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Book - Walk On Water

Dreaming Big

As children most of us were encouraged to dream big. And we did! Some of those dreams were crazy and unrealistic and they changed with the wind. When we grew up, however, those dreams were eventually discarded because real life has nothing to do with dreams. Even the Disney philosophy that all our dreams can come true are encased in a child’s world. We adults know that dreams are for children.

But, if you think about it, we are God’s children!  Listen to this: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”1  Not only is John reminding us that we are God’s children, he is also telling us that one day—not now—but one day “we shall be like him.” Who shall we be like? Jesus! But that’s one day. What does that have to do with us now? Everything!

As we abide in Christ and he in us, we become more and more like him. What this means is that God’s dream for us is being worked out in our lives now! What I love about God’s dream is that it is not the same for anyone. We are uniquely made, and God has prepared work that is designed for each of us specifically. While we are on this earth, we are to do great work! How do we do that? We find God’s purpose and our fulfillment in life. Some call it finding yourself. Some call it finding God’s will. Paul tells us this about that: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”2

Knowing God’s will takes discernment, and the first step is not living as the world lives. Disney tells us to find ourselves and to follow our dreams—whatever the cost! It sounds good; it seems right. Certainly, everyone deserves to live life as they wish (upon a star). But that is the world’s method, not God’s. Jesus told the disciples, “Whoever finds his life will lose it.”3   Hmm. This does not make sense. How do we find God’s purpose for our lives unless we look for it? Would not finding our life—the fulfillment of our dreams—be the same as God’s purpose? Maybe. Maybe not.

Remember the key phrase for discovering God’s will: “that by testing you may discern.”2  Simply finding ourselves will lead to disappointment—what we find will actually be lost! Which is why Jesus warns us about it. God knows what we need and tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things (that you need) will be added to you.”4 If we are satisfied with what we find in this world, then we will no longer need God, much less seek him. But if we are satisfied with what we find, then do we really need God? The answer is yes—and for many reasons, but the most compelling one is explained by C.S. Lewis in his great sermon “The Weight of Glory.” Here’s what Lewis says:

If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.*

I describe it as setting our sights too low. Sometime after we stopped believing in our childhood dreams, we began to settle in. We ceased to imagine ourselves doing great things; we lowered our standards. We decided that we would rather not be disappointed, and, therefore, we quit believing in things too good, too exciting, too brave, too big. We turned into weak half-hearted creatures, satisfied, and even happy with mud pies and slums.

It’s not too late though. God’s dream for our lives is still alive. We can still attain it if we understand what Jesus meant with the second part of his directive to his disciples: “and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”3  Hmm. This sounds hard. But it is sooo worth it! We’ll study it more next time. Until then, practice dreaming big.

11 John 3:2   2Romans 12:2   3Matthew 10:39   4Matthew 6:33   *Lewis, Clive Staples. The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, The MacMillan Company, New York, New York, 1949, p. 2.

Hollywood Theology

I recently watched a 2024 movie called You Gotta’ Believe. Based on a true story, it is about a little league baseball team in Texas. The team was terrible, but they loved their coach (Luke Wilson). When the coach is diagnosed with terminal cancer, the manager (Greg Kinnear) takes over. The team is asked to play against a most difficult opponent (that no one else would play). The winner of the game would get to participate in the 2002 Little League World Series. No one believes that this terrible team would beat them. Except the team and their coach. But they do win and are catapulted into the series, where they actually make it to the championship game. Thus, the title You Gotta’ Believe! Unfortunately, they lose the hard-fought game after a record 11 innings. It’s a good underdog story.

However. In one scene, the coach’s son asks his dad (who is dying) what happens when people die. His answer? Well, I hope I get to go to heaven. And that, my friends, is Hollywood theology: no one really knows what happens when we die, so just hope for the best. But it’s just not true, and it bothers me that people will watch this film and think it is a sweet moment between father and son.

The one thing we all know about life is that it ends. It seems to me that what happens when we die is a question everyone needs to know the answer to! But I fear that most people put off thinking about death or believe whatever makes them feel good. Many people believe that if there is a God and a heaven, then good people should go there. And so they try to be good. But being good has nothing to do with going to heaven.

