LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Contradictions bother me. A simple example would be to declare a belief in airplanes but always travel by bus. Other examples are much more serious. It is a contradiction to believe that human life bears the image of God and then support the killing of that life in the womb. It is a contradiction to believe in freedom and then support political positions that undermine the very constitution that provides for freedom and protects it. It is a contradiction to believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and then pursue the desires of the flesh as a necessary means of personal fulfillment.  

Now, as upset as some of you may be right now, think of how upset the Jewish people in Jesus’ day were when He told them that their belief system was a contradiction to truth.

As I read John chapter eight I see Jesus pointing out the contradictions of people’s belief system. Jesus addresses the contradiction of claiming belief in Him and not being free from sin. In verse 30, we are told that many believed in Him. Verse 31 says that Jesus spoke to those who had believed Him. Do you see the distinction between believing “IN” Him and believing Him? Jesus tells us the difference. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The people argue with Jesus. They declare their freedom based on being descendants of Abraham. Jesus points out the contradiction of their belief system in this critical statement.

John 8:34-38   “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Please break this down carefully. Jesus is revealing serious contradictions in our hearts.

• Our religious heritage means nothing if it is contradicted by a heart that pursues sin.
• Our pursuit of sin identifies us as slaves to sin, contradicting our self-assessment that we are free.
• Our belief that we are children of God and belong to His household is contradicted by our lack of application of God’s word to our lives.
• Our confidence in our spiritual position is contradicted by our continual choices to sin.
• Our claim to be children of the heavenly Father is contradicted by our choice to obey Satan as our father.

Only the True Son of God can set you free to become a true child of God. Jesus declared that He is true. Jesus declared that the Father who sent Him is true. Jesus declared that everything He told us is true. In Jesus there is no contradiction. That’s called holiness, and for us it comes from reading, absorbing abiding in, and obeying the words of Jesus.

Spend today looking for contradictions in your life. Bring them all into the light of God’s Word. Pursue holiness.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

I grew up in a people-pleasing family. I admit it was a little dysfunctional. I became a young man who deeply desired to fit in. I learned to quickly assess what I thought were the expectations of any individual or group and adapted to those expectations. I thought that if I could please the people around me, that I would be accepted. I worked hard to make people like me.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Want proof? Think about it from this perspective. When you develop a meaningful relationship with someone, it is based on trust. You need to know that the person you are with is consistent in their beliefs and behaviors. No one lasts long as a friend if they are always changing what they say or how they act depending on the people they are with. If someone’s desire is to be liked, they will fail at being a real friend.

Pleasing people to be accepted by them is dysfunctional. Pleasing people as an expression of your love for them is desirable. The latter is what Jesus declares about His relationship with the Father.

John 8:29  “And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

Let’s evaluate why we seek to please God. There are three motivations.

1. We seek God’s approval so we adopt the behaviors that we believe will please Him.

2. We believe we have God’s approval based on our salvation, but we must work hard to keep it by pleasing Him.

3. We live in God’s approval based on our eternal relationship with Jesus, so our attitudes and actions spring from a heart of love and therefore please Him.

Which one of the above motivations defines you? Ponder this, and correct any flawed thoughts that keep you from living in the freedom and joy of number three.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, November 2, 2020

There is an old saying that came to my mind today. “The proof is in the pudding.” That is a shortened version of the original saying, which is, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”. The original version makes much more sense. The only way to know whether or not the pudding is good is to eat it. To fully judge how effective something is you need to use it for its intended purpose.

Doubters and disbelievers of Jesus were seeking proof of His identity and His mission. Jesus had consistently told them that He was the Son of God sent from the Father. He told them He was the Light of the world, and that if they believed in Him they would not walk in darkness, but would have the light of life. He had offered them living water so they would never thirst again. Jesus had presented God the Father to them, but they still did not understand. They still did not believe. They wanted more proof.

In John 8, Jesus gives the people the one proof that will validate everything He said.

John 8:28  “So Jesus said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.’”

The proof that Jesus is in complete agreement with God the Father is His obedience to the mission of the cross. The proof of the love of God for sinners is the crucifixion of the Son of God on the cross. The proof that Jesus never did anything of His own accord or for His own benefit is the excruciating suffering the Son of Man endured for our sake.

What more proof do you need?

You want the shame and guilt of your sin to be removed. Jesus died for your sin so it can all be forgiven and washed away.

You want to be loved. There is no greater love than when someone gives their life to save yours.

You want security. The death of Jesus pays the eternal debt of your sin, and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead grants you the security of eternal life.

You are hungry to know the meaning of life. God the Father has provided the pudding. The proof is in the eating. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, October 29, 2020

 As a young boy, I remember the “No! I am!” arguments with my brothers. Questions about strength, intelligence, capabilities, and skill were typically answered with the sibling rivalry response of “I am!” followed by “No! I am!”, resulting in an I am! shouting match. Children all seem to want to be identified as the best, the strongest, and the most skilled, and are quick to admit that they are.

In John 8:12, Jesus makes an “I am!” statement. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The Pharisees argued with Him, and declared that His declaration was untrue. They chose not to believe that the Light they saw was the source of all Light. They denied the Deity of Jesus. They were threatened by what would happen if they believed. Rather than believe in the True Light, they chose to value artificial light – light they had created for their own benefit. Unfortunately, artificial light actually blinds us to the True Light.

Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”  Matthew 6:22-23

John MacArthur explains it this way in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew.

“The eye that is bad is the heart that is selfishly indulgent. The person who is materialistic and greedy is spiritually blind. Because he has no way of recognizing true light, he thinks he has light when he does not. What is thought to be light is therefore really darkness, and because of the self-deception, how great is the darkness!”

So the question we must all deal with is this: What sources of artificial light do you value enough that they replace Jesus as the source of all Light for your life? Money? Work performance? Marriage? Children? The accomplishments of your kids? Recreation? Your political views? The list could go on for a while. The point is that each one of us has an area in our lives, or more than one, that we use to add value to our life because we do not truly believe that Jesus is enough. When asked who is the true source of light for our life, we respond to Christ’s “I am!” by claiming “I am!”. We literally argue with Jesus because we prefer artificial light.

My friends, think deeply about this. Consider all the artificial light sources that exist in your life because you have chosen to believe that they bring value that Jesus cannot. Then repent by turning off every artificial light switch, and let the eternal Light of God shine in you through Jesus Christ our Lord. You will never be in the dark again.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Hopefully I will be able to get out to the woods this weekend to start my fall deer hunting season. When I go, I will be prepared with everything I need for a successful hunt. Of all the things I will carry, none is more important to me than my flashlight. I carry three of them. One I wear on my hat so my hands are free when needed. One is a small light with a zoom lens so I can pinpoint spots without shining a wide beam. The third light is a compact rechargeable spotlight that lights up the entire woods. Each light has a unique application, but the basic function of all three is the same – they dispel the darkness so I can see where I’m going and what I’m doing.

When I enter the woods early in the morning, I use the small light to simply light the trail to my tree stand. When I’m getting settled in the tree stand, the headlamp allows me to use both hands to get everything situated. If God blesses me with a deer, and it gets dark at the end of the day, the spotlight assists me in finding my bounty. But there’s one thing each light has in common. It must be out in front of me to do its job. When the light gets behind me, my ability to see is greatly diminished. I cast big shadows on what I want to see when I get in the way of the light.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Many times I can’t see what God wants me to see because I get ahead of Jesus. In order for the Light of the world to keep me out of the darkness, He must be in front of me and I must be following Him.

I often think I know the way, and I run ahead of where the Light is shining. I begin to cast big shadows on the path and I end up tripping and falling. If only I had stayed behind the Light I would have seen what was on the path and avoided it. But instead I find myself lying face down in the dark. When I get up, I must turn around to see the Light again. He hasn’t moved. He’s waiting, and I can clearly see the path in front of me leading back to Him because He’s still shining on me. When I get there, He brushes off the dirt and invites me to follow Him.

Is your path covered in shadows? They are probably your own. Quick, before you trip and fall, turn around. Repent. Walk towards the Light. Jesus is waiting to forgive you for going your own way, and give you sufficient Light to go His way.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Here’s a tough question to start your Tuesday…”Can everything you say about yourself be validated as truth by a reputable witness?”

As Jesus spoke about being the Light of the world, the Pharisees sought to renounce Him. According to the Old Testament law, no testimony could be considered true unless it was corroborated by at least one other witness.

Deuteronomy 19:15  “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.”

The Pharisees publicly renounced as a lie what Jesus said about Himself. But Jesus responded that His statements are true for two reasons:

1. Because His eternal nature as God would not allow Him to lie. John 8:14  Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going…”
2. Because there is another witness to validate His statements. John 8:18  “I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

Jesus had previously offered even more witnesses to the truth He declared about Himself. Let’s go back to John 5.

John 5:31-37  “If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth… But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me.”

Jesus validated His testimony by providing credible witnesses. Everything Jesus said about Himself is true.

