Refocus

In John chapter 2 verses 24 and 25, we’re told that Jesus did not commit Himself to the crowds that were gathered in Jerusalem for Passover. He didn’t entrust His security to them. And we’re told why. We’re told that He knows what’s in us, He know what’s in man.

And at first that sounds a little sad, like, you know, He has a pretty low opinion of us. But that’s not the case. In fact, we know that God sent Jesus to save us. He, God, our Heavenly Father thought that you and I were valuable enough that we were worth the suffering and death of His Son. Wow!

So that’s not what this is talking about. But what it is talking about is the fact that there’s nothing I can hide from God, kind of like this old warehouse here that you can see right through. When God looks upon my life, there isn’t any hiding places. There are no shadows. He knows me fully. But you know, that’s a good thing.

I spend so much of my life working to present a persona that I think will match the expectations of other people and put me in the best light and in their good graces. And it is exhausting. O, man!

To know that there’s one Person in this universe I don’t have to shape myself for, Who I can tell my deepest, darkest secrets to and it won’t change His opinion of me at all, to know I am safe with Him…

Wow! Amazing! Amazing!

It reminds me of a line from an old song that I learned as a kid: “The One Who knows me best, loves me most.”

The Man at the Pool (part 4)

by Randy Boldt - Crosspointe Ministries (TheJohnProject.com)

-------------------------

We’ve been considering the account in the first fifteen verses of John chapter five regarding the man at the Pool of Bethesda. Remember, this was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years – not really dying, but not really living either. Then, just like He does for each of us, Jesus showed up with an invitation for him to trade his brokenness for wholeness. But, He said the restoration process would require three things of the sick man. First, He told him, “rise,” then, “take up your bed,” and after that, “walk.”

And now, having previously looked at the first two, let’s take a close look at this last one and what it means for anyone who wants to receive Christ’s gift of wholeness and begin to truly LIVE.

There are a couple of things I’d like to focus on. To start with, Jesus was inviting the man to choose to step forward into the rest of his life – the life he was made for.

But why would he even have to say this?

Because it doesn’t come naturally. Although the passage doesn’t say so explicitly, it clearly implies that this man had never walked before. And we’ve already talked about the human tendency to prefer a known past to an unknown future. So, let’s not miss the point that living whole is a moment-by-moment CHOICE to do the IMPOSSIBLE, to defy gravity in the power of our Savior. Like the man at the pool, it’s not something any of us has ever done before. And we simply don’t know how.

But, Jesus is making it clear that it’s just like walking – putting one foot in front of the other – taking one step at time. It’s not about arriving somewhere. It’s about starting a journey, one that involves discovery, development, and delight with every footfall. And we cannot afford to skip even one of them. Even when the route isn’t a straight line, we don’t have to figure out where it leads. All we have to do is keep our eyes on Jesus and WALK. He can be trusted with everything else.

But there’s another thing.

As the man from the pool began to move forward in his healing, he was immediately confronted by the Jewish leaders telling him he was breaking their religious law by carrying his bed on the Sabbath. And that’s exactly the kind of thing that happens to everyone who chooses to step across the threshold from brokenness to wholeness. Our healing WILL be challenged and FEROCIOUSLY, because the Devil cannot afford to have God’s people actually living in freedom. It poses such a threat to his strategies that he is always quick and loud with his opposition.

Should that make us afraid? Heck, no! The Bible says that the battle is the Lord’s not mine, and He’s already won it. So even when the enemy roars at us with his temptations, condemnations, and accusations, all we need to do is WALK – walk right past him one step after another into the glorious life Christ is releasing us into.

And I love the fact that as the formerly-sick-but-now-healed man shouldered his way past his accusers choosing to obey his healer rather than surrender to their threats, he ran right into Jesus who was there to meet him in the temple on the other side of that opposition.

And dear one, I believe that will be true for you too. No matter what may challenge your wholeness today, just take one step at a time and walk right by, through, or over it. You’ll find that Jesus is on the other side.

The Man at the Pool (part 3)

by Randy Boldt - Crosspointe Ministries (TheJohnProject.com)

-------------------------------------

Alright, let’s continue our consideration of Jesus’ healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda. And let’s remember that after 38 years of sickness, this man was clearly not dying, but he wasn’t really living either. So, Jesus entered the scene of his brokenness, and in the form of a simple question, offered him the opportunity to be restored to his intended state.

Then, in John five verse eight, the Lord gave him three steps to wholeness. And the first of these was to “rise,” which we discussed last time.

After that, Jesus said, “take up your bed…” In other words, he tells him that if he wants to experience true healing, he’s going to have to pack up his campsite.

For many years now, I’ve enjoyed watching a reality TV show called, “Survivor.” The contestants try to avoid being eliminated from the game until there are only three players left. Then, those who’ve been forced to leave the game, vote for a winner from the three survivors. But before that vote, the final three players will almost always burn down the camp they’ve been living in during the game. And they do that as a dramatic statement of the fact that they will not be coming back.

Something very similar is embedded in the Lord’s statement here. He’s telling the man that if he’s going to actually LIVE in the healing being offering, he’s going to have to eliminate the possibility of coming back to Bethesda.

Why is this important? Because we all prefer the security of a KNOWN past – even if it’s uncomfortable – over the uncertainties of an UNKNOWN future. And for this man who has been sick his entire life, a future of wholeness – as desirable as it may be – is filled with uncertainties. So, unless he removes the possibility, in those times when his healing is challenged in some way, he will be vulnerable to the temptation to return to the twisted familiarity of what he knows.

Now there’s also the issue of identity. I think it’s clear by what this man says to Jesus that he had come to see himself through the lens of his unhealth, and had begun to define himself by it. You know, there’s a huge difference between someone thinking of themselves as a person who HAS a struggle with alcohol and as someone who IS an alcoholic. And the Devil has a lot of expertise for exploiting our issues and convincing us to label ourselves by them. And that make us less available to healing.

In a sense, Jesus is telling him that as long as he has his sick bed to go back to, he will be vulnerable to the temptation to think of himself AS sick instead of as a man who HAD an illness but is now whole.

On top of that, every form of human brokenness has a support structure that’s been built around it: Like friends and family who enable the unhealth, habits that have developed, distorted assumptions, etc. And unless that structure is dismantled, the gravitational pull can be overwhelming. For instance, if a person is freed by Jesus from a pornography addiction, unless that person is also willing to tear down their well-worn pathways for accessing porn, it will be too easy to slide back into the familiar.

So, we have before us a critical component in the process of healing Jesus wants to bring to your life and mine. Just like the man at the pool, He’s asking if we want to be made well. And if so, He says it will REQUIRE us to be ruthless about cutting off every route back to brokenness.

Are YOU ready to take up YOUR bed? Dear one, Jesus is with you right now, and ready to give you the clarity, the courage, and the strength you need to do it.

The Man at the Pool (part 2)

by Randy Boldt - Crosspointe Ministries (TheJohnProject.com)

----------------------

In John chapter 5 verses 6 through 8, Jesus approaches a man who’s been sick for 38 years – not really dying, but not really living either – not really experiencing the life God intended for him. And Jesus asks him if he’d like to be made well. Now, the King James version of the Bible uses the word, whole, here instead of the word, well. And although, either word is appropriate, I like the King James better because wholeness carries with it the idea of being restored to the intended state. And in my view, that’s the sense of the original Greek here.

So, picture this. Jesus walks up to a guy who has apparently spent his entire life in a condition of brokenness, and the Lord asks Him if he would like to be made whole.

Wow! I think the offer of complete restoration implied in that simple question is just astounding to consider. And what’s even more amazing than that is to realize that this is exactly the same question/offer Jesus is making to each of us.

He steps onto the scene of our life’s devastation, looks us in the eye, and asks us if we want to be restored to our intended state. Dear God! How amazing is His love!

But look at the man’s reply. He’s been asked a yes or no question, “Do you want to be made well?” But he doesn’t answer with a simple, “yes.” He answers with an excuse for remaining in his brokenness and offers an explanation for why he can’t be made whole.

O my goodness. Is that like us or what!

He tells Jesus that there are conditions and circumstances sourced outside of himself that prevent him from being healed. “I can’t walk, so I can’t get to the water when it’s moving. I don’t have anyone to help me. Others push me out of the way.”

