LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

When something goes wrong, what’s your first option for fixing it? My normal thought pattern goes like this:

• Do I have any experience in this area?
• Do I know anyone else with experience in this area?
• Google it. There’s probably a YouTube video.
• Pray for other ideas of how I can fix it.
• If I must, I will sit back and let God handle it.

Let’s see how the mother of Jesus handled a problem that developed at a wedding.

John 2:3-5 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Notice three principles of crisis management:

1. Go to Jesus first. This requires our faith in Him to be greater than our faith in self.
2. Make sure our request fits into His will. Think about what Mary was asking. “Jesus, I have complete confidence that you are able to do the miraculous and solve this problem. I believe you are here to bless people by meeting their needs. Please accomplish your purpose.” However, she had a limited view of Christ’s purpose. She asked in faith, but not according to God’s ultimate will. He replied to her, “My main purpose is not the temporal needs of mankind, but their spiritual needs, and this is not the time for me to resolve that problem.”
3. Make sure we become obedient to His will. Mary immediately understood the admonition of Jesus, and told the servants to trust whatever Jesus would tell them. She made sure that Jesus was in complete control of this situation and it’s outcome.

Review those principles every time a crisis develops in your life. They should be your first option before you seek any of your own solutions.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, May 18, 2020

As we continue our study of the Gospel of John, we come this week to chapter two. Jesus is prepared to introduce Himself to the world. He chooses to do it at a wedding.

John 2:1-2 “On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.”

Weddings are fun. I love them. I was supposed to officiate two weddings this month, but plans changed because of our world’s health crisis. One wedding was held early, and the other has been postponed until September. Neither will be exactly what the bride wanted, except that she will still be married to the man she wanted.

One thing I’ve learned about weddings over the 40 years I have been officiating them is that you never upstage the bride. It was different in Jesus’ day, where weddings focused on the groom. I wonder when the change happened?

Biblically, the focus of a wedding is always on the groom. You and I, the Church, are the Bride of Christ. All of the attention is on the Groom – Jesus. He invited us to be His bride, just like in a modern day engagement. But that seems to be where the similarity ends. Today the bride takes on the role of planning the wedding and planning the reception. The groom gets to plan a rehearsal dinner.

The Bible has different ideas about the final wedding you and I will ever attend – our wedding to Jesus. Jesus has invited us to be His Bride. He has left to prepare our home where we will live together with Him forever. He will return one day to get us and escort us to the marriage ceremony. There will be a huge wedding feast to celebrate our marriage. We read about it in Revelation 19.

“⁶ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. ⁷ Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; ⁸ it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”

Notice how the Bride is to get ready for the wedding – by putting on the right wedding garments. What are those garments? They are the fine white linen of righteous deeds.

Jesus died on the cross to conquer sin, yet so many of us refuse to wear the clothing of righteousness. Instead, we continue to wear the clothing of unrighteousness. We seek to gratify our own desires and live according to the standards of the world. We continue to please self and others. Yet, if asked, we tell people we are excited to be the bride of Christ and can’t wait for the wedding celebration in heaven.

Something is terribly wrong with this scenario. It is no different than an engaged person having an affair with another person up until the wedding day, and hoping it won’t affect the marriage.

Can it be said of you, that as the Bride of Christ, you are making yourself ready for the wedding by putting on the garments of righteousness and keeping them clean? I hope so. The Groom is about to arrive.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, May 15,2020

Open the doors! We have heard that shouted loudly in our state. Maybe it is happening.

Doors have several functions, of which I believe two stand out as primary – keep things in or keep things out. The doors of our house are locked at night to keep people out so we feel safe. The doors are unlocked during the day to allow us to exit for our daily activities.

In the Gospel of John, when Jesus meets Nathanael, He calls him a true Israelite. The name Israel was given to a man named Jacob in the Old Testament, and it was through Jacob that the twelve tribes of Israel were born. One night, when Jacob was pondering the things of God, a vision appeared to him. A ladder extended from the earth to heaven, and angels were ascending and descending the steps. Jacob saw this as a sign that the place where he was sleeping was the gateway – the door – to heaven.

When Jesus declared to Nathanael that he was a true son of Israel, He saw him seeking access to God in the same way as his forefather Jacob. Then Jesus said this:

John 1:51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

WOW! Jesus announces to Nathanael that He is the door to heaven. Access to the Father comes only through Christ.

