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Wow, in this past week since I last wrote to you all, a lot has happened. One of the most beneficial is that my severe pain has subsided. We don’t know the reason—there are medical ideas but no known explanation. We know from all the miracles that Jesus worked that He has the power to work in our physical bodies, to strengthen us, even to heal us. Jesus did this again and again throughout His short ministry. While I don’t believe that miracles are as common in our world as during Jesus’s time on earth, I do believe that Jesus Christ can and does heal some people miraculously. I also firmly believe in the power of prayer—and that’s what I believe is going on…what I received on Thursday last week was pain relief from my Lord and Savior as the answer to prayer. Because of my own pain, I’ve been thinking a lot about the pain that Jesus suffered. It’s more than I can get my head around. I know I’ve written about this before—the physical suffering Jesus experienced. But that’s not what I thought about as Rick and I were driving to Fort on Monday to make this week’s dinner. I was thinking about how the pain Jesus suffered is a kind of pain none of us can identify with because it’s so far beyond our understanding. You see, when Jesus suffered, it wasn’t limited to physical pain. For sure, He suffered real, painful, bloody wounds—to say it was severe is an understatement. However, that was not the only kind of suffering Jesus experienced that day. For believers, on our behalf, Jesus willingly suffered spiritually. How? He suffered by being separated from God the Father, taking the Father’s wrath against sin on His own body, though Jesus was sinless. In becoming sin for believers (2 Corinthians 5:21), Jesus was separated from God the Father. If you don’t believe in Jesus Christ, His separation from God means nothing to you. I don’t mean to be harsh, but you can’t comprehend this kind of separation. Why? Because, you are dead in your sin. It’s how I lived most of my life. Dead in my sins. Then the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to my sin and breathed life into me. It’s why Jesus came to earth—to give life to those who would believe in Him. But in order to do that, the sin of all believers had to be dealt with. So Jesus dealt with sin. He took on Himself my sin and the sin of all believers and paid the price for sin. The other thing that struck me on our drive into Fort on Monday is that Jesus did all this—took the physical and the spiritual suffering on Himself—knowing what would happen. He did this willingly. In a very small way, I can kind of understand what it means to be separated from God. I can’t imagine going through this cancer without Jesus. I’d be facing all this alone—sure, I’d be with friends, but not with the Giver of Life, Jesus. He knew He would suffer, physically and spiritually. He had full knowledge. It’s not like me being surprised by cancer. I wasn’t expecting that, and I have to confess, I wouldn’t have chosen cancer. But God knows what the best plan is for me. I’m already seeing that He’s using my cancer to make me bold about speaking His truth, He’s using cancer to open up conversations that wouldn’t happen any other way. You see, He’s doing through me what is best. Rick and I praise God for His great kindness toward us. Don’t waste another day, pretending you’ll be okay without Jesus. You won’t. Come to Him, confess your sin, ask Him to forgive you and repent of that sin—leave it all behind. All you need is Jesus. If you’d like prayer or a Bible, let me know.

It’s weird to think of having cancer because I’ve never been really sick. Until 3 weeks ago, I took no medicine. Until 3 weeks ago, I had really not experienced pain. I had a chat with my niece this week. She called to see how I was doing. We had been talking about what we had learned from the Mayo doctors and what they were recommending. After about 10 minutes, she asked me how I could be calm about having cancer and getting chemo. I told her about Job. Then I told her a little bit about Jesus. Job. He was a man who was tested by God. He was righteous. He walked with the Lord and was faithful. So one day, Satan kind of taunted God. He accused Job of being righteous and faithful only because God had blessed him so abundantly. You see, Job was healthy, he had a beautiful family, he was successful, and he was wealthy. In response to Satan’s challenge, God allowed Satan to cause all kinds of bad things to happen to Job. He lost his family and all his possessions and money. Then Job developed a super-painful skin condition so now, that one thing he still had—his health—was gone. What a terrible situation! Everything he had—it was all gone. Satan fully expected Job to turn on God. He thought Job would totally give up on God, turn away from Him, and ditch all faith in God. So how did Job respond? He said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Incredible, right? Instead of losing his faith, Job blessed God! Job trusted God fully and completely, no matter what the circumstances. Jesus. I don’t think I need to tell you that Jesus suffered. He was rejected by family, He was hated by a whole bunch of people especially the Jewish leaders who were constantly after Him trying to kill Him. In the hours before Jesus was crucified, He suffered indescribable pain—He was beaten. He was whipped with a kind of whip that had sharp little bits of bone and glass embedded in the leather so that it caused deep wounds, then He had iron nails like railroad spikes pounded through His wrists and feet. More than that, Jesus suffered the wrath of God because He took the punishment for all the sins of believers for all time on Himself. He suffered total separation from God the Father, a pain beyond our comprehension. Did you know this: before any of this took place, Jesus knew exactly what would happen. He knew all this pain was coming His way. And He still didn’t run away. He accepted the pain and took the wrath of God to pay the penalty for believers’ sin, delivering all who put their faith in Jesus from this pain and spiritual death. He was completely calm in the face of all this. He never fought back. He didn’t try to argue His way out. He didn’t claim that it was unfair even though it was. He calmly accepted what God the Father had willed for Him. Jesus trusted God fully and completely. I explained about Job and Jesus to my niece. Job’s faith in God did not waver. His faith was calm and sure. Jesus’s faith never wavered. He trusted God no matter what. I do cry sometimes about my cancer. Sometimes they are tears of sadness, sometimes tears of tiredness over dealing with all this medical stuff and all the pain. But they are never tears of fear. I trust God. No matter what happens, I know my Savior and He knows me. And I do pray… I pray to remain faithful, and I pray for strength. I also remind myself of the many trials, the pain that so many people in the Bible experienced. If you need a Bible, or if you’d like to talk about this kind of calm and peace of Job and Jesus, give me a call.

Since my cancer diagnosis almost two weeks ago, I have been overwhelmed with the love that I have experienced. From my family, for one. My entire family was here the day I found out…our kids, our grandkids, my dad, my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. I mean, everyone. It was supposed to be a party for many family birthdays and Rick’s retirement. And we did celebrate. But our celebration was dampened with tears. Yet all those tears included more hugs and more expressions of love than I can tell you. My dad hugged me so close. My sister did…my brother…my son…my cousin…my stepdad. The love that surrounded Rick and me that day is impossible to describe, and it continues... And despite all this love from so, so many, this morning I had to ask the Lord for forgiveness for my unbelief. Why? Because last night, I had a time of doubt. A time of wondering why all this is happening…how is it possible? But to ask why, to doubt, and to wonder is to question God’s love and His plans for me. As if the very Maker of the universe might now know what He’s doing, and as if I would know better!! God always sees the big picture. You and I cannot. I have no idea why I have cancer. But I don’t need to know those answers. What I am choosing to focus on is this: I know that God is love and that He loves all His children (1 John 3:1). The Lord knows all my ways, He knows all my thoughts, and He knows my words before I even speak them (Psalm 139:2-4). Psalm 121 is my current favorite. The truth in that psalm is that God is my Keeper. He keeps me from all evil ways, He keeps me in my going out and my coming in now and forevermore…He keeps my life! (Psalm 121:7-8). Knowing that God, the maker of the heavens and the earth, is my Keeper, what else could I possibly need know? Amy Carmichael was a missionary in India for 53 years, from the early- to mid-1900s. She wrote a little book called, “If.” It’s a collection of thoughts on how serving the Lord challenges believers, and yet the rewards of serving and loving God is eternity with Him. Here’s a thought from “If”: If, I wonder why something trying is allowed, and press for prayer that it may be removed; If I cannot be trusted with disappointment, and cannot go on in peace under any mystery, Then I know nothing of Calvary love. May it be sufficient for me to know that the Lord will continue to sustain Rick and me through this trial of cancer, for the Lord has provided for us in this hour of trial more abundantly than I could ever ask or think. I pray that you will find this same peace, love, and comfort in the Lord Jesus Christ, now and forevermore. Let me know if I can pray for you, with you, or if you need a Bible.

(Please, please read this message.) God has given to each of us life—a physical, earthly life. God has also given each of us free will—He allows us to live our lives as we choose. God does not force His commands on anyone. In His Word, the Bible, He commands everyone to love Him and to love one another, but He doesn’t force us to live that way. Instead, God allows each of us to choose to live for himself or to live for God through Christ. It’s that simple. We all know there’s an end to this physical life. We know that, but we don’t like to talk or think about it. Instead, we live like death is a long way off, like we have time to “work” on our faith in the future, we have time to get around to that, we have time to change. We live as if we have control over how life unfolds. But in fact, we have no control over how anything in life unfolds. And, maybe life is shorter than you think. Things happen, right? For me, this has happened. I have pancreatic cancer. That’s my situation. This is what I’m facing. Hm. So, Rick and I have cried a lot of tears over it and wondered how this could be. I wonder how I can possibly be talking about myself and cancer in the same sentence…and yet it’s true. When the emotions of coping subside, I can honestly say that I’m truly not afraid. I am not worried. Yes, of course, I’m concerned with what the treatment might mean, how life will change, how much life I have left—those are natural thoughts to have in mind. But more than that, I truly believe that this is an opportunity that the Lord is using to somehow reach others with His truth. The calm and peace the Lord has given me is unnatural. It’s straight from Jesus Christ who said to His disciples, “My peace I give to you…let not your hearts be troubles, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:28). My daughter-in-law asked how I could be so calm. It’s because, while I may not know what my immediate future looks like, I know what my eternal future is and my faith in Jesus assures me of this truth. That truth based on my faith is the source of my calm, my peace, and my hope. For the last couple of months as pain has been so much a part of my days, my mind continually returns to James 1:3: “Count it all joy when you face trials of various kinds for you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance.“ And in persevering through the trials, God matures me, making me more like His Son. How could I want anything else than to be changed to be more like Jesus? So. You. Now what? What do you do to be assured of peace and calm, no matter what the storm? You pray that the Lord would work the miracle of spiritual life in you. You confess and repent of your sin, turn to Jesus, and seek to know and receive Him that you might find life in His Name. This is the number one priority in life. Jesus will turn no one away who comes to Him, genuinely seeking to know Him (John 6:37). Some of you may be close to believing, but for some reason, can’t quite believe yet. This is my daughter-in-law. I pray you will not give up, but will pray that Jesus would give you spiritual life. Pray this today. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.

For the last several weeks, I’ve had some stomach problems. Sometimes, it’s pretty painful. Often, it’s hard to get to sleep and stay asleep. And it’s mysterious. I’ve had a bunch of tests and scans, but nothing seems to be wrong with me. And, honestly, I’m getting tired of living with pain. I know I’m not alone in this. I know many of you also live with pain day after day. One of the truths I keep coming back to is that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. This means that He experienced all that we experience as humans, including pain and suffering. Did you know that? One of the pains we suffer is temptation. Do you think Jesus was ever tempted? You bet! Like us, Jesus was barraged with temptation to sin. Just before His ministry began, Jesus faced multiple temptations from Satan (Matthew 4:1–11). Now, Jesus had been in the wilderness for 40 days and all that time, He hadn’t eaten. He had to be starving by that time. Well, after not eating for more than a month, Satan tried to get Jesus to turn stones into bread to feed Himself. Jesus had the power to work miracles like this, and Satan knew it. And, wouldn’t hunger be a significant weakness for Jesus at that specific moment? How hungry would you be after not eating for an entire month? I think it would be impossible for anyone but Jesus to actually turn Satan down, and remain faithful to God. It would be unbelievably tempting to use power you know you have to make food, not only because of hunger but Jesus could put His power on proud display. Oh, how we love to show others how smart we are, how in control we are, by what we can do. But not Jesus. He was not controlled by hunger, pride, or power—He was not controlled by sin. He was controlled by His love for God. He completely depended on God. Jesus resisted Satan’s temptation, patiently waiting, fully trusting in God. Another example. The crowds loved Jesus at first. How could they not? He healed them from all sorts of diseases and health conditions, instantly and completely. Jesus fed massively large crowds—which means He created food. Who doesn’t love to get that kind of treatment? Free healthcare and free food. But when Jesus said He came from God and that the people should believe in Him, they turned on Him. Eventually, they screamed for His death. We know that part of the story, but did you ever think about what that means in terms of Jesus’s own pain and suffering? Jesus was rejected by His own neighbors and friends, even His own family. He was hated by the Jewish leaders, who were constantly plotting to kill Him during most of His ministry. These guys didn’t just disagree or dislike Jesus—they were intent on killing Him. It seems like Jesus certainly suffered feelings of loneliness, isolation, and abandonment. We know He experienced rejection and betrayal. And of course, we know Jesus suffered extreme physical pain as well. He was beaten and nailed to a cross, a bloody, bruised man who took the wrath of God on Himself in our place, and then died. You see how it is that Jesus has experienced all that we live with? There’s nothing He can’t identify with you on—no pain that you have that He can’t relate to. And that encourages me in my own pain. Jesus knows what I’m going through! It doesn’t make the pain go away, but I know He understands. I know my prayers are heard by my sympathetic Savior, who can sympathize with my pain because He’s endured more pain than I ever will. This is a lesson to me, to patiently wait and to fully trust in God. I don’t have to understand His plan because He knows exactly what is best for me. I’ll pray for you!

You know, I so want to love God with all my heart. I want to be loyal, obedient, kind, patient, filled with joy. I know God loves me. I know that Jesus loves me and that He gave His life to pay for all my sin—this is the greatest gift anyone could ever dream of receiving. So, in light of all that God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit have blessed me with—when I think of all that I have to be thankful for, both spiritual blessings and material blessings, why would I ever get irritated and impatient? Why would I act in unloving and selfish ways? I was like that this morning. One little thing bugged me, and here I am. Irritated and impatient. I open my Bible. In the book of John (chapters 13-17), I read about how Jesus spent the night before He died with His disciples. He washed their feet. He said one of them would betray Him. He commanded them to love on another, in the same way that He Himself loved them. He told one of His disciples, Peter, that he, who professed undying loyalty to Jesus, would repeatedly say that he didn’t even know Jesus. Jesus promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to them. Jesus gave them a lot to think about on this last night before He died. This certainly brings some perspective to my little problem—my problem is nothing compared to what Jesus faced that night. The other thing Jesus did that night was pray. What did He pray for? If it was us, we would pray for escape from death, right? Not Jesus. He prayed that God would be glorified…and He prayed for His disciples…and He even prayed for me! “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me” (John 17:20). Jesus prayed for all believers who would come. As He’s about to die for me, Jesus prayed for me! Every-single-day, constant prayer was how Jesus lived—Him, who was without sin. That says a lot about the importance of prayer, doesn’t it? Prayer is one of the ways that God has given us to connect with Him. It is a gift, so we have a way to talk to God. It’s pretty hard to have a relationship with someone you don’t talk to, right? So, as I consider how my morning went haywire with my irritation and impatience, I can see that one of the things missing for the last several days is spending time in prayer. When I neglect praying, my emotions take over—I’m irritable and impatient. Prayer keeps me in tune with what God desires, I am reminded of all I have to be thankful for. Prayer reminds me of what’s important, it takes my focus off of me and places my attention on the real treasure in my life, Jesus…His sacrifice for my sin, His love for me, His obedience to God no matter what the cost to Himself. When I pray, I’m humbled, I confess sin, and I am reunited with my Lord and Savior. Sin separates me from God. Prayer and confessing my sin reunites me with Him. Prayer restores my soul! How is it possible that I wouldn’t pray nonstop, just like Jesus?? Sin separates everyone from God. Maybe you are wandering through life, scared that this is all there is. Without Jesus, this is all there is. Faith in Jesus is the only way to real life. It doesn’t mean life turns into a bed of roses, and it doesn’t mean you just add church to your schedule. What it means is you consider your sin, you consider what Jesus did about sin, you confess your sin, and you pray that Jesus might have mercy on you and forgive you. There’s a cost—giving up your sin. Maybe you love your sin too much. Only you know. But the gift you receive is life through believing in Jesus. Think about it. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.

Rick and I have been studying the book of John. We are now in chapter 5, which begins with Jesus healing a man who’s been unable to walk for 38 years. For years, this poor man has been laying by a pool that would bubble from time to time—maybe there was a natural spring that fed the pool that caused the bubbling? No one knows, but there was this superstition that when the water began to bubble, the first person into the pool would be healed. Anyway, this man had been laying there, hoping to get into that bubbling water for a super-long time. Along comes Jesus. What do you think happened next? Jesus healed the man! Right then and there. One minute, the guy couldn’t even get himself into the water, and the next minute, he got up, picked up the mat he’d been laying on, and walked away. Amazing! You’d think there would be all kinds of joy from the people who were there, right? I mean, here’s someone who’s been in absolute misery for almost 40 years and bam! He’s completely healed. But no. We hear nothing about any rejoicing. All we read is that the Jewish leaders were mad, so mad they wanted to kill Jesus. Why? Because Jesus had healed the man on a Sabbath—and that was against their rules. They clearly couldn’t care less that this man was suddenly well. Now, let’s think about this…who can heal in this way? God. If Jesus can heal in the same way as God, who does that tell us Jesus is? God in the flesh. And that’s exactly what Jesus told them. He said, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17). What does this mean? It means that, like God, Jesus never stopped working!!! From the Old Testament, we read that God never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:3-4). How is it that God never sleeps? Because “He does not faint or grow weary” (Isaiah 40:28). God never gets weary—He never is tired and He never gets tired! From this, we can conclude that God is always working. Now, as God in the flesh, Jesus was both fully God and fully man. Being fully human, Jesus did get tired—one time, Jesus was so tired, He was sound asleep in the boat in spite of a raging storm going on (you can read about it in Mark 4:35-41). Jesus got emotional too—He got so angry that God’s house of worship had been turned into a market that He cleared everything out (John 2:15). He wept tears of sorrow—remember how, in the week before His death, Jesus wept over the people of Jerusalem because they rejected Him and the life He had to give them if they would only believe (Luke 19:41)? So while Jesus did get tired and emotional because He was fully man, Jesus also constantly did the work of God, because He was fully God. His claim to be God is what made the Jews mad. But here’s the thing. Jesus was not a madman, claiming something that He wasn’t. And He wasn’t a liar when He said He was God. He was God in the flesh and He had proof—His miracles, for one thing! Only God could do what Jesus did! So what happened to the man Jesus healed? We can’t be sure, but Jesus found him later on in the temple and told the man, “Sin no more” (John 5:14). That was not a suggestion. That was a command. Did the man obey? It doesn’t seem like it, because the Bible tells us the man went to the Jews and told these guys—the ones who wanted to kill Jesus—that it was Jesus who had healed him. The man turned Jesus in, his Healer. In spite of personally receiving the blessing of healing, the man refused to believe in Jesus. What about you? You have the chance to believe in Jesus and receive life, which only He can give. I pray that you won’t be like the healed man and refuse Jesus. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.

A bunch of my family stayed with Rick and I this past weekend—we had a houseful, and it was fun to spend time together. It also reminded me of a fatal flaw everyone suffers from—not just my family, but every human on the face of the earth. Pride. My dad is a proud man—proud of his kids, proud of his accomplishments, etc. His kids are the same—proud of our kids, proud of what we’ve accomplished. But that’s not the kind of pride I’m talking about. The kind I noticed is more like a “know-it-all” attitude. It’s an attitude that revolves around Me. It says “Me” is most important. It’s a sneaky thing, pride. Here’s what I noticed this weekend… First, I noticed pride in refusing to listen to others. Listening is hard when pride gets in the way because I’m busy thinking about what I plan to say rather than paying attention to what my brother or sister is saying. Second, pride was expressed in attitudes of “I know best, you don’t.” Or, “I’m right, you’re wrong.” Third, pride spews out when I criticize my brother. Fourth, pride takes over when I condemn some action with the attitude, “Well, that’s not what I would have done.” Plus, the older we get, the more pronounced our pride becomes! We are set in our ways and know we are right. Can you relate to any of this? What does the Bible say about pride? God hates it. “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6). Why? One of the reasons (there’s lots more!) is because of how pride can damage our relationships. An example. My brother thinks he knows how to cook on my stove better than I do, and he told me so. Well, I can respond by getting irritated (because obviously, I know better, right??), and then cling to my superior attitude. That’s pride. Or, I can be humble and let it go. Another example. Whenever misunderstanding exists between me and Rick, or if harsh words have been spoken, I can be full of pride and refuse to forgive or ask for forgiveness. What does that gain me? Well, I get to nurse my hurt feelings, I get to be sure I don’t deserve this kind of treatment, and I can be all high and mighty. Result? Distance, silence, tension. There’s this big divide between us. Yuk. It’s only when one of us humbly seeks forgiveness—and the other is humbly and graciously forgiven that our relationship is restored. Interesting, don’t you think, that restoration requires Rick and me—both of us—to let go of our pride, and choose humility instead. So, clearly, the opposite of pride is humility. When Jesus gave up His rightful place in heaven to come to earth and dwell as God in the flesh among sinful people, He demonstrated absolute and complete humility. When He was wrongly accused and wrongly sentenced to death, He silently took the scourging, beating, and mocking of the Roman soldiers and the Jews (Matthew 27:27-43). He didn’t fight back. He didn’t get angry. When Jesus hung on that cross, did you know that He prayed for those who had nailed Him to the cross? His prayer was not a request for revenge! Unbelievably, Jesus prayed that God would forgive these men who had pounded nails through His hands and feet into the wood of the cross (Luke 23:34). Hanging there, people mocked Jesus some more, saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself.”  And that was true. He could have saved Himself by calling in angels to His rescue. Or by His sacrificial death, He could save those who would believe in Him. He could not do both. Jesus stayed on that cross. He humbly died, an undeserved death, so that you and I could find life by believing in Him. I pray that you’ll choose to believe in Jesus. If you need a Bible or prayer, let me know.

If there is any character in the Bible that you might know about besides Jesus, it’s probably Judas. You might not know anything other than his name and maybe what he did. He’s the guy who betrayed Jesus. What can we learn from Judas, the betrayer? Jesus called each of His twelve disciples. He chose them. None of them were randomly selected, none joined this team except the men that Jesus specifically chose (John 15:16). We know from the Bible that Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John from their fishing careers. And we know that when Jesus told Matthew, “Follow Me,” that Matthew abandoned his tax collecting business (Matthew 9:9). The Bible doesn’t tell us how the other seven began to follow Jesus so we don’t know about Judas’s situation. However, we do know that at some point, there came to be twelve disciples who made up this inner circle of close followers. Depending on timing, these guys spent two to three years hearing Jesus preach to the crowds. They got personal instruction from Him. Jesus’s teaching was no ordinary teaching—definitely not your everyday pastor. Jesus taught with such authority that the people were astonished by His teaching (Mark 1:22). Judas was there for all of it. He heard Jesus teaching. Jesus worked thousands of miracles. As you read about Jesus’s stunning  miracles, one after another, it’s important not to miss the glorious magnitude of them! He changed the lives of thousands of people. Blind people could see. Paralyzed people could walk—not just hobble along, but walk! One woman had been bent over for 18 years. Jesus touched her, and immediately she stood up straight (Luke 13:10). He healed a man’s son long distance—Jesus was in Cana, the man’s son was in Capernaum, 16 miles away. No touching necessary, simply the power of Jesus’s words, “Your son will live” (John 4:50). Jesus raised people from the dead. The most incredible display of this is a friend, Lazarus, who had died. His corpse had been lying in a tomb for 4 days. Four days—think of that! Jesus came and called, “Lazarus, come out”, and Lazarus, made alive by the power of Jesus words, walked out of that tomb alive (John 11:43). Judas saw these miracles. And still, he betrayed Jesus. It’s beyond comprehension that Judas—having heard Jesus teach with his own ears and seen Jesus’s miracles with his own eyes—could turn on Jesus. And for what? A little bit of money. How could Judas do such a thing? Well, how can anyone hear or read what Jesus did in His lifetime—His teaching, His powerful miracles—and still say, “I don’t believe.” That’s what Judas did. He refused to believe in Jesus. Despite his front row seat with Jesus, it was not enough for Judas. He rejected Jesus when he rejected the truth Jesus taught: that life comes through believing in Jesus and only Jesus. Instead of life, Judas opted for a few bucks. What happened to Judas? Well, he’s in hell (Acts 1:25). Jesus came to give life to those who believe in Him. And at the same time, faith in Jesus rescues those who believe in Him from the eternity of hell. It’s really that simple. Judas had a choice: life through believing in Jesus or eternal hell. Everyone faces that same choice. Jesus is the source of life. The cost is belief in Him. I pray you’ll see that His priceless gift, life, is worth any cost. If you need a Bible or prayer, let me know.

Jesus talked a lot about self-righteousness. And he condemned it. This is what the word “condemn” means: to express total, complete, and absolute disapproval of something. Jesus rejected self-righteousness. He condemned it publicly and repeatedly. He hated self-righteousness then. He still hates it today. In His harshest condemnation of self-righteousness, Jesus went after the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His time. Here’s what Jesus taught the people about the Pharisees. He told the people to listen to what the Pharisees said that was written in Scripture because the Scriptures are 100% true. So, if the Pharisees were speaking from Scripture, what they were saying was true and therefore should be obeyed (Matthew 23:3). But Jesus immediately told the people not to behave like the Pharisees—their behavior was out of sync with what they taught. They were hypocrites. In Matthew 23, Jesus slammed the Pharisees. I mean, He really let them have it right between the eyes. Jesus skewered them for lying, greed, selfishness, and putting on a show of acting holier-than-thou. He blasted them for their lack of mercy, injustice and unfaithfulness to what God’s Word actually said. You see, the Old Testament always taught that loving God and loving others was what He desired from true believers. God has always wanted people to genuinely love Him and love others. Acting in supposed “holy” ways – putting on a show and saying the “right” words has never been acceptable to God. Self-righteousness was not just a problem in Jesus’s time. We all have this problem. I do and so do you. We all think we have some degree of goodness in us. Why is that? Because we compare ourselves to others. It’s always easy to look at someone else, and think, “Thank goodness I’m not like that person.” Here’s the problem with that thinking: God is not comparing you to other people. God is not looking at what you’ve done in order to decide if you make the cut or not. He’s looking at your heart, at what you believe in your heart. You see, what you believe in your heart is known by the Lord because He knows everything about you. There’s nothing He doesn’t know about you. There’s nothing He doesn’t know about me. That means there’s no hiding anything from God—not what you’ve done and not what’s in your heart or mine. God knows if you truly have put your faith in Jesus or if you’re depending on your own self-righteousness. If you want a yardstick to compare yourself to, to get an idea of what God thinks of your goodness, your self-righteousness, look at Jesus. He’s the One to compare yourself to, not others. He was sinless. He was perfect. Try telling yourself you’re good against that standard. It’s impossible. That’s what makes Jesus, His sinless life, His death, and His resurrection so precious. He gave His sinless life to pay for the sins of all who would believe in Him. The self-righteous heart says, “I can do this on my own, I don’t need Jesus.” The humble heart prays for mercy, repents of sin and seeks the forgiveness that is only possible through the Lord Jesus. I pray this will be the day that the Holy Spirit moves on your heart and brings life to your soul. If you would like prayer or a Bible, let me know.

There’s a story in the book of Luke, called “The Rich Ruler” (Luke 18:18–30). It’s about an encounter Jesus had as he preached and healed on the east side of the Jordan River (today, this area is the country of Jordan). As usual, crowds of people surrounded Him. So, this man, described as a rich ruler, had a question for Jesus. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” It’s not the first time someone has asked Jesus this question. Nicodemus had that question in his mind when he came to Jesus (John 3:1–21). Another time, when Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan, that story was triggered by a man asking the same thing (Luke 10:25–37). How do I get eternal life? Good question. Now, Jesus was the master at exposing sin—especially those who thought they were without sin. So, Jesus answers this young ruler’s question by telling him to obey the commandments. But the man wants more, he’s after specifics. He asks, “Which ones?” (Matt 19:18). That tells us something about this man—he’s interested in getting the task done, so he can move along with life. He wants to check the right commandment boxes off his to-do list. Jesus patiently answers again. He gives the guy a list of commandments: Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t lie. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself. Now, to disobey any commandment is sin. So, the ruler says, with great confidence, “All of this I have kept.” He believed he had kept all these commandments perfectly. Really? Did you catch that last commandment? Love your neighbor as yourself. Let’s talk about that. Briefly (so much more could be said), what this involves is to treat everyone around you, day after day, hour by hour, minute by minute, with the same level of attention and care you devote to yourself. No slipping up. Can anyone truly do this? Try going for a single hour without your thoughts centering on a two-letter word: me. “Me” is at the center of all I think about, all that I talk about, and all that I do. Think about it: I’m planning this, I want that, I don’t feel good, I don’t have time, I don’t have enough, I’m tired, I’m hungry…you get the picture. It’s an impossible command. To love your neighbor as yourself is impossible without God. And that’s Jesus’s point. This man is confident he’s perfectly obedient, and Jesus is making clear that no one—including this guy—can keep the commandments perfectly. Jesus really wanted this guy to get the point. So He told the man to go sell all his stuff, give the money to the poor, and come follow Him. To give all his money to the poor would put this guy’s money where his mouth was. It would prove he was willing to take care of his neighbors the way he took care of himself. His money kept him fed, clothed, and comfortable…and his money could do the same for his neighbors—feed them, clothe them, make them more comfortable. But no. The ruler became very sad—he wouldn’t do that. Now don’t misunderstand. Jesus did NOT tell the guy to sell everything because that would “earn” him eternal life. He told him to sell everything because it forced this man to acknowledge he, in fact, was not keeping all God’s commands. He couldn’t. He was a sinner in need of Jesus. And since he refused to believe in Jesus, there was no eternal life ahead for him. He decided a comfortable life on earth was worth more to him than eternal life. Maybe later on he reconsidered and repented and trusted in Jesus. If he did, he got the message and did inherit eternal life. If he didn’t, he’s paying an eternal price in hell. The reward of faith in Jesus is life, now and forever. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.

Do you know the story of Jesus washing His disciples feet? You can read it in John 13:1–20. Here’s the story. It’s about supper time. Jesus is with His disciples, as usual. Today is special because it’s Passover, which is one of the three main ceremonies the Jews observed each year. In ancient days, people walked a lot. The roads and paths were dirty and dusty. Walking meant feet got dirty and dusty. So you washed your feet when entering a home. Except, you didn’t wash your own feet. Instead, the lowest-ranking servant did that for you. Not this night. The disciples are too proud to offer to wash everyone else’s feet—they wouldn’t stoop to such a menial task. So, here’s Jesus. He takes off His outer robe. He gets a towel. He fills a pan with water. And He proceeds to kneel before each of these proud disciples and humbly washes all those dirty feet. Amazingly, this includes Judas—who had already agreed to betray Jesus—which Jesus already knew because as God in the flesh, He knows everything. Jesus washing their feet shocked the disciples. That Jesus would do such a humiliating task was His point—Jesus was showing them what humility is. He wanted them to understand what it meant to serve others selflessly. So He showed them. Fast forward a little bit. Like, an hour, maybe a little longer. Judas has left. He’s on his way to put the betrayal plan in motion. Here sit the other eleven men, with their humbly-washed-by-Jesus clean feet. And do you know what they are doing? Arguing about who, among themselves, is the greatest. What??? That’s outrageous! Didn’t Jesus not just teach them a lesson in humility? Not just teach, but demonstrate humility? And now they’re arguing about who’s the greatest? Talk about pride! Did they already forget what Jesus had done? Didn’t they get it? It’s like their brains were Teflon—what Jesus had done bounced right off of them. Brother! And then I look at myself. Before I rush to criticize the disciples, how often do I do the same thing? I read what Jesus taught. About loving Him as my number one priority. About loving others, putting others ahead of me. About total commitment. About forgiveness. About taking the log out of my own eye before worrying about the speck in Rick’s eye. About being generous and patient. About keeping my eyes focused on the treasures of heaven, not the world. About prayer. I’m right there with the disciples—forgetting or ignoring what Jesus teaches us in the Bible. Which brings me to my point. It’s easy to read about the disciples and think, “How could they be so blind? How could they totally miss the point?” But then, how is it that I don’t put Jesus’s words into practice in my own life? Jesus came to earth to rescue sinners. Jesus told people again and again to repent. He says the same thing in the Bible to you and to me. Repent, repent. Everyone must repent and turn to Him. Jesus came to take my sin (and yours) on Himself and to take God’s wrath for my sin (and yours) in my place. And yet, like the believing disciples, I still sin. What do I do about that? I repent. And I again ask for the Lord’s forgiveness. Thankfully, He is patient with me. And gracious to forgive me. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.