Now, back to our through-provoking question for the day. ”Can everything you say about yourself be validated as truth by a reputable witness?” It really is an “OUCH!” question. I can remember far too many times that I attempted to make myself out to be someone other than I was. It NEVER ended well. Lies don’t EVER end well.

So why do we keep doing it? I think Jesus answered that for us when He said, “…for I know where I came from and where I am going…” The foundation for always telling the truth is to understand your identity and be satisfied with it.  Lies about yourself are the expression of insecurity rooted in an identity crisis.

Jesus knew who He was. Therefore, everything He said about Himself was the truth. He had no desire to be someone else. He had no need to improve His personal worth by earning the approval of people. Jesus was constantly the expression of His eternal nature.

How about you? Are you committed to being the consistent expression of the eternal nature of Christ in you? He is your identity. You have no need to lie to make yourself better than you already are. You have no need to earn the approval of people because you are eternally approved by God in Christ Jesus.

Let everything you say about yourself be validated by the testimony of Christ in you.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, October 26, 2020

On Saturday, as I drove to minister to a family who had lost a loved one, I heard an announcer on a Christian radio station make a comment about being a reflection of Jesus to others. I have probably used that terminology myself, but for some reason when she said it, it made me wonder if it was biblically accurate. Are we a reflection of Jesus?

After doing a lengthy word study, seeking to find the verses where the word reflection is used, I couldn’t find any references to us being a reflection of Jesus. There are multiple modern translations that use the word reflection to describe how they think we are to reveal the glory of God to others, but the usage is not supported by the best translation of the original language. In my limited study on the subject, I cannot find biblical support for the idea that we are reflectors of the glory of God.

Now before you start yelling at me, let me also say clearly that while we are not reflectors of God’s glory, we are bearers of His glory. The distinction is critical. There is a huge difference between a reflector of light and a producer of light. We are not designed to be reflectors. We do not reflect light from an outside source.  We shine with the Light of Jesus Christ in us.

In John 8:12. Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus gave us His eternal light, and it shines from within us.

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus had taught the crowds this truth. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 

The problem with reflectors is that they don’t care what the source of light is, they simply let whatever light is available bounce off of them and give the appearance that they are shining. They don’t even reflect an honest image of the light they took in. They only shine with the color that is already in them. Some people may be good reflectors, but reflectors make bad lights.

Not so with those who are in Christ. We no longer reflect the light of the world because we carry in us the Light of the world. We emit true light. We shine with the glory of God. At least we are supposed to.

Don’t settle for being a reflector. The eternal Spirit of Jesus Christ dwells in you, and daily is transforming you into a brilliant source of Light in a dark world. Let the Glory of Jesus shine forth!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, October 23, 2020

I am convinced that I know very little about suffering for the cause of Christ. The church of Jesus Christ in western civilization has created sufficient comfort zones to protect us from the discomfort of persecution. We have compromised our citizenship in the Kingdom of God by becoming acceptable and pleasing to the Kingdom of this world. The day is coming very soon when we will pay a serious price for such choices. We will not be prepared for the suffering that is to come, and many will fall away.

It is time for those who have claimed Christ to begin  proclaiming Him. Without shame. Without embarrassment. Without fear.

In some Bible schools in India, graduating students take the Martyr’s Oath publicly during the commencement. At the climax of the ceremony, these graduates rise to their feet, raise their hand, and repeat similar words to these:

TODAY, I stand as a dead man. I declare that in Jesus Christ, I am saved by His blood, and thus I am dead to sin, and no longer dead in my sin. TODAY, I stand and declare that I surrender my will and my life, to His will and His life.

I shall go where He sends me, without asking questions. I shall go to whomever He sends me, without seeking fame. I shall preach to everyone, even if they hate me. I am an Ambassador of the Cross, and must deliver the Message. I shall pour my life out to reach my family, my friends, my neighbors, and my city.

I embrace the shame of the Cross, and I fear nothing but God. I welcome suffering, shame, persecution, beatings, imprisonment and death, but I will not be silenced.

If I am killed, I pray that my blood should be a harvest for souls. This is my city. I dare not do less.

After their oath, each student is given three items, and only three items. As they walk across the stage and receive their diploma, each graduate takes into his possession a new Bible, a new bicycle, and a one-way train ticket to their field of service. They have no “Plan B.”

Earlier this week I spoke with a man who is reading the book The Martyr’s Oath. He read the oath to me. I struggled with the apparent contradiction between my knowledge of the truths presented and their application in my life. I need to study it more, and make a determined, Holy Spirit empowered commitment to adapting every word as my life purpose. Maybe you would be willing to join me.

