Day 243

Today's Reading: Revelation 5

When I travel overseas, the first thing I have to look for in that new country is a currency exchange counter. I need to turn US dollars into the currency of that country. My currency doesn’t work on their foreign soil. I can’t use dollars when they only accept pesos or euros.

In today’s reading, we are introduced to a currency that is required to live on eternal soil and a transaction that benefits the planet. The return or rate on the currency is unlike anyone has ever seen or heard. Listen to these words that John hears being sung in heaven: “They sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation’” (Revelation 5:9).

Did you see the transaction?

“You [Jesus] purchased for God”—the transaction

“With Your blood”—the currency

“Men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation”—the product purchased, all humanity

The blood of Jesus was the currency that heaven accepted to purchase our redemption. The blood of Jesus is the only acceptable currency that allows me to go to heaven. If the value of an article is determined by the price paid for it, and Jesus died for you, then you can believe you are very valuable to God because God is not a foolish investor. Your worth to Him is the price of His precious Son’s life.

“The temptation of our times is to look good without being good.” In other words, we try to use bogus currency that heaven, that foreign land, will not accept. We spend money and time trying to fix the outside, thinking it will fix the inside. “We suck and tuck and are still stuck and out of luck” (Brennan Manning). The inside issue is the issue, and the issue is a sin issue. The cross has revealed to good men that their goodness has not been good enough.

Men have tried for ages to get by on bogus currency. Let’s see why this currency called the blood of Jesus is so important to understand. Jesus was punished for my sin because sin had to be punished. His shed blood was the result of my sin and its payment for my sin.

If my sin was not transferred to Jesus, then someone else has to pay for it. Why? Because it is a crime against God, and all crimes must be paid for. You and I would not be here if we had to pay for that crime against God. Someone had to die for committing crime against God—and it was Jesus who died in our place. But with one caveat: the One who died for me rose again!

Jesus’ death is the acceptable payment, the currency for all of humanity. Why is sacrifice necessary for the atonement of sin? Because Justice demands it. A crime cannot be forgiven without a payment or just an “I’m sorry.” We live in a time in which people try to pay the crime with the wrong currency and have never done the currency exchange.

Let me give you three currencies that God won’t accept:

Currency #1: Sincerity. Some think that because they mean well that this is enough. But we have to exchange for the blood of Christ.

Currency #2: Service. Some think that God owes them something because of their basic decency. That good people go to heaven, and goodness is measured on a scale against their bad things, and if the scale tips in the good favor, then they’re in. Doing good or being good is their currency. But we have to exchange for the blood of Christ.

Currency #3. Feeling sorry. Some think that if they feel bad for their sin and they cry, God knows their heart. The problem is that He does know our hearts, and the only remedy is a currency exchange, the blood of Jesus.

Romans 5:10 says, “we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,” not by men’s currency of sincerity, service, or apology. We can’t leave Jesus out of the equ

Day 242

Today's Reading: Revelation 4

Pastor Gordon Lester says this about two important words:

“Familiarity and intimacy are not the same. Each has a value in life, certainly in married life, but one is no substitute for the other. If one is confused for the other, we have the basis for major human and marital unrest. In marriage, familiarity is inescapable. It happens almost imperceptibly. Intimacy is usually hard to come by. It must be deliberately sought and opened up and responded to. Familiarity brings a degree of ease and comfort. Intimacy anxiously searches for deep understanding and personal appreciation.”

These are not words for just the marriage relationship. These are two words for the most important relationship—our friendship with God.

Familiarity and intimacy can be defined like this: familiarity refers to knowledge, having information about someone. But for intimacy to happen, it doesn’t stop at information; it needs to go further. When it comes to important things and people in our lives, if familiarity doesn’t turn to intimacy, then we face the danger of familiarity. Have you heard of this phrase, familiarity breeds contempt? All the information you have doesn’t move you closer to the person. 

