Make Jesus Your Own

Jesus met a sinful woman at a well and he changed her life. Then she told her neighbors and  “Many of the Samaritans…believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39). But they didn’t just take her word for who He was. They spent two days listening to Jesus, and they came to personal knowledge and a personal relationship with Him. “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (v. 42). (Read John 4:1-42)

Too many of us have settled for a second-hand relationship with God. We go to church every Sunday and listen to the words that are preached. We may go to Sunday School and hear the lesson brought by the teacher from the material of a writer who doesn’t know us. We may even go so far as to attend a Bible study class and listen to the leader, and read the lesson. But we often fail to make it our own. We settle for what someone else tells us about God, and we wonder why He is so distant. But God created you so that you might have a deeply intimate and personal relationship with Him. Jesus came to interact personally with people. He sends His Holy Spirit to live in us – you can’t get more intimate than that. God knows your heart and your needs, and He has a Word just for you. He has a purpose just for you. You won’t find it anywhere else but at His feet.

I will teach the Bible for as long as He gives me breath. There is so much to learn, and so much to share, the Word of the Lord never gets stale or boring. But my ultimate goal is to teach myself out of a job – to stir in you a hunger and passion for the Word, and the God who wrote it. I pray that you make His Word your own and that you never settle for a second-hand relationship with the One who created you, loves you, and died for you. Beloved, I pray that you will be able to say, with Job, “My ears had heard of you – but now – my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).

Hide and Seek

Joy likes to play “Hide and Seek” and I like it too because her version calls for Nana to sit in the recliner with a blanket over my head while she wanders around the living room searching. Of course, she knows where I am, and when she finds me she climbs into my lap for a minute or two of snuggles and then she’s off and searching again. My part is just to sit there and wait. I like this game.

God calls us to seek Him. The Bible is full of admonitions to “Seek the Lord and live” (Amos 5:4, 6); “Seek my face” (Ps 27:8); “earnestly seek [God]” (Ps 63:1); “seek [the Lord] and rejoice” (Ps 70:4) and so many more. The meanings range from seeking out in prayer, worship, petition, inquiry, desire, trust, and encounter. But what is so sweet to me is the promise that whatever our reason for seeking the Lord, He says, “I will be found by you” (Jer 29:14). Unlike my and Joy’s game, God isn’t hiding from us. He wants us to find Him, so much so that He puts Himself right in our path so we can’t miss Him. Truth be told, God finds us. Like He found Hagar in the wilderness (Gen 16) and the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) and the lost sheep (Luke 15).

Our act of “seeking” is not done with the eyes. Moses said, “If you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut 4:29). That’s so much more than a casual five-minute devotional before racing out the door. That means engaging your mind and will – your thoughts, desires, emotions (oh, there’s a biggie), and determination, and applying yourself to understanding Him through His Word – both written and in the person of Jesus.

When Joy and I play our little game, I sit and wait to be found, but as soon as we turn our hearts toward God, He reveals Himself – and He’s dropping “hints” all the time. It might be the beauty of a sunrise, the face of your child (or grand), a song, a random kindness, or even driving past a church one day. He is constantly wooing us to Himself.

Beloved, the God of the universe wants you to know Him. He wants you to find Him.  He is not lost, nor is He hiding. Just turn your heart in His direction. He is as close as your next breath.

Seeking Jesus

“Why are you here?” I asked my class asked one Sunday morning. After a minute someone said, “Because it’s Sunday morning and I’ve gone to church every Sunday for my whole life.” Another answered, “I am here for the fellowship of my church family.” Others chimed in: “I’m here because the Bible said ‘Forsake not the assembling of your selves together.’” “I am here to be fed in my spirit.”

I recalled this conversation while reading John 6. Jesus confronted the crowd that followed Him after He had fed more than five thousand people the day before (John 6:1-13). When they came looking for Him Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill” (v. 26).

Now verse 2 said that the people “saw” the miraculous signs He had performed.” So what did Jesus mean? Here’s where the Spirit stirred up the word nerd in me and said, “Saw?” The word used in verse 2 is to see as a spectator, to view with the eyes. But the word that John used in verse 26 means to discern clearly, to behold – to experience. It’s like the difference between watching a football game from the stands and playing it on the field. You can be a fan, but until you put the pads on and take the hits and cross the goalline with the ball in your hand you haven’t experienced the game. The crowd has seen with their eyes the miracles of Jesus – healing the sick and feeding the multitudes – but they did not understand what the signs were pointing to because they did not see them with their hearts. They were fans, but they hadn’t experienced Jesus.

