Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I'm entitled.
Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Col. Jessep: You can't handle the truth!
What a memorable stand-off between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the film, "A Few Good Men." Where do YOU stand on truth? Do you want to know the truth? Do you believe you could handle the truth if it were given to you? Do you believe that the truth can be known? Post-modern philosophies state that truth cannot be known for sure; our senses are too unreliable, our minds are too limited, and so truth is something we can never hope to capture completely.
Perhaps the post-modern dilemma stems from the assumption that truth is a set of data; some stagnant pool of information that can be probed to a degree but never comprehended. What if we change our approach and start from Scripture's assertion that Truth is a Person? Then Truth is not a lifeless list of digits, but the sum of reality which can actively, wisely and clearly make itself known, in ways that CAN be absorbed by us in its self-distributed doses and comprehended in its refined revelations.
What our text for today reminds us of is that the One who is True will allow all that exists to play itself out. Conquest, war, greed, death, persecution and cataclysm are realities, and their true consequences will be allowed to unwind. But what is also true is that the True One is still on the throne, stilll in control. Truth IS, Truth is about destroying destruction and letting life live. Truth stands against evil and is greater than all evil. So even though evil spins itself all the way out as A truth that becomes fully, awfully known, it cannot triumph over THE Truth. In this way, we come to understand judgment not as some arbitrary despotic punishment, but a discerning sorting out of all things truly valuable and worthless. Death will be brought to death, hunger will be starved, war will be conquered, evil will be eliminated! Goodness will reign victorious.
The take home is, don't wait until later to align yourselves with Truth as the person of God. If there is anything at all in us like violence, domination, avarice, hatred - anything evil or destructive - its time now to distance ourselves from it. Judge it now yourself and ask the Good and True to help you purge it from your character.
Cling to Christ, the Lamb on the throne. He is the Way of Truth unto Life.
Pray: Lord, help me to understand that I can know truth, and also The Truth, in spite of my limited ability to comprehend the universe. You ARE the Truth and You can make yourself known to me. I want to know you. I want to be like you. When all things become truly revealed and judged in truth, let me be found aligned with You and not with evil. By the grace of your gift of Jesus, may I escape your judgment and live in the glory of your truth forever.
Revelation 5:1-14 - Worthy of All Worship and Fits In a Manger
Tonight will be the first Christmas Eve in seventeen years that I have not led a Christmas Eve service at my church . I am very blessed to have my son-in-law and his family hosting us this year, because they love the Lord Jesus Christ and took us all out to their Christmas Eve service at Desert Springs Community. Celebrating with the Mendez family, I am able to have my wife, my two daughters, my two granddaughters and all our Mendez family together all at once! And this year, that meant that instead of leading the service, I would be worshipping the birth of the Savior with my four-month old grandchild sleeping in my arms.
"Sleep in heavenly peace ..." "What child is this who, laid to rest on Mary's lap, is sleeping ..." "The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay..." How sweet and powerful it is to sing those lyrics and consider the fleshly reality of Immanuel with a baby warm and cooing in your arms!
I'm glad I broke the string. Seventeen years in a row is good enough. And Isabella Grace in my arms on Christmas Eve is better.
And then I read today's verses from Revelation 5 and I am blown away, because the seven-horned Lamb who is both slain and sovereign and worthy of the chant of a hundred million angels - "power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” - this Lion, this Root, this Victor is the One wrapped in stable rags and staring up at Mary, like the daughter of my daughter gazing up at me!
My prayer for you this Christmas is this - along with the fun of family and the joy of tradition and the blessing of giving and receiving, may you encounter a moment in which the deep meaning of God in human flesh breaks through to your soul; a fresh moment of 'sore afraidness' and 'In Excelsis Deo.' But not with the sound of a thousand angels, but the sound of a single voice, your own voice, declaring with wonder and pure certainty from the center of your being - "It's true. It's true. It's true."
"Sleep in heavenly peace ..." "What child is this who, laid to rest on Mary's lap, is sleeping ..." "The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay..." How sweet and powerful it is to sing those lyrics and consider the fleshly reality of Immanuel with a baby warm and cooing in your arms!
I'm glad I broke the string. Seventeen years in a row is good enough. And Isabella Grace in my arms on Christmas Eve is better.
And then I read today's verses from Revelation 5 and I am blown away, because the seven-horned Lamb who is both slain and sovereign and worthy of the chant of a hundred million angels - "power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” - this Lion, this Root, this Victor is the One wrapped in stable rags and staring up at Mary, like the daughter of my daughter gazing up at me!
My prayer for you this Christmas is this - along with the fun of family and the joy of tradition and the blessing of giving and receiving, may you encounter a moment in which the deep meaning of God in human flesh breaks through to your soul; a fresh moment of 'sore afraidness' and 'In Excelsis Deo.' But not with the sound of a thousand angels, but the sound of a single voice, your own voice, declaring with wonder and pure certainty from the center of your being - "It's true. It's true. It's true."
Revelation 4:1-11 - I Exist Because of a Perfect, Powerful, Eternal Master
'Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.” ' v. 8
"Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh
Adonai, Elohim Tzevaoth
Asher hayah V'hoveh v'yavo" (hebrew)
Ought we not to do the same, and live lives of worship?
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.” ' v. 8
"Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh
Adonai, Elohim Tzevaoth
Asher hayah V'hoveh v'yavo" (hebrew)
Ought we not to do the same, and live lives of worship?
Revelation 3:7-22 - Held Up and Held Close
 |
| In a Times Square, NY subway station |
Have you ever pictured Jesus as a graffiti artist? I was surfing the 'net images of pillars painted with street art and the work is amazing. Then I came across the one above. Nothing like the spray can Picassos that surely must have taken days to produce. This artist was done in about 37 seconds. And unlike the other municipal masterpieces, this one got me thinking about the Lord and Revelation. Today's verses include the last two letters Jesus dictated to John, one for the church at Philadelphia and one for the folks at Laodicea. I think we can use the pillar motif to tie the two together.
