Author: Brian Burdett

“Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.” – Matthew 11:20

Though Jesus performed countless miracles, He clearly understood their limitations. Miracles can get people’s attention and draw a crowd. However, they don’t generally result in saving faith. Only the proclamation of the Gospel can do that! Jesus denounced the towns where He’d worked hundreds or perhaps thousands of miracles because most there didn’t believe in Him. They didn’t repent of their sins. They didn’t submit to Jesus as Lord. They didn’t recognize the Messiah Who was among them. They loved the miracle show but failed to understand what those miracles represented.

Jesus wasn’t just an exciting miracle worker. His miracles represented the Kingdom of God breaking into this fallen world. His miracles weren’t just a display of God’s power but the demonstration that He was God come in the flesh. Jesus cast out demons, cured illnesses, healed disabilities, made food, walked on water, transformed the elements of matter, commanded the forces of nature, and raised the dead. Nonetheless, most people just thought it was cool and moved on with their life. Miracles drew a crowd but didn’t change very many people spiritually.

Miracles are wonderful as a way of getting people’s attention. However, if the recipient doesn’t hear the Gospel, believe, and repent, their eternal fate remains unchanged. The proclamation of the Gospel is much more important than the working of miracles. How many people were physically healed by Jesus yet remained distant from God and damned for all eternity? Most of them! As much as we might yearn to see miracles personally (and they certainly still happen), we must understand what Jesus understood. Earthly healing is of limited value. The proclamation of the Gospel is far more important because only God’s Word can bring the spiritually dead to life. Speak the words of life with those who need to hear. #FollowJesus

“I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 8:11

Jesus was clear from the earliest days of His earthly ministry…. His Kingdom is open to people from every nation, language, and ethnic group. God’s Kingdom isn’t defined by genealogy, nationality, or ethnic history. Rather, it’s built on faith in Jesus, the Lord’s Salvation. Our Redeemer. We can’t buy an invitation to the Kingdom or earn one. The invitation is given freely to everyone who will listen. Everyone at every age and stage who turns away from their sins and turns to Jesus as Lord is welcomed into the eternal joy of God’s Kingdom.

This is truly good news! God’s Kingdom doesn’t discriminate based on nationality, ethnicity, race, or social status. It’s a Kingdom of grace with one entrance – faith in Jesus Christ. As we celebrate this, please think about the challenge built into this good news…. How will those far off people ever find out about their invitation? Nobody will come from east or west unless Christians go and tell them the Good News! Today, there are estimated to be nearly 7,400 ethnic groups in the world who really don’t have anyone to tell them about Jesus and invite them into God’s Kingdom. That’s 3.4 BILLION people who don’t have sufficient churches, ministries, Bibles, or missions to make it likely they’ll ever hear that God loves them and Jesus died for them.

Jesus gave us a command to go and make disciples of all nations. That command (Matthew 28:18-20) is called the Great Commission. Every follower of Jesus has a role to play in the Great Commission. That includes you! We all have a responsibility to pray for these groups and to pray for Christians to go to them with hope and the words of life. To learn about missions and financially support the work of missions. To encourage those who go and welcome them when they return. And possibly, to go ourselves. What’s your part in helping the nations to know? What are you called to do? If you don’t yet know, start learning about missions and praying for the nations until you have clarity! #FollowJesus

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” – Matthew 5:14

The world is a dark place. Marred by sin, wracked by violence, fractured and divided by hatred, power, selfishness, and cruelty. It’s dark and it certainly feels like it’s getting darker in these present days. But Jesus is the light of the world. He is the light that can and will overcome the darkness. If you believe, follow, and love Him, then you have His light in you. That makes YOU the light of the world!

Don’t hide your light. The world doesn’t need more Christians hiding the light of Christ in fear or un-Christlike behavior. Shine the light. Love people like Jesus loves them. Tell people about Jesus. Give sacrificially to help people just as Jesus sacrificed everything to help you. Think, speak, and act like Jesus. Don’t think, speak, or act like everyone else.

