“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” John 3:16
The question is believe what? What does Jesus say about Himself in the Gospel of John?
I am the Messiah
John 4:25-26 “The woman said to Him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything. Jesus said to her, “I am He, the one who is speaking to you.”
I am the Bread of Life
John 6:35 “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
John 6:48 “I am the bread of life.”
John 6:51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven’ whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
I am the Light of the World
John 8:12 “Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 9:5 “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
I AM (God)
John 8:24 “That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believer that I AM, you will die in your sins.”
John 8:28 “So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father has taught me.:
John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you , before Abraham came to be, I AM.’”
John 13:19 “From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe that I AM.”
John 18:4-8 “Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to Him, went out and said to them, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ They answered him, ‘Jesus the Nazorean.’ He said to them, ‘I AM.’ Judas his betrayer was also with them. When he said them, ‘I AM,’ they tuned away and fell to the ground. So He again asked them, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ They said, ‘Jesus the Nazorean.’ Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for m, let these men go.’”
I am the Gate
John 10:7 “I am the gate for the sheep.”
John 10:9 “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.”
I am the Good Shepherd
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; and I know mine and mine know me.”
I am the Son of God
John 10:36 “Can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’”
I am the Resurrection
John 11:25 “Jesus told her “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.’”
I am Teacher
John 13:13 “You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indead I am.’”
John 18:8
I am the Way, the Truth, the Life
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
I am the Vine
John 15:1 “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”
I am a King
John 18:37 "So Pilate said to Him, ’Then you are a king?’ Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’”
"What matters in life is that we are loved by Christ and that we love Him in return. In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary. And without the love of Jesus, everything else is useless." St. John Paul II
+++++++++++++++++++++God's timing is not our timing, but He is never late.+++++++++++++++
"If we're open to it, God can use even the smallest thing to change our lives." Donna Van Liere, The Christmas Shoes
"If we're open to it, God can use even the smallest thing to change our lives." Donna Van Liere, The Christmas Shoes
Layers - in the knowledge of God and the path to holiness
Learning about God is like unwrapping a head of lettuce, pealing back one leaf at a time. Always there is another leaf below. We will eventually reach the center of the head of lettuce; but we will never unwrap everthing there is to know about God.
The path to holiness is like pealing an onion. God shows us what is sinful and convicts us that we have sinned. No matter how sweet the onion, there are always tears in the peeling. No matter how sweet the grace of repentence, there are always the pain of letting go of the sin. As the peeling of the onion reveals another layer, so God shows us what we lack in holiness, drawing us ever closer to "be(ing) perfect even just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48
The path to holiness is like pealing an onion. God shows us what is sinful and convicts us that we have sinned. No matter how sweet the onion, there are always tears in the peeling. No matter how sweet the grace of repentence, there are always the pain of letting go of the sin. As the peeling of the onion reveals another layer, so God shows us what we lack in holiness, drawing us ever closer to "be(ing) perfect even just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48
What I Believe
Why I am and always will be a Catholic. "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. Tthe living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever." John 6:53-58 The words and actions of man cannot sanctify. Only the priest, empowered by his ordination, can invoke the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine into Jesus so we can receive Him - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity into our bodies and souls. This is the core of the Catholic Church; without this there is no purpose or meaning to the Catholic Church. There are other ways to holiness, to grow in grace; there is no better way than union with Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
Visitation Catholic Church
Friday, October 22, 2010
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