Smallchelle

What’s so “Good” About Good Friday?

Posted on March 25, 20162 Comments

I remember as a kid, going to the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, CA for Easter Mass with my family. I always loved the stained glass panels, the smooth, well worn wood of the pews, the slight tang of incense that never completely dissipates. The statues always intrigued me the most. There was of course Mary, robed in blue and white, with a look of absolute serenity beaming down on me.

There was one statue that always haunted me though. It’s of Christ just before he goes to the cross, beaten, bloody, hands tied, with a crown of thorns on his head and a deep red velvet robe draped over his shoulders. It’s called “Ecco Homo”, the latin words for what Pontius Pilate said after Jesus had been scourged, “Behold the Man.”

I’m not Catholic anymore, but I look forward to “Good Friday” service at the church I’m part of every year because when I really focus my mind on that image, the broken Christ, something amazing happens. The goodness of God is exposed. Might sound kinda crazy but let me explain with a little Bible Q & A.

If God is so good then why was Jesus, his anointed one, so badly treated?

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:6-11

Who really was this Jesus?

He is more beautiful than I was ever told as a child. His life was one of love, passion and mercy. He was unique in all that exists. Not created but the Creator Himself. Not just a mere man, but the embodiment of God’s goodness to mankind.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Col 1:15-20

What’s so “Good” about Good Friday?

What does the cross give us?
Righteousness
Reconciliation
Forgiveness
Justification
Freedom
Adoption
Love
Hope
Peace
Eternal Life
Resurrection
Holy Spirit
Mercy
Grace

What does the cross take away?
Shame
Condemnation
Separation
Wrath
Spiritual Deadness
Hopelessness
Punishment
Sin
Death
Fear

Jesus loves me this I know…

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:7-18

Sunday’s Comin!

But today we focus in on the cross. In the hero’s journey it’s the moment when all hope seems lost. It’s the thick darkness that comes before the dawn. It’s the one who was supposed to rescue us all and save the day, dead. The apostles were scattered and afraid. They watched their best friend and mentor die.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth. Isa 53:7

It’s the King of Kings, led like a lamb to be slaughtered, silent before his shearers. He is the Good Shepherd AND the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. He did it all for love, and all for your sins and mine.

Our humanity says the hero doesn’t die… the hero rallies, stands up, finishes his fight and saves the day. Jesus wasn’t just interested in saving the day, but rather in saving you and me. That meant going all the way into death so he could fight death from the other side and rise again!

Today “Behold the Man,” knowing that you are his joy.

“…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb 12:2

I hope this has encouraged you. I’d love for you to share in the comments what the cross of Christ has given you and what it has taken away.

My Very First e-book and you can have it for FREE!

Posted on March 17, 2016Leave a comment

I’m excited to share with you all my first e-book “How to Use Paul’s 8 Weapons of Righteousness”

I’m offering it free right now when you sign up for my Smallchelle.com newsletter.

You can expect about one new post per week right in your inbox so you won’t miss a thing!

Don’t worry, if you’re already signed up I’ll be emailing you the e-book FREE as a thank you for already being awesome!

Functional Faith

Posted on March 11, 2016Leave a comment

Sometimes we talk about faith like it’s a muscle we exercise to make it stronger, but with how my muscles behave after exercise I’m not sure it’s a valid comparison. Maybe it is…. Does my faith get sore after heavy use? Does my faith need a rest day? Does my faith get injured if I use it too much? Nah.

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about “functional fitness” and I think there is a comparison to faith in that way. Do I have “functional faith?” Is my faith strong and well nourished so that when it needs to lift a heavy load or go a distance it can? Do we want “functional faith” as badly as we want “functional fitness?”

In our faith there is a deadlift coming. It’s not something we can just walk away from. It must be lifted. Someone is going to get sick. Someone is going to lose a job. Someone is even going to die.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Do we treat church on Sunday like the machines at the local Globo gym that isolate muscles and never teaches them to work together? Are we tracking steps but not going anywhere? Or do we use Church like the training grounds it’s meant to be? Barbells, and Kettlebells and Burpees? The burpees that knock us down and teach us how to get back up again.

