John 8 Chapter 6

One of the keys for understanding what John presents in this Gospel is how the signs all point to His not only being the promised Messiah but is in fact, God the Son who reveals the One God as the Holy Trinity; Himself, His Father and the Holy Spirit, the perfect unity in whose image each of us has been created.…

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2Cor.4:18).”

We can't really talk about the meaning of Christmas until we see the idea of birth itself as a spiritually conceived process and event. Birth is a spiritual beginning and beginning starts with the spiritual idea that something needs to begin. That insight to think is the source of existence and everything in it. It is a spiritual God the Father who…

Having revisited the "4 Bridges to Nowhere" we have seen that nowhere is really nowhere and nowhere is a dead end, a terminal aloneness and an empty eternity. As we quoted at the end of each they were found “...too dangerous to continue on so we make a u-turn called repentance and on the other side of that repentant exchange for forgiveness lies the vision of a new bridge, Bridge 5, the Bridge to Eternity.”

We know that Bridge 5 is the Lord Jesus Himself. This is not a bridge that…

Bridge 4. Love. Jn.12:25 “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

What makes this bridge of 'love for life' so different from the identity, saving and lifestyle bridges that precede it? In order to answer that question we have to allow the overall context of John's…

Bridge 3. Lifestyle. Lk.17:33 “Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.” In Luke a lifestyle is hung onto but then lost.

Lifestyle...It's the way we choose to put our ducks in a row everyday so that we can say to ourselves and others 'This is the way to live.' One way we express that is in how we dress for others simply because 'they' will have an opinion about me as soon as they see me. Who are we dressing for? Who are we playing…

Bridge 2. Moment. Mk.8:35-36 “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” In Mark each moment of life seems saved then lost.

The emphasis on this bridge is found in Mark using the same expression as Matthew (Gk. eneken emou, for my sake) but with a slightly different flavor. Mark is more direct. He uses it to say 'for me.' He sees…

Now we come to the true bridge. But first we need to revisit the other four that lead to nowhere. The reason will become obvious as we move toward them again and see if they are the ones we might have traveled across. Those travels could very well be a testimony waiting to be shared.

Bridge 1. Identity. Mt.10:39 “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” In Matthew an identity is found that then is lost.

Bridge 2. Moment.…

4 Bridges Continued

You've probably heard the term “cut flower Christianity.” In our visit to the 4 bridges leading to nowhere this term is a good description when you take perfectly good blessings from the Lord God, separate them from Him and, like flowers cut from their roots, they end up withering and dying. It's subtle as it travels from God's…

Something new is happening here as it will throughout the Gospel. Jesus has declared His being the promised Messiah. He declared it to a woman. He declared it to her alone. He declared it to her because it was His Father's will at that moment, in that way and in those words. With Jesus we must remember everything He said and did was His Father's will (John 12:49-50). The Father was bringing Jesus to to give a whole new perspective to human living, a spiritual perspective that would depend on…

It's All About You

It's all about you. This very moment is about you. It's about you because you are important and I want to get you to think about why that is so. In fact, when you do think about it, everything that is written is written to get your attention. People write to get your attention. Politicians want your attention, businesses want…