John 3:1-21

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

John 3:1-21

Dear God, I need some time with you this morning. I need some time to center myself back on you. I need to spend some time letting the Holy Spirit envelope my soul. For the last couple of days, I have not taken any time to really immerse myself in you, and I miss you. Oh, how grateful I am to miss you.

As I thought about finding some scripture through which I could try to hear your voice this morning, I thought about the rant that Jesus goes on in his conversation at night with Nicodemus. I was listening to a praise and worship song and watching the video on YouTube when I saw a slide that had the words for John 3:16-17. It reminded me that those verses are just a small part of this little speech Jesus gives to Nicodemus. Is it possible the words you had for Nicodemus 2,000 years ago are the same words you have for me this morning? Maybe so, maybe not, but there might just be something in here for me.

This starts with Nicodemus, a Pharisee, labeling Jesus as a teacher sent from God. Jesus implies back that Nicodemus cannot see (experience/enter into personally) your Kingdom because he has not been born again. Confused, Nicodemus asks him to explain.

Jesus explains that we must embrace being transformed into a new creation by your Spirit, the Holy Spirit, in order to know you and your kingdom. I cannot do it in my own power. Maybe that’s what I was missing this morning–doing it on my own for a couple of days and feeling the difference.

When Nicodemus presses for further explanation (verse 9) Jesus takes off. Here is an outline of where he goes:

• You don’t believe me when I tell you things about earth and the realities here even though you can see them with your own eyes. How will you ever believe me about heaven?
• The Israelites looked upon the bronze snake to save them from the snake bites in the wilderness. Jesus will save all of us in the same way. Ever since I preached on this passage two years ago, I have tried to remember that every time I see a cross or a crucifix. My savior.
• John 3:16 and 17 are an extension of this thought. God gave Jesus to be my redemption. Redemption that comes through God’s power and not mine. He didn’t do this to condemn me, but to save me.
• This is the part that is hard for me. To think of all of the people who do not believe. There are categories of those people. Those who have never heard of you so they don’t know to believe. Those who were raised in other religions and believe in that and not you. Those who were raised with no religion and have a hard time believing. And then those who were raised and trained in you and then walk away.
• People loved the darkness more than the light. That can certainly be me at any given time. I heard Rich Mullins say one time that sometimes he just wanted you to turn away and ignore him so he could do what he wanted without your judgment–at least for a little while. But the truth is, it’s not your judgment we should fear as much on earth as it is the emptiness of walking away and the vicious cycle of hiding our shame that comes with walking away.
• Hiding from the light and going towards the light. What an interesting message from Jesus to Nicodemus as they talked at night. I never thought of this before, but was this Jesus pointing out to Nicodemus that he was hiding from the light as he came to learn more from Jesus. Interestingly, Nicodemus would continue to follow Jesus in the shadows until Jesus’s death, when he broke ranks with the Pharisees and went to help Joseph of Arimathea to care for Jesus’s body and put him in the tomb.

Father, draw me close to you. Never let me go. I lay it all down again, to hear you say that I’m your friend. You are my desire. No one else will do. Because nothing can ever take your place. To feel the warmth of your embrace. Help me find the way. Bring me back to you. You’re all I want. You’re all I’ve ever needed. You’re all I want. Bring me back to you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Ephesians 6:12-18

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Ephesians 6:12-18

Dear God, before I can be reminded to make sure I’m wearing your armor (the Armor of God), it’s important to remember that I have to recognize the spiritual warfare around me. The attacks on our spirits. The real world beyond what we see. When I think of spiritual warfare I tend to only think of attacks on unity and relationships (and I think those account for most of the attacks), but I don’t think of just the way the demons will try to impact my thoughts regarding the physical challenges that come up like pandemics, financial struggles, etc. So what am I to do to combat these things? Well, I embrace:

• Truth – It’s amazing how hard this first one can be because my temptation is to believe truth the aligns with my selfish interests and reject truth that inconveniences me. It’s important to somehow have people around me who are comfortable speaking inconvenient truths into my life.
• Righteousness – Of course, there is none righteous, no not one. (Psalm 14:3) So that’s where I need to resist and do my best to keep myself pure and then put on my salvation for when I fail.
• Peace – This is the one that I maintain can only come through connection with the Holy Spirit. I cannot manufacture peace. I cannot will myself to it. It only comes (at least to me) through communion with the Holy Spirit.
• Faith – I’ve said for a long time that there is a fine line between living by faith and living in denial. Faith is showing up and doing the work everyday regardless of my planned outcome and trusting that you will do your will. My ultimate goals don’t matter. There are a couple of things that I pray for nearly every day that I see no evidence of coming to pass, but I keep showing up to pray for them anyway, and then the Holy Spirit gives me the peace I need to accept your outcome.
• Salvation – This is what covers my lack of ability to be righteous. Because I am not righteous. Oh, thank you for my salvation. Thank you for choosing to relate to me anyway. Thank you, sweet Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Holy Spirit – Speaking of the Holy Spirit, I am sorry I still don’t acknowledge you like I should. You are where the rubber meets the road in my life. Thank you. You give me my love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, kindness, and self control. You are my minister. You are my counselor. You are God’s presence in my heart. Thank you for protecting me.

Father, be with me today as I go through this day. Give me my armor against the divisiveness and destructiveness of this world. I give you all the glory for everything in my life. I trust you. I live for you. And I promise to fight for the rights of others more than I will fight for my own rights–for your glory and your glory alone.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Philippians 4:2-3

Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

Philippians 4:2-3

Dear God, what would it be like to be these two women and have my dispute with someone else immortalized in scripture forever. Not that they ever knew it would be immortalized, but here it is. I’m sure if they looked at it now, whatever their quarrel was about, it would seem small and pointless. But in the moment I’m sure it felt very big and personal.

Of course, there are other quarrels captured in the Bible. I wonder how many of those are regretted. Paul himself had a quarrel with Barnabas over Mark. In the fog of a spiritual attack, a quarrel can seem so justified, but the truth is that most are very small.

Father, help me to recognize the pointless quarrels that exist in my life. Help me to humbly seek reconciliation when they happen. May it all be for unity in your Spirit and for your glory.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

James 1:1-4

This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

James 1:1-4

Dear God, it’s interesting that James geared the messages of this letter specifically to Jewish people who were now believers in Jesus. Was there something specifically about the Jewish faith that discounted the need for works? Anyway, I never noticed this before.

What would a modern prophet speaking on your behalf have to say to the American church (Catholic, mainline, or evangelical)? Lately, the feeling I’ve been getting is that our sin is grasping for political and cultural power. There was simply never a time when Jesus seemed to care about who the government or political leaders were. In fact, the only people who ever seemed to earn his ire were religious leaders and those who were hypocritical in their judgment of others. Yes, I’m convinced you would have a lot to say to American Christians of all stripes right now. We have sinned. I have sinned.

One of my sins is really paying as much attention as I do to politics and not thinking more about the immediate needs around me. Really, is there anything going on in the political leadership of our nation or state that warrants more than 5 minutes of my time a week?

Father, help me to focus on the right things. Help me to focus more on my sphere of influence than I focus on things that are outside of my control but easily distract me. In fact, this puts a new spin on the serenity prayer. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change (politics) the courage to change the things I can (my sphere of influence) and the wisdom to know the difference.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

“Influence”

Dear God, I started my experience with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) almost 40 years ago. An image they embraced as an organization that would come to explain their strategy of reaching the world for you through athletes who are believers is summarized in the above image, “Influence.” The idea is that we all have someone who influences us. The question is, whom do we allow to influence us, and are we careful and intentional about how we influence others.

I saw a headline yesterday (inauguration day) from a media outlet suggesting that other outlets that have an opposite bias as this outlet will now treat this president differently than the last, saying they were about to apply a duplicitous double standard. I told my wife that the person who wrote the headline (I didn’t read the article) was either completely un-self aware, or being ironic because their news organization as about (and has already started) doing the same thing, only in the opposite direction. All of these news organizations have influence and can color how we interpret the events around us.

I prayed recently about this, about what I allow to influence me and being intentional. Too whom do I listen? What do I read? What do I watch. With whom do I hang out? Whose world view influences me?

There is also the part about who I influence. There are people around me at work or in my personal life who give my thoughts and words some amount of credibility. How do I treat that trust? Am I careful and intentional about the example I set? I am both one of the boys sitting down in that picture as well as being the boy with the ball. Perhaps I only see myself as one or the other, but we are all both, whether we like it or not.

Father, please guide me today. I have one topic specifically on my mind that involves the influence that I have personally and that the organization where I work has. Give me your wisdom. Give us your collective wisdom. Do it so that your people who are in our care can have your best for them. I don’t want to make decisions out of fear or public perceptions. I want them to be out of true leading by the Holy Spirit. So lead us, Father.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Matthew 7:12

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Matthew 7:12

Dear God, it seems like I’ve been running across this concept lately. Whether it was Paul saying it or Jesus, the idea that what I do to others is the most important thing I do outside of worshipping you. It’s not the great thoughts I think or the multitudes I impress. It’s not about accomplishments. It’s simply about loving others, going out of my way for others, and respecting others.

It seems that there are so many leaders in our country right now who publicly proclaim you to me their God who do not align themselves with this verse. They do not do to others what they would want done to them. As I think about Congress, there are too many who call you Lord who do not legitimately listen to and consider the argument of their opponent, as they would want their opponent to do to them. They do not speak respectfully of their opponent, as they would want their opponent to speak of them. And this goes for more than Congress, obviously. It goes to churches, businesses, families, etc. All the way down to me. No, I don’t always do it as well. I am not always a good example of doing to others what I would want them to do to me.

Father, give me eyes to see my own sin in this area. Show me how I might be someone at whom others look and see an example of your grace in action. Love and nurture others through me. Enter the world through me for your glory’s sake. And thank you for everything you are doing.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 10:13

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

1 Corinthians 10:13

Dear God, this is yet another one of those Bible verses that is taken and changed by a lot of Christians. I hear this one quoted a lot as, “God will not give us more than we can bear.” Well, that’s not what this says. In fact, you often give us more than we can bear so that we can be reminded that we cannot bear it alone. We need you. Some people call that using religion as a crutch. I call it the reality of life. Are you a crutch for me? Sure. It’s arrogant to think I don’t need that crutch in my life.

So, as for the temptations mentioned in this passage. That’s a different story. There are times when I simply give in. Selfishness. Lying. Lusting. Coveting. Hating. Worshiping idols. Gluttony. I do it all. You don’t bring me anything that is beyond me resisting, but sometimes it feels irresistible.

Father, help me to recognize the temptation when I see it, name it, and seek you, my crutch, in resisting it. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 6:13-20

You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 6:13-20

Dear God, our sex drive is a fascinating thing. From the outside looking in, it makes no sense. Logically, the way it can control us (especially men) is bizarre. Why is it this way?

I’m going to take same sex issues off of the table right now and talk completely about promiscuity, whether it is heterosexual or homosexual because I’ve started to come to the conclusion (and maybe I’m wrong) that the real problem isn’t as much about same sex sexual relations as it is promiscuous sexual relations.

There is something with sex that is fascinating. I’ve gone to a Catholic Church as a Protestant for nearly (maybe almost exactly) 10 years at this point, and I’ve seen where the church actually has some contradictions when it comes to sex. On the one hand marriage is a sacrament and sex between man and wife is an important part of marriage. However, as part of the holiness of Mary, they teach that Mary was sinless before and after Jesus’s birth, and she remained a virgin her whole life. My wife is the one who brought this question up to me so I won’t take credit for it, but if sex between man and wife is part of the sacrament of marriage, why did Mary have to remain a virgin her whole life? I don’t know the answer to this, but my suspicion is that somewhere along the way the writers of the catechism allowed their own emotions about sex filter into the writing of history and didn’t really believe that sex between a husband and wife can be pure and holy. And I can get where they are coming from. Even in a physically monogomous relationship, impure thoughts can creep in. Certainly over the course of a lifetime, it’s just about impossible to keep your thoughts 100% pure when it comes to sex. So I can see where they felt the need to keep Mary sexless if they were going to maintain that she was sinless.

As for me, there are times when I have hated my sex drive. Especially earlier in marriage, it caused a lot of conflict with my wife. Before I met her, well, you know everything about me so I don’t need to write it here, but I’ll just say that I did not enter our marriage pure of heart–and she knows this. You designed something so incredible and beautiful. Something so unique and powerful. Perhaps that is why Satan goes after it so hard. He can use it as part of his plan to cause division between couples and damage to relationships. Then things like pornography can be the gateway drug into other lecherous, debaucherous, and even illegal activities.

Father, help me to be exactly who you designed me to be, and that includes sexually. Help me to be exactly who my wife needs me to be–better said, help me to be who you need me to be for my wife. Love her purely through me. Use sex in our marriage to be the uniting process you intended it to be. We are united in heart, mind, body and soul. Help the uniting of our bodies to be how you designed it, and please forgive me for my sexual sin.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Galatians 5:13-15

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

Galatians 5:13-15

Dear God, in a sermon Andy Stanley gave back in August 2020 called ‘Not in it to Win It” (I’ve mentioned this sermon many times and listened to it more than a few), one of the things he said was that the church is at its worst when it is fighting for its own rights and at its best when it is fighting for the rights of others. Again, that was for the church as a whole, but I think that can be applied to us as individuals as well. I think we are at our best, as Christians or any other religion/non-religion group of people, when we are more worried about the rights of others and laying our own rights down.

I suppose that is what Jesus modeled for us in what he did. As your son, he had the right to stay in heaven and ignore us. He had the right to come to earth in luxury, live as a king, not suffer at all, teach us for a while, and then ascend into heaven like Elijah. But that’s not what he did. He gave up his spot in heaven for 33 years, he lived as a poor child and adult, he walked through the human experience during a fairly primitive time in civilization, he submitted himself to extreme pain, and ultimately trusted you with his life. He did all of this so he could fight for the rights of others.

Father, help me, today, to find those for whom I am supposed to fight. My rights are immaterial. My selfishness is a hinderance to my happiness. The attaining of the things I want will not bring me joy–selfless service is what will bring me joy. So help me to be gracious with people who disagree with me. Help me to be loving to those who feel unloved. And help me to serve those who need served.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

John 8:31-59

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.” “Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. No, you are imitating your real father.” They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.” Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?” “No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me. And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!” The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!’ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’ but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.” The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham? ” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am!” At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

John 8:31-59

Dear God, this starts with Jesus speaking to “the people who believed in him.” But at what level did they believe in him? Did they just think they believed in him and his teaching as a prophet, or did they think he was your son–the Messiah? It seems that they were more on the prophet side of things, even though they might have though of him as the Messiah. But maybe they didn’t understand who the Messiah was. Perhaps they saw a warrior champion who was going to lead the people, and your plan was to turn that on its head and die for them and their reconciliation to you.

As I read this, I couldn’t help but think about the Christians who attacked the capitol last week. There was Christian music playing. There were Jesus banners. There was a Christian flag. One man reportedly yelled, “Give it up for Jesus!” and the crowd cheered. The a good number of the people there were Christians. Thinking about it and comparing it with this passage, I think they’ve started to get the same misconception these early “believers” had. They think this is about winning. They think this is about political power. They think this is about influence on a broad scale. They think this is about legislating morality from the top down. They think it is about the Supreme Court and its rulings. They are like the crowd Jesus addressed. Let’s just take Jesus’s words here and see what they might have to say to them (and me):

• “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
• “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”
• “…if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. No, you are imitating your real father.”
• “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”
• “No, I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me. And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”
• “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’ but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”
• “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am!”

First, I have to confess that if I had been there at the time, I would probably have been on the people’s side. I would not have believed Jesus was your son. How could I have? What are the odds that this simple man would be the one? Surely, your son would be more grand than this guy was! So I can recognize my own limitations, and I am sorry I’m not better.

Second, they are looking for greatness and Jesus seems to just be looking for humility. All he wants them to do is know the truth, repent of their sins and be set free. That’s it. That’s how this starts. And they cannot handle that. They cannot handle their need for humility.

Third, I am a little surprised Jesus got into this back and forth with them. I don’t remember too many times he did this. It’s actually a pretty long conversation/argument.

Father, I don’t know that I’ve come up with any answers about Christians and their role in last week’s riot/insurrection. I know that I’m worried about them as individuals and for our Christian church as a whole. I heard an interesting question yesterday. Why do we have U.S. flags in some churches? As I thought about the question, the Catholic church I attend has a U.S. flag. I attended a Methodist church for a long time, and it has a flag too. Why? As an American I pledge my allegiance to you first and then to my country as a citizen. But that doesn’t make me better than the Canadian, German, Nigerian, or whomever is worshipping in their church that morning. So why would the church have an American flag in it? A sign of allegiance by the church to the country? I don’t know the answer, but it’s certainly made me consider the separation of church and state in a new way. I don’t know. Now I’m just rambling. Just help me today, Father. Help me to understand the world through your eyes, do the things you need me to do, and love the people you need me to love.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen