Wednesday, November 30, 2016

1 John 3:15-24

1 John 3:15-24
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 Before I was a parent, it was so easy to look at other parents and judge whether they were doing the right thing for their kids.  I knew exactly what the best ways to parent were.  Now?  Well, it's a little tougher when one kid is screaming that her legs fell off and can't walk down the stairs and the other is lying on the couch refusing to do anything you ask.  I'm not quite the expert I once thought I was.
  In the same way, the Bible often seems straightforward when we read it.  If you have everything you need, then you should make sure that other people have their needs met.  Simple, right?
  Well, once we start trying to live the Bible out in the real world, we really complicate it, right?  We start trying to determine what is a need versus a want and how we save for the future and emergencies and we wonder about the efficacy of giving to certain groups and people and whether it will really change things.  It gets really complicated, right?
  So what's the answer?
  The hardest thing for me is to dig down to the truly loving thing to do.  I've hardened my heart in a lot of ways to the needs of others, and so my first response is seldom one born out of love.  Often it's rooted in a desire to protect what I have or to avoid entangling myself in the situation of another.  Sometimes, I'm just afraid.  Other times I'm too busy judging someone else to really worry about myself.  I refuse to love them because they might not be worthy of my love, which means I'm failing to recognize the grace of the unconditional love God poured out on me, when I certainly didn't deserve it.
  So we have to pay attention to all the things our messed-up hearts are doing, and we have to pray for the Spirit to teach us how to love as Christ loved, without condition or fear, without holding back, because we are loved and should find our satisfaction in Christ alone.  May we trust him enough to love others selflessly, because we find our true selves in Christ.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

1 John 3:11-14

1 John 3:11-14
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 So it was a bit of a crazy day in Columbus yesterday.  In the middle of the workday I learned that someone was running around with a butcher knife trying to stab people just around the corner from where I was in class last year.  A police officer shot the assailant, and it was a strange sensation to think that it was good news that people were only stabbed, none fatally, rather than shot.  It is a sign of how immune we become to the violence that swirls around us, intoxicating us to the steady shock of violence that streams in from around the world.  There is hatred aplenty to go around.
  Here we stand, as Christians, followers of a Savior who ascended the cross and absorbed the world's violence so that peace would ultimately prevail.  In the face of the world's hatred, we speak a language of peace that transcends war, of peace that transcends chaos.  We point to the light when the darkness presses in, and we reveal an empty tomb when death lurks.
  So let us not be surprised at the violence and hatred of the world.  May we in turn surprise the world by reacting in love to the ever-present violence, showing that love triumphs over all.

Monday, November 28, 2016

1 John 3:7-10

1 John 3:7-10
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

 Think about something you might own -- a car, for example.  Let's say you buy it, but it turns out that you park it in your neighbor's driveway and you never actually drive it, because your neighbor drives it all the time. Doesn't really feel like your car, does it?  You would have paid a high price for it, but you don't get the joy and delight from owning it because someone else is always using it.
  When Christ gave his life for us, he paid the highest possible price.  God's own Son laid down his life so that we might have life, so that we might be free.  He bought our freedom from sin and death at the cost of his own life, and now we are set free.  There are two paths before us -- we can choose freedom in Christ, or we can continue to live in the bondage of sin.  If we give control of our lives over to Christ, bowing the knee in submission to his Lordship, we acknowledge that true freedom is possible only in him.  We still wrestle with sin, but we are no longer its captive, for our ultimate freedom is determined by Christ.
  If, however, we refuse to submit to Christ and continue to live in such a way that refuses to acknowledge the presence and love and leadership of Christ, then we deny the reality of the cross in our lives through our actions.  Now that we are adopted as Christ's own through the glory of the cross, our lives should be the proof that we no longer belong to the devil but are Christ's own in love.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

1 John 3:1-6

1 John 3:1-6
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  When you're younger, you're always looking up to people, thinking about how you want to be just like them.  As you get older, you often realize that the idols of your youth had problems of their own, often very deep and messed-up problems, and you're often grateful that you didn't end up like them at all.  Sometimes, the more you know people, the more disappointed you are in them.
  As young Christians, we look up to Christ, and we want to be just like him.  We want to know him and be near him and love him and experience his love and grace.  We draw near to him, and then as we mature and know him better, we discover that his riches and love know no end.  We find that there is no limit to the love of God, and the deeper we go the more wondrous Christ is.  While our sin was a barrier, that has been destroyed through the crucifixion, and we are free to plunge into the depths of Christ and find ourselves refreshed the deeper we go.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

