Read John 5

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have
eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
But you are not willing to come to Me
that you may have life.”
(John 5:39-40)

Thoughts… 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 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; 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 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 act of an intimate exchange of one’s life with the Almighty whereby one’s love is deepened, where obedience is practiced, and where faith is expanded.

That is when searching the Scripture leads to eternal life.

Prayer… 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.

One More Thing… “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

Read John 4

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when
you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the
Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we
worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming,
and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking
such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
(John 4:21-24)

Thoughts… 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 don’t even know what you’re worshipping.” (v.22) 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, why don’t you say to him, “Have it your way”!

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!

Prayer… Father, free me from designer deity syndrome. Forgive me for making worship more about me than about what pleases you. Teach me to truly worship you in Spirit and in Truth.

One More Thing… “Worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped” — Jack Hayford

Read John 3

Jesus answered and said to Nicodemus, “Most assuredly,
I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God.”
(John 3:3)

Thoughts… 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 we have achieved doesn’t change who we are before God. The truth is, hell will be populated with a lot of respected people, because admiration 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.” Jesus 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!”

And finally, 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!

Prayer… Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner. Please forgive me. 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.

One More Thing… “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

Read John 2

His disciples remembered that it is written:
“Zeal for your house will consume me.”
(John 2:17)

Thoughts… I have always enjoyed this story of Jesus cleansing the temple. I love the robust image it paints of our Lord. 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,

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the moneychangers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

Jesus doesn’t appear all that soft in this encounter, does he? As a matter of fact, 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 worshippers were secretly applauding.

Now as much as we enjoy this story, it truly 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 more zeal would Jesus have for his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit—that is, the church? How much more 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—and yet both are the church, God’s holy temple. 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 of us, both people of worship and places of worship—are due for a little divine house cleaning. How about we get started before the Lord of the church has to show up and do it for us!

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.

One More Thing… “Learn to break your own will. Be zealous against yourself.” — Thomas A` Kempis

Read John 1

One of the two who heard John speak, and followed [Jesus], was
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own
brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the
Messiah.” And he brought him to Jesus.
(John 1:40-42)

Thoughts… Andrew inspires us with a really clear, very simple, non-threatening, completely doable example of how we can be active in reaching lost people. When you read the few passages in the New Testament about Andrew, like this one, his example will not only inspire you, but serve as a reminder that even the most inexperienced and inarticulate can be successful in bringing people to Jesus Christ.

Here is what we learn about this faithful disciple:

First, Andrew shows that you don’t have to have any special kills to introduce people to Christ. Andrew just simply brought people to Jesus.

The truth is, even though he was the first disciple Jesus enlisted, and even though he was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, Andrew never achieved the fame that his brother Peter did. Jesus’ never included Andrew in his inner circle, like Peter. Andrew wasn’t 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 gospel like John, was never recognized by the early church as a leader 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, which was followed by one of the outstanding miracles of the Bible: The feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. On account of Andrew, a story has been preserved that has helped millions throughout the ages 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.

You don’t see any special skills or an incredibly charismatic personality, or an extremely articulate speaker. You just see 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, and yet during that whole painful time, he preached the Gospel to everyone who came by. Andrew never stopped introducing people to Jesus, even to his last breath.

And the second thing we can learn from Andrew is the power of one. Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, and Jesus transformed him into Peter, a rock—and you know the rest of the story.

We really don’t understand the power of one life simply being available, faithful and useful to God, and letting God do the rest!

Edward Kimball was a Sunday school teacher. As a shoe salesman, he led a young man named Dwight to faith in Jesus Christ. That young man became the well-known evangelist D.L. Moody.

After evangelizing in America, Moody traveled to England. There Frederick B. Meyer heard his message. F. B. Meyer was so affected by the impact Moody’s preaching was having on people that it began to inspire his own ministry. Meyer was invited to come to America, where he preached at Furman University. One young man in the student body had decided to quit the ministry and go back to a secular job. But Meyer’s message was given with such fervor that the young man walked to the altar and renewed his vow to preach the gospel. He became the well known evangelist R. G. Lee. Another young man, J. Wilbur Chapman, was inspired by Meyer’s preaching, and Chapman went on to have an amazing impact as well. Chapman came along side Billy Sunday, a recent convert, and mentored him.

Billy Sunday became an evangelist, holding a meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sunday so inspired a group of local businessmen that they organized a committee to invite other preachers back to evangelize their city. One of those invited was Mordecai Ham. In one of the meetings Ham preached, a young man by the name of Billy gave his heart to Christ. Perhaps you will recognize his name: Billy Graham. Graham’s ministry is known throughout the world and his crusades have inspired hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people to faith in Jesus, including friends of mine.

All this happened because of one Edward Kimball. One nobody won one other nobody, and that started a series of dominoes falling that ended up with millions acknowledging Jesus as Savior. That’s the power of one.

