Category Archives: 5x5x5 Reading Plan

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The Judas Within

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: John 12
Meditation: John 12:8

“For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

Shift Your Focus… To call someone a “Judas” is to label them a betrayer of the worst kind. It is an accusation that is reserved only for the worst kind of relational offense, since to call another Judas usually implies an irreparable breach in the relationship. After all, who wants to have anything to do with a backstabbing betrayer?

Judas’ act of betrayal, to paraphrase Franklin Roosevelt, is a name that will forever live in infamy. But what Judas did to Jesus didn’t make him evil, it only revealed the evil that had, like cancer, been eating away at his character for a long time. The fact is, in Jesus’ own words, “one of you [disciples] is a devil!” (John 6:70). And Judas was a devil of the worst kind—a church-going one. As Joseph Hall has said, “No devil is so dangerous as the religious devil.”

As you might imagine of someone who would betray the Lord, this notorious disciple exhibited some other character flaws that mostly go unnoticed in light of his more famous sin. In this John 12 account, we are told that Judas protested Mary’s act of anointing Jesus with expensive perfume because it could have fetched a handsome price at the market, and money from the sale could have been used to help the poor. Of course, Judas had a hidden motive. Since he was treasurer for this little band of disciples, he apparently dipped his hand in the till from time to time to fund his own needs. Judas was not only a betrayer, but according to John he was also a thief.

Yet as the Gospels are prone to do, there is another side to Judas that is uncomfortably close to so many people who sit beside you every Sunday in the pews of your church. They are the ones who, like clockwork, criticize everything from the room temperature to the sound level to the length and content of the sermon to the unfriendliness of the people to the building campaign to the call for financial commitment, ad nauseam. No matter what, they are never satisfied; there is always a better alternative—and although they are quick to protest, their solutions are never quite clear or doable. In truth, rather than wanting change, they simply want to gripe. They may smile and sing and put a coin or two in the offering plate, yet they are unwitting tools of Satan. The great Swiss theologian Karl Bath was speaking of them when he said, “The devil may also make use of morality.” They are very spiritual devils!

It wasn’t only Judas that Jesus had in mind when he uttered this gentle but pointed rebuke, “for the poor you have always.” He was speaking to the legion of church folk who believe their gift to the church is the ministry of criticism. In truth, their chronic criticism betrays a deeper agenda and uglier issues of character.

Don’t get me wrong—constructive criticism is not a bad thing, if offered in the right spirit, and conflict that is resolved Biblically and in a Christ-like spirit can actually strengthen the church. It is chronic criticizers I am talking about. In truth, they suffer from the Judas Syndrome. Not betrayal, not thievery; destructive criticism is their sin.

So here’s the deal: If you have to be around someone who suffers this sort of Judas Syndrome, lovingly confront them, as Jesus did. If they don’t see their sin and change their ways, establish some boundaries with them. Don’t let them poison you and cripple your church.

And most of all, don’t be one! Just remember, no one has ever built a statue to a betrayer, a thief, or a critic.

“The devil loves ‘curing’ a small fault by giving you a great one.” ~C.S. Lewis

Prayer… Lord, keep me from the Judas Syndrome—the sin of covering my own character flaws and deflecting Holy Spirit conviction meant for me with destructive criticism of others. Show me where I need personal reformation, and give me the courage to deal with issues that are keeping me from greater intimacy with you.

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Beware of Your Personal Agenda

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: John 11
Meditation: John 11:47-48

“Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, ‘What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.’”

Shift Your Focus… This chapter is amazing on a couple of levels. First of all, the raising of Lazarus from the dead has to be one of the most dramatic miracles in the entire Bible, outside of Christ’s own resurrection.

This is a perfect set up for the authentication of Jesus’ messianic ministry—and he knows it. He knows Lazarus’ sickness will lead to death, yet he waits until the man dies to come and pray for him. He knows that God the Father has given him authority and power over death, yet he prays anyway in front of the crowd that God will release resurrection power through him to bring forth this man from death. He knows that the Jews are criticizing his inability to prevent this death. In their minds, he is just another so-called messiah—all hat and no cattle. He knows that everyone in this scene is thinking that after four days in the tomb, death has done its nasty business on the body of Lazarus—as the King James says, “He stinketh!”—and it is well beyond resurrection.

This is the perfect set up for one of the outstanding acts of God ever. God seems to operate at his best in these situations. Yes, Jesus could have gone to Bethany much earlier and healed Lazarus before it got to this point, but that miracle would not have even come close to the glory this miracle would bring. God had an agenda—he always does: To glorify himself.

The Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus had an agenda too. They loved the status quo—their positions of power, the religious monopoly they held over the people, the spiritual racket that kept them in their places of wealth and honor. They had come to despise Jesus because he was threatening their way of life. His radical message and rising popularity were making their cozy way of life vulnerable to a Roman crackdown, and the potential loss of that prevented them from seeing and accepting even an outstanding act of God like Lazarus’ resurrection.

That, too, is an amazing part to this story. It is almost as amazing as Lazarus’ resurrection. The Jews had witnessed this incredible, undeniable miracle with their own eyes, yet rejected it because, at least in their minds, it threatened their way of life.

That is the problem with personal agendas. They keep us from seeing how far superior God’s agenda is to our own. We do everything in our power to resist and avoid the short-term discomfort God may be allowing in our lives in order to preserve the comfort that we have come to prefer—even at the expense of a resurrection.

How do we do this? Just think about it—you will probably come of with plenty of examples. Have you ever stayed home from church because you had a headache? You didn’t feel well enough to go to the very place that prays for the sick to be healed. Have you withheld a financial gift from God because that money was dedicated to something you wanted to do? Have you ever sat in your pew when the pastor called people forward for prayer because you were uncomfortable and worried about what people might think? Have you ever held back on an adventure of faith because you felt unqualified and ill-equipped for the challenge?

It is most likely that you have an agenda that is different than God’s—perhaps more than a few. I know that I do.

What do you say we make a spiritual determination today that our agenda will no longer control our lives? If you will reject the status quo for the risky adventure of following God’s agenda, you will be on the cusp of the adventure of your life—maybe even a resurrection!

“Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.”  ~St. Augustine

Prayer… Lord, show me where my love affair with the status quo is keeping me from personal resurrection.  And infuse me with the courage to jettison comfort for the risky adventure of faith.

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Steal, Kill and Destroy

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: John 10
Meditation: John 10:10

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Shift Your Focus… You have an enemy.  His name is Satan. Jesus called him a thief and a liar. His main weapons are subtlety and deception—and he’s pretty good at it, since he has been at it since the beginning of human history.

He hates God, and everything of God, which includes you.  This enemy has a nefarious plan for your life.  He wants to rob you of the abundance of God, destroy your identity and destiny as a child of God, and kill you, body, soul and most of all, spirit, keeping you from eternity with God.  In fact, even right now he is strategically and specifically working to do you in.

The problem is, you may be oblivious to the work of this enemy. Out of ignorance, disbelief, or plain old lassitude and indifference, Satan goes about his evil work undetected by most.

George Barna, a Christian researcher and pollster, asked people to respond to this statement in a national survey:  “Satan, is not a living being, but is a symbol of evil.”  Among those who claimed to be born again, 32% agreed strongly, 11% agreed somewhat and 5% didn’t know. That means that of the total number responding, 48% of born again believers either agreed that Satan is only symbolic or weren’t sure!

Barna’s findings would suggest that half of you reading this blog today, in spite of what the Bible clearly teaches, think of the devil as a boogie-man from a spiritual fairy tale, not a real being bent on destroying you.

Here is the Biblical reality that I want to convince you of today:  Satan and his demonic legions are alive and well on Planet Earth.  Satan is the enemy of God, and because he can’t do anything to God, he chooses to attack what is most precious to God—that is, you.

But here is the Good News: Hebrews 2:14 says that Jesus came “so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.”  I John 3:8 reminds us, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

In Luke 10:17-19, we are told, “the seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’  Jesus replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven.  I have given you authority to…overcome all the power of the enemy, and nothing will harm you.’”

I like that, don’t you? I prefer a fight I know I’ll win!  Our victory over Satan is guaranteed.

So here’s the deal:  We win—but only if we stay alert to the conflict, wise up to the ways of the enemy, and take him on in the authority and power of Jesus name.

Keep that in mind today—and go give ‘em heaven!

“The enemy will not see you vanish into God’s company without an effort to reclaim you.”  ~C.S. Lewis

Prayer… Lord, keep me wise to the ways of the enemy today.  Lead me away from temptation and keep me from the evil one.  Help me to walk in the victory over Satan that you secured at Calvary.

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The Power Of Your Personal Testimony

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: John 9
Meditation: John 9:25

He answered and said [to the Pharisees], “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

Shift Your Focus… The Pharisees didn’t like the fact that Jesus had healed a man born blind on the Sabbath. The truth is, they did not like Jesus at all, and they were looking for him to slip up so they could do away with him once and for all. Perhaps this latest “Sabbath miracle” was their chance.

They found the man Jesus had healed and began to question him. Had he really been born blind? Was this a hoax? Was he secretly a disciple of Jesus? Would a true man of God really heal on the Sabbath?

These weren’t just the innocent questions of a curious group. This was an interrogation. The tone of the Pharisees was intimidating and threatening, and the implication was that it wouldn’t go well for this healed man and his family if he didn’t repudiate both the miracle and the miracle worker.

Then, in a flash of unrehearsed inspiration and simple brilliance, the man parries their attack and thrusts the most persuasive of all daggers into their opposition against Jesus: The testimony of a satisfied customer. All this man knew was that he was once blind, but now he could see. Case closed. The Pharisees were defenseless. What response could they give against such overwhelming evidence?

That is the simple power of a personal testimony. When you speak for Christ as a satisfied customer, as one whose life has been changed forever, as one who was once spiritually blinded by sin but now can see by God’s grace, there is no defense. Who can argue against that?

Your testimony may not be as dramatic as the healing of the man who had been born blind, but it is just as powerful a weapon as his. You, too, are a satisfied customer, and a satisfied customer makes the most compelling witness of all.

Take a moment today to think through your story. Perhaps you should write it out—one or two pages will be enough. Simply describe what you life was like before Christ, how you came to know him, and the joys and benefits of what it means to now be his follower.

I guarantee, God will give you an opportunity before too long to share your story with someone who needs to know Jesus.

“We must have the glory sink into us before it can be reflected from us. In deep inward beholding we must have Christ in our hearts, that He may shine forth from our lives.” ~Alexander MacLaren

Prayer… Today, Lord, lead me to someone who needs to hear my story.

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An Explosion Of Grace

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: John 8
Meditation: John 8:11

“Jesus said to [the adulterous woman], ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’”

Shift Your Focus… If I were writing this story instead of John, I would have had Jesus calling down fire from heaven to fry these mean-spirited Pharisees. At the very least, he would have snatched this poor woman from their grasp and beamed over to Galilee to set her free. That would have made a great story.

But as we’ve come to expect of Jesus, he does the unexpected. Instead of special effects and edge-of-your-seat drama, he simply stoops over and writes in the sand.

Do you ever wonder what he wrote? “Jesus was here!” or perhaps the Ten Commandments, or better yet, a list of the Pharisees’ secret sins or the names of their mistresses?

These religious Nazis kept pressing him until finally he said, “Look, if any of you are without sin, you can be the first one to throw a stone at her.” Then he began to scribble again. And with those words, Jesus lobbed a grenade into their midst, exploding their self-righteousness, and one-by-one, from the oldest to the youngest, the Pharisees walked away, leaving only Jesus and this sinful woman.

I wonder what she expected next: A sermon, condemnation, more humiliation and rejection? Instead, Jesus gently asks, “Where are your accusers? Has no one judged you guilty?”

She replied, “Sir, they’re gone…they didn’t judge me guilty.”

Then Jesus lobbed another grenade—this one a grace-grenade that utterly exploded this sinful woman’s self-condemnation and turned her sad world right-side up: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

So just what was it that Jesus wrote in the sand? I think it is highly likely that he bent over and with his finger, etched these words:

“Not guilty!”

A few weeks later, Jesus again wrote those very same words in the sand. This time it was not with his finger, but with blood that dripped from his nail-pierced hands and feet, leaving an eternal stain on the ground at the foot of the cross. This time it wasn’t just meant for an adulterous woman, it was meant for you and me:

“Not Guilty. Paid in full. Completely forgiven.”

I don’t know what that grace-grenade does for you, but it makes me want to “go and sin no more.”

“This is the mystery of the riches of divine grace for sinners, for by a wonderful exchange our sins are now not ours but Christ’s, and Christ’s righteousness is not Christ’s, but ours.” ~Martin Luther

Prayer… Lord, I am overwhelmed and undone by your grace. It is more than enough to cover my worst sins and bring eternal life to this undeserving sinner. I will be forever grateful!

