Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Have you purchased your grave site? Long before needed, my parents did–a double-depth plot in a rural cemetery near their home. In 1995, we buried my father nine feet deep. Twenty-three years later, we placed my mother’s coffin above his, at six feet. 

In Jesus’ time, that’s  a pauper’s grave. Richer people preferred a burial cave dug into soft limestone rock. Stepping inside, you’d notice a shelf for a recently deceased body, lovingly wrapped in cloth and spices. 

After the body decomposed, the bones were moved to the back, to rest with other family bones. This freed the shelf for the next customer. 

After Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus the Pharisee took him from the cross and wrapped him in linen cloth, along with a large amount of burial spices. Then they placed him on the shelf in a never-used tomb. 

The Apostles Creed says, “He was crucified, died, and was buried.” Not nine feet under like my father, nor six like my mother, but in a purpose-built cave, with a stone sealing the entrance. 

During his active ministry, Jesus went to Jairus’ house where friends were mourning a daughter’s death. He raised the daughter to life (Mark 5:38-42). In another town he interrupted a funeral procession by bringing the corpse to life (Luke 7:11-14). 

But at Jesus’ death, there’s nothing about a funeral procession, weeping relatives, or mourning friends. All John says is that two men placed his body in its final resting place. 

Or was it final? Stay tuned for the rest of the story. 

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, you interrupted funeral proceedings for Jairus’ daughter and for Lazarus and for the widow of Nain. But no one interrupted your journey from the cross to the grave. Wrapped and spiced and sealed in a tomb, you were lost to your disciples and the world.

I attended a celebration of life for a lady who was your friend, and mine. Instead of a solemn funeral, she had asked her daughter she wanted a picnic. So I brought lawn chairs and firewood. We roasted hot dogs, ate bannock, and enjoyed Vy’s famous banana cream pie. A wonderful way to celebrate her life.

But for you, Jesus, there was no celebration of life, no picnic, not even an old fashioned funeral. Just a burial that left family and friends lonely and dejected. 

Thank you for participating in the life we live and the death we die. Thank you for experiencing the cross and the grave. 

Thank you for living in us today, for walking life’s road with us, for preparing us for death, and for eternal life with you.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Pilate declared Jesus innocent, but ordered his crucifixion anyway. Maybe being consistent wasn’t his strong suit. 

Little wonder he had a sign nailed to the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. Did he believe that or was he just insulting the Jews?

The sign did insult the religious leaders. “Change it to say he claimed to be king,” they requested (19:21). 

Fed up with the whole situation, Pilate said, “What I have written, I have written” (19:22). 

Those are the last recorded words we hear from Pilate. Earlier, he asked, “What is truth?” and now he’s inadvertently publishing the truth about Jesus, a truth neither he nor the religious leaders believed. But his proclamation was there for all to see while Jesus was dying.

John’s description of the crucifixion is strangely muted. Nothing about the pain and torture. John tells more about how the soldiers distributed Jesus’ clothes than about the prisoner dying naked.

He places greater emphasis on Jesus’ request that John care for mother Mary, than on Jesus’ slow and torturous death. 

He quotes Jesus’ words, “I am thirsty.” Jesus, who promised rivers of living water, now dying thirsty? 

John quotes Jesus’ final words, “It is finished.” Oddly enough, not “I am finished,” but “It is finished.” What exactly was finished? His life? His mission? 

When the soldiers found Jesus unexpectedly dead, they were surprised. Most victims lived somewhat longer. The soldiers pierced Jesus with a spear, bringing a flow of blood and water. 

This is the climax, the strange climax, of Jesus’ teaching about blood and water. 

After Jesus fed 5,000, he invited the lunch guests to eat his flesh and drink his blood. They were repulsed. 

Water was also important to Jesus’ ministry. John baptized him in water. Jesus changed water into wine, he advised Nicodemus to be born of water and the spirit, he offered springs of living water to a thirsty woman. He walked on water, he washed his disciples’ feet, he promised that faith would cause rivers of living water to flow from within. 

And now at Jesus’ death, blood and water flow from his side. 

