Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:30

John the Baptist was a Big Deal and everyone knew it. He was the first true prophet in Israel in hundreds of years. He was calling people to repent of their sins and crowds were flocking to him! He was the talk of Israel. However, John knew that he was just God’s “opening act”. He had a purpose and that purpose was to prepare people for the coming of God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus.

When John’s followers became concerned and jealous about the rising attention being paid to Jesus, John gave the answer recorded in this verse. It’s the perfect heart attitude of every true follower of Jesus. Jesus must increase. People must look to Him, see Him, believe in Him, be saved by Him, and worship Him. We are His messengers and royal ambassadors. He is the King. We must diminish in stature, pointing people toward Jesus rather than ourselves.

As Christians, we should be humbly, deeply aware that we’ve been forgiven, adopted, and exalted as a gift of God’s grace received only through faith in Jesus. We’ve earned none of the overflowing love God has for us. We must recognize that the life transformation we’ve experienced in Christ has been a work of God’s Spirit rather than our self-discipline. We should learn to be content being enormously loved by God, united with Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit. We shouldn’t need to distract or divert people from seeing, hearing about, and believing in Jesus.

As you mature in Christ, are you increasingly content for less and less attention to be paid to you so that more is directed toward Jesus? John showed us the way. Will you follow it? #FollowJesus

“And the report was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled.” – Joshua 22:33

We live in an age of outrage where the slightest sense of offense or hint of disagreement or unorthodoxy can launch us into an attack on brothers and sisters. Many Christians increasingly demand absolute agreement on all matters, large and small, without the ability to appreciate differences of perspective, experience, or culture. As God’s people, we must learn to listen well and understand fully before deciding whether something or someone that offends our sensibilities is truly wrong.

This verse illustrates the necessity for God’s people to slow down our rage, seek to understand others, particularly those we think are problems or spiritual enemies within the faith. As several tribes of Israel prepared to go to their new home across the Jordan, they built an altar of remembrance to testify to their kinship with the other tribes. Unfortunately, all their fellow Israelites saw the altar and assumed they were building an illegal place to worship of God. Angry about their unorthodoxy and fearing God’s wrath upon the entire nation, they armed for battle. They chased after their brothers and prepared to kill them for their crime!

Fortunately, they paused to ask and understand before attacking. They gave those on “the other side” the opportunity to explain that this wasn’t a religious altar of disobedience, but a memorial to their participation in the nation of Israel. What had seemed obscene and profane to the majority was actually something that honored their God and their fellowship. Because they stopped to actually listen and understand, a tragic slaughter of believers was avoided.

This should be a model for God’s people today. There are absolutely standards of right and wrong and we should be zealous in living by and defending them. However, our first task in any potential dispute should be to engage, listen, and understand the perspective of the other parties. Then we can truly discern whether this is false teaching, ill-intent, error, or simply a different way of glorifying God. Don’t be too hasty to attack perceived enemies, especially when they’re fellow believers! First and foremost, be a peacemaker as Jesus commands you to be because you are a child of God. #FollowJesus

“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” – John 2:11

The faith of His followers is precious to Jesus! Your faith is precious to Jesus! At a wedding in small-town Cana, Jesus performed an incredible miracle for a tiny audience. He rearranged protons, electrons, neutrons, atoms, and molecules to transform water into wine. In converting a simple blend of hydrogen and oxygen into a complex mix of many different elements, Jesus revealed that He is the creator and sustainer of all matter in the universe. He is God come to earth in the flesh. And only a handful of His first followers saw it!

Jesus didn’t publicize this miracle to the whole crowd. Nobody other than His mother and first clueless followers had any idea that one of the most incredible miracles imaginable had just taken place. This miracle was for building the faith of a few. What does that say about how important the faith of His followers is to Jesus?!? Jesus treasures our faith and delights in doing nearly invisible miracles to strengthen it.

If you’re a believer in Jesus, then He treasures your faith. Your faith is precious to the King of Kings! Jesus delights that you have embraced Him and been adopted into His family. Has Jesus done any small, nearly invisible miracles to build your faith? Think about that for a moment. If Jesus has done a work of miraculous faith-building for your blessing and benefit, meditate on that for while and give thanks to Jesus. Consider sharing your “Cana story” with someone else who needs to believe in Jesus or have their faith strengthened. #FollowJesus

“A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
but a just weight is his delight.”
– Proverbs 11:1

God expects and desires His people to have total integrity in all matters related to business and money. We must be rock-solid in our honesty, fairness, and justice, concerned more for others than for ourselves. Throughout history and across cultures, shady businessmen used intentionally inaccurate weights, scales, and balances to cheat people when buying and selling. One set of weights worked to their advantage when buying, a different set cheated customers when selling. God HATES this – the proverbs declare such a practice to be an abomination to God!!!

You probably don’t do business with a scale and balance. However, you almost certainly operate in the marketplace whether as employee, employer, or customer. If Jesus is your Lord, then you must always operate with absolute honesty and integrity. When it comes to buying and selling, making change, or managing and reporting time God’s people should never be trying to “get one over” on someone else.

If you work, work hard, work well, and work the full time you report. If you manage or employ others, don’t cheat them out of time, money, opportunities, or benefits they should have. If you sell, sell quality at a fair and honest price. If you buy, don’t play games. Never compromise your character, ethics, or integrity for money. If someone makes a mistake in your favor, correct them. Live, work, shop, and spend on the DELIGHT side of God’s ledger, not the ABOMINATION side! #FollowJesus

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.”
– Psalm 51:12

This is a great prayer whenever you’re struggling! Struggling with the blahs. Struggling with sin. Struggling with discouragement. Struggling with failure. If you’re a follower of Jesus, your struggles and failures don’t define you in God’s eyes. The triumph of Jesus, His holiness, and His righteousness define you. Unfortunately, when you’re in the valley it can be hard to feel or remember that. So pray like David did here…

Pray for God to renew your joy in your salvation. Pray that He would encourage you with the knowledge that your sins have been completely forgiven. Pray that He would lift you up in the confident assurance that He has chosen and adopted you, embracing you in love. Pray that He will give you contentment in knowing that His Spirit lives in you and that you are in ongoing union with His Son, Jesus. Pray that He will refresh your joy in your exalted status in His Kingdom and renew your satisfaction in being able to enjoy fellowship and friendship with Him. In Christ, you are a blood-bought, beloved child of God and co-heir of creation alongside your adopted brother Jesus!

Pray too for God to give you a spirit willing to obey and follow Jesus. Pray for God to break down any stubborn strongholds in your heart, mind, or soul that keep you in sin and interfere with your spiritual health. Pray for God to break down distractions and diversions that hinder your spiritual growth and maturity. Pray for God to strengthen you to do whatever you must to pursue your relationship with Him more fully and walk in step with His Holy Spirit. Pray for God to help you crucify “the works of the flesh” and produce in you “the fruit of the Spirit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. #FollowJesus