LifeLink Devotions

Friday, April 14, 2023

A five-year-old boy was headed to McDonald’s for a Saturday lunch with his dad when they saw a car accident up ahead. It was their family custom to pray for the people involved in accidents when they saw them, so the father asked his son to pray. From the back seat he heard these intense words – “Dear God, please don’t let those cars be blocking the entrance to McDonald’s.”

Lately I’ve become much more sensitive to selfish prayers. You know the type – prayers that tell God our desired outcomes rather than ask God for His. Then, just to be safe and to seem spiritual, we add “In Jesus Name” to the end.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He gave them two foundational truths upon which all prayers should be built – that God is to be revered as ruler of all things, and that His will is to be done on earth in the same capacity that it is done in heaven. 

Matthew 6:9-10  “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

There’s where the problem lies – in the second part of His instruction. You see, we would all probably agree that in heaven God reigns supreme and that He is revered. His will is done immediately and implicitly. What heavenly being, after seeing how God cast Satan and his followers out of His presence when they rebelled against His authority, would dare do anything but obey the commands of God?

Where we have our problem is in letting God reign supreme in our lives on earth. Even in our most sincere prayer times, when we fully surrender the outcomes of our circumstances and needs to the Father in heaven, we tend to act contrary to our prayers when we return to the reality of life. We begin to speculate on how God will work. We arrogantly presume to know which outcome He will choose. We manipulate circumstances and people to accomplish our desired outcomes. We begin to suffer from worry, anxiety, and fear. We have taken back the control that we had surrendered in prayer. We have prayed in vain for God’s solutions. What we should have prayed for is faith – faith to revere God as supreme ruler, and faith to trust God’s outcomes as good.

Until we have prayed for the faith necessary to trust God as Sovereign Ruler of our lives, our prayers for His will to be done will quickly dissipate into our desires. But when we have fully surrendered to the Father and in faith believe that He is working all things out for good according to His purpose, we will experience peace. Every interruption, every inconvenience, every incident, and every incapacity will be viewed as God’s direction for our next step rather than an obstacle to our next desire. Every prayer we pray should begin with an affirmation of our faith in God’s sovereignty and our submission to His outcomes.

So watch how you pray. Then, watch how you live after you pray. Are they both compatible with your stated faith that God is ruler of all, and with your humble surrender to His will?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Thursday, April 13, 2023

John 21:15 “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” 

The prospects for finding fulfillment in life are greatly enhanced when we humbly serve Jesus Christ. In fact, they are guaranteed. Look at the life of Peter. He went from being totally proud to truly humble in a series of three questions, and each time Jesus offered him purpose and fulfillment. When Peter admitted the true nature of his heart, Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.” Jesus gave him the responsibility of nurturing those who were new to the faith. They would need gentle care and guidance so that they might grow up to be reproducers of their faith in the lives of others. Peter was given a starting point of ministry – give the lambs the milk of truth that you have.

When Peter responded honestly and humbly to the second question, Jesus gave Peter a promotion. “Take care of my sheep.” This statement of Jesus imparts leadership and authority to Peter. When the sheep see that you truly care for the little lambs, they will trust you to care for them as well. Now that Peter was beginning to understand humility, he was qualified to be a leader of others. True leaders are servants of those they lead. Do you remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 20:25 – 28?  “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” I am shocked at how many churches are being destroyed because of pastors, elders, deacons, and others who lead from a position of prideful power rather than from a position of surrendered serving. Peter was learning to be a servant, and Jesus qualified him to take care of the sheep.

The third honest response of Peter’s heart to Christ’s question is also significant. Jesus asked a different question this time – he changed the word for love from agape to phileo. Peter had responded to Christ’s use of agape love with phileo love, which was his honest evaluation of his heart’s status before the Lord. Peter’s pride was pinched hard when Jesus changed the question, and he got his feelings hurt. But this is exactly where Jesus wanted him. It was only now that Peter would have to fully humble himself before God by being completely transparent before Jesus. Peter’s response is deep. He tells Jesus, “You know all things,” using the Greek word that means to see completely. Peter admits that Jesus can see his heart. Then Peter says, “You know that I love you.” But Peter uses a different word for the word know, which means to learn to know completely and fully understand. Peter is admitting to Jesus that these are his true feelings, and he isn’t putting up a front.

