“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” – Acts 17:16

After fleeing to Athens, Paul had plenty of spare time while he waited for his friends to catch up. As he explored a grand old city full of temples and statues devoted to false gods, his spirit became stirred up. He was disturbed at the number of people who were spiritual but utterly blind and misguided in their efforts to connect with the eternal. So he began to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in a city that didn’t understand and didn’t particularly want to understand.

What about you? How is your spirit? We live in a culture that’s increasingly like that of ancient Athens. We’re surrounded by idols. Not so much temples and statues, but our culture has elevated many things into the place of God. Unimaginable wealth. Global fame. Dominant companies. Triumphant teams. Brilliant inventors. Powerful leaders. Militant movements. Self. Sex and sexuality. Great men of the past and present about whom we refuse to listen to any critique or criticism. Tidy versions of history we won’t permit to be completed or corrected. The list seems endless, idols are all around us!

Today’s idols aren’t made of marble but they have the same impact. They steal people’s energy devotion that should be directed toward God. They drive our emotions, making us happy or sad, angry or delighted far more than they should. We try to destroy anyone or anything that threatens them. What idols do you see as you look around? What idols might be living in your own heart? Are you as provoked about modern-day idols as Paul was? Will you respond as he did by pointing people to the place where they should truly find their identity, security, joy, peace, and satisfaction? #FollowJesus

“And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.” – Acts 16:13

To reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ, you must go where there are people who don’t already know and believe. Look for where people gather and befriend them there. Jesus commissioned not just His Apostles and not just His churches to go and make disciples. He commissioned all of His followers to make disciples as we go about our daily lives. Make disciples as we go to work, go to school, go to the market, and pursue passions, hobbies, and interests.

Like Paul and his friends, we must be intentional about going where there are people who don’t yet know Jesus. A Christian isn’t called to spend all their time in a holy huddle of fellow believers. We certainly must gather with other believers to grow, strengthen, encourage, challenge, and refresh one another. However, we can’t stay exclusively with our Christian friends. We must cultivate the habit of sitting down and speaking with those who don’t yet know Jesus in our classrooms, workplaces, and neighborhoods. We need to get to know them and create opportunities to move conversations in a spiritual direction so we can share Jesus.

Every follower of Jesus has a commission and a mission. Be thoughtful about how you spend your time and how you make time to spend with people who don’t yet know Jesus. You may just be the person God has appointed to bring the saving word of Christ to them! #FollowJesus

“So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.’” – Genesis 16:13

In the midst of Hagar’s sorrow, despair, frustration, and loneliness, she learned a precious truth about God. He is the God of seeing! He sees His children in our agony. He doesn’t merely love us from a distance. He’s very present in the midst of dark and difficult seasons of life. God faithfully looks after us, strengthening and sustaining us when things are darkest and most difficult. He is grieved when we are grieved. One day, He will wipe every tear from our eyes in eternity!

If Jesus is your Lord, then hold firmly to this truth! Jesus sees you and Jesus loves you! He sees your sins and mistakes and went to the cross to pay the penalty for them all. In Him, there is no penalty, wrath, or condemnation remaining for you. When you are weak, Jesus is present, vigilant, and strong on your behalf. He will look after you, sustaining you when you can go no further. Jesus understands your trials and temptations because He endured His own without sinning. He sees you. He loves you. He is with you. He will guide and strengthen you in any situation if you will call upon Him, lean upon Him, and walk in faith and obedience to Him.

Praise and worship the God Who Sees! You are never invisible – God sees you! You are never alone – God is with you! Your situation is never without hope – the God Who Sees is looking after you in Christ Jesus! #FollowJesus

“Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” – Matthew 14:31

When Jesus invites you to do something beyond your ability, He never abandons you to it. He doesn’t leave to take a break or spend time with someone else. He’s always right there as you accept His invitation and follow His commands into the extraordinary. When Jesus commanded Peter to walk to Him on the water (at Peter’s request, to be clear), He first gave Peter the ability to do what He commanded. Peter was empowered to walk on top of the water by Jesus. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he successfully did the impossible, walking toward Jesus on the water.

When Peter lost his focus and began to focus on the impossibility of what he was actually doing, he began to sink and cried for help. Guess what? Jesus was right there. He “immediately” reached out and told hold of Peter. Jesus hadn’t walked away and told Peter, “Good luck with the water walking”. Jesus was immediately at hand, ready to act the moment attention wandered and faith faltered. When Jesus calls His people to a hard task, He never leaves us alone as we do it.

The larger story of the storm that night makes clear that while Jesus often doesn’t calm the storms of life, He will calm us. We don’t need to be afraid of storms because He’s there. Likewise, when He calls us to the extraordinary amidst those storms, we don’t need to fear, because He’s right there. Jesus is present, empowering, supportive, and always ready to grab hold when we start sinking. Don’t be afraid to walk on water if that’s what Jesus tells you to do – He’s right there! #FollowJesus

“Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers” – Matthew 13:40-41

Long ago, Jesus answered one of the questions that people of faith continue to struggle with. Why does an all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing God permit evil-doers to live amongst His people? Why are they allowed to harm the children of God? Why doesn’t He just zap them on the spot???

Sometimes this question is used by the enemies of God to cast doubt upon His existence, faithfulness, or power. However, there’s no mystery about the answer – Jesus already told us why. While immediate justice would satisfy our human sense of right and wrong, Jesus used the parable of the wheat and the weeds to explain why our thirst for immediate retribution is seldom satisfied. The parable explains that it’s the devil who plants wickedness in the hearts of people who live near and amongst those made new by the Gospel. Jesus explained that like good wheat and destructive weeds that have grown together, prematurely removing the unrighteous from among the righteous would cause great harm to the righteous. Just as the roots of the wheat and the weeds become entangled and tearing one out tears out the other, believers lives are often entangled with the lives of those far from God.

It is for the greater good of God’s people that He isn’t constantly zapping unbelievers in their midst. The answer Jesus gives to this painful and challenging cry for justice is that justice WILL come. However, we must look for God’s justice in His perfect timing rather than our flawed timing. The eternal justice our hearts long for in the midst of persecution and abuse will come after Jesus returns. After weeds have had every opportunity to repent and be transformed into wheat. Once their removal will no longer bring sorrow and hurt to those who are in Christ.

The day is coming when God’s perfect justice will be done. Those who are in sin, living lives in defiance of King Jesus and hurting His followers will be gathered and judged. Until that day, God’s people are to be comforted by the presence of Jesus in and with them while sharing the Gospel with those who are currently weeds. #FollowJesus