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It’s Good Friday….what’s so good about it?

Christians around the world are celebrating Good Friday. But what’s so good about Good Friday?

I’ve written about this before, and you can read about it in my post “What Makes Good Friday “Good”?”

The truth is that while Easter Sunday is one of the most celebrated holidays in the Christian faith, what happened on Good Friday cannot be overstated. Understanding the significance of what Christ accomplished via His death on the cross might be the most important theological concept for Christians to understand.

Essentially, Jesus’s death pays for our sins (see my post mentioned above), the veil in the temple is torn (see my post “The Significance of the Torn Veil”) and access to God is finally granted (see my post “Access Granted!”)

Good Friday is a solemn day to reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. It’s important to recognize the brutal suffering Jesus endured as He was beaten, tortured and ultimately crucified, all on our behalf. What Jesus endured was on our behalf. It should be me on that cross, not Jesus.

Scripture is clear that the effects of Jesus’ death were immediate. Hence, we don’t have to wait until Sunday to celebrate what Jesus secured for all believers on Friday – namely, that sin has been fully atoned, we are completely forgiven and we have free, unobstructed and direct access to God Himself!

Reflection

Why do you think Good Friday is referred to as “Good Friday”?

What do you think Jesus accomplished via His death on the cross?

How do you typically observe Good Friday? What traditions do you practice that you’ve found to be helpful for reflecting on the importance of this day?

If you read the 3 different articles linked in this post, what did you find most helpful or challenging to your understanding?

 

Photo by Wim van ‘t Einde on Unsplash

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What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar….or a Coke?

January marked the 35th anniversary of me (Dave) being on staff with Cru. As I reflect back on the many years of ministry, I’m amazed at all God has done in the lives of the students, staff and Young Adults to whom we’ve ministered. What follows is the story of one student whose life was impacted at San Jose State University and the many ways he and his family continue to make an impact for the Lord today.

It was the fall of 1990 and we were on campus at San Jose State University for Registration Day, a day when students could change their classes, settle their schedules and get their books for the Fall Semester.

Our goal was to surface students who had a spiritual interest and since we really wanted to engage with freshmen, we set up a large banner that said “Freshmen, Stop Here!”

Over the years, the “Freshmen STOP Here” banner was effective in drawing new students to our table.

We offered ice cold Coca-Cola drinks in exchange for filling out a spiritual interest questionnaire.

One of the students who filled out a card was Dexter. I still remember his bright smile and friendly demeanor. I flagged his card to ensure that I wasted no time in getting back in touch with this potentially “hot” lead.

What I didn’t know was that Dexter wasn’t his real name and the phone number was not his home number. Being a Cru Staff “NEWB”, I wasn’t yet wise to all the tricks that students use to feign interest in order to get free stuff.

Not long afterwards, I called “Dexter” to set up an appointment to meet. Dexter had decided to put his work number down instead of his home number. And instead of using his real name, he gave a stage name that he had used as part of a dance group. He knew that if he got a call at work from someone asking for “Dexter”, he would know it was someone from this “Campus Crusade” group (as we were known back in those days) and he could avoid the call if he desired.

I was oblivious to all of this of course. I just called the number, which turned out to be an Office Club. I didn’t know any better so I asked for Dexter. Someone on the other end put me on hold while Dexter was paged.

Dexter was surprised to hear his stage name being paged. He thought the call would never go through because there were no “Dexters” who worked there. So why the person chose to page for Dexter in the first place remains a mystery. 

Dexter ended up answering the phone and amazingly, he agreed to meet with me.

When we met on campus, I learned that Dexter was a fairly new Christian. I also learned that he wasn’t a freshman. He was a sophomore who recently changed majors, so he was a “freshman” in his major. He stretched the truth on the questionnaire so that he could get a free Coke. We had a good laugh about that.

Maricar and Rauderick (Dexter) are actively planting churches, building disciples and reaching the lost around the world.

Dexter (whose real name is Rauderick) and I hit it off and began meeting regularly for discipleship and ministry training. He ended up becoming a leader in the Cru ministry at SJSU.

A few years later when Jen and I moved to Davis to start the Cru ministry there, Rauderick drove over from the Bay Area and brought us an overhead projector from his job at Office Club that we were able to use for our weekly meetings (yes, those were still the days when we used transparencies for worship music!)

Today, Rauderick is living in the South Bay Area with his wife Maricar and their 4 children, three of whom are in college. He works as a clinic director in San Francisco, providing mental health services and care for those who are most marginalized. But that’s just his day job.

For the past 23 years, Rauderick has been living out his passion for the gospel as a bi-vocational pastor, providing spiritual care and direction to those in his congregation.

Rauderick has a passion for making Jesus known. He and Maricar have been involved in numerous church plants and are active in world missions, training missionaries in the Middle East and pastors in Vietnam.

Raud and Maricar also have a heart for families. They love counseling and mentoring couples using HomeBuilders materials produced by Cru’s FamilyLife ministry.

