Have You Heard the Good News?

Luke 4:16-44

“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Luke 2:10b

When Jesus was born, an angel appeared to some shepherds who were keeping their sheep in a nearby field. The angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)

We all like to hear good news. There is a sale at our favorite store. Our name has been drawn, and we have won a prize. He asked her if she would marry him, and she said yes. After a check-up with the doctor, he pronounces we are in excellent health. Good news! Glad tidings that make our hearts leap within us for pleasure.

The gospel--the story of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection--is the greatest good news we could ever hear. Why is that so? One Sabbath Jesus was in His home town of Nazareth. He attended the synagogue and was asked to read the Scripture for the day. He was handed the scroll of Isaiah, and he read these words, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him.” Luke 4:18-19

When Jesus was on earth, He healed people with many infirmities. Some who were blind could see, and some who were lame could walk. Some who were brokenhearted because of the sickness or death of a loved one were elated when the sick were healed or the dead were raised. These are some of the physical ways Jesus fulfilled that Scripture.

However, Jesus fulfilled that Scripture in spiritual ways that impacted all of mankind, not just a few people. Without Jesus, we are poor, wretched sinners, unable to save ourselves. We are captives to sin, blind to the truth of God’s grace, brokenhearted because of our separation from God by a chasm that we are unable to span. The good news is that, when we accept Jesus as Savior, we are freed from the penalty and the power of sin over us. Our spiritual eyes and understanding are open to God’s truth. Our hearts are filled with the Holy Spirit--with God’s love and joy and peace. Now, that’s the best news anyone could possibly hear!

Father, thank You for sending Jesus so we could know for ourselves the best news of salvation. Amen.

How Can This Be?!?

John 3:1-21

“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’” John 3:3

“Nicodemus’ problem was not only a lack of understanding of the new birth, but the difficulties of severing the ties of his old life.” Passages that bother us aren’t the ones we don’t understand but the ones we do understand and aren’t obeying.

One night a man named Nicodemus sought Jesus out to talk with Him. Nicodemus was a very prominent leader in Israel. He was a Pharisee, a member of the most deeply religious group in all Jerusalem. Pharisees were strict keepers of the law and were deeply committed to the idea that salvation was gained by keeping the law. He was a member of the Jewish governing body, the Sanhedrin. Jesus called him “Israel’s teacher”, indicating that he was a trained theologian. He was a VIP in the religious world, a man of recognition, influence, and piety. If anyone could have had a right standing with God on worldly terms, it would have been Nicodemus.

Why did Nicodemus come to see Jesus at night? Most likely he did not want to be seen. Some of his fellow members of the Sanhedrin disliked Jesus. Also, Jesus was usually surrounded by people during the day, and Nicodemus wanted a private audience with Jesus. Most of Jesus’ days were very full, and He was probably tired, but He took time to talk with Nicodemus. Jesus always took time for people, and so should we. Once we commit ourselves fully to God, we are on call 24/7/365.

Nicodemus treated Jesus with great respect, calling Him “Rabbi” and “Teacher”. Jesus was not a seminary graduate, nor was He from the priestly tribe of Levi. He was unknown among the respected Jews of Judea. He was just a carpenter from Nazareth so far as His earthly credentials. Pastor Search Committees would probably have overlooked Jesus and hired Nicodemus. But Jesus’ credentials came from God, not man, and Nicodemus recognized that.

Jesus answered a question that Nicodemus had not asked, when He told His visitor, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Sometimes we don’t even know the questions, but God has the answers for us anyway.

Jesus and Nicodemus were having a discussion on two different levels of understanding. Nicodemus was talking about physical birth, while Jesus was discussing the necessity of spiritual birth. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit.” John 3:6. From our fleshly birth, we are born two thirds alive--physically and mentally--but we lack spiritual life. In order to have spiritual life, we must have a spiritual birth. That means none of our accomplishments by self effort amount to anything in God’s kingdom. In order to belong to God, we must have new life from a new birth. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

We don’t know for sure whether or not Nicodemus was born spiritually but he defended Jesus when the Pharisees wanted to arrest him, and he helped Joseph of Arimathea prepare Jesus’ body for burial. James says we reveal our faith by our actions.

Father, how I thank You for spiritual birth and the hope of heaven. Amen.

What Is Hindering Your Worship Today?

John 2:12-25

“My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” from Mark 11:17

Do you know of any practices in the church today that might hinder non-Christians from coming to know God? Are there any practices in our lives that need to be cleaned out that might keep someone from wanting to accept Christ?

James Hoover, in his study book on Mark, wrote, “The trouble with righteous anger is that it is so much easier to be angry than righteous. But it is possible to be both.” And we know that Jesus was both as He cleansed the temple court.

There is an account of Jesus cleansing the temple at the beginning of His ministry in the gospel of John. The three synoptic gospels tell about this event, but they all place it during Passion Week. There are different opinions as to whether there were two different cleansings or whether John was referring to this incident in Mark. There is also a difference of opinion as to whether the cleansing took place the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem or on the following day.

This is what happened. The temple area mentioned was the outer court of the temple, the court of the Gentiles. This was the only place in the temple where Gentiles were allowed to go and worship. Two things were going on which caused a bazaar type atmosphere in this area. Pilgrims coming to the Passover needed animals that were acceptable as sacrifices. It would have been difficult for them to bring these animals along on their journey to Jerusalem. Also, their animals might have been rejected by the priests as unacceptable. So proper sacrificial animals were sold for the convenience of the worshipers.

Second, the annual temple tax, which all Jewish males were required to pay, could not be paid in Roman money but had to be paid in a special coin which most Jews would not have. So money changers were set up in the Court of the Gentiles. These services were needed for worshipers from out of town, but they could have easily been provided at another place in the city. The priests profited financially from these transactions. They had allowed this area of the temple to become a noisy, smelly marketplace. The atmosphere of worship had been destroyed. The sanctity of the temple area had been desecrated.

Jesus cleaned house. He drove out the people who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers. I can imagine coins flying everywhere. He drove out the sheep, cattle, and doves. He cleaned out everything that was a hindrance to worship.

If we know of anything that is a hindrance to worship in our lives or churches, we should be as forceful and as thorough as Jesus was in getting rid of all such things.

Father, may I follow the example of Your Son Jesus and get rid of anything in my heart or my surrounding that hinders me from worshiping You. Amen.

Is the Best Yet to Come?

John 2:1-12

“What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” John 2:11

After His baptism and the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus began to gather some men who would follow Him and learn from Him. He called this group of men His disciples. He and His disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee. His mother Mary attended the wedding also.

The host ran out of wine to serve his guests. This must have been an embarrassing and distressing situation for the host.

Probably Mary’s husband Joseph was dead by now, because Mary went to her oldest son with the problem. Jesus’ answer to Mary seems a bit harsh. He said, “Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.” Some commentaries suggest that Jesus and Mary may have been related to the host, so Mary felt a sense of obligation for them to help him out. That’s just speculation. I wonder if Mary went to Jesus because she had seen some evidences of Jesus’ miraculous power as He grew up. Jesus may have been telling His mother not to interfere with God’s timetable for His life. We don’t know. But we do know that Mary was not discouraged by Jesus’ answer because she went to the servants and told them to obey whatever Jesus told them to do.

Sitting in the house were six jars large enough to hold from twenty to thirty gallons apiece. Jesus told the servants to fill them with water, and the servants filled each one to the very top. Then Jesus instructed the servants to pour up some of the water and take it to the master of the banquet (the person we would call the caterer today). Imagine what the servants must have thought. Why are we taking him a glass of water? But they obeyed Jesus and discovered that the water had been turned into wine. There is a lesson here for us. When Jesus instructs us to do something we don’t understand--through God’s Word or the urging of the Holy Spirit or circumstances--we need to obey anyway. He knows what He is doing through us, and that’s all we need to know.

It was customary to serve the best wine a person had to offer first, and, after some time had elapsed and some wine had been drunk, the less expensive wine was brought out. But when the master of the banquet tasted the wine that been water, he pronounced it better than the wine served at first. When Jesus touches anything in our lives, He can make it better.

Jesus didn’t turn the water into wine just to help out at the wedding. He was beginning to show the disciples that He was no ordinary man but God in the flesh. Jesus’ miracles were a major credential showing He was who He claimed to be.

Father, when we realize that You want us to perform some specific task, may we be as obedient to You as the servants were to Jesus, obeying without question. Amen.

"How To" Resist Temptation, Part 2!

“...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4b

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

There are two key weapons in the Christian’s arsenal for resisting temptation. One is our sword of the Spirit, the word of God. We need to know it and obey it. When the enemy tempts us, God’s word shows us what we need to do. Even so, knowing what to do--or what not to do--and doing it--or not doing it--can often be two different things. Why are we not always victorious against temptation even though we know what we should do and are determined to do it? We are weak in our humanity. But there is good news. Although we are weak, God is strong, and His strength is available to us.

1 John 4:4 tells us that the One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. Who is the one in the world? Satan. Is he stronger than we are? Yes. He has powers we don’t have. Who is the One who is in us? The Holy Spirit. Is He stronger than Satan? Yes, indeed. Do we have access to His power? Indeed we do. When we allow the Holy Spirit to be in control of our lives, He will live the Christian life through us in His power and wisdom. So the secret of victory over sin is to be in total submission to the Holy Spirit. Will God ever sin? No. Will the Holy Spirit who is a member of the Godhead ever sin? No. If the Holy Spirit in in control of our lives, will we sin? NO!

