John 13:31-35

John 13:31-35 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Preparing for the cross, Jesus speaks to the disciples He called to forsake all and to follow him. As they listen by his side, suddenly Christ's words take a turn. Speaking of the Son of Man glorifying God and God glorifying him, Jesus shares unsettling news: My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. Jesus does not want to leave his disciples unprepared. As He shares the love of God for the world, He now places this mantle of love upon their shoulders so to speak. He says in the exact manner the Son loves the Father and the Father loves the Son, so must they love one another. By this love, Jesus says people will know they believe in him. When believers love one another with this divine love, they glorify the Son by demonstrating God's love toward a fallen people. Through the process of such a holy love in action, Jesus glorifies the Father, and the Father reciprocates by giving us the glory of his Son. Of course, the Godhead never breaks this love covenant, yet human beings through foolish disobedience and faithlessness can and do break this eternal circle of love. Although Jesus knew mankind as perpetual covenant breakers, He boldly reminds the Father of his eternal salvation plan and announces to his followers that He has come to provide a new and better way. He must return to the Father to make God's love complete. He will pay the total price to institute and to ensure a lasting Way of peace, joy, and love through the Spirit. Therefore He says confidently, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Praise God, since we are now in Christ, the Holy Spirit is faithful and just to petition the Father for our errors in judgment, our shortcomings, and our sins. God forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness that we might love wholeheartedly and unconditionally in the same manner as Christ so loved the World that He died on the cross for all who would follow him. In a spiritual sense, He reminds the Father that his glorified One, Jesus Christ his Beloved Son, paid the full price for our waywardness. Jesus knew that He had to go away that He might fully complete his work: that He might suffer, die, and rise again in newness of life in victory over sin and death to release all people for all time from the chains of hell. He also had to go away to fully release his followers for ministry by sending the Holy Spirit. He would soon tell them:

If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. (John 14:15-17)

He said they would realize, I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:16-17 & 20-21) We love others because God is love: we love because while we were sinning against him, Christ died for us. We are to love others exactly as God loves us. Therefore, we are without excuse if we reject others, find fault, refuse to forgive, harden our hearts and turn away in anger or bitterness. Because of Jesus Messiah, Lamb of God, we have been made perfect in him: whole, clothed in his holiness.

Christ's death on the cross empowers us to fulfill his words, You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Our daily commitment to Christ is to love others, and not merely those who love us and do good to us. We are to reveal God's nature to a sinful basically unkind and unrepentant world where people do not look to the needs of others. When we do not obey God's commands to love others, we need the Holy Spirit's intervention in our lives--a fresh look at the cross. We need a reminder of God's immeasurable love towards us--the indescribable sacrifice Jesus made for us. We need the purity of God's holiness to saturate our souls--the innermost parts of our beings. Love is an action word. We cannot love merely by good words, fine intentions, or an occasional statement of faith. We must love in reality by letting people see Christ in us, so they WILL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE IN ACTION through our helpfulness, gentleness, compassion, long-suffering, generosity, peacefulness, apologies, listening ears, and the like. They will know we are believers by our lack of retaliation, selfishness, anger, criticism, gossip, foolishness, and coarse language. Let them know us by OUR LOVE, Lord.

We will be taking a week off to attend a Christian conference. We look forward to a time of restoration in body and spirit and pray God's blessing on each of you. We know God will enrich you in your personal Bible reading and study of his Word!

John 13:27-30

John 13:27-30 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. “What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night

And it was night. Such a bitter indictment of a soul gone astray, a heart in darkness, fallen from the source of all goodness, mercy, and light. How dark the human soul becomes, how far mankind falls when we walk away from the Lord of Light to engage in the pleasures of sin for a season to feed our greedy impulses, to seek all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, that which we know is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16 KJV) To embrace fully the ways of the world or to set our hearts to follow the pathway of sin is to abide in darkness. A self-absorbed, inconsiderate, and wayward life is a betrayal of God's plan for those He died to set at liberty. In Genesis God asks, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? Adam and Eve rebelled, questioning God's authority and overstepping his lordship by partaking of the Tree of Knowledge, allowing darkness to overcome the light in their souls. They left God no alternative but banishment from the Garden, separation became their only possible reality. God placed them in a garden with freedom to eat from any tree in the garden, but they quickly lost focus when Satan planted the seed of doubt: Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" God gave them the same choice He gave mankind throughout the ages, the choice He gives to us each day: "Obey, serve me, and live abundantly in my presence in the light of my light and love. Reject my ways, and the wages of sin is death both now and forevermore."

