Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
John Stonestreet used an interesting term (pre-political) that got me thinking about how many government programs would be unnecessary if the Church was doing what Jesus called the Church to do.
Here’s the full quote from John Stonestreet: “Christian political engagement should hit its fever pitch notduring elections. The only way to relieve the political pressures of our day is to build up the pre-political aspects of our life together, especially the family and the Church. When we care well for our children, our neighbors, and our communities, the state doesn’t have to.”
Is it okay to pray a prayer written by someone else? Sure! But let’s use those prayers merely as guides to help us form our own personalized prayers to our loving Heavenly Father. I shared a whole series on prayer that you may want to check out.
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
T.M. Moore wrote, “The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in believers with an agenda. His agenda is not ours, and unless we can put our agendas aside, we will never line up with His to realize more of the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God. The Spirit has not come to make us ecstatically happy. He has not come to fulfill our every wish. He comes to bring forth in us distinctly Kingdom values and virtues: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He comes to distribute among us spiritual gifts, God-given abilities to serve one another in caring and sharing ways. He comes to empower us as witnesses for Jesus, both in how we live and what we say. And He comes to build our churches up into Christlikeness by our unified and focused work.”
I am really enjoying these mini-biographies of key leaders in the Reformation presented by Desiring God. One that I found especially fascinating is about Menno Simons—“If you are familiar with the contemporary Mennonites, you may be surprised to learn that the group’s founder started as a Catholic priest who had never read the Bible.” Yet, near the end of his life, Menno wrote, “Although I resisted in former times Thy precious Word and Thy holy will with all my powers…nevertheless, Thy fatherly grace did not forsake me, a miserable sinner, but in love, received me…and taught me by the Holy Spirit until of my own choice I declared war upon the world, the flesh, and the devil…and willingly submitted to the heavy cross of my Lord Jesus Christ that I might inherit the promised kingdom.”
“What strikes me is that there’s a very fine line between success and failure. Just one ingredient can make the difference.” —Andrew Lloyd Webber
This past Sunday I spoke to my congregation about how Christians should behave biblically during an election season. Someone forwarded to me a related graphic from the Pentecostal Evangel magazine (a publication of the Assemblies of God) from 1984. I love these reminders for Christians!
Researchers unveiled the largest brain map ever completed. It was of a fruit fly, whose brain “includes nearly 140,000 neurons and captures more than 54.5 million synapses”! It took four years to complete this map. “All told, the researchers identified 8,453 types of neuron—much more than anyone had expected. Of these, 4,581 were newly discovered.” This level of complexity and order in a fruit fly is astounding to me. Can you imagine what it would take to map the much larger and more complex human brain?! Truly, David was right when he said that we are wonderfully made by our Creator!
“Freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire!” —Martin Luther
“Faith the mother of all good works justifieth us, before we can bring forth any good work: as the husband marryeth his wife before he can have any lawful children by her.” —William Tyndale
A.W. Tozer said, “There’s an awesomeness about God which is missing in our day altogether; there’s little sense of admiring awe in the Church of Christ these days.” May we repent of little prayers and boldly pray to an awesome God who wants to do awesome things that will bring Him glory!
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
This is a very informative Q&A session with cold case detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace. But I especially like his answer to the first question: Do Christians have to investigate every other religion to be convinced that the Bible is true?
“Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. … No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. … Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Mature Christians can be recognized by a variety of indicators. They feast on the Word of God (Hebrews 5:14), persevere in love and good works (Hebrews 6:9-10), bear the fruit of the Spirit rather than the marks of the flesh (Galatians 6:16-23), use their gifts to help build the church (1 Corinthians 12:7-11; Ephesians 4:12-16), teach the things of Jesus to others (Hebrews 5:12: Acts 1:8), and more. This, the New Testament insists, is the condition toward which every Christian strives.” —T.M. Moore (check out all of the Scriptures T.M. references here)
“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done.” —W.E.B. Du Bois
Jesus shows us that only secure people can serve others. Insecure people won’t ever make themselves vulnerable, and so they miss out on God’s blessing. I address this in more depth in my book Shepherd Leadership.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
It had been a long, fruitless night of fishing for Peter, Andrew, and their fishing partners. They came back to shore and began to wash their nets which had caught nothing all night long.
