Call it what it is!

I ate at a Chinese buffet a few days ago – I love Chinese food. As I browsed the buffet, I filled up my plate with some fried rice, an egg roll, some honey chicken, then I came to the next dish. It looked like some sort of chicken on a stick, but I didn’t know for sure what it was. So I checked the label on the glass and found that they had created a very clever title for the unknown dish. They called it: “Chicken On A Stick.” Clever, right? No need to disguise it or fancy it up – it’s chicken, and it’s on a stick. There’s no need to call it anything else!

One thing that I love about the Bible is its brutal honesty. It’s not afraid to call sin, “SIN,” even when no one else will. We’ve come up with all these clever, politically correct terms to disguise sin: “sexual orientation,” “disease,” “generational curse,” and so on. The Bible looks at each of those cleverly disguised issues and calls them “SIN.” There’s no need to call it anything else.

We need that honesty from Scripture. Too many people are on a hunt for a feel-good, pat-on-the-back mini-sermon from the Bible, and although you will find endless encouragement from God’s Word, it will also convict, direct, and confront. And that can get a little uncomfortable.

On Sunday, we took an unapologetic look at Scripture’s blatant honesty as Joshua and Israel stood in the wilderness reading out a list of blessings and curses that would come as a result of obedience or disobedience. I refuse to apologize for Scripture’s honesty. In fact, I told the church that if they were looking for a candy-coated, watered-down, non-offensive version of the Bible, they’d have to pull out a Yellow Pages and find a new church. That’s not what Awaken is all about.

God’s Word is the primary tool that He uses for spiritual renewal. I refuse to dilute its potency based on whether or not someone will get offended. The truth is that God’s Word is offensive. Get over it.

In our own lives, we need to get used to calling sin what it is. Don’t come up with a clever disguise or excuse for it. It’s sin and it is the reason that Jesus went to the cross. Recognize God’s hatred of it and your need to get rid of it!

And if you’re wondering how long you should wait to begin obeying, here’s the answer: not one more second. Obey RIGHT NOW.

 

If you missed Sunday’s message or you’d like to watch again, here it is…

Jesus uses QR codes

About a month ago, we added these small QR code cards to our repertoire of cards at Awaken. They’re specifically designed to target the smartphone crowd and I purposely left them ambiguous in order to pique someone’s interest. The QR code leads smartphone browsers to a mobile web page (if you have a QR reader, scan the code to the left) with a video, links to our social media, a map, service times, and church phone number. It’s real basic. I hoped someone would pick one up, and be intrigued enough to scan the code and learn more about the church.

Rewind back to last Sunday at Awaken…

At the 11am service, there were plenty of new faces, but 2 of the ladies, Jessica & Beth, who came for the first time walked in right as we were starting. As I preached later on, I had this crazy feeling that much of what I was saying that morning was meant for them (although I hadn’t even met them yet). At the end of the message, I prayed and gave an invitation for people to give their lives to Jesus. I was amazed when they both raised their hands, then came forward to pray to receive Christ!

We prayed as a church for them, then they went to the back room with Nate for a few minutes where he gave them some new believer resources and prayed for them as well. As they walked out, I went back to meet them, and like I often do, I asked how they heard about the church. This is another part that amazed me…

Jessica told me that she and Beth had gone to rent a movie at Red Box a few days prior. Someone from Awaken had apparently left one of the QR cards on the Red Box and Jessica picked it up. She had just gotten a new Droid smartphone and knew she could scan the QR code, so she pulled out her phone. (She has recently been diagnosed with MS and it’s been very challenging for her. She’s suffered from a lot of fatigue and has been falling asleep often.) As she scanned the QR code, the first thing that popped up was “AWAKEN” and the words “IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP.” Considering her recently diagnosed disease and constant fatigue, she was blown away, and turned to her friend Beth and said, “We need to check this out. We need to stop renting movies and go to church!”