The Lord said they were back because He fed their bellies and they expected more of the same, but if they had looked with faith – if they had experienced Him – they would know Him. They would follow Him because He is the very Son of God and the only means to eternal life.

You and I need to seek Christ for who He is, not just for what he can do for us – to know Him for the Joy of His presence, and not only for His presents. I can find nowhere in Scripture that God says, “I want You to know all I can do for you.” But I lost count after 200 times that I read “That you may know Me…” In knowing God, we discover what He can do, but if we are only seeking Him for what we can gain we have missed the whole point of the relationship.

Beloved, why are you seeking Jesus?

Can you Spot the Lie?

As a Bible teacher, there is nothing I love more than expounding on the Word of God. I know this is what I was created for. But my goal is to teach myself out of a job. What do I mean? I want you to know and love the Bible so much that you don’t need me to teach you anything. I want you to have such a hunger for the Word that you go digging in it for yourself. You need to know what God says because the devil and the world will try to twist Scripture and confuse you – and then defeat you.

Hezekiah ruled the southern kingdom of Judah. The Scripture says, “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Isreal. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow Him” (2 Kings 18:5,6). One of the first acts of Hezekiah’s reign was to tear down the places of pagan worship (v. 4) – don’t miss that, it’s important. An enemy, Sennacherib king of Assyria, was sweeping through the surrounding territories. He set his sights on Judah and sent his field commander with threats, trying to gain their surrender (v. 19-25). But Hezekiah refused, trusting instead in the Lord to protect them.

To shake the people’s confidence the field commander claimed that Hezekiah had removed the high places and altars devoted to the Lord God. Why, then, should He protect them after such an insult by their king (v. 22)? He also said, “Have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the Lord? The Lord Himself told me to march against the country and destroy it” (v. 25). But they knew the truth. Because they knew their God. They knew that the king had honored the Lord not insulted Him. They knew that the Lord was their Defender. They knew He had not sent the enemy nation to destroy them. When Hezekiah sought out the Lord He told them “Do not be afraid of what you have heard. I will defend this city and save it” (19:6, 34). And He did.

But what if the people didn’t know God? What if they accepted Sennachrib’s lies? They would have trembled in fear and surrendered to their enemy. That is why I want you to know the truth – God’s Word – for yourself. If you don’t, you will fall for the lies every time. Your enemy will use just enough Scripture to make his lie sound plausible. You need to know this Word so that you can spot the lie and reject it. Beloved, I will gladly teach you about God and His Word until I draw my last breath, but you need to know it for yourself. The enemy knows how to tell a slick lie. Get into the Word and stand firm on the truth.

More than Live, Love, Laugh

This week in VBS we are learning about the value of life. One night our lesson was about God’s design for us. We were made by a Designer for a wonderful purpose. I asked the 5-6 graders what are the three purposes for which man was designed. One student blurted out “Live, Laugh, Love.” Somebody’s mama loves Hobby Lobby. The correct answer was “to know God, to praise God, and to love God.”

Jeremiah 24:7 says, “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” Paul said that everything God does in this world is so that “men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him . . .” (Acts 17:27). Of all the things that God created – which is everything – only man was designed to know his Creator. When we miss getting to know God, we miss the foundational purpose of our lives.

We were also made to praise God. The psalmist said, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6). Praise is the natural response to knowing God. I’ve been to the Grand Canyon, seen the Eiffel Tower, and witnessed both sunrises and sunsets and my reaction is always the same: “Wow!” How much more so when we see even the smallest glimpse of God.

We were made to love God. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). Your heart is the foundation and seat of your thoughts, passions, desires, and intelligence. Loving God with all your heart is an emotion driven by reason or conscious thought. The mind is the part of the inner person that thinks and processes information into understanding. Loving God with your mind involves making choices driven by a thoughtful process of information. The soul is the immaterial (and eternal) part of the inner person, Loving God with all your soul involves emotion fueled by desire and affection; a special connection to the beloved (in this case, God).  Strength is a marker of great degree or quantity, something beyond measure. Loving God with all your strength denotes a measure of quantity, abundance, and ability, in other words – obedience. When we know God, praise God, and love God all the rest falls into its proper place. Beloved, do you know your purpose?

