John 4:46-54 ~ He had made the water into wine

 

Persica Mustard Tree

Middle East

John 4:46-54

So Jesus came again to Cana in Galilee, where He had made the water wine.

 And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 

47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 

48 So Jesus said to him, 

“Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 

49 The official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 

50 Jesus said to him, 

“Go; your son will live.” 

The man believed the Word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 

53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.

 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

Yesterday's Post,  we discussed in the Post the radical Love God has for us. In faith, in believing God is God and Who He says He is, we are forgiven and become part of the earth as Heaven upon earth. New creation in the whole of All of Creation.

Jesus promised us in this earthly life, we will have trouble.  John's 4th Chapter is about the woman who had one misfortune and began to fall down into more and more misfortune through troubled choices.  With compassion and mercy, the first time in all of Creation's history,  Jesus boldly and forthrightly declares He is the long-awaited Messiah. 

Jesus chose this announcement during the daytime. If this extremely serious declaration had been made during the night, the stars of the ancient world; This might have been Christmas Eve, entirely possible, that All the Heavenly Host might be seen again. 

Another possibility, in the Light of Jesus Christ, Luke's Christmas Chapter One, we find Jesus fulfilling Luke's Main Topic.  The Announcement of Christmas, straight from the Mouth of the Christ of God.

Luke 1:76-79  

For you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,

to give knowledge of salvation 

to his people

    in the forgiveness of their sins,

78 because of the tender mercy of our God,

    whereby

The sunrise shall visit us 

from on high

To give light 

to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

    to guide our feet 

into the way of peace. 

And in this magnificence of the entire Chapter 4 of John's Gospel, we study today
the aspect of faith. This is Scripture when healing occurs because God Speaks the Word of Life. From a distance, where we live and understand being millenniums from His Spoken Ministry.

Delve into the aspect of God's Love and the faith we are worthy in Jesus Christ to be called into.

The path of this miracle is a man from Capernaum. Location, Location. Capernaum is the adult Jesus' chosen hometown of Jesus Christ and His Ministry. 

Day One, the child of Luke 1 and Luke 2, grown into adulthood, draws in all of Capernaum to witness the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. Then the healing of many. 

Perhaps, Capernaum is refreshed in the memory of Luke 1 and 2 by the water turned into wine, mentioned in the beginning of Luke's 4th chapter.  But the father asking for healing, is prepared to believe. His path of belief is on firm footing from God. 

Matthew 6:7-8

 And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, 

for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 

8 Do not be like them, 

for your Father knows what you need 

before you ask him.

The answered prayer is not eloquently put to Jesus. And the response lives forever. 

Jesus, being honest, remarks this is an easy prayer, the man has seen signs and wonders. Probably reminding us, He is still working and to pray with hope for our prayers.

Persica Mustard Tree

Middle East

The father with answered prayer is given a directive of faith. And the man answers the call to just go home. And is rewarded with a miracle we all hope allows him to act with faith, all of his eternal days. To be the 1 leper of the 10 who returns to Jesus to give thanks. 

The man had Jesus Christ standing before him, the scales of answered prayer are balanced for the victory.  And we are told with eyes of faith if we have faith, we have answered prayer.

The Persica Mustard Tree of the Middle East is magnificent and might remind us of Abraham's home, the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron, Israel.  Abraham believed God and it was considered righteousness.  Abraham is called friend of God. 

Faith and Abraham had trouble. We can see almost every Chapter about Abraham's life had cause to be dismayed, troubled and worried. Abraham's faith score was mostly gaining and then it wavered like the stock market.  "Surely, God," reasoned Sarah and Abraham, "Meant for us to take hold of the questionable tree of good and evil and fix all this up ourselves! Right! God loves those who help themselves." Because all of this was slow, plodding, unhappy and wasn't happening. They were old and tired of waiting.  Fixer upper call of faith, with just a bit outside of ends justifies the means.

Abraham was willing to Argue with God about the Goodness of His Own Nature to be Virtuous to have Salvation. But not to wait for God. For Decades. Angels even visited Abraham. Not all of them found this serious and of God.

