Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of Joh, do you truly love me more than these?”  “Yes Lord,” he said.  “You know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”  John 21:15

Jesus asks Peter this important question, not once, but three times consecutively: “Do you love me?  Good. Feed my lambs.”  Jesus is so concerned about the welfare of His flock that He is very choosy about who he puts in charge of them.  Only a sincere love for Him will equip Peter to feed hungry lambs.

Jesus did not say, “Are you concerned about people?  Feed my lambs.”  Or, “would you like a rewarding occupation?  Fed my lambs.”   Or even, “would you like to be appreciated and respected?  Fed my lambs.”

Feeding lambs is a difficult calling.  Ask any pastor.  Some lambs are hungry and want to be fed.  Others want the food of their own choosing.  They think they know what they need, not understanding that what naturally appeals to them is deadly.  It brings self-centeredness and instability.  Then there is the small minority who comes to hear the Word and make trouble.  Because of the complexity of responses, only a love for Jesus will give shepherds the endurance and joy they need for the long haul.  If they serve for any other reason, burnout and disillusionment are inevitable.

For far too many years I gave out spiritual food while my own spirit was shriveled from lack of nourishment.  I had tried to feast on Christian education, but it was like eating sawdust after a while.  It was dry and tasteless.  Interesting facts failed to sustain my heart when hard times came.  When I finally connected to the heart of Abba, I found the feast I had been looking for.  The Word came alive, His voice made me tremble, and this constrained me to feed His daughters.

Keep my faith from becoming intellectual, Lord.  Keep me connected to you so I can feed your lambs.  Amen

And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: Matthew 4:13-14

False prophets will give ‘feel good’ messages. Wanna-be prophets will give such broad predictions that the probability of them coming true is fairly certain. But, the prophecies within the Bible are specific, down to the smallest detail. Matthew told us that Jesus went to live for a brief period in Zebulun and Naphtali. That’s important because those two specific towns were prophesied in Isaiah.

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali —the people dwelling in darkness there have seen a great light. Isaiah 9:1-2

Scripture doesn’t give us God’s reasons for moving His Son to these two small towns but from Isaiah’s details, we know that some saw His light. God opened their eyes to His glory.

God must open my eyes to the light of the glory of Christ, too. If He doesn’t, Jesus could live next door and I’d never notice. Every day, He is eager for me to see Him and I will if I’m asking and seeking.

So where is the Light to be found today? Where will I be dazzled by His glory? Where will my worship be breathless? He speaks in a passage, a verse, a promise, a song, in a nudge while in prayer. Jesus is everywhere but if I’m not tuned in, I’ll miss Him. Jesus once dwelt exclusively in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali but now His Spirit dwells in Athens, and Chicago, and in the very town where you live. He lives on your street and even in your home. As He moves and fulfills His Word all around you, can you perceive His fingerprints? Do you see traces of glory in the smallest answered prayers?

What did Jesus feel as He made His way to Zebulun in Capernaum? While He knew that some would receive Him, He also anticipated spiritual blindness. What is Jesus feeling today as He seeks to enter my world and bring the kingdom to every thought and every decision that is yet to be made? Is He filled with hope ~ knowing that my heart is open? Or is He saddened by the distractions I’ll allow to veil His presence?

Let me tell You tonight that I, indeed, ‘saw a great Light.’ Amen

Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull.  John 19:17

The suffering of Jesus began before his crucifixion.  He lived with the knowledge that death was coming.  He always knew his purpose and functioned under the weight of it.  That any laughter marked his life was a miracle!  As I think about this, I realize that God is kind to me, not letting me know what tomorrow holds.

Jesus was made to carry his own cross through the streets.  His shoulders, which were torn and bleeding from the scourging he’d just received, bore the weight of this heavy cross.  Can I begin to imagine how painful every step was?  No.

If we saw our dearest family member extracted from our home and beaten out on the street by a gang of thugs, we would be traumatized for a long time.  Seeing one member take the wrath for our entire family would bring a mixture of reactions.  Anger.  Grief.  And then guilt that we were spared while our loved one suffered.

Is it any wonder that many of us don’t like to think about Jesus’ death too much?  It’s macabre material to begin with, and to know that he was innocent and did it willingly, just for each of us, makes us cringe.  How do we properly receive such a costly gift?  Not feeling worthy, we can shut down emotionally and just say our token ‘thank-you’ during Communion.  We miss out.  As we foster an intimate relationship with Jesus, we no longer look at his crucifixion forensically.  We are emotionally involved because we are connected to him.  As each nuance of his death overwhelms us, we reach out to embrace it.  It takes courage but there are two wonderful outcomes: humility and gratitude.

Jesus I will enter into your pain.  Help me fully receive the gift of your sacrifice.  Amen

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.  John 21:12

Jesus never ceases to surprise me.  As soon as I think I have him pictured in my mind as a divine rabbi, public teacher, compassionate minister, and defender of the truth, he appears in a new way.  Today he is a culinary host.

