Trying to Corner the Market

As we push into the summer months, we can continue to look at God around us. As I sit here at 6:30 am on a quite Saturday morning. I look out the window and see green grass, the light green plums continuing to ripen on our plum tree, I see our dog, Nala, faithfully at my feet and think of the quiet that will be soon transitioned to a busy day of everyone in the family having breakfast, going to practice and doing what we do on Saturdays. I'm thankful for what God has provided and look forward to what He has in store for us in the years ahead. God's blessings are all around. It just sometimes takes those quiet waking moments to stop, listen and look.

Our next set of verses is John 3:25 to 36. It would be best if we read the set of verses and here I will highlight that "there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples", v. 25. The issue if you read the block of verses is...... the followers of John have an issue with Jesus baptising people. At first blush, I thought, "why in-the-heck did John's followers have an issue about Jesus baptising people??" But leave it to mankind to become so self-focused that they are missing the point of God's son, while He walks among them. Here is John's disciple's concern........If I put it in modern terms, John's followers felt that John had the patent or had the "market cornered" on baptising and this "Jesus guy" is taking OUR idea and getting too popular with it. At first you might think.."You've got to be kidding." But remember this is a very unstable time and Jesus and his forthright manner was creating much controversy in society. It was up to John to lead these folks in the right direction and keep them focused. The followers of John may have been taking enormous personal risks by following John and this "New Way". Risks were probably far beyond what we might think. I am talking about risk of one's family's safety or personal safety. The followers of John were also possibly influenced by those that were dug in on removing Jesus from society. These people could be their neighbors, their co-workers and even some of their family members. There was a lot of turmoil, stress and confusion, I am sure.

So leave it to a strong humble leader like John to tell his followers to focus and maintain their composure. Obviously, IF John followed his crowd's concern instead of following the Lord, the story would be much different. His followers were so short sighted and were focused on themselves. Baptism was not about them and the power structure being formed with John and his following. Baptism was not some "trademark" of John's teaching, it was God's plan. God used John and his followers to introduce His Son, Jesus! What an honor that is! But I guess those following John had their doubts and also started to focus on themselves as opposed to focusing on the greater cause Jesus was trying to get across.

John repeated to his followers "You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but, I have been sent before Him." v 29. He is saying that if your focus is on me as your savior, you will be misguided. Then in v. 30 he makes a clear transition from leading his followers, to clearly shifting their focus to Jesus the Son of God...."He must increase, but I must decrease". This is a profound step, leading the crowd to humility and focus on Jesus. It is very clear in the remaining verses that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and our everlasting life is through Him.

John and Jesus were both teaching the crowds about love and transformation in humility in following God. What is interesting, is that Jesus wanted other folks to baptise others as well. Jesus or John were not intending to have the patent on baptism. They wanted other leaders in the faith to carry out the tradition of baptism. This tradition carries on today. When someone has made a personal commitment to follow Jesus, the public display of dying to sin and being raised with Christ is symbolized in a baptism.

This passage of John shows, as believers, where our focus should be...on Jesus. Even in the modern church that self focused spirit of CONTROL eeks out and we want ourselves to have control or look good. When really all that the church does is under God's ownership and available to all.

Lord God continue to have me focus on Jesus...how He lived, what He stood for and why He was here. Give me the wisdom and perseverance to continue to follow Jesus and apply His ways to my life. Amen.

Master Trainer

The Book of John now shifts from the dialog Jesus had with Nicodemus and continues to follow the steps of Jesus' public ministry. John 3:22 and 23 are are next verses to focus on....look at v.22 " After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent sometime with them, and baptized.."



I like how this verse shows Jesus, God's only begotten Son, focusing on a few (12 disciples) in order to carry on his message. Jesus personally selected his disciples. The disciples acted on faith from the invitation from Jesus to follow him, and now they are being trained and provided wisdom from THE greatest human being ever to walk on earth. Someone as great as Jesus was willing to spend time and pour resources into these twelve for them to have future success in their ministries. Their training with Christ was far more valuable than they would ever dream.



Sometimes when I am daydreaming, I think of running into someone ........say..... at the a sporting event. He stops me and asks me some questions. At first I think it is kind of weird that this guy has stopped me, but we continue to talk. Turns out he is Steven Speilberg, the famous movie producer. He tells me they are casting for a motion picture to showing the life of a Gladiator! Now I'm intrigued. (again just daydreaming here). Then he says you should really come up to the Dreamworks Campus in Los Angeles in two weeks to see if you have what we are looking for in the lead role. He said he would ensure that I get a chance. I say that I have no prior acting experience and I'd need to tone up to fit the role of a Gladiator. Plus I have a wife, kids and a dog. He ensures me, all will be taken care of.... if his casting team thinks I am it. So I start to think this would be a cool experience to go through, even if I don't get the job. So I show up two weeks later at the Dreamworks Campus. I meet with Mr. Speilberg and they have me in a pool of actors. The guy next to me is some dude named Russell Crowe. We go through the initial casting and I am selected. Then I can't believe it, Dreamworks wants me in this major motion picture. I find out the pay is beyond what I would imagine, my family can go on location with me and they would put a full staff around me to ensure I have the skills and look needed when shooting of the movie begins. Yah, just a fantasy, but what if.....what if .... someone or a large corporation or someone with a lot of power just saw promise in me and wanted to pour their resources into me to make me successful beyond my dreams.

Well, you can see the tie into the verse above. Jesus, the only Begotten Son of God, God in human form choose to impart his wisdom and resources in 12 imperfect men, to spread his gospel and be part of the greatest spiritual revival in human history. A revival that has been studied and is on-going since Jesus walked the earth. What happened to the 12 disciples while Jesus trained them is far more powerful and exciting than my daydream above. I was going to be trained by a great movie producer and his company. The 12 disciples get to be trained by the Master Trainer...the creator of the universe in human form, Jesus! It is beyond a dream!!

But think about it....this training is available to us. How awesome is that?! If we choose to follow, Jesus will open doors for us, He will impart his wisdom to us, He will train us in righteousness and provide a life full of purpose. This is far better than being approached by a major movie producer, you are being approached by the Lord God Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth. What a blessing!!


Lord, the training you offer us through Jesus and the Holy Spirit far exceeds any training we can get from the greatest teachers here on earth. We praise you for your wisdom and pray that we have the faith and lifestyle that allows us to seek the next level of training with You. Amen.

