Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Now [before] the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. I bracketed the word “before” to emphasize that it does not say during the feast. During supper: notice that it does not say during the Passover meal. People have said various things to try to make these verses and the ones that follow to agree with the other gospels that this was the Passover meal. Some have said that this was referring to the Passover meal, and others that they ate something prior to the Passover meal; which to me does not make sense. Back to John: during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. He th...

  Good morning. Back to the Light: I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word that I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. (earlier He said that people would be raised from the dead on the last day, and now He says some will be judged at the last day.) For I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me. Jesus took His charge from the Father seriously. He knew that He could not deviate at all from what He was to say. If that were you or I, it would put us under a lot of pressure to make sure we said the ...

  Good morning. Remember that the people were wondering who the Son of Man was. Jesus avoids the question; instead He goes back to a metaphor that He has used before. For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that the darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light. Jesus then hides Himself from them. Although He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him (remember Nicodemus), but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. We have the same situation today. Christians are afraid to say anything positive about Jesus and the church for fear that their boss or coworkers will be against them; possibly ev...

  Good morning. Then Jesus said, Father, glorify Your name. So what is everyone expecting when He says that – nothing. It is just a perfunctory statement. Boy were they in for a shock! Then a voice came out of heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. Then everyone said, wow, God just spoke to us from heaven – not. Some said that it thundered, and others that an angel had spoken to Him. This voice has not come for My sake but for your sake. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was to die. But this contradicted all of the teaching that they had heard from their spiritual leaders. We have heard out of the law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Their spiritual leaders had told them a partial truth about the Son of M...

  Good morning. Philip and Andrew came and told Jesus that the Greeks were seeking Him. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. If Jesus had not died and risen again, He could have only been in one place at a time, and He would have been the only child of God. Because He “fell into the earth and died“, He was multiplied many times over. That’s like a single grain of wheat or corn growing into a plant that bears many grains just like itself. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. Too many Christians love their blessings and prosperity in this life so much so that they are in danger of losing their soul over it. That does not necessarily mean they won’t go to heaven, but they will be tormented inside while they are alive because they can never be satisfied with the things of this life. If anyone serv...

  Good morning. Now we’re getting ready for Palm Sunday in this Gospel, which ties all of the other Gospels together about Jesus being just across the Jordan River from Jericho when He got the news about Lazarus. A large crowd which had come to the feast of Passover, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him and began to shout Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it. The other Gospels say that He sent disciples to a nearby village to find a colt. That does not mean that it is a contradiction; John just left out the details. His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. They were caught up in the excitement of the moment, and did not realize the significance of what they were doing. The people who...

  Good morning. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus. The chief priests and the Pharisees wanted people to report if they saw Jesus, so that they might seize Him. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to where Lazarus was. They were having dinner, and Lazarus was dining with Him. Martha was serving. In Luke we have where Martha was upset because Mary was not helping her. It is in the middle of Luke and not at the end, so it may have been a different situation. Sometimes different gospels have episodes in a different order. Mary took some very expensive perfume and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. Judas wanted to know why it was not sold and the money given to the poor. He didn’t really care about the poor; he just wanted to steal some of the money since he carried the money box. Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of...

  Good morning. The chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council and were worried because Jesus was performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. They weren’t concerned for the truth about who Jesus was; they were only concerned about themselves. One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year (my Bible says that he was the son-inlaw of Annas, who had been deposed from the high priesthood by the Romans. The high priest was supposed to be for life - he couldn’t be deposed.) You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish. Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God wh...

  Good morning. Well, it’s time to get Lazarus out of the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus told them to remove the stone. Martha told Jesus that by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days. A note on the four days – many Jews believed that the soul remained near the body for three days after death in the hope of returning to the body. In other words, he might have been “merely dead“ à la the wizard of Oz instead of “most sincerely dead“. That didn’t deter Jesus. Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? How are you going to argue with that? Jesus raised His eyes and said, Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me. He cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a c...

  Good morning.  Martha now goes back to the house to get Mary. Secretly she tells her, the Teacher is here and is calling for you. Now the Bible does not say that Jesus was calling for Mary - perhaps she said that because Mary did not go with her when she went to greet Jesus. When Mary heard that, she got up quickly and was coming to Jesus. Those who were with Mary thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there, and so they followed her. When she got to Jesus, she said the exact same thing that her sister had said: Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. This seems to confirm the idea that they had said this to each other over and over again during the four days since Lazarus had died. As I said before, she did not add the second part that Martha did – even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You. When Jesus saw her weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled. Where have you laid him? This is what anyone would say in th...

