John 5:39 …45 2/18/2025

^“39You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me”

^“45But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.” 

Jesus is telling the religious leaders of the day that they can’t see the forest for the trees… They’re searching scripture that has been written about Him, yet they don’t listen to Him.

What has deceived them?  It’s simply old-fashioned Pride. Pride is the original sin.  And no matter how often we indisputably prove it… we just can’t accept the fact that we are not innately good.  We are willing to jump through hoops, sacrifice, work… do almost anything to be counted as righteous…. Except admitting that we are not.

We judge the Pharisees for this then do the same thing. We ignore scripture because our itching ears want to hear how we can earn salvation…how we can be elevated… how that original sin of pride can be satisfied. If I can follow the law better than you, then I can reprimand you, sit at the head of the table, and have others admire my holiness… The problem is – I don’t have any holiness.

But the wakeup call in this passage is in the next comment Jesus makes …  He says don’t think it will be me that accuses you… What you have pinned your hopes on will be your judge … You have chosen self-righteousness as your hope for salvation, but since you’re not righteous…the very law you preach - will convict you.

Jesus is dismantling “works salvation”.  The Pharisees are stumbling over the stone that was rejected… insisting they are doing enough good to be saved… when the only reason any of us can do good, is because we have been saved.  Small detail – but it changes everything.

Jesus is in essence saying the plane is going down, and you need to make a choice. Either grab a parachute called “grace”,  or pridefully grab “papier-mâché” wings called “works”…

The wings look good, but they don’t fly…
The parachute, is awkward, you just hang on to it, but it will save you…

The dilemma is that you can’t grab both…  It’s your call.

“The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation.” - Charles Spurgeon

 

Genesis 14:13…16 2/11/2025

“When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, numbering 318, and went in pursuit” …”He brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the other people.”

In chapter 12, Abram pathetically lied to Pharaoh, telling him that his wife was instead, his sister. Abram placed his own safety above the safety and integrity of his wife. So, as I read this passage about his nephew being kidnapped by powerful kings, I found myself waiting to see how Abram would again spinelessly try to avoid trouble.  

But what I saw was Abram’s brave liberation of Lot.  He courageously led his men in a dangerous rescue against great odds. That is not what I expected since he had been such a coward earlier. Then it dawned on me… 

Abram is not defined by his worst mistake.  Thankfully, neither are we. 

What if you and I were labeled by our most humiliating failures? Unfortunately, too many of us believe that is the case. We get stuck in the shame of our past, thinking what we’ve done is too big to forgive. But God does more than forgive His children.  He obliterates our sin and remembers it no more.  No matter how egregious your sin is, the blood of Christ eradicates it … Never doubt the power of His blood. It alone sets you free. 

Make no mistake, Abram won’t be flawless on this side of Heaven. In fact, he will struggle again with the same temptations. But God still loves him, still delivers him, and will even give him a new name. Each day Abram obediently grows stronger and is used to do amazing things for God’s Kingdom. 

You are not disqualified.  Christ’s resurrection does more than clean you… it allows you to start over.  God sees only the perfection of His Son when He looks at you. 

Abandon your shame… it is a lie.  You are a new creation free from your past… Your future is empowered by the Cross. God’s mercy is new each morning, you have been reborn, no longer bearing the stain of your sin. 

Forget what lies behind and persist in becoming the brave, honorable man God created you to be.

“Who you’ve been, ain’t who you got to be.” – Tim McGraw

Genesis 11: 8- 9 2/4/2025

“So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city.  Therefore, it was named Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth...”

I remember in high school reading about the Tower of Babel and wondering why God would not want us all to live together, communicating with each other.  I questioned His decision to split us up.

A few years later the internet opened my eyes. We are an ugly species, when offered the opportunity to exalt ourselves.  Our sins gain momentum when we have a platform.  Nowadays, the more people who comment online,  the more evil, stupid, and arrogant the conversation becomes.... no wonder God scattered us. 

It concerns me that we are working so hard to get back to the city of Babel… desperate to “make a name for ourselves” by becoming “influencers”, reaching more and more “followers”… Looking for answers among ourselves and getting more addicted to the dopamine with every click. 

It is the same as when He divided the city of Babel… They too, were building a tower to elevate themselves. They were making a name for themselves not worshipping the name of the Lord. So, God not only ended construction and confused their language… He scattered them out of the city.

There are a few cities that need scattering today – Our megacities have demonstrated that the more connectivity we have,  the more we validate God’s reasoning for dispersing the city of Babel.  

Are you using your ever-expanding audience to exalt the name of the Lord, or are you building a monument to yourself?  If you are elevating yourself and others like you,  you will soon discover that we don’t have the answers, because we are the problem…  look in the mirror, and you will see that the Cross is the only solution.  

There is nothing good in man… until the Spirit of God enters him. God loves you not because of what you have done, but in spite of it.  Tear down the tower you have built … Die to yourself… be born again in Christ and elevate God as He forms you into who you were created to be. 

"The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact."
- Malcolm Muggeridge