John – Running After Papa

One word changes everything – James 1:1

If we could only live out this one little chapter in this one little book.

Frankly, if we could all live out the first half of the first sentence, everything else would fall in place.

James 1:1 (NKJV) James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…

I’ve always been intrigued by James’ identification of himself. Bondservant. We know him as Jesus’ half-brother – the son of Joseph and Mary. He was also the cousin of John the Baptist – another great name in his generation. I’ll tell you, I would have probably done a little name dropping, if I were James….

Yet James identifies himself as a “bondservant.” So what does that really mean?

Strong’s Concordance defines it to mean the following:

a slave, one who gives himself up to another’s will
devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests

The idea here is not a slave like we understand of pre-Civil War America – where human beings were forced or born into bondage and regarded as owned property to be bought, sold, used, abused, or traded as their owner saw fit. The idea here is a voluntary stepping into servant-hood out of devotion and relationship.

This completely describes Christ’s life on earth. Jesus gave himself up to another’s (his Father’s) will – to the point of death (Philippians 2:8). Jesus was totally devoted to his Father to the disregard of his own interests, his own desires, his own wants, his own image. He didn’t care what people thought, or said, or did toward him. He was completely and utterly walking in God’s hands. After all, Jesus did what his Father did (John 5:19) and said what his Father said (John 12:49).

Jesus voluntarily stepped into servant-hood out of devotion and relationship to God, his Father – to the disregard of his own interests.

James voluntarily stepped into servant-hood out of devotion and relationship to Jesus and God – to the disregard of his own interests.

So the question begs itself…. How do I identify myself?

The question goes deeper than it seems on initial glance. Not only does this imply how I identify myself to others, but how do I really identify myself to myself?

Do I give up to another’s will? Am I so devoted to my Lord? Does it show in how I treat – or should I say serve – my wife and family? After all, Ephesians says I’m to love my wife like Christ loved the Church – for whom Jesus died.

It all comes back to complete humility. If you’ve read many of my posts, you know I often end up here… Galatians 2:20. Dying to self as an act of my will.

Discuss: How does it affect mine and the lives around me to accurately identify myself as a bondservant? How do I do that?

Leave a comment.

Running After Papa…

Are you fluent?

I was on a flight today from Denver to DFW and was blessed enough to get an upgrade. I sat in 4a (the window seat) when a gentleman got on the flight behind me with his two girls, I later figured out were his daughters.I’d guess these girls were 6 and 10 years old or so. Not adults by any means.

He sat next to me and the two girls sat across the isle from their father. As they spoke to each other I was amazed at how easily and effortlessly they flowed in and out of English and Spanish, back and forth, with no hesitation or pause. One or two sentences would be in one language and then – while continuing the same thought – the next one or three sentences would be the other language. It was as if their life just “carried on” as the conversation with their father would change from one language to another.

It was a really beautiful thing.

As I walked up the jet way after we landed, I began to wonder how fluent I was in the language of my Heavenly Father.

Am I able to carry on my life – do what I need to do – be that taking my son to Lacrosse practice, or making a phone call for work, or washing the dishes after dinner – and fluently and carelessly go back and forth between the language of my life adn the language of my Heavenly Father?

John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.“

After Jesus was transfigured (Matt 17, Mark 9, Luke 9) God himself said of Jesus – “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Do I hear?

Do I follow?

How fluent am I? How fluent are you? Let’s discuss.

Running After Papa…

Day 5: Not My Will | In Jesus’ Name

Not My Will | In Jesus’ Name.

My Notes:

The one thing that really struck me in this devotional today was the quote of John 5:30 –

Jesus said, “I can of Myself do nothing… I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me”

It’s really hard to comprehend that Jesus – God Incarnate – by a choice of his will – he did not seek his will – and only sought that of the Father.

So by my choice of my will – as Jesus modeled – I have to “…of my self, do nothing…”

Tough choice.

Choose well.

Running After Papa…

Day 24 – Crutches & Thinky-ness

II Cor 10:3-5 (NIV) “3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

This verse is all about how differently we “war” that the world does. We war over our thought life… we war with our mind. I’ve heard too often people chide that Christianity is a crutch for people who can’t think for themselves. I’ve heard it said that faith is where people turn when they can’t think or reason. Clearly, people who say this haven’t read the scriptures as the Bible is full of context and richness on just how “thinky” our faith is.

Phil 4:8 – “… think on these things…”
Rom 12:2 – “…renew your mind..”
II Cor 10:5 – “… take captive every thought…”
Col 3:2 – “.. set your mind on things above..”

