When I think of the apostle Paul many things come to my mind. He was a trained Pharisee, had a miraculous conversion, was greatly used by God to spread the Gospel; he suffered greatly for the Kingdom, and he often did not receive the respect given to the other apostles.

The thing that stood out to me today about Paul is mentioned in 2 Cor. 12:14-15. That passage says,

“I don’t want what you have—I want you. After all, children don’t provide for their parents. Rather, parents provide for their children. I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me.”

Paul expresses the heart of a spiritual father in relation to the Corinthians. The Corinthian church had many problems. As their spiritual father, he addresses their sin and seeks to get them to live in harmony with God’s will, but he appears to be failing. Things were so bad in the Corinthian church that Paul states the following, a couple of verses later,

“For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior. Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure.”

Paul longed to see his children in the faith own their faith and live it. His role in their lives was not always comfortable. He had to confront sin with them and challenge their disobedience. But, he did it as a loving dad who was grieved at what he saw in their lives. He also expressed what most dads would say about their children; his interest in them was not because he wanted their money or stuff. He wanted them because he loved them. He was ready and willing to give his life and all he had to their benefit. What a great dad!

Father, as great as Paul was, as a spiritual father to his converts, you are my spiritual Father. You love me more than I can ever imagine. You don’t want my “stuff” you want me! Help me to be faithful and live the way you desire so that you are not grieved when you look at my life like Paul was when he looked at the lives of the Corinthians.

Following Jesus with you,

In reading through Deuteronomy, Moses reminded the whole nation and Joshua in particular of a couple of vital truths. Notice what Moses said to Israel in Deut. 31:6

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Moses wants the nation to remember their relationship with God and how his presence will ensure their safety and victory. The presence of God should give them courage and strength rather than fear and dread.

The word for “courage” is describing “the ability to deal with danger without flinching” (Logos). The word “strong” is referring to strength beyond what we can do naturally. The assurance of God’s partnership with the nation as they take the Promised Land should allow them to act fearlessly even when circumstances indicate otherwise.

This same encouragement is given to Joshua, who was to take the leadership role from Moses when he died. As the leader of this growing nation in the midst of overwhelming transition, Joshua must be strong and courageous. In fact, Deut. 31:8 says it this way,

“It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

The more I thought of this; it reminded me of how the same concepts are recorded of David’s charge to his son Solomon as he was to become king in David’s place. Notice how this is stated in 2 Chron. 28:20,

“Then David said to Solomon his son, ‘Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.’”

Finally, I thought of the words of Jesus when he spoke to his disciples after the resurrection in Matt. 28:20 as he told him to make disciples in all the world,

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

I remember hearing Dr. Dallas Willard share his alternate translation of this text. He said it means, “I am with you every minute of the day until the job is done!”

All of these reminders have shown me again, that God’s presence is what brings success. God being with us should give us courage and strength no matter how challenging life appears or the task at hand. This is also true of the disciple of Jesus today. Jesus promised he would be with us every minute of the day as we live for him and seek to expand his kingdom. This certainly does not mean that my life will be without challenges, suffering or problems. Jesus told us following him would include all of these things, and we see that in the lives of his disciples in the New Testament. But, living life with him means I can live the way he desires and accomplish the tasks he has for me even though that may not include some of my plans and dreams.

Father, thank you for the reminders of your presence with those you put in leadership and those with whom you have expectations (your disciples). Help me to live life in the confidence of your presence regardless of my circumstances. Thank you for walking with me today!

Following Jesus with you,

Have you noticed when reading the Bible that small details can sometimes stand out which make you start asking questions? One such example of that for me is found in Deut. 34:1-5. Some of that text is as follows,

“Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land … ‘I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.’ So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day.”

Does anything stand out to you when you read that text? When it says, “he buried him,” to whom is that a reference? Most likely it is a reference to God Himself. God either directly or indirectly through his angels, buried Moses. Wow!

Why would God do that? Why would he not just let the leadership bury him as they did with Aaron?

Two reasons come to my mind for this dramatic burial. The first is hinted at in the text above. God told Moses, “You shall not go over there.” God, graciously allowed Moses to go up mount Nebo so that he could see the vast land that the nation was about to inherit from God. As much as he desired to live in the promised land, his sin of rebellion against God had to be fulfilled. Therefore, to prevent the nation of Israel from taking the body of Moses (like they did Joseph) to the promised land, God made sure that they would never find his body.

