MIDWEEK MEDITATION

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

John 21:1-7a

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. 
 
They had spent all night fishing and they didn't have so much as a minnow to show for it! This wasn't just a hobby to pass the time; no, these were men who knew how to fish. But all of that knowledge and intuition honed from years in the industry couldn't save them from one of the worst nights of fishing in their lives. 
 
At the height of frustration and fatigue, Jesus steps in. He could have entered into the picture much earlier and saved everyone a lot of frustration. But He didn't. He waited until they were exhausted before stepping in. Why? Because every disciple of Jesus needs to learn this critical lesson: you cannot do the work of Jesus without the power of Jesus. Each of us is called to be fishers of men, to reveal who God is to those around us. No matter our skill, or experience, we simply cannot do the work of Jesus without the power of Jesus. 
 
Where are you experiencing frustration and fatigue in your walk of faith? 
 
Jesus, save me from believing I can save myself. Give me Your strength to do the work You have called me to do today. 

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.  So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 

They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. 

John 20:1-10

Scattered and fearful. Those who had followed Jesus were still in shock. They had put their lives on the line to follow Him, and now He was gone. They still did not understand His words and the words of scripture that predicted He would rise again, for He had to rise again. They and generations of disciples would continue to meditate on that very truth. Join the disciples and the Church throughout the ages in celebrating our risen Lord. Take a few minutes today to both read and reflect on the following statements:

Jesus had to rise from the dead: because of Jesus' resurrection, we know that what He said was true. 

Jesus had to rise from the dead: because of Jesus' resurrection, we can have our sins forgiven.
 
Jesus had to rise from the dead: because of Jesus' resurrection, we know that death has been defeated.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

John 19:28-37

The cross wasn’t a surprise; it was the plan. He wasn’t backed into a corner, He walked purposefully towards His own death. Jesus was a king. He is the King, and yet he laid down His power to follow the Father’s plan. He is our high priest, the one who unites us with God, and yet he was killed under the charge of blasphemy. Jesus, the Word which became flesh and blood would have His body broken, and His blood spilled like a sacrificial lamb for our redemption.  

Yet even in the darkest moment, when everything seemed lost, God was in control. 

Every detail of Jesus' death was in fulfilment of God’s plan. Down to the words spoken with His last breath, Jesus walked the path of pain and suffering set before Him. He completed God’s work of redemption and He did it for you. 

Jesus wasn’t an unwitting martyr. His death was purposeful. If you have put your faith and trust in the work of Jesus on your behalf, then His purposeful death gives you a purposeful life. God has a plan for your life and one that came at great cost – for you were bought with a price. Are you living out that purpose? 

Father, thank you for sending your Son to die for me. Teach me to meditate on the death of Jesus and the purposeful life that brings. May I never live for less than what Jesus has for me.  

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

"All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’  Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things."

John 16:1-6

It was unraveling before their eyes. 

The disciples had left everything to follow Jesus. They did so because they felt God’s call on their lives. They followed Jesus and, slowly, they began to glimpse who He really was and what He was here to do. Jesus wasn’t just a popular teacher: He was the Messiah, He was God, and He was on a mission. 

The mission of bringing in God’s kingdom had once filled them with enthusiasm and pride. Now it filled them with fear because Jesus was about to leave them. When all things seemed to be going against them, when they were on the run with their very lives at stake, He was going to leave them. Failure seemed imminent. 

Jesus was leaving them, but He wasn’t leaving them alone. 

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to permanently reside in them and that, though it was hard to believe, this would be better for them. God the Holy Spirit was going to give the wisdom and the power to continue the work of Jesus who revealed God like a light in a dark place. 

How will the kingdom of God expand when the King is leaving? They didn’t have what it takes, and neither do we. The Holy Spirit comes upon us when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and works through us to accomplish God’s plan. When we walk in the Spirit, we participate in bringing God’s kingdom to the dark places around us. 
 

Holy Spirit, may You use my life to bring about Your work of restoration. I pray for divine encounters this week. Give me eyes to see and courage to step into what You reveal.  

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

John 15:1-4

Jesus is the true vine. He is the fulfilment of God’s plan to make Himself known in this world. When people looked at Jesus, at His character, at His heart, they couldn’t help but see the character and heart of God. Everything He did, He did it to reveal who God was. He had called and led His disciples through thick and thin, but now that perfect example is about to leave. How will that work of building God’s kingdom continue when He is gone?

