Day 58: What To Do When Someone Steals Your Pencil

John 9

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

 ¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

   ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

What if.

What if we could look at the events that happen in our lives - good or bad - and say, this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in me? How very much that would change our attitude and our lives. I know it would mine.

When bad things happen, it's hard to understand why a particular trial is placed in our lives. I'm sure the parents of this man wondered why they, out of all their friends, were the ones with a blind child. I'm sure they wondered why their little boy had to suffer while all the other kids ran and played.

The awesome part of the story is that God saw the bigger picture. Because of his blindness, this man met Jesus. What seemed to be a problem was actually an incredible blessing - and the works of God were displayed in him.

I heard a speaker recently talk about how she relates Jesus' teachings to 9-year-olds. She teaches them that when the Bible says that if someone takes your awesome new pencil, you give them your super cool new eraser too. Totally and completely contrary to what we do (and what we teach our kids... stand up for yourself!), but what if we taught them to think, "How can the works of God be displayed in this situation?" You walk across a fourth grade classroom and give the person who stole your pencil an eraser too, with a genuine smile and a kind word, and I guarantee the class will see the work of God in that. Multiply that a few times, and you have an adult-sized example. (E.g., You took the promotion that I deserved? Here's a file of notes that might help you.)

It's hard. Hard when we're talking about understanding why bad things happen, and hard when we're talking about displaying God in difficult situations. But what a difference we could make if we took Jesus' words here to heart: things happen. And God can be glorified in each of them.

Day 57: Jesus Was No Harold Camping

John 8:59

New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

The this referred to here is the incredible assertion made by Jesus that "Before Abraham was born, I am!" This was a comment so powerful that they were angry enough to kill him.

What was it about that sentence that made them so angry? I wonder if they realized just how strong a statement Jesus was making here. He was saying:

1.) That he was eternal.
2.) That he was greater than human.
3.) That he was superior to one of their heroes of the faith.
4.) That he had existed prior to his life on earth.

Bold claims, to be sure. But it seems to me that if they didn't have at least some niggling thought that he could be telling the truth, they would have simply branded him as crazy and moved on along. That's what we usually do with those types of people, isn't it?

Remember Harold Camping? Most of us look at someone who has so obviously distorted the teachings of God with almost a pity. In some twisted way, I feel a little sorry for the guy. I certainly don't want to kill him.

Not so here. Jesus makes these Pharisees and teachers of the law furious enough to commit murder. You just don't react that strongly to people of no consequence. I think, in their heart of hearts, they must have realized that he wasn't a lunatic. He wasn't a liar.

He was the Lord.

Day 56: I AM

John 8:48-58

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus’ Claims About Himself

 ⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” ⁴⁹ “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.” ⁵² At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” ⁵⁴ Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” ⁵⁸ “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Verse 58 is one of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture. It's one of the places where I just have to marvel at the pure genius of the Word. 

In English, one of the first thing you learn in the very basic "past, present, future". There is nothing that happens that isn't in our past, in our present, or in our future. But Jesus comes from such a different place that he can't even define Himself in those very basic terms. He IS. He just exists. He has always been and always will be. It's mind boggling, to tell the truth. And it's why he can say things like, "If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you." Wow, that's strong language. But he had the authority to say those sorts of things, because if you're not bound by the laws of nature, you don't have to be bound by the rules of etiquette, either! 

This is one of those truths that I know to be true, but I also know that I don't fully comprehend it. It's hard to imagine eternity. For me it's hard to imagine even wanting to live eternally. I have to admit that I struggle with that. But what's he's promised in this passage is we who obey him will never see death. So I have to believe that whatever eternity is like, it's an incredible reward. A gift. And it's ours.

Day 55: Just Ask Pinocchio - Lying Is The Pits

John 8:31-59

New International Version (NIV)

Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are

 ³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
 ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.^[a]”
 ³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
   “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would^[b] do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”
   “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
 ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”


On the menu tonight: more super clear language from Jesus. How politically incorrect is it to say, "You belong to your father, the devil"?!?!?! The back and forth is also interesting here: Jesus speaks spiritually, they speak literally. He replies spiritually, they reply literally. Incredible.

