be offended. Because it is not us that offends them, it is the truth of God's word that offends them. The choice is theirs, they can accept Jesus and be happy or be offended by Him and live a less than happy existence.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Jesus gave him back to his mother

 The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother

Luke 7:15 NASB

Read Luke 7:12-16

As you read through this passage in Luke, I hope you kept in mind that in this interaction between Jesus and the widow of Nain, you saw God meeting the needs of that woman. He met the needs of a woman that had not asked Him for it. The passage says that Jesus had compassion on her. Jesus acted out of compassion.

This passage helps us to see how compassionate a God we have. He is willing to provide even if He isn't asked. He sees the needs of one of His and He wants to meet it.

As always the actions of Jesus are lessons for us. His whole ministry teaches us how we are to minister to others. In this particular passage He wants us to see that we serve a compassionate God, that wants us to feel compassion and act on it. When we see a need we are to do what we can to meet that need.

Look around your world today, see if you know someone with a need. Have compassion on them and do what you can to give them what they need. Jesus did something we cannot do. He raised a man from the dead and gave him back to his mother.

We however, can do many things to help others and we know others that can help where we can't. Lets put our hearts and minds into it and let God work through us to serve others, just like Jesus did.

Lets be like the teacher

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Be like the teacher

 "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

Luke 6:40 NASB

Many of us had a teacher when we were growing up that had a profound effect on us. In some case we may have even tried to model our life and philosophies after that teacher. The reason we would do this is because we saw in them characteristics we would like to see developed in ourselves. I am not speaking solely about school teachers, but about the people that have had a great influence in our lives and what we have become.

I think back to a man in my life when I was growing up, my grandfather Leo Joseph Helbourg. I use his full name because I am named after him and proud of that fact. He was actually my step-grandfather, he had married my grandmother and helped her to raise her four sons. I think of him often and his peaceful, gentle nature. I also remember the great respect my mother had for this man. She always referred to him as “a true gentleman” and that he was. I never heard him raise his voice or have a harsh word for anyone. When they would come to visit, it wouldn't be long before he was out in the yard roaming around quietly enjoying the flowers and trees. I used to follow him around and just watch in awe, this peaceful quiet man and his appreciation for God's creation. We weren't together nearly enough , but I am thankful for the times we had. He taught me so much without saying a whole lot.

The biggest lesson he taught me was to be a man of peace and patience. This was important growing up in a world where I didn't see much of either. While my grandfather was a great teacher, he wasn't the greatest teacher. Jesus is the greatest teacher. When I was younger I wanted to model my life after my grandfather, but as I began to read the New Testament I began to realize that I really needed to model my life after Jesus.

So, when I read the verse above I am reminded that when this life is finished I want to have known that I lived it at Jesus feet. I want to know that I have done my best to learn from Him and to be like him. So, today and every day I need to follow Him through the pages of my bible and watch in awe as He changes lives and shows people a better way. My goal is to finish my training and to be like Him when I graduate to glory.

So, today think about some great teacher in your life and appreciate all they have taught you and realize that Jesus can teach you so much more. Determine today that you want to be like Him. Follow Him and you will go where He has gone.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Calling all sinners

And Jesus answered and said to them, "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

Luke 5:31,32 NASB

Jesus the great physician is proclaiming the reason He goes where others will not go. He goes to those that need Him most. His purpose in what He is doing is to get those He interacts with to turn their lives around and follow God's way.

Of course the reason He is making this proclamation is because those that think they are in no need of repentance are complaining that He is spending time with those they find offensive. Little do they know that their attitude is offensive to Jesus.

We should take this interaction to heart. There are going to be those times when we will look on others with disdain just as the the scribes and pharisees did. When we find ourselves doing this we need to remember that such behavior is offensive to our savior. If we are offending our savior, we are sinning too and must repent.

If we are to be true disciples of Jesus we must be willing to go where other people won't go. We can't call sinners to repentance if we ourselves are sinning in our attitude. As Jesus disciples, His mission is our mission. We must be mission minded.

