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Spent some time listening to a friend
teach the Christian life this weekend....
His message was one of refocusing on the purpose of life
and the mission of Jesus to restore us to that life....
Sounds kinda like 'old ground'
but the simplicity and clarity 
of the teaching was profound.
I was struck by a number of things
and as I have been reading
John
it brings light to those passages.
This morning I was reflecting on
the Christmas Story.
The son of God
came as a 
baby
boy
man
Ya ya ya...
So what...
No.
God came as a
MAN.
he inserted himself
into humanity...
So when Satan said
"if you are the son of God
turn these loaves into bread"
Jesus didn't think back to His Life with the Father
and say to himself
"of course I am the son of God,
I don't need to do what Satan says...."
Jesus,
the man
by faith
declared what he 
knew as true
but 'did not see' (true faith)
and rested in 
the place of 
Trusting His Father
to honor His faith
in a plan that was only unfolding
one tiny step at a time....
and chose
life in the father
rather than 
pseudo life in 
Satan
Yes Jesus was different
Not of the blood line of Adam
but of the blood line of God
but he was a man
a man as man was meant to live
dependent on the Father
for every little thing
resting In the truth
that the Father loved Him
and would reveal what he needed
to know in the next 
second
not sooner,
not later....
John 4:34  "My food," said Jesus, 
"is to do the will of him who sent me 
and to finish his work.
5:19  Jesus gave them this answer: 
"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; 
he can do only what he sees his Father doing, 
because whatever the Father does 
the Son also does.
5:30  By myself I can do nothing; 
I judge only as I hear, 
and my judgment is just, 
for I seek not to please myself 
but him who sent me.
6:38  For I have come down from heaven 
not to do my will 
but to do the will of him 
who sent me.
6:57  Just as the living Father sent me 
and I live 
because of the Father, 
so the one who feeds on me 
will live because of me.
7:16  Jesus answered, 
"My teaching is not my own. 
It comes from him who sent me.
8:28  So Jesus said, 
"When you have lifted up the Son of Man, 
then you will know that I am the one I claim to be 
and that I do nothing on my own 
but speak just what the Father has taught me.
Jesus,
I am just beginning to 'taste'
the huge shift/risk
you took
to insert yourself into
humanity,
as a man
and live
as man was meant to live
without
any 'props'
or 'get out of jail free' cards
or 'whee... I am actually God
and can pop up a miracle to fix this problem
anytime....'
Thank You for 
opening my eyes to that
and that now
You make THAT life
available to me
through Your Spirit.
Now.
Wow.
PJ