The Philadelphian letter is unique among the seven, because Jesus doesn't identify any sin in this church. He says that they have "little strength" and probably this means strength of numbers or of social influence. These would not be moral or spiritual shortcomings, so this church stands alone as the one Christ does not have to rebuke. They have actually shown their strength of character in persevering in the faith. Jesus says He will make their enemies bow down to them (Jesus is going to flex HIS strength on their behalf!) and make the enemy acknowledge that God loves the Philadelphians. If this little church continues to overcome and hold up under trial, Jesus is going to install them as pillars in the eternal temple of God! And He will write on them. I wonder if He will use spray paint, or a Sharpie marker? Maybe they'll look like the pillar at the Times Square train station.
The Laodicean letter stands in stark contrast to the former. Jesus rebukes them; calls them to repent. He attempts to shake them out of their blindness, their denial. "you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" "I am about to spit you out of my mouth" Whoa! Jesus means business. How did this community of believers get so far from what they ought to be. Yes - FAR is the answer. Jesus calls them lukewarm. The city of Laodicea was famous for a lot of cool stuff, but they were also known for their lousy water. It was famously lukewarm. The pillars of Laodicea were the ones that held up the aqueduct, and man was that ever a long aqueduct. By the time the water ran down from a remote southern source, it was wretched. Nauseating.
Being far from the source is the key to comprehension here. The Laodiceans had gotten into their self-deceived, adverse position with Christ because they had wandered off. They were far from intimate with their God. They did not hold Him near. Perhaps they would hold up under His discipline. It was a loving discipline. "I'm knocking at your door. Let Me in and we'll dine together!" "If you'll repent and overcome, I'll sit you on my throne beside Me."
Are you of little 'strength' in this world, but mighty in Christian character? Then you are a pillar of the Lord. Are you self-sufficient, self-satisfied and so, have wandered away from God? Pride and possessions can insulate us from intimacy with Him if we're not careful.
One appeared weak, but they were wonderful. The other appeared powerful, but they were pitiful. Christ saw them aright, and named them accurately. I think I'll let Jesus label me; with Krylon, Sharpie, whatever ...
Pray: Hold me up and hold me close, Lord. I don't want to get discouraged in the fight of faith, and I don't want to get self-deceived that I'm all that in You. help me to estimate myself accurately. I want to be an overcomer.
Revelation 2:18-3:6 - How Wide are Your Tolerances?
Remember the 1993 Nissan Altima commercial with the ball bearing? The announcer says that Nissan got the idea from Lexus engineers, who used a ball bearing to test the tight tolerances of their craftsmanship. Careful, high quality manufacturing allows for tighter fitting parts and narrower openings between sections like doors and frames, and hoods and fenders. Yes, in some cases it's good for tolerances to be narrow.
Stan Gaede wrote the book, "When Tolerance is No Virtue," and describes how the idea of tolerance as a virtue is really an unfinished thought. To say that someone is tolerant is much like saying that someone is "very." Very what? you ask. "Exactly," Dr. Gaede would reply. Tolerance must also have a modifier. Tolerant of what? With a little exploration we can quickly see that some things can be tolerated and others can not. It's OK to crate my dog overnight. It's not OK to leave him there for days. The one is comforting; the other is cruel.
Today's text in Revelation contains two more of the letters Jesus dictated to John. Both letters appear to have an inappropriate tolerance at their center. In the letter to Thyatira, the church is told not to tolerate a self-proclaimed prophetess nicknamed "Jezebel." She is teaching in a way that is leading people into idolatry and sexual immorality. These are clearly anti-Christian and should not be tolerated.
The letter to the church at Sardis identifies a more subtle tolerance. There, the congregation was tolerating unfinished ministry. On the surface they looked like a fine, upstanding church - alive. But Jesus sees beneath the facade - 'you're dead.' The call to fight the good fight, and keep the faith, and finish the race - that's the call they have fallen asleep on. "Wake up!" Jesus cries. He says that those who have succumbed to carelessness have "soiled their clothes." It is sin both to do the wrong thing, as in Thyatira, and to not do the right thing, as in Sardis.
So, break out the ball bearing on a regular basis. Test your tolerances. Are you permitting something in your life that ought not to be there? What sort of sin is sliding through the wider cracks of our overly tolerant consciences? Tolerance is a virtue only when it permits that which is edifying and prevents that which is destructive. And the micrometer for that is the righteous character of Christ. Let's see if we can re-calibrate and engineer lives that are truly Christian.
Pray: Jesus, this same John to whom you dictated the seven letters is the one who described you as "full of grace and truth." Help me to be like that; like You. Help me with grace to tolerate the unfinished nature of my self, my neighbors and the world. And with truth, assist me to stay narrow and focused on what is right and good, intolerant of sin in all its forms.
Stan Gaede wrote the book, "When Tolerance is No Virtue," and describes how the idea of tolerance as a virtue is really an unfinished thought. To say that someone is tolerant is much like saying that someone is "very." Very what? you ask. "Exactly," Dr. Gaede would reply. Tolerance must also have a modifier. Tolerant of what? With a little exploration we can quickly see that some things can be tolerated and others can not. It's OK to crate my dog overnight. It's not OK to leave him there for days. The one is comforting; the other is cruel.
Today's text in Revelation contains two more of the letters Jesus dictated to John. Both letters appear to have an inappropriate tolerance at their center. In the letter to Thyatira, the church is told not to tolerate a self-proclaimed prophetess nicknamed "Jezebel." She is teaching in a way that is leading people into idolatry and sexual immorality. These are clearly anti-Christian and should not be tolerated.
The letter to the church at Sardis identifies a more subtle tolerance. There, the congregation was tolerating unfinished ministry. On the surface they looked like a fine, upstanding church - alive. But Jesus sees beneath the facade - 'you're dead.' The call to fight the good fight, and keep the faith, and finish the race - that's the call they have fallen asleep on. "Wake up!" Jesus cries. He says that those who have succumbed to carelessness have "soiled their clothes." It is sin both to do the wrong thing, as in Thyatira, and to not do the right thing, as in Sardis.
