June 17
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WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” 16 He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” – John 4:15-26
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In this story, we finally get to the purpose why Jesus came by Samaria to meet this woman. Since Jesus is God, he probably already knew how this woman would respond to his invitation to salvation. Jesus broke protocols between the Jews and the Samaritan by speaking to this woman but he must have known that she would also want the living water that Jesus’ offered. She didn’t realize that she had been searching for something to quench her thirst and didn’t know where to get it. Jesus reveals himself to her as the Messiah. There is a very important message in verse 24 that Jesus requires from believers, that is, to worship Him in spirit and truth.
It is interesting that we associate worship with singing psalms and hymns but Jesus requires us to worship in spirit and truth. Many churches place so much emphasis on performance when they worship in their Sunday services. Do we really worship God in spirit when we look like the “world”? We miss out the “truth” part in the worship requirement of God when we don’t even meditate on Scriptures or live holy lives.
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REFLECTION
• What does it really mean to worship God in truth and in spirit?
• Can we worship God without knowing Him and his word? Why or why not?
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THE WELL OF LIVING WATER ILMA’S VLOG
June 16
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THE WELL OF LIVING WATER
7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”– John 4:7-14
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There was a long history of the conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans that dated back in the days of King Rehoboam where the Jews hated the Samaritans and they never spoke to each other. In this story, we see Jesus defying the protocols between Jews and Samaritans by speaking to a Samaritan woman. So, the woman was bewildered why a Jew would even talk to her and ask her for a drink. In John 4:4, it says that Jesus had to pass to Samaria. He had a plan to meet this woman. It wasn’t coincidence. He came to save this woman who had been thirsty all her life for living water and she didn’t even know it. Jesus starts a conversation with her by asking for water to illustrate what he already knows about her. He knew that she had been searching for something to quench her spiritual thirst. In verse 12, she began to wonder who this man was and asked if he was greater than Jacob. His reply illustrated the actual dilemma she was in. He assured her that if she drank the water he gives, she won’t be thirsty at all anymore and that it will be a well of water that springs up to eternal life. Jesus was explaining to her the difference of what his kingdom can offer versus what the world gives. The difference between Jacob’s well and Jesus’ well is that the water from Jesus’ springs from eternal life which means that when you have Jesus in your heart, you will never be feeling empty again. He fills you up and quenches your thirst.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think Jesus defied the protocol of not associating with Samaritans?
• Why did Jesus pass by Samaria to meet this woman? What was Jesus’ agenda?
RESTING AT THE WELL AT THE SIXTH HOUR ILMA’S VLOG
June 15
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RESTING AT THE WELL AT THE SIXTH HOUR
Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob’s well was there. So, Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
– John 4:1-6
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Jesus and his disciples walked on foot. Jesus knew that the Pharisees were going to make a big deal of his disciples baptizing more people than John the Baptist so, he left Judea. Though John talks about Jesus’ divinity in the earlier chapters, we are shown here how he is also fully human and experiences the limitations of a human body. He was tired and needed to rest. Verse 4 tells us that he had to pass by Samaria, the purpose of which we will know in the later part of this chapter. He sat resting at Jacob’s well. John refers to the time of day as the “sixth hour.” There is some debate over which time system John uses in his gospel. Roman time, which starts at noon, would make this around 6pm which is most likely. However, we can see that John’s clock is interpreted differently from version to version. Some bible translations are more modern in their mention of the time. The other possibility is that John may be using the same time-system as the other gospels, which start the day at 6am. So, Jesus may be sitting at the well at noon or at 6pm. Either way, this is hot and inconvenient hour of the day to get water at the well.
In this story, we get a glimpse of Jesus’ humanity. He gets tired of the religious leaders constant grumbling, walking miles and miles in the heat and yet mindful that he needs to meet someone at the well. We know that the next part of the chapter talks about the Samaritan woman whom he purposefully planned to save. It is interesting that despite all the tiredness and challenges that the religious people posed on his ministry, he still continued to take on the work of bringing others to salvation. John, once again gave us a character sketch of the faithfulness of Jesus to follow God’s purpose to save people from their sins as we are about to witness how He interrupted the Samaritan woman’s living in a state of sin, hopping from one man to another in the ensuing verses. What a loving God!
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REFLECTION
• How do we know that Jesus was both God and human in this story?
HE WHO DOESN’T OBEY WON’T SEE LIFE ILMA’S VLOG
June 14
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HE WHO DOESN’T OBEY WON’T SEE LIFE
31 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” – John 3:31-36
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The whole chapter three of John’s gospel declares verse by verse the divinity of Jesus. He comes from heaven and is above all. The previous verses before these ending for this chapter is giving us a picture of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God sent to us so that God’s love will be manifest in Him alone. He has made everything for Him and through Him and has given all things into His hand.
