Splendor Of Heaven

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OK to use any portion of this book for any good, any time, anywhere. We welcome all questions and comments! ☺ [email protected]

Contents He Gave The Word It’s WHO You Know I’m Loved What A Woman ! Is God Nuts ? That Amazing Andrew Dynamic Or Dynamite Freedom ! On Cloud Niner Kids Love Him Raindrops Or Teardrops? …LIFE death LIFE… Forever Happy Feet The Only WTL Garden Glory Steel Yourself ! Knowing God The Night “IT IS FINISHED” !!!!!!!!!!!! The Reason To Live All We Need Is ___

John 1 John 2 John 3 John 4 John 5 John 6 John 7 John 8 John 9 John 10 John 11 John 12 John 13 John 14 John 15 John 16 John 17 John 18 John 19 John 20 John 21

5 8 11 15 18 21 24 28 30 32 35 38 41 44 48 52 54 56 58 61 64

Foreword You can meet God. I mean, without dying. First step: ya gotta listen. I know, we can’t hook our finger in his belt loop, shake His hand, take in a Big Game, or whatever together. But, He talks to us all the time in a million ways…through a baby’s eyes, a toddler’s laugh, a teen’s energy, a graduate’s first job, a bride’s happy tears, (a runaway groom who came back), etc. The Bible tells us that God created the universe by speaking; (Genesis chapters 1-2). Finally, 21st century astrophysics tells us the same thing, that the universe “exploded” into existence. THANK YOU, modern scientists; glad you’re awake! God created the universe long ago, but He’s not loafing around. He’s re-creating; (Ephesians 2:8-10). He does it through the written word and the living Word. 3

Question: COULD YOU READ THE BIBLE FIVE MINUTES A DAY ? It might be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, simply because it’s war out there. The enemy knows where the power is at. After that initial reading in God’s Word (starting at John chapter 1), go ahead and check out my feeble comments in this tiny book for that chapter. 21 chapters in all. 21 days. But, you’ll forget 95% by the next day. How about having a notebook and pen nearby to record those gems! Then you could write something down each day, if only one word. Maybe a verse that infuses or confuses you. Maybe a prayer need. Make sure to date it. Then watch God work. He will. ~ bob mulloy

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He Gave The Word Please read John chapter 1, especially verses 1-5 and 9-14.

Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates were world class wordsmiths. Their brilliance dazzled minds in ancient Greece when sterling eloquence was everything. 2000 years ago, if you were Greek, you spoke the international language. Nowadays, if you’re a Geek….you speak computer languages! (sorry). The New Testament was written in Greek. Embrace the gospel in your heart language and you’ll meet God. The first three verses of chapter one introduce Christ as “the Word” (Gk. “logos”). God’s logic! In this chapter one, the Spirit choreographs Jesus as eternal, divine, creator, the source of life, the light of men, the true light, dispenser of eternal privileges as children of God, full of grace and truth, the Lamb of God, Rabbi, 5

Messiah (“Isa Almasih” in Arabic), Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph, King of Israel, Son of Man, and much, much more! Believers will see videos on this for billions of years, but for now we just get snapshots. Verse 9. Immanuel is inclusive: eternal Jesus has given “light” to every red-blooded human being (pretty much everybody). The Word incarnate has spoken to everyone’s heart. Some respond; others don’t. All humanity has “been given one blessing after another” (vs. 16), having been made in the image and likeness of this God-man. Some people live in thanksgiving for those blessings; others don’t. Andrew did. He was one of the first two people that Jesus picked out. What was his response? “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother...” (verse 41). Peter was lost, but Andrew brought him to Jesus, which changed everything. 6

Not everyone can be President, CEO, MVP, etc. But everyone can be wise like Andrew, putting investments where you plan to spend eternity. It’s Who we know personally that determines who we become forever. PRAYER: Lord, I’m in a war. I’ve GOT TO WIN against the darkness. HELP! Please don’t race through this book. When you do this 21-day tour, you’ll find signpost treasures every day along the way. And, the President of the universe will have some surprises for you, including love, joy, peace… things that you can’t pick up at Walmart. Questions: 1. You got pen and paper? 2. Did you read the Word at least five min today? 3. Are you desperate for a miracle? If so, read on.

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It’s WHO You Know Please read John chapter 2, especially verses 1-9.

“Indescribably delicious! This wine is so sweeeeeeet. Who made it?” asked the wedding host ‘n hostess, bride ’n groom. Nobody had a clue, except for the servants; they knew; verse 9. Twenty minutes earlier, they were ordered to bring out more wine. HELP! It already was “out”. What to do? You can’t get new brew from California raisins! Some of the servants probably groaned, “I don’t know where my next meal is coming from if I lose this job. We need a miracle now! ” Thankfully, Jesus was there. He spoke and… Voila! No magic, no tricks, just the power of God. Water morphed to wine. The servants knew Who did it. You don’t let a man like that walk away. 8

You follow Him because no one else in the universe is worthy of your allegiance. Besides, the world is scary sometimes. Some of those servants followed Jesus to Jerusalem, saw more miracles and believed; (verse 23). They couldn’t deny the empirical evidence of the God-man. The best perk: He loved them! Sorry to say, we anthropoids are a little out to lunch; (with no water or wine). We innocuously coast, and soon are out to sea. The enemy of life says: if it feels good, do it. We’re duped, and we do it. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down. But we’re still alive, so let’s learn together! Let’s learn from the Chinese pictogram for “crisis”. It has two components: danger and opportunity. In the heartaches of life, the DANGER is to wimp out or check out. Don’t do that. Instead, use the OPPORTUNITY to let God in. 9

“I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in…” is the solid rock promise of the King of kings; Revelation 3:20. As long as you’re breathing, He’ll keep knocking. GOD LOVES YOU ! Don’t track that beautiful bride and glassyeyed groom who welcomed all the guests except the Guest. Let’s follow the servants’ example. Their crisis was not their Waterloo, because they let Jesus do what they couldn’t do. It’s Who you know, intimately. Questions: 1. Who do you know and respect intimately? 2. Do you know Christ? What difference does that make?

