Month: February 2021

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus.  John 3:1-2 NLT

It was 2009.  My daughter, Jaime, had been asked to speak to a group of women several hundred miles away. I offered to go with her, to be her companion and to give prayer support, something she has done for me hundreds of times. She and I sat near the front and the program was about to start.  Jaime was quiet, prayerfully reviewing her notes and getting her spiritual focus.  At that moment, the committee chairman came and whispered something in my ear.  She told me that some notable people with influence had arrived. Excited, I turned to tell Jaime the news.  “Guess who is here!” I said.  I began to tell her but Jaime held up her hand for me to stop.  She said, with such sadness, “Mom, why do you bring me so great a temptation right before I speak?”  An arrow of conviction pierced my soul.  Now, she would feel the pressure to perform well.  Now, she would be aware that her presentation was getting graded by a few people who came to be impressed.  I had delivered all of these pressures to her on a silver platter.  Later that day, I asked her to forgive me.  

I’ve spent much of my life wrestling with Christian Babylon, the world I’ve come to know from a lifetime of engagement in American church ministry.  It’s much about who hears you speak or sing. It’s about looking your best before taking the stage.  It’s about having a sold-out concert or conference.  It’s about the size of the church that invited you.  It’s about dressing in a way where others know you’re the speaker or singer when you walk into the room. The rule of thumb is to be a little bit more dressed up than they are. Make a statement with your choice of clothing and accessories.  All of this co-exists with the weight of wanting to magnify Jesus and reach people with the Gospel.  Oh, motives are messy and nothing is altruistic.  

Covid has been a course corrector.  With so much time to reflect, I’ve re-evaluated everything.  In the process, I’ve gone through my closet and donated almost all of my ‘speaking clothes and statement jewelry.’  I don’t have the stomach for it anymore.  God has done this new thing.  My new litmus test has become this ~ Would Corrie Ten Boom wear this to speak?  It seems that in every picture, she looked the same.  So in every way, I’ve simplified.  I’ve cast off some weights that so easily beset me.  

What does all of this have to do with Nicodemus and John 3?  Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews, a notable person, the equivalent of one of our supreme court justices.  He came to speak with Jesus but here’s the thing.  Jesus felt no pressure.  He didn’t sit up straighter because of who it was that paid him a visit.  He didn’t try to elevate His illustrations to impress.  He went the other direction.   He spoke of spiritually infantile things, the stuff of wombs and being born again.  

It’s the middle of the night and while pondering all of this on my bed, a vision came to me.  I was half-awake. I was in a gladiator arena.  I was the lone believer in the center, about to become a meal for the lions who were being released at any moment.  The roar of the crowd was out of my radar.  It didn’t matter to me if there were ten people in the stands or several hundred thousand.   My focus was the faith test in front of me and how I would face the large cats. They would see me as prey; I would see them as predators.  

Then, the Spirit of God spoke to me.  “In the kingdom, they will not consume you.  They will dwell with you as companions for your enjoyment.”  And so, I stood and awaited their arrival.  They circled me and I began to turn and look at each of them. I extoled their power, the beauty of their features, all given to them by Creator God.  I asked if I could pet them.  I approached the first, petted the top of his head, and scratched him behind his ears.  His eyes closed and I began to hear him purr.  I was in the kingdom and context had been transformed.  I was not their meal; I was their friend.  The audience were spectators of the power and glory of God. 

God promises to tame the lions.  We can exist in Babylon but not be consumed.  The need to perform, to be accepted, to excel, to impress, to compete and win, will no longer be lions of prey.  Nicodemus may grace our stage but so will the nameless widow who brought her mite to the temple.  King Saul may summon us to calm oppressive spirits but so will the notorious demoniac who lives among the tombs. None of these, famous or infamous, will need a statesman.  They will need a Savior and we will be the beggars who bring them to the One who saves. 

Lord, I hear it again ~ your great commission.  I will travel lighter, trading in my heavy robes for a simple tunic.  I’m laying aside such weights and temptations.  Amen

Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.  John 2:24-25

Jesus knows people’s hearts and how fickle they are.  He knows not to depend on them for what only His Father can give.  Jesus also knows the hearts of the people we love and on whom we depend.  Even at best, they are fickle compared to Him.  While He would never tell us not to be in community, to love and to express our needs to each other, He would also assure us that He is available, and He is enough, when someone’s best falls short.

