Category Archives: John

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Bible Worship

Read: John 5

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.” (John 5:39-40, NLT)

I can think of no simpler yet more powerful practice for greater spiritual growth and intimacy with God than daily Bible study. The truth is, if you don’t have a regular quiet time with God—which would include not only reading, but meditation and prayer as well—you will fail to thrive spiritually. It is a simple as that.

Yet Bible reading, journaling and Scripture memory alone aren’t enough. In fact, there is a very real danger lurking in the practice of a daily quiet time that will lead to even greater distance from God than not reading at all: Love of Scripture without love of God.  That is what we might call bibliolatry.

Bibliolatry occurs when we acquire biblical knowledge without spiritual discernment; when our study of the Word is not commensurate to our obedience of the Word; when our love for Scripture exceeds our love for God, and correspondingly, love for our fellow man; when pride in our practice of Bible reading leads to a false sense of righteousness; and when the spiritual discipline of quiet time becomes a work of law rather than an offering of grace.  When that occurs, in effect, we are worshiping the Bible rather than the God of the Bible.

There are far too many “Christians” who read the Bible little, if at all. That is an unfortunate blight on the modern church. Yet there is another segment of believers, much smaller, but in deeper spiritual danger, who have been lulled into a sort of spiritual smugness because they fancy themselves as “people of the Word” or because, as they happily proclaim, the church they attend really “teaches” the Word.

Knowing the Bible isn’t enough. Satan knows the Bible as well as anyone. He can quote it at will. Daily reading and Scripture memory aren’t enough. Nicodemus (see John 3) had that down pat. Going to a church that teaches the Word verse-by-verse isn’t enough. There are people in those churches who are lost and don’t even know it.

Hearing, reading, and believing the Bible aren’t enough. Believing in Jesus is. Jesus said, “Whoever believes the Son has eternal life.” (John 3:36)

The goal of Bible study is not to grain greater knowledge of Scripture, or to grow spiritually, or to simply be able to check off that item on your daily list of things to do. It is to know God and his Son, Jesus Christ. By “knowing”, I am not referring to an intellectual event, but the intimate exchange of one’s life with the Almighty whereby love is deepened, obedience is practiced, and faith is expanded.

That is when searching the Scripture leads to eternal life.

“Christ is the Word of God. It is not in certain texts written in the New Testament, valuable as they are; it is not in certain words which Jesus spoke, vast as is their preciousness; it is in the Word, which Jesus is, that the great manifestation of God is made.” ~Phillips Brooks

What If God Took Over?

Lord, may my study of your Word always lead me to greater intimacy, obedience and love. May I not simply grow more knowledgeable of the Bible—may I grow more knowledgeable of you.

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Designer Deity Syndrome

Read: John 4

Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:21-24, NLT)

This Samaritan woman Jesus encountered at the well of Sychar was suffering from what I call “designer deity syndrome”. This was a fairly common syndrome among worshipers not only in Jesus’ day, but in ours as well. It occurs when we attempt to come to God on our terms rather than his; when we make worship more about us, and what we like, than about God, and what he likes; when, in effect, we recreate God in our image rather than approaching him as beings created in his image.

That was the problem with the worship of the Samaritans. They had corrupted worship to fit their own needs to the point Jesus said, “You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship.” (John 4:22, NLT) They had become Burger King worshipers. Do you remember the old Burger King advertisement? “Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us. Have it your way.”

That little jingle is fitting for what we modern day “Samaritans” are doing with our experience of worship. We love a customized church experience. We expect worship services to be tailor-made just for us. We expect the praise, programs and preaching to satisfy our preferences. We want church designed to meet our needs, music tuned to our exact tastes, preachers crafted to our specifications, messages that mesmerize, and a made to order God—a “Burger King God” who says, “Have it your way”.

Some time ago, Los Angeles Magazine ran an article called “God For Sale”. The author said, “It is no surprise that when today’s affluent young professionals return to church they want to do it only on their own terms. But what is amazing is how far the churches are going to oblige them.” Newsweek Magazine added, “They’ve developed a pick and choose Christianity in which individuals take what they want and pass over what does not fit their spiritual goals…” That’s “designer god syndrome”.

