Serving with Priority

John 13:12-20

Peter's resistance to the washing proceeded without further interruption. When Jesus finished washing the disciples feet, He asked them; "Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you."

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 13:12–15.

"He says to them all in effect, though not in words, 'If ye wash not each other, if ye refuse to serve one another in love, ye have again no part with me." This is a hard saying; for if it be difficult to believe in the humiliation of Christ, it is still more difficult to humble ourselves." A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, pg. 351.

Jesus knew too well how long it would be before the disciples would learn this lesson because they were so contrary to the human heart and what society teaches even today! Think about it: Society teaches that these things in themselves are hard sayings (even sometimes with prejudice) and tells of how hard they are to obtain. In fact they are things which are utopian and impracticable today. But consider this; when knowledge is received, how long does it take before the act of obedience occurs? Or do we in the end become conformed by the world rather than transform it by the power that lives within us?

Bruce explains this with a very insightful thought: "But when he (the Christian) has to close his New Testament, and go away into the rude, ungodly, matter of fact world, and be there a Christ-like man, and do the things which he knows so intimately, and counts himself blessing in knowing, alas, what a descent! It is like a fall from Eden into a state of mere sin and misery. And the longer he lives and the more he gets mixed up with life's relations and engagements, the further he seems to himself degenerate from the gospel pattern; till at length he is almost ashamed to think or speak of the beauties of holiness exhibited therein, and is tempted to adopt a lower and more worldly tone, out of a regard to sincerity, and in fear of becoming a mere sentimental hypocrite like Judas, who kissed his Master at the very moment he was betraying Him." Bruce, pg. 353.

This week I too encountered the real world and the troubles we often fall into. From the onset, I saw great people living by faith and those who had fallen into life's relations and engagements; trying to figure out how they can fix the world and the church. 

This life of faith must be reciprocated in that while we yet believed and are saved, we must build upon it each and every day. Our faith calls for service. It calls for us to serve our fellow man (just as Jesus instructed the disciples) and our church out of our love for Him. It cannot end with the assimilation of thoughts and teachings. This is vanity! It must become a matter of daily practice; even in the realm of this faith journey. If we go on to impress people with our wit or charm, we miss the mark of pleasing Jesus. Bruce says of the world, "Their approbation is at most but a comfort; His is matter of life and death." pg. 354.

This Thanksgiving, would you take the time to serve or thank someone around you for being a part of your life? Would you also serve them without worrying about what others will think of you? Finally; will you lower your wants so that their needs are met? Then you can truly call your thanksgiving time a true thanksgiving!

I pray a special Thanksgiving day over you and your family this season! 

The True Act of Service

John 13:1-11

Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 13:5.

What does a true act of service look like? The disciples witnessed this act of ultimate love and service from Jesus in His foot washing ceremony.

"...how at such an hour did He feel towards those who had been His companions throughout the years of His public ministry, and whom He was soon to leave behind Him? 'He loved them unto the end.'" Not engrossed with His own sorrows, or with the prospect of His subsequent joys, He found room in His heart for His followers still; nay His loved burned out towards them with extreme dinary ardor, and His whole care was by precept and example by words of comfort, warning, and instruction, to prepare them for future duty and trial, as the narrative here commencing would abundantly demonstrate." A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, pg. 342.

In His final days, our Lord didn't get caught up in what was about to happen to Him in Jerusalem. He was interested in what He could do to prepare the disciples for the coming ministry ahead. He didn't stand off in the corner and say to Himself, "Woe is me!" He used this time wisely to teach the disciples what it looks like to be great in the kingdom. "He began to wash the disciples' feet." We must understand the disciples were all deciding what place of seating at the table was the most prominent in their recent past. To be at the best place at the table surely meant that their place in Heaven also would be significant. 

In fact as Jesus took the time to wash the feet of the disciples, it was almost as if He was washing their feet as a act to overcome the evil to come with a good act. 

But when Jesus came to Peter to wash his feet, Peter made the statement, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus responds by telling him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” In essence Jesus was saying; He meant to say, "that my present action is an offense to feelings of reverence which you rightly cherish towards me. Nevertheless, suffer it. I do this for reasons which you do not comprehend now, but which you shall understand ere long." A. B. Bruce, pg. 342-343.