I wonder what it means when it says that the devil was a murderer from the beginning. We'll never know this side of eternity, but it's something to ponder. And the thought that lying is his "native language" is a powerful one. Oh, how I have realized that more and more in recent years. The way of the Lord truly is best. Always. Every time I have veered from the path that the Lord has laid out for us, every time I have done what I knew to be wrong, it always caused me pain in the end. Every single time. He truly does knows best, and has shared all with us. How fortunate we are to serve a God who is so inherently good!

Why is it, then, that we so often believe the lies of the devil, when we know from experience that it's going to hurt us in the end? Why do we forget so quickly what happens when we go off path? Because, I guess, the "father of lies" is bound to be good at is job.

God help us all to be aware of the devil's schemes, and to remember who He is. 

Day 54: Politically Incorrect

John 8:21-30

New International Version (NIV)

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

 ²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” ²² This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says,‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
 ²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
 ²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.
   “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied.²⁶ “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
 ²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up^[a] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

The other night I was talking to Jess about something that's been on my mind a lot lately. We see kids dealing with lots of issues, lots of temptations, but one that seems prominent in recent years is the relative truth phenomenon. If we stand up for truth - one truth, the truth - we tend to be labeled as closed-minded at best, bigots at worst.

And out kids are getting the worst of it. Society is teaching them that it's not appropriate to say that anything is wrong. And it's even worse for them to say that anything is a sin. If they do, they get stuck with labels like "brainwashed" or "backwards".

And yet, here we see Jesus making strong statements. Bold statements that were crystal clear. "If you do not believe that I am am he, you will indeed die in your sins." Certainly not politically correct, but Jesus never was much for that. What he was for was truth.

He still is. We should be as well, and we should be teaching our kids. There is one way. One truth. And the only way to salvation is still through Him.

Day 53: Light of the World

John 8:12-20

New International Version (NIV)

Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

 ¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ¹³ The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
 ¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. ¹⁶ But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. ¹⁷ In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. ¹⁸ I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
 ¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
   “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

I am the light of the world. What a powerful statement. As I pictured this scene playing out in the temple courts, I started thinking what would happen if I heard someone say this. I confess that I tend to be a cynic at heart, so I have a sneaking suspicion that I would automatically dismiss this person as crazy. A lunatic. And yet, instead, He was Lord.

Sometimes I think that I'm glad that I didn't live in the time of Jesus, simply because I wonder how I would have reacted to his claims in person. Would I have been like the Pharisees and teachers of the law, refusing to accept what was right in front of me. Honestly, I can't say.

On the other hand, Jesus obviously did some incredible things. Undeniably, unequivocally incredible, which is so many who did see it in person did believe.

Jesus made some bold claims in his 33 years on the earth. He's the only person who has ever lived who could make them. So when he said, "I am the light of the world," or "You do not know me or my Father," he was able to say them with authority.

One day I hope we get to see "instant reply" of these things we read about all our lives, and this is a scene I'll request. I'd love to see the expressions on the people's faces, and I'd love to hear the tone that Jesus used.

He still is the light of the world.

Day 52: Seeing People As Souls

John 8:3-11

New International Version (NIV)

³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
   ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
   ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.
   “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

This passage has been taught so much that I think sometimes we forget just how powerful this really is. These guys were wanting to kill this woman. They valued her life so little that they were willing to use her as a bargaining chip in their own political agendas. How do you get to that point? Well, I'm afraid it's a little bit too easy. All you have to do is stop looking at people as eternal souls.

Let's be honest: we do it all the time. We laugh at the Swamp People. We mock Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. We talk about that woman at work that makes us crazy. But the thing is that this "adulterous woman" was real, with a real heart and a real soul and real problems and heartaches.

Jesus never forgot that. He viewed every person, first and foremost, as a soul in need of love and truth and mercy. How awesome would it be if we looked at people that way? What would that look like?

Well, no one would ever come into Wednesday night Bible class and have to sit alone, because we would care enough to sit down beside them and ask how their day was. The father whose wife just left would not have to wonder how supper was going to get on the table or who was going to take care of the kids, because we would be handling that till he could get back on his feet. We would keep our mouths shut about that woman at work, because we would realize that we don't know what she's going through in her personal life. We would love people. And it would show in every element of our lives.