So, break out the ball bearing on a regular basis. Test your tolerances. Are you permitting something in your life that ought not to be there? What sort of sin is sliding through the wider cracks of our overly tolerant consciences? Tolerance is a virtue only when it permits that which is edifying and prevents that which is destructive. And the micrometer for that is the righteous character of Christ. Let's see if we can re-calibrate and engineer lives that are truly Christian.
Pray: Jesus, this same John to whom you dictated the seven letters is the one who described you as "full of grace and truth." Help me to be like that; like You. Help me with grace to tolerate the unfinished nature of my self, my neighbors and the world. And with truth, assist me to stay narrow and focused on what is right and good, intolerant of sin in all its forms.
Revelation 2:1-17 - Got Your Ears On?
I have to thank the CB radio craze of the mid '70s for helping me to do what few married men are able to do. After 32 years of marriage I still have not forgotten the date I asked Sandie to marry me. That's right, guys, I am not talking about remembering the wedding anniversary (which, even that, some husbands have difficulty recalling.) I'm talkin' engagement anniversary; popping-the-question anniversary! On October 4th, 1977 at the Liberty Diner on Middle Country Road, I asked, ring in hand, "Will you marry me?" And she said, "Yes, I will." So what do CB radios have to do with this? October 4th is also 10-4, which is the CB code for 'OK, message received.' She got my message and I got hers; that was a big 10-4, good buddy!
I think Jesus would have enjoyed citizen's band radio. At the end of each of the seven letters he dictated in the book of Revelation, he states, "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying ..." Sounds much like, "Got your ears on?" CB slang for 'are you on the air and listening?' Since the word for Spirit in both Hebrew and Greek is "breath, wind or air," it all seems to fit together. So let's get our ears on; let's listen and hear what the Air of God is broadcasting.
Separate blog entries could be written about each of the letters to the seven churches, but there are three such letters in today's One Year Bible passage. Let's compare them and see what they have in common:
1 Each one is written to the "angel" of the church, or "messenger" of the church. That would be the preacher, the one who brings the message from the Lord. God speaks through the leader to engage the whole group. This also makes the leader accountable.
2 Each one has a special description of Jesus, the author of the letter - "These are the words of Him who ..." Watch how the unique description fits in with the thrust of the body of the letter.
3 Each one reveals that Jesus is familiar with the churches and their circumstances. "I know ..."
4 Each letter has an imperative from the Lord - "Repent; Be faithful; Repent."
5 Each one has a call to focus on the message - "Whoever has ears let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Implicit is the encouragement to take what they hear seriously and act upon it.
6 Each one has a reward offered for persevering to the end - "To the one who is victorious," or "To the one who overcomes ..."
There are more CB 10-codes than just 10-4. Jesus would have used them here with His seven letters. 10-44: I have a message for you. 10-17: Urgent business! 10-67: All units comply. Then in the end, He could tx a big 10-99: Mission completed, all units secure.
Pray: Thank you, Jesus, for being a God who communicates. May your Spirit in me continue to speak to my soul and guide my thoughts, delivering wisdom just when I need it. Keep reminding me of who you are, and what you know, what I need to do, and what I can hope to receive.
I think Jesus would have enjoyed citizen's band radio. At the end of each of the seven letters he dictated in the book of Revelation, he states, "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying ..." Sounds much like, "Got your ears on?" CB slang for 'are you on the air and listening?' Since the word for Spirit in both Hebrew and Greek is "breath, wind or air," it all seems to fit together. So let's get our ears on; let's listen and hear what the Air of God is broadcasting.
Separate blog entries could be written about each of the letters to the seven churches, but there are three such letters in today's One Year Bible passage. Let's compare them and see what they have in common:
1 Each one is written to the "angel" of the church, or "messenger" of the church. That would be the preacher, the one who brings the message from the Lord. God speaks through the leader to engage the whole group. This also makes the leader accountable.
2 Each one has a special description of Jesus, the author of the letter - "These are the words of Him who ..." Watch how the unique description fits in with the thrust of the body of the letter.
3 Each one reveals that Jesus is familiar with the churches and their circumstances. "I know ..."
4 Each letter has an imperative from the Lord - "Repent; Be faithful; Repent."
5 Each one has a call to focus on the message - "Whoever has ears let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Implicit is the encouragement to take what they hear seriously and act upon it.
6 Each one has a reward offered for persevering to the end - "To the one who is victorious," or "To the one who overcomes ..."
There are more CB 10-codes than just 10-4. Jesus would have used them here with His seven letters. 10-44: I have a message for you. 10-17: Urgent business! 10-67: All units comply. Then in the end, He could tx a big 10-99: Mission completed, all units secure.
Pray: Thank you, Jesus, for being a God who communicates. May your Spirit in me continue to speak to my soul and guide my thoughts, delivering wisdom just when I need it. Keep reminding me of who you are, and what you know, what I need to do, and what I can hope to receive.
Revelation 1:1-20 - Don't Miss the Forest for the Trees
A journey into the book of Revelation can transform us all into those suddenly befuddled seniors who stop short and ask themselves, "Why did I come in here?" It is so easy to get caught up in the details, and the symbolism, the fantastic imagery and the speculations about meanings and timetables and historical parallels, that we lose sight of what the book is actually intending to communicate. We forget that the title of the book is 'Revelation,' which means an unveiling, a making plain, a throwing back of the curtains, showing us what's really going on. So let's just look at the words and absorb what they are revealing to us, and not plunge headlong into trying to unpack the mystery hidden in a riddle wrapped in an enigma.
"The revelation from Jesus Christ, ... that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads ... blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it ..."
