No Fault in Him

Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”

(John 19:5-6)

 

Pilate and Herod represent the powers and kingdoms of the world, while the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Jewish priesthood represent the world’s religious authority. Both are children of the flesh bent on persecuting the children of God, and it has been that way since Cain and Abel. It is still that way.

 

Pilate could find no fault in the Lord, and even today, the world recognizes Jesus as a sterling example and a wonderful specimen of human nature. They see Him as someone akin to Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed, or Ghandi. They have no problem with Jesus, until they are inflamed by the devil, who resents His claim to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

 

Religious people resent Jesus, because they believe they can please God by good works and acts of devotion and piety; that they can impress God with acts of heroism and self-sacrifice, and that the Blood of Jesus is a trivial complication. Yet, the scriptures teach there is no way to come to God but by His Blood. Thus, worldly men ignore Jesus, and religious men hate Him and the Good News He speaks.

           

Beloveds, Jesus is the King Everlasting, and His rule is sure by the victory He won on Calvary. No, there is no fault in Him, nor will there ever be. May we, too, be found faultless because we are found in Him!

 

Let’s Pray — Father, my devotion is to the man Jesus Christ, and no one else. I find my pleasure in him alone, and I pray he finds pleasure in me. In Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

 

 

Just So You Shall Make It

According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it. (Exodus 25:9)

Moses was given clear and precise instructions on building the tabernacle and offering acceptable worship to God. We have been given a clear pattern in Jesus, and we too, are to follow that pattern of life and worship carefully. That is what it means to walk with God and to have fellowship and communion with Him. 

God’s pattern is not rigid and confining, nor does it produce sameness or uniformity, but oneness and agreement — and that in Christ Jesus. Just as Moses spent time on the Mount with God seeing the reality of heavenly order and worship, we come to Jesus and see the same in Him. Moses built the tabernacle according to what he saw on the mountain. We build a life and habit of worship according to what we see in Jesus.

Let’s Pray — Dear Father, teach me to follow the clear pattern I have been given in Jesus. He is my Example and Guide in all things. Help me to follow Him faithfully and closely. In Jesus, Amen.

The Narrow Gate

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”
(Matthew 7:13)

There are many Christians, but few followers of Christ. That is because salvation is free, and Jesus paid it all. Yet, following Him is costly, and few are willing to pay. That is not to say any one is superior to another in spiritual things. Just that few have laid down their lives, and Jesus cannot lift up a life that is not laid down. 

 

Those who want to be great find no place in the Kingdom of God, but He welcomes those who are humble. Good people do not need God, but hopeless sinners do. If I am righteous, I do not need His righteousness. If I am first, Jesus says I will end up last. 

 

Sadly, this is rarely taught in the church today. Help us, Lord!

 

May we choose to be among the few; those who are called and chosen — those willing to die to ourselves so Christ can live in us — those who seek the Kingdom and the King first — those found at the Lord’s feet — those seated at His table. That is where I choose to be, and I hope to see you there, too.

 

Let’s Pray — Lord, you are my one and only desire. All my springs are in You! Amen.

Worship vs. Skepticism

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45-51)

And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” (John 7:15)

 

An egregious error in religious education is the spirit of skepticism and an academic or scholastic approach to the Bible. Far too many are led astray by a hyper-critical view of the scriptures that elevates man’s studies and conclusions to the status of the scripture they claim to study.

 

It is interesting and instructive to note that Jesus did not choose a single disciple from the religious institutions, leadership consortiums, priestly families, thinkers, philosophers, or intelligentsia of His day, but fishers, tax collectors, zealots, and the like.

 

The religious leaders and thinkers of the day were dumbfounded by Jesus Christ, the Word Himself, thus proving their ignorance of everything they claimed to know. That ignorance gave way to scorn and contempt, which partnered with their pride and jealousy to make them incapable of seeing what was right before their eyes — “Behold, the Lamb of God.” 

 

Help us, Lord!

 

The study of God’s Word is a wonderful and admirable thing, but a critical approach to anything scriptural is wrong at the very start. God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. No one knows anything spiritual as they ought to know it unless the Holy Spirit reveals it.

 

Let’s Pray — Lord, help avoid the trap of religious pride and arrogance. May we receive the ingrafted Word in our hearts by faith, and refuse doubt, scorn, and skepticism. Amen.

 

Less Might Be More

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” (Mark 12:41-44)

God calculates, thinks, measures, and evaluates differently than we do. He weighs things on another scale — a spiritual scale. He searches the heart, not external things. He is not impressed by many or much, and His power is not limited by little or few. He prefers emptiness and humility above worldly success and riches. He is pleased by faith and disappointed by doubt.