Are you disillusioned with people today?  Perhaps you live in a relationship where you bare your soul and make your needs known, only to have them ignored.  For the other person to love you well, it would require expensive personal change and perhaps they won’t risk stretching out of their comfort zone. Disillusionment happens on many levels and it is present in the most beautiful of relationships.  Humanness collides with humanness and Jesus is there to pick up the pieces in our disappointment, and even heartbreak.  

Perhaps in proportion to your need today, the love offered you feels like crumbs.  Insatiable needs simply cannot be filled by anyone who stands nearby.  Satan loves to point out the deficits, then finger-point, then discredit God’s inability to make up for what is lacking.  He enhances the reality of our aching needs on a daily basis.  Paul, whose past could have haunted him and caused him to doubt the love of God, told us to be rooted and grounded in it. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.  Ephesians 3:17

Our roots in His love keep us strong.  How does that look?   Jesus didn’t stop telling those close to Him what he needed.  When others reached out, He accepted their love with openness. He lived, at peace, with others’ limitations, even their failures.  When His disciples fell asleep, leaving Him alone on the worst night of His life, His faith in His Father did not waver.  When Peter denied Him, He still extended the hand of friendship to him ~ even to the end of Peter’s life. 

Meaningful relationships here on earth are the icing on the cake, but I cannot make them the ‘cake’.  If I put my hope in them, my moods will rise and fall with their performance, I will live with disappointment and disillusionment until the love of God seizes my soul and I learn to rest. 

 I’m so glad my heart is safely with You so I am safe to need others. Amen

But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.” “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  John 2:18-19

Jesus upends the crooked commerce taking place in the temple.  The innocent temple goers look on with fear.  The guilty see what Jesus has just done and feel anger rising up out of their bowels.  Jewish leaders instantly demand an answer.  “What are you doing and show us a sign to prove that God gave you the authority to do it.”  

The verb tense is in the present.  “What are you doing?”  

Jesus’ answer to them is spoken in a future tense.  “Destroy this temple and I will raise it up.”  

They are upset by what they are experiencing in the present, but His answer will take place in future revelation.  They demand an answer with utter disrespect, yet Jesus is gracious to answer their question.  He doesn’t have to.  He is not accountable to them but to His Father.  

Questioning God is part of life but because God’s answers are often promised in future tenses, my pain blinds me to the perfection of His providence.  It does not yet appear that He orders all things well even; I am only seeing disorder.  It does not yet appear that every travesty will be redeemed; I am only seeing senselessness.  Future tenses in the form of God’s promises bring great comfort but only if I am willing to look beyond what I am presently experiencing.  Maturity teaches me to ask questions through submissive tears, not with raised fists.  

Jesus’ answers to the Jewish leaders are loaded.  He refers to a temple but they do not know that He refers to Himself.  He speaks of raising the temple back up after destruction, but they do not know that it has nothing to do with re-ordering the chaos in front of them.  He has no intention of restoring the business of Passover.  Perhaps that is why God gives promises instead of answers.  People picture one thing while He means something entirely different.  

This one thing I know.  “Why Lord?” always has an answer.  Always.  As a beloved child of God, my greatest hopes and dreams lie in future tenses. 

You will have to help me see the ‘now’ with eyes of faith.  Amen

It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple.  John 2:13-15

Each of us have things that are almost sacred to us.  We might display them on a wall, under glass, or in a shadow box.  If it’s a document, like a commendation or award, we might laminate it or frame it.  We also put important papers in a file folder and wouldn’t think of folding them in half, lest we crease them. And then there’s love letters.  We fasten them with a ribbon and tuck them away somewhere safe.  Admittedly, to have someone trample on things sacred evokes strong emotions.   I will erupt if something dear to me is damaged or destroyed. 

My mother, the year before she died of cancer, made a quilt for Ron and for me.  There was no sewing machine involved.  Every inch of it was hand stitched.  I often told her that it looked like she used a machine – so precise was her hem stitch.  About ten years ago, I took it out of my cedar chest to discover that there were rips along the corners of more than a few patchwork squares. Years of tugging at it during the night had taken a toll.  “Oh no, I’ve just got to fix it!” was my response.  The first chance I got, out came my needle and thread. 

