“Within her citadels God
has made himself known as a fortress.
For behold, the kings assembled;
they came on together.”
– Psalm 48:3-4

In this season of horrific violence, it’s good to periodically remember that Jerusalem (the subject of these verses), and her wellbeing, is extremely important to God. Jerusalem is a particular focus of God’s love and attention. He defends it against the gathered armies of the world. That doesn’t mean He turns a blind eye to injustices committed by those living within the city or surrounding country. It simply means that Jerusalem is on God’s mind, it’s near to His heart, and it’s important to His plan.

As followers of Jesus, we too should be concerned for the fate of Jerusalem and Israel. The climactic events leading up to the return of Jesus will occur in and around Jerusalem. When Jesus returns, it will be on the Mount of Olives just east of Jerusalem. The Bible tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and we should likewise be praying for the salvation of her residents (all of them).

The political issues surrounding Israel and Jerusalem are rooted in the deep history and profound spiritual realities of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. This is why they defy the simplistic solutions offered, shouted, chanted, or demanded by “experts”, “leaders”, or “influencers”. Don’t fall in love with simplistic, worldly solutions, no matter who’s offering them. Such solutions are utterly irrelevant, a distraction at best, a deception at worst. Pray, learn, pray some more, learn some more, support, speak up, and ultimately, trust God!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:10

Jesus said and did many things. He healed, fed, freed, raised, taught, debated, corrected, and much more. However, this short verb captures His overriding purpose and mission. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, stepped into our messy, broken, sinful world to find and rescue people who were out of relationship with God. He came the encounter the lost, those distant and disoriented toward God and radically change their lives by getting them to repent of their sins, believe in Him, and be reconciled to God.

If you’re a follower of Jesus, there are many good things you could or should be doing. God’s free gift of grace, given through faith in Jesus, removes your guilt and shame and raises you to new spiritual life in Jesus Christ. That has many implications for how you live your new daily in God’s grace on a daily basis. One implication is that your life mission and purpose should be aligned to that of your Savior. You, too, should care deeply about those far from God.

Do you? How do you contribute to the mission of Jesus to seek and save the lost? How could you contribute more? Do you seek out those far from God and befriend them? Do you invest in their lives and introduce them to the love of Jesus? Do you invite them to meet Jesus and His people with you? How do your prayers, time, energy, efforts, and resources contribute to making disciples of those who were once distant and disoriented toward God? How high of a priority is that for you? Are you faithful about doing the good works God has already prepared for you to do (Ephesians 2:10) or are you still wondering what they might be? #FollowJesus

“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?” – Luke 18:7

When something’s burdening your soul, how long will you pray about it before you get distracted by something else or give up in frustration? A day? A week? A month? A year? Or as long as it takes???

Jesus taught this parable that begins Luke 18 to emphasize that He wants His followers to be persistent in prayer, never giving up. He tells a story about a fictional, corrupt judge who eventually does the right thing just because he hates being bothered by a nagging widow’s persistent requests. Jesus says that if a bad guy like that will eventually do the right thing for the wrong reason, how much more will your loving, perfect, holy Father in heaven be faithful when you’re persistent about praying for whatever’s on your mind?!?

God is faithful, but His timing is His own. He wants you to be persistent in prayer, never giving up, because that will draw you closer to Him, deepen your faith, give you a better understanding of His will and timing, and refine your character. God isn’t being mean or selfish in delaying His answer to your prayers – He is truly orchestrating the best possible outcome for everyone. So, pray and keep on praying!

Don’t lose interest, get distracted, or give up in frustration just because it takes weeks, months, or years to see the results for which you’re praying. If you’re praying in accordance with God’s will, He is listening, He is delighted to talk with you, and He is looking forward to answering your prayers when the timing is perfect. Be patient. Be persistent. Be prayerful. #FollowJesus

“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” – Luke 17:28-30

Jesus said quite a bit about His return. While some Christians devote a great deal of time and energy to trying to figure out exactly when that will be, they’re wasting their time and lives. Jesus was very clear that His return will be both surprising and unmistakable. It will be on a seemingly ordinary day as people are going about their ordinary lives. As Christians, we should trust that Jesus will return but live our daily lives in faithful obedience to Jesus.

As Christians, we must not fear the return of Jesus. Instead, we must live holy lives of faithful service to Jesus. Over and over, Jesus emphasized that we must be faithful in doing what He told us to do. Making disciples. Bearing witness to Him throughout the world. Loving God. Loving neighbors. Worshiping the Lord. Christians who are found faithful when Jesus returns will be rewarded in unimaginable ways. Those who aren’t will regret their unfaithfulness forever.

If you aren’t a follower of Jesus, His return will be terrible. Study the Scriptures and embrace Jesus before it’s too late. If you are a follower of Jesus, live as if Jesus could return today or in thousands of years. Live with both urgency and patience. Be faithful in all things. Love and #FollowJesus!

“Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” – Luke 15:10

As humans, we tend to underestimate the level of celebration in heaven when a person repents of their sins and trusts in Jesus for salvation. Jesus tells three parables in Luke 15 to help us understand how important reaching those far from God is to Him. God and His angels rejoice to an unimaginable extent when one person bearing His image moves off the highway to hell and onto the narrow path of salvation. There’s an incredible party in heaven every time a sinner becomes new creation in Christ. Every time a rebel lays down his or her weapons and becomes an adopted child of God. Every time!

If we understood how important and exciting this was in the heavenly realms, we’d make it a much higher priority in our lives. Most Christians live lives that prioritize themselves or other Christians. That’s what we think about, enjoy, and invest in. These three parables invite us to turn our priorities upside down. They encourage us to chase after the lost sheep. To drop everything and hunt for the lost coin. To run to the lost child. Heaven is desperate to reach people with the Gospel and bring them into new life in Jesus Christ. Are you?

A life aligned to the priorities of heaven would radically change how time, energy, and money is spent. It would prioritize connecting with, serving, and sharing Christ with those who don’t know Him. It would prioritize missions and particularly missions to unreached and frontier ethnic groups with no existing Christian witness. It would invest prayer, care, thought, time, money, and travel into the growth of God’s Kingdom rather than our own kingdoms or even our established churches. Is your life well-aligned to the priorities of heaven? #FollowJesus