hearing before seeing

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky May (9)

hearing before seeing

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2376

John 1:29-34

Joh 1:29 The next day John sees Jesus coming toward him and says, “Look, the Lamb of God, who is taking away the sin of the world!
Joh 1:30 He is the one I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’
Joh 1:31 I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so he might be revealed to Israel.”
Joh 1:32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he rested on him.
Joh 1:33 I didn’t know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on– he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
Joh 1:34 I have seen and have testified that he is the Son of God.”

hearing before seeing

John the Baptist testified that Jesus is the Son of God (34), the Lamb of God (29), empowered by the Holy Spirit (32-33), baptizes others with the Holy Spirit (33) and pre-existed his own birth (30). John had been in such a close relationship with God that the things he saw meant more to him than just what he saw. He had more information from his prayer closet, so what he saw merely supplemented what he knew.

LORD, help us to set aside time to hear from you, so that we can better understand the things that we see.

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merely baptizing with water

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky May (8)

merely baptizing with water

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2375

John 1:24-28

Joh 1:24 And these had been sent from the Pharisees.
Joh 1:25 So they asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
Joh 1:26 “I am merely baptizing with water,” John answered them. “Someone stands among you, whom you don’t know him.
Joh 1:27 He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I myself do not even deserve to untie.”
Joh 1:28 All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

merely baptizing with water

Matthew’s version of this conversation goes like this:

“I baptize you with water to show repentance, but he who is coming after me is stronger than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire”(Matt. 3:11 JDV).

Mark’s version is:

“And he was preaching by telling them: “the One who is more important than me is coming after me, of whom I am not worthy to even bend down and untie the strap of his shoes.” I baptized you in water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. (Mk. 1:7-8 JDV) .

Luke’s version:

“John answered them all, and this is what he said, “I am baptizing you with water, but the one who is more powerful than I am is coming, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Lk. 3:16 JDV).

In John’s version, we see John the Baptist waiting until he points out Jesus as the Lamb of God before describing what his ministry would be. For John, he was merely baptizing (bringing people to Christ — we call that evangelism today).

OH LORD, give us a ministry like that of John, who merely bring people to Jesus.

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not a self identity issue

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky May (7)

not a self identity issue

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2374

John 1:19-23

Joh 1:19 This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
Joh 1:20 He did not deny it, but admitted: “I am not the Messiah.”
Joh 1:21 “Who then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?” “I am not,” he said. “Are you the Prophet?” “No,” he answered.
Joh 1:22 “Who are you, then?” they asked. “So we can give an answer to those who sent us. What are you saying about yourself?”
Joh 1:23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make the road of the Lord straight — just as Isaiah the prophet said.”

not a self identity issue

There is a lot of controversy in this generation about self identity. Some people want to redefine themselves, and others oppose it. When the delegation from the Jewish leaders came to John, they were all about who John was — or who he was saying he was. John deflected that attack by going to the scriptures. The important thing for John was not his own identity, but the identity of Christ, and getting people ready for Christ.

LORD, show us how to focus on you and who you are.

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The one who exegeted God

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky May (6)

The one who exegeted God

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2373

John 1:14-18

Joh 1:14 The Word became flesh and lodged among us. We took notice of how bright he shown, the brightness that the one and only Son from the Father can show, full of grace and truth.
Joh 1:15 (John testified about him and exclaimed, “He was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks in front of me, because he existed before me.'”)
Joh 1:16 Because, we have all received grace after grace from his fullness,
Joh 1:17 Because the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Joh 1:18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side– he has explained him.

The one who exegeted God

When a preacher studies a Bible passage so well that she can explain the passage clearly to her listeners, we call her an exegete. That is what Jesus did for us. Nobody had ever seen God, but he did. He had been — and now is — at the Father’s side. He knows what God is like, because he is his only Son. Jesus has exegeted (ἐξηγήσατο) God for us.

Thank you, Lord, for explaining who God is, and what he wants.

 

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welcoming our creator

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky May (5)

welcoming our creator

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2372

John 1:10-13

Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and the world did not recognize him.
Joh 1:11 He came to his own creation, and his own creation did not welcome him.
Joh 1:12 But to everyone who did welcome him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to the believers in his name,
Joh 1:13 who were produced as offspring, not from blood relations, nor from carnal desire, nor from the desire of a husband, but from God.

welcoming our creator

If I were inclined to push Calvinism or Arminianism, I could do either with this passage. Instead, I think John wanted to emphasize the fact that Christ came into a world that refused to welcome him. As an evangelist, he would want to encourage all his readers to join him in welcoming Christ, and he assures those who dare to believe that they can become children of God. As a worshiper, he would want to praise God for his loving choice to produce children among us for eternity.

LORD, we praise you for your love, and we ask you to use us to reach a world who does not recognize its creator.

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the attester

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky May (4)

the attester

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2371

John 1:6-9

Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.
Joh 1:7 He came as an attester to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him.
Joh 1:8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
Joh 1:9 The true light that gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

the attester

I do not like the word “witness” to translate μαρτυρίαν because our modern word witness connotes someone who saw something. John was not witnessing something he had seen as much as attesting someone he believed in. That is what we do as well when we share our faith. Faith is faith, it is not sight. When we share to others that we believe in Jesus as the savior of the world, all we need to prove is our belief. We do not need to prove anything beyond that. The Holy Spirit will open people’s eyes so that they can see the light that Jesus gives.

