“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV)
Picture, if you will, living at a time when it is illegal to own or even quote an English translation of the Bible. In 1526 in England, those who owned an English copy of the Bible were under the threat of execution by order of the king of England himself. Many Christians today are not aware of the incredible sacrifices that were made for an English translation of the Bible to end up in their hands today.
Knowing what it cost others and how willingly they made those sacrifices is inspiring and motivates me to treasure my Bible more dearly. William Tyndale was one such man who gave up so much out of devotion to God and love for others. Prior to Tyndale translating the New Testament and much of the Old Testament into English, only scholars in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew could read and understand Scripture. Everyone else had to rely on their bishops to tell them what the Bible said.
This is hard for us in the 21st century to wrap our minds around, because today we have the Bible at our fingertips, a mere click or two away. But Scripture foretold times when there would be a famine—”not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11, ESV).
Tyndale had studied Greek and Hebrew and knew the treasure of having a relationship with God based on Holy Scripture. He knew that Scripture was not merely the words of wise men, but the very words of the living God, which could be translated into any language (1 Thessalonians 2:13). His heart burned with a passion for the common people of his day to experience the Word of God in the same way.
At one point, a highly esteemed Latin scholar told Tyndale, “It would be better to be without God’s laws than without the pope’s.”
Tyndale courageously responded, “I defy the pope and all his laws! In fact, if God spares my life, I intend to make it possible for a common farmer, a plowman, to know more of the Scripture than you do!”
He spent the next ten years working tirelessly across Europe, fleeing persecution from one nation to the next, translating the Bible into the language even a plowman could read and understand. Tyndale was eventually betrayed and imprisoned. Although he couldn’t do the translation work in prison, he continued to preach the saving message about the crucified and risen Jesus. In fact, the jailer, the jailer’s daughter, and other members of his household surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus.
Finally, on October 6, 1536, Tyndale was taken out of his prison, strangled to death, and his body was burned as a warning to all who would participate in his Bible-translating rebellion. Just before dying, William Tyndale prayed aloud, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes!” That prayer was answered three years later when the king of England decreed that Tyndale’s New Testament be placed in every church in England!
It’s impossible to calculate the value of having God’s Word so readily available today.
When I hear about Tyndale’s devotion and sacrifice that led to me having a Bible in my hands, I am deeply moved and compelled to treasure these words and never take them for granted. I hope you feel the same way. God has spoken. And He intends for us to know Him through His Word.
“In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” (Psalm 119:14-16, ESV)
I pray that just because the Bible is so accessible in our day, it would not be overlooked as the precious gift that it is.
Have thoughts on this post? I’d love to hear from you!
What we prioritize determines the course of our lives.
There’s a simple law of reality that says, “If you don’t set your priorities, someone else will set them for you.” In fact, more often than not, the world will set your priorities. Busyness will set your priorities for you. Your long list of “To Dos” will set your priorities. But God wants us to begin with Him. He doesn’t want us to try and squeeze Him into our busy schedule; He wants to be involved with every aspect of life.
Jesus gave us a really helpful perspective for setting priorities: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [the basic necessities of life] will be added to you.”[1] For Jesus, the number one priority in life was the Kingdom of God. He didn’t drift through life passively. He began each day intentionally. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”[2]
Jesus lived with the Kingdom in mind. He said His food was to do the will of God, His Father.
And that’s where Jesus would have us begin, too.
We tend to say things like, “There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.” But actually, there are exactly the right number of hours in a day. God ordained from all eternity that there would be 24 hours in a day. No more, no less. And it falls to each of us to determine how we will use those precious hours.
We say, “My days have been really full lately.” I think I said that to someone recently. But the truth is, every day is filled with something. It could be filled with working nonstop. It could be filled with chasing the next thrill. It could be filled with binging on Netflix with a bowl of popcorn on the easy chair. But every day is filled with something.
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16, ESV)
Now, in one sense, we have zero control over unexpected events in life. But in another sense, we are the ones that get to set our own priorities. God gives us agency.
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, ESV)
These lives are finite. Live in light of eternity. Fill every day with what matters most. Begin with God.
Have thoughts on this post? I’d love to hear from you!
“In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:4).
Recently, I heard someone use a phrase I often hear: “I’ve always tried to be a good Christian man.” Hearing this statement got me thinking. What do most people mean when they claim to be a “good Christian” or even a “Christian”? Just because a phrase is used all the time doesn’t mean we are all meaning the same thing. In fact, when people don’t clearly explain what they mean by a certain term, that often means there are a lot of hidden assumptions.
For so many people today, they think that being a Christian is about doing all the good, Christian things we’re supposed to be doing. They think that as long as they are listening to Christian music, going to church, occasionally posting a Bible verse on Facebook or X, then they must be a Christian.
For many, “Jesus” is more of an idea than a person. He’s a flannel graph character with a beard and long hair who likes to cuddle lambs. Others consider Jesus their “homeboy” or “co-pilot,” according to their T-Shirt or bumper sticker. It’s as if Jesus is merely this invisible guy that exists for them.
Jefferson Bethke is an author and songwriter who grew up thinking he knew what being a Christian was all about. In his book Jesus is Greater Than Religion, he talks about when he first started attending a Christian university, he tried to fit in with everyone else.
Jefferson writes, “So I decided to copy what ‘being a Christian’ was all about by watching others. I took off my earrings, stopped wearing basketball jerseys, tried my hardest to memorize Hillsong United’s greatest hits, and listened to the Christian radio station. I thought that if I did enough Christian things, it would bring peace to my life. It didn’t work.”
