October 31–John 11-12

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live again even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25).

Martha was a busy woman. Strong. Opinionated. Hard working. She was also an immature believer. Ironic. Common. Martha was mature and competent in the things of the material world, but immature and underdeveloped in the things of the Spirit.

When Lazarus died, her immaturity became apparent. Captured by the “if onlys”, she was grieved and hopeless. Despite her real faith (note her sincere confession in v. 27), she seemed unaware of the deeper implications. Jesus did not scold Martha for her grief. Our Lord also wept. He did, however, insist that she grow deep in her faith. Certain and stable in her confidence.

“I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus told her. Note the clear echo of the I AM statement of Jehovah in Exodus 3. In Jesus we meet the very Life from which death cannot separate us! To HAVE Jesus is to POSSESS life. Permanently! It is a truth that Martha’s immature heart did not yet grasp.

Later in the story, when Martha resisted the actual, physical raising of Lazarus, Jesus challenged her again to grow deep into the realities of faith. “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” To believe is to open your heart to the coming and certain victory of God. Immature believers are depressed, anxious, timid. Mature believers are confident, certain of the coming glory.

As we read today, many will be celebrating Halloween. What a sad mixture of ghosts and witches and zombies and super heroes will be presented to our children. How much GRANDER is the true truth of the RESURRECTION. Soon, the world will be made new by the power of the Savior! Radiant, redeemed people in resurrected bodies will live on a new earth! May God help us narrate THIS GREATER STORY to our children, to set their imaginations afire with the glory to be revealed.

Dear ones, God calls us to maturity. He insists, with each passing year, that we His children, His disciples, become more certain, more joyful, less fearful!

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”(2 Peter 3:18).

“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

October 30–John 9-10

“It was neither this man sinned, nor his parents. But so that the works of God might be displayed in him, we must work the works of Him who sent me as long as it is day”(9:3-4).

Jesus SAW the world with different eyes. He SAW people and circumstances through the lens of Spiritual reality. He UNDERSTOOD His duties (ours) against an eternal plan. The secular world calls this “vision”.

When the Lord and His disciples encountered a man blind from birth, a question came. Who sinned to cause such a situation? Christ’s answer revealed a different perspective. Rather than focus on the problem and its cause, Jesus SAW opportunity. Not, “what went wrong?” but “what can we do that is right?” Brilliant!

G. Campbell Morgan believed most translations incorrectly punctuate this sentence. (I have used his preferred punctuation above). First sentence–“It was neither this man sinned, nor his parents.” Period. Not a claim of sinlessness, still a declaration that this illness was not caused by any action/choice of either party.

Second sentence (the next two ideas combined into a single thought) –“But so that the works of God may be displayed in him, we must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day.” See the difference? Christ’s focus was on the opportunity to do good, to “display the works of God.” He saw potential, not problem.

Good news! Life is about GOD, His goodness and authority and love. Rather than seek safety, or to assign blame, our greater pursuit should be to seek kingdom opportunities in every situation.

Powerful blessing from Christ! Those who walk with Him learn a new way to SEE the world. The blind man isn’t the only one who needs the miracle of vision. We all do.

“The ability to ask the right question is more than half the battle of finding the answer” (Thomas J. Watson).

“Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best Thought, by day or by night. Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light” (Ancient Irish Hymn, translation by Eleanor Hull, 1912).

October 29–John 7-8

“I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more”(8:11).

Dramatic story! Perfect balance of the mercy and moral strictness of God’s heart. In Christ, the woman (all sinners) receives both grace and a clear call to repentance.

She was caught in adultery. Forced into Christ’s presence for His judgment. Brutal treatment. Dehumanizing. Jesus protects her. Challenges the consciences of the witnesses. Chases them off.

He also challenges her conscience. Calls her to repent. “Sin no more,” He says with great authority. Sexual immorality is lawlessness toward God. God’s mercy does not allow us to be morally lazy. “His kindness leads toward repentance,” says Romans 2:4.

This story is often misinterpreted. Some attempt to use it as proof that Jesus advocated unconditional acceptance of all sinners. Amnesty without moral firmness. In our culture, the story is used to declare that, “it is wrong to say that anything or anyone is wrong.”

Not true. If we all are disqualified as judges (and we are), Christ isn’t! When the church offers people mercy, accompanied by the call to repent, we are not being judgmental, we are being faithful to the word of Christ.

As a sinner, I have no standing to criticize other sinners. As a forgiven child of God, however, I am to speak the word of Christ. “I do not condemn you.” (Judicial mercy) ” From now on, sin no more.” (call to repentance and faith). May the Lord sound out BOTH parts of His truth through us.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit, of life in Christ Jesus, has set you free from the law of sin and of death. . .so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit”(Romans 8:1-2, 4).

