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11: Living by Faith – Hit the Mark — 7 Comments

  1. Thank you for this lesson. I have always loved this scripture and Peter's remark is so very appropriate. He is not so unlike most of us, ready to fully follow even though he falls.

    (5)
  2. I appreciate the word of God because it reveals to us instructions, encouragement and the love of God. I am learning that walking and depending on God can be trusted. God promised never to leave us nor forsake us. Those close to us and others will fail us from time to time, but God is faithful who will not forsake Those who trust in Him. I choose Jesus.

    (3)
  3. When it comes to the sermon on the bread of life I ask myself what would I have done if I was a first century Jew. Moses clearly set the flesh of man as unclean food along with blood that was forbidden to be consumed so to me they were correct from a literal point of view. The problem, as I see it, is that those people were too used to considering the literal in scripture rather than the spiritual. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (Jn. 6:63 NKJV).

    On this the disciples were no better off than the rest of the crowd. They quite often asked for explanation of parables that were illustrations of Christ's kingdom and had problems understanding spiritual statements (Mat 16:5-11). They also couldn't understand why Jesus didn't align Himself with the Pharisees and argued among themselves about who was going to be the greatest and sit on favored side of Christ on His throne as though the kingdom of God was being like it is in the world. To them what He was about was a complete mystery yet when asked if they were going to leave also they couldn't deny the miracles and the others things they saw. After committing themselves as disciples where else could they go whether they understood Him or not?

    But then - as a church we have the same problem, don't we.

    (3)
    • Yes, Tyler. "But for the grace of God, there go I." And just as Judas came close to Jesus but turned away at the last moment, we must not trust ourselves that our past or present experience is enough. We all have room to grow stronger in grace, and the events to come will demand more fortitude the closer we get to Jesus' return. Thank God, we can have the assurance of His faithfulness in supporting all who will take hold of His wisdom and strength.

      (1)
  4. See how alluring food can be. The crowd anticipated to have food, only to have such good teaching from God in His son. We can approach and preach to the World through our kind hearts.

    (3)
  5. There are lessons to be learned from what happened as Christians. We shouldn't be deceived by our immediate needs in this life. We should focus on what we have been promised by Christ our Lord and Saviour. The everlasting life the gospel is assuring the faithful ones should remind us of the desire to follow Jesus faithfully.

    (3)
  6. Thoughts to ponder. How do I apply some of the teachings of Jesus that
    are difficult to understand, such as the verses that were referred to in John 6:53-55? It was a revolting thought to many of His disciples that had been followers and it doesn't sound appealing to me unless I decide to take up cannibalism. Is this in the category of metaphoric or symbolism? John 16:25 calls it figurative. One needs to read the preceding verses, from verse John 6:22 on. Focusing on verse 29,32,35-40, to get the entire picture and understand the reason for what Jesus said in verses 53-55. The 12 disciples didn't fully understand some of things that Jesus taught. In John 16:25 Jesus admits to speaking figuratively but does not explain why. In John 16:29,30 the disciples tell Jesus how much better it is to be talking plainly. Jesus is not convinced, verse 31. Maybe it has something to do with faith?

    (2)

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