Mission minded doesn't mean throwing money at the efforts of others. Not to say that we shouldn't help others in their efforts. It means that you care as much for the spiritually ill as Jesus does and you want to have them come to Him for spiritual healing. Today make up your mind to become “The Physicians” assistant and triage those that are sick. Prepare them to meet the Great Physician.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Follow Me

After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, "Follow Me." And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.

Luke 5:27,28 NASB

Imagine what kind of a presence Jesus must have had. He simply said “Follow Me” and Levi did. This is the power that Jesus had over people when they met Him. He simply said “Follow Me” and they did.

Not everyone He contacted followed Him, but those that believed in Him did.

Today people won't meet Jesus in the flesh as they did when He walked the earth. Today they will meet Him when they meet one of His and when that person is willing to display Jesus in their actions and speech.

We don't have the ability to know who will or won't follow Jesus. So, we need to treat everyone we come in contact with as someone that will come when called by Jesus. Many will not respond to His calling, but some will. We need to remember when we reach out to someone to show them Jesus and they say no, they are saying no to Him and not us. It's not about us, it's about Him.

So today, remember it is Jesus that does the calling through you. Be an instrument He can use for His purposes. Let Him call people to Himself through you.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Yesterday's Sermon

Yesterday's sermon has been posted: "Zacchaeus"

www.kitterychurch.org

Lord if you are willing...

                                  Read: Luke 5:12-15 NASB

This story is an interesting one, when you look at the interaction between Jesus and the man with leprosy. The man “fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Luke 5:12b NASB Did you notice that the man fell on his face before Jesus? This man knew who's presence he was in and honored Jesus by subjecting himself to His authority. This man had been suffering with a terrible disease that separated him from his family, his work and the community. His disease had caused the most severe separation. He knows the only way he can be reconciled with everyone in his life is through Jesus.

And what was Jesus response to the man? And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."Luke 5:13a NASB When Jesus did this miracle for this man He restored the man's health, family, home, his whole life by his willingness to cure the man's disease. Jesus was willing to reconcile this man with everyone and everything that he had once enjoyed. Through Jesus the man was returned to his original state and condition.

In this interaction Jesus was proving to all those that witnessed it that he had come to cure diseases and make reconciliation for humanity. When we look forward to Jesus on the cross, he was curing our soul's diseases (sin) and reconciling us with God. Through Jesus “willingness” our separation from God due to our disease (sin) we can now be made clean and returned to our original condition, a relationship with the God of the universe. In Jesus we are made whole and healthy.

But in order for this to happen, for us we have to do the same thing the man in the story did, humble ourselves before Jesus authority. We must believe in Him, and His ability to take care of our deepest need, salvation. He is willing to make us clean.

If you have come to the conclusion that you need His cleansing and are wondering what to do to make this possible. The bible has the answer for you. "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 NASB

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Run with endurance

 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1 ESV

The great cloud of witnesses spoken of here in Hebrews 12:1 is all those great people of faith listed in chapter eleven. The writer of Hebrews is encouraging his readers to get rid of all the burdens that hold us down and run the race before us.

When you think about it runners have as little as possible in the way of burdens when they compete. They wear the lightest clothing and shoes they can find in order to be free to run as fast and as long as they can. When we think of marathon runners in particular, they would never make the distance if they carried too heavy a burden. They would not have the endurance to finish the race let alone win it.

The writer is wanting his readers to see that if they want to finish the race and win their crown they will need spiritual endurance. The biggest hindrance to spiritual endurance is the weight of sin. He is encouraging his readers to put away the sins in their lives that are holding them down.

We all have certain sinful behaviors that hold us back in our spiritual race. They are slowing us down and causing us to fall behind. Today wold be a good day to take inventory of what our sin burdens might be and ask forgiveness for them and strength to overcome them. Jesus is waiting at the finish line to welcome us to victory in Him.

That great cloud of witnesses that went before us kept their faith and endured lets not hold onto anything hindering us in our pursuit of the goal.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Faith is...

 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

So faith is believing you will receive something promised and you are sure of it even though you haven't actually seen it yet. The above verse is the opening verse of what is know as the faith chapter. In chapter eleven is a list of great people of faith. As you read through the chapter you will see some had their faith rewarded in their lifetime, while in other cases the promise or hope that hey had faith in came to another generation.

