Growing in Grace

In John chapter 3, jealousy began between John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ followers. While John remained loyal to his calling of proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, Jesus decided to change locations and traveled toward Galilee. This is the scene that opens chapter 4. The route He traveled took Him through Samaria. In spite of the deep-seated hostility between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus did not back down from traveling this way. Jesus had ministry to do in the very village He and His disciples stopped in. While His disciples went into town to get food, Jesus sat down by a well to rest. When a Samaritan women came to draw water, Jesus asked her for a drink. She was taken by surprise that a Jewish man would be asking a Samaritan woman for a drink. Jesus immediately begins witnessing to her by stating that if she knew who she was speaking to, she would have asked for the “living water” that only He could provide. While she was still thinking in earthly terms, Jesus was referring to eterna

Yeah, I’m 42 today! I’ve said to my family that while being forty-something isn’t old, I do feel like I’ve aged so much this past year and a half. (I’ve got the gray hair to prove it!) Trials can take a lot out of a person physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually; but they also refine and help make a person better. I know I’ve grown in many areas; “not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12) Some things I’ve been learning (in no particular order): * Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, ”Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” This verse talks about trust . God has reminded me that I am not in control of things. While I may not always understand why God allows difficult things into my life, I can fully trust that He is in control and has a plan. God w

In John chapter 3, we read about a Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night to talk with Him. Although it might seem that he was afraid to be seen talking to Jesus, it is more likely that Nicodemus wanted to be able to speak with Jesus at length, without the interruptions and distractions of the crowds. I like how it was pointed out in my study that Nicodemus began their conversation by identifying himself with a group - the Pharisees. But Jesus made sure to turn their conversation around to make it personal. There are two things that stand out to me here in the beginning of the chapter: 1) We need to spend time with the Lord one-on-one and 2) We need to keep our focus on our own growth, and not make comparisons with others. Jesus then speaks to Nicodemus about being “born again.” This was a new and confusing idea to Nicodemus. Jesus was not referring to a physical rebirth, but a spiritual one. Warren Wiersbe writes that spiritual rebirth requires the Spirit of God and the

Read this tonight in "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. Am posting it so I'll remember. . . "(Jesus') life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God's. But what seemed to be failure from man's standpoint was a triumph from God's standpoint, because God's purpose is never the same as man's purpose. Our real test is truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance - they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes. If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that he is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, "I wonder why God allowed this or that?" And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divi

I have been reading Sally Clarkson’s book “ Dancing with my Father ”. It is a wonderful book and has helped me press on in my quest for joy. In the chapter I was reading the other day, Sally Clarkson was sharing about her experience as a missionary in Communist Europe and how it related to the idea of finding joy in the midst of suffering. As she pondered over how people living in such great oppression could express such joy and hope, a woman shared the following with her: “When you really need there to be a heaven and when you believe in it with all your heart, you have great reason to rejoice because you know this life is so short. You count on the fact that you will live forever in a place that you were designed for from the beginning of the world. The problem is that, sometimes, you who live in the Western world have so much of heaven on earth, with all your things and relative security and stability, that you can’t clearly see the world that is ahead. And often, I think, you d