These Pharisees realized that Jesus was right, grudging though they were. They walked away, "the older ones first". I can only speculate why, but I imagine that the elders of the group recognized the profound wisdom in what Jesus said. We've been forgiven so much. How hypocritical if we choose not to deal with people in love, forgiveness, and mercy.

Day 51: Down Time

John 8

^{(7:53) Then they all went home, 1} but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

   ² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.

The assumption here is that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray. What I find interesting about this is that Jesus had had a looooong day. Go back and read it. When I finish a day like that, I have a tendency to significantly shorten my prayer time. "I'm just too tired," I'll think. "I won't be able to focus/give God my all/etc.etc.etc." In other words, I make excuses. But Jesus, at the end of a long and stressful day, wanted nothing more than to talk to His Father. 

I want to be there.

I have a dear friend and mentor who once told me a story. Her teenage daughter came home from a school function one night, exhausted. She told her mom that she was so tired that she didn't think she could study her Bible that night, and did her mom think that was okay? Naturally, her mom told her that God would understand and that sometimes what you need is a little rest. The next morning she told her mother, "You told me wrong, you know. God did understand, but what I needed most was some down time with Him." My friend said, "My daughter got it. I didn't." 

At the end of the day, what we really need is some time with our Father.

Day 50: Nicky D

John 7:45-52

New International Version (NIV)

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

 ⁴⁵ Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” ⁴⁶ “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.
 ⁴⁷ “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. ⁴⁸“Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
 ⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹ “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
 ⁵² They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

Short and sweet tonight. This passage is almost self-explanatory. The Pharisees had such trust in the law... at the expense of everything else. They had no faith, or foresight, or wisdom, or compassion or mercy. And while the law was good, law without love, truth without spirit, will only make us as smug, arrogant, and foolish as the Pharisees were.

On the other hand, Nicodemus (or, as my preacher called him just this morning, Nicky D!). He questioned. He sought Jesus out. He had a spirit of humility. And here, we see him thinking and listening, while all the other Pharisees are blinded to the truth. We all could stand a little bit more Nicodemus in our lives.

He heard Jesus. And we should too.

Day 49: No Know-It-Alls, Please

John 7:40-44

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
 ⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
   Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Well, hello, smack-in-the-face #437 since starting this study.

You may not know this, but once upon a time, I was a know-it-all. My first Maywood experience was a miserable one,  owing at least in part to my know-it-all-ativity. This girl in my cabin kept memorizing ridiculous verses from the old testament that made absolutely no sense out of context just because they were short. She wasn't learning anything; she was just collecting points so that she could say she had learned the most verses in our cabin. Well, I couldn't let it go, because I knew that what she was doing was just so wrong. I talked to her about it (over and over and over again), I talked to our counselor (who ignored me, and told the other counselors over dinner, I'm sure, about the 12-year-old know-it-all that was annoying her whole cabin), I fumed the whole week. I was awful, I'm sure. And let's be frank: I'm still a closet know-it-all... at least a little bit. I just try to keep it inside.

The problem with being a know-it-all is, ironically that we don't know it all. None of us do. And sometimes what seems to be cut and dry isn't so. And when start talking as if we know it all, we'll usually end up looking foolish.

Such is the case here, when the people are discussing whether Jesus is the Messiah or no. Jesus was commonly known as "Jesus of Nazareth". He was a Galilean. Clear as day; he couldn't be the Messiah. The Messiah was to be from Bethlehem...

Or could he?

He could. Because there was this one little issue. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Born there by the type of fluke that only the Lord Himself could come up with. his Galilean parents left their Galilean home to go for the census, and lo and behold, she goes into labor. In a stable. In Bethlehem. The Lord always keeps his word.

And we don't always know of what we speak. Sometimes, things aren't as they appear. It's true with people, and it's true with situations. So we would all do well to hold our tongues a little more often, and be a little less hasty in jumping to conclusions. Because when we do, we miss out on really big truths... like the coming of the Savior of the world, for instance.

Nobody likes a know-it-all.

Day 48: Not More Cowbell... More Spirit

John 7:37-39

New International Version (NIV)

 ³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”^[a] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

More of this! I've been thinking about this today, and I also received a great message from my best friend telling me some really cool ways the Spirit was working in her life. Why, oh why do we not spend more time talking about this?