October 28–John 5-6

“When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”(5:6).

It is a strange question, isn’t it? Almost seems insensitive. Wasn’t the man’s presence at the pool sufficient indication of his desire?

The man had come with many others to the pool of Bethesda. The popular superstition was that an angel occasionally stirred the waters and the first, but only the first, to step into the pool after this angel visitation was cured.

In conversation with this needy man, Jesus probed the condition of his heart. He caused the man to consider his own ambitions and desires.

For Christ, healing the body is the easy part. The true work of God is the healing of the soul, and the truest measure of soul-health is ambition or hope. What is it you want, dear one? What do you wish for?

“Do you wish (Greek, thelo, to will, to intend) to get well?” the Savior asked as He began the gracious and necessary Spiritual probing. Is it true health you want, or just an end to your suffering? Do you want to be Spiritually whole or are your dreams low-focused on only the physical?

If I’m honest, sometimes I don’t hope for the best and highest. Don’t dream or ask for help. I get comfortable (weird word) in my illness. In an effort to manage disappointment, I stop believing that wholeness is even possible.

The Bible says that God works within us, “to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Part of God’s healing, the most permanent part, is to cause us to desire His will! To want Him! To desire health in the sense that Heaven means it. Wishing to be well, wanting it, is actually a huge step of faith.

This is true healing. Note the warning in v. 14. If your body is healed and your soul remains unreconciled to God, the miracle has done you no good.

What do you WANT, dear one? The deep work of Christ is to create a new hunger in our hearts. To shatter our obsessions and distractions with this world. To cause a deep desire for union with Himself.

Do you wish to get well, dear one?

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. . .As for me, the nearness of God is my good” (Psalm 73:25, 28).

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6).

October 27–John 4

“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water”(4:10).

Unforgettable story. Timeless truth. John wants us to remember/understand the conversation Jesus had with the woman at the well.

Life doesn’t have to be barren. God will pour new, infinitely clean life into those who ask Him. Available to all! An offer Jesus gladly verbalized. “Ask and it shall be given,” says the Savior.” “How much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Christ is living water. Jesus (in the Spiritual) is what water is (in the physical). Absolutely essential! Life-giving. Refreshing. Cleansing. Where Christ is received, life flows and flourishes. “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God” says Psalm 46. The name of the river is Jesus. He is the gift of God.

We must ask! God forces His help on no one. Communicated to lost people through personal conversation (as in our text today) or public preaching and teaching, the gospel must move a man to a humble place. “I need help! God offers help! I will ask Him!” Only pride or fear prevents us from doing so. In this familiar story, Jesus began His conversation with his own request for her help. It was an example for her (for us). Asking for help won’t kill you, not asking likely will.

We must repent. The offer of God’s kindness is not unconditional. As Jesus gently moved this woman toward faith, He deliberately touched the subject of her sin. Over many years, she had five husbands and now lived with another outside of marriage. Could the Lord not have left this sensitive subject unmentioned until later? No. Salvation is disruptive. “If you find God with great ease, perhaps it is not God you found” (Thomas Merton). Repentance and faith are two sides of one coin.

Many are ready. The Lord stayed in Samaria for many days. He answered questions. He taught truth. SO many people. SO much interest. He later described the scene with these words. “The fields are white (ready) for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal” (4: 35-36). In the providence of God, there are people in your life, or about to be in your life, who are ready to receive God’s help. You will be rewarded for telling them God’s offer.

The offer is for everyone. “His disciples marveled that He talked with a woman” (4:27). All the days of His public ministry, Jesus signaled a new, fresh, creation-order place of honor for women in His kingdom. Mary sat at His feet. Mary Magdalen was sent to tell the news of the resurrection. “There is neither Jew or Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female,” said Paul years later (Galatians 3:28). Scripture does not deny the existence or the value of these categories. It does, however, boldly declare that none of these factors hinder or help a person in his/her relationship with God. We are all equal before the Father. All invited. All welcomed who come. What matters is living water, not the cup that holds it!

Friend, do you know the kindness of a generous God? Will you ask for His help? Will you lift up your eyes to a field ready for harvest? Will you communicate God’s offer of grace?

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’ ” (John 7:37-38).

“I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

October 26–John 2-3

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’ ” (John 3:6-7).

Unforgettable night. Light shining in darkness!

Christ’s cleansing of the temple offended His enemies in the capital city. Opposition began to coalesce. Can you feel the tension?

Despite the anger the other Pharisees felt toward Christ, Nicodemus was honest enough to recognize Spiritual authenticity. He saw the signs Jesus was doing. With an open mind, he went for a visit.

He came at night. Concerned for what others might think? Probably. Cautious by nature and training, Nicodemus was, nevertheless, admirably humble and respectful toward Jesus.

He was not, however, prepared for the challenging truth that came from the Savior. It caught Nicodemus off guard.

“You must be born again!” said Jesus to this widely respected, older man. Sweeping aside all that was admirable in Nicodemus (his religion, his public duties, his knowledge, success and reputation), Jesus insisted that the ONLY door into God’s Kingdom is a new birth.

“A birth from above,” is the literal translation. In order to participate in the kingdom of God, Nicodemus needed to be reborn by (in) God’s Spirit. An act of supernatural power! A moment as real as physical birth.

Struggling with the demand, Nicodemus wanted to know HOW this could actually happen. He couldn’t imagine it. (None of us can). Jesus refocused him on a better question, WHO is capable of giving such a new life? Like the wind, the invisible and powerful Spirit is our HOW. God does this work. God gives this gift. Our part is to believe in (into) His Son. See 3:15.

How can a person be reconciled to God? How can he/she be included in God’s kingdom with a right relationship to the King? Church attendance? Mental assent to Biblical truth? Moral life? No! Membership in God’s family begins with an act of supernatural power. God gives a new life and we are born into His family.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. . .who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God”(John 1:12-13).

October 25–John 1

As “the disciple that Jesus loved,” John had a unique relationship with Jesus. In some ways, he was closer than any other. He was our Savior’s friend.

Years later, as an old man, inspired by Spirit, he wrote down his memories. We call it , “The Gospel of John.” Do you hear his testimony, dear one? The faith of a friend?

Scholars call John 1 “the prologue” to his gospel. A SUMMARY of all that will follow, the central convictions of his heart after years of reflection.

Jesus is Infinite, Eternal God. With insight that only the Spirit could provide him, John takes us back into eternity past. He introduces us to a beautiful Person. John calls Him, “the Word.” With God in fellowship, distinct from the Father in being, but equal in essence, the Word was (is) God. In Him was life and light. While the word “Trinity” does not appear in Scripture, passages like this press us toward the concept. Jesus is Infinite, Eternal God.

Jesus is truly, fully Man. “The Word became flesh,” says John in 1:14. He was born. Local. Limited. One man, in one place, at a particular moment in history. Like us in all ways except sin. Headaches and hunger. Joy and weariness. Jesus lived the assignment the Father gives to us all, material man with a Spiritual center.

Jesus is the unique Son of God. In Christ, the disciples saw, “the glory of the ONLY begotten from the Father.” There never was (or will ever be ) anyone else like Him. In the gospel that follows, John selects specific moments (signs, miracles) as evidence of this truth.

John’s friendship with Christ changed him forever! Through a long process of discipleship and sanctification, John’s eyes were opened to the highest, noblest ideas of all time!

As John gives witness to his friend, will you join him? His invitation is as broad as the world. Inclusive. Merciful. He wrote his testimony that we might have faith and be friends of Christ, too.

“Jesus, what a friend for sinners. Jesus lover of my soul” (J. Wilber Chapman).

“These things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name”(John 20:31).

October 24–Luke 24

“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? (39) See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself” (24:38-39)

If I am honest (please, God), I am often troubled. Even now, after years of following Christ, doubts and fears regularly rise in my heart.

When it is so, it is always because I have drifted from the first principle of New Testament life. Christ is with me! He, with all of His competence and care and wisdom, is with me! True of every believer. The mind focused on Christ experiences peace. See Romans 8:7.

In Luke 24, in the hours after the resurrection, Jesus taught His disciples (us) this new powerful path.

Jesus was with the disciples even when they were unaware of it. On the road to Emmaus, neither their eyes nor their feelings gave evidence to this reality, but it was true, nevertheless. We walk by faith and not by sight. As with the Emmaus travelers, the Lord is near. Do you believe? Will you?

Jesus was with the disciples in the Scripture. With deliberate intent, Jesus led these men back to the Bible. He challenged them for being “slow to believe it” (24:25). The written word, by the very design of God, has powerful ability to cause the believer to know the Savior’s presence. The disciples gave testimony to this truth. “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” (24:32). I know this experience! When I seek Him in Scripture, Jesus is present with me. Using the Bible, the Spirit sets my heart on fire with hope and enthusiasm. “Is not my word like a fire?” says the Lord in Jeremiah 23:29.

