“Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head.” – Matthew 27:30

This is Jesus. The Christ. The Messiah. The Son of God. Our Lord and Savior. Humiliated, spit on, beaten. The One present at creation, through Whom all things were made, and Who even then held all things together. Take a good look…

At times in recent years (and in fact, across centuries) a toxic, distorted, and even demonic approach to Christianity fixated on strength and power has had far too much influence. Centered on powerful people or the need to make the church more powerful, such an approach, while perhaps well-intentioned, has turned people’s attention away from this Jesus and toward human leaders and structures.

Yes, Christ will return in absolute victorious triumph over every evil. However, He doesn’t call us to style ourselves, our churches, or our movement around that kind of dominance. That belongs to Him alone. Jesus calls us to follow Him in humility and humiliation. Just as He came to serve, suffer, and die to save the lost of the world, He calls His followers today to serve, suffer, and even die to save those who remain separated from God by sin.

We must move away from our fixation on celebrity Christians with big personalities and big ministries. Over and over we see what a disaster that is as those individuals plunge into sin, taking the faith of their followers with them. We must focus our eyes and the efforts of our ministries on lovingly and gently pointing people to the only personality Who matters and Who will never fail us – our Savior, Who went to every length to save us, suffering, dying, and rising from the dead, so that all who believe in Him will likewise rise to eternal life.

“And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ And again he denied it with an oath: ‘I do not know the man.'” – Matthew 26:71-72

What would it take for you to act like you “do not know the man”? At work? At school? With friends? With family? As traditional, orthodox Christianity becomes less and less socially acceptable, these questions will matter more and more. We praise Jesus loud and proud on Sunday morning, but are we clear to everyone around us that we know Jesus every other day and in every other place?

How much pressure, and of what sort, would it take for you to say that “you don’t know the man”? Never assume it couldn’t happen to you! Peter broke because of fear and so could we. If we never think about it, we’re unlikely to withstand the pressure when it comes.

So what would be most likely to get you to claim you don’t know Jesus? Would it be the threat of your reputation being destroyed for knowing Jesus? Losing your career or business? Financial ruin? Losing your home? The loss of close friendships? The end of your marriage? Family strife? Imprisonment? Torture? Death?

Where do you see pressure to deny Christ being irrelevant and where do you see yourself being vulnerable? Ask God to reveal this to you and to strengthen you in those vulnerable areas. Ask God to help you love Jesus more than those precious things. Even if the pressure never comes, your faith and love for Christ will be stronger for having thought and prayed through these questions.

“Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.”
– Psalm 19:12-13

This is a great prayer!!! It covers the two categories of sins we commit – those we intend to commit and those we don’t. We need God’s conviction, forgiveness, and cleansing for both. We must take sin very seriously – after all Christ died to deal with your sins and mine! Thankfully, in Christ we know that we are forgiven for our sins when we repent, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

However, though we’re forgiven and freed from the power of our sins by Christ, we’re still called to battle against them. We’re called to actively pursue the holiness of Christ Who lives in us. We must regularly inspect our hearts, souls, words, and actions and confess the sins we discover. We must swiftly confess every sin when we become aware of it and ask God’s help in making us more aware.

Our salvation doesn’t give us permission to ignore the sin in our life (intentional or unintentional), but to declare war on our sins because we’re saved from them. In Christ we’re made blameless and because we’re made blameless, we’re called to pursue a life that is blameless.

Cleanse us, O Lord!

“Peter said to him, ‘Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!’ And all the disciples said the same.” – Matthew 26:35

It wouldn’t be many hours before Peter’s confident words proved false. Fear grabbed hold of him and Peter loudly and angrily denied Christ to save his own skin. Before we judge, we’d probably have done the same thing if we were there.

The good news is that in Christ, there’s another chance! The very message of the gospel is about the forgiveness, healing, and restoration of the things we’ve messed up. Christ provides numerous second chances and Peter received his. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to Peter and restored him to service and ministry. It’s a beautiful moment that reminds us that until we die, we’re never too far gone to be loved and restored by Jesus Christ.

However, that restoration would be meaningless if Peter merely repeated his error. Fortunately he didn’t! Peter went on to eventually die for Jesus after a long and fruitful ministry. What changed? Certainly nothing about Peter himself. What changed was that after Christ ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit into the world to live in the heart of every Christ-follower. He is a Spirit of boldness and not fear!

During the many subsequent times Peter faced imprisonment, suffering, and death, he didn’t do so as Peter, brash and fearful. He faced them as Christ-in-Peter, a Spirit-filled man of boldness and power. The Holy Spirit’s presence transformed Peter. That same transforming power lives within every follower of Jesus. However, we must let go of the control over ourselves we enjoy so much and yield it to God the Spirit Who lives within us. Yield yourself to God’s Spirit and discover all He has in store for you!

“God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’’” – Exodus 3:14

God is the great I AM. He is. We need not doubt. He is eternally present. His existence depends on nothing and no one else. He isn’t a relic of the past, nor dependent on the approval of the present. Though He may feel distant at times, He is never distant. He is.

He is present at all times and in all places. He is simultaneously astride time and present in each moment. He is unshakable and sovereign, creating and sustaining a universe of order and beauty. His nature never changes – He is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. He is forgiving AND just. He is the I AM.

Praise Him! Praise Him today, praise Him tomorrow, praise Him everyday!

Revelation 4:11:

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”