1 John 2:26-29

1 John 2:26-29
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  For a time, I thought I could read my way into deeper faith -- it became a quest, to think that if I just knew a little bit more, then my faith would really grow.  It's easier that way, because it's safer -- it's more academic.
  Now, I'm certainly not one to decry the importance of learning and knowledge.  I believe it is critically important to be informed and knowledgeable.  But faith can't stay there.  Faith can't remain an academic exercise that you think about.  It needs to be your first love, the thing that makes you grow emotionally as well as intellectually.  It should be something that drives you, that is at work deep within you, pulling you back to God.  Faith should be active and at work, a heart-level love that also motivates you to learn as much as possible.
  In seeking Christ, we do so with all of our hearts, all our minds and all our bodies.  In short, we dedicate ourselves to the work and love of God.

Monday, November 21, 2016

1 John 2:18-25

1 John 2:18-25
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  So tonight, as I was putting Caleb to bed, he was asking if there were always more people being born, which led to a question as to when there would be less people on earth, which led to him telling me that he didn't really want to go to heaven because he liked it here.  I certainly agree with him.
  We get so caught up in the here and now -- our imaginations are limited because we don't know anything other than the world and life we have.  We know this world, and the promises of God beyond the veil of death seem so hard to grasp that we discount them, choosing to focus on the here and now.  Then what happens is we get caught up in this world, and when given the chance to sacrifice for the sake of the Kingdom of God, we instead continue to invest in our kingdom, because it's what we know.
  So how do we train our hearts to put God's Kingdom first?  How do we let the Holy Spirit shape our imaginations so that we recognize the eternal reality of heaven is greater than our temporal reality here?  How do we live our lives today in such a way so that God's love triumphs over our human appetites, because we are willing to sacrifice today to prepare ourselves to enjoy eternal grace and mercy in the future?
  I don't know.  I can't wrap my mind around it, and I certainly can't explain it to a 5 year old.  I pray for God's Spirit to lead me to focus more on Christ and what he wants, recognizing that God's wisdom is greater than my own, and maybe someday I will learn how to turn down the lies of this world and embrace the promises of God's kingdom, living into that now and practicing for heaven with every remaining breath.

Friday, November 18, 2016

1 John 2:12-17

1 John 2:12-17
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

  What's the most important thing?  I know how I'd like to answer that, and yet if you look at how I spend my days, where my heart and mind are concentrated, does that fit?
  I was listening to a sermon on the way home that talked about how many people who attended church don't really follow Christ, and I always cringe when I hear pastors talk like that, because I'm afraid of becoming one of those people.  I pray every morning for the Holy Spirit to capture my heart, and yet when I look back at the end of the day, I can't help but wonder how I can let that prayer shape the rest of my day, rather than falling pray to the tyranny of the urgent.
  It's only through dependence on God do we ever grow into the person God wants us to be.  The Holy Spirit speaks to us and calls us deeper into grace each and every day, and so we lean into God, recognizing our complete dependence on him and our inability to secure our own salvation.  There is nothing we can do to add to what Christ has done for us on the cross, so we are to receive what God gives freely.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

1 John 2:7-11

1 John 2:7-11
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

  It's strange what we value at different parts of our lives.  I was going through some of my things in boxes in the basement, and I found a bag with little plastic animals, a wind-up skull and some plastic parts that don't seem to have any value at all.  At some point, however, I valued these things enough to hold onto them.  They were important then.
  I wonder how I'll look back on some of the things I value now.  Will a nice car or worldly status be as important in 30 years as it is now?  Will I look back and think I was a fool for pursuing some of the things I expend energy to chase now?  Probably.
  Faith is so challenging because God is working from an eternal perspective, but we are limited by space and time.  We think we have to squeeze so much out of this current life, when in fact God is trying to teach us that this life is preparation for the eternal.  We love selflessly now not at risk to ourselves, but rather because that is how we will live in eternity.  We aren't giving things up when we sacrifice, we're training our souls for the immortal bodies they will pull on at death.  God is trying to teach us to value the things that endure beyond the grave, but we often can't hear because our minds and hands and hearts are occupied trying to fill themselves with material treasure that is so alluring.
  And so we learn to daily die to ourselves, to empty ourselves and take up the values of God, to learn how to live now in the eternal, to let our hearts sing songs that echo beyond this kingdom into the very heart of God.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

