Category: John

Posted in 1Corinthians, Acts, John, Matthew

A Sign to Examine

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31

Usually in church we are called to believe in our hearts something that we can’t see with our eyes. But there is one case where God encourages us to examine something we can see with the logic of our minds – the resurrection. God has “furnished proof” that Jesus is the judge of all mankind by raising Him from the dead.

In John 2 Jesus clears the temple and the religious leaders ask, “What sign do you show us as your authority for doing these things?” (John 2:18) The only person on earth that might have authority to move temple furniture around was the high priest. Outside of him, only God himself would have that kind of authority. “Who do you think you are?” is what they’re asking. Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) The sign He gave of His authority was the resurrection. In Matthew 12 again He is asked for a sign but replies that no sign will be given except the sign of His death and resurrection as prefigured in the story of Jonah. (Matthew 12:39-40)

Paul says that all of Christianity hinges on the actual, historical resurrection of Jesus. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins… if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1Corinthians 15:17-19) I’ve heard people say that they’d be a Christian “even if it wasn’t true.” Paul wouldn’t be. He’s only in if it’s true and to him it’s true because of a historical proof that God gave. Paul didn’t believe in Jesus because he was afraid he’d go to hell if he didn’t, and he didn’t ultimately believe because of the subjective encounter he had on the road to Damascus. He believed because it was the truth; not just his truth, but everyone’s. The evidence is the resurrection.

Posted in John

The Narrow Way

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

Alice and I were flying back from a conference in New York a few years ago, and the lady across the aisle was flipping through index cards, so I asked her what she was doing.

“I’m learning to speak German,” she said. “My son married a German woman and we’re going over to Germany soon for her ordination as a Lutheran pastor.”

She was more than willing to talk, so I asked about her own background and found out she was raised Southern Baptist but had since become a Unitarian.

“As I grew intellectually I realized that all religions were equally sincere and therefore, equally true,” she explained.

So I asked her about the resurrection, and she said she wasn’t sure about it and didn’t know if anyone could be. I gave her a couple of historical arguments for Jesus’ resurrection and then asked her to rethink her premise of “sincerity” being the proof of truth. We know that in mathematics one plus one equals two and that it doesn’t matter how sincerely someone may think it’s three – there’s only one right answer. Truth, by definition, is narrow. If Jesus rose from the dead then He was who He said He was, and if so, He is the only way to God.

At this point the man in front of me turned around and asked me to keep my voice down because it was “projecting.” I finished talking with the woman, trying to keep my voice down, by sharing C.S. Lewis’ Liar, lunatic, or Lord argument. We don’t have the intellectual option of believing Jesus was a good man, or even a great prophet.  Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh so He was either a liar, He knew He was just a man so lied about being God; a lunatic, He really thought He was God but wasn’t; or He was and is Lord of all.

At this we finished our conversation and after a minute of silence, I felt a tug on my sleeve from the man directly behind me. When I turned around, he told me he wished that our conversation had lasted for two more hours.

Some believe, some don’t believe, and some aren’t sure what they believe. But the truth stands on its own regardless of how people react to it. The sun still exists on a cloudy day whether we believe in it or not!

Posted in 1John, 1Samuel, John, Luke, Psalms

The Father’s Joy

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.” Psalm 18:19

David experienced the positive side of God’s passion. Knowing this delight is the secret to great faith.

God’s love and delight in me means that, of course, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1Samuel 17:37) Perfect love casts out all fear. (1John 4:18) Perfect love is not my love for God, it’s His love for me. When this truth goes from being our theology to our identity, great faith is easy.

Yet this truth can be hard to grasp in our hearts, so Jesus gave us three stories in Luke 15 to explain the Father’s joy in us. The Father is like a shepherd looking for a lost sheep. When he finds it there is great joy and this is how all of heaven feels when one sinner repents. God feels like the woman who searches for a lost coin of precious value (Notice that it doesn’t lose its value because it’s lost!). When she finds it, she rejoices, because that which was lost to her has been found.