As they washed their nets, no doubt contemplating how they were going to make ends meet without any fish to sell in the marketplace, they listened to an itinerant Preacher. This Man was fascinating to listen to as He talked about Scripture in a way none had ever heard.
The crowds listening to Him swelled in size—almost spellbound by His kindness and wisdom—until the Preacher had no place left to stand on the shore. Turning to Peter, the Preacher said, “Peter, my name is Jesus. Would you allow Me to stand in your boat so I can continue to speak to all of these good people?”
Peter welcomed Him onto his ship and pushed out a little ways from shore. There he sat and continued to listen with growing amazement at the way this Man taught. It was unlike anything Peter had heard from any other rabbi.
When Jesus concluded His sermon and dismissed the crowds, He turned to Peter and said, “Thank you for helping Me. I know it’s been a tough night for you. If you will sail back out to deeper waters, you will be able to let down your nets for a huge catch.”
Peter smiled and said, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught a thing. I doubt we will be able to catch anything now.” For a brief moment, Peter contemplated rowing Jesus back to shore, but those words he had heard Jesus speaking were still resonating in his heart, bringing to life a faith he hadn’t known.
Almost before he realized he was speaking the words, Peter said, “But because You say so, I will obey.”
No sooner had Peter and Andrew let their nets down into the deep water, than they caught so many fish that their nets almost began to break. They shouted to their partners for help. Even with their combined efforts, the amount of fish they caught nearly sunk their boats! (See Luke 5:1-11.)
What an example Peter has given me!
It may seem illogical, unconventional, counter-cultural, scary, or embarrassing. But because You say so, I will obey.
I may lose friends, lose “face,” lose position, lose money, or lose possessions. But because You say so, I will obey.
I may feel afraid, uncertain, unclear, confused, or skeptical. But because You say so, I will obey.
It’s only in my obedience that I can see Your power, Your lordship, Your wisdom, Your blessing, and Your glory.So because You say so, I will obey.
Jesus, You said, “Anyone who loves Me will obey Me” (John 14:23). I do love You, Jesus. No matter what it is, because You say so, I will obey.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Last week I challenged you to free up some time in your schedule so that you could begin to apply these six spiritual disciplines we are going to discuss.
Let’s keep in mind why we are learning and working on these disciplines. The key phrase is “so that”: I’m going to get stronger so that I have something to give to others, so that they will have something to give to others (and to me), and on and on it goes. Each of us needs all of us, and all of us need each of us!
I love to read. In fact, I’m usually reading several books at the same time. Without a close second, my favorite book is my Bible. I say “my Bible” because I’ve made it mine—it’s underlined, circled, notated, and marked. It’s the Book I’m in every day, and it’s the Book that helps me glean the best knowledge from all the other books I read.
G.K. Chesterton, the famous British writer, was once invited to a meeting of the leading intellectuals in England. They were discussing what one book they would want to have with them if they were shipwrecked on an island. Everybody expected Chesterton to say, “My Bible.” But when it came to his turn to speak, Chesterton said, “If I were shipwrecked on a desert island, I’d like to have Thomas’s Guide to Practical Shipbuilding.”
Chesterton wasn’t saying the Bible wouldn’t have been of benefit to him on that island, but he was saying that those who study the Bible have the most practical insights! The Bible doesn’t just have lofty ideas, but it gives us heavenly wisdom that is highly practical to our everyday lives.
The first spiritual discipline we are considering in our series Saints Together is: Studying our Bible. Notice I didn’t say just to read the Bible, but to really study the Book of books.
The apostle Paul wrote, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). How do we know our faith is growing? It must be tested. Look at what James had to say about growing our faith—“the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:3).
