In the third chapter of First John God decides to knock our socks off with the greatest verse in the Bible (besides all the other ones). He gives us a word so deep that it cuts to the depths of our soul.
1 John 319 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
We KNOW that we belong to the truth. And we know it because we can set our hearts at rest in His presence. And we do it even when we condemn ourselves because He is greater. So even though it is our choice to condemn ourselves and even know we think we know everything, God is greater. And He fixes all that is broken.
I don’t know how to even fathom this.
But I will simply say this: If Jesus can be fully man and go to sleep in a boat during the storm of the century, then you can too.
If He can be the Truth, then we can have the truth in us.
And if He can choose not to condemn us, then we can receive it and no longer be condemned.
This word is better than any gift that you can receive from the world … And it lasts forever.
So as you run the race today, choose Jesus.
And as you choose Him, give His mighty power away to someone else.
And if they reject that mighty power, love the stuffing out of them. Because His love can cut through whatever they might want to put in front of Him.
Be blessed today.
And go forward in love.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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To the perfectionist, the high achiever, and to the one who seeks, and often finds, success, I want to say this:
Be careful.
Because as much as the enemy will attack you in your weaknesses, he will also attack you in your strengths–he will attack you in the very areas where God has blessed you.
I say to you today: Don’t let him have his way!
There are some things in this world that can never be satisfied. And just as a fire will rage and burn down everything in its path, just as the bare ground soaks up water like it never was poured, and just as the grave will never stop pursuing you … So will it be with the leech that can take away all your victories.
We are warned about this in the Old Testament:
Proverbs 30 15 “The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. “There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’: 16 the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’
Being excellent is a badge of honor. It is what makes people what they are, but it must never be allowed to be attached to anything beyond doing it for God’s glory. Pursue that. And pursue it with all your heart knowing these two things:
#1. No one knows you better than God does. No one has your back better than God does. And no one can fill you better than God can. So stick with that.
It is the very reason that Jesus told Nathanael “I saw you under the fig tree”. This wasn’t some one line verse in an ancient text. It was Jesus saying that He actually SAW into Nathanael’s pain.
John 1 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
You see, the enemy will sometimes influence us to think He is a distant Father who has no connection to us. But God is the God of relationship and pursuit. He cares about what you care about. He hates when people mess you over. And He hates when you mess over those He loves. Never forget that He cares about what you care about … and also never forget that He gave you gifts and excellence SO THAT YOU CAN ENJOY THEM. Do not let the enemy steal your victories or your joy. He has no right to them. Deny Him access. Jesus SEES you in your victories and defeats. KNOW that He SEES you, SEEK HIM IN RETURN, and keep it simple.
#2. Never, ever, forget what God has for you, or how He truly feels about you. And with that, never forget why you try to be excellent. It is not to please the insatiable thirst of the leech. It is not so that you can cower down in front of the enemy of man and wilt under his pressure. God puts excellence on you so that you can be a testimony. But more than that, He puts it on you so that you can glorify Him with every step that you take.
Zephaniah 3 17 The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
We love because He first loved us first. We succeed because He is the great I Am. And we pursue excellence because it is who He made us to be. And nothing more.
Do not feed the leech. He brings friends with him.
Do not cower down to the enemy. He is seeking to destroy you and all that you love.
Do not put the pressure of the world on your shoulders, you are not strong enough to carry it.
Purpose to love the Father and to be excellent for His glory.
Pursue His Kingdom and His Righteousness.
Be filled by His spirit and His wisdom.
And Live out the call on your life for the right purpose.
It is in these things that you can be excellent.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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David asked the same question that all of us today must ultimately ask. Who is this King of glory?
Psalm 88 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty- he is the King of glory. Selah.
All of us ultimately have a King. It might be money. It might be a position. It could be any number of human created and fleeing pursuits. But ultimately our hearts will choose to pursue something.
2000 years ago Jesus came on the scene and answered all of these questions for all of us.
John reminds us that He came into the world unrecognized.