And then He tells of an earthly father that runs to welcome back his prodigal son. Instead of reminding him of the hurt the son has caused, the father, in his joy, throws an extravagant party for him.

The prodigal thought it was all about his bad behavior so he planned on coming back as a hired man instead of as a son. (Luke 15:19) The older brother thought it was about his good behavior so he was confused as to why he hadn’t received more, and was angry about his father’s welcome of the prodigal. (Luke 15:29-30) But it’s not about behavior; it’s about relationship. God knows that apart from grace we can’t be good, and that when we’re in Christ we can’t help but bear good fruit. (John 15:5)

The Father’s joy is in you! Have you come into the party called grace or are you standing outside because of the shame of sin, or the self-righteousness of pride?

Say it to yourself: “I am God’s delight. Not because I’m good, but because I’m His.” This is not just our experience when we first receive forgiveness; this is our name, our very identity. Believe it!

Posted in 2Corinthians, Acts, Exodus, John, Revelation

Thinking Right

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.” Acts 14:2

Belize and Mexico are two places I regularly go for missions trips and in both places you can’t drink the tap water. It looks fine but is contaminated, so you can’t drink it or you become sick. A few years ago our whole team got sick and it was traced back to a restaurant where they had cooked the chicken we ate in contaminated water. You only have to get sick once to become very careful about what you drink!

Are we as careful about our thoughts? In our text we have a group of Jews who “refused to believe” the good news of God’s love and redemption through Christ and then poisoned others with their judgments. When we stop seeing ourselves and others as loved and worth redeeming, we tend to take up the enemy’s accusations instead. (Revelation 12:10) This is poison. Satan sows suspicion and bitterness toward others in our minds if we let him, and he can even use us to divide homes, friends and churches. He knows that a kingdom divided will not stand and is the master at using poisonous thoughts to bring offense, isolation, envy, and jealousy.

The judgments we make appear to be “the truth,” so we justify ourselves in thinking them and even speaking them, but judgment isn’t the whole truth. God loves people and sent His Son into the world to save us, not to condemn us. (John 3:17) We overcome the accuser by testifying about the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11) which was shed for us and for everyone we know. The whole truth, therefore, is not just what is wrong with people, but must include what God has done through His Son to make them right. (2Corinthians 5:19)

When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, they drank from a water source that was poisonous. Moses cried out to God, and God showed him a tree. (Exodus 15:25) He cut it down, threw it in the water, and it became sweet. God didn’t show him a different place to drink that had pure water; He redeemed that which was bitter and made it sweet. He wants to do the same thing with our thinking. Why don’t we identify our poison, bring it to the cross, and allow God to sweeten our thoughts toward even the most difficult sinners in our lives.

Posted in John, Philippians

Equipped with Peace

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

The peace, or shalom (Hebrew) of Jesus, is vital equipment for the Christian life. It is to act as a guard for us, and as a thermostat for others.

  1. A guard for us. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) The world only gives you peace when all your troubles are solved. The peace Jesus gives is in the midst of troubles. His peace guards us from leading anxious lives that end up burning us out. This is not merely a positive attitude that things will get better, but a tangible presence that acts as a guard against fear and anxiety. We must grow in His peace; we must break the habit of living anxious, fearful lives and learn to practice His presence in the midst of the storm. We put clothes on every morning; let’s not forget to put on the peace He has given us for a guard.
  2. A thermostat for others. When Jesus said, “My peace…”, I think the disciples remembered the power of His peace. When the storm was threatening their lives, Jesus stood and said, “Peace be still.” Then the peace that allowed Jesus to sleep in the storm acted like a thermostat until the entire environment was as at peace as He was. The disciples were living as thermometers (a thermometer only reflects what is in the environment), like the world does, a storm outside had led to a storm of anxiety and fear inside their hearts to the point that they thought they would perish. When they reached the other side they met a demoniac who was so restless, not even chains could hold him. Once again, the peace of Jesus acted like a thermostat until the man came into his right mind and came to share the very peace of God. Think of it: “My peace I give to you.”

