Daily Inspirations

Good morning. So Peter swam to the shore. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about 100 yards away, dragging the net full of fish. So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Have you ever thought about this scene? When it says charcoal fire, it does not mean Kingsford charcoal. It is just wood that has burned down to coals. OK, so it is easy to believe that Jesus gathered some wood for a fire; but where did He get the fire? There are numerous instances in the Old Testament where an angel produced fire; so it is not improbable that Jesus did the same thing. What about the fish? You can envision Jesus walking to the edge of the water and saying, here fishy fishy fishy; and they swam to the shore. But the real question is, where did the bread come from? Yes, Jesus did multiply bread twice; but He had something to work with – where did He get the bread to work with this time...

Good morning. After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias (or Galilee), and He manifested Himself in this way. Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, the sons of Zebedee (James and John) and two others of the disciples were together. It does not say where they were. They may or may not have been in the upper room. Peter said, I am going fishing. They said, we will also come with you. We know that Peter, James, and John were fishermen for a living. We do not know about the others. It is normal when something climatic happens for one to revert to past activities, which are reassuring. They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. This is reminiscent of a previous encounter of Peter and Jesus; one which John does not mention. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Children, you do not have any fish, do you? They answered Him, no. Just like Mary, they did no...

Good morning. Now we come to “doubting Thomas“. He was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples were saying to him, we have seen the Lord! But he said to them, unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. It is easy to put him down for saying this – and we do - but in truth would we do any better? In the world, seeing is believing; but in Christianity believing is seeing. After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, peace be with you. This is the same thing that Jesus said the first time He came into the room. He said to Thomas, reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; do not be unbelieving, but believing. Thomas answered and said to Him, my Lord and my God! Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are t...

Good morning. Jesus said to them again, peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. So, did they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at that moment, or did it not happen until the day of Pentecost like some believe? My Bible even says that it was in anticipation of what would happen 50 days later. I heard a tape one time by Oral Roberts that he asked some members of the faculty of his university who taught Greek exactly what did it mean; and they said it meant to receive right now the Holy Spirit. Also the Greek word translated “breathed on“ used here is the same word that was used in the Septuagint (The translation into Greek of the Hebrew Scriptures years before Christ was born) when it says in Genesis that the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and “breathed into“ his nostrils the breath of life. The word in both instances literally means to breathe in. In A...

Good morning. Jesus then tells Mary to go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. So she went to the disciples and said, I have seen the Lord, and that He had said these things to her. John does not say that they did not believe her, but other Gospels do. However, Peter and John would have told them that they had seen the empty tomb and the linen wrappings. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week (Sunday, normally a work day for the Jews; but this was Passover, so I do not know if people were working that day or not; however the disciples would not be working), and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, peace be with you. You better believe He should say peace be with you. The door was shut, and no one opened it for Him. Despite what Peter, John, and Mary have said, they probably still did not believe that He was risen. Lu...

  Good morning. We were with Mary at the tomb, where she was talking to the angels who were inside the tomb. She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Why did she not know Him; after all, she had even been at the cross when He was crucified? There were times after His resurrection that people did not recognize Jesus when they saw Him. Remember the two men on the road to Emmaus; and when the disciples went fishing after the resurrection, they saw Jesus on the shore, but did not recognize Him at first. In both those cases and the one that is about to happen with Mary, you would think that they would at least have recognized His voice. Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking? Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus said to her, Mary! She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, Rabboni! (which means, teacher). Stop...

Good morning. We left John at the entrance of the tomb, stooping and looking in. “Shy” Peter then arrives following John, and enters the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there. So the other disciple, John, who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. It does not say whether or not Peter believed. For as yet they did not understand the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes. I’m not exactly sure what it means by their own homes. They were originally from Galilee and would not have had homes in Jerusalem. Perhaps it means the homes where they were staying while in Jerusalem. Apparently, they were not staying in the upper room, or it would have said so. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped (just like John) and looked into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying...

  Good morning. So Mary ran and came to Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved (John), and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we (there’s that “we” that indicates someone in addition to Mary was there) do not know where they have laid Him. So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first. John was supposed to be one of, if not the youngest of the disciples, and of course he ran faster than the old dude. Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. In a few verses it will also mention that Mary stooped and looked into the tomb. We have this image of a huge opening and enormous stone in front of the opening. You should not have to stoop to look into the tomb if that were so. Remember that the tomb was carved out of stone; so the larger the tomb and opening, the greater...

Good morning. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Remember that they could not do any work once the Sabbath began; so wherever they were going to place Him had to be close by. Matthew says that it was Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. In Isaiah it says His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death. Someone who was crucified was considered a wicked person. Many times there was no one to claim the body; so they were assigned to a pauper’s grave. Jesus was laid in Joseph’s tomb, which was hewn out of stone - probably expensive. He also brought 100 pounds of spices, which was probably also expensive. In other words, Joseph was probably a rich man; so Jesus was with a rich man in His death. Normally the day of preparation was to prepare for the Sabbath; but it could also mea...

