John 3:1-18 – Stumping the Teacher

One night, Nic, a leader in the church, came to Jesus with a burning question. But, because he felt ashamed to visit someone like Jesus, he came at night, when he would not be noticed.
“Teacher,” he said, “we know you are someone important who has come from God, because if you hadn’t come from God, you would not be able to do the great things you do.”
“Let’s cut to the chase,” Jesus said, “If you want to live forever with God, you must start life over again.”
“What the heck? Be born again? How do you do that? I’m a big boy now and I’m not getting any younger like Benjamin Button!”
“Again, if you want to live forever with God, you must start life over again with God. Moms and Dads make babies, yes, but the Holy Spirit makes Spirit. The wind blows wherever it wants to and you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. The Wind of the Spirit blows them where He wants them to go. That’s what it’s like for those who have the Spirit in them.”
“This makes no sense, whatsoever!”
“Well it should. You are Israel’s teacher, right? Listen carefully. I'm speaking sober truth to you. Truth is all I talk about, and it is all reliable. So why do you continue asking questions instead of believing? If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don't believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can't see, the things of God? No one has gone to Heaven and back again except Me. Just as our ancestor Moses lifted up that snake in front of the Israelites so many generations ago, I also must be lifted up so that those who see and believe may live forever. God loves our world so much that he is giving me to it, so that those who believe will not die, but live forever. Nobody else needs to die, you know, and those who believe in Me won’t. God didn’t go through all this trouble so He could point an accusing finger at the world, He came to help put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; but anyone who doesn’t, isn’t. And anyone who has the chance to believe in Him should.

John 14 - One Way Jesus

Don't worry. Be Happy instead! You trust in God, right? Trust in me too! There are many rooms in my Dad's house, and if you believe in me, I will be going there soon to make one ready for you, and you, and you, and you! In fact, everybody is invited!
When everything is ready I will come back and get you, so you may join the party with me. You already know where the party will be.
Thomas, one of the disciples, said "Lord we have no idea where you are going. We don't know the way to the party! Can you give us directions?"
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." If you follow My directions you will get there. My Dad is waiting for you. If you know me, you will know my Dad too because we are one and the same. 'Like Son, Like Father.'
Phillip was getting frustrated, "Can you just show us your Dad and stop just talking about Him? That would be perfect!"
"Jesus said to Phillip, "You've been around me and have seen a lot of me. Don't you know me yet? As I said before, 'Like Son, Like Father.' So, why are you asking to see Him? Remember, my Dad and I are one and the same. In fact, I'm not saying any of this by myself. Instead, my Dad is, because He lives in me just as we can live in you."
Jesus continued, "In summary, my Dad and I are one and the same. And it is my Dad who allows me to do the things you have seen me do, the miracles and all that.
The truth is, he or she who believes in me can do the same things I am doing: feeding thousands of people, healing others, bringing the dead back to life, and other great things like that. If you believe in me, you can do all of these things if you ask me to. So, go ahead .... ask."

