John 1, Scripture for Tuesday, September 15, 2020

 

Welcome back ladies!  I pray you have had a restful summer and are ready to dive into our study.  Today we begin in John and if you are like me, John is an all-time favorite.

There has been a lot going on during our break from writing for me personally.  I went from good to bad more often than I really want to admit.  The phrase “new normal” just made me cringe!

Then one day, after asking for prayers from my sister’s in Christ, I heard Jesus say to me, “Sit down!”  It was a command.  Sit down!

Here at Women in the Word, we are sharing posts from the past and Hebrews 8 was the scripture and the post shared was one I had written in the fall of 2017. (click here to read)  God certainly has a sense of humor because my thought process of “new normal” was not very reflective of a follower of Him.  Satan’s aim is to diminish the supremacy and All-Sufficiency of Jesus.

Today begins the Gospel of John.  I know I say this often, but we are at one of my favorite books in the bible.  This book is a complete story of Jesus – beginning, middle and end.  It begins with the “Son or Word of God” who was “made flesh, and dwelt among us”.  John shows us Jesus’ relationship with His Heavenly Father.

And this is where I had to sit down!

“But to all who receive Him, who believe in His name, He gave power to become children of God.”

I was reading a fantastic book that a few ladies will be reading together soon, “The Good and Beautiful God.”  And the chapter that I just finished helped all that was out of sync in me to be reset.

I am a child of God - with power!

Some days are just so hard!  I have worked so hard to raise my children, to make a comfortable home and enjoy my family and friends only to have my expectations bury me alive.  Quite literally, I have been in a long season of feeling like I could not handle another blow to my expectations!  Buried!

“In Christ I am no longer to be defined by sin.  I have been reconciled.  Sin has been defeated.

The New Testament does not set Jesus apart from His followers, those who put their confidence in Jesus are also inhabited by Him.  Christians are people Christ dwells in.” (page 154 – “The Good and Beautiful God”)

 Maybe you are like me and you are always at work – trying to “do” so much to be a Christian that you haven’t spent much time thinking about Christ being “in me”.

 

 We are a witness to this light.  What does that mean?  When I first began reading John, I focused on being a witness and prayed that God would help me become a better witness. 

 “The question is not:  How many people take you seriously?  How much are you going to accomplish?  Can you show results?  But:  Are you in love with Jesus?.... In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know the heart of God; a heart that forgives, cares and reaches out and wants to heal.”  (page 163 - “The Good and Beautiful God”)

 I am beginning to understand why Jesus said, “Sit down!” to me on this particular morning.  I know who I am.  I am a child of God and I house the fullness of God and my witness is to allow Jesus to shine through me – in my brokenness – not in my doing.  Just like Hebrews 8 reminded me – Jesus has taken His seat at the right hand of God’s throne.  He accomplished His work of purification of sins.  He has done all that can be done to accomplish our redemption.  I need to sit down and allow Jesus to shine through me so others can see.  My witness is in my brokenness. 

 John of Kronstadt said, “Your brokenness does not define you.”

 

You are one in whom Christ dwells.  Your glory is not in what you do, but in who you are.  It is in our weakness that God’s power is revealed.  We are witnesses out of our brokenness.  We heal others through our vulnerability because that is where Christ shines most brightly!

Oh ladies!  I pray you are on fire to hear all John has to say about Jesus!  See you tomorrow!

Blessings,

Lisa