James 4:7 tells us to submit to God and then resist the devil. The order is crucial. If we have submitted to God--asked the Holy Spirit to be in charge of our lives--then we can resist the devil with God’s power. What happens when we do that? He will flee from us. We will have victory by resisting temptation!

We need to be warned however. Luke 4:13 says, “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him [Jesus] until an opportune time.” One victory will only defeat the devil temporarily. He will never leave us alone permanently. If we resist him, he will flee from us, but he only retreats to regroup and try again. We can expect to be battling him as long as we live, so we might as well dig in for the long haul. He can’t take away our salvation, but he will try his best to destroy our peace, undermine our faith, and besmirch our testimony. Don’t let him!!!

Father, may I be victorious in Your strength to meet all the temptations the enemy throws my way. May I desire to please and obey You more than to have anything the world offers. Amen.

Three Temptations--One Solution!

First of all, our desire to resist a temptation must be stronger than our desire to yield to the temptation. I often picture in my mind God’s sweet smile of approval when I turn my back on temptations and obey my heavenly Father. But, I can also imagine a leering grin on the face of the tempter when I have yielded to his enticements and disobeyed or displeased God. I don’t want to see a wicked smile on Satan’s face nor a sad look of disapproval on God’s face.

God has given us His promise that He will make a way of escape for us in every temptation. We need to take that way of escape at the earliest opportunity when we are tempted. The longer we dally, the stronger the temptation becomes. Remember how Joseph dealt with the temptations from Potiphar’s wife--he avoided her, and when he couldn’t avoid her, he fled.

Satan has three bullets in his gun--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh--it feels good. A common saying in our society today is: “If it feels good, do it.” The lust of the eyes--it’s attractive, lovely to look at, beautiful. The pride of life--things that make us feel proud of ourselves, like power, wealth, fame. The devil has been using these same three categories of temptations throughout history, and they are still working.

Satan used these age old appeals when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus had been there for forty days without anything to eat. Imagine how hungry He must have been. Satan tempted Jesus to turn some stones into bread. This was a temptation to the lust of the flesh. But there were subtler temptations here, too. Many temptations have several aspects. Satan was tempting Jesus to have wrong priorities, to put physical needs ahead of spiritual needs. He was tempting Jesus to act independently from God’s plan. He appealed to Jesus’ pride as one with supernatural powers to use His powers selfishly and be flashy about it. The underlying temptation in all three cases involved the kind of Messiah Jesus would be. Would He focus on His own needs and use His divine powers selfishly? Or, would He be submissive and follow the plan laid out by His Father? What did Jesus do?

Jesus used the sword of the Spirit which is the World of God to defeat each temptation, saying, “It is written…, it is written…, it is written…” He had determined to obey God’s Word. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” To use God’s Word, we must know it. Our personal Bible is only as large as the parts we have read and understood. Only the words of God that we know will be useful for us in living the Christian life and overcoming temptations. How big is your Bible?

Father, may I constantly be building Your word into my mind, my heart, and my life and be determined to obey what I know so I can resist the temptations that come to me. Amen.

Can You Resist Anything but Temptation?

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”  Hebrews 4:15

Do you identify with the saying, “I can resist anything but temptation?” I expect this speaks loudly to us all. But the message of the temptations of Jesus is very encouraging:  the devil cannot make us do anything. When we are tempted, the choice is ours. We can resist temptation if we so choose. We have God’s promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Jesus faced His temptations in His humanity. He refused to use His supernatural powers in the wilderness with Satan. He used the same resources that are available to us--the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. His example shows us that we can resist temptation if we so choose.

Jesus’ baptism with God’s overt approval was a mountain top experience. We need to be especially wary of Satan and his tactics after we have just had a great spiritual victory. We seem to be the most vulnerable then, and our enemy knows it.

Matthew 4:1 says, “Then Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Wait a minute! I left out three words--”Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Never forget that God is sovereign. He is in control of all our circumstances. Who set this scenario up? God did. God sets the times, the places, and the limits to our testings.

In the English language, the word “tempt” has the meaning “tempt to do evil”, but in Hebrew and Greek it means “to test or prove”, as in testing the quality of something. God will never tempt us to do evil, but He will test us to see the quality of our faith. “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;” (James 1:13) But God will allow Satan to tempt us in order for us to be tested. When Satan tempts us, he tries his best to get us to do evil. God hopes we will pass the test, and Satan hopes we will fail it.

When the Union-Pacific railroad was under construction, a long trestle bridge was built over a large canyon. The builder loaded a train with extra cars and equipment, drove it onto the bridge, and left it there for a day. A worked complained, “Are you trying to break the bridge?” The builder replied, “I’m trying to prove the bridge won’t break.” Satan tries to break us, but God wants to prove we won’t break. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Temptation is Satan’s weapon to defeat us, but it can be God’s tool to build us.”

Dear Father, thank you that you have given us everything we need to overcome temptation. When temptations come my way, may I resist in Your power and be victorious. Amen.