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John 5:1-11

04 Sep

5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

John 5:1-11

Dear God, okay, this is a fun story with a lot of layers. Here’s what I’m noticing when putting it in context with chapter 4:

  • Jesus has been watching Peter for at least a day or two. Maybe more. Maybe he was staying at Peters. but I need to go to John’s Gospel to see how he describes Peter meeting Jesus and how that overlaps with this. Peter’s brother Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist and went to find Peter after he met Jesus: 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). 42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”). 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” With this, I presume that John was baptizing in the Jordan near the Sea of Galilea because it doesn’t seem like it was a big decision to go on to Capernaum. Maybe Peter invited them there to stay. And then when Jesus was teaching one day he saw Peter’s boat and the pushed off.
  • This story isn’t about the content of Jesus’s teaching, but about Peter’s (and James’s and John’s) decision to follow Jesus. But I have to wonder what Jesus was saying and how Peter was hearing it. Was he giving his Sermon on the Mount stump speech? Was he talking about how the poor in spirit and mourning would be blessed? Was he talking about forgiving enemies, suffering through persecution, raising the bar on the standards of sin, teaching them to pray, etc.? What did Peter hear before the next part?
  • Jesus uses the miraculous catching of fish to not only impress and recruit Peter, but James and John also.
  • Peter had already seen the healing power. He had heard the lessons. But it doesn’t seem he was very impressed until this moment. He might have justified the healings. Maybe he had seen that before. But he had never seen the obvious power to manipulate nature and bend it to your will. I guess you could say the healings were that too, but these might still be rationalized.
  • Peter’s response to Jesus is to say he himself is not worthy of Jesus’s presence. Maybe he had just heard about all the ways Jesus said you can sin by lusting and hating and wanted Jesus to know up front that he was guilty. Guilty in your eyes. Guilty in Jesus’s eyes.
  • Jesus invited him, James, and John to follow him. Jesus ignored his admonition to leave him because he was too sinful. Instead, he invited him to follow. Jesus knew they would work out the sin part as they walked together.
  • Peter, James, and John decided to follow. They could have easily stayed in their squalor. And their paths would not be easy. It might have been easier to stay and fish. But they were part of changing the world and we are still talking about these simple fishermen from Galilea 2,000 years later.

Father, thank you for inviting me to be on this journey with you. Help me to know how to walk it. Love through me. Lead through me. Lead me through others you appoint to teach and show me the way. Your way. Help me to not veer from the path. Help me to show others the narrow way.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 4, 2025 in Luke

 

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1 John 5:1-12

19 Aug

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. 7 So we have these three witnesses[c]— 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

1 John 5:1-12

Dear God, my wife and I were talking yesterday morning about how to reconcile the impetuous, sometimes selfish and vindictive John described in the gospels with the author of these later letters/books. I told her it was pretty easy in my mind: Age. The John in the gospels was young and he still didn’t really understand what Jesus was teaching them. I think he only began to understand it after the resurrection and ascension. He grew. He suffered. He lost (his brother was the first martyr). He lamented. He celebrated. He experienced life and had you, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, to walk him through it all. It shaped him and he because an elder from whom we could learn.

So at this point he has lived a life and seen the difference in people when they come to really know Jesus. He has seen selfishness and self-pity lead to misery. He has also seen grace, mercy, worship, and service lead to life. He has seen the difference Jesus’s and the Holy Spirit’s presence makes in lives. In his own life. The verse of the day from Bible Gateway is actually verse 12. It sums up the argument made in the first 11 verses.

Father, the roots of my life need your living water. Help me to soak in your river this morning. I love you. I worship you. I thank you. You are my God, and I am very grateful for your love, your mercy, and the idea that you will use me however you will to accomplish what you want to accomplish. Help me to be the man you have for me to be.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 19, 2025 in 1 John

 

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Letter to the Church in Laodicea – Revelation 3:14-22

11 Jul

14 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:

15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18 So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.