Maybe it's because we're scared. It's a little hard to comprehend, and a little overwhelming. God Almighty is living in me. I'll tell you what that does for me: it makes me lose my desire to watch a lot of television shows and listen to a lot of music , because how can I live with the Spirit in me while I'm filling my mind with trash? And it makes me remember that when I look at other people, they are people that the Spirit loves and cherishes, and it calls me to do the same. Romans 5:5 says that "God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." So if I have allowed the Spirit to pour out the love of God Himself into my heart, that means my heart has to get all Grinchy (my favorite adjective) and grow about a billion sizes.

But it also makes me feel better. I think I have tried for way too long to make my life what it ought to be all by myself. Quite the contrary, this verse doesn't say He's WILLING to pour God's love into my heart. It says He's already DONE it. All I have to do is be willing to accept it. 

And get this verse: "The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace." (Romans 8:6) How different our world, and even our church, would be if our minds were governed by the Spirit. 

My prayer tonight is going to be that from this day forward, my mind will be governed by the Spirit. Life and peace. 

Day 47: I've Got the Spirit... the Spirit Within Me

John 7:37-39

New International Version (NIV)

 ³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”^[a] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

I have to say... I just got smacked in the face with a HUGE revelation here. I have read these verses a thousand times and never noticed the crystal clear, can't-miss-it, "BY THIS HE MEANT" explanation that follows it. 

I have always thought of of the living water as the word, or the gospel, or the love of God. All true in a sense, but it couldn't be any more clear here that the rivers of living water are referring to the Spirit that lives within us. 

Acts 2:38 tells us how we receive that Spirit - through baptism - and Romans 8:9 tells us what the Spirit does for us: "⁹ But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) ¹⁰ And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life^[d] because you have been made right with God. ¹¹ The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you."

Wow. Rivers of living water? I'd say so!

A couple of weeks ago, a friend told me about something interesting he read in a book (I wish like everything I could remember the name of the book, but alas. Ever since I had a child, I can't remember what day of the week it is.). Anywho, the author of this book says that he imagines we are going to have a conversation something like this when we get to heaven: Us: "Moses, I'd give anything to know what it was like to part the waters of the Red Sea." Moses: "I'd give anything to know what it was like to have the Spirit living inside of me."

You see, we don't give the Spirit nearly enough credit. I'm not sure we truly believe that He's really there. But yet, when a lesson tugs at my heart or a song makes me cry or a verse leads to the understanding that I'm doing something wrong, that's the Spirit working in me, growing me, leading me in the true paths. And He's also interceding for me, helping me, and lifting my prayers up to God when my frail, human words fail me (Romans 8). 

Y'all... this is HUGE. So big that I can barely wrap my mind around it. What an incredible blessing to know that I am not walking this walk alone. It's one of those things that, if I can even partially begin to grasp it, will completely change my life. We'll be talking more about this in the near future... I want to study and pray about it. In the meantime, read Romans 8 in its entirety...it's good stuff. 

Day 46: Earthly vs. spiritual

John 7:31-38

New International Version (NIV)

³¹ Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”
 ³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
 ³³ Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
 ³⁵ The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? ³⁶ What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

Earthly vs. spiritual. It's really the battle of the ages, isn't it? We are entrenched in the earthly, and Jesus calls us to the spiritual, the otherworldly, the bigger-than-life. It's funny (sad funny, not ha-ha funny) how amazingly short sided these Pharisees are. They are masters of the law, of scripture. Yet when presented with the very pinnacle of their faith, they can't see past the ends of their own noses. "Is he going to the Greeks?" Well, yes, in fact, but that was hardly the point.

His point was that he is not physical. He is spiritual. And as long as they were physical, they could not follow him.

And so it is with us. As long as we are thinking and living physically, we can't follow Jesus. Of course that doesn't mean that we can't live physically in this body. It means that we can't think, focus, and live for physical things. If we do, we won't be able to see Jesus or understand His teachings.

When I was a kid, there were certain people at church who I KNEW weren't living right. And in my childish naivety, I was astounded that they could sit through service after service, even pray or lead the Lord's supper or what have you, and not feel compelled to change their lives.

