This part of the Bible is so rich in inspiration my notes below is simply a rewriting of the biblical text. Is it rich in inspiration through the process of being familiar and repetitious in my life—heard and otherwise experienced? Or is Christ thoroughly in my heart and connecting me to His Word so that I may act on it according to God’s Will for my life?
Probably a little bit of both but rewriting, journaling if you may, necessitates thought, which further embraces and digests the Scriptures for me.
There are the familiar words and phrases here in John’s Gospel with the interaction of Jesus and Nicodemus that leads to the familiar and trusted John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.”
Here it is as it reads like a book:
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus at night… “Rabbi, we know that thou hast come a teacher from God, for no one can work these signs that thou workest unless God be with him.”
Jesus: “Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born again?
Jesus: “Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not wonder that I said to thee, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it will, and thou hearest its sound but dost but dost not know where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus: “How can these things be?”
Jesus: “Thou art a teacher in Israel and dost not know these things? Amen, amen, I say to thee, we speak of what we know, and we bear witness to what we have seen; and our witness you do not receive. If I have spoken of earthly things to you, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I speak to you of heavenly things? And no one has ascended into heaven except him who has descended from heaven: the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God did not send his Son into the world in order to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged; but he who does not believe is already judged, because he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. Now this is the judgment: The light has come into the world, yet men have loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, that his deeds may not be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, for they have been performed in God.
My experience as I journal and review my life to date is that one can go back year-by-year; month-by-month, day–by-day, moment-by-moment to extract inspiration throughout one’s life. In the process of doing so, in a willing, humble, and honest manner, we see our life experiences in a new light. We forgive ourselves and others and let go and let God wash his purity once again over us. Symbolically we have gone back to our mother’s womb and in a childlike manner begin our adult lives over again having been saved or born again by Christ. TROML Baby!
The richness of The Bible continues here with the symbiotic relationship of John the Baptist and Jesus. John knowing his place in life and in God’s Will. Letting go of the worldly judgments and comparisons to feel true joy.
John: “No one can receive anything unless it is given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, ‘I am no the Christ but have been sent before him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend if the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices exceedingly at the voice of the bridegroom. This my joy, therefore, is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
He who comes from above is over all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks. He who comes from heaven is over all. And he bears witness to that which he has seen and heard, and his witness no one receives. He who receives his witness has set his seal on this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for not by measure does God give the Spirit. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; he who is unbelieving towards the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.
“This my joy, therefore, is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease,” no more humble statement made in The Bible by one other than Jesus? Of course, John was subrogating himself to Jesus Christ and God, not another human being. My own application was that I was never really working for my supervisor or manager in the jobs that I did, but rather more directly for Christ. Maybe that is why, ultimately, I had to exit Corporate America? Or was it really just my ego?
Chapter 4 of John’s Gospel is the interaction between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
Jesus: “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. He, however, who drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto life everlasting.”
She saw him as a prophet because he knew she had been married five times before and the man she was with now was not her husband. But he revealed his true identity:
Samaritan woman: “I know that Messias is coming (who is called Christ), and when he comes he will tell us all things.”
Jesus: “I who speak with thee am he.”
And she went and told the town people many of whom believed based on her word. Many more came to believe when they convinced Jesus to stay two more days and heard his word.
“We no longer believe because of what thou hast said, for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is in truth the Savior of the world.”
Believe in Christ; be inspired by His Word, be inspired by your life experiences!
Day 86: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Believe in Christ; Be Inspired by His Word, Be Inspired by Your Life Experiences!
Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint John Chapters 3-4.
Bible Notes:
The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John
Saint John, the disciple and Apostle whom Jesus loved, was the brother of James and the son of the fisherman Zebedee and Salome.
First a disciple of John the Baptist, he was called to follow Christ.
The purpose of his Gospel he states as follows: “these are written that you may believe the Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing you may have life in his name.”
John Chapter 3: Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night; Jesus explains rebirth; Nicodemus’ wonderment; Salvation through Christ; John hears that Christ baptizes; John exalts Christ; Need for faith in the Son.