1 John 2:1-6

1 John 2:1-6
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  It's hard to have a puppy.  You know that when you get a puppy, you're going to have to get up in the middle of the night to let it out, and it's going to chew on things, and there will be messes... and yet it's worth it, right?  Because puppies...
  When God created us, God knew we would turn from him in sin.  And yet, God charted a way for us back to grace.  God didn't give us up for lost, but rather poured out mercy on our sin, blotting out our brokenness so that we could be healed.  God loves us enough to forgive us our sins.
  And so our lives are reflections of our gratitude.  If we live like God doesn't matter, 1 John is telling us that we are revealing our hearts.  And so my prayer, for myself and everyone else, is that God transforms the hearts and minds of those who follow him, that our lives may communicate the endless love and mercy of God our Gracious Father.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

1 John 1:5-10

1 John 1:5-10
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  There are so many opportunities in life to try and make problems go away by ignoring them.  So few of them actually work.  That weed in your yard never gets any smaller on its own.  The crack in your windshield never shrinks.  The smell in the garbage can won't go away on its own.  And yet, so often our default response is to focus our attention elsewhere because we're unwilling to do the difficult work of moving towards a remedy, sometimes out of shame or embarrassment.  How many times have you avoided going to the doctor because it might be an awkward conversation?  I see this so often in our kids -- they don't want to say they did something because they're afraid they might get in trouble.
  When we this with sin, we thwart God's attempts to forgive us.  When we hide our sin, we refuse to allow ourselves to be washed in grace and made new in God's love.  He wants to forgive -- don't let pride keep you from confessing your sins to God.  Sin is ugly, but its power diminishes in the light of love.  Forgiveness is a free gift, and the love of God is unconditional.  Fall into grace.

Monday, November 14, 2016

1 John 1:1-4

1 John 1:1-4
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Ever since we moved, our basement has been a mess.  So many things ended up down there, many of them the kids' toys, most of which they forgot they owned as they moved on to something else.  Caleb spent the summer absorbed in sidewalk chalk, so he wasn't thinking of some of his toys that were in boxes in the basement.  I was cleaning down there Saturday and had pulled out a particular toy, and when he came downstairs he just started yelling 'Yes' because he was so excited to see this toy.  It made my day to know I had brought him such joy.
  In this letter, the author is telling us that sharing the Good News of the Gospel, the life-giving Word, brings them true happiness.  They love sharing all that God has done, and it brings them joy knowing that others are growing in their knowledge of Christ.
  How can we share the Gospel?  Does it bring us this kind of joy?  How do we love?  I don't know the best ways to share the Gospel in today's culture, but I do know that I want the Gospel of Christ to bring such joy to my heart that I can find true happiness in knowing that others are hearing and receiving the Good News.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Daniel 3:16-18

Daniel 3:16-18
English Standard Version (ESV)

 I love this section of the story.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are about to be thrown into a fiery furnace, and they truly believe God will save them.  However, they are prepared to not think any less of God if he doesn't!  They have such a strong belief in the sovereignty and majesty of God that if he doesn't intervene in their circumstances, it doesn't detract from his glory.  God is still great, and idols are still pathetic before his power.
  So when you go forth today, may you do so with such confidence in God's greatness that nothing can shake it.  When you go out into a life filled with busy-ness and noise and threats and violence and pollution, may you do so filled with the joy that comes from knowing that we not only worship the greatest power in the universe but also he knows you and loves you by name!!  There is so much that happens in the world, and just because we cannot see or understand exactly how God is at work doesn't mean that God isn't at work -- his power is not diminished when he doesn't intervene like we may want him to do.  God's glory is amazing, and may we trust fully in that!