The scariest scripture I have ever read is when Jesus is wrapping up his great sermon on the mount. He says, “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”1  And then he mentions prophets and miracle workers—good people doing good things—and says, “I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me you workers of lawlessness.’”2  He calls the good religious people who obey the law “workers of lawlessness.” How could that be? Because the work they are doing is deceiving everyone (including themselves), creating confusion and promoting a lie about eternity. By believing that if they obey the laws and are good people Jesus will let them enter heaven, they are teaching everyone to do what they cannot do—that is, obey the law!

However, many people believe that they are good enough to go to heaven. They obey laws, they are nice to people, they try to do the right thing, they might even go to church occasionally. In the movie, the coach is a really good guy! Which makes him a worker of lawlessness, too! Because he is promoting the same confusion and lie about eternity. And that’s why I really don’t like the movie.

So, what is the answer to the son’s question? Jesus clearly tells those prophets and miracle workers: “I never knew you.” That’s the answer, and listen carefully. It’s not that you know Jesus because the prophets and miracle workers thought they did! They called him Lord! A lot of people say they know Jesus, but really they just know about him. The key is that Jesus knows you. The key is that when you knock on the door and Jesus answers, he says, “I know you!” How do people get to know you? Only one way: they spend time with you. So, the real question is this—Is Jesus in your life? I mean your daily life.

The title You Gotta’ Believe works on two levels: 1) the team believes that if they work hard and become a good team, they can win the championship, and 2) the coach believes that if he works hard and becomes a good person, he will go to heaven. It’s too bad that the writers didn’t think it worth their time to actually research the answer to the son’s question, What happens when people die? Because the answer is You Gotta’ Believe in Jesus. And then the title could have worked on three levels! But Hollywood is only interested in telling true stories, which does not necessarily mean they tell the truth. 

1Matthew 7i:21   2Matthew 7:23

The Poor in Spirit

Isaiah writes about people who rejected God and says this: “You were wearied with the length of your way, but you did not say, ‘It is hopeless’; you found new life for your strength, and so you were not faint.”1  Wait a minute! This does not sound right. Aren’t people who reject God miserable? Aren’t they weak and tired and hopeless? No. Well, some might be, but many are not. As a matter of fact, they are fine. We believers find our strength in God; nonbelievers find their strength in other things.

The difference is this: we believers know we need God; nonbelievers do not know that they need God. And they do not know that they do not know! That’s why Jesus told the disciples, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”2  The “poor in spirit” are not people who are poor, and they are not people who are sad or tired. The “poor in spirit” are people who know that they are spiritless—without spirit, feel incomplete, and long for more. Jesus said those people are “blessed.” Why? Because “the kingdom of heaven” is theirs for the taking. All they have to do is look to God for new life! That’s the good news!

Actually, we are all “poor in spirit.” People who do not look to God to fill their need, just look to other things to fill them up, and find “new life” in elsewhere. Generally, they do not believe that they need God (if he even exists!). They simply find strength and happiness in other places. They are independent and self-sufficient. But because they do not need God, “the kingdom of heaven” is not theirs. That’s what they miss out on! That’s the sad news.

We all know people who appear not to need God. It’s perplexing to us who recognize our need for God until we remember what they are missing out on. The world will always offer alternatives to God. And it usually is quite enticing. The alternatives will feel good and look good and even seem right and logical and the best choice. But in order to truly understand the consequences for those who do not need God, we must finish Isaiah 57. He writes, “But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.”3

The first thing to address here is the word “wicked.” It is hard for us to identify people as wicked. The word really is referring to people who are ungodly. But we still have a difficult time labeling people ungodly—especially good people! So, let’s break it down further. Ungodly people are those who reject God and his ways.

So, those who reject God are tossed around like the sea. Those people have no lasting rest in their souls. (Although they may find temporary rest.) They are forever searching. And, according to Isaiah, those people are surrounded by garbage and create garbage. And one more thing. “‘There is no peace,” says my God, ‘for the wicked (ungodly people who reject God and his ways).’”4  Why is that? Because only God can bring true and lasting peace, and the wicked do not want what God offers.

