Did I do that??

Did you ever notice that when you say something stupid or do something wrong your mom always knows? Mom's must have some type of secret radar that finds out everything that happens and every thing that you say in life. I know this was true of my mom. Without fail right after I would say something that I shouldn't have said she would show up around the corner and I would know I was busted. The disciples were no different, except that we don't hear about their mom's as much.

Take a look at John 18:15-18, & 25-27. This is the famous story of Peter denying Christ three times like Jesus foretold. We know the story that Peter denied knowing Jesus to a girl at the gate, another person, and finally a servant. But more than those people asking him, I think the worst character has to be the rooster. We see in verse 27 that "at that moment a rooster began to crow." This story is seen in each of the gospels. In Luke it even says that Jesus looked at him after the third time. And in each of those others it says that he ran out and wept bitterly.

The thing is, I can imagine what guilt and anguish Peter must have felt. I can put myself in his shoes. And what is better is that Christ forgave and reinstated Peter, and if He did that to Peter He most certainly will do that with us. But today, let us remember what it feels like to be caught in our denials so that we can live a life in which we do not need to experience that guilt of denial, but rather rejoice in the position we have through our connection with Christ. Let's get the foot out of our mouths and the denial out of our lives!

SYATP

Today is See You at the Pole across the country, and maybe even the world. Did you go today? Were you able to stand at your flag pole and pray for the concerns of this generation? This is a time for you to share your story. Go to www.fbcacrossfire.blogspot.com and leave a comment about your experience. Tell us where you went, who was there, what you did, how God moved, or anything else you want to share about your experience. God wants to move through you and through this generation, don't wait to try to catch up but be the start of the revolution for Jesus!

Passion at the start of the passion

I really like people who are passionate about things. Well at least most of the time. But when people are passionate, they get really excited about things and they just have an infectious personality. In John 18:1-11, we see a few groups of passionate people, yet only one is passionate enough to have control of the situation.

This is the famous garden scene at the start of Jesus' crucifixion. We see the passion of Judas for money, and the passion of the priests to find and execute Jesus. But what happens to them when Jesus speaks? They fall down and are startled by his intensity (see verse 6). (If they were trying to kill him, don't you think they would know what he looked like? My guess is that these were the lower guys on the totem pole at this point so the priests wouldn't have to get their hands dirty).

Next, we see the passion of Peter. This is who I best relate to. Peter tries to take things into his own hands and chops off the ear of one of the group. This is until he is told to put away his sword by Jesus. And here we see the passion of Jesus. The passion to follow his Father's will at all costs. We see Jesus' power in answering the priests and guards, he could have gotten away easily. But he didn't. He continued to passionately follow His father's will. He followed it through the temptations of the world and the temptation to take things into His own hands. He followed it passionately to death. Which character do you relate most with? Let's strive today to have the passion to follow the Father's will.

Meet with me.

As I was looking through John 17:6-18 today, I was reminded of a really cool opportunity we had this summer while on a mission trip to Baton Rouge, LA. During the trip we had what the group called a "concert of prayer." We walked in to a sanctuary with candles lit, music playing in the background, and we were silent. During the time we were given some things to think about while praying and singing worship songs, listening to scripture being read. We could go to any part of the sanctuary to just try to be us and God. We were there to realize he was there to meet with us. He did...And it was awesome and moving.

While Jesus was on Earth he prayed to His Father in Heaven a number of things that were meant to encourage us, and as Jesus says, "that we may have the full measure of His joy within us." They joy we felt and knew when we had that concert of prayer is meant for us to know all the time. It is not about the feeling, but it is about the action that leads to that emotion, the act of meeting with God.

Use this time now to meet with God, He is already here, ready to meet with you, but put some time aside to spend some time with your Father, your Creator, your Savior. It's time to listen to Him saying, "meet with ME."

What's your proof?

Right before Jesus went to the cross, His disciples finally come forth and say that they believe in Him. Take a look at John 16:17-33. In this we see the scenario in which the disciples came to believe. What is the proof they needed? Jesus to answer the questions before they even asked them, this was the proof they needed! It is no wonder that Jesus responds the way he does. I can just hear the "finally" come out in the tone of His voice. Read through this passage and think about the proof that is needed for you to believe. As you think through this, write down what is required for Christ to be believable to you.