Here’s the point: Peter confesses to Jesus that what He has seen in his own heart is the real Peter, and that he will always be real with his Lord. He admitted he had much more to learn. In response to that totally transparent and humble openness of Peter’s life, Jesus gives him another promotion – “Feed my sheep.”  Peter was given the position of teacher of the mature Christians. He wasn’t given this position because he had suddenly become educated or been given an advanced degree from a seminary: it was because he had fully humbled himself before Jesus. When Peter admitted that he would never try to better himself in God’s eyes or other people’s eyes but would be humbly honest about who He was and surrendered to God’s power in his life, He was promoted to the highest place of ministry. ”Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”

Peter learned that lesson. Have you?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Peter had been a proud disciple. His arrogance was displayed in his proclamations of superiority over the other disciples. He had made some boastful statements prior to Christ’s crucifixion. When Jesus told the disciples that He had to die, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” (Matthew 16:22). Later Jesus told the disciples that He would go through this suffering alone, and Peter responded with, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” (Matthew 26:33). When Jesus rebuked Him and told him he would actually deny Him three times that very night, Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Matthew 26:35) For whatever reasons, Peter had declared himself to be the best of the disciples and the one who was always ready to take charge and be in control.

Without damaging his spirit or diminishing his boldness, Jesus needed to bring some humility to Peter’s life so he could be fully used for God’s glory. I don’t know exactly how it happened, but I do know that it did. Was it the remorse Peter experienced after denying Jesus three times? Was it the disbelief he had to deal with when he investigated the tomb and saw it was empty but doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead? Was it a personal meeting he had with Jesus sometime on that first day of Jesus’ resurrection life? Maybe it was all of them combined. The outcome was that Peter became humble. How do we know this? Look carefully at today’s passage of Scripture.

John 21:15 “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Jesus came to the lake shore and helped the disciples catch a bunch of fish. They ate breakfast together, and then Jesus began a conversation with Peter. He asked him a simple question that revealed the heart of Peter – “Do you truly love me more than these?”  It appears that Jesus is asking Peter to love God more than he loves his fishing or the profits that come from a huge catch. It is valid to ask the question, “Do I really love Jesus more than anything else in my life?”

But what did Jesus really mean when He asked Peter if his love was greater than “these?”  I believe Jesus was asking Peter to compare the love he had for Jesus to the love the other disciples had for Jesus. They were all sitting around the fire together, and I can imagine Jesus gesturing with a pointed finger at the six other men as He asked Peter, “Do you truly love me more than these men love me?”  Jesus wanted to test the humility of Peter. Would he still be the arrogant, “I’m better than the others” man they had known earlier, or had his heart been broken and surrendered to Jesus Christ? Jesus gave Peter the chance to put himself ahead of the others by using the word “agape” for love in His question. “Agape” is God’s unique brand of love that unconditionally gives of self for the benefit of others regardless of any return. Would Peter put himself in that category of love and elevate himself to a superior position over the others? No! With a humble heart Peter admitted to Jesus that he loved Him but used a lesser term for love – the word “phileo,” meaning brotherly love. Peter had reached the point of transparency and was able to humble himself before Christ and admit his need.

How did Jesus respond? He gave Peter a purpose: “Feed my lambs.” Peter’s self-proclaimed purpose was to be the best of the best. It was how he would be able to validate his existence and worth. He had now learned that only Jesus can give life meaning, and in humble submission to Christ there is fulfillment. It was in humble serving others that true meaning for life could be found.

Christ’s post-resurrection mission was to equip us to be vessels of His life so that His kingdom could spread to the entire world. That would be impossible if we are not first and foremost humble servants of their Lord. Peter was starting to get it, and God used him powerfully to preach the gospel. Peter even became a role model and teacher of humility to others. In his letter he wrote to the Christians in his day, we read, “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”(1 Peter 5:5 – 7)

Jesus used the question of love as the instrument to humble Peter’s heart. What is God using in your life right now to teach you humility? Are you letting Him do His work? Don’t resist. God gives grace to the humble and uses them for His glorious purpose. Let Him use you.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Peter and six other disciples were floundering in their faith. They had lived for three years with the Messiah, only to see Him brutally killed. They had seen Him on two previous occasions following His resurrection, but even if they were convinced He was alive they were not yet sure what that meant for them. What were they going to do now? Jesus wasn’t making any huge public pronouncement of His conquering of death. He hadn’t marched into Pilate’s palace and proclaimed Himself the King. He didn’t show up at a meeting of the Sanhedrin to prove Himself to the Pharisees and Sadducees. Imagine the looks on their faces if He had. He also hadn’t gone to the temple to tear down the new curtain that had been quickly put up to replace the torn one. Wouldn’t that have proved to the priests that their services were no longer necessary because He was now the eternal High Priest?  All He had done was quietly appear to a few of His followers to assure them that all was well. But how could they have peace if they didn’t know the plan?

