The Book of John

  John 6:30-35 We need physical food to live but we also need spiritual food and this spiritual food is the bread of life...and here it is "Jesus is the Bread of Life" and He was given to us by His Father.  All we need to do is believe in Him. Lord Jesus our prayers is "Lord we believe, help our unbelief".  We know something significant happened around 2022 years ago because our date system start then.  We also read about the amazing things You did while You walked the face of this earth.  You are amazing.  Help us to walk with You in faith believing.  In Your mighty name.  Amen

  John 6:25-29 Jesus has some strong teachings in this passage.  He says don't work for food that spoils but for food that endures for eternal life.  He also said the work God requires of us is to believe in Him. Lord Jesus, many of us have a problem with eating too much physical food but You are suggesting that we feed on eternal food.  Help us to remember our life here on earth is only a dot compared to all of eternity.  Lord Jesus, help us to do the work God requires of us; to believe in You.  Work in and through us. In Your mighty name. Amen

  John 6:22-24 Folks from the area where Jesus performed the feeding of the 5000 plus people were looking for Jesus the next day.  They couldn't figure it out.  Jesus didn't leave with the disciples, so where was He?  They finally went to Capernaum. Lord Jesus, sometimes we go to the last place we saw or experience You but it's no the same.  It's like You've moved on. Help us to find You.  In Your mighty name. Amen

  John 6:16-21 Here is a case where the disciples were alone in the middle of the lake but Jesus showed up!  Jesus was walking on the water and they were scared! Yet they let Him into their boat when they heard Him say "don't be afraid"; they also got out of the storm immediately. Lord Jesus, sometimes You show up in our lives in the most unexpected ways and it gets scary.  Help us to have the faith we need to invite You into our lives anyway. And thank You for getting us out of the storms in our lives.  You're amazing!

  John 6:14-15   Jesus didn't want to be popular; He was very good at keeping His actions in line with His Father and not in line with the people.  This is very hard.  We saw how Pilot succumbed to the pressure of the people but Jesus had His strategy; He removed Himself from the crowds.  In fact it was a normal action of Jesus to withdraw to spend time with His Father. Lord Jesus, please help us to listen to You over the voices of the people.  Help us never forget our need to withdraw and spend time with God the Father.  In Your mighty name.  Amen

  John 6:10-13 Jesus had a strategy.  He had everyone sit down in order to prepare to eat.  He took what was offered to him, gave THANKS, distributed freely so everyone could have as much as they wanted then afterwards He had the disciples gather up the leftovers such that there was a basket for each of the disciples! Lord Jesus, that was a miracle!  You produced more than what was humbly offered to You; but that's who You are.  You take our limited supply and have it distributed until we're satisfied and then go after the left overs so there is no waste.  Lord Jesus, help us to model this as well.  Give us the faith we need to listen to You when the need arises and give us the courage to follow through on what You're telling us to do.  Thanks too for involving the disciples, and us.  I know You don't need us but You choose to involve us.  Thanks.  Bless us today so that we may be a blessing to others.  In Your mighty name, Ame...

  John 6:7-9 Jesus presented a challenge to the disciples and they saw the impossible; more than 1/2 a years wages or a boy's lunch for 5,000 people. Lord Jesus, so often we see the impossible and forget You are a God of the possible.  Please help us to see beyond our limited resources to what You are doing and shows how we can help You.  In Your mighty name.  Amen

  John 6:1-6 Jesus was getting ready to teach but He had a problem; there wasn't enough food or money to feed everyone!  So Jesus asked Philip where He should buy food for everyone.  It's interesting to note that He only asked Philip this question to test him; because He already had a solution.  It's also interesting to note that He didn't have to ask Philip but He did.  Jesus was good at asking others for help; even when He didn't really need the help. Lord Jesus, You do know everything and You choose to test us.  This helps us to grow our faith.  Your solutions are creative so they may not be the norm for us.  Help us to keep our minds open to You and Your work.  Also help us to ask for help as a way of bringing unity.  In Your mighty name.