Jefferson eventually realized that though he called himself a Christian, he wasn’t really following Jesus, but an Americanized religious subculture. He came to see that the real Jesus of the Bible is far more powerful and radical than the Sunday School version he’d been taught.
He finally recognized his religious works were nothing but foolish attempts to try to buy God off. He understood now that God is holy, just, and righteous. Furthermore, he was everything God was not. That’s why he needed the cross. On “Skull Rock,” Jesus lovingly gave up His life so that he could have life. Jesus bore the penalty that God’s justice demanded for his sins, and on the third day, He rose in triumph from the grave.
Jefferson came to the foot of the cross and surrendered to the real and living Jesus for the first time.
In view of cultural Christianity, he adds, “In our subculture Jesus would have never been crucified—he’s too nice… The Jesus of the Bible is a radical man with a radical message, changing people’s lives in a radical way. In the Scriptures, Jesus isn’t safe.”
That reminds me of the line from C. S. Lewis’s book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When Lucy asks if Aslan the lion (who represents Jesus) is safe, Mr. Beaver tells the Pevensie children: “‘Safe?… Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.’”
The real Jesus is not tame and de-clawed. He’s more like a roaring lion in all His glory. He’s not just a “good feeling” to get you through the day. He’s not your “co-pilot.” In Him is life. We exist by Jesus and for Jesus. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end—not just the guy to help you get through the middle.
Listen to this description from Colossians 1:15-17:
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
In Jesus everything holds together. Every atom in the universe is bound together and ordered by Jesus! He is the Lord over all creation! He is the reason for your existence. Your very life exists by His continuing power. Jesus is not just a religious figure from long ago. He’s not just the most influential person in history. He is the God-man! And you were created for His glory.
So what about you? Have you encountered the real Jesus? Spend some time in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and carefully consider what you find.
Do you know Him as the sovereign King that He is? Have you bowed the knee and entrusted your eternity to Him? Have you taken up your cross, and are you now following Him?
Are you a cultural Christian? Or, are you a committed Christ-follower?
Have thoughts on this post? I’d love to hear from you!
“Note then the kindness and the severity of God.” (Romans 11:22, ESV)
Not long ago, my friend Matt and I were on Oregon State’s campus talking to people about Jesus. A Jewish rabbi approached us and asked, “Are you Jewish?” When we said we were not, he explained he was passing out materials for celebrating Passover and then started to move on.
When Matt asked what he thought of Jesus, he quickly declined to answer. I couldn’t help thinking, But Jesus is the One Passover is ultimately about.
“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Corinthians 5:7, ESV)
Sadly, throughout the years of engaging with Jewish people, whom I love with the love of Jesus the Messiah, I have had very little fruit in even discussing Jesus. His very Name seems to be a conversation killer.
“To the Jew First”
Nevertheless, I remain convinced that I must tell Jewish people about Jesus. I’m not going to accept our culture’s “everyone gets to choose their own brand of spirituality” mantra. For many people, choosing your spirituality is like choosing your own flavor of ice cream. Just go with whatever floats your boat. But spiritual truth is like gravity; you can deny it has any bearing on you, but you do so at your own peril. We don’t get to decide what God is like; rather, we discover what God is like.
Our culture may say I’m being disrespectful and intolerant of my Jewish neighbor by telling him about Jesus. But, at the core of my being, I believe that every person on the planet, irrespective of their ethnic and religious background, needs to hear the gospel.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16, ESV)
Americans love to say things like, “My God would never send anyone to hell.” Or even, “My God is tolerant of all faiths and lifestyles.” They have a lot to say about their God. But that’s the problem. Such people have violated the first three commandments and set up a false version of God in place of the real God.
Instead, people need to hear what the true and living God of the Bible has to say about this:
“It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27, ESV)
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36, ESV)
The truly loving thing is to tell my Jewish neighbor that Jesus fulfilled the Hebrew Scripture that spoke of a Messiah (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Zechariah 9:9; 12:10), He fulfilled the Temple sacrifices of the Torah, and He is going to return one day soon to judge and to save.
God’s Plan for Israel in Romans 11
I’m also motivated by passages like Romans 11 to keep sharing the good news of the Messiah. Now, fair warning. Romans 11 is a bit dense for those who are new to the Bible. And even learned scholars continue to wrestle through all its implications. Nevertheless, I think it’s a passage worth a careful reading as we think about God’s plan for Jewish people as a whole.
In the eleventh chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul is warning Gentile believers to not presume on God’s gracious character. Throughout this monumental letter, Paul has been carefully explaining the gospel of God’s grace—telling sinners how they can be reconciled to a holy God. He has emphasized both God’s righteous character and His extraordinary mercy. But in Romans 11, he discusses the problem of Jewish people rejecting Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. In other words, if Jesus is the Heaven-sent Jewish Messiah, why do so many Jews reject Him? He asks the rhetorical question: “Has God rejected his people? By no means!” (Romans 11:1).
Paul uses the illustration of an olive tree to say that the Jewish people who rejected Jesus’ right to rule over them are like the “natural branches” that were “broken off because of their unbelief” (Romans 11:20). Gentile believers were like wild olive shoots that were grafted in to the tree in place of the branches that were removed.
“But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.” (Romans 11:17-18, ESV)
So, Israel’s rejection of her Messiah is what led to the gospel going out to the nations? In God’s providence, yes, that’s what happened (see Romans 11:19-20). However, Gentile believers must not grow complacent and presume on God’s grace, thinking they now have the right to the root (Jesus) and Jewish people do not.
“But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.” (Romans 11:20-21, NIV)
Natural Branches and Wild Branches
Here’s the point. Many Jewish people rejected Jesus and had confidence in their Jewishness that God would spare them from judgment. John the Baptist directly confronted this mindset (Matthew 3:9-10). However, in the same way, God now gives Gentiles a severe warning. We ought not to presume that because we grew up in church, got baptized, and listened to Audio Adrenaline growing up that we too will be spared from judgment.