  Good morning. Martha goes out and meets Jesus and says, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. As we will see in a little bit, Mary says the exact same thing. That implies that this was not the first time that they said this. You can imagine them sitting in the house mourning the loss of Lazarus and saying, if Jesus had just been here, our brother would not have died. Martha, however, adds something that Mary does not. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You. What exactly did she mean by that? It sounds like she believes that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, but the next few verses seem to contradict that. Your brother will rise again. I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Does that mean that she does not believe that Jesus will bring him back to life right then, or is she just asking Him to be more specific? Note when she believes the resurrection will occur – on the last day. That must’ve been th...

  Good morning. Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep. This is the terminology used throughout the New Testament when someone dies – that he or she has fallen asleep. Remember that Jesus waited two days, but when He got there Lazarus had been dead four days. In other words, if He had left immediately after they had told Him about Lazarus and had gone at the same pace, He still would’ve been two days too late. He is just across the Jordan River from Jericho. Even if He left right now and did not stop to spend the night with Zacheus, it would not of taken four days to get to Lazarus’ house. The disciples thought He was talking about literal sleep and that if Lazarus was asleep, it was a good thing. Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him. (Doubting) Thomas said, let’s also go, that we may die with Him. So they get there four days too late, and there are a lot of pe...

  Good morning. After what Jesus said last time, they tried to seize Him, but He slipped away again. He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. As we said before, there were two places where scholars thought this was located. However from the things I’ve said before in the other Gospels and the fact that Palm Sunday happened shortly after this, I believe that this was the one near Jericho. So as far as the crow flies, this was not too many miles from where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. Lazarus was sick, and Mary and Martha sent to Jesus telling Him “he whom You love is sick”.  And so Jesus began bawling and squalling and saying “oh how terrible”. That’s the RPV (revised perverted version) of the Bible. He actually said, this sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Our reaction would’ve been the first one. The next statement seems strange to us. ...

  Good morning. Remember that Jesus just said, “I and the Father are one”. The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. I showed you many good works from the Father; for which one of them are you stoning Me? For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; because You being a man, make Yourself out to be God. That was the true significance of Jesus’ statement. He could not be one with the Father unless He were God. Has it not been written in your law, “I said, you are gods”? If he called them gods (I read somewhere that the Mormons use this verse to justify their claim that they are or will be gods), to whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, You are blaspheming, because I said, “I am the Son of God “? I don’t know if it is still true, but at one time there were some believers who said that Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God. I know that is the case, because I had someone sa...

  Good morning. Again there was a division about Jesus. Some said He had a demon or was crazy. Others – these are not the sayings of one demon possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he? At that time the feast of the dedication – Hanukkah – took place at Jerusalem. The Jews were asking Jesus, how long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ tell us plainly. He had deliberately refrained from saying that in public. He knew that it was not the right time. He did tell the blind man that He was the Messiah. I told you, and you do not believe (they did not understand because they were expecting the conquering hero, not the suffering servant); The works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. (so He repeats the statement from before) My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand...

  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. 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...

  G oo d mo r ning . I ’ m su r e y o u ’ve hea r d pe o pl e either in person or in the movies say “you will know the truth an d the truth will se t you f r ee ”. They d o n ’ t quote the firs t part of tha t statemen t which completely changes it. If you continue in My wo r d, the n you a r e truly disciple s of Mine; and you will know the truth, an d the truth will set you f r ee. Do you want to be a disciple of Jesus – the n continue in His wo r d. It says tha t He sai d this to those who had beli e ved Him (whe n H e said tha t He wa s the “I a m “). He was not just talking about getting your fi r e insurance. He was talkin g abou t truly being a disciple of His. T oo man y belie v ers a r e not truly disciples of Jesus. Even though they beli e ved Him, they we r e still thinking in the natural: we a r e A b raham ’ s descendant s and hav e neve r yet b ee n enslaved to anyone ; how is it that Y ou say you will become f r ee? While they we r...

  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...

  G oo d mo r ning . S o now everyone is stir r ed u p over Jesus an d His wo r ds. Some said that H e was the P r ophet ; others the Christ. Su r ely the Christ is not going to c o m e f r om Galilee, is He? Scriptu r es say tha t the Christ will com e f r om the desce n dant s of Davi d an d f r om Bethlehem. They di d not r ealize tha t both we r e true of Jesus. Remember that th e chief priests and th e Pharisees had sen t officers to seize Him. They r etu r ned and sai d neve r has a man spoken in the way this man speaks. The Pharisees r ep li ed, no one of the rulers or Pharisees has beli e ved in Him, has he? This was not true becaus e Nicodemus had come to Jesus. He then tries to speak up for Jesus. Our la w does not judge a man unless it firs t hears f r om him and knows what h e ’ s doing, does it? Y ou a r e not also f r om Galilee, a r e you? Sea r ch, and see tha t no p r ophe t arises out of Galil ee . My Bibl e says tha t they a r e mis...

  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 Sunday 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 kno...

  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...