For the past 35 years, we’ve sought to make disciples of all the nations, raising up leaders and laborers who could make an impact for Christ wherever the Lord might lead.

To me, Rauderick (aka Dexter) is an amazing example of a former disciple who exemplifies our vision: to raise up disciples who will walk with Jesus and become life-time laborers, impacting those around them for His kingdom purposes.

Please pray for Rauderick and Maricar as they lead their family and those under their care. And please continue to pray for us as we seek to raise up others in this younger generation who will become life-time laborers, just like Rauderick and Maricar!

The De Silva Family
Isabel (front), Gabrielle (middle left), Samuel (back left), Abigail (back middle), Maricar & Rauderick (back right)

 

Header photo by Mahbod Akhzami on Unsplash

Freshmen Stop Here photo by Dave Lowe

Other photos courtesy of Rauderick and Maricar De Silva

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A Biblical Gospel Presentation in ONE Six-verse Passage

Titus 3

3Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us.

4But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. 5He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. 6He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. 7He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness. And now we know that we will inherit eternal life. 8These things I have told you are all true. I want you to insist on them so that everyone who trusts in God will be careful to do good deeds all the time. These things are good and beneficial for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

Have you ever tried to share your faith with another person? What do you say? How do you go about it?

There are a number of great evangelism tools that have been created over the years to help Christians share the message of Christ to others. There’s the Roman’s Road, the Navigator’s “Bridge to Life” and of course, the old school “Four Spiritual Laws.”  (a tool I was trained in)

There are quite a number of newer resources as well, such as The Four Circles by James Chuong, or The Three Circles by Jimmy Scroggins, both of which emphasize sharing the message graphically over sharing a predominantly written narrative.

However, if you want ONE biblical passage from which you can share the gospel message, this passage from Titus 3 is a good choice. Just about every relevant point needed to share the gospel with another person is covered in these six verses. Here’s the summary of what Paul shares:

Our Problem – We were sinners

Many gospel presentations highlight our sinful condition, or in some cases, our brokenness. Paul too highlights our sinful state in verse 3:

Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us.

Notice the words and phrases Paul uses to describe us:

    • foolish and disobedeint
    • misled by others
    • slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures
    • lives that are full of evil and envy
    • hatred towards others

Paul could have just said we were sinful and alienated from God, but instead, he paints a robust picture of the depth and root of our alienation – it comes from our wicked desires and evil nature, which leads to disobedience and ultimately, enmity towards others. In other words, our rebellion is extensive. It doesn’t just affect our relationship with God; it affects our relationships with others as well!

God’s Solution – Jesus Saved Us

Paul spends 4 verses explaining that God saved us from our rebellious condition. These 4 verses are PACKED with information about the nature of God and what He’s done for us. He says:

4But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. 5He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. 6He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. 7He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness. And now we know that we will inherit eternal life.

First and foremost, salvation is rooted in the nature of God. Paul says that God showed us His kindness and love. Salvation is not based on our good works, but because of God’s mercy. Mercy is when something bad that we deserve is withheld. In this case, we deserve punishment, but because God is merciful, he saves us from judgment.

Second, Paul says that salvation involves forgiveness. Verse 5 says that our sins have been washed away, which is another way of saying that our sins have been paid for.

Salvation also involves new life through the Holy Spirit, who has been generously poured out on us.

Lastly, Paul says that salvation involves justification, which simply means that we are declared righteous, or “not guilty”. Because we are no longer under judgment for our sin, Paul says that we can KNOW that we will inherit eternal life.

Our Response

Verse 8 highlights our response. If we want to experience these benefits, Paul says we simply need to trust what Jesus has done for us.

These things I have told you are all true. I want you to insist on them so that everyone who trusts in God will be careful to do good deeds all the time. These things are good and beneficial for everyone.

Interestingly, Paul mentions trusting in God, not Jesus. But it’s clear from this passage (specifically verses 4 and 6) that Jesus IS God. I previously wrote about this in my blog post, “Further Evidence that Jesus is God.” Please read that post for a more detailed explanation of how we know that Jesus is God from this passage.

What I love about these 6 verses is that it hits all the main points you typically would want to share when presenting the gospel to another person:

    • We are sinful and alienated from God and others (verse 3)
    • We are slaves to our sinful desires – hence we cannot help ourselves (verse 3)
    • God is kind, loving and merciful (verses 4, 7)
    • Salvation is not based on our good works but based on God’s kindness, love and mercy (verse 5)
    • Our sins have been forgiven and we’ve been declared “not guilty” (verses 5, 7)
    • We’ve been given new life through the Holy Spirit (verse 5)
    • Salvation is based on what Jesus did for us (verse 6)
    • We can KNOW that we have eternal life (verse 7)

Of course there are shortcoming with using these 6 verses alone, just as almost any short evangelistic presentation is incomplete on its own. As much as these 6 verses outline the basic gospel message, we know that the fullest expression of the gospel includes the greater context of God’s original design, the nature and scope of the fall as well as God’s redemptive plan to restore His creation.

The Bible takes a full 66 books to outline the full redemptive narrative.