Follow the Light

The next set of verses to look at is John 3: 17 to 21 and focus on v. 20 and 21 :"For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

When Jesus walked the earth exposing the evil and corruption in the Hebrew culture, He did it by just being there. His plan was to draw people to Him so that they may understand the truth about living and turn from the evil norms of society. Jesus was the light and the truth. Some seeking truth followed him. Others, deep into evil ways and darkness, were exposed by the light and Jesus' presence. These folks simply wanted Jesus to go away or be done away with so they could go on with their evil ways.

Think of it like this. There is a miner working on a crew deep beneath the earth's surface with a dimly lit lantern working all day. The crew around him started to make their way out of the mine at the end of a long day of work. He was slow in following them, as he finished his work. As he walked down the long tunnels in the mine making his way back to the outside, he got lost. None of his coworkers were now in sight and hours go by. His dimly lit lantern starts to go dark and he starts to fear that he will be there all night or even days, as this mine's tunnels are a labyrinth for miles on end. His thoughts go deeper into despair as the hours linger on. Then in view down the long tunnel is a dimly lit light, it becomes closer and brighter. It is his coworkers with a fresh lantern looking for him. The lost miner could move toward the light and follow it to safety or he could stay in his darkness and despair.

In some respects we are in a mine with long tunnels of life here on earth. Darkness abounds in our society. Jesus is the light. Jesus is the way out. But if we are enjoying the darkness and we are not willing to be exposed to the light, then we may choose not to follow the light as these verses say in John. Jesus is the Way and the Truth! He will lead us to safety and abundant living.

Heavenly Father, let me follow Jesus' light everyday and lead me to safety. Amen!

Monumental Sacrifice

Here is a photo of some passengers on a train from the 1930's. They are enjoying life on the diner car, as they travel.

Our next verse is John 3:16, one of the most quoted and referenced scriptures in the Bible. It shows God's profound love for us..."For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."



This is an ultimate statement of Love. God send Jesus to conquer death by dying on the cross for us. When I think of God sending His Son for us the following story comes to mind.....

"...... a true story about a man named John Griffith. In the 1930’s he worked as the controller of a huge railroad bridge across the Mississippi River. Every day at certain scheduled times the huge bridge was raised so that barges and other ships might make their way down the river. And according to a schedule, John would lower the bridge so that the freight and passenger trains could rush across.

In the summer of 1937, John Griffith took his then eight-year-old son with him to work for the first time. The boy was excited to watch the big railroad bridge and the trains & boats, and also to see the control house with all kinds of levers over which his daddy had absolute control.

His father took him to an observation deck so that he could watch the boats and trains go by. At noon John put the bridge up to let some ships go by since there would not be a train coming for awhile. He made his way to the observation deck where the two of them had lunch.

Just as John was telling a long story about the trains & boats, he was startled by the shrieking of a train whistle in the distance. He quickly looked at his watch and noticed that it was 1:07.

In the midst of his story telling he had forgotten that the passenger train - the express for Memphis with 400 passengers on board - would soon be roaring across that bridge.

Without panic but very quickly he leaped from the observation deck and ran back to the control tower. He placed his hand upon the massive iron controls and started to close the bridge. But before pulling the lever, he glanced down beneath the bridge to see if there were any ships beneath it.

There a sight caught his eye that made nearly made his heart stop.

His son had slipped from the observation deck and had fallen into the huge gears that operate the bridge. Though the boy was still alive and conscious, his left leg was caught in the cogs of the main gears! John knew that if he pulled that lever his son would be crushed.

His eyes filled with tears of panic, and his head was spinning. What he could do was to take a rope, rush to the observation tower, tie it and lower himself into the gear box, free his son, bring him back up to the observation deck, and make his way quickly back to the control tower to lower the bridge.

But no sooner had he thought it, than he knew there was no way he could do it in time for the train.

Again, closer than ever, the train whistle sounded. He could hear the wheels clicking over the tracks and the puffing of the engine.

But that was his son!

Yet there were 400 passengers on that train which was roaring toward the bridge. But John Griffith was a father and that was his boy!

………He knew what he had to do…….. so he buried his head in his left arm and pulled the master lever.

That massive bridge lowered into place just as the Memphis Express roared across the Mississippi.

When he lifted his head with his face smeared with tears, he looked into the passing windows of the train.

There were businessmen casually reading their afternoon papers, uniformed conductors looking at their large vest-pocket watches, well-dressed ladies in the dining car sipping coffee, and children pushing long spoons into the dishes of ice cream.

No one looked at the control house and no one looked at the great gear box.

With wrenching agony, John Griffith cried out at the train---- "I sacrificed my son for you! Don't you care?" But nobody heard. They never even looked up from their newspapers, watches, coffee and ice cream.


The Son of God has been sacrificed so that we might have eternal life.

Will we look up from our newspapers, watches, coffee and ice cream? (from: www.goarch.org/.../gl-_Holy_Friday_Reflection_The_Train_Bridge.doc )"

..............................This is not a perfect analogy to what God did for us by sending His Son, but it shows some of the passion God has for us and the love He has for His Son. One of the main differences is that God planned the sacrifice of His Son as an expression of deep love for us. God's plan to send His Son was NO mistake or accident!

"Dear Lord, the mystery of your Son continues to get revealed. Thank you for the monumental sacrifice of your Son for me. Amen"

Crossroads

Here is a photo of my son, Daniel, age 7, playing baseball. It is a common practice for kids his age to watch a ground ball come their way and not put the glove on the ground to stop it. Then the ball rolls underneath them and the batter gets a base hit. I lay out the logic to him over and over, "put your glove on the ground before the ball gets there and you will stop the ball!" That is the truth, plain and simple! Daniel has a decision to make. Until Daniel is able to embrace that truth and act on it, he will continue miss the ball. I'm just glad that he has started to embrace the truth of this rule of baseball and has started to see results in his game!

Shifting focus on our study, let's look at John 3: 13 to 15, focusing on v. 14 and 15..."so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

Jesus continues His dialog with Nicodemus. The conversation grows stronger and more intriguing. Jesus makes three profoundly strong statements in v. 13 to 15, as follows:

1. Jesus says He has come down from Heaven and no one else has ever done this. He is alluding to the fact that He alone can speak of Heavenly facts.

2. He says He will be "lifted up" (v14), referring to the fact that He will be raised up on the cross, a prediction of his near future. His analogy to Moses' lifting the serpent, refers to people being saved by the event. Refer to the Old Testament in Numbers 21:5-9. This is an analogy to the healing that God does from people's sin. It shows what God will do when Christ is "lifted up" on the cross. He will save people from their sins.