As an adult, I understand. It's happened to me, of course, just as it has happened to each of us. You begin to focus on things that don't really matter. You set your sights on them. And soon, the Word begins to fall on deaf ears and a hardened heart. It can't reach you, because you are so very physical. And when something finally breaks through, you wonder how on earth you ever got that far from where you were.

It's hard to live every day focusing on the unseen. But if we ever want to follow Jesus - in this life or the next - that's exactly what we must do.

Day 45: Spiral of Doubt

John 7:25-30

New International Version (NIV)

Division Over Who Jesus Is

 ²⁵ At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶ Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? ²⁷ But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” ²⁸ 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 authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, ²⁹ but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
 ³⁰ At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

I have to say that I'm slogging through all this discussion of the Festival of Tabernacles... mostly because I can't honestly say that I've ever studied it before. Here's what hit me about these verses. All these people are just standing around, quasi-casually chatting about whether or no this man is the Messiah. THE MESSIAH. The person they've been waiting for for, oh, say, hundreds of years.

Today I went with about twenty other girls and ladies to a Girls Day in Nashville. In the ladies' class, the speaker (a university professor) discussed the "spiral of doubt" that tends to occur in college groups when the students haven't been prepared to defend their faith. It goes something like this: "I've been thinking about blah. I'm not sure I believe that anymore." "You know, I thought about that once too. Maybe you're right... maybe we shouldn't believe blah." Add a lot of getting worked up and a bunch of kids who don't want to go against the flow of discord, and pretty soon a whole dorm full of kids are doubting this particular idea. Now, questioning is a good thing, and please don't hear me saying that they have no right to question. They do. But questioning without knowledge leads to icky things. Now, repeat the scenario above with just one kid who pulls out his Bible and says, "Well, let's take a look. Right here it says..." You still have questioning, but you also help to prevent the "spiral of doubt" by giving that doubt a floor to land on... namely, the foundation of the Word.

That may not seem like it fits with this passage, but in my mind somehow it does. These guys are talking about this Messiah, and instead of digging in for themselves and determining whether the prophecies made about him are coming to pass in the form of Jesus Christ, they say, "Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah?"

Seems to me like one of two things should be happening here (both of which require personal action). A. They figure out that this IS the Messiah. If you are expecting someone to come save your entire people, and they come, and you hear someone plotting to kill them, wouldn't it make sense to try and DO something about it? B. They figure out that this is NOT the Messiah. If he's an imposter, then wouldn't it make sense to turn him in to the authorities?

Instead, they sit on the fence and chat about the whole scene like they're watching a football game. Sad to say, I'm afraid we deal with most things this way too... in a disconnected, hypothetical sort of way. Christianity is, by definition, hands-on. It's not a spectator sport. You've got to dig in, get your hands dirty, and go further in your faith than you ever thought you could. We can't let the masses make our decisions for us, or wait to hear what they decided. At the end of the day, I'm responsible for my own soul, and "somebody said so" won't be good enough.

Day 44: Redemptive Acts

John 7:21-24

New International Version (NIV)

 ²¹ Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. ²²Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. ²³ Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”


I did some research on this passage to try and get a better idea of what exactly Jesus is admonishing them for. I read several commentaries, but one stood out to me. What is said made a lot of sense, and I appreciated its practicality. I can't say it any better, so I'm going to let the Forerunner Commentary explain these three verses:

"The Jews considered circumcising on the Sabbath a lawful Sabbath activity. Why? The Bible does not give a direct answer. It is in this point that Jesus nailed them to the wall! The Jews knew why circumcision was lawful on the Sabbath: It was a redemptive act because circumcision was an Israelite lad's introduction to entering the covenant. So circumcision was a redemptive act, even as today we consider baptism a redemptive act. And we rightly, lawfully, will baptize people on the Sabbath.

The Jews' reasoning was that it is lawful and right to cut off a piece of skin from one of the 248 (by their count) parts of the body to save the whole man by making this person a part of the covenant. Christ's reasoning, then, was that works of salvation are accomplished, not only by the Father, but also by His servants, who are His agents. In this case, the priests did the work of circumcision. And the Jews considered it lawful.

