The Letter Of The Law- John 18

Sometimes the craziest things happen right under our noses, and we don't notice them. One of these things happens in John 18:28.
In this verse, the Jewish leaders are trying to condemn an innocent man to death, but are afraid to defile themselves by going into a Roman government building before Passover. What?? Did I read that right? Defile themselves? Didn't they defile themselves by accusing innocent blood??
These guys were so wrapped up in obeying the letter of the Law on the outside,that they didn't see the filth on the inside of them! They didn't see that their sin, hate, and disgust had defiled them. Their jealousy had defiled them. Their insecurity had defiled them. They were filthy!! That Roman building was probably cleaner than they were!!
But I think we all do this. We get so concerned about where we go, what we watch, and the things we do that we don't see the sin inside of us.
Don't only appear clean. Be clean!!! Let God cleanse what's inside of you! Let him purify your thoughts, motives, and intentions. Don't just obey the letter of the Law. Let it come alive inside of you!

"Make Them Holy"- John17

Prayer is probably the most important and impactful thing we can do as people and as followers of Christ. Prayer is awesome. It is breathtaking to think that a silly, sinful human like me can communicate with Almighty God... the Creator of Heaven and Earth!! WOW!!!
As important as prayer is, we should really pay close attention to the times in Scripture when Jesus is praying. It would make sense that He would be pretty good at it! But check out what Jesus prays in verse 17. He prays that the Father would make His disciples holy.
So, when Jesus prayed for you and me, He prayed that we would be holy. He didn't pray we would be healthy. He didn't pray that we would be happy. He didn't pray that we would have money. He didn't pray that our churches would be popular. He didn't pray that we would have an easy life. He didn't pray that our kids would always obey us, or that our spouses would always show us love. Jesus prays that the Father would make us holy by the truth of the Father.
So then, what is that truth? The truth is that Jesus is all we need. We would like to have everything I listed above, but what we need is Jesus. Him and Him only. And when we pursue Him and His truth, He makes us holy.
Jesus wants me holy... Hmm... interesting....

He Has Conquered- John 16

Conquer. That's kind of a funny sounding word. Say it with me... Conquer! It's kind of a powerful word to say. Say it again.... Conquer!! I like that word!
We are always trying to conquer something. We are trying to conquer our fears. We are trying to conquer our inhibitions. We are trying to conquer our sinful nature. We are trying to conquer the battle of the bulge. We are trying to conquer a lot of different things in our lives.
But you have to love what Jesus says at the end of John 16. He says that He has conquered the world!! The whole world!! There is nothing he hasn't or can't conquer. Jesus is the man!!! There is nothing beyond His grasp!
Unfortunately, I think sometimes we get so conquer-happy, that we try to conquer Jesus. We try to drown out, or ignore His voice. We try not to listen. We try to be our own conqueror.
But rest assured, Jesus will NOT be conquered. Not by me, you, or anyone else. He was, is, and always will be victorious! He is the conqueror!
So, quit trying to fight a losing battle, and submit to Jesus the Mighty Conqueror as your Lord and King!! This is the one time in your life when it is a good thing to be conquered!

Without Excuse- John 15

Excuses are an incredible thing. They are the greatest exercise of self-preservation that anyone can participate in. Their only purpose is to save me from consequences that I deserve! I wouldn't need an excuse unless I had done something incorrectly, so that means I deserve whatever is coming my way. But not if I can make a good enough excuse!
I love being a dad. And, of course, one of my dadly duties is to discipline my kids. Every time one of my sons is confronted with something he has done wrong, he says, "But Dad..." and then rattles off some excuse for what he has done. I keep telling him that my name is not Butt Dad!!! Excuses are just part of what we do as people.
In verse 22 of John 15, Jesus says something incredible about excuses. He says that our knowledge of Him and what He has done, leaves us without any excuses to not follow and obey Him. Really, it is your knowledge of Him that makes you accountable.
In the world we live in today, we know so much about Jesus. We know where and how He lived. We know the words of His teachings. We know the lives of some of His followers. We even know what kinds of foods they ate in the days He was here. We know a lot. But we obey very little.
If I started a new job and didn't know very much about how things are supposed to run, it would be easily forgivable if I messed something up. But when I have the knowledge of how it is supposed to be done, then I am accountable for that knowledge. I need to follow the procedure.
Are there areas of your life that you have God's knowledge of how you are supposed to be living, but you are not obeying that knowledge? Are you making excuses? Are you trying to find ways to justify your actions or lack of action?
Unfortunately, you are without excuse....

PS- For more on this subject, check out the message I preached on 4/11/10 on our church's website: mcfwc.org. If it is no longer listed there, use the contact info from the site to request the audio. If God has spoken to you through what is written here, He will speak through hearing this message.

Obedience School- John 14

I have never been much of an animal trainer. I tried to train dogs when I was a kid, but was never really successful. My dogs never really sat, stayed, or fetched. They just kind of slobbered and looked at me with confused dog look. I did train my cat Hank to come to his name, but I'm not sure that counts. I was never really obedience school material as a trainer.
Unfortunately, most of us aren't obedience school material as trainees either. A couple of times in this chapter, Jesus says that the sure sign that we belong to Him is that we obey Him. Love = Obedience. That doesn't sound like any fun! Who likes to obey? But Jesus says that if we don't obey, we don't belong to Him.
The question we need to ask ourselves is: Are we obedient? Do we belong to Him? Too often, we read Scripture and apply it to somebody else. Or we think that it couldn't possibly mean what it says. But the mark of a true Christian is obedience. So, I guess we had better start obeying. We need to go to Spiritual Obedience School.

I Want the Proof!- John 13

I have always loved detective stories, and TV shows about police cases, and legal procedure. I'm kind of a nerd, I know. But these kind of things flip a switch of excitement and imagination inside of me. I love the search for the truth. And even more, I love to see how the case for the truth is built. I love to see the proof!
So where is the proof? (They say that they proof is in the pudding... I never found it there, but I did eat the pudding!) Where is the proof that I am a follower of Christ? In John 13, Jesus says that the proof is in my love for others.
Sometimes I wish that was a typo! It is hard to love others sometimes. People can make you angry. They can get on your nerves. They can be so stubborn. They can be difficult. They can do stupid things. They can be deceitful. They have be arrogant. They can be self-serving. People are not so much fun sometimes! Why do I have to love them????
Jesus answered that question so well. He said we should love others the same way He has loved us. We do all those things to God that we hate. We don't always treat Him the best. But He still loves us. He still extends His mercy and grace. And He asks us to do the same.
The proof is in your love. If you can love the arrogant, decietful, annoying people in your life, it is a sure sign that His love is in you!