Jesus is making breakfast for his disciples.  They are famished after a night of fishing.  Were it not for his guidance as to where they should drop their nets, they would have no food at all.

It has been a long night.  They are cold, wet, and weary.  Can you imagine how wonderful it is for them to not only see Jesus alive and well but also to smell the aroma of fish cooking over an open fire?  His care is tender and practical.

The resurrected Jesus is still alive today.  I know that in my head but my heart is still surprised when he shows up and offers me a spiritual meal.  Every morning, he calls my name.  “Christine, breakfast is ready.”  He prepares the right amount of nourishment for the day.  As soon as I catch the aroma of his meal, then close my eyes to inhale deeply, I find that I am ravenous.  Everything he creates appeals to my senses.

Though today’s banquet was more than satisfying, I have to admit that I will be hungry again tomorrow. Living here on earth takes its toll.  I am easily depleted, needing daily infusions of wisdom, love, and grace.  I can’t generate the I need on my own.  There’s no need to panic, though.  Jesus will still be tending the fire.  I can smell the fragrance of his provision.

There is no friend like you, Jesus.  You have anticipated my need for spiritual food and have already provided it.  I just need to sit down and eat.  Amen

Jesus said, “It is finished.” With That, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.  John 19:30

Every climb a mountain?  The first part is often easy as you walk miles along flat terrain until the ascent begins.  The end usually requires supernatural effort as you push your muscles beyond their accustomed limits.  Standing at the summit, you declare victoriously, “I did it!”

There’s exhilaration over what you’ve accomplished.

Jesus finished the redemptive work when he spoke the words, “It is finished.” Heaven was exhilarated.  God prepared for his Son’s homecoming!  There was nothing more to be done to accomplish our salvation.  A spotless Lamb was needed to atone for sin, and Jesus was the only one qualified.  Our efforts are nullified though our relationship to sinful Adam corrupted our genetic makeup.

I once treated Jesus’ death as though it were insufficient, even though he stated otherwise.  I worked zealously to make my contribution to the redemptive cause.  I thought I could make it more complete.  I declared some of my worst acts unforgivable and refused to believe Jesus when he said, “You’re fully forgiven.  Dance with joy!”  Seeing myself as guilty, I labored feverishly to earn the rest of my salvation. I burned out for the cause of Christ, believing that he required it of me so my sin would be paid in full.  What a tragedy.  Radical forgiveness and complete restoration was mine to embrace.

You did it all, Jesus. You died so I wouldn’t have to.  Your blood was payment for all my sins and I was meant to walk out of sins’s prison as a free woman.  Amen

Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5

To be meek is to be gentle, forgiving, and not easily angered. But perhaps you’ve heard the expression, ‘meekness is weakness’. That’s because what can look like meekness is often downright timidity.

Meekness is often attributed to a personality type. Those who are naturally meek in nature haven’t attained it by God’s definition. The bent toward being peace-loving is in their DNA but they are imbalanced. I speak from experience. I am a gentle person by nature but my heart is wicked. Others have often admired me for what they see on the outside but would be taken back by what I’m thinking on the inside. That is why Jesus made sure to tell His disciples that it’s not appearance that matters but what is in the heart. The Pharisees looked righteous but were full of pride. I can look meek but underneath, it still can be all about fear and pride.

Jesus is the perfection of meekness. None of us would say that Jesus was weak. He knew when to be gentle but also knew when to be angry. He was both extremes under God’s umbrella of righteousness. Gentleness was not used as a cover to gain admiration or as a way to avoid confrontation.

He was not above using His power to speak to a raging sea, call out the demonic, turn temple tables over, or rebuke a seething mob who were set on His destruction. And yet, when He could have answered the taunts of the crowd to call upon heaven to deliver Himself from the cross, He chose restraint and forgiveness. Meekness was really strength in disguise!

When Jesus was angry, He was never out of control. He knew what He was doing. When Jesus was meek, He was also never out of control. He knew what He was doing. Once I understand the great power of God that undergirds true meekness, I will seek it earnestly. Someone once said, “If all God’s attributes were offered at auction, the last one to be sold would be meekness.” That’s only because I don’t know Jesus well enough yet.

Expose my fears for using meekness to hide and give me grace to live in the power of holy restraint when it doesn’t benefit me, but benefits You and Your kingdom. Amen

And I did not recognize Him, but in order that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.  John 1:31

Even though the mothers of Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins, there is no record anywhere that John and Jesus knew each other as children.  Even if they had, John did not know Jesus was the Messiah until God the Father revealed it to him.  He was spiritually blind until God opened his eyes.  Perhaps he only knew it as Jesus approached the Jordan river and John saw Jesus walking toward him.

