Love is the Fulfillment of God's Word

This morning I was reading from Luke 3 and a passage really stood out to me...

John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness warning the people to "produce fruit in keeping with repentance." The people started asking him questions...

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” 

Luke 3:10-14 NIV

It is interesting that all of the responses he gives them has to do with caring for those in need and for avoiding the mistreatment of others. I suppose one would expect John to talk about faithfulness to the Law or to follow Jesus, the Messiah who will soon be so important.

But instead he seems to be saying that following the letter of the Law is not good enough if it doesn't lead you to love others. Isn't this the message that Jesus would soon bring to the people?

This is what Jesus was trying to teach the people with his treatment of the woman caught in adultery. Obedience to God's teachings should always result in us loving others the way that God would love them, with compassion and mercy.

Is this true of me and you? Does our knowledge of God's Word lead us to be loving, kind, and compassionate towards others?

Jesus, may Your love that lives in my heart truly lead me to be more than just a hearer of Your Word. Let me be obedient to those thing I know are true. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Interesting stuff about the account of the Woman Caught in Adultery

The story of the woman caught in adultery is one of the more interesting passages in the gospels for a number of reasons. The most significant reason is the uncertainty surrounding the actual Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of John.

We know the gospel of John was written around 90 AD. This gospel, along with all the other New Testament books were copied by hand and carried throughout the world to the scattered churches. Most of these copies have probably been lost, but well over 2500 manuscripts (complete or partial) have survived into the 21st century.

This problem with this passage is that it is not included in the earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John. In fact, it first appears some 800 or 900 years after the original was written. So for instance, let's say you look at a manuscript of the Gospel of John that dates to the year 615 AD. This manuscript woul not include the story of the woman caught in adultery. But if you looked at one from the year 1247 AD, it most likely would.

Take a moment and look in your Bible right now. Most study Bibles will include a tag line before this story that says "the earliest known manuscripts do not include the account of the woman caught in adultery."

What are we to think about all of this?

Let me give some suggestions...

First, there is NO REASON to think that this story isn't a true story about Jesus. The whole account fits pefectly into the ministry and teachings of Jesus. There is nothing inconsistent in this passage. Clearly it has survived all of the critcal analysis of the scholars. They include the tag line but they didn't eleiminate the passge. This tells us that the best scholars in the world believe the story is authentic.

Secondly, there is NO REASON to think that it wasn't included in the original writing of the book of John. Most manuscripts have been lost, and none of the oriiginals have survived...so no one but God knows exactly what the orginal actually included.

But what if it wasn't? The stories of Jesus were all passed on orally for the first 30 years of the church. When the original eyewitnesses began to die out, great effort was expended to created a written record of the incredible life and ministry of Jesus. We have copies of only four gospels but what if there was another that has been lost to us? It could certainly include this account from the very beginning. 900 years later scribes begin to wonder what happened to the beautiful story of the woman caught in adultery. Knowing it was true...possibly they had a scrap of another collection of stories...they chose include it at the end of John chapter 7 where it fit into the progression of Jesus' ministry. Either way, I am so thankful we have this passage included in our 21st century translations of the Bible.

As lovers of God's word, we can be thankful that story survived and was included in the Gospel of John for our benefit. It is yet another beautiful reminder of God's amazing grace and compassion for His people.

Dear God, thank you for your wriiten word the Bible!! Give me a passion to meditate and pray over your word each day!! In Jesus' Name, amen.

Never Be Enough

A second misconception that Jesus is refuting in this passage is...

2. If you are a decently good person, then you will make it to heaven...possibly by the skin of your teeth.

In Judaism, faithfulness to God is equivalent to faithfulness to the law. For Nicodemus to be sure of his place in God's eternal kingdom, it was required that he passionately follow an enormous list of rules.

No one could be perfect, but they could be blameless...that is extremely sincere in their daily attempt to be faithful to the Law.

Jesus tells Nicodemous that the eternal kingdom of God won't be gained through human effort...

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3:5-7 NIV

Jesus tells Nicodemous that our flesh, our human effort, would only produce a fleshly, or human faith. On the other hand, faith that is produced by the Spirit will lead to eternal life. Again, it is only through a spiritual rebirth can a person inherit the kingdom of God.

There is no way that human effort could ever evolve into the type of spiritual faith that would appease the justice of God. 

2000 years later, so many in our western culture have the same type of attitude towards their faith.They believe they are a decently good person. especially compared to all of the terrible people in our world. 

Somehow, they miss the fact being saved and making it to heaven isn't based on what we do or what kind of person we really are at our core. Rather, it is based on what Jesus had done for us one the cross. 

Paul stated it this way...

