Category: John

Devotional 37: I Fell at His Feet…

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Revelation 1:10-17

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and,[a] “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia:[b] to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me,[c] “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

In this day, we hear the confident boasts of the faithless, the bitter, the unrepentant, the scorners and mockers, the defiant rebellious, and the witches and satanists:

“When I stand before G-d, I will say/do/ ask/ tell Him  –”

Hear the Word of the Risen Lord, for to you he will say:

“Depart from me, you cursed…”

He speaks of the fate of worthless servants, even those who profess to be sons of the kingdom, and the fate of Lucifer’s goats.

To Him, you are lawless strangers, disqualified from entry into His kingdom. You questioned His existence, did good with wrong motives, mocked His atoning death, and scorned His rising, reconciled to His Father, and reconciling you through His blood, which would have made you spotless, had you but listened.

You placed your faith in your knowledge, in the science, in reason, and yet the son of a carpenter confounded the learned leaders of His day, and taught with such authority, they bore false witness.

But this is why He came. And this is what He said would happen.

You’ve rejected the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and the King of angels. He is subject to His Father, and will rule over all, and you’ve spurned His love, grace and mercy, because of your pride.

And He has told you, you will share the fate of the prideful.  In Matthew 7, we read:

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Build on the Rock

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

And again, in Matthew 25:

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they also will answer Him,[b] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

If judgment starts with those who profess Him, how then, will you stand, unbeliever?

Here is what you will do, and all that you will be able to do:

You will fall at His feet as one dead, and if you don’t seek Him while He may be found, indeed, that is what you will be.

You will find yourself unable to speak, if indeed, the disciple who was the closest of Jesus’ inner circle, the only disciple to escape execution, could not speak, and could not stand in the presence of the holy Majesty.

Spare yourself, and cease your prideful boasting, putting faith in the transitory world, and the ever shifting sand of scientific discovery, for the mind of G-d is infinite, and His works past finding out, because they were known to Him from the beginning, and they begin and end with our Lord, Jesus.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, You came among us to call the lost, and we indeed are all lost, even those who profess You, and speak of You before men, and invoke Your Name in doing kingdom work, but don’t glorify You in their hearts, or their motives. They begin to think they are in their own strength, and tempt You to destroy them, not knowing You will simply release them into the hand of the enemy, who will, in fact, destroy them, and bring them to share his own fate.

We ask the anointing of the Helper to reveal that the unquenchable fire is no metaphor.

We ask the anointing of the Helper for discernment of pride, and wrong motives.

We beseech You to have Him ignite in us a renewal of Power to carry Your two-edged sword, to cleave hearts, and bring tears of repentance, that they, and we, might see once again the love of undeserved grace and mercy to souls otherwise doomed to twist in the fire, as a kite in an errant wind.

We would not be unprofitable servants, or cursed and lawless strangers to You, the One we profess to love above all, and prove it false by our actions.

Align us with the Your will, Lord Jesus, for it is the will of the Father that we believe on You, and Your will is not separate from His as to the work we are to perform.

It is only difficult because of our hard hearts, prideful minds, and sinful thoughts.

Yet You are long-suffering, and hear the prayers of Your servants.

Hear this prayer, Lord, for it is the cry of my heart, and the heart of every servant, and unbeliever, who reads these words.

Grant us ears to hear, and plow the hard soil of our hearts, and help us to store up treasures in Heaven, where there are no thieves, and we stand reconciled, spotless, blameless, under the Cross, redeemed by the Resurrection, and our works stand the test of fire, that we may enter into the joy of our Master.

Once again, Lord, I beseech the Throne for mercy, the Cross for grace, and the Spirit for power.

In Your Name, I ask, in faith believing.

Amen.

 

Devotional 36: Show Us the Father

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John 14:8-14

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

If ever there was proof of the spiritual disconnect between man and G-d, Philip’s request of Jesus to show them the Father manifest is it. He’d seen Jesus’ ministry up close, and indeed, had moved in power on his own under Christ’s authority, and yet his words seemed to echo that of the Pharisees in their constant demands for proof and credentials that Jesus was who He claimed.  In John 8: 57-58 we read:

57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” 

 

Jesus often rebuked the Apostles for their lack of faith and their uncomprehending of His mission, yet He chose by and large unlearned and ‘average’ men; they were of no great account or consequence in Galilee save that they walked with Jesus.

So then, what differentiated them from other average men? Jesus saw that they could be reached, and would respond, and His preparation, sowing, and ministering to them took as much of His time as ministering to the sick, the possessed, and the dead.

He saw that Philip upon His departure, they would indeed be obedient and change the world, carrying the sword He brought that would cleave households in two, as it does to this day.

Yet Philip, it seems, captures Him off guard right after Thomas demonstrates another kind of misunderstanding regarding the way to Heaven and to the presence of G-d.

“Lord,” Philip says, “show us…. ”

Jesus effectively replies that basically that’s all He’s been doing, and how could Philip not know that.

