“Whosoever comes to me, I will never drive away.” John 6:37

I’m getting a little help today from my man, Charles H. Spurgeon, a preacher from the 1800’s. He’s my favorite old dead guy; in fact, I call Charles my 19th century boyfriend. PB doesn’t mind because Spurg has been dead for 128 years now. But if we had been alive at the same time, my man PB would have had a run for his money with CHS.

By the time of his death in 1892, Spurgeon had preached 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions.

All without the internet.

Spurgeon on “coming”:

Faith in Christ is simply and truly described as coming to him. It is not an acrobatic feat…it is not an exercise of profound mental faculties…coming is a very simple action indeed; it seems to have only two things about it — one is to come away from something, and the other is to come to something.

One might say, “I don’t understand all the Christian doctrine and theology”. Come anyway, because it doesn’t say whoever understands, let him come.
One might say, “I can’t repent the way I should. My heart is hard and I can’t even weep over my sins or feel bad over them as I should.” Come anyway, because it doesn’t say whoever feels, let him come.
One might say, “I don’t know if I can live the Christian life the way that I should.” Come anyway, because it doesn’t say whoever can, let him come.”
One might say, “I don’t know if I am worthy to live the Christian life.” Come anyway, because it doesn’t say whoever is worthy, let him come.

Spurgeon on “whosoever”:

But mark thee, sinner, it says “whosoever”. What a big word that is! Whosoever! There is no standard height here. It is of any height and any size. Little sinners, big sinners, black sinners, fair sinners, sinners double-dyed, old sinners, aggravated sinners, sinners who have committed every crime in the whole catalogue — whosoever.

See what I mean?
Spurgeon is really something,
but he’s still my second favorite preacher.
PB is my #1 and always will be.

I’ve done my share of telling people to pick up.

Pick up your shoes.
Pick up your room.
Pick up your sweaty, smelly  jersey.
Pick up your cereal bowl with the milk that has curdled
and stinks to high heaven.

During all those years of raising four kids, I didn’t realize how spiritual I was sounding. (Neither did the kids, I’m sure.)

This week my reading was on the miraculous picnic in the pasture.
One little boy + 2 small fish + 5 barley buns + 5,000 men =
Scarcity.
But,
one little boy + 2 small fish + 5 barley buns + 5,000 men + Jesus =
Abundance.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the pieces that are left over.
Let nothing be wasted.”
John 6:12

This is what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus.
There’s lots of picking up involved.

Picking up the toys in the church nursery.
Picking up the marshmallow sticks the youth group left in the fit pit.
Picking up the coffee cups and bulletins in the pews on Monday mornings.
Picking up the elderly neighbor and giving him a ride to church.
Picking up the soup for the Lent soup suppers.
Picking up the child who fell and scraped her knee.
Picking up the burdens of a friend who is grieving a loss.
Picking up the pen to write a check to someone in need.
Picking up the garbage on the side of the road.
Picking up the phone to speak words of encouragement.
Picking up the Word to keep the soul restored.

None of it is a waste.
All of it is abundance in the hand of the Master.

So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets
with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
John 6:13

This week’s reading: John 6 (deeper study on 6:35-44)
Next week’s reading: John 7 (deeper study on 7:37-46)

It’s February in Wisconsin.
I’m not gonna lie — sitting poolside somewhere warm and balmy
sounds pretty darn good right now.
However, sitting by a pool for thirty-eight years, hoping for a miracle
probably was pretty darn depressing.

“Do you want to get well?”  John 5:6

Jesus directed this question to a man
who had been an invalid for 38 years.

That would be like talking to someone today
who has been in a wheelchair since 1982.

Remember 1982?  That was back when Michael Jackson released “Thriller” and thrilled us with the moonwalk. We listened to MJ on newfangled little records called CDs. Ronald Reagan was President and we all went to the movie theaters to see “E.T.” phone home. That was a long time ago.

In 1982, I watched the Brewers play in the World Series while waiting for my first child to arrive. In 38 years, PB and I have had four babies which led to four weddings, and eleven grand babies — a whole new generation. Thirty-eight years is a long time.

Maybe the crippled man didn’t hear the question.  It was a “Yes/No” question but he didn’t give Jesus a straight answer. Instead, he wanted to talk about his past 38 miserable years. He had good excuses — no one would help him get into the healing waters, all the other cripples were faster than he was, it was hard lying by the pool every day.

But Jesus didn’t want to hear it.
He told the man to get up, clean up, and go home.

“Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!” John 5:8

Sometimes Jesus heals people, whether they want it or not.

This week’s reading: John 5 (deeper study on 5:5-15)
Next week’s reading: John 6 (deeper study on 6:5-15)

“He told me everything I ever did.” John 4:39

Suppose you have to walk to the edge of town to draw water from the well. A man is sitting there but that doesn’t phase you. You know how to handle men. At least at high noon you’re avoiding the other women who look at you on the sly and whisper.

Then suppose the stranger starts some friendly small talk about water.  He even asks you for a drink. Before you know it, the chit-chat turns into something deeper — deeper than the well you’re standing beside. He seems to know about every one of your relationship failures, all the insecurities raging inside you, and even your confusion about religion.

This person confronts you with all your crap.

Suddenly, you feel exposed. Try as you might to change the subject, the stranger brings it back around to the uncomfortable truth. He calls you out. How do you respond?

Are you offended?
Do you defensively tell him to mind his own business?
Do you take your bucket and hightail it out of there?

Or do you hustle back to town and run through the streets yelling,
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did!
Could this be the Messiah?”
John 4:29

Lord, when You call me out, help me to be unoffendable.

This week’s reading: John 4 (deeper study on 4:1-10)
Next week’s reading: John 5 (deeper study on 5:5-15)