Jesus is not proud

 JESUS IS NOT PROUD

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”

MATTHEW 20.28

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”

JOHN 13.14

Based on JOHN 13:1–17

There’s always that one job around the house that nobody wants to do. For some, it’s scrubbing toilets. For others, it’s emptying the dishwasher.

In first-century Palestine, it was washing feet.

Nobody wanted to wash feet.

Imagine the stench of sweat, dust, and dung, picture the callouses and ingrown toenails, feel the humility of doing what no one else wanted to do.

In fact, this job was considered so demeaning that it was reserved for the lowest of servants in a household. On this holy Passover night, Jesus and His disciples had already begun eating with their feet unwashed. No one wanted to do that job.

So in the middle of their meal, Jesus gets up, takes off His outer robe, and dons a towel. Every eye is watching His every move. Surely not! This cannot be happening. Out of everyone in the room, Jesus should have been the last person to wash anyone’s feet.

For those of us who have grown up hearing this story again and again, the wrongness of the situation may have become lost on us. It’s Peter’s visceral reaction that helps establish the absurdity of the moment: “No, you shall never wash my feet,” he tells Jesus.

Never.

This is wrong.

Maybe John should be washing feet since he’s the youngest. Or perhaps Philip or Andrew should run to fetch the servant girl. But not You.

It’s understandable why the disciples hesitated to volunteer for this task, even though disciples were expected to serve their rabbis, washing their teachers’ feet was one service specifically not expected even of them. Let alone washing their peers’ feet!

But Jesus demonstrated that in His kingdom, no person is too high for the lowest of tasks, for He Himself took on the nature of a servant though He was in very nature God. And He served not only His best friends, but the one who would betray Him, the one who would deny Him, and the ones who would desert Him.

His greatest act of love was yet to come, but washing the disciples’ feet was a shocking expression of love that foretold just how low Jesus was willing to bow in order to love His own until the very end.

Prayer 

King Jesus, You who humbled Yourself to the lowest of servant tasks, You are exalted to the highest place in heaven. I’ll admit, Your example humbles me. It’s hard for me to follow Your lead, but I want to. Help me lay aside my pride and any concern for my image, and empower me to kneel before others in humble service, out of love. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Mk 10.45, Jn 13.1–17, Phil 2.6–7

The wisdom of God

 The Wisdom of God

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom.

PROVERBS 9.10

Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.

PROVERBS 4.5

His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.

1 CORINTHIANS 2.10

If someone tells you, “Get some milk at the shop,” you know what you’re looking for and where to get it. But when we read the instruction in Proverbs to “get wisdom,” we’re left to wonder, what exactly is wisdom? And how do we get it?

Wisdom is knowing what the greatest goal is in any situation and the best way to achieve it. It’s different from knowledge, but you need knowledge to exercise wisdom.

Another way to describe wisdom is that it’s knowing the right and best thing to do with the knowledge you have. There are many people who are brilliant but foolish. And there are many wise people who are not well educated.

So how does a person get wisdom? The only way to get wisdom is to receive it from God. “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you” (Jam 1.5). Real wisdom doesn’t come naturally. It is not something you are born with or can develop through study. It is supernatural. It is a gift from God. To get the wisdom of God, you don’t need a certain level of intelligence, education, or experience. But you do need humility and a hunger for God. When we realise how big God is and how small we are, we are convinced that we don’t have what it takes to make it through life on our own. And it’s only then that we’re ready to receive wisdom from God as a gift. So if you want to grow in wisdom, ask for it — beg for it. God has promised to give it to you when you ask.

Jesus believes all things

 JESUS BELIEVES ALL THINGS

“Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

LUKE 19.5

Love … believes all things.

1 CORINTHIANS 13.7 ESV

Based on LUKE 19.1–10

Jesus was constantly challenging the Pharisees’ assumptions of right and wrong, clean and unclean, and those who are “in” and those who are “out” of God’s kingdom. In their societal structure, tax collectors were at the very bottom, considered traitors because they gathered taxes on behalf of the Gentiles who ruled over them and often profited by exerting additional fines and fees to line their own pockets.

In their view, tax collectors were no better than unclean Gentiles, even though they were technically Jewish and included in God’s covenant with Abraham. Those devoted to the extra traditions added to Levitical law avoided contact with tax collectors at all costs.

But Jesus sees what is hidden from others’ view.

At the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus welcomed a tax collector, Matthew, to join Him as one of His disciples. Scripture tells us that when Jesus had dinner at Matthew’s house that night “many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples” (Mt 9.10), while the Pharisees rebuked Jesus’ disciples for this suspicious association.

Now, toward the end of His public ministry, Jesus again reaches out to a tax collector, this time the notorious Zacchaeus. Because of Jericho’s strategic location on the border between Judea and Perea, the city would have seen significant customs duties, and Zacchaeus and his tax crew would have been considerably rich. And considerably hated.

But Jesus does not write off Zacchaeus because of his occupation. Instead, He looks at his heart. This man longs to see Jesus, risking additional ridicule by climbing into a tree to see Him over the crowds. Jesus searches him out and honours him with His presence.

Zacchaeus’s response reveals the true nature of his heart, he gladly hosts Jesus and His disciples, he voluntarily offers half of his possessions to the poor, and he fulfils the law by vowing to make restitution for any of his cheating.

All that, simply because Jesus invited Himself over to his house. Because in loving Zacchaeus, Jesus believes “in the best outcome for the one who has done the wrong — that wrong will be confessed and forgiven and the loved one restored to righteousness.” And Zacchaeus responded to Jesus’ love with flourishing repentance.

In contrast, the enemy of our souls is quick to accuse us before God and to condemn us for our sins. He’s the one who sows despair and hopelessness in our hearts, convincing us that we will never be rid of the sin that entangles us.

Jesus knows the state of every person’s heart, and He takes time with those whose hearts are receptive to God’s Word and eager to repent. He knew the state of Zacchaeus’s heart, even though the Pharisees had no idea, and He acts on that belief even when no one else sees it or knows it or even believes it. Jesus believes the best, because He knows the truth about Zacchaeus that was hidden from everyone else.

It’s telling that Jesus demonstrates this believing love not only toward the outcasts, like tax collectors, but also toward the religious elite, like Nicodemus. This Pharisee, a member of the Jewish ruling council, came to Jesus at night, and Jesus greeted him not with suspicion but with sincerity, welcoming his earnest questions.

Zacchaeus and Nicodemus represent two extremes on the religious spectrum, but Jesus recognised the truth of their hearts, even when they themselves failed to see it. His love watered those seeds, and they couldn’t help but respond with an outpouring of love in action — Zacchaeus immediately and Nicodemus gradually.

Prayer 

Precious Jesus, thank You for never giving up on me. Even when I despair, You continue to believe because You Yourself are faithful. You’ve promised to complete the good work You’ve started within me, and You never break Your promises. Oh, how great is Your love for me! Help me to love those hard-to-love people in my own life and to believe in Your work within them.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Mt 9.9–13, Jn 3.1–21, 19.39–42, Eph 2.8–10, Phil 1.6, Heb 10.19–25

Clearing the pathway

 Clearing the Pathway

John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptised to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!

The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level.

The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth.

And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.’”

LUKE 3.3-6

If you live in a place where there are significant temperature changes, then you probably know what potholes are. Potholes are places on the surface of a road where a portion has broken away, leaving a hole.

Potholes can be annoying when we come across them on the road, but most of our roads today are luxurious compared to the roads in ancient times. Because the roads were so bad then, when a king was preparing to visit a certain area, a team of people went ahead of him to build smooth roads to make his journey as easy and direct as possible.