The greatest promise of God to mankind is emphasized in this chapter. He gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. That is one of the conditions; to believe. The other condition is to obey.
Some Christians think that to believe is a passive act. Nelson’s bible dictionary defines faith as a belief in or confident attitude toward God, involving commitment to his will for one’s life. Nelson says belief is to place one’s trust in God’s truth. A person who believes is one who takes God at his word and trusts in him for salvation. So, when you commit, it isn’t a passive act. It is active because you have put your heart into it. Obedience is compliance with an order, request, law or submission to another’s authority. So, if we made a decision to believe in Jesus Christ, shouldn’t obedience be automatic? Just like when we decide to marry someone, we have made a commitment to be with that person for life and that we will do life together. A wife entrusts her life to her husband and he is supposed to care and love her as he would his own body. She in turn needs to submit to him in everything. This is how Christ, who is the bridegroom treats his wife, the church. He brings her honor and ensures that she stays pure for him. This is why disobedience is such a defiance to God’s commands. He can’t fulfill his promise when we don’t obey him.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think obedience is a very important factor in a Christian’s life?
HE MUST INCREASE AND I MUST INCREASE ILMA’S VLOG
June 13
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HE MUST INCREASE AND I MUST DECREASE
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— 24 for John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25 Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” 27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So, this joy of mine has been made full. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. – John 3:22-30
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John’s followers reported to him about how he is losing people to baptize because they were all going to Jesus instead. It is interesting how humans can be very limited about loyalties. They think that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet who cannot lose his following just because this one man came after John. They still didn’t know that Jesus was the Messiah that John had been prophesying about.
Let’s examine the character of John in this account. We witness someone who is very wise and spiritual. In verse 27, he says to his followers, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven”. This is clearly a statement that exemplifies John’s supernatural wisdom in understanding the deity of Christ. His humility is astounding as he continues to declare that he is not the Christ and gave the illustration that he is just the friend of the bridegroom, whom he is referring to Jesus. He says that he must not be seen as much as the bridge-groom should; that it is Jesus who must increase and he must decrease. No wonder Matthew 11:11 declares John the Baptist as the greatest prophet who has ever lived. John knew his place. He never took credit for what’s not his assignment. He knew that his life was to be Jesus’ precursor and that his whole life was to fulfill that role. Do we even recognize the purpose of our lives in God’s kingdom?
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think some Christian take credit for what only belongs to God?
THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE TO ALL BELIEVERS ILMA’S VLOG
June 12
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THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE TO ALL BELIEVERS
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the [only begotten Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
– John 3:16-21
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The book of John is full of the loving nature of God. Verse 3:16 is the essence of Christianity and is the whole theme of the bible. Because of God’s big heart, he decided to rescue mankind from corruption and evil by sacrificing his own Son, Jesus. This chapter explains that Jesus isn’t the one who will judge the world, but it is God the Father who will. In the old testament, we know that God got tired of how evil man has become. So, God decided to bring flood to annihilate them and left Noah and his family who were the only righteous people that time. When the Israelites became unfaithful and served other gods after God delivered them from their enemies, they were also punished. God cannot tolerate evil. Even though he loved all his creation, he will destroy anything wicked.
God loves us so much that he thought of a solution: to make his only begotten Son, Jesus as the sacrifice to atone for our sins so we can be reconciled to our beloved Father. It was a gift of reconciliation. That through Jesus, we can have clean beginning to commune with our heavenly Father. There is nothing required from us but to believe in Jesus because those who won’t believe are already judged and is disqualified to have eternal life. Those who continue to embrace evil in their lives won’t get this gift of salvation. We are told that those who love the darkness will be afraid to come into the light. Light covers darkness, so it won’t even go near it. If it did, it will be extinguished by the great light that only comes from Jesus Christ. We are only asked to believe in Christ so we can have eternal life.
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REFLECTION
• Why do some believers fail to comprehend the concept of “grace through Christ?”
UNBELIEF LEADS TO DEPRAVITY ILMA’S VLOG
June 11
________________________________________ UNBELIEF LEADS TO DEPRAVITY
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.– John 3:9-15
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Prior to these following verses, we learned that Nicodemus, a high-ranking Jewish teacher went secretly to Jesus at night to ask questions. He was curious about how Jesus knew so much about God truths when he wasn’t educated like him. Jesus answered one of his questions prior to these part of Scriptures about being born again, but Nicodemus still couldn’t comprehend what Jesus was saying. It is clear in the words of the Lord that Nicodemus was struggling with unbelief. Jesus asked the Jewish teacher how can he know earthly things that he already explained earlier, how harder would it be if he told him heavenly things. Jesus told him that he is the Son of Man from heaven, but there is just so much disbelief that he couldn’t accept it. Thereby, making him more confused and ignorant. Curiosity hindered him from hearing the truth. His accolades as a Jewish ruler can’t grasp the concept of this poor uneducated man who claims to be the Son of God.