3. The most profound statement of all, Jesus says that if someone "believes in Him" they will "not perish but have everlasting life".

These are three strong statements about who Jesus is. But the third is the strongest. Remember, Nicodemus is in a secret meeting with Jesus. Nicodemus wanted to meet with Him because he perceived Him as someone special and "of God". In this private meeting with one of the most elite members of the Israeli society, Jesus drops the bomb,.......someone can get everlasting life by believing in Jesus...??? Just like Nicodemus, most people have those thoughts about who Jesus was....He was a great man....a prophet....a noble person.... or even someone who has been looked on with favor by God. But can we get eternal life by knowing Jesus and believing in Him?

The point here is that Nicodemus and all who are seeking an understanding of who Jesus is, are at a crossroads. When Jesus says you can have eternal life from belief in Him, you need to go down one of two roads....

Road A - Say "wow...Jesus is Lord and realize He is who He said He was, our Savior, our path to Heaven"!

-or-

Road B - Say " You've got to be kidding. There are many roads to God and Heaven and maybe Jesus is one of them. What Jesus is saying cannot be true!"

If you choose Road A, you are on the road to a faith and relationship with Jesus. If you choose Road B, you then reject the teachings of Jesus and conclude the crux of His message is false and He is a fake.

The words above may be harsh, but the bottom line is that Jesus says He is the only way to Heaven. Faith and belief in Him will result in everlasting life. How does this apply to us? Well, if you have not made a commitment to Jesus and have placed your faith in Him, you can do it now. You can pray for the Holy Spirit to enter your life and begin following Him! What Jesus said is True and He is the only one that has come down from Heaven and revealed heavenly perspectives to us. He is our savior.

Today can be the day to shift your life from seeking the truth......... to a life exploring the beautiful truth's of our Creator!

"Lord Jesus, thank you for your strong statements and your clarity of where our beliefs should lie. Amen"

Celebrate Mom

Today we celebrate mothers. It's a day we give mom's of all walks of life a break and serve them. This is very contrary to their lives of service to us throughout the year.

I look at my wife, Lori's life. The majority of her waking hours are devoted to planning, supporting and administering care for our three kids. She is: a counselor; a cop; a tutor; a pastor; a doctor; a banker; a guard; a playmate; a friend and much more. This is no different than the role of mothers across history.

I looked on the front page of the San Diego Union Tribune today. There is a story of a daughter's love for her mother. The girl was adopted years ago. At 2 months old she had parents who were drug addicts. The "to be" mother's eyes stared at this fithy baby with lice ridden hair. This mother, Valarie Bautista, took in Selena and the all the issues of an young infant with health problems and raised her as her own. Now, Selena is a normal 14 year old girl, showcasing the fact that her mother loved her. She didn't have to, but she CHOOSE to.

There are numerous stories of Mom's laying their entire lives aside to focus on their children. God has really blessed us by giving us our mothers.

I now look back to when I was a child and think of all the things my mother did for me. Oh, how I took it for granted. I remember when Mother's Day was coming up and I said to my Mom, "Why don't they have 'Kids Day' "? My Mom laughed and said, "everyday is Kids Day"...... So true!

But as we approached today, many of my thoughts go to my sister, Peggy and her family. I think of her unyielding devotion to her children. She has all the traits of a devoted mother. A few months before she went on to be with Jesus, I can remember her being frustrated with the physical state she was in. It held her back. Held her back from what? Not the stuff she wanted to do for herself. But, the stuff that was her passion, raising her kids. She wanted to make dinner, run the kids to practice, to school, to volunteer in class. She just wants to be a Mom to her kids. It is sad that she is gone to be with Jesus. I think of Lexie, Trinity and Josh and the tremendous void in their lives.

Then my thoughts shift to the blessing that Peggy is to them. I say "IS".... the present! Why? ..... Because Peggy "IS" not "WAS".

Let's think about it...

Peggy "IS":

• Lexie, Trinity and Josh's Mom!


• An influence on their lives for the rest of their lives


• Alive


• With the Lord


• A blessing to her children by the memory of her love

Mother's Day for Peggy's family is a celebration of all the things she IS doing. That celebration and influence on the present will never go away.

While it is tough to understand why Peggy is gone. There is no sorrow for her. In fact this may be the best Mother's Day she has ever experienced. Why would I say that? Am I ignoring the fact that she is away from her kids?

Well...I can't explain it other than what God's Word has told us. It is best said in Philippians 1:19 to 26, focusing on verse 21..."For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." I feel confident in saying it must be an awesome Mother's Day in Heaven. Whether our Mom's are present with us or not, we can celebrate the present blessings they are in our lives.

Happy Mother's Day

A Beautiful Memorial for Peggy

Larry just put this out on Facebook....

"Peggy's marker arrived just in time for Mother's Day at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park. "

Here are some comments from her friends and family.

It's a beautiful marker to honor a remarkable woman, wife and mother. Thinking of you and the kids and praying for you all this Mother's day weekend.

A beautiful tribute Larry. Praying for you all this weekend.

it looks soooo good- xoxo

Awe.. it's a beautiful marker! Thinking of your kids as I know Mother's Day this year will be a tough one for them. Loving and remembering Peggy!! ♥

Wow!! It's beautiful!! So many things make it that way...the scriptures, the words, the name,

Peggy's beautiful face and the reflection of you taking the picture!! Amazing how beauty can be found in so many things! Thanks for sharing Pastor Larry!

Yes... Just beautiful.

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing with us.

Awwww... so beautiful

Beautiful

I never seen a marker so beautiful as this one, I know its tuff PL, but we are praying for you and your kids.

It is really beautiful Larry, what a great way to honor her memory!

It's so beautiful Pastor Larry!

It is beautiful, just like Peg!! So glad you posted it. Praying for your family this weekend, knowing what you face and trusting in a loving Savior to see you through! Blessings to you Larry!!

she is smiling...such a beautiful tribute to a beautiful lady. you are all in our thoughts and prayers this weekend. Jesus will see you through.

Thank you for sharing your heart and the tribute to a beautiful lady...inside and out...we will be praying for you.

Happy Mother's Day Peggy and Larry, Lexie, Trinity and Josh. She is still Momma! She is still loving and caring for you more than you know. As the Third Day song says..."My Love For You is Sooooo Alive!!!"

