Category: Jesus Moments

And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. Mark 1:10-12

The same Spirit of God that descended on Jesus at His baptism proceeded to lead Him out into the desert to be tempted. That can be emotionally confusing to me as I seek to find a comfort zone in God’s character. One incredibly tender moment during His baptism ushers in stark moments when the humanity of Jesus is stretched to new limits. Why was that necessary?

Many bible teachers weigh in on the answer. One belief is that Jesus needed to be tempted in every way that we are tempted so that we know that we can run to Him as our High Priest. That was certainly accomplished in the wilderness. But there is another possibility.  By being led into the wilderness to be tempted, and by prevailing with righteous choices, He fulfilled what the Israelites had not been able to do during their 40-year wanderings. They had been led from Egypt to the Red Sea, then to the wilderness, in order to test their new faith. The pressures revealed the immaturity of their faith.

Ah, but testing would reveal the perfection of Jesus’ faith. He repeated Israel’s journey to complete what they had failed. One indication that this might be true is the passage Jesus quoted when Satan first tempted Him to turn the stones into bread. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3. “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” The context of Deuteronomy 8 is Israel’s wilderness experience.

Jesus came to redeem what was broken. The nation of Israel failed miserably while on their journey to the Promised Land. Jesus redeemed it by going into the same wilderness and doing it right. As His child, I am called to share in the redemption of what is broken. The Spirit of God leads me into situations where I can redeem the sinful patterns of my family. I am often led into places that mirror my own past experiences so that I can do it right the 2^nd time around. I find that the stakes are high when I feel the most fragile. I can enter a wilderness with the best of intentions and with great resolve to succeed. But the nature of my wilderness will test my limits. Passion to succeed never brings success. This is a spiritual endeavor, not a human one. For me to pass the tests that the wilderness brings, I will have to humble myself and acknowledge my utter helplessness without the Holy Spirit’s help. Prevailing with righteous choices will only happen as the Spirit of God, resident in me, rises up to empower what is impossible with human effort.

Jesus redeemed Israel’s sin. What sin, whose journey, might He want to redeem through me today?

It’s exciting. It’s impossible without You. I am Your servant. Amen

“What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32

Kingdom seeds are so powerful when they are planted on earth. Jesus gave an example of this when talking about the tiniest of seeds, the mustard seed.  Each one grows into a 10 foot plant. Great things always start small.

How much do I really believe in the seeds of scripture? When a need is so great, whether in someone else or in me, it can seem hopeless to personalize a few verses. What difference is it really making when I don’t see immediate results? Does speaking a few kingdom words over an ocean of need even impact the void?

My greatest mistake would be to be misled by earth’s odds. If I look at the probability of change like I look at filling up a beach ~ one grain of sand at a time ~ of course I’ll give up. But that is not what happens when I consistently sow the seeds of heaven. These agents of the kingdom are energetic and highly effective. When inspired, and then spoken, they begin the process of change. How do I know? Jesus said, “If you plant it, it will bear fruit.” Whether I can see the changes is immaterial. God works in the deep, in the unseen and imperceptible.  He does soul surgery in masterful ways long before human beings can see the fruit.

What kind of seeds do you need to plant today? Belief. Joy. Peace. Unity. Sobriety. Pure sexual appetite. I need to plant faith seeds ~ faith that God holds the answers to unanswered questions and is trustworthy.  So, I speak God’s Word outloud over myself.  When declared, faith is ignited and spiritual forces are put on notice. It is the legal equivalent of serving the enemy legal papers. Oh, the cumulative effect of God’s spoken Word over time – spoken over me – spoken over the earth.

I believe and I have seen with my own eyes ~ my own transformation. Amen

You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:16

It seems that Jesus needs to get away from the crowds so he takes His disciples and walks a day’s walk north of the Sea of Galilee. When they get there, Jesus asks His disciples who people say He is. They reveal that the most popular answer was that He is John the Baptist – raised from the dead. Others say ~ Elijah. “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks. Peter answers that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus then blesses Peter ~ something rabbis do when a student gives the right answers to important questions.

