“The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?’ (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)” – John 4:9

When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman it shocked her. It violated social customs related to how men and women related in that time. More importantly, “proper” Jews never talked to Samaritans! To them, the only Good Samaritan was a dead Samaritan. The ethnic and religious differences between them led Jews to view Samaritans with utter contempt. Samaritans were view as something unclean and less than human. This hatred and contempt had fueled centuries of tension and violence.

In those days, the easy thing was simply to go along with these cultural attitudes, assumptions, and behaviors. However, Jesus doesn’t do “the easy thing”. He intentionally breaks those barriers and speaks to those He “shouldn’t”. He went to Samaria with a mission – to talk to this woman. He talked to this woman with a mission – her salvation and that of many of her Samaritan neighbors. Jesus didn’t just bring good news to those ethnically acceptable to His people. Jesus brought good news for every nation and ethnicity! Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead so that a new people could be brought together through the Gospel. A people united in Him in a way the world considers impossible. People who “should” hate each other but instead love one another because Jesus loves them.

Who is a “Samaritans” to you? Who are you reluctant or opposed to talk to, visit with, socialize with, or share the hope of Jesus with? Think carefully, because the world works very hard to divide us from other people made in God’s image. Most of us have Samaritans. What kind of person do you consider to be “them” instead of “us”? Jesus wants His people to cross over and engage with those around us who look different, sound different, act different, or believe different. Those who are different socially, economically, intellectually, or experientially. Those who speak with different accents, eat different food, or hold different citizenships. Those vote different, dress different, or worship different. They all need to know about Jesus and experience His love. Who is a Samaritan to you? Jesus wants you to go meet them. #FollowJesus

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:30

John the Baptist was a Big Deal and everyone knew it. He was the first true prophet in Israel in hundreds of years. He was calling people to repent of their sins and crowds were flocking to him! He was the talk of Israel. However, John knew that he was just God’s “opening act”. He had a purpose and that purpose was to prepare people for the coming of God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus.

When John’s followers became concerned and jealous about the rising attention being paid to Jesus, John gave the answer recorded in this verse. It’s the perfect heart attitude of every true follower of Jesus. Jesus must increase. People must look to Him, see Him, believe in Him, be saved by Him, and worship Him. We are His messengers and royal ambassadors. He is the King. We must diminish in stature, pointing people toward Jesus rather than ourselves.

As Christians, we should be humbly, deeply aware that we’ve been forgiven, adopted, and exalted as a gift of God’s grace received only through faith in Jesus. We’ve earned none of the overflowing love God has for us. We must recognize that the life transformation we’ve experienced in Christ has been a work of God’s Spirit rather than our self-discipline. We should learn to be content being enormously loved by God, united with Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit. We shouldn’t need to distract or divert people from seeing, hearing about, and believing in Jesus.

As you mature in Christ, are you increasingly content for less and less attention to be paid to you so that more is directed toward Jesus? John showed us the way. Will you follow it? #FollowJesus

“And the report was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled.” – Joshua 22:33

We live in an age of outrage where the slightest sense of offense or hint of disagreement or unorthodoxy can launch us into an attack on brothers and sisters. Many Christians increasingly demand absolute agreement on all matters, large and small, without the ability to appreciate differences of perspective, experience, or culture. As God’s people, we must learn to listen well and understand fully before deciding whether something or someone that offends our sensibilities is truly wrong.

This verse illustrates the necessity for God’s people to slow down our rage, seek to understand others, particularly those we think are problems or spiritual enemies within the faith. As several tribes of Israel prepared to go to their new home across the Jordan, they built an altar of remembrance to testify to their kinship with the other tribes. Unfortunately, all their fellow Israelites saw the altar and assumed they were building an illegal place to worship of God. Angry about their unorthodoxy and fearing God’s wrath upon the entire nation, they armed for battle. They chased after their brothers and prepared to kill them for their crime!

Fortunately, they paused to ask and understand before attacking. They gave those on “the other side” the opportunity to explain that this wasn’t a religious altar of disobedience, but a memorial to their participation in the nation of Israel. What had seemed obscene and profane to the majority was actually something that honored their God and their fellowship. Because they stopped to actually listen and understand, a tragic slaughter of believers was avoided.

This should be a model for God’s people today. There are absolutely standards of right and wrong and we should be zealous in living by and defending them. However, our first task in any potential dispute should be to engage, listen, and understand the perspective of the other parties. Then we can truly discern whether this is false teaching, ill-intent, error, or simply a different way of glorifying God. Don’t be too hasty to attack perceived enemies, especially when they’re fellow believers! First and foremost, be a peacemaker as Jesus commands you to be because you are a child of God. #FollowJesus

“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” – John 2:11

The faith of His followers is precious to Jesus! Your faith is precious to Jesus! At a wedding in small-town Cana, Jesus performed an incredible miracle for a tiny audience. He rearranged protons, electrons, neutrons, atoms, and molecules to transform water into wine. In converting a simple blend of hydrogen and oxygen into a complex mix of many different elements, Jesus revealed that He is the creator and sustainer of all matter in the universe. He is God come to earth in the flesh. And only a handful of His first followers saw it!

Jesus didn’t publicize this miracle to the whole crowd. Nobody other than His mother and first clueless followers had any idea that one of the most incredible miracles imaginable had just taken place. This miracle was for building the faith of a few. What does that say about how important the faith of His followers is to Jesus?!? Jesus treasures our faith and delights in doing nearly invisible miracles to strengthen it.

If you’re a believer in Jesus, then He treasures your faith. Your faith is precious to the King of Kings! Jesus delights that you have embraced Him and been adopted into His family. Has Jesus done any small, nearly invisible miracles to build your faith? Think about that for a moment. If Jesus has done a work of miraculous faith-building for your blessing and benefit, meditate on that for while and give thanks to Jesus. Consider sharing your “Cana story” with someone else who needs to believe in Jesus or have their faith strengthened. #FollowJesus

“A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
but a just weight is his delight.”
– Proverbs 11:1

God expects and desires His people to have total integrity in all matters related to business and money. We must be rock-solid in our honesty, fairness, and justice, concerned more for others than for ourselves. Throughout history and across cultures, shady businessmen used intentionally inaccurate weights, scales, and balances to cheat people when buying and selling. One set of weights worked to their advantage when buying, a different set cheated customers when selling. God HATES this – the proverbs declare such a practice to be an abomination to God!!!

You probably don’t do business with a scale and balance. However, you almost certainly operate in the marketplace whether as employee, employer, or customer. If Jesus is your Lord, then you must always operate with absolute honesty and integrity. When it comes to buying and selling, making change, or managing and reporting time God’s people should never be trying to “get one over” on someone else.

If you work, work hard, work well, and work the full time you report. If you manage or employ others, don’t cheat them out of time, money, opportunities, or benefits they should have. If you sell, sell quality at a fair and honest price. If you buy, don’t play games. Never compromise your character, ethics, or integrity for money. If someone makes a mistake in your favor, correct them. Live, work, shop, and spend on the DELIGHT side of God’s ledger, not the ABOMINATION side! #FollowJesus