Elite Resistance

It's amazing to ride throught the Anza Borrego Desert and see God's beauty being shown in the vegetation! God is always there showing His glory to us, we just need to open our eyes and look.

Jesus continues stay on point with Nicodemus. Read John 3:9-12, "Nicodemus answered and said to Him, 'How can these things be?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?' Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"

If you recall, Jesus had already gone into the temple and exposed the corruption, where people were being "ripped-off" at the temples. Jesus had a continuous platform to cut to the core of the issue in a fallen society and show them that they have a lack of relationship with God, no matter what their outward appearance of righteousness was. He stirred things up in Israel. Many citizens were behind the uproar, because they were tired of the corruption as well.

So now Jesus is in discussion with "the teacher of Israel", Nicodemus. He was a well-known and highly-regarded teacher in the Nation of Israel. Jesus shows that even one of the most knowledgeable and elite members of Israel's society cannot grasp a basic concept of earthly things like ripping people off at the temple. If he cannot grasp this, he surely cannot grasp heavenly concepts Jesus is laying before him.

This shows a big problem. If the elite are lost, then the entire nation is being led astray! Israel has a lack of focus on God, from top to bottom. Over thousands of years God has directly blessed Israel. To name a few things, God has supernaturally:

1.)Allowed them to exit slavery in Egypt

2.)Parted the Red Sea for Israel

3.)Provided food for them

4.)Brought them to a rich and fertile land

And now God has brought forth His own Son to expose the corruption and save not only Israel, but the world from their sins. After all God has done for Israel, their elite are still in the dark, still in denial.

How does this apply to us? Why is there so much focus on Jesus' confrontation of Israel? Because Jesus' appeal to Israel is parallel to His appeal to our heart and soul. Whether we have a relationship with God or not, we know He is caring for us and has been since we were created. The world around us offers much corruption. All of us partake in the corruption to some degree. Some more than others. Jesus is asking us to recognize all that our Creator has done for us. He is asking us to finally let go of the futile effort of pushing God away and start out in a quiet private place and discuss your issues with Him. We need to release our desire to do everything on our own and put our life in the capable hands of Jesus. Then listen and follow.

"Lord Jesus, thank you for having so much compassion and love for Israel. You continually exposed the corruption. Lord Jesus, thank you for having so much compassion and love for me! Amen."

Faith in Focus

I like this photo of Larry and Peggy, enjoying some time alone.

Larry is doing well. Here is a quote from him on his Facebook Page:

"God has been so good to me, to my family and my life. Sure it hasn't been easy and I don't know the future, which sometimes makes me worry wastefully, but I know He has a plan. Wait for it....Wait for it."

We can all continue to pray for the Wolf Family as they continue to seek God's Plan.

In John 3 v. 5 - 8 we can see Jesus teaching Nicodemus about having more focus on what happens after being "born again" than the actual event. Look at v. 7 and 8 " Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus was focused on the impossibility of being born again. Jesus said in so many words that being "born again" should not be our focus. The impact or the effect of being "born again" and transformed into a follower of Jesus is where our focus should be. Many times a human being will not accept the RESULT of a change unless they fully understand the CAUSE of the change. Jesus is saying in a nice way, that it is more important for us to focus on the RESULT than the CAUSE. This is where faith comes in and trust that something miraculous has occurred and we need to embrace the winds of change. Let's face it, we will never know ALL that there is to know. God is doing His work, but how He does it or why He does it, may often times be incomprehensible to us. It is a matter of accepting the fact that we have limited knowledge and God has ALL knowledge. It is about us accepting His plan and moving forward with it in Faith, even though all the pieces may not make sense.

Last year my wife, Lori and I flew on a plane to Philadelphia. We boarded the plane and it took off and we landed safely several hours later in Philadelphia. When you really think about it, wasn't it a crazy thing to do? If I took someone that had no familiarity of air travel, they would have thought we were crazy.

Say we took a farmer from the early 1900's. I said to him, you give the airlines your money....you get a ticket....you board that enclosed wagon-thing with wings....it will go down that road (the runway) at 300 mph and fly like a bird, but faster. We'll fly over 30,000 feet ( over 5 miles) up in the air for four hours and then drop down out of the clouds and land safely several thousand miles away. We'll step out of it just like you would step off your local stage coach upon arrival. So let's go. He would say "NO WAY!"

Ok..... then why am I good with this form a travel? Do I have intricate knowledge of the safety of the aircraft I am flying on? Do I know the training log and experience of the pilots of the aircraft? No, but I see the RESULT of the safety of such travel. I have FAITH that the plane I am boarding and the crew flying the plane are experienced and know what they are doing.

How does this relate to what Jesus is talking about. Jesus is saying look at the result of faith in Him! Look at the result of someone having a life focused on Jesus. You can become familiar with how God impacts people's lives by seeing what God has done in those lives. We need to understand that God's ways are not our ways and He will reveal understanding of how He does things, but many times we will see the result of His work, but not HOW He did it. We as human beings need to be ok with this. We need to have faith in Him, and trust our lives to Him. We need to open our eyes to the successes being brought on lives that follow him.

I can say that being there at my sister Peggy's death, caused me to see the bountiful blessings Jesus has on his followers, even at the most desperate times of life. He blessed Peggy and He continues to bless those who seek His blessing. How does he do it? I don't know, I am just thankful He looks upon us with favor.

God has given us beautiful explanations of the things He has done and created. However, there are many things God does and will do that will not be clear to us for our entire lives. We need to be OK with this and have faith that God has us on a path that will bless us. God has revealed to us what we need to know, not ALL that there is to know.

Lord God, we know that Your plan is not always clear for us, but work with us to have faith that Your will and Your way is perfect. Amen.

Born Again?

Here is a old photo of Mom with her four kids from approximately 1976, from left to right: me, Peggy, Sandy, my mom below her and Jeff. We use to go camping at least once a month back then. My bike was such a peice of junk, but it worked!

John 3:2-4 is our next verses to focus on...."unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God......"

The interaction between Nicodemus and Jesus goes deep right away. Nicodemus says that Jesus is a "Rabbi" and "from God". So there is clear-cut respect there. Then Jesus goes right into it, the point at which someone enters into faith in Jesus Christ, this event is a point of birth or being "born again". Nicodemus is trying to understand the concept and is thinking it is impossible for one to re-enter his mother's womb. But Jesus was not talking about our physical birth into this world, He is talking about our birth of the spirit as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ.