This is what the prophet Isaiah had in mind when he made the prophecy that John the Baptist would prepare the way for Israel’s future King, the Messiah. John was the “voice shouting” for people to prepare not their roads but their hearts for the coming of Jesus. Preparing a pathway for King Jesus requires repentance  — getting rid of anything and everything that puts a barrier between us and God. Repentance clears the pathway for him to come to us.

To prepare our hearts for the King means that we tear down mountains of stubborn opinions and fill up valleys created by shallow, pleasure-seeking habits. We clear away obstacles of meaningless rituals and lingering conflicts. We clean up everything that is cluttering the pathway between us and God. God wants to build a highway into our lives so he can come and dwell with us.

Jesus is not easily angered

 JESUS IS NOT EASILY ANGERED

The crowd rebuked [the blind men] and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” … Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately, they received their sight and followed him.

MATTHEW 20.31, 34

Love… is not easily angered.

1 CORINTHIANS 13.5

Based on MATTHEW 20:29–34

We all deal with minor annoyances every day, whether it’s morning traffic on our commute, milk spilled on freshly washed floors, or noisy children demanding attention while we’re on our phones.

People in Jesus’ time were easily annoyed too.

As Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho accompanied by a large crowd, two blind beggars on the side of the road heard the commotion, discerned it was the famed teacher, and decided today was their lucky day.

As beggars, their presence alone would be irritating enough to some. Their unwashed bodies and tattered clothes would have caused those passing by to wrinkle their noses and avert their gazes. But rather than blend into the background, they were causing a ruckus as they tried to make themselves heard above the crowd. The men and women rebuked them, they were trying to hear Jesus.

But these desperate men wouldn’t be shut up. They just kept calling louder and louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Imagine the crowd’s annoyance turning into anger. Why couldn’t the two men just be quiet already? Didn’t they realise they’re interfering with their ability to get close to Jesus?

But Jesus stops and calls the men to Himself.

Where others were angered by the men’s persistence, Jesus rewarded them with His presence. What others experienced as inconvenience, Jesus experienced as compassion, welcoming interruptions as opportunities to love those He had come to save. He refused to allow others’ annoyance to keep these men away. And as soon as their eyes were opened, they immediately followed Jesus. Here was a man who finally cared for them.

Anger in itself is not sinful — it can be a healthy recognition that things are not as they ought to be. But when anger is directed against someone who inconveniences us, that is not righteous anger but rather self-centred anger. Jesus is quick to extinguish anger that puts people down because it’s antithetical to who Jesus is and how He loves.

Jesus was angered when God’s image-bearers were trampled on and abused for others’ selfish gains. Any action that pushes one’s own agenda at the cost of someone else’s dignity is an affront to God’s loving nature and cause for righteous anger. But anger aroused from personal inconvenience reveals our own pride, selfishness, and lack of love.

Many people try to pitch an “Old Testament angry God” against a “New Testament loving Jesus,” yet such caricatures completely misrepresent the unified nature of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is precisely God’s love that compels Him to anger when He calls out the wickedness of those who abuse the helpless for their own selfish gains. It is God’s perfect love that pours out wrath on those who seek their own advancement at the cost of others’ well-being. And it’s that same perfect love in Jesus that causes Him to lash out at the religious leaders of His time who abused those placed in their spiritual care and those who made money off of worshipers in the temple.

That same perfect love compels Jesus to show compassion toward these two blind men who inconvenienced the crowds and incurred their wrath. Jesus’ compassion and His anger both flow from the same heart of love — love not of self, but love of God and love for others.

Throughout the Old Testament, God’s anger is kindled by those who abuse the poor and helpless for their own selfish gains, and we witness this same anger in Jesus (Mk 7.5–13).

It is Jesus’ love that compels Him to anger against those who abuse and misuse the helpless. His anger burned against the disciples when they tried to keep the little children from Him. His anger burned against the moneychangers who made a profit off of those who came to worship at the temple. His anger burned against the religious leaders who misled the people placed in their spiritual charge. The God of both the Old Testament and the New Testament is the same God, made fully known in Jesus Christ, whose anger burns out of love.

Prayer 

Dear Jesus, I acknowledge that I don’t love perfectly. I can be easily angered, but usually because I’m not happy with how I’m treated. Forgive me for my selfishness. Remove this anger from my heart and replace it with Your love. Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Let it be Your love that compels me to righteous anger toward those who abuse others, and let it be Your love that compels me to forgive those who hurt me. In my anger, keep me from sinning against You and others. Teach me to love well. In Jesus’ name. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Isa 58, Mt 12.11–16, 25.31–46, Mk 10.46–52, 12.38–40, Lk 9.51–56, 18.35–43, Eph 4.26

Testing the soil

 Testing the Soil

A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!

LUKE 8.5-8

Did you know you can take a bucket full of dirt from your yard to a laboratory and have it tested to see what it needs to grow plants better? More important, did you know we are supposed to have the soil of our hearts tested?

Jesus described hearts as having different kinds of soil. And he said we need to examine or test the soil of our hearts if we want his Word to take root there and grow into a crop of right living.

For some people, the soil of their hearts has been hardened by disappointment and doubt. Their hearts become calloused when they are pricked over and over by the truth but they fail to respond. For others, the seed of God’s Word falls on hearts with shallow, stony soil. These are people who respond enthusiastically to God initially but never allow his Word to run deep and take root in their lives. When the heat of hardship beats down on them, there is no deep inner strength to face it.

All of us find the soil of our hearts infected at times with thorns and weeds. Our lives become so easily cluttered with time-wasting and soul-absorbing things. We find ourselves sitting in church thinking about our plans for the afternoon or rushing through our devotions so we can get on with “more important things.” This type of heart soil is dangerous and deceiving, as we may hardly notice the weeds of empty pleasure and activity growing up around us. The weeds choke out the true seed of God’s Word before it can grow into something beautiful and fruitful in our lives.

Jesus loves the self-righteous

 JESUS LOVES THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

MARK 10.20–21

Based on MARK 10.17–22

How many parents have been embarrassed by their children’s temper tantrums in the supermarket? Or their lack of manners upon receiving a gift? Anyone who has raised a child understands the importance of teaching their children to show respect, to obey the rules, and to become an upstanding citizen of society.

But any good parent knows that more important than a child’s external compliance is their internal sensitivity to God’s Spirit and their wholehearted surrender to Him.

Here we see Jesus’ love for a young man who, by all external measures, perfectly fulfilled the law of Moses, he obeyed and honoured his parents, he was honest in his business transactions, he was truthful in his testimony, he was pure in his relationships.

Any parent would be thrilled to have their child grow up and become an upstanding member of society as this young man had become. So, at first, Jesus’ demand to sell all he had seems unfair. After all, this man was doing pretty well, wasn’t he? Why place this undue burden on him, especially when He hadn’t asked the same of other rich disciples, like Matthew, Zacchaeus, and Nicodemus?

Such a strict command seems uncharacteristically harsh, until we read the text carefully and realise. Jesus looked at him and loved him.

This young man seems self-assured in his rule-keeping and has no problem showering Jesus with praise. Certainly others looked up to him and respected him. But in His love, Jesus studied him carefully and looked past the externals, pushing to the deeper heart issues this young man was facing.

Externally, he seemed perfect. Internally, he was wrestling with greed and idolatry, and these sins were threatening to suffocate the life out of him — and to keep him from finding eternal life in Jesus. Moved with compassion, Jesus clearly articulates the unspoken sins that overrun this young man’s heart and calls him out, not to shame him, but to invite him to a life of true fruitfulness.

Jesus’ good seed cannot grow roots and bear fruit in a heart that is suffocated by the weeds of the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for more and more stuff (Mk 4.19). It would be callous and unloving of Jesus to allow those sins to continue growing, it is His love that compels Him to reach in and yank them out by the roots, allowing the soil of our hearts to remain receptive to His Word and to produce a crop that’s a hundredfold. If only we’d let Him.

