“In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God, 

and the Word was God. 

He was in the beginning with God. 

All things were made through Him, 

and without Him nothing was made that was made. 

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

And the light shines in the darkness, 

and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

my twocents…

as our minds meditate on the gift of Jesus and His coming to earth, this opening to the book of John informs us that Jesus always was; that He is God, He is the Word and the Light of Life that caused creation. a few verses later [spoiler alert] john confirms that the Word became flesh, indeed proclaiming Jesus as God. it can be unfamiliar to try to understand one almighty God who takes on the form of the trinity: God-Son-Holy Spirit. but think about this analogy… “i was with myself and i am myself.” for one to be with their self, implies that they are solo, or alone. and then by saying ‘i am myself’, one is simply confirming the being of current discussion. in addition, to try and understand an infinite being such as our almighty God, realize that our finite minds have trouble understanding things outside of our known dimensions. always remember this and be humble in knowing that God’s greatness is greater than our human mind’s capabilities. a true gift is that inexplainable feeling of His greatness which fills you with joy and peace, which even then is just a sample of His wonders. john’s wording can seem cryptic at times, but through resting on the Word, you can see that every part of this scripture is pure truth, and very educational at that. Jesus is the Light of Life that gives us life. every breath we take, every beat of our heart is nothing to take for granted. and in the same, we shall not take for granted the breath and heartbeat of those who surround us and share this life with us. Jesus came here born to the flesh, to die and then overcome death, and as His Word says: “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend (or overcome) it.” Jesus came to show us a physical demonstration of exactly what is said right here in the beginning of John. let this be a notion to meditate on how great our God’s love is for us. from Him comes all goodness, and despite the existence of sin and darkness that we so curiously desired to know, nothing can overcome His goodness, His holiness and His love. this life is short, but our God is eternal, and He grants us the gift of eternal life as we believe in Him. believe this beautiful scripture, for it is nothing but the truth.

12/2/22

"Then Jesus said to them again, 

“Most assuredly, I say to you, 

I am the door of the sheep. 

All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, 

but the sheep did not hear them. 

I am the door. 

If anyone enters by Me, 

he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. 

I have come that they may have life, 

and that they may have it more abundantly."

my twocents…

living in this world mixed with darkness and light can be difficult and confusing. like israel, we are pulled here and there by various authorities and told about multiple ‘ways’ to view and understand life. we might become controlled by evil authorities that want to mislead us so that we become blind to the truth. reading through the old testament, we can see how the israelites fell time and time again for evil leaders who influenced, and sometimes commanded, them to worship idols and make sacrilegious sacrifices to false gods. their lives were filled with such torment, emptiness, and sadness and they were lost in the darkness. unfortunately, that’s what thieves do. 

until Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice, there was no door. praise Him for providing the Way! He is the Way to the pasture- and isn't that truly what we are looking for? not only are we gifted with His truth and love, but He came so that we may have abundant life. abundant life, not mundane life, not tiresome life, but abundant life! let us relish this amazing truth… 

we may not enjoy being called sheep, but we can’t deny that we need a true leader, model and savior. we are subject to getting lost, hurt, and confused- just like sheep. we can be easily swayed and distracted. but when we know, we know who our Shepherd is. and we shall not listen to thieves and robbers and we shall not be hurt. our Lord is our graceful Shepherd and our mighty Protector. Jesus wants us to have abundant life, He granted this to us, so let us accept it! let not one more moment of happiness be stolen from us, for that is not what our Lord came to do. let us wake with eagerness to breath in clean air, let us savor our nourishing meals, let our hearts be opened to the kindness and love from our brothers and sisters in Christ, let us connect with one another and not only share, but represent, the love the He has filled us with.

1/5/23

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, 

so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 

You may ask me for anything in my name, 

and I will do it.”

my twocents...

