Jesus had friends?

Consider for a moment your friends. Not the ones you nod politely at when you happen to pass them in public... no, I mean the ones who really have or know a piece of your heart. Think about them. How often do you see, call, write, or even hear from them?
I have thought on this for a while this week. You see, at about 5:whatever each morning there is a warm pot of coffee, my bible and Jesus waiting to meet with me. This week my heart has been wrecked by the story of Lazarus. Briefly, this is the story where Jesus hears his friend is sick (and that means deathly) and waits for three days to go see him. His friend dies and everyone is just a little confused - including me.
However, this is not where the wreckage occurs for me. The site of the wreck in my heart happens at the point where Jesus three times shows great emotion - and I quote, "...he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled..., ...Jesus wept..., Jesus, once more deeply moved..." Lazarus, as a "friend" of Jesus has died and even though Jesus was in the process of raising him from the dead His heart was troubled.
In John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" and again speaking of Abraham James 2:23 says, "...and he was called God's friend."
So, a few questions here:

1. Is Jesus your friend in reality? Would you like to be known as a friend of Jesus? or do you think of him more like this clip:
2. Are you like me in that you have a hard time picturing Jesus moved as he was for Lazarus over you? why...please comment and start a discussion.
3. Finally, what makes it so hard for us to dole out that kind of passion in ALL our friendships?
   

finally, please post your comments so that we might start a discussion and in so doing start a revolution of people passionate about compassionate love in friendships.

Jesus on Probation

I know what you are thinking, "Jesus on probation, come on man. He never committed a crime, so why is He on probation?" Well, to be honest, it fits. You see probation is a moral trial or a period of testing. Just as courts decide when an inmate is ready for life in society by a period of probation, so Jesus was on a "probation" - so to speak - by the Father.

In the temptation or testing of Jesus we see satan continually asking him, "if you are the Son of God..." then do this or do that. Jesus, in each case lives in His identity as the Son of God by not doing the very thing satan asks of Him. In fact, He responds by saying, "it is written..." and then goes on to rebuff temptation with the use of Scripture. What's amazing is not that He could quote the Bible, rather the life He found in those words He quoted is what I cling to.

You see, the issue in passing through temptation successfully lies not in how much Scripture I can quote. The real issue is whether I find my life in the words of the Father. When Jesus was baptized God did the all-confirming identity work that was so crucial for Jesus' success in life and ministry - He loved Jesus before He did anything.

So, resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ, God's demonstration of love for us, is the precursor to any tools or practical blocks to temptation. It is with that in mind that I post these few simple ideas and resources to help you in your battle against temptation:

1. Fasting (Matt. 4:2-4) - a great tool for spiritual growth, but oft misunderstood. The book "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard Foster is an excellent resource (there is one chapter devoted to fasting).
2. Accountability (Matt4:11) seek out ways that you can share your temptations with others in an effort to minimize their hold on you (James 1:12) www.x3watch.com is FREE internet accountability software that logs questionable sites and emails them to addresses of your choosing - great tool.
3. Run: in each of the three temptations of Jesus He responds by saying "it is written..." Jesus did not have a conversation with satan in regards to the temptation. In the same way Joseph in Genesis did not discuss with Potifer's wife any possible options - he ran. Often we should follow this example.

Finally, I invite you to click the "comment" link and begin a discussion about this post or other ideas you have for practical ways to deal with temptation.
Oh, one more thing, recently I preached on this very issue. You can download it by clicking HERE

Information vs. Transformation

Over the last few years there has been a plaguing thought in my mind - "I wonder how many people just read their Bible aimlessly?" To that end I began to study the, well, study of Scripture. The Lord began to show me so much and after much prayer the Lord led me to prepare a series in youth group about it. Because, let's be honest, the goal of study or knowledge for a disciple of Christ is change...changing to be more like Him and to grow in my relationship with Him. What follows are my notes (condensed) from that series - which was given over a 3 week period.
Let's begin by admitting that because the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore written by God we MUST have the Holy Spirit's help to understand what it says.
1. Place yourself under the authority of Scripture to have your actions and attitudes interpreted by it. (Heb. 4:12-13)
2. Trust your English translation of the Bible:

• There are over 14,000 copies of the New Testament and all of those copies agree completely over 99.5% of the time

3. Do not read into the Scriptures (careful not to read our own agendas and desires into the Scriptures - James 1:22; II Tim. 2:15) rather read FROM them.
4. Interpret the Bible literally...most of the time - just as poetry cannot always be taken literally, so also the Bible. (a resource to help here: www.biblegateway.com then click on "Additional Resources"). However, there is a great portion of the Bible that can be taken at face value.
5. There are descriptive and prescriptive texts of the Bible.(Descriptive texts report what happened whereas prescriptive texts detail what should happen).

• For example Solomon had MANY wives, that does not mean we should do the same.
  

• On the other hand, the Bible includes many texts that tell us to DO SOMETHING, like "love your enemies."

6. Study the Bible intentionally: ask the following questions when reading-

• Who was the author?
• Who was the original audience?
• What was the original cultural context?
• Why was it written?
• What are the units of thought in the book?
• What is the Biblical context - surrounding verses, etc...?
• What is revealed about God (for example, Jesus dies on the cross says that God is LOVE)?
• How does this connect to Jesus?
• What sins do I need to repent of or from?
• What principles need intergration into my life?

7. Don't confuse principles and methods. Principles are timeless and methods are timely.

• Example: Colossians 3:16 commands God's people to sing Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. That is a timeless Biblical principle. To be obedient we need to develop cultural methods by deciding when the church gathers, where it gathers, who leads worship in song, what songs we sing, and so on and so forth.
  
• A small rural town may have only an organ for worship - where as a more urban church may have a different blend of musical styles for Psalms, Hymns and spiritual songs - both are obedient to the principle without confusing the method.
  

My prayer is that you all find this helpful...though not an end in itself. For more information about resources available for free please comment.