Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.” – Genesis 45:7

Throughout history, God has acted repeatedly to preserve the faithful remnant of His people. No matter the challenge, no matter the complexity of the situation, God has preserved the faithful remnant because His promise to bring blessing to all nations through Jesus Christ will not fail.

In Genesis, God preserved the family of Jacob (Israel) from a 7-year famine by sending one member (Joseph) ahead of the family to Egypt. There he received great power and influence and saved the entire nation from famine so he could also save his family.

That, in itself, is a great story of God’s faithfulness! However, there’s so much more to the story because of how God sent Joseph ahead of his family. God worked blessing and preservation through the evil actions of Joseph’s brothers who sold him into slavery. God took what Joseph’s own family meant for evil and used it for ultimate good!

For many years, even as God was truly with him, Joseph had to be hurt, angry, scared, depressed, and so much more. His family sold him into slavery. Every time he started to get ahead in Egypt, something bad happened to make things worse. Slavery. False accusations. Unjust imprisonment. Being forgotten by those he helped. Joseph’s story was one of misery and injustice upon misery and injustice until he finally broke through, in God’s timing, to ultimate triumph.

Nonetheless, God was with Joseph in every moment of his hard and painful struggle. God was at work in every moment, not only sustaining Joseph but preparing him to be the means by which God would preserve the remnant and sustain His promises. Let this be a valuable reminder every time you go through long and painful seasons in life. If you’re in Christ, then God can still use that for good. He’s still present with you in that. He will sustain and preserve you eternally. He remains faithful and ultimate triumph is certain, not on earth, but in heaven.

“The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;”
– Psalm 19:7-8

The psalmist here highlights four blessings and benefits that come from regular reading, study, and meditation on God’s Word, the Bible.

God’s Word revives our weary souls. It encourages us when we’re discouraged. When we come to the Word exhausted and ground down by the trials, tribulations, conflicts, and petty indignities of life, God’s Word strengthens and renews our souls.

God’s Word makes us wise. God is all-wise and He shares that wisdom with us through His Word. His Word is a powerful antidote to the foolishness of our human nature and fallen human culture. God’s Word convicts us, corrects us, rebukes us, and teaches us, guiding us toward godliness, the greatest wisdom we can possess.

God’s Word lifts our hearts with rejoicing. When we contemplate the goodness, mercy, grace, and kindness of God poured out so abundantly through Jesus Christ we’re filled with joy. We know that life has purpose and meaning. We know that we’re loved and significant in God’s eyes. We know that God is always with us and will never abandon us.

God’s Word cleanses our souls. As we recognize our own sins and shortcoming in the mirror of Scripture, we confess those sins and receive God’s forgiveness. Study of Scripture puts us in a posture to be transformed by God’s Holy Spirit. There’s no greater single divine influence on our lives than the regular intake of God’s Word. Are you in the Word every day?

“So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’” – Acts 10:34-35

It’s always been God’s will and plan to draw for Himself a people from every tribe, language, people group and nation (see for example Genesis 12:1-3). However, throughout history, God’s people have often been a bit slow to understand this. Even Peter, the leader of the early church, had been slow to realize that God intended His saving grace to be poured out on people from all over the world who would come to believe in Jesus.

Thankfully, God intervened to broaden Peter’s understanding of God’s mission. He sent Peter to preach to non-Jewish people and Peter saw them believe and receive the Holy Spirit. In so doing, God re-emphasized the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) Jesus gave His disciples.

Christians are to go throughout the world, to every pocket and place, nook and cranny, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and making disciples. We’re to share the words of life with people everywhere who are trapped in sin and death. As the Gospel penetrates their hearts and they yield their lives to Christ, we’re to welcome them into the faith with open arms, teaching them to follow the commands of Jesus.

The mission of God is relevant for every follower of Jesus. We each have roles to play in praying, giving, sending, going, and welcoming those heading out for missions and those from other nations who come to our community. Do you know how God’s called you to support His mission to the nations? Are you doing what He’s called you to do?

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:21

Our admission to God’s Kingdom comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone. There’s nothing we, in our imperfection, can do to earn our way into the presence of our perfect God. However, genuine faith that saves is never just a matter of appearances or words, hand-raising or aisle-walking. Bumper stickers and car magnets won’t suffice.

If you’ve been saved by Jesus Christ and made new in Him, you will increasingly desire to do the will of God. Your will should be decreasing as His will increases in its influence on your thoughts, words, and actions. It isn’t enough to talk a good game as a Christian or to simply attend church once a week. If we’re saved, you and I will truly walk in the footsteps of Christ. We must accept His invitation to take up our cross each and every day, denying ourselves, and following Him.

The will of God is transformation of our hearts and minds to become like Jesus. The will of God is transformation of our lives to live like Jesus, act like Jesus, and actively share Jesus. The will of God is disciple-making, good-work-doing, light-shining, lost-seeking, difficult-person-loving obedience to everything Christ commanded.

We can’t do any of that on our own, at least not for long. However, in Christ, we’re given the Holy Spirit and as we yield our life to Him, His Spirit empowers us and changes us to do the will of God. Don’t try to skate through life simply cheering Jesus on. Do the hard work of obeying God’s will every day in His power!

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” – Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus is crystal clear. Walking the path of faith with Him will be challenging. We’re saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus is the narrow gate. Then, if our faith is genuine, we’ll devote our lives to following in His footsteps, seeking to imitate His character, and obeying ALL His commands. That’s the hard way leading to life.

Please let go of any notion that Christian life should be easy, comfortable, or financially rewarding. Forget any idea that you should be protected by the world from the world. There’s certainly great joy and wonderful purpose and significance in following Jesus, but it it’s never supposed to be easy! Your life in Christ is supposed to look VERY different from the path being walked by non-believing friends, neighbors, and colleagues.

Don’t expect that following Jesus will be popular with the culture in which you live. Don’t expect it to look like blending in with the crowd, riding a wave of prosperity and comfort, or being appreciated by anyone other than the Lord and your fellow believers. Don’t expect earthly honor, privilege, or status simply because you follow Jesus. Indeed, you should expect the opposite.

Nonetheless, Jesus and the path He leads us on is the one and only gate and path to eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and fellowship with God. This is the only path. Walk it in the confidence that Christ is with you on that path and knows it well. Be among the few and as you travel, do everything you possibly can to invite and encourage others to walk the path with you.