Month: January 2020

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/20

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:19-21

Jesus has stated that salvation comes to those who put their faith and trust in him. But there is a place for good works in God’s economy. They are not something that earns salvation but cane be something that reflects salvation. When we do what is good and true we want those things to be seen in the light of day, so to speak. We want those things to be seen as being done in the context of our already existing relationship with God, the one we have by faith.

When we do evil things, we want those to remain hidden, in the darkness. Evil and wickedness do not want to be exposed for what they are. They is why they hate the light. And they is why they hate Jesus, because he came into the world as the light of the world. His very life reveals the wickedness of the world. Next to his perfection and holiness, evil is clearly seen for what it is.

So often Christians are busy pointing out al the evil that people do in the world when lives lived like Jesus will naturally reveal the evil in the world by simple comparison.That doesn’t mean we should never call evil for what it is. But if we are not seeking to live lives of holiness and obedience in Christ then we will find it .a much more difficult task and the charge of hypocrisy wold be justified.

Followers of Jesus also need to know that they don’t need to fear the light. Even when we stumble and fall, Jesus wants to bring us to repentance and a healthier relationship with him, so that our witness to the world can be all the more compelling.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/19

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:16-18

We are all condemned. That is what Jesus is saying in verse 18. Whoever does not believe in him is condemned already. But maybe you object, “I am not condemned!! I Believe in Jesus”. You believe now. But no matter when you came to believe in and trust Jesus, there was a time when you did not. There was a time before believing that you were already condemned and on death row. You were simply awaiting your execution.

But then something happened. As Jesus said earlier in chapter 3, the Spirit moved in a mysterious way and somehow you came to believe in Jesus. In that moment your sentence was overturned and you were set free. It wasn’t that you had a decent life and a better than even chance at heaven and then Jesus made it even better. Before coming to faith in Christ there is no chance and no hope. But once you come to faith in Christ there is life, abundant life, eternal life, joy filled life. The bars of your prison cell are burst open and Jesus invites you to come forth as he invited the dead Lazarus to come forth from the tomb.

The Good News is what it is because without Jesus the news is tragic. We need to remind ourselves everyday that we were condemned already without Jesus. We had nothing with which to defend ourselves or gain our freedom. But Jesus through his death and resurrection made it possible. That reminder is not intended to break us and make us feel shame. Rather it is intended to remind us how deeply God loves us and to stir our hearts to gratitude beyond anything we have ever experienced before, because we have never experienced freedom and forgiveness like this before.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/18

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

This may be the most famous passage in the Bible. Yet it seems that very few people realize that Jesus spoke these words. How amazing is it that Jesus declares the greatness of God’s love for the world through his coming into the world. There is a huge amount of comfort to be found in these words and it is deeply powerful that God loves us that much that he sent his son to die for us.

But there is another side to these words of Jesus that are not some comforting. It comes at the end of the passage, whoever does NOT believe in him is condemned. We are drawn to the first line, God so loved the world. But we ignore the last line that God also condemns. We don’t want a God who has a standard of justice. We want a God who only loves and makes our lives wonderful. We want a God who only forgives. We don’t want a God who forgives only if we put our trust in him. But the God of the Bible who is living and merciful is also the God of the Bible who is just and holy.

Years ago Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon that has become infamous. The title was Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. In that sermon Edwards wanted people to understand that the loving God of the Bible is also justly angered over sinfulness and rebellion and that we should not ignore that aspect of God. Many people today look on that sermon and anything like it, with disdain. God would never send people to hell. God is love. Yes but he is also holy, holy, holy and we should never forget that.

We can take comfort in a God who loved the world enough to send his son to die for us. But we should never presume upon that God or think that sin is not serious and must be dealt with. God wants us to also be holy as he is holy.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/17

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:10-15

We don’t often think of Jesus as calling out someone and being sarcastic. But that certainly seems to be the case with Nicodemus. Jesus is chiding him for being a teacher of Israel, a religious leader, a Pharisee, and not understanding what Jesus is saying about spiritual things. Nicodemus has a lot of head knowledge about things of the Bible but he does not have insight into spiritual truth.