So, the very next Sunday, they brought all 6 of their kids, and joined us for church. Jesus met them there in that moment and they both came forward, in tears, to commit their lives to Jesus Christ!

As I talked to Beth she said, “We both had put our trust in men, but it was the wrong Man. Now we know.”

In case you’re wondering “QR” Code stands for Quick Response Code. Jessica & Beth’s story puts a whole new spin on “Quick Response,” doesn’t it?

If your church has flyers, business cards, postcards, or something to hand out or leave behind at a restaurant, Red Box, gas station, or wherever, don’t overlook the power of how God can use that in someone’s life. Also don’t overlook the power of a personal invite. Be bold. Speak up. Tell someone about what God is doing in your life – you might be surprised at how God uses your story!

keeping a finger on the pulse of our faith

On Wednesday, we began a journey through another book of the Bible: JAMES. We’re calling the series “Vital Signs” because the book is written to help us keep a finger on the pulse of our faith. If you’ve read James or are familiar with it at all, you know what to expect on Wednesday nights: it’s not a pat on the back – it’s a kick in the butt!

James, the author of the book, grew up with Jesus – they were half-brothers. The crazy thing is that he didn’t believe in Jesus until some time after His resurrection and before Pentecost (John 7:5, 1 Corinthians 15:7, Acts 1:14)! Although that seems crazy, it’s not that far off from many people today. He shared meals with Jesus, went to synagogue with Jesus, and hung out for 30 years with Jesus, and although he was close in proximity to Him, he was far from Him relationally. That’s the story with many people today who rub shoulders with religion, but lack a relationship. James set out to end that. He even said that’s demonic behavior (James 2:19)!

I’m really looking forward to this study through James on Wednesday nights. I’m praying that it revives the spiritually unconscious and brings the dead to life! Would you join me in praying for God to move in big ways through this series?

Another thing that I’m excited about is the addition of videos of our Wednesday night services! Beginning this week, we now have audio and video available for each Wednesday and Sunday service! You can access them all in our online teaching archive. You can also watch the first installment of Vital Signs below.

Also: props to Chris Varble and Isaac Del Toro for putting all the artwork and video together. I’m so thankful for the creative team that God is building at Awaken! It was so great to show up to a meeting and have a logo and look that was better than the one I designed! Look for more great stuff in the future.

The re-launch of Awaken Groups!

Awaken Groups is back from the dead…well, it wasn’t ever dead, just on R&R.

Last night at Awaken, we began advertising for the upcoming semester of Awaken Groups and awakengroups.org went LIVE.

Awaken Groups exist to help us go from going to church to being the church! The corporate times of worship and Bible study are vital, but so are relationships outside of the church walls.

Awaken Groups are available for everyone: students and adults. They are laid back, discussion-driven small groups that are designed to help you with practical, day-to-day application of the previous Sunday’s message. There will be food, coffee, friends, prayer, fellowship, and application of God’s Word. The early church was founded on much of that (not coffee, unfortunately) and we still need it today.

This semester of Awaken Groups will run for 13 weeks, beginning the week of September 11.

Signup will be a little different this year – we’re going all digital!

Signup will begin on Saturday night, August 27 at 6pm CST at awakengroups.org. Groups will be capped at 12 per group (except the student group – there’s no limit there!), so you’ll want to make sure to signup as soon as possible so that you can get into the group you want. We’ll also have signup available at Awaken beginning the following Sunday, August 28. That will also be online – we’ll have someone at the Awaken Groups table to register you online for the group of your choice.

Make sure to swing by the Awaken Groups website today to figure out which group will work best for your schedule!

Bible in, Bible out

About 2 1/2 years ago, as a youth pastor, I got the idea to challenge my middle school youth group to read the whole Bible in 90 days. It was a crazy challenge – I recognized that – but I saw the value in taking in such large portions of Scripture for an extended amount of time. Right in the middle of the “90 Day Challenge,” we had a big youth group winter retreat and I got a few days behind. Toward the end of the 90 days, there were a few days where I was reading 3 or 4 hours per day to catch up. It was A LOT of reading, but I loved it. Not everyone who started the challenge finished it, but there were a handful of middle-schoolers who did!