In 1985, I accepted Christ as my personal savior. I choose to have faith in Jesus Christ. I wasn't really looking for it, but it was God's time and place for me in Tennessee, just outside the gates of Naval Air Station Millington. I was 19 years old and serving in the Marine Corps. It was a simple Bible study and then a prayer at the end. In that prayer I yielded myself to Jesus and choose to move forward with a relationship in Him. There has been no turning back since. God has used the Holy Spirit to guide and protect me as I continue to learn more about Him over the past 25 years. A real birth occurred that night, it was my spiritual birthday!

Now going back to what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus about being "born again"....I know exactly what He is talking about. Nicodemus seems to be perplexed. But often times if we lack a relationship with God, many of His ways are very confusing to us. But once we are born of the spirit, many things start to become very clear. If you are "born again" we see clearly that: Jesus is God; He died on the cross for our sins; we can have everlasting life with Him; and we realize we need to have a relationship with Him by praying and studying his Word..the Bible.

You can see Jesus being quite frank and matter-of-fact in these passages. He says it straight, "one must be born- again" to experience life ever-lasting. For those of us who have not made a step of faith to embrace Jesus as our personal savior, we need to dive in and listen to what Jesus is saying, similar to Nicodemus. If we have accepted Christ, it is time to reflect upon when you were just "born again" and experience the power of the Holy Spirit in a renewed perspective. We need to draw that line in the sand and say "Yes, I am ready to follow you, Jesus!"

"Dear Jesus, Thank you for saving us and thank you for showing us the simplicity of faith in You. We can embrace you without the regulations and politics man creates. We can approach you just as we are. Thank you!. Amen. "

Secret Meeting

I was gone all last week, riding my bicycle across California. My younger daughter Denae and I went with a YMCA group and rode from Yuma, Az. to Carlsbad, Ca. and camped along the way. It was a great time. Here is a shot of Denae and I riding in Black Canyon between Julian, Ca and Romona, Ca. We dedicated the ride to Peggy and drew on her gift of encouragement. Denae and I would talk about Peggy and wonder what she is doing now.

Now that Easter is behind us, we can continue our walk through the story but at a more in depth level in the book of John. So let's move forward into John 3 focusing on verses 1 and 2 " There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night...."

As we launch into Chapter 3, I didn't want to go too quick, because these are key verses in the Bible. The first couple verses in John 3 sets the scene a bit. This is a civil interaction Jesus had with the Jewish elite. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. A Pharisee was a leader in the Jewish culture. They were mostly made up of business men from the time (as opposed to preists) and they were very influential to the Jewish people. They portrayed a strict adherence to the Old Testament laws (the Mosaic Laws). While that sounds good, Jesus' greivence against many of the Pharisees was that they were showing outward appearence of righteousness, while having no inward change or transformation. They lacked a relationship with God.

Have you ever seen a intricate downtown scene in a movie? But if you were on set, you'd see that the buildings are all facades made of plywood, nails, plaster and paint. The movie set is only designed to look like a downtown scene, but it really isn't. Many of the Jewish leaders, like the Pharisees, were like this, they portrayed righteousness to the people on the outside, but inwardly they were corrupt. Jesus knew this and that was what he was confronting.

It is interesting to me that Nicodemus was seeking Jesus at night. You can tell that it is not acceptable for an elite guy, like Nicodemus, to meet with Jesus, a rebel and alledged outlaw. But Nicodemus was seeing through the mask he was wearing and saw that Jesus was REAL!

How does this apply to us? We all carry with us a degree of false fronts or facades, like a Hollywood set. Jesus will meet us in the night and address it. He will always be there for a soul seeking the truth. He was there for Nicodemus, he has been there for me and will be there for you.

Dear Jesus, Help me identify in my life the Hollywood sets. Let me be "real" in You and what You stand for. Amen.

He has Risen!!!

Today is the celebration of the most pivitol event in all of history, Jesus' resurrection! He told the disciples He would be back in three days and He did what He said He would do.

My family has a tradition of watching "The Passion of Christ" motion picture every year on Good Friday. We are drawn into the clash that occured on Calvary thousands of years ago. When you really think about it, Good Friday was really "dark" Friday. Good Friday is good because of what happened three days later on Easter Sunday. That dark day thousands of years ago, there was the ultimate battle staged. Satan was going to use the people to crush this "opposer of the status quote" (Jesus) and do a public display of humiliation and torment to Jesus on the Cross. When we put ourselves into the scene at the time, it was sad,.... horrible,..... guesome,....disgusting, .....frightful to say a few words. The disciples have been spending years with Jesus and now all of a sudden Jesus the "rebel" or "alledged outlaw" is gone. Now the crowd is turning on the disciples. Look at Peter, even in his dispair, he denied being a follower of Jesus three times after watching the crushing scene of the crucifixtion. Jesus predicted Peter's denial. Talk about humiliating!

Between Friday and Sunday, there is an element of shock. They may have been saying "what should we do".... "Is he really coming back, like he said?".... "That death looked final to me?"

Now here we are on Sunday, still in shock and in Matthew 28 an Empty Tomb is found. Where is Jesus' body? The angel who rolled back the stone said to Mary Magdalene and Mary in verse 5:

" Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."

Jesus was really on trial, was He the Messiah or some imposter? Satan and the corrupt power structure at the time thought they crushed this uprising for good. But the battle just started on the Cross. The battle is for our hearts. Do we accept Jesus as having loved us so much to die on the cross for us..... or is it just a fable. Will you embrace the blood shed on the cross for your sins? Will you allow Jesus to come into your life and turn over some tables and be a rebel? When we do this...there becomes tremendous depth of what Jesus did on the cross.

We can be so proud of our Savior and put full faith in what He says and who He is . His plan and Jesus' Way was not crushed on the Cross, it was bolstered beyond belief! God's glorious efforts are alive and well thousands of years later.

There is so much to be thankful for this Easter. Happy Easter everyone! He has RISEN!!!

Focusing on Twelve

Here is a photo of the Haeussler Clan at Nana Pat's a few years ago. It's amazing how fast the kids grow (I use to roll my eyes when adults would say that when I kid.) But heck, look at Alyssa Haeussler in the photo, now she is a big time High Schooler about to make her second mission trip to Cambodia! Look at little Trinity now a star citizen at her elementary school! JD is now a basketball stud! My little Daniel, sitting on Mommy's lap, and he just finished his second wrestling season with a 9-5 record! I sure am proud of our family!

Now on to our study...... we'll look at the final verses in John Chapter 2. John Chpt. 2: 23 and 24..."Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he know what was in man".