If unraveling on my torn quilt could make me feel so deeply, can you imagine what Jesus felt when he entered the Temple area and saw what was happening on holy ground?  This was the temple where His Father’s glory dwelt.  This was the place where atonement was made for sin.  This was the place where the rich and the poor alike could bring their best sacrifice and know that there would be no respecter of persons.  But on this day, everything holy got trampled on.  The business of the day was about extorting people, making exorbitant profits from the everyday Jew who had just traveled long distances. 

But even more importantly, if the priests were crooked, the very ones who represented God’s likeness, then God would be considered crooked as well.  He would be perceived as one who just wanted people for their money; valuable only if they funded the enterprise of everything related to the temple.  Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?  The face of God is always marred by crooked religion. God still gets angry when there is misrepresentation of His character.  He is jealous for His own glory but there is another reason. The very people He created, the ones He loves and sacrificed His Son for, will be the ones who don’t trust Him.  For this, Jesus made whips and disrupted commerce.  Woe to the shepherds who cause the sheep to stumble over the God who loves them. 

You fought with us in mind.  And still do.  Amen

This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.  After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples. John 2:11-12 NLT

Before Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding in Cana, family and friends had only related to Him one way.  But after the wedding feast, after drinking the finest wine that had been fashioned out of water, the dynamics changed.  Worship, the ideal human response to seeing a miracle happen, was born.  John says that this is the first time Jesus revealed His glory.  To see that happen, in person, had huge effects on Jesus’ personal relationships.  

Mary saw her Son turn 180 gallons of water into 180 gallons of wine.  She knew He could do it.  She had suggested it.  But knowing someone can do something and seeing them do it are two different things.  As she and the others went back to Capernaum, something new must have been born in her heart.  A new kind of worship. Could her other grown children feel it?  Undoubtedly.  Was it alienating?  Most likely. This wasn’t the first time they struggled with their Brother.

The siblings of Jesus experienced His perfection all throughout their childhood.  Holiness certainly caused friction.  As toddlers, they felt it, as Jesus was praised for His obedience. As teenagers, they felt it, as the sparks that His divinity caused intensified greatly. Whether they felt convicted, or jealous, His holiness was polarizing.  When Jesus went back to Capernaum after His first miracle, His fame came back with Him.  Whatever issues His brothers had with Him probably grew to giant-sized.  Especially as they saw their mother look at the Son of God with worship in her eyes.  

The disciples were changed because of the miracle.  John says that they believed.  They were stunned by what had happened.  Their hearts were on fire but they were only in the honeymoon stage of their relationship with Jesus and couldn’t imagine how their love and loyalty would be tested in the days ahead.  Loving Jesus hadn’t cost them anything yet. Their worship was immature.  They were like the Israelites having just crossed the Red Sea.  They were like those who first ate manna that came from heaven.  But they hadn’t been in a boat with Jesus during the worst storm of their career only to wonder why He wasn’t doing anything.  They hadn’t seen Him arrested yet, only to fight the disillusionment that broken dreams bring.  They hadn’t faced the stigma of following someone who had grown unpopular, who was in fact, despised.  

The miracle of Cana was wonderful but it also ushered in a period of great change.  For any of us who have seen God’s glory, we can testify that it changes up things in our lives.  Some for the good.  Oh, but not always. 

You are the Lord of Glory, the giver of Grace.  To live as one stunned by Your glory, bathe me with grace for the after affects.  You felt them first-hand and know.  Amen

Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.  John 2:6-8. NLT

This was Jesus’ first miracle.  Early into the span of a week-long wedding fest, the hosts ran out of wine.  In a shame and honor culture, this was a big deal.  Jesus had compassion on this family as he has compassion on each of our families, in the dailyness of our lives.  

Jesus performed a miracle for the hosts, for the bride and groom, and it involved using six stone water jars that stood nearby.  Each held thirty gallons of water that were used exclusively for ceremonial washing.  But that was not their purpose that day.  Jesus told the servants to fill them with water, then to dip their pitchers into the liquid and distribute the drink to the guests. 

The water became wine.  Why would Jesus do this as His first miracle?   He didn’t reach out to heal the sick, or to spiritually deliver a demonized man, or to even feed the poor.  This seemingly frivolous act can leave us a bit confused but there are beautiful symbolisms and layers to explore.   