With that in mind, no five, ten or even thirty minute presentation can share everything that is written in the Bible regarding God’s redemptive plan. But these tools are useful in giving a person a basic framework for the Biblical story and introducing them to a relationship with God.

By highlighting these 6 verses in Titus, I don’t mean to imply that the evangelism tools mentioned at the outset are deficient or ineffective. All of them have actually proven to be helpful and beneficial to many Christians.

However, this passage from Titus is simply a different approach one might use. Instead of being based on a written or graphical presentation, it’s based on ONE six-verse BIBLICAL passage that can be easily shared with anyone.

Reflection

What has been your practice or habit in sharing the gospel with others? What tools or gospel outlines do you use? What do you like about that tool? 

What do you think are the relevant points that must be shared in any gospel presentation?

When you think of the main ideas that must be shared when presenting the gospel, which ones are covered by this passage in Titus? Which ones are missing?

What do you see as the main advantages of using this passage as a gospel presentation outline? What are some reasons why you might prefer not to use this passage?

Which of the statements that Paul uses to describe our condition (foolish, disobedient, slaves, etc.) resonate with you the most? Explain.

 

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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A Divine Wrestling Match

Genesis 32

22But during the night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, two concubines, and eleven sons across the Jabbok River. 23After they were on the other side, he sent over all his possessions. 24This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. 25When the man saw that he couldn’t win the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket. 26Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is dawn.”

But Jacob panted, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27“What is your name?” the man asked.

He replied, “Jacob.”

28“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “It is now Israel, [Israel means “God struggles” or “one who struggles with God.”] because you have struggled with both God and men and have won.”

29“What is your name?” Jacob asked him.

“Why do you ask?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.

30Jacob named the place Peniel—“face of God”—for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” 31The sun rose as he left Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32That is why even today the people of Israel don’t eat meat from near the hip, in memory of what happened that night. (Genesis 32:22-32, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

The book of Genesis is a rich collection of narrative stories that outline the rise and birth of the Jewish nation.

In this segment of Scripture, Jacob has just fled from his Uncle Laban, with whom he had spent 20 years serving. Their relationship had cooled considerably and Jacob ends up making a quick, hasty and unannounced departure because he fears Laban and what he might do once he learns Jacob is intent on leaving.

With Laban in his rear-view mirror, Jacob is now about to face his brother Esau, whom he had fled 20 years prior. The last time he saw his brother, Jacob had tricked his father into blessing him with the blessing that was supposed to go to Esau. As a result, Esau was intent on killing Jacob, which was the primary reason Jacob ended up with his uncle Laban in the first place.

As you can imagine, Jacob is experiencing a lot of uncertainty and anxiety in his life, with close personal relatives who don’t exactly like him threatening him with physical, bodily harm.

Jacob has done all he can do to try to strategically disarm the situation with Esau but he still doesn’t know if it will be enough. Jacob has sent his loved ones across the river and he is now all alone in the camp. It’s at this point that he has a physical encounter with the angel of the Lord.

One has to wonder what this encounter is all about and what it means. Why would the angel of the Lord come and physically wrestle with Jacob?

I think the encounter Jacob had, though real, is also symbolic of the encounter we all have. For Jacob, his struggle was not really with Laban, nor was it with Esau. His struggle was with God and this encounter essentially brought Jacob to the end of himself.

I was a wrestler in high school so I know a bit about the sport. High school, collegiate and Olympic wrestling is NOTHING like the wrestling you see on TV, which is mostly staged entertainment. By contrast, olympic style wrestling is a grueling and physically demanding sport that is all about control. Each participant seeks to control his or her opponent and is awarded points based on the different levels of control that occur.

If you think about it in this context, one can imagine that this wrestling match Jacob had with the angel of the Lord was a struggle for CONTROL. Jacob had had encounters with God before, but this encounter essentially was a wrestling match for Jacob’s personal identity and destiny.

As Jacob struggles with God, the encounter is essentially a stale-mate, signifying Jacob’s stubborn refusal to relent and submit. However, the man (the angel of the Lord) disables Jacob at the hip, showing that as much as we might resist God, He is ultimately superior to us and at any time, He can disable us. He is sovereign.

Finally, Jacob asks the man to bless him. I think this demonstrates Jacob’s ultimate desire to know and be known by God – to finally submit to God’s desires and plans.

What’s interesting about this is that God’s blessing of Jacob is a demarcation point in the identity and destiny of Jacob. God tells Jacob that He is changing his name. No longer will he be known as Jacob, which literally means “grasper of the heal” or figuratively, “deceiver”. Instead, Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, which means “God’s Warrior”.

Jacob ends up in an all-night wrestling match with God for control of his life. The struggle ends the following morning with Jacob’s identity and his destiny literally changed forever.

It’s doubtful that any of us will have a physical wrestling match with the angel of the Lord. But our struggle for meaning, purpose, direction and identity is real nonetheless.

We each struggle with who we are going to become and whom we are going to serve. God has plans and desires for us and He promises that if we follow Him and His ways, we can experience fullness of life spiritually.

