Category Archives: John

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Weekend Meditation: You Complete Me

Read: John 4-5

“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now.” (John 4:16-18, NLT)

An entire book could be written about this story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar. For instance, a whole chapter could be written from this story just about the inclusiveness of the Kingdom of God.  Another chapter could lay out a master blueprint for starting spiritual conversations with anyone from an authentic seeker to a theological weirdo. And of course, several chapters could present a compelling theology of worship from what Jesus says just in these few verses.

But at the end of the day, what you will find is that any encounter with Jesus doesn’t simply warm your heart to the Kingdom of God or perfect your evangelistic technique or inform your theology or just cram more spiritual information into your head, it touches the true condition of your heart. That is what happened to the woman at the well.

This sinful Samaritan sister is like a lot of people in our society today, even in our churches, who are attempting makeovers, not only of the physical kind, but of the whole-life kind.  Like her, so many people are profoundly unhappy, dissatisfied, empty on the inside and are trying to make over their lives by filling that missing void.  But any makeover effort that isn’t God-initiated, God-empowered, and God-focused, is akin to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

In this woman’s case, she’d gone from man to man, hoping the next would be better—but each relationship left her increasingly dissatisfied, damaged and desperate. What Jesus was telling her was that she didn’t need a man to complete her. She didn’t need just a “relationship makeover”, she needed a new “water source” (John 4:13-15, NLT)—she needed a brand a new life.

This woman is really a mirror of our age. We go from experience to experience, job to job, purchase to purchase and relationship to relationship, hoping that that next great thing will be what finally brings us fulfillment. But here’s the deal:  If you are looking to a thing, or job, or another person to fulfill you, you are putting an expectation on something or someone that they cannot meet. When you live in that kind of pattern, your life will end up as one long, futile attempt to find completion.

Remember the gushy line from the movie that all the romantics swooned over: “You complete me”?  That sounds so romantic that it has to be true.  It’s not!  It is one of the Enemy’s great deceptions.  What Jesus was saying to this Samaritan woman—and by extension, to you and me—is that only God can complete you.  When you come to God for completion, then those unrealistic expectations that you have placed on position, possessions and people will be removed, and only then can you drink the living water and never thirst again.

The bottom line to this story—and to your life and mine—is simply this:  We find real completion only in God.

“When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now…. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.” ~C.S. Lewis

What If God Took Over?

Honestly evaluate your expectations of possession, position and people. Are you looking to them as your primary source of happiness and fulfillment? If you are, bring those misplaced expectations to God, and ask him to fulfill the desires of your heart.  He has promised to do just that! (Psalm 37:4-5)

 

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For God So Loved…You!

Read: John 3

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”   (John 3:16, NLT)

John 3:16—it’s the whole Bible in just one verse.  The verse is so simple that any child can memorize it, yet it is so infinitely profound and irresistibly powerful that it can totally, radically transform your life. That’s right, this verse is not just an amazing statement about God’s universal love for all mankind, it is about God’s personal love for you!

God so loved the world, but he didn’t just look at it as one big mass of nameless faces. When he looked at the world and loved it, he was looking at you. Max Lucado, who wrote an entire book just on John 3:16, said,

“If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.”

God has a crazy love for you!  He really does. St. Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, one of the most influential figures in church history, said: “God loves each and every one of us as if there were only one of us.” Think about that: If you were the only person on this planet, God would have loved you so much that he still would have given Jesus to die for your sins.  There would still be John 3:16 if you were the sole human ever created.

One of my favorite authors, Brennan Manning, told the story of an Irish priest on a walking tour of his rural parish, and he happened upon an old peasant man kneeling by the roadside, praying. The priest was impressed: “You must be very close to God.”

The peasant looked up from his prayers, thought for a moment, and smiled, “Yes, he’s very fond of me.” This simple man had a profound sense that he was loved by God, and that was all that mattered!  From that story, Manning developed a personal declaration: “I am the one Jesus loves.”

That is in no way arrogant; it is actually quite Biblical. The Apostle John identified himself throughout his Gospel as  “the one Jesus loved.”  That came to be John’s primary identity in life.  If you were to ask John, “Tell me about yourself,” he wouldn’t have said, ‘Well, I’m a disciple, an apostle, and the author of this incredible Gospel.” Rather, John would have simply said, “I’m the one Jesus loves.”

