Tag: work

Working for God

Barbara WeberLeave a comment

John 6:27-29 WEB

Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.” [28] They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?” [29] Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Believing is our only job. So, what does believing look like? Is it something we say or something we do that demonstrates belief? In 1 John 3:23 WEB, the Bible says, “This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.” That’s interesting. It looks like God commands us to believe in Jesus. However, Jesus commands us to love one another. So, believing must look like the love of Christ coming out of us.

Well, that leads to the next question, what does the love of Christ coming out of us look like? It looks like carrying your cross. It looks like obedience. Jesus loved us so much he died a horrible death to see us safe in the love of God. Jesus loved us by laying his life down. We should do the same. Believing Jesus looks like humbling ourselves to the same behavior he demonstrated. If anyone wants to do the works of God, he must believe in Jesus. Believing in Jesus means imitating him. Believing Jesus looks like giving ourselves away.

Lord Jesus, please forgive me for all the times I have demonstrated unbelief. Help me trust your ways so that I begin to imitate you and thereby come into obedience. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Bringing Life

Barbara WeberLeave a comment

John 5:20-24 WEB

For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. [21] For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires. [22] For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, [23] that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him. [24] “Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

It’s interesting to read the Father has given all judgment to Jesus. In another place, Jesus declares he did not come to judge. (John 12:47) Rather, he came to bring life. (John 10:10) In the text scriptures above it says the Father put life in Jesus so people will honor Jesus in the way they honor the Father. (John 5:22-23)  

The Father is leading the world to honor Jesus. In fact, while the Father is seeking the Son’s glory, the Son is seeking the Father’s glory. Part of how Jesus brings glory to the Father is by remaining in the truth. He testified what he saw and heard, even when it would bring derision. Jesus was faithful to the mission God gave him.

It is impossible to know exactly when Jesus realized it was the Father’s will for him to sacrifice his life. Yet, in his perfection, Jesus was willing to die. That may be why he could say delusional-sounding things. He could say he was granted life to pass out by the Father. He could say the Father honored him. Jesus could say all these challenging things because he was willing to exchange his life for the life of others.  

Lord Jesus, thank you for qualifying me for eternal life through your own death. I trust you and believe you. I honor you and I honor the Father. Lord, please help me imitate you and give of myself for the good of others. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Resting While Working

Barbara WeberLeave a comment

John 5:17-19 WEB

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.” [18] For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. [19] Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise.

Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 talk about the rest of God. We are told to be diligent in our pursuit of rest. (Hebrews 4:11) Yet here is Jesus telling the Jewish leaders that he is working, and his Father is working. More, it says that Jesus could see what his Father was doing and chose to join him. Seeing is an activity that happens in the flesh. Notice the verses do not say Jesus envisioned what the Father was doing. Rather, it says he saw. So, he joined in the Father’s labor. In this alignment with the Father, miracles occurred.

How is it that Jesus had open eyes to recognize the work of the Father? The Bible says that Jesus prayed for a long time each morning in a secluded place. (Mark 1:35) The Bible also teaches that Jesus did not care what others thought. Instead, he consistently demonstrated placing God’s priorities first in his life. (John 4:27) But do these attributes account for Jesus having eyes that see and ears that hear?

Both of the above examples show us how to see and hear the Father. Before and after Jesus moved in signs and wonders he frequently prayed. (John 11:43, Mt 14:23) Also, Jesus considered doing the will of God more important than his own fleshly needs. (John 4:31-34) The Bible says in John 3:16 that the Father desires all people to come into a relationship with him. Since Jesus is the one who said John 3:16, we can be sure he believed the Father loved all people. Therefore, Jesus loved people more than himself. He did it because it is what he believed the Father wanted. So, prayer, desiring God’s will, and loving others more than himself seem to be the keys to Jesus’ supernatural success.

Jesus’ supernatural miracles proved that Jesus was aligned with the Father.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Jesus thought He was God or thought He was equal to God. The Jewish leaders, out of jealousy, interpreted Jesus’ motives as evil. However, Jesus did not step out in the flesh. He waited to see what the Father was doing and joined him. Even when he worked, he was fully resting in the Father.

Lord Jesus, please help me pray, desire your will, and rest in you. Give me eyes that see and ears that hear so that I can join you in what you are doing. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Like Jesus

Barbara WeberLeave a comment

John 2:17 WEB

His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will eat me up.”

Have you ever prayed and asked God to make you more like Jesus? This is one of those neat scriptures that tell us plainly one of Jesus’ attributes. Jesus was consumed with passion for God’s House. Strangely, despite believers professing a desire to be like Jesus, there is little passion for God’s House. Do you want to see the level of passion for God’s House that is in your church? It is easy, just go to the next workday. It’s amazing to see people profess willingness to be like God and then not show up for a workday. There is little evidence of passionate love for the House of God in most churches.

Lord Jesus, please partner with me to grow in passion for your house. Release the grace I need to become more like you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.