But the struggle for control is real. Our sinful nature prompts us to rebel against God and go our own way, seeking to carve our own path. This often leads to brokenness and heartache as sin often does. And it ultimately separates us from the one who desires to bless us, just as He blessed Jacob.

Reflection

When have you struggled for control of your life with God? What were the circumstances? What was the outcome?

What are some areas in your life that you struggle to yield control to the Lord?

Jacob was given a new identity and a new destiny. As followers of Christ, the Bible says that we have a new identity and a new spiritual destiny. What is your understanding of the identity and destiny that we have as followers of Christ?

What keeps you or hinders you from fully experiencing and living out of the identity and destiny that God wants for you as a follower of Christ?

God gave Jacob a limp, I think, to remind him of his frailty and need to depend on God instead of himself. What are some ways God reminds you of your limitations and need to trust God instead of depending on yourself?

 

Photo by Aqib Shahid: https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-wrestling-in-mud-5217427/

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The Trilemma of Jesus

Matthew 26

57Then the people who had arrested Jesus led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of religious law and other leaders had gathered. 58Meanwhile, Peter was following far behind and eventually came to the courtyard of the high priest’s house. He went in, sat with the guards, and waited to see what was going to happen to Jesus.

59Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus, so they could put him to death. 60But even though they found many who agreed to give false witness, there was no testimony they could use. Finally, two men were found 61who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

62Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” 63But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God that you tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

64Jesus replied, “Yes, it is as you say. And in the future you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God’s right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven.”

65Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror, shouting, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. 66What is your verdict?”

“Guilty!” they shouted. “He must die!”

67Then they spit in Jesus’ face and hit him with their fists. And some slapped him, 68saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who hit you that time?” (Matthew 26:57-68, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

Perhaps the greatest question you can ask and answer is the question, “Who is Jesus?”

Jesus asked this question of His disciples in an encounter that is recorded in Matthew 16:13-20 and also in Mark 8:27-30. I previously wrote about that encounter in a blog post entitled “The Most Important Question to Ask Yourself”.

One of the hallmark doctrines of Christianity is the divinity of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is God.

Those who deny the divinity of Jesus, such as Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and others, often will say that divinity was something Jesus’ followers attributed to Him but that He Himself did not claim. To them, Jesus was simply a prophet, a good teacher or something else, but He certainly was not God.

The problem is that there are a number of passages where Jesus clearly identifies Himself as God. One such passage is John 10:30, where Jesus claimed to be “one with the Father”. Jehovah’s Witnesses have an explanation for that passage that I don’t think fits the facts. I wrote about that passage in a blog post “Evidence that Jesus is God”.

The account here in Matthew 26 of Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin is another passage that gives strong evidence that Jesus claimed deity for Himself.

How exactly does this passage demonstrate that Jesus claimed divinity for Himself?

In this section, Matthew records the trial of Jesus. After His betrayal and arrest, Jesus appears before the Sanhedrin, which is the Jewish religious authority.

A cursory reading of the gospels makes it clear that the religious rulers were out to get Jesus. They sent experts to try to entrap him, looking for any possible offense that they could use against him.

It’s interesting to see Jesus’ response to the high priest, who demanded that Jesus respond to his question about whether Jesus thought of Himself as the Messiah, the Son of God.

As soon as the high priest makes this demand, Jesus responds in the affirmative. “Yes, it is as you say.”

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He continues,

And in the future you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God’s right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven.

It turns out that Jesus is referencing Daniel 7:13, in which the Messiah receives authority from the Ancient of Days to reign as the supreme king over all the earth.

The high priest had all the evidence he needed. He, along with the other religious leaders were very familiar with the passage Jesus was referencing. Here was Jesus, clearly associating himself as God. The high priest and the ruling religious leaders did not accept that Jesus was divine so they charged Him with blasphemy and sentenced Him to death.

The question that we have to wrestle with is the same one that C.S. Lewis postulated, and that is, who do you think Jesus is?

Regarding Jesus and his identity, Lewis formulated what has come to be known as the trilemma – Lord, Liar or Lunatic.

The basic premise is that when confronted with the person of Jesus, we have only these three possibilities. Either Jesus was a liar,  He was a crazy person (a lunatic) or He is Lord.

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. — C.S. LEWIS, “Mere Christianity”

There can be no doubt that Jesus made claims of deity for himself. This passage is one of the clearest examples and it is the reason why the religious leaders crucified Him. If he was not making direct claims of deity, there would have been no reason to sentence Him.

Since it’s indisputable that Jesus made claims of deity for Himself, we must each decide how to interpret those claims. Was Jesus lying? If you believe He was lying then you cannot call Him a good teacher. Lewis states that it would be more appropriate to call Him the devil, for He convinced people to follow Him, entrusting their eternal destiny to Him and his teachings. That would be the most devious thing one could imagine….to convince others to follow you because you had the power to save them when in reality, you knew that to be false.

