Who’s Ready to Give Up?

“Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” – John 12:25

Jesus had just made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding a donkey colt through a cheering crowd who laid palm branches before Him. They were sure their Messiah had arrived to save Israel from its oppressors. Until Jesus spoke.

In John 12:23, Jesus told the crowd before Him, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Many of His followers were thrilled: “YES! It’s about time! Gather your army and drive out the Romans and set up your throne in Jerusalem! We’re behind you all the way!”

But in verse 24, Jesus lowered the boom. His idea of “being glorified” was much different than theirs: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” He went on to say: “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (v. 25).

What on earth was He talking about? Jesus’ fans were ready to follow their Messiah to the death … if he went charging full-speed into a Roman garrison. But they refused to throw their lives away for a Messiah who wasn’t even going to put up a fight. It sounded like He was just planning to roll over and die.

In this passage, Jesus shares three powerful truths at the heart of our Christian faith. The decisions we make each day should be grounded in the following three truths. (Statements in quotation marks are from Scottish theologian William Barclay.)

Truth #1 (v. 24): “Only by death comes life.” As Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” What is true in agriculture is equally true in the spiritual realm. The great 2nd Century church leader Tertullian famously said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” All but one of Jesus’ 12 apostles were martyred for their faith. Now, you will probably never face death or imprisonment because of your beliefs. But Christ has still called you to die. Your old selfish way of living, your old negativity, your old unforgiveness … all need to die. It’s when our old nature dies that we can really live for God.

Truth #2 (v. 25): Only by giving up our lives do we retain life. People who live for me, myself and I are usually motivated by two things: their own selfish cravings and security. Selfish  people chase after pleasure and security. But Jesus calls His followers to sacrifice—even “hate”—both pleasure & security. I urge you to hate your own selfishness; hate your own laziness; hate sitting on the sidelines. Instead, LOVE giving your life away in service to Christ and others.

Truth #3 (v. 26): “Only by service comes greatness.” So many people live their lives serving one person: themselves. And at the end of their lives, there’s not much to show for it. I’m so thankful that so many Christians I know are the exact opposite of that. They live to serve Christ and others.

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of officiating the Celebration of Life for Mele Bond, a sweet lady who served at my church for more than 30 years. Mele embodied this third truth: She lived a “great” life, because she was such a “great” servant.

For many years, Mele stood at the front door of our church shaking hands and handing out bulletins to our attenders. She greeted everyone with her great big, loving smile. No one would have guessed that Mele had Multiple Sclerosis. She didn’t talk about how it affected her health. She just kept serving. About six years ago, when her legs got too weak, Mele could no longer stand and hand out bulletins. So … she sat on her walker and handed out bulletins with the same big, loving smile.

In the last three years, Mele’s MS reached a point where she was too weak to get out of bed. So, did she finally stop serving? Nope! From her bed, she crocheted beanies for family members, friends and the homeless. Whenever I visited, she had a bag of hats for me to give away. She refused to stop serving. Anyone who knew Mele would agree: She lived a GREAT life. You see, only by service comes greatness.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Pastor Dane’s new daily devotional, “40 Days in Proverbs,” is now available on Amazon.com. Join us on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley, or livestream us on Facebook or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Are You Shining Like Jimmy?

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” – Luke  8:16

Hubert Humphrey, who served as Vice President under President Lyndon Johnson, was narrowly defeated by Richard Nixon in the 1968 presidential election. Ten years later, Humphrey died of cancer. Dignitaries from around the world gathered at his funeral to say “good-bye” to their old friend and colleague. But one attender was shunned and ignored. That person was former president Richard Nixon, who had gone through the shame of Watergate just four years earlier. He was back in Washington for the first time since his resignation from the presidency. Nobody at Humphrey’s funeral would look at him, much less speak to him.

Then a very special thing happened. President Jimmy Carter, who was in the White House at the time, came in and saw Nixon standing all by himself. President Carter went to him, stuck out his hand and smiled as though he were greeting a family member. To everyone’s surprise, the two men embraced, and Carter said, “Welcome home, Mr. President! Welcome home!” Newsweek magazine later wrote, “If there was a turning point in Nixon’s long ordeal in the wilderness, it was that moment and that gesture of love and compassion.”

Why on earth would President Carter do such a thing? Well, because that’s what Jesus would have done. Jimmy Carter may not have been our greatest president, but as a committed follower of Jesus Christ, he believed he was called to shine the light of Christ. And twice a month in Plains, Georgia, Carter still teaches a Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church. At 94 years old, he’s still shining the light of Christ.

Jesus tells us in the book of Luke, verse 8:16, “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” In the Bible, “light” is often used as a symbol for God’s Word. But in Scripture light is also a symbol for the truth. So, what is Jesus saying in verse 16 of Luke 8? He is saying, “Just as no one lights a lamp during a power outage and hides it in the closet, no Christian who understands God’s word should hide it.” Followers of Christ, who know the truth about salvation, forgiveness and heaven and hell, should never keep that truth to themselves. William Barclay says it so well: “Verse 16 stresses the essential conspicuousness of the Christian life. Christianity is in its very nature something which must be seen.” 

