Prepare the Way has been our theme during this season of Lent (Isaiah 40:3-5) as we’ve pondered reasons for a time of desert preparation, discussed ways of being consecrated—set apart—as God’s redeemed people.  The Way of Holiness has been paved for us by Christ Himself whose glory was about to be revealed in the final days of His life. 

So many Christians have the kind of comfort gospel that Niebuhr describes as “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross” (The Kingdom of God in America). 

Have we created a savior in our own image—one whose glory looks remarkably like man’s?  Or do we see the one the Bible depicts:  a suffering servant—the Christ?

It is in the footsteps of Jesus Christ our Savior—resolutely to the Cross—in which the glory of the Lord is revealed.  This is the Way of Holiness:  the Victory March of Christ. 

He made up His mind (Luke 9:51):

“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem…”

He knew what would happen (Matthew 20:17-19): 

“Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!’”

He entered Jerusalem to praises (Luke 19:38):

 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

But died rejected.  In the last set of devotionals we will see Jesus—the slain Lamb of God—through His Last Words upon the Cross: His final hour.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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. 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. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say?  ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” (John 12:23-28)

And His glory was revealed—all mankind will see it:  He is Risen!

I belong to a group called Christian Cancer Survivors.  As individuals who’ve each experienced cancer in our own ways, we gather together to encourage one another and to bring the love of Christ to people—whether patients or caregivers—who could use some strengthening for the journey.

 At our last meeting, one of the people in our group asked, “How do you share Jesus with someone whose spiritual condition you don’t have any way of knowing?” 

The truth is that I will never know anyone’s spiritual condition, so my response was “Love on them.” 

How do you “love on someone?”  Well, you don’t talk about love.  You just do it.  When you don’t know what else to do, love people and listen for them to inch the door open.   Then let words of comfort and peace flow like a gentle breeze into their hearts with a message that refreshes the soul.

Today’s passage, Jude 1:17-25 is that sort of love in action.  In verses 22-23, it says,

Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear– hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” 

A good and loving listener will be able to discern in people’s words whether they are merely doubting and need encouragement; or whether they are rushing headlong into disaster in need of intervention; those who need to have someone grace their troubled lives with a touch of forgiveness; or those who need a word of correction—a tough love that understands that sin can spread like a cancer and Christ is the only cure.

Look for ways today that you can “love on someone” by listening to their hopes, dreams, fears, and worries and letting the encouragement of Christ lift others to walk with you on the Way of Holiness.

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And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. 2 John 1:6

 Love inspires a vast array of Christian platitudes and clichés. 

• “Jesus loves me this I know, ‘cause the Bible tells me so.” 
• “God loves you and has a good plan for your life.”   

We talk about love, but I imagine that genuine love is far more difficult for most of us to live out in our daily life than it is to talk about it.  Especially when it comes to loving those we find unlovely.

Love is the focus of some of the world’s most hated Christian clichés.  One atheist’s blog translates these Christian clichés about love in the following manner, complete with responses:

“Jesus loves you.”    

Translation: “Jesus does, but I don’t.”
Acceptable Response: “Amen.”
Unacceptable Response: “If that were true, why doesn’t he tell me himself?”

“Hate the sin, love the sinner.”

Translation: “I’m a flaming fundamentalist.”
Acceptable Response: “Amen.”
Unacceptable Response: “That’s a relief, because I’m a homosexual.”

To love the person whose translation and “unacceptable” response are offensive to us is challenging work indeed.  Who do you find hard to love?

• The incompetent boss or coworker talking behind your back?
• The ex-spouse who lives to make you miserable?
• The fair weather friend—nice as can be to your face—who regularly betrays you?
• The person whose politics are vocally opposed to your own?
• Someone who has wronged you, taken your job, stolen from you, lied to you, etc.?

When John admonishes us to “walk in love,” it’s not just a cliché of love that he’s talking about.  He’s talking about genuine love–the kind Jesus commanded: 

 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28).

Maybe the world could use a little more of Christians showing that kind of love to turn the world’s unacceptable responses into a chorus of Amens!

