Tag Archives: Jesus

Christmas Promise

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Here’s a word association test:  If I say “government,” what’s the first word you think of?  Ooooh, nasty…   but, truth be told, I feel the same way.  Don’t get me wrong: I’d rather live with our government in the USA, than, say under the rule of that psychopath in North Korea.  And let’s take Putin…   actually, let’s not.  But, even though our government is so much better, it still is broken.  We humans need governing, but we don’t do a very good job of it.

That’s what excites me about this Christmas prophecy from Isaiah:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.   (Isaiah 9:6a)

Isn’t that just a figure of speech?  Nope.  Isaiah goes on to say,

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  (Isaiah 9:7)

Obviously, this has not yet happened, so why should we believe it?  We can believe it because Isaiah accurately predicted the rise and fall of kingdoms in the Middle East – hundreds of years worth.  He nailed it.  Imagine accurately predicting what will happen in the Middle East next week!  It was because Isaiah and other prophets were so accurate that people were looking for the coming of Jesus when He was born and where He was born.  Nailed it again.  Not only that, Isaiah foretold Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.  Obviously Isaiah had “inside information.”  He knew what he was talking about.

We can count on it when Isaiah says Jesus will return as “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  And that His government will be characterized by perfect righteousness and justice.  The world has never experienced a government like that.  But this Christmas promise says you can count on it.

My money is on Isaiah.  Which is  to say, I’ve bet my life on Jesus.  Merry Christmas!

Christmas Travel

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When some genius suggested that they allow cell phone use on airplanes, the push-back was instantaneous and unanimous.  Which makes me wonder: If everyone is upset about it, then who would actually want to make the calls?  (All God’s people say, “Not me!”)  The consensus is that flying, in terms of discomfort and inconvenience, is about one notch down from getting a colonoscopy. Having to put up with inane cell phone conversations as well, might just push people over the edge.

Have we become a bunch of wimps?  I wonder how we would have felt about travel by donkey – in the last few weeks of pregnancy!  Christmas rapidly approaches at the speed of a commuter train.  As I’ve been revisiting some of the passages in the Bible that pertain to Jesus’ birth, I’ve been struck by how inconvenienced Mary and Joseph were by travel.  Mary was greatly favored by God but that meant she was going to have to endure travel – tough travel.

The angel comes to Mary and tells her:

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. (Luke 1:3032)

We can only imagine Mary’s astonishment, to be told that she, a virgin, was pregnant with the Son of God.  But on top of that, she had to travel.  First to see her relative, Elizabeth.  Then back home.  Then up to Bethlehem.  You’ve heard what happened there and what a hassle that turned out to be.  But then more travel, this time to Egypt.  And then back to Nazareth.

It’s true that Mary didn’t need to submit to an xray search, remove her shoes or explain the nature of her carry on lotions.  She was not jammed between two people whose moment of fame on TV was a brief video taken from the neck down.  But donkey travel was no picnic.  Mary was traveling as a pregnant woman and then with a baby.  I wonder why, in God’s wisdom, He decided that Mary and Joseph should spend so much time traveling, so much time away from the comforts of home.

Of course, that is what Jesus decided to do as well – endure tough travel away from His home.  Jesus left the glory of Heaven and came to earth, not as a highly respected dignitary, not as a powerful king, but as a homeless traveler.  If you chew on the “why” of that, you will see glimpses of how God’s love is revealed in tough circumstances.  God allowed some of His favorite people to endure discomfort and travel because He loves us.

God has also allowed some His favorite people in Lyons, Colorado to be forced from their homes this year.  They are facing months and years of tough work, just to get back home – so to speak.   If you would like to help with the flood recovery efforts, please visit the website for The River Church:  http://therivercolorado.org/    I have been humbled and amazed to see how this small church has been blessing the community, while experiencing their own travels and troubles.

Greeting Jesus

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The monk hammers on the old wooden door, waking the abbot.  Blustering and stammering, he says, “There’s a man downstairs who says he is Jesus and has returned!  What should we do?”   “Look busy!”

Old joke, but it raises a good question.  If Jesus returned and came up to you, what would your reaction be?  If you knew that you were face to face with the Son of Almighty God, the Savior, what would you feel?  Fear?  Regret?  Shame?  Embarrassment?  Any of those strike a chord?  Quite probably so.  But what if you could be sure it was appropriate to run to meet Him with complete confidence and joy, without a trace of sheepishness or shame?  Turns out, that is what is intended for us, who have placed our trust in Jesus:

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.  (1 John 2:28)

You have seen the videos: a child is in school, going through her daily activities, when suddenly Dad appears, home from his service in Afghanistan.  How does she respond?  She runs to him, embraces him with joyful tears.  That’s the idea for our response when Jesus returns!