But let’s not point our fingers at the wicked–the nonbelievers who are ungodly because they reject God and his ways. We believers, also, reject God and his ways sometimes. We, also, are tossed around on the sea. When does that happen? Every time we doubt God. James writes, “For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”5 How is that any different from the ungodly wicked people? And when we doubt, here’s what happens: “For that person must not suppose he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”6

Isaiah and James make it pretty clear. Doubting God is the same as saying that God is not trustworthy and that we can find another place or person or thing in which to put our trust.  So. When we doubt God, we are not behaving like the “poor in spirit” at all. We, independent of God, choose another way in which to be filled. We are acting like the wicked, and “‘there is no peace,” says my God, ‘for the wicked.’” And that’s the really sad news.

1Isaiah 57:10   2Matthew 5:3   3Isaiah 57:20   4Isaiah 57:21   5James 1:6   6James 1:7-8

Try a Little Kindness

January 16, 2025

Try a Little Kindness

Remember the Glen Campbell song? Oh. Wait a minute. Some of you don’t remember Glen Campbell, much less his song! Anyway, it was a good song. Well, maybe not a good song really, but it was a singable song. And I knew all the lyrics. So, for those who don’t know the song (or who Glen Campbell is), here is the chorus:

You got to try a little kindness
Yes, show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

So, let me get this straight. According to Glen, streets are narrow-minded. And narrow-minded people are blind. And if we are kind (but only a little), then we will overlook those things. Does that mean if we are not kind (but only a little), then we will see the blindness of narrow-minded people? Is it good not to see the blindness of narrow-minded people? I’m not sure. And the two verses in the song are equally confusing and not exactly kind (not even a little)! And how much is “a little” kindness anyway? Why not try a lotta’ kindness? And did anyone else catch the grammar error? Okay. It’s not a great song. But being kind is, nevertheless, a great thing to do.  

Job said this to his unkind friends, “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.”1 Why would anyone withhold kindness? Especially from a friend! Perhaps we reserve our kind gestures sometimes because we do not want others to get comfortable with the idea that we would always be that way! We are quicker to be stern, aren’t we?  After all, people need our instruction and guidance and our wise counsel, right? Well . . . probably not. People need grace. And kindness. Certainly, there is a time and place for sternness (and instruction, guidance, etc.), but our default response should be kindness. Remember, “Love is patient and kind.”2 It’s the second thing on Paul’s list! Plus, our kindness is the evidence that Christ lives in us, the fruit of his Spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness . . .”3 And Paul says it is something we are to wear. He tells us to “put on . . . compassionate hearts, kindness . . .”4  He says we should “be kind to one another, tenderhearted . . .”5 And not only are we to be kind, we are “to love kindness.”6

And another thing! Someone who withholds kindness “forsakes the fear of the Almighty,” which sounds pretty serious! Because it is! To forsake something means to give up on it. So, to withhold kindness is to give up on what God wants to do and, instead, insert our own idea, i.e. sternness! How impertinent is that?

So, let me get this straight. According to Job, to withhold kindness from a friend is to usurp the hand of God. Wow. Kindness is important. It is also intentional. It is not our first instinct; it is rarely accidental, and, contrary to popular belief, it is not random (as in “random acts of kindness.”) Kindness takes thought and effort.

So. Even though the song “Try a Little Kindness” has some serious flaws, its core message is good: be kind. And the tune gets in your head. (I know some of you have been singing it while you have been reading this blog!) After all, it was a number one hit back in January of 1970 when it was released—which makes the song 55 years old! For those who want to learn it click here:  https://youtu.be/MvswocNN-g8

As you can see on the album cover, the other great hit by Glen that year was “Honey Come Back.” It’s one of those great tunes where Glen talks through the verses (always a bad decision) and is about as codependent a song as there ever was. But that’s another topic for another time.

As for today, let’s all try a little kindness and see what transpires.  