Church is meant to be a safe place for faith to function so we don’t see our faith fail outside the walls. Do we stare ahead at the worship team just listening, or do we take a deep breath and explode with worship? Do we sit through the sermon internally complaining about the squeaky AC vent (guilty!) or do we concentrate on what the Spirit is trying to teach us? Do we pray like we mean it and believe God hears us, or do we pray just to make people feel better about life?

Are we apathetic? Do we shrug at the folks around us with a “glad it’s not me” attitude while they are carrying heavy burdens, or do we encourage them? “Good work!” “You got this!” “Keep your butt low and your chest up!” Or rather, “Let’s get on our knees and lift this up to the Lord!”

Tenacious G

There are two ways to fail. You either don’t try, or you fall and don’t get back up. Aside from being functional the word tenacious comes to mind. Here’s what “tenacious” means:

A strong grip or an unyielding advocate might both be described as tenacious, a word whose synonyms include resolute, firm, and persistent. The word comes from the Latin root tenax, which means “holding fast.” (vocabulary.com)

I want that kind of tenacious faith! The awesome thing is that God’s word show us that more often than us grabbing hold of God, He is the one who upholds us. Jesus is our unyielding advocate with a strong grip on us. Isaiah 41:10 says:

fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Church isn’t only a place to exercise our faith, but also a place to hear the Gospel that reminds us it is God who upholds us when we are weak. Our strength doesn’t come from inside ourselves, but rather comes from believing that God is holding us up, whether we are on our feet, on our knees, or curled up in the fetal position getting kicked in the gut by life.

Tenacious faith doesn’t stand up on it’s own like a pillar, it’s the ivy vine that clings to the pillar, and no matter how hard it gets pruned down, it always comes back. Tenacious! We don’t have enough strength, muscle, backbone, faith or anything else to stand on our own, but we can hold on for dear life to Jesus who does. Romans 8:35-38 gives us this hope:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What an awesome scripture to meditate on! If you’ve been encouraged by this today please feel free to leave a comment below or share this post. I appreciate you reading.

Resources

For Functional Faith check out Life Mission Church or a local Church near you this Sunday!

For Functional Fitness check out Crossfit 2.0 or a local Crossfit Box near you!

Safety In Numbers

Posted on March 5, 20161 Comment

It’s been foggy the last few mornings. Light fog is beautiful, it softens the harsh edges of the world, it catches the sunlight in a shimmery haze. Thick fog is downright terrifying. It hides what we need to see. It lies to us about the dangers in our path. It blinds us to reality. It settles into the valley and blocks out the sun. Beyond the white haze we know the sun is there, but we can’t see it anymore. It’s a different kind of darkness, one where we can fool ourselves into thinking we can see. That’s the most dangerous kind of blindness.

Really the fog forces us to slow down, take our time. We may only be able to see a step or two ahead. Rushing around in the fog is a recipe for disaster.

The fog I’m talking about here is the “unknown”, the “what-ifs” and the things that keep us up worrying at night.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16

I see the “mountain top” above the fog, but I also see that valley, full of foaming white froth, and I know I have to go through it to get up there. Weather it’s the maturing of my faith, the next goal in my fitness journey, the years away graduation of my kids, or just the next project at work.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

In the case of fog the phrase “safety in numbers” has a fierce ring of truth. We can follow the successful steps of those that have gone before us while walking with our peer group and leading the next generation.

“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11

This is what community is all about, especially what I’ve come to know as “Gospel Community.” Over the years I’ve been a part of many churches, but never one so rooted in the Gospel as where I am now.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…” 1 Peter 4:10

What this looks like practically is a group of Christian believers intentionally knitting their lives together. More than just a couple hours on a Sunday, we make it our aim to be friends and encourage each other throughout the week.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” James 5:16

We need to get vulnerable, ask for help and prayer. Say, “I’m in the fog!” And that Gospel community says “Jesus is in the fog with you, and so are we.” We help each other see Jesus through the fog. We help each other hear Jesus through the fog. We help each other follow Jesus in the fog.

“Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” Romans 14:13

Are you in the fog? Are you in a Gospel Community? We gotta stop stumbling around and hiding our skinned knees. Ask for help. Make a friend. Help someone else. You need community, and your community needs you.

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart…” 1 Peter 1:22

Feel free to comment below. I would love to hear how Gospel Community has made a difference in your life.