Judas sought the affection and approval of others and the wealth and power of the world when he betrayed Christ for money with no eternal or lasting value. He thought his decision to abandon Christ would capture security, peace of mind, and lasting happiness; yet the exact opposite occurred. Just as the God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden to work the soil from which they were taken and set a flaming sword to block the entrance, darkness entered the soul of Judas: Satan entered into him. He cut himself off from God, and he found himself no longer in intimate relationship with God the Father through Christ the Son. The weight of his sins alienated him more than at any other time in his life. He had closed the door to peace, hope, and freedom, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) When the weight of his horrific deed caused Judas to take his own life, the praise and acceptance of the religious elite who tempted him and led him to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver meant nothing to him, offered him no hope. In today's economy, those coins would be worth thousands of dollars, but he realized too late that they could never buy back what He had lost: the meaning of life, the essence of his existence, his reason for being. The Good Shepherd had called his name and made him his own, yet Judas followed the deceiver's voice. If we reject God's best and final plan, there is no Plan B: Jesus is the only Way!

Judas walked along the roads of Galilee with Jesus: he ate with him; slept near his side; absorbed his teaching; touched his face, hands, and feet. Yet in the end, Judas rejected his loving and faithful Lord, the One who called him, served him, and promised never to leave or to forsake him and was willing to suffer and to die for him and to give his life freely. Judas left Jesus' side to betray him: turned aside from the straight and narrow path in an attempt to rid Christ from his life, basically saying, "I do not know this man; I am not one of his." His betrayal of the One who took him under his wing meant certain death for Jesus. Judas understood this when he agreed to play his part in the capture and the death of Christ. Judas probably tried to convince himself he was doing good by helping destroy this false prophet, this impostor, but we know he could not have known any peace in his heart.

The Word is clear: It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6) Judas may have thought he could eradicate Christ by sending him to the cross and continue to prosper as a human being. He was wrong. When people openly renounce Christ by turning their backs on him, wanting no part of him and having no place for him in their lives; this decision to crucify Jesus twice brings sudden darkness and destruction to the heart and the soul. Thankfully for those who believe, Paul goes on to say, Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case — things that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (verses 10-11) Yes, far better things are reserved by grace through Christ for every child of God who endures to the end, who runs the race with courage and fights the good fight through faith in Christ our risen Lord. He is the Lamb, worthy of all honor and praise! Bless you dear ones.

John 13:18-27

John 13:18-27 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’ “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.” His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

As believers, we have heard many sermons about Christ breaking bread with his disciples and suddenly saying, I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me. We recall Sunday school handouts with an evil-looking Judas, money bag attached to his sash or by his plate, obviously set apart from the rest by the greedy look in his eye or his dark and furrowed brow, obviously the villain in the group about to slink away into the darkness. Jesus is extending a piece of bread to Judas in the picture we colored as we listened to a story about faithfulness to Jesus or whatever moral direction the lesson took that day. We should remember as we look at Christ's ministry over 2000 years ago and as we ask God to use the Word to speak into our lives today: spiritual realities are sometimes not quite as simplistic as we might want to make them. This event at the table represented a momentous fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus was troubled in spirit as He revealed what was to come to those He most loved. Christ took no pleasure in declaring that one He chose to follow him would turn upon him. He said He was telling them ahead of time because He wanted them to know that what would happen fulfilled scripture: He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me. Just as He wept over the Jerusalem that killed the prophets, his heart broke that one of his chosen would now receive the bread of sorrows. Judas sat at the table with the rest and was not discernible to the others as an evil man: His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. Jesus recognized him by the Spirit, and when Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

