Jesus lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, and rose victoriously from the grave. He did not live, die and rise so we could remain stuck in our sin and struggles as if He did nothing at all. He came to forgive us and free us from: bitterness, selfishness, laziness, unkindness, purposelessness, sadness, fearfulness and all ungodliness so we might walk in newness of life. You can do all things through Him. You are more than a conqueror by Him. You are a new creation in Him. As you live today, do so with a mindful awareness of, confidence in and dependance on the power and presence of Jesus. You aren’t who you used to be, and you don’t have to live like you are.
Look Past Distractions
Every single day we are forced to choose sides. We will either serve Jesus or something else. We will either prefer Jesus or something else. We will either trust Jesus or something else. The enemy of our souls wants us to look away from Jesus, look at substitutes for Jesus, and look for life apart from Jesus. So, he calls out to us over and over again… Look. Over. Here. He offers distractions to divide our attention and divide our loyalty so he can divide and conquer us. Therefore, let us pray every day that God would get our focus where it needs to be so we look past the distractions to Jesus for help on how best to live.
Trials Are Not Pointless
Trials are not pointless; in the end they mean something because God uses them as a means to an end. God uses trials in our lives to confirm, grow, mature, enrich, solidify, purify, multiply and consummate our faith as we trust in, and rely on, the steadfast presence of Jesus to preserve us until the end. In order for us to count our present hardships as joy, we must think about our future. Our faith muscle becoming stronger. Our deliverance becoming sooner. Our witness becoming louder. Our homecoming becoming sweeter. Look ahead to see that there is always something better ahead for those who hope in Jesus.
The First Step
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Real Peace
You will never experience real peace until you rest in God’s grace. Anything else results in some version of regret for your past, pressure to measure up in the present, or worry about what might happen to you in the future. Peace is elusive when we look to ourselves to make things right because there is always this ever-present feeling that we are not doing enough. Indeed, we cannot do enough. Nor do we need to, for Jesus has done it all. Resting in God’s grace means trusting that Jesus forgives, Jesus frees and Jesus is faithful to provide. Herein is peace found: I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Depend On Him
We were not made to be self-reliant, self-sustaining or self-sovereigns. God created us to be dependent upon His gracious care and provision, turning to Him and trusting in Him, moment by moment for what we need. Our wisdom and willpower are inadequate for handling life, but His is infinite, and it is readily available to those who trust in Jesus. Don’t try to make it on your own. You were never meant to. When there is a mile-high mountain or a mountain of little stuff piled up a mile high that is too big for you to climb, perhaps God put it there as a gracious and loving reminder for you to depend on Him.
Defeating Doubt
Defeat doubt by preparing for battle in advance by filling your heart with the truth of God’s Word. In advance, because doubt appears without warning. With the truth of God’s Word, because doubt arrives with lies. The enemy will attack you in times of darkness because it’s hard to see him coming, and it’s hard to see the situation for what it really is. Therefore, start your day in the light by saturating your heart with a good and accurate picture of God’s graciousness and faithfulness so you can remember, rejoice in and rely on those truths and promises when darkness falls. Never forget in the dark what God has shown you in the light.
Short #7: It Is Coming
We don’t like to think about it. We don’t like to talk about it. But death is coming for us all. We may not be certain of the time of its arrival, but the certainty of its arrival is never in doubt. Instead of ignoring, downplaying or fearing it, we should let its reality accomplish two essential and monumental things in our lives: be purposeful to experience life before death, and be prepared to experience life after death. Jesus makes both of these possible when we entrust ourselves to Him. Live fully. Die ready.
Short #6: For Recovering Sight-Walkers
I’m a recovering sight-walker. Give me the plan. Give me the map. Tell me where we’re going, how we’re going to get there, what’s going to happen along the way, and what awaits us at our destination. While the Bible does give us the “big picture” view of these things, the everyday details of our individual lives aren’t specifically given to us in advance. It takes faith for us to follow Jesus into the unknown, uncertain and, often, unfamiliar spaces where He leads us. But our faith rests firmly in this: when Jesus calls us to leave our comfort zones, we can be sure He will always go with us and provide for us.