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I’m Loved Please read John chapter 3, especially verses 1-16.

“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god…” We hear it ad infinitum. Some people have so many! Hinduism has over 300 million. Who is GOD? Where is GOD? We may empirically seek and find, doing so with an open heart and mind. Actually, we MUST. But first, a reminder about gravity. A fool denied this law all his life, until one day he went skydiving without a parachute. Ouch. Then there was the college professor who worshipped daily at the idol of tolerance, sanctioned witchcraft sacrifices and demonic dirtballs, but denied God and all absolutes. Freshman: “Do you mean that everything is relative and nothing is absolute?”, Prof (screaming): “Absolutely!” (oops)

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I like Valentine’s Day, but it was pretty iffy as a teen. I held my breath all day, hoping nobody would notice. At age 14, I went to live at a high school monastery for four years with a hundred guys; no girls. Valentine’s day was a non-event there; (I hope). At age 20 I began to read God’s word. In page after page He kept saying the same thing: “I LOVE YOU”. He backs it up objectively. The subjective experience comes next, in the lab of life, BELIEVING (John 3:16) and THEN SEEING that God’s love that is ABSOLUTELY pure, strong, wise, and inclusive. Everybody’s invited to this party today, tomorrow, every day that the sun ‘comes up’, and then FOREVER in God’s family. He loves you and me, just as we are; (sniff, sniff). He also loves us too much to leave us as we are since there are a few hundred things that need tweaking in you and me; (that hurt). 12

Thankfully, He’s on call to ‘fix stuff’ whenever we’re ready to enjoy the “life” of John 3:16 which is qualitative, not quantitative. It’s astounding, even at those embryonic first hours of Scripture reading, to hear the Creator say “I love you. Let’s walk together”. Have you ever noticed the narcissism of humanity? In industry, for example, we revel in our genius of Quality Control, as if it’s our idea! We’re tiny specks on a golf ball. But we are specks! At the least, we are mirror reflections of a brilliant Creator who, for example, made the sun, moon and “…also made the stars”, (Genesis 1:16c) incidentally, numbering 3,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the observable universe which is much smaller than the UNobservable part of the universe. The Bible teaches that God “spoke” the universe into existence. He did it with His fingertips; Psalm 8:3. Creation was painless. 13

Redemption was gut-wrenching. In predictive imagery, the prophet Isaiah’s 53rd chapter describes the sacrificial Lamb. That heart-wrenching, back-breaking, herculean, humongous job got done only because the ALMIGHTY God of the Universe rolled up His sleeves and used every ounce of strength imaginable. Comment: The same God loves you. He’s all you need .

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What A Woman ! Please read John chapter 4, especially verses 1-15.

This woman was fearless. That sometimes cooked her goose, but not today. She met Jesus. Then she introduced Him to everybody else, including her five former hubbies; verse 30. (You thought Hollywood hobos were bad!) None of “the twelve” disciples had that much success their first day on the job. We don’t even know her name. Yet. She was notorious, and any NEWS FLASH about her mega-morph would draw bigger crowds than sky-high freaks at Woodstock. But, James and John (“sons of thunder”), Peter and the guys weren’t wallflowers either. What was it about her that made her READY for “living water” (verses 10-15)? She was tired. She was also perceptive; she knew Jesus was radically different than the religious “good old boys”. 15

But she wanted to debate Jesus first. She lost (we all do). For example, Muslim adherents are logically correct in believing there is no way almighty God would have allowed Jesus to die on the cross. He was a good man, a great prophet. It was Judas Iscariot who died on the cross as a just punishment for his evil in selling Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. We must agree with this flawless rationale of one billion neighbors. Our response? Mercy triumphs over judgment. Jesus could have ran from the cross, but He ran to it. He started and finished His work in three short years. That’s all He needed to show us how to live, and how to die. In His death, he killed no one, but made everyone “save-able”. God is wise enough and strong enough to have devised an easy alternate to dying for thankless humanity. NO WAY I WOULD GIVE MY SON OR DAUGHTER to die for anybody. No way I would wash somebody’s feet, knowing he would betray me a few hours later. 16

God could have found an easy way, but He chose the most convincing way: you can trust the Person who died for you. But this is just a premise until we receive Him as propitiator. The woman at the well was never thirsty again; verse 14. Jesus taught her to worship; verses 23-24. This included living to love. She also learned to live in complete confidence, unlike the somber Sadducees (sad, you see), who didn’t believe God could do anything. Jesus also taught her to worship in truth. He became her Emancipation Proclamator, freeing her from all human hells. She was ecstatic at this Light in the darkness, never again to hug half-truths or hang with downright diabolics. (Yup, deceivers are going down, big time. Check out Revelation 20:7-10 for the final core.) Question: If you were that woman, what would you have done? 17

Is God Nuts? Please read John chapter 5, especially verses 19-25.

