We just visited Mount Rushmore for the first time last week.

The pictures don’t do it justice; it’s a remarkable achievement of art and engineering, built from 1927 – 1941. The heads of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln are each 60 feet high.

You can read a version of the history here. Carved into a mountain on lands held by Native Americans, the memorial is not without controversy. However, it’s inspirational to see what a combination of vision, leadership, and funding can do to conceive and complete a major project.

Tomorrow I’ll share thoughts on the Crazy Horse Memorial, near Mount Rushmore. An even grander vision, but the “completion” part isn’t there yet.

A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul. (Proverbs 13.19, NKJV)

Surely there is a lesson here.

Three teenagers having breakfast together:

Five geezers in the same restaurant having breakfast together:

Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another… (Malachi 3.16, ESV, emphasis mine)

Yesterday, I shared this profound quote:

Education without application is just entertainment. –John W. Crane, quoting Tim Sanders in The One-Number Budget

When you think “application” of scripture, what comes to mind? Maybe…

• The 10 Commandments, especially the last five:
  • Don’t take your neighbor’s life
  • Don’t take your neighbor’s wife
  • Don’t take your neighbor’s stuff
  • Don’t lie
  • Don’t covet
• The spiritual disciplines like Daily Time with God that I talk about from time to time
• “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6.8)

Those are all good things to do. But is that all?

I was struck by this paragraph from Jesus:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, this will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14.12 – 14, LSB)

Very powerful words…linked to works. Do I believe? Where are the greater works?

The “entertainment” quote was in the context of money management, and how to save enough for retirement. It’s not enough to know, you have to act! Makes sense. What are some actions with respect to money?

• Don’t steal it (8th commandment)
• Earn it and give some away (Ephesians 4.28)
• Put it into a savings account to earn interest (the minimum form of obedience in the parable of the talents)
• Intentionally invest significant amounts for the future
• Risk it to start a business so it can be doubled or more (the commended behavior in the parable of the talents).

With respect to the Kingdom, I think most of us are content with the lower (easier) forms of obedience. Don’t do bad stuff. Try to do a little good stuff. But do I really believe Jesus wants me to do “greater works” than he did? Do I live as if I believe “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it”?

William Carey, pioneer missionary to India said:

Expect great things from God! Attempt great things for God! -William Carey

Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. (Isaiah 54.2, 3, NIV)

Jesus was clear when he was talking with the disciples after he washed their feet and told them to do likewise:

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. (John 13.14 – 15, ESV)

But the kicker is what he said next: disciples put into practice what they know:

If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. (John 13.17, LSB)

As always, the blessing is not in the knowing but in the doing. Here’s a line from a secular book on money management:

Writer and former Yahoo executive Tim Sanders has a saying that really resonates with me: “Education without application is just entertainment.” John W. Crane, The One Number Budget

Wow. “Education without application is just entertainment.” Ezekiel said it first:

As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, “Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.” So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. (Ezekiel 33.30 – 32, NKJV, emphasis mine)

James echoed it:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1.22, NIV)

What might it take to be doers of the Word? The answer may surprise you. Stay tuned.

As I wrote earlier, we can just hit a few highlights of John’s gospel – there’s so much there. I really love John 8 and 9, stories that fit together as we’ll see shortly. The chapter opens with the woman taken in adultery, something I’ve written about before. Check it out. After that event, Jesus speaks again to the Pharisees, the conservative religious elite of his day:

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are bearing witness about Yourself; Your witness is not true.” (John 8.12, 13, LSB)

The Pharisees’ response makes no logical sense. They could say, “We don’t know if what you say is true. We need another witness.” Just because they perceived there wasn’t another witness doesn’t make Jesus’ witness untrue. The conversation goes on and some actually believe:

As He was speaking these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8.30 – 32, LSB)

There it is again. “Abide in My word.” I did a two-part series on “eat my flesh, drink my blood,” which I believe is less about how we do the Eucharist and more about “abiding” — obedience to the word.

There follows a long argument on Jesus’ relationship with the Father contrasted with their relationship with their father, the devil. (See John 8.34 – 59.) When he says, “I AM,” they pick up stones to throw at him, and Jesus goes out of the temple…where he passes a blind man. The conversation on “I am the light of the world” is illustrated beautifully.

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this was so that the works of God might be manifested in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9.1 – 5 LSB)

“I am the light of the world.” Watch. (You can read the whole story here.) And Jesus heals the man’s blindness. The Pharisees are furious because it happened to be a Sabbath. The seeing man doesn’t know any theology. He’s not “smart” like the religious leaders. But he does know one thing:

Therefore, a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9.24, 25, LSB)

And, as usual, the humble and uneducated are in while the educated proud are out:

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains. (John 9.35 – 41, ESV)

I don’t know why “bird-brain” is an insult. In some ways, the birds are pretty smart. I know the robins who built a nest on my downspout, just under the eave, were enjoying their decision in the middle of several hailstorms. But here’s where they are really smart: they only feed the babies for so long:

These aren’t pictures of our robins; their location prohibited photography. But we saw them. Little heads up, beaks open, “Feed me! Feed me!” Even as they got bigger and could look out of the nest, the beaks were still open: “Hey! I’m here! Where are you? Where is my worm?” Pretty soon, of course, they’re bigger than the nest. We saw one of them take his first “flight” if you can call it that. They don’t fly, and they don’t fall, they kind of fly down.

The point is, the robin parents don’t feed the babies forever. They push them out of the nest and teach them to feed themselves. And it’s not long before those fledglings are parents themselves.