So, they decided to return to their former way of life. Peter initiated the move and said he was going fishing. The others joined him. They wanted to believe but at this point they had no real purpose. Maybe they could get their fishing business back up and running so they could at least survive in society. But that first night out produced nothing. How discouraged they must have been. In fact, they were so discouraged that they took advice about where to fish from an unidentified “friend” on the shore. Something about His voice and His advice felt familiar, but they couldn’t wrap their minds around it. At this point, though, they would try anything.

John 21:4-6 “Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.”

It worked! They caught more fish than they could bring into the boat. They were amazed that the net held them all. Dollar signs started flashing in their minds. They started to believe that they were going to make it after all. Whoever this person was had given them the break they needed. Their business was immediately reborn, and their hope was immediately restored.

But then John recognized the man on the shore – it was Jesus. He quickly told Peter, who did something truly amazing: he left the business behind and went to meet his Lord. So deep was his love for Jesus that he jumped into the water and swam to shore to see Him. So great was Peter’s respect for Jesus that he put on his outer garment before he jumped in the water so he would look his best when he got there. Most of us take clothes off to go swimming. It didn’t matter to Peter that his garment would be wet and droopy – he just wanted to be at his best when he saw Him.

When the others arrived at the shore with the fish, Jesus told them to bring some of them to eat. What? Eat the profits? Their futures depended on selling these fish so the business could get started again. It was their security. Even eating a few would hurt the bottom line. What possible purpose could Jesus have in asking them to eat the fish? What possible benefit would they realize by doing this?

But Jesus was teaching them a lesson that we all need to learn. Everything that God provides for us in this life is to be used to further His kingdom. Jesus proceeded to ask Peter three questions (which we will deal with more tomorrow). Jesus showed them that the purpose of God supersedes our ambitions. God blessed their fishing trip with huge success, and then He asked them to use their gains to equip themselves to accomplish His purpose. Jesus provided for them so they could serve Him. Jesus fed them so that they could feed others. He tested their love for Him against their love for the world, and they chose Him. Whether or not they kept their fishing boats and business after this is not important. They probably did. We know that the Apostle Paul kept up his business of tent making. But what is truly significant is that they used all the material benefits of their business to serve their King and advance His cause and not their own. Jesus asked them to love Him more than anything they had in the world and use it all for His purpose.

He’s asking us the same questions. Do you love Him more than all you have? Will you use all He provides for you on the earth to serve Him and advance His cause and not your own? Will you be known to the world as a success, or will you be known by God as a servant? 

Important questions. How will you answer them today?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, April 10, 2023

The experience of peace is impossible for the human soul without the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peace is ultimately the absence of fear. From a political perspective, peace is the absence of war, but there is still the possibility that war could erupt, which causes fear. So long as war is a possibility there can be no real peace. From a relational perspective, peace is the harmony and fellowship of friends, but there is always the possibility of discord and argument, thus producing an element of fear. So long as there is the possibility of broken relationship there can be no real peace. From a personal perspective, peace is prosperity and security, but that is contingent upon factors outside of our control. So long as poverty and injury are possible there can be no real peace.

On the very day the disciples discovered that Jesus was not in the grave, they huddled together behind locked doors in fear. A war could erupt at any moment, and they would be in the minority position. Soldiers could pound on their door demanding their lives just as they had taken their Lord’s life. All fellowship with their friends and society had been broken. Their financial security was in grave doubt and their hope for personal safety was gone. They had no peace.

John 20:19-21 “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 

It is very significant that when Jesus appeared to them, He twice commanded peace to be with them. Because of His resurrection from the dead, Jesus was able to offer to the disciples and to us what the world cannot offer – real peace. In His resurrection power Jesus can conquer all the fear of human existence by putting everything into the realm of spiritual existence. Our spiritual life with Christ conquers all human fear.  In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul writes, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity…” (NLT). The Spirit of God has no fear, and when we walk in the spirit and not according to the flesh, all fear is vanquished and peace reigns in our hearts.