Then Jesus proceeds to tell Nicodemus some of the most deeply spiritual things you would ever hear. First Jesus is saying that he has descended from heaven with spiritual truth. He is the Son of Man that the Old Testament speaks about as the coming messiah. By saying that he has descended from Heaven Jesus is connecting himself with God in a direct and intimate way. He is claiming to be more than a man. He is claiming to have some connection to the divine that is beyond what anyone ever anticipated. But Nicodemus and others should have anticipated it if they would only have searched the scriptures looking for the deeper spiritual truth.

If that is not hard enough to understand Jesus makes reference to Moses lifting up a staff with the form of a serpent on top and miraculously healing people in the wilderness. Just as Moses lifted that serpent Jesus says that he will be lifted up and not only bring healing to people but actually bring eternal life to anyone who puts their trust in him. Nicodemus has no idea what Jesus is talking about until the crucifixion takes place three years later. At that point it somehow sinks in that he must honor and trust in Jesus. Nicodemus and another Pharisee, Joseph of Arimathea take the body of Jesus and place it in a new tomb.

It is somewhat baffling that time and again Jesus says that eternal life comes by faith in him and not by our works or knowledge or effort and yet time and again people refuse to put their trust in Jesus and keep trying to earn God’s favor. Nicodemus as a Pharisee would have taught people about living according to the law to have a right relationship with God and have eternal life. It took standing at the foot of the cross for it to sink in for him that salvation would be by putting his faith and trust in Christ and not his own religious obedience to rules. That is the heart of the Gospel. Jesus preached that Gospel in countless ways from the very beginning to the very end of his ministry. It is Good News. Trust Jesus with all you have and rely on his work on the cross for your righteousness and salvation.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/16

by Dan Lacich 3 Comments

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:5-8

The conversation between Jesus and the religious leader named Nicodemus continues. Jesus is following up on his statement that you need to be born again because Nicodemus doesn’t understand the spiritual implications of what Jesus is saying. All he can think about is the impossibility of being physically born twice. Jesus wants him to understand that he is talking about a spiritual birth.

The new birth is something that happens because the Holy Spirit moves. We don’t know why He moves when He does but we can be aware that it is the Holy Spirit just as you can be aware of the wind blowing. What is important is that we respond to that move of the Spirit and place our trust in Christ.

One of the ironic problems with folks who focused on being born again in the 70’s is that they assumed their experience of the Spirit was the norm and anyone who did not have that experience was not really a follower of Jesus. But the reality is some people are born from above with a powerful and dynamic experience. Some people are born from above with a very internal, contemplative experience. Some people are born from above all at once and some seem to be in spiritual labor for years. What matters is not how you came alive in the Spirit but that it has happened.

Can you look back on a time in your life when it was obvious that you were not spiritually alive but today you are? You don’t need to be able to identify the moment of your new birth any more than you need to identify the moment of your physical birth. But you do need to be able to affirm that once you were not alive and now, because of the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit, you are alive in Christ.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/15

by Dan Lacich Leave a comment

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

Nicodemus came to Jesus wanting to understand who Jesus was, especially to find out if he was the long awaited messiah. The conversation to a very unexpected turn, something common with Jesus, when he spoke the words of John 3:3, “unless one is born again”. More than 1900 years later the phrase “born again Christian” would be popularized, misunderstood, splashed all over the media, and be the focus of a heated debate about what it means to be a Christian.

The debate was in part because for centuries people in the Christianized west grew up and lived with the idea that they were Christians because of church membership. But something happened, people came into an awareness of what it meant to come to faith in Jesus, to have a spiritual birth and experience the power of God like never before. That is what Jesus was urging Nicodemus to understand. Just because he was a religious leader did not mean Nicodemus had a saving faith in God. Just because he was a teacher of the Scriptures did not mean he was spiritually alive. Jesus urged him to give deep consideration to what it meant to be spiritually alive.

To be born again is to come alive spiritually by placing your faith and trust in Christ. It is about having a relationship in which you grow in your trust of Christ and in your love and devotion for Christ. Following religious traditions, having a head knowledge of the Bible and theology, performing good deeds in the community are not the things that open the Kingdom of God to you. Loving Jesus with all you have and all you are, being alive spiritually because of faith in Christ is what Jesus was calling for when he said you must be born again.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/14

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19

Jesus has just finished clearing the Temple of the money changers and people who had defiled such a holy place. The religious leaders confronted him and demanded that he give them a sign that would prove his authority to cause such a disturbance. They wanted proof that he was a true prophet. His answer only served to confuse them even though it really pointed to the most powerful sign of his authority.

