dr logans blog

Luke 15:1-10

Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”^[1]

One of the sad realities of the body of Christ today is found in the number of her members that develop spiritual amnesia. Having been redeemed from darkness and brought into the marvelous light, many seem to forget where it was that their Father found them. There are many who will testify about the time in their life when they found the Lord, but the truth of the matter is that it was the Lord who not only found them, but was actively seeking them. Peter maintains that God desires that none should perish but all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Like the shepherd who loses one of his sheep and leaves the flock to look for it, or the woman who loses a coin and searches diligently until she finds it, so our Heavenly Father reaches out to us.

We might well shake our heads in dismay reading how the Pharisees and scribes grumbled because of the sinners with whom Jesus would eat, but all too many of us are little better. I remember a time years ago when at a campus wide event the student manager of the university radio station responded to the invitation to come to Jesus. In the opinion of some she was unfit for the Kingdom. She wore too much makeup, too short skirts, worked in a secular radio station playing secular music, and had a dubious reputation. As she walked past some of the members of the Christian Fellowship I overheard some of the young women remark, “Jesus will take anybody.” I replied, “Yes, He will. He took you.” He searched us out not because we were worthy but because He loved us.

Gracious Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much that You refused to allow us to die in the midst of our sins. Thank you for reaching out to us so that when we finally came to ourselves You were easy to touch. Forgive us for being less charitable to others. Forgive us for forgetting where it was You found us, and how long You waited for us to surrender. Grant us grace to love others the way You have loved us so that those who were lost may be found. This we ask in the strong name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 15:1–10.

John 15:1-17

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.^[1]

To whom are you connected? The question is answered through the observation of what we do, what we say, how we do it, and how we say it. It is not a complex concept to grasp. One can see it manifested in a variety of relationships. Children take on the characteristics and mannerisms of their parents. Spouses become more like one another over time. Even close friends find themselves saying the same or similar things they hear from each other. One cannot really spend time and claim connection with someone without there being some tangible evidence of that connection. So it is with our relationship with our Savior and Lord.

Jesus says that He is the vine and His Father is the vine dresser, those who are connected to Him are the branches and they bear fruit or they are cut off. They are cut off because they cannot bear fruit unless they are connected to Him, so if there is no fruit there is no connection and the branch is good for nothing. Therefore, one cannot say they are connected to Jesus unless they bear much fruit, and the particular fruit is love, which is different from any other type of love the world has known. It is selfless and sacrificial. We have a command to love one another. To whom are you connected? “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love!”

Gracious loving Father, thank You for loving us so much that You sent Your Son to die for us. Thank You for an unparalleled demonstration of love so selfless we struggle to comprehend it. Help us to overcome our tendency to seek after our own welfare and love our sisters and brothers as You love us. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 15:1–17.

John 3:26-31

And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”^[1]

What an incredibly special man was John the Baptist. He had his own ministry, people who looked to him for leadership, and who probably suspected, like others, that he was the messiah. He no doubt had an ego like any other, but rather than allow the esteem and applause of those who had committed themselves to him and were now indignant because of the growth of his ministry, John steadfastly maintained the subordination he knew to be true. He understood that he was the best man and not the bridegroom. He understood that whatever influence, popularity and even authority he had must now be submitted to the one for whom he had been preparing the way. His response to the protests of his disciples was direct, “He must increase, I must decrease.”

It was clear that John knew and thoroughly comprehended the scope of his ministry and was content with it. Granted John’s situation was drastically different from that of those called into ministry today, but the Church would perhaps have greater influence and credibility if more of God’s people knew that to which they had been called, and were comfortable walking in it. Far too many believers mimic the methods and patterns of the calling of others rather than walking in their own. Far too many are seduced by the applause and flattery of others that prevents them from prosecuting their own calling and that may very well call them to submit to the leadership of another. Perhaps one of the reasons there are so many ineffective ministries is because leaders, blind to the specificity of their calling, are unable to decrease so another may increase. What an incredibly special man was John the Baptist! We need more like him today.

Gracious Heavenly Father, how we long for a submissive spirit like that of Your servant John the Baptist. Instead of submitting and subordinating ourselves to those You have set over us, we push and shove to be recognized and celebrated. We crave the limelight and are not content to follow when called to do so. Help us, like John, to decrease so that Christ may increase, but also so that the ones You deign to use in this season may increase. We ask it all for Your honor and glory. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 3:26–36.