A Tribute to Parents

I am a teacher. I was born from the first moment that a question leaped from the mouth of a child. I have been many people in many places. I am Socrates, exciting the youth of Athens to discover new ideas through the use of questions. I am Anne Sullivan, tapping out the secrets of the universe into the outstretched hand of a blind girl named Helen Keller. I am Esop and Hanns Christian Anderson, revealing truth through countless stories. I am Marva Collins, fighting for every child’s right to an education.
The names of those who have practiced my profession ring like a hall of fame for humanity: Booker T. Washington, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Leo Besaglia, Moses, even Jesus. I have wept for joy at the weddings of former students, laughed with glee at the birth of their children and stood with head bowed in grief and confusion by graves dug too soon for bodies far too young to have died. Throughout the course of my day, I have been called upon to be actor, friend, nurse, doctor, coach, finder of lost articles, moneylender, taxi driver, psychologist, substitute parent, salesman, politician, and keeper of the faith.
I am a paradox. I speak loudest when I listen the most. My greatest gifts come when I am willing to appreciatively receive from my students. Material wealth is not one of my goals. But I am a full time treasure seeker in my quest for new opportunities for my students to use their talents, and in my constant search for those talents that sometimes lie buried in self defeat.
I am the most fortunate of all who labor. A doctor is aloud to usher life into the world in one magic moment. I am allowed to see that life reborn each day with new questions ideas and friendships. An architect knows how to build with care and knows that if he does, his structure may stand for centuries. A teacher knows that if he builds with love and truth, what he builds will last forever.
I am a warrior, daily doing battle against peer pressure, negativity, fear, conformity, ignorance, prodigies and apathy. But I have great allies. Intelligence, curiosity, individuality, creativity, parental support, faith, love and laughter. All of these things rush to my banner with indomitable support. And who do I have to thank for this wonderful life? I am so fortunate to experience but you the public, the parents. For you have done me the great honor to entrust me your greatest contribution to eternity, your own child. And so, I have a past that is rich in memories, I have a present that is challenging and adventurous, and fun because I am allowed to spend my days with the future. I am a teacher. And I thank God for it every day.
- John W. Schlatter

Standing at Attention

Before Jesus was nailed to a cross on Skull Hill, he was offered wine mixed with gall, a mild painkiller. However, he refused their generosity because He knew that several weeping disciples of his would need His undivided attention over the next several hours.
In Luke 23:27-29, the author tells us of a Christ who comforts when He should be comforted. Several women were following the Christ-turned-criminal, up Skull hill, weeping bitterly. “But Jesus turned and said to them, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children’” (v 28). Christ was never someone to feel sorry for Himself. Even now, when His fate was signed, sealed, and delivered, He encouraged the women to weep for themselves and the hard futures they would walk into, rather than for Him, who was walking in, one-step by painful step, into glory.
Luke 23:34 tells us that Jesus forgives His captors as he is hanging from the cross and the high priests who laugh as they gamble for his tunic. “Father, forgive them . . . ” I could imagine that this is the first line to one of Jesus world famous parables, often labeled at people like the ones several meters away. I could imagine that instead of being taught the ultimate lesson, which was the point of crucifixion, that Christ would turn the tables on them yet again “. . . for they don’t have a clue what is going on.”
In Luke 23:43, Jesus expands the boundaries of grace even more by welcoming a renowned criminal to join Him in the last place he would expect to be. What these criminals were hanging for is debatable. But it was probably theft, murder or both. This man truly knew that Jesus was his last and only hope of doing anything good with his life. He was an impoverished man who spent his last dime on his last hope and hit the jackpot, for “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The next, but probably not the last, words Jesus utters from the cross are recorded in John 19:26-27. Here, He provides a way for His mother to continue to be cared for when He could not be the person to do so. Though His ministry was probably funded by several well-to-do women, Christ’s mother was probably not one of them. As it was the responsibility of the oldest son to provide a home for his aging mother after her husband died, Mary may not have been grieving for her Son. Rather, she may have been wondering what would happen to her when Joseph, who was probably nearing the age of retirement, finally passed on. “And from then on this disciple took her into his home.”
From the cross, Christ said many things. He comforted the weeping women, forgave the unforgivable, welcomed the criminal, and arranged a home for his mother. Even as He died, His words provided life for His hearers. How would the dying Christ provide life for you?

On Good Friday, we remember the Man who healed us by His scars.
On Good Friday we remember the Christ, who sacrificed His life so that we might gain ours.
On Good Friday, we remember the Redeemer who forgave, so that we might forgive.
On Good Friday, we remember the Word of Life who gave so we might receive.

Playing Hockey in Heaven

Recently my roommate asked me, “Do you think there will be hockey in Heaven?” I remembered all the hours as a child trading hockey cards with my friends, playing it at the elementary school next door and watching as many games I could set my eyes on. I remembered the Vancouver Canuck cards I took to a game at the Pacific Coliseum, hopeful that they would be signed by role models like Kirk McLean, Sergio Momesso, Tim Hunter and Ryan Walter. When my hopes were realized, I was on cloud nine.