God is a gracious and loving God, but he also is just. He declared that Moses would never see the promised land whether living or dead.

A second thought comes from the story of the bronze serpent Moses made and had placed upon a pole so that those who had been bitten by a snake could be healed by glancing at it. Notice what 2 Kings 18:4 says the Jews did with that pole,

“He (Hezekiah) removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it.”

The Jews had kept that pole for hundreds of years, and it became an object of worship! This was never intended by God. Is it possible, that if the Jews knew where Moses was buried, his burial site could have become a place of worship? We do not know for sure, but that certainly would not surprise me.

So what do we learn this morning? Moses had a very different death and burial. He was buried by God Himself. Moses was not shown any favoritism because of his unique relationship with God. He was held accountable for his sin. We also see that God prevented Moses from being able to enter the land even after he died. Finally, God prevented Moses from being deified because of his special relationship to God and his leadership role in the history of the Jewish nation.

Father, thank you for the reminder of the burial of Moses. His sin required just payment. May you help me to remember the significance of sin especially for those in spiritual leadership. May you help me to remain faithful and obedient as I seek to follow you.

Following Jesus with you,

In life, there can be things that are hard to understand but nevertheless are true. The word “paradox” is defined by Webster as “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true.”

In my readings this morning, I noticed a paradox that is hard to understand but must be embraced because even though it goes against common sense, it is true. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 4:16,

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self his being renewed day by day.”

As certain as the reality of the general decline of our bodies so should be the truth that our inner soul is getting more beautiful. The verb translated “being renewed” is in the passive voice meaning that the subject (you and I) receive the action of the verb rather than perform it. In this case, it is a divine passive with the implied agent being God Himself. God is the one at work in us, day by day making us more like him over time. This to me is a paradox because I am also decaying daily on the outside while this happens! I must not lose heart in the process of aging because I am still being made new on the inside by God Himself if I am cooperating with his work in me rather than fighting it.

Lenski beautifully describes this process when he says,

“With perfect calmness Paul can watch the destruction of his outer man. What if his enemies hasten the process, yea, bring it to a sudden end by means of a violent death! He loses nothing. The inner man blossoms into new youth, beauty, and strength day by day. This inner renewal is not hindered but is only helped by the tribulation that assails the outer man. These ‘bloody roses’ have the sweetest odor. These enemies are only defeating their own end; instead of causing Paul to grow discouraged, his elation is increased.”

Barclay also writes very powerfully and gives us a good reminder of what should be happening in our lives as we age,

“All through life it must happen that a man’s bodily strength fades away, but all through life it ought to happen that a man’s soul keeps growing. The sufferings which leave a man with a weakened body may be the very things which strengthen the sinews of his soul. It was the prayer of the poet, “Let me grow lovely growing old.” From the physical point of view life may be a slow but inevitable slipping down the slope that leads to death. But from the spiritual point of view life is a climbing up the hill that leads to the presence of God. No man need fear the years, for they bring him nearer, not to death, but to God.”

Father, as I age, may you help me not look at my physical decline as evidence of uselessness. Instead, may you give me the perspective that the exact opposite is happening in me as you make me new again. As I live under your leadership, follow your Word and depend on upon your Spirit, you are performing a miraculous change within me. As the poet said, “Let me grow lovely growing old.”

Following Jesus with you,

God knows how forgetful we are and as a result constantly reminds of things we must remember.  Moses gives clear direction about something the generation entering the land must recall about God’s dealings in their lives if they were to have success in the promised land. In Deuteronomy 8:2-3 it says,

“And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

Why did God take the approximately 2,000,000 people into the wilderness?

• He did this to humble them. They were self-sufficient in Egypt. God brought them to a place which they were unable to meet their necessities for food and water.
• He did that to test them to see what was in their hearts. It is not that God did not already know what they were made of, but the wilderness experience allowed them to see how corrupt they were at their core.
• The specific test related to whether they would obey God in spite of their circumstances. He let them hunger and thirst.
• He did this to teach them an invaluable lesson. They had to learn that God was the author of all of their good. He was the one who would protect and provide for their every need. It was by his command that they were given manna and water from the rocks. They had to learn that obedience to God was the foundation of their existence.