“They returned to Jerusalem with great joy, (53) and were continually in the temple praising God” (24:52-53). Will you consider? By the end of the chapter, these men were filled with joy and hope and courage and power, when none of it was present before. What gave them this new life? They learned that their competent Lord was (is) with them? To focus on this truth was (is) a door to a different life.

What if you fixed your heart on Him, dear reader? What would life be if you lived out of this new equation? What would the impact be in attitude or courage if you jettisoned every other focus, every other concentration of mind, for this truth?

“Why are you troubled?”, says the Savior to His disciples, ancient and modern. “I am with you!”

“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us’ “(Matthew 1:23).

October 23–Luke 23

It was a day of darkness. Moral darkness. Physical darkness. The Spiritual rebellion of the human race on grim display. See Psalm 2.

On this awful day, government failed its duty of justice. Religion failed its duty of truth. Every facet of society contributed to this moment of cruel injustice.

When the Gospel writers speak of the cross, they simply tell the story. With great economy and reverence, they narrate the event without commentary or explanation. They tell what happened, who spoke and what was said. The event, for them, was (is) self-explanatory.

Today, will you allow your mind to recreate this scene? Will you put every piece of the picture in its proper place? With a reverent heart, and open eyes, will you come and stand at the cross?

Pilate questions Jesus. Reports that he finds Him innocent. Looking for a way out of his own political dilemma, he sends Him to Herod. Jesus is silent before this corrupt king. The chief priests are inflamed with anger. Jesus is sent back to Pilate. A mob forms. Soldiers mock. As a joke, expensive robes are placed on His shoulders. Pilate offers to be lenient. The irrational mob refuses. Sentence is pronounced.

Simon of Cyrene is seized and forced to assist. Women weep. Jesus warns them. The true time for weeping will come later. Arriving at Golgotha, Jesus is crucified between two criminals.

The sounds are as vivid as the sights. Hammers strike nails. “Father, forgive them,” prays Jesus aloud. The crowd mocks. The first criminal joins in. The second criminal turns to Christ in faith. The Lord speaks words of grace to a new believer. The Centurion whispers his sorrow, “We have crucified an innocent man!” Do you hear the sounds, dear one?

Then, darkness spreads over the scene. Creation revealing the rage of God. It hints the wrath to come. Simultaneously, the temple veil is torn top to bottom. It is both judgement on Israel and an invitation to the world.

For hundreds of years believers have observed “The Stations of the Cross”. Carvings or pictures that help believers devotionally consider all the parts of the crucifixion event. As you read Luke, perhaps you will do something similar. Ask yourself, “What does this day teach me about God, myself, the world?” “What does this moment call me to do?”

“At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away, it was there, by faith, I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day”(Isaac Watts).

“Stricken, smitten and afflicted, see Him dying on the tree! ‘Tis the Christ by man rejected, yes, my soul, ’tis He, ’tis He! ‘Tis the long-expected Prophet, David’s son, yet David’s Lord; by His Son, God now has spoken. ‘Tis the true and faithful Word”(O Mein Jesu, Ich Muss Sterben, translation by Thomas Kelly).

October 22–Luke 22

“But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. For indeed the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed”(22:21-22).

God is sovereign. ALL things ultimately yield to His will and choice. At the same moment, man is responsible. This by God’s sovereign choice. Every human is capable of a moral response to God and culpable when we refuse. We do not control outcomes, but we are held accountable for our inner thoughts and actions.

For three years, Judas walked with Jesus. Having witnessed miracles, having seen the Lord’s character, Judas’ betrayal is difficult to understand. John says, and Luke agrees, that greed played a part. Satan was also a factor. His heart darkened by multiple forces, Judas betrayed Jesus, his friend and Lord. Who knows what justifications he gave himself as he walked this tragic path?

Judas did not CAUSE Jesus’ death. (The cross was God’s plan from the beginning). Nevertheless, Judas bore the terrible judgement for his actions. See the sober words of Christ, above.

It is the same for us. We live in the universe of a God who counts hairs, sees sparrows. He is infinitely aware of the smallest details of every life. In response to His revelations of Himself, God insists that we make choices. Worship! Seek Him! Deny self! Trust! Imperatives all. At the center of every life is a choice. To seek God or self. For our choice, He rightly holds us accountable.

A wise and gracious God does not force me to love Him, nor pretend that it makes no ultimate difference if I do not. He is sovereign. I am responsible. Judas was held accountable for His choices. I will be held accountable for mine.

“We don’t get to choose what is true. We only get to choose what we do about it” (Kami Garcia).

“I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life that you may live, you and your descendants” (Deuteronomy 30:19).