John 6:41-51
Drawn to Jesus by God
41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
John 6:61-66
Believers are Enabled by God
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
Romans 8:22-30
The Holy Spirit Intercedes
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Psalm 19:1-6
The Voice of Creation
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
Romans 1:18-25
Creation is Seen
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
We are drawn to God, by God...Jesus tells us this...No one can come to Jesus, unless God draws them to Him...And when we are drawn to Him, He will raise us up on the last day...Jesus later goes on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled them."...So we are drawn to God, when He has enabled us...The Holy Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing...We have sinful desires in our hearts...Often the flesh hinders us...It can hinder us with sin, and keep us apart from God...The words and teachings of Jesus are different than our flesh—they are full of the Holy Spirit and full of abundant life...Yet even after hearing Jesus or reading the Bible, we still do not always believe...For Jesus has known from the beginning which of us do not believe and who would betray Him...And even today, He knows who will follow Him...Faith requires an openness to God...Faith requires a seeking aspect that causes us to listen to and for God...
And we are drawn to God by the Holy Spirit in us...The whole creation and every part of creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth...God created everything in the world and He knows us because He made us in His Image...We have this great hope to know and learn from Jesus...And in this hope of our Savior we were saved...
There is this something I think that God does and what I will call the Grand Call...It is a Divine Calling...This Call is done so subtly that we often miss it, and yet it is always around...The sacredness and holiness are there if we reflect on it...The Grand Call comes from creation and the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit and creation are interwoven with faith...The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and in our faith...The Holy Spirit helps us hear this Grand Call...God does this Grand Call through His creation...And this subtle call is without a voice...The Psalmist writes it this way...The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork...Day to day creation pours out its speech, and night to night reveals creation's knowledge....Look at the moon and the stars...There is no speech in the sense of One talking, nor are there words or a voice talking...These divine things are not heard...And St. Paul puts the Grand Call this way, for His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made...So we are without excuse...
We are drawn to God by His Creation Works and the Holy Spirit through faith in Him and His Son...