1Job 6:14   21 Corinthians 13:4   3Galatians 5:22   4Colossians 3:12   5Ephesians 4:32     6Micah 6:8

Teach Us to Pray

The disciples followed Jesus around and they often saw him pray. They knew about prayer, but watching Jesus pray must have made them question what they were doing, so “one of the disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’”1 And Jesus recited what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” And it is, of course, a great daily prayer. But Jesus did not stop with that lesson. Prayer is as perplexing as it is crucial and he told a story (as he often did) to help us understand a little more about our relationship to God regarding prayer.

It’s a story about a man (let’s call him Greg) who wakes up his friend (let’s call him Tom) at midnight to ask for food in order to feed a friend (who can remain nameless) who dropped in. Tom yells to Greg, “Don’t bother me! It’s midnight!” But Greg continues to knock on his door. Finally, Tom gives him the food he needs—not because Greg is his friend but because of Greg’s “persistence.”2  That’s the English Standard Translation. Other translations use these words: impudence, importunity, brashness and even shameless audacity! My favorite, however, is the Complete Jewish Bible version which uses the word hutzpah.  So, Tom was annoyed with Greg and finally gave into him because he just wanted him to go away in order that he could get back to sleep. And that’s the end of the parable.

Then Jesus says his famous lines, “And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”3

Most people read the parable and assume that Tom represents God. If this is true, then the point of the parable is that we need to keep praying the same prayer until God gives in to us. But that can’t be right! Besides that, Tom yells at Greg and tells him to leave! God would never do that! Tom finally gives Greg what he wants because he won’t go away! But God does not answer our prayers based on how persistent we are! So, I think the fact that Tom does not represent God is the point of the parable.

As a matter of fact, Jesus ends his lesson on prayer by saying this: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”4  Which is a little bit offensive, is it not? He called his disciples “evil”! I love how surprised I am by Jesus’ responses sometimes.

So, what is the point to this bewildering story? The point is that we are never a bother to God. The point is that we do not need to ask God for what we need over and over. The point is that God loves to give us what we need because we are his family. The point is that God loves us so much more than Tom—so much so that we need not pound on his door and convince him that we have an urgent need! The point of the parable is not persistence.  But people make it so.

Jesus clearly tells us to ask for things from God. But there is no magic number of times we need to pray our prayer before God will answer. We love to repeat ourselves. We think God does not hear us unless we cry and yell. The point is, hutzpah, although it is an admirable quality at times, might not be the correct attitude when approaching God!  

And perhaps the last point is that God is mostly interested in giving us what we need, not necessarily what we pound his door for. In fact, he has given us his Holy Spirit, and with that “his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”5  I wonder at times if we already possess what we desperately ask God for!

Of course, we are to pray—and pray for specific circumstances and people and all the things that cross our minds. “Pray without ceasing.”6 Pray through the day. But in praying, also trust that God always hears, always answers, always takes care of us. We mistakenly give God human qualities, like those “who are evil.” But God is good. Let’s approach him with that in mind.

1Luke 11:1   2Luke 11:8   3Luke 11:9   4Luke 11:13   52 Peter 1:3   62 Thessalonians 5:17

Give Us This Day

Here is the looming question for you: How are your resolutions going so far? It’s only day two, so I hope you are hopeful and are living up to your own expectations of changing some things in your life. It’s good to have a list, a plan, a goal for needed changes. I love new starts. You know, Jesus gave some great advice regarding resolutions. He said we should approach life this way: “Give us this day.”1 That’s it! That’s the advice! It’s a one-day-at-a-time mentality and it is very effective! But it is still hard.

So, here on day two, if you have already blown your promise to start something, I suggest you toss that one aside and concentrate on the next thing on the list. But if, here on day two, you are still successful with your resolutions, then good for you! And don’t worry about how long you can keep it up. Just stay in the day! One day at a time. The Serenity Prayer is a great prayer to say daily. Here it is:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change

The courage to change the things I can

And the wisdom to know the difference

Living one day at a time

Enjoying one moment at a time

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace

Taking as Jesus did this sinful world as it is

Not as I would have it

Trusting that you will make all things right

If I surrender to your will

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life

And supremely happy with you forever in the next!