John 3:5-17

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.^[1]

“God has no grandchildren!” One can be born into a Christian family, but one is not born a Christian. One must instead be “born again!” Nicodemus, a ruler in the synagogue came to Jesus under the cover of darkness inquiring how Jesus was able to the do the things He had been doing except He come from God. The question gave Jesus just the opportunity He needed to tell Nicodemus what it would take for one to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. His answer, however, was met with incredulity by Nicodemus who wonders how an adult can re-enter his mother’s womb. But Jesus was not referring to the endometrial fluid a physical birth (water), but was instead speaking of a spiritual birth (spirit). The water birth is not dependent on the will of the one who is born, but the spirit birth only can occur by and through an act of the will.

Jesus was hard on Nicodemus’ lack of understanding, but perhaps we need not be. Many in our day lack just as much understanding, if not more, than Nicodemus. Statistics demonstrate that sixty percent of Americans claim to be Christian, but an equal percentage do not even go to church. The statistics reveal a strong disconnect between verbal accent and actual commitment. Many appear to believe that a casual ritualistic relationship is sufficient to insure their entrance into the Kingdom of God. But such reasoning makes about as much sense as believing that going through the motions in a romantic relationship is sufficient to solidify it. God’s love is so deep for His creation that He sent His Son to die for us. The very least we can do is seriously and earnestly commit our very lives to Him. Make that choice for yourself today and in so doing, model it for others.

Dear Lord, thank You for loving us so much that You would deign to send Your Son to redeem us from our sins. We confess that we have given You of ourselves only that which is easy and convenient, while holding back that which is most precious to us. Today we recommit ourselves, our souls, our minds, our bodies to do Your will. By an act of our will we voluntarily commit our very lives to You. For You we choose to live and for You we will die. Honor now the commitment we sincerely make in Jesus’ name. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 3:5–17.

Colossians 3:1-14

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.^[1]

“If you have been raised with Christ” is a massive statement, one that many may not have adequately considered. Its ramifications are huge and the Apostle Paul enumerates them in these verses, particularly verse three, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” There are things that characterized our lives at one time but since we died and have been raised up with Christ we should have laid them aside. We should have laid them aside . . .! It gives, or should give, us all great pause because there is no way that one can read the list of things the Apostle declares we once walked in without seeing ourselves prominently somewhere in them. In fact, if we tell the truth, many of the things on the list we still struggle to wrest ourselves from. How then can one attain their freedom from these for which “the wrath of God will come?”

The Apostle gives us the answer. Our freedom is wrapped up in two important statements: “keep seeking … set your mind on the things above; and, the second, “consider the members of your earthly body dead to . . .” Both of these statements are acts of the individual will. We choose to seek and set our minds on the things above. We choose to consider ourselves dead to those things that emanate from our human nature. But that choice does not leave us empty because in their place we choose that which “those who have been chosen of God . . . put on.” There is no doubt in this author’s mind that any blood bought, blood washed believer would desire anything other than to put on and be characterized by what is contained in this second list instead of that in the first. Let us determine today to aggressively pursue the latter.

Dear Lord, it is tough seeing ourselves in this long list of things that once characterized our lives. It is even more sobering to admit how much of our lives are characterized by them. We desire, more than anything, to be free from that which once bound us but we cannot secure it apart from You. So fill us with Your Holy Spirit and Godly desire that we leave behind “the old self with its evil practices,” and become one with You. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Col 3:1–18.

John 13:21-30

When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”; or else, that he should give something to the poor. So after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night. Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.”^[1]

The kiss of Judas became the betrayal of a friend as prophesied by David in the Old Testament. Betrayal was not a foreign experience to David. He was well acquainted with it, having walked through it most of his life. And yet the loss of his close friend still affected him (Ps. 41:9). Likewise, Jesus Christ was also familiar with betrayal. Having experienced rejection and ridicule in ministry, He was no stranger to it. In a similar manner, Judas had advised the capture of Jesus, perhaps believing that something more was in it for him. Judas offered to be the one to hand Jesus over, agreeing with the religious leaders to do the job for only 30 pieces of silver, the lowest price paid for a slave. But once Jesus was handed over to be crucified, Judas realized that he had sent an innocent man to His death. Betrayal is a part of the human experience. At some point in our lives we will experience betrayal from a friend. Perhaps we need to reassess our definition of friendship. Perhaps we need to reassess when and how much to share with another person. Perhaps we share more than we should before we should. Perhaps we should be much more selective of whom we allow within our circle of friends.

