Last year during my Easter Bible readings I got stuck in John 20 and blogged about the idea of faith as a journey. This year I am stuck in John 19, and the same idea is exploding off the page.

Nicodemus only shows up three times in the Bible. But those three appearances paint a beautiful picture of three phases most of us experience in our faith journey.

1. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS. John 3:1-16. Nicodemus seemed to be fearful and skeptical yet sincere in his first encounter with Jesus. He asked questions and got answers. The answers included two of the most famous statements Jesus ever made: “You must be born again” and John 3:16. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, presumably so his peers would not know he was talking to Jesus. It’s OK if your faith journey is filled with questions and mixed with a little fear.

2. DEFENDING BUT NOT FOLLOWING. John 7:45-52. Some of the Jewish religious leaders want to kill Jesus, but Nicodemus defends Him by siting a legal loophole. At this point Nicodemus is still not following Jesus, but He is not against Him either. He’s in the middle. Some of you reading this might be defending Him, but are you following Him? Nicodemus is on a journey that will eventually take him to the cross. So are you, if you are really following Jesus.

3. RISKING ALL TO IDENTIFY WITH THE CROSS. John 19:38-42. Finally we find Nicodemus at the cross.That’s where all genuine faith journeys always end. If your faith is leading you away from the cross, you are on the wrong path. Peter and the big twelve are running and hiding, but Nicodemus is at the cross. By identifying with the cross, Nicodemus risked much more than his reputation. His job and his life were on the line. The cross is the point of no return.

Is your faith journey leading you to the cross? Are you willing to risk all and identify with the cross of Christ?

Green rivers, green beer, and goofy green hats, is that all there is to St Patrick’s Day, or is there more?

Fifteen hundred years ago Ireland was an idol-worshiping, slave-trading nation of savage pagans. In just one generation Ireland was transformed into a godly nation known for its scholars and missionaries. In his best-selling book, How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill writes that this national transformation was primarily the work of one man—Patrick.

When Patrick was a teenager in Britain, he was captured by pirates and forced into slavery in Ireland. During this time he had a life-changing encounter with the Lord.

After six years of cruel slavery, he escaped and returned home, but he soon received a divine call to return to minister to those who had enslaved him. In a vision, he heard one of his captors say, “We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and walk again among us.” Can you imagine being called to minister the love of Jesus to the very people who had enslaved you for six years? Patrick responded to that vision and returned to Ireland to preach the gospel.

Shouldn’t disciples make a positive impact on their communities? Is it actually possible to disciple a nation?

During his 30 years of missionary work in Ireland, Patrick helped establish more than 700 churches and schools and trained more than 3000 ministers, many of whom went as missionaries to Scotland, England, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. Patrick’s schools became some of the most important learning institutions in Europe during the Middle Ages, but his ministry went beyond just church work. He also helped transform government and reform laws that brought the end of slavery in Ireland.

The real St Patrick did more than wear green hats, drink green beer, and sponsor parades. So, instead of merely wearing green, why not celebrate St Patrick’s Day the way Patrick would, by MAKING DISCIPLES?

Happy St Patrick’s Day.

Exerted and edited from WikiChurch.

Last night I had the privilege of introducing my good friend, Rice Broocks at the official God’s Not Dead book launch.

After reading 1 Peter3:15, I thanked Rice for living the 4 R’s and for writing a book that will help prepare the evangelistically challenged among us to live the 4 R’s.

What are these 4 R’s I speak of?

“But in your hearts REVERE Christ as Lord. Always be prepared (READY) to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the REASON for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and RESPECT” (1 Peter 3:15)

1. REVERE. The starting point of evangelism is to have our own hearts right with God, in other words, to revere Christ as Lord.

2. READY. Once we get our hearts right, then we need to get our heads right. We need to be prepared. Trained. Equipped.

3. REASON. To get our heads right and ready, we need to understand the reasons for our hope. The God’s Not Dead subtitle explains the contents of the book: “Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty.” The 10 chapters explain 10 reasons a rational person should believe in God.

4. RESPECT. A right heart and a right head should result in treating people with respect as we engage them with the gospel.

Heartfelt thanks to Rice Broocks for providing such a great equipping tool.

To purchase your copy of God’s Not Dead, click HERE.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN. After five days of ministry, today Deborah and I became tourists, and as tourists we were surprised by a profound discipleship lesson from the famous Jade Cabbage. No, the Jade Cabbage is not a character from Kung Fu Panda. It is the most famous piece of carved jade in the history of jade carving.

Here’s how our Jade Cabbage encounter came to be. We were told that if we want to see the architecture of ancient China, then we should visit the Forbidden City in Mainland China. But if we want to see the art and treasures of ancient China, then we should visit the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Since we are in Taipei, we chose the art and treasure tour.

Oddly enough, the National Palace Museum in Taipei is the national museum of the Republic of China (Mainland China). It houses over 650,000 pieces of ancient Chinese art and artifacts covering over 8000 years of Chinese history.

We were surprised and somewhat puzzled to discover that the most revered artifact in the whole museum was the famous Jade Cabbage. A close second is the Jade Pork. The Chinese do love their food.

Compared to all the amazing artifacts, I could not understand the fascination with a piece of jade carved to look like a cabbage. I had to ask. Here’s the story.

The piece of jade chosen by the artist was a second class grade of jade with many visible imperfections. Despite the numerous flaws, the artist saw the potential and started carving what would become a famous and priceless stone vegetable.

I’m still not sure why thousands line up to view the Jade Cabbage, but an important discipleship lesson was reinforced. Even if we are working with people who have visible flaws, discipleship always focuses on the potential, not on the problems. The discipleship process helps carve away the imperfections so the human version of the Jade Cabbage can emerge, for the honor of God.