For the Christian, peace is the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, having nothing to fear from God and nothing to fear from the earth because its hope is not in the flesh but in Jesus. Fear is removed because no more war is necessary – Jesus has won the victory over all enemies already. Earthly wars may still exist, but the ultimate war has already been won. Relational fear is conquered because nothing can separate us from the love of God if we are living in Christ Jesus. Our relationship with Jesus is permanent and unbreakable.

Personal fear is also eliminated, because we no longer live for the prosperity and security of the world but in the present reality of total spiritual prosperity and security. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing from on high in Jesus Christ, and we have been made joint heirs with Him of all things for all eternity. We have reserved for us in heaven an incredible inheritance that cannot be taken away because it is being kept for us by the power of God. That’s security!

With all fear removed, we can experience real peace. That was the first message of Jesus to His disciples after His resurrection – peace can be yours if you trust me and not the world. Maybe this is the day you will make that choice. Peace be with you.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Friday, April 7, 2023

John 20:13,17 “They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him”… ¹⁷Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

When Jesus died and was buried, those who had loved Him and followed Him thought they were defeated and alone. Some began to cry, while others returned to their homes to try and make sense of what had happened. Questions poured into their minds like water crashing through a disintegrating dam. “What did the last three years really mean?” “Why did I quit my day job?” “What am I going to do now?” “Who was this man I thought was the Messiah and Savior of the Jews?” “Why do I suddenly feel so lost and alone?” “What will the Romans do to me if they find out I was with Him?”

The questions kept coming, and there was no one to answer them. “At least when Jesus was around, He took the time to listen to me and answer my questions, even if His answers didn’t make sense. It just felt good to be able to talk to Him. I was at peace knowing that He was there.” It was the emptiness that hurt the most, having invested all that time and energy into His cause only to have Him die and leave us with nothing. “I cannot believe He would do that. There must be something He said that I’m forgetting. I must be able to have hope again.”

Suddenly, Mary is telling the disciples that Jesus has appeared to her and given her a simple message to deliver to them – “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”  Suddenly the same water that had flooded their minds with questions and drowned them in doubt was now covered with lifeboats filled with memories of things Jesus had said. 

“My children, I will be with you only a little longer.”

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth…you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

What had started out to be a day of drowning in a flood of questions was quickly becoming a day of hope. The disciples climbed into the lifeboats of Jesus’ words and discovered their relationship with Him had not come to an end. Jesus would appear to them in person, but He would do far more than that: He would come and dwell in them in power. That’s the wonder of Mary’s simple message to them – Jesus made it possible for His Father to be their Father, and His God to be their God. They were invited into the lifeboat of personal and intimate relationship with God at the same level that had been modeled by Jesus while He lived on the earth. “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

Jesus invites us into that same lifeboat. Our lives are flooded with questions, and we are drowning in despair, but Jesus has provided a lifeboat for us. All we must do is climb into Him and completely trust Him to save us, and He will. Not only that, but He will reconcile our relationship with God and give us a new life with a purpose – to tell others the simple message that we have seen Jesus. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

Come on. Aren’t you tired of trying to keep your head above water? Climb into the boat and begin a permanent and peaceful relationship with God through Jesus Christ. There’s no need for anyone else to drown – one is enough. Jesus was that one, and He died for you!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Thursday, April 6, 2023

“Ignorance is bliss,” according to eighteenth-century English poet Thomas Gray. I think I agree with him in one specific area: I am glad I am ignorant of the details of the future. How many times would I choose to stay in bed with the doors locked if I knew every detail of what was going to happen to me in the coming day? Probably a lot. For me, not knowing what a day will bring adds to the adventure and tests my faith in the One who does know. I believe my trust in Jesus Christ to bring about God’s outcomes is strong enough to face just about anything on any given day. But before I get too close to the precipice of pride and risk a fall, let me pause for a moment and humble myself before Almighty God and thank Him for the grace He has granted to make this day possible and to make my life qualified to walk with Him.

“Jesus, I realize that I am nothing without you, and that it is your life in me that makes living possible. May I respond to every situation today with faith in your work that is being carried out in and through me and may it all be for your glory. Amen.”