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus at night… “Rabbi, we know that thou hast come a teacher from God, for no one can work these signs that thou workest unless God be with him.”
Jesus: “Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born again?
Jesus: “Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not wonder that I said to thee, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it will, and thou hearest its sound but dost but dost not know where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus: “How can these things be?”
Jesus: “Thou art a teacher in Israel and dost not know these things? Amen, amen, I say to thee, we speak of what we know, and we bear witness to what we have seen; and our witness you do not receive. If I have spoken of earthly things to you, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I speak to you of heavenly things? And no one has ascended into heaven except him who has descended from heaven: the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God did not send his Son into the world in order to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged; but he who does not believe is already judged, because he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. Now this is the judgment: The light has come into the world, yet men have loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, that his deeds may not be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, for they have been performed in God.
John was also baptizing in Aennon… for there was much water there… for John had not yet been put into prison.
John’s disciples and the Jews to John: “Rabbi, he who was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold he baptizes and all are coming to him.”
John: “No one can receive anything unless it is given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, ‘I am no the Christ but have been sent before him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend if the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices exceedingly at the voice of the bridegroom. This my joy, therefore, is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
He who comes from above is over all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks. He who comes from heaven is over all. And he bears witness to that which he has seen and heard, and his witness no one receives. He who receives his witness has set his seal on this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for not by measure does God give the Spirit. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; he who is unbelieving towards the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.
Measure—have/take someone’s measure, to judge or assess someone’s character, capabilities, etc.; size up: During their conversation she was taking his measure as a prospective employee; the extent, dimensions, quantity, etc., of something, ascertained especially by comparison with a standard: to take the measure of a thing.
For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for not by measure does God give the Spirit.
For not by judgment or comparison; if you believe in Christ, God will give you the Spirit.
John Chapter 4: Jesus passes through Samaria; He meets the Samaritan woman; She wonders at Christ’s request; Christ promises living water; Christ reveals her past; She recognizes Him as a prophet; His disciples return; Reaping the harvest; The Samaritans believe; Jesus in Galilee; The royal official comes to Jesus; Jesus cures his son.
Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John—although Jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples…
…near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there.
Jesus to Samaritan woman: “Give me to drink.”
Samaritan woman: “How is that thou, although thou are a Jew, dost ask drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman.” For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
Jesus: “If thou didst know the gift of God, and who it is who says to thee, ‘Give me to drink,’ thou, perhaps, wouldst have asked him, and he would have given thee living water.”
Samaritan woman: “Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Whence then hast thou living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob who gave us the well, and drank from it, himself, and his sons, and his flocks?”
Jesus: “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. He, however, who drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto life everlasting.”
Samaritan woman: “Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst, or come here to draw.”
Jesus: “Go, call thy husband and come here.”
Samaritan woman: “I have no husband.”
Jesus: “Thou hast said well, ‘I have no husband,’ for thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. In this thou hast spoken truly.”
Samaritan woman: “Sir, I see that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that at Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
Jesus: “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father also seeks such to worship him. God is spirit, and they who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Samaritan woman: “I know that Messias is coming (who is called Christ), and when he comes he will tell us all things.”
Jesus: “I who speak with thee am he.”
Samaritan woman to the people of the town: “Come and see a man who has told me all that I have ever done. Can he be the Christ?”
Disciples: “Rabbi, eat.”
Jesus: “I have food to eat of which you do not know. My food is to do the will of him who sent me, to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Well, I say to you, lift up your eyes and behold that the fields are already white for the harvest. And he who reaps receives a wage, and gathers fruit unto life everlasting, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. For herein is the proverb true, ‘One sows, another reaps.’ I have sent you to reap that on which you have not labored. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
Now many of the Samaritans of that town believed in him because of the word of the women who bore witness, “He told me all that I have ever done.”
“We no longer believe because of what thou hast said, for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is in truth the Savior of the world.”
…for Jesus himself bore witness that a prophet receives no honor in his own country.
…a certain royal official whose son was lying sick at Capharnaum.
Jesus: “Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe.”
Royal Official: “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus: “Go thy way, thy son lives.”
Speak Your Mind