The 260 Journey

Day 83

Today’s Reading: John 15

Today’s reading is a challenge. It’s a second step that Jesus gives to those who choose to follow Him.

During Jesus’ life, He constantly said to those who were ready to start a journey with God to “follow Me.” And for those who accepted the challenge, he gave them a revolutionary second step: “Abide in Me.”

Listen to these challenging words of this new kind of relationship with God:

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)

What does it mean to abide? The word abide simply means to spend time. Or more specifically, to abide means to give God time (because relationships need time to grow). It isn’t just “come to church” but “come to Me.” God wants time with you.

The day you followed Jesus, you got a taste of God. The day you accept the challenge for what is next, you get a shower (you go from drinking water from a straw to drinking water from a fire hydrant).

You got on the king’s property, now it’s time to enjoy the king’s palace. All of us are given the same amount of time. Those who are successful use it wisely—they abide.

American businessman, Jim Rohn, said it like this, “There are only three colors, ten numbers, and seven notes; it’s what we do with them that’s important.”

What keeps us from abiding?

The cost: time.

The cry: “I don’t have any more time.”

The challenge: It isn’t adding but subtracting.

Louie Giglio, one of the most amazing pastors in the Atlanta area, said, “Whatever you say yes to in life means less for something already there. Make sure your yes is worth the less.”

Here is the bad news: time flies.

Here is the good news: you’re the pilot.

Direct your life correctly.

In John 15, Jesus connected abiding to four amazing benefits. If you take the challenge and choose to go on a journey of abiding, just as you did to follow Jesus, look for these four things to happen:

1. Joy: “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11). Talk about standing out in your arena of life. Joy is attractive because it’s rare today.

2. Obedience: “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10). Abiding makes obedience easy and joyful.

3. Answered prayer: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). The thought of praying and seeing it answered is worth the price. I pray, God answers—because of abiding.

The more I’m with God . . . that’s abiding.

The more I talk with Him . . . that’s prayer.

The more prayer gets answered . . . that’s exciting.

As Louis Lallemant said, “A man of prayer will do more in one year than another will do in his whole life.”

4. I’m productive . . . bearing fruit: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4). Producing fruit is what a branch is meant to do. Without fruit, it’s just a stick.

“Bearing fruit” in verse 4 means doing what you are meant to do. Branches bear fruit, but not all branches—only the ones connected to the vine. You can’t be connected with God without being effective for God.

Many of us chose salvation, that is we accepted Jesus’ call to “follow Me.” Now it’s time for us to accept Jesus’ second challenge to “abide in Me.” Abiding is not just time with God in heaven, abiding is time with God here on earth.

Day 82

Today’s Reading: John 14

I remember listening to one of my daughters as she was learning to count. When she got to the number eleven, what came next seemed normal to her. Unfortunately, it was wrong: eleventeen, twelveteen, thirteen . . . Why not? Seems logical.

In today’s reading, we see that Jesus had one of those logical moments. It happens in yesterday’s reading: John 13:38. Jesus’ eleventeen moment follows verse 38. It isn’t supposed to, but it does: one comes after thirty-eight.

John 14:1-6 is a popular passage for funerals. In fact, I have read it many times at funerals:

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:1-6)

As heavenly as these words are, they were not given for a funeral, they were given to help an arrogant and self-assured disciple named Peter, who was very much alive.

Always remember that the chapter and verse numbers in the Bible were never there when written. They were not added into a printed Bible until around the 1500s by Robert Stephens in the Geneva Bible. That’s why I am not a fan when people try to take the verse number or chapter number and make it part of the message of the text. It just is not there. So if that’s true, Jesus was right, verse 1 comes after verse 38 since there are no chapter divisions.

When Jesus spoke these words in John 14, it was in response to and directly after these final words in John 13: “Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny me three times” (verse 38).

Here is what I love: instead of Jesus leaving it there and letting Peter know that he was about to blow it big time, Jesus gives hope.

Peter says, “I will lay down my life for you."

Jesus says, “You will deny Me three times.”

We all know who’s telling the truth.

The iconic Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937 and was, at the time, the longest suspension bridge ever built. It was also very deadly work. “At the time, the industry standard was that for every million dollars spent, there would be a loss of life,” says the bridge’s spokeswoman, Mary Currie. The bridge’s estimated cost? Thirty-five million dollars. But the structural engineer, Joseph Strauss, concerned for the workers’ safety—as almost two dozen men died in the first half of construction—insisted on placing a safety net under the bridge to catch any workers who accidentally fell. It was a novel idea at the time and cost $130,000. After the net was put in place, no one else died. The safety net made the difference.