John states that it would continue through His disciples, which isn’t a very reassuring thought. After all, Jesus’ disciples rarely showed the character and leadership qualities to continue His work of redemption. And yet, Jesus chose (and chooses!) people to do just that, to bear fruit by His grace and in His name. 

You have been called to make God’s name known. You are like a vine connected to the branch which is Jesus Christ. As the life of Jesus is apparent in and through your life, you will produce fruit that will last into eternity.

Simply put, you cannot produce the fruit of the vine without being connected to the vine. Is the life of Jesus working through you? 

Father in heaven, you have called me to continue Christ’s work of building your kingdom. May your life flow through me this week and use our worship to create fruit that last for all eternity. 

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

John 13:12-17

On His knees, stripped down and wrapped in a dirty wet towel, He came to the feet of Judas. Soon those feet would be going out into the night and bringing back an incredible amount of pain and sorrow. It was God’s will, and Jesus would follow it to the end. 

One by one, He washed their feet. To see their teacher, their leader, and their master bowing before them in humble service was unthinkable. They could only comprehend it in bits and pieces. The God who formed man from the dust of the ground was now wiping it from their feet. Why? He was modeling humility. 

If serving wasn’t beneath Christ, what could possibly be beneath His disciples?

Many want the grace that Jesus has to offer them. Some want to serve when it is convenient and personally fulfilling. Few want to follow the example of Jesus, taking a posture of humility and serving people when it is messy. Jesus didn’t do this because His disciples deserved it. Judas certainly didn’t. He did it because He loved them. Those who follow Jesus and want to live a blessed life are those who become servants to those around them. You cannot bring redemption to this world if you refuse to touch the people and places that need redemption. 

What is beneath you? Maybe the better question is, what was beneath Jesus?
 
Father, give me a heart of humility. Help me to see those in need and grant me the wisdom to know how to serve as Jesus did. Remind me that the grace You give in my life is also grace that should be given through my life.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

John 12:1-8

The sharp, earthy scent filled the entire room. The people within that room stood in shock as they watched a fortune pour from a broken stone jar onto the feet of Jesus. Not just on His feet, but over them, around them, and onto the floor. 

Waste.

Mary, the one who had just poured out this treasure on Jesus, bowed before Him, and wiped His feet with her hair. The shocked observers couldn’t look away from the spectacle.

Waste.

For Mary, there was nothing too valuable to place at Jesus' feet. There was no service beneath her when it came to our Lord. There were many that day who looked at the wealth being poured out and thought it a waste. Mary looked at the Savior and thought Him worthy. What is the worth of oil for a burial when you are standing before life Himself?

When we focus on the worth of Jesus and the grace He brings to our lives, it unleashes generosity in our hearts. What is your heart focused on today? 

Father, give me faith to believe that You are my provision and my protection. Free my heart from the tyranny of false control, and free up my heart to live generously as You lead.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

Jesus wept.

Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

John 11:32-37

Does God see? Does God care? Can God do something?

When the losses in our life begin to stack up around us, when we find ourselves overwhelmed and broken, we are faced with a question: how can a good God allow bad things to happen?  In these moments we experience doubt and confusion. If only God would have done something…

Jesus could have stopped Lazarus from dying. He didn’t. Jesus was operating on a different level, a level in which the glory of God is displayed on a timeline we can’t comprehend. It was part of God’s purpose and will that Lazarus would die and then be resurrected so that many would believe and experience life. But divine mystery seems a cold comfort when you’re looking at a tomb.
 
Jesus doesn’t rebuke Mary for her pained outburst, nor does He justify His grand plan to her. Instead, He weeps. The one who is about to raise Lazarus from the dead, the one who knows the Father’s will intimately, weeps.

Jesus is sovereign but He isn’t cold. He cares for the trials in our lives even as He is providential over them. He doesn’t answer the question why; instead, He points us to the who. 

So often we have no idea why God allows painful things to come into our lives. But when we remember who God is, His character, and His love for us, we can trust Him even in the loss until we see His resurrection in our lives.  

God sees. God cares. God will do something. 

