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The Kandel Sisters The writings of Kris Kandel Schwambach, Karen Kandel Kizlin, Kathie Kandel Poe and Linda Kandel Maso

29/10/2025

John
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, “A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.’” John‬ ‭1‬:‭29‬-‭31‬
John proclaimed it for all who were there to hear. He knew that Jesus is the Lamb of God. ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
But what does that mean?
John understood that this Messiah was coming as the ultimate sacrifice.
All of Israel witnessed multiple sacrifices. There were daily sacrifices, on certain occasions huge numbers of sacrifices, sacrifices that accompanied different feasts. And year after year these sacrifices were repeated. So, John understood sacrifices. But when He saw the Messiah, he understood something different. Standing before him was the ultimate sacrifice. He recognized that Jesus was the Lamb who would take away the sin of all mankind. Every person who ever lived, every sin ever committed could be wiped away by the blood of this Lamb.
We see the words John proclaimed. We hear the word Jesus uttered from the cross, “Tetelestai”. That word means “It is finished”. Jesus, the Lamb of God, who took away the sin of the world. The sacrifices could be done.
Have we trusted Him to take away our sins?

28/10/2025

John
As we have already said, John knew his mission. John knew his position.
“Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ ‘I baptize with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” John‬ ‭1‬:‭24‬-‭28‬ ‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
The Israeli countryside was nothing like our towns. Most did not have beautifully manicured lawns. There were no paved boulevards with trimmed trees. Travel in the first century was mostly by foot over dust, dirt, mud, animal droppings, trash. Your feet were covered by sandals, but your sandals were covered with filth. Walking meant getting dirty. It is why we see foot washing as a part of entering a home. But here was the problem. That was such a dirty job, you couldn’t require many people to do it. It was just too stench ridden and filthy.
When the Pharisees tried to put John on a level even slightly close to Jesus. He had a good answer for them. He told them he wouldn’t even be good enough to untie Jesus’ sandals and wash His feet. Now think about that. John saw that one of the filthiest jobs of the day was above his paygrade when it came to Jesus. The Messiah was so mighty, so wonderful and John knew it.
How do we see Him?

27/10/2025

John
“Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ They asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ Finally they said, ‘Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord.”’ John‬ ‭1‬:‭19‬-‭23‬ ‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
John saw clearly.
He was not the Messiah.
He was not Elijah.
From Deuteronomy 18:15, they were looking for a prophet like Moses. He was not that Prophet.
He wasn’t claiming fame, prestige, power. He knew he was not the main event. He was there for a very different mission. He went to the Word for his mission. He was to be the voice calling out in the wilderness to make straight the way for the Lord.
And we are to go to the Word for our mission. Jesus proclaimed it to us. We are to follow it.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

24/10/2025

John
This one that we refer to as John the Baptist is fascinating to me. He had such a heart to point in the direction of Christ and leave himself out of the mix. It seems he understood his mission even before he was born. He leaped in his mother’s womb when Mary and the unborn Savior came near. He was testifying then of Jesus. And when we encounter him in the Scripture, he was getting people to look at the Messiah.
“(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, ‘This is the one I spoke about when I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.”’) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” ‭‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
John‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
John was pointing to the Savior.
What about us? Do we want people’s eyes on us and what we’re doing? Or do we want what we’re doing to point people to Christ?
John clearly knew his mission and lived it.

23/10/2025

John
Most of us are probably familiar with the Christmas story. What we know is that this very special baby boy was born in Bethlehem, wrapped in strips of cloth, and placed in a manger. But the verse we are going to look at today gives us a little different understanding of who He is.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
We see that here Jesus is referred to as the Word. What a wonderful description of Him. He is the Word of God. That means that when we open the Scripture and begin to read, we can meet Him. He is the creator in the story of creation. He is the ark of safety in the account of the flood. He is the lamb caught by its horns in the thicket in Genesis 22.
We could take apart every account and see Him. Why? Because He is the Word. He was born in Bethlehem, but He lived forever before that‭. He is living forever after that. As you open your Bible, ask Him to make Himself known to you.‬‬‬‬‬
The Word became flesh. He is the Word.

22/10/2025

John
Have you ever noticed that darkness cannot overtake the light, but light can overtake the darkness.
What do I mean by that?
If I turn a light on in my house, the darkness is suddenly gone. Why? Because the light is stronger than the darkness.
And that is certainly the case with the true light, Jesus. When He comes in, the darkness leaves.
“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭13‬ ‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
Jesus came into the world to bring light.
And that leaves us with a question to ponder. Have we invited the Light, Jesus Christ, to come into our lives to free us from our darkness?
If we ask, He will come in.

