Category: Teaching Topics

He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live to righteousness.  I Pet.2:24

When someone has hurt me, seeing them reminds me of what they did.  Even after I forgive them, I can still remember when I see them across the room.

When God forgives me, he separates my sin from me.  I no longer wear it when He looks at me.  One of the words for ‘forgive’ is to ‘send away’.  This is what Peter meant when he said, “He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live to righteousness.”  I Pet.2:24  God took that ‘thing’ for which I repented, took it off of me and put it on Jesus.  Jesus died for it as if He was the One who committed it.  And in turn, Jehovah Tsidkenu clothed me with His own righteousness.

So why wallow in past failures?  Why let my one huge mistake weigh down my spirit?  Jesus took it from me, paid the penalty, and justified me.  When He looks at me, He sees His own perfection.  

I echo David’s words to himself in Psalm 42. “Why are you so downcast, oh my soul?”  Satan is the author of a self-punishing lifestyle.  He takes every failure, magnifies it by a thousand, records it like a movie and plays it over and over again in my head.  He rejoices when I am hard on myself.  He encourages payback and self-hatred.  Unlike Jesus, he offers a heavy robe of guilt and it can appear to fit just right.  Right color.  Right size.  Right length.

When I can’t hold my head up, I remember that I am not my sin!  Christ wore my sin, once and for all, on a cross.  Then He declared, “It is finished.”  Sin, forever removed.  So, who am I?  A forgiven, justified, righteous, child of Jehovah Tsidkenu.

Do I really understand justification yet, Lord?  Write this on my heart.  Amen

As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him…and jumped into the water.  John 21:7

Peter was known as the impetuous one ~ more than all the other disciples.  He had a big heart, expressed himself with passion, and acted impulsively.  But this also got him into trouble.  His public bravado regarding an unwavering allegiance to Jesus came back to bite him.  It was just hours later that he would betray Jesus three times in the course of an hour.

After the resurrection, the disciples were in a boat.  John spotted Jesus on the shore and told Peter.  Peter threw himself into the sea to get there first.  This is typical of Peter’s personality yet I’m amazed at his boldness so soon after the humiliation of sin.

How did Peter know that his relationship with Jesus was intact?  How could he be so sure that Jesus would be pleased to see him?  Peter had never read the New Testament passages on grace.  They hadn’t been written yet.  He had no theological degree.  He just knew Jesus.  That was all.  That was enough.

Being forgiven with full restoration is a rare thing in this world.  We don’t expect it.  If we sin against someone severely enough, we never dare hope to gain their full trust.  We hang back, afraid to approach the one we wronged with any sense of confidence.  We read their facial expressions and body language to discern where we stand.  If we sense ambivalence, we wait from a distance.

When Jesus forgives, he puts our sins behind his back.  He never brings them out again to accuse us and remind us of what we’ve done.  We can approach him as Peter did.  Whether we throw ourselves into the sea or run across the threshold into his embrace, we can be assured of warm and happy reunion.

I always know where I stand with you, Lord.  Thank you for such extravagant forgiveness.

After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone. Matt. 14:23

One of the gravest mistakes I can make today is to judge things by how I perceive them. How things are now mean nothing as to how things will be.

I’m not speaking of actions and consequences. God did say that if we reap sin, or righteousness, we will reap the same. But I’m talking about the obedient walk of a disciple and the many times he can believe that things are declining, even failing. If he is following Jesus, ‘failure’ is not how heaven defines his journey.

I have been surprised by the number of times scripture says that Jesus withdrew from the crowd to go and pray. He did this when he was fatigued but also withdrew after a profound time of discouragement. Did Jesus, at any time, believe that His mission was failing? No, He never succumbed to the lies that He was failing. Perception could not be built on any or segment of time single day. Though the crowds rejected him, a few did not and the ‘few’ were the point of His mission.

I can see things deteriorate around me. Church, family, ministry, friendships, even a marriage. I can say that it is in obvious decline but I can not safely say that ‘it is finished.’ What was ‘finished’ was the work of salvation and redemption. As long as I live today, there is still time for faith. There is still time for prayer. There is still time for firm belief in eternal truths.

‘The few’ are still the point of His mission.  If there is despair, I speak into it with enduring words of hope. If there is warfare, I speak into the battle with reminders of ultimate victory. God’s mathematics defies perception. A few hundred of his people defeated hundreds of thousands of enemies. The proportions were always ludicrous and God’s enemies risked everything on false perceptions. They didn’t know God.

The kingdom and God’s promises are where we plant our feet.