There’s a question I think about when I ponder life’s mysteries:  If Jesus hadn’t been baptized as one of us, would His death have been for us?

We can be in such a hurry to get to the empty tomb of Easter that we barely stop long enough at the Cross to know the importance of His death or consider the prior pivotal importance of His baptism.

Fortunately, the question is a hypothetical, but it points to a very real truth: Without the baptism of Jesus, His death would have been gratuitous–a lavish waste of His divine life.

Today’s passage (1 John 5:1-12) speaks of this.  If we want to walk on the Way of Holiness—to experience the victory of the redeemed—we must agree with John (verse 5) “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Then John elaborates on who this Jesus is:

“This is the one who came by water and blood– Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement” (verses 6-8).

Had Jesus come to earth incognito, lived and taught and died—with no baptism, no one knowing He was the Son of God—there would be no identification with us in our sinful lives…and no identification with us in His death…and no identification for us in His resurrection. 

But Jesus loved the Father, obeyed His will, and revealed Him to us.  Yes, Jesus identified with us through the power of the Spirit during His incarnation.  He identified with us in a baptism for sins—ones He never committed—and simultaneously unleashed the Spirit’s conviction upon our sinful state and had the Spirit’s affirmation of Jesus’ divine nature.  Therefore, He was revealed as “God with us” in His teachings.  And He identified with us on the Cross by paying for our sins. 

When the Holy Spirit came as Jesus promised, the Spirit testifies, the water of baptism testifies, and the shed blood of Christ testifies that victory is ahead for those who believe this testimony: Jesus is the Son of God.

Not a typo of desserts.  And while our journey started with preparation in the desert, it’s not that type of desert either.  It’s Just Deserts.

I love learning origins of words and phrases.  This one, interestingly, comes from a play entitled Warning Faire Women (1599):  “Upon a pillory – that al the world may see, A just desert for such impiety.”  Al is apparently not a typo either, although maybe he was the author but we’ll never know because it was anonymously published.  A pillory is a wooden structure with holes for the head and arms—something we often refer to as stocks, used for publicly shaming people.  While all this is rather curious, what you may be really curious about is what it has to do with our devotional passage for today–1 Peter 2:19-25.

Everything.   Just deserts means getting what we deserve.

For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.  But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?  But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.  To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.  “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”  When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls (1 Peter 2:19-25).

Anytime we suffer on account of sin, we’re getting just deserts from a holiness perspective.  If we suffer at the hands of our fellow man on account of sin in the world, humanity is getting just deserts from a holiness perspective.  How can this possibly be commendable?

Well, Jesus took upon Himself what we deserved and when He received our just deserts, God called it grace.  Our suffering is temporary and earthly.  Jesus’ wounds have healed us eternally by His crucifixion—a public shaming far worse than any pillory.  Just—God is.  Deserts—ours became Jesus’.  His righteousness became ours–His amazing grace in taking our just deserts.

My son is currently studying for the required GRE exams for graduate school.  I’ve been quizzing him on vocabulary and among the words he stumbled over at the beginning was lapidary.  I had no problem remembering lapidary relates to the art of cutting precious stones because growing up, our family would visit a lapidary museum  that had—among other exhibits—a big pile of various rocks.  The draw of the big rock pile was the supposed presence of gemstones including diamonds if you hunted long enough and knowledgeably enough to find them.  Whatever rocks you wanted to keep were yours. An expert sat behind a table helping children to identify the rocks: agate, sandstone, aquamarine, quartz, marble, etc.  If my rock was just a piece of polished glass or limestone, I’d throw it back on the pile and keep looking for something better.  As a child, I didn’t have the discernment of the expert.

Yesterday, we saw that we all start somewhere with the process of growing in holiness and taking steps toward Christian maturity.   Today, Peter educates us on the role of discernment in becoming the holy people of God (1 Peter 2:4-10).

As you come to him, the living Stone– rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him–  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house   to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through    Jesus Christ.  For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone,  and  the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame”       (1 Peter 2:4-6).

