GETTING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL

“Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”  (Mark 4:39)

A famous 17^th century painting hung in a museum.  For years the museum authorities had wanted to have the old master cleaned, but they deliberated a long time since the painting was so valuable.  When the specialists did proceed they noticed to their great consternation that specks of paint came off in the process.  They proceeded with greater care, but could not keep the paint from disintegrating.  As they finished the job they discovered another painting beneath.  A later artist had tried to improve the original masterpiece.  Now they saw the truth.  Better shatter a dream than conceal the truth.

I am about to shatter a dream … a dream which has grown up through the centuries … a dream portrait of Jesus that many hands have touched.  The original portrait is in the gospels, but many have tried to improve the original and thereby have spoiled it.  By trying to make Jesus more attractive, they have made Him unattractive.  By trying to make Him more appealing, they have lost His divine appeal.  It may hurt to shatter a dream.  But, better shatter a dream than conceal the truth …

Clean the canvas.  Get back to the original.  Not this religious weakling of our imagination.  Not this affected emotionalist of our pretty pictures.  But the Christ commanding in His manner, challenging in His message, conquering in His manhood, compelling in His mission -- the revolutionary Christ!  It may hurt to shatter the dream, but shatter it we must to see the true Master.  Better shatter a dream than conceal the truth. 

-- H.S. Vigeveno in “Jesus the Revolutionary”

#6381

THE “I AM” OF JESUS – Part 1 of 2

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”  (John 8:58)

The Gospel of John gives us a series of seven breathtaking declarations from Jesus -- statements that don’t just describe what He does, but reveal who He is. Each “I Am” pulls back the curtain on His divine identity, echoing the name God spoke to Moses at the burning bush: “I AM WHO I AM.”  In Jesus, the eternal God steps into human history and says, “This is who I am for you.” Take time with each statement. Let these words draw you closer to Him as we approach Holy Week.

1. “I am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35):  Jesus meets our deepest hunger -- not with something, but with Himself. We chase satisfaction in a thousand places, but only Christ can fill the emptiness within us. Where are you hungry today? Bring that hunger to the One who satisfies.

2. “I am the Light of the World” (John 8:12):  In a world clouded by confusion, fear, and darkness, Jesus shines with truth, hope, and clarity. He doesn’t just show the way -- He is the way. Invite His light into the places where shadows still linger.

3. “I am the Gate” (John 10:7):  Jesus is the doorway into safety, rest, and abundant life. He guards, guides, and welcomes all who come to Him. Are you trying to live life out there through your own strength? Walk in through His grace instead. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6333

FOLLOWING JESUS

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?’”  (Matthew 16:24-26 NLT)

To follow Jesus Christ, who was betrayed, wept, bled, and died before He rose again, is to be at high risk of being taken where we had not intended to go. Eugene Peterson pinpoints the trouble with prayer: “We are often asked to respond in ways that we never intended when we first began to pray.”

It matters little where or in what century we are called to live out our Christian life. The witness of those who have gone before informs my own experience, telling me that we are often taken to places where we receive unwarranted accolades and to other places where we receive unwarranted suffering and pain. A disciple, one who chooses to be a student and follower of Jesus, is not a “self-made person” and is not on a personally designed journey… We choose to follow Jesus and then Jesus chooses where we will go. It is that simple.

The saving truth here is not that we are taken where we do not want to go, rather the saving truth is that we are not alone. There is One who leads us and who goes with us… While we may not choose the places to go, we can choose to remain with the One who sends us and there find comfort, companionship, grace, peace, and joy in Christ. 

-- Adapted from Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#6330

A FUN-LOVING JESUS?

“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,  and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.”  (John 2:1-2 NIV)

Why would Jesus, on His first journey, take His followers to a party? Didn't they have work to do? Didn't He have principles to teach?  Wasn't His time limited? How could a wedding fit with His purpose on earth? Why did Jesus go to the wedding?

The answer? It's found in the second verse of John 2. “Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.”  Why did they invite Him? I suppose they liked Him.

Big deal? I think so. I think it's significant that common folk in a little town enjoyed being with Jesus. I think it's noteworthy that the Almighty didn't act high and mighty. The Holy One wasn't holier-than-thou.

You just don't get the impression that His neighbors grew sick of His haughtiness and asked, “Well, who do you think made you God?”

His faith made Him likable, not detestable. Would that ours would do the same!

May I state an opinion that may raise an eyebrow? May I tell you why I think Jesus went to the wedding? I think He went to the wedding to -- now hold on, hear me out, let me say it before you heat the tar and pluck the feathers -- I think Jesus went to the wedding to have fun.