Jesus' reasoning is beautiful: "If you can do this act to save a man, why can't I also make a person whole and save his physical life on the Sabbath?" He says, "This is the work of God."It is redeeming somebody, setting them free, giving them liberty."

Day 43: We're Only Human

^{John 7:18-20}

¹⁸Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. ¹⁹ Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

 ²⁰ “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

Small thing #4,801,742 that I never noticed until this study: the crowd actually calls Jesus out for saying that they're trying to kill him! (Which, incidentally, they were. And did.) But boy, did they ever deny it.

Again, like yesterday, this is proof positive that human nature has changed little over the past, oh, two thousand years or so. They've been whispering and plotting and gossiping, but when Jesus confronts them with it, it's, "What?!?!? Where in the world did you get that crazy idea?!?!? Why, I never!!!" People are people, and this is what we do.

The lessons for me: A.) Don't be a person. Human nature tells us to be gossips and mindless chatterers, and we tend to get drawn in by the crowd. I'm as guilty as anyone. But if we want to make a difference in the world, to be wiser and more mature and more like Christ, we must rise above it. B) Don't get so worked up when someone says something bad about me. Like I've said before, they did it to Jesus, and He was perfect. Instead of getting riled up over it, I want a turn-the-other-cheek sort of Christian spirit. 

Words can hurt, but we decide whether we hurt others and the extent to which we allow others to hurt us.

Day 42: The Word Is Alive

<sup>John 7:14-17


14</sup> Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

 ¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

This is a straightforward passage, but the thing that sticks out to me is the last verse: we can discover whether Jesus is truly God by the words that he said. I have found this to be the case in my own life. Now, I love to read. As in LOVE. My favorite authors - Dickens, Bronte, Austen, Tolkien - are absolute masters of the written word. They have made me bawl like a baby, snort drinks out of my nose, and punch my armchair, all because their words are so powerful. 

But the words of Jesus have sort of a life of their own, and it's like nothing else I have ever read. The Word is alive, and anything - anything - you could ever want to know about yourself and any knowledge you could want to obtain can be found in scripture if only you look hard enough. It's convicting and life-changing and real. It reaches out for you. Jesus says his words speak for themselves.

Matthew 7:28-29 says, "When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law." You may not be able to describe authority, but when you hear or see it, you know it. It's like substitute teachers: you may not be able to pinpoint what separates the good ones from the ones that end up with kids hanging like chimpanzees from the florescent lighting, but you know it when you see it. The crowds knew his authority when they saw it. And so can we, through the power of the Scriptures.

It makes sense, since it's the words of the One who created language, and the voice of the One who created speech. There are no words for that.

For an extra goody, watch this completely awesome video created by the New Zealand Bible Society with Casting Crown's incredible song The Word Is Alive: 

Day 41: Word Scars

John 7:11-13

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”
 ¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
   Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” ¹³ But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.

Doesn't this sound just like... us? Some things never do change. When anything - good or bad - happens to you, there's bound to be a lot of chatter. Some people are going to think the best of you. They're going to assume that you had the best of motives and that, even if you failed, your heart was in the right place.

On the other hand, some people are going to think poorly of you. No matter what you do and no matter what your attitude is like. They're going to assume the worst, that you woke up this morning looking for something terrible to do and someone to hurt. But hey... the lesson here is: They did the same thing to Jesus, and He was perfect. Do we really expect more, when we're not?

This is actually a really encouraging passage for me. A couple of years back, I had some people say some things to me that cut me to the quick. It hurt me enough that they questioned my actions, but what brought me to my knees was the accusation that I did things out of bad motives. I didn't sleep for days, and I replayed that conversation over and over and over in my head. Even now, I catch myself putting it on repeat and beating myself up about it all over again. What did I do to make them think such horrible things about me? If they could think those things, did other people think them too? What could I have done to change their minds?

The truth is this: I'm not perfect. Like so many others I know, I'm just doing the best that I can, and often I fail. But when someone attributed bad motives to me and accused me of doing things that I know I did not even think of, much less do, then the one thing I did wrong was to let that shadow follow me around for so long. Jesus shook those comments off and moved on. He didn't let them incapacitate him, because he knew his own heart. That is a lesson in itself, and a lesson I would do well to learn.

The Lord is so wise. And in His way of doing things, there is peace. I'm glad to finally be learning that.