Good morning. After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and he granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pounds weight. Remember that myrrh was one of the gifts that the magi brought when Jesus was a baby. Also notice that he had 100 pounds of spices. Normally one does not have that much just lying around the house. Since most likely he was older, he may have been storing it up for when he himself was going to die. Or perhaps while Jesus was hanging on the cross, he went to the merchants and purchased it, because there was no time to do so after Jesus died prior to the beginning of the Sabbath. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. My Bible says that these were thin stri...

Good morning. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him. When they were hanging on the cross, people would have to push up with their legs in order to breathe. Why did the Romans allow that? Because they wanted to prolong the suffering. If they just wanted to kill them, they would’ve done so already. With their legs broken, they would’ve eventually suffocated. But coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. My Bible says that this was the result of the spear piercing the sac that surrounds the heart and the heart itself. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he’s telling the truth, so that you also may believe. Most likely this was John since he was there at the cross with the mother of Jesus, and the fact that he was reluctant to name himself in his ...

Good morning. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to   fulfill the scripture, said, I am thirsty. A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. It does not mean that it was wine that had soured, but was the cheap wine that was given to the Roman soldiers to drink. In other words it was not sweet wine. In Psalm 69 it says that for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said it is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. Jesus was in complete control of His life, and He was in complete control of His death. He decided when He was going to die. Of all of the suffering that Jesus did at the end, John did not elaborate. He stated things simply, even though they were still vivid in his mind. Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on th...

Good morning. Pilate wrote an inscription and put it on the cross: Jesus the Nazarene, king of the Jews. Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. As we know from the day of Pentecost, there were people from many different places whose native tongues were all different; but they all understood one of those three languages. So the chief priests were saying, do not write, the king of the Jews; but that He said I am the king of the Jews. That’s because if He were the king of the Jews, then the chief priests just demanded that He be crucified - their king. What I have written I have written. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus (John does not go into to the gory details), took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now that tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. That must’ve taken a lot of work and skill to make th...

Good morning. We now get another indication from John that the last supper was not the Passover. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover. That would mean that the Passover meal had not been eaten yet. The Jews had to do a lot of things to prepare for the Passover; one of which was to remove all leaven from the house. It was about the sixth hour. According to Jewish time that would’ve been about noon. It could not of been too early in the morning because the cock crowed what seemed like ages ago. Pilate said, probably derisively, behold your king! Away with Him, crucify Him! Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, we have no king but Caeser. So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. It sounds like he handed Jesus over to the Jews, not the Roman soldiers. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called “the place of a skull”, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. This is where I have a problem with the Mel Gib...

Good morning. When the chief priests and the officials saw Jesus, they cried out saying, crucify, crucify! Pilate said, take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him. We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God. Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. The reason Pilate was afraid was because the Romans believed in many gods; and to them it was possible that one of their gods could have a son. He definitely would not want to crucify one of them. He said to Jesus, where are You from? But Jesus gave him no answer. You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You? Pilate got an answer he was not expecting. You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin. This would fit the narrative that Jesus was the son of one of the Roman gods. Pila...

Good morning. My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom where of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm. So You are a king? You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. Remember that Jesus had said: if you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, the truth will make you free. Pilate said, what is truth? Then he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no guilt in Him. That is not what the chief priests were hoping for. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the king of the Jews? Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. The other Gospels spend a lot more time on Jesus’ ap...

Good morning. Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early. Remember that the rooster just crowed. And they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. This is another indication from John that the last supper was not the Passover. My Bible tries to explain it away - that he was talking about the seven day festival; but I disagree with it. I believe John was saying that the last supper was not the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, what accusation do you bring against this man? If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you. Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law. We are not permitted to put anyone to death, to fulfill the word which Jesus spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. Of course that does not mean that they did not put someone to death surreptitiously. Jesus had to be crucified in order to satisfy the Sc...

Good morning. We left Jesus being questioned by the high priest about His disciples and His teaching. I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said. When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, is that the way You answer the high priest? The same thing happened to Paul in the book of Acts. He got a bit upset then. As a reminder, this was Annas, the true high priest - not the one put into place by the Romans. If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me? Of course he had no answer. So, Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the (Roman designated) high priest. Now Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, you are not also one of His disciples, are you? In Greek you can ask a question which expects the...

Good morning. Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest. Most people believe that this other disciple (who was the same one designated as the disciple whom Jesus loved) was John. One may rightly wonder why a fisherman would be known to the high priest. They would not normally mingle with the same group of people. Remember that one of the gospels talks about James and John, their father, and the hired servants. Their father would have had to have had a pretty good fishing business to have to hire servants. He could have been wealthy and run in the same circles as the high priest. But Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. Then the slave girl who kept the door said to Peter, you are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you? He said, I am not. This was the first denial by Peter. Now ...