22 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”

Revelation 3:14-22

Dear God, reading this passage is like watching Casablanca. You just hear all of these lines you’ve heard somewhere, but you didn’t know the source. “Here’s looking at you, kid.” “Of all the gin joints in all the world…” “The problems of two little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this world.” In this case we get the stuff about being lukewarm and spewed out of Jesus’s mouth. I correct and discipline everyone I love. I stand at the door and knock. Anyone with ears to here… Yet, with all of this ingrained familiarity with these words, do we heed them?

Every time I hear about the church in Laodicea, I think about the Steve Camp song from the 1980s called “Living in Laodicea.” I just stopped typing to go and listen to the song and, frankly, it didn’t line up with this passage as much as I hoped it would. The song was more about drifting away from you. I don’t think that’s what the church in Laodicea was doing from what is described here. I don’t think they were the world’s friend. I think they were just maintaining the status quo and so inwardly focused that they were losing their saltiness.

For me, it seems like the best way to guard against this is to stick to those top two commandments: Love you with everything I have and love my neighbor as myself. In my mind, that is the best antidote to being lukewarm. That is the best way for me to hear you. And I have to keep them in that order. If I start to lead with serving others then I can get totally distracted by that and you will start to fade. But if I start with you and then lean into seeking your leading in loving others then I think I will find the balance you call me to.

In consulting The Communicator’s Commentary by Earl Palmer on Revelation, he pointed out what a prosperous city Laodicea was. Apparently, a lot of trade happened there and there were many prosperous. Interestingly, I live in a city that many see as prosperous. We are a tourist town with a lot of visitors just about every week of the year. The town has a wonderful veneer and a lot going on because of the tourists. We have a robust community theater and a lot of good restaurants. It’s abnormally sophisticated for a town of 11,000 people 60 miles from the nearest large city. And a lot of wealthy people retire here. Our churches are filled with people who seem to fit the description of the residents in Laodicea. But there is a huge impoverished population here too. Our school district is 62% free or reduced lunch. Our uninsured rate for health insurance ranks 229th out of 255 Texas counties. There are a lot of resources here, but there are a lot of people who need our help and love.

Father, it starts with me. And it’s honestly pretty simple. Love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and love my neighbor as myself. And I have neighbors who need loved. Some of them are friends in need. Some of them are strangers I encounter along the way. I don’t know everything they need, but you do. Help me to hear your voice as I spend time with you and you call me to love them.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 11, 2025 in Revelation

 

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Letter to the Church in Philadelphia – Revelation 3:7-13

10 Jul

7 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.

This is the message from the one who is holy and true,
    the one who has the key of David.
What he opens, no one can close;
    and what he closes, no one can open:

8 “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. 9 Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.

10 “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. 12 All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.

13 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Revelation 3:7-13

Dear God, the beginning of this letter, referencing the “key of David,” was unique so I pulled out my biblical commentary (The Communicator’s Commentary: 1, 2, 3 John and Revelation by Earl Palmer) to see what it had to say about it. It referred back to Isaiah 22:22 that says, “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” So these people are seen and known my Jesus in a seemingly intimate way. He has opened a door for them that no one can close. That just made me think of the last verse of the song “The Love of God” by Rich Mullins:

Joy and sorrow are this ocean
They’re in its every ebb and flow
Now the Lord a door has opened
That all hell could never close
Here I’m tested and made worthy
Tossed about, yet lifted up
In the reckless, raging fury
They call the love of God

I don’t think I ever caught this connection from Rich. I wonder if that’s what he meant. Either way, this paints a beautiful picture of Jesus appreciating these unassuming, unpowerful, faithful Christians. They weren’t doing things that felt like they were showing up in the box score. They were just living their lives as faithfully as they could, doing the next thing they saw in front of them.