But how?  How can that be possible?  I mean, … the Son of God…?  John shows us how.  First, our relationship to Jesus is that of a “dear child.”  By faith in Christ, we have been given the right to become a child of God.

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)

[Jesus said,] “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  (Mark 10:15)

As a child of God, when you see “Papa,” run to Him!  He will be so glad to see you coming.

Secondly, John says “continue in Him.”   The word translated “continue” is the same word previously translated “remain.”  It means to make your permanent home in Him.  Abide in Him.  There’s more on this word in “Stay Home.”  You make your home in Jesus and He will make His home in you.  When you see Him coming toward you, it will be like coming home!

Chew on that…   The more you do, the more you will taste of its deep truths.  You are meant to sing this song as your own: “Joy to the world! The Lord is come!”

Stay Home

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It’s been mighty cold here in Colorado.  When I come home on subzero nights, I like to fix a warm mug of tea, kick off my boots and flop down into my easy chair.  I’m home.  Once I’m settled in, I’m secure.  I don’t have to keep checking to see if this really is my home, to see if I’m really still here, or to see if it is still here.  I live here.  To use the Bible word, I “remain” here (some Bible translations say “abide”).  This is my natural place of rest, my default position, the place in which I make my home.  That’s what the word “remain” means.

John writes:

See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.  And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.  (1 John 2:24-25)

“What you have heard from the beginning…” is the simple, uncomplicated truth about Jesus.  Jesus is the Son of God, Whose death has purchased the gift of eternal life for all those who will believe it and accept it.   John says, See that this simple truth “remains” in you, that it makes its home in you.  If it does, he says, your home will be in Jesus.  You will be at home in God.

If that sounds confusing, think of what happens when you move.  At first, your new house or apartment, isn’t really “home” yet; you are still getting used to it.  Gradually, as you allow it to become “home” in you, you find yourself “at home” in it, right?  John says, as Jesus’ simple truth begins to be at home in you, you will discover that you are “at home” in God.  This two-way relationship is reflected in Jesus’ teaching:

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. (John 14:20)

John writes to remind and reassure his brothers and sisters in Jesus because, right from the first, some people have tried to twist the message of Jesus, to complicate it and make it say what they want.  In doing so, they attempt to lead people astray. 

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.  

 John says, Remember where your “home” is and stay home. By “staying home,” he says, you don’t need to worry about being led astray.  Why not?   Because you have the Holy Spirit to guide you.  He makes His home in you, and you in Him:

As for you, the anointing [the Holy Spirit] you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.  (1 John 2:26-27)

So, wherever you go, stay home.

No Small Detail

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On Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, near Atlanta, GA, a new billboard now invites people to “Find Jesus in the Quran.”  Surprised?  Don’t be.  Most of the religions I checked have some form of belief in Jesus.  The problem is not what these religions (Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhism, Baha’i, and even some watered down versions of Christianity!) believe about Jesus, but what they do NOT believe about Him.  They believe He was a prophet, an angelic being, a wise teacher, an incarnation of love, etc.  But they do not believe that Jesus, as the Son of God, is the human manifestation of God.

What difference does that make?  It’s no small detail, but a make or break essential.  Here is what this “wise teacher” said about Himself:

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

I and the Father are one. (John 10:30)

Don’t avoid the meaning of this second, simple statement; the people who first heard it did not misunderstand what He meant.  As they picked up rocks to bash His brains out, they said they were doing so:

“… because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”  (John 10:33b)

To say that Jesus was merely a “wise teacher” is to ignore Who He claimed to be.  You can’t have a watered down version of Jesus without denying that He told the truth.  To deny Who He is, is to oppose Who He is.  Here is how John stated this blunt truth:

Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.  No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2:22-23)

You might find someone called Jesus in the Quran, but you will not find The Son of God, The Savior in that book.  Make sure you know Who He really is!

