Judging Jesus

Have you ever spent time thinking about just how outrageous the trial was that Jesus faced? Have you ever thought, “How can anyone have authority over Jesus?” What amazing audacity to think you can judge the Son of God?!

But wait! Do we judge Him? Oh, we certainly do not, we might claim. We don’t want people to think we are judging Jesus. We don’t want to think we judge Him. Yet, we might be surprised at what He thinks about our actions.

We won’t admit to passing judgment on Jesus, but we will quickly move on to our favorite sin. We will then argue that doing so is not judging Him. Perhaps we should spend a little time studying the Scripture. Perhaps we should look at the argument the Apostle Paul makes in Romans 5:12-6:4.

Paul first makes the case that sin has been in the world since Adam and Eve. He states the Law God gave the Israelites made sin abundantly clear. He then goes on to say that God’s grace covers our sin, which is because of Christ. He asks if we should go on sinning to make God’s grace more abundant. Sound like judgment?

Perhaps we don’t think so. Here is another situation. Let’s suppose we fall away from God, deny God. Then, let’s suppose we want to come back to Him. The writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 6:4-6 it is impossible. Doing so is crucifying Jesus all over again. Sound like judgment?

To take advantage of God’s grace or to deny God, then want to call on His mercy cheapens Him minimally. But I wonder if God doesn’t look at it as though we are judging Jesus as much as Pilate did. I think Jesus might give us the same answer He gave Pilate. We would not be able to turn back to God without having been granted God’s amazing grace, which is all due to the amazing act of self-sacrifice Jesus made for us.

I pray we all leave our life of sin. I pray we stop turning away only to turn back again. I pray each one of us stop taking God’s amazing grace for granted, deciding to honor Him instead. Take a deep look into your heart. Take a hard look into the mirror. Stop taking advantage of God’s grace. Stop passing judgment on Jesus.

John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

Bless God

How do you call out to God? Do you bless His name? Do you bless Jesus? Has it ever occurred to you that you should bless God? What does it mean to bless God? How has God blessed you throughout your life?

I’m convinced many of us have never thought about blessing God. Yet, we do ask and expect God to bless us. Blessing God is something we, as Christians, should do on a regular basis. Especially if we expect Him to bless us.

Blessing God is not much different than Him blessing us. You may ask, “How can I give an Almighty God a blessing?” It is not difficult. There are numerous ways we can bless God. We can bless Him much the same as the writer of Psalm 118 does in verse 26 we see below. We can simply say “bless you God.”

But here is where the crux of the blessing comes in. We must bless Him from our heart. It cannot be rote recitation. It is much the same as any other form of worship we give God. All of it must come from our heart rather than merely going through the motions.

We can also bless God by returning His love, carrying out His work, witnessing to others, allowing the Holy Spirit to produce fruit through us. Yes, the fruits of the Spirit as seen in Galatians 5:22-23 can be a blessing to God. Why? As God works through us, we respond to Him. Our response is a blessing to God.

Even though the above listed items are a blessing to God, we should still make a habit out of speaking that blessing to God. We will feel better knowing we have done something as a blessing for God. He will also be grateful that we thought to recognize Him.

I pray we all choose to bless God. I pray we bless Him in all that we do. I pray each one of us speaks a blessing to God on a regular basis to show our gratitude to Him. Bless God. Thank Him for His blessings. Allow Him to work through you. Bless Him in all you do.

Psalm 118:26

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

From the house of the Lord we bless you.

All Authority

What authority did Jesus have when He walked on this earth? Do you know of the miracles He performed? Have you heard how He healed people? Have you heard that He cast out demons? Who raised Him from the dead?

Even if you have not been in church, you have likely heard some of the stories about Jesus. You might have heard about the miraculous healings, casting out demons, and perhaps how He turned water into wine. You also have probably heard He died, was buried, and raised to life again.

But do you really know Him? He often used parables about farming or shepherding when He taught the principles of God, a good life, and Himself. Today, we see Him call Himself the good shepherd. What does He mean by that?

First, He says He lays down His life for His sheep. A shepherd of His day might be expected to fight off any number of wild animals to protect the herd. King David said he had fought the lion and the bear (1 Samuel 17:36) when he was tending the sheep as a young man.