Maybe the reason the door always seems shut on your spiritual pursuits is that you are knocking on the wrong door. Jesus is the door, and He will open Himself to whomever knocks, and bring you the abundance of life you are seeking.

John 10:7-  “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep…I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture…I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Today is the day the door will be opened to let you into eternal relationship with Jesus. All you need do is repent of trying all the other doors, and turn to belief in Jesus Christ as your Savior. Then, in an amazing act of power and grace, Jesus will close the door with you inside, and you will never be lost. The Door let’s you in. The Door keeps you in.

Trust Jesus to save you today.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, May 14, 2020

When John the Baptizer introduced Jesus he called Him the Lamb God who takes away the sin of the world. Some followed Jesus for the reason of forgiveness. Andrew introduced Jesus to Peter by calling Him the Messiah. Some follow Jesus for the reason of deliverance and the building of a new kingdom. When Philip was called, Jesus simply asked him to follow, so he did. Some follow Jesus because they like to obey and conform. Philip then told Nathanael that they had found the One person to whom all of the Old Testament Scriptures point. Nathanael had questions.

I am fascinated by the story of Nathanael and Jesus. All of the other disciples so far have responded to a call based on what Jesus would accomplish. But not Nathanael. He responded because of what Jesus knew.

John 1:48 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.”

Does it scare you to be fully known by someone? Are there things hiding in your background that still influence how much of yourself you reveal to others with whom you have a relationship? Are there dysfunctional thought patterns that influence your decision-making? Yet behind all of those masks and manipulations, you truly do long to be fully known so you can be transparent and intimate with another person? Do you desire to be like Nathanael and have no hypocrisy about you?

Prior to Philip arriving to invite Nathanael to meet Jesus, our Lord knew Nathanael. He deeply and intimately knew Him. He saw into his heart and soul, and saw a man of truth and character. He saw a man who lived on the outside as an exact expression of what was on his inside.

Nathanael was blown away by the omniscience of Jesus. When Jesus revealed that He knows the innermost thoughts of man, even the doubts and questions we have, Nathanael was overwhelmed with the eternal nature of Christ. Jesus knew everything about him. He must be the Son of God and the King of Israel. Only Deity could know what He knows.

Are you overwhelmed with the fact that Jesus knows everything about you, yet He loves you and seeks to deepen His relationship with you? Do you understand that you do not need to put on a mask to enter His presence? In fact, masks are a barrier to intimate relationship with Christ and anyone else for that matter. Do you seek to present a better case to others than what you actually believe in your heart? It’s time to end the hypocrisy and exchange it for holiness. The deepest desire of man’s soul is to know Christ and be fully known by Christ. He already fully knows us. Why are we hiding? His grace will cover you. Be real. When we accept His perfect knowledge of who we are, then we get to experience the perfect love of a perfect friend.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

I have a memory for faces. Notice I didn’t say I have a face for memory. Most people try to forget my face. But I rarely forget theirs. My family makes a joke about it. “Anywhere we go he recognizes someone.”

However, things have changed as I have gotten older. When I recognize a face, I can’t always remember why I remember it. I find myself asking people, “How do I know you?”

When Philip goes and finds Nathanael, and brings him to Jesus, they had never personally met. Yet here’s what happened.

John 1:47-48 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 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.”

Jesus makes a statement about Nathanael that blows him away. He is immediately taken off guard and asks Jesus, “How do you know me?”  In other words, you seem to know who I am on a deeper level than just recognizing my face. How is that possible?

We are going to unpack this incredible truth on Sunday in the sermon, but I want us to ponder something today. Are we satisfied to simply recognize people or do we intentionally know them on a deeper level? Are we simply “How are you? I’m fine” acquaintances or are we “Tell me what’s going on in your heart” friends? Do we accept a level of friendship that is superficial, or do we dive deep into another person’s heart and discover their soul?

Jesus declared that He knew Nathanael on the soul level. It transformed his understanding of Jesus. When the façade comes down, the masks come off, and we are able to be genuine with people, it will transform our friendships. Letting Jesus see the real you is where it starts. His unconditional love for you is the source of how you can love others and be loved by them.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

We are greatly influenced by what we have heard from others and what we believe would accomplish the greater good for people and society. We may be in denial about how much our thoughts and words are the product of pre-determined preferences. For example, our opinions about people, places, and politics are probably determined by what we have heard rather than by facts. We tend to draw conclusions and make judgments that are not in agreement with reality.