Thursday, November 10, 2016

John 20:24-31

John 20:24-31
English Standard Version (ESV)

 Much ink has been spilled over the results of the election.  Many media members who spent months getting it wrong are now explaining what the election means.  Many others are lamenting what might be in the future.  Still others are celebrating what is seen as a new era in politics.  A great many are in the middle, wondering what happens next, unsure of exactly what the road ahead now looks like.  It's a strange few days in American life.
  In uncertain times, we tend to grasp for whatever certainty we can find.  We look for comfort, for assurance that all will be well.  We need some greater truth to remind us that there is a rock in the midst of turbulent times.
  Thomas, too, was uncertain.  While there was talk of resurrection, he couldn't believe such a thing could be true until the risen Christ was standing before him.  He refused to accept anything less than concrete evidence.
  In these uncertain times, may the reality of the resurrection guard your heart and mind.  May we each believe that the church, the bride of Christ, will thrive regardless of whatever happens in the world around us.  When we cling to the eternal Word of God, we invest ourselves in a Kingdom that has no end, in a Kingdom that will not be brought down by swirling landscapes that change with the political winds.  We are sinners who have been saved, and the Good News of our salvation should be a constant joy and secure anchor in our lives.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

John 20:19-23

John 20:19-23
English Standard Version (ESV)

 Here are the disciples, stunned at what has happened.  Their lives have been turned upside-down in the last week, having watched their Messiah parade into Jerusalem, then arrested under the dark of night, crucified, and yet here he is, alive and offering his peace to them all.  Even death has fallen beneath his feet, and in the midst of the celebration, they are charged to forgive.
  Jesus does this all the time -- he is constantly asking more of his disciples.  They are always pointed forward, looking to the Kingdom that lies ahead, asked to go out into a difficult and complicated world and share the peace of God.  It's never easy, especially when it comes to forgiveness, but it's how the world is changed -- one interaction at a time.
  Can you imagine what it might be like to look at every human interaction as pivotal in terms of the Kingdom of God?  What if you viewed each conversation as an opportunity to sow peace and love?  We recently had someone steal some valuable things from our house, and it's a real struggle to think about how God would have us treat the situation, setting aside our desire for revenge.  What's the best path forward that points to God's Kingdom?  We don't know the answer to that, but it definitely forces us to ask some tough questions about our gut reactions and how to let God challenge our assumptions about how things 'should' be.
  Remember, in human wisdom, death should have the final word.  God upends all of that, and sends us out to make sense of it in the world, enabled by the Holy Spirit to love without condition and spread the peace of Christ in all we do.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

John 20:1-10

John 20:1-10
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 In the aftermath of large-scale events, there are often reports sent out with all sorts of wrong information.  People think they saw different things, and rumors spread like wildfire.  It takes time to figure out what happened.
  When Mary saw the stone rolled away from the tomb, her first thought wasn't resurrection, but it was theft.  Simon Peter and John ran to the tomb, determined to find out what had happened to the body of Jesus, and there in that place, they realized that something supernatural, beyond human reasoning, had occurred.  The rolled up piece of cloth that had covered the dead man's face testified to the greater truth -- resurrection had taken place, and the world would never be the same.
  There in that dark place, the future had changed forever.  Death no longer had the final word, and eternal life was now possible for all who believe.  Mary was the first witness to this, but it took her some time to understand and believe.  We, centuries later, stand in the tomb and must make the decision for ourselves -- do we believe in the incredible Good News?  We have centuries of scholars examining the evidence, and for the countless investigations that have taken place, no one has yet turned up evidence that the resurrection didn't take place.  I stand in the tomb and I believe in the future Christ taught.  Life is greater than death, and God's light has beaten back the darkness.

John 20:11-18

John 20:11-18
English Standard Version (ESV)

  I think everyone has had the sensation of searching for a pair of glasses, only to discover they are on your head.  I once thought someone had ran off with my wallet when in fact I was holding it in my hand.  Any more, we often panic because our phone isn't in our pocket, even if it's on the table next to us.  We grow accustomed to things being in certain places.
  With Jesus, we often wonder where he is.  In reality, Jesus never forsakes us, but he often shows up in ways that we might not expect.  We mistake his presence for something or someone else, and we wonder why Jesus isn't near, when in fact he couldn't be any closer, we just miss it for one reason or another.  Often it is because we are expecting something else -- the problem isn't with Jesus, but rather with our expectations.
  Mary expected Jesus to be dead.  Instead, he was very much resurrected.  Life had taken the place of death.
  And so Christ comes to us, very much alive and dynamic and asking much of us.  Christ is with us, always, but sometimes we have to tune our lives and hearts to hear him calling us in new ways.  He knows you by name, and calls you as the unique child of God that you are.