Nicodemus, the secret believer among the Pharisees, knew it:

This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from G-d as a teacher, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2)

This too is a revelatory statement; Nicodemus would have heard what the Pharisees were saying about Jesus when He wasn’t around. They agreed on His teachings and signs as being from G-d, yet constantly banded together to discredit Him, until He turned their questions on their heads, and made them fearful of His authority, though He lacked what they thought were the required credentials.

The multitudes followed Him because they saw, and their needs were immediate, and possibly for the most part, their motives were immediate gratification, as in the lepers He cleaned, but only one returned to thank Him.

But there were others who came to receive the Word, a word of hope and encouragement, of long-suffering love, of the forgiveness of sins for the repentant, and the promise of eternal life when earthly life was done, renewed and transformed, even glorified, and praising G-d forever.

And Philip, in earthly failing such as we all have, says “show.”

Jesus responds by telling him that He speaks what the Father gives, and the Father works through Him to perform His will in miracles as well as His word, that we might see that He is a good G-d through the works of the Son: the healing of the sick, the restoration of the dead, and the sowing of the Good News as a covenant act of grace unmerited.

And Philip, at the angel’s command, sees a chariot driver in the desert, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, changes a nation…

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, since I first received You, I find that I am repentant, yet still sinful. Your apostle who was once your enemy advises us the fight is lifelong, and we go on doing what we don’t want, mixed with what You would have us do. That is lukewarm, and You have said in no uncertain terms You would spew that out.

Help our unbelief while there is yet time.

I, for one, am relieved the Father is long-suffering, and that He sent You to redeem my wretchedness, and turn it into righteousness. In my weariness of trials, I anticipate the easy yoke, yet You say persecution comes.

And I must choose, consciously, and daily, whom I will serve. It is to our shame that our humanness thinks to please everyone, that You wink at our rebellion, that You only love those of us who’ve professed our faith in You, but if You and the Father are One, and He is in You, we are admonished that to evangelize, lest the souls of the lost be on our heads, for the Father says He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

Help transform and transport us as well, Lord, and help us to see You in each other, and know that You and the Father are indeed One. We believe on Your word, and in the signs and wonders You perform, for our own salvation, and the imparting of the Father’s Spirit to us was in itself a miracle to us, the hour we first believed.

And let us go into all the world, and open Your Word to the hungry chariot drivers.

I ask it in Your Name, knowing by faith You will grant it to us, as You have said.

Amen

Devotional 32: Let Them Grow Together…

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Matthew 13:24-30

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

This parable is often not preached, in deference to the one about the Sower and the seed, which is the Word, but I found myself drawn to this for a few years now, especially as the times upon us now continue to unfold in seemingly unchecked aggression, fighting for rights, and strife along racial and economic lines.

I am reminded of the admonition to take the lowly place, so that we may come up higher when called by the host, instead of taking the high and lofty place, and lose it to someone of greater stature. Jesus said the least in the kingdom of Heaven was greater than His cousin and herald, John the Baptist. As Christians act like Pharisees, and compromise with the world (me included), and don’t practice grace and judging righteously, speaking Truth in love, and loving one another even inside the Way, we must walk in faith while watching, praying, and making disciples of ALL nations, not just the ones who look like us. We must be, as Jesus said, wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

What draws me to this parable is that:

1- the landowner’s property had to be big, if an enemy was able to get in and sow weeds undetected (figuratively speaking).

2- the plants looked enough alike that weeding them before the harvest would’ve culled the good along with the bad.

3- the good crops are utilized, protected by the barn, and used by the landowner for the good of others, feeding them on that which is whole and good.

4- the tares are to be destroyed, consumed by fire, and made to disappear.

But here’s the main thrust of it: They looked so enough alike as they grew that the servants would not be able to tell them apart.

There are former Christians who have left the faith for various reasons. John says they were not of the faith or they would have remained.

John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

There are new believers entering the faith:

Luke 23:39-43

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ,[j] save Yourself and us.”

40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord,[k] remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

I would be among the sheaves of joy, going into the Kingdom, forever protected, forever sinless, forever useful, forever praising God and serving Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore I pray:

King Jesus, remember me indeed, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom.

I bless Your holy Name above all names that took my wretchedness into your dying body, and purged me of fault before the Father, that I might be with you, on that day, resurrected in Paradise.

Help me then, Lord, to store up my treasures in Heaven, where thieves don’t break in and steal. Strengthen my desire to be ever like You, and less like me. Cover the filthy rags of my self-serving righteousness in Your spotless blood, and save me from the fires waiting for the unfruitful and purposeless, and the outer darkness of the rebellious and faithless, in the time of Harvest.

Do not blot my name from the Book of Life, that I may eat of the fruit of the Tree of Life in the Garden, and live forever with You as my Savior, Brother, Master, Lord and King.

I ask it in Your Name, in faith believing.

Amen.

Devotional 28: Will You Also Go Away?

