“And he preached, saying, 

“There comes One after me who is mightier than I, 

whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.”

my twocents…

i have read this verse multiple times this season, and until this morning, i did not understand it. i thought maybe john felt nervous about baptizing Him. in a way, i guess i was close… in this verse john is trying to express how holy Jesus really is. that something a servant would be honored to do for a king, he cannot even come close to doing himself. Jesus is so much higher than a king, he is the King of Kings, He is Holy. yet despite this fact, Jesus did come down and ‘stooped’ to our level. He lived in the same flesh that we live in, so far outside of the realm that we would expect His Holiness to experience. and to add to that, the moment after He was baptized, His Spirit sent him directly into the wilderness to be tested, fasted, and to live with wild animals while satan taunted Him. if that is not walking in our shoes what is? Jesus truly stooped right next to us, to live and walk in the same mud as us. he felt the threats of the elements, the pains of hunger, the ridicule of peers, friends and family, and the complete devastating effects of sin. he lived a sinless life on earth and His sacrifice cleansed us and overcame sin. He rose from the grave and gifted us with His Spirit so that we can continue His good works here. that is something to dwell on and to soak in as we consider how close God wants to be to us, to love us for an eternity. He doesn’t just sit high, playing with puppet strings and judging us. He loves us so much that He sent His son to live and breath the same air as us, and then to be sacrificed to save our spirits. Jesus said, “and whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” [Matthew 20:27-28] His love is so great; it truly conquers all. i pray that we can consider our Lord’s humility in the body of Jesus: the example He set to teach us how to live upright lives, the modeling He provided to teach us how to serve others, and the love He showed to teach us how to love. 

12/28/22

“For many bore false witness against Him, 

but their testimonies did not agree.

Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, 

“We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, 

and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” 

But not even then did their testimony agree."

my twocents…

there is only one Way, one Truth, one Life, and that is Jesus. in today’s world we are surrounded by lies. evil is at work to tear down foundations of truth and replace them with lies. we are confronted with concepts of ‘moral relativism’, where each person has their own definition of what morality is. and each person’s truth can ‘justifiably’ be different from another’s. what is a lie to one is not a lie to another, what is murder to one is not murder to another. schools are choosing a curriculum that has less and less basis in truth and more ambiguity than ever before. things are flipped on their head, and what was fluid and malleable, like science that was once allowed to change upon new facts and discoveries, now has become static, inflexible ‘truths’ that cannot even be argued with. satan is having a field day flipping everything upside down and watching the blind follow a new, ever-changing suit. and admittedly, past generations have struggled with the same familiar evil works where confusion and distraction seemed to rule over so many. same works, different costume. but as we stand today, no matter how muddy, backwards, and illogical things become, God’s Goodness will always work for the good of those who love Him. 

whether people out there want to believe it or not, truth is absolute. it is not relative and never will be. that means if my beliefs differ from another person’s beliefs, one of us has to be wrong. and well, i will bet my life and my soul that i am not wrong in confessing and knowing that Jesus is the one and only Savior and Son of God. there is so much grace in truth because it always surfaces to clarify and reassure itself. as stated in the book of Mark, the false testimonies did not agree with each other - and they could never agree. they were lies. this scripture shows the nature of lies and their inevitable outcome. why choose this path? out of anger or pride or any excuse someone can come up with, why settle with such an embarrassing defeat? to be exposed as what it is, and to let it be known that you settled for a weak lie when you had a choice?

no matter what happens today or in the days ahead, we can rest easy on Jesus. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. resting in Truth is resting with peace. and the opposite is just that: stressful, heavy burdened and very difficult. the admission and realization that truth is absolute may take some humility- but it is possible. “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” 

2/14/23