One of the differences between Jesus and every other Rabbi-teacher is that Jesus can sense the heart behind the answer. He knows whether Peter is giving lip service to impress Him or if Peter’s whole heart is engaged as he makes the proclamation.

Jesus read people’s hearts then and He still does it today. As I teach the scriptures, as I sing the worship songs, or as I answer questions in a class, Jesus – who sits at God’s right hand – can tell if I’m going through the motions for reasons other than divine affection. How easy it is to try to fool people when my heart isn’t in it. Knowing the right answers can often get someone far but not far at all with Jesus if the heart is darkened.

It’s painful to be fooled, isn’t it?

• Perhaps your search committee asked all the right questions of a prospective pastoral candidate. He was impressive in his answers. Time revealed a deeply flawed character, however.
• Perhaps you asked your would-be spouse where he/she stood with Jesus. The right answer was given and it appeared sincere. When memories of standing at an altar were dimmed, so was any remnant of their faith.

Time reveals the fidelity of faith. It certainly did for Peter. The other eleven disciples could not tell for certain if Peter was caught up in the emotion of the moment or if his faith would carry him through a lifetime of hardship. As it turned out, Peter would end well. He was no charlatan. He was also not someone who was power hungry. Persecution has its way of weeding out all pretenders. Peter ran the race and finished upside on a cross.

You said to let my yes be yes and my no be no. Forgive me when I say one thing but really feel another way entirely. Amen

I will never walk alone for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.  Psalm 26:3

Everyone wonders what their future will hold.  Good times or hard times?  Healthy or unhealthy?  Married or unmarried?  Financially secure or living with meager provision?  Surrounded by those who love us or mostly alone?  We aren’t granted a clear picture of tomorrow but any of us who know God as our Father can know for certain one thing about our future.  In spite of uncertainty, David says that God’s love is ever before us.  Perfect Love is always and forever in our tomorrows.

If times are good, God will join me in my celebration.  If times are difficult, He will offer open arms.  If times are rewarding, He will still remind me that heaven will be better because He will be there.  If times are tragic, He will assure me that this time of tears is short in comparison to an eternity of joy.

Picture a groom, on his knees proposing, and he says in a deep and meaningful tone, “Spend your life with me.  I can’t promise you that it will always be easy but however it unfolds, I promise to be there with you and love you.”  It’s exactly what she needs.  Love.  Companionship.  Commitment.  And for any who have not known this in their human experience, Jesus is the Bridegroom who offers what is supremely better than that.  A perfect love without the imperfection of the flesh within mortal marriages.  There is perfect companionship as the groom knows His bride completely.  And there is  perfect faithfulness as this Groom never backs away.  No matter how well or how poorly the bride loves, His love is constant and true.

Your love is here now.  Your love has always sustained me.  Your love waits for me in all my tomorrows.  You are timeless and I can rest that You have traveled ahead of me.  I’m so comforted.  Amen

Jesus, seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” But there were some of the scribes sitting there and reason in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; ‘who can forgive sins but God alone?” Mark 2:6-7

The scribes in this story are right. Claiming to forgive sins is a big deal and no one can do it except God but they didn’t recognize their Yahweh in the face of His Son, Jesus. People will do anything to wash themselves of nagging guilt. Most refuse to run to Jesus because their own pride convinces them that they have the power to do something about it. Never has this self-sufficiency been more twisted than with the ancient practice of choosing a sin-eater within a community.

Still in existence within rural Appalachia, this ritual originated in southern England. A sin-eater was selected from among the most despised of society. Their calling would ostracize them for life. Their role was, 1.) to live in obscurity, 2.) to appear at the home of a deceased person at the time of the funeral, 3.) perch themselves at the border of the property and wait for the casket to emerge from the house, and 4.) perform the ritual of eating bread and drinking wine. All of the sins of the deceased would be transferred to the bread/wine and enter the sin eater’s body. They were believed to be the new ‘dwelling place’ of the dead’s iniquity.