Testing really comes down to this: Does what I believe work in my everyday life? Can I truly put what the Bible teaches me into action? James went a little deeper with this in James 2:17-19.
Allow me to share four indispensable components of our Bible study time. You will notice that for all of these components, I am giving you verses from the 119th chapter of the Psalms. This single chapter mentions God’s Word in every single one of its 176 verses. As an added bonus, this chapter is divided into twenty-two 8-verse sections. Scientists tell us that if you do anything for twenty-one days in a row, you will have gone a long way toward making it a permanent habit. So reading one section of Psalm 119 every day is a great place to start on this spiritual discipline of studying your Bible.
Here are the four components:
(1) Read the Word. You cannot study something you haven’t read. I would suggest you pray before reading (Psalm 119:18, 33). I’d also suggest you leverage the power of your brain using a well-worn path by setting aside the same time, same place, and same method of study every day.
(4) Live out the Word. Apply it by allowing it to make a change in your life. Notice the action words in Psalm 119:1-4: walk … keep … walk … fully obey…. Or as God said to Joshua—
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8)
This is how Jesus lived His life and it’s also how He said the Holy Spirit would help us live our lives in a God-glorifying way (John 12:49-50, 14:26).
Every day we should be living out the living Word of God!
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I think the best-known verse in the Bible may be, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This truly is amazing love!
But on several occasions, the Gospel writers talk about the compassion of Jesus. This is a different word altogether. The root Greek word is “bowels.” To feel this kind of compassion means to feel it in your gut—to ache with the same pain that is afflicting someone else.
But compassion means more than feeling the pain, it also means going into action to alleviate the pain. True compassion aches and then acts.
Look at the compassion of Jesus—
He sees crowds of people “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” His compassionate response is to pray for His Father to send more shepherds to these sheep (Matthew 9:36-38).
He sees people plagued by diseases—paralysis, deafness, blindness, even death—and He places His hands on them and brings complete healing (Matthew 14:14, 20:34; Mark 1:41, 9:22; Luke 7:11-15).
He notices hungry people and He feeds them (Matthew 15:32; Mark 8:2).
He encounters confused people and He teaches them the illuminating truth (Mark 6:34).
This kind of compassion is costly. It cost Jesus time to be alone, it cost the king, the prodigal father, and the Samaritan money to forgive a debt, lose an inheritance, and pay medical bills. But Christ-like compassion knows there is no greater reward than aching and acting like Jesus.
Christ-like compassion must be extended in faith. Like touching someone with unclean disease, or fasting to receive power to release a loved one shackled to a heavy burden, or embracing someone who hurt me, or canceling a debt owed to me, or helping someone who despises me. When we ache and act like this, we show the love of God in irrefutable ways. Our selfless, Christ-like compassion paints a vivid picture for a skeptical world to see and embrace the love of God that sent His Son to ransom us.
Let’s make it our prayer that we would ache with the needs of the people around us, and then to move in faith-filled, Christ-honoring, selfless action to alleviate that need. Then let us believe that our compassion will show others the love of a Savior.
Abraham is commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. Look at Abraham’s faith in just one word: “WEwill come back to you.”
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Wil Robinson shares a fable from Leo Tolstoy with the three most important questions everyone should ask themselves. The three questions are: How can I learn to do the right thing at the right time? Who are the people I most need, and to whom should I, therefore, pay more attention than to the rest? And, what affairs are the most important and need my first attention?