Unconditional

Posted on February 26, 2016Leave a comment

Don’t really know what I’m doing today. I wish there was an easy way to get where I want to be other than patiently taking the time to get there.

I know I need the experiences and failures that are ahead to sharpen me and build me into something that will survive the test. With no test there is only soft mush. If you don’t bake the pie the crust will never become golden. If you don’t fire the pot the glaze will never shine. If you don’t cook the roast it will always just be a bloody mess.

I want to start working on my devotional book again, and I feel like I’m on the right track. The communion message Scott gave at church last Sunday was beautiful, and unexpectedly intense for me. He started with the simple statement, “God loves you.” and I took it. I took it personally. I believed it, at face value. I believed it like I did when I first got saved. Ironically the devotional book I’m working on is an effort to get a sharp focus on God’s love for us.

For some reason we get saved and we are so grateful we start doing all kinds of stuff for the Lord. Then we feel like if we fail at doing the stuff or go into gross sin we fail to keep His love. We think God loves us because he’s obligated himself to, not just because he loves us. We think that once we are saved he has some “expectation”, but the only thing Jesus tells us to “do” is believe and “abide”.

When Phil (Bill Murray) finally broke free from his groundhog day loop he wakes up with Rita (Andy MacDowell) and says to her, “Why are you still here?” and she answers back, “You said stay, so I stayed.” It was at the point she knew his love was real and not fake that she stayed. The curse was broken.

God’s love isn’t fake. It’s not manufactured by religion to get you to abide by certain moral standards or give money. God’s love for you is the real deal. We throw around the word unconditional with no real understanding of what it means because for us everything is conditional.

A quick search for the word “unconditional” nets a few great phrases that dial it in.

God’s love for you is complete and absolute, not limited in any way.

God loves you without any special exceptions.

God’s love for you is all-out and all-in!

Wear it with joy, like a crown, as the child of the King!

God LOVES you!

Modern Day Well Diggers

Posted on February 19, 2016Leave a comment

I love a good story, and this is a great story about my friend Robert who helped dig a well in Kenya, Africa. We’ve had an email correspondence interview and that is what I’m sharing here as a follow up to the 5 Part series through John 4 where we studied the account of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well.

Clean water is essential to life. There are many great ministries doing work like this around the world and I link to a couple at the end of this interview, but Rob was in Kenya with a Navy Construction Battalion, also known as SeaBees.

The first part of the interview covers the practical side of his experience in Kenya and in the last part he was so generous to share his testimony and how his faith impacted his experience in Kenya and his military service. Let’s jump right in.

Me: When and where did your well digging experience take place?
Rob: It was in 2007. We set up a tent camp in a tiny Kenyan desert town called Shant Abaq. It was about an hours drive through the brush from a larger city called Garissa. We were very close to the Somalia border. We also had a Kenyan Army security team.

Me: Who were you working with?
Rob: There was a team of 14 of us. It was when I was Active Duty as a Navy Seabee. It was mostly comprised of EOs, equipment operators, and CMs, construction mechanics. I was the only SW, steelworker. We also had a Kenyan Army team that was set up a mile away. Although they never put steel in the ground. They were just hanging out because we were so close to Somalia and were located on a popular drug running route.

Helping our army security cut firewood — Helping our Army security cut firewood

po2ndclass8 — This one is when I made Petty Officer 2nd class

Me: Who were you digging the well for and why?
Rob: The small town was a watering hole for nomadic herders of cows, goats, and sheep. They only had 1 well for water they shared for everything. And the herds would contaminate the well water with feces. So we drilled a well outside of the village by about an 1/8 mile.

Me: How did you guys know where to dig? How did you find the water?
Rob: They look at a satellite image of the area, and use known geological data to best guess where an aquifer might be. They gave us a GPS location… And with a little skill, and a lot of luck, we found water.

robwelding1 — Here I am welding the steel casing and screens

Rob: I welded for 27 hours straight. Once you start, you can’t stop. And I was the only welder…
The screens are steel pipe with small slits in them. They’re placed at the depths where water is found to allow it to seep into the casing. Our well was about 800′ deep and we had about 90′ worth of screens. Once all the casing is lowered in, an electric water pump is lowered about 30′ off the bottom. This is to keep from getting dirt pushed up with the water. The pump just forces the water up the casing.
Our well produced 8 gallons a minute for 10 min. Then it had to recharge, or let water seep in to refill it full, for 3 min. The water would fill on its own to about 16′ from the top of the well, and the water table was 240′ down. So that was a good aquifer we hit.