Jesus knew Judas was the one who would betray Him, and yet He still chose Judas to be one of the 12. He still loved Judas, still taught him the ways of the Kingdom, and still broke bread with him. If he had lived, Judas may have been reconciled with Jesus like Peter had been after his denial. But despite the unanswered questions, the truth still stands: Judas’ betrayal of Jesus fulfilled the prophetic message that David had written more than 1,000 years before. Jesus had a mission to fulfill. He came to die and rise again. Without Judas Jesus could not have fulfilled His mission and without our betrayers we cannot fulfill our destiny and walk in it.

Heavenly Father, so many of our hearts are broken because of the betrayal we have experienced. Sometimes it is so difficult to move past feelings of anger and bitterness. We forget that Your Son was betrayed as well and fulfilled His mission. Help us to learn how to overcome the rejection and pain we feel and to be thankful for our betrayers who enable us to more fully experience Your presence, and fulfill and walk in our destiny. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 13:21–31.

Luke 4:31-27

And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.^[1]

Several years ago a young man whom I had never seen before came into our mid-week Bible study, and because he seemed to be in need one of my deacons left the study to speak with him. After a short time, I heard such a terrible raucous in the hallway that I went to see what was going on. Something was clearly wrong with the young man and he was acting out in such a way that the deacon was forced to escort him from the property, but the young man resisted vehemently. Realizing how the confrontation was escalating I intervened and gently escorted the young man out of the building and off the property. While we were walking the young man was steadily speaking to me in an extremely excited and agitated, but otherwise normal manner. However, when we got to the edge of the property his voice and gaze suddenly changed, and a voice eerily frightening came out him saying, “We knew who you are!” Then he turned and ran off into the night. I never saw him again. Who was he and what was the voice that came out of him. I was and still am convinced that it was demonic in nature.

Though Jesus dealt with demons, we tend to place conversation about them in the X-Files category, but they are real. The Apostle Peter had no allusions about the reality of the demonic. In his first epistle he writes that our “enemy, the devil, prowls around seeking whom to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). But for some reason many believers are unable or unwilling to countenance the existence of a real devil and even if one agrees that devils and demons are real, that we have power and authority to overcome them. Some will say that we must be careful not to believe there are demons behind every tree and under every rock, and it is true that we should not blame every negative occurrence on the devil. However, wherever they are and however many there are, like Jesus we have and can take authority over them, in the name of Jesus. Rise up in the authority you have been given, even over demons.

Dear gracious Heavenly Father, we have been adversely affected by the strength of our education, the spiritualism of this age, as well as the influence of all the different media outlets. We confess to being suspicious of anything that gets characterized as demonic and are more confident of that which we can explain. Forgive us for our lack of faith and help us to rely more upon You and the authority You have bequeathed to us than we ever have before. May we, like Jesus, cause demons to tremble because of the authority in which we walk. We ask this all in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 4:31–37.

Luke 4:16-22

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “the spirit of the lord is upon me because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the lord.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” ^[1]

The first place Jesus goes, after coming through His ordeal in the wilderness and His subsequent encounter with the devil, is home. It was the place where he was known as the carpenter Joseph’s son. The people there would have known Him well, but they never truly knew Him. No doubt it was more than a little shocking, perhaps even disconcerting, when Jesus stood up and applied to Himself the words of the prophet Isaiah. Initially everyone marveled at how well He spoke but once they realized that was serious in His application they were suddenly filled with rage and led him out to a cliff to throw him off.

It strikes me how much like these residents so many believers are today. The citizens, some of whom were no doubt members of His family, were ready to receive Him as long as He was Joseph’s son. But the moment He demonstrated He was something more, they were suddenly offended to the point of rage and homicide. One cannot always go home or back to the place from where they have come once they have embraced their mission. There will always be people, some of them family, who will not be able to see you anything other than who they knew you to be. Some of us have childhood nicknames that family members will never let us forget no matter how many years have passed since we were known by them. But where God is leading us is far too important to allow the limitations of the past to pose obstacles. The residents in their rage drove Jesus, Joseph’s son, out to a cliff with the intent of throwing Him off, but Jesus passed through them and went on His way. Like Jesus we must maintain our focus on that to which we have been called even if that means walking away from those who want to hold us back.

Gracious Lord, we are not nearly as bold as You were. We confess to allowing the opinions of others stand in the way of fulfilling the mission You have committed to our care. Help us to care more about Your opinion about us than that of others. Help us to boldly pursue that mission trusting that You will lead us in the way that we should go. Give us what we need to adjust to the changes we experience as we transition from where we have come to where we are are called to be. We trust You to lead us in the way we should go. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 4:16–22.