Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.” – Matthew 10:25

If you’re a follower of Jesus, buckle up for a bumpy ride! You might remember that Jesus was treated pretty badly by His countrymen, religious leaders, teachers, and local authorities. He was accused of vile and blasphemous things. He was hated and rejected. He was betrayed, tortured, and murdered. Guess what??? Jesus made it very clear that His followers should expect the same things and worse!!!

Don’t imagine that following Jesus will suddenly make everything smooth in your life. Quite the opposite! Expect that if you’re serious about following Jesus, you’ll experience some of the same things He did. Prepare yourself to be disliked, mocked, rejected, and opposed. And know that it’s worth it!!!

Following Jesus is the greatest blessing and adventure there is! When you follow Jesus, you walk with the Lord of the Universe. When you follow Jesus, you’re forgiven, freed, cleansed, adopted, and loved. When you follow Jesus, you gain eternal life and fellowship with God. All this comes for free through God’s grace, love, and mercy when you believe in Jesus.

However, the path of a follower and disciple is the path of our Master. We will experience challenges in life and in our relationships because we serve and follow King Jesus. It’s logical. Jesus told us to expect it. So expect it and be prepared, not surprised! Find your identity and joy in Jesus, not the applause of those around you. Ground your hope in God’s unchanging love for you rather than your ever-changing popularity. #FollowJesus

“And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David.’” – Matthew 9:27

These two men may not have been able to see their surroundings but they clearly saw what most others didn’t. They saw a crucial aspect of Who Jesus is. Though they couldn’t see His face, they could see that Jesus was the “Son of David.” By that, they meant He was the righteous descendant of King David, the anointed Messiah of God, and the true King of Israel. At the time, most everyone else couldn’t or wouldn’t see these truths about Jesus.

Because they saw the truth about Who Jesus is, they followed Him with determination, begging for Jesus to bless them. Because of their strong faith in Him, Jesus healed them. In an instant, Jesus made it so their physical vision matched their already excellent spiritual vision. It’s an extraordinary story that prompts us to think about how clearly we see Jesus.

How well do you see Jesus? Do you see Him with the clarity, eagerness, determination, and faith of those blind men? In your need, do you cry out to the Son of David for mercy or do you hold back to protect your distance, dignity, or sense of independence? See Jesus and rush toward His mercy toward you! #FollowJesus

“And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?’” – Matthew 8:27

This is a crucial question everyone should wrestle with about Jesus. The Gospel accounts are meticulously written eyewitness accounts of what Jesus said and did. A key reason for their existence and preservation across the centuries is to help us arrive at the correct answer to this question. To convince us of what sort of man He through story and testimony rather than in bullet-point format.

Jesus commands natural forces of wind and waves with a word because He’s the ruler and sustainer of nature. Jesus commands supernatural beings because He’s the Lord of the supernatural. Jesus heals diseases, disabilities, and even death because He’s the source of life, healing, and wholeness. He’s fully a person, like us, but He’s also fully God come to earth in a human body to rescue us from sin and death.

Each person who hears these stories must decide whether he or she will refuse to believe eyewitness accounts, refuse to believe what the clear conclusion they point to, or embrace the truth that Jesus is Who the accounts demonstrate He is. What about you? What sort of man do you believe Jesus is? What sort of man controls the weather, the demons, the diseases of the body, and understands the thoughts of the mind? Think carefully and BELIEVE. #FollowJesus

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” – Matthew 7:24

The world can be a shaky place. It can seem perfectly solid for long periods of times before – BOOM – everything you thought you could count on is shaken. An accident, illness, disability, disaster, economic downturn, war, political upheaval, or cultural shift can strike without warning and wipe out everything you thought would last forever. What you believed to be stable quickly turns out to be built on shifting sand when those storms come. Event can quickly follow disastrous event leaving you feeling lost, trapped, confused, and hopeless.

However, there is a stable, unchanging foundation upon which you can build your life. That foundation is Jesus and obedience to His commands. If your life and its meaning are rooted in the world, it will always be on shaky ground. If your life, identity, and being is rooted in the unchanging love of Jesus Christ and His union with everyone Who believes in Him, then you’re building on something that will never fail you. When you build your life on obeying all that Jesus commands, you will remain firmly rooted in the Sustainer of the Universe.

The world will continue to change. Disasters will continue to happen. However, if you’re committed to obeying Jesus, your life is on an unshakable, unbreakable foundation of His love, grace, and ongoing presence with you in every situation. Hear the words of Jesus AND do them. Build your life on the bedrock of the Son of God! #FollowJesus

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” – Matthew 6:30

Jesus doesn’t want you feeling anxious about the basic necessities of life. The world seems to want you anxious, but Jesus doesn’t. In His kindness, Jesus works to set our minds at ease. Pointing to the beauty of nature, He highlights how careful and wonderful God’s care is for even the humble things of the earth. Flowers live only for a short time, yet God cares and provides for them. They don’t have to be beautiful but God makes them extraordinarily beautiful. Birds are not particularly important and yet, God provides everything they need. They don’t need to worry about anything. They’re free to simply focus on being what God made them to be.

The point Jesus is making is that if God is so faithful, good, caring, and generous toward even the smallest things in His creation, how much more does He care about you? If He sees the need of the smallest flower and bird, He absolutely sees your need. After all, you’re made in His image. You are the crown jewel of His creation. God cares deeply about you.

If you’ll focus your time, energy, and attention on being what God made you to be: a servant and citizen of His Kingdom, He’ll take care of you. You don’t need to be anxious about the basics. That doesn’t mean you don’t need to work for what you need or want, but it does mean that you don’t need to be worrying about those things which you can’t control. Worry and anxiety distract and consume you without producing anything useful. Jesus wants you to be at peace in Him.

Pursue God’s Kingdom. Let your mind be at peace. #FollowJesus