  Good morning. I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way, to fulfill the word which He spoke (in the upper room), of those whom You have given Me I lost not one. Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. John did not say anything about bringing a sword, but it did mention it in Luke. Jesus had said whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one. The disciples said here are two swords. And He said “it is enough”. John is the only one who says that Peter is the one that cut off his ear, and John is the only one that tells the slave’s name. John does not say that Jesus healed his ear. Put the sword away; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it? As I said before, John does not talk about Jesus struggling in the garden with the cup that God had given Him. But it would make sense that it had happened by these words that Jesus said. So they arres...

Good morning. Remember I said that John did not elaborate upon what happened in the garden. If you take it at face value, almost as soon as Jesus and the disciples arrived at the garden, Judas and multitude arrived to take Him into custody. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “whom do you seek”? He knew what was about to happen, and yet He did not run and hide like we would have – in fact we would never have come to Jerusalem. They answered Him, Jesus the Nazarene. He said to them I am He. The “He” is in italics, so it is not actually in the Greek. So literally He said “I am“. That is reminiscent of Moses and the burning bush. God said to tell the children of Israel “I am“ sent you. And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He“, they drew back and fell to the ground. That of course does not sound like a normal reaction to a statement. Did they do this of their own will, or were th...

Good morning. It wasn’t just to be with Jesus here on earth for the original disciples. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundations of the world. It was forever. O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. Remember that several chapters ago Jesus and said “let us be gone from here”. When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. What is interesting is that this is the same way that King David went when he was being pursued by his son Absalom who wanted to kill him. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus ha...

Good morning. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. Again, He did not put us into some kind of shelter – He sent us into the world where there was possible harm that could come to us. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Remember He just said that God’s word was truth. Now a verse that says something extremely important to us. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word. That is we He’s talking about. And why did He ask this – that they may all be one; even 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 sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one. So this is another thing – Him giving us the glory – that helps us to be one. What is a major way that the world will know that what we say about Jesus is true? I in them and You in Me, t...

Good morning.   Jesus continues: but now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy make full in themselves. It is not a joy because of; but rather a joy in spite of. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. The word separates us from the world. If we follow the word, we will come into conflict with the people of the world. It would be bad enough that they do not want to follow the word; but they deliberately oppose those who do. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. If we wanted to keep our children safe, we would remove them from the situation where they might get harmed; but God deliberately keeps us in this world so that we can share His gospel with the people in the world. The word “one“ is in italics meaning that it is not actually written in the original. The word “the“ is in the original. You would not nor...

Good morning. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You, Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the scripture would be fulfilled. While Jesus was with the disciples, He was the one who was guarding them against harm. Now that He was leaving them, they needed someone else ...

Good morning. Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. We normally think of something eternal as very lengthy. This indicates that there is also a quality to it - that is, knowing God and Jesus. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Again Jesus only did what God wanted Him to do. Now Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory that I had with You before the world was. Remember the first part of John that Jesus was with God in the beginning. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. There were many names for God throughout the Old Testament. In fact when Moses asked God what sh...

Good morning. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I’m leaving the world again and going to the Father. His disciples finally catch on: now You are speaking plainly and not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God. Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. That went directly counter to their beliefs. They believed that they would stand and fight for Jesus, and not abandon Him. In fact Peter had said so; then Jesus told him he would deny Him three times. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. We need to keep that in mind today. Our strength and safety is not in the things of the world, but in Chris...

Good morning. In that day you will not question Me about anything. They had been asking Him about His statement that in a little while they would not see Him, and then in a little while they would see Him. After He rose from the dead and they saw Him, they knew what He was talking about. If you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. That is not just some simple formula to get what you want. It’s not a matter of simply tacking on “in Jesus name“ to get what you want. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the ...

Good morning. But when He the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; but He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He is the Spirit of truth. That means that whatever He says, we can trust. He will also guide us into all the truth, if we let Him. He is constantly listening to the Father as to what He should say. If we listen to Him, we will know what is about to come upon us. However too often we just want to do it our own way. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me. Those are actually two different Greek words translated “see“. It sounds like double talk; at least that’s what the disciples thought. You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoi...

Good morning. But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, where are You going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. It’s kind of like a friend or relative saying that they’re going to move far away from us. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. It would not matter if that friend or relative said that they were sending someone to you that you would really love, and that he would help you when you needed him. We would still want that friend or relative to stay. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. Because Jesus was leaving the earth, people would no...

Good morning. So Jesus was going to leave the disciples all on their own – right? Wrong! When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. The Holy Spirit takes the words of Jesus and uses them to help keep us from stumbling. If we listen to His urgings, we will not sin. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. Unfortunately the same kind of thing will happen again in the future. People will be so wrapped up in religion that they will think that the true believers are enemies of God, and will do their best to remove them from society. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to y...