the point of belief

  John 20:8-9 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

They had walked with him for three years.  They had seen miraculous healings, water changed to wine, bread and fish multiplied.  They had heard him say that he would die and be raised again in three days.  Yet, when the resurrection took place they were startled and amazed.  It is fascinating to consider what it takes for us to believe...really grasp the reality of who the Lord is and what He has done.

-

We have to move from a "head knowledge" of Jesus as a character we have heard about and even read about to a "heart knowledge" that grasps how He directly impacts our lives on the most personal level.

-

We may have know about Jesus for our entire lives but we have not "come to know him" until we realize that the resurrection really represents our own personal passage from death to life.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

first words

  The first words...first things Jesus had to say after the resurrection...have to be worth considering.  What would Jesus say to the ones who had been closest to Him after defeating death?  In the book of John (chapter 20) we see the first person that Jesus spoke with was Mary Magdalene.  She was upset when Jesus was missing from the tomb and, mistaking Jesus for a gardener, asked where the body had been taken.  Jesus speaks her name to let her know it is he.  Right away He gives her a job to do!  She is sent to tell the disciples a message: "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."  Later that same day Jesus went through a locked door and appeared in the midst of the disciples.  He showed the marks of the nails in His hands and the spear wound in His side and said, "Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."  And then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit". 

-

When Jesus comes to us he knows our name, just like Mary.  He calls us personally, in the same way.  And as He did with Mary and the disciples He establishes His identity, speaks peace, provides His Spirit to accompany us and gives us a job to do.  After He told them to receive the Holy Spirit He identified the mission they were being sent on.  It was the ministry of forgiveness...the mission He had come to fulfill in our midst. He said, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."  We are either on the mission to continue the work of forgiveness or we are not. 

-

He speaks our names, brings His peace, equips us and sends us to tell others. 

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

as the sun traces the day

  1 John 2:17 "And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

-

How does the "world pass away"?  It occurred to me that the world passes away in a similar way to each day passing away.  We say that the sun rises and sets because the sun appears to move through the sky, but we know that the sun is not moving.  The earth is turning and gives the appearance of the sun in motion.  When we hear that the "world is passing away", it is true that the world itself is aging and ultimately will wear out but I think the meaning here is that each of our lives are passing as we live them out on the earth.  When we read that "the world is passing away" we really understand that our life on the earth and in the world is passing.  We are growing, not only older, but closer to the end of our time riding planet earth and surrounded by all the influences and temptations and challenges of this life.  We see the marks of this in our personal lives.  Time doesn't stand still and life has seasons for each of us.  This is the plan of God.  But there is a forever place...a place that lies beyond the grip of time... and we have the opportunity to be in that place.  We need to replace the love of this place (which has the appearance of going on and on) for the place that will go on forever.  That's why the exhortation of 1 John 2:15-16 is so vital: "Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life-is not from the Father but is from the world."

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

prophecy

  It's like a book that has been written and now has been made into a movie...that's how history is playing out.  The book has already been written and the story is unfolding before us.  How else could one explain the tunic of Jesus?  The tunic of Jesus was taken at his crucifixion and the four Roman soldiers who divided his clothing did not want to tear the tunic.  They cast lots for it.  This was a fulfillment of prophecy from Psalm 22, verse 18.  And what a convincing fulfillment...after all, what possible motive would these four Roman soldiers have to fulfill (or even know about) a prophecy concerning Jesus.  Sometimes it is the small things that reveal the large things.  God's story has been written and now is unfolding.  Do you sense your place to respond in faith and bow before the writer?

-

Psalm 22:18 (written by David after he had escaped King Saul)

They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.

-

John 19:23

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic.  Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.  They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots."

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

Where are you from?

  It's interesting to hear someone speaking with an accent and then try to guess where they are from...whether it's a part of our country or someplace abroad.  I don't know if Jesus spoke with an accent but when Pilate was interrogating him the question was posed to Jesus, "Where are you from?" (John 19:9).   Pilate had already questioned Jesus and come to the conclusion that he wasn't guilty of anything.  But the priests insisted that Jesus be crucified for claiming he was the Son of God.  So Pilate actually started becoming a little anxious.  Apparently he'd never run into a scenario quite like this.  He was used to clear cut loyalties...in today's terms everyone was either a Democrat or Republican...or in those days a Jew or a Roman...but Pilate couldn't place just where Jesus fit in.  Jesus didn't seem to be associated with the familiar political bodies.  I believe that when Pilate asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" he was trying to get a read on where Jesus' loyalties were and generally they were associated with where you were from.

