John 2

Jhn 2:1	On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
Jhn 2:2	and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
Jhn 2:3	When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, "They have no wine."
Jhn 2:4	And Jesus *said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come."
Jhn 2:5	His mother *said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."
Jhn 2:6	Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
Jhn 2:7	Jesus *said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim.
Jhn 2:8	And He *said to them, "Draw {some} out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it {to him.}
Jhn 2:9	When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom,
Jhn 2:10	and *said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when {the people} have drunk freely, {then he serves} the poorer {wine;} {but} you have kept the good wine until now."
Jhn 2:11	This beginning of {His} signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
Jhn 2:12	After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and {His} brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
Jhn 2:13	The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Jhn 2:14	And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated {at their tables.}
Jhn 2:15	And He made a scourge of cords, and drove {them} all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
Jhn 2:16	and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."
Jhn 2:17	His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME."
Jhn 2:18	The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?"
Jhn 2:19	Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
Jhn 2:20	The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"
Jhn 2:21	But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
Jhn 2:22	So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
Jhn 2:23	Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.
Jhn 2:24	But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
Jhn 2:25	and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

Copyright Information

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Please visit their website at www.lockman.org.

View this chapter at blueletterbible.org.

Inductive Study

I realize I have just thrown you a concept you might not be familiar with: inductive study of the Bible.

To study inductively is the coolest thing because it is you, God, and His Spirit working together so you can know God. You don't have to depend on another person's interpretation or understanding of scripture, you can figure it out for yourself!

When you study inductively you are the one observing and interpreting scripture and then applying it to your life. After all, why study something if you are not going to use it? Oh, the years I spent in college... :-)

But, the the stuff found in the Bible is applicable every day, in every way. We just need to know what it says so we can use it. Have you ever purchased something, and then not used it because you did not understand how it worked, because you could not understand the directions? Yup, me too. For me, reading directions is the last resort; I like the challenge of figuring something out. I've found, however, at least in life, and with this creation that is me, reading the manual helps immensely! Sometimes, I astonished at what I find.

There are some very good helps out there to teach you how to study inductively, Precept Ministries is one of them (Google it). You can also take a look at my notes from John 1, they will show you what I do, but they do not explain the process I went through, nor was my process complete. I hope they tweak your interest though! :-)

Thinking everyone should study inductively because the word of God NEVER returns void,
k8t :-)
email me if you want to know how! k8t(at)faceofagirl(dot)com
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Please include the following statement on any distributed or linked copy: By Kaet Johnson. © faceofagirl.com. Website: faceofagirl.com

John 1: Marker Wisdom

I dug a little deeper today in the first chapter of John. There is so much going on there, I wanted to lay it all out, pick it apart, dig.

Hopefully, I can attach my notes from John 1, and you can see what I did. I did a fast run at John 1 using the inductive method. If I had more time, well, I'd of dug further. I still may someday!

If my notes don't show up here, a color pdf document, (click the link, a download should start) email me and I'll send them.

Using markers to tease out the word of God,
k8t
k8t(at)faceofagirl(dot)com
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Please include the following statement on any distributed or linked copy: By Kaet Johnson. © faceofagirl.com. Website: faceofagirl.com

John 1

Jhn 1:1	In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jhn 1:2	He was in the beginning with God.
Jhn 1:3	All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Jhn 1:4	In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
Jhn 1:5	The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Jhn 1:6	There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Jhn 1:7	He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
Jhn 1:8	He was not the Light, but {he came} to testify about the Light.
Jhn 1:9	There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
Jhn 1:10	He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
Jhn 1:11	He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
Jhn 1:12	But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, {even} to those who believe in His name,
Jhn 1:13	who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Jhn 1:14	And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jhn 1:15	John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' "
Jhn 1:16	For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
Jhn 1:17	For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
Jhn 1:18	No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained {Him.}
Jhn 1:19	This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
Jhn 1:20	And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
Jhn 1:21	They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he *said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."
Jhn 1:22	Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?"
Jhn 1:23	He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said."
Jhn 1:24	Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
Jhn 1:25	They asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
Jhn 1:26	John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, {but} among you stands One whom you do not know.
Jhn 1:27	"{It is} He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."
Jhn 1:28	These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Jhn 1:29	The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Jhn 1:30	"This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'
Jhn 1:31	"I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water."
Jhn 1:32	John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.
Jhn 1:33	"I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'
Jhn 1:34	"I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God."
Jhn 1:35	Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,
Jhn 1:36	and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
Jhn 1:37	The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
Jhn 1:38	And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?"
Jhn 1:39	He *said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
Jhn 1:40	One of the two who heard John {speak} and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
Jhn 1:41	He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ).
Jhn 1:42	He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
Jhn 1:43	The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, "Follow Me."
Jhn 1:44	Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
Jhn 1:45	Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and {also} the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
Jhn 1:46	Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip *said to him, "Come and see."
Jhn 1:47	Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"
Jhn 1:48	Nathanael *said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
Jhn 1:49	Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel."
Jhn 1:50	Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these."
Jhn 1:51	And He *said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Copyright Information

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. All rights reserved.

