Something Greater

John 18: Jesus Knows, Jesus Keeps, Jesus Controls Too many times my days seem like a blur of tension, expecting something to be difficult or disappointing, struggling with things that are difficult and disappointing, or looking back with resentment at things that were difficult and disappointing. In other words, I often act as if I am living alone, with no guidance or support from heaven. I act as if I know little about God as Creator and Father. I stress out as if Jesus were not my Lord, and as if I had no divine Helper. I act as if I'm ignorant. From this passage we can see how false those emotions are, and we can draw three big ideas about Jesus: Jesus knows everything that will happen, and all that belongs to him he keeps, and he controls all events. Big Idea #1: Jesus knows all that will happen. John 18:4 (ESV) Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” KNOWING: oida "OY-da" (to see, li...

Happiness Does the Bible say that Christians should seek happiness? It seems that "happiness" has acquired a bad reputation , at least with many Christians. The word seems to have connotations of cheap worldliness, or fleeting fancifulness. Some try to distinguish between joy and happiness, exalting joy and denigrating happiness . What does "happiness" mean? Is it something less than "joy"? Does the Bible exalt joy over happiness? HAPPINESS: (good luck, good fortune, prosperity; a state of well-being and pleasurable satisfaction; bliss) HAPPY: (favored by hap, luck or fortune) HAP: (chance, happening, luck) "Hap" is an old-fashioned word that simply means an event or incident. To be "happy" means to regard an event or incident as good or fortunate. "Happiness" is an experience that one considers to be favorable, pleasureable, or good . Because experience is closely followed by emotion, happiness has come to...

Then We Worship "Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God. Without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self." John Calvin "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, - Give me a drink, - you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." John 4:10 (ESV) Worship requires two distinct elements of knowledge: the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves . Alone, neither is sufficient for worship. We can recognize the majesty and power of God only in comparing it to our own misery and poverty. In other words, imagine if it were possible for a human to have no true self-awareness, no knowledge of their own limited power or intelligence . Allowed to observe God or to sense God's work, the human would simply accept every observation as completely normal. The human, in fact, would be unable to place any value or worth upon God's work. It would be similar to bringing an inf...