Category Archives: The Good News of Jesus

Can You Hear Him Singing?

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At just the right moment, when I really needed to hear these words, a good friend texted me with this:

The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

Did you ever sing over your kids? Quiet them with love? When my daughter was an infant I used to sing her to sleep with a song I gradually made up as I held her and danced around. “It’s time for little Muffin, to go to sleep again…” Years later, for my son, I sang an old Merle Haggard tune, “Honky Tonk Moon, shining on my baby and me…” When I sang over my kids, they’d settle down and nod off and I’d experience a peaceful kind of joy. God sings over His kids with joy, quieting them with His love. Wow!

Maybe you think God sings you an Eric Clapton line: “The next time I see you, boy you’d better beware…” But old Zeph says God rejoices over His kids with song; He takes delight in them. If that does not seem possible, consider what he said God has done for His kids:

The LORD has taken away your punishment [on the Cross],
he has turned back your enemy [Satan].
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; [through the Holy Spirit]
never again will you fear any harm. [Eternal life]
Zephaniah 3:15 (NIV – with my additions in brackets)

So then, how do you get to be one of God’s kids? John tells us how. Speaking of how Jesus was not “received,” he says:

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
John 1:12 (NIV)

Receive Jesus, and God will be singing over you.

Becoming Fruit

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By the time anyone noticed, she had been underwater for way too long. They hauled her out and laid her out on the dock, her body a dark purple color, her eyes lifeless. I watched as a med student kneeled over her and began CPR. When she took her first breath, when the color of her body began to chameleon back to its normal hue, when she came back to life, the process seemed miraculous. I’ve been present as each of my two children were born and took their first breath. This was like that, except that in her case, no one expected she would ever breathe again. I’m guessing, if anyone ever asks that young girl about the best gift she ever received, she would say it was the gift of life itself.

We are so used to being alive we actually take life for granted. It is all we’ve ever known. We also take spiritual death as the norm. It is all we have ever known. Spiritual death is the condition of being disconnected from the Spirit of God. Designed and created to be filled with God’s Spirit, we have been cut off since Adam’s Fall. Since we are born in this condition, we initially don’t notice anything wrong. It’s like being born blind and not discovering until later on that we were supposed to be able to see. But eventually we do sense a problem. We sense that something is missing. What’s missing is real, full life, the life of the Spirit in us. We cannot fix it, anymore than anyone could perform CPR on themselves. Spiritually speaking, we are as dead as that girl laid out on the dock.

But check out this amazing good news:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

James 1:17-18

We gasp for spiritual breath in many ways, often with no real understanding that what we seek is life itself. God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift reaches down through eternity and offers to give us “birth,” birth into eternal, spiritual life. How so? Through His Son, Jesus, the One Who is the “Word of Truth.” Those who accept this gift by faith, become like the first harvest of fruit in the orchard, the first tomatoes on the vine, the first grain in the field. The difference between fruit and the plant on which it grows is that there is continuing life in the fruit. So too with those who have been given the eternal life of God’s Spirit through their faith in Jesus.

Don’t Touch That Dial…

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Changes are coming – big changes.  Over the last couple of years we have been working on an interactive audio ebook entitled “Who is Jesus?”.  It is almost ready!  Don’t touch that dial.   Over the next few days I’ll try to answer a few questions you may have, questions like, “What’s an ebook?” and “Who is ‘we?'”  Or, “How will I use it?”  and “What’s it going to cost?”  The last one is easy – the book will be free.  But let’s start with a more basic question:  “Who cares?”  “So what?”

The last line in the Gospel of John says this:

“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)

What’s so great about yet another book – even an “ebook” – about Jesus?   Let me show you a picture I recently found amidst some family junk:Who Dat?