That’s Andrew. Every time Andrew is mentioned, he is 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 them; he doesn’t whip out a “Roman Road” tract on them. He doesn’t preach, debate or twist arms. 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 to church and letting God do the rest.

Did you know that 80% of people who come to Christ do so through an established friendship? 10% of the people you bring to church for the first time are likely to become regular attenders. Get people to come twice, 25% become attenders. Bring them a third time, 45% will become a part of the church. Most people don’t join a church because of the great music, the outstanding programs, or the sensational preaching. They will come, and get transformed, because of you!

That’s the power of one! That’s the power of you!

Prayer… Lord, help me to cut through all of things that distract me from the most important thing I should be doing with my life: Bringing people to you.

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

“When they got to the shore of the lake, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread. ‘Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,’ Jesus said … ‘Now come have some breakfast.” (John 21)

Food For Thought: What an unforgettable experience for the disciples! Jesus himself had baked some bread and barbecued some fish…now he invites the boys over for breakfast. I wonder what the conversation was like as they ate. I’m sure there was a lot of joy that morning—after all, their hero was alive. They’d seen him crucified just days before. Now he’d just help them haul in a miraculous catch of fish—not a bad thing for a bunch of fishermen! And then, the Lord of heaven and earth had cooked and had them over for some tasty eats! How cool is that! Perhaps the coolest thing about Jesus in this story is that he actually wants to have fellowship with his guys. Yes, he has a mission for them to accomplish: Win the world! But he also want just to be with them as friends.

One of the take-aways from this account is that Jesus is not just focused on our doing for him, he also delights in our being with him. If he were here physically today, I think he’d say, “Meet you at Starbucks.” He just wants to hang with us! Now the reality is that he’s not here physically (that day will come soon enough), but he is with us in another, quite real, dimension. And he still invites us to come away with him each day to spend some friend-time together. What a great friend we have!

On this day… in 1738, writing of his contemporary John Wesley, English revivalist George Whitefield penned in his journal, “The good which John Wesley has done in America, under God, is inexpressible. His name is very precious among the people; and he has laid such a foundation that I hope neither man nor devils will ever be able to shake.” Very gracious words from a Whitefield, a man who was once a classmate and close friend of Wesley’s, but now suffered the brunt of his extremely harsh and quite public criticism.

Prayer: Jesus, I want to have the kind of relationship with you that Peter and John had—not just as my Lord and Master, but as my friend, too! I want to spend time with you over a meal, to hang out with you in the beauty of your creation, to go fishing with you, to laugh over the things that tickle your funny bone, to do all the things that good buddies do. I never want to be disrespectful of your Lordship; as Lord, you are worthy of my honor and worship. But I want to know you as I think you intended for the human race in the first place when you walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Lord, that’s what I want! Will you bless me with that kind of experience with you—a close friendship? In the journey of my life, I want it to be said of me: “He was Jesus’ friend.”

“Early on Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.’” (John 20:1)

Thoughts: What if Mary had gone to the tomb and found it still sealed by the stone as she expected? The darkness of that Sunday morning would not have lifted. The world would still be shrouded in spiritual darkness and the entire human race would be under the cloud of death. But the stone had been moved, the tomb was empty—and everything changed. For the first time in human history, death was defeated, the power of sin was checked and a way was opened for God and man to be reconciled. The empty tomb and the risen Savior—that’s why I can rise early on any morning to an inextinguishable light that fills my soul, energizes my being and fills my heart with the hope of eternal life. The empty tomb and the risen Savior—that’s why I can leave the guilt of my past in the past, find power in the present to face every challenge, and know that my life will still have purpose when it is over. Thank God he blew Mary’s expectations that morning—it made all the difference! Jaroslav Pelikan, the renowned Christian and medieval intellectual historian, said it best: “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.” But he is risen. He is risen indeed. And that’s all that matters!

On this day… in 1930, Missionary-linguist Frank C. Laubach wrote in a letter, “I must talk about God, or I cannot keep Him in my mind. I must give Him away in order to have Him.”

Prayer: Dear Father, first of all, thank you for the empty tomb. If Mary had found the tomb as she had expected, I would not be offering this prayer this morning. I would be lost and hopeless. Thank you for blowing her expectations that morning. Now Father, I pray that the reality of this resurrection event will so transform my life that its message will burn in my heart and flow ceaselessly from my lips. May I feel like Frank Laubach—that I must talk about God. Fill my mind with your truth, my heart with your love, and my mouth with your praise. May the empty tomb fill the review mirror of my life! May the Risen Lord occupy my every thought! May your promise of eternal life energize my every move! May the kind of life that I live today and every day leave a testimony of love and gratitude for the greatest event the world has ever known—the resurrection.