Which idea of Heaven?

When I was young, I loved to look outside and see the sun cast its rays to the earth from behind the clouds. I always would tell myself that this was what heaven had to look like. Sometimes I would wonder if Heaven could possibly be right beyond that cloud. Now that I am older, I still enjoy looking at these scenes and am so thankful that God created such beauty, but I have moved on to looking at what the Bible tells us about Heaven, rather than what my imagination would wonder. We see an excellent picture of this in John 17:1-5.

In the beginning of this final lengthy recorded prayer by Jesus, he starts off by praying for God to glorify Himself by glorifying the Son. But in the midst of his petition, Jesus grants us a look at what Heaven is really like, from the only one who has been there. Jesus says this, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." This isn't the typical view of Heaven that we normally get is it? What happened to the streets of Gold and all that other stuff. While that is explained in revelation, this statement by Christ is the essence of Heaven, relationship with God.

No matter what eschatological (that is the study of the end times) position one may take, we must remember that eternity for us starts here on earth. Our heaven starts when we begin our redeemed relationship with God through the savior Jesus Christ. Let us look forward to the beauty of Heaven, but realize the best part of it will be our ever lasting communion with the Father and with the Christ.

Spirit of TRUTH

I am not a big fan of people who don't take a stand. It's not necessarily those times when it doesn't matter what decision or point is made, but rather those times when I think they should at least have an opinion on it. Yet even choosing not to think about something is a decision or opinion in itself I suppose. Maybe I have been looking into this too much.

In John 16:5-16, Jesus is continuing his talk with the disciples after leaving the upper room for the last supper. And in this portion of the discussion, Jesus is telling them what to expect after the Holy Spirit comes. He is telling them what we can expect post Pentecost (the day when the Holy Spirit came to earth--see Acts 2). Jesus tells them 4 specific things that the Holy Spirit, aka the Counselor, aka the Spirit of Truth, will accomplish here on earth.

Point 1: The Spirit will convict people of their sin. People in general do not need to be told by others that they aren't perfect, that they do wrong. The Holy Spirit (what we sometimes call a conscience)is a natural barometer for our relationship status with God.

Point 2: Along the same lines, the Spirit will give us a knowledge of righteousness, using Christ as an example. Without the Spirit, we can not know true righteousness. We also will know that we can not obtain righteousness on our own.

Point 3: We know that by the Spirit, Satan is condemned.

Point 4: That as the Spirit of Truth, He will teach us all things, coming from the Father, and that Christ is willing to make all that He knows, known to us.

God has graciously saved us, but has also graciously made much known to us and sent His Spirit to do the hard work. We may not understand fully the mystery of Grace, but we should be encouraged that the Holy Spirit is ready, willing, and more than able to convict us and other, as well as make Christ known to us. Are you willing to allow the Spirit of TRUTH to guide your thoughts and opinions today? We don't need to be left in that indecisive land. Be open to the conviction of the Spirit through the Word.

Up and Coming

This blog isn't normally used to send out information about up and coming events, but today I will. And the reason I am doing this is because I feel that these events will fit in with the purpose and design of this blog. So without further delay, these are the two opportunities coming up.

1) The end of this month, September 29-30 you will have the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of the Gospel and get closer to God in our Weekend in the Word Mini Retreat. We will spend the Friday night and Saturday with Grace Community Church. It will be a great time with a look at the critical marks of true faith.

2) The second event is October 7. This is a Carenet Youth Rally featuring Ryan Dobson of Kor ministries (google Ryan Dobson and it comes up). He is an awesome relevant speaker who has a gift of challenging students to get closer to God and Live Dangerously for Him. You don't want to miss this opportunity.

Look for more information in the youth room or talk to Ryan if you are interested in going.

Friend?

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you.

Are you a friend? Do you strive to be? Look at John 15 again and think about where you may be on that scale. This is the best time to make a decision to move closer to Christ. As we start off the new school year, make that decision and tell some one. A parent, youth leader, friend... Let them know and give them the right to hold you accountable. Our desire is to make friends of Christ.

the vine

John 15 is an amazing chapter in the Bible. Here we see that we need to be in Christ and He will be in us and in order to be in Him we must love. Take some time today to look at John 15 and share what you find in the passage. God wants to show you what He has to say!