Before meeting Jesus, the hymn writer, William Cowper, succumbed to a deep depression from the weight of his own guilt. While living in a mental institution, he was known to keep washing his hands and lamenting, “My guilt, my guilt. What can wash it away?” After his conversion and having looked to Jesus to wash away his sins, he wrote, “Unless the Almighty arm had been under me, I think I should have died with gratitude and joy.” Within weeks, he wrote the words to the hymn, “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins. And sinners cleansed beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.”

There is only one sin-eater. Jesus. He became the despised, was shunned by His people, and took on the sins of the damned. He was the sacrifice for any who will apply His blood to their iniquity. Today, we do not need to wallow in guilt nor employ a scapegoat to bear our sins. Jesus did it – and then He said, “It is finished.” 

Nagging guilt need never plague me. You are a God of closure. I repent, you forgive, and it is finished. Amen

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening, and he lifted up his eyes and saw and behold, the camels were coming. And Rebeccah lifted up her eyes and when she saw Isaac, she fell off the camel. Genesis 24:62-63 

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, more important on this day as resting in Your Word and Your presence. I don’t want to miss you. Amen

Jesus became troubled in spirit and testified, “Truly, truly, I tell you, one of you will betray Me.” The disciples began to look at one another, perplexed as to which of them He meant. John 13:21-22

The atmosphere at the Lord’s Supper grew tense. Jesus announced that one of the twelve would betray Him. In that pregnant moment, I do not believe that each wondered which of his brothers had done such a thing. I believe a dark cloud came over each of them personally as they feared it might be them.  I believe they knew some of their own weaknesses.  After all, they had been with Jesus for three years to see the stark contrast between holiness and sinfulness.

Three years is a long time to travel with someone. Their relationship with Him was intimate. What they expected Him to do, He rarely did. What they anticipated He might say, He rarely said.  Whom they didn’t expected Him to heal, He did.  When they expected Him to honor sacred Jewish traditions, He surprised them by doing the opposite.  They had had plenty of time to understand their own sinfulness in light of the contrast.  They knew pretty quickly that they fell short of God’s glory – resident in Christ.

For Judas, the bait was money. His love for riches challenged fidelity. But for any one of the disciples, there might have been another temptation to hit home and cause them to walk away.

It is imperative that I know my own weaknesses well. Self-indulgent introspection doesn’t reveal them. Only the mirror of the Word of God does. I must let the Word judge my heart. I must accept what God shows me, and then I must allow God to start changing what I love too much that could threaten our relationship. Yes, I could easily be a Judas. I have had Judas moments.

I have known the bitter gall of failure. I have drunk the wine of self-hatred. I have questioned God’s radical forgiveness. But grace won. Failure, repentance, and forgiveness are great teachers. I remember from where I’ve fallen and, because of the grace of God, He will empower me to finish the race well and avoid a Judas kind of detour.

I don’t love others unconditionally without Your help. I can only love YOU unconditionally by Your grace, too. Challenge me and my affections. Amen

Last night was the night for dreams.  This was one of them.

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There was a gathering at church.  There were a few who believed that God was going to do something powerful in the meeting.  They saw hints of glory, the stirrings of something holy, but their expectations were dormant so nothing ever manifested.  People mingled normally, hugged each other and said how long it had been since they’d seen one another and before long, the scheduled time for the meeting to end was upon them.  For the few who had hoped for God’s presence, it felt like the time had been a waste.  People had gotten dressed up, came a distance, spent the time, made refreshments, brought gifts to one another, but if the point was meeting together with God’s Spirit, the time proved empty.  The people were so used to a dry outcome that the majority didn’t even register disappointment.

