A Pilgrim's Passage

Who Shall Separate Us?

2011-08-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: Psalms 38-42; Romans 8:18-39

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

It seems clear by these words written by the apostle Paul that the believers in Rome were suffering under some level of persecution. History reveals that the men and women who followed Jesus were subjected to horrible deaths at the hands of the Roman government often for the pleasure and amusement of the crowds that would gather to watch. Today in our western cultures we can hardly comprehend what they endured because of their faith in Christ. But the main point of Paul's writing this wasn't to provide a scathing rebuke of the authorities who conducted such horrors but instead to remind the believers that no matter what they encountered in this life that nothing could ever come between them and their Lord. It's a wonderful reminder to us that even when we experience the worst of days that Jesus is with us through every trial and difficulty. He will never leave us and nothing can pry us out of His mighty hand.

You Know How Unlawful It Is

2011-07-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 35-36; Acts 10:23-48

Acts 10:28 Then he said to them, "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean."

Peter was summoned by a Roman centurion named Cornelius. Unlike the other Romans he was seeking to know the God of the Jews and he had done many good deeds for them. Then one day while he was praying an angel appeared to him and told him to find Peter and have him come and preach the gospel. There was, however, a big problem; Peter was a Jew which meant it was unlawful according to Jewish law for him to associate with gentiles like the Romans. Not only that but the Romans were still seen as an occupying force and they were looked on with anger and suspicion and so were those who were seen with them. But God had planned this entire event and He had prepared Peter's heart to respond to Cornelius's request. Even at that this was such a departure for the normal way of things Peter still felt compelled to explain how strange this encounter was. But Peter had heard from God and that changed everything.

God's love wasn't and isn't reserved for just a few select individuals. In fact even His 'chosen' people, the Jews, were chosen in order to bring salvation to the rest of the world. His love for the world is seen in every action that He's taken in the history of man and in this account Peter has stepped across the final boundary of separation that God desired to destroy. From God's perspective the death and resurrection of Jesus has opened the way for all people to come to Him through the gospel of Jesus.

At the Feet of a Young Man

2011-07-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 21-23; Acts 7:41-60

Acts 7:58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Saul, who would become known as Paul the apostle didn't start off on the right foot. While he didn't throw any stones at Stephen, the first martyr for Christ, he consented to the action and stood by watching over the coats of the elders. He was just as guilty as they were. If you and I were going to choose a man for the special duty of writing most of the New Testament we would have looked right past Saul because he was obviously against everything Jesus stood for. But history tells us that God doesn't look at people the way we do. Long before that day when Saul was watching the coats by his feet God had chosen him to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now if a man like Saul can be changed and go from being a murderer to an apostle then it's possible not only for God to change our life but to do extraordinary things through us too. This verse also helps us see that when it comes to people we can't see what's going on inside of them and we don't know the plans that God has for them and it makes me wonder how many people we've written off and judged as unworthy when all along God has been working unseen in their life preparing them for the day when they would become one of His children. The point is simple don't write anyone off as being too far gone to experience the grace of God, even if that someone is you.

If Disaster Comes Upon Us

2011-06-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 19-20; Acts 7:20-40

2 Chronicles 20:9 ‘If disaster comes upon us--sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine--we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’

Disasters come to everyone at one time or another and when they come it's important that we know what to do. Our security isn't found in our emergency preparedness, or our government or any other human agency, our security is in the Lord. Our first response when facing affliction should always be to cry out to the Lord for help. Typically our first response is to try and solve the problem our selves or even to try and deny reality but none of those efforts will have any real and lasting impact outside of God's intervention and help.

What we need to remember is that God wants us to call out to Him in times of trouble, it doesn't bother Him and he doesn't get tired of helping us. His desire is to show Himself strong on our behalf and to reveal Himself more clearly to us through our trials. So don't hesitate to call out to Him when disaster comes because He is waiting to answer.

God Diverted Them

2011-06-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 17-18; Acts 7:1-19

2 Chronicles 18:31 So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, "It is the king of Israel!" Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him, and God diverted them from him.

The battle was going poorly and the enemy was closing in on the king so he cried out and the Lord intervened to protect him and diverted the enemy in another direction. The Lord was the ever present help for the king in his time of trouble.