Personal note:  Thanks for waiting; we had a great time visiting kids and grand-kids for Thanksgiving, arriving back in Colorado just as the state became freeze-dried by an arctic blast.  Brrrrrrrr…

Spotting a Fake – Part 2

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This world is full of false preachers, scam artists who seem to be following Jesus but who in reality are working to become wealthy and famous.  John calls these guys by the right name: “antichrists.”  Last time we considered one of the clues to look for in spotting this type of charlatan.  John says watch out for those who do “not really belong to us.”  (See Spotting a Fake).   But there is a better way:

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.   I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.  (1 John 2:20-21)

God designed humans to be intimately connected to Him by His Holy Spirit.  Sin destroyed that connection.  Jesus came to restore it.  (There is more detail about this in many of my earlier posts.  Click on the “New Here?” link above.)  To all those who would believe in Him, trust Him and follow Him.  He said:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—  the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”  (John 14:16-17)

The reason Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “Spirit of Truth” is because:

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  (John 16:13a)

John says, if you truly follow Jesus, He has “annointed” you (given you, filled you) with the Holy Spirit, the One Who guides you into all truth.  Listen to Him!  He will show you how to spot a fake!

I appreciate your tuning in to this “blog,” chewing over neat things from the Bible with me.  I hope you will share it with people you know who have never developed a “taste” for the Bible.  Let me wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!  God is so good.  His blessings, His faithfulness are experienced new each day.  I’ll be taking a few days off from writing this as I spend time with family.

Spotting a Fake

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I’m going to be a millionaire! All I have to do is send my bank account information and social security number to a prince in Nigeria, and he is going to send me 5  million bucks.  Or not…

Don’t believe every email you get; there are bad guys out there who are trying to deceive you.  Don’t believe every preacher you hear, either, for the same reason.  Lots of preachers – even famous preachers with huge followings – are bad guys, trying to deceive you.  If this surprises you, it should not.  We were told to expect it:

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.  (1 John 2:18 )

The “last hour,” as John uses the term, is the time between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming.  No one knows how many years will be included in the “last hour” but we have been told several things to expect during that time.  One of them is false preachers, who seem to be following Jesus, who claim to be following Him, but who are in fact working against Him.  John calls these guys “antichrists,” whose work opposes Jesus.   They follow the same spirit and same purpose as the antichrist, who will come one day.   There were many antichrists in John’s day and there are many antichrists today.

How can you spot a fake preacher?   Just as with email scams, there are telltale signs to watch for.  The first thing John mentions is that a fake preacher, one who is working against Jesus, won’t be one of us.  He will separate himself from the rest of us.

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained  (made their home) with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. (1 John 2:19)

If you see a preacher who is larger than life, who holds himself aloof from the rest of the people, who struts about on the stage as though people should worship him, who adopts an opulent lifestyle that few in his congregation could match – watch out.  He a fake.  He is an antichrist.  Here is what Jesus said about these guys:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them.”  (Matthew 7:15-16a)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’   Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’  (Matthew 7:21-23)

It’s no proof of authenticity for a preacher to seem to pull off miracles or to boldly prophesy.  A real preacher will make his home (remain, abide) with us who follow the One who was humble, was gentle, who had no place to lay His head.  A real preacher will be filled with humility because he is overwhelmed by Jesus.

But let’s face it: some of these guys seem really persuasive.  That is true.  But there is another way to discern who is real and who is antichrist.  Stay tuned.

How to Live Forever

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The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:17)

The world  promises, if you just eat this, drink that, try this, buy that, build this, own that, then you will be fulfilled and happy.  The promise is a lie.  All those things of the world pass away; they are temporary.  That word, temporary, slaps us like the word, condemned, spray painted on an abandoned building.  Temporary.  They won’t last.

English: Artist's illustration of one model of...

English: Artist’s illustration of one model of the bright gamma-ray burst GRB 080319B. The explosion is highly beamed into two bipolar jets, with a narrow inner jet surrounded by a wider outer jet. Русский: Художественная иллюстрация одной модели яркого гамма-всплеска GRB 080319B. Взрыв представляется в виде мощных полярно направленных выбросов плазмы, состоящих из узких внутренних и более широких внешних струй. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Over coffee this morning, I read in the paper about a gamma ray burst that happened recently in space.  Astronomers calmly reported that it was so massive that, had it been closer to the earth, we would have been incinerated in an instant.  Thanks, guys…   Maybe I’ll get another cup…

The lusts of the flesh do not satisfy, except for the shortest of moments.  The “pause that refreshes” ultimately leaves you thirsty.  The finest meal is ultimately chewed, swallowed and eliminated.  The promise of sexual thrill can leave you stumbling around in the dark basement of self regret.  The newest computer quickly becomes too slow.  The bigger house soon becomes filled with junk.  Then it needs to be repainted.  Beauty, that comes at such high cost, ultimately slips away, cackling with cruel laughter.  The greatest achievement is quickly surpassed.