And isn’t that how we often respond to our Savior’s offer of restoration? We say, “I can never be whole because of what my father did to me.” “I can’t live the life I was made for because I never received the educational opportunities others had, because I don’t have enough money, because I have this disability, because this or that agency, organization, government, or person screwed me over. And our list goes on and on.

But Jesus is still standing there asking a simple yes or no question. “Do you want to be made whole?”

And in spite of the man’s all-too-human response, Jesus offers him three steps to recovery.

And the first of these is, “Rise.”

He’s asking the man to stop excusing himself and simply receive the healing being offered. And I believe some of you may be hearing the same thing from your Savior right now. “Rise.”

I know it sounds like He’s asking you to do something impossible. And it is…for you. But NOT for Him.

Dear one, stop making excuses for your brokenness or blaming it on someone or something outside yourself. Take His hand right now and RISE!

The Man at the Pool (part 1)

by Randy Boldt - Crosspointe Ministries (TheJohnProject.com)

Mark 4:34-50 • Jesus, a Storm, and the Quest for Faith

by Lee Schnabel - Missionary (capaz.info/team)

by Wendy Nolasco - General Supervisor, The Foursquare Church

John 10:17-20 contains the closing stanza of Jesus’ shepherd parable and the response to it by the religious elite.

Having earlier described himself as the Good Shepherd who lays his life down for the sheep, Jesus said he does so as an expression of his power, a translation of a Greek word used in the original text which means having authority to act. He subtly acknowledged his awareness of the Jewish leaders’ plan to kill him that continued percolating in the background, and he declared that when the time finally came, his life would not be taken in weakness but freely given as an exercise of his authority. He said the use of his power in this way was commanded by and pleasing to the Heavenly Father.

That completely baffled the Pharisees. It was simply unheard of that someone would use their power to serve others. In their experience, leaders gained and exercised power over others for their own benefit. Jesus had expressed a concept so foreign to them that they began to debate among themselves whether he was demon-possessed and insane.

But some of them had trouble accepting that explanation because they’d just witnessed a display of that kind of authority when Jesus healed the blind man on the previous sabbath. He had used his power to bless the man with sight and then didn’t even stick around to get the credit. He had nothing to gain and much to potentially lose by breaking sabbath restrictions to minister to him. But he did it anyway.

And that’s the very definition of authority in God’s dictionary – humbly employing every right, advantage, position, gifting, influence, mastery, skill, insight, prestige, sway, strength, prerogative, license, clout, and esteem we possess in the service of others no matter the cost. As his children, we have been given the privilege and responsibility of modeling a different way to be powerful.

But it turns out that’s easier said than done. We often appear to be just as enamored with the idea of hierarchical positions of power as anyone else. That’s why in Matthew 20:25-28, Jesus responded to the request of two of his disciples that they be given positions of power in his kingdom saying:

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles…exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

He taught us by his words and his life that the righteous way of expressing power is not from a position above others but from beneath them, lifting them up instead of pressing them down, not an authority over but an authority under.

And our world is in desperate need of that example right now. Our institutions – commercial, political, social, educational, judicial, relational – are all engaged in a fierce wrestling match over the questions of who should have power and how it should be used.

My friends in the faith, let’s rise to the challenge, or should I say bend beneath it. Instead of joining the world in striving to get to the top, let’s race each other to the bottom. Let’s put the power of our God on display by shouldering the weight of the burdens that don’t belong to us but are ours to bear as we serve others in his mighty name.

Growing up in the 1960s (one of the best music eras ever!) I recall a song by 3 Dog Night entitled “One is the Loneliest Number.” The lyrics say: “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do; two can be as bad as one, it’s the loneliest number since the number one.”

As someone who went through an unwanted divorce 27 years ago—and I’m still single today—I have run the gamut of emotions that loneliness brings; and oh, how the enemy of our souls loves to taunt and torture us when we feel alone.

In that same decade of great music, Barbara Streisand had a hit song: “People Who Need People” proclaiming that they are the luckiest people in the world!

Praise God for the truth of His word that confirms how vitally we need one another! As I walked with Jesus along the path of healing all those years ago, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 became a profound passage in my life. “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not easily broken.”

This scripture shined a spotlight in my dark room of isolation and loneliness, as the Lord showed me the need and reward of forming Godly friendships, iron that sharpens iron. Ones who help share our burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ. At that time of my divorce, my circle of friends was small. But as I faithfully attended church, joined service teams, participated in Bible Studies and Growth Groups, reached out to purposely develop new relationships, the Lord blossomed beautiful friendships in my life!