Jack Deere summarizes this well when he says,

“God led them into the desert where they had no alternative but to trust Him or to murmur against Him. In the desert, they could not produce their own food but had to depend on God for food and thus for their very lives. When Moses reminded them that they did not live on bread alone he meant that even their food was decreed by the word of God. They had manna because it came by His command. It was therefore ultimately not bread that kept them alive but His word!”

This story makes me ask, “how am I doing in life?” “Does God have me at a place where I can choose to murmur against his leadership or obey him in spite of how I feel?” “Have I reached the place where I need to be, humble dependence upon God for everything?” “Am I trusting him with every detail of my life as I should?

Father, help me to remember to live a life of constant dependence upon you for all my needs. There are trials in life that cause me to question your ability to provide for me or provide for me in the way I want! Help me to instead of murmuring against you when this happens, trust you and live a life of obedience to you and your Word. For, “man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

Following Jesus with you,

Scholars have proposed that it was on Friday, April 3, A.D. 33, that Jesus was taken to Golgotha, which means “The Place of the Skull.” It was on this day that Jesus was nailed to a cross and hung on that cross for approximately 6 hours.

As I was reading this story last week, I was struck by one of the final statements made by Jesus before he died. He said, “tetelestai” which means “it is finished.”

As I contemplated the significance of that statement, a few things impressed me. The first is that Jesus did not say “I am finished.” He said “it” is finished. He was referring to the fact that he had thoroughly accomplished all of the Father’s will for his life which included dying on the cross as a voluntary, innocent sacrifice in place of you and me. Our sin has given us a death sentence, but he paid for that penalty on our behalf.

The word “tetelestai” is also written grammatically to emphasize past action with abiding results. Results that everyone can benefit from after his death. Grammatically, this word is also written in the mood of certainty. Jesus did not say, “it may be finished,” or “I hope it is finished.” No, he said with confidence, “It is finished.”

The word “tetelestai” has also been found written on certificates of debt once the debt had been completely repaid. It had the meaning of “paid in full.” The debt has been completely satisfied. What debt was Jesus referring to? Colossians 2:14 says, “He canceled the record of charges against us, and took it away by nailing it to the cross.” Jesus has ultimately paid for each of our sin certificates of debt when he died on the cross! As a result, a pardon is available to everyone.

The problem with a pardon is that it is not a pardon if it is not accepted. In 1830, a man named George Wilson was convicted of murder and robbery. As a result, he was sentenced to be executed. President Andrew Jackson gave him a pardon, but Wilson refused it! The issue went before the U.S. Supreme Court. They ruled, “a pardon is a paper, the value of which depends upon its acceptance by the person implicated…but if refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must hang.”

Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross for all of us, he can offer each of us a pardon. The important thing to remember is that the pardon must be accepted. We accept this pardon simply by choosing to believe in Jesus as our Savior and God and reliantly trust in him to do for us what he said he could. He and he alone can give me forgiveness and life.

These rich truths have been excellent reminders for me of Christ’s love for me and the wisdom of completely trusting him with my salvation, my life and the need for me to follow his leadership.

Following Jesus with you,

I am sure you have heard the statement “bloom where you are planted” before. The thought is that we need to make the most of the situation in which we find ourselves. As I was reading 1 Corinthians this morning, I found a similar concept mentioned in 1 Cor. 7:17 which says,

“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.”

Two things stand out in this verse. The first is that the Lord has “assigned” each of us our life circumstances. The word “assigned” means, “to distribute, to give to each in turn” (Louw and Nida). In a sense, it is describing the “hand you were dealt.” Each of us has been given a unique set of circumstances in life. Paul is encouraging the readers and us today to accept our situation in life as though it were assigned to us by God.

The second thing that impressed me is the usage of the word “called.” The hand that we have been dealt is a calling from God. It is from this verse that the idea of a life vocation as a “calling” from God is found. Those who serve in the secular world are not second class Christians but are fulfilling the role to which God has called them as they live our their faith in that setting.

This encouragement from Paul does not mean that we cannot seek to improve our life circumstances because Paul does encourage slaves to get their freedom if that is an option. Therefore, it would seem that bettering our life setting is commendable and should be pursued. Paul is encouraging us though to accept what cannot be changed as an assignment and calling from God. We can learn contentment as we trust God with the things in our lives that cannot change and as we seek to live out life faithfully in that setting.