To give peace, we must have peace.  I don’t know your circumstances today, but I do know that God wants to give you peace in the midst of them. He then wants us to be a portal of His peace to those around us so that the very atmosphere is filled with the presence of redemption.

Posted in 2Corinthians, John, Matthew, Romans

Hidden Treasure – Part Two

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

Yesterday we saw that the treasure of God’s unconditional love is hidden from our experience when our identity is in our performance. The second treasure the gospel reveals is salvation in Christ, yet this remains hidden from our experience when we cling to unbelief.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of their sin “because men do not believe in Me.” (John 16:9) No one minds believing in the historical existence of Jesus or in the inspirational teaching and example He gave. What people struggle with is that He claims to be the Savior. (The name Jesus means savior)

To believe in Jesus as Savior means I’m not a good person who just needs a little instruction and encouragement. I am a sinner who needs saving. Really believing in Jesus means that I am no longer the hero in my own story which is why the self-righteous often persist in unbelief even when God has given them ample evidence that they are sinners.

Some people struggle with the simplicity of receiving salvation as a gift, yet this is the only way one can experience this treasure. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Think of someone who loves you and has bought you an expensive gift for your birthday. When they give it to you, you don’t try to pay for it, do you? That would be an insult to the giver. You say, “thank you,” and unwrap it and when they see you enjoying the gift they freely gave, it makes the price they paid worth it to them.

God saw our need and paid a very high price (the blood of Jesus) to get us an “indescribable gift” (2Corinthians 9:15) called eternal life. To own it we just have to admit we’re sinners and receive it with the faith of a child. When we begin walking in the relationship that is included in this gift, we bring joy to the One who purchased it for us.

Posted in 1John, John, Philippians, Psalms, Romans

The Will of God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and accomplish His work.” John 4:34

Consider with me three things about the will of God: the delight, the cost, and the result.

The delight. David said that when Messiah came He would proclaim, “I delight to do Your will O My God, Your law is within My heart.” (Psalm 40:8) In the text above we have Jesus saying that the will of God is His hidden food, sustenance, and supply. Jesus’ yoke was easy and His burden was light because He never measured Himself by anything or anyone else – it was enough to do the will of God. Life can be very complicated, but when your passion is the will of God the questions change. It is no longer “what will I choose to do,” but only, “what is the will of God so I can obey.” Deciding to do God’s will, whatever it is, answers a thousand other questions for you. For instance, you don’t have to decide whether to forgive someone or not. You always forgive because He’s forgiven you.

The cost. Jesus prayed, “not My will, but Yours be done.” He didn’t finish the work God gave Him to do until He said, “It is finished,” on the cross. He did work for us that we couldn’t do for ourselves which is why the beginning of us doing the will of God must be putting our faith in Christ. But there’s a cross for us as well if we really want to accomplish God’s plan. Romans 12:1-2 says, “In view of God’s mercy, present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” We must offer ourselves before God as a sacrifice willing to do anything, before we will be able to walk out the specific plan He has for us.

The result. Because Jesus obeyed He was given the highest Name and the greatest place in all the universe. (Philippians 2:11) When we do the will of God we end up sharing in His glory forever and ever. “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1John 2:17)

Posted in John, Luke, Revelation

Living on God’s Time

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“When He (Jesus) approached Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for Peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes…you did not recognize the time (kairos) of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-42; 44b)

Yesterday we discussed the difference between sequential time (chronos) and God’s special time (kairos). How do we live on God’s time?