“Living one day at a time” is the only way we will really be successful. If we can stay true to our new habit “this day,” then we can do it tomorrow! But don’t get ahead of yourself. Stay in the day! Remember Jesus also said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow.”2  So, let’s not worry if we will be able to keep our new habit tomorrow. Let’s just keep it today. That’s all.

There’s a reason Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow and it is not because tomorrow we will have no reason to worry! No. Just the opposite! He said, “for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”2 Tomorrow there will be plenty of reasons to worry! But if we heed Jesus’ words, we won’t worry tomorrow either because we will be in a new day and approach our habit with the same hope: “Give us this day.”

The truth is, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”2 Every day will be full of problems to overcome and challenges to meet. We humans only have enough power—physically, mentally, and emotionally—to handle one day at a time. Why is this so hard to do? Well, plans must be made. We cannot not think about tomorrow! But Jesus is not telling us to not think about tomorrow—he’s just telling us not to worry about it! Jesus told us to prepare for the storms ahead so we will not have to worry about them when they come.

But we are to live for today. We are to stay in the day, be present where we are. God is found in the present. David writes, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”3  So when trouble comes, God will be present. And if God is present then we need not worry. David ends his psalm, “The Lord of hosts is with us.”4 Since God is with us now, this day, this moment, all we really need is to be present with him. So, let’s concentrate on the day. Lord, Give us this day.

1Matthew 6:11   2Matthew 6:34   3Psalm 46:1   4Psalm 46:11

Christmas Carols

My pastor and I have a ongoing “argument” about some Christmas carols. He contends that some of them are scripturally incorrect. I maintain that songs are poetry and poetry uses figurative language and is not to be taken literally. He asserts that some are still factually misleading. And, of course, he’s right. But I do like Christmas carols. They help me to be festive once a year and how is that bad, really?

We all have our favorites and mine is “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” with the comma in the proper place—meaning, that God will give us rest when we are weary and make us merry when we are not. (If the comma is after the word “ye,” it sends an entirely different message.) My least favorite carol is “Away in a Manger.” I apologize if this is your favorite. It’s just my opinion and you are certainly entitled to yours.

However. I do take issue with some of the lyrics. For example, the first verse reads “Away in a manger no crib for a bed, The little Lord Jesus Laid down His sweet head,” and right away I cringe. And here’s why. There is nothing “little” about our Lord Jesus! Now, I realize that he was once a baby, but I fear that this carol gives the impression that Jesus is sweet and innocent and tiny and helpless. I think that many people leave the baby Jesus image in their minds and only pay homage to him at Christmas time. When in fact, Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”1  That’s who Jesus is! To leave him in a manger is to distort his image and his power and his purpose.

Plus, when the cattle began mooing, and Jesus woke up, the song reads “But little Lord Jesus No crying he makes.” But don’t you think he might have cried at that point? I do.  Babies cry! It’s not a sin to cry! And another thing. The third verse reads “Be near me, Lord Jesus I ask You to stay Close by me forever And love me I pray.” It sounds to me like the song writer (and no one really knows who it was) was pleading for Jesus to love him. And we don’t have to do that.

My prayer (and Paul’s prayer) is that this season you may know the immeasurable love of God, and Jesus will have to leave the manger in order to comprehend this! Paul prays that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”2 That’s how much God loves us!

“Away in a Manger” is a sweet melody. It is often sung by children and that’s fine with me. Let’s just make sure that as adults, we do not leave Jesus in the manger but allow him to grow up in our lives so we can experience “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.”3

And if you are looking for a really good Christmas Carol, read the lyrics to “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.” And punctuate the title properly!

“O tidings (news) of comfort and joy” be yours today.

