Jesus said, "Don't bicker among yourselves over me. You're not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me—that's the only way you'll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End. This is what the prophets meant when they wrote, 'And then they will all be personally taught by God.' Anyone who has spent any time at all listening to the Father, really listening and therefore learning, comes to me to be taught personally—to see it with his own eyes, hear it with his own ears, from me, since I have it firsthand from the Father. No one has seen the Father except the One who has his Being alongside the Father—and you can see me.
No matter how frustrated I get with life, the truth is that God is in charge of things.
It is He who draws us to Himself. I'm so thankful that He drew me to Him!
Jesus talks here about His work being to "putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the end". I need to be put together. I wonder how this is worded in other translations. When I look, no other translations put quite that spin of "putting together" on it. They all basically point to the fact that Jesus is saying that God draws us to Himself and that He, Jesus, makes us ready for the end or last days. I like to think on the fact that getting me ready for the End, or last days, is Jesus work. It's His work and I need to cooperate with it.
I look at me and see all my faults: issues with food and overweight, get too stressed out sometimes, struggle constantly with selfishness, never seeming to measure up (house could be cleaner and more organized, car never seems clean, don't have great scrap books for my kids, yard not all set up great, dog/puppy still jumps up on people, haven't made a success of home business yet, etc.), feel so anxious sometimes, difficulty making friends....the list can go on and on. When I look at me I get discouraged.
But I like Jesus. God is awesome and great to look at.
If it's Jesus that's gonna be in charge of making me into a better person who's ready to participate in God's Kingdom, then there's hope.
Thank you God for your love and that You drew me to yourself. Oh Jesus, thank You that You love me and want to work in my life. Help me not get in Your way. Help me today, for this day, to see life as opportunities for you to make me into who You want me to be. Help me to cooperate with Your work in my life today.
I also like in this passage the emphasis on how it's God who draws us to Himself. There are some corresponding scriptures on that topic that are so beautiful:
Jeremiah 31:3 - The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
Hosea 11:4 - I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.
What a picture of a loving God!
As I read these verses I am overcome with gratitude that God would love and care for me so sweetly and gently. This is a God I can trust.
May my life be Yours today Father. May I choose Your thoughts in my mind today. May I think on Your truth. I choose to trust You today.
Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another
WE NEED HEROES
Job 8:21 (The Message)
God will let you laugh again; you'll raise the roof with shouts of joy
About Me
- Tracy
- I'm just grateful to God for His goodness to me and want to live my life following after Him. I've been blessed with 3 awesome sons and in July of 2005 I remarried. My husband truly knows me and still loves me - how much more blessed could I be!
Snippets from the Word
Lamentations 3:20-30 (The Message)
I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!
Psalm 16:11 (NIV)
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Ephesians 1:15-19 (The Message)
That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
James 4:7-10
So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.
Galations 5:25-26
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
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Psalm 5:11-12
But you'll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to you. Let the party last all night! Stand guard over our celebration. You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight
Galatians 6:9-10
So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.
Proverbs 17:22: A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.
Ephesians 2:7-9: Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
PSALM 139:17-18: Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them! I couldn't even begin to count them— any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
Proverbs 15:7-9
Perceptive words spread knowledge; fools are hollow—there's nothing to them. GOD can't stand pious poses, but he delights in genuine prayers. A life frittered away disgusts GOD; he loves those who run straight for the finish line.
Matthew 16: 24-29
Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?
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