God is faithful to keep His promises. As you read chapter eleven you will see God followed through on all of His promises. You will also notice that all of these people of faith are commended for their faith. Not only were these individuals recognized for their faith by God in their day, they have been remembered on down through the centuries by their descendants. The writer of Hebrews uses them as examples of faith for his Jewish readers in the first century and also for us in the twenty-first century. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews teaches us how far reaching and effective an individuals faith is.

The only way we can be pleasing in God's sight is by our faith. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 ESV In order to have a relationship with God, we must have faith in Him. In order to have a place in heaven we must have faith in Him and His promises. Our entire eternal future depends on our individual faith in God and His promises. Faith is a powerful thing it. It is life changing, it is world changing.

How is your faith in God and his promises? If you think it isn't all that it should be, read more about the individuals listed in the faith chapter and you will see that they didn't always have a perfect faith. But, they had faith and God commended them for it. God knows your faith will ebb and flow, but He will show Himself to always be true to His promises.

Keep the faith...

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Steadfast anchor of the soul

 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf Hebrews 6:19,20a

This verse would have been very significant to the jewish readers of this letter. Because, under the Old Covenant only the High Priest of Israel was allowed into the most Holy place of the temple once a year to make the atoning sacrifice for all of the Jewish people. In Jesus; the temple, the curtain and the priesthood have all been done away with. We now have direct access.

“A hope that enters the inner place behind the curtain”. Our hope is in the Most Holy place. The place where God Himself lives. A place that man could not go before. A place that has been made accessible by Christ sacrifice. He entered into the Most Holy place on our behalf. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. Matthew 27:51 When Jesus died the curtain that separated God and man was done away with. Jesus had made the perfect sacrifice once for all as our High Priest. We no longer have to go through anyone or anything to go to God in the Most Holy place. All communication is now done directly with our heavenly Father. We now approach His throne directly.

This is the steadfast anchor for our souls because we know that through Christ we have been brought back into fellowship with God. We now have a father-child relationship with God as he had intended from the beginning. We are where Jesus is. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering Hebrews 12:22 That is where are on a spiritual level.

That is why we can have confidence in where we will be for eternity. The apostle John said this, Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 We can have great confidence in the day when Christ returns that we will be made to be just like Him and we will join Him where He is.

In Christ we have an anchor for our souls we are no longer adrift in the darkness. Lets remember that in Jesus we are safe and secure.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

He is able to help

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:18 ESV

One of the greatest things that we can come to know about Jesus is that He experienced life just as we do. He can relate to us on every level of human experience. The verse above is proof of that. The verse speaks about temptation, which is something that every living person deals with. Jesus can sympathize with us because He has lived just as we do. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15 We can draw strength from the fact that our savior endured the temptations of this life, did not sin and was willing to take our sins to the cross. We can know that when we fail to resist temptation His ability to resist it covers our sins.

When we do fall to temptation we can go to God in confidence knowing that He will forgive us because of Jesus. Hebrews 4: 16 says this, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Because Jesus is our mediator with God, He pleads our case for us. He knows what we have experienced and He helps us when we need it.

It is amazing to think about how Jesus put himself in our shoes so he could understand us to the deepest levels of our being. So, the next time you think God doesn't understand what caused you to sin, know that He does. Know also that He wants to forgive you of your sins. Approach Him in prayer and sincerely ask for forgiveness and He will grant it.

We can apply what we have learned about Jesus and forgiveness to our lives. The next time we see someone sinning or they sin against us directly we need to put ourselves in their shoes and try to understand why they do what they do and be forgiving like our Lord is. We will be forgiven as we forgive others.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

How shall we escape?

 How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Hebrews 2:3,4 ESV

How shall we escape? Salvation in Christ has been declared by the Lord Himself and by His apostles. God backed up their claims with miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. When we read the gospels and the book of Acts we have access to all that I just listed. The evidence is there for all to see.

The Hebrew writer asks the question “how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” How can we hope to escape the wrath of God if we neglect to take Him up on His offer of salvation in Christ? God has shown in so many ways that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Yet, many neglect to be obedient to God's offer of salvation. There are also those that have taken God up on His offer only to let their faith wither and die from neglect.