Now if John could think of himself that way, so can you.  John 3:6 gives you permission.  So I hope you’ll practice remembering that this today: “You are the one Jesus loves!”

“We have a share in the special love of Jesus. We see evidences of that love…in the precious blood that He so freely shed for us…Behold how He loves us!” ~Charles Spurgeon

What If God Took Over?

Do you ever wonder if God really does love you?  I do.  The cross is a continual reminder for you and me that when he stretched out his arms so his hands could be nailed to that wooden crossbeam, it was as if he were saying, “I love you this much!” Then he bowed His head, and died. And there is nothing today that can separate you from that love.  Let the power of God’s love absolutely, profoundly change your life today—you are the one Jesus loves!

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Under The Radar

Read: John 2

Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!” (John 2:7-10, NLT)

It was his first recorded miracle—and even then, Jesus was reluctant to perform it.  It was not yet time to launch his public ministry as Messiah of Israel, but he was at a wedding with his family and the wine was running low.  The event planner was in a panic, so Jesus’ mother said, “No worries, my son will take care of it.” Thanks, mom!  So Jesus turned water that was being stored in several thirty-gallon jars nearby into the best wine the world has ever tasted, before and since.

Of the many things that could be discussed from this water-into-wine miracle, one of the facets that stands out the most to me is how understated Jesus was in performing this miracle.  When the great tasting wine was discovered, neither the master-of-ceremonies nor the happy party goers knew where it came from. Only those who brought the water jugs to Jesus knew that he had transformed the liquid.  And Jesus wanted it that way.

In fact, that seemed to be the way Jesus performed most of his miracles. He never made a big deal out of them, other than to draw praise to his Father. He never made a spectacle of his divine powers.  He never showcased the miracles’ recipient like a zoo exhibit.  Jesus’ miracles, you might say, were under the radar.

Yet there is no way to keep an authentic miracle under wraps—not for very long anyway.  Sooner or later, the power of God breaks containment, and word gets out.  Maybe that is why Jesus handled miracles the way he did—he let the miracles do the talking.

Unfortunately, too many spiritual leaders today who have been used in the miraculous don’t follow Jesus’ lead.  The bigger the miracle, the quicker the press conference or the book deal or the fund-raising letter!  Now to be fair, if I turned water-into-wine, or raised someone from the dead, or performed some other sensational miracle, I’m afraid I, too, would head right to the local Christian network to tout what God had done through me. That is too bad!  God doesn’t get all the glory when we do that.

Maybe we would see more supernatural displays of God’s power in our culture if we would commit to allowing the miracles to speak for themselves—and to fiercely make sure that all the glory goes to God when he graces us with one.

“That is what gives Him the greatest glory – the achieving of great things through the weakest and most improbable means.” ~Thomas Merton

What If God Took Over?

In The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen wrote, “To live and work for the glory of God cannot remain an idea about which we think once in a while. It must become an interior, unceasing doxology.” Spend some time today—and make it a practice every day—thinking of how to give God glory through your life.

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Full of Grace and Truth

Read: John 1

“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, NIV)

Not too long after my wife and I had moved into a home we had just purchased, our next door neighbor’s live-in girlfriend asked me, “what do you do?” I told her that I was a pastor. So she said, “Oh, I’m looking for a church…one that doesn’t get all weird and condemning about sin.  What about yours?”

I said, “My church—hey, we accept everybody just the way they are—unless you’re shacking up with someone!”

No—I didn’t say that!  But it was an awkward moment for me as I scrambled for a way to minimize the offense of the Gospel to a person who was far from God and build a bridge that might lead us at some point into a spiritual conversation. I didn’t need to offer condemnation by my words, in the tone of my voice or with my body language.  I didn’t need to convince her of her sins, she was already dealing with that herself.  Besides, it is not my job—it is the work of the Holy Spirit to do that. (John 16:8).  Nor would Jesus have done that. Remember, in this very same book, right after the most famous verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16, Jesus goes on to say,

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)

But let’s keep in mind that Jesus didn’t come, as C.S. Lewis pointed out, to tell the world that everything was quite alright!  Obviously, the world needed a savior—that’s why Jesus came.  People need a savior because sin holds people captive. To keep the bad news about sin and the good news about a Savior from them would be the most hateful thing we could ever do.