Being focused on God’s outcome is the key to surviving change, inconvenience, interruptions, and tragedies. This would be so much truer if we knew that they were coming. We do expect those things to happen; we just don’t know when they will and how severe they will be. But Jesus did. Tucked away in today’s Scripture passage is an incredible statement of mission and purpose. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out…

 John 18:1-4 ¹When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. ²Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.  ³So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. ⁴Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” 

Every detail of His suffering and death were known to Him. He knew He would not sleep this night. He knew He would be dragged from one tribunal to another to face His accusers. He knew He would have to watch their hypocrisy as they refused to become ceremonially unclean in Pilate’s palace just so they could eat the Passover lamb, all the while sentencing God’s Passover Lamb to death. He saw the scourging and flogging He would suffer at the hands of powerful Roman soldiers. He knew about the crown of thorns that would be placed on His head. He felt the pain of being rejected by the people who just days earlier had proclaimed Him as their King. He knew He would not be physically able to carry His own cross to Calvary because He had been so badly beaten. He knew He would be stripped naked and nailed to a cross until He was dead. He knew that for the first time in all eternity He would experience in His body the painful punishment of sin. He knew that all of this was going to happen to Him on this day, and yet He went out to meet it and embrace it.

How could He do that? Because He was totally committed to God’s purpose, and He totally trusted God’s power to accomplish His purpose. Besides, knowing the future was not limited to just this day – Jesus also saw His glory after the resurrection. He knew more than just the outcome of today – He knew the outcome of forever. He chose to focus on the eternal and not the immediate.

So must we! We may not know the details of today, but we do know the outcome of forever. We know the promise of God to rescue us from wrath and bring us into His presence for all eternity. We know His power to fulfill His promise. But we continue to choose to look at the present instead of the promise. Had Jesus done that He would have run to hide when the soldiers approached. Instead, He went out to them and gave Himself into God’s hand, not theirs.

O my friends, there is so much truth for us to discover in this, but time limits us. May the Holy Spirit bring to your mind and heart the treasures of these truths as you meditate on this today. May we have the faith to face the day, knowing that we are not at the mercy of the world but in the hand of the Father. Even though we are convinced we will suffer in the present, may our focus be on the Person who will resurrect us from it with the same power He used to resurrect His Son.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

It is the night before He was to be crucified and He is meeting with His disciples. Jesus has spent over three years with them, teaching them about God with His words and His actions. Motivated by love, He modeled for them the attributes of God like grace, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, peace, joy, and justice. He completely manifested the reality of God to them.

By now His human heart is being wrenched with pain as His spiritual heart sees the reality of what He is about to suffer. I can only imagine what it must be like to have to accept the truth that these are the final days of life on this earth. I know how much it hurts to hear that about those I love. The emotional pain must be excruciating for those who are living it. But how much more painful is the suffering when the knowledge of physical suffering is added. Jesus knew it all. He has called together those that He loves to give them the news and to spend whatever time He has left making sure they are prepared for the future. He looks back on His life with them and is satisfied that He has loved them completely and accomplished God’s mission to that point. But there is one more thing He needs them to learn. It is not an insignificant thing left until the end as an addendum or because of an oversight: it is the culmination of His teaching and the completion of His love. He intentionally modeled for them how to fully show love to others by being their servant.

John 13:1 “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”  

Notice these important truths from the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet as the full expression of love:

1.      Jesus was a servant to others even when He was under extreme emotional stress. How often do we use stress as an excuse to become self-focused? Jesus modeled the fullness of love when He served others in a time when circumstances warranted others serving Him.

2.      Jesus taught in this one action of washing His disciple’s feet that true love expresses itself by considering others better than ourself. The full extent of love is experienced only when we look to the needs of others even when we have needs that seem bigger. How can we compare the needs of a person who is about to be severely persecuted and killed to the needs of people with dirty feet? How can we not be deeply touched by the expression of love as the One in the greatest need meets the lesser needs of others?

3.      Jesus knew that the acquisition of power, position, and prestige would lead most people to self-sufficiency. When the foot washing was complete Jesus asked the disciples if they truly understood what He had done. Before they could answer He told them. He reminded them of His rightful position as their Teacher and Lord. Jesus knew His status with them and with His Father, and so did the disciples. But Jesus made it perfectly clear that power and position are never to interfere with the expression of love to others. He modeled it so that we all could see it and do it. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

Friends, my heart is overwhelmed right now with a desire to renew my commitment to show the full extent of God’s love by serving others. Not just when it’s convenient or even appropriate, but in all situations with no concern for my own position, rights, or needs. Will you consider the same, remembering the model of Jesus who showed the full extent of God’s love by washing His disciple’s feet.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

When I was a young boy, I was fascinated with the prospect of heaven. As a young man I studied everything I could get my hands on about prophecy. My grandfather, Dr. J.A. van Gorkom, was an evangelist who spent time in churches teaching prophecy. I think it is necessary for us to keep the return of Christ in the forefront of our thinking because it is the foundation of our hope and will keep us from discouragement while we live in a world that increasingly oppresses us. Just think, someday – maybe today – we will be living with Jesus forever!