"Jesus Christ, who is
the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To Him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins
by His blood,
and has made us to be a kingdom
and priests to serve his God and Father-
to Him be glory and power for ever and ever!"
"... with a golden sash around
His chest. The hair on
His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and
His eyes were like blazing fire.
His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and
His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In
His right hand He held seven stars, and coming out of
His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.
His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance...
He placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!"
Just let that wash over you.
Jesus is being revealed.
Look at Him. LOOK at Him!
Behold.
Your God.
"The revelation from Jesus Christ, ... that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads ... blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it ..."
"Jesus Christ, who is
the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To Him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins
by His blood,
and has made us to be a kingdom
and priests to serve his God and Father-
to Him be glory and power for ever and ever!"
"... with a golden sash around
His chest. The hair on
His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and
His eyes were like blazing fire.
His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and
His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In
His right hand He held seven stars, and coming out of
His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.
His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance...
He placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!"
Just let that wash over you.
Jesus is being revealed.
Look at Him. LOOK at Him!
Behold.
Your God.
Jude 1-25 - The Perverse and The Persevering
Descriptives according to Saint Jude --
Aspects of The Perverse: (vss. 4,7)
Are among the church; even leaders in the church
Deny Jesus' sovereignty and Lordship over them
Twist God's grace into a license for immorality
Are strongly motivated by their ungodly imagination
Reject authority and pollute their bodies
Slander the spiritual realm even though they don't understand it
Do understand their animal instincts
Lash out at the rebuke of God rather than learn and change
Pursue influence among God's people for financial gain
Are jealous of God's leaders and resist following them
Are self-absorbed, without blessing, dead in sin
Uncontrollable, shameful, lost
Are grumblers, faultfinders, scoffers, braggarts and flatterers
Pursue their evil desires
Aspects of The Persevering: (v. 21)
Are God's holy people; called, loved and kept
Defend Biblical doctrine
Build each other up in a faith that features holiness
Pray in the presence and with the help of the Holy Spirit
Center their lives on loving as God loved
Anticipate Christ's mercy will bring them eternal life
Are merciful to unbelievers
Take action to share Christ with at-risk people
Are careful and discerning when engaging the ungodly
Find their greatest joy in Him ...
"... who is able to keep [them]from stumbling and to present [them]before His glorious presence without fault"
And they ascribe glory, majesty, power and authority to the only God, their Savior through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Aspects of The Perverse: (vss. 4,7)
Are among the church; even leaders in the church
Deny Jesus' sovereignty and Lordship over them
Twist God's grace into a license for immorality
Are strongly motivated by their ungodly imagination
Reject authority and pollute their bodies
Slander the spiritual realm even though they don't understand it
Do understand their animal instincts
Lash out at the rebuke of God rather than learn and change
Pursue influence among God's people for financial gain
Are jealous of God's leaders and resist following them
Are self-absorbed, without blessing, dead in sin
Uncontrollable, shameful, lost
Are grumblers, faultfinders, scoffers, braggarts and flatterers
Pursue their evil desires
Aspects of The Persevering: (v. 21)
Are God's holy people; called, loved and kept
Defend Biblical doctrine
Build each other up in a faith that features holiness
Pray in the presence and with the help of the Holy Spirit
Center their lives on loving as God loved
Anticipate Christ's mercy will bring them eternal life
Are merciful to unbelievers
Take action to share Christ with at-risk people
Are careful and discerning when engaging the ungodly
Find their greatest joy in Him ...
"... who is able to keep [them]from stumbling and to present [them]before His glorious presence without fault"
And they ascribe glory, majesty, power and authority to the only God, their Savior through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus, in whom there is no perversion, will persevere in His glory, majesty, power and authority forevermore!
Amen?
3 John 1-14 - A Reputation You Can Write Home About
"Dear Santa, ..."
Don't you love to read the little notes kids write to Santa? They've heard the song; they know that "he knows if you've been bad or good," so they usually like to tell him JUST how good they've been. You have to establish a reputation that Santa will approve of if you're going to get what's on your wish list.
But then kids grow up and they grow out of Santa Claus. They trade the philosophy of "be good for goodness sake" for the philosophy of other songs - frequently the philosophy of Billy Joel's 'My Life.' "Either way, it's OK; you wake up with yourself." The only person your reputation should matter to is you. If you can live with yourself, who cares what anybody else thinks.
The problem is that the "he sees you ... he knows you" lyrics were ascribed in error to Santa Claus. God is the one those lyrics apply to. He does, in fact, see you all the time and is intimately aware of your goodness or lack thereof. Your reputation does matter to Him. And in the end, it's not whether you can look yourself in the mirror and feel self-satisfied, it's whether God can look at you and exclaim, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Three followers of Christ are mentioned by name in the brief Third Epistle of John - Gaius, Diotrephes and Demetrius. Each one had established a reputation for themselves. John is an elder of the Christian community at this point and sees the members of Christ's body, the church, as his children. And so he writes, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." This is the joy desired by tens of thousands of Christian parents and elders of the church. This is the joy of the Lord Himself. We ought to bless our God with the reputation we are building for walking in the truth.
Gaius has a good reputation; he is faithful and persevering in the truth. His love and hospitality for fellow Christians, though strangers to him at first, is commendable.
Diotrephes, on the other hand, has some work to do. Although a leader in the church, he is self-aggrandizing, a gossip and a liar, and a careless tyrant. John says he is going to call him on it when he gets there. Even so, God is definitely going to call him on it.
Demetrius has a much better reputation than that. He is spoken well of by everyone, which in one sense might only speak to his popularity. But John says "the truth" speaks well of him also. I take this to mean that his way of life is consistent with God's truth. He measures up well next to the measuring rod of the Word as well as the measure of popular opinion.
How's your reputation? Make it good. Not for goodness' sake; but for the Name's sake (v. 7). That is, for the sake of God's reputation in the world.
Oh, yes. Our reputation is inextricably linked to His.