We are in a war, a spiritual one, that has already been decided in our favor by the Lord, but in the middle of the war we face many battles and attacks from our adversary the devil. He has identified us and is working hard to defeat us and while we're the ultimate victors there are days when the battle doesn't go well for us usually because we grow careless or try to handle the fight on our own. That never seems to work out we end up in danger of falling. Regardless of how we got there when we cry out to God He hears and responds to bring us deliverance by diverting the enemy's attention away from us and onto something else that ends up leading him to defeat. It's not that we're such good tacticians in the battle because if we were left to our own abilities we would always snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but with God our victory is assured when we cry out to Him.

When In Their Trouble

2011-06-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 14-16; Acts 6

2 Chronicles 15:4 but when in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.

In the verses just before this it was made clear that Israel had wandered so far from God that there wasn't even a connection between them any longer. But now a new king had come who honored God and desired to establish the true worship of God in the land and in reply through a prophet God responds by saying that even though they had wandered away He was still willing to found found by them when they turned around and began to seek Him.

There are times in our life when we wander away from God and find ourselves in over our heads. Most often this wandering isn't an intentional rebellion or rejection, although it can be, but gradually over time we begin to drift away and in time we end up in trouble. The great news is that God is merciful and gracious and will never turn a deaf ear to anyone who seeks Him with their whole heart even when we're in trouble because we flat out turned away from God to go our own way. That's one of the most amazing things about God, He forgives and restores the rebellious and the righteous alike.

The Lord Opened the Prison Doors

2011-06-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 11-13; Acts 5:17-42

Acts 5:19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said...

The apostles where put in jail because the continued to preach in the name of Jesus and it really made the religious leaders mad. They thought they had put an end to this Jesus and His movement but He,and they, just wouldn't go away. Even though all of their attempts to silence them had failed they still tried to shut them up by putting them in jail. But the word and people of God can't be silenced.

The world system is in active rebellion against that gospel of Jesus and it shouldn't come as a surprise to us that it will attempt to silence it. Of course in the United States we don't have to worry about going to jail for our testimony, but that still doesn't prevent Satan from shutting us down with bondage of another type. For many people that bondage can take the form of emotional distress, for others it's financial difficulty, and others are held captive by fear or disease. All of these conspire to silence us and keep us from proclaiming the Good News, the exciting this is that the God who opened the prison doors and brought the apostles out of bondage is able to deliver us from the bondage we face.

If You Are Kind

2011-06-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 8-10; Acts 5:1-16

2 Chronicles 10:7 And they spoke to him, saying, "If you are kind to these people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever."

The people came to the new king and complained that his father had put too much of a burden on them and that they wanted relief. Unsure of what to do the new king asked his advisers for advice. He asked the older men who had served his father what they would do and then he asked the young men he grew up with what they would do. In the end he chose to reject the wisdom of the elders and he followed the advice of his young friends. It turned out to be a big mistake that resulted in a revolt and a divided kingdom.

The advice o the elders was to show the people kindness and empathize with their pain and had he followed their advice there wouldn't have been a revolt and the kingdom would have remained unified. There's something to be said for listening to the right advice. Usually we get in trouble because we when we ask for advice we are really looking for someone to affirm what we already think rather than an independent voice that helps clarify our thinking. So when we're really seeking to know the truth it's important for us to set aside our preconceived notions and listen.

Look On Their Threats

2011-06-25T23:52:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 6-7; Acts 4:23-37

Acts 4:29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,

After the religious leaders had threatened the apostles they immediately returned and reported what had happened to the other believers. Even though they had answered boldly when they were questioned there was clearly still some anxiousness about their threats. The church had some options they could have gone into hiding, they could have ignored the threats, they could have even prayed for God to destroy them, but instead they prayed and asked God to consider the threats and give them more boldness to speak the word of God.

When we feel threatened by people it's easy for us to lash out or try to hide, but our best option is to always leave it in the Lord's hands in prayer and instead of praying for God to destroy or otherwise remove them we should always pray that God would give us boldness and opportunities to share His word.

