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Testing Jesus in Your Life: John 7:10-24

Published June 3, 2026 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 7:10-24 (NASB)

There are several points we could talk about in this passage, but one really big idea that I want to focus on in this post are Jesus’ words in verse 17: “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.”

This verse jumped off the page at me because it is so simple, but also so profound. Those who are doing the will of God are the ones who will be able to clearly tell whether Jesus’ teaching is from God or whether Jesus was false. It is by obeying God that we are able to test Jesus’ truth, and by obeying God, He will make it clear to us the nature and role Jesus should have in our lives.

Too many people want to talk, preach, or speak a powerful message, and many can inspire and motivate large crowds. The real test though isn’t what someone says, but what they do. Actions are more important to God than intentions. We cannot be perfect as Christ is perfect, but we can be willing to be used by God to bring joy to others, and we can admit that we need Jesus and His sacrifice to bridge the gap sin created between God and us.

It is by doing God’s will that we are able to bring clarity in our lives regarding Jesus and His teaching.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Using Our Pain: Matthew 8:1-4

Published June 2, 2026 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Matthew 8:1-4 (NCV)

1 When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. 2 Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.”

3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his disease. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded for people who are made well. This will show the people what I have done.”

Read Matthew 8:1-4 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Early on in Jesus’ ministry, we learn about a miracle He did for a man with a skin disease. Matthew’s gospel places this event after Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount”, and specifically as Jesus was coming down from the hill.

What makes this healing unique in my mind is what it says about the man requesting healing, and more importantly, what this healing says about Jesus’ character towards those who are hurting. Matthew sets up this event by writing, “When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, ‘Lord, you can heal me if you will.’” (v. 1-2)

The thing that I find amazing about this request is that the man is completely open to the possibility that Jesus might not want to make him well. He acknowledges Jesus’ healing power, but he also recognizes that there might be a purpose for his condition that God wants to still use. In a very unique and spiritually mature way, this man, through his request, is open to whatever God’s will is for his body, whether it is to continue living with disease, or whether it is healing.

However, in response to the man’s request, Matthew tells us that, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his disease.” (v. 3)

This miracle is amazing in my mind because it tells me that God’s first plan for all of us (we could call this “His will”) is that none of us are sick. The man asks what God’s will is regarding him being healed and the response is both quick and clear that God wants to make him well.

But this might not be the case for everyone. In the world today, sometimes there are people who get sick and they don’t get better. Sometimes sickness ultimately leads to death. This passage clearly states that this is not God’s will (i.e. God’s first plan), but it does allow for God to use the place we are in for His glory.

Perhaps He wants to plant a seed or leave an impression on a doctor or nurse through interacting with you, or maybe He has a divine appointment in mind with a fellow patient. God may even be protecting us from something worse. It’s truly hard to know in the moment what God’s reasons are, but whatever reasons He has, chances are that we won’t be as aware of them in the moment as we will be when we are looking back later.

When we look back on our lives, even if it is looking back from heaven’s perspective, things usually look clearer. We are better able to see how God directed His will through our pain to bring about His glory. It is never God’s will to make or keep anyone sick, but while sin exists in the world, God is able to use sickness that comes for His glory.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Shining from Within: John 6:22-59

Published May 29, 2026 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 6:22-59 (NCV)

22 The next day the people who had stayed on the other side of the lake knew that Jesus had not gone in the boat with his followers but that they had left without him. And they knew that only one boat had been there. 23 But then some boats came from Tiberias and landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the people saw that Jesus and his followers were not there now, they got into boats and went to Capernaum to find Jesus.

25 When the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Teacher, when did you come here?”

26 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you aren’t looking for me because you saw me do miracles. You are looking for me because you ate the bread and were satisfied. 27 Don’t work for the food that spoils. Work for the food that stays good always and gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because on him God the Father has put his power.”

28 The people asked Jesus, “What are the things God wants us to do?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent.”

30 So the people asked, “What miracle will you do? If we see a miracle, we will believe you. What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. This is written in the Scriptures: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven; it is my Father who is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 God’s bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 The people said, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Then Jesus said, “I am the bread that gives life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you before, you have seen me and still don’t believe. 37 The Father gives me the people who are mine. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them. 38 I came down from heaven to do what God wants me to do, not what I want to do. 39 Here is what the One who sent me wants me to do: I must not lose even one whom God gave me, but I must raise them all on the last day. 40 Those who see the Son and believe in him have eternal life, and I will raise them on the last day. This is what my Father wants.”