This passage shows that Jesus' bold acts at the time were drawing attention to himself. The buzz was out about the amazing things Jesus was doing and the bold confrontations to the power structure. He was probably doing what many people desired for decades, he "called-out" the corruption everyone knew about. It is interesting to me that Jesus was not really focused on pouring his earthly ministry into the masses of people at the time. God had a bigger plan. Instead of reaching the thousands, he chose to reach billions over time through very few. Jesus poured his life and teaching into only 12 disciples, who would expand God's Kingdom through the help of the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father. These disciples would chronicle Jesus' teachings in order to pass on this precious message to people over time. Jesus' life is so well documented for us to learn and enjoy in the Bible thousands of years later. Jesus' focus on the disciples, not the masses of people was such a blessing to us today. God's plan was so much larger than anyone thought.

Often times we take for granted the masterful planning God accomplished and is continuing. We can see the life of Jesus so clearly today. The Bible is a precious work and we can be thankful God choose to pour his teaching into a chosen 12 as opposed to a message to masses of people that would get diluted and corrupted.

"Dear Jesus, thank you for your focused teaching. Your Word is a masterpiece. Amen"

Trust and Follow

My younger daughter Denae and I are training to ride our bicycles across California (Yuma Az. to Carlsbad, CA) over spring break with a YMCA group. We decided to dedicate the ride to Peggy and have "Peggy Victory" emblazoned on our helmets. It is a tribute to: the way she lived; her faith in Jesus; and her abundant life in heaven. Here is a picture of Denae with her helmet.

Moving forward with our study, I just focused on the next verse in John ..chpt. 2 verse 22..."Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said."

This verse stands alone to me. It is a statement about the future for the disciples. Some of the people at the time thought Jesus was "off-his-rocker" as I said in the prior post. But, they mis-judged the factual statements that came to fruition some time later. Jesus was teaching those following Him, while at the sametime impacting the core of the Jewish Culture. (see v. 13 to 20) While the disciples heard what Jesus said to the temple authority about destroying the temple, they were probably confused. But as time passed, when Jesus was crucified and was raised again from the dead, the scene at the temple all came back to them. It became reality, not some odd statement.

This made me think that the Bible is often times about signs and wonders. It is not a set of tangible blue prints. It is the Creator working through His Word, the Holy Spirit and our faithful spirit to reveal truth. With all of these things in motion, God will continuously reveal parts of His plan. If we have a faithless, unwilling spirit then God's Way will be very frustrating, confusing and unclear. It is important for us to seek God on a regular basis, ask Him in our prayer to reveal truth to us. Let Him know that we are willing to step out and be led by Him. Seek His help in exposing those things in our lives that might keep us from how He would like us to live. The disciples watched that uncomfortable scene when Jesus confronted the powerful temple authority with some statements that are unclear. However, they STUCK WITH IT, they continued to follow Jesus and great truths were revealed to them.

We need to stick with it. Take for example the Peggy's passing. It still is really incomprehensible to me why she is gone. Gone from her husband and young children. Now look at the people who have really been impacted the most, her family: Larry; Lexi; Trinity and Josh. It is unclear to them why Peggy had to go, but the Wolf Family is an inspiration, they are faithful to Jesus and will see it through. Their faith is being stregthened by all of this. We need to continue to turn the page of each day of our lives to see what adventure God has in store for us. Yes, there will be set-backs, uncomfortable times and times of triumph, but in the end if God is central, we can be in peace that we are in the middle of His plan.

"Dear Lord, please continue to show us Your plan, let us be patient when things are confusing, let us trust and follow. Amen"

Meeting the Power Brokers

Moms on watch...Here is a great photo of Peggy 'on watch' of her kids swimming at Nana Pat's house. Swimming is going-on to the right of the photo. Pat (mom), sister in law's Traci(my brother Jeff's wife) and Lori(me bride) are in the background. Good times!

Just a brief update on the Wolf family. They are doing well, but need your continued prayers. All the kids are in school and Larry's niece is there helping with mid-week coordination with the kids. Larry recently had a work trip to Dallas. That was a time for Larry to continue to seek refuge in the Lord, while he continues to grieve the loss of his wife. It was tough for the kids, particularly Lexie, when Larry went on the trip. Much of the dust has settled from November and December and they are getting to some normalcy. Larry has been out surfing with Keith and is looking forward to the tamer waves of spring and summer. Trinity just celebrated her birthday with family and friends. Larry and the kids need continued prayer while they gets their family life into a normalized routine and while they seek the Lord in this phase of life without Peggy.

So, just like Peggy would do in a disciplined fashion, let's move forward in our study of God's Word.

The next block of verses to focus on is John 2:18 to 22...with particular focus on verses 18 and 19.." So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show us, since You do these things?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.""

Now let's explore these two verses. Picture the circumstance, Jesus just made a scene. Jesus was talking to the guys who were in some sort of authority over the temple or an area at the temple. They wanted to understand why there was so much commotion. This is pivotal, because this is one of Jesus' first public confrontations with the "Jewish Power Structure". Not to go to deep here, but here are somethings to consider:

1.) God Almighty created some strict rules regarding temple protocol in the Old Testament of the Bible, through His interface with Moses.
2.) God put man in charge of this process.
3.) Man conducted this protocol and tradition for centuries.
4.) Gradually the traditions and process became warped in order to manipulated the crowd (as opposed to SERVING the crowd).
5.) Jesus shows up (God Almighty in human form) and is enraged!

So here we are in a bit of a stand-off. The corrupt power brokers of the time are asking Jesus....who gave you the authority to turn these tables over and disrupt our system.

Jesus COULD have given them His resume..like this.. "Hello, let me introduce myself. I am the Lord Almighty, the Messiah. I created the heavens and the Earth out of nothing. I've created all that is seen and unseen, in fact I created YOU! I created the rules for this Temple that you have corrupted! I decided to come in human form to be at your level to confront you and show you how to live!" But............. Jesus didn't take this approach.

He choose to lay down a sign and refer to the temple being destroyed and how in three days He will rebuild it or raise it up. The temple built by man was about to become obsolete, because Jesus to me was now taking it back and identifying Himself as the Temple.

While at the time, I am sure many were confused at what He was saying. Jesus knew that they would remember what He said, but also knew that they would think He is "off-his-rocker". So look at what Jesus was doing...He was weaving delicately : minor miracles; "off-his-rocker" comments; major miracles; and public confrontations with the Jews political officials and religious leaders. He was viewed as a poor man from lowly Nazareth who drops into the core of the Jewish society and starts to confront the corruption of God's plan.