In this respect Jesus was telling Peter eventually he would understand the Master must take on the washing of one to cleanse his soul in the future. This act of foot washing was an example of the cleansing the Master would perform in all those who accept Him as Savior.  Besides, if Peter could resist Jesus act, then what else could he refuse and or tell the Savior what to do in the future? Could he manipulate Jesus in the future by dictating what orders he would comply with in the future as well? No. Jesus didn't condemn his response (as He could have, being stressed by His upcoming crucifixion), but rather used it again as a teachable moment. 

As I reflect upon a conversation with someone this week, I remember telling a person; "In order for Jesus to complete our salvation, He had to relate to all we go through in this life," and kneeling down to serve others was a great part of Jesus showing us the humility we all must embrace. Meekness does not imply weakness. In fact, the act of foot washing by Jesus intimates we should allow Him to take up the part in our life that needs the deepest cleansing. Only He can clean that area up; but we must submit it to Him to allow the cleansing to occur!

How Short is Our Time Here?

Matt. 24:25-51

What good is a secret if the One who knows it but can't keep it? What is the secret He is hiding?

In Jesus final days, He arrives in Jerusalem. His disciples are by His side all the while never seeing the upcoming event of His crucifixion. Though the judgment of Jerusalem is also coming, so the judgment at the end of the world is also coming for us as well.

Jesus however gives separate answers to the two questions posed by the disciples; "As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 24:3.

He answered in response that there would be many false Christs. In fact some of these frauds would deceive even Christians; and there would be many of them (Matt. 24:4-5). The second answer was there would be "wars and rumors of wars" (Matt. 24:6-7). But when would these things occur? Even though Jesus answer was simple, it still left some question as to when this would occur. Even so from this statement, these things are only the beginning of the end; and they will repeat themselves over and over again until the final hour. No one would be able to tell when the present calamity was the last one or whether more were to come. But one thing is true; even Jesus did not know the time! 

So should the Christian worry each day about when all this will happen? Even the disciples thought it might be happening in their own generation. But if that were true then the time of the Gentiles was only to last 30 years, as opposed to the Jews who had thousands of years of hearing the Word of God. Would that be fair to them? No. For if it were true, it would mock the Gentiles who would only receive grace for one generation. How unfair that would have been!

But the bigger picture is this; "The general lesson for all in this discourse is: 'Watch for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. The call to watchfulness is based on our ignorance of the time of the end, and on the fact that, however long delayed the end may be, it will come suddenly at last, as a thief in the night." The Training of the Twelve, A. B. Bruce, page 338.

So how can we respond today to this knowledge? Two possible ways are:

1. The effect on some, we are taught, is to make them negligent, they being eye-servants and fitful workers, who need oversight and the stimulus of extraordinary events. They need someone to make them work as unto the Lord. Their hearts just aren't in it!

2. Others again, are steady, equal, habitually faithful, working as well when the master is absent as when they are under his eye. These have the love of their Savior written upon their hearts and will act upon His commands as steady stewards of His grace. Their hearts embrace it!

The treatment of both on the master's return corresponds to their respective behavior - one class being rewarded, the other being punished. Bruce, pg. 339.

 This is also true for the story of the ten virgins. Watching (as the virgins who were wise did) does not imply sleeplessness anxiety and constant thought concerning the future, but quiet, steady attention to present duty. Bruce, pg. 339. 

So which person are you today? Do you work for your Master because the law of His Love is on your heart; or are you the one who will go on as if your own judgment doesn't really concern you.

As I close this blog today, I remember something I shared this week with a 13 year-old young man I am currently discipling. We were talking about certain passages which asked him to come to grip with who Jesus really is. Then I asked him this question; "How is Jesus Real in Your Life?" "I don't mean from the Bible. Those are fine, but I mean something that you have experienced that you know He is real." He sat back and began to think... then I told him that might be a good place to stop for the day and consider the question posed for the rest of his week.

Most of us never take that time. I challenge you today to take the time to ask yourself, "How can you prove that you know Jesus- really know Jesus?" The real Jesus is returning one day! Be ready for Him or otherwise we may realize we really don't know Him as well as we think we do...

O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem!

Have you ever been around some Christians who think they are better than others?

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 13:34.

These words cry out from Heaven and from the mouth of Jesus. On this last visit to the city of Jerusalem, Jesus cries these words out to those around Him in the temple area. His heart is broken to what He sees around Him.

"The disciples are elate with pride as they gaze upon this national structure, the glory of their country, and are happy as thoughtless men are won't to be; the heart of Jesus is heavy with the sadness of wisdom and prescience, and of love that would have saved, but, can now do nothing but weep, and proclaim the awful words of doom." A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, pg. 332.

So what does this have to do with the question I asked at the very beginning of this post? 

You see the nation of Israel, with Jerusalem being its capital city, had fallen into disrepair in the spiritual sense. The pride of the religious leaders (the Pharisees, Herodians, and other religious leaders) had driven the city into a sense of delusion.

Bruce explains why. "The direct object of the speaker (Jesus) was not to expose the blind guides of Israel, but to save from delusion the people whom they were misguiding to their ruin. The audience consisted of the disciples and the multitude who heard Him gladly. It is most probable that many of the blind guides were present; and it would make no difference to Jesus whether that were or not, for He had not two ways of speaking concerning men- one before their faces, another behind their backs." Bruce, pg. 330.

In churches, even in my own experiences, there are people who always seem to be the holy ones. They aren't even afraid to show you how much better they are! The problem with this is that they only appear to be.. 

When Jesus looks at the city of Jerusalem during this period, He is in the city for the last time and what does He see? He sees a former city. Rocks piled on top of rocks. He sees its future and laments over the coming doom. What else does He see? He sees a group of people who claim to be the "holy ones" who are taking advantage of them and the temple for their own purposes and ambitions. He is passionately angry with the ones who are misguiding the crowd. Those who will gladly and eagerly accept their messages. They are leading the sheep to the slaughter; and the sheep eagerly follow the leaders.

And so the words of Jesus echo throughout history, "O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem!"

I read an article this week published by Billy Graham. He said that our nation is a very blessed nation, but is headed for a rough time which is going to involve persecution before very much longer. Especially in the Christian faith. He challenged every believer to stay in The Word, but to deeply study it for life-changing experiences. He said if we only casually study The Word of God, we will falter when the time of persecution comes. Then he says, will our faith truly be seen...people will deny their Lord so they won't have to die.

Perseverance in the faith, involves knowing the full Gospel, not just pretending like those who pretend to be holy. This is what happened in the Temple with the leaders in Jesus day. They were pretending to be what they were not; and while they did, they took all the innocents with them in their sins and Jesus hated it. 

I challenge you today not to become a blind innocent. Take your faith to the next level and be ready. Ready for a faith that can be tested and true. 

Your faith in the future is going to be tested... Don't be one of the people who blindly follow those who appear to be leading. Let Jesus lead you into a personal and real relationship!

When No One Else Seeks Him

John 12:20-23

Some times we get it right. This was the case of Phillip in this passage. 

Over the time of walking with Jesus, the disciples made some poor decisions; but then again sometimes they made some really good decisions. In this case, Phillip made a good decision without hastily jumping to conclusions like they were so well known to do at times.

When the Greeks came seeking Jesus they asked, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (verse 21)

"But why, then, does this sympathetic disciple not convey the request of the Greeks to Jesus? Why take Andrew with him, as if afraid to go alone on such an errand? Just because the petitioners are Greeks and Gentiles. It is one thing to introduce a devout Jew like Nathanael to Jesus, quite another to introduce Gentiles, however devout. Phillip is pleased that his Master should be inquired after in such a quarter, but he is not sure about the propriety of acting on his first impulse. He hesitates, and is in a flurry of excitement in presence of what he feels to be a new thing, a significant event, the beginning of a religious revolution... but he distrusts his own judgment, and, before acting on it, lays the case before his brother-disciple and fellow-townsman Andrew, to see how it will strike him." The Training of the Twelve, A. B. Bruce, pg. 320.

