The Dying Parent and the Little Ones, Part II

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way? Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 14:5–6.

When the young disciple asked this question, how could he have not known where Jesus was going and what path was He taking? He heard all the conversations from Jesus about the kingdom! You see, from the beginning Thomas was a skeptic. He was one who carefully listened to Jesus while he taught the others. He had one fault though; it was his dark skepticism. He knew Jesus was a king and was going to bring His kingdom to pass, but what that meant in great detail he never knew. None of them did!

A great lesson is about to occur here. Jesus told him that He is the one who is "The Way" to His kingdom. All Thomas had to do was to follow Him and Jesus would provide the path and direction to follow. Surely if Jesus had taken all the time to tell the disciples about the coming kingdom, He wouldn't leave them without a way to get there? 

How complicated is it to know for sure that we will go to heaven and we will all arrive there without getting lost along the way? Do you feel sometime like Thomas?

This brings about an interesting statement by Bruce: "The doctrine that in Christ is the fullness of grace and truth is very comforting to those who know Him: but what of those who know Him not, or who possess only such an implicit, unconscious knowledge as hardly merits the name? Does the statement we have been considered excluded such from the possibility of salvation? It does not. It declares that no man cometh to the Father but by Christ, but it does not say how much knowledge is required for salvation. It is possible to that some may be saved by Christ, and for His sake, who know very little about Him indeed. This we may infer from the case of the disciples themselves. What did they know about the way of salvation at this period? Jesus addresses them as persons yet in ignorance concerning Himself, saying: 'If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.'" The Training of the Twelve, A. B. Bruce, pg. 396.

So, are you a doubting Thomas today or have been in the past? Here is a really good thing to remember that will help you in the future as stated so eloquently by Bruce; "These observations may help us to cherish hope for those whose opportunities of knowing Him who is 'the way, the truth, and the life' are small. They do not, however, justify those who, having abundant facilities for knowing Christ, are content with the minimum of knowledge. There is more hope for the heathen than for such men. To their number no true Christian can belong. A genuine disciple may know little to begin with: this was the case even with the apostles themselves; but he will not be satisfied to be in the dark. He will desire to be enlightened in the knowledge of Christ and will pray, 'Lord, show us the Father." Bruce, pg. 398. 

Every day is about change and growth in our lives for the Lord Jesus Christ. How is yours doing today? I am not satisfied with just going along with the attitude of "business as usual." Will you join me this year in your growth. I don't want to go on in the dark this year!

The Dying Parent and the Little Ones

"After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly." So after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night.

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 13:27, 30.

This is probably one of the saddest days in history. To be the One who knows who will betray you after knowing for years this was going to happen; then it happened.

Judas had been traveling with the disciples from early on in their journey. He was not from their native area. He was an outsider from the beginning. Over time, he assimilated into the fold of the disciples. Now at the table at the Last Supper, he does what Jesus knew he was going to do for years.  He betrays Him. Jesus though, viewed this in a different manner and how He addressed the disciples after Judas departure is thought provoking. 

"In His last words to His own the Savior employed two different styles of speech. First, He spoke to them as a dying parent addressing his children; and then He assumed a loftier tone, and spoke to them as a dying Lord addressing His servants, friends, and representatives. The Training of the Twelve, A. B. Bruce, page 379.

In Jesus encouraging words, He shares with the disciples this message; "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another."

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 13:34.

Everything these men had in their teacher, Lord, dear friend and brother's presence, is now about to disappear... 

Jesus knows that each of these men would need each other in the coming days. They would need the comfort that can only be found in reciprocating and mutual love. This love would carry them through some of the darkest days ahead in their own ministries. It was as if the man of Jesus who lit their paths in the previous days with wonder and power, during their night of sorrow they did not even have a solitary star to alleviate the coming gloom. But He knew that their love for each other would encourage each other in the coming days.

In the coming new year, many will be looking to their own destinies, while others look to the coming year with great anticipation and/ or worry over where our country is headed. Let me leave you today  with some great encouragement; Jesus has it all covered. He left here and went there to prepare our great treasure which awaits all who have trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 

Today, heed the words of Jesus; "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." We as the church united need each other. Use the church to be the encouragement when you feel down, share your cares and burdens with one another, pray for one another (just as Jesus did for His disciples), and love each other with the love of Jesus Christ. Then and only then, will we be applying the guidance left to all who call upon the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord!

If you don't have a church home, come and be a part of our wonderful church. You truly will find a group of people who will love you unconditionally here at Grace! May God bless you and your families in the coming year! 

The Lord's Supper

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 26:26–28.

The disciples were witnesses to a new form of an institutional symbol. Here love would be willing to die in the place of sin. From their history, the Jews dealt with sin by its blood offering; an innocent unwilling animal offering.  Here in this passage, Jesus tells the disciples He would become that offering. His offering of His body and blood were to be "given" for the sins of not only the nation of Israel, but to the whole world. Animals do not willingly give their lives for man's sin cause, but are led to their deaths by man's guidance. Hereby, Jesus offered Himself as that "willing" sacrifice. He did it out of love for His fellow man.

This new "testament" for which He was willing to give Himself, required a "testator." Normally a testator requires a normal death, but the Testator of the New Testament (Jesus) had to die a sacrificial death. Think about it; when men who have died and left a legacy, their tombstones leave an epitaph of their legacies for all to see fixed in stone. In the case of Jesus, men would go on throughout history celebrating his death in the form of the Last Supper. Better is the day that Jesus died than the day he was born, because we receive so much as a result of His death! His death opened a new era of forgiveness and mercy than the day He was born. 

Bruce reflects in his writings; "But why in a history throughout so remarkable should the death be thus singled out commemoration? Was its tragic character that won for it this distinction? Did the crucified One mean the Supper which goes by His Name to a be a mere dramatic presentation of His passion, for the purpose of exciting our feelings, and electing a sympathetic tear, by renewing the memory of His dying sorrows? So to think of the matter were to degrade our Christian feast to the level of the pagan festival of Adonis,
                  
           "Whose annual wound in Lebanon allured 
             The Syrian damsels to lament his fate
             In amorous ditties all a summer's day."

Or was it the foul wrong and shameful indignity done the Son of God by the wicked men who crucified Him that Jesus wished to have kept in perpetual remembrance? Was the Holy Supper instituted for the purpose of branding with eternal infamy a world that knew no better use to make of the Holy One than to nail Him to a tree, and felt more kindness even for a robber than for Him? Certainly the world well deserved to be thus held up to reprobation; but the Son of man came not to condemn sinners, but to save them; and it was not in His loving nature to erect an enduring moment to His own resentment or to the dishonor of His murderers. The blood of Jesus speaketh better things than that of Abel. " The Training of the Twelve, A. B. Bruce, page 358-359. 

So when we partake of the Lord's Supper, do we really celebrate the day of His death with a mere kindness and respect or do we take time to reflect on all that He gave to us as a result of His death? Remember, so much was given to us as a result of His death, but with purpose. We are to remember how that in the face of death, love was about to win and win big. You and I have received in that we are now winners, and we have won big! 

Blessed be the Lord our God who loved us so much that He gave us the riches of heaven we can enjoy here on earth and eternity to come! But never forget the great cost of Jesus life for us to receive this wondrous gift. He was willing to be treated worse than the average criminal, and it was all for Love's sake!

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!