How is your prayer life?

How is your prayer life? Is prayer your first response for all thoughts and encounters in your life? If not,we need to examine why not! 

Matthew-6:5-15- “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Matthew 7: 7-12 -  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who  knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Luke 3:21 - "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened."

Luke 5:16 - " But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

Luke 6:12 - "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God."


Luke 9:18 - "And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?”

Luke 9:28 - "About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray."

Luke 11:1 - "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

Luke 23:46 - Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

 John 15:4-5 - Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Romans 8: 18-30 - I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that  the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to son-ship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

 James 5:13-18 - Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Have you ever thought through why you do not spend more time with God? What aspects of your time and commitment hold you back from prayer? Most of us do not have the kind of prayer life we should have; in my experience, most people give up because either they do not know how to pray or they do not understand the significance of prayer. Others may have prayer lives but they are not godly or effectual prayers; these tend to be the prayers with only the self-interests or personal agendas in mind. We may know about prayer, but is our understanding and practice lined up to Christ as Lord, or to what we want? One might presume that a Christian in a church automatically knows how and why to pray, but few are ever taught the power, relevance, and importance of prayer. Therefore, we go on presumptions and perhaps even model our prayers after someone else, not from what God has communicated to us. 

The purpose of prayer is not just to get what we want; it is lining ourselves up with His thoughts, ways, and precepts. The focus of our prayers is Christ, His work, and His impact on you, your family, and the world. This is what the Lord’s Prayer is about (Luke 11:1-4). The main theme of prayer is our vital connection with God as Lord and Savior, and His empowering us for all we do in life. He is sovereign; He directs our lives as well as the rest of the universe, so we must get in tune with Him. We must lean on and dwell in Him so we are infused with His Way rather than clouded and distracted by our ways or the ways of the world.

If prayer is our connection with God, then to ignore prayer means we are trying to put God out of our lives. When we misuse prayer, we are usurping God’s authority and missing out on His best for us. We are treating God like a pet, giving Him the time and affection when it is convenient for us, when it fits our needs, concerns, and occasion. God must come first and prayer helps us make this happen. Prayer is one of, if not the most quintessential important aspect of the Christian life. Prayer needs to be number one for the serious Christian to whom Jesus is not merely Savior but also LORD. However, to make entreaty (deep prayer) with God our first priority, we must first receive His redemptive work through the power of the Spirit. Once we have received His amazing gift, and His work is transforming and renewing us (Rom. 12:1-3), prayer becomes our response to Him, and helps us continually commune His Work within us.

Do we truly understand the power, significance, and eminence of prayer? If not, why not? What is in the way of prayer being more momentous in our lives? We need to ask ourselves, what has happened in my life and how am I responding in prayer to my connection to God? What will it take to become more of a person who has “heartfelt prayer” at my core; what will it take for me to be a “prayer warrior,” whose life goal is to make Christ first in all things? The prerequisite to this type of effective, prayer warrior prayer is consistency and growth in our prayers. In conjunction, we learn about prayer and life in general from spending time with Him and His Word, and by continually growing in that prayer life. We also become better equipped to handle all that comes our way.

Prayer helps us see the great expectations He has for us, but this insight does not come  about all at once. As with any growth, it is gradual. Prayer is something that does not just happen overnight; it is like planting a seed that geminates, grows, matures, and then produces its fruit. The seed alone does not produce the fruit; it is only after its growth and development from its time in the sun, the water and fertilizer, and its care and cultivation that brings about its bountiful harvest. It is the same with our growth in Christ! Prayer develops as we consistently obey Christ. It is watered by the fertilizer of His Word. The care and cultivation comes from effective, godly teachers. Our nurturing and learning feeds our roots in Him. If we negate our cultivation of prayer, we are negating Christ in our life and the result will be a very slow growth, perhaps even retardation in our spiritual formation. Prayer needs attention and constant tending for effectual growth.

Prayer helps create more of itself. Prayer begets more prayer and that begets greater  spiritual formation. When our prayers are not just self-focused but engage others as well, our Christian walk becomes deeper, more relevant, and heartfelt. Heartfelt prayer is the sense of passion and urgency that needs to come before progress can take place. This is where prayer becomes more real and transfers into an authentic connection with God, not just regarding Him as a vending machine for meeting our desires.