Sometimes we make impulsive decisions in life. You see, the Jews did not care for or even like the Gentiles. A Gentile was considered of a lower form of life to them. But should he bring this outsider into the presence of Jesus?

But within the heart of Jesus there was no existence of this bias or prejudice they experienced. As Jesus was now within three days of His crucifixion, he had been around several of His own countrymen who rejected His message and would not accept the Gospel! So when the disciples brought the Greeks to Jesus what a refreshing joy it must have brought to Jesus! "What a sight more moving than that of a human being seeking after God, the fountain of light and of life!" Bruce, pg. 321.

This must have encouraged the soul of Jesus after His own people rejected Him time and time again. He must have felt ineffective when His own people rejected His plan to eternal life. Now total strangers came asking to hear His gospel! What a joy to His soul!

"He would have all men believe in Him and be saved. He complained with deep melancholy of the fewness of believers among the Jews; He turned with unspeakable longing to the Gentiles, in hope of a better reception from them. The greater number of believers at any time and in any place, the better He is pleased; and He certainly does not contemplate with indifference the vast amount of unbelief which still prevails in quarters of the world." Bruce, pg. 323.

By the act of the disciples who were not sure about what to do with people who weren't the plan for salvation, Jesus' heart was encouraged. His time to be delivered up to the cross was within three days and He knew it. How it must have been so encouraging to know that if your own people don't want to hear; total strangers do. This must have given Him a boost in his spirit (the human side of Jesus) knowing that all He had shared was not for naught. He was about to die for this humanity who didn't seem to care and towards the end some still came!

Listen to these last few words Bruce shares in the final part of his chapter concerning our salvation: "The principle laid down is this, that in proportion as a man is a partaker of Christ's suffering in His estate of humiliation shall he be a partaker of the glory, honor, and power which belong to His estate of exaltation. This principle holds true even in this life. The bearing of the cross, the undergoing of death, is the condition of fruit bearing both in the sense of personal sanctification and in the sense of effective service in the kingdom of God. In the long-run the measure of a man's power is the extent to which he is baptized into Christ's death." Bruce, pg. 324. 

How much power do you have today?

A Dry Bed or a Overflowing River?

Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8

We return today to the story of the woman with the alabaster box and consider one more thing about her gift. Is she a model Christian? If so, what are some of the marks of a "Model Christian?"

"First among these is her enthusiastic attachment to the person of Christ. The most prominent feature in Mary's character was her power of loving, her capacity of self-devotion. It was this virtue, as manifested in her action, that elicited the admiration of Jesus." A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, pg. 307.

What is makes Islam so powerful a draw to people? It is the complete abandonment of self to its tenants. Islam requires one to become fully devoted and requires abandonment from anything that would place itself before this belief. People are not allowed to make decisions as to how they feel and go in that direction, but somehow each of us need someone to give us direction. That's what Islam does. It requires full obedience. So what is the difference between this faith and Christianity? Islam requires complete robotic compliance; Christianity's love for God is the source of the drive, not forced obedience. God wants each person to come out a love relationship with Him, rather than forced obedience. That's the only way the motive can be pure. Mary knew that her love for Christ required her to do something to show her gratitude for what Jesus had done for she and her family. She showed her love as if she knew He were going to die (which she didn't at the time), while the disciples heard Jesus mention His death several times; to include Him telling them where He would die!

"A second admirable feature in Mary's character was the freedom of her spirit. She was not tied down to methods and rules of well-doing. The disciples, judging from their language, seem to have been great methodists, servile in their adherence to certain stereotyped modes of action. 'This ointment,' said they, 'might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.' They understand that charity to the poor is a very important duty: they know that their Master often referred to it; and they make it everything. 'Charity,' in the sense of almsgiving, is their hobby." Bruce, pg. 310.

In the church today, it is really easy to get caught up in the mechanics of church life. We go about each week in the service of our Lord in the same methodology as we have in the past. Mary didn't feel this way about her love for Jesus. She needed no one to tell her how to act; her heart guided her actions. She wasn't about to go on serving Jesus like everyone else. Her heart demanded so much more and she she wasn't about to let it be constrained by the average mechanics and methodology of everyone else within the norms of the church. She worshipped the Lord with all her heart now, not later!

Consider this beautiful passage from Bruce: "...when the love God is shed abroad in the hearts of her members, the church become like the same river in time of rain. The stream begins to rise, all the gravel beds begin to disappear, and at length the swollen flood not only fills its channel, but overflows its banks, and spreads over the meadows. New methods of well-doing reached; new songs are indited and sung; new forms of expression for old truths are invented, not for the sake of novelty, but in the creative might of a new spiritual life." Bruce, pg. 311.

What he is trying to say is that when the church begins to love God the way it was intended, it begins to overflow with new excitement and exuberance for Him. New ideas are all always present in how the church can reach the world for Jesus Christ. It is always thinking of how to express it love for the One who has given so much for us. Then we will begin to think, "whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, think of these things."

Its not forced obedience (like Islam). It (the church) is excited about showing all it's love for God and has a fresh sense of purpose, desire, and drive. Nothing can withhold its desire to reach all it can for those who don't know the Lord. It is not interested in being useful, but shoots for something far beyond this reasonable service!

So today in your life today, is your church a river bed which is dried up and needs some fresh rain to fill its parched earth? Or is your church a overflowing river with its banks swollen with its love for Christ so that its edges are overflowing into the pastures nearby, which so desperately need the river of overflowing and ever providing "Life Giving Force?"

Anointing or Annoying God

Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8

The story for today concerns the unselfish act of Mary of Bethany. You know; the woman who anoints Jesus with the oil from the alabaster box? What did the disciples have to say about this act?

The disciples responded saying, "Why this waste? “For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 26:8–9.

The money? In the next few passages we see Judas agreeing to sell out Jesus for less than what Mary was considered to be wasted, anointing Jesus. "Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, 'What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?' And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus."

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 26:14–16.

The disciples were clear about their motive, while Judas was hypocritical about his. The gift of the alabaster box was worth more in value than Judas sold Jesus out!

Was this act of worship Mary exhibited proper? "Her action was simply a festive honor done to one whom she loved unspeakably, and which she might have rendered at another time." "She loved Jesus with her whole heart, for what He was, for what He had done for the family to which she belonged, and for the words of instruction she had heard from His lips when He came on a visit to their house. There was such a love in her heart for her friend and benefactor as imperatively demanded in expression, and yet could not find expression in words. She must do something to relieve her pent-up emotions: she must get an alabaster box and break it; and pour it on the person of Jesus, else her heart would break." The Training of the Twelve, A. B. Bruce, pg. 299, 301.

This is a practical picture of what Jesus did for this world. He was so moved by His love for sinners that He came that He must come and die for them. 

"Like Nehemiah, the Jewish patriot in the court of the Persian king, He could not stay in Heaven's court while His brethren far away on earth were in evil's case; He must ask and obtain leave to go down to their assistance. Or, like Mary, He must procure an alabaster box- a human body- fill it with the fine essence of a human soul, and pour out His soul unto death on the cross for our salvation. The spirit of Jesus, yea, the spirit of the Eternal God, is the spirit of Mary and of Nehemiah, and of all who are like-minded with them." The Training of the Twelve, A. B. Bruce, pg. 301-302.

As our church continues the study of Acts 5 this Sunday (Oct. 11th), we are looking at the story of Ananias and Sapphira. It sometimes boggles my mind in my study time to see God showing me a direction and contrast about those who withhold and those who go to the extreme to show their gratitude to Jesus. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are two responses in the way we worship Jesus. One has an agenda which is exposed by the Holy Spirit's testimony in both Ananias and Sapphira's shortness of life. On the other hand, we see the complete devotion of Mary who can't even express her love and worship in words for Jesus and will be overcome in her actions for Him. Actions in which Jesus told the disciples, "Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 26:13.

Where are you today? Could Jesus say this about you? Or are we teetering on the grace of God, close enough for Him to take our life rather than ruin the testimony of His church? How much are you holding back today? 

I heard a really good quote this week from Todd Adkins. He says, "The Church isn't reaching the world because its too busy keeping Christians on life support." Sad...