Why? Because it is only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, His substitutionary death for our sins and resurrection from the grave, that we are saved. If we have not surrendered our lives to Jesus, it doesn’t matter what our “Christian” background is—we “too will be cut off” (Romans 11:22).
“Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.” (Romans 11:22, ESV)
John Stott writes, “Not that those who truly belong to Him will ever be rejected, but that continuance or perseverance is the hallmark of God’s authentic children.”
Faith in Jesus makes all the difference, because that is how we are united to Christ and get to wear His righteousness before a holy God on the Day of Judgment. To “continue in his kindness” is to demonstrate that our faith is genuinely in Jesus, because genuine faith continues to the end.
“For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”(Hebrews 3:14, ESV)
Thus, we should have a holy fear of the Lord and be staggered by the sheer grace of God to save us by hanging Jesus on the cross we deserved.
See, without this warning, we’d miss out on an important aspect of God’s character, that He is holy, just, and righteous. We should revere Him and have an awe for who He is. The warnings in Scripture help us to not lose sight of this.
Warnings are given by God to shake us out of our spiritual slumber that proudly thinks we are better off than others because we were raised in the “right” church or family. Warnings like this also remind us what is at stake for everyone who dies apart from Jesus.
We Gentiles are the wild branches. We aren’t the natural heirs of the promise, but we’ve been adopted into God’s family through faith in Jesus. I don’t believe that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan, but that we have been grafted into the root of Israel. No promise of God has been abrogated; instead, our understanding of the original promise to Abraham and his offspring has been expanded (Genesis 12:1-3; Romans 4:13-18). But Paul warns us Gentiles not to be arrogant, because we are nourished by the Jewish root (Jesus).
“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved.” (Romans 11:25-26, ESV)
This gives me great hope! Even though it looks today like Israel will go on rejecting her Messiah, God says that this is only a temporary situation. The hardening is “partial” not total, and it will only be “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” In other words, as more and more Gentiles turn to the Jewish Messiah, eventually it will reach a tipping point. At that providential moment in history, there will be a sudden and powerful inflowing of Jews into the kingdom of God.
“All Israel Will Be Saved”
Paul says, “All Israel will be saved.” This cannot mean all of “spiritual Israel” or the elect remnant of Israel will be saved; otherwise, the statement would be redundant. Paul has to be speaking of ethnic Jewish people, and his statement probably carries even more force in light of the fact that Israel has been a sovereign nation since May 14, 1948. In other words, God is not done with Jewish people. In His sovereign plan, Israel—as a nation—will one day repent and trust in Jesus as their Messiah and God.
Does this mean that every Jewish person alive at that point will be saved? F. F. Bruce explains: “’All Israel’ is a recurring expression in Jewish literature, where it need not mean ‘every Jew without a single exception’ but ‘Israel as a whole.’”[1]
That makes good sense, because even today while there is a “partial hardening” on the Jewish people, there are still a great many Jews who love and worship Jesus.
Okay, so what’s the big takeaway from all this? Be not discouraged as you encounter Jews who reject the gospel today. Yes, it is sad when any person (Jew or Gentile) rejects the offer of eternal life. Paul said he was willing to go to hell for the sake of his fellow Jews (Romans 9:3)! His heart’s desire and prayer was that his countrymen would see their need for the righteousness of Jesus (Romans 10:1-4).
But God has a purpose and a plan, and we can always trust what God is doing in the world today; He told us it would happen this way. For myself, I’m committed to continually honoring Jewish people as those whom God has used mightily throughout history. We must roundly condemn all forms of anti-Semitism, including weaponizing the Bible as a tool of denigration. We must thank God for how He has blessed Abraham’s descendants and, in turn, allowed us who love and follow Jesus to be grafted on to the Abrahamic olive tree. The Bible I read every day is very Jewish!
And I’m also committed to sharing the good news of Jesus the Messiah with every Jewish person I meet.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, ESV)
I pray this encourages you to be bold in the gospel. If you have any thoughts or questions about this, I would love to hear from you!
One of the biggest ways our enemy, the devil, will try to sabotage our walk with Jesus is through painting God as uncaring or incapable of helping us during the rough patches of life. And when it comes to “rough patches,” we’ve all had them, right? Those times where we feel like we just got sucker punched by life, and it’s like the wind has been knocked out of our lungs. The fresh joy and peace we were just experiencing in the Lord yesterday seems to have vanished. Our spiritual sails don’t seem to be catching wind anymore.
God knows our tendency is to go from scratching our head in confusion, “Where did that come from?” to “Oh, God, why me?” to “God… do you even care?”
Let me assure you. God cares. These times in life—which we, as followers of Jesus, all face—are intended by God to deepen our faith and, ultimately, our communion with Him. The devil’s intention, however, is to tempt us to doubt God’s goodness, love, and presence with us.
So, what do we do when times of testing come?
1. Stay humble.
Whether we realize it or not, this attitude that says, “God doesn’t care about my situation. Why should I go to Him?” is actually incredibly arrogant. It indicates a lack of faith in His character and an unwillingness to listen to what He might want you to learn. It also plays right into the devil’s hand. The devil, you may remember, fell through the sin of pride, and he would gladly enlist you into the same plan of rebellion if you’re willing to sign on.
In his first letter, the Apostle Peter reminds us that God looks with favor on the humble—not on those who puff themselves up in arrogance:
“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.” (1 Peter 5:6, NLT)
Notice Peter says “at the right time” God will honor you. In other words, if you’re going through a rough patch in life, it’s not that God has neglected you. It does mean that He has a purpose in your distress and that His goal is to lift you up and honor you when the time is right if you stay humble.