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23 NIV

What we do for God will never be good enough, but what Jesus has already done for us is more than enough. It is a free gift from God, we need only be "born again" by surrendering our heart and life to Jesus

Have you fallen into this way of thinking believing that you are "good enough" to make it to heaven...and that you don't need church or the Bible of religion to complicate your life. 

If so, hear the words of Jesus one more time...

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 NIV

Have you been born again?

Pray today that God will show you your desperate need for Him. If you have never surrendered your heart and life to Him, ask Him to be The Lord and leader of your life today.

Not by birth, but by rebirth

This past Sunday, we talked about three misconceptions about the kingdom of God that Jesus was trying to refute in John Chapter 3..

Each one of these misconceptions rings suprising true today as it did 2000 years ago.

1. If you are born into a Christian family, then you are immediately accepted into the kingdom of God and will be going to heaven.

To be a Jew is a unique thing because a a person is Jewish by both race and religion. You a born Jewish. You can choose to be faithful to Judaism or you can choose not to be, but you will always be a  Jew.

The Jewish people believed that they were literally born into God's family simply because the Jewish people were God's chosen people. Certainly Nicodemus would have had a similar mindset in his conversation with Jesus. And yet, Jesus changes the rules on him. 

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 NIV

Jesus told Nicodemus plainly that his earthly position had no standing in eternity. It wasn't his earthy identity that would gain him heaven, it was his spiritual identity, a rebirth of sorts.

Some people have similar ways of thinking here in the 21st century. 

Some believe because their grandmother or mom or another relative was very religious that this person would "cover" everyone in the family. People will say things like "Granny Fae is the most spiritual person I know...she has us all covered in this family." While this sounds logical, the Bible teaches otherwise. Consider John 14:6...

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NIV

Each person is responsible for his or her faith and no one else can cover for you. Just because your mom or dad or grandparents were faithful to God doesn't mean you get a free pass into heaven. You must have a personal relationship with Jesus in order to know that you will have eternal life with Him and heaven.

Are you hoping you will make it into heaven based on someone else's faith? Have you suurendered your heart and life to Jesus?

If you have not already committed your life to Christ, pray today asking Jesus to come and be the Lord and Leader of your life.

It's Greek to Me!

It's Greek to me!

This is a modern colloquialism intended to convey the message that you don't understand something at all.  Greek is a foreign language that uses a totally different aphabet...so when you are trying to understand something that makes no sense to you, you could say "it's Greek to me!"

This week we are looking a Nicodemus' conversation in John chapter 3. we know that Nicodemus was a power religious leader with a soft heart. He came to Jesus because he truly wanted to understand who Jesus really was.

Yet, when he came, he brought all of his religious training, heritage, and traditions with him. From what he knew, the one way to inherit the kingdom of God was to be faithful to the rules and regulations of the Jewish law an the teachings of the ancient leaders.

Jesus knew this of course, so He cut straight to the chase....rather than confirming Nicodemus' religious heritage and traditions, Jesus made it clear that the rules were changing...entering the kingdom of God would now be based on a RELATIONSHIP with God rather than adherance to an impossible list of RULES. A person must be spiritually reborn to enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 NIV 

This was difficult of Nicodemus to understand immediately. A lifetime of dependence on the Law would not be broken overnight.

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” John 3:4 NIV

For some people, this would be the end of the story. They would reject Jesus' teaching and stay with what they already think is true. 

Nicodemus was made of different stuff. We don't see an immediate change, but he reappears in the New Testament several times and that gives us a glimpse into how the teachings of Jesus transformed the heart of Nicodemus.

How stuck are we in our ways? Are we able to learn something new from the Spirit each day as He teaches us?

Dear God, today I acknowledge that I am sometimes very stubborn in my thinking and I am not open to hearing You speak to me each day. Help me to have a heart like Nicodemus...open and willing to hear Your truth. In Jesus' Name, amen.

The First Nick at Nite

In the very first Nick at Nite, Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish ruling council, comes to Jesus at night in John chapter 3 to have a face to face conversation. In the previous passage, Jesus had cleared the temple courts and obviously this captured the attention of the religious leaders. 

The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” John 2:18-20 NIV

Jesus raised all kinds of questions when He challenged the status quo of the way things had been for as long as anyione could remember. We don't know whyy Nicodemus came to visit Jesus. Did the Sandhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, send Nicodemus to Jesus or did he come on his own?

Some scholars have suggested that Nicodemus was sneaking around coming to Jesus at night, but there is no reason to believe this has to be the case. It is possible that Nicodemus simply came at night so that he could have an uninterrupted conversation with Jesus. 

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” John 3:1-2 NIV

Clearly Nicodemus has a genuine interest in the teachings of Jesus, but He was struggling to fit Jesus into his preconceived ideas about the long-awaited Messiah. Dealing with Jesus was proving to be far more complicated than any of the religious leaders were anticipating.

