Devotional Notes Psalm 114+John 2

7 Apr 20

MORNING

Psalm 114

B1 What does this mean?

C1 In verse 2 Jacob and Israel refer to the nation, not the person they were named after.

C2 Israel (the Jews) spoke a different language then the Egyptians.

C3 The sea refers to the dry sea that Israel walked over but in the same sea the Egyptian Pharaoh and soldiers drowned.

C4 The Psalmist also mentions a few other miracles.

B2 How do I apply this to my life?

C1 God knows the difference between those who do not believe and those who do. At the judgment one is saved the other condemned.

C2 Israel is still God’s people but we don’t have to support the government and most are not believers but rejecters of God. We must treat the Jews with respect as we would any person of any nationality.

C3 The God who did these miracles can and does judge. We cannot hide. Let us believe and worship Him.

EVENING

John 2

B1 What does this mean?

C1 Jesus first miracle of changing water into wine

D1 Cana is in northern Galilee.

D2 Jesus, His mother, and His disciples were among those invited to the wedding.

D3 The wedding feast, often lasting as long as 7 days, had run out of wine. Some believe that Jesus, Mary, and the disciples arrived after the wedding feast had started. Others believe that Mary had been there when Jesus arrived.

D4 Why Mary told Jesus is not known but perhaps thought He might do a miracle.

D5 Why Jesus told her that it wasn’t His time yet and then shortly thereafter miraculously created more wine is not known. Nevertheless, Mary believed that He could provide this. It is not wrong to ask God in prayer as Mary did here (prayer is talking to God, not a ritual). God may answer yes or no. Mary did not argue about it.

D6 Each of the 6 jars of water held about 95 liters of waters (~25 gallons).

D7 We learn that God is glorified by this miracle, belief was the response from His disciples, and that the wine was better than what had been served at first. Jesus does all things well including our salvation. Miracles to not always guarantee belief and trust in Jesus. We read these miracles that happened then and not now.

C2 Down to Capernaum means going downhill from Cana.

C3 Jesus’s first clearing of the Temple

D1 True religion and God’s desire for worship had been corrupted by the leaders.

D2 Instead of worshipping God, people were buying and selling.

D3 The leaders wanted a sign, but the Scriptures already gave the sign. The Temple was a place of worship not a place of business. We are not to corrupt our worship or assembling together.

C4 Destroy this Temple means the temple of His body. See John 2:21 NIV But the temple he had spoken of was his body. His disciples remembered this after Jesus had been resurrected.

C5 Verse 25, believed in His name. This is not saving faith for note how Jesus did not trust them.

C6 Jesus knows everything about us. He knows our motives, attitudes, actions, thoughts, words, and deeds. Nothing is hidden.

B2 How do I apply this to my life? As I wrote above.

I hope to have a devotional every day on John’s Gospel starting with the last chapter of Luke’s Gospel. This is the way I do my devotions. You may notice grammatical and spelling errors. It is my hope you will also start or continue in your daily reading and thinking about the Scriptures. I do this Monday through Friday. It is a 3 year plan of reading and thinking on 1 chapter in the Old Testament, which takes 3 years, and reading and thinking on 1 chapter in the New Testament once a year for a total of 3 times. So, I read through the Old Testament 1 time and the New Testament 3 times over a period of 3 years.