Nothing can be further from the “spirit and truth” worshiper of verse 24 that Jesus said God the Father is seeking. When it comes to God, and the way you worship him, You need to start saying, “Have it your way”. Me too!

If you will learn what it means to do that, you will drink water from an altogether different kind of well—and you will never thirst again!

 

“Worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped” ~Jack Hayford

What If God Took Over?

Honestly evaluate your worship expectations.  Do you approach worship asking God how he prefers your worship? Or do you tell God, albeit in not so many words, “this is how I want it”? If it is the latter, a little repentance is in order.

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How To Get Into Heaven

Read: John 3

Jesus answered and said to Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, NLT)

Nicodemus was a very bright man.  He had given himself to much study and he’d grown quite famous as a teacher, but he had little wisdom as to how to be in right standing with God. He knew a lot about God, but he didn’t know God.

Nicodemus was rich.  Tradition tells us that he was one of the three richest men in Jerusalem.  But how much a person has does not change who they are!  You can have plenty of money, lots of fame, an enviable place in life, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re still a sinner in need of a Savior!

Nicodemus was not only rich, he was respectable.  He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the prestigious ruling spiritual body of Israel.  He was a rabbi.  Jesus refers to him in verse 10 as “Israel’s teacher”, which suggests that he had attained celebrity as a master communicator.  However, what you’ve achieved doesn’t change who you are before God.  The truth is, hell will be populated with a lot of respected people, because admiration, though not necessarily a bad thing, does not equal salvation!

Nicodemus was rich, respectable, and he was religious. He was a Pharisee!  He kept the Mosaic Law to the smallest detail.  He was morally pure to a degree that you and I can’t imagine!  But religion doesn’t redeem the heart; religious ritual is not the same as right relationship with God. Titus 3:5 reminds us, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us….”

Nicodemus was a person who did all the right spiritual things, knew all the right spiritual language, had gained everyone’s spiritual admiration, but was still empty on the inside because he was still spiritually lost!  That’s why Jesus said, “Nicodemus, you must be born again.” He is simply saying that human beings must have two birthdays to get to heaven.  We must have a physical birthday and we must have a spiritual birthday.

Jesus uses the picture of physical birth to point out the need for spiritual birth because of the obvious comparisons.  To begin with physical birth provides life.   All babies have life because they are born!   Likewise, spiritual life cannot begin until spiritual birth occurs. Not only that, physical birth means a brand new start.  No baby is born with a past!  They only have a future!  So it is with the spiritual birth.  When you get saved, you get a brand new start.  Your past is wiped away and the future begins!  That’s why Paul writes in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Most profoundly, physical birth takes place because of the suffering of another.  A mother literally, through the pain of childbirth, comes close to death in order to bring life into this world.  Jesus didn’t come close to death—he experienced death so that you and I might be born again.  Spiritual birth rests squarely upon the pain and suffering of another!

So what does that mean?  It means that salvation requires a new beginning.  Not just a reformation of your flesh, but a rebirth from death to life. It means that someone else had to die so that you could be reborn.  That’s why you can’t do it on your own.  It only comes through depending on the complete and adequate supply of God’s saving love through Christ’s suffering for your salvation. It means because of Christ’s adequacy, you can have a brand new beginning and an unending future with God.

Have you been born again?  If you haven’t, I would suggest that you pray the prayer below. If you will pray it from your heart, you will be born again!

“A man can eat his dinner without understanding exactly how food nourishes him. A man can accept what Christ has done without knowing how it works: indeed, he certainly would not know how it works until he has accepted it.” ~C.S. Lewis

What If God Took Over?

Perhaps you should prayer this prayer of surrender: “Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner.  Please forgive me. I repent of my sins and turn to you.  I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, and rose again from the tomb to give me eternal life.  Come into my life and be my Savior and Lord.  And with your help, from this day forward, I will live for you.”

