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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.

 

 

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The Familiar Place

Read: John 18

After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. (John 18:1-2, NLT)

We know this grove of olive trees was called the Garden of Gesthemane. By the other Gospel accounts we also know that when Judas showed up with the guards to arrest Jesus in this very place, he was in deep and agonizing prayer.  What may be lost amidst the greater drama of Judas’ betrayal and Christ passion, however, are the words, “Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.”

This was a regular place for Jesus.  The disciples were familiar with Jesus’ garden retreat; so was the devil, since he knew to inspire Judas to betray the Savior there. Jesus had gone there often enough that those who knew him knew that would be the very place where he prayed.

Have you ever wondered why John took this small, seemingly insignificant detail and tucked it away within the more obvious storyline of Jesus’ arrest?  Perhaps he wanted us to see what was plain to Jesus’ disciples: That even the Son of God carved out the time and made room and even found a physical place in his life for regular communion with his Father.  Furthermore, Jesus had purposely included his disciples in his private times with God to leave an example for them to show that if he, the very Son of God, needed quiet time, so did they.

So do I—and so do you.

Do you have that regular place?  Do the people in your life know where you spend time with God?  Does the devil know where to find you?  The place itself is not important.  The fact that people know that you are regularly in that place is not important.  What is important is that you are in that place where you can touch God and God can touch you with his love and grace.

It is said that early African Christians were dedicated and regular in their personal devotion to God.  Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God.  Over time the paths to these places became well worn.  As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly challenge anyone neglecting their prayer life, “Brother, the grass grows on your path.”

Keep the path to your garden well worn!

“Prayer is the acid test of devotion.” ~Samuel Chadwick

What If God Took Over?

Perhaps making this very moment of devotion a regular part of your life that you fiercely guard will be the beginning of that “familiar place” for you.

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Hang Together or Hang Separately

Read: John 17

“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.” (John 17:20-21, NLT)

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’ll 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—make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit with other believers. As we do, we will make the church together!

“We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately” ~Benjamin Franklin.

What If God Took Over?

There is nothing more important to a 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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FYI

Read: John 16

“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, NLT)

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 surprise 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 surely face. In verse one, he says, “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.” Then again in verse 33, the very last verse of the chapter, he reminds them of the insider information he has provided so that when it takes place, they won’t be unsettled by it.

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 (John 16:2, NLT). 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, NLT) 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!”

“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

What If God Took Over?

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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Making God Look Good

Read: John 15

“But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” (John 15:7-8)

Have you ever been around fruity Christians? Not the kind you are thinking. I’m talking about the believer who seems to enjoy more of God’s blessings than the ordinary Christian? They tend to get more prayers answered than you, live in a greater degree of Divine favor than you, appear to have more of an inside track with the Almighty than you, and definitely produce more spiritual fruit than you.

They’re fruity—their lives produce a lot of fruit.

Perhaps you wish you could live their kind of blessed life, but secretly feel a little selfish in asking God for it. Don’t feel selfish one second longer. God wants you to experience that kind of abundant life, too. In fact, Jesus said the God-blessed life is arguably the best proof that you are his disciple. Furthermore, he pointed out that your fruitfulness as his disciple is what brings much glory to his Father. The fruitier you are, the greater glory that goes to God. The more God answers your prayers, the more he receives the praise.  That’s how you make God look good!

Wanting to live the God-blessed life is not selfish at all. It is no more selfish than God wanting to be glorified by giving you your blessings. It is simply the rule of God’s kingdom to ask for his favor and to live in his blessing.

That’s what God wants for you. So stop feeling weird about asking and start asking expectantly. What do you desire for your life? Ask for it. If you are connected to Jesus—and make no mistake, that is the key to receiving—the Father will allow you to bear not just a little, but a whole bunch of fruit. That what he wants for his disciples, and that includes you.

If you are not at the level of fruitiness that you would like to be, that ought to be your first prayer today.

“Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, ‘above all that we ask or think’. Each time, before you Intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!” ~Andrew Murray

What If God Took Over?

Speaking of asking the Father for anything you want, why not ask him for much fruit!

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Radically Altered

Read: John 14

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:12-14, NLT)

“You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.” That is a pretty amazing promise Jesus made to his disciples—and by extension—to you and me!

Jesus was laying out his succession plans for God’s kingdom. He told his disciples that he needed to go back to the Father, and in his absence, they would carry on his works in the world, extending the kingdom wherever they went. And although he would no longer be with them physically, he would be with them—and more importantly, live in them and work through them, by the indwelling Holy Spirit:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you” (John 14:16-18)

To his followers who would completely yield their lives in obedience to his word, commitment to his purposes, and availability to his work, Jesus said,  “My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” (John 14:23)

Those words are from the lips of Jesus himself, and they are meant for you! Do you believe them? If you do, they will transform you to the core of your being. They will radically alter the way you perceive yourself and interact with your world. And they will lead you to have the kind of impact for Christ in this world you have always dreamed of having.

The story is told of a private in the army of the Greek general, Alexander the Great, who ran after and retrieved the general’s runaway horse. When this lowly soldier brought the animal back, Alexander offered his appreciation by saying, “Thank you, Captain!”

With one word the private had been promoted. When the general said it, the private believed it. He immediately went to the quartermaster, selected a new captain’s uniform and put it on. He went to the officer’s quarters and selected his bunk. He went to the officer’s mess and had a meal. Because General Alexander had said it, the private took him at his word and changed his life accordingly. He was simply now doing life in the authority of Alexander.

Why don’t you take the word of Someone far greater than Alexander and change your life accordingly. If you will, greater works will you do!

“Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom. If you may have everything by asking in His Name, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital [asking in] prayer is.” ~Charles Spurgeon

What If God Took Over?

Offer this prayer for radical alteration: “Lord, I believe what you said. On this day, I ask the Father, as you have commissioned me to do, to empower and embolden me to do the very kingdom works that you would do if you were in my place. And may all glory go back to you!”