2. Cry out to God from the heart.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7, NLT)
Whatever is pressing on your mind—even if it’s some kind of sadness or fear that you can’t quite name—give it over to God. If you find yourself up late at night incapable of getting those worst fears out of your mind, come back to this passage. Be as open and transparent with the Lord as you can. Name the feelings of fear and frustration and anxiety, even if you can’t pinpoint the source. And tell Him how desperately you want to trust Him to handle these anxious thoughts and give you new life and peace in their place.
3. Stand firm against the devil and his schemes.
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9a, NLT)
It’s sobering to remember the devil is a “great enemy.” When we’re talking about the devil and what he’s capable of when he comes against a follower of Jesus, we aren’t talking about a chihuahua. We’re talking about a “roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Last year, my family went to a small game park that had several lions. At one point, one of the male lions let out a thunderous roar. Despite being about 100 yards away, I felt the sound in the pit of my stomach. I’ve seen TheLion King, but a Disney film just can’t convey how loudly they can roar. Were I ever to cross a wild lion in the African savannah, you can bet I would have a healthy fear of what that creature could do to me.
To be clear, Jesus is infinitely more powerful than the devil. And by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, we have all the resources we need to “stand firm against him.” And yet, he’s still a drooling lion, on the prowl for his next lunch.
So how do we stand firm in the faith and resist our great foe? We wield the very weapon Jesus wielded in His hour of testing in the desert (see Matthew 4:1-11). Get your mind into the Word of God, and those razor-sharp claws start to retract. Remember Daniel? Despite the very real threat of being the main course for the king’s pet lions, Daniel banked everything on God’s power to deliver. So he kept on praying to the God of Heaven when it was illegal. He learned that when your confidence is in God and His promises, hungry lions suddenly lose their appetite.
Be so full of God’s Word that you lose that worldly flavor to which the devil is drawn.
4. Remember you’re not alone in the battle.
You are in a battle, no question about that. We are told to don the armor of God, because our fight is “against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, NLT). Peter reminds us:
“Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:9, NLT)
Pick up a copy of the magazine Voice of the Martyrs and spend some time learning about the persecution many of our brothers and sisters are experiencing in other nations. And yet, in the midst of their trials, these suffering Christians often tell of how faithful Jesus has been even though they have lost their church building, their home, and even, at times, family members.
Peter is not speaking from ignorance. He knows what it’s like to be mocked, derided, beaten, flogged, and imprisoned for the Lord Jesus (see Acts 5, 10). And how did Peter respond after being threatened with death and then flogged?
The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.” (Acts 5:41-42, NLT)
Is that not incredible? With a blood-soaked back from the flogging they’d just endured, Peter and the other Apostles could only rejoice that “God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.” Clearly, they had a countercultural perspective on what life is all about. Even if you’re not there yet, don’t you want to be?
5. Seek first the Kingdom of God.
And then what? They kept doing the very thing that earned them a flogging. They went right on telling people the glorious truth: “Jesus is the Messiah you have been waiting for! He is the Savior who died in your place so that you can be forgiven! He is the Lord of life who conquered the grave!” The more you are captivated by the bigness of the Gospel, the more you will be eager to turn whatever pain you’re enduring into gain for the Kingdom of God.
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.” (1 Peter 5:12, NLT)
Let that truth settle in. God Himself will personally restore, support, and strengthen you. If you remember God’s sweet kindness toward you and commit your battle to the Lord, you have nothing to lose and eternal glory to gain. Because “at the right time” He will set you on a firm foundation.
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about this, I would love to hear from you!
Saddle Mountain, Oregon. Photo Courtesy of Ben McBee
One of the best ways to get to know someone is to go hiking together. I mean, really, what better way to bond than trekking through the Oregon wilderness together? When you go for a hike, you aren’t just taking a quick stroll. You’re on an adventure! You’re crossing brooks, stepping over fallen logs, snapping pictures of stunning sights, gaining elevation.
That last one is important. My wife Whitney recently took our boys for a “hike” with some other moms and kids, but the boys later told me, “That was a walk, not a hike.” The event had been dubbed a “nature hike,” but there was no elevation gained. I must agree with my boys.
The best hikes always have as their final reward a grand vista where you can look out and see the wonders of nature—a lush valley, a snowy mountain range, or the Pacific Ocean glimmering in the sunlight. Throughout the journey, there is time to get to know your fellow travelers and discuss subjects that can’t be explored in brief, ordinary conversations. All the while, you are experiencing the beauty of creation together; shared experiences are nearly always exponentially better than solo experiences (that’s why watching a movie is far better with a friend, despite the fact that all you are doing is sitting and staring at a screen).
The Bible often uses the metaphor of someone “walking with God.” From the very beginning, it is implied that God often walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). We are told that the antediluvian[1] Enoch—a guy who avoided death through his own private rapture into Heaven— “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24). “Noah walked with God” (6:9). God called Abraham to “Walk before Me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). On numerous occasions, God even tells all the people of Israel, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people” (Leviticus 26:12). The idea of walking with someone implies intimacy. It’s not me running ahead of God or me fighting to keep up with God, but me walking with God.
And if you’re walking with God, you’re not running away from Him (like Adam and Eve in the Garden after they sinned), but seeking to be with Him continually. Rather than trying to push thoughts of Him away from your mind, you’re seeking to “practice the presence of God”[2] by regularly reminding yourself that all of life is meant to be lived before His face.