Sometimes we expect the enemy to come with little horns and a pointy tail, but he fits in with everyone else. The Bible often speaks of the deceptions of the enemy, good and bad fruit, the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Speaking of good fruit, Jesus said, Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:15-20) These verses remind us to be alert and aware. We often look at outward signs and appearances. We attach ourselves to friendships, causes, and activities that seem good for a while. Later disillusionment sinks in when we find a rotten or grotesque core contrary to what we saw on the surface. Our pastor son, Doug, gave an inspiring message on Sunday. In passing, he mentioned something we have discussed: people who never say, "I am sorry." We have known friends and relatives we have never heard say those words, not ever. It is as if they have the sense they are always right and the rest of the world is always wrong. Now we try to give these people grace, thinking they are perhaps so deeply wounded or insecure they "need to be right." Maybe the thought of being wrong is more than they can take, a threat to their identity and personhood. But we know that it must be incredibly hard for their families and their friends to prosper emotionally under these constraints. A "sorry" would help.

Regardless, if you have allied yourself closely with a person with all the answers, a domineering or controlling person, you should draw back and pray about the relationship. After saying the bad trees would be thrown into the fire, Jesus added, Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:21-23) We speak of grace more than anything in these breakfasts because we possess a covenant of amazing grace--lavished upon us with mercy, redeemed by the blood of Christ. Yet the Bible is written to the church: the Word continually instructs believers to walk by faith, to choose the narrow way. We must stand firm in the Lord, dear friends, as Paul instructed, adding, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:1 & 4) We cannot prosper spiritually as occasional Christians. We will not thrive in an atmosphere of guilt and shame or in an environment of worldliness with values contrary to God's Word. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-2) Hear our prayer, Oh Lord! Amen!

John 13:1-17

John 13:1-17 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

In the previous breakfast, we read the familiar story of Christ washing his disciples' feet. As we take a second look at this passage, we visualize Jesus removing his outer clothing, wrapping a towel around his waist, and kneeling before his friends with a servant's heart. Such a scene should make us pause in the midst of our very busy lives, even as we think about fathers and our heavenly Father. The concept of serving God and others is not a popular idea in 2011, for serving requires that we seek the Lord, spend time with him, and hear his voice. Listening requires that we discipline ourselves and humble ourselves anew and afresh rather than doing whatever we want when we want. Obedience rarely comes naturally, automatically, or easily to our human nature. We are raised from childhood to think independently and first and foremost to protect and to promote Number One. In 1798, the romantic poet William Wordsworth wrote: "The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers." Imagine William's shock at the materialism of our day. We no longer bother to disguise our selfish walk. We justify our need for increasing material goods, even luxuries; and we lust for ever more exciting forms of relaxation: "I worked hard for this and I deserve it!"

The Holy Spirit cries out: Open your hearts, your eyes, your ears. I have work for you to do and the laborers are few. Jesus says, My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27) Paul told the church our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8) God is ever so patient with us and He loves us immensely. We are his people, his beloved, his sons and daughters. But we are called to follow his Son, to do the work of the kingdom, not to spend all our time fulfilling our own desires, meeting our own needs, and slipping Christ into a convenient corner of our lives when we have a spare moment or two or if it just happens to work out. Often we hear folks say they missed church because they were too tired, had a hard week, were too busy, or just did not feel like it. What if there was someone there they needed to minister to with a word of encouragement? What if the sermon the pastor prepared was the perfect message that would have lifted them up and given them strength to arise and shine for Jesus? What if? We should not obey our feelings: we should listen to the voice of God. Peter taught the church sound doctrine about the mind of Christ: Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. (1 Peter 4:1-2)

Last time we discussed this passage we described how our lives are a book with many pages and chapters. We have constant choices how we will fill the pages every day. We have a pen in hand; we have time and opportunities. God does not condemn you: the Word makes that a clear again and again. Jesus calls you to a life of peace, joy, and love--victory in him forevermore, but the journey is not always easy. This passionate and encouraging word to us from our daughter, Christine Bozich, offers a fitting conclusion to today's breakfast:

The book imagery is really good on many levels. The nice thing is that we know when we read a book that some chapters are harder to read than others. We also know, that a new chapter may bring a completely different turn of events. We don’t have to worry about going back and rewriting old chapters, they are done. That is over and the next chapter can be brand new. This means that even if we have spent ½ a book heading down the wrong path, a life that is lived serving our own needs or going our own way, there is still room for a surprise ending, a sudden twist in the story. The book is not complete. The game is not over. We get a chance to write a new chapter with a happy ending. God wins. Jesus is victorious. He can sit beside us in the end and share our life story and say that it is good. In the end all our books can be titled “It Is Well With My Soul”. Thanks for reminding me to look at the story of my life and how it is being written. Thanks for reminding me that my story is unique and if I do not serve then who will. My responsibility, my service, my calling, that I must live and I alone because it is Christ who has placed this call on my life. I must be a feet washer, a light bearer, and servant to all.

John 13:1-17

John 13:1-17 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Today's breakfast includes a longer passage than usual, for to separate these verses takes something away from the impact of Christ's preparation for the cross. Knowing the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father, Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Peter reacts with astonished surprise: Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Typically, Jesus says Peter does not understand. Paying little attention, Peter remonstrates, No, you shall never wash my feet. As with any discussion with the Lord, when we stop to listen, Jesus wins every time. When Peter finally hears the Lord's words, Unless I wash you, you have no part with me, he says, Then, Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well. Jesus make sense when our spiritual ears are opened. Dad has been quite ill for the last week. In times of sickness, we can retreat into ourselves in self-pity or we can draw closer with an ear to hear what God is saying. Oftentimes, we do some of each. This morning, Dad was meditating and thinking upon the Lord, singing songs from the Lord. At one point, he heard these words with his inner ear: "I have chosen you to be just like me." As he pondered these words, they became a song in his heart, a song from God to him and a song of praise back to the Father.

God chose each one of us in Christ as sons and daughters. Countless scriptures confirm God chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight according to his eternal plan for us to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. (Ephesians 1:4 & 2 Thessalonians 2:13) Therefore, because of his great love for us, He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (James 1:18) Consequently, knowing how great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God, should we not wash the feet of others? Should we not wrap loving arms around the ones we are supposed to love? And if we don't, who will? If we don't encourage the downhearted, who will? If we do not care for the poor with tender mercies and loving kindness, who will? If we don't provide for orphans, who will? If we don't bring the LIGHT into dark places, who will? As Jesus ministers to his beloved disciples, He reveals the full extent of his love by serving. We who are alive IN CHRIST are his servants, his body, his hand extended on planet Earth. If we do not carry out our reasonable service, when we feel like and when we do not, who will? So many times, people sign up for God's army, but we do not count the cost. Hey, this is great, I got my sword and my shield, all my heavy-duty armor: bring it on! Jesus and I can do anything. A two week skirmish is a piece of cake, a month--yes, I can do all things through Christ, can't I? Then the battle gets hot and heavy, and we are looking for a way out.

Read the Book, brothers and sisters in Christ. Writing to his fellow believers, Peter said, Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. (1 Peter 4:12) Paul said, We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:4) Jesus knew He faced the cross; yet instead of withdrawing to ease his own spirit or to minister to his own personal pain, He reveals divine purposes to the disciples by serving, teaching, encouraging, and promising victory. This is Dad speaking now, and I usually avoid including very much personal information because Mom and I want to point to Christ and not to focus much upon ourselves. Mom would not want to call attention to herself, but as some of you know, my dear wife must choose daily to redirect the focus of her life away from her pain and many disabilities to hearing God's voice and to focusing on others by revealing the love of God in Christ Jesus to hurting and wounded people in need of Jesus and the power of the cross. This is never easy, for without the discipline of serving, she could easily and justifiably go back to bed and tend to her own needs. For me, her life illustrates today's scriptures and theme: "I HAVE CHOSEN YOU TO BE JUST LIKE ME."

