This is your last chance!
After today, it will be a new year!!
If you would like any last 2010 prayers to be prayed, get in touch now!!!
I Kid You Not!!!!
L/T.
{I will be defaulting to passages in Colossians 1 and 2* and 1 Thessalonians 3** anyway, so no real rush; but informed detail is always good to keep in mind when praying for you.)
*2:6-7
1:9-13 and v28-29
**3:12-13
31 December, 2010
27 December, 2010
4 jours et 2 chapitres qui restent (de l'Évangile de Jean)
After today there are only 4 days left of 2010..
..so I'd better finish those personal notes on the gospel account inspired by God & recorded by John son of fisherman Zebedee.
[For prior notes or links/directions to notes, please refer to post of 28/11/2010.
________________
KNOWING (or experiencing) GOD
From reading of John Zebedee's final chapters 20 and 21,
one may deduce that we know/experience God by..
.. ..knowing Jesus, as Lord who is with us
because of the Holy Spirit (inferred in 20:22)
- or, having known Him, continuing to desire nearness to Him even when all hope seems dead
(as one woman did by going to where His body was buried, 20:1)
.. ..understanding what the Scriptures
[=written words of the Bible]
have to say about Him (20:9),
as well as paying attention/listening to what Jesus Himself says,
talking with Him
{20:27-29 and 21:15-22
=> see sample responses to Jesus' words in v.17-19 of ch.20
(ie. as He tells disciples what to do,
they act in accordance with His word; also 21:4-6)}
.. ..believing in Christ Jesus/
what God accomplished through Him (20:31 and v.8)
=> yet still NOT needing to physically see Him with our eyes
in order to believe in Him (20:25 onwards)
.. ..following Him
(since He calls us, 21:19-22)
.. ..AND, as with other chapters,
listening to/believing in the testimony of those
who saw Jesus' life, death & also evidence of His resurrection
(21:24; vv.1-8 and vv.14-18 of ch.20;
additionally, vv.24-25 of final chapter => ie. ch.21)
________________
KNOWING what GOD WILLS for His people
It seems that knowing what God's will is for His people concentrates (in these last chapters) on..
.. ..the raising of Jesus to life,
in order that Scripture be fulfilled (20:1-9)
.. ..the need for peace to be with His people
("peace" turns up THREE times in a block of eight verses in ch. 20,
so that must count for something
- see v.19, v.21 and v.26)
.. ..sending!
"Comme mon Père m'a envoyé,
moi aussi je vous envoie." (From ch.20, v.21.)
I love stuff that smacks of [com]MISSION..!!!!!
.. ..the giving of the Holy Spirit
(ie. His intention that we receive His Spirit, 20:21).
N.B. While one isolated reference, if one looks back to the wider context
of this whole gospel, this intent was already discussed more
in chapters 14, 15 and 16.
.. ..generally, whatever Jesus says
(e.g. 20:17, or 21:15-19)
=> Which
[as frequently mentioned in most other chapters of this gospel]
has a lot to do with
believing in who Jesus is
(the Christ, Messiah/Moshiach, the King whom God has chosen)
and by believing,
having life in His Name,
as verse 31 of chapter 20 states.
________________
When I was a bit younger than I am now, I used to hear from different Bible teachers (all far more spiritually mature than myself) that JOHN 20:31 was the key or summary verse of this gospel account.
I see no reason to argue with their conclusions, esp. in light of things I've seen while spending time with John Zebedee during 2010.
In scanning over the Johannine-related notes posted on my blog throughout this year, again and again the idea of BELIEF in Jesus, & an emphasis on His WORDS spoken, have popped up in my search for answers to the 2 questions about knowledge of God/knowledge of His will.
So at the close of this year, it seems worthwhile to remind both myself and *you*
the-readers-of-these-Johannine-blog-posts
of the absolute importance of experiencing God the Father/Son/Holy Spirit
~through BELIEVING in the Lord Jesus Christ & all He came to achieve
~through SEEKING God in all His WORDS recorded in Scripture
(the Bible that we have such easy access to in the Western Anglophone world)
~and~
~ through SUBMISSION to God,
because He sought us first;
because He took the initiative of pursuing relationship with us;
because we are His own creation and we can exist and live and have eternal life ONLY through Him.
****************************************************************
"The God who made the world and everything in it
is the Lord of heaven and earth
and does not live in temples built by human hands.
And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything.
Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
From one man He made all the nations,
that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and He marked out their appointed times in history
and the boundaries of their lands.
God did this so that they would seek Him
and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from any one of us.
'For in Him we live and move and have our being’..(28)
(30)..In the past God overlooked such ignorance,
but now He commands all people everywhere to repent.
For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice
by the man He has appointed.
He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead."
Taken from ACTS 17:24-31.
L/T.
..so I'd better finish those personal notes on the gospel account inspired by God & recorded by John son of fisherman Zebedee.
[For prior notes or links/directions to notes, please refer to post of 28/11/2010.
________________
KNOWING (or experiencing) GOD
From reading of John Zebedee's final chapters 20 and 21,
one may deduce that we know/experience God by..
