The context of the annual Festival of Dedication of the Temple gives a special meaning to Jesus’ claim [of His divinity in John 10:30]. On this festival of the return of the LORD to his Temple (after its desecration by the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes) Jesus is claiming that He Himself is the abode of God. [Indeed,] throughout the Gospel, Jesus has been making His own the institutions of Judaism. At Cana, He takes over the jars of water for Jewish rites of purification, making them the wine of His wedding-feast. Then He goes to Jerusalem and [functionally] replaces the perishable Temple with the Temple which is His Body. He makes the Sabbath His own by working on it as only God may do. He, rather than the manna provided by Moses, is the life-giving Bread from heaven. At Tabernacles, the festival of light and water, He declares that He is the Light of the world and the Source of Living Water. Finally, He will make the Passover His own at the Last Supper, and as the paschal lamb. It is this [record of so acting and speaking with Divinely transmutative religious authority] which gives the context and significance to the claim that ‘I and the Father are one.’ [Tragically, even though] the hostile question of the Jews [sparked] off Jesus’ sayings, [they are still unwilling to accept His unchanging response] and immediately after this passage they take up stones to throw at Him, [only misunderstanding] His claim to be one with the Father as blasphemy [rather than Truth].
The scripture for today is John 10:30 where Jesus says in the ESV, “I and the Father are one.” As Father’s Day approaches, let’s remember that we have a Father in Heaven who is perfect in every way, and we have access to his love through the person of Jesus Christ.
Read today’s devotional for June 16
Listen to to the podcast of this scripture for today.
According to the Bible, Jesus is both fully God and fully human. Jesus is God's perfect mediator between God, humanity. John 10:30: Jesus declares His unity and oneness with the Father. He says, "I and my Father are one." This statement is a reflection of the profound spiritual truth that Jesus Christ and the Father are one in purpose and nature. This verse shows that Jesus is more than a human being born with a special connection with God. He is actually the incarnation of God Himself. Because He is one in the Father, He also is one with us. We are united with Him when we place our faith in Jesus. This union gives us strength and hope in the face of all life's challenges and trials. This verse shows us that Christ is always with us, and we are never alone. When we think about this verse, remember that Jesus is more than a historical figure. Jesus is the Lord and Savior, who wants to establish a personal relationship between each of us. Let us trust in His faithful love and take comfort in His promises.
We are so thankful for Jesus Christ's gift, Dear Lord. We have access to God through Him and to eternal life. We are grateful for Your kindness and grace and thank You for all the blessings you have bestowed on us. We need to remember that salvation is only through Christ, and that we cannot live without Him. Give us the wisdom and strength we need to share Your Good News with others so that they may also experience the joy of a relationship. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
it's so significant to me that do you believe in miracles paralleled all hell breaks loose specifically. because ahbl is the first time dean violates sam's autonomy to bring him back to life. it shows the extreme lengths that dean will go to protect sam, and despite all the other times dean has ignored sam's personhood in his pursuit to keep him alive, this is the moment in the show that fully exemplifies just how codependent these two really are, because there's an entire season dedicated to the consequences of that codependency.
so for dybim to take that imagery and scenario and reverse the roles means that this is supposed to be just as indicative of their codependence. it's a threshold that will have major consequences because sam crossed over the point of no return. there's no going back from choosing unhealthy codependency with your brother, the show is signaling. dean is sam's ultimate decision—he doesn't choose himself, he doesn't choose independence, he chooses dean, and all that that entails. he probably only realizes that all of his posturing about autonomy was a lie at the very moment he says it out loud, but once he's finally honest with himself it's a done deal. just like dean can never go back from his deal for sam's life, sam can never return to any point before this moment. he's in this relationship for good, and he wants to be codependent with dean; that's his decision.
and this is why soul survivor hurts so bad. because dean, like sam in season 9, declares that they're not family, not brothers. the role reversal continues, and sam is now suffering all of the pains he unwittingly put dean through by trying to maintain boundaries between them. now that he's realized he can't handle having those boundaries, any distance between him and dean is too much. here sam is, violating dean's autonomy and saving him against his will, just like dean has done to him so many times before. here he is, listening to dean reject him over and over again, like a parody of all sam's attempts to extricate himself from dean. he's on the other side now, staring down his brother and seeing his past self within him.
9.23 to 10.03 is just a speedrun of the previous 8 seasons but in reverse, with sam enduring the suffering of being in dean's position. and how tragic is it for sam to finally commit to his codependent relationship with dean, only for dean to leave him the moment it happens? how must that feel, for him to finally return his brother's feelings in all their toxic and fucked up glory, only to lose him in the worst way? to have all of his own words shouted back at him with the cruel intent to hurt—jesus christ. how am i supposed to cope with this in any normal way?
John 10:27-30 (TPT). “My own sheep will hear my voice and I know each one, and they will follow me. I give to them the gift of eternal life and they will never be lost and no one has the power to snatch them out of my hands. My Father, who has given them to me as his gift, is the mightiest of all, and no one has the power to snatch them from my Father’s care. The Father and I are one.”
John 10:27-30 (MSG). “Jesus answered, “My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind.”
will wood this, shayfer james that. I’m breaking new ground here, assigning the horror podcast protagonist to like seven different mumford & sons songs
Tens of thousands of people have been fired in the tech sector in the last six months alone. With the economy the way it is, and with people who are already unable to get a job, I wonder how an extra 20,000+ jobseekers are going to have any luck finding work.
Twenty years after a flu pandemic resulted in the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors who make their living as traveling performers encounter a violent cult led by a man whose past is unknowingly linked to a member of the troupe.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand
Daily Gospel Reading – John 10:22-30
Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims22 Then came the Festival of Dedication[a] at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you…
“Keeping In Step with Christ” This 1-minute devotion explains why Christ told us to take His YOKE and 4 ways we can make sure we're doing it:
We always get out of step when we try to bear our own burdens, solve our own problems, and operate in our own power.
We need a yoke* that connects us with Christ so we can move in step with Him:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Yoked to Christ, we walk where He walks:
1. Dwelling on His Word:
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly” (Colossians 3:16a).
2. Rejecting popular worldly philosophies:
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8).
3. Following His purposes:
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
4. Walking in His power and strength:
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).
Jesus says, "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be" (John 12:26).
Best of all, when we move in step with Christ, we find rest for our souls.
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*Yoke: "zygós – properly, a yoke; a wooden bar placed over the neck of a pair of animals so they can pull together; (figuratively) what unites (joins) two people to move (work) together as one."
For a deeper understanding of taking Christ's yoke:
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Click here for this week’s Teaching
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