Our prayer life grows when we plow the field and plant the seed so it can grow. We must plow away the weeds of our selfishness along with the things in life that distract and obstruct us. This must take place to bring more nourishment into our soilfrom His presence, so the seeds of our faith can grow into the mustard tree of maturity and service. We have to know God and His Word first; then we will know the importance of worship and faith development that fuels our prayer that in turns fuels our worship of God and connection with others.

Prayer is reciprocal, as it needs to be a perennial and continual attitude that begets a perpetual, continuous, constant action; thus, prayer is a ceaseless relationship we have with God and that echoes in eternity. Prayer begets our character and maturity and, in turn, our character and maturity help spur on our prayer life. Learning about God and worshiping Him brings us closer to His presence and makes our prayers deeper and more alive.

Passion that honors Christ synergizes our prayer life; it forms from our realization of who He is and what He has done for us. Passion increases  prayer from explorations, curiosity, or perhaps a selfish mindset, to a vigorous lifestyle. Prayer becomes more continual and effective as we build on our growing relationship in Him. Thus, the characteristics of knowing Christ, worshiping Him, learning more about Him, and practicing prayer through the work of the Holy Spirit fuel the growth of our prayer life. Then those characteristics back flow to cause each one of them to work synergistically better.

Consequently, as our prayer life grows, so does our worship and learning of Christ. As our relationship grows, our gifts and skills grow, our meaning and purpose in life grows, and so forth (2 Peter 1:5-9). Therefore, more prayer will cause us to be more passionate, have deeper worship experiences, become better leaders, develop more knowledge, maturity, and character, and become better servants and friends.

Questions to Ponder

Read Luke 3:21; 5:16, remember, Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. How is your prayer life? Is prayer your first response for all thoughts and encounters in your life? If not, we need to examine why not!

Have you ever thought through why you do not spend more time with God? What aspects of your time and commitment hold you back from prayer? How can you better understand and practice Prayer? Why is prayer not about what we want? Why would people think it is? The purpose of prayer is not just to get what we want, so what is the reason we are to pray? How can prayer help you be lined up to Christ as Lord? Read Luke 11:1-4. The focus of our prayers is Christ, His work? How will this improve your spiritual life? How does His impact on you affect your impact on your family, and the world? (This is what the Lord’s Prayer is about).

Do you truly understand the power, significance, and eminence of prayer? If not, why not? What is in the way of prayer being more momentous in our lives? How  can you better respond in prayer to your connection to God? What will it take to become more of a person who has “heartfelt prayer” at your core? What will it take for you to be a “prayer warrior,” whose life goal is to make Christ first in all things? The prerequisite to this type of effective, prayer... How will you make this so in your personal life and in your church? How will prayer help your growth in Christ? What are you going to do about your prayer life now? How does the practice of prayer build much heartier relationships with others? How can you improve your prayer life? Can you think of a specific area in your life where prayer needs to be more manifested? If so, how can you make this so? 

You can Answer these Question above and write them down on the little cute blank note provided on the side here. Print the blank note and write down your thoughts or the answers for the questions above or you can use this blank note to write down your daily thoughts and paste in your diary or stack it in a file. Every time you want to be encouraged you can go back to your file and read those positive thoughts that you have jotted down. You can even write few nice words on this blank note and Share it with your friends and family too so they can treasure it as a gift from you. Another thing You can do is Print  a bunch of these blank notes and do an activity with your kids and their friends to write nice things about each others and share. God bless you all. :)

PRAY about Every thing! ♥

How Are You Treating God?

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. - John 10:10.


As parents, we love to see our children happy. We try our best to give them 'the best' we can. Sometimes, this means a sacrifice. We may give them something we want them to have and give up something we really need. We love our children and want to supply them with the best of clothes, education, and other things that we can afford.


Parents understand the thoughts behind giving your best. But, children haven't been there before, and sometimes don't really appreciate what a parent is trying to do. In fact, a child may be given exactly what he or she has asked for, and still not appreciate it. I've seen children get a gift for their birthday that they have yearned for, but, when they have it in their possession, it doesn't mean that much anymore. They just put it aside and use something else they already have. That's the way it is with clothes with teenagers, too. Buy them nice clothes, and they will hang them in the back of the closet and never touch them. Buy them t-shirts or baggy jeans, and they will wear them everywhere, if you let them. As parents, this lack of appreciation bothers us.