Today is a good day to take stock, to look inward and see if there may be a problem of neglect in our lives. If there is, it must be remedied. If we neglect such a great salvation, we will be lost. This week read the gospels and the book of Acts and reaffirm the great salvation that is offered in Jesus Christ.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

Kent men's retreat

Having a great retreat in Kent CT. Heard a great lesson from John Mark Hicks on baptism. Romans chapter six.

Lest we drift away

 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. Hebrews 2:1 ESV

Paying closer attention to what we have heard. How many times as a kid did you hear, “you need to pay closer attention”? I don't know about you, but I heard it frequently. Mainly because I was easily distracted. Is that a rabbit over there? Oh yes, back to the subject at hand. Paying closer attention. As Christians we need to pay very close attention to what we have heard concerning Jesus and His church. If we don't, we will begin to drift away.

When it comes to spiritual matters we don't want to find ourselves adrift in a dark world. How many of us would go drifting along in a canoe on a strange river in the dark. Not many of us. Most of us know that any river can be fraught with danger, especially for the unaware. Drifting in the darkness guarantees dangers. When we don't pay close attention to our walk with Jesus we are flirting with disaster. The writer of Hebrews understood that danger of drifting away. He knew it had already begun to happen in the church and the purpose of his letter is to remind Christians to wake up and pay attention.

The danger of drifting away for the truth of God's word is just as real today as it was for the church of the first century. There are so many distractions in life, family, friends, work, hobbies and so on. The best “hobby” any christian can have is reading their bible. When we are in the scriptures we are listening to what God is say ing to us. When we are listening, truly listening we will pay closer attention to our walk and where we stand spiritually.

So, today are you paying close attention to what you have heard, or are you adrift somewhere else? Some things I do know about the river of life is that there are rapids, whirlpools and falls that we need to be on the look out for. If we are not paying attention to what we have heard we face drowning in that river.

Spend time in the word today and every day. Listen and pay close attention, the word of God is your life-preserver.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

The radiance and glory of God

 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Hebrews 1:3a ESV

Verse 3a of Hebrews chapter one testifies to the deity of Jesus. The writer is making his case for the deity of Christ in the first half of the verse. After making the statement earlier that Jesus is the Son of God and that God has communicated with us through Him, he now goes on to further explain the Son's deity.

Through Jesus all of God's splendor and praise-worthiness is made manifest. It shines through in the person of Jesus. When the world looks at Jesus, they are seeing God in all of His majesty. One of the purposes of Jesus coming to live among us was to give a face to the invisible God. (Colossians 1:15)

He goes on to explain that Jesus is the exact imprint of God's nature. In Jesus we see the vivid impression of God's essential qualities, the essence of God. All of Jesus personality traits, His compassion, love and concern are those of God. As we experience Jesus, we are truly experiencing God in the flesh. In Jesus, God exposes the essence of who he really is.

To further expound upon the “Godliness” of Jesus , the writer tells us that Jesus maintains the universe in which we live. When you look up at the stars and planets in the night sky, know that it is by the power of Jesus that they remain as they are. It is by His power and authority that the vastness of the universe is held in place. John 1:3 proclaims this as well. It speaks to the creative power of Jesus.

All of this information in just half a verse. The power of the WORD of God! The power to testify and witness to itself. Why would we ever question the all-sufficiency of scripture?

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

He has spoken to us by His Son

 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1,2 NIV

The writer of Hebrews wants his readers to know from the start that God has communicated with man according to His own terms. As he opens this letter he is speaking in the past tense. In the past God spoke and He has spoken to us. Of course this letter is intended for those of the Jewish persuasion, but certainly useful for us today as well.

These first two verses show the process that God used to communicate with man. First it was with the prophets, but in His final interaction with humanity it is through His own Son that He chooses to reveal His will for mankind. Jesus also explained his mission this way in the parable of the vine growers, in Luke 20:9-18. (Read this Parable)

What the writer of Hebrews is getting at is that God had spoken to man in many ways and those He sent weren't listened to. His final effort to communicate with man was through His Son. In Luke chapter twenty Jesus was directly confronting the spiritual leaders of the Jews with the fact that if they refuse to listen to the Son what they have, will be taken away from them. They were none to impressed with that Idea .