Intimacy is not for every relationship, but it must be the threshold we cross in the important ones—especially in our relationship with God. Intimacy means closeness. It’s a proximity word and a conscious effort to close the gaps between us. What I mean by closing the gaps is that all mysteries and hidden things are exposed. Intimacy knows the secrets and the motives. It’s like the old saying, the best way to define intimacy is into-me-see.

That was God’s invitation to John the revelator: I want you to see deeper. I want to clear up some mystery for you. I am inviting you to intimacy.

Here is the invitation:

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.” (Revelation 4:1-2)

John knew the Jesus on earth, but intimacy calls for closing the gaps: John, you are now going to see the Jesus you have never seen before. The Jesus in heaven. You knew the Jesus on the cross, and the Jesus resurrected, but you have never experienced or seen the Jesus on the throne.

Here’s what happened to John. When he was in the Spirit, He saw the throne. The word throne is used eleven times in this short eleven-verse chapter. Eleven times! I think God was trying to show John something. John was shown an open door, but it was his prerogative whether he would go through or not. That was the choice of moving from being familiar with Jesus to being intimate with Jesus. And when the gap was closed between John on earth and Jesus in heaven, he saw a throne. Intimacy revealed Jesus on the throne.

That’s what happens when we walk in the Spirit. I think the best New Testament phrase to describe intimacy with God is walking in the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit is to be in step with God, to walk in cadence with Him. Familiarity has moved to intimacy. To walk in the Spirit brings closeness and closes the gaps. When this happens, we see Jesus on the throne, the Jesus in charge, the Jesus who calls the shots. We see the sovereignty of Jesus.

The phrase in the Spirit is used often in the New Testament. Ephesians says pray in the Spirit, Philippians says worship in the Spirit, Colossians says love in the Spirit, and Galatians says walk in the Spirit. And when John

Day 241

Today's Reading: Revelation 3

Some time ago, Cindy and I were doing marital counseling for a couple who were struggling in their marriage. I asked a question I always ask in those types of counseling appointments. It is one of reality and judgment, so I can see how clear they are in their thinking. I asked the wife first, “Is there anything you can do to help the marriage? What do you need to stop doing and what do you need to get better in?”

“I can’t think of anything,” she said. She was basically saying, It’s him, not me. She misjudged herself really badly.

Today’s chapter looks at a church that was in the same boat as this deceived wife. The church of Laodicea was miles apart between their opinion of themselves and the reality of their situation. This is what Jesus tells them:

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” (Revelation 3:14-17)

Paul gave the church at Rome a warning in Romans 12:3. Listen to these words because Laodicea didn’t: “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us” (Romans 12:3, NLT). The Message says, “Don’t misinterpret yourselves.”

Now here is the Laodicean church who proudly said, We are rich, wealthy, and need nothing. That’s their judgment of themselves. But the only opinion that counts is how God sees us. And in verse 17, we have both reality and opinion. Listen to Jesus’ reality: “You do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”

Wow, can that be any different? Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard couldn’t have said it more clearly: “It is so much easier to become a Christian when you aren’t one than to become one when you assume you already are.” Nothing is more dangerous than a deceived Christian, especially when the Spirit of truth resides in us.

How does my opinion of me match what Jesus assesses me to be? Am I Laodicea far off? Do I believe I’m rich when Jesus says I’m poor? Do I believe I don’t need anything when Jesus says I am blind and naked?

Here is a great prayer for us to pray every day from David in Psalm 139:23 (MSG):

Investigate my life, O God,

find out everything about me;

Cross-examine and test me,

get a clear picture of what I’m about;

See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—

then guide me on the road to eternal life.

I have learned that a number of factors can put me in the Laodicea category of misjudging myself:

• When I am not reading the Bible. James 1:23 says the Bible is a mirror. When I read it, I can see the stuff out of place.
• When I am not praying. Prayer is where God talks and the Spirit convicts.
• When I am attending church but not being pastored. I have no one speaking to the areas that need to be tweaked and examined. I have surrounded myself with cheerleaders but no truth-tellers.

