This past week as part of my SMART Habits Saturday I've been working on spending 15 minutes with God every day. That being said and by Jenny V's request I'm going to start 15 minute Fridays.
Every Friday I will post on my week's journey with God and faith. So a travellin I shall go.
For the last few weeks I've been studying the gospel of John. Now a little background on this gospel, it's different from the other 3 in that it's very much about who Jesus is, John the Baptist's testimony of Jesus as Messiah and Godly love and redemption. It's quite often given to people seeking more information about Jesus and Christianity. Now to be quite frank with you, had it been given to me, I might not be a Christian, because I just don't get it, I find it really frustrating so far. I have read this gospel all the way through for an overview, and I'm currently concentrating on Chapter 1. Here's an example of something that frustrates me. One of the questions in my study guide, What did eah of the first 5 disciples find out about Jesus and how did they find out. Now, let's take Philip, Jesus finds Philip in his [Philip's] home town and says to him "Follow me". [John 1:43]. Philip, presumably spends some time with Jesus, although the next couple versus explain where it happened, not what occurred to make Philip a believer and then has Philip running off to find Nathaniel to tell Nate that they have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the prophets also wrote [John 1:45]. Nathaniel didn't believe a Messiah could come from Nazareth, but comes to meet Jesus anyway. Jesus says Nate is a true son of Israel and when Nate questions the comment, Jesus says he 'saw' Nate praying under a fig tree before Philip found him. To this Nate replies "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel [John 1: 46-49].
Now I try to put myself in their place. If someone asked me to follow them, I'm not sure I would without an explanation, or at least some knowledge gained from my own acquitances of who the person is. So let's say I followed, chances are I'm not going to running off to my friends to tell them the Messiah has been found. And if someone told me they had seen where I was and what I was doing before I came before them, Son of God is certainly not the first thing that comes to mind. I should likely have gotten along much better with the Pharisees.
Now seeing the experience of the first 5 disciples and how they came to believe in Jesus as Messiah, this gospel doesn't explain how seeds were planted or the thought processes of the disciples or what transpired in the intervening hours. I have to wonder, if I were to write out the beginning of my own story, what would it be, what made me cross that line from seeking to believing. If I told you my defining moment of belief, it would probably seem to you, like the first 5 disciples seems to me. So here it is:
Standing in my friend Jon's living room, he playing piano and a few of us singing a new worship song we had learned recently, Shi.ne Je.sus Shi.ne (by Graham Kendrik). Over the piano is a framed poem called Footprints. By the time I reached the end of the poem, I was well aware of how much God loved me and wanted me and that this is what I had spent all these years looking for. So what might have John written about my conversion? Jesus found Kim singing praises and said "Trust me" and is that really so different from the "follow me" that John overheard Jesus say to Philip?
Take the next 15 minutes and think about your experiences with a higher power, whatever form that may take. Although it's always a journey, is there a defining moment? Would you share?
Take what you like and leave the rest.
Kim
For the last few weeks I've been studying the gospel of John. Now a little background on this gospel, it's different from the other 3 in that it's very much about who Jesus is, John the Baptist's testimony of Jesus as Messiah and Godly love and redemption. It's quite often given to people seeking more information about Jesus and Christianity. Now to be quite frank with you, had it been given to me, I might not be a Christian, because I just don't get it, I find it really frustrating so far. I have read this gospel all the way through for an overview, and I'm currently concentrating on Chapter 1. Here's an example of something that frustrates me. One of the questions in my study guide, What did eah of the first 5 disciples find out about Jesus and how did they find out. Now, let's take Philip, Jesus finds Philip in his [Philip's] home town and says to him "Follow me". [John 1:43]. Philip, presumably spends some time with Jesus, although the next couple versus explain where it happened, not what occurred to make Philip a believer and then has Philip running off to find Nathaniel to tell Nate that they have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the prophets also wrote [John 1:45]. Nathaniel didn't believe a Messiah could come from Nazareth, but comes to meet Jesus anyway. Jesus says Nate is a true son of Israel and when Nate questions the comment, Jesus says he 'saw' Nate praying under a fig tree before Philip found him. To this Nate replies "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel [John 1: 46-49].
Now I try to put myself in their place. If someone asked me to follow them, I'm not sure I would without an explanation, or at least some knowledge gained from my own acquitances of who the person is. So let's say I followed, chances are I'm not going to running off to my friends to tell them the Messiah has been found. And if someone told me they had seen where I was and what I was doing before I came before them, Son of God is certainly not the first thing that comes to mind. I should likely have gotten along much better with the Pharisees.
Now seeing the experience of the first 5 disciples and how they came to believe in Jesus as Messiah, this gospel doesn't explain how seeds were planted or the thought processes of the disciples or what transpired in the intervening hours. I have to wonder, if I were to write out the beginning of my own story, what would it be, what made me cross that line from seeking to believing. If I told you my defining moment of belief, it would probably seem to you, like the first 5 disciples seems to me. So here it is:
Standing in my friend Jon's living room, he playing piano and a few of us singing a new worship song we had learned recently, Shi.ne Je.sus Shi.ne (by Graham Kendrik). Over the piano is a framed poem called Footprints. By the time I reached the end of the poem, I was well aware of how much God loved me and wanted me and that this is what I had spent all these years looking for. So what might have John written about my conversion? Jesus found Kim singing praises and said "Trust me" and is that really so different from the "follow me" that John overheard Jesus say to Philip?
Take the next 15 minutes and think about your experiences with a higher power, whatever form that may take. Although it's always a journey, is there a defining moment? Would you share?
Take what you like and leave the rest.
Kim
2 comments:
I just linked here, and the part that talks about the experience with a higher power is after the poem.
Maybe John would've said of my experience - she was weeping, and was comforted and she followed God.
I think all these things build on each other, they are just footsteps of faith - stepping out into the darkness believing that the light will come.
Thanks for hosting Kim. This is sure to be a blessing to us all.
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