Foolish Worship- John 12

I remember a time when I was working as the Children's Pastor at Evangel Assembly of God in Cortez, CO that something very embarrassing happened. One of our helpers was teaching an object lesson, and I went to the supply closet to get something. I squatted down to pick it up off of the floor and heard a very loud noise as my pants split from belt loops to zipper!! I was so embarrassed! I felt so foolish!!
We are so afraid of looking foolish. We are so afraid of what other people will think of us. We pick our clothes, pick our words, and dictate our actions based on how we think other people are going to accept what we do. We are afraid of looking foolish.
Mary wasn't afraid to look foolish in order to worship the King of Kings! She has a bunch of guests at her house... She should be serving them! But instead, she finds the most valuable think she can, and pours it out at Jesus' feet. She takes something of incredible value and uses it to worship her King. In today's economy, that bottle of perfume would have cost somewhere around $40,000.00!!!! And she just poured it out! That sounds foolish!
But her foolishness didn't stop there. Then she, the host of this dinner, begins to wipe the feet of Jesus with her hair! The Apostle Paul says that a woman's hair is her glory. She takes her glory, and uses it to wipe the dirt off of her Master's feet. Her glory meant nothing to her in comparison to His glory!! Sure she looked foolish, but she was worshipping the Lord of all Creation!
Sometimes worshipping God can look foolish. We give him 10% of our income, and people say, "What in the world are you doing?!?!?!?!" In worship, we hold back from places and activities that won't bring him glory. In worship, we give our lives for His purpose because He gave His life to save ours. Worship can seem pretty foolish. It can appear to be absurd. It doesn't add up.
When it seems the most foolish, that is when your worship is pure. You only care about what He thinks of you. Nothing else matters. You are worshipping.

But Lord...- John 11

You gotta love Mary and Martha. Typical siblings that don't exactly see eye to eye. They both have their good qualities, and they both have their bad (I suppose we all do!). Usually, they are the opposite of one another, but in this situation, they were the same. They expressed great faith in Jesus' ability to heal the sick. But raising the dead? They weren't so sure.
They statement that stand out to me is when Jesus tells them to roll the stone back, and Martha says, "But Lord...". Isn't that what we say all the time? God wants to do something incredible in us, but He asks us to do something that we think will make us look foolish. So we say, "But Lord...". Somehow, we get it in our head that for at least that one split second, we know something that God doesn't. If you read that last statement back, you will see just how silly that is!!
There are going to be times where God asks us to do something that doesn't make sense. It's not going to add up. It is going to seem foolish. But one thing about Jesus is: usually when He is going to do something big, He requires some action on our part too! We have to participate! And sometimes that participation isn't going to make sense. Sometimes we are going to want to say, "But Lord...".
It's kinda your call. You can have it your way, and have God's incredible blessing continue to rot in a cave if you want. Or, you can do do something foolish, roll back the stone, and see God's glory at work in your situation. It's your call. What are you gonna do?

Some Things Never Change- John 10

Everyone likes dependable things. No one goes to a car lot and asks for the biggest piece of junk they have. We want something dependable.
Jesus says in John 10:35 that “The Scriptures cannot be altered.” They are dependable. They are unchanged, and will remain that way. Nothing I can say, do, or teach can change the truth of the Scripture. If you hear someone say something about God that doesn’t sound right, you can always check it out, because the truth of Scripture cannot be changed. It is steady and unmovable.
It’s kinda nice to know that in a world where everything is constantly changing, some things never do. God’s word never changes. It is never found lacking. It is always sure and true.
Thank God that some things never change!