They had Further Threatened Them

2011-06-24T16:48:00.001-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 4-5; Acts 4:1-22

Acts 4:21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.

The disciples had been used by God to heal a lame man at the temple and because it had caused such a ruckus the religious leaders felt compelled to find out just what was going on so they took Peter and John into custody for questioning. It didn't take too long for them to find out what was going on and what they heard must have sent shivers down their collective spines. These uneducated, unrefined fishermen had healed a man and they were giving credit to Jesus of Nazareth. The same Jesus they had put to death and had come up missing from the grave. They thought they were done with Him but they weren't. In the case of Jesus they felt that had some grounds to put Him to death for blasphemy, even though they had gone about it illegally. Now they had a another quandary because if they accused the disciples of blasphemy for healing in the name of Jesus they would be admitting Jesus was right and that they were guilty of sending the Messiah to His death. But if they don't try to stop the disciples from preaching and healing people in Jesus' name then things would get out of hand. They decided to threaten the disciples because there wasn't really anything they could do.

There's an old series of commercials for an investment company that played on this theme. It would show people trying to ignore a guy who was wearing a shirt that said 'retirement' on it and no matter what these people tried to do 'retirement' would continue to show up creating awkward situations. It's always interesting how every time someone tries to deny the truth about Jesus and bury Him back in some vacant tomb of their mind, He suddenly shows up and won't be silenced. Whether it's through the voices of friends and family members or even the radio or television, Jesus just won't stay away and He creates awkward situations that have to dealt with. No one can ignore Him forever.

The Faith Which Comes Through Him

2011-06-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 1-3; Acts 3

Acts 3:16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Peter and John saw a lame man at the entrance to the temple and in a moment he was healed by the power of God in response to faith. In the moments after this miracle Peter had the opportunity to preach to hundreds of people who were witnesses. If he had chosen to Peter could have taken credit for it and built His own little movement, but instead he was careful to give all the credit to Jesus.

Jesus was the healer who touched multitudes and He is still the one who heals and Jesus Himself always connected healing to faith. Faith is the place where God's power meets our trust in Him. But where does faith come from? According to Peter faith itself comes from God and He has given everyone enough faith to believe, the question is will we? Will we believe when we have a need but it seems that God isn't listening? You see faith isn't about getting what we want it's about trusting the One who knows us from eternity and hold eternity in His hands.

From Your Hand

2011-06-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 29; Acts 2:25-47

1 Chronicles 29:16 O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own.

God didn't allow David to build the temple so David set about to get as much of the material as he could to help his son accomplish the building project. When David put the word out the people responded and gave so much that it amazed David and he began to worship the Lord with a psalm.

What David declared was something we need to remember ourselves, that God provides all that we have. David was overjoyed at the response of the people but he was careful to proclaim that God was the one who provided everything that was given. Yes it was a sacrifice by the people but more than that this abundant giving was a an act of faith that demonstrated their trust in God's provision. It's easy to think of our giving as generous and helpful and we like to be appreciated. But it's easy to go beyond that and start to think that we're sacrificing a lot and start to hedge on our generosity but it's a good reminder that God is the one who provided everything that we have in the first place.

A Rushing Mighty Wind

2011-06-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 27-28; Acts 2:1-24

Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

The day of Pentecost was part of the Jewish feast of harvest. It was created to celebrate and honor God for His provision and in this case it fell 50 days after Jesus had risen from the dead. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven He told the disciples to go and wait for the promise of the Father. They waited patiently spending time in quiet prayer in anticipation for what would come. Of course none of them had any idea what to expect. Jesus didn't tell them any particulars only that they should wait for the promise. What gets me is the suddenness of the moment. There wasn't a gentle lead in or even a subtle cool breeze like the ones that announced His presence in the Garden of Eden or the still small voice that whispered in Elijah's aching heart. This time God announced the coming of the Holy Spirit with a sound that roared in their ears and hearts.

This was the dawning of a new day, a new paradigm that would set them on a collision course with destiny. The powerful sound in their ears became a sign that a new power had emerged and been poured out on them. A power that would change their lives and propel them headlong into history. The Holy Spirit had come and now through His power the disciples would become preachers the gospel to the world and the Church would be given life. This same Holy Spirit is still active today in the Church and breathes life into everyone He touches. Take a deep breath of His presence and be filled.