The More You Know . . .

To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him

Just to see him smile make my life worthwhile

To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him

And I do.

Written by Phil Spector and first recorded by “The Teddy Bears,” this song hit the number one spot in 1958. Through the years it was covered by many other artists and I bet as you read those lyrics, you were singing the melody. I know I did as I typed them. One of my daily prayers for my granddaughter is that she will grow in the knowledge of God and love for God every day of her life.  Because the more she knows God, the more she will love Him. How can she not?

When she knows that God is holy, when she knows that He is righteous, when she knows that He is high and lifted up and that He not only sees her but cares about her (Gen 16:13)  . . . when she knows that He is mighty, when she knows that He uses His power on her behalf (Eph 3:20) . . . when she knows that God is faithful and will “never leave [her] nor forsake [her] (Jos 1:5), when she grasps “how wide and long and high and deep” is His love for her (Eph 3:18) and understands that “nothing can separate [her] from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39) . . . when she knows that He loves her so much that “He sent His one and only Son” to die to save her (John 3:16) . . .

How can you not? Perhaps it never occurred to you that you can know God, but over and over His Word invites us to do just that. Paul prayed that believers will “know this love that surpasses knowledge” (Eph 3:19). I have discovered that the more I come to know Him, the more I love Him and the more I love Him the more I want to know Him. Beloved, can there be any better pursuit for your life than to seek to know God? “My heart says of You, “Seek His face!” Your face Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8).

Heaven Awaits

We had a problem with our copier at work this week and I needed to get the manual out of the little cubby space at the very bottom of the copier cabinet.  I asked my young co-worker for help and she got down on her knees and reached way back in the back and retrieved the manual. I am sixty years old. Things on my body hurt that never hurt before. My energy drains much quicker than it use to and I don’t have the strength to muscle things around anymore. And getting down on my knees on a hard floor is an impossibility. It would require a crane to get me back up again.  I’m trying to be wiser in the things I ask my body – and my brain to do these days.  I know medical science says that brains cells do not die as we naturally age – but I disagree. At least, if they’re not dying they must be getting tired, like the rest of me.  That’s why I am more discerning about what I put in them.  

I just want to know about the things of God. I want to know what He thinks and what He is doing. I want to know His ways and His purposes. I want to know Him. Because He is eternal. I want to fill my mind with His truth and His words because they will last long after The New York Post has ceased publication. “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).  And the more I read and study the Bible the more convinced I am that all of life is really about eternity. And you and I need to know eternal things. What will it benefit us to know all about this singer or that actor or the dirty details of our politicians when we stand before God?

What you put in your mind affects your behavior, your words, your actions, your mood, your relationships, and your sense of peace and security.  It determines whether you live with faith or angst. The Bible is a book of wisdom and truth and hope because it is the Living Word of the Living God. It is as eternal as God Himself. Beloved, why would you want to fill your mind with the trivial matters of this world when heaven awaits?

Hebrews – The Deep Things of God

I remember it like it was last week, even though it was some twenty years ago. I stood in the doorway of my pastor/boss’ office and said, “I’m content to know the basics about the Bible. I don’t need all that deep stuff. ‘Thus sayeth the Lord’ is good enough for me.”  I thought at the time that Pastor Mike was the one chuckling, but all these years later I realize it was the Lord. He – the Lord, that is – was laughing because He was going to unleash a fire in me to study and know His Word beyond anything I ever imagined. He was going to take me deep – so deep that I would need a spiritual oxygen tank to survive. The passion to dig and study and mine for “buried treasure” hits me every time I open my Bible. It has propelled me through eight years of seminary. It has compelled me to be a Bible teacher. I will never be satisfied with anything less.

The author of Hebrews understood that surface knowledge of the things of God will not sustain us for long. He said, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn” (5:11). I touched on this verse when I launched this study, but I think it bears repeating. The phrase “slow to learn” is not referring to a learning disability, but a learning disinterest. “Slow” means “lazy and undisciplined, no longer trying to understand.” The writer said there’s more they could know but they didn’t care to learn it. They were content to know just enough to get into heaven. I suppose that’s okay if your goal is eternal fire insurance.  But why would you deny yourself the deeper things of the faith? Why would you not want to know all you can about God? What could the world possibly teach you that is more important, more thrilling, more breath-taking than knowing the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)?