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John 6: 60-70

Many Disciples Turn Away

60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”[a]

70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”

Jesus had just alluded to what seemed to be acts of cannibalism and violation of the Law against consuming blood, much less doing it willingly.

Being simple men, these disciples did not understand that Passover itself embodied the coming of Christ through the symbolic eating of bread and drinking of wine.

A hard saying, indeed. “Who can understand it?”

Jesus’ attempt to clarify by teaching on the Spirit only served to further obfuscate.

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

It seemed that at this point, the desertion of Jesus began en masse, since He turned to Peter after the uncomprehending crowd dispersed and asked him, “Do you also want to go away?”

And Peter’s reply, eloquent and affirming as it was, did not keep him from denying he even knew Jesus at all.

I wonder if, even though Jesus knew from the beginning that this would happen, if it broke His heart to see the disconnect in the eyes, the stopping of the ears, and as they began to turn their backs on Him, if he felt hurt.

I’d like to think so, yet He loved on many who didn’t believe, and as they ‘walked with Him no more,’ neither did He walk with them.

I’m thankful that the year of the Lord’s favor, the covenant of grace, allow us to yet seek Him through the Spirit’s divine revelation, at the Father’s direction, while He may be found. But if we continue in doubt, willful disobedience, and outright rebellion, there will come a day Jesus can’t be found.

And it will be too late.

If, therefore, He will not let us be snatched from His hand, let’s not pry his fingers open with hard hearts, blind eyes, and stoppered ears.

Let’s not think eloquent prayer will keep us from sinfulness.

Let’s not think we won’t sleep in the garden when the hour has come.

Let’s not think we’d believe on His Name without signs and miracles.

Let us take heed not to think we stand, lest we fall, as the Apostle Paul admonishes us.

Let us hold fast to our Savior, knowing that the lamb’s blood sprinkled on the wooden doorposts of the Israelites delivered from slavery has become the Lamb’s blood shed on the wooden cross to break our spiritual chains to sin and death, and reconcile us in love and worship to our Eternal Creator, now and forevermore.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, thank You for grace and mercy, thank You for healing and restoration, thank You for blessings, and delivering me through my trials.

On the days, and in the moments, when I would turn my back to walk no more in communion and fellowship with You, I beg of You to call my name, and to remind me that I am in the Book of Life because of the Bread of Life, because of the vine that connects You to me, and us to the Father.

I repent of belief based on signs and wonders, and embrace the faith of the centurion, a faith so great that even You exclaimed in admiration of it.

I repent of not obeying Your words, for I am a foolish man in a house of sand, founded on sand.

Call me forth from my spiritual grave, Lord Jesus, that I may never turn away, because as Peter said, there is nowhere to go, for only You have the words of Spirit and Life, and You speak them to me, casting pearls…

Amen.

 

 

Devotional 22: Do You Believe This?

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John 11:25-26

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Today we celebrate the Risen Christ, and though He was speaking to Martha, who had professed her faith that her brother Lazarus would rise on the last day, Jesus tells her that the power of G-d that granted Him life through the Spirit is ever with Him.

This little family believed in Jesus as Messiah, and Jesus therefore tells her that even those who’ve already died, if they believe, shall live.

It seems a paradox, but it’s not. We are admonished to seek G-d while He is near, while He may be found, while we are in the Year of the Lord’s Favor. Jesus tells us He would prefer if we were hot or cold, for the lukewarm He will spew out. That means He’s more involved with those who are cold than with those who believe ‘there are many roads, but they all lead to G-d.’ To their eternal peril, those paths lead to dead ends and outer darkness.

I read of gods who’ve said similar things that Jesus said, but none ever said “No man comes to the Father, but by Me.”

Jesus never wavered in His statements of identity, but the question is now put to a mere mortal about matters beyond her scope. “Do you believe this?”

It is a question that has resonated through the ages, and it is there in our hearts, in our thoughts, and in our world spinning slowly out of control, as He said it would.

Martha had a decision to make, and she answered rightly:

“Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

On this Resurrection Sunday, what is our response to this question?

Let us count the cost of our answer, be willing to leave all, and take up our cross, so that we, like Christ, can say:

“It is finished.”

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, I celebrate Your risen Presence in my life today. I praise the Father, that He allowed me to come to You, to come under the covering of your Blood, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that I may enter Your eternal kingdom.

You know my weaknesses, and see my secret sins, and know the motives of my heart that are not in alignment with Your will, even now, after I profess to believe, and struggle to follow.

But Lord, underneath my unrighteous rags, I believe in the Atoning work of the cross, I believe in Your promise that I will live after I die, I believe that I will be reconciled to my Heavenly Father through You, His Son, and live eternally under Your perfect rule, and live out the ultimate purpose of all created humanity:

To glorify G-d and enjoy Him forever.

Resurrect a renewed and righteous heart and spirit within me today, Lord, celebrating that You are Risen.

You are Risen, indeed.

Amen.