Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Jesus continues with His figure of speech about the sheep. I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. Remember that the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. And now we have a verse frequently quoted: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it (more) abundantly. If we truly believed that, we would not hesitate to obey Jesus when He tells us to do something. Instead, even believers listen to the thief. I am the good shepherd (that would imply that there are those who are not good). The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and i...

  Good morning!  Jesus is getting ready to give an illustration in which He uses more metaphors to describe Himself. He who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a Shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. There are those who try to persuade members of a church to follow them instead of the Pastor. They of course do it surreptitiously. (I never have an occasion to use that word. I still remember the first time I heard an explanation of what that word means. It was in high school during gym period. Instead of having physical activity, we heard a lecture by someone. They said that you can remember what that word means by the last three letters of the word - sly. It is something that is done on the sly.) The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. He also knows their name. This implies a...

  Good morning. Today we finally finish with the blind man. Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, do you believe in the Son of Man? Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you. Lord, I believe. And he worshiped Him. Jesus did not fit the pattern that the Pharisees were expecting, so they did not believe that He was the son of man. This man did not care whether or not Jesus fit the pattern. He had been healed, and therefore he believed. For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. The Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said, we are not blind too, are we? To them being called blind was an insult because they “knew“ everything that was supposed to be. If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, we see, your sin remains. They trusted in their knowledge to save them. They had many rules and re...

  Good morning. The Pharisees come back again and asked the man who was blind “what did He do to you? How did He open your eyes? Of course the man gets upset, wouldn’t you? I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you? He’s getting a little bit bold speaking to the religious leaders like that. You are his disciple, we are disciples of Moses. As we used to say, well touch you. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from. They say this a 1000 years after Moses; but while Moses was alive, the people of Israel fought him tooth and nail. Well here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man we’re not f...

  Good morning. Back to the blind man: The Pharisees couldn’t figure out Jesus, and so they asked the blind man what he thought about Jesus. He is a prophet. Watch as we go through this – his opinion about Jesus changes. Right now he is in the afterglow of the healing, and so he thinks the world of Jesus. Anyone would. Just like today when a miracle happens, the Pharisees did not believe that he had been born blind. They thought there was some logical explanation why he was healed. After all there had been people who had sight; temporarily lost it; and then regained their sight; but they had never heard of anyone who had been born blind receiving their sight. So they questioned his parents to make sure he was actually born blind; and if so, how could he now see? They confirmed that he had been born blind, but they refused to speculate on how he had been healed, because if they said that Jesus was the Christ, they would be put out of the synagogue. That was a horrific thing to happe...

  Good morning. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world. Jesus had just said that shortly before, and will say it again later that He was the Light of the world. It is even more interesting that He says it now when He has encountered a blind man. He wasn’t just making some philosophical statement; He intended to put actions to His words. He spat on the ground; made clay; and applied the clay to the man’s eyes. He then told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. He did, and came back seeing. When people saw him, they said isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg? They asked the man how his eyes were opened. The man called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes and told me to go wash. I did, and I received sight. They brought the man to the Pharisees and – uh oh – it was the Sabbath on the day when Jesus did this. He told the Pharisees what Jesus did. But since Jesus did...

  Good morning, and merry Christmas! We are going to digress and look at the first Christmas. This was something that had been foretold centuries before; and yet people still did not understand what was going to happen. They were thinking that the Messiah was going to come as an adult and was going to re-establish the nation of Israel above all other nations. They were not expecting Him to come as a baby, supposedly born to a carpenter and placed in a manger. Many things had to happen at precisely the right time. You had to have the right person to be His mother and the right person to be His supposed father. You had to have a reason for them to be in Bethlehem on the night He was born – the census. It had to be when shepherds would be in the field near Bethlehem watching their flocks. And just at the right time – an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, “do ...

  Good morning. So when Jesus said to the people, your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad, exactly what was He talking about? During what incident did this occur? Some believe that it was when Abraham met Melchizedek - that that was really Jesus in His pre-incarnate form. So the Jews said, You are not yet 50 years old, and have You seen Abraham? And now the statement that really got them upset: before Abraham was born, I am. It wasn’t just because Jesus said He was really ancient (that would just mean that He was nuts); it was because He said “I am”. They picked up stones to throw at Him, but He hid Himself and went out of the temple. This was not the only time that the people wanted to kill Him, but He slipped away. Nothing has said anything to the contrary, so we can probably assume that it was still during the feast of booths. He and the disciples were walking along and saw a man blind from birth. The disciples asked a question which even today peo...

  Good morning. So Jesus just told them that their father was the Devil. Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan (which the Jews despised and hated) and have a demon? Remember that these are the Jews that had believed Him. I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. Truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death. Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, if anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death. Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be? Again they are thinking of literal death of the physical body. If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, He is our God; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and ...

  Good morning. Abraham is our father. If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father. Remember that they had just said that Abraham was their father. Now they say: we were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God. At least when they are young, children tend to act like one of their parents. If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I’m saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. And now Jesus says something that would get anybody mad. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his o...