Pray: As your follower, help me Lord to be keenly aware that my reputation reflects on Your reputation. I represent You, your Name and Your family in the world. Help me always to honor you and make Your reputation great. Then mine will take care of itself.
Don't you love to read the little notes kids write to Santa? They've heard the song; they know that "he knows if you've been bad or good," so they usually like to tell him JUST how good they've been. You have to establish a reputation that Santa will approve of if you're going to get what's on your wish list.
But then kids grow up and they grow out of Santa Claus. They trade the philosophy of "be good for goodness sake" for the philosophy of other songs - frequently the philosophy of Billy Joel's 'My Life.' "Either way, it's OK; you wake up with yourself." The only person your reputation should matter to is you. If you can live with yourself, who cares what anybody else thinks.
The problem is that the "he sees you ... he knows you" lyrics were ascribed in error to Santa Claus. God is the one those lyrics apply to. He does, in fact, see you all the time and is intimately aware of your goodness or lack thereof. Your reputation does matter to Him. And in the end, it's not whether you can look yourself in the mirror and feel self-satisfied, it's whether God can look at you and exclaim, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Three followers of Christ are mentioned by name in the brief Third Epistle of John - Gaius, Diotrephes and Demetrius. Each one had established a reputation for themselves. John is an elder of the Christian community at this point and sees the members of Christ's body, the church, as his children. And so he writes, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." This is the joy desired by tens of thousands of Christian parents and elders of the church. This is the joy of the Lord Himself. We ought to bless our God with the reputation we are building for walking in the truth.
Gaius has a good reputation; he is faithful and persevering in the truth. His love and hospitality for fellow Christians, though strangers to him at first, is commendable.
Diotrephes, on the other hand, has some work to do. Although a leader in the church, he is self-aggrandizing, a gossip and a liar, and a careless tyrant. John says he is going to call him on it when he gets there. Even so, God is definitely going to call him on it.
Demetrius has a much better reputation than that. He is spoken well of by everyone, which in one sense might only speak to his popularity. But John says "the truth" speaks well of him also. I take this to mean that his way of life is consistent with God's truth. He measures up well next to the measuring rod of the Word as well as the measure of popular opinion.
How's your reputation? Make it good. Not for goodness' sake; but for the Name's sake (v. 7). That is, for the sake of God's reputation in the world.
Oh, yes. Our reputation is inextricably linked to His.
Pray: As your follower, help me Lord to be keenly aware that my reputation reflects on Your reputation. I represent You, your Name and Your family in the world. Help me always to honor you and make Your reputation great. Then mine will take care of itself.
2 John 1-13 - Love and Obedience
John was known as the Apostle of love, but that didn't mean he was a 'softy.' He showed great affection for Jesus as he followed Him through the seasons of His earthly ministry; was found leaning against Jesus' bosom at the final Passover in the upper room. But Jesus had also nicknamed him and his brother, James, the "sons of thunder!" There was also something energetic, loud, even explosive about John. The Spirit of Jesus guides that personality and the pen of John in this tiny epistle.
John says there is grace and mercy and peace in Christ, but these gifts of God's love do not render our relationship with him free from discipline. John says our love for Christ must still take the form of a very disciplined lifestyle. A life of true love exhibits careful obedience to the teaching of Christ. One might think with all that mercy and grace and forgiveness, that the Christian walk wouldn't sound so much like the Old Testament compliance to the Law. And it's not the same, as the love of God in Christ has set us free from the Law. But John, as a disciple who liked to sit and follow close to Jesus, still has the Master's words ringing in his ears - "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Obedience is still a huge part of the Christian faith.
We must devote ourselves to pressing in close, leaning on the bosom of our Lord, attending carefully to His words as captured by the Scriptures and reinforced by the convicting and guiding Holy Spirit. Obedience to a clearly defined teaching, the teaching of Jesus, is the hallmark of the one who truly loves God. The word "disciple" was not invented by Jesus. That idea and the reality of that idea existed long before Jesus came on the scene. The people of Jesus' day who recognized Him as a Rabbi, a master teacher, saw Him as 'disciple-worthy.' He was worth leaving home and occupation for. He was worth traveling behind and crowding near so that the pearls of His teaching would fall into their palms. It was worth getting into trouble with Him and watching Him enflesh His teaching, for Jesus did not practice what He preached - He preached what He practiced. This required of His disciples devotion and discipline and sacrifice and hard choices.
Do you love Jesus? Are you His disciple? Do you love Him? Are you obedient then to His teaching? Do you know His teaching? Do you love Jesus? Are you committed and sacrificing and making the effort it takes to sit at His feet to learn the truth of the Master? John did, and remembers Jesus saying this ...
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:9-11
So to grace and mercy and peace -- add another gift -- joy! Know God's commands. Obey them. This demonstrates your love for Him. And in this lifestyle of careful obedience, the joy of Jesus comes to fullness in you.
Pray: Master, make me a disciplined, studious, imitator and follower of Yours. Help me to know the teaching that John is talking about and help me to obey it. If obedience is an act of love, then help me to obey -- because I love You.
John says there is grace and mercy and peace in Christ, but these gifts of God's love do not render our relationship with him free from discipline. John says our love for Christ must still take the form of a very disciplined lifestyle. A life of true love exhibits careful obedience to the teaching of Christ. One might think with all that mercy and grace and forgiveness, that the Christian walk wouldn't sound so much like the Old Testament compliance to the Law. And it's not the same, as the love of God in Christ has set us free from the Law. But John, as a disciple who liked to sit and follow close to Jesus, still has the Master's words ringing in his ears - "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Obedience is still a huge part of the Christian faith.