I had no idea who this picture was, until I spotted the names written on it.  It’s a picture of my grandparents!  But they were doing something very uncharacteristic.  In my memory, my Grandma and Grampa Andy were rather reserved and formal.  But here they are, horsing around like young lovers.  As I looked at this picture, it occurred to me that whoever took this picture probably knew some things about my grandfather that never got mentioned at family gatherings.  It would have been fun to sit down with that guy and have him tell me who my grandfather really was, what he was really like.  Friends frequently have a better understanding of someone’s character and personality than teachers, bosses, colleagues or even family members.  Friends know things…

John the Apostle knew Jesus as a friend.  His Gospel account of Jesus reads very differently from the others in the Bible.  I think that was partly because he wrote it as a friend.  If you want to know more about Jesus, you can’t do any better than listen to what John had to say.  And that is what this ebook will be all about: Who does John say Jesus is?

How do you get a copy?  Don’t touch that dial; we’ll get all the details worked out and let you know.

 

 Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Even the Score

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The gap between rich and poor continues to widen, as does the gap between those who think they know what to do about it!   Some think fixing it is as simple as taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor.  Others say let the rich prosper so they can hire the poor.

The futility behind all of this is that wealth, as measured by money, is an illusion.  If you don’t agree, check out what happens to those who win the lottery.  Many, many of them say it was the worst thing that ever happened to them.  There is an emptiness in our souls that money does not satisfy.  That emptiness comes from a longing to be fully connected to God, as He designed us to be.  What satisfies that emptiness, that hunger, is the gift of God’s Spirit, living inside our souls, a gift given to all who believe and surrender to Jesus.  When you have that life, money becomes secondary.

It is only in the light of that truth that these lines from the Book of James makes sense:

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.” (James 1:9-10)

James is talking about “brothers,” believers.  The poorest believer has been given an eternal, living connection to Almighty God.  We talk about people with connections as though who they know makes them more important and powerful.  You cannot have a better connection than even the poorest believer.  On the other hand, a believer who happens to have a lot of money is no better off, ultimately, than his impoverished brother.  He can buy more stuff, but they both have eternal life.  That evens the score.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Hope?

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Someone asked me, “Do you have any hope for us?”  She knew I was blogging about the Bible and we had been talking about the recent spate of terrorist attacks.  World attention has been focused on the tragedy in France, but Boko Haram has slaughtered more than 10 times as many in Nigeria.  And, from all reports, there is more to come.  Does the Bible have any hope for us?

3000 years ago, King David poured out his heart in a Psalm:

“O Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.” (Psalm 7:1-2)

David’s prayer was not merely for his own situation:

“Arise, O Lord, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. Let the assembled peoples gather around you. Rule over them from on high;” (Psalm 7:6-7)

The problem with all of human attempts to put down wickedness thus far, both diplomatic and military, is that we humans are imperfect.  Justice is relative for us.  We make decisions based on expediency. We play favorites.  Those imperfect decisions each breed more discontent and violence.  There will be no solution for terrorism without perfect justice.  But God has promised to establish His justice and rule the whole world “from on high.”

The prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the One Who would bring this about:

” A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.” (Isaiah 11:1-4)

This prophecy about the coming Messiah, Jesus, is but one small sparkling drop of the hope the Bible has for us.  It would be mere wishful thinking if it were not for the fact that Jesus did come and fulfill the prophecies regarding His initial coming.  Even the one about His crucifixion and resurrection (see Isaiah 53).  Think about how unlikely it would be for any itinerant peasant in a tiny, conquered country, to be known and revered around the world, 2000 years later.  This, too, was foretold by the prophets.  And they also foretold His return to reign in justice.

When human strategies against wickedness fail, you need a Ruler from on high, Who plays no favorites, Who is not limited by mere appearances, but Who reigns with absolute, perfect justice.  Jesus is coming again.

So, like David, we pray, calling out to God for hope in a world filled with wickedness.  We say,

“Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

A Better Bargain

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Budweiser is scaling back on Superbowl ads this year.  Me too.  At $8 million per minute, plus production costs (roughly a million per minute), we just felt it made sense to cut back.  I hope that those of you who were looking forward to the Fresh Bread of Life commercial will not be too disappointed.