I couldn’t help but notice to keep them from the “great time of testing.” What was this? Is this what people understand to be “tribulation” and perhaps a reference to “rapture” in the mentioning of avoiding that time? I don’t know. It’s interesting that the commentary ignored this part of the passage completely. Maybe I will too. 🙂

Father, I want to be what the author of the commentary, Earl Palmer, describes when talking about why he’s impressed with the Church in Philadelphia: “I am impressed by the naturalness of basic realism of this strategy of evangelism. It does not idealize the Christian missionary task; it does not call for ‘super Christians,’ but rather for garden-variety Christians who are experiencing the miracle of the love of Jesus Christ in their own lives and fellowship.” Yes, to be a general, “garden-variety” Christian living a simple life of faith is what I want. No glory. No acclaim. No scorecard I can point to at the end of the day and show people, or even you, how great I was. Just a faithful life that successfully, quietly, knocked over a couple of dominoes in other people’s lives and maybe one of those dominoes falling over will be used by you for something great. And I’ll never know about it. And no one will ever know it was me. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I just want to serve you as simply and humbly as I can. Please bless the path I walk to make that happen, regardless of what it costs me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 10, 2025 in Revelation

 

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Letter to the Church in Sardis – Revelation 3:1-6

09 Jul

3 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars:

“I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. 3 Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.

4 “Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.

6 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Revelation 3:1-6

Dear God, oh my. This is a horrifying thought. To have a great reputation that is really empty. Oh, how I don’t want to be empty.

I’m going to look at this from a personal level first before I think about it for your churches here in America. I have a reputation in our small town, and it is a good one. Is it a facade? I don’t think it is, but I so hope I have not deluded myself into thinking I’m loving and serving you but not doing it. I was talking to a friend yesterday about the rescue and now recovery efforts in Kerrville, which is a neighboring town less than 30 miles from where I am sitting right now. We were talking about our respect for people who are doing the searching and recovering. It is gruesome. It is grim. I confessed to him that I don’t have the stomach for it. And I know we can’t all be everything. I know there are different parts of the body and we all have different roles. But should I be there? At this point, I don’t think so, but I don’t know. I just know I truly admire every single person who is doing it. And I know I’ve responded to what I felt like were nudges from you on how my wife and I should participate. Going back to this passage from Revelation, my point is that I don’t want my life to be a hollow shell of a respectable and reputable facade. In fact, if anything, I want to minimize how much or what people think of me and regard it as rubbish compared with what you think of me. I want to consider my life worth nothing to me.

Now, as for the church, well, there are some churches I personally respect and some I do not. Do I have the right perspective on it? Are the categories I use to evaluate and judge them the right ones, or do I even have the right opinion about those categories? As for the Catholic church, of which I am not a member but attend with my wife, I have no issue with them regarding their love for you or the genuineness of their hearts for you. I don’t agree with every theological belief they have, but the truth is we are probably both wrong about some of our beliefs, we just don’t know which those are. That’s fine. We believe in the same core things and I enjoy worshipping with these sisters and brothers. I enjoy being in relationship with them. I feel like I have seen their hearts and they are good and not empty shells of reputation.

Father, I pray for the churches in our community. Each one. Catholic, Orthodox, mainline denominations, evangelical, etc. I pray for their leadership. I pray for each head pastor and each person who serves under them. Give them your presence. Convict where you want to convict. Affirm where you want to affirm. I know some churches are facing a leadership transition. Please guide over them as churches and as individuals servants of you. From their pastors and potential pastors, to the committee members who are discerning your will, to the people in the pews. Be very present to them. But beyond those few churches, I pray for all of them. That they might be found faithful. That the Catholic church I attend might be found faithful. Let your kingdom come and your will be done through all of us as your body as it is in heaven.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 9, 2025 in Revelation

 

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Letter to the Church in Thyatira – Revelation 2:18-29

08 Jul

18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

19 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

20 “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

22 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

24 “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you 25 except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. 26 To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end,

To them I will give authority over all the nations.
27 They will rule the nations with an iron rod
    and smash them like clay pots.

