Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word. This week's question:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was in the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:1-5) This true light came into the world that He might enlighten every man and although the world was made through Him, the world does not know Him as the Word became flesh and dwelt among man, full of grace and truth (John 1:9-14). And He is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" who is Jesus, the Son of God (John 1:29-34).

That brings us to our question, "What promise did Jesus make for us?". Jesus said many profound words while He walked upon this earth so that the multitudes hung on to every word He said (Luke 19:48), while even the scribes and Pharisees were amazed at His answers to their testing questions (Luke 20:26) and wondered where He gathered such learning (Matthew 22:22) and performed miracles that they might know that He is the Son of God (Luke 5:17-26 & John 20:30-31). This should also encourage us to study the word more intently so that we can show ourselves approved to God so that we should not be ashamed of our account before Him (2 Timothy 2:15 & 3:16-17).

A certain lawyer asked Jesus, "And a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, 'teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And He said to him, 'What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?' And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself .' And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.'"
(Luke 10:25-28).

The lawyers of that time had written themselves out of keeping the law so that they would not have to lift one finger to fulfill it and that is why Jesus told him, "do this and you will live", since they were not "doing" the works of the law, so he tried to justify himself he asks Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29).

Jesus tells of "the man of Jerusalem going to Jericho who is robbed, stripped, and beaten half dead on the side of the road whereby a priest comes by and travels on the other side as does a Levite, both of the spiritual leaders of Israel. When a man of Samaria, a Gentile, comes by, he not only stops and bandaged his wounds and then takes him to an innkeeper and pays him to care for the wounded man." He then asks the lawyer, "'Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?' And he said, 'The one who showed mercy toward him.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Go and do the same.'"
(Luke 10:30-37).

Notice that the lawyer would not even say, "The Samaritan", or "The Gentile.", but only "The one who showed mercy." When Jesus sees a scribe who answers his question with honesty and intelligence, He tells him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God ." (Mark 12:34), so that we see Jesus walks and talks with an honest and open heart to those who also walk and talk with honesty for that kingdom of God.

Jesus tells the Pharisee, Nicodemus, who recognizes the signs performed by Jesus prove that He is from God, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3), and then, "Truly, truly, I say to you , unless one is born of the water and the spirit he cannot enter in to the kingdom of God." (John 3:5), and then, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16), and then, "But He who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God" (John 3:25).

And so what is the promise? For that we turn and read, "As for you, let that abide in you which you have heard form the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself has made to us: eternal life." (1 John 2:24-25). And so there we have the answer to our question, it is "eternal life"! But just as Jesus told both the intelligent lawyer and Nicodemus who was honest to himself about the miracles performed by Jesus, that it is the doers of the word who will not be disappointed at the end of time, for life!

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and then gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer, but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:22-25).

Let us prove ourselves by abiding in our Lord's word that we might not only become effectual in our lives to those around us, our neighbors, but also, by abiding in Him, that He may abide in us for life (John 15:1-11).