Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him.” – John 12:37

Miracles definitely have their limits in terms of leading people to faith in Jesus. It seems humans have an extraordinary ability to consider something to be interesting but still move forward without letting it change their thinking. Though Jesus performed countless extraordinary, visible, undeniable miracles, most of the people who saw them were unaffected spiritually over the long term.

This is an important lesson as we pray and work to make disciples today. While miracles certainly can get people’s attention and draw a crowd, they are insufficient to save people. People must hear and respond to the Gospel good news of Jesus Christ. Know how to share that and don’t worry about whether or not you can point to a current, visible miracle. Be able to share your own story of what you were like before you trusted in Jesus, how you came to believe in Him for salvation, and what He’s done in your life since then. That’s all the miracle you need for God to bring someone to new spiritual life in Jesus Christ!

Talk about God’s love, mercy, and grace which are far more important than any miracle. Share how God sent His Son into this world to rescue us from sin, living a perfect, sinless life, dying an atoning, sacrificial death, being buried, and rising from the dead. Share how this was God’s loving response to the brokenness and evil in our world, His path for anyone to experience forgiveness and reconciliation if they believe, and His way of empowering every believer to recover His good design for their life and pursue a deep relationship with Him. Ask people to accept the invitation to #FollowJesus regardless of any miracles they may see, trusting they will immediately experience the miracle of becoming new creation in Him.

“When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.”
– Psalm 65:3

When you fail and sin wins a battle in your heart, Jesus already has you covered! In Christ, failure is never final. Sin is never OK for a Christian, but our gracious Savior knows we’ll still struggle with temptation and sometimes, we’ll give in. When that happens, Jesus wants you to know that He’s already paid the penalty for your sin. The Apostle John explains this in 1 John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

As Christians, we have the power to not sin and we’re called to crucify our sinful desires. However, we will still struggle and fail from time to time. When we do, Jesus has us covered! All Jesus asks when that happens is that we recognize our sin as sin, repent of it, and confess it to Him. 1 John 1:9 assures us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So, if sin wins for a moment in your life, don’t give up in shame. Don’t sin more because of your failure. Don’t become discouraged or feel like Jesus won’t want to have anything more to do with you. Remember that He’s already paid for that sin as well. Don’t hide from Jesus when failure happens – run to Him and know that He will forgive you. #FollowJesus

“My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” – John 10:29

If you belong to Jesus, then you’re securely in the hand of God the Father and Jesus the Son! If Jesus is your Shepherd – you hear Him, love Him, and follow Him, then you are held firmly in Him by the infinite power of God. Nothing in heaven, hell, or earth can undo that! There is nothing stronger than God, so nothing can tear a follower out of the hand of His Savior. Nothing!

Jesus wants you know this truth with every fiber of your being – if you love Him and He is your Lord, you’ll be in and with Him forever. Life may be very difficult and painful. Doubts may arise within you. The devil may tell you lies to try and make you afraid, ashamed, or condemned. But Jesus has you. The Father has you. The devil has absolutely NO power to snatch you out of their hand!

Don’t be afraid. Know and trust Jesus. Love and obey Him. Serve and proclaim Him. Don’t worry about His love and embrace of you. Just #FollowJesus

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10

This is the glorious truth the world tries to twist, distort, and turn upside down!!! It’s Jesus Who provides rich, abundant, eternal life, the life you were created to live. When you embrace Jesus, He offers extraordinary life from that moment onward – forever. He unites Himself with you, loves you, strengthens you, calms you, corrects you, and transforms you (if you’ll let Him). Your sins are forgiven, your guilt and shame are washed away, and you can live as God actually intended for you to live – in a holy manner that enjoys deep and never ending relationship with Him.

Abundant life isn’t about having lots of money, stuff, or endless physical comfort or pleasure. Those things provide the illusion of abundance but don’t nourish your soul and don’t last. They are often the tools used by the devil, the thief, who comes to rob human lives of purpose, dignity, meaning, and the deeper pleasure of friendship with God. Abundant life is about have living water flowing through you in the Holy Spirit. It’s about having a glorious purpose here on earth as God’s royal ambassador, the opportunity to do the amazing good works God has prepared for you to do, and a glorious future in God’s presence forever. It’s about a life of peaceful, joyful, fellowship with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It’s about being new creation in Christ, free of guilt and shame.

Such abundant life is freely available through faith in Jesus. He is the ONLY way to true, lasting, abundant life. #FollowJesus

“They answered him, ‘You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?’ And they cast him out.” – John 9:34

Not everyone will appreciate your personal story about what Jesus has done for you. That’s OK! For a man who’d been blind from birth, his personal testimony that Jesus had miraculously healed him was unacceptable to the religious leaders. The truth of Jesus’s power and identity was a threat to the established religious order and they set out to silence anyone who talked about the real Jesus. They lied and said terrible, hurtful, false things about the man. They cut him off from his religious community. The same may happen to you if you are “all in” for Jesus. Be prepared!

Admirably, the man kept talking about Jesus. He knew what Jesus had done for him and he knew that nobody had ever done anything like it before. Though the once-blind man had no formal training or education, he just kept telling his Jesus story. The more he told it, the better he understood Jesus. He was eventually thrown out of his synagogue for telling people about Jesus but it was worth it. He gained something far greater than being accepted in his religious context — he met Jesus and ultimately gained eternal life as he worshiped the Lord.

Don’t let anyone stop you from seeing or talking about the real Jesus of the Bible. Not secular authorities and not religious authorities. Tell the true stories of Jesus – His kindness, His power, His teaching, His truth. Tell those stories even when it’s unpopular with those in authority and nobody seems to be listening. Be willing to accept the earthly consequences in order to receive the eternal blessings. #FollowJesus