Category Archives: Wednesday

Slave to Friend

Posted on December 18, 2019 | Leave a comment

John 15:15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.  [NASB]

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Moving from slave to friend is a progression.  Long before I was even aware of a thing called a “personal” relationship with Jesus, I believed Jesus was God’s son and I was a faithful church member.  Faithful in the sense I was there and I was active.  There were very good reasons to be there.  Church was a place where people put their best face forward.  The activities were at an obvious level of insulated kindness and integrity.  It was a place we went every Sunday as a family without question.  I was a willing, and content, “slave” to religion.  Thankfully that was enough to keep me there because as it turns out “religion” is the very busy place the Spirit of God often chooses to reveal the truth that Jesus was born for slaves in the midst of religion!

That’s the progression of how my friendship with Jesus became a reality.  Friendship is what connects John 15:15 and my Advent celebration this year.  It was friendship that revealed the Cradle as more than the destination of an annual Advent celebration.  That long-ago Cradle is where God revealed His desire for our future: Jesus, God in-the-flesh, born to be our pathway from slavery to salvation and friendship.

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The Power of DNA

Posted on December 11, 2019 | Leave a comment

John 15:13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

I ended my last post, Love Story, with this statement “His [Jesus] own future on earth began with His willingness to trust that the humanity He entered would become a part of building His life on earth so that His love would become their salvation.”  That reality of Advent explains John 15:13 too.  But wait, there’s more to the story.  

Culturally those connections are of great interest today.  We’ve “discovered” DNA [a self-replicating material present that’s the carrier of genetic information] that confirms connections that have been lost in our lives.  I know because it’s happened to me both on a real life level and spiritually.  Jesus entered a world He’d been part of creating.  In that long ago moment He surrendered His place of intimacy with God to choose companionship with humanity in the flesh.  The cradle was where Jesus willingly laid down His own sovereign authority to become the “perfect” rebirth of God’s genetic connection with mankind for the second time.  “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Jesus’s birth is our annual reminder that same redemptive DNA has been replicated in each of us.  Within us lies the power of Jesus to transform and save those who will abide with Him.

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Purpose

Posted on December 4, 2019 | Leave a comment

John 15:11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

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Verse 11 is an unfamiliar place to look for a connection to Advent but we have history and hindsight to remind us God had a purpose in sending Christ as a new born baby.  John recorded this statement as part of the narrative of the purpose of the life of Christ.  Jesus clearly said what the purpose of His teaching was.  That’s a lot of “purpose” from a one-sentence verse but when I read the definition of the two grammatical parts of “purpose” it became my purpose for this second Advent post.

Purpose
noun: the reason for which something is created or for which something exists.
verb: have as one’s intention or objective.

God’s purpose for the birth of Jesus into our world as a baby was to provide a visual experience of new life and growth with all the perfection that had been lost back in the Garden of Eden.  That is the renewal of purpose we celebrate during Advent.  John is a respected expert on the purpose of the life of Jesus from the moment of His conception in the mind of God through His birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection.  

Verse 11 might actually be the bottom line purpose of why we celebrate Advent year after year.  There are so many good things that appeal to us emotionally and visually during the preparation for Christ-mas but don’t ever leave out that  “-.”  Christ was “created” and “exists” [the noun] as the reason for this season but  His ”intention or objective” [the verb] for your life lasts far beyond Advent – “that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

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Loveable

Posted on November 27, 2019 | Leave a comment

John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.  [NRSV]

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That kind of complete love is one of the biggest challenges our faith calls us to recognize.  We struggle because we know our own well-kept secrets.  The wonder of the love of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is that He knows all our secrets too and He still finds us lovable.  Accepting and acting in accordance with Jesus and His complete love is where hope triumphs over the secrets that have kept us from being “love”able. 