Speaks for itself.

There is nothing I could say to frame this passage any better than it already has been. Meditate on this today and examine your own life according to John 14:23-24:

"If anyone loves me, they will obey my teaching. My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them. Those that do not love me, will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own, they come from the Father who sent me."

Where does your hope come from?

What is it that Christianity offers that other religions and beliefs do not? The answer to that question can be found in John 14:1-13. Here, Jesus is continuing His conversation with His disciples and is continuing to comfort them after his shocking news. But the answer to that first question is explicitly stated here.

Jesus tell's his disciples to not be troubled but to trust, or believe, in God and in Christ who is from God. It is from this belief and faith that we then will have the hope of a future. As it says in the Old Testament, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, plans to give you a hope and future (Jeremiah 29:11), Jesus was again saying that here.

Are you comforted in this aspect of our relationship with Christ? That Jesus is going to prepare a place for us and will come back for us, because we believe. Where does your hope come from today? Christ? Or some other place?

How many times will you deny?

Do you know the song "You will know we are Christians by our love"? That is a great song and I think it should be an accurate description of Christians. After all, love is at the center of Christ's ministry and commands. In John 13:31-38 we see this taking place.

Jesus has just told his disciples that Judas would betray Him and that He would be leaving them. Then he tells them this: "A new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you. By this all will know that you are my disciples." That must be one important command. It was like Jesus saving the best for last as far as commands go. He wants disciples to show love to other disciples in order for people to see that they are disciples. If we put that in to action, wouldn't it be profound?

But this is followed directly by Jesus telling Simon Peter he would deny him three times. While we may never have necessarily denied to be a follower of Christ, how many times have we denied His command to love one another? How many times will we? If we aren't showing others that we are Christ's disciples by loving, we are in essence denying Christ. Let us show love to one another in order that they will know we are Christians, not by words, but by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love.

I like dirt.

I am not necessarily the cleanest person. Don't get me wrong, I shower and like to be clean, but I don't necessarily mind being dirty either. Some people really need to be clean, and of course there are those people who are always dirty. Those categories probably cover most of the human population. This may be an odd way to start off this contemplation, but it leads to one of my favorite stories about Jesus. Look at John 13:1-17.

In this time period, it was customary to have a servant or somebody low in the house wash the feet of the guests when they entered into the house. This was due to the dusty conditions of the area and people walking everywhere in sandals. But in this chapter we see that no one had done that for Jesus or His disciples upon entering. This may have been a common occurrence for them to eat while dirty after their travels (much like I would do). But Jesus teaches them a major lesson about servitude when He gets up from the table and makes Himself into a servant by taking off his outer clothing and washing His disciples feet! As we read on in the story we can see that Peter has realized what is going on and tries to make up for it telling Jesus "you can't wash my feet." But when Jesus tells him that it needs to be done, Peter of course, puts his foot in his mouth again (no pun intended).

So what is the point of this story? Is it about being dirty? Is it about being cleaned? Or is it about humble servitude to others? Read over vs. 14-17 a few times. What is God telling you? Share your thoughts at www.fbcacrossfire.blogspot.com.

Which opinion?

Jesus did not do a whole lot of public ministry in the last week before his crucifixion. In the book of John, almost half the book is given to his last week, death and resurrection, and the time just before He ascends to Heaven. Makes that part sound pretty important doesn't it? But during Jesus' last week before his death, John describes some potent teachings by Jesus in 12:20-50.

Life can be hard at times. Nobody wants to be an outsider. Everyone wants to be liked. These are some pretty common cliche's that we hear, especially about the teenage years. And really, there are elements of truth to these things, but these are not everything. In this passage we see some Jews that believed in Jesus but would not confess it openly out of fear of their peers. John says it is because "they loved praise from men more than praise from God (43)." This is a dangerous spot to be in and Jesus gives them a warning about where their hearts were at in vs. 47 and 48 stating:

As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him in the last day.