That was my first time through in 90 days. At the time, planting Awaken Church was on the horizon, and I was excited about one day challenging my church to read through the Bible in 90 days. 2 1/2 years later, that opportunity came and we rolled out NINETY: A Journey Through the Greatest Story Ever Told. It sure was a journey! Not only did I teach different portions of Scripture each Wednesday for 13 weeks, beginning in Genesis and ending in Revelation, but many of us were reading large portions of Scripture at the same time. As if that wasn’t challenging enough, I decided to write a blog about every book of the Bible as well (HERE is a link to all 66 blogs)!

One thing that I wanted to do was to figure out how much Bible we had taken in as a church, so I asked people to anonymously write down their reading times. 9 people (that I know of) made it all the way through the Bible in 90 days and 25 people wrote down how much time they spent reading. The 25 of us who recorded our time read our Bibles for a cumulative time of…

1,075.25 hours!

That’s a solid month and a half straight of Bible reading…with just 25 people (although we have a lot more people than that who actually read).

Part of the vision behind NINETY had been that as I sit down with people in counseling periodically, I can boil almost everyone’s issues down to one main problem: not enough Bible.

However, what I didn’t want to do was simply to gorge ourselves on Scripture and not do anything with it. So of course that is why we studied it and applied it, but that’s also why I issued a challenge at the end of our 90 days as well.

I reminded the church how accessible the Bible is to us here in America. Many of us have multiple Bibles and/or translations at home. I have 23 Bibles on my bookshelf and that doesn’t even count the 100+ versions in multiple languages that I have at my fingertips on my iPhone and iPad!

I reminded them of the many people around the world who don’t even have the Bible in their own language yet, and some of them that couldn’t even read it if they did. That’s why we partnered with a ministry based out of New Mexico called Faith Comes By Hearing. They specialize in reaching people groups around the world with audio versions of the Bible in their own language. As a church, we thanked God for His Word and its accessibility to us, then put our money where our mouth was and invested in this ministry.

Together, on just 1 Wednesday night, we were able to donate enough funds to make the Bible available to 5 entire villages of people around the world! A group of about 40 people enabled over 400 people on 4 different continents to hear God’s Word in their own heart language!

God’s Word is alive and active and we believe that and live that at Awaken Church.

It’s far more than a history book. It changes lives, saves marriages, redirects our paths, points out our sin, and so much more. To God be the glory for His Word and for the many more who will now have a chance to hear it!

Great job, Awaken! You make me proud.

 

Bible In 90 Days 66: REVELATION

This is it. The last book of the Bible, the last “Bible In 90 Days” blog, and the last of God’s words in Scripture.

Writing a blog about Revelation is a bit intimidating. Although I feel that I have a better understanding of Revelation than Quantum Physics or catalytic converters, there are plenty of mysteries that remain in the book. I’ve read the book many times, I’ve even taught through the whole thing over a period of a year (and I plan to again in the future), and yet, there are still things that I don’t fully understand in the book…but I like serving a God that I don’t fully get.

Think about it – what if we could fully understand God and everything He does? He wouldn’t seem that great anymore, would He? What if instead of saying, “My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts are higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9), He said, “You and I are pretty much equals.” Bummer. One thing I love about God are His unsearchable, unfathomable, uncontainable ways. Revelation displays that in a way that no other Bible book captures.

Remember that the book is called “Revelation” (singular). It’s not “Revelations.” Although the book reveals many things, it’s primary goal is to reveal ONE Person: Jesus Christ. He begins the book, ends the book, and saturates all the pages in between. He is the One who died but is alive forevermore, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, the faithful and true conqueror, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He. Is. It.

