06/01 John 7:1-3
After this, Jesus stayed in Galilee, going from village to village. He wanted to stay out of Judea where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. But soon it was time for the Festival of Shelters, and Jesus’ brothers urged him to go to Judea for the celebration. “Go where your followers can see your miracles!” they scoffed.
JESUS
Jesus knew why He was here. His disciples didn’t get it. He was seeking to help those in Galilee and was not going to let others push Him into doing something that could deter His mission. Jesus knew that we needed Him to do exactly what He would do. Think about it. We too should do exactly what Christ calls us to do.
06/02 John 7:4-5
“You can’t become a public figure if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, prove it to the world!” For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.
BELIEVE
Some talk about how hard it is to be a good Christian. It’s easy when you believe Jesus. It’s hard when you try to run things yourself. A Christian lifestyle should be directed by Jesus and based on our belief and trust in Him.
06/03 John 7:6-7
Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go. But you can go anytime, and it will make no difference. The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of sin and evil.
SIN
Sin is the malady that tracks each one of us. Sin is so desperately seeking to destroy us. We need to be on the alert. We need to be watchful. Jesus will help us avoid being overrun by sin. The great tragedy is that most folks don’t take sin seriously and they don’t turn to Jesus for His strength and guidance until they are neck deep in sin.
06/04 John 7:8-9
You go on. I am not yet ready to go to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” So Jesus remained in Galilee.
JESUS
Talk with Jesus. He knows what is going on. He can give you expert advice about your life. Don’t try to go it alone ask Christ to teach you step by step.
06/05 John 7:10
But after his brothers had left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view.
JESUS
He knew the right thing to do. He knew what people thought. He knew what He was called to do. No mistakes or missteps. Christ is deeply concerned about our personal life. We need help to make it through the darkness of the world. Ask Jesus and He will shepherd you.
06/06 John 7:11
The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him.
JESUS
Christ knew who wanted Him and why. He was careful to show Himself at the appropriate time. Let me encourage you to see yourself as a part of His family, an important part of the Lord’s family. He will teach you in the way you should go.
06/07 John 7:12-13
There was a lot of discussion about him among the crowds. Some said, “He’s a wonderful man,” while others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud, deceiving the people.” But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.
FEAR
Fear drives us away from good things and good opportunities. It causes us to do unwise things. Do not fear. Take your challenges to Jesus and let Him speak a word of wisdom and truth to you.
06/08 John 7:14-15
Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. The Jewish leaders were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t studied everything we’ve studied?” they asked.
WISDOM
The Word of God is wisdom. It is the essence and base of truth. God is the start of everything. When we don’t know the Father we are literally living as walking dead people. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and that the wages of sin are death.
06/09 John 7:16-17.
So Jesus told them, “I’m not teaching my own ideas, but those of God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.
JESUS
The Holy Spirit directs us in our relationship with Jesus. One cannot deny Jesus and then claim that Jesus lives in them. We are either directed by Jesus or not. This is a choice that we make. Humility is denying self and surrendering to Jesus. If we are in control we are out of Jesus’ control.
06/10 John 7:18
Those who present their own ideas are looking for praise for themselves, but those who seek to honor the one who sent them are good and genuine.
LORD
We want to follow the Lord. We follow Him by our obedience, focus on Him and Him only, surrender our own prerogatives and serve others. People count with Jesus and when they count with us we are living like Him.
06/11 John 7:19
None of you obeys the law of Moses! In fact, you are trying to kill me.” The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”
CROWD
The crowd never follows Jesus. When we focus our life on Christ we are no longer a part of the crowd. We have pulled away to be with Jesus. Our personal walk is a walk of obedience. Do the next right thing.
06/12 John 7:21-24
Jesus replied, “I worked on the Sabbath by healing a man, and you were offended. But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision is older than the law of Moses; it goes back to Abraham.) For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it, so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should I be condemned for making a man completely well on the Sabbath? Think this through and you will see that I am right.”
TRADITION
Tradition misuses people. What was important in one generation, not Biblical things but human things, may not be important in this generation. For example we no longer travel by horses and we can light a building with electric lights. In earlier times people worshipped at a certain time because they had to travel by horse and the buildings weren’t well lit. Today we travel by car and our buildings can be lit at night as though it were day. The time our church meets can be early Sunday morning, late Saturday night, late Sunday and still meet the needs of the people. There are other things we need to think about also. Some traditions have no relevance for today but Jesus is always relevant.
06/13 John 7:25-27
Some of the people who lived there in Jerusalem said among themselves, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that our leaders know that he really is the Messiah? But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”
WISDOM
People need wisdom. When they are lost they are dead in their trespasses and sin and cannot comprehend the things of God. When Jesus indwells us, when we are part of the family of God, the Lord will give us the wisdom we need to understand what He is saying to us. The folks in Jesus day was more interested in Him meeting their daily needs for food, shelter and clothing than they were about letting Him have control of their life. Let Jesus have control of your life and He will not disappoint you.
06/14 John 7:28-29
While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I represent one you don’t know, and he is true. I know him because I have come from him, and he sent me to you.”
JESUS
Jesus was the one and only son of the Lord High God. He came that we might be saved from our sin. His death on the cross paid the debt that we had for our sin and Jesus ransomed us from death to life. Christ is alive and lives in us and if He does then we have been saved. If we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts Jesus is Lord then we are saved.