Romans 5:5 ..and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 

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Living Evidence

Posted on November 20, 2019 | Leave a comment

John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [NRSV]

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If you “accept and act in accordance with” Jesus what He says will establish a relationship of life between Himself and you.  What makes that matter is this reality: Jesus IS God.  The first assurance of John 15:7 is when you “abide” with Jesus, God Himself is alive within you and He understands the reality of whatever you ask.  That makes His answer perfect for what He knows you need.  The second assurance is God’s answer comes with a greater blessing “if you abide in” Jesus and let his words “abide in you.”  Your relationship of life with Jesus makes you living evidence of the glory of God. 

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True Fruit

Posted on November 13, 2019 | Leave a comment

John 15:5  I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. [NRSV]

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So far John 15 has been all about repetition.  Over and over these verses have reminded us our purpose is to abide in the “true” vine. [Down through Jewish history the vine became the symbol of Israel. During the Macabees period of history, the symbol of the vine was on the coins of Israel. It was over the main doors of the synagogues. (Antiquities of the Jews by Jewish historian, Josephus (5.5.4)]  The symbol of the vine had become more about the nation than God.  Even the purchase of gold to add a branch or a single grape to those synagogue vines could be considered an act of worship.

It’s easy to be distracted from what “true” worship is and the fruit it’s meant to produce.  Jesus says “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”  Jesus’ challenge is to accept this one truth: a relationship to Him is the reality of a connection to God Himself.  He is the only “true” vine and the branches are carefully, and artfully cultivated and pruned to produce the “true” fruit of  worship: “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” [Westminster]

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Can You Believe?

Posted on November 6, 2019 | Leave a comment

Truth; John 15:3 You have already been cleansed [or pruned] by the word that I have spoken to you. [NRSV]

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Inspiration: Remember the Apostle Peter?  Remember how he protested when Jesus wanted to wash his feet?  Jesus’s response to Peter sounds just like John 15:3 to me – ”you’ve already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.  

Reality: OK, this is a test!  Get a pencil and paper and write down the first five true things you remember Jesus has spoken personally into your heart.  Write them in the order you remember them without any concern about a timeline.  It doesn’t have to be a complete list and they don’t have to be written as verbatim scripture but they do have to be real to you.  AND THIS IS KEY: don’t go back and edit them in any way as you read them again. [you know it’s me I’m talking to]. The important thing is they ARE written in the order you remember them. 

[ •Test IS the root word of test meaning “to bear witness.”  Do not confuse this root test with the same word which means examination. It is true that when you take an examination you are a witness for your own knowledge and, unless you cheat, you are showing what you do or don’t know. However, here the word means a solemn telling of the truth of what you know, bearing witness for truth’s sake.
•english-for-students.com/test.html]

You may have already had the experience of writing or giving your testimony.  You know how difficult it is to distill the most important things Jesus has done for you from the many really good things that have happened in your life without turning it into an “I was and now I am” testimony.   I believe the results of your test are listed in the priority of their impact on you specifically.   Can you believe the things you just wrote down are an accurate recounting of Jesus and the Holy Spirit verifying “you have already been cleansed”?   If you can, that belief can make your list the perfect outline that moves what you wrote from that examination kind of “test” to  the root of a new “testimony.”   A testimony that bears witness for truth’s sake to the I AM.  My wish would be that you would use your results and write your own new kind of testimony.

This is my own “unedited” list.  My new testimony is only to show you an example of how effectively it can work.
1.  I have been crucified with Christ.  I have scars but they’re part of the testimony of my healing.
2.  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
3.  Jesus will complete the work he’s begun in me
4.  The greatest of these is love
5.  Lord help my heart, soul, mind an strength

Nobody wants to admit their inability to deal with life or being wounded.  Even healing can leave scars.  I want my scars to be changed from something that needs to be hidden to evidence of blessing.  I want to be like Jesus.  I want Him to be the power that allows me to believe and live as if I have “already been cleansed. ”  I want to view those scars as the revelation of a changed heart not a sign of condemnation.  I want to believe my soul has caught a glimpse of promised immortality, my mind has been challenged by the Word of God and I really do have the strength to live by the words Jesus has spoken into my heart – I AM “the word that I have spoken to you.”