A carpenter claims to be God over 65 times in the 47 verses of this chapter. Jesus used the pronouns “I”, “me”, and “my” 35 times, making LITERAL reference to his deity. In addition, He makes FIGURATIVE reference 30 times to his deity. What’s your take on that??? I already know. By sworn allegiance, you’re already bondserving” joyfully (Exodus 21:1-6) Jesus Christ, and will do so forever. You hear his voice, and gladly follow, because your ears are pierced. Or, by indecision, religion, or indignation, you’ve relegated His claims as God to be a boldface liar’s deception or a bouncing lunatic’s delusion. There’s no middle ground.

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Verse 34. “I don’t depend on what people say about me” said Jesus. He rejected any and all attempts of his “fans” for a run at the Presidency. Why? Because His purpose was eternal, not ephemeral. Jesus did miracles everyday, exemplified in this chapter, instantaneously healing an invalid who had suffered 38 years; verses 1-13. Unfortunately, the religious elite of the day were so earthly-minded they weren’t any heavenly-good. They wanted to kill Jesus; verse 11. Why? Because He spoke the truth about them. The whole world had gone after Jesus, not them. Piety’s proponents should be glad that God came to earth, loving everybody, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, freeing the demonized, etc.

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But most folks aren’t glad. They prefer profits to prophets, and certainly not the Creator of heaven and earth. He’s bad for business. Jesus was undaunted. He is unconditionally committed to imperfect people; John 5:24. Put your ear to his heart, and with each beat you’ll hear I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU. Questions: 1. If you say Jesus was a great prophet (HUMAN, not divine), how could he be a true prophet of the true God if he accepted worship? Wouldn’t that make him an egomaniac, or at least a false prophet, or liar ? 2. Jesus claimed to be God, as do many schizophrenic people. If you say Jesus was a great teacher (HUMAN, not divine), but neither God nor a pathological liar, you must logically conclude that Jesus is a lunatic. Are you crazy enough to do that?

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That Amazing Andrew Please read John chapter 6, especially verses 1-21.

What do you do if your brother is big Peter? Who knows (going back a bit) what Andrew’s reaction was as he saw Peter, from day one, and onward. Maybe it was like the school girl who wrote this letter to Heaven: Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. ~ Joyce

Verses 5-13. 5000+ people needed a miracle meal. Andrew stepped up and they all got one! Andrew had walked with Jesus for several months already (maybe a year?) and had seen Him do miracles that only God can do. He was close to Jesus. Andrew didn’t just hang around Jesus. He HUNG with Jesus. 21

I heard a radio DJ “grilling” a pastor recently. The woman reporter was degrading him, as one of his church’s teenagers had just killed three people. The pastor’s response was: “These are extremely difficult days for those families and for us. We are all in shock, and have wept and prayed much today. We have no where to go but God. This is all we can do, but this is also the best we can do.” I’ve got an awesome nephew named Andrew. God has big plans for him too… maybe one day becoming an awesome servant of the Savior, just like his dad. There’s no higher calling. Questions: 1. In your times of crisis, what do you do? 2. Do you have someone like Andrew in your life? If not, it’s probably time to ask for one?

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John 6:35

“I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry. No one who has faith in Me will ever be thirsty.”

JESUS

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Dynamic Or Dynamite Please read John chapter 7, especially verses 1718 and 37-39.

You get to choose. Engage in dynamic relationship with the Lover of your soul, Almighty God. No regrets, ever. OR, continued slavery to the enemy of your soul, with the only shred of purpose (per the Scumbag) being to end well by dynamiting somebody. Those were the only two choices if you lived in Palestine in 33 A.D. John chapter 7 is the volatile drama of the Feast of Tabernacles that year. For Jesus, it was a roller-coaster week: rejection (by family and community), teaching the Word, being branded as demon possessed, being subject to murderous mobs, seeing many come to faith, more teaching, more rejection and danger.

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Karl Marx was right about one thing. When denigrating religion, he was correct in seeing religion as opiate. Yet he failed in not seeing that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Though he castigated artists and thinkers, his communism in actuality simply bred a different type of elite. In reality, society’s hierarchy is typically and hopelessly inflated by egotism. Such was the noxious narcissism of “religion” in first century Palestine. They gladly nailed their King. Verse 17. Jesus told pretenders that they could know God’s truth, if they would be willing to live it. They weren’t willing. They didn’t want Heaven’s banquet. They enjoyed dumpster delights. Verse 20. We get a clearer but sadder look at those religion leaders. They couldn’t win the debate against Jesus. So, they simply accused Him of being a demoniac. When they saw honest seekers believing in Him, these new believers were labeled as deceived; verse 47. 25

When a man of integrity (Nicodemus) appealed to the due process of law, he was mocked as lawless; verse 52. Verse 37. “JESUS STOOD UP AND SHOUTED: ‘If you are thirsty, come to me and drink!’” He’s not sitting around. He’s standing, knocking at your door. Marx correctly criminalized religionists as pimps and parasites. Without a dynamic relationship with the risen Christ, all you get is decadent dominion. It anesthetizes, at best. At its worst, it annihilates. Will pompous mankind someday totally vaporize everybody, or just the aged, the handicapped, the poor? It doesn’t have to be that way. The Almighty has provided Life for those who will humbly receive. THEN you have something priceless to share all the time with anyone. 26

Verse 38. Jesus says: “Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say”. Incredible ! This WELL will never run dry. Questions: 1. Have you chosen life over death? 2. Have you tasted the living water? Is it good enough to share with someone else? Let’s do it !