Jesus said that if they destroyed this temple, he would raise it up in three days. understandably the religious leaders thought he was talking about the physical temple that he has just cleared out. It was nonsense to them. First of all they would never tear down the Temple. It was a sacred place. Secondly, there is no way that Jesus could rebuild something in three days that took years and hundreds of people to build in the first place.

With hindsight we can see that Jesus was actually talking about something far more miraculous. He was talking about the temple of his physical body that the religious leaders would become very willing to destroy. If they were to destroy his body Jesus was claiming to be able to raise it up in three days. Bringing himself back from the dead after three days was a far more powerful miracle that being able to stack a bunch of stones back on top of one another.

The resurrection that Jesus predicted is central to the Gospel and a powerful vindication of Jesus. It is the ultimate demonstration of his right to not only do what he did in the Temple that day, but his right to claim allegiance of all humanity to him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The fact that the Father raised Jesus from the dead following the crucifixion should be seen as proof that he alone is the messiah and the one to whom we should bend the knee and worship.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/13

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” John 2:13

I saw a meme that said, Remember, “when doing what Jesus did, turning over tables and cracking a whip is not out of the realm of possibilities”. Sometimes we get so focused on gentle Jesus, meek and mild, that we forget he could also exhibit righteous anger. People turning a place of worship into an idolatrous den of thieves was one of the things that provoked his wrath. A place that was intended to draw people closer to the Lord had become a place that actually drew people deeper into sin.

We don’t like to talk about the wrath of God or his righteous anger. A sweet, gentle, grandfather of a God. But the good news of the Gospel is good news because Jesus took the hit for us and took God’s wrath on himself so you would not have to. The anger of God, his wrath, was also righteous. We are deserving of punishment because of our rebellion against God. But God’s mercy is such that he made a way for us to avoid that punishment.

The existence of God’s righteous anger raises a question for us. When is it okay to be angry? Lot’s of followers of Jesus think that anger in itself is a sin. It isn’t. Jesus god angry and yet never sinned. In fact one could make the opposite case that to never get angry could be sinful. People who never got angry about the abuses in the Temple were actually sinning by approving of sin. If you never get angry over child abuse, or racism, or a whole host of other evils in the world then you may be guilty of turning a blind eye towards things that grieve God.

The trick to righteous anger is to never let the anger fester within you and take root in your heart. You need to be angry at the right thing, the sin, and always leave room for mercy and grace for the sinner. Sadly, we too often get angry and the sinner and leave too much room for the sin.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/12

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. John 2:7-8

Sometimes it seems like God asks us to do things that make no sense and don’t seem to be very spiritual at all. In 2 Kings 5 a man named Naaman has leprosy. He goes to Elijah to be healed and Elijah tells him to bath in the nearby river. Naaman is take aback by this because he expected Elijah to do something more dramatic, more powerful.

I have to believe that the servants Jesus spoke to in John chapter 2 where also a bit confused. If Jesus was going to do something about the wine running out shouldn’t there be something more dramatic? Shouldn’t there be calling down some power from heaven, some long, loud prayers at least. Yet all Jesus tells them to do is fill the vessels with water and then give some to the steward of the wedding. As far as they can tell Jesus didn’t even pray. Yet this miracle happens.

It should be a lesson to us that God doesn’t need to be outlandish in order to do the miraculous. He doesn’t need to send fire from heaven or knock people over with a word, or have someone shout and dance and break into a sweat in order to do something powerful. In fact, often times in the ministry of Jesus, he did the miraculous in very subtle ways. Often, as we will see, when Jesus healed someone he told them to be quiet about it. He wasn’t flamboyant, certainly not like many TV preachers today. That should tell us something. God doesn’t need charisma. He doesn’t need flash and glitz. In fact it seems that most often God works in very normal, everyday kinds of ways. But those are no less miraculous that when he sends fire from heaven.

