Chapter 23
John 4:27-38
27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why do You speak with her?"
28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men,
29 "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?"
30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."
32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."
33 So the disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?"
34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
35 "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.
36 "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
37 "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.'
38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor,” (NASB).
ERIN OR SOPHIE, WHATEVER HER name really was, almost went through the roof when she heard her cell phone ring. She knew to expect it, but she was too lost in thought as she tried not to make sense of what she learned from Micah/Daniel. She thought of John 4 instead in order to clear her mind and in order to bring her the peace she so desperately needed at this point.
John 4:34 really spoke to her:
34 Jesus said:
My food is to do what God wants! He is the one who sent me, and I must finish the work that he gave me to do, (CEV).
Oh, that was how she wanted to live her life. But, for now, she answered her phone. “Hello?”
“Sophie, it’s Rodolfo and I know one of your favorite verses is Matthew 6:33.” He shared with her and he was correct.
“I’m on my way to meet you. I’ll be there in five minutes or less. I’ll tell you your other favorite verse and I will be driving my large black four door SUV. Micah told me how twenty have escaped you. I’m going to help you figure out where the twenty were lost, when, and how. Until I’m there, let’s just talk. What do you have on your mind about the Bible and the Book of John? We really shouldn’t discuss anything else, after all, until we’re together and in a safe location.” Rodolfo explained to her his plan.
“Let’s talk about John 4:46-53.” She suggested to him since she wanted to live through her first travels to John once again. It was such a magical time to her. She never wanted to forget the experience.
“That sounds good to me. But, first, Micah requested me to remind you to grab your journals. They’re in your second nightstand drawer and are in a large jar of Vapor Rub. They are about the size of a bb and there are several in there.” Rodolfo requested of her. “Now, what do you want to discuss about regarding that passage as you find the jar?”
John 4:46-4:53
46-48 Now he was back in Cana of Galilee, the place where he made the water into wine. Meanwhile in Capernaum, there was a certain official from the king's court whose son was sick. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and asked that he come down and heal his son, who was on the brink of death. Jesus put him off: "Unless you people are dazzled by a miracle, you refuse to believe."
49 But the court official wouldn't be put off. "Come down! It's life or death for my son."
50-51 Jesus simply replied, "Go home. Your son lives."
The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home. On his way back, his servants intercepted him and announced, "Your son lives!"
52-53 He asked them what time he began to get better. They said, "The fever broke yesterday afternoon at one o'clock." The father knew that that was the very moment Jesus had said, "Your son lives."
53-54 That clinched it. Not only he but his entire household believed. This was now the second sign Jesus gave after having come from Judea into Galilee, (MSG).
As she paraphrased the passage, she put the jar into the overnight bag she prepared. She sensed she would need clothes, toiletries, etc. “I wish I had faith like that. The man didn’t even know or follow Jesus. But, he heard of the Lord. It was enough for him to put his child’s life into the Lord’s hands. Talk about total trust. I want to live like that. I don’t want to doubt or hold back my faith in God.” Erin/Sophie shared with him.
“Can you imagine how the father must have felt when Jesus said to the father how his son lives? That gives me chills. It’s because of that the entire household placed their trust in Jesus Christ that day.” Rodolfo shared his thoughts with Erin/Sophie.
“God knew precisely how to talk to the father to get him to fully believe. Because Christ took the time to speak to the father, an entire household turned to God. God will get our attention and will talk to us, if we listen and if we believe.” Erin/Sophie was passionate about this subject.
“I’m pulling onto your street and am headed your way. Can you, please, go to your door and not open it until I knock on the door three times, twice, and then four times? Don’t even look out. Wait for my knock. Then look out and I will hold up my fingers as to the date of your birth. Not the month. The day. I’ll mention your other favorite verse as well, remember.” Rodolfo explained to her.
She thought this was strange, but she had the impression this was all part of the protocol. A couple of minutes later, she heard him say, “Luke 9:23,” and he held up five fingers. She was born on the fifth of May so he was correct. She opened the door, but still held the stun gun just in case.
“Hello, my dear. I’m Rodolfo and we need to get out of here. Are you ready?” She nodded., but didn’t say anything because she was still attempting to make sense of the situation “Let’s go.”
She followed him to his vehicle and she climbed inside the SUV as she thought about where she left off in her thoughts about the Book of John. She kept her thoughts pinpointed there so that she did not become too anxious because she sure felt anxious.
John 5:5-15
5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well, (NIV).
Oh, how she wanted to stay there in her thoughts, but they wouldn’t allow her to do so. She wondered what happened. What did it all mean?
She was able to look at Rodolfo’s vehicle, all the other cars on the road, the houses, and the businesses along the way to his mansion. Consequently, Erin was able to see the world was drastically different from what she could last recall in the modern-day era.
Why was that and what did it mean?
Why did she lose 20 years fo her life and how did she?
The cars, houses, and businesses looked radically different and were newer or were fixed up than what she could recall. They ahd more scientific advancements to them than what there were in 2012.
Hence, she recognized something as wrong with her brain and/or her memory. How could she have lost 20 years? She was disturbed about the whole ordeal.
Rodolfo’s mansion was more than she anticipated. It was enormous and screamed of great wealth. He was filthy rich, not just mildly. She had never seen anything like it—inside and out. So, no, she was definitely not in the home she once knew. The world changed and she knew different people than before.
By Stacy Duplease
of Stories by Stacy
Posts
Review of Christopher Rice's "The Heaven's Rise"
11 years ago
No comments:
Post a Comment