This is the day where I affirm, yet again, “Lord, I believe.” What You started, You will complete. Amen

And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. Luke 22:43

In the fire, personal strength can fail completely. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it’s frightening. I’ve coped with things long-term and thought I was doing well but one small disappointment sent me over the edge. Vitality was far from me. Those who might have had the capacity to understand were either not around or were taken up with other things.

Jesus knows those moments. In the darkest hour of His life, His disciples succumbed to weariness and fell asleep after He told them He needed them. He found Himself alone, all night long, even though love was not too far away. Scripture doesn’t say if Jesus specifically asked for His Father to send angels to tend to Him. But regardless, God took care of His Son. He saw His condition. He heard His cries. God was proactive to provide just what Jesus needed to regain strength.

God was invested in the life of His Son. He is also invested in His other children. That same care is promised to each of us. Though people love us deeply, they have limits. They are taken up with things that need their attention. They have their own griefs and challenges.  No matter who it is, their ability to love and give us what we need is intermittent. Oh, but God’s love never fails. He’s never distracted and short on attention. He’s never depleted and short on power. Every moment of the day, He bends low to watch our lives and discern our needs.

Who is it that is unavailable to you today? Know that God is near and full of promises. Who is it that has already failed you? God stands in the gap to more than compensate. In your Garden of Gethsemane, despair is never the last word.

May this never be in my vocabulary. “There is no one to help me.” Amen

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. John 17:22

God came to earth the first time ‘in Christ’. He came to earth the second time ‘in the Spirit’. The first time, glory was resident in a baby. The second time, glory was in the Spirit as He arrived at Pentecost. The first time, the earth saw perfect unity as God and Jesus lived as one person. The second time, earth saw unity as God took up residence in each of His children and they allowed Him to live through them in dazzling color.
Jesus’ prayer in today’s scripture, said just before His arrest, was prophetic of the unity that happens when the Holy Spirit lives in me. The indwelling of the Spirit is meant to be a take-over but not of the hostile kind. Though the Spirit moves in with all the essence and attributes of God (because He is God), the visibility of oneness is bold, or faint, depending on whether I allow Him to have all of me. His glory is either brilliant, or dulled, by how willing I am to die to self and live by the Spirit.

Jesus was completely one with His Father and that is what I love and admire about Him. He never did His own thing. At all times, God‘s character, God’s glory, and God’s agenda was being lived out through the life of His Son. It was not snuffed out by a renegade ‘Son’ who took detours and turned a blind eye to the promptings of His Father. At all times, He was keenly listening for instruction.  But when the noise was too loud to discern the right way to go, He withdrew to a place where stillness could reveal the whispers of an engaged Father.

Am I going to be the answer to Jesus’ prayer today? Will I live as one with the Spirit? Will His glory be seen in me? Kingdom potential is magnificent if He is not restrained. My own flesh must step out of the way.

And I will, by Your grace. Amen

 

“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one.” John 17:22

Several years ago, Saudi Arabia and Israel flirted with making an alliance. The reason? They shared a mutual concern over a common enemy ~ Iran. These two nations were strange bedfellows, and under any other circumstances, they would have been adversaries. There was no way their temporary alliance could be strong.

The same is true of personal connections. Friendships, even marriages, are pursued for similar reasons. Two people come together because they are against the same things. Their bond is, likewise, fragile. Common values are missing. Unity in the things that really matter is absent, and well-founded unity is what creates strong fibers between people.

This matter of unity was so important that Jesus prayed about it the night He was betrayed. This was His ‘goodbye prayer’ before leaving His disciples. He asked God to help them experience the kind of unity that He and His Father enjoyed. When hard times hit them in the days ahead, Jesus knew that only spiritual unity would keep the early church strong.

I have had many soulish friendships over the course of my life. We would often recount all the things we shared in common. They were good things, but it took maturity to realize they weren’t deep things. Our fellowship was only as deep as our passions, and without Jesus at the center, we were just playmates.

I’ve gotten to know a lot of people who married for reasons other than spiritual kinship. Things were fine until life tested their values. They discovered that they were worlds apart in what they deemed most important. Unity was impossible as long as only one of them was passionate about Jesus. The fiber of their marriage eroded until God intervened by saving faith for the unbelieving spouse.

So, it is good to put each of our relationships to the test. Upon what is our unity based? How deep does it go? What issues would put us at odds? What things are we most passionate about, and are we unified? If Jesus is not at the center of our shared affections, we can expect the stability the likes of a Saudi/Israeli treaty.

As I remember Your words, “Let them be one as we are one”…I celebrate and I also lament. Strengthen the bonds of my holy alliances. Expose all unholy affiliations and show me how to pray for change. Don’t let me lose my voice to keep the peace. It is false peace, Lord. Amen