On our way out of Africa, we stopped in Djibouti. The well team all went snorkeling in the Red Sea with whale sharks. This is me!

Me: How long have you been in the Navy and what is your current rank and assignment?
Rob: 10 years active, 3 years reserve. I am a E6 now. Petty Officer First Class. Currently I am an instructor at Naval Construction Group 1. I primarily teach Basic Combat Skills, and am a range coach. BCS is just like it sounds. It covers a lot of basic tactical maneuvers like setting up a convoy, how to conduct a patrol, land navigation… And as a range coach I get to do one of my favorite things; teach others how to shoot. I get to instruct handgun, rifle, and shotgun.

Me: How long have you been a Christian?
Rob: I have been a Christian my entire life. A better question is ‘how have I been as a Christian?’ I grew up in a Christian Reformed church. It was traditional in service, praise, and dress. They started becoming more modern in the sense they got a band… We went every Sunday until I was 9.
My parents divorced when I was 5, and we moved when I was 9. We never found another church with my Mom. My Dad left the church after the divorce. They treated him very poorly and he found them hypocritical. He is a religious man to this day, but doesn’t attend church. So that was my early childhood experience.
When I got into middle school and lived with my Dad I became friends with the family across the street. They attended a Non-Denominational church. I fell in love with it. The music was alive. The people were in love with God. And everyone was so welcoming and loving. For the rest of high school I went to that church every Sunday, and got involved in youth ministry on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
When I got to boot camp I attended church every Sunday. It was an hour a week where I got to be myself. Worshiping kept me sane. After boot camp I went to a 2 month school to learn my job as a welder. It was here where I started to fall away from God. I didn’t find a church there, and I didn’t find one when I got to California.
God is a funny thing in the military I’ve come to find out. There are a very small few who openly talk about their faith. And a slightly larger number who attend services regularly. I think about 3/4 would say they’re Christian, but that’s as far as their religion goes. But as whole, the military supports believing in God very heavily. Personally, I fell into the category of the members who had Christian placed on my dog tags, so should I die, they would follow traditional customs for a Christian burial.
So, as all good, cold feet Christians, I found God again during my deployment to Iraq. To spare you the details, it was a very stressful environment. I remembered how great it was in boot camp to go to service. But I didn’t have that this time. So I relied on praying. A lot. I wouldn’t say I was praying without faith, but I was being a Christian of convenience. I called to God when I needed him. But once I returned and he had got me through what I had asked for, I forgot about him. I didn’t thank him.
That lasted another year until I met Ashley, my now wife. She was religious. And part of my way of becoming more attractive to her was to attend services with her. It felt good to get back to going. But she was a Lutheran, and it bored me to tears. Finally I convinced her to go to a Non-Denominational church with me. She fell in love with it, as did I again.
Since then, our family attends regularly. We brought prayer back into our daily lives as a family before meals and bed. So there is the long answer to a short question. I am not a perfect Christian to this day, as much as I try. Cursing is one thing I have a hard time breaking…. Military and police life make that difficult.

Me: How does your faith impact you in your military service?
Rob: Once I found my faith again with Ashley in 2006, it has been a large part in my life. The hard part is reconciling some things that happened in Iraq. But I didn’t deploy with the intent to harm anyone. I wanted to help my fellow Christians have the freedom to praise and worship without fear of their entire families being killed. It is something I continue to struggle with, and others I know as well.

Me: Did your faith help you in your well-digging experience?
Rob: I loved getting the chance to talk to the local village about their experiences with Christ. It was a Christian village we drilled in. For a people with so little in the way of material things, struggling to get food and clean water, they were so in love with God. It was amazing to see how God worked in their lives. You get there and think how miserable it would be to live in a mud hut. No running water. No electricity. Scarce clean water. Inconsistent food sources. Yet, they were happy…

Me: Were any of the other’s on your team also believers? If so, did that have any impact on the team?
Rob: I was the only one who read the bible and prayed. There were others who had a background in Christian churches, and everyone was a Christian. I put together a Christmas service. And to my surprise, everyone attended. We took communion with my pastor over a satellite phone… It was a great experience.