The person who is not willing to confess Christ in all situations has to check where his or her relationship with Christ is at. They may not experience any ill effects now, but there is a time coming. Where is your relationship with Christ? Is it hidden behind fear and people's opinions or is firmly placed in God's praise?

King and Crucify

We have come to the last week of Jesus' life in the book of John. And of course that week is kicked off by the Palm Sunday story found in John 12:12-19. We all know the story of how Jesus came into Jerusalem on a young donkey to people yelling and cheering for Him. But we also know that in the not so distant future they would be calling to crucify Him. The question is why the change and what does that have to do with us today?

First, why did those people that were so adamantly cheering turn around and want to kill Him a week later. The answer to this can be found in verse 13 when the people were cheering for Jesus as "even the King of Israel." While yes, Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we have to remember that those people on the first Palm Sunday were NOT looking back at Jesus' life and all the writings of the apostles and that they were in a state of occupation by the Romans. When these people were yelling for "king" they wanted a physical king who would lead them from their captivity. This was the type of king they were expecting. This was the prophecy they were expecting Messiah to fulfill when he came. When it became obvious that Jesus was not going to lead an insurrection against the Romans, they felt betrayed and it led to them shouting "crucify" less than a week later.

So how does this mind set on the first Palm Sunday relate to us? If we don't know who the real Jesus is and the real reason Jesus came to Earth and the reason He is coming again, we have a great chance of ending up like those people in Jerusalem yelling "king" one minute and "crucify" the next. This even happens in our lives today. We go to church on Sunday singing songs of praise, but during the week our lives are yelling "crucify". When we know Christ and His plans, it permeates our whole lives and we are much less likely to live the double life of king and crucify.

What does it cost?

Sometimes I see something that someone has and I just start thinking to myself, "I wonder how much that costs, because that is sweet!" It could be a really nice car, the newest electronics, clothes, food. Do you ever find yourself wondering that? Or there are those other times when you know how much it costs and can't believe that somebody would own something that expensive. We all have those moments. There was a moment like that in John 12:1-8 where Mary M. pours expensive perfume on Jesus feet. Then, in a reaction, Judas yells, why didn't she sell that and give the money to the poor!?!

In this we see Jesus making a pretty big point when he reprimand Judas. That point is, yes it is good to give to the poor, they will always need money, but to give and use these things for me, that is the most important. It was not bad for Mary to have expensive perfume, just like it is not bad for us to have expensive things if God blesses us that way. But think of the most expensive thing you have. Are you willing to use that completely for Jesus? Are you willing to lay it at His feet not matter how much it costs?

(not so) Doubting Thomas

The problem with life sometimes is that people only remember the dumb things you do. They remember the times you weren't at your best or the times when you put your foot in your mouth or the times when you just totally screw up. It's probably because it makes them feel better for their own mistakes. But sometimes, I wish people would remember the good and great things. Because that is what makes people real. This is true for the disciple Thomas (called Didymus).

Everybody knows the story of when Thomas doubted that Jesus was alive until he could feel his scars. We all can relate to that feeling of doubt. But the question is, can we relate to the level of courage Thomas had? In John 11:1-16, Jesus has just heard about his friend Lazarus being ill and dying. When the time was right Jesus told them he wanted to go back into Judea (where he had almost been stoned about a week before). His disciples reminded Him of this but Jesus reminded them that he had to go to Lazarus so that they may believe. This was a lot to ask of His followers. They all knew that it was dangerous to go back to within a few miles of an angry mob waiting to kill Jesus. Actually, they knew there was a real chance that mob would kill them too. But this is where Thomas chimes in (vs. 16) with, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

This was guts. He stood up to his group of friends urging them to go with Jesus to death. In our journey of faith as disciples, we have been given other disciples that are following Jesus as well. To be a disciple looks like what Thomas did in verse 16. It looks like following Jesus where ever He may go as well as encouraging others to follow Jesus as well. This year, take a look at what kind of disciple you are: Are you doubting or courageous? Are you courageous to encourage other disciples to follow Christ all the way? Are you ready to follow Christ all the way? God has given you this courage for this purpose. Let's go fellow follower, that we may go where our Lord goes... even to death!