“But the man who does the will of God, lives forever.”  More literally, He abides forever.  He “makes his home” in God forever.  Jesus enables those who trust Him to connect to God like that – forever.

Doing the will of God is not a matter of knowing a list of things you should not eat, drink, say, do or buy.  It’s a matter of living in close harmony with God, naturally responding as He reveals His purposes in real time.  Living in the world, but not being consumed by it, is a matter of making your home, your true home, in God.  It’s a matter of knowing God and acknowledging God in all things, responding to His direction and looking ahead to His promises.  It’s receiving both good things and challenging things from His hand with the same attitude of trust and humility.

The one who hears and does God’s will discovers that:

Cravings are replaced with contentment.
Covetousness is replaced by gratitude.
Boasting is replaced by amazement.
“I need” is replaced by “I shall not want.”
“I want” is replaced by  “Thank You, Lord.”
“I matter” is replaced by “God shows His strength in my weakness.”
Sliding inevitably into death is replaced by abiding in God forever.

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:17)

Don’t Settle for Stuff

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A very loving, generous and wealthy man invites you to come live with him as though you were a member of his family.  If you take him up on his offer, you can occupy one of the homes on his country estate, eat his food, and use his stuff.  You can ride his horses, race his ATV’s, swim in his pool, sail his boats; it’s all available to you.  Why?  Just because he loves you like a natural child.  He wants to wrap you into his family.

I know, I know, it’s not likely, but just humor me for a few lines here.

 You take him up on his offer and move in.  For awhile it is wonderful, but eventually you become discontent.  You would like different food, a faster ATV, more expensive horses.  And you really would like to own a few of these things.  Or a lot of them…    So, you watch for opportunities to steal from this man.  You are not caught – at least he doesn’t say anything about  your theft – but now you don’t really like to see him anymore.  It makes you feel bad to be with him. But you love your stuff.  It makes you feel superior.  You go to town and brag about how much you have.  Now others are envious of you and that makes you proud.   

Who would do such a thing?  Anyone, John says, who becomes dissatisfied with what he has and obsessed with getting more and better stuff.  Anyone, says John, who forgets the love and generosity of God who blessed him with everything he ever had – including life itself.  Anyone, says John, who thinks better stuff makes him more important.  Here’s how he said it:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.  (1 John 2:15-16)

When someone ignores the One Who invited him (or her) to live in His “estate” and focuses instead on getting better stuff, he loses his love for his Father.  He trades in his relationship with his loving Father for a bunch of stuff.  That may sound like no big deal, until you realize that he also has traded in life for death.  John says:

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:17)

There’s a story in Genesis about a guy named Esau, who gave up his birthright as the firstborn son so he could have something to eat (Genesis 25:34).  He could have had it all forever, but he exchanged his place in his father’s family for a temporary helping of stuff.  Dumb.  Don’t settle for stuff instead of life.  Jesus taught this principle with these words:

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”  (John 6:27)

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:33)

Don’t settle for stuff.

Changing the Rules

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Did you know it is a sin to love the world?  That’s what John said:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  (1 John 2:15)

But how can that be true, if “God so loved the world…”? (John 3:16a)

Someone once asked me if it was ethical  to keep a valuable guitar. He had been hiking in the wilderness and found it in an old, abandoned house, a home that was evidently abandoned.  He let himself in, looked around and found this rare and beautiful guitar.  Could he keep it?  Was it right?

If you had found that guitar, what would you have decided?   Wouldn’t your “rules” change, depending upon whether or not you thought someone else currently owned the home?  If someone had died and left no heirs, perhaps you would think:  “finders keepers.”  But, if you knew he was still alive but just away on a trip, then taking the guitar would be stealing. What you think it is right to do, would change if you realized you were in someone else’s home.

The same principle is at work when people fail to realize that we live in God’s “home.”   God created this world; it’s His.  Therefore He gets to make the rules.  The rules about what is right and wrong change substantially when you take God out of the equation.   Without God, we assume that we can do whatever seems right to us.  Do you remember in the 60’s when people decided “if it feels good, do it”?  It wasn’t long before we began to discover that that idea wasn’t necessarily accurate.

The “rules” that have been developed since people lost their connection to God, the mindset that assumes that we are in charge of what is right and wrong, is what John calls “the world.”  Jesus coined that term.  The mindset of “the world” is very different from the mindset of Jesus’ “logos.”  If you understand what “the world” means, then this verse that sounds so outrageous begins to make more sense:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)

We’ll poke and prod this idea next time…