The Last Chapter is Not the End

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 28:16-20, 30-31 ~~~ Psalm 11 ~~~ 

~~~ John 21:20-25 ~~~

Typically Peter exhibits most of our own human characteristics.

This is one reason it is so comfortable to identify with him.

Peter is a tad jealous of the apostle John.

He tries to compare himself to John, but Jesus 

quickly puts him in his place.

Jesus says to Peter...you should be focused on the role I have given you.

It is your job to follow me and do what I have asked 

just as it is John's job to do what I have asked of him.

What concern is it of yours? 

Those words must have been harsh for Peter to accept,

but Jesus never tries to sugar coat his message.

It was important for the history of Christianity that John 

live longer to record this Gospel message.

There are also many other things that Jesus did,

but if these were to be described individually,

I do not think the whole world would contain the books

that would be written.

There is no need to 'read between the lines' here.

It was impossible to write down all that Jesus said 

and did while he was here.

John seems to believe that there would not even be 

enough books to contain the information.

The amazing truth is that between the four Gospels 

just enough was written

 to keep alive the message of Jesus.

John ends his Gospel writing not as a closed book.

but rather he leaves it open for us.

By leaving it open we can observe in our own life

 the infinite possibilities of the workings of God, 

especially now when we are about to celebrate the Holy Spirit.  

John's Gospel ends, but the works of God

 through Jesus and the Holy Spirit

is never-ending.

We are Blessed to know that even when we close the covers of the Bible

we are not closing the works of the Lord.

John recorded what he could, but he had witnessed so much more.

Be open to every possible way God is present and active in you life.

What we learn from the writings in the Bible is only the tip of the iceberg.

There is so much more...

~~~Peace~~~

Due Diligence

Acts of the Apostles 28:16-20, 30-31~~~ Psalm 11 ~~~ John 21:20-25 ~~~

 

What concern is it of yours?
You follow me.

 

Were those who loved Jesus were concerned about his wellbeing?

Or was their concern rooted somewhere more personal?

Peter became suspicious of everyone, even the disciple Jesus loved the most.

It almost seem ironic since Peter himself would

disassociate himself from Jesus later.

 

Jesus reprimands Peter.

It is of no concern to Peter.

Peter had the responsibility to follow Jesus with all of his energy.

Concerning himself with who was about to betray Jesus

was diverting his energy from the primary place.

 

What might the message be for us today?

If we are truly following Jesus;

our eyes are fixed on him.

We are not capable of understanding the ways of God.

What if I want him to remain until I come?

 

Jesus will take care of every conceivable life situation...

we must trust that he will.

Jesus could have handled Judas differently, but he chose

to allow it to unfold without intervention.

He could have approached Judas and asked him

 to not show up for his last meal with twelve.

 

Jesus, more often than not,

 handles situations very differently than we would expect.

 

 

John tells us in these closing sentences

that the information about Jesus was too much to entirely record.

I do not think the whole world would contain the books
that would be written.

 

What has been preserved in the Bible gives us much information about Jesus.

 If we reflect and study the Bible we can picture how

the presence of Jesus would effect a specific scenario.

 

Not surprisingly, whatever our first reaction to a given situation is

the presence of Jesus would change it.

 

Jesus spared the life of the one who would commit a grave sin against him.

Most of us would not be able to do the same.

 

My prayer is to acquire a mind more like the mind of Jesus. 

 The more often we are conscious of our actions

the more often we might be able to align with Jesus

 

This requires daily diligence.

Always know that God is with you...

supporting you...

guiding you.

~Be Who You Are~

~~~ Acts 28:16-20, 30-31 ~~~ Psalm 11 ~~~ John 21: 20-25 ~~~

Today's scripture gives us the two strong 'P's'...Paul and Peter.

The first a convert and the later a close follower of Jesus.

They each offer much for us to learn about them but also ourselves.

Paul is put under house arrest where he remained for two full years receiving all who came to him. Chained to his residence nothing stopped Paul from proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about Jesus Christ.

Paul is a wonderful example of perseverance and determination. He did not give up in the face of adversity, false acquisitions, or imprisonment.

How easy it is when we are faced with far less to give up, walk away, and quit.

Paul might have easily been content with his own love and knowledge of God. He could have gone on as a free man with the knowledge of his own salvation.

But instead Paul was so convicted by his beliefs that nothing stood in the way of his inviting others to come into the fold.

Peter is inquisitive about who is to betray Jesus when later it would he who would deny knowing Jesus. Jesus replies with a reprimand, "...What concern is it of yours?"

Ouch! Peter must have felt the blow to his ego without even realizing his ego was asking the question.

Why is it that we measure those around us by our own standards?

We want to know about those with whom we associate.

Peter wanted to know who Jesus was allowing to be in his inner circle knowing he would betray him. I suppose Peter would have been more than willing to remove Judas from their group had he known in advance.

Had Jesus allowed that to happen where would we be today? This betrayal had to be allowed for the fulfillment of the scriptures. Peter could not have been permitted to prevent it from occurring; even though he meant well.

John goes on to write at the end of his Gospel that so numerous were the things that Jesus did, that 'the world could not contain the books that would be written.'

What this inspires in me is that no matter how creative I can be in thinking about all that Jesus did while he walked our earth...it could never be near enough.

We cannot fathom the infinite possibilities of the power of Jesus,

 acting always on behalf of the Father.

Jesus wants us to follow him...he does not want us to constantly compare

ourselves to those around us. We each have been given individual

gifts and they can all be used for good. For God even used the betrayal of his Son to bring about good...a good so profound that we are still reaping the benefits.

Be Blessed in all your works.