Living with a visual impairment and other challenges I acquired due to a stroke has been a challenge, and I have often wondered what it would be like if I was playing with the Canucks rather than watching them from the couch. I assume I will keep watching for the rest of my life, but will my sight be perfect, and the results of my stroke be corrected, so I can finally play when I get to Heaven?

As a teenager, I went to the S.C.O.R.E. computer camp, for students with visual impairments, and attempted to get as close to the game as I could. In addition to receiving air-faire to, and accommodation in Mississauga, Ontario for the duration of the camp, and a five thousand dollar cheque from the Wayne and Walter Gretzky foundation to kick-start my post-secondary educational career, I was told I would meet the Great One himself to express my thankfulness. Though the cheque was cashed, framed, and used, my hope to meet Wayne never materialized, though I did meat his dad and the money he gave me evaporated quickly.

My dad has shared his excitement with me that I will be able to play hockey with Gretzky in heaven because I would be able to see everything perfectly there. This hope is based on Romans 8:23 and 1 Corinthians 15:43-44 where Paul says that “we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering,” which seems to preclude that we will receive new bodies in Heaven.

If I could choose from any kind of Heavenly body I wanted, I might decide on one that is 6’3”, 250lb and muscular with a German accent like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Then at least I would have the body I always wanted when I was on earth. But what would I do after that. Would I strut around, flex my muscles for all of Heaven to see because I had finally received the body I always wanted?

I have heard people say things like, “Everything will be better in heaven when we don’t have to ______,” completing the sentence with reasons why life on earth sucks so much. However, if you were given exactly what you were lacking, would it be helpful?

A couple of weeks ago, several members of the staff I am apart of talked about how winning the lottery often causes great grief in a family, even though their joy was intense for a short time. Family members may soon squabble over money that had miraculously appeared and they realize they cannot handle their new wealth. Some winners of ABC’s show “Extreme Makeover,” suffer head and heartaches after their house is renovated and refurnished, because they are unable to afford the new, more expensive, lifestyle they receive as a result, and are forced to sell their home.

These are stories of people who expected great things, but were disappointed in one way or another. In the end, they realized that these material possessions, though helpful for a time, are useless. As Christians, our first desire is to be where Jesus is. Nothing more and nothing less. The personal possessions or the perfect bodies we may or may not have here on earth do not change the Lord’s willingness to welcome us into Heaven. But we must be willing to let them go, because what we will receive is much greater than anything we may acquire here.

When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout for victory!

Eli­za E. Hew­itt

Birrthday Bumps

This past week, the grade four class at my school celebrated Jesus’ birthday. In addition to traditional Christmas baking, there was a chocolate cake with one candle burning. After we sang “Happy Birthday”, the candle was blown out, and the cake was cut and distributed among the students. By this point in history, there should be over two thousand candles on Jesus birthday cake. For the past two centuries, we have celebrated Christ’s birthday in increasingly elaborate ways. But how would Jesus celebrate His own birthday?

For different reasons, my 10^th, 13^th, 16^th, 19^th, 21^st and my recent 30^th birthday were celebrated a little bit more so than the others. My Dad is one to try and find reason to celebrate any and every birthday in our family weather they have reasonable importance or not. These birthdays were important because:

Ø 10 (double digits)

Ø 13 (teenager)

Ø 16 (my family “Graduated me into adulthood”)

Ø 19 (legally mature)

Ø 21 (I was allowed to drink alcohol, but probably didn’t) and

Ø 30 (?)

Did Jesus ever celebrate his birthday? He had thirty-three on earth and has had almost two thousand of them in Heaven. I would think there would be at least a handful that He would enjoy celebrating more than the others.