THE MARTYR’S OATH

I AM A FOLLOWER OF JESUS.  I believe he lived and walked among us, was crucified for our sins, and was raised from the dead, according to the Scriptures.  I believe he is the King of the earth, who will come back for his church.

As he has given his life for me, so I am willing to give my life for him.  I will use every breath I possess to boldly proclaim his gospel.  Whether in abundance or need, in safety or peril, in peace or distress, I will not—I cannot—keep quiet.  His unfailing love is better than life, and his grace compels me to speak his name even if his names costs me everything, Even in the face of death, I will not deny him.  And should shadow and darkness encroach upon me, I will not fear, for I know he is always with me.

Though persecution may come, I know my battle is not against flesh but against the forces of evil.  I will not hate those whom God has called me to love.  Therefore, I will forgive when ridiculed, show mercy when struck, and love when hated.  I will clothe myself with meekness and kindness so those around me may see the face of Jesus reflected in me, especially if they abuse me.

I have taken up my cross; I have laid everything else down.  I know my faith could cost me my life, but I will follow and love Jesus until the end, whenever and however that may end may come.  Should I die for Jesus, I confess that my death is not to achieve salvation but in gratitude for the grace I’ve already received.,  I will not die to earn my reward in heaven, but because Jesus has already given me the ultimate reward in forgiveness of my sins and the salvation of my soul.

For me to live is Christ; for me to die is gain.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, October 22, 2020

After our church services last Sunday, my wife and I headed to South Dakota where we met my two brothers and their wives for a Monday morning committal service for my dad. Everything went as planned, except for the heavy snow that was falling. When Rev. Hank Roso finished his comments to the family, I placed the urn containing my dad’s ashes in the hole in front of his headstone and next to mom. As I did, emotions rushed over me, causing tears to flow from my eyes.

It has been three months since dad died, but I cannot get the images of his death in my car out of my head. Last Friday I drove to a local business along the same route that I had taken with dad on his final car trip. I was again overwhelmed with emotions resulting in tears as I remembered how I had cradled his head in my hands as I drove.

Grieving is hard. Grieving is healing. The tears I experience are not due to regret, but rather they come from relationship. Grieving represents all the good we knew, and the more we grieve the less the bad matters. Grieving heals bad memories. Grieving heals hurts. Grieving heals bitterness. I’m glad I am grieving.

As one author put it, “Grief is a journey, often perilous and without clear direction, that must be taken. The experience of grieving cannot be ordered or categorized, hurried or controlled, pushed aside or ignored indefinitely. It is inevitable as breathing, as change, as love. It may be postponed, but it will not be denied.”

So, I let the tears flow. Psalm 30:5 says, “…weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

Washington Irving put it this way. “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.”

It’s true. The more I cry, the more I know of love.

So don’t hide your hurts. Let them cause you to cry. Soon the hurts will be healed, and hope will return.

“You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”  Anne Lamott

With tears of joy, Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

There is one more point of emphasis about misinformation that needs to be made. Misinformation is lying. Manipulation is lying. The end never justifies the means when the means are sinful. The end is never justifiable if it too is sinful.

All of the above are illustrated in the way the religious leaders spoke about Jesus.

John 7:45-52 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

1. They took the truth of Scripture, presented by the common people, that the Christ must come from Bethlehem, and they made it into a lie that no prophet can ever come out of Galilee. They saw an opportunity to use truth as the basis for a lie, hoping to accomplish a pre-determined goal – the rejection of Jesus Christ. How often do we embellish the truth (lie) to accomplish a pre-determined goal? Do we declare the fish was bigger than it actually was because we believe we will earn the affirmation we seek as a good fisherman?
2. They lied about whether or not any of the religious leaders had believed in Jesus. Whether they knew about the belief of Nicodemus or not is irrelevant. They proclaimed misinformation when they could have verified the facts.
3. They lied about the status of the crowd and about their own status. They declared the crowd to be worthy of judgment because they didn’t know the law. That was not true. They had already demonstrated that they knew enough of the law to declare that Jesus could be the Prophet, the Messiah, and that the Christ would come from Bethlehem. But the religious leaders had already determined that they alone could know the law well enough to interpret it correctly, so in order to maintain their status that had to demean everyone else. They lid about their own spiritual status, and to protect that lie they lied about the status of others.
4. They lied about the need to uphold all the law. They chose to ignore the sections of the law suggested by Nicodemus, because it didn’t serve their purpose.

It would do us all well to consider whether lying has gained a foothold in our lives. I think the place to start is by evaluating whether anything we say is designed to benefit us or honor God. If we are motivated by personal benefit, we will probably lie.

Pastor John