God, give me grace to believe that You are sovereign over my life and present with me when it feels like death. I believe that You are the resurrection and the life.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

"The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

John 10:2-11

Take a moment to try to imagine the face of Jesus. What expression does He have? How would He be looking at you right now?
 
Some people see a cold and distant expression, or a stern, disapproving frown. Others see a kind but weak smile. What do you see?
 
Jesus paints a portrait of Himself in John 10 that challenges the crude sketches we scribble in our minds. He is the shepherd: He cares for you so much that He knows you personally. You are not just another face in the crowd. He isn't directing from afar but asks you to follow where He leads. He is right ahead, calling you to be with Him and near Him as you journey through this life. 
 
Jesus is the door: He invites you into abundance, into safety, into life. He isn't trying to keep you from good things; He is keeping the things that mean you harm far from you. He has come that you would experience life in such a way that it starts overflowing and pouring from you. He has come for your good. 
 
Jesus is The Good Shepherd because when everyone would give up on you, when they would turn and leave you to meet your fate, Jesus chose to lay down His life so that you can live yours. No one took His life from Him. No one backed Him into any corners. With all of His incredible power, authority, and strength, He chose to lay down His life for you. 
 
Why?
 
Because Jesus is The Good Shepherd. 
 
Take a moment to imagine the face of Jesus. What do you see?

Jesus, show me where I have been believing lies about who You are and how You view me. Bring to my mind this week the truth that You are caring, for my good, and that You love me so much You died so I might live. Help me to embrace that life more fully today.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

John 7:37-39

The festival was packed. People had come from all over to the world to remember. The many elements and traditions of that festival brought to mind a time when God called their ancestors His people. He called them to follow Him out of slavery and on to a long journey in the desert where they would be utterly dependent on Him. God given them food from the heavens and water from the rocks and yet the greatest miracle of all was His presence with them. His presence seen as a cloud of smoke and a pillar of fire would one day be surpassed by something even greater: God was going to show up in person. 

When Jesus stood up that day, He was testifying to God’s greatest miracle. The Word became flesh. Those who believed in Jesus would be His people and He would provide for them as well as provide through them. Not only would they receive His provision, but one day they would receive the Holy Spirit who would work through them. 

God chooses to use His people to be channels of grace to those around them. You have a part to play. Rivers of living water can flow through you.

Holy Spirit, I pray that your life would satisfy me today. I ask that you work in me and through me to bring your grace to those I come in contact with this week. Would you do for me and for those around me what I cannot. Would you bring your life today?

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 6:35-40

God is pleased with me today because…

The passionate, religious, committed crowd that followed Jesus around the lake came to Him with that unfinished sentence. They didn’t know what they were asking it, but it was the question that was on their hearts and minds... 

“What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he has sent.”

Just believe? It sounded too easy. What about being a good person, obeying the law, or faithfully attending the temple services? It sounded too easy because they believed they needed to live up to a certain moral standard for God to accept them. 

The hard reality they faced is the same reality we face today: no one is good enough to impress God. Their pride in their own moral lifestyle and religious commitment became a barrier to them accepting the true life that Jesus had to offer. He called them to exchange their self-righteousness for His righteousness. He wants us to do the same, repenting of anything (good works included!) that we are trusting in to make us right before God outside of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What are you trusting in today?

God is pleased with me today because…

How you finish that sentence will radically change your day, your week, your life, and beyond.

Father, I repent of any self-righteousness. I confess that I am only made right before you because of the work of Jesus Christ on my behalf. Give me grace to live out of your life in and through me.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

John 6:8-13

It was an overwhelming problem. 

You could hardly count the people who were surrounding Jesus. They had come a long way, they were hungry, and they were in the middle of nowhere. Jesus looked at those people, at that overwhelming problem, and He had compassion on them. 

“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”

The question left the disciples dumbfounded. Could Jesus actually expect them to find a solution? They simply didn’t have the resources to even make a dent in the problem. 

Jesus knew that.
 
He was testing them. Jesus wanted them to come face to face with the reality that it didn’t really matter what they had. It mattered who they gave it to. Jesus can take whatever meager offerings we have and multiply it. Too often we step back from the overwhelming problems Jesus asks us to step into because we feel that we simply don’t have enough in and of ourselves. It is a hard and exhilarating lesson to learn that Jesus doesn’t need us, but when we offer in faith what we have, He can use us to be a part of something amazing.

