Category Archives: John

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Worth The Effort

Being With Jesus:
John 17:20-21 (NLT)

I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

Jesus spent his last hours on earth praying desperately for the unity of his church. He knew that without unity, the church would fall apart. With unity, however, Jesus knew that nothing could stop his people from accomplishing the mission of reaching the world with the Gospel.

That is the power of unity. The great preacher Vance Havner once said, “Snowflakes are frail, but if enough of them get together they can stop traffic.” So it is with the church. If we get together in unity, we will stop the traffic in our community.

The question is, since we all agree that unity is a powerful and a necessary thing, how do we move from agreement to action? How can we practice unity? The Apostle Paul provided some powerful insights in his words to the church in Ephesus:

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 1:1-3)

Did you notice that word, “effort”? Paul says we are to “make every effort” to attain and maintain unity in our church. Frankly, it takes hard, focused, continual, intentional and strategic effort individually and corporately to keep the church united as one.

The word “effort” means to be diligent, to be zealous, to make haste to do something, in this case, being eager and fully dedicated to maintain the unity of the Spirit. It refers to a holy zeal in guarding our Christian unity. Why do we need holy zeal? To counter Satan’s unholy zeal in dividing us. Satan’s number one goal for the church is disunity. That’s why each Christian needs to take personal responsibility for the spiritual unity of his or her church.

James Hewitt tells the story of one woman’s unforgettable experience teaching Vacation Bible School with her primary class. The class was interrupted one day about an hour before dismissal when a new student, a little boy, was brought in.

The boy had one arm missing, and since the class was almost over, she had no opportunity to learn any of the details about the child’s disability or his state of mind. She was afraid that one of the other children would make a comment and embarrass the poor little guy, and there was no time to warn them to be sensitive.

As the class time came to a close, she began to relax. She asked the class to join her in their usual closing ceremony. “Let’s make our churches,” she said. “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple, open the doors and there’s…”

Then the awful reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks—the one armed boy couldn’t make a church with his hands. The very thing she’d feared the kids would do, she’d done. As she stood there speechless, however, the little girl sitting next to the boy reached over with her left hand and placed it up to his right hand and said, “Hey Davey, let’s make the church together”

That is what we need to do—give ounce of energy to keep the unity of the Spirit with other believers. As we do, we will make the church together. Believe me, it will be worth the effort!

“We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately” (Benjamin Franklin)

Getting To Know Jesus: There is nothing is more important to Father than the unity of his family. Do you give much thought to that? What strategic and intentional part can you play to attain, maintain and increase the unity of the spirit through the bonds of peace in your spiritual community?

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In It But Not Of It

Being With Jesus:
John 17:15 (NLT)

“I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.”

I cannot think of a more difficult assignment that you have today than to live in the world but not be of it. Yet that is the exact calling that God has placed upon your life. You must live as light on a spiritually dark planet yet not be absorbed by the darkness; you are to be gospel seasoning in a tasteless world without losing your God-flavor.

To get out of balance on either end of that assignment, which is an easy thing to do, by the way, is a recipe for spiritual uselessness at best, and spiritual offensiveness at worst. Some Christians have assumed their assignment is to retreat from the world so far that they are insulated from sin. Great—all they have succeeded in doing in making themselves weird and forfeiting any ability to attract people to the joy and abundance of the Kingdom Life. Other Christians, much larger in number, have gone so far the other way and have so blurred the lines between believer and non-believer that the world has no way of seeing in them the attractive beauty of Christ’s holiness. Not only that, but they have not made God happy in the process.

It is a tough act to pull off, to be in the world yet not of it, but Jesus, himself, has prayed to his Father for you—so that gives you a fighting chance. Not only that, Jesus, himself, has set for you an example of how to live in the culture and not be absorbed by it. It’s called the incarnation.

The truth is, wherever Jesus went, not only was he untainted by the sinful world, his life was so compelling different that he drew unbelievers to the Father likes bees are drawn to flowers. Furthermore, Jesus, himself, promised to send you the Holy Spirit to lead you, guide you, walk with you every step of the way and empower you to live in this world but be set apart from it as living witness of the grace of God.

It sounds like your assignment, as difficult as it may be, is completely doable since Father, Son and Holy Spirit are on Team You!

“Our witness – good or bad – is the overflow of our lives.” (Allistair Begg)

Getting To Know Jesus: Read John 17 out loud today, and absorb the words as Jesus prays for you. You will be encouraged.

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Praying Like Jesus

Being With Jesus:
John 17:1 (NLT)

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed.

For so many Christians, prayer is a very private matter. But often, Jesus offered his prayers to God in a very public way—never to show off how great he was as an intercessor or to showcase how impressive his prayers were, but simply to model for his disciples how to connect simply and powerfully with his Father. Through Jesus, we come to understand that authentic prayer is in no way about overcoming any reluctance on God’s part to hear and answer our prayer, but rather it is about tapping into God’s desire to graciously give us what we desire and what he wills through our praying.

Jesus gives us several examples of how we can pray like he did. Obviously, the most famous example is what we call the Lord’s prayer—a brief but powerful, simple yet profound way to effectively connect our needs with God’s will. Another touching example of prayer is this one found in John 17, what we now call Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. This is his final prayer before going to the cross. He knows full well that he will have to suffer unspeakable pain, take the sin of mankind into his sinless spirit, and die the death of a common criminal to redeem mankind, yet facing that he still focuses his prayer on us. And he leaves us a beautiful template for how to pray.

Let me encourage you to take a moment to pray through Jesus High Priestly Prayer using the guide that following. Read the verses aloud as a prayer to God, then using the prayer focus, rephrase Jesus prayer in your own words.

Prayer Focus: Glorifying God through your praise—verses 1-5

“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

Prayer Focus: Acknowledging God’s Word and who you are in him—verse 6-11

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.”

Prayer Focus: Interceding for unity and protection for Christ’s church—verses 11-12

“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.”

Prayer Focus: Asking for joy and sanctification—verses 13-19

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

Prayer Focus: Lifting the world-wide church of Christ to God—verses 20-23

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Prayer Focus: Ask that the love of God will be revealed in you and through you—verses 24-26

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

This may time a few extra minutes, but it will be well worth your time as you enter into the same kind of praying that Jesus did. And as you do, you can have this confidence that if the Father listened to the Son, he will listen to you as you come to him in the name of his Son.

“Our prayers matter to God—all of them. They rise up to heaven as pleasing incense before his throne. God will not answer every prayer according to our desires, yet each prayer is an act of worship offered in faith that blesses the very heart of God. Prayer is practicing the presence of God. It is entering his very throne room in the great court of heaven. It is exercising faith in the One who rewards those who believe that he exists and diligently seek him. It is placing your needs, concerns and hopes into the hands of a loving Father who delights in your dependence and is pleased to provide for your needs according to his gracious will. Never forget, your act of prayer does far more in the unseen realm that you will ever realize this side of eternity. So pray—and let God.”

Getting To Know Jesus: Use this prayer guide ever day this week, and notice the results in your life. You will be pleased with the things that happen for you—and more importantly, in you.

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Peaceful Trials

Being With Jesus:
John 16:33 (NLT)

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

I hate to be blindsided, and I am sure you do, too. Nobody likes to be caught off guard by bad news or troubling circumstances. The shock and suprise of such experiences makes these difficulties doubly devastating.

That’s why Jesus gives us a divine heads-up in John 16. Standing at both ends of this chapter, like bookends, Jesus gave his followers an FYI on some of the challenges they would certainly face. In verse 1, he says, “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.” Then again at the end of the chapter in verse 33, he reminds them of this insider information so that when bad things happen, they won’t be unsettled.

Just what insider information did Jesus provide? Simply that your faith is going to get you into a fair amount of trouble in this life. People are not going to like you because you follow Jesus. You will be persecuted not only for the stand you personally take on moral issues, but just for the position your Christianity represents. In fact, some people will even hate you with a murderous zeal disguised as religious passion simply because of the Christian life you live:

“Indeed the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing God a service.” (John 16:2, LB)

Without even trying, your lifestyle of faith will bring them under such conviction that they will find it intolerable and want to do away with you. Things may get a bit rough, so be ready for it, Jesus says.

The good news, however, is that you will never have to face these difficulties alone. The fact is, through Christ you will overcome each challenge victoriously, even the most extreme challenge of staring into the abyss of martyrdom. You will overcome because you know what is coming. (John 16:1,4, 33) You will be victorious because Jesus has already been victorious under these same pressures. (John 16:33) You will be able to face these situations with courage and grace because of the presence of the Divine Helper, the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7) You will win in the hour of trial because the Sovereign Father who loves you (John 16:27) will hear and answer your every prayer. (John 16:23-24)

Knowing ahead of time what is coming, and knowing that your victory has been secured already, you can go about your day, and come what may—trouble, hardship, disappointment, failure, persecution, hatred, even death—live in the wonderful reality of what Christ promised: “In Me, you will have peace!”

Peaceful trials—that is what Christ has promised you.

“God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them.” (C.S. Lewis)

Getting To Know Jesus: You and I do not know what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow. And we know Who holds our lives in his hands. So why don’t you join me in thanking God ahead of time for His peace that will guard our hearts and ease our minds tomorrow, no matter what circumstances tomorrow may bring.

