As we have explored several very
special conversations that Jesus had
with individuals during His earthly
ministry we have witnessed the very
perceptive, compassionate and discerning
way that He related to each
of these folks. While His comments
to them had specific relevance to
each one, His words continue to
speak to our hearts and to our lives
today.
I am so grateful for Jesus’ bold statement to Nicodemus that
he must be ‘born again’, for His response to the Samaritan
woman when He offered her ‘living water’ and for His tender,
compassionate forgiveness extended to Peter after his
monumental failure of betrayal and denial of his relationship
with Jesus. In each case, Jesus ministered to the individual
right there before Him and, as He did, His words and actions
to them provide guidance, counsel, and hope for what we
experience now.
These conversations are literally packed with meaning, entire
books have been written about them and yet we have only
scratched the surface of these stories. As we mentioned last
week, the greatest collection of conversations with Jesus are
found in the experiences of the disciples, however, they are
not all recorded as specific discussions. Much of what we see
in scripture is really a collection of shorter discussions, perhaps
even a comment or two from this one or that one as
they walked, ministered, and just lived life together.
Beginning next week we will explore some of these types of
communications with Jesus that may be more like a statement
or two, from a disciple or two, and then Jesus’ response
to them. But before we go there, we have another
disciple or two who shared very meaningful and specific experiences
with Jesus and who came to see their lives in a
whole new way than ever before.
For our scripture passage this week we will begin in the same
place that we did last week, however, we will follow a different
set of experiences and hear some very important insights
from yet another disciple. This disciple presents a very
unique perspective and inspires us, perhaps more so than any
of the others, to ‘be and do’ all that Jesus calls us to ‘be and
do’ right here today in Lubbock, Texas.
Warmly,
Pastor Phil Robertson
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