Taking the four basic steps of the Christian lifestyle (pray, read the Bible, do what God tells you, help others do the same) will produce countless other specific steps of faith. We are to put into practice what we profess to believe as we walk with Jesus through the everyday details and decisions of real life. What step do we take? The next right one in front of us as God leads us in the way He has designed things to work for every part of our private and public lives. He will graciously provide the instruction, desire and power for us to do, say, correct, believe, feel, think or share something that fits with what we are facing. The first step in finding out your next step is to read the Bible.
Never Give Up On People
It’s so easy to give up on people who don’t seem to get it or don’t seem to care. It’s so easy to distance yourself from people who are negative. It’s so easy to walk away from people who don’t agree with us. It’s so easy to check out of relationships when we give more than we receive. But don’t stop showing people the love of Jesus, because it is the love of Jesus that can soften a heart, transform a life, rewrite a story, and impact an eternity. Though it is sometimes hard to do good to others, let us never give up on people by remembering that Jesus never gives up on us. As He does for us, may we do for others.
Life-Giving Assurances
Today, when that temptation is offered, that relationship blows up, that meeting goes wrong, that diagnosis is grim, that pleasure is available, that problem shows up, that plan falls through, and that thing happens … you will believe something to be true. Instead of believing sin’s promises that you have been abandoned by God, or you should accept a substitute for God, believe the promises of God. Place your full weight on God’s Word, for this is the only solid ground in a world full of cleverly-disguised sinking sand. If He says it, you can believe it. And if you can believe it, you can experience its life-giving assurances.
We Are Believers
There is something you and I need to understand: we are believers. There is no one who is not a believer. We all believe in something. Even to disbelieve in one thing is to believe in another. All of life’s desires, decisions, and deeds flow from one of two basic beliefs: we believe that we need God, or we believe that we do not need Him. Want to know what you believe in? Look at your life. You will pin your hopes upon your beliefs, devote your time and resources to your beliefs, look for happiness in your beliefs, find your sense of well-being in your beliefs, and stake your life on your beliefs. You. Are. A. Believer. The question is: do you believe in Jesus and the promises of God made to you in, through and because of Him?
Steps On The Way Home
Followers of Jesus take steps of faith in our day-by-day “walk” with Him. Wherever He leads, we follow in the same direction, one step at a time. In loving obedience. With humble dependance. For a blessed experience. While there are many places we will go and things we will do, there are four basic steps that every Christian takes from the beginning, and they never stop taking until they follow Jesus all the way home: Pray. Read the Bible. Do what God tells you. Help others do the same. This is how we know, follow, enjoy and share God! Certainly we will take mis-steps along the way; but Jesus will never let us lose our way.
The Secret To Contentment
Our happiness does not depend upon us getting something we want or getting rid of something we don’t want. The secret to contentment, regardless of what we have and don’t have, what we get to do and don’t get to do, who we are and who we are not, is to expect Jesus to fulfil the longings of our hearts. When we look to Him for hope, peace, rest, comfort, courage, security, companionship, strength, and provision, and trust that He will sustain us and satisfy us in all circumstances, God is honored in us, and we are happy in Him. We can be joyfully content whether we have little or much because we have it all in Jesus.
You Are Loved Today
How much God loves you does not rise with every new entry on your resume’ and does not fall with every new entry on your rap sheet. God’s love is not based on your performance as if He only cares about you when you get it right. You are loved; not because you are perfect, but because you are His. You are valued; not because of what you have made of your life, but because you were made by Him. You are treasured; not because you cross off items on a checklist, but because Jesus died on a cross for you. God will continue to shape you into the person He made you to be. But He deeply loves the person you are today.
Walk Out Of That Cage
Too many of us live as if we are still imprisoned by our sin, sorrow and struggles with no way out of the cell that confines us. Too often we let regrets from the past, imperfections in the present and fears of the future enslave us as if we are helpless and hopeless to do anything about them. Too soon we give up and give in when victory has already been secured and is almost ready to be seen. Jesus has made amends for our past, makes provision for our present and will make a way for our future until we have been fully delivered from all fears, foes and faults. Walk out of that cell today, and in faith follow Him. You have been set free.
Grace To Fight On
Do you know how often you and I need to confess our sin to God? Every. Single. Day. As Christians, we are in an ongoing war against our sin, and there are daily occasions in which we lose the battle. This spiritual journey we are on is one in which we have not yet been fully delivered from the presence of sin, so we must fight against it and confess our failings when we lose a skirmish. Every step of the way. Every time we pray. Every single day. Ours is a humble and simple cry out for grace: “I did it. I regret doing it. Help me not do it again.” Because Jesus has already secured the final victory over our sin, there is grace for us. Grace that gives us pardon when we lose the fight, and grace that gives us power to fight on.
Most Thankful
The sweetest of all thankfulness isn’t superficial; it goes deep. It goes past feeling happy that certain things are in our lives. It goes past naming those things so it is known that we appreciate them. It goes past even tracing their origin back to God and thanking the Giver for all of our blessings. There is a delightful, wonderful, beautiful experience when our gratitude is not merely directed toward God for His gifts, but toward God for Himself. The way to be best thankful for all that God has given us is to be most thankful for Him.