28 They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!

29 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Revelation 2:18-29

Dear God, this is interesting. Two churches in a row have the same sin: allowing sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols. In this case, it appears the sexual immorality is heterosexual-based (adultery with the woman as described in verse 22) as opposed to a vague sexual immorality at the church in Pergamum from yesterday.

I was talking with a friend last night about sexual immorality. And I know I’ve said this before (I think I said it yesterday too), but I think we don’t raise the standard high enough. It’s a little like the Republican Party in the United States wanting power to the local government as long as local is defined at the level of government at which they have the power (and I say this as a moderate Republican). In this case, we want you to banish sexual immorality and we want to banish it from our midst as long as it is the sexual immorality that is just below the rung on the ladder at which we are being sexually immoral.

But I like this encouragement to the faithful that is written here. You see them. You see their faithfulness to you and your teaching: love, service, faith, and patient endurance (verse 19). And you circle back around to them at the end in verses 24 and 25.

Father, last night was everything I could have hoped it would be with the men in the CMLS class. And it wasn’t me. It was you. And I don’t have numbers I can walk around today and pump my chest about. That’s good. But I did get an affirmation in that I heard at least one man praying quietly along with me while I prayed a prayer for them to accept your gift and follow you. It touched me so much. I didn’t feel euphoric. I just felt happy for them. But I also know it’s only the beginning of the journey for them. It’s like when I drop a big fundraising mailing at work. With your grace and people responding to the mailing, getting it in the mail is only the beginning. It’s the follow-up where the real work lies. The men who prayed last night, and even those who didn’t, have long roads ahead of them. Help them to take it one step at a time, and help all of the teachers to guide them in that life that fill find them being everything the faithful people of Thyatira were.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 8, 2025 in Revelation

 

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Letter to the Church at Ephesus – Revelation 2:1-7

04 Jul

2 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:1-7

Dear God, let me start by saying I’m concerned about friends along the Guadalupe River right now. I have a coworker, and we cannot contact her or her family. We are worried about them. I am thinking of the camps along the river that are full of kids this time of year. I am thinking about the people who just live there. Please take care of them. Please wrap them up and keep them safe. Please, Father, please take care of my friend and her family. She is absolutely one of the best and sweetest people I know. Lord, have mercy. Jesus, have mercy. Holy Spirit, have mercy.

Regarding this letter to the church at Ephesus, when I read it this morning, it made me wonder what you would have to say to me. What have I done right? What am I doing wrong? For Ephesus, their actions were good:

  • Hard work.
  • Patient endurance.
  • Rejection of evil people.
  • Discerning who is a false apostle and rejecting.
  • Patiently suffered for Jesus.

That’s a good list. If I were them, I would cut the conversation off there, take my report card, and go. But you didn’t stop there: “But I have this complaint against you…”

  • Don’t love God/Jesus/Holy Spirit like they used to.
  • Don’t love each other like they used to.

They used to do all of their good things as a fruit of what came from worshipping you. But they had started doing the work without you. It made me think about just treating my faith more like a philosophy of how to live a human life. Kind of a perspective of, “This is how I’m supposed to live and act, so I’ll live and act this way.” But what I noticed this morning is that they are simply missing the two great commandments. Love you and love each other. Instead, there seems to be a selfishness about their actions. Are they suffering persecution for their own glory in some weird way? Are they getting their ego stroked through it?

It seems like when selfishness creeps in we just don’t have the capacity to love you and love those around us like we should, or even at all. We start getting concerned about our rights. Then we eventually start to fight for ourselves instead of for others. We stop sacrificing for others and start to expect others to sacrifice for us.

Father, I think this will be a convicting series. What will you have to tell me through these letters? I’m going to start a spreadsheet that I’ll put into these journals at the end to list the compliments and the concerns you give to each church. Perhaps there is something I can use in my personal life that will help me to be the salt in the world you are calling me to be. Lord, have mercy. Jesus, have mercy. Holy Spirit, have mercy.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 4, 2025 in Revelation

 

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John 1:1-18

31 Dec

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.

