John

Living Water

  Man, there are few things more difficult than being thirsty for a prolonged period of time. Probably many of us have never really had to face true thirst. Especially dangerous life threatening thirst.  When I think I'm thirsty my first craving is for a Dr. Pepper or good old southern sweet tea. When I was a kid working in the hay field or watermelon patch with my dad there was nothing more satisfying than a tall cold glass of water.

Have you ever found yourself thirsty inside? That's thirst on an entirely different level. It's life threatening all the same. At the core of our soul. 

Maybe you didn't articulate it that way—but the acknowledgement for something more was present like an inexplicable craving or yearning. 

Do you believe in Jesus? He told us he was that kind of satisfaction. 

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’" ‭‭(John‬ ‭7:37-38‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

He made it really simple too. If you're thirsty go to him. How? Believe.

He is living water. (Check out the fourth chapter in John's Gospel for some more on that). 

He also said, that when we believe in him that same kind of living giving spirit would flow through us. We're not just receptacles. We're channels. 

Jesus himself saves, quenches, and supplies us with life inside—and desires that we might share it with all. 

That should impact is in the day to day stuff. Make us love bigger and better. Help us to speak with a kindness that is uplifting, work hard, and give selflessly. Basically, we should be refreshing to anyone and everyone we're around. 

How's that working out for you?

Thanks for reading! We're always interested in hearing from you in the comments. ~ Nate

December 25 - The Other Christmas Story (Invading Enemy Territory)

Read: Revelations 12:1-17

She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne (Revelation 12:5 ESV)

Christmas is awesome. By far my favorite holiday. I love the festivities. I love the traditions, and the time with my family. But, more importantly, I love the reason for the season.

The story of Jesus' birth is amazing. Many miraculous events surrounded, and preceded it. But it is so much more than the cutesy candy coated Sunday School story we all know and love so much.

The Christmas Story is a story about invasion. It is the beachhead for the divine campaign to reclaim Creation, redeem humanity, and restore the Kingdom. God had set events in motion to become a man. He would walk the Earth. He would feel dirt beneath his feet and oxygen in his lungs. He would work, sweat, eat, love, and even die.

The Apostle John had a unique relationship with Jesus. He was almost like Jesus' kid brother. And he lived long after the rest of the disciples. Having been exiled after surviving several attempted executions, John was visited at his island prison by Jesus. The Holy Spirit worked in John and granted to him a supernatural vision full of wondrous things—many of which are nearly impossible for me to comprehend. He wrote them all down in a book that has come to be called The Revelation. It is the last book of the Holy Bible, and it includes a passage that always rings so incredibly for me at Christmas time.

Jesus was born into tumultuous human times, but it was happening alongside epic supernatural events. Jesus invaded enemy territory. He stepped into death and brought life. He stepped into defeat and brought victory.

I like the Christmas Carols. Silent Night and Joy to the World are beautiful songs. But I imagine that first Christmas to be something more like D-Day than the latest Christmas Special. And all these centuries later, Jesus is still invading enemy territory to restore families, mend hearts, and breathe hope into hopelessness.

Merry Christmas.

November 18 - Running to Jesus

John 20:1-10

Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. (John 20:4 ESV)

Peter and John heard that the tomb of Jesus was empty, but they had to see it for themselves. So they ran all way there. John outran Peter, but Peter went in first.

They saw the empty tomb. Jesus was not there. They believed him to be alive, but they didn't yet understand the significance of the event. It was unprecedented.

Today, it is still unprecedented. People don't just come out of tombs. When we run to Jesus we aren't running to the grave. We're running to the grave robber. We're running to life.

September 29 - Jesus' Testimony

Luke 22:63-72

Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.” (Luke 22:71 ESV)

Testimony is a powerful thing according to scripture. The apostle John wrote in Revelations that the Church would be made "overcomers by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony." The truth of a story carries weight when told.

Jesus didn't flinch when telling his story. Even when he was on trial and they were looking to kill him because of his words. He didn't back down. And eventually they did sentence him to death based on his own testimony.

There are a number of belief systems that try to marginalize the deity of Jesus so as to make him compatible with their defunct religion. The truth is that Jesus is compatible with any person, but not every belief system. Jesus did believe that he is the Son of God.

We do things all the time based on the words of others. We make decisions, we make plans, and we react to situations, all based on the things people say. How should we react to what Jesus had to say about his own deity?

January 21 - Way of Peace

Read: Luke 1:67-79 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (Luke 1:78, 79 ESV)

At the birth of John Zechariah lifted up a beautiful song of prophetic worship. This was not merely the jubilant singing of an elated new father, this was a demonstrative work of the Holy Spirit in the elderly priest's life. He boldly and worshipfully declared the calling John would fulfill as the forerunner to Jesus. Look at what this devout man declared about our savior.