But repentance was too much of a sacrifice for this man. Jesus’ intuition was spot-on, and the rich young man went away sad. Forced to choose between money and Jesus, he had chosen money. Jesus had seen him. Jesus knew him. And Jesus had lovingly called him to a richer life. But he wouldn’t have it.

Prayer 

Precious Jesus, I confess that my heart is overrun with sin that woos me away from you. Till up the soil of my heart, Lord Jesus, and put to death any affection that competes with wholehearted adoration of You. I renounce any good or evil thing that comes between me and You. Take it all, and help me desire You alone.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Mt 10.37–38, Mk 4.1–20, 10.21, Jn 12.1–8, 1Tim 6.8–10, 1Jn 2.15–16

Walking with God

 Walking with God

Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

GENESIS 5.23-24

It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying — “he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

HEBREWS 11:5-6

Some families have a family Bible or other keepsake that traces the lives of their grandparents and great-grandparents. They can read the birth dates and death dates of their family members going back many generations.

Genesis has a long list of descendants from Adam to Noah, where we read over and over that so-and-so lived X number of years. Until we get to Enoch. It doesn’t say that Enoch lived three hundred sixty-five years, it says Enoch walked with God three hundred sixty-five years. So evidently there’s a big difference between walking with God and merely living.

When we read of someone who “walked with God,” someone who “pleased God,” we tend to dismiss it as a possibility only for an elite superspiritual few — people who lived in Bible times. To be recognised as one who pleases God can seem out of our reach, can’t it?

God does not require great acts of faith or some over-the-top commitment to service. He simply wants to walk with you day by day. He wants to begin and end the day with you; he wants you to be aware of his presence every moment in between. He wants us to walk with him in faith, simply and consistently, by talking with him, listening to him, and sharing our lives with him. He wants us to walk in step with him, not run ahead of him or drag our feet in doing what he has called us to do. And as we diligently seek him, he is pleased.

A glimpse of glory

 A Glimpse of Glory

Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

MATTHEW 17:1-2

We saw his majestic splendour with our own eyes when he received honour and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets.

2 PETER 1:16-19

Sometimes when we’re doing something scary, we lose our confidence. That’s why it helps to have someone stronger assure us, “You’ll be fine. I’m right here. I’ll catch you if you fall.”

Jesus told his disciples that he was going to Jerusalem, where he would be killed. That news must have been overwhelming and heartbreaking to the disciples — not at all what they’d had in mind when they left everything to follow Jesus. Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain. Perhaps Jesus knew they needed a confidence boost so they could accept this difficult message and the tough times that were coming.

So Jesus gave them a glimpse of his glory. It was as if he said, “Look at me,” knowing that seeing him in all his real glory was what they needed to face their fears. Jesus let them see the powerful, radiant glory that had been poured into his flesh when he came to earth as a baby. They could see him for who he really is, and it made them want to stay there with him and worship him. But instead they followed their Master down the mountain and toward the Cross. And years later they could say that this experience gave them greater confidence in the truth and power of the gospel.

Lent week 5 Suggestion box

 Lent Week 5 Suggestion box

Craft paper crowns from craft paper to represent the crowns of righteousness Jesus gives us in exchange for our sins (Isa. 61.1–3). Write the word “righteous” in bold lettering and decorate with stickers and jewels. Wear your crown to remember what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

Bake homemade (or store-bought) soft pretzels. Tradition has it that pretzels were invented by a sixth-century Italian monk who twisted scraps of dough to resemble arms crossed over the chest in prayer. While the pretzels rest, read Luke 22.39–46 and John 17 and discuss Jesus’ time of prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. While they bake, spend some time in prayer.

Drink no beverages but water for the remainder of Lent, and donate the money you save on coffee or other drinks to an organization that provides clean water to impoverished communities.

Post homemade Easter greeting cards to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other family members to spread the joy of Jesus’ resurrection hope. Pray for them specifically this week.

Buy or make your own resurrection eggs to creatively retell the story of Easter. Each plastic egg contains an item that corresponds to a moment of Holy Week (e.g., a small leaf for Palm Sunday, a coin for Judas’s betrayal, a ritz cracker for the Last Supper, a piece of cloth for foot washing, etc.).

Who Me? Holy?

 Who Me? Holy?

God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy.

EPHESIANS 1:4

His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him.

1 PETER 1:2

You must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.

1 PETER 1:14-15

We use the word holy in some very unholy ways. “Holy cow!” we say as an expression of surprise. “That child is a holy terror” we say about an out-of-control child. But the Bible takes holiness very seriously. In fact, God has set holiness as the goal of our lives — the target we’re aiming for. God said, “You must be holy because I am holy” (Lev 11.45). So what does it mean to be holy?

Holiness involves doing what’s right, but it is much more than that. To be holy is to be set apart for God and to God. The evidence that we are becoming holy is that our thoughts, actions, and desires become more centred on God and what is pleasing to him.

When God says that he wants us to be holy, that doesn’t mean he expects us to be perfect here and now. He is moving us in that direction and will complete the process when he comes back for us. But even now, we can commit ourselves to becoming closer in reality to what he has already declared us to be through our connectedness to Christ, holy.

Some people think that because God is so generous with grace, holy living is optional — that God sets it out there but doesn’t expect it. But God’s grace is not a get-out-of-jail-free card for living apart from God. It makes us want to live lives that centre around God and are pleasing to him. God’s grace empowers us to become holy like he is.

Jesus weeps

 JESUS WEEPS

Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

JOHN 11.35–36

Love does not delight in evil.

1 CORINTHIANS 13.6

Based on JOHN 11:1–44

Having heard of His friend Lazarus’s illness, Jesus decided to delay His departure, even though Mary and Martha were hoping for Him to come immediately and heal their brother. The way John describes this detail suggests that it was Jesus’ love for these siblings that caused Him to wait.

Jesus was confident that Lazarus’s sickness would highlight God’s glory, and He even tells His disciples that “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Heading back into Galilean territory meant certain death for Jesus, because the Jewish leaders were trying to stone Him, and once Jesus entered Judea, His enemies would have authority to arrest Him.

Yet knowing that He was walking toward His death, Jesus still made His way to Lazarus’s house. At this point, He knew Lazarus was dead. And He also knew that He would raise him back to life and cause many to marvel and believe in Him. And yet, even knowing these things did not inoculate Jesus to the grief of losing a loved one.

Upon His arrival, Jesus is greeted by Martha and witnesses her grief-stricken heart. “If you had been here,” she tells Him, “my brother would not have died,” and Jesus goes on to assure her that her brother will live again. Their conversation seems heady and intellectual as they discuss the theology of the resurrection of the dead, until Jesus reveals a new facet of His identity, “I am the resurrection and the life.” There it is again. I AM — a declaration of divinity that brings relief, and Martha declares her faith in Jesus.

All seems hopeful, especially as we know that Jesus is planning to resurrect Lazarus — which makes it all the more striking when, upon encountering Mary’s brokenheartedness, Jesus Himself breaks down in heart-wrenching sobs. Even knowing that He would resurrect Lazarus, Jesus still mourned over his death.

Jesus, the Creator of life, grieved sin’s theft of life in this family. Even though He knew He would resurrect Lazarus just moments later.

Jesus grieved the perversity of death in the world: the way it tears families apart, the way it mars His perfect creation, and the way it causes pain and sadness.

And He wept.

Love that celebrates people’s joy but does not mourn their grief is not love at all — it is superficial opportunism.

Grief takes courage. It takes energy. It requires sacrifice, especially when joining others in a sorrow that is not our own. But grief is also the gateway to joy, as one day Jesus will return to dwell with His people in bodily form, vanquishing death and sickness, mourning, crying, and pain once and for all.

Prayer 

Oh, Jesus, how my heart breaks for the wickedness of sin and death in this world and in my own life. Give me courage to confront the brokenness of my past. Allow me to grieve the wrong done to me and the wrong I’ve done toward others. Comfort me with Your presence in my grief. Turn Your ear to hear me, and teach me how to weep with others who weep.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Gen 50.20, Psa 18, 44; 56.8, 88, Ecc 3.4, Rom 8.19–23, 12.15–18, Rev 21.3–5

God picks up your tab

 God Picks Up Your Tab

Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.

ROMANS 4.7-8

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

ISAIAH 40.2, NIV

Do you know what it means for someone to “pick up the tab”? It’s when one person pays the bill on behalf of someone else.

When King David said, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven” (Psa 32.1-2), he was celebrating that someone had “picked up his tab.” He had run up a big debt from the sins he’d committed. Because God is perfectly just, the debt for sin has to be paid. And David knew that. He also knew that his record of sin included impure thoughts, unfaithfulness to marriage vows, and murder. So when he rejoiced that the long tab he had run up by his sin had been covered and would not be counted against him, it was no small celebration!

How was his debt covered? And just as important, how is our debt covered for the sins we commit? Do we have to pay for our sins ourselves? To settle our accounts with God, two things need to happen. We need the righteousness of Christ deposited into our accounts. But we also need someone to pay off the debt we owe because of our sin.

And that is what Jesus has done. We have racked up a big debt of sin that needs to be paid for. Jesus says, “Hand the bill to me — I’ll pay it. It’s a debt that you owe, but I will pay it myself.” That’s why Jesus went to the Cross. There he paid the debt for every wrong you’ve ever done. And that’s what makes the gospel such good and almost unbelievable news: Jesus has paid the debt you owe.

Jesus is not self-seeking

 JESUS IS NOT SELF-SEEKING

Then he [Jesus] put his hands on her, [the crippled woman] and immediately she straightened up and praised God… [But] the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

LUKE 13.13–14

“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

HOSEA 6.6

Based on LUKE 13:10–17

As humans, we like to be liked. As soon as we walk into a room, we scan the area and adjust our body language, volume, and actions to match the vibe of the room. Whether we admit it or not, we want others to like us, and we carefully measure our words and actions to secure others’ admiration.

We’re naturally selfish, and we’re experts at playing games to come out on top. Even within our religious circles, rule-keeping often masquerades as righteousness in an attempt to manage others’ perception of us and subtly ensure God’s approval too.

And once again, Jesus flips our scripts and reveals the sinfulness of selfish hearts, uncovering a better way.

It’s a Sabbath, and Jesus is teaching in a synagogue when His gaze scans the crowd and falls on a woman who is crippled. She’s hunched, her spine painfully distorted for eighteen years. Others see her too but hardly notice her — she’s a novelty for newcomers but invisible to those who see her week after week.

But not to Jesus. He refuses to ignore our infirmities. Jesus interrupts His teaching and calls her forward. Her heart beats faster as she shuffles toward the front. Have I broken the law without realising it? Why is He calling attention to me? Why can’t He just leave me be?

We can’t know exactly what she was thinking, but we know she obeyed, and as soon as she reached Jesus, He touched her and set her free of her infirmity.

Immediately, the woman straightens up and begins praising God. The synagogue leader is furious at this perceived breaching of Sabbath law, and publicly scolds the crowds. “Come get your healing on the other six days,” he says. While he doesn’t openly rebuke Jesus, the leader’s unspoken accusation hangs thick in the air, and Jesus doesn’t hesitate to respond.

These self-righteous people were caught up in their own selfishness, manipulating the law to take care of their own wants, while ignoring the needs of others. But Jesus was not impressed with their rule-keeping, and He didn’t care for their opinion of Him. He had come to seek and to save the lost, and He rebuked those who twisted God’s commands to protect their own farm animals but oppress the very ones those laws were meant to protect. The whole point of the Sabbath was to celebrate God’s rule over the world and to rest in His work — Jesus was bringing the full meaning of the Sabbath to bear on this woman’s life, setting her free to rest on the day of rest.

In revealing their hypocrisy, Jesus humiliated His opponents and reinforced God’s original intention with His laws, to love Him and to love one another. Jesus could have waited to heal this woman until after He had finished teaching. He could have put it off until the next day. He could have searched out a quiet moment to deliver her privately.

But Jesus wasn’t trying to win their approval. He cared more for this suffering woman than He did for what others thought of Him. Because love looks out for the interests of others, it’s not interested in how others think we look.

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, forgive me for the ways in which I selfishly ignore others in seeking my own good. Give me Your love for those my community scorns or ignores, and help me go out of my way to show them Your love.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Exo 20.8–11, Mt 9.12–13, Lk 14.1–6

A deposit to your account

 A Deposit to Your Account

Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

GENESIS 15.6, NIV

We who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.

GALATIANS 5.5

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

PHILIPPIANS 3.9

Let’s say you’re hungry, and you have a twenty-pound note. You have two choices. You can use the twenty-pound note to buy some lunch. Or you can eat the twenty-pound note. Yuck! Of course you wouldn’t eat the money! You’d use the money to buy something good for lunch.

Faith is like that twenty-pound note. Faith is not what saves you. Faith is the channel by which you receive what saves you — kind of like money is a channel you get fed through. What saves you is the righteousness of Christ — a gift deposited into your spiritual bank account. People are not saved because they have faith, just as they are not fed by eating twenty-pound notes. The only way a person is saved is by being righteous enough to enter God’s presence. Faith is the channel by which we get that righteousness — the righteousness of Christ.

The important word that helps us understand this truth is the word credited. This is an accounting or bookkeeping term. If you have placed your faith in Christ, a deposit has been made to your spiritual account. Your account has been credited. But it wasn’t you who made the deposit. It was someone else. When you turn to God in faith, that faith is the channel by which Jesus makes a deposit to your account. He credits you with his own perfect righteousness. Jesus is basically saying, “You need perfection so you can enjoy being in God’s presence? I’ll give you mine.”

Jesus seeks the lost

 JESUS SEEKS THE LOST

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

LUKE 19.10

Jesus heard that [the Jewish leaders] had thrown him out [of the synagogue], and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

JOHN 9.35

Based on JOHN 9.1–34

Throughout the Gospels, we read of Jesus performing miraculous signs that testified to His identity as the One sent from God to rescue His people. And while these miraculous signs served as public testimony to His identity, we also witness Jesus’ intense, personal love for each person He touched.

We read in John 9 how Jesus healed a man who was blind since birth. For those of us raised in church, it’s easy to gloss over the details, blobbing together all the stories of blind people seeing into one massive text. But this narrative is singular in that it’s the only time Jesus heals a person who had been born blind, and this detail is critically important.

Other prophets and men of God had opened the eyes of the blind. But no one had ever given sight to someone born blind, as the man himself testifies before the Jewish leaders. In fact, giving sight to those born blind was one of the characteristics unique to the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world right before performing this miraculous healing clearly points to His ownership of the Messiah title, as the man who receives sight clearly understands. But his courage to stand against the Jewish leaders and publicly proclaim Jesus as the Messiah earns him expulsion from the community and banishment from the synagogue.

This man who had once been isolated from his community by his physical infirmity is now isolated by his social ostracism. But Jesus, hearing that he had been thrown out, seeks him and finds him.

What would compel Jesus to take time out of His busy schedule of teaching and healing the masses to seek out a single man?

His heart of love, of course.

Jesus lives out the parable of the lost sheep, leaving the crowd behind to go after this man who must have felt lost and alone in his newfound world. The Good Shepherd, upon finding His sheep, “joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home” (see Luke 15:3–7). So Jesus, finding this man invites him to place his destiny into His care, and believing in Jesus, the man falls to His feet in worship. He had been blind, and now he saw. He had been lost, and now he was found. He had been thrown out of his community, but now he was finally brought home.

Prayer 

Good Shepherd, You sought me while I was lost, and You brought me home to Yourself. I want to learn to love like You love. Guard me from self-righteousness and spiritual blindness like the Pharisees. Give me eyes to see the lost and to go after them. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Psa 146.8, Isa 35.4–6, 42.6–7, 61.1–3, Lk 4.14–21, 7.18–24, Jn 9.35–10.21

A Good Kind of Broken

 A Good Kind of Broken

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”

MATTHEW 26.26

The kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation.

2 CORINTHIANS 7.10

I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 CORINTHIANS 12.9-10

Usually when something is broken, we get rid of it. We see it as useless. But that’s not how God works. It is actually our brokenness that makes us useful to him. In fact, brokenness is required in order for us to be pleasing to God. “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit,” David wrote (Psa 51.17). If brokenness is what makes us useful and pleasing to God, what does it mean to be broken?

Brokenness is a lifestyle of agreeing with God about the true condition of our hearts. It means admitting that we aren’t perfect — and we never will be. It means shattering our solid determination to get what we want and be who we want, so that the life and character of Jesus can spill out of our lives. It means humbly admitting our sin and being willing to change.

Jesus didn’t just tell us we need to be broken — he was willing to be broken himself. But he wasn’t broken because of his sin, he was broken because of his obedience to God. God used Jesus’ broken body on the cross to bring about our salvation. Jesus showed us what it means to be broken and to be used by God in painful but beautiful ways.

Jesus offers second chances

 JESUS OFFERS SECOND CHANCES

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

JOHN 8.10

Based on JOHN 8:1–11

The Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus, completely disregarding the woman in question. She was a convenient and disposable pawn to play in their political manoeuvres.

Let’s put ourselves in her shoes for a moment. How did the Pharisees catch her? Most likely by stationing two or three witnesses either in the room or at the keyhole. They either heard of a possible affair or set it up deliberately to trap Jesus.

Along with the public humiliation of being dragged through the streets as an adulteress, the woman would have also faced possible betrayal from the one she had given herself to (one possible explanation for why the man is conveniently excused by the Pharisees instead of brought forward for capital punishment alongside her). She knew what she had done deserved punishment, but no one had been stoned for adultery for ages (as it wasn’t permitted under Roman law without a governor’s permission).

There she stood, alone, condemned already, shame-faced, and silent. For what could she say to defend herself? She was as good as dead. But worse, she was stripped of her dignity and identity. Even if she escaped with her life, her reputation would be forever besmirched, her family dishonoured, her future ruined. Nothing would ever be the same again.

The Pharisees continued pestering Jesus, but He remained oddly silent, scribbling in the sand. Many are fascinated by this detail of Jesus writing in the sand. What did He write? Why did He do this? We don’t know. The text doesn’t tell us because that’s not the point of the story. Let’s not get caught up in exciting speculations and miss this. Jesus’ love rescues this vulnerable woman and affirms her humanity and dignity, offering her a second chance at life.

He does this by turning the Pharisees’ self-righteousness on themselves. According to Mosaic law, witnesses who reported adultery would be the first to cast the stones, yet at Jesus’ pronouncement — “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” — not one dares be the first. Once confident and critical, the Pharisees recognised their sinful state before the holy and righteous God they claimed to serve and dropped their stones, the older ones leaving first.

The only one without sin worthy to cast the first stone is left alone with the woman. He finally straightens up and faces her. “Woman, where are they?” She looks around bewildered. He prods, “Has no one condemned you?”

Her eyes dart around until they finally lock on His steady gaze. “No one, sir.” Note the respect in her voice. The trepidation. The incredulity.

But there was still One who could condemn her, and He was looking straight at her. Certainly, He saw her guilt. Surely, He knew her heart. Possibly, she held her breath.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declares.

Whereas the Pharisees had used their words to condemn the downtrodden, the Word made flesh called into existence an unimaginable new beginning: “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Quite simply, these men had pounced on a vulnerable woman to exploit her for their own shady purposes. Jesus saw through their facade, turned it on them, and offered this woman what she did not deserve, forgiveness, hope, and a future.

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, You alone are worthy to judge the world, and one day You will return to judge the living and the dead. Forgive me for placing myself in the judge’s seat, condemning my fellow humans. Thank You for Your love, deep enough to forgive my deepest sins, great enough to cover my most shameful secrets, strong enough to call forth a bright hope and future. Oh, how great is Your love for me and for all Your children. Help me love others as You do. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Jer 29.10–14, Mt 7.1–5, Jn 3.16–17, Rom 8.1–3

Is God mad?

 Is God Mad?

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

ROMANS 2.4-5

Since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.

ROMANS 5.9

God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.

1 THESSALONIANS 5.9

It never feels good when you know you’ve done something that has made someone really mad at you. Worse yet is being afraid of what someone is going to do to you because he or she is really mad at you!

A lot of people believe God is mad at them, and they fear what he is going to do to them. But is God angry and fuming, waiting to take out his anger on us?

The Bible says, “God is love” (1Jn 4.8, 16). It never says, “God is anger.” But God’s anger shows us how serious his love is. You see, God is mad about sin because sin hurts us and distances us from him. His anger is not like human anger. It is an appropriate and fair reaction to our indifference and disobedience. Because he cares about us and the way sin hurts us, he can’t sit back and do nothing. And because he is perfectly holy and just, he has to pour out his anger on sin.

So here is how much God loves us, God offered up a willing substitute — Jesus — and poured out his anger over our sin not on us, but on him. We don’t have to fear God’s anger. Jesus experienced it in our place.

Jesus loves the least of these

 JESUS LOVES THE LEAST OF THESE

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

MARK 10.13–14

“If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?”

MATTHEW 5.46a

Based on MARK 10:13–16

In today’s social media–driven culture, we’re used to name-dropping, endorsing, tagging, and self-promotion. I once heard an influencer boldly declare from a stage, “It’s not about who you know, it’s about who knows you.”

And while that kind of worldly wisdom may help some people land book deals or job referrals, the kingdom of God reveals an upside-down economics. Or rather, it provides a right-side-up perspective to our world’s upside-down mentality.

There’s a grain of truth in that speaker’s networking advice, but I imagine it’s not quite what he had in mind. After all, what’s important truly is Who knows you, with a capital “W.” There will be many on the final judgment day who will hear those frightful words from Jesus, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Mt. 7.23)

But if you know Jesus and Jesus knows you, it doesn’t matter how well-known or unknown you are to the rest of the world. You can rest in His intimate and unconditional love. He is enough.

We see this time and time again in Jesus, in the way He reached out to those shoved aside by power-mongers and in the way He taught His disciples to do the same, serving meals to the hungry, offering hospitality to the foreigner, visiting the sick and imprisoned. Jesus was stretching His followers’ understanding of what God’s kingdom of love looked like, even going so far as to teach, “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Lk 14.13–14).

This is the way Jesus loved those around Him, and it’s the way He’s loved us too. As Paul explains, “when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5.6–8).

Safe and secure in His Father’s love for Him, Jesus ignores pride’s seductive whisper and pursues the marginalised. He welcomes little children — those who had nothing to offer Him — and grows downright angry with His disciples when they try to send them away. He welcomes the sinners and eats with tax collectors. He reaches out to the widows and the prostitutes. He invites ordinary fishermen to become His honoured students. He reveals His identity to a lonely and abandoned Samaritan woman.

Time after time, Jesus eschews the powerful and influential to seek out the lowly and downtrodden. Instead of going up to Jerusalem to seek the priests’ approval or to build a coalition with the powerful, Jesus hangs out with the sinners, the tax collectors, the sick, and the weak.

He loves the “least of these” and elevates them to a place of honour again and again. He calls His disciples to likewise serve those who cannot repay and to do good to those who cannot return the favour, not for public praise, but for their heavenly Father’s eyes and approval only.

Prayer 

Precious Jesus, You who are perfect love, forgive me for loving selfishly, doing good to those who can reward me with their praise, appreciation, and reciprocation. Thank You for loving me when I had nothing to give You. Help me love others like You love.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Mt 18.2–4, 10–14, 25.31–46, Mk 10.13–15, Lk 14.13–14, Jn 4.4–30, 13.1, 1Jn 4.19–21

How did that happen?

 How Did That Happen?

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

JAMES 1:14-15

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.

ROMANS 6:12

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

GALATIANS 5:17

Have you ever gotten lost and tried to retrace your steps to figure out exactly where you took a wrong turn? Sometimes we end up where we don’t want to be because of sin. And the Bible helps us retrace our steps by showing us exactly how sin happens, step by step.

Sin starts with temptation, or a strong desire for something we shouldn’t have. We want this thing, so we try to rationalise and make excuses for why we are right to want what we want. At this point, we are deceived into believing that getting what we want will satisfy us and meet our need. The next step is when we make plans for getting what we want. Sin happens when we act on that plan.

It is not a sin to be tempted or to have a strong desire for something. Everyone experiences temptation — including Jesus, while he was on earth. When we’re tempted, we have a choice to make about what we’ll do with that desire. When we find ourselves taking the next step — rationalising and making excuses for why we are right to want what we want — we have the chance to avoid going the wrong direction toward sin. But we can avoid sin only if we squash our excuses with the truth about how empty and unsatisfying sin is and how good and satisfying God is. A Christian is not a person who never has bad desires. A Christian is a person who says no to those bad desires and says yes to desires for God.

The Good Shepherd

 The Good Shepherd

The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name.

PSALM 23.1-3

Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

1 PETER 2.25

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. . . . I know my own sheep, and they know me.

JOHN 10.11, 14

Shepherds — people who take care of sheep — are not usually famous. But there are a few famous shepherds — like the shepherds who saw the star when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Another famous shepherd is David, who became king of Israel.

Since David grew up as a shepherd and knew what a good shepherd does, we listen to him a little more closely when he says that the Lord is his Shepherd. David knew from experience that a sheep’s quality of life depended on how well the shepherd cared for it. Most likely he had seen neglected, suffering sheep in the care of lazy shepherds. And he had seen flocks thriving in the care of good shepherds. And because he was confident in the character, commitment, and compassion of God, he wanted to be under the care of this Good Shepherd.

But the most famous shepherd is Jesus himself. Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah this way, “He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young” (40.11). This shows us something about our Shepherd’s heart. He will take care of us and tenderly carry us through the things that threaten our security, holding us close to his heart, because we are precious to him.

Lent week 4 suggestion box

 Lent week 4 suggestion box

Download gospel-centred Easter colouring pages and listen to an audio reading of Jesus’ final days, His death, burial, and resurrection as you colour

Give up a luxury during the remainder of Lent, like dessert, fancy drinks, clothes shopping, or entertainment. Invite your family to join you, but please don’t make this obligatory. Rather, model the joy of giving up a good gift for the purpose of discovering the better gift of Jesus’ sustaining presence.

Sponsor a child with the money you save by fasting, and pray for them each week. Consider also writing them a letter once a month and mailing them an Easter colouring page.

Read aloud books that share deep theological truths about Easter in age-appropriate ways. Examples could be The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones or The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross by Carl Laferton.

Write out a family intention of Lent to remind yourself of the purpose of this season. Answer the question: “Why do we observe Lent?” It could be a simple answer like, “We observe Lent to become like Jesus and to walk closely with Him,” or your own personalised Lenten family intention. As a visual reminder of your Lenten intention, fill a small plate with sand and stones to remember the Israelites’ wanderings because of their disobedience (Josh 5.6) and Jesus’ forty-day wilderness testing and obedience (Mt 4.1–11).

Don’t worry

 Don’t Worry!

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

PHILIPPIANS 4.6-7

Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you.

PSALM 55.22

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 PETER 5.7

Do you know what it is like to wake up with a sick feeling of worry in the pit of your stomach? to have a sense of dread when the phone rings in the middle of the night? to fearfully wonder what’s around the next corner?

When Paul wrote, “Don’t worry about anything,” the word he used for “worry” indicates choking or strangling. And that’s what anxiety does. It puts a choke hold on us, wiping the joy off of our faces — and squeezing it out of the rest of our lives too. In its mildest form, we get a sick feeling in our stomachs. In its most severe form, we panic. This is no way to live.

We don’t have to give in to being worriers, letting our minds continually feed on looming fears. Jesus offers those who suffer from worry and anxiety a new atmosphere of peace to live and breathe in. Rather than being consumed with fear, we can channel our energy into prayer. Believing there is no concern too small and no situation too big for God dissolves our worry into peace. We can feel safe, having our hearts guarded by the peace of God and our emotions guided by belief in God.

Though we’re invited into this beautiful place of peace, we have to choose to enter in. Refusing to enter in is choosing to be emotionally bankrupt and spiritually paralysed. What good does worry do? Why not surrender your worries and entrust your cares to God?

Jesus loves indiscriminately

 JESUS LOVES INDISCRIMINATELY

“Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

MATTHEW 15.28

Based on MATTHEW 15.21–28

Matthew sets the stage for Jesus’ exchange with this Canaanite woman, following a rather frustrating exchange between Jesus and the teachers of the law, who were stuck on ceremonial purity laws and were missing the main point: that it was an inner heart of faith in God that rendered one acceptable before Him, not an outward claim of religiosity or nationality.

Jesus shakes the dust off His feet, so to speak, and leaves Israelite territory for a jaunt into Gentile lands, heading on a forty-mile journey northwest toward the Mediterranean coast in the region of Tyre and Sidon, the epitome of Gentile “uncleanness.” His disciples would have been uneasy in this place, as Canaanite descendants were abhorred by the Jews. After all, these were the great-great-grandchildren of those idolatrous nations Israel was supposed to exterminate once they entered the promised land. They had likely been pushed north, out of Israelite territory, but still close enough to have enticed God’s people toward despicable idolatrous practices. Any serious law-abiding Jew would have avoided this area, yet Jesus headed straight into it.

The journey would have taken days, giving Jesus and His disciples plenty of time to talk. It’s possible that on the way to these cities, the disciples would have thought of another man of God who traveled this same route. Elijah took up residence with a Canaanite woman while eluding the wicked Israelite king during the famine in Israel. God had miraculously multiplied her flour and oil for the duration of the drought, and through Elijah’s intercession even raised her son from the dead. There was precedent for what Jesus was doing here; when Israel rejected God’s rightful reign, the Gentile nations could experience His undeserving grace in their stead.

Somewhere on this journey into foreign territory, a Canaanite woman pursues Jesus, desperately crying out for mercy: “Lord, Son of David have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Yet Jesus says nothing. He doesn’t even seem to acknowledge her.

Undeterred, the woman follows Him, continuing her pleas and annoying the disciples. Finally, they’d had enough. “Send her away,” they demand, “for she keeps crying out after us.” This woman would not give up.

Jesus turns to face her and gives her a good reason He shouldn’t honour her request. He was sent not to the Gentiles but to the lost sheep of Israel. Though this woman’s religious knowledge was limited, she surely knew that God had made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, not to the descendants of Canaan. She had no claim on Him.

But she falls at His feet, placing herself under His authority and lordship, asking again for His help. Still Jesus does not give in. Doesn’t she know the children’s food shouldn’t be tossed to dogs?

Notice Jesus’ willingness to engage in conversation with this woman. It seems Jesus is not rebuking her as much as testing the persistence of her faith; whether for her benefit or His disciples, we do not know. Would she turn around and leave, dejected? Would she pridefully spit on His feet, taking offence at the perceived insult? Or would she persist in her faith?

The woman humbles herself even more; she doesn’t contradict Jesus, but cleverly builds on His argument, even dogs eat the crumbs on the floor. From her very first cry (acknowledging Jesus as the rightful King of Israel) to this poignant moment at His feet, (calling on the compassion of God), this Canaanite woman shows more faith, maturity, and humility than the Pharisees and teachers of the law who Jesus had offended earlier in the chapter. This woman was desperate for her darling daughter, she was confident in Jesus’ power and reign, and she wasn’t going anywhere until she got what she pleaded for, even if she didn’t deserve it.

Jesus wastes no time, enthusiastically affirming her faith, commending her above the Pharisees and teachers of the law: “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted!” And instantly her daughter was healed. She had received what she had tenaciously pursued, but Jesus offered her much more, commending her faith above that of His own people, as He had with the Gentile centurion (Mt 8:13).

The very people Jesus had come to save were rejecting Him, yet here in Gentile territory Jesus found mature and humble faith that deeply touched Him, signalling the beginning of the expansion of His rule and kingdom’s reign over all people everywhere, the fulfilment of His promise to Abraham that through Him all nations would be blessed.

Prayer 

King Jesus, You alone reign as the Son of David on Your throne. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth and in my life as it is in heaven. Forgive me for often becoming impatient with Your timing. I don’t understand, but I want to have faith like this woman. Help me cling to what I know is true about Your love and character when I find myself frustrated with Your unresponsiveness. Grow me in my understanding of Your love for me and for those around me. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

1Kgs 17.7–24, Mt 8.5–13, 15.21–28, Mk 7.24–30, Jn 1.11–12

How can I help?

 How Can I Help?

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. . . . It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

1 CORINTHIANS 12.7-8, 11

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

1 PETER 4.10

Usually when someone gives us a gift, it is for us to enjoy ourselves. But the Bible teaches that God gives each of us a spiritual gift — a special ability — not for our own enjoyment, but for the purpose of strengthening someone else’s faith. These are gifts that are to be given away, not used for ourselves.

The Bible lists spiritual gifts in six different passages — each with a different list. But spiritual gifts aren’t limited to these examples or categories. Spiritual gifts are any abilities the Holy Spirit gives a person in order to strengthen another person in his or her walk with God.

What does it mean to strengthen other people? To strengthen others using your spiritual gift means helping their faith not to fail under the pressures of life’s difficulties. So when we see someone who is struggling in his or her faith, we can do or say what seems most helpful. And if the person is helped, then we may have discovered one of our spiritual gifts.

You don’t necessarily have to be able to name your gifts. It is more important to be the kind of person who wakes up in the morning wondering how you can help other people become stronger in their faith, more confident in God’s promises, and deeper in their love for Jesus because you’ve crossed their paths.

Jesus drives out fear

 JESUS DRIVES OUT FEAR

 

“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

MATTHEW 14.27

 

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.

1JOHN 4.18

 

Based on MATTHEW 14:22–33

 

The disciples had no reason to expect Jesus to walk on the stormy water toward their fishing boat. As far as the disciples knew, Jesus had sent them off to the other side of the lake while He stayed behind to pray on the mountainside, as was His custom. They likely didn’t expect to see Him until later the next day, when He’d be able to catch a ride across the lake. He hadn’t given them any indication that He was going to meet them at sea. So when they see a person walking on water, they understandably conclude it is either a ghost or an angel.

Jesus anticipated their reaction. After all, He had seen them from the mountainside, being tossed about by the waves. He could have calmed the sea from His spot on the mountainside. He could have miraculously sped the boat to shore (as we find out, He in fact did, upon entering the boat, Jn 6.21). But He chose this very method of appearing to them, knowing full well how they would react. It’s not surprising, then, that His first words to them are, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” They were, after all, quite afraid. But Jesus’ greeting doesn’t just mean “It’s Me, Jesus.” Jesus is making a very clear identity claim to be God in flesh, taking on God’s name as He had revealed Himself to Moses, I am.

This revelation explains Peter’s enthusiasm to walk on water, especially within the broader context of Scripture. After all, Moses had demonstrated God’s deliverance by leading the people across the Red Sea, and Joshua likewise led the people across the flooded Jordan at God’s command. So Peter demonstrates his faith in Jesus by asking to participate in this miraculous moment of divine revelation, he wants Jesus to command him to walk toward Him on stormy waters.

This act of faith tests Peter’s trust in Jesus, but also offers to reinforce the disciples’ belief in Jesus’ God-claim. If Jesus really is who He says He is, then He will do what only He can do.

There is Peter, rocking on his feet as the waves soak his robe, awaiting Jesus’ command. Then Jesus commands calmly, confidently, “Come.”

Peter climbs out of the boat, one tentative step in front of the other, the sloshing waves becoming like packed dirt under the soles of his sandals. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he keeps walking toward Jesus. Incredible! Truly this Man is who He says He is! Imagine, as Peter’s eyes lock on Jesus, and he shakes his head incredulously. This is really happening!

But out of the corner of his eye, Peter sees the violent winds whipping up the waves, the physical circumstances threaten his burgeoning faith. Faith turns to fear as the water turns liquid under his feet. Peter begins sinking. Death is imminent. “Lord, save me!” he cries out.

Immediately, Jesus reaches out. “You of little faith,” Jesus says, as He hoists him out of the water. “Why did you doubt?” The water becomes solid under their feet as they walk back to the boat.

Even after Peter’s sinking faith, Jesus offers him the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk on water — this time not toward Jesus, but alongside Him, free of fear because of Love Himself.

The apostle John picks up this motif in his verses to believers, “In this world, we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us” (1Jn 4.17b–19).

Jesus doesn’t require steadfast faith to ensure His steadfast love. He continues to love despite our failings and our doubts because Jesus’ perfect love drives out fear.

 

Prayer 

 

Creator God, You are the One who spoke this world into existence. You’re the same One who spoke peace over the storm that night and the One who commands the storms in my life. Forgive me for doubting Your power and Your love. I’m so grateful that Your love for me is not dependent on my faith in You. Continue to drive out any speck of fear in my heart. Help me trust You wholeheartedly and step out in faith when You call me to walk with You. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

 

If you want to read more 

 

Exo 14–15, Josh 3.1–16, Isa 41.10, 43.1–2, Jn 6.16–21, 1Jn 4.11–19

Magic words?

 Magic Words?

 

You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.

JOHN 14.13

 

You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

JOHN 15.16

 

I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.

JOHN 16.23

 

Do you remember when your parents told you to use the “magic word”? It was please, and when you said it, you received whatever it was you were asking for.

When Jesus says we should ask God for things using his name, is he saying that in Jesus’ name are “magic words” that will get us whatever we want? Not at all. Adding “in Jesus’ name” is not a special formula that adds effectiveness to our prayers. In fact, none of the prayers recorded in the Bible have “in Jesus’ name” at the end of them. So why do we say it?

Coming in the name of someone means that person has given you the right to come on his or her authority, not your own. So praying in Jesus’ name means praying with the authority of Jesus, on the basis of having Jesus as your mediator or go-between. The name of Jesus represents all that he is — his entire character. So praying in Jesus’ name also means your request is consistent with his character. This means we would never ask for something that doesn’t fit with who Jesus is and what he taught.

