And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God" (5:16-17).  So far in John's gospel things have been going well for Jesus, however that is all about to change.  The opposition began with His betrayal by a man, whom had just been healed.  For 38 years he had been crippled and life had passed him by.  He was desperate for a miracle, so sat day after day by a pool where it was said he could be healed if an angel came to the water.  Jesus healed him, but later told him: "sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you" (v.14).  We can gauge from his reaction that he was not happy to be told this, because he went immediately to rat on Jesus to the Pharisees.  You see people are happy with the idea of Jesus making their lives better, but don't want Him to then tell them how to live.  There's something in each of us that wants to enjoy the benefits of God's kingdom, while remaining on the throne of our lives in our own little kingdoms.  However, Jesus' response to the Pharisees reminds us that He has the authority to not only restore our lives but also reorder our life-choices.  The Jews accepted that the only person who could work on the sabbath was God in sustaining creation, and Jesus says that He is simply doing His Father's work in restoring creation.  He is saying: I am God the king.  He's the boss.  The challenge for us is to bow the knee to Him, to seek first His kingdom (not our own) and to do so joyfully knowing that His ways are better than ours!

Praise God Today: "Crown Him"

Pray Today:

• For God to be continuing to work in the lives of the many hundreds of international students reached last month by EIO, causing the seeds of truth to grow and bringing other Christians into their lives.
• For the cafe team as they ramp up their engagement with the local community during the height of the tourist season and have the front doors each day and people out on the street inviting customers in.
• For the set-up, music, technical teams as they move up a gear to finish off preparations for Chat65 starting in 8 days time!  Pray for endurance and encouragement.