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Freedom ! Please read John chapter 8, especially verses 32-36.

Jesus was homeless, in the sense of not having a permanent address in this passing world. Verse 1. Everyone went to his home, but Jesus went to the mountains. But Jesus was “at home” with his Father all the time. That’s the source of freedom. NOT religion, but relationship with the living God. Jesus lived in that dynamic liberty, despite any and all challenges. The truth frees. To the degree that we neglect Life, we may be Mardi Gras party animals par exuberance, but will remain wallflowers and clueless forever. Verse 32. The big IF. We must hold to His teaching, but that’s IMPOSSIBLE if He’s not holding us. If He’s not living in us, by His Spirit, no way He can work through us. 28

That’s why, back in John 1:12, we’re invited to “receive” Jesus personally. Anybody can “believe”, something even demons can do, according to James 2:19. They can ‘believe’ and dynamite at the same time! That’s why, back in John 3:3, Jesus said “I tell you for certain that YOU MUST BE BORN FROM ABOVE BEFORE YOU CAN SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” If we’re not “born from above” how could we ever “hold” onto something from above? We’d keep dropping it. Many people “believed” when it was convenient, when free food was abundant. But, it looks like many had build their house on the sand; (Matthew 7: 24-29). Questions: 1. What does freedom mean to you? 2. Do you have freedom in Christ? How could you say that?

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On Cloud Niner Please read John chapter 9, especially verses 35-41.

The light of the body is the eye. For that reason, some people didn’t know that this guy was the former blind man: they’d never been able to look into his eyes! Having dual blindness (body and soul) is reversible, by Jesus. But it’s tough, even for God, if you’re religious. He healed the man whose eyes were blind, but couldn’t heal the men whose heart was hard. Jesus said, “ When your eyes are bad, everything is dark. If the light inside you is dark, you surely are in dark ” Matt. 6:23. Verse 24. The temple leaders were lucid. They said, “We KNOW that Jesus is a sinner”. 30

Let’s call this ’former’ blind man “On Cloud Niner” because he probably yelled out “I can see… I can see”, when Jesus opened his eyes, then promptly hijacked the nearest Naboo Starfighter and went on the highest joyride in history. (light hyperbole). Verse 25. In the second interrogation session, when the bosses were still lounging in their legalities, “Niner” spelled it out: “All I know is that I used to be blind, but now I can see!” We need to be like Niner. We don’t need much to be forever safe: we just need to see. We need to move to Light Street. Question: “Niner” got a miracle. Did you get yours? Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” We’ve got to stay in the book. 31

Kids Love Him Please read John chapter 10, especially verses 1-11.

When truckers are in trouble (lost, famished, falling asleep at the wheel) but are ‘saved’ just in time, they transmit “That’s a big 10:4.” John 10:4 is bigger. It comes with Eternity Warranty. But, it’s useless, UNLESS we confess that we are homeless, hopeless, and helpless. We’re lost sheep, blind, deaf, and dumb, harassed by enemies on every side, especially “inside.” It’s really bad when somebody yells to you saying “Hi, FRUITCAKE”, and you answer “Lo, NUTMEG.” (sorry) We’re collective wackos, mired and marooned in mediocrity, light-years from where we wanna be, and desperate for miraculous metamorphosis because we know nothing else will work. No problem; 2 Corinthians 5:17.

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When we begin to see our sin and run to the Shepherd, we live. “When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them…” (verse 4). If all hell breaks loose, so what! We’re adopted by the Almighty. The eristic rationalist mocks only himself when he epithets “there is no God”, but a fool is worse. A fool incarnates “NO, God.” Don’t do that. Jesus is the Shepherd. All we have to do is follow. Seven-year-old Josh asked his public school teacher: “What’s the most famous thing in the Bible?” She answered “Psalm 23” and read it to them. They liked it, and voted to memorize it, so she gave them 6 days for those 6 verses. Josh was really pumped to do this, but it was a struggle. He couldn’t memorize! It was totally frustrating! He could barely get halfway through it. 33

A week later the kids got their chance. Some opted out; most got it verbatim. Josh was hopping with excitement! (Got the picture?) He was literally JUMPING for joy! When it was his turn, he ran to the microphone and proudly proclaimed, “The Lord is my Shepherd, and that’s all I need to know.” We gotta learn from children. And follow them following Him. Questions: 1. Can you hear the Shepherd’s voice in John chapter 10? Did you make a notation? 2. Are you experiencing any dark valleys now? Maybe it’s time to read Psalm 23. It’s got a great ending!

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Raindrops Or Teardrops? Please read John ch. 11, especially verses 32-35.