The emcee looked around for someone to close in prayer.  Then it happened.  A servant, with a heart alive to God, opened her mouth with an imploring, passionate plea for the Spirit of God to touch people’s hearts.  Need after need was verbalized and the possibilities of what would happen if God came to breathe on each one was born.  The desperation for such a move of God was acknowledged.  The desire for a miraculous outcome was painted with words and then time stood still as the Spirit of God began to stir the hearts of God’s people.  The tease of heaven entered the room.  Normal disappeared.  Extraordinary came into view and no one knew where God would take them.

How many meet together without an expectation of glory?  How many know, and quote, the verse of God being in the midst of two or three but rarely anticipate anything out of the ordinary?  How many have stopped hoping to see God?  How many have never felt Him, or heard Him, nor seen what happens when His Spirit takes over the room?

Someone needs to step up to pray; some dreamer who is in touch with heaven’s possibilities, some quiet saint who knows God and what He can do, some experienced child of God who understands people and sees their desperate need and steps forth to set the stage in prayer.   Fresh fire needs to fall.  Who will rise up to shatter the form of godliness  with petitions for the real thing?

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning.  Acts 11:15

Everyone who comes to me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like. Luke 6:47

There is a saying, “he’s a house of cards.” A person who appears strong can really be someone who crumbles when the right storm comes. We just can’t see beneath his intimidating exterior. If you’re old enough, you could tell numerous real-life stories about those whom you once feared but who were revealed for the weak people they really are.

Jesus goes on in this Luke passage to reveal that there are those who have built their life on sand. When the wind comes, their house blows over because they fashioned a foundation outside of Christ. Like ~

• Someone who controls others in the need to feel powerful.
• Someone who rules with fear in order to be feared.
• Someone who hides from emotional engagement in order to avoid vulnerability.
• Someone who bullies others in a an attempt to feel powerful.
• Someone who pretends to know everything for fear of being wrong.

If you have been the victim of someone who appeared strong, perhaps even scary, you know how long it took for you to realize that there was weakness underneath the façade. When you finally took your stand in Christ, you saw them morph into the person they really were.

As I write this, I am listening to the news about the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Heartbreaking! A recent poll shows that 60% of our people believe that our world is unraveling. Yes, God is clear about the message of foundations and that upon which we build. Whether a person, or even a nation, any infrastructure that fails to be God-centered will crumble.

A house built on sand can look pretty impressive for a while but in the end, inevitable storms will test the bedrock.

In whom do we have our trust? Anyone other than you is a house of cards, Lord. Give me wisdom as I take stock of my own foundation and as I assess whom I fear. You are my Light and my Salvation. Whom shall I fear? Amen

“They will put you out of the synagogue, in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.” John 16:2

Jesus is a considerate leader. Following him holds few surprises for he tells us ahead of time what we will be facing. Unlike the many leaders who woo others to follow and then spring the unexpected, Jesus is up front. He tells us to count the cost with our eyes open. The disciples were warned that the message they held so dearly in their hearts would be received poorly, mostly by the religious people. His words were prophetic as all the disciples would be martyred except for John.

It’s disconcerting that those who professed to know God were often the real enemies of the Gospel. Satan’s agenda has been accomplished through the ages by many who claimed to be doing it in God’s name. The atrocities of holy wars throughout history, and the current atrocities in our own headlines, will continue to fill our history books.

You may not be facing death because of your faith. Not yet. However, you still may know what it feels like to be the outcast in a place of worship. You are enduring the fires of criticism and you are suffering under a label of apostasy. Those who zealously claim to be connected to God reject the tender but powerful working of God in you. Jesus gives the reason for this painful reality. He says, “These thing they will do because they have not known the Father or me.”

If your character is being assassinated and you have been called an enemy of God, may you rise out of your pit of self-doubt. Every trailblazer’s faith for the Son of God will do two things. 1.) It will cause lukewarm, intellectual faith to squirm. 2.) It will also cause those who believe they know God, but don’t, to take up a sword. These are kingdom truths and we who follow the blood trail of our spiritual ancestors need to adjust our expectations and learn to separate others acceptance from God’s favor.

Your disciples are my brothers, Lord. If they were controversial, I am too. Strengthen me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.