So, as the writer of Hebrews is introducing the purpose of the letter it is obvious that he wants his readers to know that obedience to the Son is mandatory. He is the heir of all things. The universe was made through Him. These statements about Jesus display His power and authority. When Jesus came it was to speak on behalf of His Father. He wasn't merely a servant sent with a message like the prophets were, He was the direct heir of the owner of the “vineyard”. He came to claim what was rightfully His.

This brief declaration in the first two verses sets the tone for the entire letter, Jesus is what we have been looking for. Jesus is the answer.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

The Bread of Life

 Read John 6:26-69

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:36 NIV

In the passage in John chapter six Jesus says I am the bread of life twice and I am the living bread once. Jesus makes these statements while talking with a Jewish audience. They were asking him to show them a sign. They said that their forefathers had eaten manna from heaven and were looking for Jesus to show them a similar sign. Jesus then goes on to explain to them that He is the bread from heaven, the bread of life eternal. Those that partake in Jesus will never hunger or thirst again. He lets them know that just as God had provided for their forefathers in the desert, He is now providing living bread in the form of Himself.

The jews didn't like it because He said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." NIV They knew that he was the son of Joseph and Mary so they just couldn't fathom how he could possibly claim to be from heaven. They only saw Jesus through very human eyes. They were blind to the works of God that they were being exposed to.

When Jesus says, “This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." NIV He explains to them what he meant and yet they did not understand. Many of them found it to hard to comprehend and quit following Jesus.

It is truly amazing as many times as Jesus used parables, examples, scripture and analogies to help people comprehend the significance of His coming to earth, they could not see who He was. It just shows us the limits of human comprehension at times, especially as it relates to spiritual matters. Our minds can be so finite.

Many had left Jesus after this particular lesson. But those closest to Him stayed, as well as did those that had understood Jesus teachings.

When we read about Jesus we see that he uses all the tools at His disposal, to teach those around Him. We also see the same from the apostle Paul. Obviously Jesus and Paul had great success in reaching people with the good news. But there were always those that would not accept the teaching and would walk away.

Lets learn from Jesus and from Paul to use every tool at our disposal to teach the gospel. Lets also learn that persistence pays off and there are those that will understand and respond. But we must also realize, that despite our best efforts there will be those that will not believe and they will turn and walk away.

Keep on keeping on.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

the Lamb of God

 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29 ESV

The great proclamation of John the baptist! The whole purpose of John's ministry was coming to it's fulfillment when Jesus came walking toward him that day. John had been preaching to Israel about Jesus coming and had been preparing the way for Jesus, he said "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said." John1:23 John was testifying that prophesy was being fulfilled.

Think of the significance of that moment, God's plan for man's salvation was falling into place. The messiah that God had promised is now there. Four hundred years of silence on God's behalf and now the “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” is walking toward him.

We can look back in John chapter one and see that His own people didn't recognize Him. Even after John's proclamation those that had claimed to be followers of God did not know Him, even when He was right before their eyes. We can look back and say, why didn't more people see who Jesus was.

When the apostle John makes this statement about Jesus; And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 ESV He is looking back in retrospect. He is talking about the facts, after the fact of Jesus appearance. As he was writing his gospel he was writing about what he had witnessed. He now had clear hindsight of who Jesus was. Even the apostles didn't really understand who Jesus was until after His death, burial and resurrection. So, we shouldn't be too hard on the average Jew in the time of Jesus earthly ministry.

We should however be eternally grateful for the gospel accounts of the appearance of Jesus and the fulfillment of God's plan to reconcile man with Himself. The purpose of the Gospels is to show the world who Jesus is. Let's read the gospels and get to understand for ourselves the facts about Jesus. Then we too can proclaim with great confidence. “Look this is Jesus (the Lamb of God), he came to take away the sin of the world!” We can help others to see that the sin of the world includes their sins. They too can have forgiveness of their sins if they believe in Jesus and are obedient to His commands.

Read all of John chapter one today and see anew Jesus as He begins to reach out to the world of lost souls. See God fulfilling His promises. See Jesus, really see Him! Remember what He has done for you and determine to share that with others.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman