Words that need to sink into our ears

Image: Openicons / Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 8-9; Psalm 116

TO CHEW ON: " ' Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.'
But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying." Luke 9:44,45


Three times in Luke 9 we see Jesus speaking of His death. In Luke 9:22, after Peter called Him the Christ (Messiah), Jesus told them, in confidence: "'The Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected and be killed and be raised the third day.'"

Then on the mountain, groggy as they were, they overheard Jesus, Elijah and Moses speaking of Jesus' "decease" - Luke 9:31.

And again in our reading today, after healing the demon-possessed boy (to the amazement and marveling of the crowds) Jesus' words to His disciples were urgent and insistent: "'Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men'" Luke 9:44.

They didn't get it (Luke 9:45)!

Some questions that come to me about this story:
- Why was it so important to Jesus that they understand?
- How could they not understand such plain language?
- Are there spiritual things to which I'm similarly deaf?

One reason I can think of for the importance of their understanding was that it would prepare them for what was ahead.

As to why they didn't  understand, I believe their expectation of Messiah and his role played a big part in their inability to hear and absorb what Jesus was saying. They saw the adulation of the crowd and that part of Jesus' ministry fit in with Him being an earthly savior, so that was the belief they clung to. In fact, in the verses after Jesus pleaded with them to hear Him, they were arguing about who was the greatest, no doubt  thinking of position in His "cabinet."

Finally, I ask myself, are there things to which I am (perhaps all of us are) similarly dull? As I examine my beliefs and compare them to what the Bible says, I do see some things that make me squirm. One is Jesus' teaching that He is the only way to God (John 10:9; Acts 4:1,2 etc.). I believe it in my head, but do my actions support what I say I believe?

Then there's the whole teaching about those rejecting Him ending up in the other place—"hell"—a concept that doesn't sit at all well in modern ears. Yet Jesus Himself speaks of it at the end of the chapter in Mark that tells the very incidents we've read about in Luke. He describes a place of utter torment and separation from God: "'Where "Their worm does not die / And the fire is not quenched"'" - Mark 9:42-47.

Like the disciples, it's important that I (we) hear what the Bible is actually saying and not be swayed by human interpretations and the ideas of a culture that seek to explain away what is hard for us to accept and understand. Like the disciples, there is no excuse for us to enter the future (now and eternity) unprepared.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please open my eyes, mind, and heart to Bible truths that clash with the values of humanism or any other belief systems. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 116

The Bible Project VIDEO: Luke ch. 9-19 (Luke mini-series)



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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.

Would Jesus be grieved at our hard hearts?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 1-2; Psalm 95

TO CHEW ON: "And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other." Mark 3:5

In our reading today we see a rare thing—Jesus angry. What angered Him? It was the attitude of the Pharisees. They objected to Him healing the withered hand of a fellow worshipper because it was against their rules of what's allowed on the Sabbath. Mark described the source of Jesus' anger as "being grieved by the hardness of their hearts"  - Mark 2:5.

["Hard/hardness  is porosis— hardening, callousness. It's a medical term used to describe the process by which fractured bones are set by an ossifying or calloused petrifying. Sometimes it describes a hard substance in the eye that blinds. Used metaphorically porosis denotes a dulled spiritual perceptivity, spiritual blindness and hardness" - Dick Mills, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1568.]

We find lots of hard hearts in the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments.

1. People's hearts are hard towards believing in God even after seeing supernatural evidences of Him.

• Pharaoh's heart is described as "hard" during the plagues. Repeatedly when a plague ends, he reneged on his promise to let the people go - Exodus 8:15; 9:34.

• Even the Israelites had hard hearts despite seeing signs and experiencing wonders during the exodus and the years they spent in the wilderness - Psalm 78:32.

2. Hard-heartedness toward God continued throughout Israel's OT history - Jeremiah 5:3; Zechariah 7:8-14.

3. It was often a top-down attitude, beginning with the king.

• Judah's King Zedekiah was only 21 when he took the throne and his 11-year reign was summed up: "…he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turing to the LORD God of Israel" - 2 Chronicles 36:13.

• It caused King Jehoiakim to systematically burn the scroll Jeremiah had just dictated to Baruch the scribe - Jeremiah 36:24.

4. Some hard heart causes and characteristics:

• It was caused by pride (Daniel 5:20) and the the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).

• It resulted in a lack of compassion (Mark 3:2-6—our reading), spiritual dullness (Mark 8:17), doubt and unbelief (Mark 16:14), broken relationships (Mark 10:4,5), and a withdrawal of God's presence (through His people and the Holy Spirit - Acts 19:9).  

5. It is remedied by repentance and confession - Nehemiah 9:17.

6. If persisted in, its end consequence is judgement - Romans 2:5.

I would have loved to be a synagogue spider watching this interchange between Jesus and the Pharisees. But then the thought occurs, what if He came to my church—to yours? Is there a chance He would be grieved and angered by what He sees there of our attitude toward the withered hand types—the homeless, the mentally ill, the poor, the sexually broken, the addicts?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to see my heart as You see it, and to recognize any hard-heartedness. I need You to replace it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 95

The Bible Project VIDEO: Mark (Read Scripture Series)



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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.

Watch! Be ready

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 23-24; Psalm 92

TO CHEW ON: " 'For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.' " Matthew 24:38-39


Our reading gives us some natural signs that herald the near return of Christ including:

" '…the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken' " - Matthew 24:29.

What causes this unnatural darkening? Volcanic matter in earth's atmosphere?

What are those falling stars? Meteors and comets plowing into us?

I can just imagine how such natural disasters will be reported in the news. Scientific experts will analyze and prescribe. They will be the fault of fracking, or fossil fuel use, or CO2, or disturbed ecosystems, or weakened magnetism at the poles, or pollution, or… We will be told, if we only do more of this, less of that, the balance will right itself.

Meanwhile wherever it can, life will go on as usual - Matthew 24:37-38, 40-41.

I describe this scenario because even for those of us who have read these Bible passages and have been forewarned, it's easy to get lulled into complacency by the naturalistic explanations of scientists and those who supposedly understand earth's mechanisms (or at least have lots of theories).

Believers expressing their take on events are / will be mocked no less than Noah was. They're even viewed as dangerous because of their convictions that supernatural forces are at work here and thus they don't buy into scientific prescriptions of how to save the earth.

The billboard sign I take from this passage for myself—for all of us who believe these prophecies—is BE ALERT! Be watchful for Jesus' second coming.

" ' … when you see these things, know that it is near' " - Matthew 24:33. 

" 'But watch therefore…' " Matthew 24:42. 

" 'Therefore you also, be ready' " - Matthew 24:44.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to see Your hand at work in earth's natural events and disasters. Help me to live alert to signs of Your return, not dulled by the spirit of my time. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 92

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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.

The amnesia of self-sufficiency

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hosea 11-14; Psalm 124

TO CHEW ON: "When they had pasture, they were filled;
They were filled and their heart was exalted;
Therefore they forgot me." Hosea 13:6



Forgetting who one's source of supply is and becoming self-reliant and self-satisfied is a state that Bible writers talk about again and again. Here Hosea names it as one of the reasons for Israel's spiritual prostitution.

We find warnings against God-forgetful self-sufficiency throughout the Bible. Let's examine a few to see what conditions predispose to such an attitude.

1. Plenty of food. Forgetting God is often linked with having enough and more than enough to eat; fatness, even obesity - Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalm 17:10; Isaiah 10:16; Jeremiah 5:28; Jeremiah 50:11; Ezekiel 16:49.

2. Full of their own ways - Proverbs 14:14.

3. Spiritual dullards and lethargic. Isaiah talks about people with dull hearts, heavy ears, shut eyes - Isaiah 6:10. Jeremiah speaks of spiritual ease and lethargy - Jeremiah 48:11.

4. Pride, idleness, and ignoring the needs of the poor - Ezekiel 16:49.

5. Preoccupation with the superficial things of life - Luke 6:25.

6. And perhaps the most sobering condition of all, there is no awareness of one's own need - Revelation 3:17.

In our technologically advanced, wealthy society we are more prone than ever to forget that God is our source of supply. Often in the Bible, God's remedy for this was to send trouble so that the people would again remember Him and renew their allegiance to Him.

Though we may feel immune from the troubles of Bible-time people, even for us it really takes very little to feel our vulnerability. A storm wiping out our dwelling, a lost job, a deathly illness, a computer virus, even a few days with no electricity show us how susceptible we are to things beyond our control.

Let's take to heart Hosea's words to Israel, whatever state we find ourselves in.

"O Israel (or insert your name here___________)
You are (or 'easily can be') destroyed.
But your help is from Me.
I will be your King
Where is any other
That He may save you in all your cities?"
- Hosea 13:9-10.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to always remember that I need You — no matter how well, or poorly, things are going. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 124

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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.

A remedy for spiritual complacency

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 64:1-12

TO CHEW ON: “And there is no one who calls on Your name
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us
And have consumed us because of our iniquities” - Isaiah 64:7


Isaiah’s concept of God was rooted in the fearful, awe-inspiring moments when God gave him a glimpse of Himself and eternal things. The account of this is in Isaiah 6, where he saw God on His throne. The train of His robe filled the temple. Angels, their faces veiled from God’s holy presence with wings, shouted across to each other “Holy, holy holy is the LORD God of hosts / The whole earth is full of His glory!” Then an earthquake shook the place and it filled with smoke.

Isaiah became exquisitely aware of his own pollution. He felt dirty, sinful, alarmed at his unworthiness, conscious of his foul mouth. Read the account in Isaiah 6:1-8.

In our reading this same Isaiah (now years later) rues the complacency of his fellow citizens: “… there is no one who calls on Your name, / Who stirs himself up to take hold of You.” God feels absent and the people live as if God can’t see them and may as well not exist.

But Isaiah knows better. Just because God doesn’t show Himself at their bidding doesn’t change anything about Him. And so his prayer is full of apologies and repentance on behalf of himself and the people: “But we are all like an unclean thing … We are the clay and You our potter … Do not be furious, O Lord, / Nor remember iniquity forever” - Isaiah 64:6,8,9.

This reminds me of something I read recently. David Kitz, in his book Psalms Alive tells (in the chapter on Psalm 32:6-7) the story of how he and his brother avoided a stalking cougar on their Saskatchewan farm because of the barking of their dog. He makes this application:

“In a peculiar way, an unexpected encounter with the living God can be a lot like an encounter with a cougar. Suddenly, we realize our every move has been studied and watched; we are not alone. And that other being out there, watching us, is much bigger and more powerful than we are. Are you really prepared to meet Him around the next curve in the road, or just over the next hill?” - Psalms Alive p. 72.