Be distinctly different from non-believers. Live the values of God’s Kingdom in public. It may not be welcomed or appreciated because neither was Jesus. Shine the light anyway! Love people simply because they’re made in God’s image. Care for the vulnerable, poor, sick, and oppressed in the name of Jesus. Pray boldly and persistently for the world to be transformed by Jesus.

Stop chasing the things the world tells you to chase. The excessive pursuit of comfort, pleasure, convenience, power, money, and status just cover your light. Don’t hide your light. The world doesn’t need more darkness. It needs more followers of Jesus radiating His light at all times and in all ways. #FollowJesus

“And said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” – John 2:10

In the village of Cana, Jesus quietly worked a miracle that demonstrated that He was God and Lord over the elements of nature. He turned water into wine. Atoms and molecules changed completely because Jesus is, and always has been, the sustainer of the universe. He holds everything together and can rearrange the building blocks of matter as He desires. He did this, without fanfare, so that His first followers would believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that He was Messiah, the Christ, God come in the flesh.

His choice to perform this miracle says a great deal about His mission in stepping into our world. In this moment, Jesus guarded the dignity of a family who’d run out of wine. Rather than let them be embarrassed by this faux pas, He simply resolved their problem. They had no idea who or how they’d been rescued. Jesus loves and guards our dignity without a second thought.

More significantly, this miracle reminds us that with God, the best is yet to come. Jesus came to usher in a new covenant that was infinitely superior to the old. The old covenant was built on laws, rules, and the consequences of failing to keep those rules. It was a covenant of blessings but more often curses for failure. However, God kept the good wine for the end! God pours out the delicious, excellent wine of His grace through Jesus Christ. Jesus came to usher in a new covenant based on God’s gracious, loving, merciful nature. No longer would our fate be determined by our failure. Our future is now defined by God’s grace given freely through faith in Jesus the Christ. This is the best wine which God saved for these later days!

Through faith in Jesus, we are forgiven our sins. Our guilt and shame are washed away. We are reconciled to God, united with Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. This is the perfect wine of grace. Your identity is no longer based on your failures but upon Christ in you. Your value isn’t based on your performance but on the fact that you bear God’s image. Your status is no longer in doubt – you are a beloved child of God through Jesus Christ. This is the good wine, poured out at the cross for you! #FollowJesus

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” – Ephesians 6:10

Be strong in who? In the strength of whose might??? The Lord’s (not yours)!!!

Life can be very hard. The challenges, burdens, and obstacles we encounter can be absolutely crushing. If you only try to tackle them based on your resources, your abilities, your strength, and your energy, they probably will overwhelm you at some point. You may think you’re navigating life fine but there’s a very good chance you’ll experience a season in life that’s beyond your abilities. The strength you need to navigate a fallen world in obedience to Jesus Christ won’t be found in yourself. It must be found in Lord Jesus.

Be strong in Lord Jesus. Let the might of Jesus be your strength. Make that the habit and pattern of your life when things are going well. Then you will be prepared when things go haywire. Draw near to Jesus. Submit your whole life to Him. Admit your need for Him, His grace, and His power. Get to know Him more intimately and fully through prayer, reading and meditation on Scripture, worship, and service. Regularly practice taking small leaps of faith about things you “couldn’t possibly do” and discover His power and faithfulness.

When you succeed, give thanks to Jesus. When you fail, go to Jesus in prayer. When you’re anxious or afraid, go to Jesus in prayer. When you’re overwhelmed, go to Jesus in prayer. Stop asking Him to renew your strength to overcome and instead ask Him for His strength to overcome. Stop demanding specific outcomes and simply focus on glorifying and obeying Him, no matter what. Belt yourself with truth. Protect your heart with righteousness. Walk in the gospel of peace. Shield yourself with faith. Guard your mind with the truth of your salvation by grace. Wield the Word of God as your weapon against lies. Pray with perseverance. #FollowJesus