All that Jesus Began

2011-06-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 25-26; Acts 1

Acts 1:1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach

Luke, the writer of the gospel of Luke, is wrote the book of Acts as a companion to his gospel and the first two verses in Acts explain why he's writing it. There was a young man by the name of Theophilus who had an interest in who this Jesus was and Luke took the time to write two lengthy accounts. Typically when I read this first verse I kind of skip over it like it's a preface or preamble to get the story rolling, but today when my eyes rolled across this verse I had to stop and re-read it because it suddenly dawned on me that it wasn't a simple introduction it literally summarizes the entire book of Acts.

This verse tells us that Luke wanted to tell this young man about all that Jesus BEGAN to do and teach. You would expect that to be in the past tense but it's not because Jesus has risen from the dead. The idea of being raised from the dead is amazing but to take it the next step Luke implies that Jesus is still at work doing and teaching. He has never stopped. Death couldn't keep Him down but it also couldn't keep Him silent. Not only does Jesus continue to do and teach the book of Acts makes it clear that Jesus continues to His work and teachings through the apostles. Luke had it right all along and His opening line was much deeper than I ever imagined.

Come and Eat Breakfast

2011-06-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 23-24; John 21

John 21:12 Jesus said to them, "Come and eat breakfast." Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, "Who are You?" --knowing that it was the Lord.

The disciples had followed Peter out to the sea to go fishing. It had probably been 3 1/2 years since they'd done that and now that Jesus was gone it seemed like a better option than waiting around doing nothing. They had fished all night and all they had to show for it was empty nets but before long a stranger appeared on the beach and told them to put their nets back in the water on the opposite side of the boat and when they did their nets were overwhelmed with fish. It must have been at this point that the memories of a similar thing that had happened before when Jesus told them to do it with the same results. It was then that they knew it was Jesus and they learned a valuable lesson, they couldn't do anything without Jesus, even something they already knew how to do.

They learned something else about Jesus that day, He liked to eat with them. On two occasions after the resurrection Jesus ate with the disciples. The first time He did it to prove He wasn't a ghost, this time it seems it was just to have fellowship with them. He saw what was happening and that they were trying to return to their old life to see if they could get by without Jesus and He showed them they couldn't, but instead of a lecture or a tongue lashing about their lack of faith, Jesus instead wants to eat and spend time with them. We often think that when we stray and get off track that Jesus gets mad and want's to punish us but that's not what He does. Jesus calls us back to Himself so that we can get back on track.

Ornan Continued Threshing Wheat

2011-06-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 21-22; John 20

1 Chronicles 21:20 Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat.

Ornan was some kind of dude. He turned and saw and angel and basically shrugged and went back to threshing his wheat while everyone else ran away scared. I realize that there's no such thing as an ordinary angel but this particular angel had just been destroying Jerusalem. I could never figure out what Ornan saw that and simply turned and got back to work on the harvest.

Maybe its simple and I'm over thinking it. Could it be that Ornan was so focused on the harvest that He didn't have time to stop and stare at an angel? We all face distractions that draw our attention away from what's really important when it comes to our commission by Jesus. It was Jesus who told us that the harvest was ready and that that laborers were few. He told us to stay focused on the work at hand and not get distracted by all of the crazy things going on around us. Maybe the lesson to be learned from Ornan is that when it's harvest time everything else has to wait.

A Disciple of Jesus, But Secretly

2011-06-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 18-20; John 19:31-42

John 19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.

There were a number of the religious leaders who were secretly followers of Jesus. Normally they were somewhat frowned upon by the gospel writers, but in this case Joseph get's special mention because of this bold act of compassion for the body of Jesus. It's kind of ironic that a secret disciple who had been afraid to go public was the one who came forward to remove Jesus from the cross and prepare His body for burial while his 'public' disciples were hiding because for fear of the Jews.

It goes to show that we should never presume to know what's really going on in the hearts of people. We're often very quick to make judgments about people when there's no way for us to see what's inside. We're also prone to put people we think are spiritual 'giants' on pedestals only to find out that their feet are clay. It is God who knows the hearts and He is the one who will judge in the last day. I've said on occasion that we'll experience two surprises when we get to heaven; we'll be surprised by who's there and we'll be surprised by who's not.

