verse 9

Galatians 6 

1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, 

you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. 

And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 

2 Share each other’s burdens, 

and in this way obey the law of Christ. 

3 If you think you are too important to help someone, 

you are only fooling yourself. 

You are not that important.

4 Pay careful attention to your own work, 

for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, 

and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 

5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, 

sharing all good things with them.

7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. 

You will always reap what you sow. 

8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature 

will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. 

But those who live to please the Spirit 

will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 

9 Don't get tired of doing what is good. 

Don't get discouraged & give up, 

for we will reap a harvest of blessing 

at the appropriate time. 

10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, 

we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

2 passages

 I couldn't decide which of these passages to share, so, I'm sharing them both! 😁

Galatians 5

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: 

love, 

joy, 

peace, 

patience, 

kindness, 

goodness, 

faithfulness, 

23 gentleness, 

and self-control. 

There is no law against these things!

Psalm 73

24 You will guide me with your counsel,
    leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
    but God remains the strength of my heart;
    he is mine forever.

27 Those who desert him will perish,
    for you destroy those who abandon you.
28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
    and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

His children

Galatians 4 

1 If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, 

those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, 

even though they actually own everything their father had. 

2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 

3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. 

We were like children; 

we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

4 But when the right time came, 

God sent his Son, 

born of a woman, 

subject to the law. 

5 God sent him to buy freedom for us 

who were slaves to the law, 

so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 

6 And because we are his children, 

God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, 

prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 

7 Now you are no longer a slave 

but God’s own child. 

And since you are his child, 

God has made you his heir.

Vines

 Remember that Jesus said this just a few hours before He was killed. 

He & the disciples were walking along on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane.

John 15 

1 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 

2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, 

and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit 

so they will produce even more. 

3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 

4 Remain in me, 

and I will remain in you. 

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, 

and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

5 “Yes, I am the vine; 

you are the branches. 

Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. 

For apart from me you can do nothing. 

6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. 

Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 

7 But if you remain in me 

and my words remain in you, 

you may ask for anything you want, 

and it will be granted! 

8 When you produce much fruit, 

you are my true disciples. 

This brings great glory to my Father.

9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. 

Remain in my love. 

10 When you obey my commandments, 

you remain in my love, 

just as I obey my Father’s commandments 

and remain in his love. 

11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. 

Yes, your joy will overflow! 

12 This is my commandment: 

Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 

13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

14 You are my friends 

if you do what I command. 

15 I no longer call you slaves, 

because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. 

Now you are my friends, 

since I have told you everything the Father told me. 

16 You didn’t choose me. 

I chose you. 

I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, 

so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, 

using my name. 

17 This is my command: 

Love each other.

the Way

John 14 

1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. 

Trust in God, 

and trust also in me. 

2 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? 

3 When everything is ready, 

I will come and get you, 

so that you will always be with me where I am. 

4 And you know the way to where I am going.”

5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus told him, 

“I am the way, 

the truth, 

and the life. 

No one can come to the Father except through me. 

7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. 

From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

our identity

Jesus spoke these words to his disciples just a few hours before he was killed...

John 13 

34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: 

Love each other. 

Just as I have loved you, 

you should love each other. 

(dan note: here comes the power statement...)

35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

hmmmm... do you think people equate you or me as followers of Jesus because of the way we love people?

And do you think that the world say today that about Christians in general, especially American white evangelicals?

light to shine

John 12 

44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, 

“If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, 

but also God who sent me. 

45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 

46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, 

so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. 

47 I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, 

for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 

48 But all who reject me and my message 

will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. 

49 I don’t speak on my own authority. 

The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say 

and how to say it. 

50 And I know his commands lead to eternal life; 

so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

vision & thorn

2 Corinthians 12 

1 I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. 

2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. 

Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 

3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. 

But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise 

and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, 

things no human is allowed to tell.

5 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 

9 Each time he said, 

“My grace is all you need. 

My power works best in weakness.” 

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, 

so that the power of Christ can work through me. 

10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, 

and in the insults, 

hardships, 

persecutions, 

and troubles that I suffer for Christ. 

For when I am weak, 

then I am strong.

persecution

I chuckle whenever I hear white evangelicals whine about how persecuted they are. 

It's because I'm remembering this passage.

Our faith walk these days is SO prissy & precious.

2 Corinthians 11

23 Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! 

I have worked harder, 

been put in prison more often, 

been whipped times without number, 

and faced death again and again. 

24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 

25 Three times I was beaten with rods. 

Once I was stoned. (dan note: He was left for dead!)

Three times I was shipwrecked. 

Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 

26 I have traveled on many long journeys. 

I have faced danger from rivers 

and from robbers. 

I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles.

 I have faced danger in the cities, 

in the deserts, 

and on the seas. 

And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers 

but are not. 

27 I have worked hard and long, 

enduring many sleepless nights. 

I have been hungry 

and thirsty 

and have often gone without food. 

I have shivered in the cold, 

without enough clothing to keep me warm.

28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. 

29 Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? 

Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. 

31 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. 

32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. 

33 I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.

keep on...

This is Jesus, talking in what we call The Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 7 

7 “Keep on asking, 

and you will receive what you ask for. 

Keep on seeking, 

and you will find. 

Keep on knocking, 

and the door will be opened to you. 

8 For everyone who asks, 

receives. 

Everyone who seeks, 

finds. 

And to everyone who knocks, 

the door will be opened.

judgement

 And what does this incident address in regards to our own judgemental attitudes toward "sinners"?

8 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

11 “No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

63

 Psalm 63

(A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.)

1 O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in your sanctuary
    and gazed upon your power and glory.
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
    how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
    I will praise you with songs of joy.

6 I lie awake thinking of you,
    meditating on you through the night.
7 Because you are my helper,
    I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
    your strong right hand holds me securely.

little is much

 As the old gospel hymn goes...

"Little is much when God is in it."

John 6 

1 After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 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?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 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. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

claims

Judging from what He claimed, we can only believe that Jesus either was the Son of God, or barkin' mad crazy.

I choose to believe it is the former, not the latter.

John 5

16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. 17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” 18 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.

19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. 21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. 22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.

24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

25 “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. 27 And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. 28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. 30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.

word

2 Corinthians 5 

14 Christ’s love controls us. 

Since we believe that Christ died for all, 

we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 

15 He died for everyone 

so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. 

Instead, they will live for Christ, 

who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. 

At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. 

How differently we know him now! 

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. 

The old life is gone; 

a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, 

who brought us back to himself through Christ. 

And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 

19 For God was in Christ, 

reconciling the world to himself, 

no longer counting people’s sins against them. 

And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 

20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; 

God is making his appeal through us. 

We speak for Christ when we plead, 

“Come back to God!” 

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, 

so that we could be made right with God through Christ.