I don’t know about you, but I can become as spiritually complacent as Isaiah’s countrymen. As a result I fail to see and acknowledge God in my day-to-day. I want to resist that. You too?  Let’s “stir ourselves up to take hold of” Him. One way to do this is to become aware of what He is really like.

PRAYER: Dear Father, please forgive my frequent indifference and blasé attitude toward You. Please give me a glimpse of who You really are so that my relationship with You is rooted in fact, not some fantasy concocted by myself or those around me as to what You are like. Amen.
 

MORE: Francis Chan - Francis' Personal Testimony - Newday 2017


I recently watched a video in which Francis Chan tells some of his life story to a group of high school students in England. In it, he describes how Isaiah 6 impacted him: “Here’s what changed my life; when I understood reverence for God.”



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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.

Recognizing Jesus

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 25:31-46

TO CHEW ON: " ' And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." ' " Matthew 25:40


One of the popular motifs of the Christmas dramas we used to put on in Sunday School was the poor, beggarly misfit becoming a type of the Christ child. It turned out that the person who noticed and served this unfortunate one amid the hustle and decorations, the shopping and food preparations, was the one who had the true Christmas spirit.

Recognizing Christ in unusual places and people is the theme of our reading today. Seeing and caring for His needs in those around us—the hungry and thirsty, the lonely stranger, the forsaken prisoner, the person who needs warm clothes ("naked") and sick—brings not only the King's commendation but the label of "righteous" and escape from eternal punishment (Matthew 25:34, 45-46).

Jesus talks in other places of coming in disguise:

• In Mark 9:41 the person who serves Christ's disciples with as little as a cup of cold water gets a reward.

• " 'Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives not Me but Him who sent Me' " says Jesus in Mark 9:37.

• At another time, Jesus answered a question about how to inherit eternal life with the parable we call the Good Samaritan. In it, the person (Samaritan) who helps his needy neighbour (a beat-up Jew) is the one who loves his neighbour as himself, fulfilling one of the conditions for inheriting eternal life (Luke 10:28-37).

I look at these examples and ask myself—do I recognize Jesus when He comes to me disguised as a child, or a needy stranger, or a sister in trouble? Or am I more like those "goats" in our reading, who will someday appear before the King with 'Duh… Lord, when did I see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison?'

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please take the scales off my eyes. Help me to recognize You however  and wherever You appear. 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.

The beginning of the end?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 24:1-22

TO CHEW ON: " ' All these are the beginning of sorrows.' " Matthew 24:8

If you had never read today's passage and someone handed you its contents on a scrap of paper, would your impression would be (choose one):
a] This sounds entirely unfamiliar.
b] This sounds a lot like current conditions in the world.
c] This sounds like something that could never happen.

If you're like me, you chose b, because this sounds like the writings of someone in the room with me as I watch the nightly news or scan the latest headlines on the computer.

In early parts of this passage (Matthew 24:5-7) Jesus gives us a list of spookily familiar events that herald the near coming of His return to earth / the End:*
- The appearance of false and deceptive Christs.
- Wars and rumours of wars.
- Famines, pestilences and earthquakes.

But, Jesus says, these things are just the beginning of "sorrows." Some translations call them "birth pains" (NIV, NLT, NASB, ESV)—an interesting comparison suggesting earth-shaking events will become more frequent and intense as they near a climax. Could this be the time we're living in right now? If so, what do we have to look forward to? Jesus' answer:

" 'Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake' " - Matthew 24:9.

Who is the "you" Jesus refers to here? It was to His band of disciples He delivered this private message (Matthew 24:3). So we can, I think, conclude that His disciples of all eras are on notice. That's us. Jesus warns and advises (Matthew 24:10-14):

- We can expect offenses, betrayals, hatred, and death.
- We must be on guard against false prophets.
- We need to be aware of the potential for spiritual lawlessness and coldness.
- Our endurance will be challenged.
- While the above is happening there will also be a great spread of the Gospel to peoples of every nation.

Let's live alert in these perilous days!

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to remain watchful, to be unfazed if I am hated, and persecuted for being a Christ-follower, and to stay the course as I do my little bit in spreading the Gospel. Amen.

* "In His private teaching to the disciples on the Mount of Olives, Jesus responded to three questions, concerning 1] the destruction of the temple, 2] His Second Coming, 3] the End. These topics are interwoven and sometimes it is difficult to determine which event is being described. This difficulty is partially resolved with the realization that most prophecy is capable of both a near and remote fulfillment. Jesus uses the tragic events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.70 as a picture of conditions preceding His own return" - J. Lyle Story, Study notes on Matthew 24:1-51, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1334.

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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.

4 reasons for hardening of the hearteries

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 11:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written: 'God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear to this very day.'" Romans 11:7,8 NIV


When Paul speaks here about the Israelites being "hardened" and their "spirit of stupor,"  he's hearkening back to several references in the Old Testament that speak of a similar dullness.

Moses describes the Israelites' spiritual hardness when they are about to enter Canaan. Their minds don't understand, their eyes don't see, and ears don't hear despite the miraculous way God has cared for them during their 40-year wilderness wander - Deuteronomy 29:4.

Three prophets make a similar charge. Isaiah talks about Israel's "calloused' hearts" (Isaiah 6:9,10). Jeremiah calls them "foolish and senseless" (Jeremiah 5:21).  Ezekiel identifies an attitude of rebellion behind their spiritual hardness (Ezekiel 12:2). 

Though here in Romans Paul brings up this topic primarily to explain how Israel's spiritual state opened the door of salvation to the Gentiles, I see in the description of Israel's hardness of heart a yellow light for all believers, Jews or Gentiles. I believe we can become similarly blind, deaf, calloused, hardened, dull, and stuporous. Some ways:

• When we fail to see and be grateful for the way God is caring for us as the Israelites did in the wilderness.

• When we don't allow the spiritual truths of God's word penetrate our hearts ("...ever hearing but never understanding; ever seeing but never perceiving" - Isaiah 6:9).

• When we make up or own way to come to God as Paul here implies Israel had done ("What the people of God sought so earnestly they did not obtain" - Romans 11:7. "Having failed to obtain the right standing with God, they had sought by their own efforts, they have been hardened..." - Wayne Grudem, commentary on Romans, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Kindle location 260,148).

• When we allow rebellion to creep in. 

Do we sense in ourselves some hardening of the hearteries (like the physical hardening of the arteries, where blood flow to the heart becomes impeded, even blocked ending in death)? Let's ask God for healing of sight, hearing, and a restoration of sensitivity to Him. He can do it!

 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh - Ezekiel 36:26.

PRAYER: Dear God, please tenderize my heart. Soften it towards You and the things that matter to You. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Would Jesus call your words satanic?

"Get thee behind Me, Satan" - by James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 16:21-28

TO CHEW ON: "Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you!' But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God but the things of men.'" Matthew 16:22,23


What a shock Peter must have felt when Jesus called him "Satan" and described his words as an offense (trap). Perhaps he thought, But Jesus, I was only trying to encourage You and draw You from these pessimistic thoughts about death.

Jesus, however, recognized the oily tone, the sneaky lie in Peter's words. (Compare what Peter said to what the serpent said to Eve way back: "'You shall not surely die…'" - Genesis 3:4.) Jesus scolded him for being unmindful of the things of God while mindful of the things of men. What are those things?

A word the Bible uses for the "things of men" is "carnal." Some things that characterize the carnal mind are:

• Preoccupation with this life - Psalm 49:11.

• Unwillingness to acknowledge God or bow to Him - Romans 1:28; 8:7.

• Living by our intellect alone - Ephesians 4:17.

• Pursuing different forms of spirituality - Colossians 2:18.

• Allowing the outlook of the world to taint and sully our thoughts and consciences - Titus 1:15.

• In Peter's case here it was denying the necessity of Jesus' death and resurrection—a temptation to abort God's plan of salvation.

Jesus told Peter he should be mindful of the "things of God." What are those things? They include:

• Preoccupying ourselves with God's word—what it says and how we can live it out - Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:99.

• Recognizing and being thankful for God's "lovingkindness" - Psalm 48:9.

• Viewing ourselves realistically and through eyes of faith - Romans 12:3.

• Taking our thoughts in hand; directing them along routes of what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, praiseworthy - Philippians 4:8.

• For Peter the things of God in this situation would have been to hear what Jesus was saying, and grasp the necessity of God's big plan and Jesus' role in it. With these insights he might have been better prepared for what was coming.

As I compare my thoughts and words with the two lists, I see that I often have a carnal, Satan-influenced mindset. Oh to recognize the difference and avoid these traps of thought that too often exit my mouth in words!


PRAYER: Dear God, please show me today where I am living by the "things of men." Help me to steer my focus toward the "things of God." 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.

Tempted to linger

Lot and His Family Flee Sodom - Artist Unknown

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 19:1-22

TO CHEW ON: “And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.” Genesis 19:16

Lot is an interesting character. If we follow his story, we discover his own father (Haran) died before his grandfather Terah, and that as a family his uncle Abram (& wife Sarai), Uncle Nahor (& wife), Grandfather Terah and Lot moved form Ur to Canaan (Genesis 11:27-31).

When God told Abram to move from Haran (the town) in Canaan to a place He would lead, Lot came along - Genesis 12:4.

When both men prospered so that their herds became to big for the available grassland, Abram offered Lot the choice of where to go. Lot “chose for himself” what looked like the best territory - Genesis 13:10,11.

In our reading today we discover Lot was hospitable and aware of the disturbing social customs of the city’s men, so that he insisted these visitors who came to him from Abram, stay the night with him. In fact, the spiritual climate bothered him (2 Peter 2:7,8). But not enough.

He callously offered his daughters to the lecherous and clamouring men. His sons-in-law didn’t take his warning seriously. And when the angels insisted he come with them, he “lingered” with his family so that the angels had to literally drag them out of the doomed city - Genesis 19:12-16. Lot had become spiritually dull.

Contrast Lot’s behaviour with Abraham’s (name changed by God - Genesis 17:5). He took the angelic messengers so seriously, he risked the LORD’s anger by begging for the preservation of the city and the lives of the righteous with in it (Genesis 18:23-32).

I would submit that the “city” we live in spiritually can also cause us to become spiritually dull or remain sharp and attuned to God. Do we spend time with other believers who help us see life through the lens of faith? Do we regularly read the Bible and meditate on it? Do we listen and watch music, programs, podcasts, and shows that build our faith?  Or do we give all our attention to the natural world around us—the political news, our society’s entertainment and sports, getting and caring for more of this world’s stuff for ourselves?

Let’s do what it takes to stay spiritually sharp—even if that means, like Abraham, we need to live apart from the populated Sodom's and Gomorrah’s of our time.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to recognize and flee the things of this world that tempt me to linger with them instead of going with You. 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.

The high price of following Jesus

Jesus heals the blind man (Free Bible Images)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 9:18-41

TO CHEW ON: “For the Jews had already agreed that if any one should acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ, he should be expelled and excluded form the synagogue… So they cast him out—threw him clear outside the synagogue.: John 9:22,34 AMP


When the neighbors and acquaintances of the man who had been healed of blindness brought him to the Pharisees, the religious leaders demanded to know who had healed him. The discussion soon became about whether this miracle and miracle-worker were from God (John 9:8, 13-17).

The Jews then attempted to discredit the miracle by talking to the man’s parents. But they corroborated his words—he was their son and had been blind all his life. But they refused to express an opinion about whether Jesus was a prophet from God or not. Why? Because they feared excommunication (John 9:22). Indeed, excommunication was the treatment the healed man received after he defended Jesus (John 9:27-34).

The fear of excommunication appears in other places:

“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.

“'They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service’" - John 16:2.

What was this “put out of the synagogue” that was such a threat?

- From the Jewish Encyclopedia:

"Excommunication – The highest ecclesiastical censure, the exclusion of a person from the religious community, which among the Jews meant a practical prohibition of all intercourse with society. … its object being to preserve the solidarity of the nation and strengthen the authority of the Synagogue by enforcing obedience to its mandates" – Jewish Encyclopedia - quoted in “Unity and Excommunication” on Biblestudying.net (emphasis added)

- From Barnes Notes on the Bible:

"Put out of the synagogue - This took place in the temple, or near the temple. It does not refer, therefore, to any immediate and violent putting forth from the place where they were. It refers to excommunication from the synagogue. 

"Among the Jews there were two grades of excommunication; the one for lighter offences, of which they mentioned 24 causes; the other for greater offences. The first excluded a man for 30 days from the privilege of entering a synagogue, and from coming nearer to his wife or friends than 4 cubits. 

"The other was a solemn exclusion forever from the worship of the synagogue, attended with awful maledictions and curses, and an exclusion from all contact with the people. This was called the curse, and so thoroughly excluded the person from all communion whatever with his countrymen, that they were not allowed to sell to him anything, even the necessaries of life (Buxtorf). It is probable that this latter punishment was what they intended to inflict if anyone should confess that Jesus was the Messiah: and it was the fear of this terrible punishment that deterred his parents from expressing their opinion" (emphasis added - Barnes Notes on the Bible - John 9.).

What the blind man’s story and its fallout says to me is that putting our faith in Jesus can have serious consequences. We readily accept that such a belief severs us from the world. But here it separated a man from his religion as well including the community that was part of that faith system.

As contemporary Christianity drifts farther and farther away from its biblical anchors, could such separation be ahead for us too? And I ask myself, am I, are we willing to pay that price?


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I love it that You sought out that excommunicated man and communicated to him who you were and that You accepted him. May Your approval and friendship be enough for me too. 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)

Exposing darkness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ephesians 5:5-21

TO CHEW ON: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:11

Mike Leehan in his book Ascent from Darkness, does exactly that (exposes the "works of darkness"). Mad at God after his divorce, he decided to give himself to the dark side. For the next about 20 years he lived as a servant and worshiper of Satan. In his book he tells about that life:

• He describes how he repeatedly cut himself as part of his ritual and fasted to gain spiritual power.

• He discloses his mission: to sow confusion and mayhem within churches. Some of the things he did were carry copies of the Satanic Bible so he could plant them on church premises, seduce women, attend small group Bible studies to introduce unbelief and doctrinal error.

• He tells of numerous incidents when he had spiritual insight into people, sensing their spiritual protection or vulnerability.

• He describes how he felt and acted around Christians. For example, he found it impossible to sit in a worship service and often blacked out when in conversation as he channeled spirits.

• He shows us the terrifying side of spirit possession—the spooky nights filled with demonic phenomena and his ever-present depression and obsession with death. He was preparing to compose a suicide note to one of his kids the day he called out to God at a men's retreat and was miraculously delivered.

Why read such a book? Perhaps it's not for everyone, but it certainly opened my eyes.

• It showed me the fearful price that Satan exacts in loyalty, obedience and servitude.

• It showed how Satan's promises are lies.

• It illustrated, by contrast, the light, life, freedom, and joy we have in Christ—things it's easy for us to take for granted, until we've experienced (vicariously, through reading about it was experience enough for me) what life on the dark side is like.

• It provided an insight into what may be behind many of our society's bizarre and self-destructive behaviours (like rampant suicide, the prevalence of cutting, the spirit of lust that has taken down not only lay-Christians but many pastors too) and gave clues as to how to minister to demonically oppressed people.

• Mike's spiritual zeal for and commitment to the dark side put me to shame as I compared it to my zeal and commitment to Jesus.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the freedom, peace, joy, cleanness and wholesomeness  available to me because of Jesus. Help me to live with a greater awareness of darkness, and to guard myself against it. Amen.

MORE: Why share such a story?

Here, in Mike's own words, is why he told his story:

"I have learned the only thing that evil can take over is darkness. Darkness invades our lives when we shut out the light of God's love. But where there is light, there cannot be darkness. Light pierces darkness and illuminates the truth.

We must realize that we are in a world that is spiritually intertwined. There is more to our existence than the obvious. We must open our eyes to see the spiritual realm, which is very real and very powerful. And we must learn the weapons of our adversary, not only to avoid becoming ensnared by darkness but to be able to reach into that darkness to rescue others, like me, with the light. We are instruments of change. We are powerful vessels carrying an eternal cargo of either life or death.

The reason for sharing my story in this book is to demonstrate the power of God over Satan and to show how merciful a God we have in heaven. To give Him the glory and praise, and to demonstrate the power of love over fear, to show the love our Father has for us, to let God's light expose the darkness—but mainly to facilitate the hope that by reading this story, people might turn to the King of Kings!" - Mike Leehan, Ascent from Darkness, Kindle Location 3462 (emphasis added).

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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.

Open eyes

Photo: V. Nesdoly

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:17-32

TO CHEW ON: “Open my eyes that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.”


What a great prayer to pray regularly when we begin our times with the Lord!

It brings to mind incidents when Bible characters had their physical eyes opened to spiritual realities:

• Balaam, on his way to “curse” Israel for Balak had his eyes opened to the angel that was blocking his donkey’s path - Numbers 22:31.

• Elisha’s servant had his eyes opened to the surrounding “horses and chariots of fire”—the Lord’s army—after Elisha prayed - 2 Kings 6:17.

It brings to mind the question, why are some eyes spiritually closed, some open?

• Disobedience is one reason for spiritual blindness:

For the Lord has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has closed your eyes” - Isaiah 29:10.

• So is failure to acknowledge God’s existence and glorify and thank Him: “ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,  because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” Romans 1:20,21.

• But “'Blessed are the pure in heart, / For they shall see God’” - Matthew 5:8.

The beautiful thing is, spiritual sight is available and possible.

•  It came to the man born blind whose eyes Jesus healed with mud and Siloam water, so he could exclaim: “‘One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see’” - John 9:25. Jesus later made sure that He also addressed the man's spiritual sight issue - John 9:35-38.

• And it came to Saul/Paul on the Damascus Road. I love the parallel of physical and spiritual sight in his story. For it was after Ananias prayed for him that “scales” fell from his light-blinded eyes so that he regained his physical sight (Acts 9:17,18), while at the same time embarking on a new life path that God showed him - Acts 9:16.

Let’s make the psalmist’s prayer our own as we seek spiritual sight and insight for our lives from the Bible.

PRAYER: Dear Father, “Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” 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.

Open my eyes

"Supper at Emmaus" - Rubens

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 24:13-32

TO CHEW ON: "But their eyes were restrained …. Then their eyes were opened…" Luke 24:16,31


This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, perhaps because it's been my experience.

It's the third day after the crucifixion. Two disciples are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, deep in discussion about what has lately happened with their rabbi, Jesus. At one point they're joined by a stranger. He asks them the subject of their sad conversation. They explain it all—what Jesus was like, their hopes for and in Him, His very recent death by crucifixion, followed by the mysterious disappearance of his body, and the hearsay sightings of Him, alive.

He listens and then He speaks. I love how Henri Nouwen tells this next part in his little book With Burning Hearts—A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life.

"He speaks of things they already knew: their long past with all that happened during the centuries before they were born…. It was an all-too-familiar story. Still it sounded as if they were hearing it for the first time.

The difference lay in the storyteller! … The loss, the grief, the guilt, the fear, the glimpses of hope, and the many unanswered questions that battled for attention in their restless minds, all of these were lifted up by this stranger and placed in the context of a story much larger than their own. What had seemed so confusing began to offer new horizons; what had seemed so oppressive began to feel liberating; what had seemed so extremely sad began to take on the quality of joy! As he talked to them, they gradually came to know that their little lives weren't as little as they had thought, but part of a great mystery that not only embraced many generations, but stretched itself out from eternity to eternity" - p. 45,46 (emphasis added).

And isn't that what we discover too when we meet Jesus? After we've dumped on Him our whole sad situation, He opens our eyes to our place in a story much bigger than our own. And we begin to understand that there is a reason for the hardest parts of our lives, while other aspects, those that we've nurtured perhaps to make us feel good about ourselves or look good in the eyes of the world, don't really fit and should be heaved overboard.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please open my eyes. Help me to see Your story and my place in it as it relates to my circumstances and the everyday situations that I face. 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.

Recognizing Jesus

Mary Magdalene Sees Jesus Risen
- Artist unknown
From Treasures of the Bible

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 20:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "Now when she had said this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know it was Jesus." John 20:14

I have always been puzzled by Mary's failure to recognize Jesus. Didn't she know Him well? Hadn't she observed Him at close quarters as one of the women who served His itinerant ministry? Why this failure to recognize him?

The IVP New Testament Commentary says of her uncomprehending reaction:

"Such can be the blinding effect of profound emotions. In this case, her inability to recognize him also seems to be due to the character of Jesus' resurrection body, since such failure is typical of encounters with him (cf. Matthew 28:17; Mark 16:12; Luke 24:16, 37; John 21:4)" - IVP Commentary of the New Testament accessed through "Study This" on Biblegateway.com.

This is by no means the only time Jesus wasn't recognized, though. A failure to recognize who He really was in His person and work was a common reaction to Him while He was on earth.

• Isaiah predicted this blindness - Isaiah 53:3.

• Though the disciples were guilty of this same reaction for much of the time Jesus was with them (John 14:9), they eventually got it. Look at what John says in His gospel, written some 50 years after Jesus' death and resurrection: "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him and the world did not know Him" - John 1:10.

• The Jewish leaders of Jesus' time who looked on Him as their rival clung tenacious to their unawareness - John 9:1-34.

• Jesus predicted that bad things would happen to His followers because people in authority didn't and wouldn't recognize Him and His Father - John 16:1-4.

The above could and does impact Christians in the world today. So do two other things about recognizing Jesus:

• People can see that we have seen and know Him by the bent of our lives. In his letter to early Christians, John says:

"Whoever abides in Him does not sin.* Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him" - 1 John 3:6 (emphasis added).

"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him" - 1 John 3:6 NIV.

• Jesus may come to us even now in many ways through the needs of our fellowmen (Matthew 25:34-40). Do we recognize Him here?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please open my eyes to see You in the needy people all around me. Soften my heart to respond as surely as I would if it were You in person. Amen.

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* "…does not sin…"  or "no one who lives in him keeps on sinning…" does not mean that the person who is in Christ never sins. The IVP Commentary is helpful here: "What is meant, then, by the statement no one who lives in him keeps on sinning is quite simple: sin is not the identifying characteristic of those who live in him." (Emphasis added.)


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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 NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The Elymas spirit

Elymas the Sorcerer Struck With Blindness - Raphael

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 13:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith." Acts 13:8

Elymas the sorcerer "withstood" Paul. Withstood - anthestemi means to oppose vigorously, bravely resist, stand face-to-face resisting. This word is where we get our word antihistamine—something that stands against and opposes the histamine in our bodies that cause allergic reactions. It is used in Ephesians 6:13 to describe how the Christian puts on the armour of God to be able "to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand."

Here Elymas is offering such opposition to Paul—probably arguing against, making objections to, belittling, making fun of, mocking what Paul and Barnabas are attempting to explain of the gospel to Sergius Paulus.

Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, sees into this ploy of Satan himself. In a moment of intense spiritual confrontation Paul exposes what's going on when he says to Elymas, " 'O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?' " And then he pronounces temporary physical blindness on the man.

This story reminds me of people in public life, but also some I know personally, who withstand the gospel in this way. A couple of things.

• The intellectual questions that they bring up are not usually the real barriers to faith. Satisfy one and they'll pose another. That's because the root issue is moral and one of the will, one of not wanting to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.

• Openly naming the demonic root behind such withstanding—like Paul does with Elymas—I'm not sure that's always a good idea especially if the arguer is someone close to us. But we can certainly pray about this kind of spiritual resistance with insight and wait on the Holy Spirit to nudge us about when to say more and what and how to say it.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to recognize the Elymas spirit, not only in others but in myself. Help me to resist and expose it with the help of Your Holy Spirit. 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.

Restrained eyes

Disciples at Emmaus - Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 24:13-35

TO CHEW ON: "But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him." - Luke 24:16

Has this happened to you? There is something you must remember. You remind yourself over and over about the thing. Yet when the time comes to take action, that thing completely slips your mind. When the opportunity for action has passed, you remember it again and mentally (maybe out loud too) beat yourself up for being so forgetful.

Or you lose something. You look high and low for it but it's nowhere to be found. Later you find it in some obvious place.

I think of the two Emmaus disciples when things like the above happen to me. Like them, I have begun to suspect that sometimes my eyes are supernaturally "restrained."

We're often hard on these disciples, saying if they would have listened to Jesus more closely during His ministry and really heard His teaching, then His crucifixion and resurrection would  have been no surprise to them. (Of course that doesn't take into account how the post-resurrection physical appearance of Jesus may have changed.)

But I think God blinded their eyes to Jesus' identity intentionally.

Think of the teaching they would have missed if they had recognized Him right away and returned excitedly to Jerusalem at the beginning of their journey.

"And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself" - Luke 24:27.

Think of the companionship and sweet fellowship experience of that afternoon walk with their risen Saviour and how this personal interaction with Jesus will give heart and warmth to their testimony.

Think of the last sight they have of Him: "Now it came to pass as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them"  (Luke 24:30).  Think how that sight brings back memories, solidifies their connection with Him, and gives them hints about their mission:

"He took the five loves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude" (of 5,000) - Luke 9:16.

"And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks and broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave it to the multitude (of 4,000) - Matthew 15:36.

"And He took bread and gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying, 'This is My body, given for you, do this in remembrance of Me'" - Luke 22:19 (emphasis added)

I try now, when I sense my eyes have been restrained, to ask for insight into what I am to learn. For I believe God is in our times of restrained sight as much as in our times of illumination.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus thank You for this tender story that I can relate to so well. Help me to understand that even my apparent mess-ups—forgetting things, losing things—can turn out to be blessings from You. 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.

Two kinds of blindness

Jesus heals a blind man

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 18:28-43

TO CHEW ON: "But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. … Then Jesus said to him, 'Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.'" Luke 18:34,42

When poets arrange their poems to be published in a book they give much thought to which pieces they put next to each other. The sequence is the result of asking questions like, do these two poems illuminate or add to, contradict, flow from, have the same or contrasting mood as each other? The order of poems is a carefully considered element of the book. In our reading today, I'd suggest that the two stories we see side by side are next to each other with the same Author intention.

In the first one (Luke 18:31-34) Jesus delivers some sobering news. He says (and I paraphrase) - We are going to Jerusalem. The prophecies about the Son of Man (Me) will be fulfilled. I will be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, insulted, spit upon, scourged, killed and on the third day rise again. The disciples, though, understand none of it. They are blind: "This saying was hidden from them."

In the next story we have a blind beggar beside the road (Luke 18:34-43). He hears the crowd, discovers Jesus is in it and cries out. Jesus stops, asks that they bring the man to Him and when he arrives asks, "'What do you want me to do for you?'" "'Receive my sight'" the man replies. Then Jesus makes this profound statement: "'Receive your sight; your faith has made you well'" and heals his eyesight (emphasis added).