Unbelief destroys the capacity to understand even simple things. I have a fellow believer who is doing life with me and for a whole year of studying and discipleship, she still couldn’t let go of all her beliefs that doesn’t align with truth. She wants to cling to what she knew because it was comfortable for her to hold on to what she was used to. She didn’t want to hear the truth since she had been believing all lies and distorted teachings about Jesus. She could not put on the new nature in Christ because she wouldn’t take off the old nature. One cannot put another set of clothes over the top of old clothes. It wouldn’t sit right. It is the same with the new creation when you became born again. You can’t mix it with the old. It wouldn’t be right.
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REFLECTION
• What is your concept of unbelief? Why do you think there are there still many Christians who live unbelieving lives?
BORN AGAIN ILMA’S VLOG
June 10
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BORN AGAIN
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
– John 3:1-8
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In this account of John, we meet Nicodemus who is a ruler of the Jews. It is a fact that the Jews didn’t like to bend rules. They are so legalistic and a stickler to their laws. Interestingly, we hear from this story how Nicodemus pays a visit to Jesus at night. Could it be that he wanted to ensure that no colleagues or any Jews for that matter, sees him going to see Jesus. Most of the religious leaders were beginning to be stirred by Jesus’ teachings, miracles and claims that he is God’s son. Nicodemus even addresses Jesus as “Rabbi” meaning Teacher.
Jesus explain to Nicodemus the importance of being born of water and the Spirit and that it is a requirement to be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus explains the difference of natural and spiritual birth to someone who is supposedly a Jewish ruler. The Spirit is not visible, according to Jesus, but His presence can be experienced by the believer.
Isn’t it interesting to see the contrast of what we can do in the natural against what we can do in the Spirit’s work? Only the Spirit of God can make one understand spiritual things. It is not on our own understanding that we are able to gain understanding on spiritual matters. It shows how a learned Jewish leader can miss out a spiritual truth because he isn’t born again yet.
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REFLECTION
• Why is the concept of being born again missed by some Christians?
• When does one become born again?
ZEAL FOR THE FATHER’S HOUSE ILMA’S VLOG
June 9
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ZEAL FOR THE FATHER’S HOUSE
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.” 18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. 23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
– John 2:13-25
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It is interesting the Jesus started his public life with the zeal for his father’s house. Just after his first miracle at Cana, the public witnessed his passion for keeping God’s house holy. He was just beginning his public ministry and he was consumed by the desecration of his Father’s temple. This anger at making a marketplace of his father’s house exhibits the divinity of Jesus. Even though he was angry, no one was reported hurt in this manifestation of righteous anger. His zeal for keeping holy his father’s house is amazing. It ignited the religious to keep their eyes on this Jesus who claimed God is his Father. It also became the motive for these insecure hypocrites to plot the death of someone who confronts sin outrightly. Only someone divine can make these people obey him when he showed anger at the desecration of his Father’s house. Do we show the same passion and zeal for keeping God’s temple holy? Do we keep our bodies holy for the Lord? After all, it is our body that the Trinity lives in when we become believers, isn’t it?
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REFLECTION
• How do you manifest a zeal for keeping God’s temple sanctified?
MIRACLE AT CANA ILMA’S VLOG
June 8
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MIRACLE AT CANA
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus *said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So, they took it to him. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days. – John 2:1-12
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During Jesus’ time, weddings typically extended over a period of five to seven days. Usually the entire village gathered for a wedding. Cana was a smaller town than Nazareth so in this account of Jesus’ first miracle, we see that Jesus’ mother, Mary and His disciples were all invited to the wedding. In a small town, almost everyone knows everyone. We hear from this account that Mary seemed to have authority over the servants where the wedding feast was held. It would be a shame to run out of wine so she asked Jesus to solve this problem. When she asked Jesus, he answered with “Woman, my hour has not yet come.” We see here how Jesus puts her in place because this was the start of his public ministry. He works for his Father first and in his timing too. Yet, we see how Jesus responded to the request to do something to save this wedding feast from being the talk of the town if they ran out of wine. It was also the start of the many miracles that will prove that he was the Son of God, the Messiah. This first miracle manifests his glory and begins the many wonders that he will show the world.
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REFLECTION
• Why did Jesus address his mother woman instead of mother in this story?