This blog is not intended to be a commentary on the book, but more of an overview. For a more in-depth study of the book, I’ve included some resources at the end of this blog post…

Revelation was written by the Apostle John – the same one who wrote the gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, and3 John. This book, however, is far different. It was the latest book of the Bible to be written and it serves as a fitting cap to the rest of Scripture as we anticipate the events that are still to come.

We learn from the very first chapter that John wrote the book while in exile on the island of Patmos. He had been exiled there for preaching the Gospel. Tradition says that he was thrown in a pot of boiling oil as a punishment, but he didn’t die. So, off to Patmos he went! Thank God for keeping him alive long enough to arrive in Patmos. He was very old by the time he arrived, and Patmos was a very lonely place. However, God often speaks the clearest when all the other distractions have been driven away. Don’t despise your Patmos. It may be lonely, but God has something unique to speak to you that you may not be able to hear anywhere else!

The book of Revelation is the only book of the Bible that has this promise attached to it…

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” – Revelation 1:3 NKJV

It’s not that you won’t be blessed by reading the other 65 books of the Bible, but Jesus sets this one apart as unique. It’s a challenging read, but dive in and live it out – you’re guaranteed to be blessed!

Although teaching the book provides many challenges, Jesus at least helped by outlining the book for us…

“Write the things which you have seen (Chapter. 1), and the things which are (Chapters 2-3), and the things which will take place after this (Chapters 4-22).” – Revelation 1:19 NKJV

John begins with the vision of Jesus that he was witnessing, then continues with 7 short letters to 7 churches that existed at that time, then continues with what is yet to come.

Throughout the book, John writes in colorful, vivid, poetic language. He describes rainbows of color, a city built with precious stones, a sea of glass, innumerable amounts of voices worshipping together, as well as bloodshed, never-before-seen carnage and judgment, and much more. Although much of Revelation is figurative and symbolic, there are also some things that are very specific: 3 1/2 days, 42 months, a time and times and half a time, a thousand years, and more. Because of the repetition and precision of these numbers, we know God is spelling out exact days and times of these events. We love to think we know how it will all end one day, but God is the One who really knows how and when it will end.

One thing that stands out to me in the middle of the book is God’s continued love and mercy that He gives to people who obviously don’t deserve it. Think about the great effort He has gone to in order to reach every person with the Gospel. Creation alone speaks of His existence, plus He sent prophets, angels, symbols, His only Son, and His Word. If all of that wasn’t enough, He deploys an army of 144,000 witnesses in Revelation 7, 2 more powerful, miracle-working witnesses in Revelation 11, and then, as a last resort, He sends an angel flying through the sky proclaiming the Gospel in every language (Revelation 14). By the time judgment rolls around, no one has any excuse. Every person standing before Jesus on judgment day has hardened their hearts and chosen to reject Christ.

Although we rejoice in the victory that is guaranteed to those of us who follow Christ, we’re saddened by the end of Revelation 20. In my opinion, Revelation 20:15 is the saddest verse in the entire Bible…

“And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” – Revelation 20:15 NKJV

God had better plans for these people. Hell wasn’t created for them. However, if these people purposely rejected Christ, why would He force them to spend eternity with Him? Instead, they’re given what they deserve and what many of them say they want (although they will disagree): HELL for all of eternity. Devastating.

Revelation 20:15 puts fire in my preaching. Although on that day, there will be people standing there that I know from my time on Earth, I don’t want them to be there because I didn’t love them enough to share the truth of the Gospel with them. God is holy and His holiness demands judgment.

Although Revelation 20 is devastating, Revelation 21 is on the other end of the spectrum – everything is made new!

“God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” – Revelation 21:3 NKJV

It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for. The streets of gold are great, the walls made of precious gemstones are awesome, 12 gates made of pearls are beautiful, but here’s the best thing about heaven…

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” – Revelation 21:3

We will dwell with Jesus forever!

