Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write.” – Acts 25:25-26

Isn’t it amazing how God can use an obvious miscarriage of justice to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Paul had been attacked by a mob in Jerusalem when he’d done nothing they accused him of. He was arrested by Roman soldiers who had no idea what he did or didn’t do. The threats of the mob forced him to be moved, under military guard, to Caesarea. This gave him the opportunity to share the truth about Jesus Christ with governors, kings, their families, and their staffs. When the unjust persecution of the local leaders continued, this opened the door for Paul to exercise his rights and appeal to Caesar. That appeal let him preach Christ not only to Caesar but to many people of influence in Rome.

Paul never could have planned or arranged a mission trip that would let him share Christ with soldiers, officers, bureaucrats, governors, kings, and the emperor of Rome. However, God could! God’s means of arranging that trip was through the persecution of those most opposed to Christ. May this be a reminder to all of us who follow Jesus! Don’t get discouraged if you’re opposed by those who don’t yet know Jesus. Don’t get discouraged if they’re angry or resort to legal threats. Their opposition may be used by God to introduce many others to Jesus. Don’t get discouraged! Share Jesus and use the new and unexpected opportunities to share Christ boldly like Paul.

Look for the hidden hand of God at work in even the darkest of situations. Be encouraged that He can use trials and tribulations for His glory. Don’t worry about what the world will say or do, simply be faithful to the commands of Christ. Make disciples. Baptize and teach believers. Do this while going, even if you’re going against your will! #FollowJesus

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” – Joshua 1:8

While this is a specific promise to Joshua, it also represents a general principle for all God’s people. The Bible is God’s Word for salvation, for knowing God, for wisdom, and for living a life in obedience to God’s design and will for human flourishing. The regular reading and careful contemplation of God’s Word, what it says, what it means, and how it directs your life as you navigate the 2020’s leads to the blessings of a life lived in God’s will.

Such a life may never be rich in earthly, material goods. It may not give you a large bank account but thinking regularly about God’s Word and living by it will give you a life that stores up great treasure in heaven. It may not make you a success in the eyes of the world but will certainly make you a success in God’s eyes. It may not result in you having a large following on Earth, but will result in you walking closely with Jesus, in step with the Holy Spirit, and in the way and will of God the Father.

If you don’t already have a plan for reading or listening to a portion of God’s Word every day, get one and start on it today! Spend a few minutes every day soaking in God’s Word for yourself. Then give yourself a few quiet minutes to really think about what you just read or heard. What does it say about God, Jesus, yourself, and life? What does that really mean? What does it look like to obey or live by these promises or truths? How can you grow in that obedience? How would you explain this passage to someone else who needed to hear it?

Regularly and consistently meditate on the Bible and you will make your way prosperous and successful in every way that matters to God and for eternal life! #FollowJesus

“For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
ascribe greatness to our God!
The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he.”
– Deuteronomy 32:3-4

Yes!!! Proclaim God’s name! He is Lord of the Universe, Creator of All Things, Giver of Life, and Source of All Blessings! He is great beyond our ability to understand or imagine greatness! His perfect and comprehensive wisdom, knowledge, and power are completely without limit. He is present everywhere and sees all of space and time in ways we simply can’t!

God’s goodness, kindness, mercy, and love overflow endlessly. He’s perfect in His justice, perfect in His faithfulness to everything He promises, and utterly without sin, evil, or darkness. He is just and upright in all ways. These glorious attributes of our glorious God were displayed to us perfectly at the cross of Christ. At the cross, God’s holiness, sinlessness, justice, love, mercy, grace, kindness, and faithfulness all intersected with His knowledge, wisdom, and power.

At the cross of Christ, God gave His eternal, sinless, holy, perfect Son, Jesus, to suffer and die as an innocent sacrifice on our behalf to pay the just penalty for our sins. In His love, God sacrificed His Son to redeem us from sin, to set us free from our slavery to sin and death. God came in the flesh and paid the penalty for our sins, as He had long promised. He fulfilled His perfect faithfulness toward everyone who believes. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead on Easter, giving perfect forgiveness, reconciliation, and eternal life to everyone who repents of their sins and believes in Jesus Christ as Lord.

God is indeed the Rock of our salvation, our strength, and our faithful redeemer. Take time to praise God for Who He is and what He’s done! Ascribe greatness to Him and His glorious plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Meditate on His perfect work and the justice of the cross. Meditate on His holiness and how He’s given that to you by grace through faith in Jesus. Then #FollowJesus

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” – Matthew 25:31-32

As you go through life, living, loving, working, playing, glorifying God, and serving Him, never forget that Jesus is coming back to Earth one day. We may freely acknowledge that Jesus is ruling and reigning in Heaven right now, but still easily dismiss or forget His promise that He’ll return to Earth. That’s certainly understandable since it’s been 2000 years since His resurrection. It gets easy to assume that He won’t return in our lifetime and functionally forget that He’s going to return at all. When we do, we lose our urgency about obeying Christ’s commands to introduce Him to others.

We must never do that. We must always live with the urgency that comes from the certainty that Jesus is going to return. When He returns, it will be in glory and power. It will be visible to everyone in the world. It will be to judge the world. He will quickly, justly, and perfectly separate everyone who ever lived into two groups. For those who’ve embraced Him as Lord of their lives, trusting in His sacrifice on the cross to pay the debt for their sins, there will be no condemnation. They’ll be welcomed into the joy of His Kingdom forever. For those who haven’t, there will be no praise, only eternal condemnation without hope or recovery. It will be awful for them.

If Christ is your Lord, His return should hold no fear for you. However, it will be the worst news imaginable for those who haven’t yet been forgiven their sins and received eternal life through faith in Jesus. It will be the worst day ever for everyone you’ve ever met who hasn’t met Jesus. This promise and warning is intended to give every Christ encouragement and urgency to do what Jesus commanded. We must live our lives to make disciples of Jesus. We must love and tell people about our faith and equip new believers to really follow Jesus with the urgency that comes from knowing and believing that Jesus could return today. #FollowJesus

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” – Deuteronomy 29:29

God is infinitely above and beyond us in His understanding and wisdom! He thinks and understands in ways that we simply can’t. His good will sees and works across all of space and time to bring about the best possible outcome. There’s literally an unlimited about of information, knowledge, and wisdom that we will never know or understand regarding the thoughts and plans of God. That’s OK!

Rather than waste time speculating on these things, God tells us to discipline ourselves to focus on living out the enormous amount of truth He has revealed to us through Jesus Christ and the Bible. What God keeps to Himself we must trust to Him. He is all-wise and all-good. What He’s shown us about Himself and His will we must study and live out. Spend time reading and thinking about what you read in the Bible every day because it’s God’s Word to us. Grow in your understanding and obedience day after day, year after year.

Pay constant attention to the life, example, teaching, and commands of Jesus. As the Son of God come in the flesh, Jesus is God’s perfect revelation of Himself. In Christ, we see the character, heart, and will of God. Jesus invites us, challenges us, and commands us to follow Him. We must take up our cross of sacrifice and imitate and obey Him. We must grow in our spiritual walk with Him, our pursuit of personal holiness, our obedience to His commands, and our trust that He’s always with us, empowering us to do these things. We must live out His Great Commandment to wholeheartedly love God and other people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must live out His Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey Jesus.

As a Christian, don’t get stuck thinking about the things of God that you don’t understand or wish you knew. Meditate on and obey what you’ve been given by God. It’s all you need for a holy life of purpose, significance, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. #FollowJesus