We must devote ourselves to pressing in close, leaning on the bosom of our Lord, attending carefully to His words as captured by the Scriptures and reinforced by the convicting and guiding Holy Spirit. Obedience to a clearly defined teaching, the teaching of Jesus, is the hallmark of the one who truly loves God. The word "disciple" was not invented by Jesus. That idea and the reality of that idea existed long before Jesus came on the scene. The people of Jesus' day who recognized Him as a Rabbi, a master teacher, saw Him as 'disciple-worthy.' He was worth leaving home and occupation for. He was worth traveling behind and crowding near so that the pearls of His teaching would fall into their palms. It was worth getting into trouble with Him and watching Him enflesh His teaching, for Jesus did not practice what He preached - He preached what He practiced. This required of His disciples devotion and discipline and sacrifice and hard choices.
Do you love Jesus? Are you His disciple? Do you love Him? Are you obedient then to His teaching? Do you know His teaching? Do you love Jesus? Are you committed and sacrificing and making the effort it takes to sit at His feet to learn the truth of the Master? John did, and remembers Jesus saying this ...
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:9-11
So to grace and mercy and peace -- add another gift -- joy! Know God's commands. Obey them. This demonstrates your love for Him. And in this lifestyle of careful obedience, the joy of Jesus comes to fullness in you.
Pray: Master, make me a disciplined, studious, imitator and follower of Yours. Help me to know the teaching that John is talking about and help me to obey it. If obedience is an act of love, then help me to obey -- because I love You.
1 John 5:1-21 - Accept No Substitutes
A young adult textbook on the history of American advertising has chapter titles with the familiar phrases - Satisfaction Guaranteed, Ask For It By Name, and New & Improved. In fact, the title of the book is the classic exhortation of manufacturers to "Accept No Substitutes!" However, the variety of choices one faces within a single product category let's you know that people did NOT just stick with the 'genuine article,' the original. People DID accept substitutes. And they did for myriad reasons. They got bored with the original. They had a bad experience with an original. They couldn't afford the original. The newer version was better than the original.
Our text today is the final chapter of 1 John, and it ends in a quirky, abrupt manner. There is no farewell, no greetings sent by John from his partners in ministry, no benediction. There is just that one short sentence, detached from the previous paragraph. One brief exhortation that stands alone; the parting shot meant to ring and linger in the readers' ears.
"Keep yourselves from idols."
Considering that John has made so much of the necessity to believe in and trust Jesus as the Son of God and our only hope of eternal life, this final salvo from the pen of the apostle resonates as an ancient
"Accept No Substitutes."
Southern Seminary President Al Mohler, Jr. expressed in an interview with Newsweek's Jon Meacham that "The post-Christian narrative is radically different; it offers spirituality, however defined, without binding authority. It is based on an understanding of history that presumes a less tolerant past and a more tolerant future, with the present as an important transitional step." To this Meacham responds, "The present, in this sense, is less about the death of God and more about the birth of many gods." Mohler is observing happening in the 21st century what John warned against in the First! People are not keeping themselves from idols.
Mohler's interview is part of an article Meacham wrote entitled, "The End of Christian America." The subtlety here is that self-identified Christians are already idolaters because they are devoted to a religious culture that they understand to be Christianity, but have very little devotion to Jesus Himself. Others call themselves Christian because they have mined some values and principles out of the text of Scripture and are living by them. They are devoted to ideas but not devoted to Jesus Christ. This is the de-personifying of God and the mythologizing of the Biblical narrative. These are forms of idolatry.
And John gave us a twenty century head start on recognizing and resisting these idols. Thus, his heavy emphasis on the reality of God incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. 'We saw Him, we heard Him, we touched Him!' John emphasizes Jesus' person and His work and the outcomes of that divine life. He came by water - He was born of Mary as an actual human being. He came by blood - born to die the atoning death for the remission of sin for all mankind. He came by the Spirit - who led Him and raised Him victorious from the grave, and resides in each believer to assure us of these truths.
Do you want to know truth? Do you want peace and joy and hope? Do you want freedom from the burden of evil and strength to walk in a new way of life? Do you desire eternal life?
It is all to be found in Jesus and Jesus alone. He is the 'genuine article.'
Accept no substitutes.
Pray: Jesus, engage me and place Your Spirit in me that I may know for certain that you are not fiction or force, but a living personal God who loves me beyond measure. Help me when my faith wanes and I begin to entertain the idolatrous substitutes of the world. Testify with water, blood and Spirit; take me to the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb.
Our text today is the final chapter of 1 John, and it ends in a quirky, abrupt manner. There is no farewell, no greetings sent by John from his partners in ministry, no benediction. There is just that one short sentence, detached from the previous paragraph. One brief exhortation that stands alone; the parting shot meant to ring and linger in the readers' ears.
"Keep yourselves from idols."
Considering that John has made so much of the necessity to believe in and trust Jesus as the Son of God and our only hope of eternal life, this final salvo from the pen of the apostle resonates as an ancient
"Accept No Substitutes."
Southern Seminary President Al Mohler, Jr. expressed in an interview with Newsweek's Jon Meacham that "The post-Christian narrative is radically different; it offers spirituality, however defined, without binding authority. It is based on an understanding of history that presumes a less tolerant past and a more tolerant future, with the present as an important transitional step." To this Meacham responds, "The present, in this sense, is less about the death of God and more about the birth of many gods." Mohler is observing happening in the 21st century what John warned against in the First! People are not keeping themselves from idols.
Mohler's interview is part of an article Meacham wrote entitled, "The End of Christian America." The subtlety here is that self-identified Christians are already idolaters because they are devoted to a religious culture that they understand to be Christianity, but have very little devotion to Jesus Himself. Others call themselves Christian because they have mined some values and principles out of the text of Scripture and are living by them. They are devoted to ideas but not devoted to Jesus Christ. This is the de-personifying of God and the mythologizing of the Biblical narrative. These are forms of idolatry.
And John gave us a twenty century head start on recognizing and resisting these idols. Thus, his heavy emphasis on the reality of God incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. 'We saw Him, we heard Him, we touched Him!' John emphasizes Jesus' person and His work and the outcomes of that divine life. He came by water - He was born of Mary as an actual human being. He came by blood - born to die the atoning death for the remission of sin for all mankind. He came by the Spirit - who led Him and raised Him victorious from the grave, and resides in each believer to assure us of these truths.