And that’s just of the top of my head… I’m sure the list is fairly substantial. Anyone who has read the New Testament, can’t possibly think that Paul believed his faith to be a crutch and that Paul wasn’t an intellectual…

I just read chapter 2 of John Maxwell’s “Thinking For A Change” where he dissects the affects of good thinking. Good thinking changes your beliefs which changes your expectations, which changes your attitude which changes your behavior, which changes your performance, which changes your life. Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book “Who Switched Off My Brain” presents the scientific evidence behind and the practical application of Romans 12:2 “renewing your mind.”

11 Cor 10:5 in The Message version is really enlightening to see this passage from another angle: “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.”

“… every loose thought and emotion and impulse..”… where do those come from? The mind.

John 15:2-3 (NLT) He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.

I’ve often taken this passage in the context of being an “unfruitful” person being cut off. If I’m not exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), if I’m not being fruitful in my gifts and call of the Lord (Rom 12:4-8), etc. But what if what gets cut off and pruned isn’t people, but attitudes, pride, fear and other influences of my thinking and understanding?

Jesus said that he didn’t come to abolish the law but to complete it. What does that look like?

Jesus’ teachings clarified and redefined what mankind had made of the Law – a bunch of rules and regulations that were not motivated by anything other than fear and pride.

Jesus changed the attitudes and motivation. The motivation behind his teaching is out of love for Him, love for God, and love for others – based and rooted in relationship.

What attitudes, perceptions, and influences need to be cut off of my life because they don’t bear fruit?

What motivations need to be pruned in order to be more fruitful?

Running After Papa…

Splits, Divisions, and other Church math…

In my recent article on Examiner.com, I ended with a question and you’ll just have to read the article….

So, to answer the question… ABSOLUTELY NOT! There is no difference in those to reasons! It all boils down to selfish pride. “You’re wrong. I’m right.” At least, I’m more right than you!

Here’s the thing… truth is truth, whether I believe it to be truth or not. What happens it that I, in my prideful arrogance, automatically assume that I cannot possibly be wrong, because I clearly hear God better than you.

In my opinion… this is EXACTLY how churches divide! This is EXACTLY how we have gone from 1 faith to well more than 10,000 various denominations of the same faith (supposedly) in the last 1000 years!

How do we get it back? How do we get back to Acts 2:42-47

42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. The New King James Version. 1982 (Ac 2:42-47). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

I don’t really know. My guess is that it would start with the very thing that started the church in the beginning… just a few verses earlier…

Acts 2:38-39
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” The New King James Version. 1982 (Ac 2:38-39). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

What do you think? Jesus called it pretty clearly in when he spoke to the woman at the well…

John 4:21-24 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The New King James Version. 1982 (Jn 4:21-24). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Leave me your comments…

Running After Papa…

Free Indeed (John 8:36)

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36, NIV)

How does Jesus set us free?

1 Peter 5:8 tells me that my enemy is relentless . He is continually after you and me. His methods have not changed since The Fall. He knows those “barbs” and those “hooks” he can toss out our way and when you or I respond or react or agree with them – BAM! He comes in like a flood. He is the master deceiver. John 8:44 tells us his native tongue is falsehood. He is a liar. That is who he is. So every morning when you and I wake up, our enemy is looking for some deception for us to grab ahold of; some falsehood of who we are; some fallacy saying that WHAT WE DID is WHO WE ARE; some cock-and-bull story about some bondage we’ll never shake, some addiction we’ll never kick, some fear we’ll never be rid of. ALL OF IT LIES. He just wants you and me to agree with him on something.

Jesus said “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus said it. So I ask again… How does Jesus set you and me free? Enter Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20, NASB)

Check this out. If I am dead. What power does my enemy hold over me? I am dead. What power does any thing hold over me? What power does any addiction, any fear, any bondage hold over me? None. I am dead.

That, my friend, is good news.

I was driving to our men’s Bible Study on Thursday morning knowing I was going to share the gist of this revelation during worship. I really began to contemplate and expound on the effects of being crucified… of being dead to myself.

Dead men…

… don’t have any rights to get stepped on
… don’t have any expectations to go unmet
… don’t have any fears to bind them
… can’t worry about yesterday, today or tomorrow
… can’t compare their lives to those around them
… can’t carry the weight of the world
… can’t believe the lies of the enemy

… and as I was enumerating this list, God said something kinda funny but poignant. He said that dead men can’t believe the lies of the enemy because “DEAD MEN CANNOT HEAR” and I kinda laughed, but realized that is HUGE! This is a big deal because not only is my enemy a LIAR, when I am dead – I CANNOT HEAR HIS LIES.