  John 5:41-47 Are we prepared to see things through God's eyes or through human eyes.  Jesus isn't being accepted by His temple's leadership but Jesus also has a strong self-esteem because His self-esteem isn't based on what others think of Him.  It's based on what God thinks of Him!  He highlights their incorrect thinking; He doesn't praise Himself so they don't follow Him but if someone came praising himself/herself they would follow them.  They even try to understand God through scriptures but they aren't getting that Jesus is the Messiah. Lord Jesus, please help us with our relationships with You.  Help is to be real and personal. In addition, open our eyes to see Your truths in scripture as we read it.  Help us to understand what You want us to understand as we seek after You.  In Your mighty name.

  John 5:36-40 John said Jesus was the Son of God but a stronger testimony than that is the miracles Jesus performed.  Jesus says He is just doing what His Father does and He performed many miracles including raising people from the dead.  Jesus also says the scriptures talk about Him...but unfortunately the leaders eyes were blind to this. Lord Jesus, please open our eyes to see Your truths as we read Your word.  Teach us about God the Father.  Thank You for following Your Father so we can see someone in human form.  You are so big, so complex; it's hard for our human minds to comprehend Your love for us.  Thank You.  In Your mighty name.  Amen

  John 5:31-35 John the Baptist testified that Jesus was the Son of God .  Jesus doesn't rely on human testimony but in this passage He confirmed John was correct.  It's important that we analyze what we believe.  Was Jesus really God?  John  says so, do we say so?  Jesus is helping us with the answer to this question. Lord Jesus, we believe, please help our unbelieve.  Show us who You are so that it's real and personal in our lives.  In Your mighty name amen.

  John 5:19-30 It seems that Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit and is being guide by the Holy Spirit so He says "   the Son can do nothing by himself".  He is so tightly connected to His Father and the Holy Spirit we've come up with a word "Trinity" to explain this union.  What is interesting though is He says His Father won't judge; only He who has lived in human form will judge.  What grace!  Let us live lives to please Jesus because as we honour Him we honour His Father. Lord Jesus, we love You and we want to live like You did; obedient to the Holy Spirit.  Please guide, teach and direct us. In Your Holy name.

  John 5:16-18 Those in authority weren't happy with Jesus because He was working on the Sabbath.  In response He said His Father never stops working and He was just doing what His Father does.  This made those in authority even more upset because they forgot they too are children of God.  They assumed because He referred to God as His Father that He was saying He was God.  As a result those in authority started to persecute Jesus. Lord Jesus, we need You and Your Holy Spirit so we know what the Father is doing.  We want to mimic the Father; even if we're persecuted.  We know it is written "If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you" 1 Peter 4:4  Would you give us faith such that other may see You and glorify our Father in heaven?  In Your mighty name.

  John 5:10-15 Have you ever thought you need a day off?  Good news, God commanded that we have a day off to rest and remember Him.  It is one of the 10 commandments.  Yet Jesus challenged the church leaders with their rules by healing on the Sabbath.  Jesus also said the Sabbath was made for us not us for the Sabbath.  So how do we work with this commandment?  We need to recognize we need a day off.  It's healthy for us yet we also need to recognize that if the commandment becomes so written in stone we can't adjust to help someone in need then the rule not God is ruling us. Lord Jesus thank You for all the folks that work on Sundays, especially the Doctors, nurses and psws along with those who prepare and serve my Sunday lunch.  Please bless them and give them another day off in which they can rest and remember You.  Also, help us not to forget the blessing You have given us by allowing us to have a day off.  Help us to rest and r...