-

It occurs to me that "where we are from" says a lot about "what we are for".  Are we following a large crowd or are we walking in the shadow of Jesus?  Do the actions of our lives and the accent of our speech reflect the reality of his presence?  When it comes to hard choices and ultimate loyalties...what are our choices and where are our loyalties?  If we were interrogated by Pilate would he wonder where we were from as well?

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

Jesus' prayer for you

  If you have come to know Jesus personally, as your savior, you can trace your faith to a prayer he made on your behalf.  It is recorded in the book of John, chapter 17:

Verse 20: "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

-

Jesus is about to be betrayed by Judas...He knows the soldiers are coming for him...and yet he is praying for his disciples and for us who would eventually believe in him.  Jesus seemed to be always thinking about His Father and about us and about how to bring us to the Father and how to bring the Father to us.

-

And now we who have believed are the carriers of these truths...that others might believe through our sharing of the word with them.  For there are others for whom Jesus prayed in chapter 17 that must hear and believe!

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

couldn't follow Jesus

 

Jesus was all about having his disciples follow him...that's really what it meant to be a disciple...to follow Jesus.  As Jesus launched his ministry and assembled the disciples we see this:

John 1:43 'The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.  He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." '

Jesus described himself as the shepherd of a flock in chapter 10 (verse 4): 'When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.'

and there is a discipline of following Jesus that is vital to growth and effectiveness:

John 12:26 'If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.'

-

So it was a little surprising when Jesus told his disciples that they couldn't follow him late in his earthly ministry.

John 13:36 'Simon Peter said to him, "Lord where are you going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward."

-

After following Jesus for three years they were instructed not to follow...actually they were unable to follow...Jesus as he went to be crucified.  Only he could go through that awesome sacrifice and suffering to pave the way for Peter and all of us, who have trusted in Jesus, to follow afterward.

-

After Jesus was resurrected he reappeared to the disciples and gave them instructions to carry on after he would leave them.  Once again he instructed them to follow:

He gave Peter instructions personally in John 21:19 '(This he said to show by what kind of death he (Peter) was to glorify God.)  And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me."

-

Jesus went the one place we cannot follow in order to make it possible to follow him in this life and beyond to be with him in eternity.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

His love for us

  The gospel of John, 11th chapter, tells the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  As I listened to the story this morning I was struck with the miracle of Jesus' great love for people...for individuals...for ones just like you and me.  Several times in this chapter we are given insight into the emotions and feelings of love and compassion that Jesus has for us:

-

Verse 5 "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."

Verse 11"...Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him."

Verse 33 "When Jesus saw her (Mary) weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled."

Verses 35-36 "Jesus wept.  So the Jews said, 'See how he loved him!'

Verse 39 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb."

-

I was reminded that Jesus sees us also, individually, and he loves us deeply and personally.  He identifies with our pains and our losses.  He feels our grief.  He is motivated to bring us out into life and away from death.  Just as he restored Lazarus to life, so he will restore each of us to eternal life if we believe and trust in him.  He is our savior and he is the one who truly and deeply loves us.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: finding the way

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 7:34 AM
Subject: finding the way

 I really like using GPS when I'm traveling.  I just enter the destination...my phone already knows where I am...and the system almost instantly computes the best route to take and how long the trip should take.  It even shows accidents and slowdowns that lie along the path.  As I follow the directions, the system prepares me for the next turn and ensures I know how to make the course changes.  If I get off track, or make a detour for food or gasoline, it helps me get back on track.  One of the things Jesus was communicating to His disciples during the final supper before His crucifixion was that He was going away but that He wasn't going to leave them permanently.  He told them (John 14:4 "And you know the way to where I am going.").  As the disciples tried to program this into their GPS systems they came up short.  They didn't really understand where He was going at all.  Here's what one disciple said (John 14:5) Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going.  How can we know the way?"  With our smart phones we have to start with the destination for the system to compute the best route.  But with Jesus the destination and the route are really wrapped up together.  We don't have to find Heaven using GPS, or by studying maps, or by trying to live a certain way...that we think will get us there.  Jesus is like the sure guide on a tour.  If we are with the guide, we will find our way...we just need to ride with Him.  Jesus put it this way (John 14:6), "I am the way, and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." 

-

Once we have been found, we are never lost again!

-

blessings,

Rob Smith