However, the idea of celebrating birthdays was, in Jesus day, a pagan ritual. The Encyclopedia Americana (1991 edition) states: “The ancient world of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Persia celebrated the birthdays of gods, kings, and nobles.” Therefore, Joseph would probably not have celebrated Jesus birthday, even though the angels in Heaven did, and he knew that his son was a King. Authors Ralph and Adelin Linton reveal the underlying reason for this. In their book ‘The Lore of Birthdays’, they write: “Mesopotamia and Egypt, the cradles of civilization, were also the first lands in which men remembered and honored their birthdays. The keeping of birthday records was important in ancient times principally because a birth date was essential for the casting of a horoscope.” If there was anyone who did not need a horoscope, the Son of God was certainly that person. So, Christ probably didn't celebrate his birthday, but that does not mean He did not celebrate.

There must have been a handful of parties (large or small) that happened among Jesus’ earthly family just for the heck of it. A quiet celebration may have happened at least once a year for his first few years of life. Not many babies/toddlers are searched for by their king in order to be killed, and survive. (Matt 2:13) And the extent, to which Joseph went to save his son’s life, is certainly worth remembering.

At around the age of thirteen, Jesus would have celebrated a Bas Mitzvah which would have graduated him into adulthood, passing the responsibilities that Mary and Joseph previously carried (fulfilling the laws of Moses) onto Him. This official declaration of adulthood was seen by one and all, but His Father had already graduated Him one year before. Luke 2:41-52 tells the story of Jesus, apparently lost, in the temple in Jerusalem. His parents had been there for the Passover Feast and left when it ended. After walking for a day, they realized that Jesus wasn’t walking with them. They immediately U-turned back to Jerusalem to look for their rebellious son. Finally after three days of anxious searching, they found him talking leisurely with the teachers in the temple. Jesus comment to his anxious and angry mother shows both his maturity and understanding of whose he was. “Why were you searching for me?” He asked. “Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?” (Luke 2:49) If Jesus was a teenager of the 21^st century, He may well have rolled his eyes and added a “dah!” because His self-esteem and self-knowledge was greater than any teenager before or since. His Heavenly Father had and would continue to celebrate Him, so who else needed to do so?

The second greatest tribute Jesus ever received was the commission from His Father before He began public ministry at the age of thirty. John, his cousin and forerunner had baptized him in the Jordon River. It could have been a regular baptism, if not for the party that the Father initiated when he sent a dove to sit on Christ’s shoulder, and said: “You are My Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22) This affirmation gave Him the confidence and understanding He needed to respond wisely to Satan’s temptations in the desert, where he was about to go.

The greatest tribute Jesus received happened three years later, after He had risen from the dead and ascended back into Heaven. There, having finished all the work His Father had commissioned Him to do, “he sat down at the right hand of God.” (Hebrews 1:3, 10:12, 12:2). Finally, Jesus had come home, never to leave again because, as he had stated from the cross, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

Christ’s day had no Christmas, but He created it so we would have something to celebrate. Instead of opening the presents on His birthday, Christ desires to be the present for us to open. Weather you bake a cake and adorn it with candles; weather we sing “Happy Birthday Jesus” or “Joy to the World,” how will you celebrate Christ’s birthday? Have you opened your present yet?

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is lord of all creation?
Did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heavens perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the great I am

Mary did you know

By Buddy Greene and Mark Lowry

The Fear of the Lord is my Strength (Part 1)

In Nehemiah 8:10, the author writes the words to a popular worship song called “The Joy of the Lord.” He encourages his audience to "[go] and enjoy choice food and sweet drink, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. . . . Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Whatever the Lord gives us is good. As Christians, we hope God will not stop giving us gifts we enjoy; love, peace, kindness and gentleness are some examples, but continue to lavish us with good things.

However, He is certainly not restricted to giving us only positive gifts like these. For instance, what if He chose to give you the gift of faithfulness, along with a job to take care of the down and out on the downtown east side every Friday night? Or, what about patience, coupled with a prodigal daughter whom you would wait and search for, for hours on end. If you have not experienced fear personally, the media provide us with a plethora of horror movies and news casts that often “freak [us] out,” giving us enough reasons to be afraid. We have all experienced the negative sense of fear, and no one needs to be reminded why we hate it so much. Therefore, I am sure you would quickly conclude that fear is certainly not a gift of God. But if we have not experienced both sides of fear, we are truly missing out on a good thing.

