Listening to the Word

2 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 34; John 6 “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you…Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.’” John 6:53, 56 This radical call to eat Jesus’ body and drink his blood makes more sense after the final supper with his disciples. Jesus repurposed the Passover cup and said, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). We understand the communion elements to be representations of Christ’s body and blood and a reminder of our covenant with him.   However, are we regularly taking communion? We will never be worthy of this sacrifice by Jesus for us. To take communion is to be reminded and renewed in our love and life in Jesus. Neglecting communion affects our heart’s communion with Jesus. Remaining, or abiding in Christ is the key to fruit-bearing in our spiritual life.   When wa...

Nahum 1-3; John 5 “Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does…How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” John 5:19, 20, 44 Jesus promised his disciples that both he and the Father would come and live inside of his disciples by the indwelling Spirit and be at ‘home’ with them (John 14:23). Why? So that we would live the life Jesus lived, in union with his Father.  We, too, can now through the Spirit learn to obey the Father by doing what our Father is doing. Few desire to live in this way of surrender and obedience to the will of the Father. Instead, we benchmark our discipleship against the behavior of other disciples and seek the praise of one another. We can win the favor of the Church and be out of st...

2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33; John 4 “In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.” 2 Chronicles 33:12, 13 No one would wish distress, hardship, or pain on someone; yet, this painful discipline was God’s grace in Manasseh’s life. His capture by the Assyrians who put a hook in his nose was a particularly humiliating outcome of Manasseh’s rebellion against the Lord. After all his demonic worship, including human sacrifice, Manasseh “humbled himself greatly” before God. How has the Lord disciplined us in his love for us? How have we responded? This event of humiliating discipline was the turning point in Manasseh’s life. As we intercede in prayer for our prodigals and unsaved family and friends, are we aware of the lengths the Lord will go...

Isaiah 65-66; Psalms 62; John 3 “’Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Sprit 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.’” John 3:6-8 Jesus’ call that Nicodemus (and anyone interested in a relationship with God) be born again is both very simple and very profound. A new birth signifies a new identity, a new family, and a new Father. Spirit gives birth to spirit. God’s Spirit conceives spiritual life in those who become born again. This living Word grows within us and becomes ‘full term’ when we are willing to fully surrender (die) to our old life and enter a new life of the Spirit. The evidence of being born again (like the wind) is in our new thoughts, attitudes and behavior which come from the Spirit. We see the new life expressed like fruit on a tree. By our fruit, the reality...

Isaiah 63,64; Psalms 107; John 2  \ “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him…No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold on you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.” Isaiah 64:4, 7 The testimony of men and women throughout the Bible and throughout history is that God reveals himself to seekers, not casual inquirers. When we wait on God, we give evidence of our faith in him. When we pursue God, or “strive to lay hold” of God, we testify that he is worth any sacrifice. When God hides his face from us, it’s not a game of ‘hide and seek.’ God is either grieved with our sin, which should move us to repentance; or, he has taken a step back to draw out our faith in actively pursuing his presence. We were created for a relationship with the Lord. This is not just for vocational clergy or retired people with lots of time. The Lord invites a...

Isaiah 60-62; John 1   “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will; but born of God.” John 1:12, 13 When salvation becomes primarily about our choice to receive Jesus into our lives, we have created our own ‘test tube’ babies. We are not born again solely through our own choice, “nor of human decision;” we are born of God. It is God himself who must fill us with his Spirit to give us his life. Without the evidence of the Spirit’s presence within us we are not yet born of God. How many struggle with the question of whether they are truly born again of God? Sharing Scripture verses and convincing arguments are no substitute for a personal encounter with God. The Father welcomes seekers who are willing to die to their life of self and fully surrender their lives to his indwelling presence. We must both receive him and believe on his name. T...