JOHN

It is Sunday!  Yeah, I love Sundays!  The last two days, we had an amazing men's meeting.  It was our annual Mighty Men's Meeting.  God used Pastor Mike Johnson to stir our hearts for the LORD and our families.  The last two days, I left my reading Bible at Church, so I have been using one at home, and I didn't have it marked where I stopped reading in my reading Bible.  So, I was into John, and then read the last of Luke again, and now I was reading in John again this morning.  Needless to say, I will have to find out where I'm supposed to be and get there.  Until then, here are a few thoughts from John: 1) GROWTH TO FAITH- In John 9, we see the man who was born blind healed by Jesus Christ.  His sight is restored to him.  His parents recognize him, but don't know how he had his sight given to him since he was indeed born blind.  But, we see after his healing, he grows to faith in Christ as more than a healer, but as God's Son, the Savior of the world.  In verse 17, he says: "He is a prophet."  Then in verse 27 he says:  "Will ye also be his disciple?" (vs. 28) "Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples."  Then he said in verse 33:  "If this man were not of God, he could do nothing."  Jesus then meets him in verse 35 and asks: "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" He answers in verse 38, "And he said, Lord, I believe.  And he worshipped him."  We see here in this chapter, the man's growth to faith.  Thank God for those people and events in our lives that God gave us to draw us to an understanding of Christ and a desire to trust Christ alone as our Savior.  2) UNPLUCKABLE- John 10:28 reads:  "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (29)  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."  So you see dear friend, we are unpluckable!  Now we did not put ourselves in the Father's hand, so we cannot pull our ownselves out of the Father's hand.  Christ put us in the Father's hand when we placed our Faith in Christ.  Faith is an act, not a sustaining process.  An act in time, that has a forward enduring results into eternity.  Once that act has happened we remain in God's hand.  Now we can still deny Him, but He remaineth faithful, and whom He loved, he chasteneth.  Now, God deals with us as sons.  Scourging us if He has to to get our attention and obedience.  That Father-Child relationship will never die.  We are indeed:  "Unpluckable".  Well, this is all I will write on this morning.  I'm looking for a great day in the LORD!  May you have one too!  Pastor Mike Mutchler