This is all very interesting to me. You can see Jesus' careful and calculated strategy to rock the core of the corrupt society. He is laying an example of boldness in the face of insurmountable power. He is showing us to do the right thing no matter what people think of us. Yah, they may think we are "off-our-rocker", but we know it is right! What is even more amazing, Jesus is now using US to expose the corruption and dark ways of our society. He is empowering us through His example, the Holy Spirit and our faith to overturn some tables and go against the "norm" for what is right.

"Dear Jesus, Thank you for your strong example of continually exposing the right, when we are being looked at as being different." Amen.

Righteous Anger

Here is a photo of my son Daniel (left) and Peggy and Larry's son Josh (right) enjoying life on the Wolf trampoline!

Now let's read John 2: 13-17 and focus on verse 16...."....take these away! Do not make My Father's House a house of merchandise!"

Here we see a differing dimension of Jesus. To say it bluntly, He was "ticked-off ". He went to the temple to celebrate Passover, and found merchants ripping people off. Folks came a long way to worship at the temple during this Passover celebration. If you look into their tradition, they would sacrifice some of the best animals of their flock to recognize their sins before God. Since people were traveling long distances, it was more convenient to buy a lamb, goat, or dove as a sacrifice at the temple, than travel with one. Demand probably out-stripped supply at the temple and the prices for these animals were outrageous. Plus people would come from lands of differing currencies. So of course there were currency exchange people called "money changers" charging unfair exchange rates. So what did Jesus see. He saw a place set up in front of His Father's House, The Temple, for the sole purpose of taking advantage of His followers. It was like a tourist trap. We have all seen them. It's like getting off a plane at an airport, you have a splitting headache and no aspirin. You go into one of those convenient stores at the airport terminal and you get a small packet of Tylenol for $4.00. Rip off! But they have you, your pounding head, knowing that the closest reasonably priced Tylenol is 4 miles away! This example pales in comparison to the frustration that Jesus saw out front of His Temple, but it gives you a flavor.

Now thinking about the Temple and it's purpose, to me, it is a place for worshippers of God to focus on Him and have a place to get relief from their sins. Often times you look at a temple or church as a place to serve God. This is true. But really it is a place for God to reach us and help us! It is God's house, a place we can come to in order to get right with Him. To see a place like this misused was appalling to Jesus! In applying this to our lives, I think of the Temple of today. The temple was a physical place. As we move into the New Testament of the Bible, the temple is our bodies, soul and spirit. It begs the question on how we are allowing our Temple of God to be used? Is it a place of refuge and renewal with the Lord or is it a place where people go to get ripped-off. Does Jesus need to enter our life (our temple) and turn over some tables? What are some of the tables in our lives needing over-turning by Christ...The table of Cheating on our Taxes....The table of Lust.....The table of Jealousy....The table of Hanging around the wrong people....The table of Acting like someone you are not....The table of Denying Christ. We need not only to invite Jesus into our temple, but to work with Him to dismantle the things not of Him in an aggressive way!

"Dear Lord, From these verses we can see your righteous anger to those things that are of you, but also things that are being misused. Cleanse me Oh Lord, search me for the things not of You and drive them out! Amen."

Fine Wine

Moving forward in our study of John we are now in Chapter 2!! Our focus this time is John 2:1-11 and I focused in on verse 4...""Dear woman, why do you involve me?", Jesus replied "My time has not yet come.""

This is a well-known miracle Jesus did at a wedding. He turned water into wine. It was not just table wine or the "house" wine, but it was FINE wine! ...... Break out the Bible and read the text. Usually, at that time, the fine wine was served first and then the lower grade wine was served later in the wedding celebration. But when Jesus did His miracle, the stuarts of the wine were wondering why they were serving this good stuff last...contrary to tradition. .....Anyway, OK a well known miracle....so let's move on....not so fast! Verse 4 popped out at me! Why did Jesus say that to His mother? Read verse 4 again.... He is laying down signs to those following Him as to what is to come. Ok, well what is the sign here????

I am no theologian but what did Jesus say about wine in the "upper room" the night before he was arrested? (This is a few years out from where we are now but it is a well known story too. Look at Matthew 26:17 to 30 or more specifically v. 27 to 29) He said "This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." This is His blood shed for OUR sins. There is a connection between wine as a symbol for us to remember the blood Jesus shed for our sins.

Now let's go back to the wedding. Jesus provided them barrels of fine wine. His mother was likely not going to forget His statement about the future of her Son and the miracle He did.

Now this is conjecture, but she must have been so proud of Him. Think about it, He is pulling what I'll call "mild" miracles to get the buzz going. He also is showing people that He knows exactly where He is headed, to the Cross to experience a brutal physical death. At this wedding, He know where He was headed, but His time had not yet come.

In looking at this passage, I see how brave our Lord is. He knows where He is going. I see also how strategic He is on..... when.... and where He does His miracles. This plan was all rolled out for you and me. What a Gift!

"Dear Lord, your earthly ministry through Jesus was so short, yet so powerful. I praise you for your brave trek to the Cross on my behalf. All glory to You, Amen!"

Spiritual Bread Crumbs

Attached is a photo of me and my sister Peggy at her 45th birthday party this past September. It was a good time seeing everyone and to celebrate Peggy!

In the study of John I honed in on John 1: 43 to 50 but more specifically v49".....Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are King of Israel..."

My attention is drawn toward a few things in these verses. I will call them "Spiritual Bread Crumbs". It's a trail of evidence that there is something ahead, in this case it is a great feast of spiritual blessings with the Lord. What do I mean? Well, let's take a look.

Phillip and Nathanael are both getting their own indications that Jesus is the One Moses referred to as the "Prophet" in Deut. 18:15-19. From reading this text, I didn't sense there were huge earth-shattering indications that God spoke to them, but they were convinced it was God. Nathan was sure that Jesus was someone special. It became apparent when Jesus knew where Nathaneal was before they met.

The stories told by Phillip and Nathanael are not all that sensational. I'm not sure of the circumstance, but eventhough it was not that sensational, it was enough to convince Nathanael that he was interfacing with Almighty God! From my vantage point, it seems like I need to interview Phillip and Nathanael, to verify their story. But think again. Do I really need to verify their story? To me they are like bread crumbs. They are small bits of nourishment...spiritual nourishment. Even these slight indications provide powerful food for our soul and will empower us beyond expectation. Nathanael was clearly empowered. Look at the verse 49!