And how I love the truth of the cord of three, which cannot be broken. That third strand represents our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For in every relationship, He is the strand that binds us together to love graciously, to forgive compassionately, to care for one another humbly and selflessly.

A wise pastor once used the analogy of briquets on a grill regarding the importance of people in our lives. What do we do when we light the charcoal, to get it to burn completely and brightly? We pile all the briquets together. Take one away from the fire, set it off alone, and what happens? Yes, it dies out. The light burns out. God created us for relationship—first to love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength; and then to be like Jesus in laying down our lives for others, in loving one another as He loves us.

COVID 19 certainly has the capacity to make us feel like we are that one lone briquet. But that is a lie. The truth is, as part of God’s family, we belong, we have a secure place and purpose, and we are loved beyond measure.

I invite you to join me in being creative in reaching out to strengthen your friendships and relationships, to even make new ones during this time. Let’s take a plate of cookies to a neighbor, make a call to someone who needs a friend, send a prayer text to one who may be struggling, write a card or note for someone to get in their mailbox, start a monthly girlfriend gathering on Zoom; pray for the Holy Spirit to show you who needs some extra love and care. The possibilities are endless; and the rewards are bountiful.

Proverbs 11:25 promises that the generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

Let’s rejoice that we need not fear that one is the loneliest number, for we are people who need people, we know that two are better than one, Jesus is our strengthening strand, and what a privilege and delight to care for one another in His name.

God bless you today as you touch someone’s life with His love!

“There will be one flock.”

That statement by Jesus recorded in John 10:16 as part of the summation of his shepherd parable would have been shocking to his audience of Jewish religious leaders. They would have interpreted his teaching through the lens of their Hebrew-centric paradigm. So, they would have been blindsided when he said that his flock will include sheep “which are not of this fold.” And because they were likely in the temple when they heard this, his use of the word, fold – which literally means, court – would have suddenly taken on special significance.

The Jerusalem temple complex was designed as a series of courts progressing inward toward the Holy of Holies. Non-Jews were restricted – under threat of the death penalty, by the way – to the outermost of these called the Court of the Gentiles. Jesus was likely addressing his parable to the religious elite within one of the inner courts, and the symbolism would have been hard for them to miss.

He was symbolically if not literally pointing toward that outer court of people they treated with contempt when he announced that his flock would include the excluded. And he was emphatic that their inclusion would not be as an underclass. They would be equally integrated, fully assimilated.

“There will be one flock.”

They shouldn’t have been surprised by this, because of course, this had been God’s plan from the beginning. From the moment he set apart Abraham and his descendants as his chosen people, the Lord made clear his intention was to introduce himself and his blessings to the whole world through them. In fact, the prophet, Isaiah, specifically said that the Messiah would be a “light to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6).

So, Jesus was simply announcing that he was fulfilling this divine plan. His message or good news was gloriously inclusive. The most quoted verse in the New Testament is John 3:16 where he declared a whoever-gospel. He said eternal life is available to anyone who places their faith in him, and that had to mean regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or personal history.

“There will be one flock.”

So why do we as Jesus’ followers have such a hard time with this? Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “…the most segregated hour…is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning.” And he was talking about the ways that Christians tend to splinter into groups of affinity – including race – when we gather to worship.

But my question is not really about that. I understand people naturally like to hang out with others that have similar backgrounds and relate better to certain communication and music styles. I even celebrate the amazing variety of church ministry approaches around the world.

My concern is that we sometimes seem to allow our diversity to mask division and our preferences to mask prejudices. So, instead of displaying the unity of the Spirit, we often appear to reflect the fragmentation of the world. And when we do, we betray one of the most beautiful and foundational aspects of our faith.

“There will be one flock.”

I’ve recently spent time in prayer acknowledging and repenting the ways I’ve failed in this. And I’ve specifically invited the Holy Spirit to make any needed adjustments to my soul’s perspectives so that I can be part of the fulfillment of this aspect of his redemptive purposes. Would you be willing to join me? Perhaps together, with our hearts realigned to his values, we can better represent what he meant when he said…

“There will be one flock.”