Sleeping Strengths

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(Revelation 3:2) Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

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Sleep is that necessary state where the body lies comatose and its imagination is left unguarded to unravel its emotional tensions. Figuratively, to jump awake is to remember reality and repent--i.e., to reverse all that is wrong (3:3). That is the surprise: instead of focusing on lost life, Jesus said repentance is best accomplished by strengthening and nurturing the good that is still alive. "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).

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Have I completed the opportunities that God gave me so far today or this week? He's not a tyrant who forbids enjoyment or demands forced labor; He's gracious. He understands that love, mercy, and peace produce good fruit if we'd but cultivate and enjoy them. Therefore, think: What strengths, what virtues, what goodnesses and potential greatnesses have I been neglecting or minimizing?

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Lord, good morning. Thank You for haven given me great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:3,4) and every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). Have I been miserly or fearful and treated Your gifts as scarcities? Have I used any of them to manipulate or trouble others instead of liberate them? If so, help me to feel and fear that pain and to honorably repent.

Following My Leader: A Reality Check

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(3 John 11) Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

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The Holy Spirit developed within John a mastery of simple, strong communication, as this summary verse demonstrates. We all mimic. We all imitate others. Otherwise (quite literally, as neurologists tell us), our brains would not form or function. The issue John presented wasn't whether to mimic, but whom. No human idea is really new (Eccl. 1:9): creativity is merely a redressing and personalizing what we've seen and followed. We long to transform, to possess improvements, but to stay within the structure of what is safely familiar. Longing for resurrection is hardwired in us.

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John revealed that anyone who has seen, touched, and discovered God aches to mimic Him--to become truly good. For that reason, God reminds us (2 Thessalonians 3:7,9; Hebrews 13:7) to thoughtfully observe the people we're following. I need to objectively evaluate the people who are on the same path I've chosen but who are simply farther along.

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Lord, give me boldness. I need that if I'm going to be honest about my life and my direction, if I'm going to believe Your Word. I understand that no person is perfect, so I need You to heal my eyes so that I can see Your hand and Your heart at work in the people I'm imitating, even though it's in my own style. Please unclog my ears so I discern Your leadership above distracters.

The Human Biography

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(John 1914) ... [Pilate] said to the Jews, "Behold your king!"

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Pilate's interrogation of Jesus typifies human investigations of Jesus' authority. His seven key questions to Jesus revealed his internal struggles, and ours. He gradually realized Jesus' unique nature and innocence, yet he was continually pulled by the threats of Jesus' enemies: "If you believe Jesus then you lose both our respect and your authority!" Pilate surrendered to their jealousy even while he seemed to believe Jesus' authority and identity (verse 21). Pilate's ultimate rejection of Jesus was poorly hidden by his passivity.

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I am struck by how faithlessly and falsely God's people represented Jesus to Pilate. So, as people watch the Church (or as the world watches me), does it see a clear picture of Christ's kingdom? Clearly His kingdom is not of this world (verses 35-37) because His people (including me) don't yet perfectly represent Him. Ironically, our "brokenness but making good progress" is the thing that gives people hope.

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My Lord and King, I humble my heart, I bow my knees to You, I prostrate myself. I relinquish all that I have, all that I am, all that I hope to be and submit them to the majesty of Your kingdom. Only by doing Your will here on earth as it is being done in heaven ... only then will the Truth-starved world see the compelling, inviting foretaste of Your kingdom. Help!

Lost to Gain

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(John 16:7) Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.

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Living--eating, sleeping, traveling, and conversing--with the Christ seemed to be the clearest advantage. Having Him depart seemed like the greatest, the cruelest disadvantage. Still, Jesus knew more than what seemed the most obvious gain. His complete wisdom and foreknowledge was only a part of His divine nature. God is also love, which was part of why He had to depart.

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So why couldn't Jesus have stayed and sent His Holy Spirit anyway? Perhaps because when I depend on real-time encounters with people I trust, I tend to postpone decisions and avoid (in some cases) being responsible. I'm afraid that if Jesus were still here in the flesh, I'd postpone life and maturity--I'd depend on "adequate" conversations with Him. Jesus was right--we need His ever-available Holy Spirit more than a touchable flesh (until we get to Heaven).