Jesus told the servants to fill each stone jar to the brim with water.  Six jars, holding thirty gallons each, produced approximately a thousand pitchers of wine. An over-abundance. This new wine wasn’t of the cheap variety either.  It was expensive and of the highest quality.  

This was the first time, publicly, that He messed with Jewish traditions.  He took vessels set apart for holy things and used them for something else.  In the next three years, He would turn ceremonial laws upside down.  He would stretch Jewish leaders to the max when He chose to work on the Sabbath or when He introduced talk about the heart being more important than rule-keeping. 

The physical manifestation of new wine happened at a wedding in Cana.  But the spiritual manifestation had been prophesied long ago.   ‘Israel will live in safety; Jacob will dwell secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew.’ Deuteronomy 33:28   Do you remember that on the day of Pentecost, the crowd believed Jesus’ disciples to be drunk with wine when the Holy Spirit descended upon them?  This ‘running over the Spirit’ still happens as I pray for God to make me a new wineskin, flexible to hold the full outpouring of His Spirit.   

If I’m clinging to a number of traditions and habits like ceremonial jars, show me.  I empty myself of all self-works and look to You for the new wine of Your Spirit.  Amen

The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”but his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”  John 2:1-5

Jesus gently rebuked His mother.  We’ve never encountered anything like this before.  What had she done?  Mary’s suggestion didn’t feel self-serving.  The rebuke couldn’t have felt very good if you put yourself in Mary’s place.  It’s taken some years for me to begin to understand why it happened.  The clues come from other places in the Gospel where Jesus addressed members of His family in ways that probably wounded their pride.  

In this particular public setting, Mary presumed upon Jesus’ divinity at the wedding feast but Jesus exalted his sonship to His Father in heaven above his sonship to his mother.  He had a radical allegiance to God’s will above his mother’s will.  Jesus worked against Mary’s assumption that perhaps she had an inside track.  He made it clear that no physical relationship on earth would control him.  His mother would have no special advantage to guide his ministry or to even receive His salvation.  Water being turned to wine would not be at a mother’s bidding.  As the story unfolds, we’ll see that Jesus turns to His Father for direction and permission.  

I recall the time in Luke 11 that a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Jesus.  ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!’  But He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’

Jesus said later on in Luke, ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.’  Luke 14:26  ‘Hate’ in this context doesn’t mean emotional hatred. It means preference; deferring to the One who takes priority.  As adults, we are to leave the ways of our parents if what they expect of us conflicts with the voice of our Father. This is not an easy way to live but necessary for all disciples.  When we struggle with the tension it often brings in relationships, we are comforted that Jesus knows what it’s like and He’s walked this journey before we did. 

There was a time when Jesus addressed me, in my spirit, about the ways I caved to a certain family member’s whims and suggestions.  I felt it was easier to give in than face the tension.  I felt I heard Him say, “Christine, don’t do that anymore.  Tell them you need to talk to me about it.”  It did rattle the relationship but I look back and I’m amazed at the courage and grace that was supernaturally made available to me.  

For every one who has to say no to family today for righteous reasons, let them feel the warmth of Your favor.  Amen

Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.^”  John 1:50-51 NLT

Our lives are fraught with challenges; earthly cares that rob our sleep and our peace.  We pray for God to intervene.  Sometimes He does and often, with quick and stunning results.  He brings a single financial miracle, or a healing, or a breakthrough in a relationship.  We are left to exclaim, “Wow, Lord!  You can do that?”  

This is the type of narrative between Nathaniel and Jesus.  Nathaniel, earlier in the day, had spent some time alone under a fig tree.  Yet when Jesus meets him, He tells Nathaniel that He saw him earlier – enjoying the shade of that tree.  Nathaniel knew he had been entirely alone and yet, somehow, Jesus knew he was there and saw him supernaturally.  He was left to also ponder, “This man can do this?”   And yet, that was such a small thing in the bigger scope of Jesus’ power and glory.  Jesus saw a man under a tree who thought he had been unseen but earlier in history, He created man out of dust.  Nathaniel was amazed that Jesus saw what had been invisible to others but earlier in history, Jesus proved He was the Lord of infinity.  

Jesus wants Nathaniel to know that if he is impressed by this earlier encounter under the tree, he hasn’t seen anything yet!  This announcement of ‘going up and down the stairway of heaven’ is an admission of being the God-man who spans and connects two worlds.  He is Lord of heaven and earth. When Jacob wrestled with the sovereignty of Yahweh, he saw this same ‘coming and going’ on a supernatural stairway.  