Me: How were you able to sustain welding for 27 hours?
Rob: By the end of it… a lot of cursing lol. But seriously, it is just my personality. I get my mind set on something, and I am a freight train. I am very driven to accomplish what I set my goals to be. I hate failure. And my job as a welder was to make this happen. Not only did my team depend on me to finish this, but so did an entire village of 70 some people. From tiny babies, to the frailest of the elderly. For some of them, their lives depended on clean water. It was a huge burden lifted for all of them. So I placed a lot of pressure on myself to succeed.

Me: Other than the welding marathon what was the biggest challenge in your experience?
Rob: Time away from my family members. I have missed so much. Things you can’t ever make up. Births of my nieces and nephews, weddings of brothers and sister. Seeing a loved one in their final days. And missing a funeral once. You miss the milestones of your kids. First words. First steps. So much others take for granted, I have missed.

Me: Is well-digging a pretty common military project? I guess what I’m getting at here is that a lot of mainstream media talks about the awful stuff that happens but we don’t see hardly any stories like yours about the folks who get sent out to be a practical help in other parts of the world.
Rob: SeaBees secondary mission behind supporting war efforts is humanitarian. At anytime, SeaBees are helping others. You name a natural disaster, and we’re there to help. We build schools. We build hospitals. We build housing. We build orphanages. We drill wells. We clear debris. We do it all. And we do it with little fan fare. We are a humble group. But if you do some google searches on SeaBees and humanitarian work, you should find examples abound.

Wow Rob! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and your heart with us. Thank you for your service and sacrifices for your country. I pray God continues to bless you and your family.

Resources: More information about the Navy SeaBees and Christian Ministries that dig wells

A Brief history of the Navy SeaBees

Official Website of the U.S. Naval Construction Force

Infographic – A Closer Look: How Wells Work

Living Water International

Samaritan’s Purse International

Gospel For Asia

John 4 Part 5 – Meanwhile…

Posted on February 12, 2016Leave a comment

We are nearing the end of our trip to Samaria with Jesus. He’s just had a very intense conversation with a Samaritan woman who has suddenly come to faith in him as her Messiah. Right after Jesus reveals this to her the disciples come strolling back from town where they bought food. An article on the Near East Tourism Agency’s website says that the town was about 1 kilometer or just over half of a mile from the well. How long does it take to walk that? 12 or maybe 15 minutes or so. Not all that long…

This got me wondering… did they cross paths? Did the disciples ignore the woman on their way to town as she was on her way to the well to draw water? I think it’s entirely possible.

The conversation between Jesus and the woman lasted maybe 45 minutes while the disciples were gone buying food. John 4:27 says, “Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” When they returned she left her jar and took off running.

So while the Samaritan woman ran back to town, witnessed her testimony to a bunch of people, then brought them all back out of the town to meet Jesus, he has a different conversation with his disciples. With how close the town was this wouldn’t have taken very long, maybe an hour or so.

The Work of God = Spiritual Food

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” John 4:31-33

Jesus has this mini leadership conference with his disciples. They are just as confused as the woman was between the spiritual and the physical. They are insisting Jesus eat physical food to nourish his physical body, but he tells them he doesn’t need it. His food, nourishment, and satisfaction came from constantly operating in God’s will and ultimately finishing his work on the cross.

Imagine the scene as Jesus speaks these next words to his disciples. He tells them to open their eyes and look… Many commentators believe he may have been pointing to a nearby field of wheat. Based on the timing we looked at earlier I believe it’s possible they would have seen the crowd of people coming back from town with the woman to meet Jesus.

“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” John 4:35-38

When the disciples went to town to buy food for their hungry tummies they had every opportunity to tell the people the Messiah was in their midst, but they didn’t. Then Jesus shows them how hungry the world is for him. The woman he met ran and brought back a crowd with hearts ripe to be harvested into the kingdom. He’s telling the disciples they will reap what the woman has sown as they enter into her labor (witnessing her testimony) among the people.

This was a foreshadowing of what will also continue into their ministries after Jesus ascends. It is instruction to us as well. Some sow and some reap but we all work together in the harvest. It is satisfying to our souls to do the work of God. It is emptiness to our souls to focus on ourselves.

