Loving Jesus Style

  Jesus, Lifted Up Scripture: John 12: 31-33 (NRSV) 31  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.  32  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  33  He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. Devotion:             The scene in which today’s scripture plays out is important to understand. Some Greeks who are in Jerusalem for the Passover feast have asked to see Jesus. Perhaps they have heard about his miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead or other miracles, and they want to see this teacher for themselves. Jesus, however, is acutely aware that his time on earth is running out and he will soon be crucified. So, here we find Jesus teaching a mixed crowd of Gentiles and Jews about what must take place shortly there in Jerusalem.             Jesus first states that the “ruler of this world will be driven out.” Who is this “ruler of the world?” Most commentators agree that this refers to Satan. S

Scripture: Luke 13:34-35 (NLT) 34  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35  And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Devotion:             In these words of scripture, Jesus is calling out to that great city Jerusalem. Jesus felt both an earthly and divine sorrow for the city. These were his people. His kinfolk. So many times, in this city’s history God had longed for their repentance and salvation. But the people always refused their own rescue. Now at last their messiah was coming to them and still they refused to repent and believe. Luke would have Jesus utter a similar saying on his way into Jerusalem in Luke 19 this time coupled with a prediction of the city’s destruction in A. D. 70.       

Scripture: Luke 12:49-50 (NRSV) 49  “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50  I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Devotion:             It is easy to believe that Jesus came to bring peace and well-being to the earth. Indeed, there are many passages that tell us about Jesus' desire for peace on earth. However, there are also passages like the one above that tell a different story. What could Jesus mean when he says he has come to bring a fire upon the earth? What kind of baptism is he to undergo? Jesus says these things to explain the purpose of his coming in ways that we can never forget.             We need to have the eyes of our spirit opened so we can see what these words of Jesus meant to those who first read them and what they mean for us. The fire that Jesus talks about here could mean a fire of purification and cleansing. The world in Jesus' day right up to today i

Scripture: Luke 18:31-34 (NIV) 31  Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32  He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33  they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” 34  The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. Devotion:             As we begin our Lenten journey, we consider these words recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels. Jesus is determined to go to Jerusalem. Here he takes his twelve closest followers and gives them a preview of where they are going and why they are going there. Luke does not let his disciples know exactly which prophesies his suffering, death, and resurrection must fulfill. We are simply to ponder these words and search the scriptures for ourselves. It is enough

  Scripture: Joel 2:12-14 (NRSV) 12     Yet even now, says the Lord , return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13        rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord , your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. 14     Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him,   Devotion:                         Today’s scripture will be heard in churches the world over as the Old Testament reading for the day. It is an invitation from God to his people to repent with weeping and mourning for their sin. The point of the passage is that our God is a God of second chances. He does not wish for any to perish but is patient with us, wanting everyone to come to know and worship him. (2 Peter 3:9) This is good news for our chaotic and hurting world.                         Ash Wednesday is when we hear that we

Scripture: Matthew 23:27-28 (ESV) 27 “ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28  So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Devotion:             Today’s scripture might be confusing to a modern reader. After all we do not whitewash tombs anymore. In Jesus day, however, the practice was quite common. According to Old Testament law coming in contact with a tomb made ceremonially unclean for seven days. So, in order to avoid such contamination, the Jewish people would whitewash their tombs to make them conspicuous to all who passed by. The tombs would look wonderful on the outside but inside they were full of decay and rot.             Jesus likens the Pharisees to these tombs. Jesus was not simply calling the Pharisees names in these verses where he is critical of them. Rather

  Scripture: Matthew 15: 10-11. 15-20 (ESV) 10  And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11  it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”. . . 15  But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16  And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17  Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18  But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20  These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” Devotion:             When I first read these words as a child, I thought that I had found a way to get around my mother’s insistence that I wash my hands before meals. I was so dreadfully wrong. It seemed that my mother knew that I had been pla

Scripture: Galatians 2:19-21 (ESV) 19  For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. Devotion:             This is one of the most quoted passages from Galatians. It gives us great hope that Christ will come to live within us and save us by his great love for us. Indeed, such hope is warranted but there is more to talk about here. These words in verse 20 echo the words of Jesus when he advised his disciples to, “take up their crosses and follow him.” (Matthew 10:38, Mark 8:34, Luke 9.23) So we must take up our crosses and follow him.             There is a question as to exactly what Paul means when he says in verse 20, “It is no longer I w