Can you imagine how God must feel? He gave us Jesus, whose blood was shed for all our sins. Yet, we trample over His Word, as if to say, 'that's not a Word for today.'


We sit around belly-aching, saying "we're having a tough time", "I don't know why this is happening", "Guess that's my lot in life", etc. Remember those words? God isn't in those words. When we speak the Word, we are honoring God.  But, when we speak doubt and unbelief, we are hurting God as as our children hurt us when they show no appreciation of the gifts we give them.


God tells us He would have 'Christ dwell in our hearts in faith'. [Ephesians 3:17] But, when words of unbelief and doubt flow from our mouth, that isn't faith. We should have the Word within us, speaking it in faith. And, when the devil puts those thoughts in our mind, we should be  ready to counteract those thoughts with the WORD, which is Truth! [John 17:17]


Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: - 1 Peter 5:8.

Thoughts On A Boiled Egg

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." - Psalm 51:17. (NIV).


One day recently, an egg I had boiled for my breakfast evoked my sense of awe. I wondered how anyone could behold the perfection of its shape, the beauty of its construction, and the promise of life within, and yet fail to see the hand of God the Creator at work.


The shell is so thin, yet of a consistent, precise thickness that protects the new life, or the nutritious food within. Yet it is only when the shell is broken from within by the emerging chick, or purposely broken from without to feed and sustain life, that its true value and usefulness can be appreciated. If left untouched, it eventually spoils and is cast aside.


The hatching chick must crack open the shell to enter its new world. I also need to break the resistance of my human self- sufficient "shell" by acknowledging my fallen nature and by inviting God's Holy Spirit into my heart to change me from within, so that I can enter the new world of His Spirit. God stands at the door of our
hearts, awaiting our response. Inviting God's Holy Spirit into our hearts is a matter of choice, for God Himself gave us the gift of free will.


An egg needs to be fertilized in order to become a living creature.Likewise, through the mysterious power of God's Holy Spirit at work within me, I can become a new creature. With the Holy Spirit's help the gifts and skills God has graciously bestowed upon each of us may then be used in His service.


Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. - Psalms. 51:17. (NIV)

REQUIREMENTS OF ENTRY

What are the requirements of entry into the kingdom of God?



(John 3:5) Jesus answered , "I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." What did Jesus mean? Let us examine a few possibilities.



(A) SINNERS PRAYER: (Luke 18:13-14) ..."God, have mercy on me a sinner." I tell you this man, rather than the other, went home JUSTIFIED before God.



Question: Was, Jesus announcing the requirements to enter the kingdom of God?



(B) GENEROSITY and RESTITUTION: (Luke 19:8-9) ..."Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, " Today SALVATION has come to this house...



Question: Was,Jesus announcing the requirements to enter the kingdom of God?



(C) THE FAITH OF FRIENDS: (Mark 2:5) When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son your sins are FORGIVEN."



Question: Was, Jesus announcing the requirements to enter the kingdom of God?



(D) ASKED TO BE REMEMBERED: (Luke 23:42-43)....remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in PARADISE."



Question: Was, Jesus announcing the requirements to enter the kingdom of God?



When Jesus forgave sinner's was it valid? Yes, absolutely. When Jesus was on earth he had the authority to forgive sins: see (Luke 5:24) However after his death the new covenant was in force. (Heb 9:15-18)...a will is in force only when somebody has died...When Jesus died the requirements of entry were implemented.



When was the kingdom to arrive ? Soon ! (Mark 9:1) And he said unto them, I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."



The kingdom of God (that is the church on earth) came with power on the day of Pentecost (Acts Chapter 2). Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of God (Matthew 16:19) Peter used the keys on the day of Pentecost.



Peter preached Jesus and told them what to do... (Acts 2:38)FAITH-REPENTANCE-WATER IMMERSION. That was Peter's ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD.



(Acts 2:47) ...And the Lord added daily to their number those being saved.



