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.