Behold Your King

2011-06-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 15-16; John 19:1-30

John 19:14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!"

It was the last time Jesus would be presented to the public before His crucifixion and Pilate declared to the Jews that Jesus was their king. Half mocking and half fearful and uncertain. The Jews in the mob cried out that they only had one king, Caesar. What a crazy scene, they were rejecting their real king and claiming that the hated Roman emperor was their king. It;'s hard to imagine the hatred that had been inflamed in their hearts by Jesus but it was there and exposed by their rage and confusion.

But something stood out to me this time as I have been reading the account of Jesus' passion. The only time Jesus was called a king was at the end of His life. It's interesting how those who mocked Him with that title had no idea just how close He was to taking that title as His own in eternal glory. Yes, He was the King of the Jews, but now He is the King of glory and one day they will look upon the king their pierced and mourn for Him because they will finally know what they'd done to their king.

It Is Not Lawful For Us

2011-06-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 14-15; John 18:19-40

John 18:31 Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law." Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,"

They had just put Jesus through an illegal arrest and trial, paid a man to betray Him and now they suddenly can't bring themselves to break the law? They had just broken Old Testament law at least three times and now they don't want to break a law of the hated Romans even though they had permission from Pilate? It's an amazingly brilliant display of hypocrisy.

They were more than willing to go along with the law when it was convenient for them or when they could use to control other people but when it came right down to it they only cared about one thing-themselves. We have to guard against the same thing. It probably won't be as horrific as what the Jewish religious leaders did but we can make some pretty awful choices when doing the right thing isn't convenient and we do some fairly hurtful things when we try to use the 'Bible' as a means to control people and get them to toe an arbitrary line that we've drawn. What the Law of Christ demands is that we love God and love others as we love ourselves and if we really obey that law we'll live as God intends.

Fell to the Ground

2011-06-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 12-13; John 18:1-18

John 18:6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.

John is the only gospel writer to include this tidbit of information about the arrest of Jesus in the garden. After Judas kissed Him to identify Him Jesus asked who they were seeking and they answered 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus replied 'I am He.' In saying this Jesus was not only identifying Himself as the One they were seeking to arrest, but also as the One who is Lord of all, the great I Am. They were seeking the right One but for the wrong reason. They thought they were doing God a favor by getting rid of a blasphemer but what they were actually doing was arresting God Himself.

The amazing thing is that they could actually go through with the arrest after feeling the effects of Jesus' majesty and power. His simple three word answer to their inquiry caused them to draw back and fall to to ground almost as if they were caught in some overpowering presence that caused them bow instinctively in worship. How could they even presume to be able to take a man like that into custody? I guess it goes to show us just how hard hearts can become when they reject the truth and turn to their own understanding. These men came face to face with God and still they remained unchanged.

That They All May Be One

2011-06-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 10-11; John 17

John 17:21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

This was part of the prayer that Jesus prayed before being arrested and crucified. In this prayer He prayed for Himself, His disciples, and those who would follow Him because of the disciple's ministry. Unity is an important theme in each part of this prayer which would suggest that unity is a very important value in the kingdom of God.

Unity for it's part is important in and of itself because it allows for the smooth functioning of the church. But more important than that is what unity does in the world. When we are living in unity with our fellow believers it is a sigh to the world that the kingdom of God has come near. Being in unity doesn't come naturally for people because we're selfish and self serving. Because of that we find ourselves constantly as odds with each other and opposing each other because we want something for ourselves. To live in true unity requires the help of the Holy Spirit who enables us to do things differently than we would otherwise and come together in unity willing setting aside our ow agendas and desires, when the world sees that they know something special is happening in us and it opens the door for them to believe.

You Will Be Scattered

2011-06-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 8-9; John 16

John 16:32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

The light bulb finally came on and the disciples seemed to understand what Jesus was talking about and in this moment of inspiration they profess their belief in Him. Then Jesus breaks the news to them that within the next few hours they will be scattered and leave Jesus alone in the final hours before He dies on the cross. Their belief, while well intentioned, is not as deep as it needs to be and they will fail when the pressure is on. It's interesting that Jesus knows exactly how they will abandon Him and yet instead of criticizing or condemning them He simply says it will be alright because the Father will be with Him.