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Learning To Make Righteous Judgments

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: John 7
Meditation: John 7:24

“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

Shift Your Focus… People were making judgments about Jesus, and as we see in John 7, for a growing number of them, those judgments were not very positive. In fact, opposition and outright hostility were increasing, which ultimately, would lead his death.

That’s the way it was with Jesus. You either loved him or hated him—there was no neutral ground. Being around Jesus demanded a position on one end of the spectrum or the other, but staying in the middle was not an option.

To arrive at an opinion of Jesus, a judgment had to be made. Sadly, those who rejected him formed judgments that were not based in righteousness and truth. Their judgments were based on the fact that Jesus had made them uncomfortable. He had challenged their traditions. His ministry had colored outside the lines of established theology. His way of doing things didn’t look like theirs. Why, he even had the audacity to actually heal someone in dire need on the Sabbath—and they didn’t like that one bit!

Never one to shy away from controversy and confrontation, Jesus challenged their attitudes toward him as well as their approach to life in general. He called them to reject this judgment-by-appearance mindset that was keeping them from seeing God’s truth for a view of life as seen through the lens of righteousness. Learning to make righteous judgments would make all the difference in their world—it would lead them to see God in the daily details of their world, and in the end, would lead to eternal life.

Unfortunately, most of the people in Jesus’ day rejected what he had to say. But the story is not meant to end there. Jesus’ challenge to “judge with righteous judgment” also calls us to reexamine the way we arrive at the judgments we make and the opinions we hold, and honestly ask ourselves whether they are based on appearance or rooted in righteousness.

We form judgments and opinions every day—perhaps every hour—about the people we encounter, the events we observe, and the world we live in. Every moment of our day presents opportunity to either embrace or reject the work of God that awaits us in those people and events. It all depends on how we form our judgments.

If we will learn to root our judgments, opinions and attitudes in righteousness rather than mere appearance, we will discover Jesus in the daily ordinariness of life.

“We need a baptism of clear seeing. We desperately need seers who can see through the mist—Christian leaders with prophetic vision. Unless they come soon it will be too late for this generation. And if they do come we will no doubt crucify a few of them in the name of our worldly orthodoxy.” ~A.W. Tozer

Prayer… Father, help me to practice your presence in the daily ordinariness of my life. Teach me to make righteous judgments so that I might be see you in every person I meet, every event I take in, every plan I execute, and in every detail of my world.

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Why We Say Grace Before Meals

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: John 6
Meditation: John 6:11

“And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.”

Shift Your Focus… This easy-to-overlook verse is sandwiched between two of Jesus’ outstanding miracles—the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two small fish, and the miracle of Jesus walking on the water.  Not only that, at the end of this lengthy chapter is some of the heaviest theology that Jesus would ever lay on his would-be followers. It was so demanding and confrontational, in fact, that his followers called it a “hard saying”, and many of them quit following him from that point on.

With so much important stuff going on in this chapter, it would be easy to overlook the fact that Jesus stopped to give thanks before a meal.  Think about that for a moment:  Why would Jesus do that?  In a sense, wasn’t he really saying grace to himself?  What purpose did this serve?

To begin with, I think Jesus was truly grateful to his Father for this provision of resources by which the miraculous feeding could occur.  I think Jesus was authentically thankful that his Father had authorized the use of Divine power and was about to yet again authenticate the Messianic ministry and mission of the Son.  I think the Second Person of the eternal Trinity was a fundamentally grateful being. It was just who Jesus was; the overflow of his Divine nature.

But not only that, Jesus was modeling for us the appropriateness and power of gratitude.  He was reminding us by his actions that it doesn’t hurt to stop and express thanksgiving to God, and one of the simplest and recurring ways to enter into gratitude is to say a simple “thank you” before each meal.

We don’t know exactly what Jesus said in his prayer, but it was likely short and sweet.  John simply says he “gave thanks.”  He acknowledged God in that moment, drawing attention to the Heavenly Provider and reminding both himself and those who were within earshot of his dependence on and gratitude to Father God.

And that is something you and I can do too, each time we sit down (or drive through) for a meal.  We can give thanks.  As redundant and useless and perfunctory as it may seem, there is power in this simple act. And if Jesus, who didn’t have to do it, did it, then we, who don’t have to do it, should!

“We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good; if bad, because it works in us patience, humility, contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.” ~C.S. Lewis

Prayer… Father God, I give you thanks for life, health, provision, and the promise of eternal life.  All of it, by grace, comes from your generous heart to an undeserving soul.