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, as the Rock of Ages hymn says,
    Let the water and the blood
      From your riven side which flowed
    Be of sin the double cure,
      Cleanse me from its guilt and power. 
(Augustus Toplady, Rock of Ages Cleft for Me)

Your mother Mary was present at your death, experiencing what Simeon prophesied at your birth, “This child will cause the rise and fall of many in Israel . . . .and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:34-35). 

John doesn’t describe Mary’s grief at your death. But we believe the water and blood that flowed from your spear-wound will wash away her pain and heal her grief. And we believe your water and blood have flowed for two thousand years, washing us today, quenching our thirst, causing your life to live in us.

We receive the gifts you gave on the cross. Help us to live lives worthy of your gifts.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Do you like easy escape routes from difficult problems? I sure do! So did Pilate in John 19. Pilate’s problem of the week was Jesus. “What am I to do with that man?” Pilate’s escape route? Make Jesus someone else’s problem.   

First, he said to Jesus’ accusers, “He’s not guilty of anything. It’s Passover. Let’s celebrate by releasing him” (18:39). 

“No way!” they replied. “Don’t do that! Release the criminal Barabbas.” So Barabbas went free, and Pilate still had the Jesus problem. 

Now what? 

Pilate had Jesus whipped; soldiers dressed him in kingly purple and pressed a crown of thorns on his head, making it bleed. They slapped him. They mocked him: “Hail! King of the Jews!” (19:1-3).

After that, back to Pilate. He called in the Jewish leaders and showed them a sorry, beaten, bloody prisoner. Nothing for them to be afraid of here, was there?  

But the religious leaders weren’t satisfied. Tortured and humiliated, yes, but Jesus was still alive. “Crucify him,” they cried (19:6).  

Again Pilate tried to escape. “If you want him crucified, you do it. I do not find him guilty” (19:6).

The Jewish leaders escalated. “He claimed to be the Son of God. That’s guilty enough to  crucify.” 

Pilate, cornered and fearful, asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?” Perhaps if Jesus was a son of God, his God could provide a solution. 

Jesus was silent. Frustrated, Pilate snapped, “I can crucify you or set you free. Don’t you care?” (19:10).

Jesus said, “Your power comes from God. My accusers are the guilty ones” (19:11). That didn’t help Pilate. His authority came from Rome, and maybe also this Jewish God Jesus talked about. But the problem was how to use his authority. 

Little wonder Pilate was confused. 
  Was this prisoner a son of God? King of the Jews? Just another poser? 
  Why wouldn’t he answer Pilate’s questions?
  But Pilate continued to believe that crucifying him was a bad idea.

Finally, the religious leaders pitched their strongest argument. “Jesus claims to be king. He’s in competition with Caesar. Make your choice, Pilate. Prove your loyalty to Caesar by crucifying this pretender. Or let him live, and you’ll be a traitor to Rome. You know how Rome treats traitors.”

With no escape route left, Pilate ordered Jesus’ death. 

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, the religious leaders said, “We have no king but Caesar” (19:15). 

We too are religious. Who is our king today? Like Pilate and the Jews, we live in the space between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God. We serve our country and pay taxes. We donate to our church and worship on Sunday. 

Help us see clearly the claims of both kingdoms. Help us give Caesar what is Caesar’s. And help us proclaim from the heart, “We have no king but you, Jesus.” 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Do you feel sorry for Pontius Pilate? I do. Sometimes. 

Assigned to a backwater Roman province inhabited by troublesome religious fanatics, keeping a brutal peace with threats and swords and crosses. Despite his troubles and the malcontents he governed, I think Pilate retained some sense of fairness and justice.  

When the religious leaders brought Jesus, he said, “OK. What are the charges?” (18:29). 

They replied, “He’s a criminal, that’s why we’re here.” 

“Then don’t bother me,” said Pilate. “Judge him by your law.” 

“Done,” they said. “Our law condemns him to death. Capital punishment is your department” (18:30-32). 

Pilate interviewed Jesus to assess the problem. 