But as I was growing up I don’t remember being taught the rest of the story very well. The emphasis seemed to primarily be on heaven and what was ahead, and how we needed to live pure lives in preparation for the coming of Jesus. I know this isn’t what was intended, but it almost seemed like we were responsible for keeping ourselves worthy of heaven by how we lived our lives. Any encouragement we received to repent of sin and correct our lifestyle choices seemed to be motivated by either forced obedience or by comparison to others. I don’t remember a balanced emphasis on the fact that we are already living with Him and He lives in us.

I’m proud of my Godly heritage, but I really wish I would have understood this incredible truth a lot earlier in my life. A significant part of Christ’s mission to the earth was to make it possible for life with Him to begin immediately. But so many of us don’t really understand this – it stays a mystery to us. The Apostle Paul said this was a mystery once, but it is not to be now. In Colossians 1:25-27 he writes, “I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” It is very clear that the mission of Christ was more than to die for our sins so that someday we may live with Him. He died for us so that, whether we are alive or dead, we are living with Him because He is living in us now.

This is to be the sole motivator of how we live our lives. It is the basis for all encouragement and admonition as we build one another up in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Our motivation for purity is not to be more spiritual than another person, nor is it to conform to a set of rules so we can be declared obedient. The only thing that makes Godly living possible is God’s living Presence. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

So as important as it is to be looking for the soon return of Jesus to take us into glory forever, it is equally important to know that Jesus lives in us already and we are able to experience His glory now. That’s why He died for us. He has appointed us to receive salvation as a present possession. Yes, it will be fully experienced when we are free from this sinful body – but it is only the body that limits the experience of the fullness of glory. Our spirits have no such limitation. So walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh and be governed by its influence: the flesh will have no power over you, because Jesus lives in you.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, April 3, 2023

John 12:31-32 “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” 

Jesus describes His mission in three particulars in today’s Scripture passage:

1.      He will determine the guilt of the world and enforce the punishment;

2.      He will drive Satan from power;

3.      He will draw all men to Himself.

Of the three aspects of His mission, we are able to be involved in only one of them. Some well-meaning Christians try to get involved in more than one, but it is wasted effort and a prideful pursuit. Some think it is their responsibility to pass judgment on the sins of others. As Christians we only have the right to communicate the facts of the judgment already imposed, but it must be done in the context of the punishment that has already been suffered. If we are going to point out the sin in another person’s life it must be done with the grace of forgiveness and not with the condemnation of judgment. Jesus has already judged the world, and He has not asked us for our validation of that judgment.

Other Christians think it is their privilege to be able to drive Satan from power. Why are they attempting to do what has already been accomplished? In his Biblical letter, James says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) We are not told to attack Satan, or to drive Him away. Rather, we are told to submit to God, and in the simple act of resisting Satan’s attacks he will flee from us. Why? Because his power has already been broken in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is foolish to engage in a work that is already completed.

But as Christians we are to be involved in lifting Jesus up from the earth so that He may draw all men to Himself. I know that Jesus was specifically referring to the type of death He would die on the cross when He said this, but there is an ongoing truth for all of us. First, Jesus was not saying that all people would be saved. We know that is not true from what happened to Judas and one of the thieves on the cross next to Him when He was crucified. Not everyone will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. But when Jesus was lifted up on the cross, He made it possible for all mankind to come to the knowledge of who He is. It is now our responsibility to live and speak in such a way that we lift Jesus up above the things of the earth so that all people have a chance to know who He is.

Our mission is to lift up Jesus above the earth. Our mission is to make the life of Christ more obvious in us so He is more obvious to the people around us. This means sacrificing the significance of earthly things and stipulating the significance of heavenly things. Paul says in Colossians 3:1-3, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

But don’t be confused or discouraged – it is not our lives that attract people to Jesus: it is the life of Jesus seen in us that draws them. He draws people to Himself, and we are the vessels He has chosen to use to be seen by the world. For that to happen, my vessel must be clear so He can be seen in me, not so colored by my own opinions, preferences, and goals that the world can only see me. May our lives be clear of the entanglements of the earth so that we lift up Jesus as He draws people to Himself.

Pastor John