9 Apr 20
MORNING
Psalm 116
B1 What does this mean?
C1 The Psalmist praises God because God helped him.
D1 Heard his prayer asking for mercy and deliverance.
D2 He felt that he was going to die.
D3 He experienced pain and agony. This is probably emotional pain. Certainly, emotional can bring on physical pain because of stress.
D4 Notice verse 4, that the Psalmist kept on praying. It was not one prayer it was often. God does not become angry if we pray thus. He is the Counselor of all counselors, perfect in love, compassion, and wisdom.
D5 This deliverance had awesome results: more dedication, more prayer, more love and respect (fear) for God. God still answers prayer and hopefully, we still give God the credit for His help and thank Him.
C2 The Psalmist kept the faith
D1 Even in extreme trials, he remained steadfast and true. This is surely God’s grace in strengthening us.
D2 He was overcome with panic. Can we relate to this?
D3 Another result (beyond giving God the credit and being thankful), was to call on God’s name forever and to keep his vows. Vows are for a specific time, a specific result, with specific conditions, and God expects us to keep our word. Let us be careful with our vows.
D4 If and when we die, God will remain with us. We must remember. God help us.
D5 Thanksgiving is a sacrifice (verse 17).
E1 Psalms 50:14 GW Bring your thanks to God as a sacrifice, and keep your vows to the Most High.
E2 Hebrews 13:15 GW Through Jesus we should always bring God a sacrifice of praise, that is, words that acknowledge him
D6 The Psalmist kept his vows, so should we. Compare Hannah:
E1 Promise made: 1 Samuel 1:11 GW She made this vow, "LORD of Armies, if you will look at my misery, remember me, and give me a boy, then I will give him to you for as long as he lives. A razor will never be used on his head."
E2 Promise kept: 1 Samuel 1:25-28 GW Then the parents butchered the bull and brought the child to Eli. 26 "Sir," Hannah said, "as sure as you live, I'm the woman who stood here next to you and prayed to the LORD. 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. 28 In return, I am giving him to the LORD. He will be dedicated to the LORD for his whole life." And they worshiped the LORD there.
B2 How do I apply this to my life? As above.
EVENING
John 4
B1 What does this mean?
C1 Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
D1 Note verse 4, necessary to go to Samaritan village named Sychar.
E1 The Greek word for necessary/necessity/had to is δεῖ deî. It means must, necessary, has to, etc.
E2 Vine writes: an impersonal verb, signifying "it is necessary" or "one must," "one ought," is found most frequently in the Gospels, Acts and the Apocalypse, and is used...(b) of necessity brought about by circumstances, e.g., Matthew 26:35, RV, "must," AV, "should;" John 4:4; Acts 27:21, "should;" 2 Corinthians 11:30; in the case of Christ, by reason of the Father's will, e.g., Luke 2:49; 19:5;
E3 Why necessary? Jews usually traveled around Samaria. Perhaps to seek that which is lost (Luke 19:10 NIV For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost).
D2 Jesus’s humanity is seen in verse 6—He is tired. If we’re tired from service, sickness, or whatever, Jesus knows this. He is compassionate. We must be patient.
D3 Notice again the many ways Jesus dealt with people in preaching the Gospel. We can learn that it is not necessary to use the same method as if there is magic formula. We can use the weather or current events or needs or whatever the person is at.
D4 Note in verses 13-14, how Jesus strokes her curiosity.
D5 In verse 16, the Lord Jesus knows and exposes her past. She confesses that He is correct. This is important. God is light and exposes sins and convicts of sin to which we must respond not in pride (“I am a good person”) nor make excuses.
D6 In verse 20 we see the wrong teaching she has received. She questions Jesus about the correct place to worship. Jesus then teaches her.
D7 Robertson comments on the phrase “from the Jews” in verse 22: For salvation is from the Jews (οτ η σωτηρια εκ των Ιουδαιων εστιν). "The salvation," the Messianic salvation which had long been the hope and guiding star of the chosen people (Lu 1:69, 71, 77; Ac 13:26, 47). It was for the whole world (Joh 3:17), but it comes "out of" (εκ) the Jews. This tremendous fact should never be forgotten, however unworthy the Jews may have proved of their privilege. The Messiah, God's Son, was a Jew.
D8 Verse 23:
E1 Seek is to desire for oneself and/to look for/search. It is the Greek word ζητέω zētéō. The Father wants (seeks) this type of worshipper.
E2 True worshipers, that is, genuine. They are not doing the rituals, they with a true heart do worship, that is, recognize, believe, and are thankful for God, His ways, and His kingdom.
D9 Jesus confesses that He is THE Messiah.
D10 That the woman believes is seen in her action of evangelism in verse 29. She asks a question, not because she is not sure that He is Messiah, but to arouse their curiosity.
D11 Would that we all had the attitude of the Lord Jesus: John 4:34 NIV "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
D12 In verse 37 we see that the work of evangelism and the Christian life is one of a family, not separate individuals. We are a family.
C2 Jesus Heals Religious Leader’s Son
D1 After staying in Sychar for 2 days teaching the people, he leaves for Galilee.
D2 In verse 48, Jesus is considered to only be a miracle worker, not Messiah. The people of Sychar believed he was the Messiah from His teaching.
D3 Compare the differences:
E1 The centurion: Matthew 8:8 NIV The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
E2 The people of Galilee: John 4:49 NIV The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
D4 Notices how Jesus tests this man, and the man believes Jesus because he left for home. We have the words of Jesus today in the Scriptures. Do we believe it or explain them away by twisting their meaning?
D5 The account ends well: John 4:53 WEL Then the father knew that it was at that very hour when Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” So, he believed, along with his whole family.
B2 How do I apply this to my life? As noted 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.
