“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” – 1 Corinthians 2:14

In case you were wondering why non-Christians don’t think the same way you do, don’t agree with your perspective on certain things, and don’t care that “the Bible says so”, this is the reason!

We shouldn’t be surprised when those who haven’t accepted Christ believe we’re foolish or even crazy. We should expect this and rather than be disappointed, confused, or angry, we should be ready to happily explain the best news in the whole world and how it’s changed our lives!

The brokenness in the world around us is obvious – everyone should agree on that. This is our avenue to begin explaining why there’s brokenness (disobedience to God’s perfect design) and how to recover and pursue a relationship with God (through faith in the sacrificial death and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ). This will still sound foolish to our listeners unless God gives them ears and a heart to hear.

So pray. When people think you’re foolish and crazy, don’t get frustrated, get on your knees! Don’t hesitate to share how your life has been transformed by your friend Jesus, but surround that testimony with prayer that God would provide the illumination that reveals that God’s foolishness is actually ultimate and perfect wisdom!

“I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” – Psalm 91:2

In this Psalm about God’s faithful protection against terrible enemies, including disease, we are encouraged to find our strength, comfort, and protection in God. During difficult times, God is our refuge, our strength, our fortress.

He is always with us, He always hears us, and He loves us. In Christ He protects us spiritually and gives us the strength we need to face the challenges, turmoil, foes, and fears that surround us! Ultimately He will deliver all who trust in Christ into His glorious presence where we will enjoy peace, comfort, healing, and wholeness forever.

Of course, we must also be wise in what we do in the face of danger. Satan tried to tempt Jesus into testing God by quoting this very Psalm. Jesus rightly rebuked the devil for suggesting that He ever put God to the test. So be wise, take appropriate precautions, and rest comfortably in the strength and protection of the Lord!

“Good sense makes one slow to anger,
and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”
– Proverbs 19:11

This is a startling piece of wisdom in an age of outrage! Many of us have our sense of offense wired to a hair trigger. We may not realize it, but we’re walking around prepared to be offended on a moment’s notice!

God offers a different way. He promises that for those in Him, He is strong enough that we don’t need to take offense so easily. Godly wisdom teaches us to be VERY slow to anger, because our anger is usually ungodly!

As Christians, we need to fully process the truth that as followers of Christ we have been forgiven the terrible offenses we have committed against God. Once we truly understand this, then we’re able to let the Holy Spirit work within us to overlook minor offenses. Certainly we must deal appropriately with sin, but much of what we take offense at these days isn’t actually sin. As Christians, we must understand and celebrate that it’s our glory to overlook such offenses!

“Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,

and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,

with which your enemies mock, O Lord,

with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.”

– Psalm 89:50-51

Following the Lord has never been easy or popular. If it is, then you’re likely missing something important! As followers of Jesus Christ, we should assume that the “social cost” of that will increase dramatically in the years ahead. There will be more ridicule, more opposition, and more cancellation of those who hold to the historic truths of the Christian faith.

Christian, pray for God to prepare your heart for rejection by family and friends, to thicken your skin, and to strengthen your faith! Now is the time for you as a follower of Christ to truly understand who you are:

• A new creation in Christ – who you once were is gone!
• A beloved child of God – regardless of how others treat you
• Rooted and defined by Christ – not popular approval, labels, or categories
• A citizen of heaven first and foremost
• An ambassador of Christ – representing Him to a foreign and hostile world
• The recipient of an eternal inheritance in heaven that can’t ever be taken away

Remember that God is with you, you are in Christ, and the Holy Spirit is sealing, strengthening, and transforming you!

“Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.” – Romans 14:13-15

Paul explains a critical – though often ignored – Christian principle in Romans 14 and 15. Many battles in church life stem from misunderstanding this principle, as do many of the casualties who eventually drop out of church altogether. Here’s the principle: in Christ, we’re free to do many things, but we should always be willing to set that freedom down for the well-being of another Christian who disagrees with us.

This isn’t about the doctrines and truths of the faith. Those must never be compromised. This is about matters of taste and preference. Christians are often ready to battle, to the death, over personal freedoms. Common examples from the past century include not wearing face coverings, listening to any kind of music privately, dressing extremely casually for worship, and drinking alcohol. When we engage in these battles, we can be 100% right about what we’re free to do, but in the process break down the faith of a less mature or sophisticated Christian. In that case, we’re 100% wrong! Jesus modeled this principle for us. He was able to summon an angel army to avoid going to the cross. However, out of love, He surrendered that freedom and His life so that we could be saved from our sins. As followers of Jesus, we’re called to lay down our liberty for the spiritual well-being of other believers. When our heated arguments for Christian liberty really just become about us and doing whatever we like, we’ve already lost, because following Christ is never all about us, it’s about lovingly and freely submitting to one another. That’s our higher freedom!