Think about those words. The Christian life should be conspicuous. Our Christianity “must be seen.” You and I are to proclaim God’s word openly to all who are willing to listen. We must proclaim the truth both with our words and our actions. Our faith is to be lived out in plain view. And in verse 17, Jesus stresses the fact that if we DO try to keep our faith hidden, it will eventually be revealed anyway: “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”

That’s a bit scary when you think about it. Many Christians are secretly addicted to porn, and they’re convinced that “Nobody will ever know.”  Yeah, they will. Sooner or later….they’ll know. Many Christians never crack open their Bibles outside of church, and they don’t think that anyone will ever find out. Yeah, they will. Sooner or later…it’ll be revealed. We try hard to hide our faults and our skeletons in the closet from other people. We hope they’ll never find out. Sometimes I’ve shuddered as I’ve considered what it would be like to have my most inappropriate thoughts and my most sinful actions projected on a big screen for all to see. That’d be a nightmare!

But in the context of what Jesus says in verse 17, I don’t think he plans to project our sins on a big screen. What Jesus most likely is referring to is the reality that if you as a follower of Christ hide your Christianity and God’s truth from your friends and family, they’ll discover your secret sooner or later. Imagine how terrible it would be if your family and friends discover that you’re a Christian after they’ve died. “What? You mean you knew all these years where I was going after I died, and you didn’t warn me? You knew how to make it to heaven, and you didn’t tell me? I didn’t think I knew any Christians, and you were one all this time! Why on earth didn’t you tell me?”

You may be one of those Christians who has said for years, “There are two things I never discuss: politics and religion.” Well, la-dee-da! It’s time to change your policy and start talking more openly about Jesus. One of these days your friends and family will find out that you’re serious about your faith. I hope and pray that when they do, it’s not too late.

If you as a Christian are learning God’s truth, but you’re not sharing God’s truth, God will see to it that your growth is stunted, and you’ll start losing much of the knowledge you learned. Just like most things in life, if you don’t use it, you lose it. We must receive God’s Word with open ears, open minds and open hearts. And then we must share God’s word with open eyes, open mouths and open hands. So, do what Jimmy Carter does: Get yourself off the couch and shine your light in this dark world.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

Remember These Two Words

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” – Revelation 3:20

It’s without a doubt one of the strangest prayers I’ve ever read. The year was 1540, and Martin Luther was well underway leading the Protestant Reformation. One day Luther received a letter from his good friend Frederick Myconius, who was deathly ill. Frederick had written Luther a farewell letter, thanking him for his friendship and sharing his final goodbye.

Well, Luther read the letter and immediately wrote his reply, which included these shocking words: “I command thee in the name of God to live because I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church…The Lord will never let me hear that thou are dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God.”

Up until the final ten words, Luther’s prayer sounds arrogant and self-absorbed. It’s as if Luther believed prayer was for the purpose of bending God to his own selfish will instead of bending his own will to God’s. But the final ten words absolutely transform his prayer. Perhaps Luther understood something about prayer that we don’t.

Let me ask you: What is the point of prayer? What is its purpose? Some Christians might answer, “Well, prayer gives me a chance to talk to God and share my needs with Him.” Others might respond, “Prayer makes me feel better. It allows me to get things off my chest, and it calms me down.” These answers reveal some of the benefits of prayer, but they don’t reveal the purpose of prayer. According to God’s word, what is the point of prayer? 

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 gives us the answer. It’s the longest prayer of Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus had just celebrated the Last Supper with his twelve disciples, and he was just a few hours away from being arrested, beaten and led to the cross. And he began his prayer in John 17:1 by saying, “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son that Your Son may glorify You.” No less than eight times in this great prayer, Jesus mentions God’s glory. So, what is the purpose of prayer? The main purpose of prayer is to bring GLORY to God.

Glory—When it comes to prayer, this is a critically important word that you and I must understand and embrace. Otherwise, we will most likely misuse and abuse prayer. Far too many Christians hold on to the erroneous belief that prayer is about changing God. But prayer isn’t about me changing God. Prayer is about God changing me. Prayer isn’t about bringing myself glory. Prayer is about bringing God glory.

Now, that’s easier said than done. Let’s get really practical here. Sooner or later, we’re all going to get sick. So, when we are ill, how should we pray? How about like this: “Dear Lord, if it will glorify You, take away this illness. Heal me! But if it will glorify You more, then let me remain sick. And while I am sick, give me the power to glorify You through my illness.” Wow! Do you see how powerful prayer can be—on so many different levels—when we understand and embrace the true purpose of prayer: to bring glory to God?

But there’s a second vital word that you and I must also understand and embrace: ACCESS. You see, prayer is the means by which Jesus is given access to our lives. It has been said that God interferes in the affairs of men by invitation only. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Usually when this verse is quoted, it’s used to urge nonChristians to accept Christ into their lives. But in Revelation 3, Jesus was speaking to Christians who had, in some way or another, shut Jesus out of their lives. So, there Jesus was, patiently knocking at their heart’s door asking them to let him come back in. Why? Because these messed-up Christians had issues, and Jesus wanted to help them with their issues. If only they would let him in!

So, prayer is about giving Jesus an open invitation to come into our lives and have full access to our issues. And—this is the hard part—we give him full permission to deal with them in whatever way he sees fit. And that’s ALL of them: our attitudes, our marriages, our children, our finances, our health, our church … even our President. We can’t hold anything back. We need to invite Christ to move in each and every one of our issues for his glory.

With weak, trembling hands Frederick Myconius read Martin Luther’s letter and prayer. And surprise, surprise! His health was restored. Once again he was able to join Luther in his work, and he even outlived him by two months. Luther’s strange prayer had been miraculously answered. Is it surprising? It shouldn’t be. Amazing answers to prayer become the norm when we give God full access to our lives, lifting up each prayer for His glory.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 am.