Author: Caitlin Bachtold

Do you ever find it challenging to be a Christian who lives in the world, but is not of the world?

We know that we are called to live like Jesus in this broken world, but sometimes, I look in the mirror and I see someone who looks, talks and acts just like the rest of the world. I know that this should not be so. Today’s reading in John 17 is a reminder to me that, although I clearly live in the world, I am not to be someone who is of this world.

Today, first take a moment to read all of John 17 with me. This chapter of John has always been one of my favorites since I discovered it for the first time, as it is a beautiful prayer of Jesus for US. How incredible is that? As you read John 17 today, rest in the fact that Jesus knows you by name and that He knew every single person He prayed for so long ago. I can’t quite wrap my mind around the fact that Jesus interceded for me, for us, in the way that He did throughout this passage… it’s amazing.

Let’s focus on John 17:14-19 today and spend some time reminding ourselves how important it is to be in the world and not of the world:

¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

You’ve probably realized before that sometimes God answers our prayers differently than we might want Him to or expect Him to. For example, while God could deliver us from a challenge, He sometimes teaches us through the challenge instead. While God could heal us, He sometimes makes us wait for true healing in Heaven one day. You get the idea. Verse 15 above reminds me of this same sort of thing… Jesus certainly could have prayed that we would be taken out of the world and protected from the evil one in that way. But He didn’t.

Instead, verse 15 says that Jesus prayed specifically that God would NOT take us out of the world, but that He would protect us from the evil one as we live life in the world. Why wouldn’t Jesus just ask God to protect us by simply taking us out of the world?

Friends, I think there must be a reason Jesus prayed this way. I believe it is because He has work for us to do in this world, but in order to do that work, we simply cannot look like the rest of the world. It just doesn’t work that way. Of course, we are not called to be perfect as we live out an example of Jesus and His character. Instead, we can use our imperfections, weaknesses, and failings to point people to our desperate human need for God’s grace. But may I remind you today that you are, in fact, called to live here on earth for a reason? And may I also remind you today that as you live out your life here on earth, with purpose, you are called to do so in a way that does not look like the rest of the world?

Be encouraged today that although we are called to do life here on earth for a little while, we can make the most of that time here by not living like the rest of the world. Today, keep watch over your heart, your attitude, your words, and your actions and ask the Lord to help you focus on living in a way that is unlike anything this world has ever seen, and watch what the Lord does with that.

I grew up in a Christian home and have been going to the same church ever since I was in preschool. I feel that I have always known about Jesus and that I have always had faith in Him, even if that faith was literally “childlike” faith in my earliest years.

However, I went through an odd time in junior high when, for some reason, I became inexplicably afraid that something could take my salvation away from me. I don’t know how to explain this time in my life in any other way besides this; I was completely scared that someday, down the road in my life, I’d do something to mess up enough that God would give up on me. I can still remember my parents speaking truth over my life during that season of unexplained fear, reminding me that I could be sure that my salvation was secure and showing me Scriptures to help me remember that. After a time, that fear faded, but today’s reading in John 3 reassures my heart still, and I hope it speaks to your heart today, too. John 3:16-21 says,

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

When we read John 3, I think we often focus so much on the ever so popular verse of John 3:16. As incredible as that verse is, please don’t miss verse 18 today. Whether one has been a Christian for one year or for 50 years, it is always so good (and often, so needed) to be reminded that nothing could ever take away tGod’s love for us or the salvation He has freely given to us. That’s why I love verse 18… it puts those old fears and little thoughts to rest, and it reminds me in such plain language that whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned. It’s such a simple statement, but it is filled with the truth that our lives are to be centered around as Christians: We believe in Jesus, so we are not condemned. Incredible.

The simplicity of this precious truth also reminds me also how simple telling someone else about Jesus can be. I often overcomplicate doing this in my mind, and I psych myself out of sharing about Jesus when I feel a nudge to. Today’s reminder of how simple the Gospel truly is takes some of that burden off, for sure.

Today, rest in the fact that no matter who you are or where you are, no matter what you have done recently and no matter what you did decades ago, if you are in Christ, you are not condemned. And let that truth stir your heart to share this unbelievable fact with others in your life in the same way Jesus shared it here in John 3: Simply.

If you’re like me, sometimes you forget who you belong to.

If you’re like me, you also sometimes forget who you are.

Thank goodness, we belong to Jesus, and our identity can be found fully in Him.

In Luke 7, we see that a mother was having a challenging time remembering just who she and her son belonged to. Her son, whose age is not specified, had recently died. Read verses 11 through 17 of Luke 7 with me.

11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

I’m not a mother yet, but I cannot imagine the utter grief that would accompany a loss of this magnitude. We can imagine that this mother was most certainly heartbroken, likely confused, and perhaps, understandably frustrated at God for the way His plan for her son’s life had unfolded. In the face of grief, it is so common to feel all of these things… and we can see that this mother in Luke 7 had forgotten Who her son’s life belonged to.

As Jesus approached this mother, He saw her in her heartbreak, in her confusion, and in her frustration. That is the first thing that touches my heart as I read this passage. Today, be reminded that the Lord sees you and knows you. He knows your circumstances, and He knows the current state of your heart.

But Jesus didn’t just stop at seeing her heartbreak, confusion, and frustration. He entered into that heartbreak, confusion, and frustration with her, gently encouraging her to not cry anymore. While it might seem that such encouragement wouldn’t make sense to a grieving mother, Jesus knew what He was about to do. That’s the second thing I love about these verses: Jesus is present in whatever we are going through. Even if what He puts on our hearts in those seasons doesn’t make sense, He knows His plan and He knows the final outcome, no matter how big or how small the situation.