That’s Not You Anymore
An ongoing battle that every Christian faces is the one between the person you were before you met Jesus and the one you are now that you have met Him. The old temptations beckon. The old habits resurface. The old desires rekindle. The old loyalties divide. The old beliefs hinder. The old memories haunt. When you feel this tension, remember that you have a new identity, a new life and a new you because you believe in and belong to Jesus! You have been changed, are being changed and will be changed! So fight the good fight of faith against sin as you rejoice in this today: that’s not you anymore.
Not To Us, But To God Be The Glory
Christians should talk more about what God has done than about what we have done. Even when we speak of what we do, it should be as a platform to talk about the enabling power, provision and presence of God in our lives. We don’t have it all together. We won’t get it all together. We can’t keep it all together. None of us wear capes as if we are super Christians; we wear the righteousness of Jesus. None of us have magical powers that enable us to do things; we have the power of the Holy Spirit. None of us belong on the throne of worship; we belong to a Heavenly Father Who does. Not to us, but to God be the glory!
He Has Kept All Of His Promises To Me
Great is my faithfulness is not part of a proverb or hymn. Nobody would ever celebrate my ability to do what I should do or do what I say I will do. I’m both a promise-maker and a promise-breaker. A thousand times I have failed to follow-through on my intentions in keeping God’s expectations as I have followed Jesus. And a thousand times I have received in return… Grace. Mercy. Forgiveness. Encouragement. Renewal. Correction. Power. Motivation. Reassurance. Acceptance. Instruction. Hope. Love. I cannot say that I have kept all of my promises to God. But I can say that He has kept all of His promises to me.
An Honored God and Happy People, Part 3
In order for God to be honored in the lives of ever more people and for ever more people to find their happiness in God, we must reproduce our faith and teach others to do the same. This is known as making disciples who make disciples. A disciple is a follower of Jesus. Discipleship is the ongoing process of following Jesus. Disciple-making is the ongoing process of helping others follow Jesus. As we grow in our own faith, we also go and share our faith with others. This is our great commission. We must continually encourage other people to follow Jesus because the world is continually encouraging them not to follow Him.
An Honored God And Happy People, Part 2
How is God honored in us? How do we find happiness in Him? By knowing and making known Jesus. God the Father desires that we have a relationship with Him that is made possible through God the Son. To know Him means personally, intimately, experientially walking with Jesus by following Him in faith to experience the incredible blessings and benefits of knowing Him and belonging to Him. This shared life with Jesus is a spiritual journey referred to as a “walk” in which we take one step at a time together with Him. The closer we are to Him, the more we will find real happiness in Him, and He will be honored through us. Therefore, this is our focus: We follow Jesus. We help others follow Jesus.
God Will Provide
God is actively working behind-the-scenes for you right now to meet your needs in ways that you don’t see. You don’t have the answers; God does. You don’t know the next move; God does. You can’t see how it will work out; God does. Everything you really need will really be supplied. Not maybe. Not probably. Definitely. God will provide for every need. Not some of them. Not most of them. All of them, without exception. Right when you need it, not a second too late. Today, do the work that God has said is for you to do, and believe that He is doing the work that is not for you to do.
It’s All About Jesus
It’s easy to be mistaken about this. It’s easy to assume this. It’s easy to believe this. It’s easy to want this. It’s easy to live like this. What is this? The idea that your life is about you. It’s not. It’s all about Jesus. Today is a good day to be reminded that you and I should… Exalt Jesus. Proclaim Jesus. Model Jesus. Know Jesus. Serve Jesus. Praise Jesus. Believe Jesus. Seek Jesus. Adore Jesus. Please Jesus. Magnify Jesus. Worship Jesus. Defend Jesus. Treasure Jesus. Follow Jesus. Trust Jesus. Enjoy Jesus. Obey Jesus. Love Jesus. As Christians, everything about our lives is because of Jesus and should be used for Jesus.
This Life Is Not All There Is
It’s the cause for the fear of missing out, the fear of sacrificial service and the fear of death. It’s the reason so many strive to build their own kingdoms instead of the kingdom of God. It’s the basis for the never-ending search for happiness by looking to the world instead of looking to Jesus to find happiness that is never-ending. What is it? Living as if this life is all there is. How we think, feel, speak, and act is wonderfully different when we see things in light of eternity. Rather than letting the temporary pain and pleasure of this world control us, let us remember that for Christians, the best is always ahead in the world to come.
Trusting Leads To Transformation
If trusting in Jesus is the basis for our hope of eternal life in heaven, then how can we know that we really trust Him? The short answer is: we look for evidences that the trust we have in Him is changing us. Genuine saving belief never leaves you the same. We gradually become less like the world and more like Jesus as we follow Him in faith. Trusting Him leads to ongoing and loving… Repentance, because we believe what He offers is better than what sin offers. Obedience, because we believe His ways are always best. Confidence, because we believe what He has promised us. We believe. We change. That’s how we know.
Trying Or Trusting
If you hope to go to heaven when you die, you are basing that hope on one of two things: trying or trusting. You may be trying to be a good person or trying to practice a religion. Neither of those things will get you into heaven because it’s your sin that separates you from God and keeps you from entering His presence. No amount of trying hard to do good and right things will remove that sin and replace it with righteousness. The Christian faith is not about trusting in our own good works or even trusting that Jesus died for us plus our good works; it is about trusting that Jesus lived and died for us. Jesus + Nothing = Everything. We pin our hopes on this: He exchanged His perfect life for our imperfect ones.