Friday, November 4, 2016

John 19:38-42

John 19:38-42
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  What happens when you realize that all of your resources are really Christ's?
  Here's Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man who had a new tomb, and though he had been following Christ in secret, he realized that this was the time for him to come forward and offer what he had for the sake of the church.  His resources set the stage for something amazing God was going to do.  He wasn't the one doing the miracle, but God used his resources to change the world.
  So what is it that you have that can be a vehicle for the grace and mercy and power of God?  Are you willing to entrust your resources to God, even if you don't have a full grasp of how God might use them?  I doubt that Joseph understood that his new tomb would be the setting for the resurrection.  But God's abilities aren't limited by our vision, or lack thereof.  So imagine what God might be able to do when we offer all we have and all we are to Him.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

John 19:28-37

John 19:28-37
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 Jesus died.
  The Son of God, the conquering hero who will one day return with a legion of armies to vanquish sin and death once and for all, died on a cross between two criminals.
  Death is such a looming fate, one that strikes fear and dread into the hearts and minds of us all.  It just sits there, drawing closer each and every day, and there isn't really anything we can do about it.  I always think it's strange when I hear about statistics of medicines that prevented death... but they don't really.  They just delay it.  We all die.
  But Jesus understands death.  He has been through it, and all of us who face death do so with the comfort of a Savior who knows the experience intimately.  Jesus died, and because he was willing to die, you and I don't face death as a final end, but rather as a veil through which to pass into eternal life.
  But know that death is not unique to us.  The Savior of the world died, and because he did, we can live.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

John 19:23-27

John 19:23-27
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 There are two amazing things going on in this moment.
  First, Jesus is still fulfilling prophecies.  Even on the cross, at the moment at which the reign of death seems poised to triumph, everything is still unfolding according to plan.  God is in control.
  Second, Jesus is still worried about others.  Even in his torturous death, he is focused on caring for those he loves.  His mind is dwelling on how to care for his beloved.
  You are always on the mind and heart of Jesus, and he has always been preparing to save you.  Just let those truths dwell richly in your heart and mind today.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

John 19:17-22

John 19:17-22
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Did you ever expect that your life would begin on a hill known as the Skull?  Is that the place from which your life springs?  When we kneel at the foot of the cross, do you recognize that life springs bursts forth, watered by the blood of the lamb and pouring forth, overflowing from one thirsty soul to the next, each one coming as broken and poor, miraculously rejuvenated and poured into by the Holy Spirit.  On the hill known as the Skull, where death seemed to have the upper hand, Jesus ascends a cross and demonstrates that death's conquest is but a momentary triumph, soon to be smashed by the hand of life, disassembled and defeated, vanquish by the One who comes to snatch life from the jaws of death.  You need not fear the place of the Skull, because Life Wins!  You need not cower before the icy embrace of death, because our God Wins!  You need not tremble at the uncertainty of the grave, because where execution was scheduled, a resurrection was beginning.
  Think of yourself, standing before a cavern, about to enter a place of utter darkness, and walking in boldly, head held high, because you have complete confidence that deep within the grave is a place of life and light and new beginnings.  The world may think we are foolish, and the Romans may have laughed at the sight of a King on a cross, but life courses through Him, and no spear can drain it from his veins, just as no tomb can hold his body, and no cross can take his life.
  Whatever charges were filed to place him on the cross, they were powerless to convict an innocent man, just as the accusations Satan makes against you will ultimately falter when they are dashed against the awesome power of Christ.  You are washed in the blood of the Lamb and you emerge white as snow, pure as the Christ who saves you from sin.  It isn't fair, and it's wondrous.  You are clean, saved from sin, destined for life, and no lie of the devil will snatch you from your loving Father's victorious right hand.  You have been given life, and that life is eternal life, abundant life, wondrous life that flows from the throne of grace and into the hearts and souls of every one who accepts Christ as Lord, Savior and King.
  We have been saved, friends, and so let us walk in the light of love, selflessly pouring ourselves out for the sake of the cross, unafraid of whatever uncertainty may lurk in the world, be it violence or political intrigue or interpersonal conflict.  May we stand in the face of the maelstroms of the world and declare that we believe in the power of God's selfless love to transform the world and the people in it, and may we strive to use our lives to declare the abundant power and grace of Christ, who laid his life down so that others may live.  May the same Spirit that led him selflessly to the cross lead us selflessly out into the world, declaring that our true life is not defined by dollars or status, but rather by the way that we give ourselves and let the love that saves us flow through us and tell a story of grace to all we meet.