You don’t have to go to seminary to learn the deeper things of the faith. But you do have to invest time and attention in God’s Word.  I love being a Bible teacher. But honestly, my goal is to teach myself out of a job. I want you to have that hunger for yourself. Beloved, there is no greater quest than to know God. Won’t you let Him captivate your heart?

Hebrews: Hold On

“Do you want goldfish?” Joy’s mommy asked her. “Yeah!” she answered enthusiastically. “I’ll give you some if you take two more bites of spaghetti.” She quickly shoveled in two forkfuls and beamed at her mother with noodles hanging out of her mouth. Some might consider that bribery, but in our house, we call that toddler negotiation. If you do this, I’ll do that.

When the author of Hebrews used the word “if” it’s wasn’t arbitration as if God is negotiating with us. ”If” as it’s used here is a statement of fact. “We are His house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast” (Hebrews 3:6b). That doesn’t mean if we hold on to our faith, then God will save us. It means we prove the genuineness of our profession of faith if we hold fast to the courage and hope we claim to possess.

I just rewrote that last statement because I originally said, “if we hold fast to Jesus with courage and hope.” The Holy Spirit stopped me. “Look at that verse again. What do those words mean?” Courage in this verse means boldness, confidence, and public openness of speech. With that in mind, look back at the end of this verse, “. . . courage and the hope of which we boast.”  A “profession of faith” is a public statement – not that we “chose Jesus,” but that we are confident that He will do what He promised – to save us now and eternally.

As an example, he referenced the Israelites who rebelled against Him by questioning His faithfulness. Quoting from Psalm 95, he said that they “hardened their hearts . . . during the time of testing in the desert.” They whined and complained and doubted God every time they come up against a challenge. They asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?” (Exodus 17:7). Why? Because “they have not known my ways.” They doubted God because they didn’t know Him.

As believers, we should grow in our faith. Our confidence in Jesus should become deeper, not more shallow. If we begin to doubt Him and question His faithfulness we should reconsider the genuineness of our profession and whether or not we really know Him.

Because “if” you know Him, Beloved, you will love and trust Him. All the way to the end.

Do You Want to Know God?

*Steel-toe boot warning*

I have the utmost respect for school teachers. I wanted to be a teacher years ago, but I don’t believe I could do it today – not in the current educational climate. Besides disrespectful students, a lack of support from parents, and shamefully low pay, teachers are being forced to teach political rhetoric that is not helpful for a child’s intellectual growth and success. Schools are turning out students who don’t know what they need to survive and thrive in the real world.

Hosea prophesied the word of the Lord to the northern kingdom of Israel prior to and during their fall to the Assyrians. They had always been ruled by wicked kings and it showed. The Lord charged them with faithlessness, lovelessness, disregard for God, cursing, lying, murder, stealing, adultery, and bloodshed. He said they “stumble day and night” (4:5).  The reason for their sin and instability? “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (4:6). What is it they didn’t know? God. The Creator of the Universe. The one who called out their forefather Abraham, who declared that they were His people and He would be their God. The one who led them out of bondage in Egypt and into the Promised Land. It’s not that He didn’t provide evidence of Himself. They didn’t know Him because they didn’t want to know Him.

The Lord said they had “rejected knowledge” and “ignored the law of your God.” (v.6). It was a conscious and deliberate decision on their part. A friend joking accused me of ignoring her when she pulled beside me in traffic one day. But I wasn’t ignoring her because I didn’t see her. We only reject and ignore what we are aware exists.  

If we don’t know God it’s nobody’s fault but our own. We are responsible for our lack of knowledge. Paul said “men are without excuse” when they ignore and reject God. He has made Himself known in His creation (Romans 1:19-20), in His Word (2 Peter 1:20-21), and in His Son (John 17:6). So my steel-toe question is – How much effort are you making to know God? Are you rejecting and ignoring all the means by which He has revealed Himself?  Let me put it another way – How important is knowing God to you?  Beloved, don’t get tripped up by a lack of knowledge.