Is such talk audacious? No, Jesus told his disciples, “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Later, Jesus promises, I will send you the Counselor—the Spirit of truth. He encourages:

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

(John 15:26 & 16:33 NLT) He says Follow me despite the trials of life and promises to keep them for all eternity and to rise victoriously over death and the grave! I woke two nights ago with the Comforter talking to me. After feeling somewhat troubled in my spirit earlier in the night, I woke, hearing that still small voice, saying, "I want to talk to you, Cliff." Then He began to talk to me about my life being a book of love. When the Lord takes me home to be with him, this book will go directly to the Father. He will read this book to me and tell me what all of us want hear from God's lips: "Enter into my rest, my good and faithful servant." This breakfast is more personal than most. The Spirit is speaking a little more urgently at the table today as He asks each person: "How does your book read? How have you filled the pages? Are the pages filled mostly with self or are you making room for serving others: loving family, friends, and neighbors? Are there chapters for serving the lost: the unlovely, the hateful, those no one wants to serve? Will your book be placed into the holy library chute directly to Jesus or on that cart to the great corridor of darkness, never to be read again?" God wants to read our books, every loving line written there. He longs to say, "Well done. . ."

John 12:47-50

John 12:47-50 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

As Jesus walked this Earth, He communed with the Father and spoke with the people He came to serve and to win for eternity. Now He declares He is not the judge of those who reject his words. Paradoxically, the word He has spoken will condemn mankind at the last day, but Christ did not come in his own name or according to his own will. He confidently tells the crowd, the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. Throughout his teaching Jesus steadfastly announced that He did not come to judge, that the Father does not want to judge. Revisit the scene of the woman caught in adultery and hear Jesus, the only one present without sin, who could have picked up that first stone. Yet He says, Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more. ( John 8:11b) Immediately the Pharisees accuse Jesus of bearing false witness. He says, Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true; for I know where I came from, and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from, or where I am going. You people judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and He who sent Me. (John 8:14-16) A little while later Jesus tells the people He is going away, and they will die in their sins unless they turn to him. Still offering mercy rather than judgment, Jesus turns to those Jews who had believed him, saying, If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31 NASB)

As believers fully committed to our Lord, we should be able to say we do what the Father tells us to do. Unfortunately as somewhat flawed human beings, we often do and say that which justifies our territory or the intents or purposes of our hearts, our personal agenda, or the way we feel on a particular day. We pick and choose the words of Christ that we want to follow because some of them seem just a bit much, over the top so to speak. This discipleship and dying to self talk can be taken too far, can't it? Yet the Bible says our lives will be evaluated by the words of Jesus, the words we claim to believe and to uphold yet often ignore. Actually, we can't quibble on this because there are no easy outs provided in scripture. The Bible is clear: God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10) When we say, we love God but do not support his words, his work, his body, and his kingdom: we lie. We lie to him and to ourselves. And we face defeat, pain, sorrow, and despair. We do not present a living and loving example of Christ to a needy and often searching world living in darkness and in need of light.

Often we fall into these pits because we are hurt or angry: we have something against someone or we hold onto our despair. We feel wounded, damaged, forsaken, alienated; and we cannot find our way back home. Do you have something against someone or think you are so lost you cannot come back to the Father's house? You may consider your reasons valid for holding onto that hurt or pain or that grudge or resentment. But as a believer, we must realize in the game of life that is when we pass the ball to Jesus. We are not strong enough in ourselves to heal our own brokenness, to touch deep wounds, to mend our orphan hearts, or to find our way through dark forests with no clear pathway home. We have to call out to Jesus, get real about where we are. Just tell him: "I am sucking air, drowning in guilt and shame, just about out of here, Jesus, ready to exit the gym. I am holding on by one slim thread. I know I sound pitiful and I am. I don't feel as if I deserve a team jersey, and I can't for the life of me run this play. I know because I've tried so hard, so many times that I'm suffering from spiritual malnutrition, and that is my fault. I am weak, weary, embarrassed, and unworthy to sit on the bench as a team member. I want to run a play to love this person or let go of this pain, but Satan has me cornered. Help me, Lord: I fall before you, and I'm passing you the ball. Here's my sorrow, hurt, anger, suffering, and anguish. I know you were wounded for my transgressions and bruised for my iniquities. I want to forgive as you forgave me. Let's do this, Jesus! It's our house! It's our court! You said, It is finished! There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1) Thank you, Jesus!" When we walk by faith we join all of creation in an eternal conversation with God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Just as the angels announced: his kingdom will never end and lives today in every person who calls on the name of Jesus!