.. ..knowing Jesus, as Lord who is with us
because of the Holy Spirit (inferred in 20:22)
- or, having known Him, continuing to desire nearness to Him even when all hope seems dead
(as one woman did by going to where His body was buried, 20:1)
.. ..understanding what the Scriptures
[=written words of the Bible]
have to say about Him (20:9),
as well as paying attention/listening to what Jesus Himself says,
talking with Him
{20:27-29 and 21:15-22
=> see sample responses to Jesus' words in v.17-19 of ch.20
(ie. as He tells disciples what to do,
they act in accordance with His word; also 21:4-6)}
.. ..believing in Christ Jesus/
what God accomplished through Him (20:31 and v.8)
=> yet still NOT needing to physically see Him with our eyes
in order to believe in Him (20:25 onwards)
.. ..following Him
(since He calls us, 21:19-22)
.. ..AND, as with other chapters,
listening to/believing in the testimony of those
who saw Jesus' life, death & also evidence of His resurrection
(21:24; vv.1-8 and vv.14-18 of ch.20;
additionally, vv.24-25 of final chapter => ie. ch.21)
________________
KNOWING what GOD WILLS for His people
It seems that knowing what God's will is for His people concentrates (in these last chapters) on..
.. ..the raising of Jesus to life,
in order that Scripture be fulfilled (20:1-9)
.. ..the need for peace to be with His people
("peace" turns up THREE times in a block of eight verses in ch. 20,
so that must count for something
- see v.19, v.21 and v.26)
.. ..sending!
"Comme mon Père m'a envoyé,
moi aussi je vous envoie." (From ch.20, v.21.)
I love stuff that smacks of [com]MISSION..!!!!!
.. ..the giving of the Holy Spirit
(ie. His intention that we receive His Spirit, 20:21).
N.B. While one isolated reference, if one looks back to the wider context
of this whole gospel, this intent was already discussed more
in chapters 14, 15 and 16.
.. ..generally, whatever Jesus says
(e.g. 20:17, or 21:15-19)
=> Which
[as frequently mentioned in most other chapters of this gospel]
has a lot to do with
believing in who Jesus is
(the Christ, Messiah/Moshiach, the King whom God has chosen)
and by believing,
having life in His Name,
as verse 31 of chapter 20 states.
________________
When I was a bit younger than I am now, I used to hear from different Bible teachers (all far more spiritually mature than myself) that JOHN 20:31 was the key or summary verse of this gospel account.
I see no reason to argue with their conclusions, esp. in light of things I've seen while spending time with John Zebedee during 2010.
In scanning over the Johannine-related notes posted on my blog throughout this year, again and again the idea of BELIEF in Jesus, & an emphasis on His WORDS spoken, have popped up in my search for answers to the 2 questions about knowledge of God/knowledge of His will.
So at the close of this year, it seems worthwhile to remind both myself and *you*
the-readers-of-these-Johannine-blog-posts
of the absolute importance of experiencing God the Father/Son/Holy Spirit
~through BELIEVING in the Lord Jesus Christ & all He came to achieve
~through SEEKING God in all His WORDS recorded in Scripture
(the Bible that we have such easy access to in the Western Anglophone world)
~and~
~ through SUBMISSION to God,
because He sought us first;
because He took the initiative of pursuing relationship with us;
because we are His own creation and we can exist and live and have eternal life ONLY through Him.
****************************************************************
"The God who made the world and everything in it
is the Lord of heaven and earth
and does not live in temples built by human hands.
And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything.
Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
From one man He made all the nations,
that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and He marked out their appointed times in history
and the boundaries of their lands.
God did this so that they would seek Him
and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from any one of us.
'For in Him we live and move and have our being’..(28)
(30)..In the past God overlooked such ignorance,
but now He commands all people everywhere to repent.
For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice
by the man He has appointed.
He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead."
Taken from ACTS 17:24-31.
L/T.
20 December, 2010
33 ans + 3 mois
I am proud to say that in spite of my age, I'm still not too old to enjoy a Colin Buchanan concert!
(Although I did experience some dizziness when getting up from a sitting/crouching position on the floor of the cathedral..)
L/T.
(Although I did experience some dizziness when getting up from a sitting/crouching position on the floor of the cathedral..)
L/T.
13 December, 2010
10 CDs - grâce à Dieu
In the post preceding this one, I had asked for prayer regarding the provision of an appropriate musician to play piano for me.
God in His mercy not only supplied this need, but also enabled me to sell ten CDs of my own music, which I am very thankful for, being sans boulot.
So the bergère petite is kept off the street for a little while longer!
L/T.
God in His mercy not only supplied this need, but also enabled me to sell ten CDs of my own music, which I am very thankful for, being sans boulot.
So the bergère petite is kept off the street for a little while longer!
L/T.
03 December, 2010
1 musicien/ne
I interrupt my occasional "ordinary" blog posts with a little prayer request, about a temporal issue.
On Friday 10th December I am in need of a reliable and humble muso who can play a piano accompaniment to 2 short songs, one in B major, one in C. They need only be available between ten o'clock and midday - it is not a whole-day gig. It is in Sydney's northern beaches area, and transport is provided.
Please PRAY:
..for God to provide for this need, according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
________________
{If He sees it as a genuine need, that is
- I just don't see myself being able to present the song content (Bible-rich lyrics) while accompanying myself on piano at the same time!}
Thank you in advance to those who read & pray.
L/T.
On Friday 10th December I am in need of a reliable and humble muso who can play a piano accompaniment to 2 short songs, one in B major, one in C. They need only be available between ten o'clock and midday - it is not a whole-day gig. It is in Sydney's northern beaches area, and transport is provided.
Please PRAY:
..for God to provide for this need, according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
________________
{If He sees it as a genuine need, that is
- I just don't see myself being able to present the song content (Bible-rich lyrics) while accompanying myself on piano at the same time!}
Thank you in advance to those who read & pray.
L/T.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