This is exactly what happened when Philip found Nathanael and told him about Jesus. In John 1:45-46, as Philip informs Nathanael about Jesus, he includes information about where Jesus is from. He probably learned this information while in conversation with Jesus. When Nathanael heard that the supposed Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament was from Nazareth, he responds, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Nazareth was a tiny, insignificant village known for its poverty. Surely the Messiah would not come from such lowly beginnings. Nathanael had bought into the cultural view of the Messiah, that He would be royalty and come from a place of prominence. He quickly made a judgment about Jesus based on what he had heard. He chose his personal preference of what to believe rather than experience the reality of who Jesus was.

We still do the same thing. We make judgments about people based on where they are from, what color they are, what status they have or don’t have, and other irrelevant criteria. Before we even get to know the person and hear their story, we decide whether or not they are worthy of our time.

There is only one productive response to people who make such judgments. It is the response Philip gives to Nathanael. “Come and see.” In other words, before you make your final declaration about the nature of any person, spend time with them. Observe them. Talk to them. Discover who they are on the inside before you make a judgment about them based on the externals.

Ponder this point today. How many people are excluded from your life because you made a hasty and uninformed judgment about them based on some criteria other than getting to know them?

Now, how can you fix that?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, May 11, 2020

It was such a blessing to be able to sit in my car yesterday with my wife and enjoy our drive-in church service at Calvary. Pastor Josh brought out some meaningful truths from the story of Moses’ mother. I was especially blessed to hear him rise up and praise his own mother for those qualities at the end of the sermon.

This Sunday we will return to our study of the Gospel of John. Each day this week, as we have been doing for the last several weeks, we will go treasure hunting for precious gems of truth from the Scripture that will be the basis for the upcoming sermon. Today I want to make a personal challenge to you from John 1:43-45.

“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Philip is the fourth man that Jesus calls to follow Him. Then, just like Andrew, he goes and finds another man to come and join them. When Andrew found his brother Peter, he made a simple statement that he had found the Messiah. But when Philip finds Nathanael, he goes into much more detail. He tells Nathanael that he had found the One person to whom the Old Testament Scriptures pointed. He declares that the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets all declared that the Son of God was coming. They describe Him as Messiah, Prophet, King, and so much more. Philip is so full of the knowledge of the Old Testament that he is immediately able to confirm that Jesus fulfills everything spoken.

Here’s my point to ponder for today.

When someone asks me to tell them the purpose of the Old Testament, can I show them how it all points to Jesus?

If you have your doubts, let me help you. This is just a minimal start, but maybe it will motivate you to find more.

• From the Law of Moses –
  • Deuteronomy 18:18-19 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
• From the Prophets –
  • Isaiah 52:13-15 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. (See also Isaiah 53)
  • Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

There are multiple prophecies about Christ in the Psalms, in Micah, in Zechariah, and more. In fact, the entire Old Testament is a massive prophecy of God’s redemptive plan that would be fulfilled in Jesus. It is worth your time to study it and understand the Scripture in that context.

Philip did. Maybe that’s why the Holy Spirit chose him to be the one to explain the prophets to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. I think the Holy Spirit is ready to use each one of us as a witness to Christ if we will dedicate ourselves to studying His Word.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, May 8, 2020

Sunday is Mother’s Day, and Pastor Josh will be leading the service and preaching a Mother’s Day sermon at our drive-in church. We will continue our study of the remainder of the first chapter of John’s Gospel on May 17. We will also continue our daily deep dive into the weekly passages of John so we can find more pearls of wisdom from the Holy Spirit. I hope you are finding these daily treasure hunts profitable.

Jesus now has three men who have taken an interest in Him and His mission. John, a fisherman, who would become the intimate friend of Jesus and the author of this Gospel. Andrew, also a fisherman, and his brother and fishing partner Simon, now named Peter after meeting Jesus.

Andrew and Peter are identified in Matthew 4:18-19 as the first two disciples officially called by Jesus to leave everything and follow Jesus.

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

What would you do at this point? Jesus, who they have been told is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, has invited you to leave your family business, and all its assets and income, and follow Him who knows where. What would you do?

