Jesus changes lives

“And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, ‘You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated, A Stone).” John 1:42

“One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated, the Christ)” (John 1:40-41). As a result of spending part of a day with Christ (John 1:39), Andrew realizes that he must share his good news with his brother, Simon. “Andrew” means “manly” or “to be brave.” It takes courage to bring others to Christ, especially family. Can you picture Andrew? “I have to tell Peter my news right now.” What is his news? “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). Andrew already has eternal life because he believed Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah-God. According to I John 5:1, that is all anyone one must do to be saved: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.”

Then what does Andrew do? “And he brought him to Jesus” (John 1:42a). That says it all. He simply brought his brother, Simon, to Jesus. That is all Andrew knew to do. Just get him to Jesus. “Come and see.” He pointed his brother to the One who could change him and satisfy all his needs.

The more time we spend with Jesus, the more His heart will become ours. So the closer we get to the heart of Christ, the closer we get to the people for whom He died. Jesus’ heart bleeds for the lost. Luke 19:10 explains: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The heart of our Lord is a seeking heart. Aren’t you thankful for that? We would still be lost in our sins if Jesus did not seek us out.

Look at God’s heart. First Timothy 2:3-4 say, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Is there any human being God does not want to be saved? No. God created hell for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), not for people. God desires that all people go to heaven and He wants to use you and me to introduce people to the Savior who can get them there. He may use you at work, school, the market place or He may use you in your backyard talking across the fence with your neighbor. The key is to open your heart to Him, so He can use you. 

Those who live close to Christ capture His heart for the lost. For example, during my engagement to Pat before our wedding years ago, I had no difficulty introducing her to my family, friends, and co-workers. Why? Because I had a personal relationship with her and I was thrilled to be with her! And I wanted others to meet her because she was so awesome! How much more should this be true of our relationship with Jesus Christ? The church needs some Andrews who will be committed to bringing others to Jesus. We need older and younger Andrews.

Being an Andrew does not involve fancy evangelism methods and memorizing lots of Scripture so you never make a mistake. Being an Andrew means getting them to Jesus. “Come and see.” Allow Jesus to make the transformation. You just be faithful to bring them to Jesus. We cannot change people, but Jesus can. We cannot make unfaithful spouses quit cheating, but Jesus can. We cannot make alcoholics quit drinking, but Jesus can. We cannot make drug addicts quit using, but Jesus can. We cannot make worriers stop worrying, but Jesus can. We cannot make abusive parents quit violating their children, but Jesus can. Our job is to get them to Jesus. Come and See! Don’t tell them to clean up their lives. Just ask them to come as they are and see Jesus for who He really is. Then Christ will do the rest. Invite them to church online or to video chat so they can hear the clear and simple gospel.

In bringing his brother to meet Jesus, no man did the church a greater service than Andrew!  “Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, ‘You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated, A Stone)” (John 1:42b). And indeed, Jesus takes one look at Simon and sees more than a rugged fisherman. He identifies him as “Cephas,” which means “a rock or stone.” “You are now Simon, but you will become Peter.” Jesus saw beyond the impulsive, head-strong, unreliable fisherman. He saw a solid rock. Jesus saw him for what he would become by His grace (even when it takes a while). Eventually God would use Peter to lead three thousand people to Christ through the preaching of one sermon on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:47).

Jesus sees the potential in each of us. You may think God cannot use you because of your background or weaknesses. Look to Christ to do through you what you could never do on your own!

Prayer: Lord Jesus it is impossible to spend time with You without being changed. Thank You for sharing Your heart for the lost with me. Please give me the courage to share Your gospel message with everyone who will listen. It is so freeing to know that my responsibility is to introduce people to You, Lord Jesus. It is Your job to change them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.  