It's ok to cut off Ishmael and his slave mom, they didn't count. They were only the mistake. Good luck in starvation, in the isolation and impossibility of the desert, we put you in. Isaac wasn't the first child Abraham planned to have 'ended.' God made our glorious path, but you were the knock up and knock offs. 

When we really come down to brass tacks, Abraham and Peter. Abraham and Paul have made some enormous mistakes in their cushy faith path.

How was Abraham's life in God's eyes?

God looks at His Creation and says, "This is Good." He sees in us his own people, adopted by Jesus in His Magnificent Love.

There is an amazing amount of Believe What You Pray For in this 4th Chapter of Luke. For all ages and situations.  Because God is The Almighty and He IS the Lord God, Our Father Who Cares for us.  And All things are Possible with God.

The Kingdom of Heaven

is

at Hand

Abba, Father,

We ask Jesus Christ may dwell in  our hearts through faith

We ask to be be  rooted and grounded in love

and have strength to comprehend 

with all 

what is the breadth and length and height and depth

of Your Love.

To know 

The Love of Christ 

Surpassing all the books ever written, 

fully know,

We are filled with all the fullness of God

Your Promises,

Father,

Are Sure.

In Jesus Christ,

we live and move and

have our being.

Amen!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

You are The Lord Jesus

Thank You, for hearing us

2 Corinthians 5:14-6:10 ~ For the Love of Christ

 

2 Corinthians 5:14-6:10

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: 

4 that One has died for All, therefore All have died;  

and He died for All, 

that those who live might no longer live for themselves

but 

for Him who for their sake died and was raised.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. 

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

18 All this is from God, 

who through Christ reconciled us to Himself

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 

19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, 

not counting their trespasses against them, 

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, 

so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

6 Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you

 not to receive the grace of God in vain. 

2 For He says,

“In a favorable time 

I listened to you,

    and in a day of salvation 

I have helped you.”

Behold, 

now 

is the favorable time;

 Behold, 

now 

is the day of salvation. 

3 We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: 

by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 

By purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 

By truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. 

We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

This Scripture is ALL encompassing. 

And tremendously exciting. Alive in all aspects.  This is the Liturgy of today and the combination goes from our bodies, right where we know and live, today, the flesh and carries us far, far, far into God's Heart and His Kingdom invitation forever

and ever. Alleluia. AAAAAAALLLLelluia.

God begins in the place, exactly where He determines to tell us of His Love. He has Created, and He looks at Creation and says, "This is Good." To make His point without wavering, He says, "It is Good," 14 times. And when God begins and tells us, He is saying yesterday, today and tomorrow. Psalm 139 explains yesterday telling us in His Plan, He knows about His creation before birth. 

God does not look with dismay upon us. He understands far more than we ever will. He determines to keep us as His own child forever. And ever. Alleluia. Alleluia, Alleluia. Today encompasses US. Today.

A Clean Slate. No more grievance against you. Clean in Jesus Christ with a new beginning. Alleluia.

All of this is from God Himself.

What will this Relationship of Eternity look like? God Himself will listen to you. The Gates of Heaven, Revelation tells us, are always open. 

And then God continues to Tomorrow.

Papyrus 46

University of Michigan

This is 2 Corinthians 5

Labelled First Century

By truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. 

We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

Romans 12:2 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

If you are older than 25 years old, you grew up being told the Scriptures could be avoided as unimportant, the Disciples were illiterate and the Bible is actually made up in the year ish 400 A.D. This is false.

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

[above] Papyrus 46 

Codex Vaticanus (325–350) 

Codex Sinaiticus (330–360) 

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (c. 450) 

Codex Freerianus (c. 450; extant verses 8–10,17–18)

 Codex Claromontanus (c. 550).

The thing about Scripture, there are notable and heavy hitters.  This is St Catherine's Monastery.  The Mountain behind this is Mount Horeb, where most scholars believe, in faith, Moses received the actual 10 Commandments.

