Day 304, or October 31st. There is enough evidence
to believe. Our thoughts today are rooted in
John chapter 21, verse 25. Jesus did many other
things as well. If every one of them were written
down, I suppose that even the whole world would
not have room for the books that would be written.
And now the big picture surrounding this verse.
John concludes his gospel by describing Jesus'
arrest, trials, crucifixion, resurrection, and
appearances after his rising from the dead. He
links the two accounts of Jesus' trials and his
final appearance to the disciples in Galilee.
The connecting piece to these two events is a
charcoal fire. one where Peter warms himself
and denies Jesus, and another where he is reconciled
back to Jesus at Galilee. Barbecue smoke would
always be a double reminder. And now our action
step for today. When John approaches the end
of his gospel, he tries to close in triumph.
The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous
signs in addition to the ones recorded in this
book, but these are written so that you may continue
to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and that by believing in him you will
have life by the power of his name. However,
he can't stop writing, and then writes another
chapter. I find it interesting that John resorts
to giving facts, and asking his readers to consider
them, then believe. Usually when folk accept
Jesus as Lord and Saviour, there is a reliance
on faith rather than facts, but that's a great
start. The problems come when we continue simply
believing by faith rather than questioning and
using the intellect God has given us. This can
produce vulnerable believers. My own fallback
point is that I firmly believe the Bible is the
Word of God and a solid foundation for life.
So when I can't understand parts of it, I don't
condemn it as inaccurate or archaic, but simply
as something I don't understand. This doesn't
stop me from questioning, but it reduces my self
-reliance and thinking that I know better than
God and His Word.