Transformed from a tree of shame to a tree of splendor

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Luke 4:18

After Jesus had been tempted in the wilderness by Satan and ministered in Galilee (Luke 4:1-15), “He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read” (4:16). Christ then read verses taken from Isaiah 61:1-2 which describe the promised Messiah’s ministry on earth hundreds of years prior. His gospel is for everyone, including “the poor” (4:18a). His gospel heals, not hurts “the brokenhearted” and “proclaims liberty,” not labor to those who are “captives” or in bondage (4:18b). When Jesus said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (4:21), He was saying that He was the promised Messiah Whose gospel would bring blessing to those who are broken.

There is a progression in Isaiah’s description of the Messiah’s gospel preaching ministry that is relevant to those who are struggling with shame and the bondage it creates. All people have hidden wounds in their lives. They may be in the form of hurtful memories such as a mean word on the playground or abuse in the home. We try to medicate these wounds with behaviors, substances, or emotions. But Jesus came to “heal the brokenhearted,” resulting in “liberty” from that which we could not break free (4:18a). Shame imprisons us, but the Savior liberates us. His gospel grants spiritual “sight” to us so we can begin to see ourselves through His eyes and no longer be “oppressed” by shame-based lies (4:18b).

The biblical text does not tell us if Jesus read verse 3 of Isaiah 61, but this verse is a continuation of the Messiah’s ministry on earth. His healing grace will “console [not condemn] those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty [not a beating] for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise [not punishment] for the spirit of heaviness;  that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3). Our brokenness brought great sadness to us, but Christ’s grace will “console” us, changing our sadness and the “heaviness” of shame into “joy” and “praise.” This inward transformation will make us a blessing to others, like oak “trees” flourishing in “righteousness” because of the outrageous love and grace of God.

The word translated “trees” is the Hebrew word אַיִל (ayil) which refers to a terebinth tree – a prominent, lofty tree much like an oak tree (Isaiah 1:29; 57:5). We may not think much of Isaiah’s reference to an oak tree, but in ancient times, people sacrificed to and worshipped their pagan gods in groves of oak trees. The use of the word “trees” (ayil) in Isaiah 1:29 and 57:5 is revealing.

29 For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees (ayil) which you have desired; and you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens which you have chosen. 30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water. 31 The strong shall be as tinder, and the work of it as a spark; both will burn together, and no one shall quench them” (Isaiah 1:29-31). God would judge those who had forsaken Him to meet secretly among “the terebinth [oak] trees” to worship the false gods of the people around them. The reason they would be “ashamed” is because those who worshipped these pagan gods were required to participate in a wide variety of sexual practices, including orgies, adultery, prostitution, and the bloody sacrifices of children.

In Isaiah 57, Israel’s rebellion against God among the groves of oak trees included adultery and idolatry. 3But come here, you sons of the sorceress, you offspring of the adulterer and the harlot! 4 Whom do you ridicule? Against whom do you make a wide mouth and stick out the tongue? Are you not children of the transgression, offspring of falsehood, 5 inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree (ayil), slaying the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? 6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is your portion; they, they are your lot! Even to them you have poured a drink offering, you have offered a grain offering. Should I receive comfort in these? 7 On a lofty and high mountain you have set your bed; even there you went up to offer sacrifices” (Isaiah 57:3-7). God summons the idolatrous Israelites who were acting as though their father was an “adulterer” and their mother a “sorceress” and a prostitute (57:3). They were mocking the righteous minority among them (57:4) and they burned (“inflamed”) in their lust for the “gods under every green tree” (57:5). Pagan gods were strewn among these oak trees. God’s people worshipped “the smooth stones” in the stream beds and offered sacrifices to the gods “on a high and lofty mountain” (57:6-7).

Then Isaiah says, “Also behind the doors and their posts you have set up your remembrance; for you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me, and have gone up to them; you have enlarged your bed and made a covenant with them; you have loved their bed where you saw their nudity” (Isaiah 57:8). The Israelites deliberately turned their back on the Lord and placed symbols of these pagan gods “behind the doors and their posts” to remind them of the gods they worshipped.

You may wonder what these symbols looked like? They were often highly sexual. For example, the goddess Asherah was the goddess of fertility. The symbol identifying her was a phallus. When God’s people are described in the Old Testament as meeting at the Asherah “poles,” it is talking about them gathering around a tall tower or temple built in the shape of a man’s genitalia.

