WEBVTT

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Day 304, or October 31st. There is enough evidence

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to believe. Our thoughts today are rooted in

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John chapter 21, verse 25. Jesus did many other

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things as well. If every one of them were written

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down, I suppose that even the whole world would

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not have room for the books that would be written.

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And now the big picture surrounding this verse.

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John concludes his gospel by describing Jesus'

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arrest, trials, crucifixion, resurrection, and

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appearances after his rising from the dead. He

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links the two accounts of Jesus' trials and his

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final appearance to the disciples in Galilee.

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The connecting piece to these two events is a

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charcoal fire. one where Peter warms himself

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and denies Jesus, and another where he is reconciled

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back to Jesus at Galilee. Barbecue smoke would

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always be a double reminder. And now our action

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step for today. When John approaches the end

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of his gospel, he tries to close in triumph.

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The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous

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signs in addition to the ones recorded in this

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book, but these are written so that you may continue

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to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son

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of God, and that by believing in him you will

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have life by the power of his name. However,

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he can't stop writing, and then writes another

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chapter. I find it interesting that John resorts

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to giving facts, and asking his readers to consider

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them, then believe. Usually when folk accept

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Jesus as Lord and Saviour, there is a reliance

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on faith rather than facts, but that's a great

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start. The problems come when we continue simply

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believing by faith rather than questioning and

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using the intellect God has given us. This can

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produce vulnerable believers. My own fallback

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point is that I firmly believe the Bible is the

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Word of God and a solid foundation for life.

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So when I can't understand parts of it, I don't

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condemn it as inaccurate or archaic, but simply

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as something I don't understand. This doesn't

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stop me from questioning, but it reduces my self

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-reliance and thinking that I know better than

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God and His Word.