But think about how much money must be made selling beer and chips if it is worth it for them to drop $9 million or so to tell you about their product for 60 seconds!  Lots, apparently.  I read an article in Forbes that said buying a Superbowl ad is a bargain.

Maybe so, but here’s a better one:

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.” (Isaiah 55:1-3)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Good Question

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If you could ask just one question of Jesus, you probably couldn’t come up with a better one than they did.  But Jesus refused to answer them.  But if you  asked Him, would He answer you?  Maybe, maybe not.  Let’s set the stage:

” Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”” (Matthew 21:23)

Trouble with that question is that most of the time it’s not really a question, it’s a challenge.  It translates as, “Who do you think you are?”  plus, “Don’t you realize who I am?”  People ask “by whose authority” in order to assert their own authority.  They aren’t really looking for an answer, just a surrender.  Jesus knew that and gave a masterful, “chess move” response.  He asked them to identify the authority behind John the Baptist’s baptism: was it from Heaven or was it from men? The priests refused to answer because either way they answered would have weakened their own authority over the people.

It was a beautiful trap – too detailed to explain in this short format, but worth reading (Matthew 21:23-27).  But with that question, Jesus established that they were not really interested in knowing Who had given Him His authority!  They were only interested in putting down His challenge to their own.  Think about that: the priests were not really interested in learning more about God!

 

But if someone really wanted to know the answer, that would be an excellent question to ask Jesus!  In fact, Jesus came to earth in great measure to answer that question!  God Almighty exists beyond the plane of human sight.  Jesus revealed Who He is in ways humans could understand.  In the same way you are looking at your computer monitor (or phone screen) to understand what is happening in the invisible realms inside your computer, Jesus came to make God visible and comprehensible.  He said:

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  (John 14:9b)

If the priests and teachers had really been seeking an answer, He would have given them the answer, the answer that would have blown their minds open and transformed them.  They had a good question but missed out on the answer.  It’s easy to make that mistake when we read the Bible.  If you have a chip on your shoulder when you approach the Bible, if you read it to judge it, you won’t find many answers.  But if you come with a humble, open heart, the answers will amaze you and nourish your soul.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Object Lesson

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The young woman was obviously distraught.  She approached me and asked how to get to the George Washington bridge.  She told me she was going to throw herself off.  I was pretty young and did not know what to do.  But we were standing right next to a very large, famous church in New York City.  It was a landmark.  “Let’s go in here and see if we can find someone to talk to,” I suggested.  But the stone-faced receptionist inside informed us that, “Unless she has an appointment, there is no way for her to see anyone.” I don’t remember what ultimately happened, but at the time I wanted to blow the place up.  How could they call themselves a church and have no time for someone who had lost all hope? Imagine an emergency care clinic where you needed advance reservations…

Jesus was frustrated with the Temple bureaucracy because they were not doing what they were set up by God to do: attract people to God and show them how to connect with Him.  Several places in the Bible, this failure is compared to a fig tree that does not produce figs. If fruit trees don’t produce fruit they become firewood.

Right after His confrontation with the Temple authorities (See: Buying God and Risk it All) Jesus acted out a living parable for His disciples:

” Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.” (Matthew 21:18-19

By the time fig trees show leaves they should also have early green figs. If not, they will not be productive.  Before anyone puts the word “Church” or a cross on a building, they also ought to be ready to lead people to a meaningful and satisfying connection with God.  That is what a church is for.  If a church was a fruit tree, connections with God are the fruit.  No fruit?   No church – no matter how high the steeple and how beautiful the stained glass.

