Radical Housecleaning

In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" John 2:14-16

REFLECTION
Today let’s have an honest look inside our churches, inside our houses and inside our hearts and minds… Covering up, throwing away the evidence will fool some, but not the One who knows everything about us. Deleting our browser cache and history will not help, because Someone is keeping the records and he is looking straight through our masquerades and right into our hearts.
What Would Jesus Do with our mess? Well, there’s only one way to find out: invite Him to drive out our bad desires, take away our unholy thoughts as prisoners of war and change our minds so that we long to do God's will. What if your brothers and sisters could read your mind? What if your pastor could download your memory and show your thoughts and secret desires on a big screen in church next Sunday? Scary thought, uh?

PRAYER
Dear Lord, I am a sinner and I need to protect myself against the spiritual forces that try to invade my life, overshadow my faith, steal my joy and take away my inner peace. Come into my life, strong Saviour, please do your radical housecleaning job today! I need to be made holy from the inside out! I need an extreme makeover and it has to start right here in my heart and in the dark places of my mind where nobody else is allowed to go.

I know that I am living in this fallen world, a dirty environment, and sin will always have some effects on me. But you have left some clear instructions and I do know how to clean my heart and mind. I want to be 100% honest with you, Jesus. I will keep nothing away from you, I will tell you about my struggles and vulnerabilities and I trust that you will empower me to resist them and become your holy worship warrior.

Do whatever he tells you

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." John 2:1-5

REFLECTION
The wedding celebration is in full swing, but the wine is in short supply. In fact, there's no wine left at all! Some servants are aware of this painful situation and they know that this is going to be a huge embarrassment for the hosts. Everybody else is having a good time. But does the wedding have to end like this - with no drop of wine left? How long will it take before the guests will go away one by one, leaving the young married couple behind, embarrassed and ashamed? Jesus' mother knows what to do. Maria knows that her son is a serious man, but she also knows that he has a good heart and that he genuinely loves people. He is able to save the day and his mother trusts that he will do just that. It looks like everything is lost, but Jesus doesn't let her down. And his mother's good advice - do whatever he tells you - is still valid. Even today!

PRAYER
Lord, sometimes I find myself in a painful situation and I don't know what to do about it. Maybe other people don't want to bother you with such worries, but I just share my small and big problems with you. Maybe there will be a way out if I am patient enough; perhaps I have to think of something to change the situation myself. But if there's no solution at all, I can only hope that you will perform one of your miracles. I don't know what to do in all circumstances, but I do know that I want to be your faithful servant. Please Lord, tell me what to do and I will obey - even if I don't have a clue.

Staying with Jesus

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. John 1:35-39

REFLECTION
John's disciples were taught by a famous, popular, teacher. People were coming from all places just to listen to John's impressive sermons and to be baptised by him in the river Jordan. John wasn't obsessed with himself because of his fame. Even in his mother's womb he knew the One who was truly superior to him: Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, Who was taking away the sins of the world.
John didn't hesitate to point his disciples at the Master they had to follow from now on and they did join Jesus straightaway. What did they want? Well, they wanted to be with their Rabbi, their Master, of course! From this day on they wanted to follow him wherever he went. ‘Come, and you will see’, the Master kindly says. Do you hear his words? Do you want to follow him too?

PRAYER
Lord, I really want to be where you are. I want to stay where you live, sit at your table, enjoy your company! I can stay close to you and follow your example, but there are some things that I just can't do. I can't take away my own sins and I can't be reconciled to the Father, made holy in his sight, in my own strength. I want to follow in your footsteps, I want to lay down my old life and I know where I need to kneel down first: at the foot of your cross. I want to kneel with a thankful heart, but I will not linger there long. You are calling me to get up and invite other people to follow you too. Together we are celebrating because of your empty grave; together we are looking in expectation at the clouds that took you up and that will one day bring you back down! Master, can I please stay with you for ever?
‘Come, and you will see’.

Picture used by permission from Ain Vares

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Once and for all

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

REFLECTION
God decided to come to us in human form. What a decision! Not only did he become fully human, he decided to start life as a vulnerable baby, just like all of us. But unlike all of us, God's Son never disobeyed his Father, never fell into temptation, never gave in to sin. I try to imagine the unimaginable: God taking this incredibly high risk of exposing his One and Only Son to this hostile environment called earth. What a risk, what a gift! Jesus, full of grace and truth, lived among us and showed us the true character of God, a Father who loves us passionately and who will stop at nothing to save us from eternal darkness.

PRAYER
Dear God, I just can't understand it. Why didn't you give up on us? Why didn't you decide to annihilate us, to end our existence and forget all about us, sinful people? I guess you just couldn't do that. I believe it is because you are a loving Father. You will do whatever it takes to save your children. You, the One and Only God, gave your One and Only Son to rescue us. Once and for all! I can not comprehend or even begin to imagine what this must have been like for you. You did call him back to life again, and because of his holy sacrifice, his victory over the darkness, we are allowed back into your eternal light, your holy presence. What a great Father. What a wonderful Son! Amen!

Reflect the Light

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:5

REFLECTION
Maybe some people have doubts about the presence of light in this world, but nobody can deny the existence of darkness. It sure is a dark place down here on earth! If you are completely blind, no one will blame you for not being able to see; but if there’s nothing wrong with your sight, you only need to open your eyes and look up. The light is not to blame, you need to make a decision, you need to believe and look up. Sure, there’s light! Maybe you were just looking in the wrong places...

PRAYER
Father, please help me to make a decision. Forgive me for not being more open to the light of your love. You never told me to live a life of darkness and despair down here on earth. You told me to trust you and look up. I don’t want to be a hindrance to others. I want to reflect your light and by doing so, the total amount of your light in this dark world will increase. Lord, I want to see more of you and I want to understand you better. Please bless me and use me to be a blessing. In Jesus' name. Amen.