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Chief Conviction Officer

Being With Jesus:
John 16:8 (NLT)

And when he comes, the Holy Spirit will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

Have you figured this out yet? You do a horrible job at being the Holy Spirit in other people’s lives.

Yet how tempting it is to do his work for him. It is easy to do when you are passionate about truth. It is easy to do when you see how someone you care about is living counter-productively to a bless-able life. And frankly, it is easy to do when people aren’t fulfilling your vision for their lives. Yes, God loves them and you have a wonderful plan for their lives—and it is your job to make sure they live up to your high calling. Right?

Wrong!

Spiritual maturity demands that we take care in observing the fine line between serving as the voice of reason for people and allowing the Spirit to transform their thinking. We step into the Spirit’s territory the minute we assume the role of CCO—Chief Conviction Officer. To be effectively used by the Holy Spirit in the lives of others, we must figure out the difference between sharing the truth in love, respectful persuasion and passionate debate—all of which are good and necessary to being the influencer Jesus calls us to be—and with being argumentative, rude, nagging, arrogant and flat out irritating. We have been called to lead the horse to water, so to speak, but only the Holy Spirit can create the unquenchable thirst that makes them want to drink deeply from Truth.

It takes real discernment and sensitivity to figure out what to say, how much to say, and when to say it—and when just to shut up and let God go to work. Oswald Chambers said, “One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others.”

The truth is that God, indeed, has a wonderful plan for people’s lives, but we need to allow him to convince them of how that plan needs to play out. By all means, we ought to take the role of encourager, exhorter, and at times, admonisher, but only the Holy Spirit can bring the change of heart, the right thinking, and the right steps that will lead them to the incredible life God has envisioned.

Chances are, in this season of time you are being tempted to tell certain people what and/or how to think, how to feel and what to do about life. Perhaps it is your child, maybe it is your spouse, or it could be a friend or a co-worker—it is just part of the human equation. So let me suggest in that particular situation you simply take your foot off the gas pedal, pray a lot more, and let the Holy Spirit work. My guess is the transformation in that person’s life will happen a lot more quickly, deeply and enduringly if you take that approach.

Try to remember at all times: You are not the Holy Spirit!

“There is no better evangelist in the world than the Holy Spirit.” (D.L. Moody)

Getting To Know Jesus: Ask God to reveal where you have been doing the Holy Spirit’s work for him. When he shows you, first, repent, then second, ask for greater discernment and sensitivity to fulfill the role of influencer God has called you to play.

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What Does God Think About Terrorism?

Being With Jesus:
John 16:2-3 (NLT)

Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Not only the threat, but the daily reality of terrorism has occupied the twenty-four hour news cycle, dominated water-cooler conversations at work and planted fear in the hearts of ordinary Americans since the turn of the millennium. And now, daily debate in our political discourse focuses on what terrorism is (I’ve heard some even dismissively say, “Hey one country’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter”), what to call or not call it (so as not to inflame the terrorists), why terrorism is on the rise (are our Western values and lifestyles really to blame for the rise of terrorism around the world?), and how to combat it (do we send in the special forces to wipe them off the face of the earth or send the terrorists to the corner for a time out?).

Often, the what, why and how in our conversations about terrorism turns absurd on both ends of the discourse.

But what is not debatable or absurd is what God says about terrorism—as well as those who carry it out and those who perpetuate it through educational, philosophical, financial and spiritual support: Anyone who diminishes, hurts or kills another in the name of their god does not know the one true God or his Son, Jesus Christ, whom he sent.

“There will even come a time when anyone who kills you will think he’s doing God a favor. They will do these things because they never really understood the Father.” (The Message)

Thomas Carlyle said, “Violence does even justice unjustly.” Make no mistake, violence of any kind done in the name of faith—in the home, at the church, in the community, between political belief systems and countries—is terroristic, morally bankrupt and evidence in and of itself that those who inflict it (or stand by in tacit approval of it) are as far from God as can be. And God will judge it! Jesus said, “those who live by the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) Death will come—spiritually, relationally, perhaps even physically—likely in this life from the irreversible law of sowing and reaping, or in the next life as people, people groups, nations and world systems stand before the Great White Throne judgment of Almighty God. (Revelation 20:11-15)

Now Jesus spoke of the threat of religious violence to gives his disciples a heads-up that it was coming. And his forewarning was to serve the purpose of settling them in their faith when that awful reality was upon them. We, too, would do well to simply acknowledge the reality that religious terrorism will increase as the finals days of Planet Earth draw to a close. Jesus still doesn’t want his followers to be unsettled in their faith—either to begin doubting God or getting carried away in unproductively debating terrorism—by the rise of evil and violence done in the name of religion. Mark it down and get prepared.