"GOD'S KINGDOM HERE ON EARTH"

Write your plans in pencil, but give God the eraser~

Today, I saw a facebook post from a new friend of mine from across the globe. He said this " Write your plans in pencil, but give God the eraser, because He will remove the wrong, by replacing it with the best for you." Did you get that? Make all the plans you want, right down to every minute if you want...but write them down in pencil.

You can shave those pencils down to nubs if you want, writing down all every single plan you have for your entire life, BUT, give the Lord the eraser, because He is the one with the final say in your life and mine, whether we want to admit that or not. He is the one with the master plan, not us.

IF, you have the guts to put your faith and trust in Him and do exactly that what the Lord says by seeking His will for your life, everything will turn out just like it's supposed to for you. But, really, how many of us have faith like that? It's hard to put all your marbles in one basket as the saying goes, right? But when your basket is held by the Great I AM, it's an OK thing, don't you think? I strive to have faith like that each day, but I'm human and it's hard. But that is what I want to do and that is what I strive to do, each and every day. I want to embrace the Lord and all of His promises for my life.         

                                                         The Promise by Morgan Weistling

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is from Jeremiah 29:11 and it goes like this:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

There it is, pure and simple and easy to understand for any one of us. He knows the plans He has for us, he wants to prosper us, He wants to give us hope and a future. What else could we want? What other questions could we have? He states it in the simplest of forms for even a child to understand. If you belong to Him, He wants to watch over you. He wants you to have a prosperous life. He doesn't want harm to come to you. He wants to give you hope.

What in the world could anyone of us ever want that didn't include those 4 words. Plan, prosper, hope and future. Pretty much sums it up, don't you think? Sometimes people say they don't understand the Bible. That it's too complicated. Parts of the Old Testament can get tedious at times, (even I can admit that) but then you come across a knock your sock off kind of verse like Jeremiah 29:11 ~~ He brings you right back down to earth. Anyone can understand the simplicity of that wonderful statement, right?

The key thing though, is our acceptance of that verse. Do we trust the Lord enough to know that He has our back (as they say in the great movie "The Blind Side")? No matter what happens, He will be there to come to our rescue? No matter how we mess up, He'll be there; there is no doubt about that, if you trust and believe.

Life can get really messy. The older I get, the more I realize what a profoundly true statement that is. When we get in trouble, and we will, it's just a matter of when, not if; do we know where to go to get our strength until the storm passes? Psalm 46:1 says"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." I say hold on to that verse with all your might and with everything in you.

                                                        Homeward Bound by Peter Ellenshaw

So that when trouble hits; you can RUN...not walk, out of the storm. Do not pass go, just sprint as fast as you can to the one that can really give you help and give you strength. Pick up your Bible and fall into the arms of Jesus. Go Home. He will never let you down. He will erase all of the bad plans that have fallen apart, and replace them with brand spanking new and more important ones, just the way He wants them. He's got your back and always has~~ if you'll just let Him in.

So, remember, go ahead and dream. Go ahead and make your plans. But write them in pencil, and don't forget to give to eraser to the Creator of the Universe, just where it should be! He holds Our World and the Universe in His Hands. Your simple plans are a piece of cake for him. Trust and Obey, for there's no other way!

                                                            Peace on Earth by Greg Olsen

My verses for today are in Red.

Are you in a preparation to cross the river of Jordan and take over Jericho ?

When people of Israel waited in the banks of the Jordan, they had a growing awareness of the human impossibility of what God was asking them to do. The nation must have wondered what Joshua was working out in this interim period. They certainly couldn't swim across the river. They couldn't build enough boats or rafts to transport almost two million people, women and children, across to the other side.

For forty years they had also cultivated deep fears about the Canaanite inhabitants of the land and people had been trying to imagine what lay beyond that river. In addition, God intentionally brought them to the Jordan at the time of year when the river was swollen by the spring rains and by the melting snows from the Lebanon mountains to show His power of deliverance.

It was at this time, when the people were faced with tremendous difficulties and they knew that they were at the end of their resources, that God would be able to show his power. There must have been a lot of conflicting thoughts going through the minds of the people waiting through those three days, just as there are for us when we're faced with our own inadequacy and impotence to have any effect whatsoever on circumstances.

God bless you abundantly and make you a blessing to so many across the globe. 

Who Was Jesus?