Have you ever thought about “forever”? Just try to imagine something never ending. Ever. It’s a crazy thought. Just like the lyrics of “Amazing Grace” say: “When we’ve been there ten thousand years / Bright shining as the sun / We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise / Than when we first begun.” After 10,000 years, we’ll still have the desire, ability, and time to continue worshipping! AMAZING!

Forever: it’s an incredibly long time to worship and an incredibly long time to be wrong! Make sure that you know Jesus. Don’t be one of the people that Revelation 20:15 speaks of.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey through the Bible as much as I have. It’s been amazing and life-changing. Blogging through each book of the Bible has proven to be a greater challenge than I anticipated, but it’s been far more rewarding as well! I hope that these blogs and your personal time in God’s Word have caused you to have a greater hunger to draw closer to the God of the Bible. He’s real. He’s unfathomable. He’s in love with you!

Revelation Resources…

One of the best messages I’ve ever heard on the book of Revelation is by John MacArthur. It’s called A Jet Tour Through Revelation. I would HIGHLY recommend listening to it. It’s an hour that you will not regret!

You can also listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of an overview of Revelation taught by my pastor, Skip Heitzig. Also amazing.

If you’re looking for a basic commentary on Revelation, Skip Heitzig also just published a book last month called You Can Understand the Book of Revelation. You can purchase it online HERE if you’re interested.

Bible In 90 Days 65: JUDE

When you think “Jude,” what do you think of? Let me guess: The Beatles. Let’s change that.

When you think of Jude now, think of warfare. Think of contending for the faith. Think of defending the truth.

In other words, instead of “Beatles,” think “beating.”

If you’re wondering who Jude is, you’re not alone. He introduces himself in verse 1 as “a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,” which is interesting. Most commentators agree that his brother, James, was the half-brother of Jesus who wrote the book of James. So what does that make Jude? He would be the same as James – Jesus’ half-brother (same mother, different father). So why does he call himself “a servant of Jesus Christ”? You’d think he’d want everyone to know that. It would give him some extra credibility…

“Hey what’s up? I’m Jude, Jesus Christ’s brother.”

“Hey remember that guy who died for the sins of the world? Yeah, He’s my bro. We grew up together.”

“I was Jesus’ womb mate.”

He could have said a lot of other things and boosted himself by pointing out his close family ties to Jesus, but here’s why I think he simply went with “servant of Jesus Christ” – because that’s all that mattered to him. Sure, he may have have shared a bunk bed with Jesus growing up, but Jude finally recognized (probably after Jesus’ resurrection) that one day he would stand before Jesus and the most important thing would be that Jude was His servant, not His brother. What would matter most is that Jude had served Jesus, not that he had slept in the same room as Him growing up or eaten Cocoa Puffs with Him in the morning.

Jesus is Master. We have to remember that.

Make sure that your relationship with Jesus is founded first and foremost on Who Jesus is and what He has done – not on who you are or what you have done. It’s not about you – it’s about Him!

Jude is writing to a bunch of Christians, and his original intent was to write about salvation in general, but he felt led to write about something much more pressing…

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” – Jude 3

The main focus of Jude’s short epistle is the need for Christians to contend for the faith. Sure, there are plenty of times when we should “turn the cheek,” but when it comes to the purity and message of the Gospel, we should never back down. It’s vital.

Similar to Peter, Jude has harsh words for the false teachers who have crept into the church. He compares them to Cain (who killed his brother, Abel), Balaam (who was hired to curse God’s people and was rebuked by his donkey), and Korah (who rebelled against Moses and was burned to death as punishment). These are obviously not compliments!

He goes on to describe them as stains, selfish, useless, fickle, fruitless, dead, and more. Ouch!

After he calls them out, he reminds the church of something important that we need to remember as well: God isn’t surprised by these guys – He predicted their arrival.

God has warned us that these things would come. Jesus warned of it in Matthew 24, Paul warned of it in 2 Timothy, Peter warned of it in 2 Peter - it’s no surprise. Since we knew these guys were coming, we shouldn’t be surprised either and we should be on guard. False doctrine, lies, and selfish ambition will pollute the Gospel and draw people away from Christ under the guise of drawing them closer to Christ. It’s extremely dangerous and these false prophets/teachers/Christs will be judged for leading people astray.

Our goal in maintaining the purity of the Word is what Jude says at the end of his letter – to “save others by snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 23). We need to remember that eternity is on the line here – it’s far beyond semantics or personal beliefs!

So stand up for your faith and don’t back down. Also, remember Who’s boss…

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” – Jude 24-25 ESV

If you’re looking for some good teachings on the book of Jude, my friend Levi Lusko just taught through the book at his church. You can find all his teachings HERE.

Youth Ministry: YES or NO?

Depending on your source, 40-88% of teens leave the church after they graduate. Most never return. Is modern youth ministry to blame? That’s what one article and recently-produced documentary film suggest.

This is a touchy subject for me because I’m the product of a youth group. I grew up in youth groups, attended summer camps, led small groups, was a counselor at a summer camp, and eventually served as a middle school youth pastor for 5 1/2 years before moving to Tennessee to plant a church.

I always assumed the church I planted would have a youth group, but that’s because that is all I knew.

We’re almost 2 years into the church plant and Awaken Church still doesn’t have a youth group… but that doesn’t mean we ignore students. We view students as valuable pieces to the church. I love seeing young people sitting next to their parents, learning and applying similar things together. A good percentage of those who publicly profess their faith in Christ are young people. 4 of the 10 people we baptized last month were under the age of 17! We will soon be relaunching Awaken Students, which is a small group initiative targeted at young people. It’s not your typical youth group.

Awaken Kids exists to train kids up and teach them God’s Word on their level beginning gat 8 weeks old. They remain with Awaken Kids, in a class meant for their age group, until they hit 6th grade. Once they’re in middle school, they join us in the main service for church.

They worship with us.

They take Communion with us.

They pray with us.

I even encourage them to serve in ministries within the church.

Awaken Students is the other key component for them. Just as we encourage all people at Awaken to be involved in an Awaken Group, we encourage the same with the students. It’s a place where they can go, hang out with others their age, and discuss (in a small group setting) some of the key application points from last Sunday’s message…which is the same thing their parents do in their own small group.

I haven’t watched all of the film that I mentioned above, so I can’t vouch for everything that is said. I also know that the article seems to hint at the fact that modern youth ministry is to blame for kids leaving the church. I wouldn’t take it that far. I’ve seen some life-changing things happen through youth groups…in fact, it was my training ground!

Although I disagree with the film’s slant and have seen evidence of God using youth ministry in my life and in my own youth ministry, I thought this was a good conversation starter. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what your stance and/or your church’s stance on youth ministry is…

Bible In 90 Days 64: 3 JOHN

Just like its companion, 2 John, John’s 3rd epistle is short and sweet. It’s another personal letter, this time written to a friend of his named Gaius.

It is very personal in nature. In verse 4 he says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” “My children” – it’s a term of endearment and love from a pastor who is away. They’re not his actual biological kids of course, but he loves them like they are his own and many of them came to Christ under him!

As a pastor, I can resonate with verse 4. After leaving a booming middle school youth group in New Mexico over 2 years ago to move to Clarksville to plant Awaken, returning is always a joy. Although it’s great to see my dad and a lot of friends who live there, one of my joys is seeing many of the students that came to Christ or grew in Christ under my leadership now serving, leading worship, and involved in ministry! There definitely is “no greater joy!”

John specifically talks about their generosity and hospitality, which are vital to every church and every Christian. He mentions that “you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren.” So many people get caught up with a title or recognition within the church that they don’t serve faithfully in the small areas. That’s backwards. The empowerment and opportunity for greater ministry comes in being faithful in the small things – doing “faithfully whatever you do for the brethren.”