So how do we bridge that gap between a loving God and the repulsiveness of the sinners sin?  Grace and truth, that is how.  That is what Jesus perfectly modeled.  Take, for instance, his interaction with the adulterous woman in John 8. Picture the scene:  This sinful woman is standing in the center of a circle, surrounded by self-righteous religious leaders who want her stoned.  Imagine her humiliation, caught in the very act of adultery—a private act now a very public sin. Nothing can hide her shame—and make no mistake, sexual sin is shameful, degrading to the people involved, destructive to innocent families it affects and odious to God.

This woman is standing before Jesus, exposed, humiliated, tears dripping to the sand. She has been used by men all of her life, and now she will pay for it with her life.  She sees the stones; she knows her guilt. Now, all eyes are on Jesus—what will he do?

After some time, Jesus speaks and says to those who want her executed, “Ok, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” And with that bombshell, one-by-one, from oldest to youngest, they walked away, leaving only Jesus and this sinful woman face-to-face. What now?  Would Jesus give her a good moral tongue lashing.   No, he just gently asks, “Where are your accusers?  Has no one judged you guilty?”

She replied, “No one, Sir.”

At that, Jesus offered these grace-truth words that would utterly right this sinner’s upside-down life:  “Then I don’t either. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Behind this amazing display of grace and truth, as Walter Trobisch said, what we find is that Jesus “accepts us as we are but when he accepts us, we cannot remain as we are.” Jesus brings our sin to the surface, and when we acknowledge it by confession and repentance, totally, graciously and forever forgives it.  The adulteress went away forgiven, with a new clean heart and a brand new chance at life.  Only grace and truth can do that for sinners.

Perhaps that is why prostitutes, publicans, and other sinners responded to Jesus so readily.  At some level, they recognized their sin. That was why forgiveness was so appealing to them…and still is!

What does the world need more than anything right now?  What does your sinful next door neighbor so desperately need?  The same thing you need: A whole lot of truth and a big dose of grace!

“Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God; the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger.” ~C.S. Lewis

What If God Took Over?

Take some time today to memorize and meditate on these two very important verses from John 1:

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)

“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)

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Mind Your Own Business

Read: John 21

Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” (John 21:22, NLT)

Mind your own business!  That’s the gist of what Jesus was saying to Peter.

Jesus had been drilling down to some issues that needed to be resolved in this rough fisherman-turned disciple. It was a difficult conversation that needed to happen before Peter could become the apostle Jesus had in mind, and Peter did what so many of us do: When the spotlight got focused on him a little too brightly, he tried to shed some light on John’s flaws.

Jesus kept the focus right where it needed to be: “Peter, quit worrying about what will happen to John and just focus on what I’ve called you to do. If I allow him stay alive until I return, that is none of your business. You’ve got enough to worry about just taking care of your own junk let alone John’s. Just take care of you and you’ll be fine!”

Not bad advice! Wouldn’t we save ourselves a whole lot of wasted energy by just minding our own spiritual business? I know that’s true for me.  The time and emotional drain I spend worrying whether someone else is walking with Jesus the way I think they should takes away from the spiritual energy that could be focused on growing me up in Christ.

Now that is not to say that we should never express loving concern for another believer’s spiritual progress. Sometimes the people we care deeply about frankly need to step it up in their growth as a disciple of Jesus—and we need to call them out on that. However, since spiritual formation is an ongoing process that will not conclude until the day we die and reach heaven, you and I need to remember that we, too, need to step it up!

So the next time you have an urge to voice a “concern” about what another sister has said or how another brother is living or what another local shepherd is doing or the kind of theology a prominent Tele-evangelist is espousing, just remember what Jesus said to Peter: “What is that to you? Just worry about you and make sure you are following me!”

You see, those people you are worried about will have to answer to God for their lives one day, but so will you. And since it is highly unlikely that you will be able to change them one bit by all the energy you spend worrying about their spiritual condition anyway, try devoting that same energy to your own obedience. Besides, if you really want to see them change, the better focus of your efforts would be to pray for them. Spend at least as much time bringing them before the Father in prayer as you do thinking and talking about how upsetting they are to you.