In John 14, we see that Peter is about to get his $130,000 safety net when he falls. Jesus essentially tells Peter, “What you say will not happen; what I say will . . . but there is more.” Here’s the safety net: You won’t lose when you fall, you win when you fail. Peter, you will deny Me and not keep your word, but I will keep My word.

What is that word? “I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

This is not heaven, this is restoration. The prepared place was not in the clouds but on a beach in John 21. Jesus was telling Peter that when he walks away from Jesus, he will still have a place. Jesus will receive him and they will be together.

God knows every failure and fall . . . and He has a net. Peter was falling into grace.

Charles Spurgeon said this about God’s grace: “Grace puts its hand on the boasting mouth, and shuts it once for all.”

No more boasting Peter. I think if Peter was counting, he too would say one comes after thirty-eight. The same is true for us, and I am so glad.

Day 81

Today’s Reading: John 13

I know in mathematics 4 always follows 3. But I have to tell you that there is one place in the Bible that 4 should not follow 3. And it’s only because it does not make sense. Or let me say it another way, my 4 and Jesus’ 4 are totally different.

In today’s reading, we come upon two verses that seem disconnected to the human mind, but not to Jesus. Listen to how powerful John 13:3 is: “Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God” (MSG).

Listen to the sure facts in this verse that Jesus knew:

• “The father had put him in complete charge of everything”
• “He came from God”
• “He was on his way back to God.”

These are three big statements. So what should follow these incredible words? If I were in complete charge of everything, my 4 would look something like this . . . “lightning bolts came out of Him.” Or maybe Jesus levitating off the ground and saying, “I told you I was God. I am in charge now!”

That’s what 4 should look like. That’s what I would have done. Not Jesus.

Here is what happens next. Here is Jesus’ 4:

He got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. (John 13:4-5, MSG)

The transition does not even make sense in my mind. In my selfish, prideful heart, I don’t understand how this 4 follows the previous three. But when you know what Jesus knows, you do something spectacular, something that blows our minds. Guess what? That’s exactly what He did.

Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. His knowledge, His position, and His relationship with the Father in heaven made Him the ultimate servant and greatest example of humility. This has to be the greatest model for us: that the more we know, the more secure we become. And the more secure we become, the more we serve.

The insecure won’t serve. They are busy proving to others what they should know about them. They are in charge, they are the boss, they are the parent, they are the supervisor, they are the pastor. Those who keep telling you what to know don’t really know themselves.

I probably would have taken those three “knowing” statements from verse 3 and not served but gotten servants. But Jesus served. That is how messed up my thinking is.

Let me throw one more crazy transition in this whole mix. He took that whole teaching moment and said to them in verse 14, “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash . . .” Fill in the blank. Think of what is normal, or since we are dealing with Jesus, what is abnormal to our way of thinking?

Here is what makes sense to me: “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet . . . you ought to wash My feet.”

That is not what Jesus said. He said, “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

This is another crazy 4 after 3 conundrum.

He wasn’t washing feet to get His feet washed. I know there are times that I have done stuff for others hoping to get the same back from them. Not Jesus.

I invited you over for dinner, therefore you should invite me over. I let you borrow my car; therefore you should let me borrow your car. I complimented your hair, you should compliment mine. I invited you to speak at my church, you should invite me to speak at your church.

Do you see how unlike Jesus this is? He washed feet to get them to wash others’ feet not His.

Jesus is amazing. I have such a long way to go. My 4 after 3 and Jesus’ 4 after 3 are so far apart. I need to learn more about Jesus’ 4. You too?

Day 80

Today’s Reading: John 12

A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself. It goes something like this:

“Deep down, I know you are shallow.”

“One thing I know—that I know nothing.”

“I am nobody.”

“He’s a wise fool.”

It’s putting opposite words in a sentence together that don’t seem to work.

These are silly paradoxes that have no bearing on anything of eternal importance. But in today’s reading, we run right into a very strange paradox that has great eternal consequences. Consider this statement with its contradiction:

Many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. (John 12:42-43)

This is a serious paradox: “Many even of the rulers believed in Him, but . . . they were not confessing Him.”

Is that even possible? Believing without confessing. Can you be a paradoxical saint? When I was reading John 12, I was excited to see that the rulers believed in Him. People of influence realizing that this was the Messiah. But my excitement was short lived when I hit the paradox, separated by a comma.

Confessing is a big part of belief, or should I say, it’s a big partner with belief. Listen to how Paul put it:

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

Believe and confess are a big part of salvation. Think of these important words from Jesus, recorded in Matthew 10:32-33: “Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny Him before My Father who is in heaven.”