John 110 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
John also reminds us that we CAN RECEIVE Him!
John 1 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Jesus tells us that we can actually get to the Father!
John 145 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Peter reminds us that we have NOTHING when we don’t have Him.
John 668 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
John the Baptist reminds us that He was around a long time before us.
John 1 15…‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ “
Jesus also reminds us that His Kingdom will be for forever–in both directions!
Revelation 22 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
And Jesus tells us to be servants and to receive His gift.
Mark 10 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As I listened to this song from Third Day I was inspired to connect this David verse from the Psalms to what actually happened. And even though I have read it before—it inspired me to be better.
It inspired me to allow God to make me a better version of myself.
Jesus’ decision to rescue, to heal, to bring us into a place where we could dare worship Him and be His friend … it is the most incredible decision in human history.
Cry out today to the King of the Universe.
Recognize Him as not just your only hope … but your friend.
Allow Him to help you not just in the great things … but in the small moments.
And remember to know your place: At His side. At His feet. And in full compliance.
Freedom for you is holding on to Him. He is willing … and able.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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I love studying American history. Maybe this is because I sat at a desk at Lyons High School in 1986 and listened to my dad make it come to life.
The Battle of Midway.
The Battle of Gettysburg.
The perspective of Abraham Lincoln.
And these events have shaped the world that we live in today.
I am grateful to hear of courageous leaders and, more importantly, courageous men who faced death to give us what we have today.
But nothing compares to Jesus. What He did on the cross 2000 years ago is the most important event in human history … and we would do well to celebrate it like the greatest New Year’s Eve party on planet earth.
But what was the second most important event?
I believe that the second most important event happened in Syria.
Acts 91 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. 6 “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
If you are going to mess with the Lion of the Tribe of Judah … do it on this side of death. On the other side? He stands in judgment. I am not saying what His decision will be … but He is the one who will make it.
Paul fell on the ground blind and made the greatest transformation in human history.
And only God can change a life without giving a person a personality transplant. He takes us just as we are and turns us into amazing versions of ourselves.
Paul’s transformation was so radical that people didn’t trust him because he went from worst enemy to best friend.
And then he fought like a cornered badger to get the message of Jesus out to every person on the planet.
Prison.
Beatings.
Persecution.
Threats.
Nothing could stop him.
Jesus. He is so good. Take Him into every area of your life.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Somewhere between killing a giant and allowing his men to go to war without him, David lost his desire to bow down and worship God.
It was a slow fade.
It didn’t happen overnight.
And it probably happened with a subtlety that couldn’t be noticed by anyone in human flesh.
And so it happened.
2 Samuel 112 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her.
“And David sent someone to find out about her” …
Finding out about a person in the wrong context is a recipe for disaster. What we need to do is find out about God. And David knew this. In his quiet times watching over sheep he was slowly trained by God to take down a Philistine giant. And he did. In front of everyone, he stood with the head of a great warrior and sent evil packing. The Hebrew army absolutely decimated the Philistines in reaction to the actions of one man.
But it slowly decayed to David shifting his worship to something else.
Himself.
And, as all of us find out when we truly look in the mirror, we are short of the ten trillion dollar payment that is necessary to even pay the lawyer’s retainer to defend us before the accuser of the brethren.
2 Samuel 121 The Lord sent Nathan to David……” 5 David burned with anger…”As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
David decayed to a place where EVEN DAVID wanted to bring justice to himself.
But isn’t that just it?
Romans 3 verse 23 reminds us that we are ALL GUILTY, that God could not find even one worthy of righteousness. A colossal failure of all man that requires a Savior.
And so He came.
And He came to destroy all that we had built.
And He did.
So today … remind yourself of this.
Because without Jesus—we have NOTHING.
NOTHING.
And we would do well to remind ourselves of this—every day.
Because without it, we are a victorious king standing on a porch in the wrong place looking at something that we have no business putting our eyes on….
So RELIGHT YOUR FIRE. Remember who you are in your BC days.