Blinded By Details- John 9

I hate details. I like to think of myself as a big picture person. Sometimes the details can just weigh something down so much that it’s no good anymore. I realize that we need the details in some respect, but I’m convinced that we stress too much about the details.
The Pharisees were definitely detail people. They made sure that they were “perfect” right down to the last detail. And when Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath in John 9, they freaked out! They said it was against the Law to heal on the Sabbath (I love Jesus’ response to them when the same thing happened in John 5 :17, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”). Jesus had violated one of their details.
Sometimes as Christians, I think we get way too worried about the details. We start talking doctrine, and before long a fist fight almost breaks out! It seems that sometimes, concentrating on the details too much can be destructive. They can tear down what God is trying to build up.
Let’s look at the big picture. Jesus is the only way to Heaven. He is the Risen Savior of all mankind. In him is hope, life, peace, and love. Let the details worry about themselves. The big picture is that I choose to follow him, no matter what the details are.

Go Towards The Light- John 8

We’ve all heard those stories where someone has a near death experience, and they go toward the light. I’ve always wondered if fish have a similar experience when you throw them back after catching them…. Anyway, back to the subject… What would happen if we went toward the Light?
Jesus says in John 8:12 that he is the Light of the world, and if you follow Him, you won’t have to walk in darkness. I’m not sure about you, but I see darkness everywhere in this world. We live in a very dark place. But Jesus said we could escape this darkness by following Him.
Are you in the middle of a dark time right now? Have you found your life in a dark place that you never expected to be in? Follow the Light!! 1 John says that there is no darkness in Him! Follow the Light and watch the darkness scatter.
It sounds simple, because it is…. Just follow Him!

Confused?- John 7

I am in a constant state of confusion. I think most people are, but how would I know, I’m confused about it? I’m unsure sometimes about how to act or think. Certain situations definitely leave me wondering.
Jerusalem was a confusing place when Jesus was there in John 6. No one really knew what to think about Jesus. They knew what they heard him say. They knew the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Him. They knew He was a good teacher. They knew some said He was Messiah. They knew He was certainly powerful enough to be Messiah. They knew lots of stuff. And knowing all that stuff is pretty confusing.
I don’t think things are much different in our world today. We say we know what we think about Jesus, but do we know? We say He is the Messiah. We say He is the Son of God. We say that nothing is impossible for Him. We say we serve Him. We say He is the one and only object of our affection. But do our actions back up our words? I think we’re a little confused.
If He really is everything we say He is, then why don’t we act like it? If He is so powerful, why do we have a hard time believing in the impossible? If He is the son of God, then why do we have a hard time pulling our hearts away from the ideals of this world, and truly loving Him? If we really serve Him, then why does every decision we make only benefit ourselves?
I think we’re confused. But how would I know?… I’m confused….

A Little Goes a Long Way- John 6

I am a huge cheap-skate. I hate to spend money if I don’t have to. I am constantly walking around my house lecturing the family about wasted heat, and energy. So, being the cheap-o that I am, I love a good deal. I love it when you can buy a lot of something cheap, or when you can get something where a little goes a long way.
In John 6, Jesus sees an enormous crowd coming His way, and asks Phillip where they can get some bread. Phillip answers like he h=thinks Jesus is crazy for even bringing it up!
But then Andrew sees something. Its not much, but it is something. Andrew sees that there is a boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish. There is no possible way to make that little go far enough to feed everyone. So then, why does he even bring it up? Why would Andrew even mention such a little bit of food in the middle of such an enormous need?
I think Andrew understood something fundamental about his Master. Can you think of one time Jesus walked into a situation of abundance and did something logic-defying? I can’t! In fact, every time Jesus did something miraculous, there was a huge need, and nothing to work with. I think Andrew said to himself, “There isn’t much here, but I’m not so sure He needs that much.” (I like this event so much, it makes me want to start going by my full name!)
Jesus doesn’t need much from you. All He really needs is the little you have, and the realization that, for Him, that is more than enough. Don’t be afraid to serve God because you feel like you have nothing to give. Jesus loves nothing! He does His best work with nothing! Jesus has a membership to go and visit the Nothing Hall of Fame, He loves it so much.
You don’t need much. Just give Him what you have, and know that it will be enough.