It's not that turning away from Jesus isn't a big deal, it certainly is, but what I find comforting is that even though Jesus knows that there will come a time when in our human weakness we'll fail Him and even abandon Him for a time yet He still valued us enough to die for us. The love of Christ is greater than our failures and His grace is more than able to overcome our weakness.

If You Love Me

2011-06-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 7; John 15

John 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Simple verses can be so powerful. This particular verse was spoken by Jesus to His disciples at some point during the last supper. In it He connects love with obedience. Normally we think of love in terms of emotion and the display of affection, but Jesus says that keeping His commands is what reveals true love.

Nothing has really changed in that regard. We tend to gravitate and define our love for Jesus by the way we feel about Him. We sing songs and make pronouncements of love to Jesus but all too often continue to live our life on our own terms and to insist on doing the things we want to do instead of doing the things He has asked us to do. It's important that we resist falling into the kind of love that degenerates into lip service rather than love service.

He Dwells With You

2011-06-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 5-6; John 14

John 14:17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."

Something new struck me this morning when I read this passage. Jesus is talking about the promised coming of the Holy Spirit and in the last phrase He appears to talking about two distinctly unique ministries of the Holy Spirit. Being with us and being in us. Jesus had made the point on a few occasions that the Holy Spirit hadn't yet been sent but here He clearly says the Spirit is with them. No, it's not a contradiction, I believe the promised coming of the Holy Spirit refers to what it commonly called the Baptism in the Spirit. In Acts 2 we see this new ministry of the Spirit in full force as He comes with great power and signs to fill them. A couple of more times in Acts we see the disciples 'filled' with the Spirit again. It seems that Jesus is cluing the disciples in on something new to expect.

It's a good reminder to us that in some things God isn't a once and done God. He desires to keep our relationship with Him fresh and vibrant. Yes, the work of grace accomplished on the cross was a once and done event never needing to be repeated, but the ministry of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus likened to an ever flowing and refreshing river of living water, is wonderfully fresh a new and constantly moving in and through us. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are filled with God's renewing presence and constant power to live the life He has planned for us. The dwelling and in-dwelling Holy Spirit is God's plan for our life.

Why Can I Not Follow You Now?

2011-06-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 3-4; John 13:21-38

John 13:37 Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake."

We often read this verse only in light of Peter's eventual denial of Jesus. He claimed that he would die for Jesus but by the next day Peter had denied even knowing Him. A couple of things explain this turn about. From the start you can sense Peter's confusion when Jesus said he couldn't follow Him. All Peter had heard for three years was Jesus saying 'follow me' and now in what must have sounded really strange to Peter Jesus tells him he can't follow Him. Peter was thrown off balance and wasn't sure what to say. Then when you consider that the popular assumption about the Messiah was that He was going to overthrow the Romans, and Peter hated the Romans, you can imagine his patriotism rising up in his promise to die for Jesus in a blaze of glory as he fought side by side with Him. Of course when things didn't work out that way the next day and Jesus was arrested by the lowly temple guards and religious leaders. The plan was to fight the Romans not his own people and Jesus didn't even put up a fight, didn't even speak a word really. Nothing but quiet compliance with His captors. None of this made any sense.

For every disciple Jesus there are times when following Jesus doesn't make sense. Not the following so much as the whole idea of where He's going. These are moments when we can't see the big picture, not because we're not paying attention but because we're just not capable of putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together. Jesus had told the disciples on a number of occasions, each one more specific than the last, just what was coming but they couldn't put it together. We look back knowing how it all turned out and we almost laugh at their lack of understanding, but when we follow Jesus ourselves we experience times when we're just as dull and clueless about what's going on. The point of all of this is that this is one of the ways that Jesus builds our faith. If we never have to overcome confusion or uncertainty we never have to respond in faith, trusting that what He's doing is what He had planned all along. Yes, we'll have our share of failures and stumbles, but along the way we'll find that we understand the ways of Jesus much more clearly.