Psalm 63:5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. (NLT)

The Glorious Result = the Harvest

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:39-42

I love how Jesus speaks to us. When we are in sin, when we are being selfish, when he wants to teach us about the kingdom of God, he is perfectly patient with all of us. At certain times in my life I have related to each of the folks in this account, the hurting woman, the confused disciple, the seeking townspeople. Here he spends two days with these seekers. It doesn’t even say he did miracles but that they believed because of his word.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” John 5:39-40

His word doesn’t just give us a basis for morality, but it is the very thing that shows us who he is, his love for us, and leads us to believe in him for eternal life.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip to Samaria with me. Jesus invites us today to participate in the harvest, casting seed and watering and even reaping when we see spiritually dead rise to new life in Christ. Be encouraged to share your testimony and help your family and friends become part of the harvest for eternal life. There’s nothing else like it.

Next Time

A Modern day well dig – My friend Rob shares his amazing experience of digging a well for a small village near Somalia and how his faith has impacted his life and military service. You won’t want to miss it!

John 4 Part 4 – Worship, Spirit & Truth

Posted on February 5, 2016Leave a comment

Do you like to worship? I love it. I love singing to the Lord at the top of my lungs. I make a joyful noise! I love corporate worship at church, worshiping around the house while doing dishes and laundry, while I’m driving in my car, women’s bible study worship… I love contemporary songs like “Oceans” and “How Great is our God” and old hymns like “Be Thou My Vision” and “Rock of Ages.” Sometimes the song is slow and contemplative, sometimes rocking and emotional. And sometimes the same song I’ve sung a million times all of a sudden wrecks me in the best way.

Worship isn’t just in the songs we sing, it’s our whole lifestyle. It’s what makes us different than the animals. We are always worshiping… the real question is what are we worshiping? What are we giving ourselves to? What are we looking to for meaning and value in our lives? Do we worship the one true and living God or something else?

“Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:21

I don’t think Jesus said these things to confuse our Samaritan friend, but rather to remove her cultural and tradition biases. Up until this point God was primarily worshiped at the Temple in Jerusalem and in local Synagogues. Here Jesus shows up speaking very intimately about worship and telling her that the Father is seeking true worshipers. He tells her it’s not about the place, but the position of our hearts and minds.

What does it mean to worship in spirit and truth? How do we do that?

I had the pleasure of chatting with an awesome couple from our Church’s worship team, Matt and Alison Piro, about what it means to them to worship in spirit and in truth.

Matt: “There is a distinction and both of these things are said for a reason. What we see, the truth, and what we don’t see, the spirit. We have to worship in understanding of the full weight of what God has given to us, the promise of the Spirit that dwells in us. We worship a God that has given us His Spirit. The truth of God’s word must be the foundation of our worship. So many worship songs these days are people and feeling focused, not biblical or God centered. Our worship has to be based on the knowledge that our works don’t save us, but only the blood of Jesus.”

Alison: “It is the Spirit that enables us to worship. Our worship should also be authentic, truthful to ourselves, not just an outward show, but true from the heart.”

Matt expressed that acceptable worship also includes gratefulness, reverence and awe, as he shared this scripture with me.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Heb 12:28-29

Matt: “Know what you’re singing, and if you don’t feel like you’re there yet, make the words a prayer. Understand the gravity of what we sing, we don’t just sing along. We should be more cautious with the words we sing because we are actually singing to God.”

Another scripture Matt shares often during worship is Jeremiah 17:7-8

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Thanks Matt and Allison! Some great things to think about and pray about! In fact let’s pray right now!

God you are so awesome! Thank you for our churches and worship leaders and for the hearts and gifts you’ve blessed them with. Help us to be true worshipers and put our trust in you so we can survive the dry times while still bearing good fruit. Keep us humble in our hearts and teach us every day to live a lifestyle of worshiping you in spirit and truth. We worship you because you are worthy of our reverence and worship. We give you all the glory. Amen

Next Time

Jesus’ mini pastor’s conference with the Disciples when they return from Sychar with food.

