Me < Him

We're reading John 3:22-36 this week as a church. Two things are working on me from this story.

John the Baptist gives his famous "He must increase, I must decrease" speech. How do I do this? I am praying and asking God to show me what this means today for me. I have a strong desire to do it. But some areas of my life seem completely entrenched. I have things I want to go away, and I want to hold on to for dear life, simultaneously. It's tough. So, I'm reminding myself of this goal, and praying the Lord's Prayer. A lot. I know God will be faithful, it's just painful.

The second thing I'm working with is the idea of "whoever believes in the Son has eternal life". I know, I know, simple, basic, 101 level theology. But I'm being pushed on what it means to be a believer, a follower, a disciple. Christ's calls to discipleship are sky high. His parable of the soils is haunting me right now. Francis Chan and his book , Crazy Love, are just feeding the questions. (You REALLY should pick up this book!) So what does it mean to "believe in the Son"? What all does that entail. Does true belief, the size of a mustard seed, produce life change automatically? Does a person who claims faith, but lacks serious growth, only deceive themselves? At what level is growth real? At what level is it just self-help stuff?

I'm honestly not worried about myself, not because I'm so great or wonderful, but I know that I rely on Christ and need Him above all else. I can't breathe if He doesn't show me His grace and mercy every nano-second. I can be selfish and ungrateful, I sin, but I know that I am trusting Him for everything. But as a pastor, how do I gauge what we are calling people to? Especially students?

Anyway, that's where I am today, in John 3.

Doves, Lambs, and Swords

What is it about Jesus that makes Him so hard to be seen as the One? John the Baptist says that he wouldn't have known Jesus was the Messiah if God hadn't told him ahead of time to watch for a sign. He was supposed to watch for the Spirit to settle on someone. Again, we have that imagery from Genesis. God the Creator, speaking words about the Spirit. When John saw the dove settle on Jesus, he knew.

What about Jesus makes it so hard to take Him seriously? I still struggle with it. Just today I blew Him off completely and did things my way, making a total mess of it. (And it's only 10 am!) What would help was if He showed up with a sword, swinging, demanding, telling everyone to drop and give Him twenty! He will do this one day, but not yet. He comes as the "Lamb of God", John the Baptist says. (This is, by the way, the only place in the whole Bible that phrase is used.)

But then, when I do screw up, His love and willingness to carry my mess drops me to my knees. I am so completely messed up and unworthy of His forgiveness, yet He drops it, heavier than any sword. He forgives, loves, and reaches out to me, over and over and over.

This Lamb of God is unlike anything I've ever known.

Who Knew?! John 1:19 - 28

Reading through John 1:19-28 today. Wow, I learned a lot!

For example, in this passage, John begins telling us about the first week of Jesus' ministry. I never noticed the "the next day" verses in 29, 35, 43, etc. John continues his parallel to Genesis 1 that he began in the very beginning of the book. I love that kind of detail that God puts in. Here the creator is creating again, a new ministry, a new era, a new history. All in seven days, ending with a miraculous marriage and party. And what about this idea of ending with a marriage? The whole Bible begins with a marriage (Adam and Eve), and ends with a marriage (Christ and the church). So, here in Jesus' first week is a microcosm of history. Too cool!

Secondly, I want to be like John the Baptist (JtB). I've read this passage a couple of dozen times, and never really stopped and looked at what John is doing here. JtB gets this delegation out to see him, to legitimize his ministry. It's his chance to step onto a national stage and establish himself. What an opportunity! But he blows it. As these big leaders question him, each answer speaks less and less about him and more and more about Jesus. His first answer is "I am not the Christ". Then "I am not". Then down to "No". He simply doesn't want to talk about himself. That is ALL I want to do most of the time. But JtB wants to talk about Jesus. I love that, and am going to consciously work towards that.

Also, the bit about him being unworthy to strap Jesus' sandal is something I never got before, at least not totally. I just discovered that in their culture, a disciple would do many things to help out their rabbi. The rabbi wouldn't get paid for teaching the scriptures, it was an honor. (I don't get paid for teaching either. I love that part of my job. I get paid for doing paperwork! Ugh!) So the disciples would offer service to help out their rabbi. But there were limits to what they would do. There is an ancient rabbinic saying that goes "Every service which a slave performs for his master shall a disciple do for his teacher except the losing of his sandal-thong." It was beneath the disciple to do this. But here, JtB picks that very thing to say he is unworthy of doing. I often think Jesus owes me, and JtB says he isn't even worth touching Jesus shoes. I have much, much work to do in this area.

Just some thoughts as I was reading today. I love the fact that this book never gets old!

Don't Miss It!

John 18 finishes out with the final verses in 28 - 40. It's Jesus before Pilate. Pilate is the appointed governor from Rome. He's the guy desperately trying to hold onto his position and job. If he can't keep Israel calm, Rome will remove him and put someone else in his spot. (This actually happens later after Jesus is gone.)

What kills me about this is that the Jewish leaders come to Pilate's house, and bring Jesus to the ruler. They won't enter the house. Why? Because if they go in a Gentile's house, they will be "unclean". If they are "unclean", then they have to go through elaborate ceremonies to become spiritually clean again. There isn't time to do that and to kill Jesus before Passover begins.

But what is Passover? It is where the Jews celebrate God saving their first born sons when they were in Egypt. The Egyptians had a plague put on them where the first born boys in each family were killed. But the Jews put the blood of a lamb on the doorposts, and God saved their sons. Passover is a huge celebration where they remember God doing that, and they celebrate being saved, once, long ago. A big part of Passover is looking forward to the Messiah coming again.

So, we have very educated Jewish priests wanting to stay pure so that they can celebrate God saving them and the Messiah coming. They want to kill Jesus quickly, and won't even go into the courtroom to have Him tried due to their desire to be "pure". They are killing the Messiah, the one son sent to save them, and are worried about being pure. The upside down irony is so thick that it's suffocating.

How could they be so stupid? How could they miss it? How could they be so worried about their religion that they miss the whole thing they are looking for? It's ridiculous!

And it is. It still is every time I do it. Every time I judge someone from my basis of how right I am, and how wrong they are, I miss the Messiah. Every time I ignore someone's needs while I am SO blessed with money, health, time, education, and ability, I miss the Messiah. Every time God asks me to do something, and I pretend not to hear, or not to be sure that it is Him asking, I miss the Messiah. It is stupid and ridiculous. It still is today.

Where are you missing the Messiah today?

In The Name of Love, One More In the ...

Reading today, Jesus continues through His crucifixion stages. Peter denies Him for the second time in John 18:25-27. This time, it was probably in fear of His life. After all, the guy asking was there when he cut the soldiers ear off.

Then Jesus is taken to Pilate, the Roman governor. A couple of details hit me today reading this. One, the Jewish leaders won't take Jesus into Pilate's palace. If they did, they would be "unclean" for going into a Gentile's house. There were ceremonies they would have to go through to become "clean" again. The ceremonies would need to be done before the start of the Sabbath, which was that evening, and they didn't have time to get it done, what with the trying to kill Jesus stuff on their "to do" list. So they wouldn't go in. The interesting note is because that Sabbath was Passover, a celebration when the Jews remembered God saving their first born sons from death. The irony is too deep to handle in that. They want to party, thanking God for saving their first born sons. They are so concerned about being a part of this celebration that they are conducting an illegal trial to kill God's firstborn (and only) son. Does that confuse anyone else but me?

Secondly, when the people cry for Barabbas release instead of Jesus, it says that he had taken part in a revolution. He was part of a group trying to overthrow the Roman government. This is exactly what the people had hoped Jesus would do. But when He didn't, and went down the whole "my kingdom is not of this world" path, they ditched Him and moved on. They wanted a king, but they wanted one on their terms. Maybe Barabbas could be that. He definitely was a better shot at it than Jesus had turned out to be!

But then, as always, as I'm dumbfounded at the thickheadedness and stupidity of the Jews, God reminds me of my tendency to do the exact same things. (Sign) I really don't like it when He does, but then I remember how much He loves me. Anyway, how often do we get so caught up in our ideas of religion and power and influence and marketing and "the way things SHOULD be around here" that we ignore what Jesus is doing all together. We might even ignore Him in His name. I do.

What's His response? He speaks truth, and then lays down His life for me.

I won't even go into the part where He calls us to do the same thing for other people around us. That'll be another day.

Why play hide and seek?

In John 18:15 - 18, an unnamed disciple gets Peter into the audience where Jesus is being tried in court. It seems like the disciple is probably John. So, here is my question. If John is known by the High Priest, it would seem that they would know he was a disciple of Jesus. And he is given freedom to come into the trial.

Yet Peter, when asked about being with Jesus, denies it. Why? I don't understand. I always thought he was afraid and undercover. But if John was known, there would be no need for him to hide. John was safe, he would have been too. But instead Peter lied and tried to hide. (wow, that rhymes).

Anyway, why did he do it? His life doesn't seem to be at risk. He doesn't seem to be at threat of being arrested. Any ideas why He would hide? If we can figure it out, I'm sure that there is a lesson in it for us.

What do you think?

Tie Him Up Before He Says His Name Again!

John 18:12-14 is such a small section of the story, and yet it contains some interesting points to it. Jesus at this point has knocked the men down just by saying the name of God, He has healed the ear of the man who had it knocked off, and has said He will not fight with a sword. Yet notice that the first thing the soldiers do is tie Jesus up. All they know is force. They didn't have to do this. He was willing to go with them, yet they tied Him up. He had just healed one of their own, and they see Him as a threat.

Then He is taken to Caiaphas, the high priest. This is a man who spent years studying the Bible to understand God. He had lived a life beyond reproach, worked hard to know and follow God. Yet when God spoke to Him face to face, Caiaphas saw Him as a threat. He wanted Jesus killed.

I do the same thing. I get a dream or a plan going, and Jesus doesn't want anything to do with it. Whatever I have planned for my life, Jesus declares it to be destructive, anti-God, and wants to freely come and heal it. But I resist, and want to tie God up and do away with Him, at least temporarily. I'll bring Him back out later and set Him free once I've done whatever it is that I am hell bent on doing. I am the biggest fool of the three between me, Caiaphas, and the soldiers.

You see, I know Jesus. He is the savior, the healer. He has proven a thousand times to me that His way is best and that He wants my very best for me. He is not selfish, mean, or petty. Yet I want to tie Him up and do away with Him at times. When I'm weak, tired, and selfish. When I'm afraid, worried, and unsure. Then I want to be god with the smallest "g" possible.

Lord, I really am sorry. Help me to be the one who surrenders at all times, not just when it's convenient. Help me to follow, and not try to use you when it works best for me. You are God, I am not. Period. And I like it that way.

Knocked Down, But Not Out

With Jesus' time of prayer behind him, we see Him move towards His arrest and ulitmately His crucifixion in John 18. A couple of things stick out to me in this story. One, Jesus is in control of His own schedule. They don't grab Him while He is praying. He gets up, walks across the valley, and then when they come, He walks out to meet them. He is in charge from the get go. It's not something that catches Him off guard, or that He resists. He marches directly into the storm. Wow.

Secondly, notice in verse 6 what happens. Jesus asks who they are after, knowing it is Him. It's dark, and they only have torches. They say they are after Jesus of Nazareth. He answers "I am he." When He says this, they fall to the ground. Why? "I am He" is the name in Hebrew for God. In Exodus, it's the name God gives to Moses to tell the people Who sent him. It's the name the Jews held as holy, and wouldn't speak or write on their own. It's the name of God alone. When Jesus, being God, says this phrase which is one of the names of God, it explodes with the Holiness of God. This Holiness knocks the soldiers back and down.

How could they even arrest Him after this? Its an excellent example of how we get so far down our own paths that we ignore God and do the wrong things in the face of His Holiness. I do it from time to time, and have to get knocked on my rear hard to wake up. Its no wonder they missed it.

What about you? Do we really believe God is in control of the storms around us? Will we march into them with Him? Is there something that you are holding onto so tightly that you ignore His overwhelming power and holiness because of it?

The List

Reading John 14:15-31, I can not imagine how the disciples would have felt hearing this. Jesus is leaving them. He makes it clear. He's gonna send help, and God is going to be with them. But Jesus is leaving. And His main point is to do what He has told them. What has He told them at this point? Love God, love others, don't fall into the systems around them, be pure, and tell everyone about God's Kingdom. Heal the sick, help the poor, laugh with the happy, and cry with the sad. Do those things, and you love Jesus. Don't do those things, and you don't.

How are we doing? How am I doing? What about you? What about your local church? Or the American church? Or the church worldwide? Are we known for these things? No, we aren't. We're known for a lot of stuff, but not much in the above list. How do we change it? We don't start by trying to change the church worldwide. We start on the other end of the spectrum. We start with me. With you. Am I known for that list? I don't think so. I need to love others more. I need to help the poor and outcast more. I need to do more to help heal the sick. There is much for me to change.

So do I love Jesus since I come up short? Yes. Because I hear Him call for these things, I take Him seriously, and I am always working on change. It's the desire to know Him that leads to the change. God isn't waiting on us to perfect it to accept us. He loves us enough to accept us right where we are. But He loves us too much to leave us there.

Where are you in the list? Find the areas you need to grow. Pray for that opportunity today. Then go look for it and do it. Do it now, before it is time to leave.

Only One

John 14:5-14 is such an amazing, powerful, gut wrenching passage. Jesus' tone here is unbelievable, when we remember what is coming for Him in a few hours. Thomas wants to know the way to God, what does he need to do? Nothing. It's not WHAT we do, it's WHO we know. Okay, okay, I know, this has been used for years in churches, and correctly so. It's a foundational piece of fundamental, evangelical Christianity. BUT, really think about it in terms of this passage. It's about more than works vs. faith salvation that attains heaven. It's about life itself. If we know Jesus, that's all there is. Not if we know about Jesus, but as we know Jesus, in a living, beautiful, developing relationship, we've found it. So much freedom! So much hope! So much fun! A friendship with Jesus, a relationship that has Him as the center and king is so life giving, so joyful, so fun! And it's straightforward and simple. He is all we need.

I can't put into words the feelings and range of emotions this raises in me. I'm so aware that if life is about how well I can perform, if it is about me chasing God and proving to Him my worth, then it's over. I am the most hopeless of hopeless on that level. I fail, fall, and run too many times each day to EVER impress a wonderful, faithful King like Him. But no, He comes for me, throws His strong, deep arms around me, and tells me He is enough. There is nothing more to look for. I can be done, I can rest, I can simply learn to know Him better. THAT is easy. He is a joy to know, and great and amazing friend everyday. I love Him more and more as the seconds pass.

You know, I'm trying to convince you of this with my words. That's pointless. Set aside some time today, open to John14:5-14 and read. Picture Jesus, His last day with His friends, preparing to go through hell and back for them. See them sit around in an intimate dinner meal, and Him speaking these words to them, and you. Read them over and then re-read them four or five times. Meditate on them today. Let them soak in. Talk to Jesus about what He meant, what He means. Spend some time with your Lord. It's worth it.

A Room with a View, or a Mansion Alone?

Jesus is such an amazing leader. I mean, really, look at John 14, in the first four verses. I know, I know, He's God. I promise, I know that. But He's also human, as we see in the garden in the following stories. But here, He is under more pressure than we can imagine, and He has the fortitude and love to comfort His disciples. "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me." Don't worry, He says, we'll be alright. He knows He's going to die, and He believes He will come back to life. Trust. Don't worry.

Why shouldn't we worry? Because He says there is room for us in His Dad's house. Okay, here comes one of my pet peeves. I'm so tired of American Christianity teaching this junk about streets of gold and mansions for everyone. The next life is not our ultimate retirement package. Can we PLEASE stab that stuff in the dark, selfish, materialistic heart and kill it finally? Heaven is SO MUCH more than a big empty house that I'm going to live in alone forever. (If everyone has their own mansion, then we all live alone. That would stink!) Jesus says there is room for everyone in His Dad's house. We're going to be together, and we're going to be with Him. That's enough. Don't worry. It's all going to be okay, in the most realistic sense possible.

The idea is still true today. What are you facing? Pain, sickness, hurt, heartbreak, fear, death, loneliness, addiction, suffering, uncertainty? Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Oh how I need to hear that everyday. I'm so glad that Jesus is such an amazing leader. I will follow that leader anywhere.

If There is Time, There is Hope

Jesus had told the people that His life and power would divide, and in the end of chapter 12 in John, it keeps on doing that. John looks at two groups of people. On the one side are those who have rejected Him to follow their own ideas, and now they are growing hard to the message. The words used in verse 40 are the same used to describe someone who has grown calluses on their hands from constant work. They have turned their back from Christ for so long that now it is becoming hard for them to hear what He is actually saying, even though it would heal them.

There is another group of people who do believe, but still live in fear of the religious leaders. They haven't yet made the break from the system. That will come soon enough. If you're reading John and don't know how the story ends, then verses 42 and 43 add suspense to the story. They believe, but are afraid. What will they do? How will it turn out?

We live in light, according to Jesus in verse 46. We need to offer that light to everyone. Notice here that He doesn't write off the people who are growing hardened to His message. He keeps offering them salvation to the very end. We should too. There are people around us that we want to give up on. They are growing harder by the day to the truth and love of Jesus. Don't give up. Pray, offer them the light, and love them. Jesus says there will be a day when they will be judged, when it will be too late. Today isn't that day. Keep going. Don't stop. It's worth the effort.

Did You Hear That?!

We hit another cryptic story of Jesus in John 12:20-36. Some Greek Gentiles want to speak to Jesus. They are God fearing people, and the disciples don't know what to do with them. But we are never told if Jesus meets with them or not.

Instead, Jesus goes into a discourse about how everything has to die in order to produce life. Seeds have to drop to the ground and be buried in order to produce more seeds. People have to be willing to give up this life in order to gain a better one. Death precedes life.

He admits that He doesn't want to die, but knows it is God's plan and is resigned to it in verses 27 and 28. At that point, God speaks from Heaven, and the people hear it. They disagree on what they heard, but they hear it.

This whole passage is about the ability to hear God. The Greek people want to speak to Jesus, with hopes of hearing God. Jesus does what He does, because He has heard the plan from God. The disciples go to Jesus to hear from God. God speaks to the crowd, but not everyone actually hears it. Jesus tells the people about His death, but not everyone can understand it or hear it clearly.

What is the difference in who hears, and who doesn't? It's the issue of death. I think when we hold tightly to this life; a life of selfishness, self-protection, self-promotion, selfish desires, and selfish motives, then we can't hear God. Even when He speaks clearly, it sounds like a distant thunder to us and we ignore it. But when we die to this life, and embrace the fact that this world isn't the answer, that His world is the hope, then we can begin to learn to hear clearly.

The Jews who were looking for a king for this world (a Messiah who would live here and rule here forever vs. 34) were clutching this life and this world's values for dear life. When God speaks to them directly from Heaven, they can't hear it. The Greeks are seeking God, and left their culture, home, and comfort to try and find Him in Jerusalem. We are not told what they do. It's a forever open opportunity. Those who seek God will eventually find Him, but they are on the journey, their destination isn't decided in this story. Finally, we have Jesus, who is willing to die to it all, everyday. He hears God crystal clear. He is completely connected.

We can be too. We can live in that Kingdom if we choose. But it will require us letting this world's grip on us be killed. We will have to die to the selfishness in us. Everyday.

That can hurt.

It's Jesus! Let's Have a Parade!

What an absolutely powerful and amazing scene we find in John 12:12-19. Its the well known story of Jesus coming into Jerusalem for Passover riding on the donkey's back. He is welcomed like a conquering king by hordes of people. The expectations of everyone have been building all week, and the people everywhere are wanting to know when He is going to show up. Finally, He does and everyone literally runs out of the city to meet Him.

Catch a couple of details though. They sing and shout for Him. They call out "Hosanna", which while we use that word to mean "praise God", it literally meant "save" in that day. They see Him as the one coming into town to save them. Not spiritually as much as politically. He's gonna kick the Romans out. The rumors are flowing, He has just raised a man back to life after being dead for four days. He's Superman. He's invincible. He's a real life super hero. And He is coming to save them. It's a beautiful day for these people.

Later, John puts two and two together, and remembers that in Zechariah 9:9, it says that the coming king will ride on a donkey, and scatter the enemy. I'm sure at the time they wondered about the riding the donkey part, but looking back it made sense. But when you read further down in Zechariah 9, it talks about this King freeing the prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon. (I have the picture above set as my desktop, and this verse is actually in it.) He will have the power to set people free from dying. Jesus definitely fits that description.

I absolutely love the Pharisee's statement in verse 19. "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" The Message writes it as "It's out of control. The world's in a stampede after Him!" That has so much irony, humor, power, love, and grace wrapped up in it. They've lost control. If only they would have went with that moment, and given it to Him as well, they could have been saved. But, as we see in the coming chapters, they don't follow Him. And it costs them everything.

But I think this is Satan's take on it as well. People start running around telling everyone they know how Jesus has made the dead able to live again. I think when we do that, Satan is forced to stand by and tell His demons, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!" It just takes people living a life of faith and passion, and telling the truth. It's not complicated. But it's powerful.

I want to be someone who lives in such a way as to cause these kinds of headaches for Satan. Too often I compromise, and I stand by watching his destruction in my life that I have brought on, and find myself saying, "See this is getting me nowhere." I want to turn those tables. I want him to be frustrated at the power of Christ today. I want to be a voice, and tool, in the hands of Jesus to get the whole world to go after Him. Lord, please use me today! May everyone I meet go running after You.

Upside Down and Inside Out

I absolutely love how John writes. He is amazing. Take a look at the passage in John 12:1-11. I so wish I could write like this. Yeah, I know, it's inspired by God. But I also think he was a gifted writer. Check it out.

Jesus has been in hiding, because the religious leaders decide to kill Him. How does He know that? We aren't sure. But when He shows up, He does so at Lazarus house. He goes to hang out with the living, the one He raised from the dead. Mary comes in and anoints Him with perfume. Respect given to a king or ruler. So we have life and power demonstrated among people who are powerless and with one who is condemned to die.

Judas raises a fuss about the money, because it could be used for the poor. His cry is about being generous to those in need. But the reality is he wants it for himself, since he steals from the money bag that he carries for the crew. We have generosity being used as a cover for theft and selfishness.

Jesus, who is the king of life, the one who can raise the dead, declares that the day of His burial is on them. The perfume is for His death.

Finally, the Jewish leaders find out where Jesus is. These men of God, who are called to lead people to the One of love, compassion, and life make plans. They want to kill the only person who has ever brought someone back from the dead. They also want to kill the one who was brought back. Think about that for a minute. Their thoughts run something like this:"Okay, Jesus can raise the dead. He's done it beyond any doubt. It makes us look bad. So, let's kill the guy who is stronger than death. Let's kill the guy who already died once, and is back again, for good measure as well."

That is some crazy story telling. If you read that and don't get how backwards everything is, you've really missed the point (which I've done for years). John wants us to see how easy it is to get completely opposite of God when we take things in our own power, trust our own wisdom, make our own plans.

So, where are we fighting God? Where are we trying to kill of the one who can raise the dead? What in our daily path is God wanting to call to life, only to see us try and plan it's demise? It won't work. He wins. He's simply too great, too strong, too much. He is amazing, He is grace.