Nicodemus knew that there was something unique about Jesus and he was willing to take a risk to discover the truth about who Jesus really was.

How willing are you and I to take a risk to develop a deeper faith in Jesus?

Dear God, today help me be like Nicodemus in His desire to know Jesus more. Reveal Yourself to me in a deeper way. In Jesus' name, amen

Week 2- Jesus, Lord of Salvation

As we turn the page in our scrapbook of snapshots of our Savior, we move to a fascinating story in John 3...

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:1-18 NIV

A few things to think about before tomorrow...

1. Why did John choose to include this story in His gospel?

2. Who was this Nicodemus?

3. What was Jesus really trying to tell all of us in His conversation with this religious leader?

Pray that God will open all of our hearts to hear Him speaking through his word and his Spirit tomorrow in worship.

See you then!

The Miracle of the Word of God

The gospel of John is different from the other the three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic gospels. All three were written about 30 years after the resurrection when the original disciples and eyewitnesses began to pass away. Up until this point, the gospel stories had been passed on by word of mouth. So the writer of these 3 gospels set out to preserve the story of Jesus for a Jewish audience.

The focus of these gospels is to show a Jewish audience that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah with a detailed account of Jesus' teachings, miracles, an healings. The Jewish audience did not need any spiritual background, they needed proof...and proof was delivered in signs and wonders.

Fast forward 30 years. The gospel has now begun to spread all around the Mediterranean world. As the gospel spreads, more and more Gentiles come in contact with this new religion based on a Jew who was crucified as a common criminal by the Roman leaders.

The gentiles knew nothing of the Jewish religion or the Hebrew Scriptures. This new religion was shrouded with mystery...they were rumored to be cannibals because of a mistaken understanding of the practice of communion. Confusion abounded.

It was into this setting that the Gospel of John was written. The Gospel of John was written for a gentile audience who knew nothing of Jewish history and heritage, of prophecies or commandments, or messiahs or saviors.

The Roman and Greek mind was attuned to philosophical thinking. The entire culture was permeated with a polytheistic viewpoint so presenting the true story of Jesus would be quite a challenge for any writer. This is why John started with his discussion on the nature of the LOGOS, rather than the genealogy of Jesus as Matthew did.

As the gospel story expanded throughout the world, a new approach was needed. This is one of the amazing aspects of Scripture...it is more than just a collection of random books. 

The writer of Hebrews had a sense of this same idea...

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 NIV

Also...

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

So it was actually God who inspired John to write the his gospel in a way that would have the biggest impact throughout the world. Just another proof that God had a plan to redeem His creation and this plan was more intricately beautiful than we could imagine.

Prayer Emphasis: Thank God today for the miraculous power of His word that changes our hearts and redeems us from the clutches of destruction. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Why did Jesus move into the neighborhood?

We have already established that Jesus was present with God "in the beginning" and that Jesus was the instrument through which God created the world. Intellectually, this would be fascinating if this was all that John chose to share with us in the first chapter of his gospel.

But there is something far more moving included in His discussion of the LOGOS in John 1. Perhaps the most overwhelming and humbling revelation comes in verse 14...

"The Word (LOGOS) became flesh and made His dwelling among us..."

Whoa...wait just a minute!! Does this verse say what I think it does? That this Jesus, the living Word of God who was present with God in the beginning...this same Jesus who created the galaxies became flesh and blood?

Why would He do such a preposterous thing?

I believe it goes back to the beginning. I believe that God knew that mankind would fall in the garden and would need to be redeemed before He spoke the first word of creation.  Even then Jesus was destined for the cross.

But what did it take for Jesus to take on flesh and blood? Jesus willingly stripped Himself of His sovereign power and became a frail human being...100% God and 100% man wrapped up in a mind-bending paradox...the presence of God manifested in human form here on earth.

Why did He do it?

Love. Love was and has continued to be the driving force behind God's desire to redeem us. The God of the galaxies created us in our mother's womb, numbered the hairs on our heads, and knows our name.

Eugene Peterson in his beautiful translation The Message translates verse 14 in this way..

"The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood."

In our hour of greatest need, Jesus invaded His world to bring us redemption...has there ever been a greater message?

Have you allowed Jesus to move into your neighborhood? Have you surrendered your heart and life to Him?

Dear Jesus, today I am humbled that even though You are the creator of the universe, You came to earth to redeem my broken life. Thank You for loving me more than I could ever understand." in Jesus Name, Amen.

Jesus-Lord of Creation

Yesterday, we discovered that Jesus first appears in the first verse of the Bible rather than at the manger. John 1:2 states that he was with God "in the beginning." The Gohead Trinity was present at the begiining of eternity.