The second option is that Jesus was crazy. Lewis says that this level of craziness would be similar to a person who believed himself to be a poached egg.

Does Jesus see Himself as a poached egg? Does He exhibit any of the signs we normally associate with mental instability or cognitive impairment?

Hardly.

Actually, Jesus comes across as the most rational, logical and mentally coherent person who ever lived.

The only other possibility, then, is that Jesus is Lord.

How about you? Who do you think Jesus is?

Reflection

What has been. your understanding of the nature of Jesus before reading this passage and devotional post? How have you characterized the nature of Jesus to others in the past?

How would you respond to someone who did not believe that Jesus was divine? What arguments and passages would you use to demonstrate His divinity?

Explain the argument that if Jesus was lying about His divinity, then He cannot be a “good teacher.”

If Jesus is not God, what reasons would a person have for following Him and trusting Him as Savior?

What other passages, besides this one and the John 10:30 passage mentioned, give evidence that Jesus claimed to be God in human flesh?

 

Photo by Bree Anne on Unsplash

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A Tale of Two Sisters

Ezekiel 23

1This message came to me from the LORD: 2“Son of man, once there were two sisters who were daughters of the same mother. 3They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed themselves to be fondled and caressed. 4The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

5“Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrians, her neighbors. 6They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, dashing about on their horses. 7And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols and defiling herself. 8For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians satisfied their lusts with her and robbed her of her virginity. 9And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much. 10They stripped her and killed her and took away her children as their slaves. Her name was known to every woman in the land as a sinner who had received what she deserved.

11“Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution. 12She fawned over her Assyrian neighbors, those handsome young men on fine horses, those captains and commanders in handsome uniforms—all of them desirable. 13I saw the way she was going, defiling herself just like her older sister.

14“Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall—pictures of Babylonian*[Or Chaldean.] military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms. 15Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia.*[Or Chaldea; also in 23:16.] 16When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her. 17So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. But later, she became disgusted with them and broke off their relationship.

18“So I became disgusted with Oholibah, just as I was with her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to satisfy their lusts. 19But that didn’t bother her. She turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20She lusted after lovers whose attentions were gross and bestial. 21And so, Oholibah, you celebrated your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed yourself to be fondled and caressed.  (Ezekiel 23: 1-21, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

The prophet Ezekiel is one of the major prophets of the Old Testament. He was exiled to Babylon along with other Jews living in the nation of Judah. His ministry was primarily to those living in Babylonian exile and his message was a reminder of the sins that the nation and people had committed that led to them being conquered by the Babylonians and taken into exiled captivity.

In this chapter, Ezekiel receives a message from the Lord in the form of a parable. Two sisters (from the same mother) both become prostitutes in Egypt and then later marry the same man (God, in the parable). We’re told clearly that the two sisters represent Samaria, the northern kingdom of Israel, and Judah, the southern kingdom. The parable serves as an illustration of the unfaithfulness of these two related kingdoms, which resulted in the conquering and captivity of its people.

There are a number of interesting things to note from this parable.

First of all, the relationship between God and His people (the separate kingdoms of Samaria and Judah) is likened to a marriage. This was true of His people in the Old Testament and it’s true of His people now. I wrote about God’s desire that we would essentially enter into a marriage covenant with Him here.

Secondly, the imagery of prostitution or adultery is often used to depict the unfaithfulness of God’s people to their covenant relationship with Him. The unfaithfulness of God’s people is often demonstrated through their worship of idols and false gods. This was a recurring problem amongst the Israelites and it became a constant theme in many Old Testament writings, some of which I’ve written about here and here.

The parable mentions early prostitution in Egypt, “allowing themselves to be fondled and caressed.” This is clearly a reference to Exodus 32, when Aaron, with the help of the people, made a calf of gold, which the people promptly began worshiping as God.

However, prostitution in this parable refers more to the two nations’ desires to align themselves politically with these foreign powers rather than rely on God alone for protection and provision. Oholah (Samaria) was enamored with Assyria and was eventually overrun and conquered by the very nation with whom they sought an alliance. Likewise, Oholibah (Judah) was enamored politically by both Assyria, by whom they avoided conquest, and later Babylon, who eventually conquered them and took many of their citizens into exile. It is many of these exiles who Ezekiel is addressing with his prophetic messages.

Third, Oholoh, which represents Samaria, is listed as the older sister. Why is that? If you don’t know anything about the history of Samaria and Judah, here are some relevant bullet points:

    • Israel was one unified kingdom through the reign of Solomon. But because Solomon was unfaithful to the Lord at the end of his life, the Lord, as a consequence, promised to divide his kingdom.
    • Rehoboam was Solomon’s son. He decided he would rule as an iron-fisted tyrant and that ticked off all of the northern tribes, who revolted and elected their own king. Rehoboam remained the king over the Southern kingdom, which included the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. All the other tribes became loyal to Jeroboam, who was anointed as the king of Israel (the northern kingdom).
    • The Northern kingdom became associated with Samaria when King Omri made Samaria the capital of the northern kingdom.