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The Divine Bouncer

Read: John 2

“Passion for God’s house will consume me.” (John 2:17, NLT)

I have always enjoyed this story of Jesus cleansing the temple. I love the robust image it paints of him.  It stands in stark contrast to most of the historical paintings as well as the more recent images we get from the portrayal of Jesus by filmmakers.  For some reason, artists from the Renaissance on up to this very day have given us a feminized Jesus—soft, tender, doe-eyed, almost porcelain-like.

That is not the Jesus of John 2:13-16 (NLT),

It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

Jesus doesn’t appear all that soft in this encounter, does he? I’d say he opened up a can of comeuppance on these merchants of religion, and no one dared stop him.  Go down to your local Saturday Market and do that, and see what happens.  People typically don’t take too kindly to having their economic systems so abruptly disrupted.

Jesus was different.  He was right—and people knew it. His anger was one of righteous indignation and holy zeal for the House of the Lord.  This kind of house cleaning was long overdue, and if they didn’t overtly cheer him on, inside the worshipers were secretly applauding.

Now as much as we enjoy this story, it really is incomplete if we don’t fast-forward to our time and ask how Jesus would respond if he walked into our church today.  How much zeal would Jesus express for his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, the church?  How much holy fire and righteous indignation would he display for that which he suffered and died to redeem?  You see, in the new economy of the Kingdom of God, the church has replaced the temple as the dwelling place of God in the earth.  Of course, that refers more to a people than a place—yet both people and place are the church.  What would Jesus see in your church—in you, in your brothers and sisters in the local community of Christ, and in the activities that take place in your church building?  I have a sense that each, both people of worship and places of worship, are due for a little divine house cleaning.

Here’s what I would suggest: How about we get started before the Lord of the church has to show up and do it for us!

“Learn to break your own will. Be zealous against yourself.” ~Thomas A` Kempis

What If God Took Over?

May I suggest that you pray this prayer: “Lord, fill my belly with zeal for your house.  Let it consume me as it did you.  Zeal not only for the physical house in which your people gather, but also in this house made up of body, soul and spirit, in which your Spirit dwells.”

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The Andrew Factor

Read: John 1

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. (John 1:40-42, NLT)

Andrew is arguably the most inspiring figure in the New Testament because of his simple, non-threatening, doable example of how to reach lost people. Andrew didn’t have any special skills or advanced evangelism training, he just simply brought people to meet Jesus, and then let Jesus do the rest.

Even though Andrew was the first disciple Jesus enlisted, and even though he was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, he never achieved the fame that his brother Peter did. Jesus’ never included Andrew in his inner circle, like Peter. Andrew wasn’t there at the Transfiguration, like Peter. Andrew wasn’t there when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gesthemane, like Peter. Andrew never preached like Peter, never wrote a letter that got included in the New Testament, like Peter, and was never recognized as a key leader in the early church, like James.

Peter’s name appears close to 200 times in the New Testament, 96 times in the four gospels—only Jesus is mentioned more often. We find Andrew in only 11 different places, 10 of them in the Gospels—mostly in a list of the disciples; 5 as “Peter’s brother.” Only 3 times do these passages tell us any details about Andrew—and even that is minimal. Someone once asked a conductor what the most difficult instrument to play in the orchestra was. He said, “second fiddle.” That was Andrew!

Yet beneath everybody’s radar, Andrew was being used in the most powerful way of all—to bring people to Christ. Andrew not only brought Peter to Jesus, but in John 6:8, we find it was Andrew who brought the boy with the loaves and fish to Jesus, and then one of the outstanding miracles of the Bible took place: The feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. On account of Andrew, we have a story preserved that has helped millions to understand that Jesus is the true and only Bread of Life. Then in John 12:20, some Greeks came to Philip and said, “we want to see Jesus.” Philip took them to Andrew, and what did Andrew do? He hooked them up with Jesus.

Andrew became both the first home missionary—when he led Peter to Christ, and the first foreign missionary—when he led these Gentiles to Jesus.