“If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:6-7, ESV)
The blood of Jesus cleanses us and through trusting in that blood, we begin a new journey of walking with Him by the light of His Word and filled with the energy of His Holy Spirit.
I am no Hebrew scholar, but from what I gather, there isn’t exactly a word for “hike,” in contrast to “walk” in ancient Hebrew. One word would basically be used for both. So, while the word “hike” is not in the Bible, when I think about “walking with God,” I like to think about this in terms of hiking. Maybe it’s my personal bias; I love hiking. But a hike suggests a journey, one that will be marked by both challenges and delights. I also like how hiking gives us a picture of an upward goal we are progressing toward. Paul says, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
A long and arduous journey shared by companions with a common goal serves as the backdrop for many literary classics, including Lord of the Rings and Pilgrim’s Progress. Our walk with God is a lifelong journey, one in which we don’t always know what is ahead, but we are comforted by the fact that our Guide knows about every step along the way. In fact, He’s marked out the trail for us.
Like a challenging hike, our walk with God won’t always be easy. There will be moments of testing, new difficulties to overcome, and times when exhaustion will set in and the temptation to turn back will be very strong. From a distance, it may look like we are wandering in the proverbial forest, lost and confused. Others may question our motives and criticize the path we’ve chosen, maybe even claiming they have found a more “practical” or wider trail with fewer bumps along the way. But if we faithfully follow our Guide and stay on the trail, He will lead us to new vistas of His glory and His grace that we never dreamed possible when we first began the journey.
Our walk with God is not a brief stroll, but it is a shared experience. To use an old-fashioned (but good) word, life is meant to be lived in communion with God: He continually shows us more of His heart even as we open more of ours to Him. When we do wander off the trail, we quickly get tangled in those painful blackberry bushes of sin that tend to leave a mark, reminding us how foolish it was to try to carve a new path on our own. Thankfully, He’s always willing to wash us off when we come back to the Way. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV).
To walk with God is to daily surrender yourself to Him, letting Him teach you how life is meant to be lived. Jesus said that if you want to save your life, you first need to lose it so that it can be truly found in Him (Matthew 16:25). We were made for Him, so life will always be hollow until it is filled by His life. Whereas before God’s purity, goodness, holiness, and love were abstract ideas, as we walk with God, we begin to experience more of God Himself.
The psalmist cries out, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8). It’s one thing to believe your friend who tells you of a new dish that is to-die-for delicious, but it’s something else entirely to actually taste it for yourself. Similarly, while sound doctrinal statements about God are vital and give us a necessary map for our journey, they can never replace the intimacy of actually knowing God and experiencing the warmth of His love flooding your soul.
As we are drawn into the life of God, we sometimes pause in our walk and think about how far we’ve come together. We briefly wonder, Where would I be if it weren’t for God? But only briefly. Because our eyes are on the goal ahead. We are traveling together with a destination in mind.
This alone is what can satisfy our hearts—tasting the Lord’s goodness and seeing His glory.
The church father Augustine had this to say:
“So what should we do in sharing the love of God, whose full enjoyment constitutes the happy life? It is God from whom all those who love Him derive both their existence and their love; it is God who frees us from any fear that He can fail to satisfy anyone to whom He becomes known; it is God who wants Himself to be loved, not in order to gain any reward for Himself but to give to those who love Him an eternal reward—namely Himself.”
Have you begun your journey with God? Walk with Him and enjoy the endless fruit of delight in knowing His love for you.
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about this, I would love to hear from you!
[1] That’s an old school word for “pre-Flood” or “before the biblical Flood.”
[2] Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God.
“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20, CSB)
Prayer is powerful. I don’t say that to be cliché; I say that because Jesus taught us this. Time and time again, He called us to pray boldly and passionately in His Name.
I also cannot deny the ways my wife Whitney and I have been wowed by God’s grace and perfect timing in answering our prayers in incredibly specific ways. There are too many to count but let me just give a few examples.
Before we met, my wife Whitney prayed for the wisdom to find the right man to marry and that this fellow would arrive at her church’s college group with several others so that she wouldn’t know immediately who that man would be. A short time later, I visited that college group with a handful of others, because I was invited by the pastor who led that group while I was working at Applebee’s. The rest, as they say, is history.
Another time, I was in a Bible study, and one man shared that his very young grandson had a brain tumor the size of a golf ball. For several weeks in a row, we prayed for healing each time we met. One morning, he came to our study with amazing news. The tumor had not only shrunk—it was completely gone. Not a trace of it. In fact, I know of numerous cases where someone plagued with life-threatening cancer has been totally healed. Just yesterday, I heard of another answer to prayer of a dear woman who received the glorious news that the latest scan revealed she is cancer free.
I can think of another time when Whitney and I were raising money for a short-term mission trip to Guatemala, and we were a little short on the green stuff. We prayed passionately and specifically that God would supply the money we needed for the trip in whatever way He saw fit. He came through in various ways to provide us with exactly what we needed. I remember my heart swelling with joy as I thought about how God had so lovingly answered our sincere requests so that we could go on this mission trip together as a young married couple before we had any kids.
These are just the tip of the iceberg. I really could go on and on with examples of how God has provided answers to prayers—often in ways we never saw coming.
As these come to mind, I sometimes wonder why I don’t pray more often or more passionately. It’s not as though God has ignored me in the past. Lately, He’s been really challenging me to lead from deep, heartfelt prayer, as opposed to only praying with passion when something goes wrong. The Lord wants me to admit my shortcomings and acknowledge my great need for His power in every aspect of my life.
Jonathan Edwards said that when we ignore prayer, we “live like atheists or like brute creatures,” and “live as if there were no God.” Why would we ignore our direct line to the One who reigns over all?
