Whose side are you really on?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 12:27-41


TO CHEW ON: "But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him."


We see a tug-of-war between faith and skepticism over Jesus' identity as God in this passage. It's clearly stated in the two verses just beyond our reading: "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him lest they should be put out of the synagogue" - John 12:42.

First we observe a serious Jesus who said disturbing things like "'My soul is troubled and what should I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour''?..." right in front of a crowd.  

 An onlooker might be skeptical and ask, could someone who is divine be a victim?

A thunderous heavenly voice answered Jesus' prayer. This caused confusion in the bystanders. They had various natural explanations about what this voice was, but Jesus told them it was God speaking for their benefit giving His very stamp of approval on Jesus.  

Faith: God speaking from heaven was a pretty strong endorsement of Jesus and His claims OR 

Skepticism: It was just thunder; He was deluded about what He was hearing.

Jesus then talked about being lifted up from the earth and drawing all people to Himself (John 12:32). As astute students of the Old Testament, which many of those in the crowd were, they would have recognized this allusion to the brass serpent that Moses erected during the Israelites' wandering, which those bitten by deadly serpents needed only to look to, to be saved (Numbers 21:4-9). 

Faith: Jesus is making some pretty powerful claims OR 
Skepticism: He's obviously crazy!

When they questioned, "You say 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus again predicted that He would leave them and pleaded with them to "'Walk while you have the light... While you have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of light'" John 12:34-36.

Skepticism: could a man linking Himself so openly with deity actually be subject to death?

Faith: He talked before about being light - John 8:12-30.)

Of course in addition to these verbal interchanges, there are all the signs and wonders Jesus performed - John 12:37.

Faith: Who but Someone with God's power could perform such powerful miracles?

All this back-and-forth did not move the skeptics, who had long since made up their minds about who Jesus was, from their position of skepticism. And yet "Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" - John 12:42,43.

They believed, but they didn't make it public by changing sides!

Ouch! Isn't there a temptation for us to do this as well? In a world where faith in Christ is scorned and ridiculed for many reasons, isn't it also our temptation to be secret believers, even though our fears of what would happen if we confessed Jesus openly are as well founded as the fears of these rulers were (John 7:13; 9:22)?

But if silent, embarrassed, ashamed belief is our temptation for whatever reason, there is another consequence we should bear in mind—a consequence far more serious than losing the popularity and praise of people.

"'Therefore, everyone who acknowledges Me before men and confesses Me [out of a state of oneness with Me], I will also acknowledge him before My Father Who is in heaven and confess [that I am abiding in] him. But whoever denies and disowns Me before men, I also will deny and disown him before My Father Who is in heaven'" Matthew 10:32-33 (Amplified)

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to come out of the closet, as it were, about my faith in you. Help me to be confess You in all company. Amen. 

"I'd Rather Have Jesus"

MORE: Holy Cross Day

Today the church celebrates the cross. The liturgy for Holy Cross Day begins with this collect:

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

The apologetic of unity

Community pastors onstage - Good Friday service, 2017

A shot of the crowd disbursing - Good Friday 2017

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 2:40-47


TO CHEW ON: “Now all who believed were together…” Acts 2:44a

I am writing this the day after Good Friday. It’s a tradition in our community for all the churches to meet on Good Friday in a joint service. We attended our town’s joint service yesterday morning.

At least three of the officiating pastors mentioned what a joy it was to see the church community gathered in one place. Two young pastors, who grew up here, mentioned remembering these services from when they were kids. One said, “I recall feeling happy that the Christians could get along and met together like this.”

There is Someone else who is happy when believers get along. In fact, Jesus prayed for not only His disciples at the time but for us years-later disciples in this regard:

“'Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me that they may be one as We are … I… pray for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me'” - John 17:11,20,21.

The word used to describe how they got along (“fellowship” - Acts 2:42) is the Greek word koinonia. It means “…sharing, unity, close association, partnership… koinonia is unity bought about by the Holy Spirit” - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1494.

Our Christian unity is one part of the apologetic that convinces the world that Jesus really is God’s Son. Here in Acts it caused “fear” to come upon every soul (Acts 2:41). In Jesus’ prayer, unity of believers would make possible “‘…that the world may believe that You sent Me’” - John 17:21.

I ask myself, do I, and do we, work for Christian unity, or do we rather focus on differences, make comparisons, and act like we’re in competition? I know how as a parent I really want my children to get along with each other. I’m sure God also feels that way about His.

Let’s be challenged and encouraged by the Christians in Acts to be a positive testimony and a convincing apologetic for the truth of Jesus and His teachings by working for Christian unity in our small corners of the 21st century world.