The trick for us is to see God at work in the little things. We need to see God at work when someone crosses your path that you never expected but it becomes clear that he arranged it. We need to see God in the quietness of breaking bread and sharing it with one another in holy fellowship. We need to see the miraculous in the birth of a child and the rebirth of an adult into faith in Christ. We need to see the power of God at work in the sermon that speaks right to a current need. We need to see the miraculous in forty people showing up to pain the house of a single mom with cancer, even though they never met her before. Just like those servants who listened to Jesus and did a very mundane thing that turned into a miracle, you and I need to obey Jesus in the mundane things in life and let him turn them into powerful testimonies to Him.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/11

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 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” John 2:4

After Jesus gathered a few disciples they were invited to a wedding in Cana. Jewish weddings in the first century were a big deal and could last for days. The better the celebration the greater blessing the bride and groom would be expected to have in their marriage. On this occasion things go south and the wine runs out. Mary, the mother of Jesus comes asking him to do something. This is a very strange request because Jesus hasn’t performed a single miracle yet. But for some reason Mary seems to think he can fix this.

His response to her is even more perplexing. What did Jesus mean when he said his time had not yet come? And if that means he was not ready to tip his hand and make himself known through a miracle, why does he go ahead and perform the miracle anyway? The reason for saying his time had not yet come was that Jesus was focused on the primary reason he came into the world, to be the suffering servant who went to the cross in order to be the redeemer and savior. Nothing else would deflect him from that mission. It wasn’t the right time for people to begin looking to him as the messiah.

One would expect then that Jesus would not do anything about the wine. But Mary is not deterred and simply tells the servants to do whatever he, Jesus, tells you to do. At which point Jesus performs his first miracle. Even though this blog is focusing on the words of Jesus, it is the words of Mary in this story that are so powerful. “Do whatever Jesus tells you to do”. How much better would your life be if you just did whatever Jesus tells you to do? How much pain and hardship would you have avoided if you simply did that? Yet so often we think we know better. We try to nuance what he says or just ignore it. But Jesus has the words of life. He ignore him to our own peril. Do whatever he tells you to do. You can’t beat that.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/10

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And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Of all the words of Jesus these may be some of the most well known and famous. Yet for all the familiarity we have with these words, they may be among the most ignored words of Jesus, if not also misunderstood. The call that Jesus placed on his first disciples is the same call that has been placed on every follower of Jesus since that day, follow Jesus and make disciples.

In Christianity today there is a great deal of emphasis placed on believing in Jesus. Altar calls are given on a regular basis calling people to invite Jesus into their hearts and believe in him. Yet from the start Jesus called people to follow him. He wanted people not only to believe in him, and trust him, but Jesus calls for more. In calling disciples to follow him he is saying that the goal is not just to believe but to actually become like Jesus. In first century Judaism a disciple would do everything they could to become just like their master. Jesus wants us to become just like him.

The hard part is what does it mean to become like Jesus? The best clue to that is found in other words of Jesus, Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Being fully devoted to God means having every part of our lives devoted to bringing glory to God by the way we live. Loving those around us is the most clear way to demonstrate our devotion to God. That kind of love requires sacrificial living for the sake of others. It is exactly what Jesus did by coming into the world and giving his life for us. If you want to be more life Jesus then it means being more loving to those God puts in your path day to day. That is not always easy. Sometimes doing the loving thing is difficult and means we sacrifice for others. That is what Jesus did for you.

The second part of the words of Jesus gives a very practical way to show that love of others, be a fisher of men. What Jesus meant by that was that when we follow him we are to go out a reach others, bring them in, help them to follow Jesus as well. Being a fisher of men means to be a disciple maker. As you live your life following Jesus that means helping others to follow him as well. Yet sadly, most followers of Jesus never tell someone else about following Jesus. But being a fisher of men is not just about telling people about Jesus, it is also about mentoring others, being a disciple-maker.

If you are a parent, your first responsibility to your kids is to mentor them by being an example of a follower of Jesus. If you have friends, neighbors, co-workers, or people who God has simply put in your path, you have the privilege of being an example for them of what it means to follow Jesus. But it doesn’t happen by accident. Being intentional in following Jesus and helping others do the same is the only way to be a fisher of men and be like Jesus.

