“And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, ‘Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’” – 2 Kings 5:10-11

Naaman, the mighty general of Aram (modern-day Syria) was prepared to pay any price or do any great deed to be cured of his dreadful disease. He knew his situation was serious and believed that a cure would surely require an extraordinary action. What he wasn’t prepared to do was simply believe in God and demonstrate His belief by doing something as mundane as seven dips into the Jordan river!

Angry and offended by the simplicity of what God offered through the prophet Elisha, he almost rejected the cure he’d traveled so far to receive. Fortunately, he was persuaded to do the trivial thing he’d been commanded to do as a demonstration of his faith, and he was healed. Because he did, he learned there was only one true god in the world: the God of Israel. He never could have learned that if he’d had to work or pay for his cure himself.

This remarkable story is an illustration of God’s grace that points forward to the struggle many today still have in accepting His grace. We desperately want to save ourselves. We know there’s a God and we know that something isn’t right in our relationship with Him. We want to make ourselves right with Him on our own terms by doing great deeds or making enormous sacrifices. Like Naaman, we’re prepared to pay any price. What we struggle to accept is that none of that can possibly restore the relationship between flawed and sinful humans and our perfect, holy Father in Heaven.

Instead, we must do something simple: believe. There’s no price we can ever pay to receive God’s spiritual healing, because God already paid the necessary price: He gave His Son to die for us on the cross. Now we must accept God’s free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Since that denies our desire to save ourselves, and many struggle to embrace God’s grace. Like Naaman, we still want our salvation to look elaborate, complex, and costly to us. Instead, our only hope is to accept a gift we don’t deserve and can’t earn by believing in Jesus. Have you fully accepted that gift? Or are you still struggling to save yourself?

“Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’” – Acts 21:13

Truly following Jesus is never easy, but what about when you know that genuinely hard times lie ahead of you? Will you follow then?

Paul gives us an incredible example and perspective. As he traveled to Jerusalem, he knew that something difficult lay ahead – prison and possibly death. His Christian friends wept and begged him not to go. Many of us would likely feel the same way. However, Paul understood the infinitely bigger eternal perspective. He understood that his disciple making, gospel proclaiming work lay before him and passed through fire. So he was willing and committed to moving forward into that fire.

Paul understood that God’s glory and the greater good of His kingdom lay in his journey to Jerusalem. Though Paul didn’t know the details or the outcome, he knew that the vital work of seeking and saving the lost for Jesus required him to keep going into that uncertain and difficult future. So he went. He took up his cross, denied himself, and followed Jesus.

Because Paul did, he had the opportunity to preach to high officials and share the gospel with countless people from Jerusalem to Rome itself. Quite often the glorious work of God lies not in avoiding persecution, struggle, or suffering, but in faithfully stepping into those things with hearts prepared to give everything for the Savior Who gave everything for us!

“And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” – Acts 20:30

Life in church was never expected to be simple, neat, or easy! As Paul gives final instructions to the Ephesian elders/pastors/overseers (same group of people, Acts 20 uses all three words to describe them), he warns that the greatest challenges and hazards in the church often come from within. As Christians, we must each become competent to read and understand Scripture.

Why? To resist those who would lead us astray! Within any church (and today any public platform – teaching, publishing, media, online, etc.) there may well arise people from within the church who twist God’s Word and lead many followers of Christ astray. It was true then and it’s visibly true now.

Christian leaders should prepare followers of Jesus to know the truth and to distinguish between God’s Word and evil distortions of it. Such preparation includes encouraging members to read the Bible for themselves, modeling responsible use of the Bible, and explicitly teaching how to read, study, and interpret the Bible.

Twisted distortions of Scripture may come through taking individual verses out of context (common with cults), through discouraging members from studying the Bible for themselves, or through the use of complex words and concepts combined with elaborate contortions of Scripture to explain how the meaning is somehow completely different from the plain reading. Paul knew it would happen and it continues to happen. Church leaders and members alike must be prepared and on guard at all times, especially in these times in which false teaching easily finds a loud megaphone in our culture and our churches!

“All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs motives.” – Proverbs 16:2

We have a remarkable ability to rationalize just about anything to ourselves! Once we have a notion of what we want to do, our self-convincing engine gets to work and we can construct elaborate explanations about why it’s right to do the very thing we want to do. Even when it’s objectively wrong and directly contradictory to Scripture! However, that’s the tip of the iceberg. Often we construct explanations for seemingly godly activities that are really being done for our own purposes. Contrary to the preaching of Disney, our hearts are terribly deceitful, most of all to ourselves (see Jeremiah 17:9 for more details).

God sees through all that! He doesn’t fall for our rationalizations, excuses, false comparisons, and contorted logic. He knows exactly why we want to do the thing we may spend minutes, hours, days, or years defending. He knows if we’re acting out of anger, pride, greed, ambition, or other ungodly motives. Understand this, God is vastly more concerned with the motives behind your actions than your defense of those actions (see Matthew 5-7 for more details).

The people of God cannot accomplish the work of God from sinful motives. The most pious sounding action driven by anger won’t yield God-glorifying results. Likewise for greed, ambition, pride, or any of the other ungodly motives that sometimes drive seemingly godly activity.

Whenever you prepare to speak or act, take time to reflect on why. Rather than continuing to rehearse your rationalization to yourself, always stop to reflect on your motives. Why are you doing what you are doing? Is it truly to advance God’s Kingdom and bring Him glory? Or is this something you’re doing for yourself?

“And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.'” – Acts 18:9-10

What an encouragement it must have been for Paul to receive a direct vision and promise from Jesus as he preached and taught in Corinth! Because of this word of confidence, he was able to work there boldly and confidently for 18 months.

This promise from Jesus should also be encouraging for each of us who follow Him. While Jesus hasn’t promised we’ll be safe, He has already promised that He is with us. Matthew 28:18-20 makes it clear that when we are doing His work of making disciples, Jesus is right there with us every moment of every day. Jesus will not abandon us to a hostile world, but will be strengthening us to be bold and courageous. What more do we need? What more could we ask for?

Jesus will be with us every moment until He returns in glory. Believe this for yourself. Jesus is with you. Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. Jesus will give you the power and boldness to make disciples wherever you go. Obey Him and “do not be afraid”!