+
nline with
Jesus -
A Bible
(In case you missed them, the
last two readings follow this one )
Prayer;
+ In the Name of the
Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Lord, open my eyes that I may
see wonderful things out of your word. Amen.
Today's Reading:
Andrew brings 'a Rock' to
Jesus
John 1.40 - 42
40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one
of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find
his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is,
the Christ). 42
And he brought him to
Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon son of John. You will be called "Cephas"
(which, when translated, is Peter).
Meditation for the Day
There is not much
recorded about Andrew other than this account of his bringing his brother to
Christ at the beginning of their journey with Him; but He is therefore
responsible for much in terms of the powerful ministry Peter went on to have in
the early Church. Of Andrew the saying in Proverbs 11.30 is very true; 'He who
brings home souls is wise' - in bringing Peter to Jesus, in one sense, we need
know no more about him - he is the prototype for all soul-bringers.
Jesus looks at Peter, and
sees in him a quality that He knew He could build on - faithfulness, leadership
and commitment must have all been written across Peter's face; and Jesus names
him Cephas, the Aramaic word for rock, of which the
Greek equivalent is Petros (where English gets its
word 'petrified' from ) , knowing that this man, despite His later denial of
Jesus, will ultimately carry His heart to the crowds in Jerusalem at Pentecost.
Prayer;
- Allow God to empower you by His Spirit to make
the most of every opportunity to bring people closer to Jesus through your
life and words.
Lord Jesus Christ, Thank
you for those who through their faithfulness to you have affected my life
enough to bring me to you. May I be ready to pass on that hope to others, so
that You may receive the full harvest of Your cross. In Your Name. Amen.
If you have any questions about today's reading, please send me them on colin@cce.uk.net
Yesterday's reading
John’s Disciples
John 1.35 - 39
35 The next day John was there again with
two of his disciples. 36 When he
saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning round, Jesus saw them following
and asked, "What do you want?" They
said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you
staying?" 39 "Come,"
he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was
staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
Meditation for the Day
John once more highlights
to his disciples the person of Jesus, and declares again that He is the
sacrifice who will carry on His back the sins of the whole world. On the
strength of this insight, the two disciples detach themselves from John, and
follow the Messiah.
We know from verse 40,
that one of these two was Andrew, brother of Simon Peter; the other may be John
the Apostle himself, not named out of modesty as he does not wish to use his
own name in his own writing. But this is only surmise.
Jesus calls them to
'come' and they follow; there is no suggestion of John the Baptist deterring
them, for he knows his mission is fulfilled with the appearance of Jesus. It is
as important in God's purposes to know when something is at an end, as to know
when to begin.
Prayer;
- Jesus calls us to follow Him; is there anything
you need to move on from, or put an end to , in
order to grow closer to Him ?
Lord Jesus Christ, You
have called me to follow, and I respond to Your call.
I surrender to You everything which will hold me back,
choosing to be with You rather than holding on to the past. By Your grace, help
me to not look back, having set my hand to the plough with You.
In Your Name. Amen.
Reading from Two Days Ago;
The Message of John the
Baptist
John 1.24 - 34
24 Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, "Why then do you baptise if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the
Prophet?" 26 "I baptise with water," John replied, "but among you
stands one you do not know. 27 He
is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to
untie."
28 This all happened at
32 Then John
gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and
remain on him. 33 I would
not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptise
with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is
he who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.' 34 I have seen and I testify that this is
the Son of God."
Meditation for the Day
John is questioned about his
reasons for baptising with water; he says that he is
doing it as a way of recognising the Lamb of God when he comes for baptism, for
the Holy Spirit would fall upon Him, in a way described elsewhere by other
gospel writers. ( See Luke 3.21) God had simply told
John to baptise people for the forgiveness of sins,
so that through this means, God could highlight to His servant, John, the
anointed one, Jesus. In a sense, baptism, symbolic washings, were nothing new
for Jews, and John's campaign at the
Prayer;
- Ask God to open your eyes constantly to see
Christ anew in every circumstance, so that the Holy Spirit can continue
His work in you today.
Lord Jesus Christ, the
Holy Spirit revealed You to John's eyes in the
If you have any questions about any of the readings, please send
me them on colin@cce.uk.net
Bible passages © New
International Version ; Prayers and Meditations © Colin Symes 2007
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