The heart of God is the source of rain. What we don’t know is how many raindrops are: 1. intentional (because He likes greenery, and watching boys make mud-pies); or 2. emotional (because He loves you and me, and hurts when we do). I ran out of tears at age 14. Saying ‘bye’ to family, and ‘hi’ to 104 guys in a monastery dorm was tough, even though it was my choice; I wanted to be a Catholic priest. Home was 22 miles away, but seemed like a million. My folks and siblings brought a “care-package” every Sunday. It was so good to see them, (plus the chocolate chips). I fought the tears as we waved goodbyes, but once that little VW was down the road the dams would burst walking through the dimlit hallway and up to 3rd floor. 35

When you love people, you want to be WITH them. Jesus left the splendor of Heaven for you and me. Then He made friends all over the place, including Lazarus, who died young. Jesus’ reaction? Verse 35. Jesus wept. The shortest verse has the longest history. Jesus was/is a real man. Gutsy and gracious, strong and steady. Just like us! (Ha, ha.) Jesus wept because of His greatness, not because of any weakness. The bystanders said: “See how much he loved Lazarus”; verse 36. At this point, our Arab friends, whether Christian or Muslim, should shout “ALLAHU AKBAR” meaning “God is great”. How and why? Because the true God loves all the time. His home, Heaven, is full of love all the time. And ANYONE can get in, providing your heart is full of love, something that you get from Jesus. ALLAHU AKBAR because He is full of holiness, power, wisdom; and love for the unlovely. 36

GOD IS SO GREAT-FULL! Jesus probably wept many times on earth. He also modeled grace all the time, for example, praying from the cross that God would forgive the mockers and mercenaries. Stephen, a deacon, followed in Jesus steps, per Acts 7:60. God is great! Your god is too small if all he can do is inflict pain and poison on your enemies. That kind of god is not worthy of our eternal allegiance, is he? Is that kind of god really God? Life begins with “agape”, the unconditional commitment to imperfect people; then it grows in grace (verses 35, 36), power (verses 43, 44), and wisdom (verse 45). Questions: 1. What does “Jesus wept” mean to you? 2. Jesus says “If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword.” Please love while you can. 3. 1 John 1:6-10 should be required reading for all suicide bombers. It might bring light before it’s too late. 37

...LIFE death LIFE… Pls read John ch. 12, especially verses 24-33.

Imagine a sub sandwich a million miles long. That’s life. Cut it in half and put an inch of limburger cheese or something else that’s gross in the middle. That’s death. Now close it up. That’s life again, as a timeline, though timeless forever. “Death” is so negligible, with nearly no significance other than a signpost or a stepping-stone. We often can’t smell past our nose, and even “long-noses” can be short-sighted! We think, for example, that death is the end. That’s REALLY DUMB. Think about it. If anything, death has value because it is NOT an end. It’s a bridge. A one-second swinging door, two seconds into your immortality. Verse 24. Enroll in college-course Farming 101. 38

Or learn from Jesus: “I tell you for certain that a grain of wheat that falls on the ground will never be more than one grain unless it dies. But if it dies, it will produce lots of wheat.” Exhibit A.B.C. (Assassination, Brutalization, Corruption) is “good Friday”. Not just anybody died that day. SOMEBODY died. Figuratively also, God’s children must die to pet philosophies and arrogant ambitions: WHATEVER diminishes grace or dilutes truth. Why? God’s plan for us is higher than anything on earth, and higher than anything above the earth; Jeremiah 29:11-13. Besides, a thousand years from now, nobody will be asking “What’s new in New York, hot in Hollywood, cool in Colorado!” People will be asking “What’s the KING of Kings going to do next? What new universes will the Carpenter of Nazareth make next?” That’s all that’s going to matter! 39

The Muscle Man of all time and space became the Savior of our race, embracing infinite pain as our scapegoat: “Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us. Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross. Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others. So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And to the glory of God the Father everyone will openly agree, ‘Jesus Christ is Lord!’ ” (Philippians 2:5-11) Questions: 1. Spiritually speaking, are there areas in your life that are not dead yet, but they should be? 2. Spiritually-physically speaking, when it’s time to die, all you have to do is die, if you’re ready. You may “have God”, but does He “have you”. 1 John 5:11-13.

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Forever Happy Feet Please read John chapter 13, especially verses 1-17.

The 12 disciples had no clue what Jesus was going to do. I’ve been to a few “foot-washing services” that were announced and planned in advance. I guess nobody wanted to wash somebody’s toenails that hadn’t been cleaned since kindergarten, or strip socks that could stand on their own. Verse 1-9. Those 24 feet were light-years from being sterilized. They must have stunk seriously. Jesus’ love wasn’t warm fuzzies; it was washing footsies! His “upper room” goal was to wash hearts; verses 1,8,10,17,20. Contrast with Judas Iscariot whose goal was ‘gold’; verse 2,18b, 21-30. His feet got washed, and he joined the ‘Last Supper’, but… Jesus prioritized internal cleansing, not mere external washing: “You know these things, and God will bless, if you DO them.”; verse 17. 41

Verse 30. Moments later, Iscariot left, “It was already night” in more ways than one. It was darker than he imagined. He had befriended (?) Jesus for three years. In the next three hours, he would lead hell’s horde (John 18:2) for INSTANT CASH. By sunrise, Iscariot would ‘see the light’, repent, and return the money. Too late (Matt. 27:1-5). Maybe he wondered if Jesus was his only true friend. For half a century, Nelson Mandela has marvelously represented so much that is good and true of South Africa. He’s the quintessential ambassador of that land. In the same way, Jesus taught about love, from a heart of love; and loved. He perfectly represented the magnanimous Majesty of heaven and earth. Jesus is the quintessential ambassador of all time and space. Don’t try to change your life. An old man grouched “I will come to church after I get straightened out”. Sure enough, he died that day and was in church the next day. 42

Let God change you. It starts with regeneration, being born again; John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23-25. It requires receiving the Word of God; John 1:12-14; 29; 1 John 5:11-13. Questions: 1. When is the last time your boss, principal, pastor, or parent washed your feet? 2 When is the last time you washed anybody’s feet? Want to make a difference?