I have a ‘seeing is believing’ type of faith because throughout my life, I have seen God’s handiwork. He has done it in my own life (see: “Miracle on Fox Street”) and he has used me to bring healing to others. Dr. Luke, the author of the Gospel was also one of those people, and I have been a big fan of his writings since I started reading the Bible. His gospel is like a documentary, as he describes one exciting miracle after another, culminating in the greatest miracle of them all, Christ’s resurrection. As I approach my thirtieth birthday, I have begun to enjoy his other book, Acts, with the same amount of excitement.

Here Luke follows several members of the early church including Peter, Paul and . . . (sorry Mary wasn’t a prominent figure in this book!) as they learn and teach about this new religion called Christianity. These great men are responsible for some more miraculous signs. Some of them, including the famous story of the beggar at the gate, who learns to walk for the first time at the age of forty, are very well known. However, it also describes a few others that do not make the top ten. This might be because they show the fearful side of God.

One of these stories is found in chapter five, the story of a couple of devout Christians, Ananias and Sapphira. They had been attending the local church for years and didn’t intend on leaving. In fact, so that its ministry would continue, they had sold their house and had donated everything they had received from the sale to the leaders of their church. (At least this is what they said they did).

If my parents were to finally suffer a mid life crisis and sell our house, forwarding all the funds to the church, four things would happen. 1) Our church would greatly appreciate their gift and probably re-name it DuckChurch. 2) My parents (and I) would have no place to live, though I am sure we would have a long list of invitations to spend a night or two at guest bedrooms throughout our church community. 3) If they truly believed that God was asking them to do something as drastic as this, my parents would probably feel fairly peaceful with their decision. But I wouldn’t. Instead I would probably think they had just a little too much faith for my liking. Lastly, I probably would not join my parents in a dwelling that might become available to them to move into, whenever that might be.

Don’t wrestle with a Heavyweight

Today, most pastors are the same. They are all good at something weather that be leading worship, sermonizing or any other of a variety of gifts that Paul writes about in his letters to the early church. However, the gift that Peter uses in Acts 5, reading another person’s mind (also known as prophecy), has been neglected for some time.

The Apostle Peter’s years as a student of Christ are well documented in the Gospels. Acts is like Peter’s Coming-of-age party where he shows that he really is the rock which Christ said he would become (Matthew 16:18). In prior chapters in Acts, God gave Peter so much power that his shadow was the only thing needed to heal somebody (Acts 5:12-15). And if anybody had this amount of power, they are due at least a little respect. But Ananias and Sapphira (whose story is also found in Acts 5) did the exact opposite.

The church at this time was young, small and tightly knit. And for these two to do what they claimed to have done, they would have certainly been deserving of a few invitations for dinner and a good night’s rest in someone else’s tent-house. But while everybody else was in awe of these two, Peter wasn’t buying it for a moment.

In verse 3, Peter says, "Ananias, you hypocrite! You, a leader in this church have done a complete 180° turn and have lied to the Holy Spirit. Why did you allow Satan to connive with you to do something like this, keeping some of the money for yourself? Before you sold the field, it was all yours, wasn’t it? And after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished, wasn’t it? So what got into you to tell people that you did something that you didn’t do? You didn't lie to men but to God."

When he heard these words, Ananias fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard the story. The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.

Only a few hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. Peter said, "So, what’s the deal? Were you given this price for your field?"

"Absolutely," she said.

Peter was indignant, almost ready to tear his hair out, "What's going on here that you and your husband would gang up against the Spirit of God?! The men who buried your husband are at the door, and you're going with them!" No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. The young men waiting at the door carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

By this time the whole church and everyone else who heard of these things had a healthy fear for God. They knew He was not to be trifled with.

“The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding.”

Proverbs 9:10

(Amplified version)