Well not only did Andrew and Simon choose to leave everything and follow Jesus, a little further down the beach brothers James and John do the same thing. What could have been so compelling about the life of Jesus that grown men would leave their careers and families to follow Him?

That last question is significant for every one of us, but it is not the most important question. Here’s the question that causes me to pause and reflect on my life. What is so uncompelling about the life of Jesus that I would choose to hang on to what I have rather than fully follow Him?

The reason the second question is more important than the first is because of our actual experience with Jesus. We have chosen to follow Him with conditions. Jesus plus a good job. Jesus plus financial security. Jesus plus family. Jesus plus recreation and fun. What is so trivial about the life of Jesus that we continue to choose the trivial over the eternal?

That’s worth pondering today.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, May 7, 2020

How does knowing someone change you? I guess there are a lot of undefined specifics that need to be known before we can answer that question. One such specific is to identify the person we know. I know a lot of people, but they have not changed my life simply because I know them. Other people have had negative impacts on my life, seemingly making it worse, yet God always uses it for my development. Other people have truly made my life more enjoyable. But some people, like my wife, have had a major impact on who I have become.

When you think about relationships, good ones have a reciprocal affect. We influence others, and they influence us. The most meaningful of all relationships begin with an understanding of personal identity.

Our relationship with Jesus is the same. It is most meaningful when we understand His identity, and when we accept the identity He gives us. Let’s pick up the story of Andrew introducing his brother Simon to Jesus.

John 1:41-42 He (Andrew) first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 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).

Peter meets Jesus. When his brother told him that they had found the Messiah, Peter took a step of faith by following Andrew to where Jesus was. He accepted the identity of Jesus. Then, the first words from Jesus to Simon declare that he has a new identity. He will now be called “Rock.” He would need to grow into that identity, but Jesus declared it from the start of their relationship. This is who you are now that you know who I am.

There is an ordained sequence to establishing relationship with Jesus. FIRST, we accept His identity. He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the Savior, the Redeemer, the Holy One, the Eternal Word. SECOND, we accept our new identity in Christ. We repent of all past identities, all searches for significance, all activities designed to validate ourselves, and all attempts to discover the meaning of life. We choose to accept the identity Christ gives us.

Have you done that? It’s not easy. We want to believe we know who Jesus is, but we have a hard time believing who Jesus says we are. We are God’s children, loved by the Father and precious in His sight, redeemed, set free, chosen by God, no longer sinners but saints, joint-heirs with Jesus, and so much more. Here’s how the Rock describes us:

1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This fundamental truth of relationship with Jesus is the first point of attack of our enemy. He tempts us to question our identity in Christ, and to look to the world to supplement our value with what we think Jesus can’t provide. So we get on our knees and go back to the foundation of relationship. We affirm that we know who Jesus is, and we accept who He says we are. This is the key to following Jesus.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Is knowing who someone is different than knowing them? Of course. I know who many people are, like politicians and sports heroes, but I don’t personally know any of them. But if I did know them, and interact with them, I would certainly talk about it.

Many times the Bible doesn’t give us as many details as we would like. The story of the interaction between Jesus and His first two followers is one of them. We pick up the story from John 1 right after Jesus asked these two men what they were seeking.

John 1:38-41  And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 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. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).

A lot is left to our imagination. These two men were invited to stay with Jesus from about 4:00 PM on into the evening. I wonder what they talked about? Everything would be speculation if it were not for the next thing that happened. Andrew, one of the men, left where they were staying and went out to find His brother Simon. When he found him, he made a statement that indicates what he had learned during his short time with Jesus.

“We have found the Messiah.”

Obviously, during that time with Jesus, Andrew heard enough about Him to establish His identity. Jesus was already moving the disciples from the what to the Who.

When Andrew found Simon, he did not report any details about where they met Jesus, where they stayed, what they had for dinner, or anything else that happened. He reported only on the Who.

“We have found the Messiah.”

There’s our lesson for today. How long does it take other people who meet us to discover that we are followers of Jesus? How much time do we spend establishing rapport based on what we like, what we do, or what we need, rather than on Who we know? Why does it take so long, after meeting Jesus, to start telling others we have met Him and are beginning to know Him?

Imagine how many people could be affected by Jesus if your life were as deeply affected by Christ as was Andrew’s. And Andrew had only known Jesus less than 24 hours.

Pastor John