Do you want to know truth? Do you want peace and joy and hope? Do you want freedom from the burden of evil and strength to walk in a new way of life? Do you desire eternal life?
It is all to be found in Jesus and Jesus alone. He is the 'genuine article.'
Accept no substitutes.
Pray: Jesus, engage me and place Your Spirit in me that I may know for certain that you are not fiction or force, but a living personal God who loves me beyond measure. Help me when my faith wanes and I begin to entertain the idolatrous substitutes of the world. Testify with water, blood and Spirit; take me to the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb.
1 John 4:1-21 - Digging Down to the Heart of the Matter
Bear Grylls filters water (< see the video) from a stream by digging a trench parallel to the stream. As his trench goes below the level of the stream, water filters through the earth and sand and seeps into the trench. The water drawn from the trench looks brown and unappealing, but it has been filtered and will not carry the parasites that would have been ingested from drinking directly out of the stream. On the surface, one source of water looks just as good as the other. But one is safe and free from disease and the other isn't. Funny, the good stuff is NOT the water drawn from the mainstream, but from a smaller source off to the side.
Love is like that. The definitions and behaviors called love in our mainstream culture are tainted and unhealthy. It is the less obvious, off to the side definition of love found in the gospel that is the good stuff. "I wanna know what love is," anguished Foreigner in the pop rock ballad. It is an age old question asked every minute of every day. What does the apostle John tell us about love? How do we filter out all the many-varied definitions and worldly behaviors and come to the real thing? Here's what he says ...
Love comes from God.
God loves us.
God demonstrated love when He sent His Son into the world.
God's love was self-sacrificing.
Love will give up something so that another may gain.
Our love can reflect God's love.
God's love can be made perfect in us if we will strive to be like Jesus.
Love never frightens or intimidates because love never seeks to harm.
Love doesn't discriminate; love is for all.
Jesus Himself said, "No greater love has anyone than this - that they lay down their life for a friend." Love is willing to give up everything for the one it loves. Jesus did more than that. "Even while we were still sinners Christ died for us." He laid down His life for an enemy. His is the ultimate love.
He gave up everything, that we might gain everything.
Pray: Dear God, teach me how to love!
Love is like that. The definitions and behaviors called love in our mainstream culture are tainted and unhealthy. It is the less obvious, off to the side definition of love found in the gospel that is the good stuff. "I wanna know what love is," anguished Foreigner in the pop rock ballad. It is an age old question asked every minute of every day. What does the apostle John tell us about love? How do we filter out all the many-varied definitions and worldly behaviors and come to the real thing? Here's what he says ...
Love comes from God.
God loves us.
God demonstrated love when He sent His Son into the world.
God's love was self-sacrificing.
Love will give up something so that another may gain.
Our love can reflect God's love.
God's love can be made perfect in us if we will strive to be like Jesus.
Love never frightens or intimidates because love never seeks to harm.
Love doesn't discriminate; love is for all.
Jesus Himself said, "No greater love has anyone than this - that they lay down their life for a friend." Love is willing to give up everything for the one it loves. Jesus did more than that. "Even while we were still sinners Christ died for us." He laid down His life for an enemy. His is the ultimate love.
He gave up everything, that we might gain everything.
Pray: Dear God, teach me how to love!
1 John 3:7-24 - What's in a Name?
What do these surname prefixes and suffixes have in common? O' , von, Fitz, de, sen, Mac, vander, son. Yes, these beginnings and endings indicate a family relationship. I have known an O'Brien, a Fitzgerald, a deJesus, a Pedersen, a MacDonald and a Richardson, among others. Now, can you imagine a last name of Satansen, Fitzdevil, or vanderDemon?
In our text today, John appears to group all people into one of two families. There are those who are "of the devil," and those who are "of God." This is not a description of actual genetic family linkage; John is not saying that there are actual spawn of Satan out there. Membership in these families is dependent on whether one has believed and received the Spirit of Christ or not. This is the same John who wrote in his gospel (John 1:12) - 'to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.') In a sense, the last name of every believer becomes, 'Christian.'
Did you ever live in a neighborhood where a particular family had such specific attributes that you knew the minute you saw one of them that they were members of THAT family? There is a family resemblance that is unmistakable. John says you can pretty much do that with 'the Christians', too. "Oh yeah, she's one of the Christians. She stands for doing the right thing." "Yup, he 's one of the Christians. He has that special love for people." "I see compassion in him. I see generosity in her. I know what family THEY belong to." Do you demonstrate the same values and character qualities as God? Your relationship to Jesus is showing.
The 'other' family is known by its values and character as well. The FitzDevils are known for living with moral standards that fall short of what God prescribes. They exhibit hatred. They have murder in their hearts, but no pity. Their love shows up as lip service; it doesn't follow through and proves false. John says, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are."
If you call yourself by the name of Christian, then you must uphold the reputation of your family name by living with a noble and godly character. One of my favorite old world words is 'besmirch.' It means to soil or tarnish, and also to defame or dishonor one's name. May we never besmirch the name of Christ with FitzDevilian behavior.
Pray: Jesus, you died to grant me the opportunity to live as a member of your family. You've given me your Spirit to enable me to live up to my new name - Your name. Help me when I start leaning toward and living like the child of another. Help me to remember whose I am.
In our text today, John appears to group all people into one of two families. There are those who are "of the devil," and those who are "of God." This is not a description of actual genetic family linkage; John is not saying that there are actual spawn of Satan out there. Membership in these families is dependent on whether one has believed and received the Spirit of Christ or not. This is the same John who wrote in his gospel (John 1:12) - 'to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.') In a sense, the last name of every believer becomes, 'Christian.'