  1. We have to recognize the trap of becoming enslaved to chronos time. I am a very scheduled person and it’s easy for me to define success as keeping all my appointments and fulfilling all my priorities for any given day. God wants to free me from that mindset, so I can begin to look more and more for His kairos appointments. Jesus was the master at this. He would often be interrupted on His way somewhere, but instead of driving on, He would recognize the timing of God and minister to the interruption. This is how many were healed and delivered in the gospels. He said that His secret was only giving Himself to what He saw the Father doing. (John 5:19)
  2. We need to recognize our utter dependence on God to “see.” Most of the Jewish people missed what God was doing in their day and then it became “hidden” from their eyes. The Laodiceans were also “blind,” yet Jesus promised, “eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see” (Revelation 3:18) if they would only repent. Why couldn’t they see? They had stopped acknowledging their continual dependence on God and had said in their hearts, “I need nothing.” To see we must continually humble ourselves and recognize we need God’s grace to see what He is doing.
  3. We need to fear God enough to respond quickly and wholeheartedly when a kairos opportunity is available. Jesus wept when He entered Jerusalem because His people had missed the time (kairos) of their visitation and had missed the mercy God wanted for them. The Israelites missed the kairos of God when they were on the edge of the promised land. When they finally decided they wanted to go in, the opportunity had been removed and it was too late. Let’s not hold back when opportunities are open to speak, or love, or give, or pray. Let’s seize the kairos of God and make sure Jesus never has to weep over us for the mercies we missed.
Posted in 1Peter, Acts, Galatians, John, Mark

God’s Timing

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“It is not for you to know the times (chronos) or dates (kairos) which the Father has set by His own authority.” Acts 1:7

Two of the Greek words for time in the New Testament are “chronos” and “kairos.” Chronos is the word for sequential time which is how mankind usually thinks about time. There are twenty-four hours in a day, seven days in a week, and fifty two weeks in a year. We make plans and appointments in sequential time and live our lives trying to fulfill them.

Kairos is a word we don’t have one English word to describe. It is not sequential time, but rather, God’s time for something to happen. 

Vine’s Expository dictionary gives this distinction: “Chronos marks quantity (of time), kairos, marks quality.” (554) So how does recognizing God’s kairos time practically make a difference in our lives? Let me give a number of ways.

  1. Although we live in sequential time our priority should be kairos time. Jesus waited for God’s time to go to the feast while his unbelieving brothers had no such concern. “The right time (kairos) for Me has not yet come; for you any time is right.” (John 7:1-2) 
  2. We should not be frustrated by our present difficulties but can have confidence that if we keep doing what’s right, the time (kairos) will come when we will see God’s deliverance. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God and in due time (kairos) He will exalt you.” (1Peter 5:6) “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time (kairos) we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
  3. History has a purpose and a direction way bigger than us, so we should be able to put all of our minor irritations in perspective.  Jesus died at the “right time” (kairos) for us (Romans 5:6); and we can be assured that Jesus will come back in God’s “appointed time” (kairos – Mark 13:33).
  4. As we respond to God’s dealings with us with a spirit of repentance, He desires “times” (kairos) of refreshing to come to us from the presence of the Lord. (Acts 3:19)
Posted in John, Matthew

The Value of Jesus

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” Matthew 26:13

When Mary of Bethany poured costly oil on Jesus’ head in a spontaneous act of worship, the disciples were “indignant” and said, “Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and then given to the poor.” (Matthew 26:8-9) Yet there was something in this act that captured the whole-hearted response the value of Jesus calls for, so our text says the gospel itself is to now include the retelling of this event.

Earlier Jesus had compared the kingdom of heaven to a “treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44) In this act of devotion, Mary modeled this truth before everyone’s eyes. Mary had found treasure in her relationship with Jesus and could not contain her worship. To the others, even those closest to Him, it was as if the treasure was hidden. “Why this waste?” is what they said in the face of such an extravagant offering.

Today our costly oil is our time. Do you ever just “waste” time worshipping Jesus? Beware of a voice in your head that will speak to you whenever you want to spend time alone with the Lord: “Why this waste? You’ve got things to do, needs to meet, responsibilities to fulfill, calls to make, and items to check off of your list. You don’t have time for this.” Yet when we set a higher value on God than on all the things we have to do, we bring pleasure to Jesus, like Mary did.

“What about all the urgent other things?” you ask. Jesus replied, “you always have the poor with you.” (Matthew 26:11) In other words, the needs will still be there after you take time for devotion. The reality is you and I are much more equipped to handle all of the pressures around us after we have “wasted” time with Jesus because His presence, blessing, and wisdom will then flow more freely. Jesus said that the result of us drinking of Him would be “rivers of living water flowing out of our innermost being.” (John 7:37-39)