Thought for July 21

 History:

• 1853: Central Park created
• 1861: First Battle of Bull Run
• 1873: Jesse James first train robbery--Adair Iowa
• 1925: John Scopes found guilty and fined $100
• 1933: Haifa Harbor opens
• 1969: One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind
• 1983: Lowest recorded natural temperature--- -128.6F Antartica
• 2011: Space Shuttle program ends with landing of Atlantic
• Born: Ernest Hemingway, Marshall McLuhan, Isaac Stern, Janet Reno, Ken Starr, Cat Stevens, Garry Trudeau [Doonesbury], Robin Williams, Paul Casey, 
• Died: Robert Burns, Basil Rathbone, Jimmie Foxx, Dave Garroway, Alan Shepard, Robert Young, E. L. Doctorow, Theodore Bikel, 

Thought:

Continuing our thoughts on John 5: 18-24. Recall that the second charge against Jesus is He claims to be the Son of God [5:17]. Look at what Jesus says:

• The Son does what He sees the Father doing. [5:19]
• The Father shows Himself to the Son because He loves the Son. [5:20]
• The Father gives life and the Son gives life. [5:21]
• You haven't seen anything yet [5:20]
• If you want life--believe what I tell you because the Father has given Me the the right to judge. [5:22-24]

Yesterday we looked at the first two points Jesus made. Just as the first two points are connected, the third and fifth points are connected. God the Father gives life. the Jewish leaders accepted this--in Genesis, God created life and with regard to man, God breathed life into man. But now Jesus says the Son has the same ability and the same purpose. God took the clay and gave it physical life and a spirit/soul. Man rebelled and the results were a sentence of eternal death. Now, in Christ the Son, God offers a new life--raising the dead from the wages of sin and giving them abundant and eternal life. That's the third point---but how does one get this new life? Jesus answers with the fifth point:

Life comes through faith alone, by grace alone in Christ alone. Think back a couple of chapters--Nicodemus asks, how can this be? And Jesus responds that God so loved that He gave His Son that whosoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life. Now notice, Jesus not only says that life comes by believing His claims and words, but that He alone will judge whether I have believed. Now that is good news and bad news. The good news is that the very person who I pledge my life to is the one who will judge whether I was sincere. He said, why call me Lord and then not do what I have told you to do. So I only have to worry about pleasing one person, honoring one Lord. But the bad news is that He knows. A couple of weeks ago, in Sunday School we looked at Matthew 25 the separating of the sheep and goats. The Lord recognizes His sheep; He knows their names. We can't fool Him. 

The fifth point is my wording, not His. In 5:20, Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that the miracles He is performing are just the beginning--greater things are ahead. He will raise the dead--Lazarus. And then He will conquer death and the grave Himself. In my life, God expects today to reflect more of His glory than yesterday. Today I should look and act more like my Father and Brother than yesterday. Every day should bring me closer to His image. So the question for me is do I believe what He has said enough to completely submit to Him--and enough to be like Him. 

Blessings

Larry