Scripture: Colossians 1:25-27 (NIV) 25  I have become [the church’s] servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26  the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.  27  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Devotion             The scripture above contains a marvelous truth about our savior Jesus Christ. Paul is here revealing that the mystery of God’s salvation hidden from the Old Testament Jewish people. This mystery has now been revealed in the person of Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection. Thus, now we can have the hope of heaven in all its fullness.             Did the Old Testament people die without hope because they did not know Jesus? No, if they had faith in God, they were saved by their faith. What we have seen and experienced in Christ Jesus they longed to see, but st

  Scripture: Jeremiah 29:4-7 (ESV) Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.  6  Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.  7  But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Devotion:             Today’s scripture finds the nation of Israel in exile in Babylon. Jeremiah writes a letter to them explaining how they should live in this strange new land where they now find themselves. Does this scripture apply in any way to us today? I believe it does.             Today we live in this world which is rapidly becoming increasingly hostile toward the Christian faith. We will feel more like strangers and exile

Scripture: Luke 6:35-36 (ESV)   But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.  36  Be merciful, even as your father is merciful. Devotion:             It is not even possible to read the scripture above without being convicted by the Holy Spirit. We so often do not love others as Jesus says we should. Was love for your enemies really that important for Jesus? The answer is a resounding YES! There are three verbs clustered at the beginning of this passage are love, do good, and lend. These three verbs are all imperatives in the Greek meaning that they are all commands to the reader to follow. We are such fallen human beings that we despair of ever being able to follow these commands.             The secret to being able to follow these commands is simply to realize that Jesus would never command us to do something at which we would always fail

  Scripture: Luke 6:40 (ESV) A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  25  It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. Devotion             Today we consider teachers. Everyone may have a favorite teacher. Someone who made you want to learn what they were teaching. The words of our scripture today are spoken by Jesus to his disciples. However, they were spoken for Jesus followers to hear and understand no matter when they live. They tell the basic truth that a pupil will not ever learn from a teacher more than that teacher knows. You have to have something to offer if you are a teacher otherwise you will be ineffective in the classroom. Today, with the internet it is possible perhaps to learn more facts than one's teacher, but a teacher is so much more than a dispenser of information.             All teachers must encourage their students to learn everything they can about the material being taught. The teacher

Scripture: Jude 20-21 (NLT) 20  But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,  *   21  and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. Devotion:             In our world today there seem to be people who are bent on tearing each other down. That, however, is not the way Christians should act toward one another. Here in this short letter of Jude we see a counter-cultural way of living given as an example of how to live in the world. Instead of the go-along to get-along attitude of many Christians we are told to contend for the faith. (v. 3) Resisting those who are evil. But we are to do it without fighting and quarreling.             And for those who are in the church we are to have one another’s backs. We are to defend and encourage our fellow believers. We are to do that by first praying for each other. We are to always engage in ac

Scripture: Jerimiah 31.3 (ESV) I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you.   Devotion:             Today’s scripture contains a wonderful promise made to Israel while they were in exile. We can appropriate the meaning of this passage because while we may not be a nation in exile, we are a people that have suffered and are suffering a sort of exile as we await the return of our glorious savior Jesus Christ. As Christians we know that this old world is not our home. We are strangers and aliens in a land that does not believe in God anymore, if indeed it ever truly did.             We can take from this promise hope that God never gives up on regardless of our circumstances. May we rejoice in the knowledge that God’s love for us is everlasting. We can trust in his faithfulness to us regardless of our own faithfulness to him. These facts should bring us to everlasting thankfulness toward our Creator God. As Christians our hop

  Scripture: Ephesians 4:30-32 (NIV) 30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31  Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. 32  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you, Devotion:             If you believe on Jesus Christ, you are saved and you have the Holy Spirit residing within you. You, however, can suppress the Holy Spirit’s action in your life if you are not living in a Godly way. I know that is a tall order for us. We are a fallen race. Our sin nature makes it impossible for us to live up to the standard set by Christ. There is good news though.             Jesus has told us that there is forgiveness in him. We can know that whatever we have done such as the items listed above in the scripture and many more besides that we can receive forgiveness and we can restore the Holy Spirit’s action in our

  Scripture: Ephesians 1:18-23 (NIV) I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19  and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20  he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21  far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23  which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Devotion:             In the scripture above Paul is saying a prayer for the church at Ephesus. I believe that we can appropriate this prayer for the church in today’s world. Since the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write it in scripture

  Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-14 (ESV) 12 Beloved do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13  But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Devotion:             Today we look at a scripture that provides us with an answer to the question that was asked in yesterday’s devotion. The question asked what is happening in our world today? The answer given is simply that these sorts of trials and tribulations are to be expected because we no longer follow the ways of the world. We indeed, are to rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer abuse for the sake of being a Jesus follower. We are not to mourn or lament if we are treated badly by the world. This is a difficult word to hear and even harder to perform,