“Faithfulness is displayed in both word and deed—seen best by combining the Great Commission’s instruction to ‘make disciples’ with the second greatest commandment to ‘love thy neighbor.’ The beauty of the Gospel is found in both proclamation and demonstration. Neither comes first; neither comes second. Like the perfect marriage, it’s the duty of the Christians to take on each, giving 100 percent effort to both.” —Gabe Lyons, The Next Christians
“Oh, that the eyes of sinners may be speedily opened—that they may see the difference of things, the beauty which is in holiness, and the astonishing madness that is in sin!” —Thomas Watson
John Piper observes, “The number-one reason why people in such seemingly hopeless situations purchase scratch-offs is because things already look so hopeless for improvement that the so-called ‘stupidity’ of wasting this dollar won’t really make anything worse.” This post elaborates on how the lottery preys on the poor.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
What people were saying about Jesus from His birth—before He preached a sermon, performed a miracle, or stepped on the toes of religious or political leaders—was revealing the truth. I’ve already discussed the words of the Magi and King Herod the Great, but all of these men also interact with another group (Matthew 2:1-6). Matthew calls them “all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law.”
This group was commonly called the Sanhedrin. It was an influential body of 70 + 1 leaders (Numbers 11:16), whose influence was felt in the temple in Jerusalem, in the synagogues in small villages, in King Herod’s throne room, and in the palace of the Roman governors.
Notice that Matthew says “chief priests” in the plural. At the time of the birth of Jesus, Caiaphas was high priest and Annas his father-in-law was the former high priest. In the time of the early church, Annas is again called the high priest (Luke 3:2; John 18:13; Acts 4:6)
Even under the Roman government the Sanhedrin held tremendous power…
they were experts in the Mosaic law and its application (Matthew 22:35)
Jesus said, “the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses” (Matthew 23:2 NLT)
Jesus also said they had storehouses of helpful knowledge (Matthew 13:52)
they decided who would get to use their authority (Mark 11:27-28; 1:22)
they were keepers of the traditions and became “indignant” when those traditions weren’t followed (Mark 7:5; Matthew 21:15)
they were exorcists (Mark 9:14-17; Acts 19:13-14)
Jesus said these leaders would be instrumental in His death (Matthew 16:21)
they had their own armed guards and prisons (Mark 14:43; Acts 4:1; 5:18)
yet they were afraid of the opinions of the people (Luke 22:1-2; Mark 11:31-32)
Jesus said they were “the official interpreters of the law,” yet they oftentimes interpreted the law to benefit themselves.
When Herod asks them where the Messiah is to be born, they quote Micah 5:2 as saying, “a Ruler who will be the Shepherd of My people Israel.” But the word they use for “Ruler” means a leader with authority, or a governor (the same word is used for Joseph in Acts 7:10). Remember Herod’s violent temper and his insane suspicion? The word these religious leaders used gave them an “out.” They were almost saying to Herod, “When the Messiah does come, He will be a governor, which means there’s a good chance that He would report to you.” This “tame” interpretation was an attempt to keep them in the good graces of King Herod the Great
But Micah himself uses the word for “Ruler” that means one with absolute dominion. Jesus will be THE Sovereign King.
After hearing that this long awaited Messiah had finally been born in fulfillment of the prophecies, take a look at their response—
they said .
they did . (even though Bethlehem was only 6 miles away!)
How sad!
But I think this is because they believed themselves to be “in” with Jehovah because they so carefully kept the rules. They didn’t need a Messiah to save them because—in their minds—they believed they were already saved from God’s punishment.
Keeping religious rules doesn’t save anyone.
Honoring age-old traditions doesn’t save anyone.
Only coming to Jesus saves anyone!
A key prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 9:2 says that the Messiah will save us from darkness and shadows. What exactly are these?
The writer of Hebrews tells us that the law and rules are merely shadows of the True Substance. God said through Isaiah that relying on the rules keeps us trapped in meaningless religious traditions. But Jesus came as the Light and as the Substance that set us free. His death and resurrection made it possible for our sins to be forgiven (see Hebrews 10:1-7; Isaiah 1:11-14, 18).
Rules don’t take us into God’s presence, but Jesus does. Not just talking about Jesus, but coming to Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
People will talk about Jesus—even you may talk about Him. That doesn’t do anything. But when we do more than talk—when we come to Him to follow Him as our Ruler and Shepherd—then we find forgiveness and freedom.
Let’s not just talk about Jesus, but let’s be actively obedient!