Maybe these thoughts catch you by surprise. They do me. It's been awhile since I pegged Jesus as a party-lover. But He was. His foes accused Him of eating too much, drinking too much, and hanging out with the wrong people! (See Mattew 11:19.) I must confess: It's been awhile since I've been accused of having too much fun. How about you?

We used to be good at it. What has happened to us? What happened to clean joy and loud laughter? Is it our neckties that choke us? Is it our diplomas that dignify us? Is it the pew that stiffens us?

Jesus took time for a party… shouldn't we?

 -- Max Lucado in “When God Whispers Your Name”

#6328

PHILIP HAD TO TELL NATHANAEL

“The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.”  (John 1:43-46 NIV)

Philip not only had a seeking heart, but he also had the heart of a personal evangelist. His first response upon meeting Jesus was to find his friend Nathanael and tell him about the Messiah.

I am convinced… that friendships provide the most fertile soil for evangelism. When the reality of Christ is introduced into a relationship of love and trust that has already been established, the effect is powerful. And it seems that invariably, when someone becomes a true follower of Christ, that person’s first impulse is to want to find a friend and introduce that friend to Christ. That dynamic is seen in Philip’s spontaneous instinct to go find Nathanael and tell him about the Messiah.

The language Philip used betrayed his amazement at discovering who the Messiah was. The One whom Moses wrote, and the One foretold by the prophets, was none other than “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph,” a lowly carpenter’s son.

Nathanael was at first nonplused. “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”…

But Philip was undaunted: “Come and see.” The ease which Philip believed is remarkable. In human terms, no one had brought Philip to Jesus. He was like Simeon, “waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25). Philip knew the Old Testament promises. He was ready. He was expectant. His heart was prepared. And He received Jesus gladly, unhesitatingly, as Messiah. No reluctance. No disbelief. It mattered not to him what kind of one-horse town the Messiah had grown up in. He knew instantly that he had come to the end of his search. 

-- John MacArthur (1939-2025) in “Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You” 

#6234

A SPIRIT OF UNITY

“[Christ] is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  (Colossians 1:17 NIV)

During World War II, Hitler commanded all religious groups to unite so that he could control them. Among the Brethren assemblies, half complied and half refused. Those who went along with the order had a much easier time. Those who did not, faced harsh persecution. In almost every family of those who resisted, someone died in a concentration camp.  

When the war was over, feelings of bitterness ran deep between the groups and there was much tension. Finally they decided that the situation had to be healed. Leaders from each group met at a quiet retreat. For several days, each person spent time in prayer, examining his own heart in the light of Christ's commands. Then they came together.  Francis Schaeffer, who told of the incident, asked a friend who was there, "What did you do then?" "We were just one," he replied. As they confessed their hostility and bitterness to God and yielded to His control, the Holy Spirit created a spirit of unity among them. Love filled their hearts and dissolved their hatred.

When love prevails among believers, especially in times of strong disagreement, it presents to the world an indisputable mark of a true follower of Jesus Christ. 

-- From “Our Daily Bread,” October 4, 1992

#6128

UNMASKING MYSELF

Many years ago I read an article in a denominational newsletter that referred to "the Masking Disciples 2000 Leadership Team." While "Masking" was a typo and should have read "Making," it made me wonder if that isn't what we in the church might be doing sometimes.

We go out as good people doing good things in the community to make it a good place to live so that we can make good people feel good. That is masking, or covering up, what we really should be about. We are followers of Jesus Christ who are called by Christ to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." (Matthew 28:19-20a NLT)

What I need to be about is unmasking myself and letting the world know that the good that I do is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ, not because I'm a good person. Jesus said, " Let your light shine before [others] in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 AMP)

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

#6031

OUR RESPONSE TO JESUS

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  (Colossians 1:15-17 NIV)

Jesus was a little baby born in Bethlehem, but He’s more than that! He was a preacher and a healer, but He’s more than that! He was the Savior nailed to the cross whispering forgiveness to the world, but He’s more than that! In the magnificent words of Paul, He is the image of the invisible God, the One through whom all things were made and in whom everything holds together. When we are overwhelmed by this vision of Jesus, our response can only be “Jesus, You are the One I want to love and follow.” 

-- Trevor Hudson and Stephen D. Bryant in “The Way of Transforming Discipleship”

#6020

THE RISEN CHRIST IS WITH US – Part 2 of 2

The risen Christ is with us and therefore we need not fear the events of this day or any day that lies in our future. We know that each day will be lived in companionship with the only One who is able to rescue, redeem, save, keep, and companion us through every experience of this life and the next.