Prayer is a real conversation with someone who knows us better than we know ourselves. It never depends on using certain formulas or required words. It’s a matter of our relationship to the one who makes it possible to come directly into God’s presence through prayer: Jesus.

Jesus does not envy

 JESUS DOES NOT ENVY

 

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd… Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass… They all ate and were satisfied.

MARK 6.34, 39, 42

 

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

JOHN 6.15

 

Based on MARK 6:7–44

 

As Jesus traveled the countryside proclaiming God’s coming kingdom, healing the sick, and loving the unlovable, He attracted crowds who were desperate for change. But Jesus was a King without a throne, a Messiah without an army, and a disappointment to those hoping for a Jewish saviour to overthrow Roman opposition.

Because when they tried to force Jesus to become king, He disappeared.

Here was a man finally worthy of ruling over the Jewish people, and He refused their political agenda. What a letdown!

For a bit of context, think of their current rulers: Herod called himself the king of the Jews but abused his power, levying heavy taxes to construct three palaces, throwing lavish banquets when his people hungered, and silencing righteous men who spoke against him. Far from shepherding the Israelites, Herod preyed on them.

And the priests, Pharisees, and teachers of the law were no better. Jesus rebukes them for laying heavy burdens on the people that they themselves could not keep. They kept the letter of the law but neglected the weak and oppressed. They taught God’s law but hindered those who were seeking Him (Lk 11:37–54).

All these men were supposed to be shepherding the sheep of Israel, but Jesus looks toward the crowds and sees sheep without a shepherd.

That’s not normal.

Sheep without a shepherd quickly get into trouble. They wander into dangerous territory rife with predators. They starve for lack of green pastures. They get scratched and bruised and die alone. And that was the desperate state of the Jewish people at this time.

The shepherds God had given the Israelites were failing their assignment, but God promised to send a shepherd king like David, who would tend the people, bind up the injured, strengthen the weak, and feed them in green pastures (Ezek 34).

It’s within this larger narrative that Jesus has compassion on the crowds. They’re desperate — He leads them. They’re sick — He heals them. They’re hungry — He sits them in the green grass on the hill to feed them. His fulfilment of the shepherd king prophecy is so obvious that the crowds want to make Him king by force.

But Jesus was focused on the mission His Father had given Him. He rested in the timing His Father ordained, and He refused to grasp for a good thing in the wrong way. Jesus would indeed become their king, but only in God’s timing and in the most unenviable way.

Jesus didn’t love the people because of what they could offer Him. He didn’t show off His divine power to garner support for a military coup. He saw a need, and being moved with compassion, He did what every good shepherd does. He took care of His sheep — a free gift, with no strings attached

 

Prayer 

 

.Good Shepherd, I would be lost without You. Thank You for loving and serving me even though You deserve all my love and all my service. Forgive me for being envious of others who seem to have the things I want. Help me instead cling to You and find my joy and satisfaction in You alone. Make me a servant of those around me, and pour out Your blessings through me richly. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen

 

If you want to read more 

 

1Kgs 22.17, 2Kgs 4.42–44, Psa 23, 37.1–11, 73, Ezek 34.5, 23–25, Jn 10.1–21, Rev 7.17

But I’m a Good Person

 But I’m a Good Person!

 

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

GENESIS 6.5

 

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

JEREMIAH 17.9

 

The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!

PSALM 14.2-3

 

Have you ever seen a TV interview of the friends and family members of someone who has committed a terrible crime? They often say to the interviewer, “I don’t know how this happened! He’s really a good person!” They see the greed that drove the person to steal or the hate that pushed him or her to harm someone as a surprising exception to the person’s basic character and natural tendencies.

But is that really true? Are we basically good people who occasionally do bad things? Or are we thoroughly bad people who occasionally do good things?

The Bible is like a mirror that we look into, and it shows us how we really are. And while we want to think that we are basically good, so that we can save face and feel good about ourselves, the Bible says that we are “totally evil,” “desperately wicked,” and “corrupt.”

But the Bible also has very good news for bad people. If you’re a bad person — if even the best things you’ve done have been tainted by your own sinful motives and thoughts, then you are the kind of person Jesus saves. But if you see yourself as a basically good person who may have made a mistake or two — if you are a person who deep down believes that God is lucky to have someone like you on his team — you are saying that you really don’t need a Saviour. To believe you are a good person is to think you have no need for God. To acknowledge that you are no good on your own is the first step toward becoming someone who can enjoy receiving the goodness of Jesus.

Jesus sees fully

 JESUS SEES FULLY

 

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

MARK 5.34

 

I am fully known.

1 CORINTHIANS 13.12b

 

Based on MARK 5.25–34

 

As Jesus was on His way to heal a little girl, He was interrupted by the touch of an anonymous woman. But this wasn’t just any woman — she was suffering from an illness that rendered her ceremonially “unclean” according to Levitical law. Anything she touched became unclean, so we can imagine how hard she would have searched for a cure. In fact, Scripture tells us she had spent all her money pursuing medical care, only to worsen instead of experiencing relief.

God intended these Levitical laws to impress on the Israelites’ hearts His utter holiness and their lack of holiness. Everyone would have experienced biological uncleanliness from time to time, underscoring their need for purification to approach a holy God. This makes sense as an object lesson, but the woman in this story leverages her invisibility for a shot at touching the fringe of Jesus’ garment. Such an act was not just unlawful — it was brazen.

The moment she touches Jesus — immediately — she is healed. She literally feels free from her suffering. And for a moment, she marvels at the miracle. After years of suffering, she is finally whole and healthy!

Well, not quite. Because although her body was healed, her spirit is still broken. Her identity has been shaped by years of disappointment, loneliness, and shunning. She was a nobody to everybody, but to Jesus she is somebody.

“Who touched my clothes?” He wants to know. On a merely human level, the woman’s touch would have rendered Jesus unclean. But Jesus is not defiled by the woman’s touch, He who created the ceremonial laws defines what is clean. But the woman didn’t know that.

Not surprisingly, the woman hangs back, clinging to her invisibility like a security blanket. If she’s discovered, she risks public shaming and ridicule. We can imagine she presses back into the crowd, staring at the ground to avoid detection. But Jesus pursues her. He keeps looking around to see who has done it, not because He doesn’t already know, but because He wants to offer her more than just physical healing.

“Seeing that she could not go unnoticed,” Luke 8:47 says, the woman falls to His feet, trembling with trepidation, and tells what she did and why. The crowd waits with bated breath.

“Daughter,” Jesus says. Daughter. This woman who had been suffering invisibility and isolation for twelve years hears a term of endearment reserved for one’s own family member. This is the only time Jesus directly addresses someone as daughter, and this one single word bestows the mantle of dignity upon this woman’s frail shoulders. His words prompt her to lift her gaze from the ground to discover the most surprising gift of all, belonging.

“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mark 5:34). Rather than rebuke her boldness, Jesus commends her faith and releases her of any culpability, blessing her with peace, and restoring not just her health but her identity, her dignity, and her visibility.

This is the love of Jesus — a love that pursues, a love that sees, and a love that offers the gift of being seen. We don’t have to hide anymore. Let us step up to Him and receive His gift of belonging to Him.

 

Prayer 

 

Lord Jesus, You are the God who sees, who knows, and who cares. Nothing escapes Your notice; no pain too insignificant; no hurt too obscure. Thank You that You make time for the unimportant people in this world, that You make time for me and that You welcome all to come and find our place of belonging with You. You know me fully, and You love me anyway. I’m so grateful for You. I love You, Lord.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

 

If you want to read more 

 

Lev 15.25–30, Mt 9.20–22, Lk 8.43–48