  Good morning. I’m sure you’ve heard people either in person or in the movies say “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. They don’t quote the first part of that statement which completely changes it. If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Do you want to be a disciple of Jesus – then continue in His word. It says that He said this to those who had believed Him (when He said that He was the “I am“). He was not just talking about getting your fire insurance. He was talking about truly being a disciple of His. Too many believers are not truly disciples of Jesus. Even though they believed Him, they were still thinking in the natural: we are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say you will become free? While they were not enslaved, Roman soldiers on every street corner indicated that they were not truly free. Everyone who commits s...

  Good morning. Jesus now sets them straight as to where He is from. You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. If you notice, the word He is in italics, which means that the translators added that word for clarification; but it was not in the literal translation of the passage. When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush, He said to tell the people of Israel that “I am” sent me. Jesus will refer to this passage later. So the people asked, who are You? What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world. They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiativ...

  Good morning. Jesus had just said, I am the Light of the world. The Pharisees said, You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true. Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me. They of course did not understand. Where is Your Father? They were thinking of his earthly “father”, not His true heavenly One. You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also. They didn’t like where this was going, but no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come. I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your...

  Good morning. Now what did Jesus do when the scribes and Pharisees asked Him about stoning the woman caught in adultery? He stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. There has been much speculation about what He wrote, but no one knows for sure. Whatever it was, it was not sufficient to make them stop because they persisted in asking Him. He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. He again stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard what He said, they begin to go out beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone with the woman. Where are they? Did no one condemn you? No one, Lord. Neither do I. Go and sin no more. The next verse shows why that episode seems out of place. Then Jesus again spoke to them… To whom was He speaking – they had all left? He had been talking to the people about the rivers of living water. The officers had returned and reported to the scribes and Pharisees. So what follows seems to be back ag...

  Good morning. So now everyone is stirred up over Jesus and His words. Some said that He was the Prophet; others the Christ. Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Scriptures say that the Christ will come from the descendants of David and from Bethlehem. They did not realize that both were true of Jesus. Remember that the chief priests and the Pharisees had sent officers to seize Him. They returned and said never has a man spoken in the way this man speaks. The Pharisees replied, no one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? This was not true because Nicodemus had come to Jesus. He then tries to speak up for Jesus. Our law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it? You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee. My Bible says that they are mistaken because Jonah came from Galilee and perhaps others as well. There is a dispute that the story about the wo...

  Good morning. Remember that the people were upset with Jesus; so they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. It wasn’t His hour to go, so they couldn’t touch Him. Still, many believed in Him. When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He? That got the attention of the Pharisees and the chief priests; so they sent officers to seize Him. For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come. Of course they did not understand what He was talking about – even His disciples later on did not understand what He was talking about. No one even considered that He was talking about dying, rising from the dead, and then ascending to heaven. Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, if anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the...

  Good morning. Remember that last time the people said that Jesus had a demon. I did one deed, and you all marvel. The last time He was in Jerusalem, He healed the man by the side of the pool. At that time they were upset because He healed on the Sabbath. On this account Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? It is just the opposite today. People think that the only way they can get healed is to come to church and get healed on Sunday. Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. If only people would abide by that today. The people debated about who Jesus was. They wondered if the rulers thought that He was the Christ. However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows wher...

  Good morning. After His brothers had gone up to the feast, Jesus also went up, but not publicly. This is where the question comes in. We know that Jesus did not lie to His brothers when He said He was not going up to the feast; so was there a different way His words could’ve been translated, or perhaps did He not know that He was to go up until after they left? Again I don’t know. The people were looking for Him; some saying He was good and some that He led the people astray. In the midst of the feast, Jesus went up to the temple and began to teach. His words were not those of the ordinary man; so the people wanted to know how He had become learned, having never been educated. In today’s lingo – had not gone to school at a seminary. My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. You could say that His words rang true. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glor...

  Good morning. I pray that you are doing much better today. Jesus stayed in Galilee instead of going to Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. The Feast of Booths was near. It is a celebration of the harvest season. This is one of the feasts where all of the males were expected to go up to Jerusalem. His brothers encouraged Him to go into Jerusalem so that His disciples could see His works which He was doing. No one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world. For not even His brothers were believing in Him. They did not understand His mission. They were thinking in the natural. My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. The word used for time here is not the one that means clock time. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come. Havin...

  Good morning. Father, we ask in Jesus name that You extend Your healing hand to us; that You bring about a miraculous healing quickly Lord - that You make us whole and complete quickly. In Jesus’ name we pray amen! Jesus’ disciples were complaining about His statement of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. This emphasizes the importance of God’s word - if you want to have life, follow the word. There are some of you who do not believe. He is saying this to His disciples (not just the 12 who also were apostles but also others who were following Him). They were not just people in the crowd who happened to be there when He said these words. I guess you could say it was crunch time. Now we can see who truly believed and who just wanted part of the glamour of H...

  Good morning. Jesus’ response to their question about how can a man give us His flesh to eat made them even more confused, since they were thinking in the natural. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. That made one think of cannibalism. Not only that, the Jews were extra careful to not consume the blood of any animal, since that was condemned by God. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. There’s that last day thing again. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he will also live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats is this bread will live forever. This really got the people upset, and it is understandable, since they were thin...

