10/12/16
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
In John 4:39-42 the people of Samaria have a change of affection. They had been alerted to Jesus’ work by the words of the woman Jesus met at the well. This gave them some credible reason to believe. Yet now, after they have come to Jesus, they no longer believe because of the woman. They believe because of Jesus himself.
My words and deeds might convince some people of the truth claims of Scripture, of the reality of the resurrection, and of the historicity of the accounts we have of the Church in the 1st century. I might be able to make a persuasive argument which will convince some people of a need for life change.
What is really convincing is when people will plunge into the Christian life for themselves. What happens when we taste the things of the Lord? What happens when we approach the Scripture with a disposition to take it at face value? What happens when we actually accept the fact that God, in the Bible, seems to think He is special? That’s when we find that the Lord himself is good and reliable. May all of our affections be focused on Jesus, not on his messengers.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
In John 4:39-42 the people of Samaria have a change of affection. They had been alerted to Jesus’ work by the words of the woman Jesus met at the well. This gave them some credible reason to believe. Yet now, after they have come to Jesus, they no longer believe because of the woman. They believe because of Jesus himself.
My words and deeds might convince some people of the truth claims of Scripture, of the reality of the resurrection, and of the historicity of the accounts we have of the Church in the 1st century. I might be able to make a persuasive argument which will convince some people of a need for life change.
What is really convincing is when people will plunge into the Christian life for themselves. What happens when we taste the things of the Lord? What happens when we approach the Scripture with a disposition to take it at face value? What happens when we actually accept the fact that God, in the Bible, seems to think He is special? That’s when we find that the Lord himself is good and reliable. May all of our affections be focused on Jesus, not on his messengers.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
RSS Feed