If anything is worth doing, it must come by God’s power, not my own strength. Therefore, I need to be drawing power from the Lord in everything I do if I want to have an eternal impact. The Bible reminds us, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16, ESV). Our prayers have “great power” because they are directed to a God who is known for doing what is humanly impossible (Luke 1:37).
I’m reminded of the story of Elijah. He prayed fervently for God to send the rain when Israel was enduring a drought while the wicked King Ahab was on the throne. In 1 Kings 18, we read:
And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” (1 Kings 18:42-44, ESV)
Elijah didn’t just pray once, see there was nothing, and then give up. No, the text emphasizes how he prayed fervently seven more times for the rainclouds to show up. He understood that God wants us to pray with passion, expectancy, and repetition. At the very first tiny sign that God had answered his prayers (after all, a hand-sized cloud seems like a bit of a letdown), Elijah confidently sent word to Ahab, “Get in your buggy and go, because the rain is a-comin’!” God answered his prayers in such a way that no one in Israel could chalk up the sudden change in weather to mere happenstance.
Imagine an Israelite saying, “Finally! We’re getting rain after three-and-a-half years. How lucky are we!”
Elijah’s prayers made the difference.
Through this prophet’s prayers, God turned the rain off and then back on 42 months later, raised a widow’s son to life, and shot down fire to engulf a thrice-soaked altar to vindicate Elijah’s claims about Yahweh, not Baal, being the one true God of the world. Clearly, we’re meant to see that Elijah’s prayers were powerful. God can change the weather conditions whenever and however He wants. He’s sovereign over this world. But, as in our lives, He chose to change the circumstances in response to the prayer of one of His faithful followers.
When we read about Elijah’s ministry, we are rightly in awe of how the Lord worked through him. However, before we lionize Elijah as a biblical superhero and assume we could never pray like him or see God work wonders before our eyes, we should consider what James says about this.
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (James 5:17-18, ESV)
James is reminding us that the situation is not so different for us today. At the end of the day, Elijah was just a man; he had a nature like ours. And God Himself hasn’t changed, because He never changes (Malachi 3:6). If Elijah prayed to the same God we pray to today, why should we expect our prayers to be less effective? The whole reason James brings up Elijah as an example is to say, “You too can pray with power.”
So go to the Lord today and pray with passion, boldness, and expectancy like Elijah did. There is no telling what massive changes God will bring about through your prayers. After all, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.”
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about this, I would love to hear from you!
Picture the scene. A seasoned fisherman has labored all night, but he and his team have come up empty. Out of the blue, an itinerant rabbi tells this blue-collar worker that he will catch some fish if he lets down his nets one more time. The fisherman, named Simon, doubted this rabbi knows what He is talking about. After all, Simon is the experienced, no-nonsense fisherman. But the man is a rabbi, so it’s probably best to comply out of respect, even if it’s a pointless exercise.
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5, ESV)
Then, the impossible happened. They caught so many fish that the nets began to break. Simon quickly realized his boat simply couldn’t handle this much weight. He called his partners over to help him out. It was the greatest fishing story of Simon’s life.
In that moment, Simon recognized that he was in the presence of pure holiness.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8, ESV)
Self-assurance was replaced by awe. Reluctant compliance was replaced by humble trust. After this, Peter left everything to follow Jesus. How could he turn Jesus down now? And Peter would continue to learn just how much he didn’t know.
“The Word of Our God Endures Forever”
If you study the Bible long enough, you will always have questions. Sometimes a passage just doesn’t seem to make sense. We may even wonder aloud, “Why would God do it that way?” Sometimes our cultural distance from the events in the Bible make it hard for us to grasp what was really going on. At other times, we understand the context well enough, but God’s plan or design for human life just seems weird or confusing—maybe even flawed.
Sometimes, people invoke the ancient cultural situation of the Bible’s human authors when they want to relativize Scripture’s teaching on things like generosity, self-control, and sexual ethics. “That was then,” people often say. “But things are different now. This is the 21st century after all.”
The fallacy of that argument is that when God speaks clearly on a matter, He speaks for all times.
“The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.” (Psalm 119:160, BSB)
Unlike your smartphone, the Bible never needs updates.
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:8, NIV)[1]
The Bible is the only flawless thing on earth.[2] When God speaks, He doesn’t stutter or fumble for words. God gave Scripture through men for our encouragement and edification.[3] While their historical and cultural situation matters, God is not limited by human cultures to say what He wants to say. Without the Bible, we are spiritually lost, like a submarine without a navigation system.
The French intellectual Voltaire is reputed to have quipped, “One hundred years from my day, there will not be a Bible on earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity-seeker.” The ironic twist of Providence is that Voltaire’s own house in Geneva, Switzerland, later became a storehouse for Bibles by the Evangelical Society of Geneva (pictured above).[4] Those who try to mock the Bible end up making a mockery of themselves.
The Apostle Paul clearly believed the whole Bible was still relevant and authoritative when he wrote:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV)
He said that to Timothy, even though much of the Scripture available at that time (the Old Testament) was written some 1,400 years earlier and in a different culture.
“Come Let Us Reason Together”
It’s never a good idea to think you know better than God. At the same time, God is not opposed to questions. The psalms and prophets are filled with God’s people asking Him why certain things must be so. God even welcomes our frustrated pleas for understanding and our laments over why the world is in the sordid mess that it is.
“Come let us reason together,” God invites us (Isaiah 1:18). Questions are good; they indicate thoughtfulness and engagement with what God has said. But questions should always be tinged with humility. Those who want to sit in judgment on God’s Word are following the plan of the serpent, who asked, “Did God really say?”[5]
We need to remember that God is infinitely holy and majestic. We are finite human beings with a three-pound brain who have only been around for about two seconds compared to the eternal God. To assume we know better than God is the height of arrogance. We should admit that we know almost nothing next to our all-knowing God.