The last thing God says to this church is profound. And I have read it wrong for years. Listen to Jesus: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

For decades I used to pre

Day 240

Today's Reading: Revelation 2

Famed classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma was in a rush to get from one side of Manhattan to the other for a quick appearance. So rushed that when he arrived at his destination, he paid his driver, exited the cab, and forgot to take his cello with him. He’d placed the cello in the trunk of the taxi. And the cello was priceless: handcrafted by Antonio Stradivari in 1733 in Vienna, Austria, valued at $2.5 million. Frantic, Ma began a desperate search, eventually finding the cab later that day parked in a garage in Queens—with the cello still in the trunk.

Wow, talk about leaving something priceless inadvertently. In today’s chapter, though, a church is accused of something more devastating—leaving their first love.

Revelation 2 and 3 are messages from Jesus to seven churches. Not every message is encouraging. In fact, they are convicting even two thousand years later. The first church God speaks to is the church of Ephesus:

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (Revelation 2:1-4)

You have left your first love.

A few years ago, I left my Kindle on a plane. I’d leaned it against the wall in the exit row by my seat. I was packing up my bag as we were landing and something said to me, Put that in your backpack. I didn’t. I left a thousand books leaning against the wall of the plane. Let me be clear. I didn’t lose it. I knew exactly where it was—seat 15C, flight #629 out of Atlanta.

Lost has no idea where it is. Lost means it fell out of a pocket, a car, or a jacket.

The church of Ephesus left something bigger and more massive than a thousand books.

For all my life, I have heard the wrong word used in this verse, which makes all the difference about the church of Ephesus. It’s a verse that if anyone has been in the church for any amount of time, they have probably said it, heard it, or even quoted it. I have always said, “You have lost your first love.” Not one version of the Bible puts “lost” in this verse. It is, “You have left.”

Lost has the connotation of removing blame from the person, as in my “love for God” just got accidentally lost in the hustle and bustle of life. Let’s be clear: Ephesus left it. Ephesus did not lose its first love. There is blame here. That’s why they are not being challenged “to find it” but to repent for it. Repentance deals with responsibility.

Ephesus is the only church to have two different apostles write letters to it. In the book of Ephesians, Paul offers two prayers for the church, that they might have more light and more love. This was one of the few places Paul stayed for a length of time (three years). The church of Ephesus was first pastored by Apollos. Timothy then became the pastor (the first epistle to Timothy was while he was pastoring the Ephesus church; see 1 Timothy 1:3). Later on, John pastored the church. It was while he was in Ephesus that John was exiled to Patmos.

How do you lose your first love when your pastors were Apollos, Timothy, and John? How do you lose your first love when you had the apostle Paul hang with your church for three years? How do you lose your first love when you get two New Testament letters written to you?

Two thoughts:

First, Jesus say

Day 239

Today's Reading: Revelation 1

When music, lights, and atmosphere are what we need to get us to praise God, we have chosen cheap praise. Cheap praise needs props to inspire. Real praise needs a revelation.

In today’s reading, we’ve reached the final book of the New Testament. Get ready for a roller coaster of a ride through the book of Revelation. The book’s title and first words keep us centered and steady in a very controversial book: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” The author, John, wants us to know throughout this book that we are not looking for events to happen but for a Person to come, Jesus. The word revelation actually means “unveiling.” It’s the unveiling of Jesus. And it is this unveiling that inspires us to praise.

Notice the praise that comes out of John when he speaks of three things Jesus does: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6, NIV).

What are the three things that Jesus has done for us that inspire praise?

