Category: Heaven

Jesus is the Way

Barbara Weber

John 14:1-4 WEB

“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. [2] In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. [3] If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. [4] Where I go, you know, and you know the way.”

Jesus was about to return to the Father. Jesus understood and believed that if anyone trusted him, that person would also trust God. In this passage, Jesus makes himself equal to God. He challenges his disciples to believe in God and believe in him. In this way, he makes himself equal to the Father. His disciples have been with him for 3 years learning all he taught. Now the disciples’ job is to believe Jesus.

Jesus was going to the Father, and he was going to prepare a place for the disciples and all believers. He said that the disciples knew the way to where he was going. At this point in the journey, the disciples do not know where Jesus is going. Still, he tells them they know the way. He is referring to himself. Jesus is the way. All he taught, all the love he showed, and all the wisdom he demonstrated were to be duplicated in the life of the disciples. By keeping Jesus’ teachings, the disciples would be on the way to Jesus.

But knowing the way to Jesus is not our guarantee of a home in heaven. Believing Jesus is the way to heaven. And still, Jesus is leaving nothing to chance. He says he will come back and get us. All we must do to be ready is to believe in Jesus. Believing in Jesus guarantees he will come and take us to where he is. Once in heaven, we will be judged. Some will come through the judgment and have entry into heaven as their reward. Others, who obeyed with love will receive greater rewards. They will enter heaven and have an eternity to enjoy the rewards of their loving obedience.

Lord Jesus, please help me learn all that you taught. Help me remember your teachings and to walk in them. Help me to trust you more so that I will not fall to sin. Regardless of what is going on in my life, I want to be faithful to you, Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Compromise with the World

Barbara WeberLeave a comment

John 8:42-47 WEB

Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me. [43] Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word. [44] 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 doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father. [45] But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me. [46] Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? [47] He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.”

Do you like to drink, smoke, live selfishly and in general always think about yourself? Do other godly people irritate you? Do you love the Father, or do you love the world? These are important questions for each of us to use to evaluate our heart condition. The one we serve is our father. Is God in heaven our Father, or is Satan of the earth our father?

We need to look out of ourselves to make these types of evaluations. Why? Jesus says when we hear Satan we become deaf to God. So, worldliness may not be easy to detect. For most of us, when we do not want to face sin we make an excuse to deal with it later. But it takes discipline and perseverance to self-check for worldliness and godliness.

However, most people change their doctrine to accommodate sin. Most of us cannot bear for our stated beliefs to be proven false. It’s called psychological dissonance. We all try to keep a balance so we do not experience dissonance. The easiest way to solve dissonance is to change our minds. We must resist this urge. When Holy Spirit starts to bring conviction, making excuses will cause your love for God to wax cold. In this place, strange perverted ideas can masquerade as godliness. For this reason, decision-makers in the Body of Christ need to be thoroughly tested and tried before they are given power over other believers. It is also why believers need to read the Bible with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, open my ears so that I can hear you. Forgive me for partnering with the world. Please help me change to true godliness. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Entitled to Blessing

Barbara WeberLeave a comment

John 6:41-42 WEB

The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.” [42] They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’”

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were legalistic people. When Jesus said he came down from heaven they took it literally. The Pharisees expected the Messiah to come galloping out of heaven, guns blazing, ready to conquer the Romans. Imagine their consternation when Jesus claimed to come down from heaven. They were expecting a magnificent hero that would lead them to victory. Instead, they got a baby in a manger who would grow up and teach to be a conquering hero, you must lay down your life.

Pharisees did not want to lay down their lives. They expected God to bless them because of their piety. However, instead of being blessed, they were castigated as reprobate by Jesus. The Pharisees were waiting for God to come and take responsibility for their problems. The Pharisees were waiting on God.

The Pharisees felt entitled towards God. They expected God to come and fix all their problems. They wanted a Messiah to fight their battles and protect them from harm. The Pharisees felt that because of their devotion to God they deserved to be saved. Worse, because God said in Scripture he was coming, they felt entitled.

Entitlement is the root of legalistic prayers in modern times. Have you ever heard someone tell God what he must do because of what he said in the Bible? I have. I’ve always wondered how God feels about that sort of praying. If I was in a relationship with someone who constantly reminded me of everything I said so they could get what they want, I would feel abused.

Lord Jesus, please help me grow in praying scripture. I do not want to use the Bible as a tool to force you into submission. Please forgive me for feeling entitled to your blessings. I am secure that you want to bless me. In the meantime help me trust you more. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

God’s Will

Barbara WeberLeave a comment

John 6:35-38 WEB

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. [36] But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe. [37] All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out. [38] For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

Have you ever heard the belief that you should tell God exactly what you want when you pray? For example, if you are praying for a car include the make, model, color, and any other important features you would like. While there is nothing wrong with telling God what we would like, this is a teaching that turns people away from God’s will. We tell God what we want to do instead of asking him.

Jesus told us clearly how we should pray. In Matthew 6:10 WEB it reads, “Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” According to this verse, we are to seek God’s will in prayer. Instead, congregants are being taught to tell God what they want. More, believers get entitled towards God. Some will be frustrated because they prayed and believed but God did not bless their prayers. The problem is they were praying for their own will rather than the Father’s will.

It was the Father’s will to send us Jesus. It was also the Father’s will that we believe in Jesus. The Lord has told us that if we believe in him, we will obey him and imitate him. (John 14:12) Jesus did not seek his own will. The one time Jesus asked for something for himself was as he labored in prayer before the crucifixion. Jesus asked God to take away his cup of suffering. But Jesus is also clear, even in suffering, he prefers God’s will to his own. (Mat 26:39)

Lord Jesus, please forgive me for praying to have my own way instead of praying to know and do your will. Lord, reveal to me when I am praying for my own will and lead me into righteousness. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Birthplaces

Barbara WeberLeave a comment

John 4:43-50 WEB

After the two days he went out from there and went into Galilee. [44] For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. [45] So when he came into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast, for they also went to the feast. Jesus came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water into wine. There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. [47] When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and begged him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. [48] Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.” [49] The nobleman said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” [50] Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem and that made him a Judean. He was raised in Nazareth and seemed to base his ministry out of Capernaum of Galilee, yet still, he identified himself as coming from Judea. Jesus knew where he came from. He knew the stories of his miraculous birth. Jesus recognized he was from a better place and that is where he identified as his home country.

Every person who is in Christ has been born into the heavenly realms. This world is no longer our home. We are not from a certain country or continent, rather, we are from heaven. Having a correct orientation to our birthplace will define everything we do. Where we are born gives us a part of our identity. Where we are born gives us our purpose. Jesus knew he was born in a better place than Galilee, He knew he was from the royal line of David.

It is interesting to note that when Jesus returned to Galilee, it was that which was done in Jerusalem of Judea that caused the people of Capernaum to have an interest. It was that which originated in Jesus’ province of birth that caused interest in the Galileans.

Speaking of the first birth we all relate to a physical location on earth. Yet, when we experience the second birth that is by the Spirit, we have heaven as our hometown. Those things we get from our hometown of heaven will attract the attention of the lost here on earth. In the above text, Jesus chides the man for wanting to see a sign and then heals the child with no sign. Signs attract the attention of the world. But it is our faith that will help the lost make appropriate sense of signs when they come.

Lord Jesus, please help me identify as a person from heaven so that I can have a correct perspective on earth. Please let my life shine light into others’ darkness that I may lead some to salvation.