If royal succession were being used as a determining factor, Judah would be considered older, since Samaria represents a splintering or off-shoot of the royal dynasty.

However, in the parable, it appears that Oholah (Samaria) is considered the older sister since she was the first to be taken into captivity.

Fourth, Judah, who avoided captivity by the Assyrians only to later be conquered and exiled by the Babylonians, is considered in the parable as the greater offender, largely because she did not learn from the fate of her older sister (Samaria) when she was taken into captivity by the Assyrians.

The message of the Lord in this parable is that Judah saw what happened to Samaria and should have learned from her mistakes. Instead, Judah followed down the same path of destruction by committing the same sins of idolatry and political unfaithfulness that Samaria had committed.

I think there’s a relevant lesson here for us today. There’s a danger in life when people take the attitude “that can’t happen to me”, which seems to be the posture that Judah took when Samaria was being overrun by the Assyrians. But, as Judah soon found out, it can happen, especially if we forsake the Lord’s protection and provision to pursue the affection of others.

Reflection

What do you think unfaithfulness to the Lord looks like in our culture today?

What are the idols or potential idols in your life that might draw you away from worshiping God alone?

One of the messages of the parable is that unfaithfulness is not just worshiping idols or false gods. In the case of Samaria and Judah, it was also seeking protection and provision from others besides the Lord via political alliances instead of depending on the Lord alone. Who or what are you prone to seek for protection, provision and security instead of the Lord?

What are some practical ways you can ensure that you are less likely be unfaithful to the Lord?

 

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He Who Dies with the Most Toys Wins!

Matthew 6

19“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. 20Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. 21Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.

22“Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. 23But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!

24“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:19-24, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

What does Jesus think about money and wealth?

Many insist that Jesus condemned wealth. Numerous passages are cited as proof that Jesus was a wealth buster. This passage is among them.

The argument that this passage condemns wealth goes something like this:

    • Jesus clearly teaches that we are NOT to store up treasures (i.e. money/possessions) on earth because those things have no eternal value. Instead, we should focus our efforts on storing up treasures in heaven.
    • Furthermore, Jesus warned that wherever our treasure is our heart will be also. So if we are storing up treasures on earth, then our heart will be focused on earthly things, whereas if our treasures are stored in heaven, then our heart will be focused on heavenly, or spiritual things.
    • Hence, Jesus clearly is teaching against earthly wealth.

I’ve written many blog posts on this issue, arguing that the Bible does not condemn wealth or the rich. This includes Jesus. Some of the more pertinent “wealth-condemning” passages are addressed here (Luke 12),  here (1 Timothy 6), and here (Ecclesiastes 5).

As is the case in those other passages, this passage, though using money (or treasures) as a context, is actually addressing a deeper issue.

This passage is addressing the issue of what we invest in. The question being posed is how exactly will we orient our lives?

On the one hand, we can orient our lives to pursue material possessions. This attitude is known as materialism.

Materialism is an ideology or an attitude that elevates material possessions above all else. Similar to being greedy, a person who is materialistic attempts to accumulate as many material goods as possible, seeking security, pleasure and even status through the things they own.

If you’re a person who lived through the 1980’s, you may remember a popular bumper sticker from that decade that read:

“He who dies with the most toys wins!”

This bumper sticker accurately and succinctly summarizes the main premise of materialism, that somehow, the main goal in life is to accumulate things, as if we’re all playing a giant game of Monopoly.

Jesus warns against this approach. When he talks about “storing up treasures on earth” I can’t help but think of someone who owns every new gadget and gizmo and even enjoys flaunting his innumerable toys to others.

In ancient times, one of the ways people flaunted their wealth and promoted their status was through their clothing. People didn’t have luxury cars they could drive around to show off their status, and they didn’t have the plethora of clothing options that we have today. But it was possible to have expensive clothes (see Matthew 11:8).

Jesus is saying that expensive clothes can be eaten by moths and rust can destroy fancy jewelry. Furthermore, any treasured item can be stolen. Of what value is it then?

The alternative to an ideology of materialism is to be kingdom-minded. Jesus urges His listeners to store up for themselves “treasures in heaven”. What exactly does that mean?

Jesus is talking about investing our time, our money, our very lives into things that will not be destroyed….EVER.

There are only 3 things that will last forever: God, His Word, and people. Therefore, it makes sense to invest our time and our treasure (money) into things that will have eternal impact – things that will make an eternal difference.

So Jesus is not saying wealth is bad and he’s certainly not condemning people who are rich. What he is condemning is materialism – the attitude that by hoarding material possessions, I will somehow experience purpose, meaning and fulfillment in life.

Jesus says that “where your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.” He also says that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve both God and money.

It turns out that materialism is self-defeating. If you make it your focus to accumulate things, then those things will ultimately become your focus. Essentially, it will become an idol in your life, squeezing God out of His rightful place at the center of your life.

So we have a choice. We can live by the bumper sticker adage that “He who dies with the most toys wins”, reveling in our many possessions while flaunting our status to others. Or we can recognize the futility of that approach, and choose to follow the suggestion of Jesus by serving God and living in such a way that our lives impact others for eternity.