How can a church, or any follower of Jesus, be assured of bearing fruit?  Jesus told us:

““I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains [lives] in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 – my parenthetical explanation)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Risk it All

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Hey Mom!  Look at those funny skis; they are the oldest skis I’ve ever seen!  She tried to shut him up, but the damage had already been done – to my fragile ego.  It’s true I’d bought the skis (used!) in the early 60’s, some 30 years earlier, but I was proud of those skis because they weren’t made of wood and they didn’t have leather strap bindings.  Everyone else on the mountain was ignoring my shame, but not the kid.  Kids have a way of blurting out true but awkward things.

Like Who they knew Jesus was.  He’d just scolded the merchants who had set up shop in the Temple (Matthew 21:12ff) and then began miraculously healing people.  Check out the two reactions to what He was doing:

“But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.” (Matthew 21:15)

Jesus was revealing His identity to anyone who could see it. He was the promised Messiah, the Son of God.  The children got the picture and whooped and hollered.  The chief priests, the Bible teachers, the experts who should have known more than anyone else?  They were indignant.

Our first response is to criticize the priests for their blindness.  But not so fast: Let’s acknowledge that they had far more to lose by recognizing Jesus.  They had gradually advanced into positions of prestige and privilege.  They were comfortable.  If they acknowledged Jesus’ identity publicly, all that was at risk.  Even the way they had come to understand life itself would have been up for grabs.  The children had none of that baggage; it was easy for them to see the truth.

I was slow to recognize Jesus for the same reasons. I sensed doing so would put too much at risk.  I’d worked for years to develop a successful business.  My marriage, rocky at times, seemed to be in a comfortable place.  I couldn’t predict how surrender to Jesus would shake everything up, but I was afraid to risk it.  Until it became too hard to ignore what I knew was true.  Looking back almost 30 years later, my leap of faith really did shake things up in my home life and business.  But it did so in amazingly good ways.  There is no comparison between what I called life back then and what Jesus described as a more abundant life.  But I couldn’t experience that new life until I was all in, until I risked it all.

Maybe you can relate to the priests’ fear and blindness, too.  it’s pretty common.  If so, let me encourage you to look through the eyes of a child, to see the truth and risk it all.  You will discover knowing Jesus is really worth it.

Also, if you are interested in some classic Head skis…

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Ancient Resonance

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If you hear the phrase “unalienable rights,” you automatically think back 238 years to a line in the Declaration of Independence.  Only 238 years because our nation is in its infancy.  Compare that to this timeline:

3850 years ago –  Jacob gave a mysterious prophecy over his son, Jacob, saying his descendants would rule over the rest of Israel…

“… until he comes to whom it [the royal scepter, the symbol of kingly authority] belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; …” (Genesis 49:10b-11a, – my added explanation)

2700 years ago – Isaiah added this prophecy about the promised Messiah/King:

“The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.’ ”” (Isaiah 62:11)

2500 years ago – Zechariah continued this prophetic theme:

” Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

Perhaps a bit later? – An unknown Psalmist, yearning for the coming King/Savior, wrote:

“O Lord, save us [this is the word, “Hosanna!”]; O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.” (Psalm 118:25-27 – my added explanation)

2000 years ago – In Jesus’ day, these and many other prophetic Scriptures were well known.  There was a widespread, growing expectation that someone, perhaps even Jesus, would soon be revealed as the promised King and Savior.  The air crackled with anticipation.  As Jesus and His disciples approached Jerusalem for the final time, He instructed them to bring Him a colt of a donkey.   Getting on this colt, Jesus began to ride toward the gates of the city.  Those ancient prophecies came to life and began to resonate together.  Matthew wrote:

“This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”” (Matthew 21:4-5)

“A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”” (Matthew 21:8-9)

It is likely that Matthew’s words were read by people who had been in that crowd, who perhaps had been swept away by the excitement of the crowd and who had not fully understood the significance of what was happening.  Jesus was identifying Himself to those who could make the connection, who could see how His actions resonated with the ancient prophecies.

The record is still there in black and white for anyone who wants to make the connection today.  The ancient words still resonate for those who listen.

Quotes:  The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.