As we can see in the final verses of this passage, Jesus miraculously healed this mother’s son and brought him back to life. After He did this and after the son sat up and began to speak again, Jesus did something that stands out to me most of all in this part of Scripture: He gave the son back to his mother.

The son, and his life, ultimately belonged to God. God had simply given him, entrusted him, to this mother for his time here on earth. Yet Jesus saw fit to give the son back into his mother’s care again.

How comforting that we, like this son, belong to Jesus. Our lives are truly in His hands alone. He has the power to give us other people in this life to love and to care for and to serve, but they don’t belong to us. They belong to Him.

You belong to Jesus. That is where your identity is to be found. Be encouraged in this truth today.

 

Do you ever catch yourself thinking that the Gospel is only for certain people, or only for people who act in a certain way?

It certainly is easy to forget that the Gospel is also equally available to the entire rest of the world, no matter what. It does not matter what their personality is, what their age is, or even how they come to Jesus… He loves us all deeply.

In Mark 10, it certainly seems that even Jesus’ disciples got caught up in this very same struggle. Look at this passage with me…

13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

It was simple: All the little children wanted was to touch Jesus. Isn’t that us, sometimes? At some moments in our life, we just plain don’t have the flowery and perfect words to say, the happy perspectives to view life with, the perfectly balanced life to display, and so on. Sometimes, we’re so broken and so tired that all we want is a little Jesus. We want to draw near to Him, we want to be reminded we are known by Him, and we want to simply touch Him. We feel that we are not enough, and in our

We want to draw near to Him, we want to be reminded we are known by Him, and we want to simply touch Him. We feel that we are not enough, just as we are, to come to Him. Yet, in our weakness, we turn to Him to be our “more” that fills our gaps. During these particular seasons in our lives, we most definitely do not have it together; our life isn’t in a pretty little bow, all shiny and polished. We’re broken, and our most desperate need is the only One who can satisfy us. Maybe that’s you today, or maybe you’ve been this person before. Regardless, I think we’d all shake our heads and say that the last thing we want in seasons like this is to be rebuked and told that we had to bring more than what we had, or that we had to be more than we are, first. This exactly what Jesus’ disciples did and said in Mark 10.

Yet, as Christians, we put an unspoken pressure on one another to bring something to the table or be something already when we come to Jesus. Whether this plays out in our friendships, our small group environments, our churches, or even in our own minds (guilty!), there often is an unmistakable pressure to be, to try, to do or to become BEFORE we come to touch and be near our Lord.

Let’s make it a point this week to remember this: Jesus wants us and loves us as we are. Sometimes, all we can do is to receive Him with open arms, just as the children did in Mark 10. During some seasons, we bring nothing to the table besides a simple desire to be with Him. And throughout some days, we will feel weary from our efforts to fix/do/change/be something before spending time with our God. Let us find joy today in those who receive the kingdom of God like those little children: humbly, with joy, and without reservation. Let us also remind ourselves that neither we, nor those in our lives, need to come to Jesus in any particular way. He loves us as we are.

And thank goodness for that.

I’ve never been much of a procrastinator. Of course, every so often, I would push finishing a homework assignment, studying for a test, or scheduling an appointment off until a little later than I was comfortable with, but rarely would I wait until the absolute last moment to do something.

Granted, I’m also that girl who feels late when she arrives less than ten minutes early to an appointment or commitment. What can I say… I like to feel prepared!

Sometimes, I wonder if I am this way only because the tasks and responsibilities that I dislike putting off, as well as the commitments I’m always early for, are immediate and visible. Because sometimes, I catch myself feeling that heaven is so far away that I can wait until a few more years to figure a certain area of my life out or begin doing such and such activity as a part of my faith walk.

The truth is, we have no idea when the Lord will return.

In today’s reading, we see three separate, yet similar, parables about people who were surprised by the return of their master… and we’re not talking about a “surprise party” kind of surprise, but more like a  “wow, I wasn’t prepared at all for this yet” kind of surprise.

In the first parable in Matthew 25, foolish virgins did not prepare enough for the bridegroom’s coming to have enough oil in their lamps. In the second, several servants handled the blessings their master entrusted to them much differently, and some even squandered what he had given them. The third parable looks ahead to the day all will stand before God to be judged, when the Lord will separate the sheep from the goats.

Verse 34 is encouraging to me as I prepare my heart for the day my Lord returns:

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

We can certainly learn and take something from each of these three parables; undoubtedly, specific lessons within each one will speak to different parts of our hearts. Yet the common theme throughout each of these parables is this: I’m not ready yet. In each parable, the people were caught totally off guard by the return on the one they were waiting for. They thought they had more time to get their act together, per se.

However, they didn’t have the time they thought they did. Verse 13 tells us,

¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Friends, today is a wonderful chance to begin preparing for the Lord’s return again. It is so easy to become distracted by the world and the schedule of life and forget that we are waiting on the return of our King. Let us never grow weary in waiting and forget to prepare.

I challenge you to take some time today to consider what you have been pushing off in preparing for the return of Jesus. Is it a conversation with a non-believing friend you’ve been wanting to have? Is it asking for forgiveness from someone you deeply hurt? Is it changing your habits or actions in a certain area of your life? Today is the perfect chance to realize, yet again, that THE day could come at any point. When He comes, let Him find us ready.