Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 12:1-11.  Let’s go!

John 12:1-3 (NIV) 
1  Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 
2  Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 
3  Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

On verses 1-3:  At Bethany, a small village just outside of Jerusalem to the southeast, Jesus is at a dinner given in his honor less than a week before Passover.  At the dinner, Lazarus reclines, Martha serves, and Mary worships.  To me this is a good picture of the church.  It’s a place where you can rest like Lazarus, serve like Martha and worship like Mary.

Also, notice what happens when Mary pours the perfume on Jesus’ feet and wipes his feet with her hair: the fragrance of the perfume fills the whole house.  

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 11:32-44.  Let’s go!

John 11:32 (NIV) 
32  When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

On verse 32:  In the Gospels you will often find Mary at Jesus’ feet.  In Luke 10, we see Mary, in an act of spiritual hunger and teachability, sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening attentively to what he was saying. In John 12:3 and also John 11:2, we see Mary, in an act of worship and gratitude, anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume.  Here in verse 32 of John 11, we see Mary, in an act of mourning, weeping at Jesus’ feet.

What can we learn from this?  Whether you’re hungry to learn, eager to worship, or struggling to hope, humble yourself at the feet of Jesus.  You’ll find what you need at Jesus’ feet.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 11:1-16.  Let’s go!

John 11:1-4 (NIV) 
1  Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 
2  This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 
3  So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 
4  When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

On verses 1-4:  Once again we see Jesus’ view on sickness.  Jesus saw sickness as an opportunity for God to display His power and an opportunity for God to be glorified through how people deal with the sickness.  Likewise, when you see problems and challenges in your life, train yourself to see them with the eyes of Jesus.  See them not gravestones marking your death, but stepping stones to something greater.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:22-30.  Let’s go!

John 10:22-23 (NIV) 
22  Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 
23  and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

On verses 22-23:  The Feast of Dedication was a relatively new festival that the Jews first began celebrating in 164 B.C. to commemorate the reconstruction and rededication of the temple in Jerusalem by Judas Maccabeus in 165 B.C. after it was destroyed by the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 B.C.  This Feast of Dedication involves a celebration of lights and is now more commonly known as Hanukkah, a festival that Jewish people continue to celebrate to this day.  During Jesus’ time on earth, whenever the Feast of Dedication was celebrated, there was an undercurrent of hope among the Jews that the Messiah would arrive at the temple and begin establishing Israel as an independent nation.  It is in this context that the Jews surround Jesus as he is walking in the temple area in Solomon’s Colonnade during the Feast of Dedication.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:1-10.  Let’s go!

John 10:1-5 (NIV) 
1  “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 
2  The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 
3  The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 
4  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 
5  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

On verses 1-5:  Back during Jesus’ time on earth, shepherds would bring their respective flocks together to be placed in a communal pen for the night.  One shepherd would be assigned to be the watchman to watch the flocks at night while the other shepherds slept.  In the morning, the shepherds would return to the communal pen to collect their sheep.  But how would they separate their own sheep from the rest of the sheep in the communal pen?  By the sound of the shepherd’s voice.  The shepherd would give out a special call, and based on the shepherd’s voice his own sheep would separate from the rest in the communal pen and follow the shepherd.