Friday night's passage was on John 14:1-6, which speaks of Jesus' exit from earth and glorious preparations for us in Heaven. The emphasis lies on the fact that He not only knows the Way, but He IS the Way to Heaven.
After a beautiful worship set, Pastor D prompted us with the thought that we all make choices all day long from the very start to the end. Most of these choices are material, tangible - should I wear this red shirt? should I take a jacket? should I eat this banana? should I wear my hair up or down? etc. He then challenged us to truly consider how there are also ETERNAL choices. These choices, to open the Bible each morning and pray to God during the day are not temporary, but last beyond this lifetime. We have the freedom to choose this closeness with God or to be selfish with our time here on Earth. In this, we realize that there are good and bad choices that crossover in your relationships, extracurricular activities, friends, music and your overall lifestyle.
The challenge this week is what choices are YOU making? WHAT are you choosing, or better yet WHO are you choosing? If need be, reconcile yourself with Jesus today, ask for His forgiveness and set your heart determined to choose Him.
Jesus is speaking to His disciples in John 14:1-6, assuring them not to worry, or "let your hearts be troubled" (v.1) as He is going to leave them. But with the news that He will leave, He extends a promise to them that He will prepare a place for them in His Father's house (v.2). Jesus tells the disciples that He will return for them. One of His disciples, Thomas asks Jesus the honest question, "HOW can we know the way? (v.5). This is often our attitude towards the things of God, as we as humans grasp to understand His ways and our place in them. (see image below for Jesus' response):
(John 14:6)
Jesus responds to John's heartfelt question and lets him know, HE IS THE WAY. This Way is superior to the ways of the world. In addition to being the Way, Jesus is also the TRUTH. Contrary to the world's idea of relevant truth (what true for me isn't necessarily true for you) Jesus is stating that He is the absolute Truth, which means that apart from Him you are outside of what is true. The enemy comes in to lie to you and convince you otherwise and sadly, we fall for his lies time and time again. When we believe that Jesus is the TRUTH then we find that He is the LIFE as well. The dynamics of our very existence shifts and we learn of our eternal life with Him and live each day sharing the good news of Jesus until we reach Heaven.
When we are lost in this life we do many things to feel better about our confusion or lack of understanding. We invent our own paths, take control of our lives and strive for our own knowledge in our own strength. What we really need to do is admit that we are broken, that we are unable to reach God and eternal life on our own and surrender our control over to Jesus Christ. Following Him will give us purpose and direction and lead us to the most glorious eternal end. We closed the night with the worship song to our Lord called, "Give Me Faith" by Elevation Worship (lyrics on video):
What a blessed night! We pray that God will continue to make His Word alive to us and may our intimacy with Him grow as we exercise our faith in Him. Next up...The Gathering: A Bridge retreat. Stay tuned!