LORD, give us the courage to share our faith, and the trust to leave the rest to you.

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a difference in our darkness

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky May (3)

a difference in our darkness

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2370

John 1:1-5

Joh 1:1 At first there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 He was with God at first.
Joh 1:3 Everything else was created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
Joh 1:4 Life was in him, and that life was humanity’s light.
Joh 1:5 That light is now shining in the darkness, and yet the darkness has not overcome it.

a difference in our darkness

John’s story is about our creator, who has pierced the darkness of our own existence with his light. We owe our existence to him, but that was not enough for him. In love, he sought us out, and shared his life with us, even though he lives in unapproachable light, and we live in darkness. John tries to convey the enormous distance there now is between us and our creator. Then he tells us that God has done something about that distance. He is now shining. His life among us has made a difference in our darkness.

LORD, thank you for sharing your light in our dark universe.

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free, but disciplined

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky May (2)

free, but disciplined

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2369

Numbers 36:1-13

Num 36:1 The heads of the fathers’ houses of the clan of the people of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the leaders, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel.
Num 36:2 They said, “Yahveh commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and my lord was commanded by Yahveh to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
Num 36:3 But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
Num 36:4 And when the liberation of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
Num 36:5 And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of Yahveh, and this is what he said “The tribe of the people of Joseph is right.
Num 36:6 This is what Yahveh commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they will marry within the clan of the tribe of their father.
Num 36:7 The inheritance of the people of Israel will not be transferred from one tribe to another, because every one of the people of Israel will hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
Num 36:8 And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel will be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers.
Num 36:9 So no inheritance will be transferred from one tribe to another, because each of the tribes of the people of Israel will hold on to its own inheritance.'”
Num 36:10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as Yahveh commanded Moses,
Num 36:11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father’s brothers.
Num 36:12 They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s clan.
Num 36:13 These are the commandments and the rules that Yahveh commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

free, but disciplined

This final passage in this wonderful book once again visits the daughters of Zelophehad. These heroes of the book are not mentioned enough in our sermons and books about this time. They stood up for their rights in a time when that was unheard of. Good on them!

But this last story tells us that the daughters of Zelophehad were not just wide eyed activists. They were also disciplined citizens of the community of Israel. When the LORD commanded that they maintain their father’s inheritance by marrying only within the clan of Manasseh, they heartily agreed to the regulation. Their concern was not just their rights, but doing what it right.

LORD, thank you for the privilege of citizenship in your coming kingdom. Show us how to discipline our lives so that we represent your kingdom well.

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accept no ransom

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky May (1)

accept no ransom

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2368

Numbers 35:26-34

Num 35:26 But if the killer will at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he ran away,
Num 35:27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the killer, he will not be guilty of blood.
Num 35:28 Because he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the killer may return to the land of his possession.
Num 35:29 And these things will be for a prescription and rule for you throughout your generations in all your staying places.
Num 35:30 “If anyone kills a soul, the murderer will be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person will be put to death on the testimony of one witness.
Num 35:31 Moreover, you will accept no ransom for the soul of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he will be put to death.
Num 35:32 And you will accept no ransom for him who has ran away to his city of refuge, that he may return to stay in the land before the death of the high priest.
Num 35:33 You will not pollute the land in which you live, because blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Num 35:34 You will not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I stay, because I Yahveh stay in the midst of the people of Israel.”

accept no ransom

There are two cases indicated in this instruction which are exceptions to the rules about purchasing ransom for a criminal. The person convicted of premeditated murder had to be executed, and could not be ransomed. The person guilty of unintentional killing could not be ransomed and return to his original residence.

Both of these rules are designed to prevent feuding. When family targets family in an unending cycle of hate and murder, the land becomes polluted. God wanted his promised land to be filled with families who respected each other.

LORD, show us how extend our love, forgiveness and respect beyond our immediate families.

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the congregation will rescue

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky April 2018 (30)

the congregation will rescue

devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2367

Numbers 35:9-25

Num 35:9 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Num 35:10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
Num 35:11 then you will select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the killer who strikes down any soul inadvertently may escape there.
Num 35:12 The cities will be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the killer may not die until he stands in the sight of the congregation for judgment.
Num 35:13 And the cities that you give will be your six cities of refuge.
Num 35:14 You will give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.
Num 35:15 These six cities will be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the foreign guest and for the temporary resident among them, that anyone who strikes down any soul inadvertently may escape there.
Num 35:16 “But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death.
Num 35:17 And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death.
Num 35:18 Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death.
Num 35:19 The avenger of blood will himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he will put him to death.
Num 35:20 And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died,
Num 35:21 or in animosity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow will be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood will put the murderer to death when he meets him.
Num 35:22 “But if he pushed him suddenly without animosity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait
Num 35:23 or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm,
Num 35:24 then the congregation will judge between the killer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.
Num 35:25 And the congregation will rescue the killer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation will restore him to his city of refuge to which he had escaped, and he will live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.

the congregation will rescue

God had given his people the wisdom and insight they needed to rescue those who made terrible mistakes, leading to the death of someone. God wanted the congregation to intervene in these circumstances, judge between the killer and the avenger of blood, and rescue the innocent. Instead of giving license to vengeance, God set up a system of protection.

Why would God entrust people with such power? He has given us the ability to discern right from wrong.

LORD, thank you for the wisdom you have given us. Help us to see opportunities of using that wisdom to rescue others.

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