Author: Brian Burdett

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it.” – Romans 3:21

Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God’s righteousness. He is the one the Old Testament Law and prophets spoke of often and consistently pointed toward. In Him, all of God’s sinless holiness, grace, mercy, love, patience, faithfulness, kindness, and justice are made visible to the world. We see and better understand God and His nature when we read about Jesus in the Bible. Not only does Jesus perfectly display God’s righteousness, He makes that righteousness available to everyone who believes in Him.

Paul goes on to explain how everyone who entrusts his or her life to Jesus as Lord is declared to be not guilty by God. Because Jesus took all the guilt and endured all the righteous punishment for our sins on the cross, when we put our faith in Him, His perfect righteousness is declared to belong to us. Furthermore, Paul explains there is no other way to be made righteous apart from faith in Jesus. No…other…way!!!

Take time to meditate on Jesus today. He isn’t just an amazing person full of profound wisdom and performing extraordinary miracles. He is the righteousness of God become flesh and made visible for everyone to see. Moreover, He is the only path to righteousness for anyone on earth. If you are in Him, you are truly righteous and clean in the eyes of God. However, many around you probably haven’t yet made that decision of faith and been made righteous. Pray for them, then be intentional about inviting them to #FollowJesus

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the paralytic— ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.’” – Mark 2:10-11

Once again, the miracles of Jesus serve the purpose of authenticating the message of Jesus. Jesus had already told this man that because of his faith, his sins had been forgiven. However, people rightly questioned the power of Jesus to forgive sins. So, Jesus did what they thought impossible, instantly healing the man’s paralysis. Why? To prove by his physical healing that Jesus had already performed the more important spiritual healing he desperately needed. Through faith in Jesus, his sins had indeed been forgiven.

Jesus was crystal clear – His earthly mission was to seek and save the lost, to rescue sinful mankind from the consequences of our sin and reconcile us to our Creator as a gift of grace. To experience that rescue, people must take the words of Jesus seriously. They must hear and accept His invitation to repent of their sins, believe in Him, and follow Him as Lord. The miracles authenticated this message.

As you go through life, hopefully loving and blessing everyone you encounter, are you sharing the words of life with them? Are you inviting others to have their sins forgiven through faith in Jesus? If not, you’re missing the point of so much of what Jesus did, taught, and has now given responsibility for to His followers. Whose spiritual healing are you praying for today? Who do you hope to introduce to Jesus this week? #FollowJesus

“And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’” – Mark 1:27

The miracles of Jesus were primarily done to draw people to His teaching. His jaw-dropping power was proof that His stunning words should be listened to and obeyed. Jesus didn’t speak, teach, or preach like anyone else on earth. He didn’t debate, discuss, or equivocate. He didn’t stand on the ideas and interpretations of rabbis and scholars. He spoke directly and authoritatively as the Son of God on earth. Given that radical difference in teaching style and content, why should anyone listen to Him? Because He also had the power of God’s Son!

It’s helpful for us to understand the relationship between the miracles of Jesus and His words. Miracles were never the main event – they were performed to draw attention to the fact that God’s Kingdom had come into the world through Christ. That’s most likely why there tend to be relatively few dramatic miracles in parts of the world where the words of Jesus are well-known, widely taught, and at least respected. Miracles draw crowds but the word of Christ raises the spiritually dead to life!

To this day, we sometimes get so focused on the miracles of Jesus that we think more about them than we do His words. Make no mistake, the words are far more important! His words are life. His words are truth. He taught with authority. He proved that authority by the miracles He did. So, what are you doing about that authority? Do you take His words seriously? Do you view them as a matter of life and death? Do you pray for God’s hep to live in obedience to the words of Jesus? Have you submitted to the authority of Jesus as your Lord? #FollowJesus

“And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.” – Acts 28:15

Never underestimate the power of simply showing up! Paul and his friends were finally nearing Rome after two years of imprisonment followed by a catastrophic shipwreck and a long winter of waiting for safe traveling weather. Once they arrived, Paul would face a trial for his life before the unpredictable Roman emperor. It’s no wonder he was feeling a bit down and discouraged!

Then some fellow Christians came out to meet them on their way. There’s no reason to think they’d met before. It wasn’t a reunion of long-lost friends. These followers of Jesus simply heard that a brother in Christ was coming to the region under less than ideal circumstances. So they went and offered encouragement. We have no idea what they said or did but it probably wasn’t earth-shattering in content. Nonetheless, it was enough to get Paul praising God as he instantly felt less isolated, more loved, and greatly encouraged.

Those unknown Christians didn’t need to have the “right words” to make this bad situation good. It was still a bad situation. However, it was better than before, simply because they came to visit. God was praised and the discouraged took courage because those believers made the short trip out to meet, greet, encourage, and pray. The power of that moment didn’t come from great speeches, deep wisdom, or miracle-working prayer. The power came from the fact that they simply showed up.

Embrace their example! Show up for someone going through a tough situation. Think about who might be encouraged if you visited them. Then visit them. Don’t worry about having the right words – there may not be right words. Don’t worry about what you’ll do, just go! Seek out the discouraged and make them feel cared for, loved, and a bit less lonely. Just show up! #FollowJesus

“And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.” – Matthew 27:30

Who would do this?!? Who would spit on Jesus? Who would mock Him, humiliate Him, and hit Him on the head? Surely it was a group of pagan Roman soldiers. Casual dealers in pain and death. Excited for the opportunity to practice cruelty without restraint. Ugly men earning God’s eternal wrath.

Who else would do this?!? Every Christian… every time we deliberately sin. When we, who’ve been raised to new spiritual life, jump back into the cesspool of sin and death from which we were saved, by practicing one of our favorite sins, we’re spitting on Christ. We’re telling Jesus that we don’t take His sacrifice seriously. We say thanks for the cleansing blood, please keep it coming…

Don’t spit on Jesus! Whatever tempts you to sin, fight it! Whether it’s the sort of sin that makes headlines or the kind where you claim, “it doesn’t hurt anyone”, it’s spitting on Jesus. Uncontrolled anger… greed… sexual sin of any sort… gossip… dividing believers… dallying with dark spiritual things… cruelty or criminality toward others… Whatever it is, fight it.

Every Christian will fall into sin from time to time. When you do, there is always grace to cover that – repent and be forgiven. But when we jump into sin without the slightest bit of concern or resistance, full of ourselves and confident that we’re right and God needs to leave us alone – that’s when we spit on Jesus once more. In fact, Hebrews 6:6 says that we crucify Him once again, warning us of the terrible spiritual consequences of doing that. So, whatever tempts you to sin, don’t excuse it. Don’t explain why it isn’t a big deal. Don’t embrace it. Don’t celebrate it. Fight it. Get help fighting it. Crucify it. #FollowJesus