The longer we are on the Way of Holiness, the more likely we’ll develop discernment to see what Peter calls the precious cornerstone: Jesus.  Like the situation at the lapidary, plenty of people rejected this Stone, overlooking Jesus as worthless.  They stumbled.  They fell.  They tossed Jesus away like I threw away sandstone, limestone, or something ugly.

But the expert at the table, when something truly precious came his way, he recognized it.  Those who have encountered Jesus as our precious stone—the cornerstone of our faith—we cherish Him.  Without Him, we’re just a pile of worthless rocks.  But He’s valuable.  We can trust Him as an expert builder to build His church with us—living stones.

Discernment to see this Precious Stone comes from knowing God’s Word and listening to the Holy Spirit as we grow toward Christian maturity.  Have you trusted this Precious Stone?

Our journey on the Way of Holiness during Lent began with preparation and continues with considering ways of being set apart as followers of Jesus Christ. In today’s passage, 1 Peter 1:13-2:3, we see a focus on what it means to grow into the faith—to be set apart as spiritually mature people. 

None of us can really claim to having been born older…or mature in faith apart from time and effort.  Every once in a while someone will give me the opportunity to say one of my favorite things:  “We all start somewhere.”  Whether it’s Bible reading or gardening, etc., I’m always quick to remind myself and others that no one emerges from the womb carrying a Bible or having a green thumb.  We all start somewhere.   Big steps for some; little steps for others. 

Remembering where we started helps us in a variety of ways. 

• First, we experience satisfaction and joy when we see the progress that we made. 
• Second, it reminds us of the grace we have received (which helps to keep us humble enough to continually encourage others). 
• But it also spurs hope when we’re trying something new or difficult.

Peter reminds us 1 Peter 1:14 “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

Be holy?  Can he be serious?  While that seems like an impossibly high goal, we all start somewhere.  As we learn, we will grow, provided we pay attention to what we have learned.

1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart….2: 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

It won’t happen all at once.  Becoming holy, set apart, pure, obedient, and loving—all these things take time.  We all start somewhere but the important thing is that we do start this journey toward maturity in our faith.

Toby Keith recorded a song written by Bobby Braddock called I Wanna Talk About Me.  We can all laugh at lyrics like:

We talk about your work how your boss is a jerk
We talk about your church and your head when it hurts
We talk about the troubles you’ve been having with your brother
About your daddy and your mother and your crazy ex-lover
We talk about your friends and the places that you’ve been
We talk about your skin and the dimples on your chin
The polish on your toes and the run in your hose
And God knows we’re gonna talk about your clothes
You know talking about you makes me smile
But every once in awhile I wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I like talking about you you you you, usually, but occasionally
I wanna talk about meeeeee

Yes, it’s hard when someone we know is at the center of their own Youniverse.  Unfortunately, for  many of us, that You is Me—all the time.

In today’s passage (James 4:1-12), James has a few words for those of us living at the center of our Youniverse:   Get real.

James, known for his straight-forward manner, says

You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (James 4:2-3).

Look at all the you words in those two verses!

But then James gives us the antidote to the Youniverse:  the God-centered universe. 

[God]  gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”   Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.   Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up (James 4:6-10).

When we see who is really at the center of the universe, we’ll get real about humility.  God will respond by lifting us up to walk on the Way of Holiness.

Albert Einstein has been credited with saying some really great quotes.  A couple of his best summarize today’s passage,

Hebrews 10:1-18.  

Let’s contrast Einstein with the author of the New Testament Book of Hebrews.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.            (Einstein)

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming– not the realities themselves.  For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.  If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.  

But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:1-4).

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them (Einstein). 

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:  “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.”  Then I said, “Here I am– it is written about me in the scroll– I have come to do your will, O God.”

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made).

Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” (Hebrews 10:5-9)

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent.  It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction (Einstein).

[Jesus] sets aside the first to establish the second.  And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.  Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:10-18).

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.  Colossians 1:19-20