Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” – Hebrews 1:2

Jesus is the ultimate and perfect revelation of God! Jesus is the way God has spoken to us most clearly and directly. The eternal Son of God, Jesus made God the Father known to us by His words, actions, miracles, character, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection from the dead.

Many today long to hear a word from God. The good news is God has given us plenty of words. They’re written down in the Bible. In the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we see the life, hear the words, and understand the message of salvation offered to us through Jesus Christ.

However, we also know that all of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is breathed out by God. Both the Old and New Testament authors worked under the inspiration of the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1, 2 Peter 1, etc.) Jesus taught His disciples about how all of Scripture points to Him.

To hear a word from God, look to Jesus, not to yourself. Spend time every day reading the Bible (not just about the Bible). Pray before you read that God would speak to you that day and don’t be surprised when you begin to realize how often He’s giving you the exact word you need to hear that day.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.”
– Lamentations 3:25

It’s a beautiful thing that in a book of lament written by “The Weeping Prophet” Jeremiah, he still finds comfort and peace in these truths. His situation was miserable, his suffering was real, and his beloved nation was being destroyed around him. And yet, these words were true. Today, in a time of widespread lament, this is an incredibly helpful reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness.

God doesn’t act according to human schedules and impatience. But that doesn’t mean He doesn’t or won’t act! God will act when it fully accomplishes His good and glorious purpose. His ways are much higher than our ways, His knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are without limit, and He sees across all of time. Thus God often requires those who love Him to wait for Him. He often requires us to wait far longer than we’d ever imagine! Let us discipline ourselves to wait well and serve Him well as we wait.

At the same time, while God is always very present, He invites us to seek Him. When we seek Him – in worship, daily Bible study, prayer, meditation, fellowship, service, and sharing Christ – He promises we will find Him. That’s our greatest consolation as we wait in this fallen world – that as we pursue God we enjoy an ever-greater experience of His presence in our souls!

Wait and seek!

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” – Titus 3:1-2

Many today lament the diminishing influence of Christianity and Christians in our culture. Various solutions are proposed, but the only ones that will actually make a true and lasting Kingdom difference are the ones that involve Christians acting like Jesus! Prayer. Submission. Obedience. Good works. Kind words. Peacemaking. Gentleness. Courtesy. Toward all. Even those really different from us. Especially those we disagree with or who attack the faith.

Christians need to act like Christ! 2000 years ago, Christians worshiped in a pagan culture that misunderstood, belittled, feared, and hated them. The culture was highly sexualized, immoral, cruel, and materialistic. Divorce was common and abortion was widespread. Yet the good news of Jesus Christ changed all that!

What changed the world wasn’t the power, wealth, or political influence of the church – it had none. What changed the world was the radically counter-cultural love, kindness, gentleness, and mutual caring that people saw in the church. What changed the world was the obvious reliance on God’s Holy Spirit in the face of opposition and persecution. People were starving for these things and they flocked to the faith.

As we minister to a post-Christian culture, we must once again find our power in prayer and God’s Spirit. We must once again find our character in Jesus, not charismatic and influential church leaders. Christians must commit themselves to act like Christ all the time and in all places.

“God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.”
– Habakkuk 3:19

The message of the Bible is never “You got this” or “Dig deep and you’ll overcome”. The message is consistently that “I, the Lord your God, have this.” Yet we struggle to embrace this with our lives. How often do we try to keep going on our own during a relentless run of bad news? Why must we reach the breaking point of our own strength and resources before we really ask God for help? Is it pride? Stubbornness? Rebellion? Stupidity?

In these present difficult times and the hard days that lay ahead, the people of God must learn to find their strength in the Lord. Not in ourselves, not in our resources, not in our finances, not in our social standing, and not in our political influence. We must find our strength in God.

When we do, we’ll discover that He gives us everything we need to navigate the hazards of the perilous, narrow, rocky path that lies before us. He gives us the strength we need to run like the deer without becoming weary.

We must go to the Lord every day and ask Him for the strength to carry on. We must seek from Him our daily bread. His mercies are new every day, and we must seek them out daily. The road isn’t likely to get easier for followers of Christ in years to come, so make these final words from Habakkuk’s prayer yours today and every day!

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” – 2 Timothy 3:12

Be warned and be prepared! All who genuinely want to live a godly life in Christ – a life in which we not only worship on Sunday, but seek to live increasingly like Jesus every single day – will be persecuted. There is a price for becoming like Jesus, just as He paid the ultimate price.

True followers of Christ will never fit neatly and comfortably into any of the structures of a fallen earth. Too conservative for the liberals, too liberal for the conservatives, too serious for the unserious, too hopeful for the cynics, too realistic for the idealists, too spiritual for the lost, too confident for the confused, too gracious for the legalists, too holy for the hedonists.

When we make a serious commitment to walk in the Spirit, to grow in our relationship with God, to pursue personal holiness every day, to increase in our understanding and living of the Bible, we will increasingly be in the world but not of the world. Jesus promised we’ll be hated for that, so get used to it.

While we shouldn’t seek persecution or revel in it, we should expect it and endure it in the strength of Jesus Christ. We must understand that Christ is with us in the persecution and that we grow closer to Him through it. To be persecuted for the faith – whether that looks like broken relationships, social or workplace penalties, public humiliation, civil or criminal action, or physical abuse – is to be blessed, for our reward is in heaven (Matthew 5:10-12)!