This realization does not take away the pain or uncertainty life holds. But it does give us strength, wisdom, guidance, and most of all, a Companion to travel through each of these experiences with us. Easter Sunday and every Sunday are gentle yet dramatic reminders that we are not alone or on our own. As followers of Jesus, we walk with God in Christ, and that makes the journey rich in meaning, joy, and peace no matter where it leads. Jesus Christ is alive and reads with you now words that are intended to turn your eyes, heart, and life more fully toward God.

-- Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#5833

FOLLOWING CHRIST

To find and follow Christ and to serve Him -- that is fruitful living…

When Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), He was not speaking arrogantly, egotistically, or narrow-mindedly. He was expressing a genuine desire to turn us, to redirect us away from things that do not satisfy and toward the things that cause us to come alive. The time given to us on this earth is infinitesimally small compared to time itself, and so He desires for us to live it richly… He invites us. He wants us to flourish.

To be a follower of Jesus is to take this path, to step by step grow into the life that really is life. God through Christ reveals the way, invites us along, and walks with us. Following Christ will change you; and through you, God will change the world. 

-- Robert Schnase in “Five Practices of Fruitful Living”

A NEW SELF

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20 NIV)

The Christian way is different: harder, and easier. Christ says, “Give Me all. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down… Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked -- the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: My own will shall become yours.” 

-- C. S. Lewis in “Mere Christianity”

#5805

INVERTED CHRISTIANITY

Two thousand years ago Jesus extended an unbelievable invitation: "Follow Me." And the invitation is still on the table. But let me drill down on this a little bit. I think there are lots of people who think they have accepted the invitation. They think they are following Jesus. But the reality is that they have invited Jesus to follow them. And there is a world of difference!

For the first nineteen years of my life, if I'm being totally honest, I think it was more about Jesus following me. I didn't want to go anywhere without Him. But it wasn't about me serving His purposes. It was about Him serving my purposes. I think many Christians have an inverted relationship with Christ. Call it spiritual selfishness. Our relationship with Him is all about us. And then we wonder why we're unfulfilled and bored with our faith.

Are you following Jesus? Or is Jesus following you? 

-- Mark Batterson, from his blog Evotional.com  

#5797

HERE IS WHAT I KNOW

He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”  (John 9:25 NKJV)

You don’t have to be weird to follow Jesus. You don’t have to stop liking your friends to follow Him. Just the opposite. A few introductions would be nice. Do you know how to grill a steak?... Discipleship is sometimes defined by being normal.

A woman in a small Arkansas community was a single mom with a frail baby. Her neighbor would stop by every day and keep the child so she could shop. After some weeks her neighbor shared more than time; she shared her faith in Jesus, and the single mom did what Matthew did. She followed Christ.

The friends of the young mother objected. “Do you know what these people teach?” they contested. “Here is what I know,” she told them. “They held my baby.”

I think Jesus likes that kind of answer, don’t you? 

-- Max Lucado in “Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God” 

#5660

A LIGHT HAS DAWNED

This December my wife and I are renting a lake house near our daughter in Michigan. It has a great view of the Canadian Lakes. The other morning while it was still dark I looked out and saw about 20 Canada geese sitting on top of a thin layer of new ice. They were facing west and it was cold and dark. But as the pre-dawn sunlight began to paint the sky with color, they began to stir. Then as soon as the sun broke the horizon they got up, did an about face, waddled about 20 yards, and sat down, facing the light that had dawned.

It reminded me of Isaiah’s passage: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned… For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isiah 9:2,6 NIV)         

Unfortunately, many in our world today are not even as responsive as the geese, ignoring the Light of Christ that has come into our world. It does require an about face, for many are walking away from the light into a darker and darker world.  Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NIV)

-- David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

#5494

FOLLOW THE LEADER

“Then Jesus said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.’”  (Luke 9:23 NLT)

The operative word is follow. When Jesus said, “Follow Me,” He defined faith. Faith goes deeper than just believing that Jesus is the Christ; the proof of faith is following Him…

If Jesus calls us to follow Him, He must be our leader. So we all should be in some distress when we realize that Jesus has largely disappeared as leader. Yes, we rightly acknowledge Him as Savior of the world, the Lamb that was slain, our resurrected Lord, and our soon-coming King, yet we don’t treat Christ as our leader. We seem to have forgotten His way of teaching, training, and doing works of power. With this oversight, we’ve sterilized His personality, taking all the spice, humor, and straightforwardness from Him. Even more fundamental to following Christ is submitting to His leadership.  