6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

John 1:1-18

Dear God, having spent so much time at different times in my life with specific passages like this one can make it difficult to see it with fresh eyes. But my wife asked me a question a couple of days ago that I think fits with what John is saying here. She, who is Catholic, asked why I thought Peter got the nod from the Catholic church over John for first Pope. I thought the answer was pretty easy in that Jesus called Peter the rock upon which the Church would be built. She countered that John seemed so much more responsible and mature than Peter. Less impetuous. More thoughtful. She would have thought it would be John

I countered that she is thinking of the John she knows from the end of his life. Writing this Gospel. Writing the three letters. Revelation. But when I think back on the John that is represented in the Gospels, he seems less mature and put together than Peter. For example, he and his brother James asked for places of honor in the kingdom to come. When the Samaritans denied Jesus passage through their are on their way to Jerusalem, it was John and James who asked Jesus if he wanted them to call down fire on them and burn them up. Later, in Acts, as Peter and John are walking to the Temple and a man is crying out to be healed, it is Peter who stops and talks to him, not John. She countered that it was John who followed Jesus to the cross. That’s true. John did love you, but I just don’t think he was a leader. I mentioned to her that it was Peter who you used to break the Gentile barrier between Cornelius and the other apostles in Jerusalem. I also questioned why John was never martyred. Could it be because he never quite pushed the envelope far enough to push the anti-Christians he encountered past the tipping point?

I think, for John, he had a long time to really sift through everything he had experienced and was then able to start making some sense of it and write it down. He shared his version of Jesus’s life. He wrote letters of love and encouragement. She shared the Revelation you gave him. And for me, it all starts with this passage. The first time I read John’s Gospel all of the way through I realized that throughout much of it, Jesus sounds like a lunatic. It was C.S. Lewis who said you need to accept Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. There is not a fourth option. For me, these first 18 verses are the core of what the rest of the book is built on. If you believe Jesus is the Word and was God, the the rest of the book makes perfect sense. If you don’t believe those first 18 verses, then you just as well stop reading because the rest of it won’t make any sense. John just didn’t leave any middle ground for Jesus to hide in. He was God so John represents him as God.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that John began his book with poetry. My wife is a poet, and she has taught me to appreciate the choice of words and how important they are. I am sure this gets lost with translation. I wish I were fluent in Greek and could read this as John originally wrote it. There’s probably even more here than a lot of us know.

Father, I like John because I see a lot of myself in him. Faithful, but cautious. I am the kind who would run to the tomb, but then wait a beat and examine everything before I went in. I’m not Peter. I don’t just get out of the boat and walk to you on the water. I don’t see the man begging to be healed and stop to heal him. I don’t proclaim you are the Messiah when no one else is quite ready to say it out loud. But I do love you. And I know you love me. Help me to love you better. Help me to live in that love. Help me to worship you well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 31, 2024 in John

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 22

22 Dec

30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

John 20:30-31

Dear God, as John sat and dictated this book, I wonder how hard it was to sort things out. “Oh, and then there was the time…” “Oh, and I remember when Jesus…” It must have been a wonder to think back on all that Jesus was and had done and then try to make sense of what was happening in his world at the time. His friends were dead. He was in exile. You hadn’t come back. I don’t know if he wrote this before or after his Revelation, but it almost feels like some of these guys sat down and wrote these books so much longer after Jesus was gone because they didn’t really think they would be around that long after the ascension. I think they still thought you were about to come back any time. I’m sure they would be shocked to know that we are still waiting 2,000 years later.