Did you ever live in a neighborhood where a particular family had such specific attributes that you knew the minute you saw one of them that they were members of THAT family? There is a family resemblance that is unmistakable. John says you can pretty much do that with 'the Christians', too. "Oh yeah, she's one of the Christians. She stands for doing the right thing." "Yup, he 's one of the Christians. He has that special love for people." "I see compassion in him. I see generosity in her. I know what family THEY belong to." Do you demonstrate the same values and character qualities as God? Your relationship to Jesus is showing.The 'other' family is known by its values and character as well. The FitzDevils are known for living with moral standards that fall short of what God prescribes. They exhibit hatred. They have murder in their hearts, but no pity. Their love shows up as lip service; it doesn't follow through and proves false. John says, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are."
If you call yourself by the name of Christian, then you must uphold the reputation of your family name by living with a noble and godly character. One of my favorite old world words is 'besmirch.' It means to soil or tarnish, and also to defame or dishonor one's name. May we never besmirch the name of Christ with FitzDevilian behavior.
Pray: Jesus, you died to grant me the opportunity to live as a member of your family. You've given me your Spirit to enable me to live up to my new name - Your name. Help me when I start leaning toward and living like the child of another. Help me to remember whose I am.
1 John 2:18-3:6 - What Child Is This?
It's time for Christmas music! You have to love the fact that for a little while we can walk about in public places and catch phrases like "Jesus, Lord at thy birth" and "Joy to the world, the Savior reigns." Spiritual truths in secular places - awesome! Now if we can get people to really hear and consider the lyrics that are floating past their ears. If we could get folks to seriously and sincerely ask the hymn question, "What Child is This?"
In 1865, at 29 years old, William C. Dix fell suddenly and severely ill. Out of his suffering and the accompanying depression, he wrote the lyrics ...
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
In 1865, at 29 years old, William C. Dix fell suddenly and severely ill. Out of his suffering and the accompanying depression, he wrote the lyrics ...
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
- On Mary’s lap is sleeping,
- Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
- While shepherds watch are keeping?
- This, this is Christ the King,
- Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
- Haste, haste to bring Him laud,The babe, the son of Mary!
Out of an experience that placed the young writer face to face with the fleeting nature of health and mortality, he communicates to us our urgent need to settle the identity of Mary's baby and to worship Him. "Haste, haste ..." Wait no longer to acknowledge the son of Mary as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. He is your Savior and mine. Laud Him, praise Him, honor Him ... now.
Today's reading in 1 John also speaks to identity - the identity of Jesus and the identifying marks of the true follower of Jesus. In regard to the identity of Jesus: He is the Messiah, the Christ, He is co-equal with God the Father, He is righteous, without sin, pure, He is the giver of eternal life, and He is coming again. John says a lot about Jesus in a few sentences! Do we embrace these clear and powerful truths? When we imagine Mary's baby on the hay, a swaddled newborn, is this who we say that He is? If you do, you bear one of the marks of a true follower of Jesus.
In regard to the identifying marks of a true believer, a child of God, John declares: they remain faithful to the doctrine and to the church of Christ, they have an "anointing," which is John's poetic way of saying that God's Spirit lives in them, they pursue right living, purity, and put aside sin, and they recognize the blessed condition and hope that they have as a lavish gift of great love from their heavenly Father.
Who do you say that Jesus is? Are you a child of God? Do you possess the marks of a true follower of Christ? When the Christmas carols ring, do you understand the lyrics deep in your soul and sing with a heart of worship? Or will you have to be diseased and depressed and near death for the light bulb to finally go on?
"Haste! Haste ..."
Pray: Jesus Christ, son of Mary, Son of God, Savior of the world, have mercy on me. Heal my unbelief. Anoint me with your Holy Spirit. Adopt me as a true child of Yours. As Philips Brooks wrote in 'O Little Town of Bethlehem,' "be born in me today!" Grant me your truth, hope and perseverance.
1 John 2:1-17 - Loving Jesus is Living Like Jesus
This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world or anything in the world... The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world or anything in the world... The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
November 30 - 1 John 1:1-10 - Light is Pretty Heavy
The galaxies are awe-inspiring. An AP release today stated ... "The universe may glitter with far more stars than even Carl Sagan imagined when he rhapsodized about billions upon billions. A new study suggests there are a mind-blowing 300 sextillion of them, or three times as many as scientists previously calculated. That is a 3 followed by 23 zeros."
300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That's a lot of zeros. That's a lot of light and mass and energy, too.
Today's text tells us that God IS light. I know that this is a metaphorical use of the word and John is actually referring to God's holy character, but I wonder. If the amount of light in the universe can make our jaw drop, what should the pure and unfathomable light of God's character cause us to do? And then to consider that John is saying that that Person of incalculable light was seen and heard and touched by him. The Light took on the mass of a man, retained and exhibited some of His miraculous energy. Einstein's E=Mc2 takes on a new luster as we consider mass and energy as functions of the speed of Light. Perhaps G=E2M2c2 ! Maybe Jesus is God at a slower speed.
300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That's a lot of zeros. That's a lot of light and mass and energy, too.
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| Our Sun |
John wants people to know that Jesus did walk among men and that He was indeed the God of holiness, forgiveness, unity and joy. He is light and mass and energy -- He is Life itself. And so we embrace Him and honor His Word.
There is no darkness at all in God, that is, there is no evil. But there is darkness in us. It manifests as sin and this is a condition that must be acknowledged. Not to do so is to call God a liar. With His light of truth He reveals it; with His incarnational mass He destroys it, and with His resurrectional energy He triumphs over it. And all this is for us, if we will but believe.
Paul wrote to the church at Rome, "what may be known about God is plain...because God has made it plain... For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made." (1:19,20)
Yes, it's as plain as the stars in the night sky. All 300 sextillion of them.
Pray: Creator, Sustainer, Savior God, let me see you in all You have made. Help me to feel the reality of being connected and intertwined with You and your universal purposes. Help me to shine with the light of Your glory.
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