These rulers decided to rewrite the script. This paradox seems serious. And verse 43 gives us the eye-opening “why” behind the paradox: they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

Has wanting to please people silenced you from going public about your belief in God? When you know that people in your circle are Jesus antagonistic or church haters, do you keep quiet to please them? Do you shut your mouth on truth so as not to rock the boat? Does their open mouth contradict my belief and keep my mouth shut?

If these are true of us, we are paradoxical believers. And we know the source of it. It is a love issue—and it exposes what we love most. Do we love the approval of people or the approval of God? The answer to this question will determine if we will be paradoxical, or in other words, a believer but not a confessor.

It’s dangerous to believe without confessing, because it exposes something about us. Can that really happen? It did happen and the result was catastrophic. Ready for this? James 2:19 tells us that “you can believe all you want that there is one true God, that’s wonderful! But even the demons know this and tremble with fear before him, yet they’re unchanged—they remain demons” (TPT).

We can have the right belief in God and still be unchanged. Our belief should not lead us to church only, but on a journey to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls. I think the lack of confessing is from loving the wrong thing. They loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

When I recognize that I have a problem going public about my relationship with God, it’s at that point that I don’t pray for boldness but for God to help me to love Him more.

Love goes public. Love shouts it out. When I fell in love with my now-wife, Cindy, I wanted everyone to know who I discovered. Way before smart phones with thousands of pictures, we used to carry an actual photo of the one we loved. I wanted people to see her, but how would I get a photo? One day I saw a photo of her in a newspaper from a deal she made for a bank and I cut it out. I carried that black-and-white newspaper clipping folded up in my wallet everywhere. And when people asked me if I had a picture, I would tell them, “Do I have a picture? Look at this.” And I would proceed to unfold it. I was confessing because I was in love.

Love tells!

When there is no telling, we may have a love issue. Or it may be that we love the wrong thing.

When we believe in Jesus, we start a journey of love not a journey of knowledge.

C.S. Lewis tells of an old author who asked, “Is it easy to love God?"

“It is easy,” the other man replied, “to those who do it.”

Christianity is not easy for those who love church, love being moral, love the atmosphere. When you fall deeply in love, you want to please the one you are in love with. Love makes confession easy.

Day 79

Today’s Reading: John 11

Has God ever been confusing to you? Have you ever asked Him, “What are You doing? I don’t understand?”

Our 260 Journey brings us to John 11 and to one of those moments. It’s the story of Lazarus—a man who went from health to sickness and from sickness to death. And here is where the confusion starts. This all happened with Jesus close enough to prevent his death but doesn’t.

What makes it confusing are two things Jesus does from the outset.

Let’s read the story:

A certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. (John 11:1-6)

Here is where Jesus becomes confusing: we are told very clearly that Lazarus is sick, and Jesus loves him. There is something in us that thinks if Jesus loves us then we have a “get out of jail” free card from pain. Nothing could be further from the truth.

C. S. Lewis was once asked, “Why do the righteous suffer?” To which he replied, “They’re the only ones who can handle it.”

The second confusing moment with Jesus happens when He hears about the sickness. If you love someone, and they are in desperate need, you rush to them. Not Jesus. The Bible says when He heard Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was for two days longer. What? Seriously? No movement, Jesus?

It frustrates us when Jesus moves too slow. We want Jesus’ hand, but we don’t want His calendar.

I always remember in one of my frustration moments how an old church mother in Detroit reminded me of the old adage, “He may not come when you want Him, but He’s always right on time.” And in John 11, Jesus is going to be right on time. What is on time? Four days later and not till Lazarus stinks.

Why? Jesus says that it’s so His glory can be seen. Glory is what makes God famous and stand out.

Let me take you to the tomb and why Jesus waited:

Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” (John 11:38-39)

It would have been easier for Jesus to come to sick Lazarus not to stinky-and-dead Lazarus. And here is where I want you to see as the confusion starts to get clarity:

When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. (John 11:43-45)

When Jesus doesn’t come when you call Him, something bigger is about to happen.

What was Jesus showing them? A resurrection is better than a healing. His message to Mary and Martha was this: If I heal your brother, three people will feel good. If I resurrect your brother, many will believe. We learn from this story too that there is a divine strategy in unanswered prayer.

The account of Jesus not healing Lazarus is proof that unanswered prayer may well mean that God has something better in mind for us than we ourselves had. There are times that God waits till something stinks before He shows up. Because Lazarus was resurrected instead of being healed, many saw the glory of God and believed.

Our prayers are for our well-being when God sees bigger. That day a dead man was resurrected instead of a sick man healed so a bunch of people could be resurrected.

So when your prayer is not immediately answered and you are dealing with delay, don’t doubt that He loves you. He may just be saying, “It just doesn’t stink yet."