“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” – James 1:2-3

Difficult seasons in life aren’t some unfortunate accident or mistake. Whether professional, relational, emotional, educational, political, physical, spiritual, medical, financial, or a combination of these, trying times aren’t just a miserable distraction from what’s important. They’re often a crucial part of growing and maturing followers of Jesus. God permits them to ripen our faith and deepen our relationship with our Savior. There are preachers and teachers that falsely claim bad things won’t happen to believers if they just have enough faith. That is NOT what the Bible teaches!

The Bible teaches that through inevitable seasons of pain, frustration, loneliness, and defeat, Christian faith is tested and refined by fire. It’s impossible for you to know the strength and depth of your faith unless it’s challenged by trials bigger than yourself. You’ll never truly understand how sweet and precious it is that Jesus is with you every step of the way until you’ve been carried by Him through long seasons of pain and struggle. You’ll never realize or rely on the unlimited strength of God within you until your weakness is made very obvious to you.

This is why James challenges us to view trials as a source of joy. Because he knows, that in those trials, we’ll get to know our Lord in a much more personal and dependent way. Because he knows that through them, we’ll learn to walk in His strength and presence rather than our own abilities. Because he knows that through them, we’ll learn to have the steadfast endurance that’s only available through the steadfast love and presence of Jesus in our lives. Count it all joy and #FollowJesus

“For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.” – Hebrews 13:11-12

Every sacrifice commanded in the Old Testament pointed forward to what Jesus did for us on the cross. The entire bloody system of sacrifices existed to prepare people to understand, believe in, and be cleansed by the person and work of Jesus. It visibly demonstrated the terrible cost of sin. Every sin is a rebellion against the God of life. Every sin results in death. Sin can only be covered by the bloody death of an innocent creature. Every sacrifice must be without spot of blemish. The remains of every sacrifice must be disposed of outside the place where God’s people live.

Jesus is the fulfillment of it all. He is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. He is the innocent and eternal Son of God, fully God and fully human. He lived a perfect life without sin, spot, or blemish, resisting every temptation the devil threw at Him. His innocent blood was shed on the cross to atone for the guilt of your sins. His body was buried in a tomb outside the city walls. Everything about the Old Testament sacrifices pointed toward Jesus.

As the final, ultimate sacrifice, the blood of Jesus washes everyone clean who believes in Him. His blood washes away the guilt and shame of your sins the moment you trust in Him. His resurrection is the proof that His sacrifice was accepted and sufficient to cover your sins. Remember these truths whenever you read or hear about the Old Testament sacrifices. Understand the deep truths of what Jesus did for you. #FollowJesus

“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
– Hebrews 12:6

If Jesus is your Lord, then you will never, ever experience God’s wrath, punishment, or condemnation. Jesus took 100% of that on Himself when He suffered and died on the cross. The moment you put your faith and trust in your risen Savior, you became new creation and were adopted as God’s beloved child. Which means that God will discipline you when you need it. He loves you too much not to. God will send difficulty into your life whenever you need it to get you back on the road of obedience to Jesus. The road of joy and blessing. The road of deep delight in the Lord.

God’s discipline isn’t punishment. It’s correction. It’s uncomfortable but it won’t destroy you – it shapes and forms you into the likeness of Jesus. It isn’t done out of anger toward you, but out of love. It only lasts as long as necessary to get your attention and move you to turn back to God in confession and repentance. It’s isn’t condemnation, it’s your Father’s invitation to receive yet more of His amazing grace.

Whenever things are hard and you feel like God is punishing you, remember this truth. If you love Jesus and are submitted to His Lordship, you definitely aren’t getting punished. But God may be loving you too much to leave you in some pattern of sin. He may be tapping you on the shoulder to get you to obey the commands of Jesus more completely. He is inviting you to ask Him to reveal sins of commission (what you shouldn’t be doing) or sins of omissions (what you should be doing). Slow down, pray, study the Scriptures, and respond to whatever God reveals. God’s discipline is only temporary, until you’re back on the path God has made for your blessing. The quicker that happens, the quicker a season of discipline ends. #FollowJesus

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” – Hebrews 9:27

It’s important to periodically remind yourself of how life works in this fallen world. Why? Because this truth lends urgency to the work Jesus assigned His followers to share life, hope, and good news through Him. Every person drawing breath today will die one day (unless Jesus returns first, which makes this work even more urgent!) Every person has but a limited span of life on earth. It could be a matter of years or a matter of hours – the truth is that we don’t know.

After that, each person will be judged. This is why sharing the Gospel should become very, very urgent in the heart of every follower of Jesus. Why? Because judgment is coming! For those who have heard and believed the Gospel, it will be a judgment based on God’s grace. It will be based on the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the cross to pay the penalty for their sins.

For everyone else – those who haven’t heard and those who haven’t believed – it will be a judgment based on what they actually deserve. It will be a judgment based on whether they lived a completely perfect life of holiness able to match the perfect holiness of God Himself. Of course, they haven’t. Nobody alive today has or could. That judgment will be terrible because it will result in every sinful person receiving what their sins demanded – for God to leave them alone as they are separated from Him for all eternity in suffering. It will be just. It will bring glory to God. But it will be terrible to see.

That is why everyone who has received God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ must be very, very serious about the work Jesus gave them. To explain the reason for their hope to this lacking hope (or hoping in the wrong things). To offer life to those facing only eternal spiritual death. To share God’s love to those under His wrath. To introduce grace to people who will otherwise be damned because of their works. If Jesus is your Lord, this is your task and it matters eternally to everyone you interact with! Share the Gospel and #FollowJesus!

“The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.”
– Psalm 145:14

Do you feel like the ground has fallen away beneath you? Call on the Lord and let Him hold you up!

Do you feel like your knees are buckling under the weight of the burdens you carry? Call on the Lord and let Him raise you up!

Do you feel like you can’t possibly take another step forward? Cry out to God and let Him raise you up!

Do you feel like everything is collapsing and you have no idea what to do? Cry out to God and let Him hold you up!

If Jesus is your Lord, then He lives in you. You don’t have to carry every burden on your own. He will help you if you’ll let Him. You don’t have to make the way forward all alone. He will make the way, if you’ll let Him. Rather than continue to grind forward with your teeth clenched together, draw near to God and let Him show you the path, strengthen you for the journey, and pick you up off the ground. #FollowJesus