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The Only Way, Truth, and Life Please read John chapter 14, especially verses 1-6.

“Don’t be worried!” Verse 1. “Don’t worry, be happy” floats from the intercom after Southwest Air flights touch the tarmac. It’s giddy enough to spawn smiles, despite hearing it a silly sillion times. Some folks love it and would be dancing in the aisle except that you got 100 people jockeying for a leg to stand on (in a space for 50 people) while grabbing stuff from the overhead department without bonding to garlicky chubby checker who’s already leaning on you. The other 100 folks sitting calmly are wondering how dumb we are, as if tons of people can run out before the door opens. I won’t tell you which group I stood with. (oops.) Then you’re LATE to work and your headhunting boss says “I need you for lunch!” What to do? Hide in the bathroom ‘til quitting time? 44

No. Just pig out on limburger, breathe on the guy, and you’re good to go. My ball and chain is worry. My God is not tiny, but my trust sometimes is. “Modern society” can be mostly scary. A young boy was asked in Sunday School “What do you want to be when you grow up”? He answered: “Alive”! That’s us. We have earned PhDs in Paranoia. It shouldn’t be that way. The Owner of the sky has a 24-7-52 forever banquet for us, with everything we need; Psalm 23:1; Romans 8: 28-39; Phil. 4:19. Believers are already adopted IN the family, and Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brethren; Hebrews 2:11-18. We belong to His magnificent, magnanimous, safe and secure inner circle; we can’t lose. John 14: 2. 45

You’re tooling down the road. You’ve got to know where you’re headed and how to get there! Ignorance is not bliss when you’re lost. Ignorance is not bliss when a deranged guy puts a gun to your head and sneers “Are you a Christian?” Ignorance is not bliss when a demonized terrorist pulls out a grenade at 30,000 feet, saying he’s ready to die and asking if you are. Are you IN, or not? I was a walking corpse ‘til age 20. Then the Almighty reached way down into a bottomless pit, found me, and asked “You want the free gift of salvation now or never?” I said “HELLO! NOW PLEASE.” He said “you got it.” Beginning of story. Nobody’s perfect. So how do we get into a perfect Heaven without messing it up? We receive Mr. Clean, JESUS, into our life. Then, when it’s time to live, you do! And when it’s time to die, all you have to do is die. 46

Verse 6. Love and light, purity and peace, strength and salvation…it’s all there in Jesus, “the way, the truth, and the life.” All we have to do is COME AND GET IT. Questions: 1. Buddhism says “This is the way.” Jesus says “I am the way.” Your choice? 2. Jesus says “I’m the truth.” He’s not lying. Can you trust Him now? 3. Jesus says “I’m the life.” Are you ready for real life! If so, pray in Jesus name!

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Garden Glory Please read John chapter 15, especially verses 1-5.

A garden is a signature. In this chapter, “vine” and “branches” are mentioned 9 times each, as is “love”. Of course! Verse 1. IS GOD A SUCCESS? I mean, as a wise, strong, and loving grower of people? Jesus had twelve followers, but lost one. God has over 6.6 billion “human plants” at the moment, but many have chosen the 666 mark rather than the 777 message; (Rev. 13:1118).Some “plants” prefer total darkness. For example, “the fool has said in his heart, ‘NO, God’ ”. Others LOVE THE LIGHT and are free to be! To be who they’ve been created to be. To grow! To live fully! (2 Cor. 5:17; John 15:1,2,3,5,7,8,16; John 8:31-36; Psalm 1.) 48

I recently visited the home of a brain surgeon. He couldn’t find mine so he said I’d qualify to run for President, which intrigued me as I had just looked at my watch (or was it my calendar) and it said February 4, 2008, one of the Super Tuesdays. Brainless and clueless, I was now ready for Big Politics and the Big Desk wherever they work, or not. Actually, the surgeon was gone for the week, so I had the run of his square-block Heritage Tour mansion and yard. Strolling through his Tropical Forest complete with waterfalls, I came upon a quote from a renowned statesman and empiricist: "God Almighty first planted a garden... and a man shall ever see that when ages grow to civility and elegancy, men come to build stately sooner than to garden finely , as if gardening were the greater perfection.” (Sir Frances Bacon, 1625) 49

In other words, any engineer can build a skyscraper, mall, coliseum, etc. You deal with predictable physics, inanimate steel, concrete, etc. It takes a lot more to grow graceful but fragile flowers that can flourish in the midst of pantheonic challenges, both animate and inanimate. To create the universe, the Garden of Eden, mankind, etc. was easy-peasy for God. He just spoke; Genesis 1-2. Verse 3. When you accept Jesus into your life “You are already clean...” That’s positional sanctification; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal.3:24. That’s the best “position” to be in! (Ephesians chapters 1-3). Jesus ‘took me in’ when I was 20. I’m pushing 60 now, but there are still big weeds in my life. For one thing (the main thing), I don’t love very well. He’s working on that: progressive sanctification; 1 John 1:7-9; and Romans 8:28-30. 50

I got a long ways to go and grow so I might need to live to be a hundred. I’m worried about feeling “out of place” in God’s home. Despite unending Gardener-love, we often lust. We wine and dine at the devil’s deli, enamored with his tricks and treats, idols and icons, oooohing and aaaahing at the exquisite table settings, totally unaware that the dinner music is a death march. We’re like Edmund in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; the candy was excellent, but the cost was excruciating. Verses 4, 5. Thankfully, love is stronger than hate, and any candle will always disperse darkness. Questions: 1. Who is your gardener? Why? 2. Jesus says he’s the True Vine. Are you in?