  John 5:1-9 Here is a situation that has been around for 38 years.  He's tried to get healed on his own but failed.  Now Jesus says to him "do you want to be healed"; knowing that healing comes with responsibility.  When Jesus heard how he tried to help himself He healed him. Lord Jesus, there are situations like spiritual decline in our country that have been happening for a long time and we're asking for Spiritual healing for this country.  We've tried on our own but we need Your help.  Will You intervene today; starting with us, expanding to our churches, our cities, our countries.  In Your might name Amen

  John 4:43-54 After 2 days in Samaria Jesus went home.  Jesus highlighted a prophet is not welcome in His home town yet the folks at home had seen what He had been doing and welcomed Him.  He wanted them to believe without signs and miracles but He recognized their degree of unbelieve...after all, they saw Him growing up.  There was a royal official who desperately wanted Jesus to heal his son so he came to Him and asked.  Jesus told him his son was healed and he figured out as soon as Jesus said this his son was healed so he believed...along with his household.  His hometown saw at least two miracles; this one and the turning of water into wine. Lord Jesus, You're right; we look for signs and wonders yet You long for us to just believe. Lord we believe please help our unbelief.  Thank You for not giving up on us.  We love You.  Amen.

  John 4:39-42 This woman was an outcast from society but because of her testimony people came to Jesus.  In addition, the people listened to Jesus and believed because of who they found! We can say "come and see" but the Holy Spirit needs to bring folks into a relationship with Jesus.  Our testimony, however, adds to the invitation to "come and see" Lord Jesus, work in our lives; show us who we really are so that we may be able to testify to who You are to us.  In Your mighty name.

  John 4:31-38 Have you ever been so excited you don't want to eat?  It seems to me that this is what is happening to Jesus. He is seeing the harvest of souls and wants to work in the harvest field more than eat physically (how's that for a diet plan :-))  Jesus' focus is to do the will of God.  Jesus also teaches his disciples about harvesting and sowing.  In the Kingdom some sow and some harvest and Jesus says it's harder to sow than to reap. Lord Jesus, please tell us what Your will is so we may obey it.  Show us how to sow and how to reap.  Open our eyes so we can see what You can see in the Kingdom and give us the faith and courage to be obedient to You. In Your mighty name.  Amen

  John 4:28-30 It's a simple testimony; come and see...He told me all about myself; could this be the Messiah...and they came. The power of "come and see".  It's simple.  It's not about us; it's about Him...but He reveals us to ourselves and demonstrates that He still loves us, even after our exposure. Lord Jesus us please help us with our "come and see" invitations.  Develop in us a desire to introduce You to others in Your mighty name.  Amen

  John 4:27 The disciples were surprised to see Jesus talking to a woman!  This was not normal and actually culturally unacceptable but the disciples didn't question Him.  To make is even more strange she was a Samaritan with a terrible reputation.  These facts would have also discouraged the disciples from talking to her but Jesus isn't like that. He loves everyone. Lord Jesus, we live in challenging times. We need Your Holy Spirit Lord.  We need You.  Please guide and direct us in Your mighty name.

  John 4:24-26 It is interesting that Jesus declares Himself as the Messiah to a woman who was rejected by the town.  He really was being vulnerable with her as He encouraged truth. Lord Jesus, as we deal with people who don't fit into society I'm reminded that You want truth and You connect with people through Your Holy Spirit.  Help us to listen and obey Your Holy Spirit as we interact with others and help us to be vulnerable by being honest with each other...but also help us not to be mean with our honesty.  Help us to be humble, in an always learning mode.

  John 4:21-23 Even though the woman was deflecting from herself Jesus responded to her deflection and presented a new truth...it doesn't matter where you worship; it just matters that you worship in Spirit and truth. Lord Jesus, please help us to be real, honest and authentic at church and fill us with Your Holy Spirit because we want to come to church to please You.

  John 4:19-20 Jesus has just exposed the woman at the well so she responds like most of us would by changing the conversation.  Her question came more to Jesus area of knowledge and it got the attention off of her! Lord Jesus, when You expose us please help us to turn to You for coverage..  You are a mighty God and You desire honesty.  Please help us be authentic in Your presence and in the presence of other.  Amen