“Are you king of the Jews?” he asked. I hear in his question a plea for sanity in this insane world. Surely this prisoner is lucid enough to know he’s not a king.

“Me, a king?” said Jesus. “Did you think that up yourself or have you been listening to rumors?” (v 33-34). 

“I’m no Jew,” Pilate said. “You are and your people hate you. What have you done?”

Jesus said, “I’m not king in this world. My kingdom’s from a different place” (v 35-36).

“Ahh,” exclaimed Pilate. “So you are a king!” Can you hear his sigh of resignation. He thought he’d heard it all but this prisoner-cum-king presents a new level of insanity.  

“So you are a king.” 

“If that’s how you put it, I won’t argue,” Jesus replied. “I came into the world to tell the truth. People of truth listen to me” (v 37). 

“What is truth?” asked Pilate. I’m guessing Pilate doesn’t see a shred of truth in this prisoner. Let Jews practice their religion. Let Jesus rule his invisible kingdom. Pilate’s truth is visible, Rome conquering the world. Pilate’s creed is pragmatism. Do something. Solve a problem. Make a judgement. Don’t waste time philosophizing about truth.  

So Pilate announced his verdict. This prisoner can call himself “king of truth” if he wants, or even “king of the Jews.” That’s not in my wheelhouse. That’s no threat to Rome. You religious leaders can go away and debate truth with Jesus. Don’t waste my time.

Let’s pray. 

O Father, what is truth? Does science give a true measure of earth’s age? Is a billion years of evolution your idea or merely our imagination? Are our lives flecks of dust in a cosmic universe, or are we truly children of the most high God?

O Father, when you speak of truth, you don’t point to the stunning vastness of the universe, or the complexity of human history, or the probabilities of quantum mechanics. You explain truth by sending a person. Jesus, who showed up on earth, announced his invisible kingdom, journeyed  through lies and imprisonment and death, and promised freedom and truth to his followers. 

He is our truth. We are citizens of his kingdom. Students of his teaching. Apprentices to his way of life. We are his brothers and sisters, your children on earth.

Teach us to live this truth, for he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

When someone writes my biography, I want them to skip the shameful episodes. But Gospel writer John didn’t show that courtesy to his friend Peter. 

In John 18, Peter lied three times, saying he wasn’t Jesus’ disciple. 

John’s gospel is supposed to be good news about Jesus. So why does it publish bad news about Peter? Peter’s hypocrisy sure doesn’t show Jesus as an amazing teacher.

Here’s the story. When Jesus was arrested, Peter was in fighting mode. He pulled his sword and chopped off someone’s ear. The next day, Peter was in full retreat.  “Umm, Jesus? You think I know him? Remind me who he is.” 

For three years, Peter had grown accustomed to miracles–water into wine, lunch for 5,000, storms stilled, walking on water. Exciting times with a powerful Jesus. That was Peter’s life. 

But now Jesus has been arrested, accused, condemned. He could say something to make soldiers back off. He could just walk away from trouble. But no! This time Jesus quietly submits to false accusations and miscarried justice. 

Yesterday Peter used his sword in a story he understood. Today the story has changed, and Peter backs away from a plot that is going wrong.  

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, we know your story. Miracles. Wine. Free lunch. Storms stilled. Critics silenced. Disciples learning a new way to God. 

But Peter, and we, have come to see another side of you. Walking into trouble instead of on water. Being interrogated instead of controlling the narrative. Risking your life under a corrupt religion and an unjust empire. 

Like Peter, we follow because you are powerful, not weak. We come for truth, not for the lies and conspiracies that now circle round you. We follow because we thought justice would win, but today’s headlines are partisan religion and corrupt politics.

O Jesus, help us find our place with you, wherever your story leads. In this confusing life, may we walk with you. In good times and bad, may we follow faithfully. 

Teach us to walk with you.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Who was in charge of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion? Was it the religious leaders who concocted charges? Pilate who had Jesus whipped and crucified? Maybe God who seemed to be watching from afar? 

John’s gospel gives the answer. 

After the Last Supper, Jesus went across the Kidron Valley, near Jerusalem, with his disciples. Judas was waiting there, with soldiers and religious officials to arrest Jesus and shut down his irksome program of miracles, disciple-making, and religious subversion. 

Jesus said to them, “Who do you want?” 

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied (v 4-5).

“I am,” Jesus said, echoing an Old Testament name for God. The arresting party didn’t get it, but John did. 

At Jesus’ words, the soldiers fell down. Really? Soldiers, accustomed to strong language and stronger weapons, tripped over Jesus’ words? Just because he spoke God’s name?

After they got themselves back up, Jesus asked again, “Who do you want?” 

“Jesus of Nazareth” (v 8). 

“I already told you! That’s me,” said Jesus, sounding annoyed. “Take me if you want. But let my disciples go” (v 9). 

Peter, who had recently promised he would die for Jesus (John 13:37), drew a sword and chopped off a man’s ear. Maybe it was a miracle, or maybe his incompetent sword-play that kept him from cutting off the man’s head.

Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword away. My Father is giving me this cup to drink” (v 11). 

Jesus doesn’t play victim. He doesn’t lawyer up to protect himself. He doesn’t want his disciples to act like security guards. In this play, Jesus has the lead role and the main speaking parts. 

Judas, the betrayer, made a brief appearance, but John shooed him offstage to put Jesus in the spotlight. Jesus is also the director, giving orders, keeping soldiers on script, telling Peter how to act his part.  

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, how easily we get off script in the play of lives. We write our own lines, speak our own thoughts, choreograph our own moves.  

Teach us to be actors in your play. Like the soldiers, may we bow down at the name of God. Like Peter, may we drop our swords at your command. Like you, may we drink the cup the Father gives us. 

As we play our part in your great drama, help us obey your directions. May we say the lines you write for us, and play the role you script for us. May our story be the story where you are in charge. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

What is the most difficult chapter in John’s gospel? For me, chapter 17, Jesus’ prayer for himself, his disciples, and future believers. 

I have three difficulties with that prayer. 

First, John describes Jesus being “lifted up” on the cross as a sign of glory, but I cringe at the brutal execution. Move along, folks, too gory and no glory here. 

But John sees otherwise. Act one of Jesus’ glory: he’s lifted up on a cross to become the savior of the world. Act two: he’s lifted up higher, into heaven, to resume sharing God’s glory. 

A second difficult thing is the lack of story. So far in John, Jesus has been busy interacting with many people: a wedding party at Cana, foreign exchange tellers at the temple, a puzzled Nicodemus, a woman at a well, hostile religious leaders, Lazarus’ grieving family, disciples. But chapter 17 is a monologue. Jesus talks to his father, and doesn’t tell us if his father responds. 

A third difficult thing is the vast and deep curriculum Jesus covers. I can’t wrap my head around much of his thinking. Consider: 

   “Make them holy through your truth. Your word is truth” (v 17). What would my life be if I understood the truth and became holy? I’m not sure. 

   Jesus prayed, “I’m not of this world, and neither are my disciples; but don’t remove them from the world. Protect them” (v 14-15). Again, I’m not sure I get it. What is my relationship to the world? What do I need protection from?

   Jesus prayed, “May all believers be one, like I am in you, Father, and you are in me” (v 20-21). All believers one? For 2,000 years we’ve argued about doctrine and practice and what Jesus meant. Who’s in charge of Jesus’ church today? The pope? The Southern Baptists? The Pentecostals? How can we all become one? 

That’s what I find difficult about Jesus’ prayer. 

On the other hand, here are three things I like. 

First, Jesus calls God “Father” six times. There’s a friendliness, an intimacy, a shared life, a sense of safety in the close relationship Jesus has with his Father. I wonder if I could have a relationship like that with God, my father? 

Second, Jesus mentions the world 17 times in his prayer. As a Jesus follower, I’m glad he recognizes that my life is firmly rooted in a place and in a cultural system called the world. Theologian Deitrich Bonhoeffer said we should be “worldly” Christians. It’s not just a place in heaven we’re looking for, but a place on earth.

Jesus knows the world poses dangers for his followers, so he prays protection from the evil one who rules the world, and he prays that we will become holy while living in the world. 

Third, I like Jesus’ relationship with his followers. “I in them, and you, Father, in me.” Fortunately, my religion is not just a distant God telling me how to live. It’s a nearby God, making his home in me, changing me from the inside out.  

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, I do not understand but I repeat your prayers to your father, who is also my father. 

   Make me holy through your truth, Father. Your word is truth (v 17). 
   Help me to be in the world, not of the world (v 14-16). 
   Help me share the full measure of Jesus’ joy (v 13). 
   Protect me from the evil one (v 15). 
   Give me the glory that you gave Jesus (v. 22).
   Bring all Jesus’ followers to unity (v 23). 

But most of all, make your home in me and change me from the inside out. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Does God give you everything you pray for? In John 16 Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in my name, my Father will give you ” (v. 23). 

Eight years ago, my first podcast was, “The Problem Jesus Created for People Who Pray.” My problem? Jesus promised whatever I asked for, but that didn’t work, so why bother praying?

Think about it. There are two ways to pray. The first is with a shopping list. God has everything. I don’t have much, so when I pray, I read him my shopping list and head for the check-out counter. 

That’s a transaction-driven prayer life. Measured by tangible results and by stuff God gives me. Sometimes God answers my shopping list prayers. Usually, not so much.  

Another way of praying doesn’t ask, “What do I want God to give me?” but “How can I spend time with God?” That sees prayer as a relationship, not a transaction. 

A friend had a leg operation, followed by six weeks at home with her leg in a cast. “I’m looking forward to an extended time of intimate fellowship with God.,” she told me.

I visited after three weeks to see how she and God were doing. The operation had gone well, the cast was fine, and she was getting better. But life with God? Not so good. She hadn’t found much time for God. And when she did, she didn’t experience the quiet, rewarding intimacy she anticipated. 

I sipped her tea and didn’t offer advice.

In my experience, it’s difficult to have a satisfying relationship with God. When I show up to pray, he seldom shows up at all. Maybe he has a different schedule or maybe has different ideas than I do about how our relationship should work. 

Author Henri Nouwen said, “Why should I spend an hour in prayer when I do nothing but think about people I am angry with, people who are angry with me, books I should read,  books I should write, and thousands of other silly things that happen to grab my mind for a moment?” (The Road to Daybreak, (New York: Image Books, 1989), p. 29).

My problem exactly. 

Nouwen’s answer? “I might think that each hour is useless, but after thirty or sixty or ninety such useless hours, I gradually realize that I was not as alone as I thought; a very small gentle voice has been speaking to me far beyond my noisy place” (ibid., p. 30).

Let’s pray. 

O Father, Jesus promised you would give us whatever we ask in his name. But you don’t. When I need comfort, you are distant. When I want intimacy, you are absent. When I need support and encouragement, you are silent.

So why do I pray, and what can I make of Jesus’ black and white promise? 

I pray because I believe you listen. 
I pray because I need to hear your voice.
I pray because you have answers, even if I can’t hear them yet.  

Take my prayers, born in anxiety, marred by distractions, afflicted with impatience.  

Be with me in my useless hours of prayer. Hold me in your arms. Turn my restless thoughts to you. Hear the prayers I cannot pray. 

Thank you that you live in me, and that I live in you. Help me grow in our life together. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Do you follow Jesus’ advice, “Don’t judge or you will be judged”? (Mat 7:1). What are the chances you misunderstand what Jesus meant? 

I once invited two door-knocking Jehovah’s Witnesses into my living room. I listened carefully and questioned their approach to God and scripture. One of them quoted Jesus, “Do not judge,” and told me that JW’s don’t judge others. 

But I have a friend who dated a Jehovah’s Witness man and his church disapproved, so they shunned him, treating him like an outsider, socially rejecting him. Was that judging, or what? 

In John 16, Jesus warns that the world will judge his followers. They will be shunned by Jewish synagogues, persecuted by fanatics who don’t know God, and killed by religions that profess to serve God. 