  Good morning. Jesus continues: everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. It says in another place that no one can see God and live. So is Jesus talking about before His incarnation that He saw God? There are several places in the Old Testament where it appears that God, not an angel, was interacting with humans. Was that actually Jesus before He became a man? Truly I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. Again it is not he who does something that has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh. This really puzzles the people – how can this man ...

  Good morning. Yesterday Jesus said that He came down from heaven not to do His own will but the will of Him who sent Him. So a good question would be, what is that will? This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. OK, so we might need a little more clarification. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone will beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day. Again it is the believing that brings about the eternal life – not the doing of something. When is the raising up? It is on the last day. The people that were listening to Him were upset because He said that He was the bread that came down out of heaven. Of course they knew better: is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, I have come down out of heaven? They however did not know the full story, and Jesus was not about to explain it to them. No...

  Good Sunday morning. So now the people ask Jesus, what then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Are you kidding me? Jesus just fed 5000 people with almost nothing, and you want to know what sign does He perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, he gave them bread out of heaven to eat. Truly, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father Who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that (He) which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world. They of course are still thinking in the natural. I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. You have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not (it is a double negative - emphatic negative) cast out. That means we can be confident that Jesus will never tur...

  Good morning. Jesus and His disciples go to the other side of the sea of Galilee. There was a large crowd because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. The Passover was near. This is the feeding of the 5000 which we have talked about before; so I won’t go into the details. When the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “this is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” They were looking at this sign only as a way to get plenty of free food. Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. Then we have the incident where Jesus walked on the water. The next day the people came looking for Jesus – after all it’s breakfast time! They find Him on the other side of the sea and ask when did He get there. You seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. They were not seeking Him because He had performed ...

  Good morning. And the Father who has sent Me has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You can know a lot of scriptures, even quoting them, without knowing the One who wrote them; nor letting them change your life. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me. They “knew“ the Scriptures, and “knew“ exactly how it would be when the messiah came; but since Jesus did not fit the pattern they envisioned, they completely overlooked Him as being the Messiah. It is very possibly the same today. People “know” what is supposed to happen during the end times. They could easily overlook what happens, because it does not fit the pattern they have envisioned. And you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. Since Jesus did not fit their pattern of the Messiah, they refused to trust in Him...

  Good morning. I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. It is hard for people to judge honestly because their own will a lot of times seeps into their judgment. Jesus judges fairly and honestly. If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. John testified about Me; but the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. John was revered by many; so his testimony was highly received. He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. John has already called Jesus the Light, now Jesus calls John the Baptist the lamp. Both were lights of God. That should be enough to settle the issue; but - the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the w...

  Good morning. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgement because He is the Son of Man. If He had not given judgment to Jesus as the Son of Man, people would say how can God judge us - He doesn’t know what it’s like to be human? But Jesus, as man, did know what it was like to be human; and He was able to keep the law with perfection. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to resurrection of judgment. Notice the difference between this verse and the verse we talked about yesterday. Both said “an hour is coming“, but the one yesterday also added “and now is“. That sounded more imminent than this one does. That one said that those who hear will live. That implies that some would not hear. In this one, all hear ...

  Good morning. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgement to the Son. That’s a pretty scary statement for all those who have been hostile to Jesus. So that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. How would we feel if we owned a business, and sent our child to negotiate with someone from another company, and they disrespected our child? It would be just like they disrespected us to our face. He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Now that is awesome! Of course that does not mean that we won’t die physically. An hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. The phrase “now is“ does not sound like it was going to be 2000 years later, but rather in the near future from when He said it. It sounds like some will hear...

  Good morning. Remember that it was the Sabbath, and the man by the pool did a horrible thing – he was carrying his pallet on the Sabbath. Hey don’t look at me, man. That dude who healed me told me to do this. Who was he? I don’t know. It says that Jesus found him; not that he found Jesus. You have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you. It doesn’t say anything about him becoming sick because of some sin that he did. I do notice that nowhere in the story does he give glory to God for healing him. Instead he goes straight away and tells the Jews it was Jesus who made him well. That got them stirred up; and they started persecuting Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. We will see that Jesus’ response made them even angrier. OK so the Jews were upset because Jesus was “working“ on the Sabbath by healing someone. Jesus’ response – My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working. That really got them upset; so much so that ...

  Good morning. After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. It does not say which one, but it must’ve been one of the major ones that expects all males to go up to Jerusalem. The beginning of the next chapter has the Passover at hand; so unless John skipped a whole year, this was not the Passover. There is in Jerusalem a pool, which is called Bethesda. Because he said “is” and not “was”, some argue that the gospel of John was written before the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. However, John likes to use what is known in the Greek as the historical present. He uses the present tense instead of the past tense to describe an event - to draw you into the scene. It’s like someone telling a joke and saying, a man goes into a bar and… instead of a man went into a bar and…. You feel like you’re right there in the bar. So this very well could have been why John used the present instead of the past tense. There was a multitude of people around the p...