 

Those who trusts in God are wise and successful. Jesus is the center of our focus and our thoughts. We see things through a spiritual lens, and we see clearly, as as God sees.

 

Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see You in all things.

 

Let’s Pray — Dear Lord, give me heavenly values, so I can see men and women as You do — so I can see myself as You do. Amen.

How We Know

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:17-19)

 

John the Beloved teaches us that God is love. When we love as He loves, we are manifesting the true and living God in the world. God’s love is undeniable and unmistakable, as it is of a higher order, and no other love compares to it. God’s love is without manipulation or agenda, it gives its all and expects nothing in return — it is not exhausted nor frustrated, because God is neither exhausted nor frustrated.

 

Therefore, when we abide in Him and He abides in us, we enjoy the perfect union that casts out the fear and uncertainty that hinder every other relationship. We are fearless lovers of God and men, because of the love God pours in our hearts. We have nothing to fear, because Christ has defeated Satan and sin, and we are in Him.

 

. . . because as He is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17) 

What a privilege it is to be representatives of Christ in a desperate and needy world! When we identify with the Lord, we are changed from within, and our only purpose is to seek the Lord’s will. We are confident that He who has begun an excellent work in us will see that work completed, and we are free from fear because we are one with Jesus our Lord.

 

This is how we know we are the children of God! 

 

Let's Pray - Father, thank You for the blessed assurance that I am Your child. You are perfecting me in Your love, and I have great faith and confidence in Your power to finish the work You started. Amen.

Look to the Manger

 “And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)

 

What a strange place to stash a priceless, extravagant Gift — a barn, an animal stall in the dark of night! I’m sure it wasn’t heated or air conditioned, it didn’t smell so good, and there were no beds, linens, or even a bathroom. And how do you think Mary and Joseph felt when the promises of God led them on a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in the ninth month of her strange and inexplicable pregnancy? Yet the fulfillment of all God’s promises could not be found in the palaces, treasuries, or museums of the world -- but in a manger. Look to the manger.   

 

If God wanted the world to receive the Gift of Jesus Christ, why would He hide Him where most of us were sure not to find Him? And how do we find our way there? The manger can only be found by students of the Word following the ways of God, and when we seek Him with all our hearts, we will find Him! When we finally recognize Him as He truly is (and not how we want Him to be), we discover He was guiding us all along — guiding us by our faith. Faith always seeks Jesus and leads us to the humble, hidden, obscure depths of intimacy with Him. Seek and you will find. Look to the manger.

 

Let's Pray - Father, thank you for leading us by faith and bringing us to the feet of Jesus Christ. That is the most high place, and that is where we belong. Amen.

Hidden in Christ

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

Hebrews 11 teaches us this world is not our home. Our faith separates us from the world around us and unto the God within us. My comfort is in all Christ is and all He does, and I take no comfort in myself or anyone else, in my works or any other man’s. Without Jesus, I am nothing — but in Him I am the righteousness of God, and He is pleased to call me His child. 

 

Therefore, I take comfort in my uncomfortable position — a world (and sometimes a church) where I simply do not fit. A world where I am often hated, misunderstood, excluded, and forgotten. But God remembers. He draws me near when others shun me. He sees me and hears me when the world shuts its eyes and ears. 

 

He loves me.

 

I am learning see the world through God’s eyes, and to see myself that way also. I will seek Jesus and rest in Him — His love for me. I am willing to be forgotten because God remembers. 

 

This world has nothing for me.

 

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

(Hebrews 13:5)

 

Let’s Pray — Father, I find my identity, my sufficiency, and my joy in Jesus. I am willing to look away from the world and focus on heaven. That is where my life is hidden — with God in Christ! Thank you and Amen.

 

We Must Speak Truthfully

The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”  (John 4:17-18)

We must learn to be honest if we wish to go any farther with God. Sometimes the truth is hard and unpleasant but speak it anyway. The woman at the well answered Jesus truthfully, and her honesty opened the door for the most consequential conversation she would ever have. So it is for us.

 

Jesus Christ is the truth, and a truthful conversation is the only kind He will ever have with us. Until we are honest about everything, we cannot be honest about anything. This is a hard lesson to learn but learn it we must if we are God’s children. He expects honesty, and we cannot go on with Him without it.

 

Always tell the truth. Always.

 

Let’s Pray — Dear Father, touch our hearts and renew an upright spirit within us. Impart Your righteousness to us, and we will speak the truth in love. In Jesus, Amen.

Life Over Law

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)

God gave Israel the Law of Moses, knowing they would not and could not fulfill it. That is because the Law was not the end of the conversation, but the beginning. The Law and the prophets

 pointed toward something and someone better than works and religious observances — they pointed to Jesus and His Gospel. Israel pursued the law of God through works but did not come to God by faith. 