Jesus’ response to this judgement? He will judge those who judge his followers. The Holy Spirit Advocate or lawyer who Jesus sends will prosecute the world, showing where it is wrong and judging it for sin (v 8-11). 

Jesus sends the same Holy Spirit Advocate to Christians–not as judge, but as the spirit of truth, teaching us right and wrong, true and false (v 13). 

I make two comments about judgment. 

1. First, the harshest definition of judge is to condemn someone. If I say, “God damn him” that’s a serious judgment. Does that person deserve damnation? Not from me! That’s God’s job. 

2. Another meaning of judge is to evaluate someone’s action or behavior. Referees in World Cup soccer use the rule book to judge players’ actions, issuing yellow and red cards for bad behavior, except when President Trump intervenes. But notice: the referees judge actions, not players. They leave it to newscasters and commentators and armchair pundits like me to judge players as principled or dishonorable.

Jesus said, “From within, out of people’s hearts, comes sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly (Mark 7:21). 

When I see theft, murder, or adultery, Jesus doesn’t ask me to suspend my judgement. I need to recognize and name bad behavior. 

But after evaluating and naming behavior, I ask God to judge the person.

I used to be bitter toward my father for his anger and stubbornness, but now I remember his generosity and kindness. I can still name and forgive his wrongs, and  I can celebrate what was right about him. But best of all, I trust God to judge his person and life. 

That’s what Jesus teaches. Live in the real world, recognizing bad attitudes and bad behavior. But don’t judge the people. Leave judgement to God. 

Let’s pray. 

O God, your Spirit convinces us of what is right, convicts us of wrong, and helps us prepare for when you will judge everyone. 

Help me make accurate judgements about sin. To name it, to abhor it. To discern bad motives and bad behavior. To confess where I sin against you or others.

Forgive me where I participate in the systems and the spirit of the world. For being part of a system that privileges the rich and oppresses the poor. For profiting from economics that protect my wealth while others go homeless. 

Send us your spirit of truth. May the JW’s who visited me find truth in Jesus. May the Anglican church I attend be transformed by the truth of scripture. May our society learn the wisdom and compassion of Jesus. 

And may you, our God, judge us in mercy.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Is God your friend? My spiritual director said to me once, “You always think of God as an authority figure: king, ruler, boss, law-giver, judge. Do you ever think of him as friend or father?”  

Good question. It exposed something in me. My church told me Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. But mine was an arms-length relationship with God, a business relationship, not personal at all. 

Something like me and a lawyer. God supervised the legal transaction where Jesus took my sin and I went free. Very professional.

As I struggle endlessly to control thoughts and manage behavior, I often feel I am working alone, rolling stones up a mountain, while God and Jesus stand at a distance as observers and judges. 

But in John 15 Jesus said, “I’m going to stop calling you servants. Now we are friends” (v. 15). 

Okay. Friends with Jesus. But what does that look like when we go out for coffee? Is it me sitting alone with two coffee cups? If I talk to my invisible friend, will people think I’m weird?

Next, Jesus talks about enemies, saying, “If the world hates you, it hated me first” (v 18). That’s encouraging. I’m queued up behind Jesus to be hated?

But I’m not doing what they hated Jesus for. I don’t excoriate Pharisees or promote a new religion. I don’t call myself God or question established religion. When Paul came to town, there were riots. When I come to town, they serve tea. 

I practice flashlight Christianity. As Jesus said, ”Let your light shine so people will see your good works” (Mat 5:16). 

John 15. Jesus on friends and enemies. Maybe my spiritual life needs both. 

Let’s pray. 

O Father, I do good works to build my reputation. I don’t attract hate like Jesus did. I don’t call religious leaders hypocrites. I don’t post outlandish content online. I live a quiet life, a peaceful life. 

Help me become Jesus’ friend. To understand what he and I can accomplish together. To hang out with him in the privacy of my heart, in the fellowship of my church, in my journey through the world. Help me share my struggles with him, listen to his opinions, and walk as he walked. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.