I can not see Jesus either until God opens my eyes.  I can not even recognize Jesus’ activity around me unless my heart is touched by God in a way that allows me to discern His presence.  I am like a blind sheep.  I am lost and cannot find my way home without being led by the hand.  I did not even decide, on my own, to become God’s child.  He had to grace me first with the faith to believe.  I responded to His invitation.

My faith only exists today because His grace births it moment by moment.  How about the times I looked back, consumed by the painful things of my past, and asked, “Where were you, God?”  I was blind, ignorant that God was right there.  I didn’t recognize Him.  He was sustaining me at that moment, already having planned the redemption of my tragedy, knowing down the road that He would enable me to trust Him for healing. He was sovereign and active, weaving together every thread of my story.  I just couldn’t see Him.  Consequently, I misjudged Him.  I maligned His name by accusing Him of being absent and indifferent. I’ve spent much of my last ten years repenting.

Where do you need the faith to believe Him today?  Where do you know His Word but stumble in disbelief?  Ask Him for the grace to believe, the grace to obey, the grace to apply it.  The Word is foolishness without the enabling of the Spirit.

I know Your Word but there are times I just can’t believe it’s for me.  Open my eyes to see You.  Open my heart to receive Your voice.  Without Your grace, I am defeated.  With Your grace, I will soar on eagle’s wings.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30

My sister Nancy, an attorney from upstate New York, finds the best stuff to read. Yesterday, she turned up a pamphlet written by Jon Oswalt, O.T. professor from Asbury Seminary, on some of the little-known happenings at Passover. On any given day, 2 lambs were slaughtered in the temple; one in the morning and one in the evening. On Passover however, 250,000 lambs were slaughtered. I can’t fathom such a scene.  Here’s the quote from Oswalt’s writing. “At Passover time, rivers of blood poured off the high altar, so much so that there was a gutter system under the altar designed to carry that blood away into the Kidron Valley. Think about it: if Jesus waded across the Kidron on his way from the Upper Room to Gethsemane, he may have waded through blood up to his knees.”

Knowing that this would have been a yearly reality for the Jewish people, I’m surprised that they had long periods of disobedience, and subsequent captivity, given the horrific scenes they saw at each Passover. It was visually evident how God felt about sin. Such carnage was proof. Oh, but what a moment when Jesus said, “It is finished.” No more sacrifices. No more bloodshed. He was the Lamb, the once and for all Lamb, who didn’t just cover sins. No, He removed them completely.

I can’t help but remember how I felt one morning when reading of the first sacrifice in Genesis. The lamb that might have been Adam and Eve’s pet, a pet they had probably named, had to be put to death because of their sin. It was a moment when innocence was shattered and they saw a glimpse into the implications of the fall. Perhaps they felt, on a visceral level, what the crack in their idyllic world really meant.

No wonder Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.’ We look back thousands of years to remember stories, and the Person of Christ, to be impacted profoundly. I contend that it would be impossible to be moved without the very Spirit of the Living Christ living inside; empowering our memory, fueling our spiritual eyesight, and sharing His own emotions over His own death and resurrection. By His grace and the power of His Spirit, I am able to feel the impact. I am able to call it horrific and realize that it was His love for me that propelled Him to finish what He came to do without compromise.

My sin. None of it is small. You were, and are, my Lamb for all eternity. Amen

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶ Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”  When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated.  Luke 13:15-17

No one likes to be shown up.  Ever had a family member who needed to ‘one-up’ everyone else’s stories?  It was nearly impossible to share anything exciting because before you finished your story, that person had already figured out how to top it.  They didn’t listen well. They were preoccupied with how they could remain the center of attention.

There is a story recorded in Luke where this dynamic was evident.  The Pharisees criticized Jesus for healing on the Sabbath but when He answered their confrontational questions, His holiness was on full display. They were humiliated.  Unable to cover their sin, they felt exposed and became angry. His perfection burned like fire against the grain of their own self-righteousness.

I am not perfect; only God is.  I can spend a lifetime running from this truth, trying to justify myself in others’ eyes to heighten their perception of me.  Or, I can own the truth of my sinful condition.  The real question is this:  Is it safe to be exposed for what I am before a righteous God?  The answer is yes.  It’s frees me in every way possible to accept the undeserved gifts of love, forgiveness, and redemption.  It underscores the truth of the Gospel that what I have, in Christ, has not been earned.  What I have, He has freely given because His nature is to love and lavish grace upon the undeserving.

The next question is also critical.  Is it safe to admit to others that I’m flawed?  Yes.  But I will only dare risk authenticity when I am secure in God’s unconditional love for me.  If I remain a ‘respect junkie’, I will forever hide behind the facade of perfection.

Anyone who is not yet overwhelmed with the love of God still strives to redeem themselves before men.  Their world begins and ends with who it is that thinks highly of them.

Approval, respect, admiration.  Break whatever addictions remain.  Amen