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Steel Yourself. Trouble Is Ahead ! Please read John ch 16, verses 1-4; 33.

God’s kids get sneak previews! Unlike us, He is eternal, seeing past, present, and future at the same time. He gives us glimpses so we can plan ahead. What’s your plan? “Word on the street” says your billionaire uncle is gonna get decapitulated, decapsized, and even discumbumberated at 5 a.m. tomorrow. You panic ‘cause your name is not in his Will, ‘cause he deleted it when you refused to buy him 10 cheeseburgers at ten pm ten years ago. What to do tonight? Plan A and B: GET 20 BURGERS ALREADY buzz over, butter him up, blurt out apologies, say “I lub you” (not “lube”), bounce on his bed affectionately (not his lap), coo a little, have beneficent pens and benignant witnesses standing by, get your name on that paper. Oh, don’t forget to leave before the other bozos arrive at five. 52

Verse 2. Around 33 A.D., Jesus said : “The time will come when people will kill you and think they are doing God a Favor.” . Contrary to the platitudes of neophyte historians and narcissistic theologians, the human race is NOT moving ahead. Modern men are not any “better” than cave men. Trouble is ahead if you love God more than gold. You may only see bread and water. Get ready. Let’s steel ourselves now, so we don’t bend or break when the first wind blows in. Yet, God has called us to peace. When you choose Him, you’re never alone, hopeless, or helpless. In verse 33 we read the rock solid promise of Jesus: “I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.” God is bigger than any problem. Why not remind someone about that today? 53

Knowing God Please read John ch. 17, especially verses 1-3.

Are You IN ? Card sharks, before dealing, ask “Who’s in?” We all like the “inside” track, being a member of the cool “inner circle”, “in touch”, etc. LOCATION is everything. You know where you’ve been (IN a rat-race). When you trust IN Christ alone, his Spirit begins to live IN you. Moment by moment, day after day, his Spirit IN you affirms that you’re not alone, and that you have a place IN Heaven forever. To be in Christ is to belong. Verse 3. At the last supper, Jesus prayed “Eternal life is to know You, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent.” NINE TIMES in John 17 the word “know” shows up. It’s a personal relationship. It’s Who you know, personally. 54

When you have Jesus, life is no longer a dress rehearsal; it’s Opening Night every day and night! No regrets and no mediocrity living and walking with the King of Kings; (John 10:10). And when it’s time to die, all you have to do is die. No regrets. Questions: 1. Has Jesus introduced you to the Father? 2. Have you taken time to get to know Him?

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The Night Pls read John chapter 18, especially verses 1-11.

Vs. 1 “When Jesus had finished praying…”, he left. He knew this would be the darkest night of eternity. No one else had a clue. No human stuck with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. God had to send an angel. Jesus was sweating bullets and “was in great pain, and prayed so sincerely that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood”; (Luke 22:44). Verse 18. “It was cold” in more ways than one, because “it was night” (13:30) in more ways than one. Beginning around 9 a.m. the next day, Jesus would experience the vilest darkness of death, absorbing eternal punishment for the sin of all mankind. Those hours on the cross SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY because they were! 56

Yet, nobody killed Jesus. He laid down his life willingly. (John 10:17) He was dead three days. Then HE ROSE AGAIN. You can’t keep God down! I know our future! “At the name of Jesus every one will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth…” (Phil. 2:10). Your knees (all two of them), mine (a couple more), and those of all humanity WILL bow. Your tongue, mine, and that of all humanity WILL confess in worship and reverence that the carpenter of Nazareth is the creator of all. Questions: 1. Why did Jesus agree to die in our place? 2. How should we respond?

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“IT IS FINISHED” Please read John ch. 19, especially verses 28-30.

The Lamb of God did it all. He finished the job of redemption “once and for all”; (Hebrews 9:12; 10:2; 10:10); (Heb. 10:14). We can’t add a thing. It’s finished. You spit in God’s face when you think you could somehow merit even a millisecond of time or a millimeter of space in Heaven. In reality, WHAT CAN WE DO that is void of personal ambition that would be a perfect fit in Heaven’s trophy case? Hmmm. Ask me next week. If I don’t get back to you, the answer is ‘nothing’. For many years, a “Bible woman” in India had been sharing the gospel with a wealthy pearl-diver named Anup. The concept of eternal salvation based on God’s “grace alone” was inconceivable to him. 58

Then tragedy struck. His only son Prasad made an unusually deep dive to retrieve a large pearl oyster. He succeeded, but the pressure was too much. He died the next day. Anup was heartbroken and gained some comfort from seeing the Bible woman at the funeral. Though he didn’t share her ‘foreign’ religion, he respected her. Two weeks later, she visited Anup’s home, at which time he offered her the pearl that cost the life of dear Prasad. She answered carefully, agreeing to accept it on one condition. She said: Thank you so much. I deeply appreciate this gift, knowing that it cost the life of your son. Also, I want to do my part to pay for it. Here’s two cents. I’ll bring you more money when I can.” Anup was perplexed at first, and then furious. He yelled at her. “What? That’s ridiculous. Get out of house!” How dare she suggest that her feeble efforts or all the money in the world 59

The Bible woman then explained that “good works”, similarly, were disallowed by God. He HOME is open to all, but we must come at his invitation, on his conditions. Jesus already paid the price in full. In fact, our deeds are repugnant “filthy rags” to God; (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:11-18). Anup instantly understood. He was awestruck as this great love of God. He humbly opened his heart to Christ, and received the gift of eternal salvation; (Romans 6:23). Needless to say, he became an empathetic evangelist, passing out “free gifts” to whomever would humbly receive from the true and living God. Questions: 1. Do you think your ‘good works’ can measure up to what Christ did? Do you have enough? 2. Will they guarantee your place in heaven? What if you’re wrong?