 

Yet, there is good news. Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law by pleasing the Father in every way — submitting Himself, even to the tragedy of the Cross. Thus, He is the Savior of Israel, and yes, of the entire world. 

 

This is why Jesus came some 2000 years ago — to fulfill God’s requirement for those who could not — for those who simply believe. Therefore, God is pleased and satisfied in Him; and He is pleased and satisfied in those of us who are found in Him. I hope and pray that includes you.

 

Let’s Pray — Precious Lord, thank You for considering me, forgiving me, and saving me. When I consider Your great love for me, I am humbled and grateful. I will worship You in spirit and in truth. Amen. 

Learning to be Trustworthy

. . . for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6-8)

God’s ways and our ways are never the same, and His thoughts are always superior to ours. It is good for us to agree with this truth, because it is the basis for understanding the things He wants to do for us and through us. Thus, each of us will be challenged with opportunities to believe God — to walk in the spirit, and to walk by faith. The choices we make in those moments will determine how we play our role in the work God does. Can He work through us and with us? Or does He have to work around and despite us? 

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38)

The angel Gabriel has spoken to Zacharias about the miracle of bringing a son into the world through him and his wife Elizabeth, who were far past their childbearing years. He doubted, and the angel humbled him for his unbelief, silencing him until the child was born. Gabriel did not have to humble Mary, and she will ever be remembered as a willing vessel of honor, called, chosen, willing, and faithful to God. Mary received her calling with humility and gratitude, and so must we. 

If you are God’s child, He will call your name and reveal Himself to you. So, be prepared to receive Him, and embrace His encouragement and instruction with faith. That is what pleases God. That is what it means to trustworthy.

Let’s Pray — Father, I am determined to take You at Your word when You speak. I desire to be a trustworthy steward of revelation. My hands and my heart are open to everything You have for me. In Jesus alone, Amen.

When God Speaks

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” (Luke 1:18-20)

 

Some things are easy to believe, while other things are harder. That is because when God speaks to us, He is never speaking to our intellect, our feelings, or our will. He is speaking to our spirit. He does not expect us to always understand, but to always trust and obey Him. That is where Zacharias fell short.

 

Zacharias was a religious man, perfect in all things pertaining to the Law of Moses. But Gabriel was preparing the way for one greater than Moses, and he was looking for faith. He silenced Zacharias — not to punish him, but because the season ahead needed a man speaking words of encouragement, not words of doubt and fear. 

 

Can God trust you with revelation and with answers to prayer? Will you believe Him when He speaks? Will you take God at His Word, believing nothing is impossible with Him? Zacharias failed the test, at least in the beginning, so God humbled him. Does He have to humble you and me, or will we just believe?

 

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Let’s Pray — Father, I thank You for the gift of faith that keeps me believing in You and following You everywhere You lead. May I be a trustworthy steward of truth and revelation. Speak, Lord. I am listening. Amen.

Joy and the Overcomer

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

The world and its mindset are under the sway of Satan, and they are fiercely hostile to the Person, message, and church of Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus continually encourages His disciples to follow Him closely, lest the difficulties and cares of life draw us away from the victorious life He ordains for us — those who overcome.

 

The overcomer is full of "good cheer," because the love of God is the assurance of victory and good success. The present hardships draw us to God, and there we find peace that defeats our fears, and our faith grows with each victorious experience. Our lives are the proof that we can live for God amid a wicked and perverse generation, and we can do so joyfully. 

 

Where there is overcoming life and love, there is joy. We absolutely refuse to lose our joy, because the joy of the Lord is our strength — our life.

 

Let’s Pray — Dear Father, You are my strength and my joy. I release every care and concern, and I make the choice to trust and obey Your Word. Jesus has overcome the world, and I have overcome in Him. In Christ alone, Amen.

My God and My Experience

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The Kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of things around us, but the things God is doing within us. The work we are given to do is to focus on the kingdom within and heaven above. That is what this passage reveals.

 

Jesus kept a spiritual mindset, and His heart was set on His Father’s will, so He walked humbly and gave Himself to a life of obedience. An obedient life may be difficult at times, but it is the only life that produces the fruits of the Spirit that please God. Jesus pleased God, and so should we.

 

So, be encouraged and strengthened, even in this difficult hour. When we learn to see our trials as necessary preparation for all we are becoming in Christ, we will endure, praise Him, and thank Him for His love and grace.

 

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

(Matthew 6:10)

 

Let’s Pray —Dear Lord, thank You for Your patience and strength that bring me through every difficulty with a song of praise and victory. Be glorified in me today. Amen.