It’s an ugly picture.
RELIGHT YOUR FIRE
As I sat in reflection and worship today, I was reminded of this song. To cry out to God, and to truly mean it, is our only connection to Him. To be able to cry out to Jesus and to say “I can’t do this” is not only okay … it is necessary. He is the only one that can help us.
RELIGHT YOUR FIRE
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Matthew 2442 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
It is important to God that we be faithful and wise. And while many things could be said about being faithful and many things could be said about being wise, Jesus kept it very simple.
His gospel was for everyone. And He made that clear when He met the woman at the well, when He spoke the story of the “good Samaritan”, and when He let the town reject cry and anoint his feet with oil.
His gospel was for the sinner. He made that clear with Matthew, and Zacheus, and Peter, and, quite literally, everyone else.
His gospel did not regard rich or poor, man or woman, soldier or fisherman, “He was a salesman who didn’t care if His clients had money.”
His gospel did not align with politics. It didn’t shift with the world. It didn’t value a man’s power, or wealth, or standing, or anything else made in human tradition.
And so, to me, being faithful and wise is about John 3 verse 16, the idea that “God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus is our only hope.
He rescues us from the pits of hell and takes away the sting of death.
He stands for those who make mistakes and fights for those who can’t fight for themselves.
He breaks human traditions and weaknesses.
And He decides what is right … and what is wrong.
We would be Wise to remember this … and to stand by Him in Faith.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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In a move of radical faith, Abram moved forward. He left his house, his comfort, his stability and security, and he left all that he knew to go somewhere else and to be something else.
Genesis 12 1The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.
So Abram Left
Abram is the father of faith because of these words.
He left all that he had and knew and walked into the unknown.
And he did it at the moment God commanded him to.
Scripture tells us (in Hebrews 11) that people who act in faith are looking forward to a city with foundations, that they are foreigners of this world, that they are looking for a better country–a heavenly one. It tells us that they are willing to do radical things.
It tells us (Again in Hebrews 11) that when we receive His promises that it somehow fulfills what they started.
As you walk through the changes and the challenges and the corruption that all of us are destined to face, remember Abram. In a moment of truth—Abram obeyed. He didn’t wonder how he would manage his wealth. He didn’t ask about how he was going to travel in such a tough environment. And he didn’t wonder what it might do to his security.
As scripture (Again in Hebrews 11) assures us–Faith is being sure of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we do not see.
As I listen to this song by Consumed By Fire, I am compelled and convicted to be better.
And I think that we could all learn a thing or two from Abram. Because he clearly had one, and only one, influence on his decisions—His Holy God.
And that God showed up in Jerusalem some 2000 years ago and fulfilled everything that He had promised.
Thank you to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
You, and You alone, hold the keys to eternal life.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Nathanael needed just one thing. And he cried out to God for it not even knowing what it was. He just knew that he was deficient for everything that he could possibly need without it.
And so he sat, under a fig tree, emptying out all of his concerns to a God who he thought wasn’t listening.
And so he sat.
It wasn’t long after that that he ran into Philip … and Philip had found the one thing.
John 145Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
It is Independence Day. Let us not forget today about the freedom that all of us have.
As I sit today in a beautiful cabin nestled in the mountains of Buffalo Creek, I am so grateful for that freedom.
For our country.
For our soldiers.
For a pledge that says “One nation UNDER God”
And as my wife played this song for me today and I watched the lyrics, I couldn’t help but think about Nathanael. As he sat under that fig tree and cried to God, he was not completely sure that God was even listening to him.
But he found out.
And he found out in an encounter with none other than Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And he found out that something good could come Nazareth. In fact, to let us know that He has walked that road, He chose to be from Nazareth.
Let us not forget today that true freedom comes from Jesus.
Let us not forget that God is listening to us.
Let us not forget that an encounter with Jesus is all that we ever truly need.
Because He … Is Where It Begins.
John 11In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God …
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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2 MINUTE WARNING 