Yet I can’t help but think there is a more practical application we should latch onto from Jesus’ insights into religious violence. In a sense, is spiritual terrorism occurring in our homes when violence or the threat of violence or some other form of intimidation is used to control others—and justified by the Bible? Do we commit spiritual terrorism when we can fling incendiary, hateful and hurtful words via social media—all justified by our spiritual point of view, of course—in ways for which we are not held to account? When we speak critical and judgmental words anonymously, isn’t that akin to throwing an emotional grenade into someone’s life without having to stick around to view the damage that it does—that we have done?

I have a feeling that violence—not just physically, but more likely, through emotional attacks, financial coercion and spiritual abuse—justified Biblically, happens more often, is inflicted more subtly and is carried our more creatively than we are either conscious of or care to admit. But from here on out, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the Chief Conviction Officer in our lives, let’s soberly remember that if we resort to spiritual terrorism, that in itself is evidence that we do not know Jesus like we think we do!

“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” (Isaac Asimov)

Getting To Know Jesus: Ask God to reveal to you where you might be inflicting pain on another in ways that you have justified by your faith. You might want to ask those close to you as well. And where there is evidence that you are guilty, repent of it, repudiate it and change!

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Hated By The World—Loved By God

Being With Jesus:
John 15:18-19 (NLT)

If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

It is a real dilemma for Christians: God loves the world so much that he gave his Son to die for it, but the world hates God (they didn’t like his Son too much either) because it belongs to the Evil One. But wait, there is more: The story that he has commissioned his followers to bring to the world, called the Good News, is received most of the time as bad news because it first has to deal with the problem of human sin—which kind of makes sinners a bit uncomfortable.

Hold on, I’m not through yet: You and I belong to God, and since Satan, the current strong man who dominates this world and its inhabitants, hates God and every thing of God, we are included in that hatred. Jesus couldn’t have put it in any clearer terms:

“Since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.” (John 15:19, Message)

Now that is tough to swallow, especially in our culture, where Christians have been brought up for the last couple generations on a steady diet of positive mental attitude pablum, seeker sensitive evangelism, and a church growth movement that tries everything in its power to make the unbeliever want to come to church. For the last thirty-plus years, a great many churches in the western word have placed more emphasis on making sinners comfortable than making committed disciples, which requires preaching Christ and him crucified. More energy and resources have been devoted to creative messaging and capturing the “cool factor” than cross-bearing discipleship.

Don’t believe me? Just walk into any number of church lobbies, and you will feel like you are in a Starbucks rather than a sanctuary’s vestibule. When the service starts, listen to the music and you will think you are listening to America’s Top 40 in a sea of fans enjoying a rock concert rather than among engaged worshipers offering up the sacrifice of praise to please their God. Sit through a sermon and you will think you have just listened to a cross between a late night talk show host and a self-help guru, They will help you to smile your way in seven easy steps to your best life now. Check out the altar call at the end of the message, if there even is one, and you will think people have just signed up for a thirty-day free trial of Netflix rather than surrendering the rest of the lives to Jesus Christ.

What you are unlikely to find, though, is any talk of sin—it just makes people feel too uncomfortable. You may not hear words like “repentance” or “surrender” or “obedience” or “Lordship”—it may just scare the pre-Christians away. What you are going to hear, however, is what I would call a Burger King Christianity—you know, the kind that says, “special orders don’t upset us…have it your way.”

Now listen, I am not just a grouchy, out-of-touch, aging pastor—okay, I am at least one of those. I don’t think preachers ought to go out of their way to be offensive. I do believe that churches ought to think creatively about reaching the disinterested and hostile in their community. I love excellence, and think the church service out to be a first class affair—we are worshiping the King of kings after all. And by all means, believers ought to do what that can to build bridges to the lost people in their lives.

But our job is neither to impress the world by trying to be a cool version of it or to tell it that everything is mostly okay with it—except for a few minor adjustments. Our job is to talk about the Good News that Jesus died for our sin—sin that separates us and makes us hostile to a holy God. Once we deal with the sin issue through proclaiming the truth in grace and love, inviting sinners back to God through the repentance of sin and calling them into a surrendered lifestyle of committed, cross-bearing discipleship, both we and the sinners we help to rescue will realize that what we have found is something more satisfying, more valuable, more positive by far than anything this world can provide—the pearl of great price!

Quit worrying about whether the world will like you or not. It won’t—that is guaranteed. If you belong to Jesus, you will be hated, but that is okay, because you will be loved by God. And that is all that matters.

“Jesus Christ did not say, ‘Go into the world and tell the world that it is quite right.’” (C.S. Lewis)

Getting To Know Jesus: How much have you bought into the mentality that your job is to get the world to like you? Ask God to help you jettison that unhealthy need from your life. And take a moment to meditate on I John 2:15 (NLT): “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.”