What God is telling us in the book of Isaiah is that the “oak trees” were common places of unrighteousness – especially sexual sin and immorality. So when Jesus offers to heal broken hearts, free those in bondage, and transform them into “trees of righteousness” who will display His glory (Luke 4:18-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-3), we come to a new and profound understanding. In the very place where the Israelites engaged in sinful, shameful, and degrading practices, He promises to make them oak trees of righteousness. And He promises to do the same with us.

God wants to meet us in the hidden places of our greatest shame and struggle to help us heal. He is not uptight about our sin and shame. His grace is far greater than either (cf. Romans 5:20). But most men and women who are struggling with shameful and degrading practices want to hide themselves from God and have lost hope. They have settled for the ongoing cycles of defeat and shame. But Jesus wants to transform them from a tree of shame to a tree of splendor. And He does this through His love. His perfect love casts out fear and shame (I John 4:18).

“The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). After defeating all His enemies at the end of the Tribulation (3:15), King Jesus will be in Israel’s “midst” like a “Mighty” Warrior to “save” them from harm (3:17a). Like a Bridegroom, King Jesus “will rejoice over” His people, Israel, “with gladness” and “He will quiet” them in the security of “His love” for them as His bride (3:17b). King Jesus “will rejoice over” His bride “with singing.”

God wants to celebrate who we are! “He will rejoice over you with singing,” not condemn us or shame us. He wants to heal and quiet us with His love. He wants to transform our tree of shame into a tree of splendor so He is glorified. Will you place yourself in a position for Him to do that?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, even though I am afraid and ashamed, I invite You to do what You were sent to do. Please heal my brokenness deep inside of my heart, liberate me from bondage, open the door where others have locked me up and thrown away the key, comfort and console me in my grief, grant me beauty instead of the ashes of humiliation, the oil of joy in place of mourning, the garment of praise instead of punishment for my spirit of heaviness, that I may be called a flourishing oak tree of righteousness that is a blessing to others and magnifies Your name. In Your name. Amen.

I am transformed by Christ’s unlimited love

“14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.” Ephesians 3:14-19

In Ephesians 2:1-3:21, the apostle Paul expounded upon the unsearchable riches of God’s grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. He expresses his appreciation of this grace in his concluding prayer (Ephes. 3:14-21). Bowing one’s knees “to the Father” expresses surrender and submission to Him (Ephes. 3:14). If you were abandoned or abused physically, emotionally, or spiritually by your earthly father, it may feel very vulnerable or unsafe for you to take a knee before Your heavenly Father. It is okay if you do not kneel because He understands your struggle and He still loves you.

To “bow … to the Father” suggests an intimate face-to-face contact with one’s heavenly Father. Paul uses a play on words from the word “father” (patera) in 3:14 to the word “family” (pateria) in 3:15. A father is the head of a typical “family.” God the Father is not only the Father of “the whole family” of Jewish and Gentile believers in one body, the Church (Ephes. 3:1-6), He is also the Ultimate Father over all families on earth. Every human family exists as a family because of God’s relationships as a “Father.” Much of the brokenness in our world today is due to the wounds connected to one’s relationship or lack thereof with his or her earthly father. God wants to heal our brokenness with His love.

Paul asks God the Father that his readers “be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” according to His vast resources (“the riches of His glory”) “that Christ may dwell” in their “hearts through faith” (Ephes. 3:16-17a). The purpose of this request for intimate fellowship with Jesus and for power is so these believers who are already secure (“rooted” like a plant and “grounded” like a building) in Christ’s “love … may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height” of “the love of Christ” (Ephes. 3:17b-19a). The words “comprehend” (katalambánō = to lay hold of so as to make one’s own) and “know” (ginṓskō = to know especially through personal experience) in Ephes. 3:18 and 19 refer to more than understanding Christ’s love intellectually. They refer to knowing His love experientially.