John 12:44-46

John 12:44-46 Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."

Preparing for the cross Jesus leaves no doubt about his identity, purpose, and commission. No one who walked beside him, witnessed the miracles, or heard the voice of thunder from heaven affirming him as the Lamb of God could doubt He was the Christ. To erase any confusion, He plainly declares, "If you see me, you see the one who sent me." Christ made himself known before all people from the first days of his ministry to the last, leaving the people without excuse when they would stand before God. His message never varied; He never strayed in his steadfast obedience to the Father. How closely Christ's words late in his ministry line up with his early statement to Nicodemus, I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God. This learned man asks, How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again? Jesus replies,

The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

But most importantly, He adds the answer to the human dilemma: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. . .The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. (John 3:3-5, 16, & 18b-20 NLT) A little child could understand the words of life Christ spoke on dusty roads, beside lakes, in boats, inside people's homes, while performing wondrous deeds, as he suffered insults while standing boldly in temple courts. Yet supposedly wise men turned their faces from him, choosing to stay in darkness rather than accept the grace and love of the One who sent Jesus into the world as a light.

Jesus must have held many thoughts to his breast that day: we do not know, for we only know what He chose to share. We do know that John says Jesus cried out, allowing us to sense his urgency, the immediacy of his awareness that the hour was nigh of which He was now speaking when He would be lifted up from the earth and would draw all men to himself (12:32); consequently, He did not want to waste any words. Unequivocally, He desired to impart the most important truths of his ministry one more time to those with an ear to hear what the Spirit was saying, to those who would recall what He had said after the Day of Pentecost, when the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, would come upon them, reminding them of what He had said. (See John 14:26) We think back to an earlier instance where we saw this same intensity in Christ's behavior, heard this same passionate voice when Jesus suddenly shows up teaching in the Temple courts where the crowds recognize him as the one the Jewish leaders are trying to arrest. They think He may be demon-possessed, and Jesus tells them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. . .Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” (John 7:21, 24, & 27b-29)

What does Christ cry out today? No matter what we face, He cares. He will tell you to persevere, but He will also strengthen and encourage. "Listen to me, my son, my daughter," says the Lord. "I know you are weary. I saw that boulder in the road. You were caught off guard momentarily, but I am proud of you for getting up so fast, brushing yourself off, taking my hand and saying, 'I will trust in you, Lord, for my hope is in you.'" He will use the Word to speak to you if you will listen to the still small voice, saying: "I am more than enough for you, child of mine. I am your total sufficiency, your strength for today. You know me: you know I am your strength and your song, for I have become your Salvation. I am your God. Exalt me, praise me; and I will be your Peace, your Joy, your Hope, your Strength. For I have lifted you out of the bottomless pit, set your feet upon the Rock and established your going. I have put a new song in your hearts. I am your refuge, your strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Sing in the morning of my love, for I am your refuge in trouble, your fortress. Do not despair. Young men and women may glory in their youthful strength, but I delight in all my warriors. Grey hair is the splendor of the old. I am the God of your salvation; trust and do not be afraid. I am your strength, your song. I give strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak. When no one supports you, and you feel deserted, I will be your strength and deliver you from the lion’s mouth. I will rescue you from every evil attack and bring you safely to my heavenly kingdom for ever and ever." All those statements are paraphrased from Bible verses. (See Exodus 15:2, Psalm 40, Psalm 10, Psalm 59, Proverbs 20:29, Isaiah 12:2 &40:5, 2 Timothy 4:16-18) Be encouraged today, and hear God's voice: He is speaking, always crying out with a clear voice to those with an ear to hear.