John 4 Part 3 – Jesus’ Perfect Patience

Posted on January 29, 2016Leave a comment

(My imagining of how this portion of conversation may have gone, as told from the woman’s perspective. John 4:13-26, 28-30)

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

She thinks… ‘I hate coming here, every day, in this heat, to draw water. When that water is gone I have to come back again for more. I’ve made so many mistakes. I’ve tried so hard to make a good life and I can’t seem to get it to work. All I ever wanted was a family. Friends. Kids. A real man to take care of me. None of the other women like me or care about me. They won’t even talk to me. Life is so hard, and lonely. I don’t want to be thirsty any more. I don’t want to come here by myself anymore. It sounds like he’s offering me some kind of holy water that will make it so I’m never thirsty again. I want that. Maybe if I ask him nicely he’ll give it to me. He is a Jew, but he doesn’t seem to hate me… I’ll ask and see what he says…’

“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

“Go call your husband and come here.”

Why would he ask me that? What does that matter? What does my man have to do with this water? Well, no reason to lie…

“I have no husband.”

“You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

(Have you ever been called out on your sin? Take a second, close your eyes and feel her shame. The heat and blood rising in her cheeks, the tightness in her throat, the sting of tears in the corners of her eyes. The stone of shame sinking into the pit of her stomach. Her heart beat wooshig in her ears. Her limbs feeling like lead. That feeling of being found out… uncovered… naked.)

‘How could he know that? What business is that of his? Maybe he met someone else that gossiped about me. It’s not my fault they all leave me. I feed them and they keep my bed warm, until they find out the real me, then they leave me. Why should I marry a man if he’s just going to leave?— Who is this man? What right does he have to shame me like this? Maybe he does hate me. What if he knows more than that? Maybe he is some kind of prophet. Maybe he doesn’t realize why I stay here. As bad as it is, this is where I belong… It’s all I’ve ever known.’‘

(Then her shame turns to anger, her lips tighten, her brows furrow and her eyes squint as her posture turns defensive. She crosses her arms.)

“Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

“Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, then the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

‘What is he talking about? Where else is there to worship? I have never heard anyone say things like this before. He speaks as if he knows the Father. What does he mean the hour is now here? I’m so confused…’

“I know the Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.”

“I who speak to you am he.”

(When did you get “saved?” Do you remember? Feel her eyes opening. Not her physical eyes, but her spiritual eyes, opening and seeing the truth of Jesus. The cobwebs of confusion all of a sudden swept away by grace. She doesn’t even know his name, but she knows his truth. He is her redeemer. Feel her heart beating faster. Feel the stone of shame in her stomach turn to butterflies.)

‘I MUST GO NOW, TELL EVERYONE what has just happened to me. I found the TRUTH! This is Messiah! I was blind but now, I SEE!

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people,
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

(I love her sense of urgency, and how all of a sudden that water jar, and all the implications of shame that came with it, had no more meaning or power over her. It’s a symbol of how she didn’t need it, she wasn’t thirsty any more.)

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Jesus at my Well

Even my heart beats faster as I write this. I remember where I was, and all the broken wells I was drinking from. I’ve been through seasons of drug abuse and addiction, depression, false spiritualism and witchcraft, lying and stealing, self destruction, self deception… We all have our list… Water pots full to the brim with dead water.

It really only takes the tiniest glimpse of His glory, to see that Jesus is the source, the Living Water, the Spirit and the Truth. The only part of my testimony that matters is that he knows everything I’ve ever done and will do, even those secret sins, and loves me anyways. Died for me anyways. When I was at my worst, His enemy, (Rom 5:10) He saved me. We can’t clean ourselves up to come to him, that’s impossible. He comes to us when we’re dying of thirst, without hope in the world, and gives us HIMSELF. He washes us inside and out with the Living Water, his mercy and grace.

Paul explains this perfectly in 1 Timothy 1:12-17

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

The woman from Sychar experienced this “perfect patience” of Jesus and went to people that weren’t even her friends, to tell them she had found Messiah. Jesus showed me his perfect patience over and over at every lonely well along my path, and still does today. You have found the Christ, the Savior of the world, invite somebody you know to meet him today.

Next Time

An Interview with Matt and Alison Piro on Worship, Spirit, and Truth.

John 4 Part 2 – Objection!