1. to Him who loves us

2. freed us from our sins by His blood

3. He has made us to be a kingdom and priests to God 

Let this sink in. First, He loves us. We have this mischaracterization of God that if we can get rid of our sins and clean ourselves up, then God will really love us. Nothing can be further from the truth of Scripture. The word order is so important here in 1:5. He loves us before He frees us. He loves us dirty but loves us so much He won’t leave us that way in our dirt. He loves then frees us. And thank God, He continues to set us free. Or to quote a familiar saying, “He loves us just the way we are, but He loves us so much that He won’t let us stay that way.”

Second John says He freed us from our sins by His blood. Every time we celebrate Memorial Day and remember the amazing sacrifice our soldiers made for the greatest nation on the planet, I am reminded that freedom is not free. People paid with their lives to make us free. And nowhere does this price come out than in the freedom that Jesus gives us. He doesn’t just love us, He frees us. His love was costly, which John emphasizes in these three words, by His blood. Our freedom from sin cost the Son of God His life.

Third, and finally, He made us kings and priests. We have three parts to what He desires to do in and through us: love, free, and make us. To be forgiven of sins is not the end of our journey. To make us kings and priests to God and Father is His goal and purpose.

Kings and priests are two Old Testament words that were used only of special and exclusive groups of people. A king had authority, and a priest had access. And now John tells us because we are loved and free, we have access to God and authority in His name.

Then before John can go any further with this thought, he bursts into praise: “Has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen” (Revelation 1:6, NIV). When John realizes that God loves us, God frees us, and God makes him something we have no chance of becoming on our own, he also realizes he has a reason to praise God.

When you have a revelation of who Jesus is, you recognize praise is not limited to a building, a day of the week, or a time of the day. Praise is based on your knowledge of who God is and what God has done. Cheap praise needs props. Real praise needs a revelation. And the book of Revelation gives us plenty of fuel for praise.

I grew up during a time when praise and worship came out of the book that was in the back

Day 238

Today's Reading: Jude

There’s an old saying, “The question is not if we will defend the Christian faith, but how well.” Such a true statement. And today’s reading in Jude, though it’s only one chapter, comes out swinging with it. Jude tells believers he wants to instruct them about this incredible salvation they enjoy together but then goes into fighter mode:

Dearly loved friend, I was fully intending to write to you about our amazing salvation we all participate in, but felt the need instead to challenge you to vigorously defend and contend for the beliefs that we cherish. (TPT)

The New American Standard Bible says, “to contend earnestly for the faith.” These are important words for our children and us today as we live in a society where our religion, values, and beliefs are under attack. And we are enjoined by Jude not to sit back while this happens but to contend and defend.

Now the big question: how?

First, let’s deal with what. What kind of culture are we facing? What is the fight we are fighting? Here are two very important words about the culture we live in—relativism and pluralism. Relativism in morals and pluralism in beliefs. What does that mean?

Relativism means everyone’s truth is equal. Personal preference trumps everything else. We hear phrases like my truth. Subjectivity trumps objective truth, and the individual and their “truth” is exalted over God.

Pluralism means all religions are equal, so no one religion stands above another. There is no thought of examining a religion’s validity. They are all equal—“whatever works for you.” The enemy is Jesus’ words that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Vince Vitale explained our pluralistic and relativistic culture like this:

“Imagine being thrown into a game without knowing when it started, when it will finish, what the objective of the game is, or what the rules are. What would you do? You’d probably ask the other players around you to answer those four questions for you.

What if they responded with many different answers? Or what if they simply carried on playing, uninterested in your questions? . . .

“Next, you look to a coach for help, but what if the coach was standing there, looking at the chaos, and yelling, “Great job, guys! You’re all doing great! Keep going! We’ve got a first-place trophy waiting for all of you!”

“Finally, you would turn to the referee or umpire for definitive answers to your questions. But what if the players had gotten frustrated with the referee’s calls and sent him home?

And now imagine the conversations about the game on the drive home. They would be completely meaningless.”

Rules and standards make the game meaningful and objective. But we are not in a game. When we live in a pluralistic culture, this is our reality. No wonder many people struggle to live a meaningful life! According to Vince Vitale, living in a pluralistic society means that we lose the answers to these four crucial questions:

• Origin—Where did I come from?

• Meaning—Why am I here?

• Morality—How should I live?

• Destiny—Where am I headed?

So how are we to deal with this? I think the greatest way to contend for the faith is by constantly studying the authentic and the real. As Peter Kreeft brilliantly reminds us: “The more important a thing is the more counterfeits there are. There are no counterfeit paperclips or pencils, but plenty of counterfeit religions.”

Think about Kreeft’s words and the counterfeits that are sold on the streets of major cities. There are no counterfeit Timex watches, but Rolex watches. There are no counterfeit Bic pens but Montblanc pens. There are no counterfeit Target brands on the street, on

Day 237

Today's Reading: 3 John

Where parents used to rely on peers or their parents to help them navigate parenting challenges, such as bedtime, homework, and tantrums, many are now turning to parenting coaches. Many of these coaches charge between $125 to $350 a session and meet with parents—either in person, by phone, or over Skype—to set goals and develop a plan to reach them.

Parenting coaches, which is a more recent profession of just the past twenty years, has taken its place in the $1.08 billion personal coaching industry in the States. It seems more and more Americans choose to hire experts to help them improve every area of their lives—from parenting to sleeping, to finances, to life in general. Parents who invest that kind of money in this arena have one goal—joy. They want to see their children succeed, which in turn brings joy to their lives.

In today’s chapter, the apostle John says something about spiritual parenting, which is true for all parenting: “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4). There is no greater joy for a parent than to see their children succeed. Based on 3 John’s passage, we understand that “succeed” means having our children walking with God.

The words of Jesus couldn’t be clearer and more true when He said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). Having our children graduate college, get good grades, succeed in business, have a great marriage, have healthy grandchildren—mean a lot, but not at the expense of not having a strong spiritual life. Our first priority as parents is their spiritual lives.

Steven Furtick, the pastor of Elevation Church, said, “My goal in parenting is to raise my kids to have a boring testimony. In other words, to stay out of trouble and love Jesus all their lives. It’s just that I’d prefer that my kids change the world without having to have the world first change them. A person’s testimony does not have to be spectacularly sinful to be significant.”

One of my dear friends told me, “You are only as happy as the child who is doing the worst.” That means when one of my kids is not following God or going through a bad time, that is the watermark of joy for a parent.

How do you get the joy of knowing all your kids are walking in truth? It starts with you, not them. As T. D. Jakes said, “You can teach what you know but you can only reproduce what you are.”

That’s why this article caught my attention several years ago:

“An annual Easter egg hunt attended by hundreds of children has been canceled because of misbehavior last year. Not by the kids, but by the grown-ups. Too many parents, determined to see their children get an egg, jumped a rope marking the boundaries of the children-only hunt at Bancroft Park [in Colorado Springs, Colorado] last year. The hunt was over in seconds, to the consternation of eggless tots and the rules-abiding parents. Parenting observers cite the cancellation as a prime example of so-called “helicopter parents”—those who hover over their children and are involved in every aspect of their children’s lives—to ensure that they don’t fail, even at an Easter egg hunt.”

Misbehaving children are usually the result of misbehaving parents. Your children need to see your life with God and your convictions. If they see you compromise or try to “get ahead,” they will become disillusioned with religion, like a young Jewish boy who once lived in Germany.

His father, a successful businessman, moved their family to another German city and then told the family that instead of attending the local synagogue, they were going to join the Lutheran church.

The boy, who had a deep interest in religion, was surprised and asked his father why the switch. His father answered that it was better for business sinc

Day 236

Today's Reading: 2 John

In my library, I have more than fifteen thousand books. I love books on preaching. Two preeminent nineteenth-century preachers whose sermons are in my library are Charles Spurgeon (Metropolitan Tabernacle Sermons—sixty-three volumes) and Joseph Parker (Preaching Through the Bible). Both men had powerful churches in London at the same time. City Temple and Metropolitan Tabernacle were contemporaries, and both did amazing things. Though their books sit side by side on my bookshelf, the men in person seemed to have some issues with each other.