wow, how generous is our God? that is a bold statement! in this passage, Jesus is explaining to His disciples how He is the Way and He is in His Father and His Father is in Him, and then when we believe, He is in us. it seems a bit complex and confusing, but Jesus is God. God works in infinite ways, beyond our mortal understanding, but we do know from the Word that He works in form of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. His ways can be mysterious but He is always reliable. we don’t have to know how he does it - if He told us, we probably wouldn’t understand anyway. what matters is not the how but the faith. when moses struck the staff to part the red sea, the striking of the staff was the demonstration of moses’ faith, and the miracle working was God’s. we must see walking with Him with these roles in mind: we show our faith obediently, while He works and is ultimately glorified. as His light shines, as He is glorified, darkness cannot win. (and it will never win anyway) the miraculous things Jesus achieved on earth will be continued through us. His love is so great that He can give Himself eternally. His Father is glorified while He works through us. He’s worked through multiple generations and His power and love shine through us all in a constant fashion across the timeline. we are so very blessed to have this personal, intimate relationship with Him. He knows us inside and out, every moment. we can seek His guidance just by whispering to Him. we can share moments with Him that no one else notices or sees. and as we share these experiences, He helps us learn His Ways and perform His good works. He always knows the right move. so He allows us to ask for anything in His name. anything that will glorify God, He will do it. now it may not be performed in the way we imagine, and it may not happen on the timeline that we expect, but one thing is true, He always keeps His Word. so we can rejoice in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and we can relax in the peace He provides. despite the ways of the world and the things we’ve had to ‘unlearn’, the Holy Spirit warms our soul and clears our vision. we don’t dwell on the past and we don’t worry about the future. we trust that he will work, because there is endless proof in everything He has ever done and there is zero failure on His part- a 100% success rate. there is every reason to believe in Him and there is zero reason to believe in the worldly ways… because those have surely let us down more than once. express your faith through prayer. ask him for anything. dream big, because our God is bigger. 

12/22/22

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”

my twocents…

as a follower of Christ, there are many questions along the way, as we strive to obey Him. thoughts of how to make the best decisions throughout the day can be a common objective between us. we're shedding old ways and learning new, and while we are pulled between spirit and flesh, we are still subject to confusion and misdirection. even though He may allow us to stumble, He will never let us fall. but it's safe to say that we would like to minimize that amount of stumbling. you can see where we get caught in a desire for clear black-and-white rules, a safeguard to keep us walking straight... but if we're leaning on this safeguard, how can we also be leaning on God?

the pharisees got to a point in their religious and cultural traditions, rituals and routines where they became very disconnected from God and The Truth. what once started as a love for the Lord who had shown them how to live, turned into a self-righteous competition for status. they started out by dedicating their lives to obeying His commands, but they ultimately found themselves living by their own rules and understandings, and their world became cold and harsh. 

as we overanalyze ourselves in our own walk with Christ, our own jabbering words block His from being heard. if we keep focusing on ways to fail, we will fail. and as we fear failure, our eyes are set on those negatives, not on God. we see weakness and brokenness in ourselves and that is why failure is so threatening- that sense of mortality and imperfection is hard to accept. 

being unclean, especially in the eyes of the pharisees, is much like debilitation. it’s an inability to partake in normal activities physically, mentally and spiritually. a separation between ourselves and others. like the kid sitting on the sidelines at recess, excluded and unaccepted by the others. when we restrict ourselves to rules and regulations that contradict God’s personalized direction (usually given day to day vs long term), we’re condemning our own selves to the sidelines. by focusing on our fears, lies that are not from Him, we are telling ourselves we are unclean, “not quite worthy to join the others and participate as a complete human being”. yet, Jesus reminds us here in this verse, we are already clean. because of the Words He has spoken. hear this truth! 

all of this complication that has been stirred up is not from Him. it’s not necessary. repeat this verse everyday for however long it takes to remember that you are worthy! you are worthy because of the price Jesus paid on the cross. accept this and move forward as a complete being with our Lord. join the other kids at recess and start playing today. 

1/9/23

“Then Simon Peter came, following him, 

and went into the tomb; 

and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 

and the handkerchief that had been around His head, 

not lying with the linen cloths, 

but folded together in a place by itself. 

Then the other disciple, 

who came to the tomb first, 

went in also; 

and he saw and believed.”

my twocents…

happy Easter! this is the familiar story many have heard of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. but if so many people have heard it, why do they not believe the way john (the other disciple) believed here? the story is simple. Jesus was God in the flesh. He came, born in this world, to save us by His sacrifice on the cross. He lived a perfect, sinless life and taught the people of His day the True Way. He performed countless miracles and healings, and even with all of this, many still did not believe He was the one true God. His final offering was Himself, Who died a brutal death on the cross, but three days later, He rose from the grave. and then, as if this still wasn’t enough, He stayed on earth with the witness of many disciples, spending another 40 days with them! this may sound like a crazy story, but we do crazy things in the name of Love. and this crazy story is 100% true and proven through history. there were thousands that witnessed His life after death. there were countless disciples who retold His story because of the mere fact that it is true! there were many who died (very gruesome) deaths in His name, as they were persecuted by others for their beliefs. our very method of tracking dates is based on his life: b.c. and a.d.. and here we are 2023 years after His death and resurrection and we are still telling His story! because its true! look into it for yourself and make the most important choice of your life: to believe like john believed here in the Word of God. 

4/9/23