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The Reason To Live Please read John ch. 20, especially vss 18-31.

When you form a franchise, start a school, whatever, you choose reputable board members. Jesus didn’t. He chose “white trash.” Verse 1. Mary Magdalene was the first and foremost eyewitness of His resurrection. She had ZERO CREDIBILITY for at least three reasons. 1. She was formerly possessed by 7 demonic “guides”. It’s hard to imagine how grotesque that was. 2. Mary was an outsider, born in Magdala, the Timbuktu of those days. 3. Israel then was dominated by religion’s “good old boys” whose claim to fame was killing Jesus. (You wouldn’t want ANY of those guys on your bowling team.) According to their mantra, women were akin to dogs. 61

The “new” Mary Magdalene was a walking miracle, irrefutably evidencing the power and love of the true God. She knew that Jesus is THE REASON TO LIVE. The Owner of earth and sky has big plans for us: Not darkness, but delight. Not gloom, but gladness. Not fear, but faith. Not lust, but love. Not envy, but enjoyment. Not hatred, but holiness. Not strife, but salvation. Not pain, panic, paralysis, plans, propositions, purposes, pursuits, possessions, but PEACE. God knows we’re afraid. Someone counted the “DON’T BE AFRAID” verses in the Bible. 365 in all! We need His peace with each sunrise, because we never know what it will bring. It might hurt.

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After that first Easter morning, Jesus’ favorite sermonette was “peace.” He was keeping it simple. (He didn’t want to be confused with Casper the friendly ghost.) John chapter 20 records three times when Jesus said “Peace be to you”; verses 18, 19, 26. In reality, He may have said it over 100 times that day, as He went from one friend to another. His message is the same today. Questions: 1. Are you like the guys, or like Mary Magdalene? 2. God says “don’t be afraid.” Why not put your hand in His right now? Your Father’s eyes have nothing but joy, peace and love for YOU. Look up. You’ll see!

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All We Need Is … Please read John chapter 21, especially verses 1-6 and 15-19.

Chapter 21 shows how sweet GOD is. He fixed a humongous breakfast better than any China Buffet or Ponderosa on the planet. But He also let the fishermen add their catch, which was actually his; verse 3. I have a feeling that they all pigged out. Verses 15-22. Then Jesus gave Peter the test of his life. He asked Peter for a pledge of allegiance based on relationship. Nothing else. Jesus asked the same question three times, and Peter answered correctly three times. (Maybe this was intended to be cathartic, erasing Peter’s three denials a few days earlier.) Though Peter became a little ‘testy’ (verse 17), he ultimately was glad for the attention. There was no turning back after that day. He got the assurance that he needed. 64

All we need is assurance that God loves us. Not a rinky-dink idol made of steal-able pure gold that any thug could throw in his bag and pawn for fifty bucks a block away. Not a figment of imagination. Not an impersonal, out-tolunch lord of luscious luminescence. Dynamic friendship with the Son of God is at once the most humbling and honored experience of life. All you need is Him. A carpenter and his son Jimmy made a sailboat. Jimmy kept it in a basin, using an electric fan to send it in all directions. One day he took it to the river, never imagining what would happen. The wind instantly blew it away. Jimmy wept for days. About six months later he was walking with his dad and saw his boat in a display window. They went in and argued with the shopkeeper that it was Jimmy’s, but the man was adamant, saying it was for sale, not giveaway. Jimmy went home determined to work as hard as he could to buy it back. 65

After an eternity of weeks Jimmy returned, not knowing if it would still be there or not. It was! He went in and bought it back. Walking home, he held it close to his heart, and whispered: “For 4 reasons you shouldn’t run away anymore: First, I made you. Second, I bought you back. Third, I love you. Fourth, I want you in our family forever. It will be fun. Please stay.” Jimmy held the boat to his heart and walked on. If little boats could talk, it would have said: “I love you too”. Questions: 1. Like Peter, we need to come back to God. Are you ready? 2. How could God use me to bring someone else back to Him today?

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When the storms come, and your friends leave, and your money leaves, and your health leaves, all you have to remember is that JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD.

“Because I live, you will live.” JESUS (John 14:19b)

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The Author Robert John Mulloy is a follower of God. He serves in Asia with his winsome wife Mary Emily, his dazzling daughter Amy Christine, and his sweet son Greg Carver. Bob left home at age 14 to live in a monastery high school for four years with hopes of becoming a Catholic priest. At age 20, his life was forever changed by reading the New Testament and being converted to Christ. His favorite N.T. book (can you guess?) is the gospel written by John the apostle. Bob believes that understanding the THREE CENTRAL WORDS of John 19:30 “…everything is done…” spells the difference between life and death. Feel free to check out Bob and Mary’s website (www.thegutsyGod.com) to learn more about their life, and access other devotional materials.

Scripture Usage All Scripture portions in this book are from the Youth Bible Global Edition of the Contemporary English Version (CEV) Bible translation, used with permission from the American Bible Society (ABS) 2004.

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