Jesus reminds us that our earthly possessions don’t last and therefore are of no value to us in the next life.

As the rival 1980’s bumper sticker retorted,

“He who dies with the most toys still dies.”

Reflection

How would you respond to someone who says that Jesus is against money and wealth? 

Based on this passage, what do you think is the purpose or value of owning things?

Jesus is speaking against materialism, the idea that material possessions will bring meaning, security and even success. Do you think materialism is something that only wealthy people struggle with? Explain.

What do you think are some practical steps a person can take to avoid materialism?

What are some of the ways our culture promotes materialism? 

What are some practical ways a person can “store up treasures in heaven”?

 

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Can Revelation 3:20 be Used in Evangelism to Non-Christians?

Revelation 3

14“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:

15‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 17‘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, 18I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20‘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. 21‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”  (Revelation 3:14-22, NASB)

The Daily DAVEotional

I recently wrote about how this message to the church at Laodicea might be the most well-known of the seven messages in Revelation 2 and 3 because it’s the origin of the phrase “lukewarm Christian”. You can read my post here.

But there’s another reason why this passage may be the most well-known of the seven church messages. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus is famously quoted as saying,

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. (NASB)

This particular verse has been used by many Christians around the world, in tracts and evangelistic presentations, to invite those who don’t know Christ to respond to Jesus’s offer of salvation.

“Jesus wants to begin a relationship with you”, the Christian might say to the non-Christian. “He’s standing outside the door of your life and He’s knocking. He wants to come in. But you have to open the door.”

I myself have used this verse with thousands of people as I’ve shared the gospel with them, inviting them to respond to God’s offer of love and forgiveness. I’ve echoed these exact words more times than I can count.

But there’s a potential problem with using this verse in an evangelistic setting.

A few years ago I was taking an online theology course. The professor wanted to create a virtual dialogue, so part of the grade required students to respond to discussion questions he posted online. In order to gain full credit, students were required to respond thoughtfully to each discussion question AND we were also required to respond at least one time to another student’s post. These responses created a sort of “class discussion” but in an online thread.

I vividly remember engaging in a robust exchange with another student who argued that because the message to the church at Laodicea was a message to believers, Revelation 3:20 could not be used as an invitation to non-Christians. In other words, it was argued that Jesus’s invitation in Revelation 3:20 was an invitation for Christians who were worldly to get right with God; it was not an invitation for non-believers to enter into a relationship with God.

It created a very lively class discussion, especially since many of us in the class had been trained to share our faith with others using tracts and presentations that used Revelation 3:20 in precisely the way our classmate was arguing against.

Is what this other person shared true? Are all the evangelistic tracts that utilize Revelation 3:20 as an invitation for non-believers to invite Jesus to come into their life theologically incorrect?

There is no doubt that when Jesus was talking to the church at Laodicea, He was addressing real churches that existed at that time. Therefore we must assume that they were believers.

HOWEVER, just because Jesus was addressing Christians does not mean that we can only quote Revelation 3:20 when we are talking to other Christians.

The truth is that Jesus died for EVERYONE. We all know this. John 3:16, perhaps the most popular verse in the whole Bible, clearly states “For God so loved THE WORLD…” (emphasis mine)

In addition, in 2 Peter 3:9, Peter says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but EVERYONE to come to repentance.” (NIV, emphasis mine)

Many more verses demonstrate God’s desire for ALL people to come to know Him, including Mark 10:45, Luke 19:10, John 10:10 and 1 Timothy 4:10.

Consequently, since Scripture teaches that God’s desire is for ALL people to be in an intimate fellowship with Him (not just Christians), it is appropriate to use Revelation 3:20 with non-believers, even though it was initially written to a group of believers.

As Dr. Thomas Constable says in his Bible notes on Revelation 3:20;

“This verse expresses a truth taught elsewhere in Scripture, namely, that Jesus Christ desires intimate fellowship with all people (cf. Song 5:2-6; Mk 10:45; Lk 19:10; Jn 10:10; 1Ti 4:10). Consequently, I believe it is appropriate to use it in evangelism. It expresses God’s universal desire very graphically, by way of application, not interpretation.”

In other words, the imagery of Revelation 3:20 expresses a truth that can be applied beyond the context for which it was written. Since we know from Scripture that God’s desire is for intimate fellowship with ALL people, the image conveyed in this verse can be extended beyond the initial context.

Reflection

What has been your experience with evangelistic conversations?

Do you think it is wrong to use Revelation 3:20 in an evangelistic conversation? Why or why not?

If you believe that Revelation 3:20 should not be used when sharing the gospel with others, how would you go about sharing God’s desire to enter into a relationship with the non-believer?

What illustrations could you use to graphically illustrate to a non-believer that God desires to come into their life but it is their decision to let Him in?

 

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Is Being a Cold Christian Better Than Being Lukewarm?