06/15 John 7:30-31
Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”
TIME
Time limits us but it does not limit God. His plans are unchangeable. He knows the end from the beginning. The Lord’s plans will succeed and we can be a part of His plan. Know the Lord and live under His control. Be a blessing to someone today.
06/16 John 7:32-33
When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were murmuring such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. But Jesus told them, “I will be here a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me.
CONTROL
Jesus knew how to deal with people. He knew what was going on. He was totally committed to following the will of the Father. The activity for us as we struggle day by day is to keep focused on Jesus and let Him give us direction for living today.
06/17 John 7:34
You will search for me but not find me. And you won’t be able to come where I am.”
WORLD
The world always looked at Jesus as an outsider and rebel. He was roundly criticized. The people knew all of the reasons why their life was a mess. Jesus knew that the only answer to a messed up life was to surrender one’s life to Jesus. Jesus is the only way to life a full and abundant life.
06/18 John 7:35-36
The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Maybe he is thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands, or maybe even to the Gentiles! What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You won’t be able to come where I am’?”
LEADERS
Leaders often mislead their followers because they succumb to greediness or selfishness and no longer believe that someone would follow them even when it looked foolish to do so. Jesus knew what the people and their leaders thought. They didn’t know God’s plan for their rescue. They were dead in their trespasses and sin. A wise person trusts in God.
06/19 John 7:37-39
On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “If you are thirsty, come to me! If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow out from within.” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
LIFE
Jesus is life. He gives us the things that we need to grow and mature. He has a plan for our life. Working God’s plan gives us real peace and satisfaction. Obeying the Lord is a joy and not a burden. Jesus enables us to have that level of obedience.
06/20 John 7:40
When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “This man surely is the Prophet.”
UNDERSTANDING
Not long after this pronouncement the same folks condemned Jesus. They didn’t know Him nor did they seek to know Him. They wanted His to meet their needs and be subservient to them. Jesus knew their heart and didn’t listen to their words. Jesus listened to the Father and followed Him absolutely. Don’t listen to the world. Follow Jesus.
06/21 John 7:41-43
Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.” So the crowd was divided in their opinion about him.
WORLD
The world is always fussing and fuming about Jesus. It will not follow Him. It will never understand Him. Only when we come to Him and ask Him for life-Lord forgive me of my sin and come into my heart-will we ever be able to deal with our life. Jesus is Lord.
06/22 John 7:44
And some wanted him arrested, but no one touched him.
POWER
God is able to do what is necessary to accomplish His purpose. He can change the climate. He can destroy an army. He can channel our foolishness until at last we willingly follow Him. What will it take for you to follow Jesus? Think about it. God will deliver you from that stumbling block. You do not have to suffer or fail the Lord is able.
06/23 John 7:45
The Temple guards who had been sent to arrest him returned to the leading priests and Pharisees. “Why didn’t you bring him in?” they demanded.
PEOPLE
Powerful people think that their power is absolute. It isn’t, in fact the power of people is very limited. Power that people have is always limited by circumstance, time, health or the Lord. If we are at war with God we will never succeed. Accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior gives us peace with God. Our relationship with the Lord is the most important issue that we will face. Once we have peace with the Father everything else will work out in time.
06/24 John 7:46
“We have never heard anyone talk like this!” the guards responded.
JESUS
Jesus is Lord. He knows what is going on and He will deal with the obstacles we face in our daily life. The key is that we have to be in obedience to Him. If we are obeying the Lord we will be able to deal with the daily issues that we face. We will know what to do and how to do it.
06/25 John 7:47
“Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked.
JESUS
Jesus will never lead you astray. He died that we might have life. He lives so that we too might be able to do those things that the Lord says we should do. Life is uncertain. Life in Christ is certain. Jesus is Lord.
06/26 John 7:48
“Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him?
BELIEVE
I must choose to believe in Jesus. The world doesn’t believe and is dead in their trespasses and sin. The world creates myths and foolish ideas to believe. If we believe in Jesus we believe in the only Son of God who died for our sin so that we might have life. In Jesus and Jesus only can we find real life, eternal life, life like the Father.
06/27 John 7:49
These ignorant crowds do, but what do they know about it? A curse on them anyway!”
CURSE
Those who do not believe in Jesus are living under a curse. They are dead in their trespasses and sin. Jesus is Lord and He has told us what we should do. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and we shall be saved.
06/28 John 7:50
Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, then spoke up.
SALVATION
Nicodemus wanted to be a follower of Jesus but He couldn’t bend his knee to Christ the Lord. Do you believe in Jesus? If you do you are saved for there is salvation in no other name than the name of Jesus.
06/29 John 7:51
“Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.
HEARING
We have been given and opportunity to hear Jesus. We have no one to blame if we fail to ask Him to give us life, the kind of life like Gods. Jesus is Lord. The question we must answer is have we let Him be Lord of us.
06/30 John 7:52-53
They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself — no prophet ever comes from Galilee!” Then the meeting broke up and everybody went home.
LIE
People will use a lie to mislead us. They will dress it up in a coat and apply it any way they choose. Anything that names something else as our focus or our hope is a lie. Jesus is Lord. He is Lord no matter what we do. The call is to let Jesus have