Do that and change will happen all right—but it will be you that changes! So mind our own business today—it is not such a bad thing to do!

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” ~Carl Gustav Jung

What If God Took Over?

Offer this prayer today:  “Lord, there is so much work yet to do in me, so keep me focused on my own spiritual development.  Help me to mind my own business, working on the things that I can change and leaving the things I can’t change up to you.”

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Spiritual Pushiness

Read: John 20

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. (John 20:3-6, NLT)

You’ve got to give Peter credit—he was never one to hold back. John outran him to the tomb, but nervously stopped at the entrance to peek in. Not Peter! When he finally arrived, huffing and puffing, Peter, ignoring graveyard protocol, pushed past John right into the place where Jesus was buried.

Of course, the greatest part of this story is that Jesus wasn’t there! He had risen from the dead, the victor over death and sin, and now was alive forevermore. If Peter had found Jesus’ body still sealed behind the stone entrance of that tomb when they arrived, nothing else about this story would matter. But Jesus had risen, indeed, and that is why the other details of this story matter. Even small, seemingly insignificant details become both interesting and instructive—like Peter pressing in past John to witness the reality of the resurrection first hand.

Peter’s spiritual pushiness is what endeared him to Jesus. His personal deficiencies are well documented, of course; the entire world knows of them thanks to the Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John pulled no punches in their accounts of this braggadocios, foot-in-mouth, leap-before-you-look, speak-before you think disciple. Yet is was Peter’s reckless abandon when it came to spiritual expectancy that led Jesus to declare, “Peter, on your kind of faith, I am going to build this small team of disciples into a world-wide force called ‘the church’ that will take back Planet Earth from Satan and return it to its Rightful Owner.” (Matthew 16:18)

Sure, Peter got into trouble more than his fair share, but he was the only disciple to actually get out of the boat to walk on water—albeit a walk that was short-lived and ultimately very wet. He was the first to go into the tomb—Ground Zero of the Christian faith. And he was the first one called upon in Acts 2 to give the inaugural sermon of the Christian era—where two thousand people responded to his altar call.

Jesus loved Peter’s brassy boldness. That was the kind of raw material the Lord could work with. It was certainly raw, but it was ready. It didn’t take much to light a fire with Peter; he was a tinderbox waiting for combustion.

I think we could learn something from Peter’s example. Peter didn’t have it all together in his life, but he was always willing to offer all that he had, raw as it was, and press into Jesus with full expectancy of what could happen when raw readiness met with resurrection reality.

“Faith takes God without any ‘if’s.’” ~D.L. Moody

What If God Took Over?

Be Peter-like today in your journey with Jesus: a bit bold, daring to go so far as to be a little spiritually pushy. Chances are, you will encounter some resurrection power. Word has it that it’s still floating around out there.

 

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The Shadow of Death

Read: John 19

Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above.” (John 19:11, NLT)

There is nothing in this world that happens apart from God’s sovereign knowledge and by his sovereign permission.

Jesus understood that as he stood before Pilate, who nervously tried to impress upon our Lord that he held the power to either crucify him or free him: “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?” (John 19:10, NLT) That is when Jesus, who, up to this point, had held his peace, looked Pilate directly in the eye and informed him in no uncertain terms that even though he might be a high officer of the Roman court, he held no such power—only God did.

In the awful light of what Jesus had been through, and what he knew he was about to go through, what an amazing statement of not only understanding the sovereign will of God, but of complete trust and submission to it.  That was the reason Jesus could so calmly and resolutely traverse the terrible way of the cross.  And that is the reason you can walk through the difficulties of your life as well—even if your path takes you through the valley of the shadow of death. As King David said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4, KJV)

You can know what King David knew that our Lord knew: Because of God’s sovereign control over all the affairs of this universe, and because of his immeasurable love for you, this world is a perfectly safe place for you—even if you are standing before your cross.

Before you begin this day, take a moment to read the Shepherd’s Psalm printed below.  In fact, you may want to read it every day this week before you head off into the busyness and challenges of your world:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

“Much that worries us beforehand can afterwards, quite unexpectedly, have a happy and simple solution…Things really are in a better hand than ours.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

What If God Took Over?

Memorize Psalm 23 from your favorite version of the Bible, and pray it each day this week.