The following gives you a quick look at the life of Jesus Christ. These are excerpts straight from the Gospel of John, in the Bible. No comments added. They will give you an accurate and fast read of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection...and why his life is significant for you.

John 3

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you."

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God."

"What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"

Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."

"How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked.

Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. Everyone who believes in him will have eternal life."

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son.

John 1

In the beginning the Word [Jesus] already existed.

      The Word was with God,

      and the Word was God.

He existed in the beginning with God.

God created everything through him,

      and nothing was created except through him.

The Word gave life to everything that was created,

      and his life brought light to everyone.

The light shines in the darkness,

      and the darkness can never extinguish it.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn--not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.

John 5

Crowds of sick people--blind, lame, or paralyzed--lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time.

Jesus told him, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!"

Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, "You can't work on the Sabbath! The law doesn't allow you to carry that sleeping mat!"

But he replied, "The man who healed me told me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"

"Who said such a thing as that?" they demanded. Then the man...told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, "My Father is always working, and so am I."

So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.

John 6

Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, "Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

Philip replied, "Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them!"

Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. "There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?"

"Tell everyone to sit down," Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.

After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, "Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted." So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

"I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval."

They replied, "We want to perform God's works, too. What should we do?"

Jesus told them, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent."

"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day."

John 7

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, "Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'" (When he said "living water," he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, "Surely this man is the Prophet we've been expecting." Others said, "He is the Messiah."

John 10

"I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't understand what he meant, so he explained it to them:

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don't belong to him and he isn't their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he's working only for the money and doesn't really care about the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.

"The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again.

But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don't believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father."

John 11

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, "Lord, your dear friend is very sick."

But when Jesus heard about it...although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days.

Finally, he said to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea." But his disciples objected. "Rabbi," they said, "only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?"

Jesus replied..."Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up."

The disciples said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!" They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. So he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead...Come, let's go see him."

When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask."

Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again."

"Yes," Martha said, "he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day."

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?"

"Yes, Lord," she told him. "I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God."

When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died."

When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. "Where have you put him?" he asked them. They told him, "Lord, come and see."

Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, "See how much he loved him!" But some said, "This man healed a blind man. Couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?"

Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. "Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man's sister, protested, "Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible."

Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?"

So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me."

Then Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!" Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen.

But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. "What are we going to do?" they asked each other. "This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him." So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus' death.

John 12

Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn't admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

John 13

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!" Judas left at once, going out into the night.

John 14

[Jesus speaking] "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them."

John 15

[Jesus speaking] "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!"

"This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."

"If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: 'They hated me without cause.'"

John 16

[Jesus speaking] I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.... the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father."

John 17

After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said:

"Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life--to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.

O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them."

John 18

After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. "Who are you looking for?" he asked.

"Jesus the Nazarene," they replied.

"I Am he," Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) The soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up.

Pilate, the governor, asked, "What is your charge against this man?"

"We wouldn't have handed him over to you if he weren't a criminal!" they retorted.

"Then take him away and judge him by your own [Jewish] law," Pilate told them.

"Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone," the Jewish leaders replied. 32 (This fulfilled Jesus' prediction about the way he would die.)

John 19

Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. "Hail! King of the Jews!" they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

Pilate went outside again and said to the people, "I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty."

Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, "Look, here is the man!" When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

"Take him yourselves and crucify him," Pilate said. "I find him not guilty."

The Jewish leaders replied, "By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God."

When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, "Where are you from?"

But Jesus gave no answer.

"Why don't you talk to me?" Pilate demanded. "Don't you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?"

Then Jesus said, "You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin."

Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted... "Away with him," they yelled. "Away with him! Crucify him!" Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross.

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, "I am thirsty." A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.

It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn't want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was the Passover). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down.

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn't break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

John 20

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed--for until then they still hadn't understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.

"Dear woman, why are you crying?" the angels asked her.

"Because they have taken away my Lord," she replied, "and I don't know where they have put him."

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him.

"Dear woman, why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who are you looking for?"

She thought he was the gardener. "Sir," she said, "if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him."

"Mary!" Jesus said.

She turned to him and cried out, "Rabboni!" (which is Hebrew for "Teacher").

"Don't cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, "I have seen the Lord!"

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! "Peace be with you," he said.

As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas...was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, "We have seen the Lord!"

But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. "Peace be with you," he said.

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!"

"My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."