Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” – Daniel 3:12

These three young Jewish captives had landed in a good situation in Babylon. With God’s blessing, they’d become important, trusted government officials. They were safe, comfortable, prosperous, and influential. All they needed to do to stay that way was to bow down to the statue of the king. All they needed to do was violate the Ten Commandments in the midst of a huge crowd of their coworkers. In an earthly sense, it would have been easy and understandable. But they didn’t, which is why we know their names today! They chose God over safety, comfort, prosperity, and influence. That’s ALWAYS the right choice!

Always do the right thing to obey and honor God, no matter what. Don’t be concerned about who sees you other than God Himself. Don’t be concerned about what people might say about you, concern yourself with what God will say to you. Don’t be concerned about the earthly consequences of faithfulness, even if they will be severe. Focus on the eternal rewards you will receive from the Lord. Never compromise your faith, surrender your integrity, or give anyone reason to believe you’re worshiping anyone or anything other than the Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit.

Nobody can make you compromise your faith and Christian integrity. However, they can certainly tempt you to do so using threats or promises of reward. Be alert to this and NEVER give in. Not in small ways or big ones. Don’t allow your worship to drift toward someone or something else. Don’t allow your Christ-like character to slide downward. Don’t compromise your ethics to survive or get ahead. Take up your cross daily, deny yourself, and #FollowJesus

“Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” – 1 Peter 5:9

The devil is actively prowling around, looking for opportunities to take down followers of Jesus. The previous verse compares him to a roaring lion prowling around a herd of animals, looking for one who is spiritually weak, sick, or isolated to attack. Even if he can’t take their soul, he wants to ruin their faith, their obedience to Christ, and their impact for God’s Kingdom. Recognize that the devil is real and he’s serious. He hates Christians. He isn’t a cartoon character with horns and a pitchfork. He’s a genuine threat to your spiritual life and health!

Recognize that and resist him. The devil isn’t to be dismissed but he also isn’t to be surrendered to. He is to be resisted firmly and steadfastly throughout your life. The Holy Spirit Who lives in you and seals you as God’s child is stronger than the devil. But you must walk in the Spirit to experience His full power. You must reject and repent of sin in your life, draw near to God, and keep growing in your imitation of, and obedience to, Jesus.

The devil’s attacks on you, your mind, your mood, and your family aren’t unique. What he’s doing to you, he’s also doing to plenty of other Christians around the world. Take comfort in this. There are others who have gone through, or are are going through, the same tests, trials, and attacks you are. They too are resisting in the power of the Holy Spirit. Don’t let the thought of the devil overwhelm you (his power is much less than what’s available to you) but don’t ignore him either. Be firm in your faith and resist the temptations, trials, and attacks of the devil. #FollowJesus

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” – 1 Peter 2:12

Think about every aspect of how you live your life and interact with non-Christians in every environment (work, school, your neighborhood, the grocery store, the internet, etc.)… Think about the words you speak with your mouth, those you post online, and those you text or email. Think about your actions. Your example. Your ethics. Your attitude. Your priorities.

Is the conduct of your life so good, so wholesome, and so much like Jesus that if someone were to start saying bad things about you, everyone else would look and praise God instead? This is Peter’s command to us (seriously!). To live such a Christ-like life around those who don’t believe, that the very act of attacking our character would make people start to believe in Jesus!

That’s certainly a tall order but it isn’t impossible! Not with the Holy Spirit in us. We should live and conduct ourselves in such a sweet, loving, gentle, joyful, peaceful, patience, kind, good, faithful, and self-controlled way that people instantly know that any character attack is not only false but ridiculously so. That when people start to investigate the false claims, they actually learn more about Jesus than they do about us. And they believe in His saving, transforming power!

Think about that. If you aren’t there yet (and most people aren’t), start talking honestly with God about what you need to do to free Him to change your character and what it says to others about Jesus. #FollowJesus

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 1:6-7

Nobody enjoys trials but they’re part of life in this fallen world. Illnesses, betrayals, injustices, injuries, deprivations, persecutions, embarrassments, failures… Contrary to certain false teaching, Christians must understand that trials are normal, especially for Christians. Hard seasons aren’t a mistake and should be expected. In fact, the Bible is quite clear that trials are an essential part of God’s plan to build and refine your faith and Christ-like character.

You will never know how strong your faith truly is until it sustains you through hard seasons. You will never know Christ as well as you desire until you meet Him in the fire. Proven faith that has been forged and demonstrated through fiery trials is unimaginably precious in God’s sight. Such faith will comfort and sustain you throughout your life. It will inspire others who see and hear your testimonies of Christ’s power at work in your life. And it will bring glory, praise, and honor when Jesus Christ returns. He will publicly praise you before countless witnesses.

So, if and when you’re in a season of trials, don’t let them crush you. Let them transform you to be more like Jesus. Trust that He is with you in the trials and will use them for His glory and your blessing. Rejoice in the tested authenticity and durability of your faith that will result. Cry. Pray. Love. Rejoice. #FollowJesus

“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.”
– Psalm 130:3-4

This is the honest truth that most in our time don’t want to deal with. If God listed every single sin we’ve ever committed – every wrong action, every wrong thought, every wrong word, every wrong silence, and every wrong inaction – we couldn’t bear to see it. If every personal moment of selfishness, cruelty, arrogance, dishonesty, rebelliousness, greed, lust, and hatred were listed, we’d be utterly wrecked. Our minds would be shattered for we would know that we are truly wretched, depraved sinners. No matter how good you like to think you are, if your Creator Who knows EVERYTHING about you listed all of your “less than good” aspects and history, it would break your spirit.

We need to understand this. We must stop comparing ourselves to mass murderers and start comparing ourselves to the perfect standard of our perfect Creator. Then we’ll begin to understand our desperate need for God’s grace and mercy. Then we’re ready to be blown away by God’s glorious offer to forgive us for all those things. He’ll wipe our slate clean and look upon us with love and all we have to do is believe in the Lord Jesus. God made forgiveness possible by sending His eternal Son, Jesus, into the world to live the perfect life we don’t, to die an atoning death to pay the penalty for all our sins, and to rise from the dead on the third day. For those who repent of their sins and trust in the Lord Jesus, there is total forgiveness.

It’s then, when we stand in a holiness and righteousness we don’t deserve and couldn’t possibly earn, reconciled to a God we shouldn’t be able to go near, that we can learn to truly fear God. Not with blind, paralyzing terror, but with holy reverence and awe for our Almighty Creator, Sustainer, and Father. At last, we can begin to grow in true knowledge and wisdom because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and the beginning of wisdom. #FollowJesus