Whenever I come across a passage that confuses me or seems to paint God in a negative light, I should start with the assumption that I am missing something significant.
For instance, many people might ask, “How could God kill everyone on earth in the Genesis flood? That seems so extreme!” or “How can God command Joshua to utterly destroy those Canaanites?”
But God is holy, and His ways are perfectly just. What people often forget is that, as our Creator, He is in a category all by Himself.
“The Beginning of Knowledge”
As we grow in our understanding of God’s holiness, we begin to see things with a better perspective. When people say, “I would never do it that way!” I would agree and add, “That’s because you and I are not God. He alone is the holy and good Ruler of all.”
As the Lord and King of this world, God has every right to judge sinful people who rebel against Him and blaspheme His Name. The real question the Bible pushes us to ask is not “How can God judge?” but “How can God be so incredibly merciful to those who persist in atrocious deeds against their fellow man and moral rebellion against His perfect will?” Solomon reminds us:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7, ESV)
Notice what this verse says. We can’t even begin to have a true knowledge of God, ourselves, and the world we inhabit until we develop a right fear of the Lord. Jesus reminded us that while we often fear corrupt men, we should be fearing the incorruptible God who can send people to an eternity in hell.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28, ESV)
When we lack a healthy fear of God as the all-powerful Judge that He is, we begin to think that we get to put God in the dock and accuse Him of wrong. And those who slander God tend to slander their fellow man who has been made in His image.
The Lord says:
“These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!” (Psalm 50:21-22, ESV)
When we have a low view of God, we will misinterpret His actions. If we want to honor God and be blessed by Him, we should consider that God blesses those who revere His Word.
“But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2, ESV)
Every time we open the Bible, we should ask God for a humble attitude that is ready to learn and an open heart ready to be transformed more and more into His likeness.
Once we recognize where we have arrogantly flouted God’s Word (we all have), we need to come back to Him in humble repentance, falling on our knees as Simon Peter did before the Lord Jesus (Luke 5:8). When we do that, we get to experience His forgiving mercy and grace.
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5, ESV)
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about any of this, I would love to hear from you!
Sin is always selfish. We may find ways to justify it, rationalize it, and make excuses for it. But in the end, sin is always about serving the self; it puts self in the place of God by determining what is good, right, and true. When we indulge in fleshly cravings, we are foolishly pretending God doesn’t notice or care. In those moments, we are practical atheists.
“[The wicked] says to himself, ‘God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees’” (Psalm 10:11, NIV). The wicked do this because they lack a healthy and godly fear of the Lord. “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever” (Psalm 19:9).
On the other hand, those who desire to please the Lord have run the numbers and realized that eternity lasts a lot longer than this brief life, and that one day they will have to give an account of how they lived.
The Christian trusts in Jesus for salvation, recognizing it is only God’s grace that can save his soul from destruction. But even the Christian will be called to give an account. This is why the ministry of the Holy Spirit is essential. He convicts us of sin, gives us a hunger for righteousness, and stirs us up with reminders that we were made for God, and we will spend eternity bathed in His awesome and holy presence.
The follower of Jesus should never shrink back at the thought of meeting God face to face. In fact, it is the thought of that Day drawing ever nearer that motivates our life and witness.
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3, NIV)
In light of our soon encounter with Jesus Christ—when we peer into His holy and merciful eyes—how ought we to live? What should consume our thoughts? What should we be pursuing each day?
Will we make our lives count?
Sin is always selfish, because it ultimately is not concerned with how it hurts, devalues, and betrays others. This is why watching pornography is so destructive. It lacks all concern for the eternal welfare of those who are flaunting their naked bodies before a camera. It erodes all trust in your real relationships with others, because your view of others is inevitably warped. Pornography objectifies others and treats them as commodities rather than immortal beings who are destined for either Heaven or Hell. Most egregiously, it adopts a mindset that devalues God by ignoring His design for human sexuality and flourishing.
Don’t play games with what you put before your eyes. Jesus said the eye is the lamp of the body, that letting darkness in through the eyes will fill your body with darkness. What passes through your eyes directly affects your mind, heart, and soul.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, ESV). If you have been caught in the spiraling trap of sexual sin, pornography, and adultery, your only hope is to come to Jesus Christ. Find new and abundant life in Him, be filled with His Holy Spirit, and as you do that, you will live in a new direction.
What you most need is for the Holy Spirit to take the lead in your life. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:23, ESV).
We were made to love, not to sin. Whenever we shunt aside God’s Word and what He has called us to, we are acting in the flesh and resisting the work of the Holy Spirit. For a time, there may be the passing pleasure of sin, but in the end, it will gut you, leaving you spiritually empty and emotionally exhausted.
Yielding to the Holy Spirit takes practice. It’s not something tried once and then forgotten. It’s a daily attitude and practice of yielding to His lead, humbly confessing your inability to have victory without His power, and committing to keep in step with the Spirit by God’s grace.
And there is grace enough for you. Don’t imagine for one moment that there is no hope for you. God’s grace is deeper than the ocean, His Spirit more powerful than a whirlwind. None of us gets into Heaven on our own merits. None of us earns a right standing with God by our personal holiness or righteous deeds. We all enter the kingdom of God through humble trust and reliance on the completed work of Jesus Christ, when He was crucified in our place for the sins we committed.
When we put our flesh on the cross with Jesus, we begin to have victory.
“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).
Jesus didn’t stay dead. Because He left behind an empty tomb, we can leave behind our old, fleshly passions and desires.