Who has Jesus put in your life for you to help become like Jesus? Who do you know who needs Jesus? Who do you know that you can spend time with like Jesus spent time with his disciples? Start by praying for God to show you who and then pray for them on a regular basis. Pray that God gives you the opportunity to be an example of what it means to follow Jesus. Have conversations with them about what Jesus means to you. Dig into God’s Word and let that word shape you and shape how you become a follower who helps others follow him as well.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/9

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:47-51

Imagine meeting Jesus and have him immediately complimenting you as a person who is transparent and honest. Then as you wonder in amazement how he even knows you, he tells you that he saw you when you were sitting under the fig tree. But you know that there is no way he could have seen you. You come to the realization that what you heard about Jesus being the Messiah must be true. He has a prophetic gift.

This is what happened to Nathaniel. But that is only the beginning of the story. Nathaniel goes from being amazed by Jesus to being somewhat embarrassed. He declares his faith in Jesus and in response Jesus lets him know that he has been impressed by very little. “You believe because I said I saw you under a fig tree you believe” Jesus says to him. But he then points out that Nathaniel hasn’t seen anything yet. Nathaniel is going to see the heavens opened and angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

It sounds strange to our 21st century ears but Nathaniel would have understood that Jesus was making reference to Jacobs Ladder when there was vision of a connection between Heaven and Earth. The angels ascending and descending showed the way to Heaven from Earth. Jesus us telling Nathaniel that he will be privileged to see that way to Heaven opened. By saying that they will does ascend and descend on the Son of Man, Jesus is in essence saying that he is that ladder, that connection between Heaven and Earth.

This had to be astonishing to Nathaniel. It was one thing to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, it is another all together to believe that Jesus will be the way to Heaven. This was not what was expected of the Messiah. His work was to make this world a better place. But Jesus is raising the bar and letting Nathaniel and us know that he is here to do something far more glorious than just make life better. Jesus came in order to open the way to heaven so that we could have access to the glorious wonder and majesty of God.

Let’s think for a moment about how the realization that Jesus is opening the way to heaven fits with the transparency of character found in Nathaniel. One of the most common qualities you find in the lives of church going people is hiding who they really are. Ever since Adam and Eve hid from God we have been hiding from God and one another out of shame over our sin. We live some level of deceit. By coming and giving his life for us and for our salvation Jesus made it possible for us to be honest about our sin and brokenness. He made it possible for us to experience the deep, deep love of God in spite of our sinfulness. You don’t need to pretend to be better than you are. You don’t need to live in shame because of your past or your present. You can come to Jesus in openness and transparency, without deceit, and find the same kind of welcome and embrace that he gave Nathaniel.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/8

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

After Andrew spent the day with Jesus he immediately went and found his brother Simon and introduced him to Jesus. Andrew becomes known for the fact that every time we see him in the scriptures, unless it is simply to list his name with the other Apostles. he is bringing someone to Jesus. His enthusiasm for Jesus cannot be contained and he is constantly thinking about who he can introduce to Jesus. That kind of zeal is often common when people first come to faith in Christ. Sadly it often wears off over time. Andrew had been searching for the messiah for some time and when he found him he is completely changed and filled with joy. It is a joy that has to be shared. That certainly should cause us to ask, “what of my zeal for the Lord?”. Do you still find yourself enamored with Jesus and wanting others to know him? Or has the fire of your affection grown cold over time?

We also see the encounter that Jesus has with Simon once Andrew introduces them. In this encounter Jesus gives Simon a new name, Cephas in Aramaic. The Greek translation is Peter, or Petras which means rock. Jesus is letting Peter know that he is a different person now because of his encounter with Jesus and that difference is symbolized by a new name that speaks to his new character. Peter is going to be a rock of the faith. He isn’t that completely at the moment. In fact he will demonstrate anything but that surety before Christ is crucified. But eventually we will see Peter living out a strong and vibrant faith in Jesus. The new name is as much a prediction of the change Jesus promises to bring about in the life of Simon Peter.