It’s the same with our children, is it not? We feed the babies. Children feed themselves. We teach young adults to cook and feed themselves, and parents feed others.

I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one. (1 John 2.12 – 14, NKJV, emphasis mine)

So why is it in many churches that the pastor looks out and sees a sanctuary full of baby birds, beaks open, saying, “Feed me! Feed me!” and both the pastor and the people like it like that?

Just last week I wrote about a Denver Bronco football player who has been suspended indefinitely for gambling. I thought an emphasis on “policy” was misguided. We should be teaching these young people that gambling is bad for them in every way imaginable.

I’m on the wrong side of society again. A July 26 article in the Wall Street Journal captures it all with this headline and sub-headline:

The NCAA’s Interest in Gambling Is Growing. Its Penalties for Athletes Who Gamble Are Shrinking.

The NCAA recently eased its penalties for athletes who gamble on sports, even if it’s legal. The association is also indicating that it wants to profit from legal wagering.

Instead of continuing to discourage college athletes from gambling, now the NCAA wants a piece of the action. The article has two photos of betting companies advertising right in the stadium where the games are played. And what are the new guidelines?

For violations in which the total amount wagered is $200 or less, the guidelines call only for mandatory gambling prevention education and no loss of eligibility.

I’m not a college student, but I think $200 is a fair amount of money. Too much to throw away on a bet. And make no mistake, “throw away” is the right expression. Last year, I pointed out that Alabama might not win the National Championship despite their very high odds in favor. In 2018, the odds were higher, and Alabama lost to Clemson in the championship game 44 – 16. Last year, they lost twice and didn’t even win their division of the SEC. I wonder how much money was lost on that “sure thing.”

But gambling is becoming more normal and some of it is considered “innocuous:”

Officially, college athletes are still prohibited from betting on any sport offered by the NCAA at any level, even seemingly innocuous activities like a tournament bracket pool or picking squares at a Super Bowl party.

A friend of mine came to faith in his 60s right after, in his words, “Coming off of a 3-day drunk and dropping $50,000 in the Super Bowl.” And how did he get his start gambling? Playing penny poker in the Marines – a “seemingly innocuous” activity.

The real message here is that just because society’s standards are changing doesn’t mean that something that used to be considered wrong or unwise is now OK. We need to be careful not to get sucked in.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5.15 – 17, ESV)

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. (1 Timothy 6.9 – 11, ESV)

We started yesterday struggling with the “eat my flesh and drink my blood” section of John 6, where we saw that Jesus himself links the idea, the metaphor, with abiding:

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. (John 6.56, ESV)

And how do we abide? Again, what does Jesus say? In John 6, it’s clear he’s talking about his teaching:

It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. (John 6.45 – 48, ESV)

And it’s never just about knowing his teaching, it’s about obeying it. That’s what the parable of the wise and foolish builders is about. And here’s a time when Peter actually gets it right. Again, the answer is right in the text:

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (John 6.66 – 68, ESV)

“You have the words of eternal life.” He got it. It’s the words – important as food.

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4.4, ESV)

Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32.44 – 47, ESV, emphasis mine)

Every now and then we run across a passage that causes us to say, “What?!” Here’s such a passage that had that effect on its initial hearers as well as on some of us:

I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6.48 – 58, 60 ESV)

“This is a hard saying…” Indeed it is…unless you’re Roman Catholic. In that case, it’s easy. “No problem. I eat his flesh and drink his blood every time I go to Mass.” It’s not hard to see how this text supports their teaching of transubstantiation.

With all due respect, I don’t think Jesus is referring to the Eucharist, where transubstantiation occurs, and I’ll share with you my reasons why not. It might take a day or two! And these thoughts are mine, derived a few days ago during my daily reading. This might not be THE answer, but it certainly is AN answer. See what you think.

My main problem with the transubstantiation interpretation is that it requires a special person to make it happen. As I saw on a poster in a Catholic church recently, “Support our seminarians! No priests, no Eucharist.” That viewpoint seems to contradict the priesthood of all believers (see 1 Peter 2.9) So we move on to what Jesus said…

“I am the Bread of Life.” Jesus has already demonstrated his penchant for metaphor. I wrote about his use of metaphor just last week. In addition, he told Nicodemus, “You must be born again,” a metaphor, which Nicodemus interpreted literally. He told the Woman at the Well he would give her “living water,” which she interpreted literally.

What do we do with bread? We eat it? How do we eat this Bread of Life? It’s right there in the text:

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. (verse 56)

“Abides” – we have a whole chapter on that later on (See John 15.1 – 17). And how do we abide? Stay tuned…

As the Father has loved me, so have I 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. (John 15.9, 10, ESV)

We looked yesterday at the different responses of Nicodemus (John 3) and the Woman at the Well (John 4). Why did Nicodemus not follow Jesus in John 3? There’s actually evidence that he did follow Jesus…eventually and secretly:

The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (John 7.45 – 52, ESV)

As an aside, I wrote back in November that everything the Pharisees said in that paragraph was wrong. Look it up! Have any of the Pharisees believed in him? Yes, actually. Nicodemus did. Here’s more evidence:

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (John 19.38 – 42, ESV)

Yes, Nicodemus was a “secret” disciple. Why? Why was the woman at the well out changing her village while Nicodemus stayed hidden? It’s simple. The woman had nothing to lose. Nicodemus did.

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19.21 – 23, ESV)

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. – Jim Elliott

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8.34 – 38, ESV)