-- Bill Hull in “The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ”

#5210

FOLLOWING IN HIS FOOTSTEPS

Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.”  (Matthew 16:24 NIV)

The ancient Jews had a saying that captures the idea of discipleship and transformation. They said that if you find a good rabbi, you should “cover yourself in the dust of his feet and drink in his words thirstily.”

The expression probably draws on a well-known sight for ancient Jews: disciples were known for walking behind their rabbi, following him so closely that they would become covered with the dust kicked up from his sandals. This would have been a powerful image for what should happen in the disciple’s life spiritually. Disciples were expected to follow the rabbi so closely that they would be covered with their master’s whole way of thinking, living and acting.

Thousands of years later, we’re called to do the same. Though we walk on paved roads, not dusty ones, we are still called to be disciples -- to follow our Rabbi, Jesus Christ, so closely that we are covered by the “dust” of His life, that we are changed and made new. These are exactly the kind of disciples that Jesus is looking for. He calls us to imitate Him. 

-- Excerpted from an article entitled "In the Dust of the Rabbi: Living as a Disciple of Jesus” at focusequip.org

#5202

A CALLING FOR ALL OF US

Jesus said, “Follow Me.” (Luke 5:27b)

This calling is for every child of God. It’s not just for the Jeremiahs, the Moses, the Abrahams, the Davids, the Matthews, Marks, Lukes, and Johns. It’s not just for the Augustines, the Luthers, the Wesleys, the Billy Sundays, or the Billy Grahams. It’s not just for pastors, missionaries, Christian stars, and personalities. It’s for all those people. It’s for little me and little you.

There’s only one bright morning star, and that’s Jesus. Those two words that Christ said, “Follow Me,” changed the world, as millions since have risen up to follow the call. What is this calling I’m talking about? It is this. It’s Luke, chapter 5. It’s Jesus saying to Peter, “Peter, will you follow Me?” And then in John 21, “Peter, will you love Me?” And again “Peter, will you die for Me?”

Will you honor Me? Will you live for Me? Will you die for Me? That’s the call. And every single believer is called to this: to this fellowship, to this maturity, to this discipleship. It’s for every child of God, and that means me and that means you. 

--  Adapted from “Side by Side: A Handbook for Disciple-Making for a New Century,” Steve & Lois Rabey, General Editors

#5135

HIS CALL IS TO FOLLOW

“As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.  ‘Follow me’, He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.” (Matthew 9:9 NIV)

Unfortunately, many of us start [our faith] journey with enthusiasm but fail to sustain it. Our faith goes on cruise control as we start seeking comfort and not a calling. It doesn’t help that too often in our churches we pigeonhole Jesus safely behind the altar rails and communion tables of our tame religious traditions, teaching people to revere Jesus instead of following Jesus sacrificially every day in the trenches of life. Jesus’ call is not to revere; His call is to follow. When we do so, reverence will naturally result. 

-- Mike Slaughter in “Renegade Gospel: The Rebel Jesus”

#5048

WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?

Growth is not the ability to avoid problems. Growth is the ability to handle larger and more interesting problems.

One of the great questions to ask somebody is “What’s your problem?” And you might want to do that right now. We ought to ask each other pretty regularly, “What’s your problem?” by which I mean, “Do you have a problem worthy of your best energies, worthy of your life?”

What are you devoting yourself to solve? How do you want the world to be different because you’re in it? People who follow Jesus ask this question: “God, what problem in Your world would You like to use me to address?” Followers of Jesus intentionally embrace problems. 

-- John Ortberg in “All the Places to Go… How Will You Know?”

#4969

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT - Part 1

“When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for Me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."  (Acts 1:8 GNT)

As Jesus prepared to enter heaven, He told His followers of an event that would change them from the inside out. The Holy Spirit was going to come into their lives… we would be filled with the Spirit. When we become followers of Jesus Christ, He immediately enters our lives. We pray for His filling, which means a full cooperation with Him and all He wants to do through us.

[The Spirit] is the presence of Christ with us, everywhere we go. He gives us special gifts for ministry. He counsels and comforts us, and each day He continues to transform us to the image of Christ Himself -- through tiny, almost imperceptible moments when we think something or do something that is the Jesus way, instead of our old way. And as we are filled with the Spirit, we begin to know what it means to have a truly full life. 

-- Kyle Idleman in “The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Ways of Jesus Begins”

#4902