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Lord, Your demonstration here on earth taught me how approachable and good You are. Your Holy Spirit teaches me how constantly available You are. Thank You.

Whirled Wars and Lasting Peace

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(John 13:21) After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in His spirit and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."

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Luke described this troubling Jesus felt as being like calm water that had been roiled up. Others who had had similar emotions were described as being terrified, agitated, unsettled, confused, and intimidated. Such reactions were appropriate, normal responses to disturbed, abnormal circumstances.

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I'm encouraged that Jesus knows how I feel at such times. I'm thankful, too, that those disturbances--and my emotional reactions and mind-freezing responses--are simply reality checks for me. They remind me that I still need a Savior and that Jesus is always mighty to save. Health doesn't bypass emotions; it experiences them appropriately and works through them to bring God's will comes to rest.

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Lord, thank You for letting me "see You" through Scriptures. You can be agitated and troubled, too, but You also have remedies so that I can "not let my heart be troubled or afraid." You alone can always restore peace when no one else can and even when circumstances remain unchanged (John 14:1, 27).

Resistant to Healing?

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(John 9:41) Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains."

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To everyone's surprise, Jesus wasn't as concerned about actual sin as He was about people's attitude towards sin. He already knew the world's works were evil (7:7) and that people were enslaved to sin (8:34,35). The problem, though, was that people's sin became solidified whenever they claimed to be free of sin apart from Jesus--He is the only perfect judge (9:39). He knows where guilt truly lies, and people who deny guilt are not ready to repent of it, so their toxic guilt remains.

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I don't want to be like the disciples who saw sin as the cause of suffering (9:2) or the Pharisees who saw sin as a description of other people (9:34). Like the adulterer in John 8 or the blind man in John 9, I want Jesus to help me see my sin so I can repent and be delivered. The greater my awareness of moral wrong-doings, the greater my hope for change.

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Savior, You alone see the full range and ramifications of each sin, which is why You came to make deliverance available to us. In Your light, I am able to light--the Light of Life (Psalm 36:9; John 8:12). I pray that You help me to always have a tender and humble heart towards sin and righteousness.

The Will to See Clearly

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(John 7:17, 18) If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether [Jesus' teachings are] from God ... the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him is no falsehood.

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Here, Jesus gives humanity tools for discerning the validity of His amazing claims. These tools also help us recognize both truth and honest people (see Acts 17:24-28). He teaches that people who promote themselves instead of God are filled with falsehood. In contrast, those who induce people to love and obey God are filled with truth. How does one recognize Truth? The more one reveals Jesus, the more one reveals Truth (see John 14:6,7).

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This information teaches me how to structure my life and my thoughts. First, I resolve to be a person who resolves to do God's will, wherever that leads me. Second, I resolve to be a person who seeks God's glory and revelation in any circumstance, regardless of how Fear or Doubt or Greed might argue. Third, I resolve to delight in Your introductions and revelations: You not only love revealing Your love, You also let us share the joy of helping people discover You.

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Lord, its hard to not be a self-promoter or self-server. Just as it's also hard to not be a slave to others' disapproval or approval. The only thing that gives me perspective enough to abandon those sins is to love and trust You. I know you--You are truly trustworthy.

Adjusting to the Light

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(2 Peter 1:9) “For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”

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Here, Peter directs God’s spotlight onto the unhappy cause of ineffective, unproductive living. This nearsightedness, in ancient Greek, meant to squint one’s eyes shut and turn away because of a brilliant light (A.T. Robertson). “Receiving forgetfulness” is the problem. Choosing to remember—not the sins, but God’s great forgiveness—is the brilliant light. If we will but look fully, we can see God’s perspective on our immediate circumstances as well as long-term goals.

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Peter was right. As I celebrate God’s forgiveness and grace (as opposed to wallowing in regrets), my attitude, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors radically shift. How could I have distrusted God? In His light I find mercy, not condemnation (Psalm 36:9) Because of Him, I eagerly add to my faith all that Peter listed: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love.