Jesus goes on to say there are sheep outside the pen. Until He came to earth, Israel had been God’s chosen people. Jesus is saying that He has come to bring the gentiles or non-Jews into His family. He came to graft in those of us who are not Jews as Paul states it in Romans 11:17-24.

Notice that He states He has the authority to lay down His life and to take it up again. Through this statement, Jesus identifies Himself as God. Who, other than God, can lay down His life and take it up again? No one. Only God has the ability to die and come to life again.

I pray we all see Jesus as God. I pray we see Jesus as the Good Shepherd. I pray each one of us go to Him, accepting Him as our Lord and Savior. Know that Jesus is God. Know that He loves you deeply. Go to Him in all situations. Seek His guidance. Trust Jesus

John 10:14-18 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Live Sanctified

Do you have a tugging at your heart? Are you feeling as though you are being pulled in a specific direction for a specific purpose? Do you feel a little confused? Are you attempting to determine where it is leading you?

There are times when we feel as though we are being pulled down a certain path. We may feel just the opposite when we make a decision, meaning it feels wrong. If we are not connected to God, we may feel confused and not understand where these good or bad feelings are coming from.

God speaks to us in different ways. He uses our gut feelings. He uses what we may call mother’s intuition. He uses others to give us advice from a different perspective. You may even be one of the few who hear an audible voice speak, telling you the right move.

But how can we know if the voice or these feelings are coming from God? We won’t unless we are connected to Him. When we are connected to God, He sends us into the world to carry out the work He has planned for us, and we know what that work is. When we are His, we know His voice (John 10:27).

Jesus sends us into the world sanctified. That is not something we often talk about. Being sanctified is both a wonderful gift and an expectation. The gift is being able to stand before God in righteousness because of what Jesus has done for us. The expectation is we are held to a higher standard, and we are expected to obey.

It is the expectations we fail to live up to that causes us heartache. We feel guilty. We feel like we are less. We fret over missing the mark. We have high anxiety. When we stop, recognize the reason, and submit to Him and His will for our lives, all those bad feelings go away. We begin living as the sanctified person Jesus has made us to be.

I pray we all choose to listen for God’s voice. I pray we choose to be connected to God. I pray each one of us submits to God’s will for our lives, leaving behind our anxiousness. Choose God. Choose to listen for Him. Choose to be connected to God. Submit to God. Give up your anxiety. Give up your worry. Live in peace. Live sanctified.

John 17:17-19 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

Giving It All to Jesus

How much are you willing to spend on Jesus? What are you willing to give up for Him? Are you willing to give extravagantly? Do you give sparingly? What do you think He thinks about your giving back to Him?

We don’t spend time thinking about our gifts to Jesus nearly as much as we ought to. It isn’t all about the money. We can give to Him in more ways than we typically think about. We can give to Him every day of our lives.

We may miss the extravagance of Mary’s gift to Jesus in today’s passage. For one, we don’t understand what nard is, let alone what it cost. Yet, when we do a bit of research, we discover it was very expensive. The amount was large, but not extremely so. It was about twelve ounces. But the cost was extreme. It was about a year’s worth of wages. Can you imagine spending a whole year of wages on perfume? Then pour it out on someone?

I dare say none of us are so extravagant when we give to Jesus. We give a little here and there. We may even tithe to the point of giving ten percent to the church. We may be willing to give a little of our extra time to His service. Unfortunately, we take for ourselves before we give to Him.

Now, make no mistake about it. In no way am I insinuating we should all quit our jobs, give all our time to Him, and give all our money to Him. No, we do need to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others in His name.

Giving to Him is not merely a money topic. It is time. It is witnessing to others about Him. It is giving Him credit for the blessings He has bestowed upon us. It is recognizing that everything we have is a result of His grace.

I pray we all come to see Jesus for who He is. I pray we give Him the credit for all we have and all we are. I pray each one of us determine to give more of ourselves to Him. Think about your giving. Decide to give Jesus more. Give your time. Give your money. Witness about Him. Give Him all of yourself.

John 12:3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Extravagant Love

How much do you love? How deep does your love go? Is your love superficial? Does your love go beyond the surface? What is it you do to show your love? Do you reciprocate the love God the Father and Jesus the Son have for you?