In Andrew, you don’t find any special skills or an incredibly charismatic personality, or an extremely articulate speaker. You just find a guy who was faithful, available, and useful. He just kept bringing everybody who got near him to Jesus.

Tradition tells us that Andrew just kept on introducing people to Jesus for the rest of his life. He was finally put to death at a ripe old age in Greece. His death came after he befriended Maximilla, the wife of the Roman proconsul Aegeas, and led her to faith in Christ. Aegeas became so enraged over this that he ordered Andrew to offer sacrifices to a heathen god. When Andrew refused, he was severely beaten, tied to a cross, and crucified. That cross, shaped like an X is today called St. Andrew’s cross.  It is said that he lingered for two whole days before dying, but the whole painful time, he preached the Gospel to everyone who came by. Andrew never stopped introducing people to Jesus, even to his last breath.

Every time Andrew is mentioned, he’s bringing someone to Jesus—then Jesus does the rest, and lives get transformed. His single talent seems to have been leveraging his relationships to introduce seekers to Christ. He doesn’t lay the “Four Spiritual Laws” on people; he doesn’t whip out a “Roman Road” tract on them. He just says, “hey, come with me, I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”

That’s the Andrew Factor, which, if you haven’t picked up on it by now, is simply inviting your friends into your spiritual environment—you church, your small group, your ministry team—and letting God do the rest.

“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith.” —Paul, Philemon 1:6

What If God Took Over?

Employ the Andrew Factor this week: Try bringing someone to church with you on Sunday.

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MYOB

Read John 21

Jesus said to Peter, “If I will that he remain till I come,
what is that to you? You follow Me.”
(John 21:22)

Thoughts… Translation: Mind your own business.

Jesus had been addressing Peter, drilling down to some issues that needed to be resolved in this rough fisherman-turned disciple. This 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 junk. But 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 be 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! I would save myself a whole lot of wasted energy by just minding my own spiritual business. 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.

That is not to say that I shouldn’t express loving concern for another’s progress as a believer. There are appropriately levels of attention that I must bring to bear in challenging them to step it up in their spiritual formation. But I’ll be honest, my challenge is not reaching those appropriate levels, it is exceeding them.

I have a feeling that may be true of you as well. It is a fairly regular occurrence for me as a pastor to have believers come with “concerns” about what another sister has said or how another bother is living or what another local shepherd is doing or the kind of theology a prominent Tele-evangelist is espousing. “Did you know ‘so-and-so’ didn’t even quote Scripture on his last television show?”

My typical response to those concerns: What is that to you? You just worry about you and make sure you are following Jesus!”

You see, those other people will have to answer to God for their lives one day, but so will you. It is very likely that you will not be able to change them one bit by all the energy you spend worrying about their spiritual condition. All you can work on is your own obedience. Beside, if you really want to see them change, the better focus of your energy 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…but it will be you that changes! So mind our own business today—it is not such a bad thing to do!

Prayer… 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 rest up to you.

One More Thing… “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” —Carl Gustav Jung

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Raw Readiness

Read John 20

Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going
to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple
outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping
down and looking in, saw the linen cloths he did not
go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him,
lying there; yet and went into the tomb.
(John 20:3-6)

Thoughts… 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 pushed past John right into the place where great respect was to be given and strict protocol was demanded.

Of course, the greatest part of this story is that Jesus wasn’t there! He was alive forevermore, the victor over death and sin. If the body of Jesus had still been sealed behind the stone entrance to that tomb when they arrived, nothing else about this story would matter. As the brilliant historian Jaroslav Pelikan put it, “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”

But Jesus did rise, 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.

There was a spiritual pushiness about Peter that endeared him to Jesus. His personal deficiencies are well documented; 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, think-before you speak 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 one who was called upon to give the first 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.

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.

Prayer… Lord, help me to cast off my natural reserve for a little Peter-like raw readiness today. Enable me to see those opportunities where walking on water is calling me to get out of my boat. Pour some fresh resurrection power into this ready heart.

One More Thing… “Faith takes God without any ‘if’s.’” —D.L. Moody