Posted on January 25, 2016Leave a comment

“Negasaurus” is a word we like to use jokingly to describe someone who is being negative. It’s a play on a dinosaur name. When one of my sons has an idea and the other one shoots it down… Negasaurus! When we all agree on where to eat but one objects… Negasaurus! When one of us is down on ourselves and we need cheering up… Negasaurus! “Negatron” also gets thrown around a fair bit. Having sons, it’s a play on “Megatron” from the ever popular Transformers. We totally discourage “name-calling,” but these family “inside jokes” are a lighthearted way for us to let each other know we may need an attitude adjustment.

In this conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well we see her throw many objections at Jesus. She is a first-class “Negasaurus.” But Jesus doesn’t give up on her. He sticks around and answers all her objections.

John 4:7-14

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jesus says, “Give me a drink.”

Her objection

Jews don’t talk to Samaritans

Such a simple request from a thirsty man. Why does it seem she replies so harshly? She’s basically saying “Are you talking to me?” This woman has a serious mental block about a Jewish Rabbi asking her for a drink. She already knows what John parenthesized for us in verse 9, that Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. In an extreme form of religious snobbery, devout Jews would walk miles out of their way, through the Jordan Valley, to avoid contact with the Samaritans. Jews believed the Samaritans were in a constant state of “uncleanness” because they were descendants of the Northern tribes of Israel that intermarried with the pagan Assyrians after their captivity in 721 B.C. Not fully Jew, not fully Gentile, they were half-breed relics of history.

His answer

“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Living water? What is that? Maybe her mind went to Jeremiah 17:13 which says, “O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.” Maybe not, as it seems she has a few more objections coming. She seems a little confused, so she asks him “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

Her Objections

You have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep.
Where is the living water?
Are you greater than Jacob?
This well is our inheritance from Jacob.

The well was indeed at least 100′ deep and possibly even deeper in that day. She knows in order to get herself, let alone this Jewish Rabbi, a drink she’s winding a long, long, long rope, and all she sees is his empty hands. Then she even challenges him. “Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” So her question is one of authority. She has this national pride. It’s almost like she’s questioning Jesus heritage in light of her own. The Jews might claim Abraham as their father but in her mind this well, being given to them by the Patriarch Jacob, gives them the authority to inhabit the place. But the answer to her question is yes, he is in fact greater than Jacob. Jesus addresses this later in the conversation so we’ll catch up on that next time.

His Answer

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Her authority is coming from the Law, the old covenant made between the Lord and the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When we live our lives trying to please God with our own self-righteousness by the law we will continue to thirst. I might be righteous by the law for a second, but the whole job of the law and the old sacrificial system is to show me I can’t be righteous. “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” James 2:10

Here Jesus is expressing the new covenant… Grace. We can only break free of the condemnation of the law when we drink the “living water.” It is grace that tells us only Jesus takes away our sin and failure to uphold the law perfectly. Then we are finally free to stop our Negasaurus objections and have true peace with God. And that freedom and peace bubbles over, becomes like Jesus said, a spring of water welling up to eternal life… giving the grace of God generously to everyone around us.

Living Water

If you could have living water, and never be thirsty again, and by thirsty I mean knocked down, drug out, soul weary, what would you give for it? Turns out it doesn’t cost money, but humility. We must ask and believe. Jesus repeats his “living water” offer later. In John 7:38 Jesus actually quotes proverbs 18:4 and says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” John defines that “living water” for us in 7:39 saying “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Christians shouldn’t be rules lawyers, like the Pharisees, but rather “living water” drinkers. And that living water doesn’t stagnate but flows in and through our lives. There’s only one well that gives “living water.” Jesus.

Isaiah 12

This beautiful song is a powerful promise of the coming Savior. We see the grace of God, the well of salvation, and the only God worthy of our worship.

You will say in that day:
‘I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:
‘Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.’
Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Next Time

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you were encouraged, Next time we’ll cut to the heart of the issue as Jesus calls her out on sin and then reveals himself as the Messiah sent to save her from those very sins.

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John 4 Part 4 – Worship, Spirit & Truth

What does it mean to worship in spirit and truth? How do we do that?

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Further reading

John 4 Part 3 – Jesus’ Perfect Patience

Jesus at my Well

Next Time

Further Reading

John 4 Part 2 – Objection!

John 4:7-14

Her objection

His answer

Her Objections

His Answer

Living Water

Isaiah 12

Next Time

Further reading: