Seeing and Believing

John 14:8-11 KJV

Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. [9] Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? [10] Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. [11] Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

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Phillip did not believe all that Jesus taught. After many months of walking with Jesus, Phillip was not sure. He was present during all the miracles and wisdom Jesus shared. He saw food multiplied miraculously and he saw dead children raised back to life. Yet, in the stillness, away from the people, Phillip admits, he isn’t sure Jesus and the Father are one. He may have believed when the miracles were happening, but away from the supernatural wonders, he regressed to doubt.

Doubt is a poison that steals our victory. The Lord said no man who is double-minded will receive anything from Him (James 1:7). In modern times we see few miracles and our precious Jesus is in the presence of the Father. We do not have the Lord with us like Phillip did. However, like Phillip, we may say to the Lord, “show us and we will believe.” But the Lord responds to that by saying you must first believe and then you will see (Heb 11:6). He doesn’t offer proof to boost our confidence. Instead, he gives us the Word of God as our proof.

Phillip had physical proof, he saw the miracles, and still, he doubted Jesus. We do not see any miracles and we also doubt Jesus. So, it seems like doubt is a long-standing destroyer of the works of God. Whether there are signs and wonders or not, doubt remains (John 4:48). As modern believers we must stop using the excuse that we do not see miracles and therefore it is impossible not to doubt. This is a lie. Phillip saw the miracles and he doubted. We don’t see the miracles and we doubt. Clearly, demanding proof will never accomplish the will of God. Rather, an innocent and childlike trust in God combined with a decision to believe will result in confidence in the Lord.

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Lord, please help me always have confidence in You. When you are moving and when you are silent, let me be confident. Help me keep my confidence when things are not going as I expect. Help me never blame you or demand an explanation from you. Instead, please give me the gift of faith that stands. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Testifying or Bragging?

John 12:17-19 WEB

The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it. [18] For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign. [19] The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”

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Jesus did a wonderful miracle, he raised Lazarus from the dead. Not only did he raise him, but Jesus did it after Lazarus was buried and dead for four days. The people that were there to grieve for Lazarus saw what Jesus did. And now, they were repeating the story and causing many to look for Jesus. The Lord, through his ministry commonly told people to keep their miracles a secret (Mat 9:29-30). But this sign was too big to keep silent. So, they testified, and many came to Christ.

How do we know when we are testifying and when we are bragging? That is a huge issue in modern society. We live in a time when self-promotion is rampant and often leads to success. Yet the word teaches us not to boast about our accomplishments (1 Sam 2:3). It can even be a boast to tell what God is doing in our lives. When we are right with God, we do not have to prove we are right with God. That comes from ego and self-promotion. We do not have to brag about our blessings. We should brag on God alone. He is our boast.

We can often tell when God has intervened in someone’s life. God will begin to fix what is broken and line up a believer with their destiny. But having healing or destiny is not something to brag about. Having a destiny in Christ should lead to our silence. We may at appropriate times share our calling with others. After all, we still need people even when we are solidly in Christ. But in general, it is not something we should be bragging about. Rather, we should treasure the miracles and share them when led by the Holy Spirit, so they lead others to Christ.

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Lord, give me the wisdom to see when I am testifying and leading others to you, and when I am bragging and harming others. Take pride and ego away, Lord, and leave a tender heart prepared to receive from you.  Help me receive the wisdom to keep silent. Lead me by your Holy Spirit and let my only boast be you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.   

The Light of Life

John 8:12 WEB

Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

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How do you and I walk in darkness? We keep things hidden. We have secrets. Secret meetings, secret small group gatherings, secret whispers. All of these are the opposite of walking in the light. In the light, we do not keep secrets. We may not tell everyone everything, that would be foolish, but we live a transparent lifestyle.

The word says this transparency proves we do our works in God (John 3:19-21). That means a lot to me. I want to get to the final judgment and be accepted as a citizen of heaven. So, walking in the light feels like a safeguard against secret sin. Hidden sin can be hard to face. It can be hard to tell people something they did not know that makes us look bad. We get trapped keeping our secrets.

Any Sunday we can go to the altar and confess our wrongdoing to a prayer warrior. We can have our walk healed. But. Then the person you prayed with may gossip about you and you could face social repercussions. What do you do? Use wisdom and share with a trustworthy source. And if there is no trustworthy source, tell Jesus. He will never fail you or humiliate you.

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Lord Jesus, forgive me for keeping secrets. I turn away from that practice and choose to walk in the light. Help me live healthy transparency before you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Silently

John 1:19-21 WEB

This is John’s testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” [20] He declared, and didn’t deny, but he declared, “I am not the Christ.” [21] They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”

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Neither Jesus nor John the Baptist was in the habit of telling people what their spiritual inheritance and names were. It seems from the gospels that John the Baptist was Elijah who was to come before Christ. Also, John the Baptist seemed to know what his purpose was and what he was doing. He knew he was there to announce Christ. Still, if John the Baptist was Elijah, why didn’t he say so? Because he was not Elijah.

He was John. And John did not feel the need to justify himself. More, he had the wisdom not to expose himself. Jesus behaved in a similar manner. When asked if he was the Messiah Jesus would remain silent. At some point in his life, Jesus realized who he was and began to grow in the grace to carry his destiny. And that Grace gave him the humility to know who he was without having to tell anyone.

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Lord Jesus, please give me the understanding I need to be as wise as a serpent but as gentle as a dove, just like you. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.