We all love to some degree or another. Some of us profess love with words and counteract those words with actions. Some of us use very little words but show our love with actions. Some show their love with both.

When we discuss the love God has for us, it is not an emotional love. It is a deep caring and sacrificial love. It is a love in which God puts our needs as the highest priority. He satisfies needs of ours we don’t even realize we have and long before we recognize them. He addressed our deepest need nearly two-thousand years ago.

In today’s passage, we see a woman who recognized who Jesus was and showed her love for Him. We may think of her actions as extravagant, overwhelming, gross, or put on for show. But read the passage carefully. Jesus, who knows everything, confesses her great love for Him for her. She doesn’t speak of her love, she shows it. Jesus speaks of her love. He knew the depths of her love.

The question we must wrestle with is, do we have that kind of love for Jesus? Is our love a deep love or is it superficial? We must wrestle with and confront our love for Jesus. We must honestly assess our love for Him. He desires that we love Him as extravagantly and as deep as He loves us. Perhaps we will learn to let go and love Him as He desires.

I pray we all learn to love God as He desires. I pray we show our love for Him. I pray each one of us will evaluate our love honestly and commit to a sacrificial love for Jesus. Commit to loving Jesus. Show your love for Him. Learn to love Him deeply. Learn to love Him extravagantly.

Luke 7:44-47 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Seeking the Best

What are you willing to give up to receive something better? Are you willing to give up your old clothes to receive new ones? Are you willing to give up your old way of thinking to pursue a new one? Are you willing to give up seeking hard evidence for faith?

We pursue better things throughout our lives. Parents seek to give their children better lives than they had. We look for better, more fulfilling jobs. We listen to new ideas in hopes of them providing a better pursuit of happiness.

When Jesus came to conduct His ministry and give Himself up for us, He changed everything. He reset the value of everything on earth. But our yearning for things in this life can quickly cast aside what is most valuable. We often seek the immediate by sacrificing the future.

For example, I’ve seen people spend their money on a five-dollar trinket that will give them pleasure for a day or two, then be tossed aside, rather than saving their money for something that will have a lasting use. I have, at times, done the expedient to tide me over, rather than holding off to do what will last much longer.

As we see in today’s passage, Paul has considered everything on this earth as garbage compared to Jesus. I don’t believe Paul discarded everything, but I do believe he realized nothing on this earth could hold a candle to Jesus. Paul knew with all his heart and mind that being a follower of Jesus far outweighed any other achievement he might have on earth.

This attitude does not completely cast-off earthly pursuits. It does put them into perspective. It causes us to ask how our pursuits and achievements fit into Jesus’ plan for our lives. We seek to do everything, including our work, relationships, and even purchases with the mindset of Christ.

I pray we all seek to do everything with Jesus in mind. I pray we put Jesus first in our lives. I pray each one of us will pursue the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus. Put earthly pursuits in perspective. Seek to do everything for Jesus. Change your attitude. Seek the best.

Philippians 3:8-9 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

Simplified Life

Are you prepared? Do you meticulously plan and prepare for upcoming events? At what point do you determine enough is enough? Do you prioritize your preparations? Have you chosen the best?

Depending on the event we are planning, we spend a significant amount of time preparing. Some events are planned several months in advance, while others spring on us unexpectedly. Nearly every event comes to a point where we must leave at least one preparation incomplete.

We see in today’s passage that Jesus had stopped by the home of Mary and Martha. Martha is extremely busy preparing a meal. She gets upset with Mary for not assisting her with the preparations. But she doesn’t go to Mary. Instead, she goes to Jesus. Why? Perhaps she recognized His authority. Perhaps she simply wanted Jesus to tell Mary to leave Him alone. Perhaps she had experienced Mary acting this way before and was tired of confronting her. We don’t know why Martha went to Jesus, but His response is one we can take onboard and apply in our lives.

Jesus tells Martha that Mary had chosen the better thing. She had chosen to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from Him. We often miss a small piece of His statement. He told Martha she was worried about many things, but few are needed. Isn’t that something we should learn?

We often are worried about many preparations, but few are really needed. Many of our preparations are to satisfy our wants, not our needs. Even Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, only had need for a few things. In this case, He was implying that Martha was being too elaborate in her meal preparations. She merely needed to prepare a simple meal.

As we prepare for events, perhaps we should keep in mind a proven axiom—simple is elegant. If we haven’t recognized it, the younger generation has. Many of the millennial’s are choosing simplified homes and décor. By going simple, we eliminate a lot of worry and anxiety.

I pray we all sit at Jesus’ feet to learn from Him. I pray we understand even the King of kings doesn’t require the elaborate. I pray each one of us will simplify our lives and our expectations. Sit at Jesus’ feet. Learn from Him. Simplify your life. Choose to live with less. Forgo the elaborate preparations.

Luke 10: 41-42 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

King and Lord

Have you ever thought what it would be like to be a king? Have you pondered what it would entail to rule a nation? What are your thoughts? Do you believe you could change the course of country if you ruled? What would it be like to rule the world?

We like to hypothesize, at times, what it would be like to be the ruler of a nation for a day. We like to think we could make a lasting difference. We believe we could institute laws to make a positive change. We think we can change the world.

There is a King who has changed the world. No, it isn’t perfect. But it has been changed for the better in ways that we don’t fully understand, nor can we see. He changed the course of humankind with His life, death, and resurrection. Yet, He was not at the time, nor still day, believed by all.

Even the Roman governor, Pilate, recognized who He was, at least in some small way. He was inspired to call Him King of the Jews. He had it written on a sign to be posted above Him on the cross. It was no small matter for Pilate to do this. After all, he was to answer to King Agrippa and, ultimately, to Caesar. Only Caesar was to be treated as a god.

The chief priests and other leading Jews objected to the sign. They did not want it displayed in such a public way, if at all. They were opposed to Jesus being called a king, let alone the King of the Jews. His teachings shook their understanding of who God was and is.

We know people today who continue to object to Jesus being called a king. They deny that He has changed anything. They refuse to acknowledge Him for who He is. They believe they are in control of their lives, and they will not give up their perceived control to the One who is truly in control. Despite their objections, Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

I pray we all see Jesus as the true King of the world. I pray we acknowledge Him for who He is. I pray each one of us believe Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Know that Jesus is THE King. Know that He is in control. Acknowledge Him as King. Submit to Him as King. See Him for who He is.

John 19:19-22 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Recognize the Experience

Who do you turn to when you need help? Who is your go to person when you don’t feel well? Who is the person you trust when you need wise advice? Is there someone among your family or friends who is that special person?

We all need someone we can turn to when sickness or trouble or major decisions confront us. For some, it may their mother or father. For others, it may be a close friend or a mentor. The person we turn to may differ based on the situation.

We can always turn to God. In fact, any time we are faced with a difficult situation, a health issue, need guidance for a decision, or simply feel a little out of place, we should always turn to God first. Why? God knows all situations. He knows what is happening, even what will happen before it happens. He wants us to turn to Him.

We also need to trust that God will provide what we need. Now, He may not always provide it the moment we ask. There will be times when He allow us to wait. There will be times when He wants us to experience adversity in order to learn to trust Him more.

Take a look at today’s passage. Lazarus is sick. In fact, he is deathly sick and dies before Jesus goes to him. Jesus purposely waits a few days. He doesn’t go to Bethany until Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days. He then calls out to Lazarus and raises him from the dead.

Jesus returns to Bethany a few days before He faces crucifixion. When He does, Mary douses Him with expensive perfume and wipes His feet with her hair. An act of worship most of us would not perform. But it shows how much Mary trusts Him and that she recognizes Him for who He truly is. How did her recognition come about? She witnessed Him raising her brother from the dead. She experienced pain and sorrow followed by pure joy because of Jesus’ actions.

It is likely we will not have an experience quite like Mary had with Jesus. However, when we trust Him, make Him the first one we turn to, we will experience Him and grow to trust Him more. It will become natural, automatic to turn to Him at all times.

I pray we all experience God working in our lives. I pray we recognize Him working on our behalf. I pray each one of us grow our faith, learning to trust Him more and more each day. Turn to God in all situations. Trust God to deliver for you. Recognize God intervening. Grow in your faith through experience.

John 11:1-3 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”