Author: Brian Burdett

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
– Psalm 23:4

Every day we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. That’s always true in this fallen world, though we can go for very long periods of time without noticing death’s shadow. Part of what’s made the past year so challenging for so many is that we’re much more aware of walking each day through the valley of the shadow of death. That’s very hard for people to cope with when they aren’t used to thinking about it.

Yet we don’t need for fear, despite the awful reality of death. God IS with us. Yes, death will strike us all one day (unless Christ returns first). Yes, death may claim loved ones with little notice and may do so in terrible ways. However, in Christ we need not fear death for He has defeated death. All who believe in Him will likewise pass from death to life.

Moreover, we don’t need to fear living life in the shadow of death. God is with us. His rod and staff protect us and correct us. They give us the courage and comfort we lack. His steadfast love and faithfulness will never depart from us.

As fear rises within you, turn to your shepherd. Go to Him in prayer, tell Him your fears and find strength in His presence. As a Christian, God is not only with you, He’s in you. You’re more than you give yourself credit for, because you’re never alone!

“And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’” – Mark 3:11

It’s interesting to realize that demons always knew Who Jesus was! They knew Him to be the Christ, the Son of God. They knew He had complete power over them. So what’s the difference between a demon who knows Jesus is the Son of God and a Christian who believes Jesus is the Son of God?

Obedience, submission, and following. Demons know, but don’t willingly obey Jesus. They don’t submit themselves to the Lordship of Christ. They don’t willingly follow Him wherever He leads, even when they follow His commands.

When Jesus speaks of the saving power of belief in Him, that’s never referring to mere intellectual agreement that He is Who He is. Demons have that kind of belief and it does them no good. True belief in Christ describes faith that results in submission, obedience, and following. Belief in Christ must move you to action in fidelity to Him. If your belief in Jesus doesn’t lead you to life changing action, it isn’t saving faith. If your faith leaves your life looking pretty much the same as your non-Christian neighbor, then it may be closer to what the demons have.

If you’re a Christian but haven’t yet submitted your life to Christ’s Lordship and leadership, make that commitment now. Repent of your rebellious desire to accept Jesus on your terms and ask God’s forgiveness. He will forgive, but you must submit, obey, and seek to follow Jesus each day in the power of the Holy Spirit. Not every day will be perfect, and there’s grace for that, but every day should be different in Christ!

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” – Mark 1:35

Consider this verse carefully…Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He’s literally been in fellowship with God the Father forever. Yet, after a long night of healing people and casting out demons, Jesus prioritizes getting up in the pre-dawn darkness to talk and fellowship with God the Father.

If Jesus prioritized prayer, we absolutely must prioritize prayer, because we aren’t Jesus! Our ability and freedom to pray – to talk with, listen to, and fellowship with the Creator of the Universe is an extraordinary privilege. It’s a blessing, a source of inner peace and strength, and a way God transforms our hearts. We must never take prayer for granted!

We must grow hungry for our quiet time with our Father in Heaven. We must yearn for the fellowship we enjoy with Him. That fellowship is worth whatever sacrifice of sleep, phone time, or “me time” is necessary. If you don’t know what to pray – how to fill your time alone with God, look to the Psalms. They provide Spirit-inspired examples of honest, heart-filled prayers. Pray their words or pray whatever thoughts their words bring to mind. But pray.

Or, consider using the simple and memorable pattern of A-C-T-S:

Adoration – what do you love about God?

Confession – what do you need God to forgive you for?

Thanksgiving – what are you grateful to God for?

Supplication – what would you like God to do?

Always leave some time at the end to be silent – to still your soul before the Lord and simply listen for His still small voice.

“And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.” – Mark 1:20

Can you ever imagine doing what James and John did? Jesus called them and they immediately left their family business, their family, and their home. In a culture built around family and community, they literally left their dad behind in a boat with the staff to follow Jesus!

Their decision changed their lives, their futures, and the world. Their work as apostles (and Scripture writers in John’s case) began with this decision to fully, truly, totally follow Jesus. They didn’t know where He was going. They didn’t even really know Who He was. But they followed and everything changed.

Today, Jesus makes that same invitation to each of us. To follow Him. To truly commit our lives, not just a portion of them, to Him in obedience. For most of us, the call is to follow Jesus fully in the places we already are – family, friends, work, and community. For others, like James and John, the call is to something quite different than what we’ve always known. Regardless, the call of Jesus is still for you to truly follow Him with 100% commitment.

When we commit to follow Jesus, we may not know where it will lead, but we know Who travels with us, leading us, changing us, and strengthening us. We must not play around pretending to follow Jesus. When we do, we miss out on so much! We must truly follow. Where is Jesus calling you to follow Him? Follow Him!

“Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head.” – Matthew 27:30

This is Jesus. The Christ. The Messiah. The Son of God. Our Lord and Savior. Humiliated, spit on, beaten. The One present at creation, through Whom all things were made, and Who even then held all things together. Take a good look…

At times in recent years (and in fact, across centuries) a toxic, distorted, and even demonic approach to Christianity fixated on strength and power has had far too much influence. Centered on powerful people or the need to make the church more powerful, such an approach, while perhaps well-intentioned, has turned people’s attention away from this Jesus and toward human leaders and structures.

Yes, Christ will return in absolute victorious triumph over every evil. However, He doesn’t call us to style ourselves, our churches, or our movement around that kind of dominance. That belongs to Him alone. Jesus calls us to follow Him in humility and humiliation. Just as He came to serve, suffer, and die to save the lost of the world, He calls His followers today to serve, suffer, and even die to save those who remain separated from God by sin.

We must move away from our fixation on celebrity Christians with big personalities and big ministries. Over and over we see what a disaster that is as those individuals plunge into sin, taking the faith of their followers with them. We must focus our eyes and the efforts of our ministries on lovingly and gently pointing people to the only personality Who matters and Who will never fail us – our Savior, Who went to every length to save us, suffering, dying, and rising from the dead, so that all who believe in Him will likewise rise to eternal life.