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Lord, keep me as the apple of Your eye (Psalm 17:8). Only when I look into the light of Your face and believe the unpretentiousness of Your love, only then do I have serenity and security (Numbers 6:24-26). Thank You!

The Good Life

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(Hebrews 9:14) ... how much more will the blood of Christ ... purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

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This describes a more profound feature of Christ's blood: conscience ["suneidasin"] purification. This Greek work means more than being a mere witness to one's own conduct and duty, it also describes the purification of one's outlook. It's a change of consciousness that's caused by learning to discern between death-stimulating and life-stimulating actions. Realizing God's redemptive use of Jesus' blood does that to our perceptions of life. It's radical.

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Some people argue over which comes first: Does attitude and understanding shape behavior, or can it be the other way around? In this verse I find a different answer: Jesus' blood demonstrates God's grace-filled love, and once I become conscious of that, my conscience realigns like iron to a magnet. God's love redefines how I think about people and how I treat people.

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Lord, You know how often I wasted my life on worthless works. My darkened mind slandered Your goodness. Thank You, though, for the ever-present reminder of Your blood. It really changes my view of life. It illuminates the living hope I have as I serve You, the living God. Life really is good!

Acquired Gentleness

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(Hebrews 5:2) He [the high priest] can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.

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"Beset with weakness" means to enclose a person with an inescapable awareness of his or her own inabilities. This resolves God's problem with human leaders: the higher He appoints and exalts people (verses 4, 5), the easier it is for them to become harsh with those who aren't as gifted or likeminded. Anyone who is lifted out of shame, ineptitude, or suffering is quick to create as much distance as possible from those things, sometimes by becoming intolerant or impatient with those who are still stuck there.

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I have to stand in awe of God's wisdom, just as I also have to submit to it. Personal sicknesses, suffering, and insufficiency are necessary companions--temporary adversaries--who train me to deal gently and patiently with people who bug me. If I really want to prove my maturity, that I don't need besetting weakness, I should demonstrate gentleness with difficult people.

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Lord, I submit to Your wisdom. Just as Israel, Paul--even Yourself--submitted to this training method (Deuteronomy 7:22; Hebrews, 12; 2 Corinthians 12) I will, too. I can because I trust You completely and I know the rest, peace, and wholeness that obedience to You provides.

Direct Access to Unclaimed Mercy

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(Hebrews 1:1,2) Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world.
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This letter commemorated the greatest shift in human history. Literally, this author’s generation was the first to see the world through the long-awaited perspective of the Christ. Until then, imperfect symbols, shadows, and metaphors were the best foggy lens through which people could perceive God''s love. Because of Jesus’ cross, resurrection, and ascension, we now can each know God directly through Jesus Christ.

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I think I fail to adequately appreciate the privileges of God’s grace. Privilege has become a bad word today, but receiving this grace isn't from misused power or favoritism. God's mercy is too vast and too accessible for that. Frankly, our needs are too small to exhaust the resource that Jesus is to each of us.

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Savior, help me to enter fully into Your rest (4:11). Help me to confidently draw near to Your throne of grace so I might receive mercy and find grace to help in every single time of need, every circumstance and season of life (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Elucidate, Elucubrate, Validate

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(2 Timothy 1:2) To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Scholars presume that Timothy’s father, a Greek unbeliever (Acts 16:1), was probably no longer alive. That speculation has nothing to do with the truthfulness of Paul’s salutation. First, Paul served Timothy in a nurturing, guiding capacity--a necessary fatherly role. Second, this role was characterized by (1) elucidation (bringing light and clarity to the dark frustrations of life), (2) elucidation (laboring hard in behind-the-scenes study and service), and (3) validation (affirming the reality of God’s work and will in Timothy’s life).

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All too often our perceptions of reality are based on misguided, misinformed stories that other people repeat. All too often I allow my private, un-worded fears to whisper into the ears of my timid will. For others, too, all too often false but loud and dominant narratives are believed instead of the less vocalized, less believed truth.