John 12:42:43

John 12:42:43 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

Our scripture begins with an amazing statement: many even among the leaders believed in him, a testimony to the power present in the Son of God as He fulfilled prophecy that the Lamb of God would be rejected of men, for they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts. Despite this moment of blindness and rejection, despite the weeks and days leading up to this point where the Pharisees and religious elite constantly plotted to trap, trick, arrest, and kill Christ, the light and glory of the love of the Father shined through him, through his words and his works, calling the lost to his side. We might miss this brief statement of the possibility for faith among the people of influence present that day because John must quickly confirm the truth that fear is the enemy of faith. John must say: But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. Each element of this statement intrinsically binds itself to the other: human beings fear rejection and they seek praise. Those who surrounded Christ that day wanted acceptance in a temple made by man more than they wanted to live eternally in a city whose builder and maker is God. They sought the favor of their peers more that they wanted fellowship with their Creator and their Lord. They could not take a stand in the temple courts for fear of losing their social and religious standing. They could not stand alongside a man who boldly proclaimed from the beginning to the end of his ministry, I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24)

They dared not let the Holy Spirit bring the beginning seeds of belief to fruition in their hearts. They knew the cost inherent in such a choice; they lacked faith to identify with one who faced rejection, persecution, imprisonment, and now according to Christ himself, death. They knew what lay ahead for Jesus, just as He knew; and they possessed no illusions of grandeur concerning their desire to sign up for such an ill-fated cause as the one embraced by this carpenter's son from Nazareth who called himself the Christ. Yes, they felt a strange stirring in their breasts; but they had heard the plots, the plans, the schemes, the temple intrigues. The handwriting was already on the wall. They did not expect Jesus to hold out indefinitely against these powerful figures who had repeatedly sent temple guards to arrest him and given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him. (John7:32 &11:57) They had lives to live, positions to preserve, family heritages to honor, children to feed: life goes on and we have to live, don't we? What else can a person do? They probably thought about it momentarily as they looked upon the Lord. When the Spirit stirs the heart of a man or woman, one cannot easily walk away. The Spirit touches the core of our being, as we see in Luke's account of the religious leader who comes to Jesus saying, Good teacher, what should I do to get eternal life? Although Jesus knows this man is righteous according to the Law, He requires him to state he has followed the commandments from his childhood. There is still one thing you lack, Jesus said. “Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the man heard this, he became sad because he was very rich. (John 18:18b & 22-22-23 NLB) Jesus wants him to admit he has to make a choice--there is no middle ground.

Christ asked much of him, a price including more than his riches. Jesus asked for Everything: his position, power, authority, and yes, his money. The man went away sad because he would not pay such a price. God often reminds us we were bought with a price. The Holy Spirit continually calls God's people to a close walk with him, free from doubt, fear, unbelief, and the distractions and sins of this world. We cannot succeed through our own strength and power. We cannot defeat the enemy while seeking the accolades of men to maintain positions of praise and acceptance among people who mock the things of God. Sometimes people mention liking these devotionals because they pass on some good ideas or helpful hints from Dad and Mom Bursch. Of course, we do some of that; but ideas do lift burdens or mend hearts unless what we write is based on divine truth and infused by the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. God changes lives, not our words. Every person has to yield to him, say yes to his will and daily walk by faith. We desire to lift of Jesus, his name, his Word because we know there is power in the name of Jesus, wonder-working power! We know: If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. And the Word says, Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 1:6-7 & 2:6) Believers who walk in grace in the light of Christ bear abundant fruit as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, [clothed] with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12) Bless you beloved of God! (Please pray for Dad--He is very sick today with a cold type virus and would like to recover to be a guest on our son Doug's radio program tomorrow, KGNW 820am, "Live From Seattle With Doug Bursch" from 4:00 to 6:00 PM)