Paul refers to the four dimensions (“width … length … depth … height”) of Christ’s love to show just how unlimited (“passes knowledge”) His love is. First, we see that Jesus’ love is wide (“width”) enough to include all people (“Jew” and “Gentile” – Ephes. 2:11-3:7), regardless of one’s color, culture, or country. Christ’s love is not partial toward any particular ethnicity or political persuasion. He died for “all” people (cf. 2 Cor. 5:15; I Tim. 2:6; I John 2:2), including you and me. Perhaps other people have rejected you or treated you as an inferior, but make no mistake – Christ deeply loves you and He proved this when He shed His blood for you on the cross (Rom. 5:8). 

Christ’s love is long (“length”) enough to transform Gentiles “who once were afar off” from God (Ephes. 2:13) and Jews “who were near” to God (Ephes. 2:17). His love reached back to eternity past when He was planning His relationships with you and me before He created the universe (1:4-5; 3:9-10). His love also reaches to eternity future when we will be with Him in heaven – free from sin, shame, and Satan (Ephes. 1:10, 14; cf. Rev. 20:10-22:21). It does not matter how far you have gone from Him, Jesus loves you and He welcomes you to come home to Him and His Father (Luke 15:20). When terrible things happened to you in the past, Jesus was there watching with tears in His eyes, compassion on His face, and love in His heart. His love for you is not limited by time and circumstances.

The love of Christ is deep (“depth”) enough to rescue sinners from the depths of their sin and shame, and save them from eternal punishment in hell when they come to Him in faith (cf. Ephes. 4:9-10; cf. Mark 9:43-48; John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Rev. 20:11-15). You may have spent more time in jail than in church, but this does not diminish Jesus’ love for you. Christ died for us when we were still His ungodly enemies (Rom. 5:6, 8, 10). If Christ gave us His best when we were at our worst, how much more will He give us now that we are God’s beloved children (John 1:12; Rom. 8:31-32)!?!

Jesus’ love is high (“height”) enough to seat us next to Him in the heavenly places “far above” all His opponents, including the devil and his demonic armies (Ephes. 1:20-21; 2:5-6). Before we were saved, we were under the power and authority of Satan and his world system (Ephes. 2:2), but now we are seated next to Jesus in a position of power and victory “far above” all the enemies of God (Ephes. 1:20-21; 2:5-6). Therefore, we can live victoriously for Jesus because in Him, we are winners, not losers. The Bible tells us, “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). Jesus’ love leads us to victory over Satan and all his lies so that God is glorified “forever and ever” (Ephes. 3:20-21).

We may know of Jesus’ love intellectually, but do we know His love experientially in the depths of our “hearts” and souls? So many broken people in the world today are bound by fear and shame. Only Christ’s love can remove the fear (I John 4:18) and the shame (Isaiah 54:4; 61:1-3; Matt. 12:20; Heb. 12:2). Only His love can unite people from different backgrounds, cultures, and various depths of sin through His grace after He saves those who believe in Him alone for His gift of salvation (Ephes. 1:13-14; 2:8-9). What human governments have failed to do throughout history, Jesus Christ can do the moment we believe in Him. Know Jesus Christ and make Him known to a broken and ashamed world.

Prayer: Loving Father in heaven, I bow before You filled with thanksgiving for the unsearchable riches of Your grace. Please forgive me for looking at You through the eyes of sin and shame, instead of through the eyes of faith. Please grant me the strength in the depths of my heart to know experientially Your unlimited love for all people, including me. There was a time when I believed no one could love me as I am. But You have changed me with regard to this lie. Your love is wide enough to include all people, including someone who feels left out and “lesser than,” like me. Your love is long enough  to reach those who are very far from You (the worst of sinners) and those who are very near to You (the best of sinners). Your love is deep enough to reach down to the depths of my sin and shame; to go where no other person wants to go. Thank You my Lord that my sin and shame do not diminish Your love for me. I praise You that Your love is high enough to seat me next to You in the heavenly places far above all Your enemies. May Your Spirit enable me to be more than a conqueror through Your unlimited love so that all the glory is given to You. In the loving name of Jesus I pray. Amen.