21/10/2025

John
Do you know what a witness is?
Yes, of course. It is someone who is giving firsthand information about what they have seen. And that is what we have here. In our passage today, this witness was a man named John, but this John was not the author of this book that we call John. This witness was the one we refer to as John the Baptist. He gave firsthand information about Jesus.
“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” John‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
We already established that we understand the word witness, but if we go a little deeper and look at the Greek word, we see that it comes from the word martyrian. Yes, it is where we get the word martyr. And what is very intriguing is that nearly all of those who were the closest firsthand witnesses of Jesus did have to lay down their lives. John the Baptist was one who gave his life for speaking the truth.
So, here are a few questions for us to ponder:
Are we willing to be a witness of Jesus Christ?
Do we speak the truth about Him?
Would we be willing to lay down our lives for Him?
Witness?
Martyr?
Are we willing?

20/10/2025

John
Welcome. Today we begin a new adventure into the book of Scripture that is named John. It is a very popular book of Scripture and is often used as a first read for new believers. So, where does it begin? It begins at the beginning.
What does that mean for us?
Because we live on a linear timeline, we cannot truly comprehend the beginning. We can place it somewhere in years, but in order to search what it really was, we must go to the Word. And then we must embrace the fact that the Word of God is truth.
Every Word is there on purpose, for a purpose.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the apostle John wrote about the beginning:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
So, as we see, this book is about the beginning. It is about the creation. It is about the mystery of life and light. Get ready. As we open these pages, if we have eyes to see, some of that mystery will be revealed to us.
What a gift!

17/10/2025

John
Thank you for sharing our journey through the book of Exodus. It has been such an exciting walk. We’ve looked at the call of Moses, the plagues of Egypt, the deliverance of the Children of Israel, and the instructions God gave them to know how to worship and walk closely with Him. That is our calling too. And so, on Monday we begin our study in the book of John. Each of the Gospels has a different look at Jesus. In Matthew we see Christ as the King of Kings. In Mark we encounter the suffering servant. When we scour the pages of Luke, we see the human interest and Jesus as the Son of Man. But in John we come face to face with Jesus, the Son of God. Join us on Monday as we begin…
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
See you there.

16/10/2025

Exodus
"Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.” Exodus 40:34-38
The Presence of God settled down on this structure. It was so powerful, so awesome, that Moses couldn’t enter. It was awe inspiring, but also awe filled. The Glory of the Living God came to dwell among men. This was a structure, a man-made tent, and God came there to reside.
I so love that God uses pictures in the Old Testament to point forward to the New. God came to dwell among men.
It is what we see in the birth of the church.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:1-4
As we close the book of Exodus, we see that God came to reside among men.
Yes, the Tabernacle was a real physical structure, but it was more.
The Tabernacle was a picture, a promise of One who was yet to come.
Centuries later in a little town called Bethlehem, the glory of the Lord shone, and it was announced: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
How glorious!

15/10/2025

Exodus
Today is a fairly long passage but let’s pay close attention.
“Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him. So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the Lord commanded him. He took the tablets of the covenant law and placed them in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the covenant law, as the Lord commanded him. Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain and set out the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him. He placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him. Moses placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the curtain and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord commanded him. Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the Lord commanded him. He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. They washed whenever they entered the tent of meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses. Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.” Exodus 40:16-33
This passage is bookended with profound statements.
It opens with “Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.” It closes with, “And so Moses finished the work”.
He did everything the Lord commanded and he finished it.
Could those statements be said of us?
For a full year the Children of Israel wandered in a wilderness where building materials might have been in short supply. But God, in His providence, had already given them what they needed. The Egyptians had been plundered. It gave the Israelites so much that at one point Moses declared it to be enough.
This structure was unique is so many ways. From the outside it might have looked to a passerby like any other boring tent, covered with grayish brown animal hides. Inside, light from one single seven branched menorah would have cast its radiance throughout as the light bounced around the golden fixtures. Blue, purple, scarlet, and gold threads were woven into curtains, draperies, and a ceiling covered with embroidered cherubim. It might have felt like entering heaven.
Each piece of the furniture was placed exactly how God wanted it placed allowing a walk through to emulate entering into the Presence of God.
It was done. Moses had followed God’s instructions precisely, but what happened next was absolutely amazing.

14/10/2025

Exodus
The components for the Tabernacle were anointed, but so were Aaron and his sons. They were set apart, to be used in ministry.
“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations.” Exodus 40:12-15
This was an awesome responsibility, to serve in the Tabernacle, to be used in ministry.
But what about today? Are our pastors set aside for ministry, to be used to serve?
The answer is, of course, yes.
But what about the regular Christian? What about you and me?
Let’s think about it like this. In a fire station there’s a captain, the truck driver, the one who checks all the equipment, the one who grabs the hose and begins the dispersal of the water, and lots of other responsibilities.
But for each fireman what is his or her job?
The answer?
To put out fires and save people who might be in danger.
Peter wrote a letter to some of the dispersed Christians. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Each person might have a different responsibility, but what is the job?
Share, tell, declare, to see people saved who might be in danger of the fires of hell.
Each of us has been called into ministry, a royal priesthood, set aside for the work of the Kingdom of God, just like Aaron and his sons.

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