PRAYER: Dear Father, I love my local church and believe You have put me there. But help me also to love and support, with word and actions, all Christians and their churches in my town. Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Faith in God—not our words

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 4:13-25

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore it is of faith …. God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as they they did…" Romans 4:17

In this passage, where Paul compares Abraham's faith in God's promise to make a nation of him to our faith in Jesus' death and resurrection to give us new life, these familiar words jump out at me: "God, who gives new life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did…"

I obviously haven't been paying attention for I have assumed that these words were a description of how the person of great faith prayed. But on a close reading, it isn't us who call things which do not exist as though they did, but God. Here is how the NIRV puts it:

"The God that Abraham believed in gives life to the dead. Abraham’s God also creates things that did not exist before" - Romans 4:17b (NIRV).

We're talking about the object of faith here. I like the simple definition of "faith" in the Dictionary of Bible Themes: "A constant outlook of trust towards God, whereby human beings abandon their own efforts and put their full confidence in him, his word and promises" (Dictionary of Bible Themes accessed through Biblegateway.com).

We put our faith not in the effort of our spoken words of faith but in God. It is only He who is able to "call those things which do not exist as though they did," to bring about the seemingly impossible for Abraham, for us in salvation, and for the requests about which we pray.

There is, in my mind, a big difference between this reading and how I've heard followers of the Word of Faith movement claim this verse—as a challenge to utter new things into being by the faith words one says or prays.

Yes, we make audacious requests, speaking in faith—that God will heal cancer, break addictions, turn whole nations around, etc. But we know it's not our words that will accomplish these things or our faith in these words, but God. I like how a sidebar article in my Bible explains this verse and how we can apply it when we pray:

"Notice that this verse does not say God calls things that are as though they do not exist but rather that God calls those things which do not exist as though they do exist. Thus we see that authentic faith does not deny the obstacle at hand, but declares that God is greater than the obstacle. Faith does not deny that a sickness is in the body, but declares Jesus' ability to heal the body (see Mark 5:23). Faith does not deny financial need, but acknowledges Jesus' ability to meet our needs (see Matthew 17:24-27)" - Gerald Brooks, "Pretending vs. Believing," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1555.

The fact that we utter faith-filled words does matter. But those words are never the power behind answered prayer. Our creator God is.

PRAYER: Dear God, who calls those things which do not exist as though they did, please strengthen my faith in Your ability to provide creative solutions to the problems I bring to You each day. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture passages marked NIRV are taken from the New International Reader's Version, copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

It's not if you live by faith, but faith in what

Image: pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hebrews 11:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality—faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses." Hebrews 11:1 AMP

The last bit of Hebrews 11:1 from the Amplified Bible is as good a definition of faith as any: "Perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses."

It's interesting to go through our faith chapter reading today and pick out the verbs / actions associated with faith shown by these heroes of the Christian faith. As we do that, let's apply these actions to our own lives of faith.

* "For by it (faith) the elders obtained a good testimony" - Hebrews 11:2.
or, as the Amplified puts it: "For by [faith]… the men of old had divine testimony borne to them" - Hebrews 11:2 AMP.

Interesting, especially the "had divine testimony borne to them." I apply this as us acknowledging that God is involved with life and our world. When looking at life through that lens, God Himself gives us understanding of its purpose. It also applies to us having faith in the "testimony" (the scriptures) that was "borne" (revealed) to those "elders."

* "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God" - Hebrews 11:3.

We take the narrative of beginnings that accepts God as the creator by faith.

* "By faith Abel offered… a sacrifice" - Hebrews 11:4.

We worship God and perform any acts of a religious or spiritual nature by faith.

* "By faith Enoch was taken away" - Hebrews 11:5.

We accept God's sovereignty in setting the boundaries of our lives—their beginnings and endings, by faith. (This is so relevant to current life in Canada, where doctor assisted suicide has just been made legal.)

* "By faith Noah … prepared an ark" - Hebrews 11:7.

We build stuff by faith.

* "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out…" Hebrews 11:8.

We obey by faith, to the extent of moving when we're not even sure where we'll end up (at least that was Abraham's experience).

* "By faith he (Abraham) dwelt …" Hebrews 11:9.

We stay where we are by faith.

* "By faith he (Abraham) … waited" Hebrews 11:10.

We wait by faith.

"By faith Sarah … received strength to conceive" Hebrews 11:11.

We have families, passing on the gift of life, by faith. For women that can mean a nine-month program of working on faith fitness!

By our definition of faith ("perceiving as real fact what is not perceived by the senses"), so much of every life is faith. No matter what our belief system, we'll be putting our faith in something: ourselves, our government, the social safety net, science, medicine, God. So it's not if we live by faith, but faith in what?
I have chosen to put my faith in God. What about you?

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to live all of life with the awareness of Your presence in it. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)