41 Some people began to complain about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that comes down from heaven.” 42 They said, “This is Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

43 But Jesus answered, “Stop complaining to each other. 44 The Father is the One who sent me. No one can come to me unless the Father draws him to me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 I tell you the truth, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread that gives life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but still they died. 50 Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give up so that the world may have life.”

52 Then the evil people began to argue among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, you must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. Otherwise, you won’t have real life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. 55 My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. 57 The living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father. So whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 I am not like the bread your ancestors ate. They ate that bread and still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said all these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Read John 6:22-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While reading John’s gospel, we learn about an interesting encounter Jesus had the day after He had fed the 5,000. Other gospels include the miraculous walking on water miracle that happened during that night, but only John includes what happens when the crowd finds Jesus on the other side of the lake the next day.

When the crowd found Jesus in Capernaum, they asked Him, “Teacher, when did you come here?” (v. 25)

On the surface, this sounds like a normal question, but underneath the surface, these people are asking how Jesus got around the lake so fast. They knew He wasn’t in the boat with the disciples when left the previous evening, and it was too great a distance to travel by land around the lake in that amount of time.

In this question we find the people seeking the validation that another miracle had happened, but instead of directing the conversation this way, Jesus cuts to the heart of their thoughts by telling them, “I tell you the truth, you aren’t looking for me because you saw me do miracles. You are looking for me because you ate the bread and were satisfied. Don’t work for the food that spoils. Work for the food that stays good always and gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because on him God the Father has put his power.” (v. 26-27)

One big thing I see in this first section of Jesus’ response is the idea that we only look for the things we know we should look for. The people who came to Jesus were looking for food that would satisfy them temporarily, but food that ultimately would need to be replenished.

Instead of focusing on that food, Jesus draws their attention to a different kind of food – a spiritual food that always stays good and that ultimately gives eternal life.

Too often, we treat our spiritual lives like a piece of bread that can satisfy our hunger temporarily, but that needs to continually be replenished. Our spiritual lives end up feeling like a roller coaster as we satisfy our hunger with a high point, before going into a valley where we are fasting again.

However, Jesus calls us to internalize His teaching, and let His teaching transform us from the inside into people who have the gospel joy shining out from within them. These people may experience ups and downs, but even in the lows, they have the food God has provided them. While the people focused on the physical bread, Jesus drew them to the spiritual truth and He wanted them to realize their spiritual potential with Him.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Pointing Upward: John 8:31-59

Published May 27, 2026 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 8:31-59 (NIV)

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Read John 8:31-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

There are a lot of strong points in this passage, but one really big idea stood out to me as I read through this passage: Jesus did not come to give glory to Himself, but to point people to the Father (verses 49-50, 54). This is one of the biggest, mind bending ideas that I have seen shared about Jesus in the gospels: Jesus’ character does not strive to honor or bring glory to Himself.

However, there is another being who desperately wants to take Jesus’ place of honor (Isaiah 14:12-15). By the very nature of wanting to take Jesus’ place, Lucifer’s character runs completely contrary to this idea. He wants the glory to point to himself, because he wants to be the greatest.

Lucifer (Satan) wants to replace Jesus Christ. He tried in heaven, which caused him to be thrown out. I don’t doubt that he will try again here on earth. However, one of the easiest distinctions we can use to determine the true Christ from any false “christ” is this character trait. Boiled down to a simple question, we can ask: “Is this individual seeking glory for themselves, or are they uplifting God, Jesus as is written in the Bible, and not taking credit for their kindness?”

God often spreads our spiritual growth among many teachers (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). This is also uncharacteristic of someone who is seeking all the glory. Someone who wants all the glory is going to want to fill all the stages of growth, because they want to be recognized and honored. Another equally telling trait of a true Christ from a false “christ” is whether they are open to allow God to use a different individual to continue helping someone grow spiritually. Someone seeking their own glory is going to be interested in managing (and/or micromanaging) the growth process and this is counter to the character of Christ.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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