Author: Brian Burdett

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 1:3

Praise God! In and through His Son, Jesus Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven. Already!!! If you’ve trusted your life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then God is already pouring out every spiritual blessing upon you. He has adopted you in love. He has welcomed you into His throne room via prayer. He has given you His Holy Spirit to live in you. He has sealed you as His precious possession, a seal that can’t be faked or broken. He has united you with His Son. He has justified you, declaring you “Not Guilty” for your sins. He has given you eternal life. He is transforming you to be like Jesus. He has given you eternal life. He has exalted you above angels.

Every blessing in your life flows from God. Not from yourself. Not from the government. From God. God is the source of all blessings in creation. Praise Him! Praise Him! Take time to contemplate the many blessings you enjoy in your life. Really think about them. Recognize they all flow out of heaven from God to you through Jesus Christ. This is a reflection of God’s abundant, extraordinary, amazing grace and mercy. Give thanks! Give praise!#FollowJesus

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9

Christian, do the right thing! Do good things for others, even if nobody says, “Thank you”. Help others even if they don’t immediately appreciate it. Do the right thing, even if nobody is looking. This honors and glorifies God. This obeys Jesus. This imitates Jesus and what He did for you on the cross!

We’re commanded to do good because God is good and we are His ambassadors here on earth. We aren’t promised we’ll get an immediate reward. We’re commanded to live with absolute, Christ-like integrity. That means doing good whether it’s noticed by others or not. Please understand that God always knows. He always sees the good you do, even when nobody else does. There will absolutely be a blessing and reward for your fidelity in doing good works. You will reap good things from your efforts.

So don’t grow weary! Yes, it can be tiresome to work hard and consistently do good things when it feels like nobody cares. Yes, it can be exhausting to do the right thing and not feel appreciated by others. Know that God appreciates you and God cares! Know that the greatest rewards for loving your neighbor lie in eternity. So, keep loving God. Keep loving your neighbor. Keep serving those who are least able to reward you or even appreciate you. Know that you are storing up rewards in heaven. Feel God’s pleasure as you represent Him in an unappreciative world. #FollowJesus

“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” – Galatians 5:17

This is a fundamental truth that every follower of Jesus must understand about himself or herself. You can’t sit on the fence indulging the desires of the flesh (temper, addiction, lust, envy, pride, etc.) and also grow spiritually. The desires of the flesh want to dominate you and will quench the Spirit’s power and work within you. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit desires to fully transform you into the image of Jesus Christ if you will let Him. That only happens by rejecting the desires of the flesh in your life.

Within the life of every believer, this will be a battle that must be fought. If it isn’t, then the desires of the flesh win by default and nothing of great spiritual significance is accomplished in our heart. We must fight the battle to crucify the desires of the flesh and walk in step with the Spirit. As we do, this battle becomes easier and yet, we must always remain vigilant. Even when we think we’ve moved past the battle, the flesh likes to sneak back in.

Take time to consider how you spend your time and money. Think about what you think about. Does your flesh, your earthly life and enjoyment win the majority of your time, attention, and resources? Or do the things of God and the quiet work of the Holy Spirit prevail? Choose the Spirit! #FollowJesus

“So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.” – Ezra 8:23

Throughout the Bible, we see God’s people fasting to focus and strengthen their prayers. They fast to repent and they fast to seek God’s favor. Do you?

While there are no specific biblical commands for Christians to fast, Jesus clearly assumed His followers would. In fact, He gave us instructions about how to fast (Matthew 6:16-18). Nonetheless, in our land of plenty, fasting has largely fallen out of favor amongst Christians. Perhaps that’s why our Gospel influence has been diminishing. We’re living in serious times and serious times call for serious spiritual measures! Perhaps it’s time you incorporated fasting into your spiritual life. After all, the spiritual issues we face individually and collectively are enormous.

God’s people fast to sharpen their prayers, to crucify the flesh and nourish the spirit, to submit to God, and to break the power of our body over our mind and soul. The earnestness of fasting seems to underscore the earnestness of our prayers. And so, God’s people have traditionally fasted when wrestling with difficult questions and decisions. They’ve fasted when they longed to hear from the Lord. They’ve fasted in times of sorrow and repentance for the sins of their nation and for their own sins. They’ve fasted when they have sought the Lord’s favor in a difficult undertaking.

If these sound like things you might want, then it might be time to add fasting to your spiritual toolbox. Perhaps it’s a daylong fast or a fast between certain hours. Perhaps it’s a total fast from all food or a fast from flavorful foods. Perhaps it looks like small portions or only vegetables for awhile. We see fasts like these in various places in the Bible. There are no fixed rules for fasting. For those with medical conditions, there are creative ways to modify or reduce the intake of food for spiritual purposes. For those without medical conditions, it’s generally just a matter of being willing to to let your hunger pangs remind you to pray. If you’re carrying a spiritual burden on your heart today, perhaps you should schedule a personal fast this week to support focused prayer about that matter. #FollowJesus

“And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
– Zechariah 13:9

God tests and refines His people throughout the Bible and throughout history. Over and over again, we see God’s people collectively grow weak in their faith and be drawn more to the things of the world and the desires of their hearts than toward God. When that happens, God brings hard times on His people. Times that push them past their ability to endure on their own and require them to depend on Him. Times that take away the pretty things of the world we like to collect so we can see the true beauty of knowing God. We’re told repeatedly in Scripture that these times are good.

During these seasons of trial, many who claim to be God’s people fall away. Their hearts are more attached to temporary things than to the eternal. They are more drawn to what they want than to their Creator and what He desires for them. They want comfort and approval from people more than they want eternal joy in God’s presence. Time and time again, when the testing has come, most of “God’s people” have fallen away. However, He has always preserved and blessed a remnant. Scripture makes clear that this is a good thing.

That faithful remnant isn’t broken by the testing. They are refined. Their faith grows strong. Their walk with God grows confident. Their love for God and assurance of His love for them becomes rock-solid. They become God’s faithful witnesses to the rising generations. They become the building blocks for the future. They are God’s chosen people, treasured possession, and royal ambassadors.

We (the church) are probably in such a season of testing and refinement right now in this country. If we aren’t, one is certainly coming soon. Devote yourself to God and seek His approval rather than the approval of people. Grow in your knowledge and love for Jesus. Commit yourself to the Savior Who died for you so that your faith and character can be refined like silver and gold. Embrace the refining fire. Devote yourself to God over the world so that in the fire you won’t fail. Call on the Lord in times of trial, knowing that He will answer. #FollowJesus