Father, thank you again for your wisdom. Knowing that my life setting is not some random act, but assigned by you is very encouraging. You loved me enough to give me an appointment in life. I need to do my best to fulfill your assigned task for me in a way that brings you pleasure. Even so, I would be wise to seek to improve my life setting when possible, but I should also trust you with what is out of my control rather than fight against it.

Following Jesus with you,

As we approach Easter, I have been impressed with my reading in John 19:18-22 which says,

“There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’”

A couple of things stand out to me in this summary:

1) Pilate wrote “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” What an incredible statement! In the Roman times, the person being crucified had an inscription fixed on the cross indicating the crimes for which he was being executed. The official inscription for Jesus is that he IS THE King of the Jews. This inscription was an offense to the religious leaders because they understood the significance of that inscription. That is why they wanted it to read, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.”

What a great irony of history. God made sure the inscription on the cross of Jesus reflected his identity, not his crimes. He was guilty of nothing other than being God the Son, the King of the Jews. He was the promised anointed one of the Old Testament!

2) The inscription was also written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The significance of this is that the whole world could read his inscription. The importance of this is well stated by Hendriksen and Kristemaker when they said,

“The king of the Jews crucified at the request of the Jews; let the whole world know this. By rejecting him they have rejected themselves. And that latter rejection means ‘the reconciliation of the world’ … Hence, the whole world must be able to read this title! Here is a Savior who has international significance.”

Father, your sovereignty in the execution of Jesus is clearly seen. Jesus, our innocent and voluntary sacrifice died for the sins of all the world. This is a message that must be proclaimed for all to respond. Thank you for allowing me to hear the Good News of salvation available in Christ because he died for me!

Following Jesus with you,

When I think of verses that talk about the preexistence of Christ, I normally think of John 1:1 where it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word, was God.” This is a strong statement of the truth that Jesus existed before creation, was in fact relationally connected to the Father and is Himself God.

Reading today, I was also impressed with an equally strong statement of the preexistence of Christ in John 17:5 which says,

“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

John could not have stated the prior existence of Jesus much clearer. Jesus was with the Father before anything was created! The ESV Study Bible has a great summary of this verse. It says,

“Jesus again claims that he existed before the world existed…This implies that the material universe is not eternal but was brought into being by God. Before that, nothing material existed. But God existed eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and here Jesus speaks of a sharing of glory between the Father and the Son prior to creation, implying that there was mutual giving of honor in the interpersonal relationships of the Trinity from all eternity.

It is hard to comprehend the triune God existing in fellowship and fully content with their relationship prior to creation. Then the world is created and man is made in His image so that we could have a relationship with this eternal God! Amazing!

Father, thank you for creating all things and for making us in a way that we reflect your image and in a way that allows us to know you. Help me to keep you the number one priority in my life.

Following Jesus with you,

Jeff

In John 13 we see the familiar story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. It was common for a slave to wash the feet of the guests of their master because the roads we dusty and people wore sandals. Their feet were dirty and this practice normally took place prior to the meal. In this case, the washing was done by Jesus during the meal.

Why would Jesus, wash the feet of his disciples? A couple of things hit me as I read this and the first is found in verse three which says,

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

Jesus knew that his betrayal was at hand and that he would return to the Father and be restored to him with all glory. Instead of losing interest in the present and even be exalted in pride at his destiny, he humbled himself to wash the feet of his men.

What was he trying to show them? The answer is found in verses 14-16 which say,

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”

Jesus says that he was leaving them an example. He expects them to live with the same humility he showed by this act of washing. He was the Messiah, the Son of God and he served them. Greatness is found in service and not self-centered promotion.

Why would that be something Jesus wanted them to understand at this critical time? The time right before he is betrayed? I think the answer may be found in Luke 22:24 where Luke tells us of something that came up during this meal. Notice what it says,

“A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.”

Jesus, the great teacher, had not stopped teaching his disciples. It was critical for them to learn about greatness and humility. The greatest among them will be the one who serves and does not seek a position.

Father, thank you for the practical and timely teaching of Jesus. He is always ready to show the way for his disciples. Thank you that you are a God who is humble. May you help me tp be humble so that I can better reflect your character to others. May I also not loose sight of true greatness in your eyes.

Following Jesus with you,

Jeff