This is a really great litmus test. If I am responding to my enemy’s relentless attack, their lies about who I am, or what I will or will never be, etc., etc. – then SOME PART OF MY FLESH HAS CRAWLED OFF THE CROSS.

I have more thoughts stirring on this… stay tuned.

Running After Papa…

Free Indeed (John 8:36)

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36, NIV)

How does this happen? How am I free “indeed”?

Our enemy is relentless (1 Peter 5:8). He is continually at us. He is the master deceiver. John 8:44 tells us his native tongue is falsehood. That is who he is. So every morning when we wake up, our enemy is looking for some deception for us to grab hold of; some falsehood of who we are; some fallacy saying that who we WERE is who we ARE; some cock-and-bull story about some bondage we’ll never shake, some addiction we’ll never kick, some fear we’ll never be rid of. ALL OF IT LIES.

Jesus said “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus said it. So I ask again… “How?” Enter Galatians 2:20:

Check this out. If I am dead. What power does anyone hold over me? What power does any thing hold over me? What power does any addiction, any fear, any bondage hold over me? None. If I am no longer alive, then I have no more worries to haunt me, no more fears to paralyze me, no more rights to be stepped on, no more expectations to be let down, no more LIES to BELIEVE.

That, my friend, is good news.

Branches, Leaves and Fruit (John 15:5)

I am studying the occurances of the word (0r form of the word) “leaf” in the Bible. God is stirring up something of a message in it.

As I read several passages about leaves tonight, God kept bringing up the words of Christ saying “I am the vine. You are the branches.” found in John 15:5 (for further reading check out a writing I did November 2006 called “Remaining In (John 15:1-17)“) That verse is:

John 15:5 (ESV)⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Because it’s become obvious in my studies that I cannot study the leaf, without also studying the branches and the fruit. According to this verse, I am a branch plugged into the true vine (or think trunk, for a tree). So my question is becoming this:

What is the “leaf” vs. what is the “fruit”?

Several places in the Scriptures, the word “fruit” is often associated with the words “in season,” which would imply there are times that we do not produce fruit. (See: Num 13:20; Ps 1:3; Hos 9:10; Matt 21:34; Matt 21:41; Acts 14:17 as a few examples of fruit associated with season).

This opens up a whole line of questioning about what I’ve always defined as “fruit” – think the Gal 5:22-23 “fruits of the Spirit”. If there are seasons of no fruit by definition, then “fruit in season” can’t mean what I’ve thought it meant, because I should be producing the fruits of the Spirit, year round, regardless of the season.

Thoughts?

Burdened…

Last night I toured the Mormon Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It was an amazing place. I walked away burdened, not only for the salvation of my Mormon friends, but for the state of which the Big-C church, particularly in America, is.

Why isn’t Christ making a difference in people’s lives in the nonMormon church? Why is the divorce rate just as high in the church as it is among the unchurched? Why isn’t the Church as a whole full of the same devotion and fervor as the Mormon church? Why doesn’t the American church-goer really try to live the commandments of Christ? Jesus himself commanded twice “Go and sin no more.” (John 5:14, 8:11) He wouldn’t give a command that wasn’t “keepable”. So why do we keep on intentionally sinning? Because we either do not know God, or we do not fear God.

I can’t help but play Matt 7:21-23 over and over in my head. (By the way relek95, I thought you were going to do the 10 scariest passages in the Bible… to my count, this was the first and only one you did… I’m looking forward to the other nine…)

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

So who are those that know Him? That word “know” is an expression of intimacy. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (Jn 10:27-28).

I am burdened that the American church-goer abuses the grace and mercy of our Father because we – as the American church – have no idea how much our sin hurts Him and how it is so disgusting and offensive to Him. I wonder how many people in the American church really “fear’ Him, I mean, really, really, fear him. We’ve so preached the goodness, mercy and grace of Father, that it’s almost like we’ve stripped Him of the awe-factor and honor and respect and fear that He is due.

I, for one, am choosing to live Christ’s commands, but not out of a “settling the scoresheet”, or “I owe Him so much”, or “I’m working for a higher position in eternity” mentality, but out of the knowledge that I cannot ever repay Him for the Grace and Mercy He’s shown me. I am incapable of any works worthy. “My righteousness is as a filthy rag” (Is. 64:6). I choose to live his commands because I love him and intimately know him and hear His voice. I do it out of relationship, not out of religion. I do it out of gratefulness, not out of paying my debt, because He paid my debt for me. (Jn 3:16)

Remaining IN (John 15:1-17)

John 15:1-2 (NIV) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful”

In the first 17 verses of John 15 (NIV Version) the words “remain in” is said eleven (11) times. Eleven times! “Remain”, Jesus says. He doesn’t say to “get into” or “move in” or “jump in”. He says to remain in the vine – which verse 1 says is Jesus himself. Verse 3 tells us that when we are in Christ, we have to choose to remain there.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines “remain” as:
1. To continue in the same state or condition:
2. To continue to be in the same place; stay or stay behind:
3. To be left after the removal, loss, passage, or destruction of others: Only a few trees remain.
4. To be left as still to be dealt with: A cure remains to be found.
5. To endure or persist.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

What I find interesting is that remaining in the Vine it is our choice. Unlike a physical plant, such as a grapevine, on our world, we have the choice to stay plugged into Jesus and by staying plugged in we are choosing to bear fruit.