I know there are people who are living today who are shocked you haven’t come back in our time. The goings on now seem unique. But I think the truth is we all live in a time of confusion for ourselves. None of us really has any more idea of what is going on that our pets do. We have a sweet dog who just lives day to day. She looks to us to provide her meals, her walks–even her opportunities to go to the bathroom. She doesn’t know if it is winter or summer except to wonder why she is cold today. Yes, on a scale of “domesticated dog” to “God,” I am not a zero, but I’m a lot closer to 1 than I am even a 3.

The same was also true for everyone represented in the Bible. Mary didn’t understand what was going on during the pregnancy and birth. She might have learned a little more over the next 30 years and Jesus grew, but then those three years of active ministry must have been very confusing. Then the crucifixion. Then the resurrection. Then the ascension. If you’d have told pregnant Mary, post-Angel visit, that this is how it would all turn out she would have been shocked. Joseph too. “He’s going to what?!? Die?!? Resurrect?!? Ascend?!?…Why?!?” Well, the answer was so much bigger than they could have known–and I’m foolish if I think any of us, even 2,000 years later, really understand the “Why?”

Father, I want to quote Piper’s prayer for us in today’s reading as I close this prayer: “O, how I pray for a breaking forth of the Spirit of God upon me and upon [others}. I pray for the Holy Spirit to break into my experience in a frightening way, to wake me up to the unimaginable reality of [You].”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 22, 2024 in Advent 2024, John

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 21

21 Dec

28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”

30 “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.

31 “Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them.

“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. 32 (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.)

33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.

34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”

35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”

36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?”

Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. 

John 18:28-38a

Dear God, an entire book could probably written about these 11 verses. This whole exchange is amazing, but I can’t let go of one thing first. The accusers would not go into Pilate’s place because it would make them unclean for Passover. Isn’t that a little ironic given the fact that they were actually in the process of killing your Passover Lamb? They were so locked into their own deception they couldn’t see they were actually killing you! Somehow, they thought they were pleasing you. Somehow, they thought this was an act of worshipping you. It’s unbelievable to think about in that way. Again, I could probably write thousands of words on how I and others today do the same thing–make tremendous mistakes in your name that grieve you. Let me just say that I am sorry for my ignorance. Sometimes it’s bad teaching. Sometimes it’s bad influence. And sometimes it’s just my sin driving me into errant thoughts and actions. I am so sorry.

But back to Jesus’s conversation with Pilate. By all historical accounts, at least as I understand them, Pilate was a terrible person who was awful to the Jews in Israel at the time. He is not a sympathetic figure. But this account recorded by John almost makes me think that John had compassion for him. He seems confused and helpless. He seems overwhelmed and like he wants to do the right thing by this man in front of him. Even later, the way John records Pilate putting “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” over Jesus on the cross and telling the accusers, “What I have written, I have written,” (John 19:19-22) communicates an exasperation on Pilate’s part. It’s hard to get tone of voice through writing, but I feel like John captures it here.

For Piper’s daily reading today, he focused on verse 37. Jesus said he came to testify to the truth. What truth? Well, I think it was the truth about you and who you are. It makes me think of Job’s response to you in Job 42:5: “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.” People throughout history had heard of you through the prophets and the writings, but now they had seen you. I have seen you through these stories of who you were as you lived a human life. Jesus showed us the truth about who you are. He also told us the truth about how you think. We know what your opinions are on any number of things. You preached to us. You taught us. You corrected us through Peter and the other people you corrected while here on earth. You taught us about our need to be reconciled to you. You taught us that Gentiles are as precious to you as anyone. You gave us eyes to see beyond what our eyes can physically see. You truly represented “truth” in a whole new way. A complete truth that is really remarkable when we think about it. In fact, Pilate shows the confusion of the world when he simply follows up verse 37 with a simple but profound question for the lost: “What is truth?”

Father, I feel like I am one small, tiny step closer to understanding your truth today than I was yesterday. And, with your grace, I will be one tiny step closer to understanding you tomorrow and the next day after that as well. Oh, how I love you. Oh, how I need you. Oh, how I thank you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 21, 2024 in Advent 2024, John

 

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