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Good Shepherd, I want to hear and need to hear Your voice. Help me to know truth and to speak it into other people’s lives. Help me to validate in them Your glorious image and goodnesses.

A New Brand

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(Titus 3:14) “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”

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Becoming devoted to good works opens up an expansive playground for one's imagination. Paul instructed Titus to let his portion of the church learn this creativity. Ironically, these same people had been enslaved to self-promoting good works, fearing God’s wrath for not being good enough. Now, having been fully justified by the forgiving grace that Jesus’ blood paid for, these same people now freely devoted themselves to the joys of loving people.They had pure hearts and motives to focus on those who were in greatest need. What a great social revolution!

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The beauty of this healed devotion is that the body of Christ is liberated to partner with the Holy Spirit’s creativity. We get to dream and create. We get to share in God's good works so the Gospel is launched in fresh, tangible ways.

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Lord, I see that before such a revolution can catch me and carry me to where I really want to be, I need to devote myself afresh to You, to re-receive Your grace today, and to remember Your call on my life. Lord, Your will is supreme above all other temptations and all the screeching noises from the world. I am fully Yours, Jesus!

Easy Losses

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(Philippians 3:8) Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord. For His sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

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Paul suffered when things were taken from him or when he let things go. His inventory of losses was not limited to tangibles; it included his ambitions, social status, and treasured accolades...all the things that helped him rest contentedly as a good, respect-worthy person. All of that lost all value. His only true treasure, he learned, was receiving Jesus--coming to Him continually empty-handed and destitute before His indescribable generosity.

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I hate to lose things--books, jobs, cars, friends, reputations (the good ones)...things I wanted to remember on time. I love to snuggle into my temporal securities, but Paul was right, losses help my faith appreciate. It is far better and far more secure to know that I know Christ as my all-sufficient, all-caring Lord.

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Jesus, it seems true that the final stage of terminal illnesses includes letting go of things, relationships, and life. Some day, I'll do that in anticipation of my homecoming to Heaven, but until then, I'll enjoy all the things You give me and all the people You've given me to love. Even so, as Paul said, none of that compares with knowing You.

360 Degree Worship

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(Ephesians 6:9) Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that He who is both their Master and yours is in Heaven, and there is no partiality in Him.

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"The same to them" refers to verses 5-7, where masters (bosses) are to "obey" their subordinates with fear and trembling, sincerely, as though Christ Himself was their employee...as though He was present with each person. Jesus came to earth, demoting Himself of His infinite power and authority. He came not only as a human, but as an infant boy, destined to be a poor servant. He, the Holy One, the righteous and merciful Judge, subjected Himself to human parents and their relatives. He subjected Himself to corrupt judicial, executive, and legislative powers.

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We can't avoid exercising authority, power or judgment over others. We are served by cashiers when we buy groceries. We learn of people weakened by unemployment or oppression. How do I handle my portions of power and authority? Jesus is all about lifting the down-trodden, strengthening the weak, and encouraging the hopeless...am I?

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Lord, You revealed Your love to me through people, but I'm slow to recognize Your sovereign works in these people. Your image is visible in the people around me. I resist social strata, but it still exists. You use people above me, beside me, and below me to help me learn about authority. Help me to serve each of them with the same incorruptible love that I have for You (Ephesians 6:23,24).

Unlimited Variations of Peace

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(2 Thessalonians 3:16) Now may the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

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Paul had just written about apocalyptic crises as well as commonplace, household complaints, yet his assertion was that God's peace was available against the whole range of human disturbances. It's always available. It's always available in every circumstance. Why? Because the Lord is always with us. Wonderful!

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It's one thing for me to have finally believed Jesus and that my believing His blood justified my forgiveness...why did I ever wait so long? It's the next discovery after believing Him for my salvation that He makes His peace available to me in the midst of all my experiences: repentance, joy, grief, anger, correction, celebrations, etc.

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Lord, You have made so many good things available to us! I'm finding myself less intimidated by life. As I experience the unpredictability of human life, I'm learning to eagerly look forward to the many facets of Your peace. Seeking and enjoying Your will is the calm center of life's storms. Thank You.