What a God I serve.  The things He has done that have left me speechless are miniscule in the larger scope of His power.  The miracles, which to me have changed me forever, will pale in comparison to the things I will see Jesus do.  Some things He will accomplish while I’m still alive, but most glorious things await me in the new kingdom.  Won’t it be glorious to finally see the open heavens and for our spiritual eyesight to engage?  If you know Jesus, we will share it together.  

I really have no idea who powerful you are.  Not yet.  How could your Word possibly tell it all?  Yet, You will personally show me.  What a day, Jesus.  Amen

“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” John 1:48-49 NLT

In every love story, there is a moment of recognition where one soul sees into the soul of another and finds a place to rest and call home.  For many, like Nathaniel, it can be on the very first meeting.  A look, something said, the sound of a voice, it’s familiar and the stirring is deeply felt.  Like all love stories, these moments are personal, characterized by tenderness, and unexplainable to anyone else.

Matthew was a tax collector.  While in the middle of a work day, sitting at a tax booth, he looked up to see Jesus stop in front of him.  He said, “Follow me!”  Matthew got up from the table and never looked back.  There was instant recognition somewhere deep inside. Something had awakened.

On another occasion, Jesus walked down a road and called up to a man in the tree.  He called this lone sheep by name.  Zacchaeus.  The surprised man in the tree responded instantly and received Jesus joyfully into his home. He couldn’t help himself and lost all sense that he might be the talk of the town.

One earlier day, Jesus went into Galilee to find a man named Philip.  The call was the same. “Follow me,” Jesus said.  And he did. Philip went to find Nathaniel who questioned him about the validity of any man from Nazareth being good, worthy of following. But upon meeting Jesus for himself, that same moment of recognition happened between the two of them. Nathaniel’s spirit, quickened by the reaction to Jesus’ words, came to life. Words of new faith came out like a torrent.

When my last breath is drawn on this earth and I open my eyes on the shores of heaven, the thing I look forward to most is hearing Jesus welcome me home – by name.  None will have said ‘Christine’ quite like him. How many times will He say to me, “Christine, I saw you when you were . . . “ All the times I felt like I’d been alone will be healed in the presence of a love that had always been faithful.

Your voice can be heard in Scripture; it is also heard deep in my spirit. It speaks loudly, even in the sounds of nature. To all who recognize You as the One who spoke, we are forever changed. Amen

“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.  As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” John 1:46-49 NLT

No one has ever fallen in love with Jesus through the intimate stories of someone else’s faith encounter.  At best, the story inspired them and then opened the door for them to seek Jesus for themselves. Philip knew that Nathaniel would only be convinced about the Messiah if he saw Him personally.  That’s why he urged him, “Come and see.”

For Philip, the unmerited favor of God had just intersected his personal history and brought an experience the likes of which he would never forget.  Nothing in the future would eclipse the memory.  As he ran to Nathaniel, he knew that in just moments, the veil that limited Nathanael’s spiritual eyesight would be lifted as well.  He and Jesus would also engage in a personal discussion that would rock his world.

Are such defining moments possible today for the one who asks Jesus to reveal Himself to them?  Yes. There are moments that become mountaintops; encounters that become a Bethel. These are not limited to unbelievers seeking to be saved.  They are also for believers who have settled for monotony, who are trying to live on yesterday’s manna. We are to seek, listen, and pursue God relentlessly.  The glory of Jesus will surprise us again and again at unsuspecting times. An ordinary day will be turned upside down as the eternal penetrates the temporal.  God’s glory will fill our field of vision and earth’s trinkets will no longer impress us nor satisfy what it is we’re really craving.

Those around us may not see what we see but we know it is a holy moment.  We’ll take our shoes off even as we remember it.  In the afterglow, we’ll live dazed by the memory and tremble in the distraction of it.  Such is the condition of anyone who has seen God pass by and stopped to worship and be loved.  

We know it’s hard to capture it in words and tell someone else what happened.  That’s why we join the many other evangelists through the ages to say, “Come and see for yourself.”  

Lord, commune with us today in a place that doesn’t need words. Come to the ones we’ve been praying for who haven’t seen You yet.  Amen