Two cases of blindness. Could it be that the root of healing for the man's physical blindness—faith—is also the root of healing for spiritual blindness?

I don't know what kind of faith the disciples would have needed to open their eyes at that time. In some way they would have had to grasp the big picture of who Jesus was, and that His coming and death were a fulfillment of prophecy. They just weren't thinking that large.

The risen Jesus Himself elaborates on the faith necessary when He talks to the Emmaus disciples—two more who were blinded (Luke 24:16): "Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!'" - Luke 24:25.

Let's apply this principle of the necessity of faith to gain spiritual sight and insight. We can do it when we introduce people to Jesus. And we can do it in our own lives when the spiritual meaning of circumstances is hidden from us.

Oswald Chambers explains it:

"For every detail of common sense in life, there is a truth God has revealed by which we can prove in our practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Jesus Christ first. The life of faith says, “Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I’m going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word” (for example, see Matthew 6:33). Turning intellectual faith into our personal possession is always a fight, not just sometimes.

God brings us into particular circumstances to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us. Until we know Jesus, God is merely a concept, and we can’t have faith in Him. But once we hear Jesus say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) we immediately have something that is real, and our faith is limitless. Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 30th reading.  

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to apply the antidote of faith in You and who You are to every circumstance, especially those which I don't understand. Amen.

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Backsliding—not a terminal illness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 3:19-4:12

TO CHEW ON: "'Return, you backsliding children,
And I will heal your backslidings.'" Jeremiah 3:22

Jeremiah talks a lot about backsliding. In the verse I've chosen to focus on today, he calls it "backslidings."

[Backsliding - meshubah means turning back, turning away; defecting, faithlessness, apostasy, disloyalty; reverting. It comes from the root word shub that means turn or repent.

But backslide is subtly different from repent. While repent means to turn around, when you backslide you turn back (to a state you were in previously). "To return to wrong or sinful ways" - definitions from from Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 967 & Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary. ]

Jeremiah refers to backsliding as a condition that needs healing. When someone needs healing they are either sick or injured and their ability to help themselves is compromised. Perhaps this gives us insight into how we can pray for loved ones who were once loyal to Jesus but have since turned their backs on Him—backsliders. We can pray for their spiritual healing.

More aspects of spiritual healing are sprinkled throughout the Bible. From them we learn:

1. God may allow, even seem to initiate pain during our times of backsliding to urge us back to Him - Hosea 6:1.

2. We can pray for ourselves when we sense we're in danger of backsliding or in a backslidden condition - Psalm 41:4; Jeremiah 17:14.

3. God is the one who does the healing - Psalm 147:3.

4. Healing from backsliding and all spiritual illness is available only through Christ and His substitutionary death on the cross - Luke 4:18; Isaiah 53:5.

5. Someday our healing will be complete - Revelation 22:2.

It's wonderful to know that backsliding doesn't have to be a terminal illness!

PRAYER: Dear God, I pray for the backsliders I love. I also pray that I will have the sense to know when I am infected with the germs of backsliding. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Spiritual dullness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 12:12-33

TO CHEW ON: "His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him." John 12:16

What 'things' is John talking about?

They are the events that played out, with Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem in fulfillment of the prophecy:
"Fear not, daughter of Zion:
Behold your king is coming.
Sitting on a donkey's colt"  - John 12:15 (alluding to Isaiah 40:9 and Zechariah 9:9).

At the time this happened, the event all by itself didn't have the big-picture significance to John that it did after Jesus was glorified. John had obviously mulled over what this all meant between its occurrence and writing it down. He had grasped how Jesus riding into Jerusalem, along with many other things, made Him the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies.

This is not the first time the disciples were dull. Repeatedly throughout the gospels we see Jesus chiding them for their lack of understanding (Matthew 15:16, 16:11; Luke 24:25; John 14:9).

What causes lack of spiritual comprehension? Could we be similarly dull? Many causes are implied in Bible verses that speak of not understanding spiritual truth:

1. An unwillingness to admit the obvious is implied about the misplaced faith of the person worshiping an idol carved out of the same block of wood used to fuel a cooking fire - Isaiah 44:19.
2. A lack of obedience and resistance to correction - Jeremiah 7:28.
3. Rebelliousness - Ezekiel 12:2.
4. Lack of spiritual discernment - Luke 12:56.
5. Lack of spiritual sensitivity - John 8:43; Hebrews 5:11.
6. Adopting the shallow worldview of those around us - Romans 3:11.
7. Unfamiliarity with the Scripture - Matthew 22:29; John 5:39.
8. Fatigue - Matthew 26:40-45.

Before we're too hard on the disciples for not understanding what seems obvious to us now, we should put ourselves in their shoes. I'm not sure I would have grasped any more than they did.

Of course we should strive for spiritual understanding now. Something that was key to the disciples' eventual comprehension of Jesus and His significance was their familiarity with the Old Testament scriptures. We have both the Old and New Testaments to help us understand our times and God working out His plan through history. Let's take advantage of these treasure stores to become spiritually sharp.

PRAYER: Dear God, please sharpen my spiritual awareness as I read the Bible and match up what it says with what I see happening around me. Amen.

MORE: The Sons of Issachar model:

An obscure verse in 2 Chronicles talks about the Sons of Issachar and describes them as having "… understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do" (2 Chronicles 12:32). We can make that our prayer too—that we will understand our times and know what to do in them.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.