Because of the tender mercy of our God... Jesus was sent because of God's mercy. The sunrise shall visit us from on high... Where Jesus goes there is warmth, light, and life, not because he showers us in material things but because he gives light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Only Jesus gives light and life to those lost to darkness. Only Jesus rescues from the clutches of death's shadowy embrace.

He came to guide our feet into the way of peace because without Jesus there is no peace. We may live lives free of obvious conflict, but without him there is no true peace to be had. There is no eternal overcoming of the great conflict of our soul. He brings resolution, restoration, and redemption.

January 20 - Real Names

Read: Luke 1:57-66

And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by this name." (Luke 1:61 ESV)

When John the Baptizer was born he was a miracle baby. Born to an elderly couple well past natural child-bearing years, he was immediately special. He was born into the home of a righteous dedicated priestly family who loved and served God well. He was born into a family full of expectations.

It was common custom in those days to be named after someone in your family. Names were more than just labels, they were descriptions, identities, and titles. So when John was born his relatives expected him to be named for someone in the family as a sign of who he would be like. In other words, they fully expected him to be like one of them. God had something else in mind. Elizabeth and Zechariah were attuned to the special calling God has placed on the boy. They were open, and receptive, to letting God dictate John's future. Instead of slapping a family name full of expectation and history on him, they embraced the actuality of God's promised destiny for John.

Life with Jesus is the same. We abandon expectations, baggage, and our own sordid history to step into the eventuality of God's proven destiny for each of us. For the Apostle Paul and Peter that meant literally changing their names to match their new identities in Christ. For us, that means taking on the adoptive identity of the family of God. Refuse to be labelled by the tragedies, tribulations, or triumphs of your selfish past and forge ahead into a new name. No one else can be who God means for you to be.

The Missing: Light

In the years before laptops, e-readers, and iDevices dominated my technological library, reading most often required possessing actual physical books. I would lie in bed at night snuggled deep in my blankets, with my lamp on, book in hand, consuming the paragraphs, pages, and principles being communicated through the written word. My wife and I are completely different when it comes to our lighting and lamp preferences. I would always point the lamp above my head so that the light might reflect off of the wall and illuminate the object of my concentration, whereas Jamie prefered the light to shine directly on whatever she was reading. Recently we decided to rearrange our bedroom to accommodate the impending birth of our firstborn son. A result of this new arrangement is that my side of the bed is now right next to a window. A window covered by a curtain. A window covered by a curtain that doesn't reflect light very well. I found this out firsthand tonight as I crawled into bed with an old book I've been revisiting. It was too hard to read in that light, and considering earlier in the night I had spent a significant amount of time in the first chapter of the Gospel of John, thoughts of light were fresh on my heart and mind.

And it hit me. Not for the first time. That a lot of what we're missing in our "modern" worship gatherings is light. The Light. Capital L. The kind of Light that John writes so beautifully about in that first chapter. The same John which the authors of the other gospels label as the "disciple whom Jesus loved." The same John which wrote three incredible epistles. The same John God chose to author the Book of Revelations.

John, above every other human author of scripture is uniquely qualified to describe Christ as the Light. We know light as this miraculous wave of energy which radiates from a high energy source and reflects off of stuff, and is then interpreted by our eyes, and processed into what we see. John knew light as the Light. He knew him by name, Jesus, by the sound of his laugh, the heft of his handshake, and the depth of his incredible love for the wayward and marginalized. He witnessed his wisdom, marveled at his miracles, and basked in his presence. For us light is a description of electromagnetic energy whereby we see, but for John Light is a description of his friend, teacher, Savior, and God. We see via the reflection of light. John saw via the experience of Light.

I can't help but feel like a lot of what is going on in many churches today, or at the very least, many of the ones I have attended, is way too similar to me trying to read by the poor reflection of my little lamp shining upon the curtain. We need more of the Light, and less of our feebly manufactured substitute. We need to be a people of the Light, living in Light, shining forth the incredible love and truth of Christ to the darkness around us.

The best and easiest way for us to become that kind of people and for our churches to change into launching points for light bearers instead of bomb shelters where we attempt to hide from darkness, is for us to experience the Light for ourselves. Not a manipulative, crocodile tear inducing, guilt driven experience that happens around the front of a sanctuary after someone gives a stirring (or not so stirring) oration; but a day-by-day exposure to the absolute truth, person, power, and love of Christ. Miracles can happen in a moment, but disciples take time. John knew the Light because the Light was the Word and the Word became Flesh. John loved and lived in the context of Christian community with Christ.

We need a return to Christ-centered discipleship that offers a context of authentic Christian community. We need to see the Light of God, experience the light of God, and be the Light of God for those around us; anything less is unacceptable.