Revelation 3

14“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the ruler  of God’s creation:

15“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! 16But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. And also buy white garments so you will not be shamed by your nakedness. And buy ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference.

20“Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. 21I will invite everyone who is victorious to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. 22Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Revelation 3:14-22, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

The message to the church at Laodicea was the last of the seven different messages given to the seven different churches in Revelation 2 and 3. I’ve previously written about the messages to the church at Pergamum here and the church at Ephesus here.

The message to the church at Laodicea is unique for a couple of reasons. First, it is the only message of the seven messages given that does not include a commendation. While each of the other six churches had at least one thing that evoked a commendation from the Lord, the church at Laodicea apparently did not have any good thing that the Lord could honor them for.

The message to this church may be the most well-known of the seven church messages because it is the source for the popular term “lukewarm Christian.” In verses 15 and 16, Jesus tells the church they are lukewarm and as a result, He will spit them out of His mouth.

What exactly does Jesus mean when He calls the Laodiceans “lukewarm”?

The typical view is that the term is a sort of temperature gauge of our spiritual commitment. The lukewarm person is someone who is not completely on fire (hot) for God. Being lukewarm is often synonymous with a person who is indifferent or apathetic toward God. The lukewarm believer is often described as a person who has one foot in the world and one foot in the church. In this view, God hates spiritual indifference and apathy so much that He is going to spit (or vomit) that person out of His mouth!

There are a number of problems with this understanding.

First of all, if the idea of being lukewarm is describing a person’s wishy-washy, tepid commitment to God, then how are we to interpret verse 15, where God says that He wishes we were either hot or cold rather than lukewarm? This would seem to indicate that being cold toward God is somehow more desirable than being lukewarm and just as desirable as being hot.

Are we to believe that completely rejecting God (being cold) is just as preferable to God as us being totally committed and sold out to Him (being hot)?

While it might make some sense to think that God doesn’t like believers who are lukewarm (indifferent, apathetic, half-in & half-out), this understanding doesn’t seem to completely fit this passage.

There’s another problem with this understanding of being lukewarm, and that is that the Laodiceans are not described as being indifferent and apathetic. The issue that Jesus has with this church is that they were self-reliant and materialistic.

Verse 17 says:

You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

The NASB says it this way:

‘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,

The problem with the Laodiceans is that they were focused on their material wealth while ignoring their spiritual poverty. They apparently had gained great material wealth which they ascribed to their own self-effort instead of viewing it as being a result of God’s blessings. God was not central to their lives, which were wrapped up in materialism, monetary gain and self-indulgence.

So what then is Jesus saying? If the term lukewarm is not describing the temperature of our spiritual commitment, what is meant by the term lukewarm?

To understand what Jesus means when he talks about being hot, cold and lukewarm, it’s helpful to know a little bit about the context of the church at Laodicea and some of the other churches in the area.

To the north of Laodicea was Heiropolis, whose water was supplied from hot springs that were known for their medicinal benefits. South of Laodicea was Colosse, which had a water supply from clear cold springs.

Laodicea’s water was imported by aqueduct and was neither hot nor cold. Instead, the water was lukewarm, dirty and nearly undrinkable.

Whereas cold water is refreshing and hot water has many medicinal health benefits, the lukewarm water from Laodicea was neither refreshing nor beneficial.

Jesus is using the poor tasting and uninviting water of Laodicea to describe HIS REACTION to their spiritual condition. Hence, being lukewarm is not meant to be an indicator of the relative hotness or coldness of our spiritual commitment toward God as most people have interpreted. If this is what Jesus is saying, then we have to conclude that Jesus would rather we be against Him (cold) rather than indifferent (lukewarm).

Instead, Jesus is saying that while both cold water and hot water have benefits, there is virtually nothing good or inviting about lukewarm water. In the same way, the spiritual condition of the Laodiceans is as disgusting to Him as drinking lukewarm water.

So being lukewarm has nothing to do with how “on fire” you might feel for God at this particular moment. If you are not experiencing the mountain high vibe currently, that doesn’t make you “lukewarm”.

The lukewarm Christian is any Christian whose lifestyle would evoke the response Jesus had for the Laodiceans. The lukewarm lifestyle is one where Jesus is not central and primary. The lukewarm Christian denies their spiritual need because they have put their hope in material things. The lukewarm believer is living according to the values of the world instead of the values of Christ. In short, the lukewarm Christian is worldly.

This is not a good look to Jesus. It is as distasteful to Him as drinking bland, lukewarm water.

 

Reflection

What has been your understanding of the term “lukewarm Christian”?

How has your view changed as a result of this new information regarding the water supply in Laodicea and surrounding area?

In what ways are you prone to become “lukewarm”? That is to say, what are some things in your spiritual life that, if not addressed and attended to, might evoke the kind of response from Jesus that He gave to the Laodiceans?

What can you do to ensure that you don’t slip into a state where you deny your spiritual need and become uber-focused on material gain and self-made wealth?

How can you protect yourself from becoming a lukewarm (worldly) Christian?

 

Photo of Laodicean ruins by Gray Clary on Unsplash