Father, give me the humility to realize that you don’t need me, along with the faith to believe that you can use me.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

John 5:6-10

The man’s excitement and wonder at the amazing healing that God had done in his life was doused by the cold waters of religion without relationship. 

The Pharisees should have been rejoicing to see the very work of God in their midst, yet all they could feel was offense that someone wasn’t living up to the list of do’s and don’ts they had cultivated over time, a list that went over and above what God had actually said. 

Jesus knew what the law of the Sabbath was intended for. It was a time to remember when the Israelites were slaves under the tyranny of Egypt and how God graciously brought them out of that place of death and declared them to be His people. The Law was given in the context of a relationship with God. Religion without relationship is a cold thing. 

The Pharisees had substituted good things, like studying the scriptures and obeying God’s commands, for the most important thing. In all their rules and religion, they missed an actual relationship with God and were dead inside. 

Our pursuit of God must always come in the context of a true relationship with Him, made possible by the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus warned, 
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)

What are you trusting in for life today?

Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that without Him I have nothing. Give me a heart of faith that overflows into a life of obedience. Keep me far from cold religion and renew my passion for You today.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.

John 4:47-53

My child is dying. 

All of his political clout and financial security couldn’t change the simple fact that his child was on the brink of death. Everything else seemed like an afterthought to the terrifying reality in front of him. He had heard that there was someone doing miracles in a place outside of Jerusalem, but could that really be true? Miracles seemed in short supply. But what choice did he have? He was running out of time. In desperation the official traveled to Cana and implored Jesus to come home with him and heal his son.

Go, your son is healed. 

That’s it? Shouldn’t Jesus be rushing off with the man? Can it really be as easy as that? There simply wasn’t enough time to go home and return if something was still wrong with the boy. In that moment, the father had a choice to make: to trust Jesus’ promise or not. The decision he made changed his life and the life of his family forever. The father took a long walk of faith as he journeyed home believing that he would see God’s miracle at the end of it.

Our lives are changed when we believe that Jesus keeps His word. When God promises something in scripture, we can trust it even if we don’t get to see it fulfilled right away. It is often in our own long walk of faith that God deepens our trust and reliance on Him.

Jesus, give me faith to trust you on my long walk of faith. Help me to praise you for your faithfulness and goodness while I wait for your promises to be fulfilled.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

John 4:9-10

Jesus actually saw her. 

Most people would have just walked by and pretended not to notice. It was like she was living with an invisible sign over her head that told people she was too much. Way, way too much. And so, day in and day out she came to this well, alone and invisible to most people. But Jesus is not “most people.”

The One who knows the heart of every person looked at her and saw someone made in the image of God who was thirsting for so much more than water.
 
That thirst had led her down a lot of paths she probably didn’t want to think about, much less talk about with a stranger. But Jesus leans into the messy reality of her life, gently pointing to the “too much” because she needed to understand something: her attempts to find soul-level satisfaction had left her scared and unfulfilled. What He was offering her was what all of us are looking for. Enough.
 
Things like: meaningful relationship, excitement, security, and a thousand other things are good desires and are part of God’s design for our life. The problem is that when we put these things at the center of our heart, they will let us down and leave us scared every time. You were made to have God at the center of your life to give you identity, purpose, and yes... enough. 

Holy Spirit, would You gently point to the things in my life that I am putting above God as my source of identity, purpose, and satisfaction? Satisfy me with your unfailing love and give me grace to orient all the other good desires in my life around You.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

John 3:1-3

It wasn't enough. 
 
Jesus wasn't calling Nicodemus to make minor improvements to his life. He wasn't asking the Pharisee and influential leader to "do better." The hard truth of the matter was that all his achievements, status, wealth, morality, and religious upbringing were not enough to earn his way into God’s kingdom. Jesus’ response to Nicodemus was simple and surprising: “You must be born again.”
 
There is no resumé long enough to impress God. No matter how good we may be, we are all imperfect people standing before a perfect and holy God. What Nicodemus had to face is what we all must face. God isn't asking for gradual improvement, for us to be better people, or to make slight adjustments to our lives. He is saying that a radical rebirth is required to enter into His kingdom. 
 
How do we do that? By putting our faith and trust in the One who stood before Nicodemus that night. Jesus, who is God, was sent into this world to show others the grace of God. Jesus would soon be lifted up on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, so that those who believe in His name will join Him in eternal life. 

Who are you believing in today?
 
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 

God, I am trusting in the work of Jesus on my behalf for eternal life. Do for me what I cannot do for myself: Bring a radical change to my heart and give me grace to live for You today.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

John 2:14-17

Somewhere along the way it had gotten off track. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, and Jesus knew it. In fact, He felt it. 

Jesus was passionate about worshipping God and it pained Him to see the temple reduced to a one-stop-shop, convenience-driven enterprise. You were supposed to hear the sound of penitent prayers offered up to heaven in God’s holy place. Instead, all that could be heard were herds of animals bleating and money changers calling for the next in line. They didn’t see it. The zeal of Jesus shocked them, it disrupted them, and it angered them, but it didn’t change them because they refused to see it. They had lost the “why” amidst the “how.” 

Does the zeal and passion of Jesus challenge your worship? When was the last time you felt that passionate about God? 

Just like those in Jesus’ day, these questions may become disruptive to our even-keeled spiritual routines. Instead of being dismissive, angry, or ashamed, what would it look like to come before God and ask that He reconnect us with the “why” this week? 

God, open my heart up to what You are doing. Create in me a passion for who You are and what You have called me to and keep me far from a cold-hearted religion.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

John 2:1-12

It must have hurt.

Mary came to Jesus expecting him to do something about a wedding that was on the brink of social embarrassment. Maybe she had an expectation that Jesus wouldn't hesitate to help at His mother’s request. She certainly didn’t expect His response.

““Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.””

It was abrupt. It was distancing. It was confusing. Why is He pulling back? What does He mean by His “hour”? All of these questions must have been swirling through Mary’s mind. Mary had come to Jesus as a mother; she would leave as a disciple.

Mary told the servants, ““Do whatever he tells you.””

When she couldn’t understand His actions, she chose to trust His heart, and her faith was honored.

The above and beyond, over the top, to the brim response of Jesus at the wedding shows us that He is generous. What Mary learned, and what we all must learn, is that Jesus is generous in His own time. Mary beautifully displays the heart of a disciple: when she didn’t understand His actions, she chose to trust His heart and believed that obeying whatever He said to do would lead to good things.

When I am feeling hurt, distant, or confused by Your work in my life, give me grace to trust Your heart. Teach me today to see that You are generous beyond measure and You will work in Your own time.

Today I chose to trust and obey.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”

John 1:50

Nathaniel believed. He started as a skeptic and yet in that one moment his whole world shifted. Jesus knew so much about Nathaniel while Nathaniel knew so little about Jesus. And still he believed. 

The disciple would soon find that miracles are a shallow soil to plant the seeds of faith. Jesus voices this, but not harshly or callously. He doesn’t chide or belittle the circumstances that brought Nathaniel to this point. No, He simply states, “You will see greater things.”

We all come to Jesus knowing so little of who He is and what His plans are for our lives. Confusing His plans with our own inevitably leads us down a painful path of broken expectations. Shame is waiting in that moment as Jesus is waiting in that moment. He doesn’t chide or belittle us as we are confronted with the shallow nature of our faith. No, he invites us to go deeper. Will you follow?
 
God, give us a faith deeper than our expectations.

MIDWEEK MEDITATION

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

                                        John 1:6-8

There was a man sent from heaven who didn’t always feel heaven sent. And yet the all-powerful God, who is beyond all space and time, sent this man named John into the world with an extraordinary purpose: to be a witness. 

John had seen a light. It wasn’t like a switch turned on or even something at the end of a tunnel; it was more like a dawning. Light was coming into the world. Life was coming into the world. And no matter how deep the darkness was, it couldn’t overcome that light. This man, who was sent from God, was so caught up in what he was witnessing that he spoke up and he spoke out. 

John didn’t speak up because he felt heaven sent. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wasn’t the light. No, John spoke because of what he witnessed and because of that, the God who sent him into the world used him to change the world. 

Father, would you work though me today to bring your light and life to those around me? Laying aside false humility, I want people to believe in You through me, not because I feel worthy, but because You are worthy.