1Colossians 1:15-16   2Ephesians 3:17-19   3Ephesians 2:19

Righteous Living

Jesus offers peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.”1  Don’t look for peace in this world. You won’t find it. So, how can we be at peace in a nonpeaceful world? By living righteously. Doing the right thing—not the correct thing, the minimal thing, but the thing that is “more” than others. Jesus asks, “What more are you doing than others?”2  Righteous people do the right thing for no apparent reason, “for the righteous shall live by faith.”3  Righteous people are those who need no cause and no reward to do the right thing. They are good people not because God is good to them but because God is good.

Righteous people exhibit the qualities of love: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful”4 —to name a few traits.

How do we become righteous? Not by being righteous! No. We become righteous by faith, by believing in Jesus, who then goes before God and defends us by taking on our case. Then we are “justified by faith.”5 And once we have been acquitted of the penalty of sin, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”5 Jesus, then, begins to live inside of us and we become righteous. As we grow in Christ, he enables us to act righteously!

So, what does living righteously have to do with being at peace? It’s the effect of being righteous. “The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”6  Doing the right thing creates peace in our souls, which results in a “quietness and trust forever.” It matters not what is going on in the world if we have peace in our souls. Everyone needs this peace, but many search for it in the world, and it will not be found there.

Another benefit of living righteously is that it offers hope for people. Jesus tells us, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”7  Will God loves us more if we live righteous lives? No. Why not? Because God cannot love us anymore than he already does! His love is so great that it cannot be greater! Then why do good works? Why live righteous lives? Because of its effect on us—it results in peace in our souls. When the world is noisy and rude and violent and chaotic, we can live in the midst of it all and be at peace. And because the peace of God reigns in our hearts, Jesus says we can also count on this: “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”1

So, to summarize: Living righteously produces peace, quietness, trust, patience, kindness, no worries, no fear, good works, and hope for the world. The question, then, for us is Are we living righteously? Or to put it more succinctly: this: “What more are [we] doing than others?”

1John 14:27   2Matthew 5:47   3Galatians 3:11   41 Corinthians 13:4-5   5Romans 5:1   6Isaiah 32:17   7Matthew 5:16

How Can These Things Be?

Nicodemus was intelligent and respected. He was a leader, “a ruler of the Jews.”1  He had heard that Jesus was upsetting his colleagues with his pious words about the temple. Jesus had caused an uproar there by overturning tables and driving everyone out. He was speaking disrespectfully to the Jews and creating confusion. Nicodemus had heard about Jesus’ miracles and how people were following him and how his popularity was rapidly growing. Although his associates were intimidated by Jesus, Nicodemus was curious.

He went to visit Jesus one evening to decide for himself who this man really was. He greeted him respectfully and acknowledged that he must be a gifted man of God. Jesus’ response? “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”2 Which really seems off topic to me. His words confused Nick, too. He responded with the equivalent of What are you talking about? So, Jesus repeated, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”3  Nick was not used to being perplexed about spiritual things, and the look on his face must have revealed to Jesus that he was bewildered, so for the third time Jesus said, “You must be born again.”4  All Nick could do was ask, “How can these things be?”5

And oddly enough, Jesus reprimanded him by saying, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”6  If Nick was a proud man, he was suddenly humbled. He had probably never been talked to like that. But he was stumped by Jesus’ words and did not say anything else. Jesus kept talking, and I think Nick listened intently.

Nick was a religious man, a good man—but not a spiritual one. Jesus was talking about spiritual things: believing in God instead of works, acting on faith instead of knowledge, having God’s approval rather than his condemnation. Nick had never heard anything like it. He thought he knew how to gain God’s favor. Jesus’ command that he had to be born again was indication that he had to start over and unlearn everything he thought to be true. Nick left that night with much on his mind, mulling over Jesus’ strange and yet inviting words.

I like this story because Nick was brave enough to have a private conversation with Jesus instead of simply going along with the others in his religious circle. I like this story because Nick was not too proud to tell Jesus that he did not understand what he was saying. I like this story because Jesus did not pressure Nick to be born again right then and there. Nick was a contemplative man and Jesus knew he needed to ponder these things. I like a contemplative person.