When any of us come to faith in Jesus he promises to make us into new people. Giving Simon a new name is symbolic of that new identity. You may not be given a new name by Jesus but you are given a new identity as a daughter or son of God. You become a child of the king. Your identity is as a saint, a holy one, who is beloved of the Father. You may not yet be all that implies but neither was Simon when Jesus called him to a new identity and new life. Even though Peter stumbled often in the years ahead, he eventually became the Rock that Jesus declared he would be. He experienced the reality that Jesus already saw. You will eventually experience the reality of being a child of the Father, who is deeply loved, even if you do not feel much like it today. That will come not because of who you are, but because of who Jesus is and his promise to make you what he has already declared.

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/7

by Dan Lacich 2 Comments

39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. John 1:39

When Andrew and his companion asked Jesus where he was staying, Jesus understood it was not simply a question out of curiosity or to make conversation. They wanted to spend time with him. They wanted to get to know him because they were intrigued by John the Baptists description of Jesus as The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. So instead of just saying where he was staying, Jesus invited them to come and see for themselves.

As a result of the invitation to come and see, the two men spent that day with Jesus. They had their desire fulfilled beyond their wildest imaginations. They got to know Jesus better than they could have ever dared hope. Andrew was so enthralled by Jesus after spending time with him that he went and found his brother Peter and declared that he had found the Messiah.

We see a few things in this brief encounter. First there is the openness on the part of Jesus to engage anyone who is curious about his. But he engages them on levels far deeper than they anticipated. Andrew could have never anticipated the way Jesus set aside his entire day and devoted it to Andrew and his friend. And this is what Jesus does. He doesn’t simply answer your request for information. He invites you into a relationship that is a journey beyond your dreams. He invites you to come and see who he is and what he is doing. He invites you to sit down to a meal and share life together.

Second, we see what a real encounter with Jesus can do to you. Andrew could not help but let others know about Jesus. When you encounter Jesus and have your life changed by him, you feel a compelling desire to let others know about this wonderful savior who has brought you freedom from guilt and shame, who has made you feel alive again, who has given you forgiveness and purpose.

That is as is should be. And yet we see little evidence of such a compelling story from followers of Jesus today. One recent study reports that 25% of all Americans identify as Evangelical. That means in part that they believe Jesus is the Messiah and their faith in him has brought them the freedom and forgiveness previously mentioned. That is one out of every four Americans. Yet we see very little of the kind of joy that drove Andrew to find Peter and share the good news with him. What is missing? Among so many things I have to believe that far too few of them have actually answered the call of Jesus to come and see, come and spend time, come be on the journey to change your life and your perspective. Rather, we have turned a relationship with Jesus into a quick prescription for forgiveness and a minor tweak of a life’s complication so we can move on feeling better about ourselves rather than enamored with and in love with Jesus.

Have you answered the call of Jesus to come and see, come and spend time, come and devote your life to him so that he can bring you what you really need, freedom, and forgiveness, and a new life?

A Year of Listening to Jesus 1/6

by Dan Lacich 1 Comment

38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” John 1:38

After defeating every temptation Satan threw his way, Jesus returned to where John was baptizing people and John pointed to Jesus declaring him to be the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Two of the Baptists followers, one being Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, approach Jesus when he turns around and asks them a simple yet deeply profound and important question, “What are you seeking?”.

In that case of Andrew and his companion they were clearly seeking to get to know this Lamb of God that John spoke of. It shows in answer, “Where are you staying?. They were not asking just to be able to know the location of Jesus’ abode so that they had some bit of information. They wanted to know so they could actually accompany him and get to know him better. They were looking for something more, something significant. They had a yearning to fill and emptiness. What they were seeking was Jesus.

In 1987 the Irish rock band U2 came out with their Joshua Tree album which contained the hit song, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. The song is filled with images of a life spent searching high and low for something that mattered, that lasted, that made a real difference. The second half of the song focuses on the Kingdom Come and one who loosed the chains and took all our shame. Even with that realization the chorus still resounds, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. There is more yet to come when the Kingdom of God is finally and fully revealed. Then and only then will the yearning cease.

So the real question is, what are you seeking? What is it that you want out of life? Is it to be happy? Is it to be successful ? Is it power, or comfort, or security that you are really looking for? Is it pleasure or fame? Ultimately none of that will satisfy. Only a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus will do. Andrew and his friend somehow seemed to sense that. They saw something in Jesus that they had never seen nor experienced before and the wanted more of that. You will never have your yearnings fully satisfied until Jesus, and a deeper relationship with him is what you seek.