I have to say, I have been there too. I've found some spiritual bread crumbs and have known in my heart of hearts that it is supernatural and directed from God! These small spiritual morsels can provide sustainance to a hungry soul. The week before Peggy's death, God provided me with spiritual nourishment. Some things were not very sensational, but were amazing to me that God was providing for me! There were several things, but the one that comes to mind is:

After Peggy died, I drove away from Ventura alone. I turned the CD player on in the car. In queue ready to go was Third Day's song "Call my name". God confirmed to me without a shadow of a doubt that Peggy is alive and well and doing just fine in His presence. This was one of the songs played at Peggy's memorial service. The song said to me, to her family, to her freinds that her love for us is still alive! It was such a sad moment driving away, and my saddness was so-very turned around by a pad on the shoulder by God through this song. Now the song clearly impacted me, but funny thing is I had heard this song numerous times before and it never struck me until Peggy had passed away.

God gave me this song, not a real sensational story, but one that is very real to me and one that gives me confirmation to my spirit that God is working around me and He cares for me.

Phillip and Nathanael are seeing small signs of incredibly powerful things go come. When God reveals Himself to us in a small way, we need to realize it is a precurser to an incredible experience ahead.

"Dear Jesus, let us embrace these moments you have revealed Yourself to us. Let us not discount them as conincidences. Have us see them as an intro into amazing things to come. Amen!"

Behold the Lamb of God!

It's been over a week since my last post. Life has been pretty busy in the Haeussler House. Work, school, sports with the kids and searching for a new church. Our oldest Aimee, at 14 years, is very busy with school, volleyball and her FCA group at school. Denae, our 10 year old daughter is just wrapping up soccer season and her and I are preparing for a ride across California on our bicycles over spring break with several other 5 graders. My 7 year old son, Daniel, is mid-way through his youth wrestling season. Meanwhile Lori and I at times seem like "ships passing in the night". I think we need a date night! It sometimes seems like life is going like a freight train and is difficult to put on the breaks. But such is life with three kids. It's a blast, but very busy. Above is a photo of Peggy's nephew Daniel on the left, her neice Denae in the middle and her neice Aimee on the right.... and our dog Nala.

Enough of that, let's get on with our study in John. I focused on John 1:32-42 this time. "Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples, And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God".

I found it interest that John had folks following him. I always thought of him as a follower of Jesus, only... not that he had his own following. As you look at the verse, God entrusted John to lead these people and point them in the right direction. He wasn't an arrogant, control freak leader that wanted to be the center of attention. John was a humble servant of God and when called to point his followers to the Messiah, he did it. He repeatedly told the people I am not the One. When Jesus arrived he pointed their focus on this miraculous person, God in human form, Jesus! He was more than willing to release his followers to Jesus.

We can look at John's actions and see his humility. His actions were in submission to the Lords way, he pointed to Jesus, not himself. I see this in many deeply devoted Christians. They have so much energy flowing out of their lives, that you think it is them. But really it is the God they serve, using them. Look at my sister Peggy. She has an incredible story of being so very focused on the Lord, drawing closer and closer to him...even as she approched the point of her passing. She told me, "this is not about me". What she meant was the story of Peggy is really the story of Jesus using Peggy to glorify Himself. She was always willing to point to the Lord of her life, not get the glory, but to encourage others to takehold of a bond she had with the Creator of the Universe. Peggy was far from perfect, as all of us are, but she was a exceptional ambassador for the Lord. John was great ambassador as well. Are we? ....We should be! ....Point to Jesus when people ask you why you are different or why do you go to church, or how were you able to handle that so calmly. Tell them Jesus! What about the times God is prodding you..."tell them about my Son". You say under your breath, "not right now Lord". God keeps prodding. Just do it, takes some risks. Tell them about Jesus, tell them your story!

"Lord Jesus, thank you for being so steadfast and strong that we may point to you as the one who has given us hope. You need no defense, you are able to help all of us. Amen"

Take Another Step

John 1: 29 to 34 " Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! This is of whom I said.....I did not know Him. "

Did John really know Jesus before this event in these verses? There is a presumption that John knew Jesus and grew up together because they were cousins, as I had mentioned a few posts ago. However, this verse mentions that John did not previously know Jesus....or another weaker angle (to me) is that John did not know that Jesus his cousin was the Messiah. From looking at this verse and the previous story that Elizabeth, John's mother, lived a ways away from Nazareth, it is very possible that John did not know Jesus at all. But, it is pretty clear in John 1: 31 that John did not previously know Jesus. Exactly why John didn't know his cousin is not clear.

One thing I always remember about scripture, is that it reveals what we NEED to know, but does not reveal ALL that there there is to know. So we have to be ok when all the facts are not there and all our "whys" are not answered. If I am scratching my head on a story in the Bible, I usually either A) Look deeper into it and ask some friends about their perspective on the issue or B) I table the issue and pray that God reveals what he wants me to know about the issue and I wait on God.

So here is one of my "whys"? Why was John introducing someone who he did not know, as the Messiah...the Son of God. John was clearly in a very close relationship with God. He had deep focus on what God wanted and limited focus or concern about what other people thought about him or what he was doing. So I would suggest that John was just doing what the Lord asked of him. John was in such a close and deep relationship with the Lord Almighty, that he didn't question God on every turn and realized that he needs to trust God, even though he didn't understand or see exactly what God was going to do next. It seems that John knew he was introducing the Messiah and trusted that God would reveal the Messiah, but he just didn't know who it was. John was living a life of faith and trust in God. The Lord presented Jesus in a miraculous way in the ensuing verses.

Looking at my own life and those around me, we often want to know the whole story, and then we will act. Consider this hypothetical conversation. God says.. "Joe I want you to introduce the Messiah, the one everyone has been looking for"....I say "Sure Lord, but I need to meet this guy and interview him, I need to qualify him and then sure I will introduce him. I have a reputation at stake with these people and if you don't deliver, I'll have egg on my face." God says "No! just introduce Him and I will take care of the rest"! So should I do what God says or should I continue to argue? I didn't see John arguing, he just did it. Then what happened? He was blessed with being a part of what God is doing and he took a deeper step in his relationship with God. We should, just as John did, step out in faith and further our relationship with God.

"Dear Jesus, let me have the faith of John! To do your requests of me, even though I may not know what is ahead. Thank you for leading me on this journey, Amen."