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Viticulture

Posted on October 30, 2019 | Leave a comment

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.”

This is another “new” experience. An offhand idea last Sunday has stuck in my brain.  What if I did a chapter verse by verse?  The sermon series at church was ending with John 14 but John 15 is one of my all time favorite chapters so that’s my choice to begin.

It’s going to be interesting because right off the bat there is a very short statement by Jesus.  The “vinegrower” is depending on the “true vine” to establish the vineyard. The quality of the crop is totally dependent on the ability of the true vine to multiply and reproduce itself while maintaining the exact properties it was chosen for.  

I barely dipped into the vast amount of information on the internet about the development of grapevines over the ages and found something I think strengthens the imagery of Jesus’ claim.  Long before the birth of Christ there are documented efforts of the struggle of vine growers to develop grapevines that were able to reproduce their desirable qualities without continually having to introduce variable characteristics from another vine.  

The Bible doesn’t waste it’s analogies.  Jesus could claim He was the “true vine” because He was the complete and accurate reflection of his Father who perfectly reproduces that same unique likeness within His followers.

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Think, Hear, Remember

Posted on October 9, 2019 | Leave a comment

NIV Hebrews 3
• 1…think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest…
• 7 That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, 8 don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness…
• 15 Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”

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There’s a mystery involved in hearing the unspoken Word of this book we call our Bible.  We know the mystery involves our training to recognize guidance and respond to Word that can speak truth into the human heart.  “There is a beautiful story in the Old Testament where the prophet stands at the mouth of a cave and the Lord is passing. There is thunder, and the Lord is not in the thunder. There is an earthquake, and the Lord is not in the earthquake. There is fire, and the Lord is not in the fire. Then there is a still, small voice, and the Lord is in that voice. (See 1 Kings 19: 11–13.)” Intro to Following Jesus [Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety] by Henri Nouwen 

OK, it’s the Holy Spirit…√.  Do you imagine the writer of Hebrews was just casually writing “think carefully about this Jesus” or “today when you hear his voice” or “remember?”  The answer of course is no!  The Holy Spirit is the vital voice that teaches us to consciously respond to that mystery.  The “gentle whisper” that happens “today” when you allow Jesus to teach you is the Holy Spirit speaking the reality of the Word within you despite the noise of the world around you.  

The passage from 1 Kings ends with the question of the day.  “And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.  Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here Elijah [insert your name here]?”  I hope your answer is thinking, hearing and remembering.

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Rest

Posted on October 2, 2019 | Leave a comment

NIV Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his REST still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. 3 Now we who have believed enter that REST, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my REST.’”  And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God RESTed from all his works.” 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my REST.”  6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that REST, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

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Rest is apparently something more than lack of activity.  That’s a good thing to know because lack of activity often seems impossible.  There are schedules to keep, projects that need doing, places to be and people to care for.  One of the first questions I asked as I began to write was why?  Why did God sound so peevish when he said  “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest’” and then He even repeated it?

I looked at all the modifier words and phrases for “rest” in the 11 times it’s mentioned in the 16 verses of this chapter and here’s something I found that’s worth noting.  I’ve been looking at ”rest” as a break from activity when in reality every single mention of rest in Hebrews 4 indicates it’s God’s rest, not mine that’s involved.  God swears on an oath He will jealously guard the heart, soul, mind and strength of  “we who have believed” and entered the rest He’s completed for them.  The reality is God’s rest ”still remains for some to enter.“ In that rest lies His peace, His promises and the priceless value of ”the good news proclaimed to us.”

“God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David’s psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen, don’t turn a deaf ear . . .[v6-7 MSG]” 

 

 

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