If you’re attending a church but not serving, let me stop you there. THAT is a problem. You’re missing a key component in your relationship with Jesus. There’s a saying that goes around about ministry that says “80% of the work is done by 20% of the people.” Let’s change that statistic! 100% of the work should be done by 100% of the people attending the church.

I don’t know your pastor’s stance on serving within the church, but here’s mine:

If you’re sitting around waiting on a “bigger ministry opportunity” or more empowerment, you won’t get it from me. Those opportunities come through faithful service in whatever area you are in.

Do you make copies? Make really good copies.

Do you make coffee? Make the best coffee anyone at your church has tasted.

Do you change diapers in the nursery? Change them with joy, remembering that you’re serving Jesus.

Do you sing on the worship team? Sing with skill, as if Jesus is the only one in the room.

“Do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren.” – 3 John 4

Although John is tender and loving as he addresses the church, he’s also not scared to say it how it is and call people out. A dude within the church named Diotrephes is doing the opposite of what John just commended. The guy is trying to make a name for himself and causing division within the church. John rebukes him and encourages the rest of the church to not follow his example.

He ends the letter by telling them that he wishes to come to them in person, and he tells them to “Greet the friends by name” (3 John 14). One cue I take from John as a pastor is being personal. We’re almost 2 years into planting Awaken Church now, but I’ve always tried to grow my prayer list with the church. I know that I won’t always be able to know every person at Awaken by name, but I try my hardest. Not only that, but I try to pray for each of them by name at least once or twice a week. That began as a 10-minute per day exercise and has grown into an hour-long initiative, but I love it!

Pastors, take a personal interest in the people who attend your church. They’re not just a number or a face in the crowd – they each mean something special to Jesus Himself. He died for them! Treat them like that.

Bible In 90 Days 63: 2 JOHN

Considering that 2 John is only 13 verses long, you probably thought this blog would only be a few sentences. You were wrong. Although it’s a very short letter, it’s jammed with tons of great truth. I like to think of it like a cream-filled donut. It may look a little bland from the outside, but once you bite in, you realize it’s filled with creamy goodness. In the case of 2 John, it’s not creamy goodness, but Christ-y goodness…

By the number of verses, 2 John is the shortest book in the Bible, but by number of words, 3 John has it beat.

2 John was written by John to a lady within a young, Christian church. It’s valuable to us today because it gives us a little peek into early churches – their structure and their struggles.

One main challenge that every church faces today is unity and love for one another. If churches that existed within 60 years of Jesus’ ministry struggled with it, it would make sense that we’d struggle with it today.

That’s one of John’s main reasons for writing…

“And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.” – 2 John 5 ESV

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

That’s easy to do with people you agree with and see eye-to-eye with, but what about the others? What about the people who just seem to rub you the wrong way? What about those who seem condescending or constantly critical? Should we love them too?

The answer is of course, YES!

Jesus talked often about the importance of loving each other.

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35 NKJV

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” – John 17:20-21 NKJV

It’s easy to blow past the importance of Jesus’ prayer in John 17. He’s praying for us, first of all (“those who will believe in Me…”), so that’s huge right there! He goes on to say that unity within the body of Christ and love for each other is so vital that it will prove Jesus’ identity to the world!

The world is full of personal grudges, selfishness, and people out for their own agendas. The church MUST be different.

Not only should we guard against division, but also false teaching. Peter talked a lot about that in 2 Peter, but here John points out that “many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2 John 7 NKJV).

Whenever you encounter someone of a different belief, the first question to ask is “what do they think of Jesus?” Many cults and religions sound innocent at first, but once they deny Jesus’ incarnation (like what John addressed here), or begin saying other weird, non-Biblical things about Him, that’s where you have to draw the line. Those teachings are dangerous and must not be allowed in the church.

If you’re a Christian, I assume you attend a church. If not, start there. You NEED the Church and the Church needs you! When you’re part of a church, guard against division and false teaching. Satan uses those often to destroy. Don’t let him!