John 7

Rather than print the entire chapter here I'll just print a few verses that I felt impressed to focus on today. Basically there were three sets of verses that spoke to me today in this seventh chapter:

First set of verses
1-2 Later Jesus was going about his business in Galilee. He didn't want to travel in Judea because the Jews there were looking for a chance to kill him. It was near the time of Tabernacles, a feast observed annually by the Jews.

3-5 His brothers said, "Why don't you leave here and go up to the Feast so your disciples can get a good look at the works you do? No one who intends to be publicly known does everything behind the scenes. If you're serious about what you are doing, come out in the open and show the world." His brothers were pushing him like this because they didn't believe in him either.

What hit me here was that his biological brothers didn't believe in Him. I'm reminded of Hebrews 4:14-16:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jesus knows what's it's like to be both disappointed by, and disappointing to, His family. It's such a source of comfort to me to know that He understands how I feel. If it weren't for Him I'd feel so alone. My family is SOO nuts. I love them and try to be a good daughter, and to a significantly less extent I try to be a good sister (because my 2 sisters are so messed up that to get too involved just makes me feel crazy and I can't do it. If God shows me something specific to do I'll do it but otherwise it's healthier for me to pray for them, help them sometimes and try to be in the moment and enjoy them at the time I'm with them when I visit, and otherwise to be separate from them).

Thank You Father that You understand what it's like to have an unhealty family that isn't able to be supportive. Thank You that I'm not alone in this life.


Second set of verses
21-24 Jesus said, "I did one miraculous thing a few months ago, and you're still standing around getting all upset, wondering what I'm up to. Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body, even if it's the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man's whole body well on the Sabbath? Don't be nitpickers; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right."

The first thing that hits me here is that Jesus is so clear with people. Then His words strike a chord in my heart! Don't be nitpickers; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right.

Oh Father, may I not get so caught up in the details that I miss the point! May my heart be tuned into You so that I can discern the right way to act in each situation throughout this day and then do what is right. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit living in me.

Third set of verses
37-39 On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says." (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)

Jesus' words mean to me today that, because His Holy Spirit lives in my heart, it can be like streams of living water are spilling out of the depths of my soul.

Oh Lord, may I not get in the way of Your work in my life today. May I experience Your life brimming over and overflowing from me to those around me today. Thank you so much heavenly Father for all You've given me.