Those who claim God’s grace so that they can go back to sinning freely don’t realize that it is the grace of God which cleanses us from our sin so that we can belong to Jesus Christ. Carefully consider the implication of these words:
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14, ESV)
This is the greatest news imaginable. The follower of Jesus has available to him the infinite power of a God who not only indwells him but is passionately committed to his holiness.
Jesus didn’t die as a quick-fix for your guilt problem so that you can go back to your old lifestyle. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness so that we can now walk in the power of the Holy Spirit in newness of life. Don’t take this for granted. Don’t treat Jesus’ blood as something cheap.
How do I know I’m walking by the Spirit? Compare your life to the fruit of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV)
Do you see these traits increasingly showing up in your life? Have others noticed a change in your character and habits? Are you being formed in the image of Christ? Are you hungering for more of this in your life?
When we walk by the Spirit, we live a supernatural life of love. This is the kind of kingdom-oriented life every follower of Jesus is called to live. We are to open our hearts and minds to the Spirit’s leading, expecting Him to move into our innermost thoughts and cleanse us from that which dishonors and defiles.
Make this bold prayer the heartbeat of your life:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:24, NIV)
I pray this encourages you. If you have any thoughts or questions about any of this, I would love to hear from you!
Throughout my life, I can think of several dates when the plans for my day were totally upended. The death of a relative. An unexpected phone call. 9/11. A co-worker tragedy. In most of these examples, when the plan for the day was totally canceled, someone died. Death has a way of intruding into our life, changing plans, and unexpectedly causing shock and grief.
In ancient Israel—as is true for many Jewish people today—the first thing the faithful do is recite the Shema, the confession found in the Torah: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, ESV). The one exception that put all prayers on hold is when your parent died. In that case, burying your father or mother takes precedence over everything, out of reverence for the one who raised you.
This helps us understand a passage in the Gospel of Matthew when a man pledges to follow Jesus after he first buries his father. We expect Jesus to say, “Of course, you must first give your father a proper burial. But then come follow Me!” Instead, Jesus gives this jarring response: “Follow Me, and leave the dead to bury the dead.”[1]
For those who have derived their image of Jesus from the culture, this statement is always puzzling. They picture Jesus as a nice guy who walks around with a lamb on His shoulders and a nice smile, hugging everyone He meets simply because He is so full of niceness (trust me, that’s a word).
Now, don’t get me wrong. Jesus was and is the most loving person to ever grace the planet. But quite often Jesus showed tough love—which is the kind of love that says things we don’t think we need to hear, but desperately do. In the words of 1 Corinthians 13:6, it’s a love that “rejoices in the truth.”
Jesus didn’t always say what sounds “nice” and affirming, but He did always tell us what we need to hear. And in this instance, He was teaching about the danger of delayed discipleship. His point was that no matter what else we may think is urgent and essential, nothing can take priority over following Him. In light of the Bible’s strong emphasis on caring for one’s family, Jesus’ statement here is all the more surprising.
Jesus knows that sometimes people will look for excuses for why they can’t follow Him today. Sometimes, people will use family as an excuse.
To such people, Jesus says:
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”[2]
Stop and consider for a moment how insanely self-centered this would sound on the lips of anyone else. Do you still think Jesus was merely a good teacher of moral ideals?
Offensive? Maybe. But necessary for each of us to hear.
At another time, Jesus gave a parable (which is a story meant to illustrate the kingdom of God) about a man who decided to host a great banquet at his house. He sent out invitations to all his close family and friends. “But they all alike began to make excuses.”[3]
Some claimed they were too busy. They had purchased fields or oxen that demanded their care and attention. Another said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”[4] Each person seemed to have a good and reasonable excuse. It’s not as though they were all at home playing video games or binge watching Netflix. But they were excuses nonetheless.
Jesus said the master of the house became angry when people rejected his generous offer. After all, he was providing a sumptuous feast, free of charge. Because those who were supposedly closest to him rejected his offer, the master sent his servant to go and “bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.”[5] After all, those who had less in life would recognize the generosity of this invitation.
After his dining hall is filled with everyone from “the highways and hedges” far and wide, the great banquet can finally begin. Then, somewhat disdainfully, the master of the house says of those who turned down his invitation, “I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”[6]
The message is pretty clear. Those who put off Jesus and His invitation into life in the kingdom of God are missing out on the joy He is offering.
To say it again: Nothing is more urgent or important in your life right now than discipleship to Jesus.
We might imagine that while we can’t follow Jesus today, we will certainly square things up with Him later. We might even think it’s better to live for ourselves today so that we will better appreciate grace later. But here’s where people need to take care. Sin has a way of hardening the heart that puts Jesus off. How do you know you aren’t hardening your heart against Jesus today? If you don’t have time for Jesus today, what makes you think you will suddenly have time later in life?
The spiritual sage J. C. Ryle offered this warning:
“Habits of good or evil are daily strengthening in your heart. Every day you are either getting nearer to God, or further off. Every year that you continue unrepentant, the wall of division between you and heaven becomes higher and thicker, and the gulf to be crossed deeper and broader. Oh, dread the hardening effect of constant lingering sin! Now is the accepted time. See that your decision not be put off until the winter of your days.”[7]
In reality, no matter what excuse we might come up with for why we are delaying discipleship to Jesus, that very excuse might be the roadblock that keeps us from ever coming to the party. Beware of excuses in your own heart. Take warning from Jesus’ parable. What a tragedy it would be to miss out on the very thing that gives our lives meaning not only for this life, but for all eternity.
In the words of Jesus, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”[8]
If you have any questions about any of this, I would love to hear from you!
Lamp and Light 