Joseph Parker published an open letter in the newspaper to express his concerns for his friend and colleague, Charles Spurgeon. The letter read, “Let me advise you to widen the circle of which you are the center. You are surrounded by offerers of incense. They flatter your weakness, they laugh at your jokes, they feed you with compliments. My dear Spurgeon, you are too big a man for this.”

Today’s chapter, 2 John, maybe a very short letter, but it has a huge message for Joseph Parker in the nineteenth century and for us in the twenty-first century. In John’s small thirteen-verse letter, he ends it with these practical words that we all need to hear: “Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full” (verse 12).

Many believe 2 John was written to the same people that 1 John was written to. What is interesting is that when he starts off the letter “to the chosen lady and her children,” some think he is writing to the church and not a mom and kids, that it was a metaphor for the bride of Christ. Regardless, the apostle wanted to say a number of things to these Christians.

John gives us this amazing practical advice: some things can be paper and ink, and some things must be face to face. This is so good. And John delineates for us that all information is not disseminated the same way. I would like to put in my two cents to tell you what I think is face-to-face and what I think is ink and paper.

While I was attending the funeral of a loved one out of respect, a family member showed me something I could not believe. He pulled from his pocket a forty-year-old letter that was written to the deceased. A pastor had written the letter and in it shared some concerns and bad news with that person. I saw the letter’s fold marks that were about to come apart from being opened and folded so many times over the years to show people the audacity of the preacher. This person, now deceased, was so angry with the letter and the pastor’s insight on a situation that he’d carried it around for four decades. By the way, I read the letter, and the preacher’s words were true, but that is not the point. The point is that someone carried around a letter that infuriated him for forty years, and now it’s in the hands of a family member who I pray does not do the same.

Though the preacher’s words were true, they did not belong on paper. Some things are paper and ink, and some things are face to face.

Here is the rule: anything that is corrective or negative must be done face to face. Anything positive and encouraging can be done with paper and ink. Why? Posterity and longevity. Paper can be saved. Even for forty years.

I want people to hold onto a positive and encouraging text message or letter of uplifting words. I want them to be able to look at it, again and again, to bring joy and hope in tough times. I have done that before.

When something is hard and corrective, then do it face to face. People need to hear your tone, see your facial expressions, notice your tears, and be able to ask questions.

I wish Joseph Parker would have gone face to face with Spurgeon and not paper and ink. His concerns for a friend sho

Day 235

Today's Reading: 1 John 5

Next time you are in the airport, I want you to notice something: observe the difference between passengers who hold confirmed tickets and those who are on a standby list. The ones with confirmed tickets read newspapers, chat with their friends, or sleep. The ones on standby hang around the ticket counter, pace, and wait to hear their names called to go to the front desk. Which is the signal they have a seat.

The difference in the two types of passengers is caused by the assurance factor. For the standby passengers, their whole day is one big question mark. Will they get on the plane? What time will they get home? How long will they have to wait?

There is nothing worse than living a travel day with one big question mark.

There is a travel day coming for every human being, and we have two destinations: heaven and hell. Let’s talk about a confirmed ticket for eternal life. Can we really know for sure?

Today’s chapter gives us that assurance to eternal life: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

If you ask someone the question, “Do you know if you are going to heaven?” and their answer is, “I hope so” or “I think I am,” that person seems to have a standby ticket attitude with a confirmed ticket in hand. It’s unbiblical and reveals an unread Bible. There is a whole book of the Bible to give them—and us—assurance. It is 1 John.

Verse 13 is so clear: “These things I have written . . . so you can know you have eternal life.” John wants us to know we have a confirmed ticket and we can have a confirmed-ticket attitude.