St. Francis of Assisi is one of the Heavy Hitters. He didn't just talk to the wildlife and communicate with them, so that they would turn and do as he asked, according to witnesses.  There was a monastery for Women during the fabulous Renaissance, where so many women were gladly handed over for prostitution, it was considered a sport. And a way for families and husbands to pick up extra cash and maybe a born servant in the household.  The men were concerned, and so was St. Francis' dear friend, St. Catherine.  She began a foundation of nuns with good works in the Renaissance. Not just men, but ALL. 

There have been several instances of archaeology, like Indiana Jones and his movies. St. Catherine's Library at Mt. Sinah had a scrap of the Gospel people considered the earlies scrap ever. And one day it disappeared and is now called Ryland's Papyrus of St. John's Gospel. First Century.

Scraps of paper are rare for the 1st Century. Rome has plenty. But when you get to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek of the Bible, it becomes AN UNBELIEVABLE SCARCITY. The Emperors of Rome were known to actively pursue the destruction of any Papyrus about Jesus or the One Almighty God.  Off and then on with incredible measures of cruelty for 300 years. 

And in fact, Papyrus 46 is 300 pages of Scripture as intact as a Hallmark card before emails took off quickly. 

And the Scriptures are bits and pieces. So suddenly, when the world went woke in academia,  Papyrus isn't 90 A.D. It is 2nd century.  But it's not. The argument is verbs aren't correct in Papyrus 46. Uh huh. What scraps say that?  Only the announcement.

By truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. 

We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

This is the real God, His real love for you and the facts of History about

Papyrus 46.

This is considered to be the oldest Scripture. The Ryland Papyrus of John's Gospel.

It does not invalidate Papyrus 46.

And these verses are speaking of Jesus as human. In the first Century, there was an intense squabble as the world was hearing of Jesus that He was just another god. This is the truth of the News of Jesus.

Blessed are those who did not see Jesus, but believe in faith. It's a good quote! Would bet Jesus likes the quote.

John 20:29 

Jesus said to him, 

"Have you believed because you have seen me? 

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

The Scriptures are chosen before knowning what they will be. This post and yesterday's Post fit together like Creation. A Plan of God, The Almighty. Amen!

Yesterday's Post was God Knows.  And these prayers:

Joshua 24

In your sight to serve the LORD, 

then 

choose for yourselves 

this day 

Whom you will serve, 

whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, 

or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. 

As for me and my house, 

we will serve

The LORD! 

The people replied, 

“Far be it from us to forsake the LORD 

to serve other gods!"

Abba, Father,

We ask Your blessing upon ourselves, the ones we Love, 

the people 

You have given us. 

These Nations. Peace for all.

 Psalm 139:17 

"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! 

How vast is the sum of them"

Matthew 6:8

Your Father knows what you need 

before 

you ask Him.

John 15:3

Abide in

God's Love

I consider myself fortunate 

to stand before you today

Dwell in me,

Dwell in us,

Dwell in those we Love,

Help us to seek You first.

And we will finish well, 

in 

Jesus Christ. 

Father,

Help us 

to speak sincerely,

mercifully

Lovingly

The healing of Edward's eye

and my eye with a healed tear duct.

Blessings of health!

Help us seek and find 

and bring,

to become,

 more Heaven

to this earth.

To be rid

of

Evil

hiding

lying

harm.

To end what is Unrighteous.

Harmful

Plotting

Absorbed by self in all manners

Malicious.

Lord Jesus Christ soon.

Invited to meet Jesus.

The Glory

of

the Paths of

Righteousness

Gift of God

Help us, Father,

Like Jesus did for the father who asked for more assured faith,

We sing the song:

Thank You, Thank You, Jesus,

Thank You, Thank You, Jesus,

Thank You, Thank You, Jesus,

in my heart, heart, heart!

Thank You

for

our first grandbaby

Arriving this summer,

All Your Love

Blessings upon

this little one.

You have 

Answered our

Prayers!

And in Jesus - This Hope.

Faith and Love - we will rise up Believing Jesus.

Thank You, Father.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes, The Lord Fulfills His Purpose

Thank You, Jesus The Lord

†