So our question for today is "What was Jesus doing during creation?"

Let us turn again to John 1:1-3...

John 1:1-3 In 

the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 

According the John 1:3, Jesus was the instrument of creation through which all things were made. What this means exactly is hard to grasp...it is one of the mysteries of creation. God created all things through Jesus but we are not told exactly how that worked.

The Alexandrian Jew Philo talked about the LOGOS by which God made the world and all things. He said that God, the pilot of the universe, held the LOGOS as a tiller and with it steered all things.

But John's main point here was deeper that how Jesus was present and active at creation. He was confronting a first century heresy called Gnosticism which taught that original matter was flawed and that Jesus could not have participated in creation. The Gnostics also taught that Jesus only became the Savior when the Spirit of the Messiah decended on Him at His baptism and that the Spirit left the human Jesus on the cross at His death.

John wants to make it clear that Jesus was a part of the Godhead Trinity from the very beginning and that He was the Messiah before time was created. Even though Jesus' role at creation is a mystery, I think there is no doubt that He was and is Lord of Creation.

But the greater mystery is that the God who created the universe and everything we see, is also the God who cried out from the manger in His mission to redeem our broken lives.

How does it make you feel to think that the God who created the universe became a baby so that you could be saved?

Prayer Emphasis: Ask God today to give you a sense of wonder at the mystery that the God who created the galaxies came to earth as a baby to save you from the punishment of your sins.

When does Jesus appear first in the Bible?

If you asked the average person where and when Jesus first appears in the Bible, the answer you would probably receive would be at the manger in the Gospel of Matthew. You couldn't fault this person because, at first glance, this appears to be true. The Old Testament seems to be pointing to the coming of the Messiah in every page. However, if we look more closely, we find Jesus present in the very first chapter of the Bible. 

First, let's look again in John 1...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. John 1:1-2 NIV

We have already established that Jesus is the Word, the LOGOS of God. Here verse 2 states that Jesus was with God "in the beginning".

Now, let's look at Genesis 1:1..

"In the beginning God..."

So according to John 1:2, Jesus was present with God before creation. Before God spoke a single thing into existence, the Godhead Trinity was present...before time was even created.

Look more closely at Genesis 1:1-2 and you will find the Holy Spirit present...

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 

Jesus appears in verse 26...

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness..."

Who is God talking to here? The only answer is that He is talking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were present and active before the foundations of the earth were laid.

This should change our perspective about who Jesus really is. Rather than the human Jesus who comes on the scene late to save the day, we find a Jesus who was there all along even before creation.

How does knowing that Jesus was present with God even before creation change your perspective about who Jesus really is?

Prayer Emphasis: Ask God to open your heart and mind to having a deeper understanding of Jesus really is..the Lord of and over creation.

The Power of the Word

Yesterday, we talked about how the Greeks had debated the idea of the LOGOS for centuries. Heraclitus believed that everything was changing from moment to moment- that the universe was in flux. He is the one who made the statement that you can't step into the same river twice because when you step back in the river has changed. He also believed that all of this flux was not haphazard but rather well organized and controlled by an intelligent design...the LOGOS. For him, the LOGOS was the principle of order under which the universe continued to exist. Furthermore, the Greek Jew Philo also wrote and spoke extensively about the LOGOS. He believed that the LOGOS was the oldest thing in the world and the instrument through which God created the world, the thought of God stamped upon the world. Both men believed this was what gave mankind the ability to think and to reason.

The idea of the LOGOS was very familiar to Greek culture which is why it was so profound when John wrote the words of John 1:1...

In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word (logos) was with God, and the Word (logos) was God. 

In one short sentence, John solved the mystery of the universe...Jesus is the LOGOS of God.

But what about the Jewish culture? What was their thinking about the LOGOS, the Word of God?

The Jewish language and culture is much different than that of the Greeks. While the Greek language has some 200,000 words, the Hebrew language has only 10,000 words. For the Jew, a word is not merely a sound, it is a power which does things. In creation, it was the word of God that brought  about the universe. All throughout the Old Testament, words have a powerful and creative force. Not only did words hold power, the Word of God held a power beyond understanding. So when the Jews read John 1:1 they heard with different ears. They already knew that God was the creator, the reason behind all things, but it was a challenging thing to read that Jesus was actually the order of the universe, the actual word of God.

This is what makes John 1:1 one of the most profound verse in scripture. It squarely addresses both schools of thought in such a clear concise intellectual way. Even so, the Greeks and the Jews still had to believe in Jesus and place their faith in Him, The Lord of Creation.

Have you truly considered that Jesus is the Word of God? What does this mean to you today? How does this make a difference in your life?

Pray today asking God to reveal His true nature to you and to give you the strength to place your trust in Him.