He is saying to every Christian that we should not be a question mark but an exclamation point for God. And he helps us to do it. We are not any more secure in Christ whether we have a big faith or a small faith—as long as we have a true faith. And true faith is this—that we believe in the Son of God. Every Christian should be able to say, “I know I am saved and going to heaven.” Why? Edward Mote’s lyrics from this old hymn tell us:

My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

One phrase always sticks out to me with this famous hymn: I dare not trust the sweetest frame. What does “frame” mean? We say things like, “He is not in the right frame of mind.” Webster’s dictionary says that “frame” is a particular mood that influences one’s attitude or behavior. And the songwriter says, “I dare not trust it”—even when it’s sweet. Even the sweetest frame will let us down. We are born again not because of how we feel but because of what Christ has done for you and me, and we believe He died for you and me.

A man once came to D. L. Moody and said he was worried because he didn’t feel saved. Moody asked, “Was Noah safe in the ark?” “Certainly he was,” the man replied. “Well, what made him safe, his feeling or the ark?” The inquirer got the point. “How foolish I’ve been!” he said. “It is not my feeling; it is Christ who saves!”

If you follow or know anything about golf, you’ve probably heard names such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. But have you ever heard of Doug Ford? He won the 1957 Masters. He never won again and he hasn’t made the cut since 1971 (four years before Tiger Woods was born), but every year he is invited to play in the Masters. Why is Doug Ford invited? Because the Masters’ rules include a lifetime invitation to every champion to play in the event. Although Ford only won the tournament once, hasn’t qualified in nearly three decades, and hasn’t been able to break par since 1958, he still gets to play in the tournament. One single occasion got him the forever invite.

Our salvation is

Day 234

Today's Reading: 1 John 4

For many years when researchers asked Americans about their top fears, here is how Americans responded:

Their number 1 fear: public speaking.

Their number 2: death.

Think of it. People would rather die than speak in front of people. That's especially an issue for Christians because Christianity is very vocal: vocal in praise, vocal in witnessing, vocal in preaching. It's tough to be a silent Christian.

Fortunately, 1 John 4 provides an antidote, a simple prescription, to fighting fear: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love" (verse 18).

Perfect love casts out fear.

I don't cast out fear "in the name of Jesus." I don't bind it. Fear is removed by displacement. Love removes fear. Love casts it out, not me.

Fear is actually a love problem.

Two explorers were on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. "Keep calm," the first explorer whispered. "Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run."

"Sure," replied his companion. "You've read the book, and I've read the book. But has the lion read the book?"

Reading books and going to counseling does not seem to deal with fear when the lion is looking you right in the eye. But John says love fixes fear.

When I am afraid to speak to someone about Jesus, the truth is, I don't love them. In fact, I love me and my security and what that person thinks about me more than I love that person and their future and eternity! What an indictment.

The same is true when we have to correct someone. Think of it from a parent standpoint. If I refuse to correct my son or daughter, knowing their attitude or behavior is destructive, I am saying my refusal is because of fear, which is a love issue. I love being their friend more than their parent. I love keeping calm in my house. I love my peace and quiet, so I say nothing.

How about worship? When the Bible instructs me to lift holy hands, and I just can't do it because I am self-conscious, isn't that fear? Fear of what others think of me? And fear is a love problem. I don't want to appear like a fanatic in front of people.

So how do we face fear?

I want you to think of a conversation that Jesus had with a very fearful man after His resurrection. Fear made him deny Jesus three times. His name was Peter, and the conversation was fixing fear with love. The apostle John captured the conversation in John 21:15-17:

"So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My lambs." He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep."

The man that Jesus was going to use to preach the first message of the church in Acts 2 was Peter. The man who couldn't even speak to a little girl without denying Jesus was now going to have to testify of Jesus in the same place he buckled in fear. What is revelatory about Jesus fighting Peter's fear is that Jesus never asked Peter, "Do you love sheep?" Jesus said, "Do you love me? Because if you love Me, then you will do the right thing for them."

So t