Please visit their website at www.lockman.org.

This copy from blueletterbible.org

Preparing for Christmas

A friend of mine stared a group on Facebook; What if the Church Read the Word. She challenged us to read through John and Luke in November and December, respectively. I took her up on the challenge.

...

I haven't read a word of John so far.

Today, I looked and found that John is 21 chapters long and there are 20 days left in November (Luke has 24 chapters :-) ). To keep myself accountable I've decided to announce here that I'll read a chapter a day and double up somewhere along the way.

Join me, let's read John, a chapter a day. Post any comments or thoughts you have here or at the Facebook group. Invite a friend to read with you!

I wonder, what would happen if we, the Church, read His word?

Read'n chapter 1,
k8t
k8t(at)faceofagirl(dot)com
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Please include the following statement on any distributed or linked copy: By Kaet Johnson. © faceofagirl.com. Website: faceofagirl.com

The Laying Aside of Will: Part I

I often cringe when I hear Christians using "Christian speak." I wonder if they truly know what they are saying, is there really a definition, a meaning at the core of their words? I wonder if what they are saying is actually a phrase or paraphrase from scripture or if it is some new power phrase developed to match and describe the newest trend in "being Christian?"

I was in a gathering of believers a while back, when someone began speaking about being "crucified with Christ," and "laying it all at the foot of the cross." I became very uneasy and a tad disgusted-- "Here it goes again," I thought. "Does anybody know, does she know what she is saying?" "Why can't she just use English and not evangelical Christian-ese?" Her words sounded trite.

Later, I was mulling those words over again. I was examining the picture her words drew in my mind and it came to me (admittedly, I might be slow) that being crucified with Christ has mostly to do with will, not with persecution (though it might). I also know that similar phrases appear in scripture, but somehow when they emanate from the mouths and pens of the disciples, they don't sound trite.

In the act of crucifixion, the Roman's carried out the will of the people and of the emperor. In the killing of Jesus by means of crucifixion, the Roman's exercised this collective will. The surprise is that at any moment, from the betrayal of Judas, to the last nail being driven through His flesh into wood, Jesus could have exercised his own will and divine power and stopped his death and his suffering.

He did not.

From the moment his mother accepted her role as unwed, virgin mother, to Joseph keeping Mary as his wife, to the spear in Jesus' side, human will was standing aside and accepting the will of the Father in Heaven.

The crucifixion is a powerful picture of this. Every betrayal, every mocking word, every raising of the guard's arm as Jesus was flogged, every step he took from the center of town to Galgatha, every rock that was thrown, the ropes that bound his hands and feet to the cross and finally, finally, the iron spikes that pierced his flesh and the flesh of the wood, it is a picture of human will laid aside and replaced with divine.

Especially those spikes. Would not the ropes have been sufficient to bind him to the wood? The spikes ensured, beyond a doubt or divine intervention, the cross was going to hold the man and the man was going to die. His will was replaced with God's and the iron spikes are a sign of the fullness of his surrender.

We are called to nothing less.

Ooof.

Mulling all this over,
k8t
k8t(at)faceofagirl(dot)com
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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Kaet Johnson. © faceofagirl.com. Website: faceofagirl.com

Unconditional Love

A friend of mine posted a note on her Facebook page about the power of words. Her note got me thinking about my grandfather which got me thinking about unconditional love.

My grandfather's love for me was the clearest picture I have of unconditional, whole hog, I love you no matter what, love. When he died, my world was a-kilter for a while, and I did not know why. I felt alone, I felt vulnerable (I was 25 and engaged to be married), I felt almost lost. I finally figured out it was because I had lost my hugest (is that a word?) fan, my biggest cheerleader, the person in the world that I could always count on to be on my side and whose face shown on me, blessed me, while his words encouraged me and his actions proved himself.

Grandpa wasn't perfect, but he blessed my life with love-- unconditional love, love ya because your mine love, love ya because I choose to love you, love.

Life has taught me that not everyone has such a person in their life. But living has also taught me that there is a god, who calls himself Yahweh, and He loves unconditionally, perfectly. His love is whole hog, love you no matter what, always there, unchanging in change, love. His love is safe, love you because He created you, love you because He chooses to love you, love.

As real as my grandfather's love was, so is God's.

Remembering Grandpa and thanking Yahweh for him,
k8t
k8(at)faceofagirl(dot)com
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Please include the following statement on any distributed or linked copy: By Kaet Johnson. © faceofagirl.com. Website: faceofagirl.com