I like this story because Jesus points out to Nick (and to us) the most essential thing about our lives is that God loves us not because of what we have done (or not done) but because of what Jesus has done for us. I like this story because I need to hear that “whoever believes in him is not condemned.”7  Because I feel like a failure sometimes, lost, lonely, helpless and hopeless. I’m sure that beneath Nick’s righteous exterior he felt the same way or else why would he have visited Jesus?

The end of Nick’s story can be loosely constructed based on a few short verses. He came to Jesus’ defense later on when he asked the chief priests, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”8  And again after he was crucified, “Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.”9

We, like Nicodemus, often think we need to understand everything about God before we decide to “be born again,”—which sounds like an impossible and eccentric thing to do. Thomas, who had followed Jesus for three years, had trouble understanding everything too. He required physical proof of Jesus’ resurrection. So when Jesus showed up, he spoke to Thomas about it and reprimanded him, too, He told him, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.”10  Jesus requires that we have faith in him. You know, faith, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”11

Some would believe that we should question and ponder and research and “google” everything until we have all the answers about God. But that is not how it works at all. Nicodemus was an intelligent, righteous, godly man, a leader and “a ruler of the Jews.” And he had to unlearn all that and start over, and “be born again” in order to be a man of faith.

Because “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”12 What “rewards” are we talking about? So many things, the greatest of which is everlasting life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”13

“How can these things be?” Just have faith.  

1John 3:1   2John 3:3   3John 3:5   4John 3:7   5John 3:9   6John 3:10   7John 3:18   8John 7:50  9John 19:39   10John 20:27   11Hebrews 11:1   12Hebrews 11:6   13John 3:16  

Truly Free

When people talk about freedom, it’s generally in the context of government and country. Jesus talked about freedom. But his freedom is much broader. It is spiritual freedom, which is misunderstood and downplayed and even dismissed by many people.  It is, however, the most important freedom that we have.

One time when Jesus was talking with “the Jews who had believed him,” he told them, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”1  But their response was “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free?’”2 They did not believe that they had a problem with slavery and freedom. And maybe we do not either. After all, we live in America! We are free!

But our sin enslaves us. At every turn. Even those of us who are believers, even disciples of Jesus, struggle with this daily. We think we are free. But Jesus said, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”3

What does it mean to be “free indeed”?  Read Galatians. The concept of slavery and freedom is weaved throughout the whole letter. Paul says that “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”4 Which is quite interesting because it appears that we are susceptible to being slaves even though “Christ has set us free!” How is that possible?

Because sin is that powerful. We underestimate its impact on our lives. We underrate Satan’s deception and influence. He will appear to be good and we will be tempted to “submit again to a yoke of slavery.” But Jesus reminds us that “we are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”5  We are heirs to the kingdom!

It’s quite exciting! As children of God, we are heirs to the kingdom of God, to heaven, to living eternally in a perfect world with God and with people who love God. And while we await that kingdom to be ushered in, we are to live freely, “For you were called to freedom, brothers.”6  Interestingly enough, the enslavement that the Jews (and we) are deceived by is trying to be a good person! For the Pharisees instructed everyone that we must obey God’s law in order for him to love us. It is still the most accepted “religious” idea of the day. And it is just not true.

Obeying the laws, being a good person—these are not what God requires! And thank God for that, because we cannot always obey the law nor can we always be a good person. What does God want from us? His trust. Simply that we believe in him. That we believe that Jesus was his Son and that he died for us in order that we might be acceptable to him.

When we trust in Jesus, he begins to live in us and we begin our transformation of becoming more and more like him. And that is when we discover what it is like to be “free indeed.” To be free in Christ is the most redemptive state there is. It is so much more than the wonderful patriotic freedom. That’s why Jesus said, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”7 And the only way to experience this freedom is to not “submit again to the yoke of slavery!”4 Just don’t! Choose Christ. “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”8

Compared to God, everything else is “weak and worthless.” Life in Christ is liberating, so let us not be tempted to be under the yoke, the weight, of slavery today. Just for today. One day at a time, people!

1John 8:31   2John 8:33   3John 8:34-36   4Galatians 5:1   5Galatians 4:7   6Galations 5:13   7John 8:36     8Galations 4:8-9