Notice, God never gives us an option of just hanging around on the vine without growth. God, the Master gardener clearly gives us ONLY 2 choices (verse 2). We choose to be pruned or we choose to be cut off. WHAT??? Read v2 again, “He [God] cuts off every branch in me [Jesus] that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (emphasis added). A branch either bears fruit or doesn’t bear fruit. THATS IT. We either get cut off (for not bearing fruit) or we get pruned (for bearing fruit). When this soaks in, this should shake us to the very core of our being. There is no other option. We will either bear fruit or be cut off. There is no choice to be set in the Vine and NOT bear fruit. We only bear fruit by remaining in Him.

v4 (NIV) “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

OK. Here’s the deal. It is impossible for us to bear fruit if we are not plugged in to the Vine; if we are not remaining in the vine – remaining in Jesus. Remember our definition? Our definition (#5) says that we are enduring and persisting in our bearing of fruit.

Let me take you back to John 15:2. Here’s the other cool part of this. If we are bearing fruit, we WILL BE PRUNED, not that being pruned is always so cool when its happening. Yes… often pruning is painful and we often will not realize what or why certain things happened, but remaining is enduring, persisting… another word for persisting is persevering. James 1:3-4 (NIV) tells us “because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

When we persevere, we become mature and complete according to James 1:4. At the end of John 15:2, God says that through this pruning, through this testing of our faith (to develop pereseverance), we “…will be even more fruitful.” So, God is promising to us, that if we remain in the vine, we will become even more fruitful.

OK… So what does that mean? What does it mean to be more fruitful? What is the “fruit” that I WILL BEAR if I am in the Vine? Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the very fruits of the Spirit of God (which is also Christ’s spirit). I don’t know about you, but when I think of Jesus, these traits ALL come to mind. This means when I bear fruit, I am becoming more and more like Christ in my heart… I am being transformed…

v7 (NIV) “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you.”

So… Is becoming more Christlike a license to get what I want? Does this verse make God a “genie” whose bottle we can rub for 3 wishes? I think not. Let’s look at it and break it down… What do we know? We know that we HAVE to bear fruit if we are in Christ or we will be cut off. We know that being more fruitful is becoming more like Christ, more Christlike in our thoughts, our words, our attitudes, and our actions.

Let me ask this… When Christ was on earth, did he ever ask for anything that glorified his own personhood? I know this is a difficult question for the believer because we know that Jesus and God are the same, ultimately… but hang with me here. As a human, did Christ ever ask or seek to glorify his own humanity? Absolutely Not. Jesus never asked for one self-serving, self-gratifying, self-centered thing OVER God’s will. Even when he was praying so intently over the crucifixion that was imminant, over the very existance of his life on earth, his core desire was to glorify God and have God’s will be done, regardless of his own suffering and pain. As a human on earth, every request Jesus ever prayed was ONLY to do God the Fathers will and to glorify HIM…

I encourage you to read the entire passage of John 15:1-17. It is RICH!!!

So here are my personal take aways from today’s reading:

So if I endure, persevere and remain in Christ, I have no choice but to bear more and more fruit in my life. God promises it. This fruit is the transformation of my old, self-centered, wicked man into a man more and more of Christ’s likeness. At a minimum, I will (notice I didn’t say “should”) see growth in the fruits of the Spirit in my own life. (v5)
If I am in Christ and His words are in me (i.e. memorize scripture) then v7 says God will give me whatever I wish.
If I am becoming more Christlike (#1) then what I wish for will not be for selfish, me-centered, trinkets and selfish ambitions. I will “wish” for those things that Christ wanted, namely that God the Father be lifted up and glorified in all the earth. I will want God to be glorified in all I do. I will NOT want me to be exalted or the center of my world, as that would take my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection off of God.

So my prayer today, Father God,
is that you would keep me plugged into the Vine. Help me to endure and persevere in such a way that You and You alone are glorified and lifted up in all I do today. Help me bear fruit today, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Running after Papa…