It's a fact!

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24,25

REFLECTION
The Truth proclaims the truth - No doubt about my Lord Jesus! Today I will stand firm in the faith. I hear my Saviour's words and believe that he is telling the absolute truth about his Father. I know that I am not holy and blameless in the eyes of people and I certainly know that I am not perfect in my own eyes. In my heart I still feel condemnation, but God is so much bigger than my heart! I will stand on his promises and I am not too proud to accept his gift of grace. Today I want to be a living proclamation of this truth: Jesus is alive in me!

PRAYER
Yes Father, it's a fact! Your Son spoke the truth and nothing but the truth. You gave him the words to speak and the authority to back up his statements. As if his words weren't already impressive enough, he performed signs and wonders to take away any last traces of doubt. I wholeheartedly believe in his words; I believe in his power and I have received the miracle of new life. Lord, give me the faith to stand on your promises; give me the certainty that you don’t condemn me, give me the conviction that my soul has already reached the other side of the great divide. It’s just a matter of time and all things will be restored. Thank you, mighty Father. Even as we wait for the fulfilment of your promises, we catch glimpses of the eternal glory that is awaiting us. We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Waiting for a miracle

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. John 5:1-9

REFLECTION
‘Do you want to get well?’ Dear Jesus, why did you ask this awkward question? When you saw this disabled man and learned that he had been an invalid for thirty-eight years – what answer did you expect to hear from him? Of course the poor guy wanted to get well! I’m sure there must be something that I’m overlooking, some hidden secret that I’m missing here… I trust that you’ve asked this question in a loving, tender way – because that is how I know you!
I can only understand this strange conversation from a cripple’s point of view. When I try to imagine what it must be like to wait for a miracle for such a long time, I understand that it is hard to keep the faith alive. This lonely man had no other option in his life – he could only hope for a combination of at least two miracles. First he needed a friendly human being to help him into the pool when the water was stirred up, and second he needed God to miraculously cure him. This was too much to hope for – realistically speaking. But here he was, maybe because he was still hoping that such an incredible combined miracle would happen, maybe because he’d given up hope a long time ago and had become accustomed to the situation. And here you are: God-in-man reaching out for him…

PRAYER
Dear Jesus, we are nothing but hopeless cases without your saving grace. We don’t have to tell you how bad our condition is, because You know. Still you ask me this embarrassing question: ‘Do you want to get well?’ What do you expect me to say, Lord? I’m not too proud to confess my helplessness. I am crippled and completely lost without you! Yes, Lord! Yes, I do want to get well! Please don’t leave me alone like my clueless fellow human beings do, but reach out for me, ask for the obvious, stir up your strength and save me by your grace!
Lord, I don’t want to lose hope and I don’t want to give up dreaming. I still believe in a perfect world, I still believe that one day we will all be completely healed. What a day that will be! But in the meantime, please Healer, restore our strength, revive our hopes, rekindle our spirits and most of all: save our souls!

Simply taking Him at His word

Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed. This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee. John 4:46-53

REFLECTION
According to John, the healing of the royal official’s son was the second sign Jesus did. The first miracle happened when the Lord turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana. John specifically asks our attention for these signs, because we can be easily tempted to focus on the spectacular occurrences and wonderful results while overlooking the purpose and deeper meaning of what happened.
Look at Jesus' first reply to the official – this desperate father who travelled from Capernaum to Cana to ask Jesus to come to his house and heal his son who was at the point of death… Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” Don’t forget the context when you read these words! Jesus had just left Samaria where the people came to believe in him as the Christ, the Saviour of the world. But in this area, his homeland, the Galilean people didn’t accept him for what he was. He had no honour in his own country – they just wanted him to do another miracle or cause a scene like he did in the temple. This time the miracle happens out of sight of curious eyes! The worried father believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and trusted that the Lord was able to heal his son from a distance - just by saying, “You may go. Your son will live.”

PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank you for giving us this testimony of this father – we don’t even know his name – but you answered his prayer without giving the curious people another miracle to talk about. Sometimes you touched people, sometimes they desperately tried to get near to you to be touched and healed – but this time you performed a long distance healing. Today we are not able to enjoy your physical presence, but we want to come to you with the genuine faith of this father. We trust that you can still do a miracle from a distance and we believe that you recognize our noble motives when we come to you with an honest request. We can’t see you with our human eyes, Lord, but we know that we can still take you at your Word.

Forget your water jar

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" They came out of the town and made their way toward him. John 4:28-30

REFLECTION
There are so many things that I need to do! My head spins when I think about all these important appointments, meetings and obligations written down in my diary. Sometimes I get so tired from all this stress - I just want to leave everything behind, sit right down and forget about all the things I really need to do!
Look at that man over there, sitting near the well. Could I have a talk with him? Does he notice me at all?
Sure, I know I can trust him. He only has to ask one little question and I will share all my deepest thoughts, secrets and desires with him. I feel so empty and exhausted. But he sees right through me - the strangest thing... his presence and words don't threaten me at all. This personal encounter is a liberating experience. It is my decision to bow down before my Lord. He knows all about me and he is entitled to know it all. Nothing is more important now - I need to be lifted up by my Lord and Redeemer. Now I see the glory of his heavenly beauty, his splendour reflected in the tears of my eyes.

PRAYER
Thank you, Lord Jesus. I can be totally honest with you and I don't want to hold anything back. You give me your full attention and deep down in my heart I know that you are confronting me with the truth: I am living a lie. Still you don't drown me in a flood of condemnation, but you wash my soul in a refreshing stream of forgiveness. It's the first time I've felt so free all my life!
Why would I bother about anything else? Your words are so heavenly - they put all those earthly worries of mine into the right perspective. Your love is healing me and I just can't be silent about it! After this refreshing bath of love I need to get up, leave everything behind and share my experiences with everyone who wants to know. Listen to me! The Saviour has come! He is my source of forgiveness, joy and peace!

Forget your water jar

Forget your water jar
Who needs a drink
When the Source of Life
Poured out his love
Straight into your heart?

Forget your water jar
No need to contain
His love and your joy
Spill it all out, girl
Drown all your tears

Forget your water jar
Don’t put yourself down
He lifted you up
Your broken heart mended
And filled to the brim

Forget your water jar
There’s no need for it now
Run to the town
Tell all your people
Our Saviour has come!