Devotions, Thoughts, & Reflections with Pastor Andrew

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. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. John 6:53-58 After some time sharing the good news of the kingdom of God, there came a point where thousands of people had come to hear Jesus teach. There was a bit of an issue with this gathering, seeing as they gathered in the wilderness, and there was nothing to eat. God worked a great miracle through Jesus, feeding thousands of people on 5 loaves of...

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? John 5:44 What are our motives? This is an imperative question for each and every follower of Jesus to reflect upon. Our motives are a serious matter to God. For the disciple of Jesus, motive is a set matter; there is a right reason for doing or desiring something, and there is a wrong reason for doing or desiring something. There can be no "ulterior motives" in the reasoning and intent of Jesus's disciple, for such is a lie, and falls short of the character of the Holy Spirit, who brings forth truth. Nor can motive be self-seeking, for such a motive contradicts the nature of our self-sacrificing Lord. Neither can our motives form from seeking the approval of others. By Jesus' own words, our motives need to be founded in this: seeking the glory that comes from God, and not in the glory that comes from man. Chasing the glory which comes from ...

The father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life. John 5:22-24 In this deep teaching, Jesus touches on something so many people are uncomfortable with: God's judgement. So let's press into that. There are whole books written attempting to reason and explain away the reality of the judgement of God. I promise to not lead you down such a frivolous path. The whole of scripture is clear that God judges our everyday decisions, and our eternal state. So, what makes us uncomfortable with God's judgement? Though not an exhaustive answer, I think there are two major parts: 1. We do not understand our condition in a fallen world. 2. We do not trust in the holin...

“Do you not say, ‘there are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘one sows, and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” John 4:35-38 Living in God's kingdom changes our mindset and our behavior. For, when we become a follower of Jesus, we enter into the labor of God, and of all of those whom have loved God before us. Christians are not meant to chase after the temporary things of a dying world. We are to labor together as one in God's fields, glorifying Him with our lives, changing what we care about to match what He cares about. And what is it that God cares about? In Jesus' life, what was He focused on? Making a name for himself? ...

John 3:16-21 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. ” Hello, Ridge Church! We all know John 3:16, right? It's perhaps the most famous verse of scripture in the modern day. And there's good reason; John 3:16 is an excellent wrapped...

John 4:10 “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." John 4:23-24 “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Hello again! Today, we dive into part of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, found in John chapter 4. This particular conversation can be confusing for some, and I want to give you a heads up that, if you are looking for clarification as to what is going on with the Samaritan woman and her obscure answers, we aren't going to be discussing that in this post. Instead, we are looking into what Jesus taught the woman at the well, and considering how His instructions impact our faith. Firstly, let's take some moments to co...

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”... “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘you must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. - John 3:3, 5-8 Hello Ridge Church! We are beginning a new devotional series highlighting Jesus’ teaching on what it is to have faith, and what is required of those who follow Him as disciples (which is to be his devoted student and follower.) We are beginning by going chronologically through the Gospel according to John. You may be wondering, “Wait, chapter 3? If we are going through this chronologically, what happened to chapters 1 & 2?” And that’s an excellent question! The...