Short #3: Time With Jesus
Admit it, some days are a blur. We wake up, and over the coming hours, it’s a nonstop rush to not fall behind. You know what the cure is for being overwhelmed, worried and frustrated about the many things on our schedules? Making the right choice to spend unhurried, undistracted time with Jesus today. That’s the most important part of our day, and it should have the most intentional part of our schedule because it’s the most influential part of our lives. #talktoJesus #listentoJesus
Short #1: Conviction And Celebration
When reading the Bible, if you don’t experience both conviction and celebration, you’re not reading it correctly. On one hand, we should not ignore the places where God’s words challenge and correct the way we are living if we are disobedient to His commands. On the other hand, we should not isolate the places where God issues His commands so all we have is a list of “dos and don’ts”. A proper reading and understanding of the Bible should equip us to joyfully do as God intends and encourage us with all that Jesus has done, is doing and will do for us which makes it possible and makes it worth it.
It’s Okay To Not Be Okay – Part 2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
God means for us to share our burdens with others and bear the burdens of others. Yet, one of life’s biggest struggles for many people is to let others inside. We’ve been programmed to think we shouldn’t let people see our weaknesses. Or to believe that we are tough enough to take care of ourselves. Or to expect people to walk away if they get to know the real person inside of us. We drift from God’s design to the enemy’s desire for how our lives ought to be fashioned. We find it easier to ask for help carrying groceries into the house than we do in carrying the burdens of our hearts. We tend to talk about our fantasy football struggles, but not our marital struggles. We let people know our thoughts about the weather, politics, and workplace matters, but we tuck away our battles with depression, worry, fear, addiction, and overwhelm. Yet God sent Jesus as the ultimate burden-bearer to take on to Himself our sin and struggles. He lived the life we could not live, died in our place on the cross, and rose from the dead to secure both forgiveness and freedom for every place we are not okay. To those He called to be in the family of God, He also called to live as the family of God in administering His care to one another until the day comes when He will welcome us into our heavenly home, and there will be no more burdens to bear. Until then, it’s time to repent of thinking, believing, and acting as if you’re alone in the struggle. It’s also time to repent of leaving others alone in their struggles when God has called you to step in and offer His care. It’s okay to not be okay. It’s not okay to stay that way. Especially when God has equipped the church to take care of one another as we depend upon Him to graciously provide what we need in our time of need. The smartest thing you can do when you find yourself feeling overpowered, overwhelmed or overloaded is to ask for help. If it’s more than you can handle alone, that’s God’s way of saying He doesn’t want you to handle it alone.
It’s Okay To Not Be Okay – Part 1
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
It’s okay to not be okay. It’s not okay to stay that way. It’s not okay to hide your hurt. It’s not okay to handle it alone. It’s not okay to refuse help. It’s not okay to keep silent. It’s not okay to withdraw. It’s not okay to settle. It’s not okay to lose hope. It’s not okay to push others away. Self-sufficiency was never a part of God’s design for us. From mankind’s beginning, He purposed that we would be a people who needed help. Help from Him. Help from each other. God did not give us the means to accomplish every task, satisfy every need, solve every dilemma, and fulfill every longing in isolation from other people. In reality, there is actually very little we can do completely on our own. There is no shame in admitting you need help. We are broken people living in a broken world, so of course, there is going to be an open-ended need for assistance in every category of our lives. To need help is simply to be human. You and I are not wise enough, strong enough, or resourceful enough to go at it alone. God never meant for us to. Instead, He made us to be a people who would look to Him for help. Of course, He sometimes delivers this essential aid through divine intervention. But many times, He works through divine community. He calls, gifts, empowers, mobilizes, and sends the church of Jesus to be His hands, feet, and mouth to people inside and outside the family of God. To care for His people and to care for others so they become His people. He made us to be interdependent upon each other as a means of being dependent on Him. Therefore, it is your responsibility to let me know when you’re not okay so I can do what God called me to do in providing you help. It is my responsibility to do the same in reverse. It is our mutual obligation to “bear one another’s burdens” by asking for care when we are in a place of need, and giving care when we are in a position to meet needs. This is God’s design for us. This is how God works through us. This is how God provides for us. #shareyourburdenswithothers #beartheburdensofothers
