“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18

Just before this verse, Peter gave his great confession, that he knew that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. This confession, of course, is the foundation of our faith, the rock on which the church of Jesus Christ is built throughout the ages. Then Jesus gives this wonderful promise to the church, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

In an age of declining faith and church attendance in the western world, many take comfort in this promise but they miss its point. Jesus wasn’t talking about an embattled church holding out desperately against the forces of hell coming at it. Gates don’t attack anything. Gates are a defensive structure. The gates of hell don’t attack the church. Rather, Jesus is making a promise about the ADVANCE of His Kingdom! He is a making a promise about the forward progress of the church in the world.

When the church – the assembly of believers – holds firmly to the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and lives like it, it will move forward. We will share the Gospel with our neighbors, classmates, coworkers, friends, and strangers. We will go and make disciples of all nations. We will do what Jesus called us to do – be salt and light in a dark, decaying world. We will demonstrate the love of Christ and invite people into His Kingdom. As we do, He will move them out of Satan’s dark domain.

That advance is what the gates of hell can’t prevail against. All the forces of darkness in the world can’t stop the Gospel from moving forward if the followers of Jesus are faithful to our Lord. The gates of hell cannot prevent God from using our faithfulness to rescue people from bondage to sin and death. The gates of hell cannot prevent the Kingdom of God from breaking into countries and places that have never heard the Good News that God loves them and sent His Son to reconcile them to Him.

Be faithful! Move forward! Fear not! Be the Kingdom ambassador Jesus has raised you to be in Him. #FollowJesus

“And he said to them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
– Mark 7:6-7

Unfortunately, this prophecy wasn’t only fulfilled at one point in the past. It’s an ongoing prophetic warning to those who love the Lord. In every generation, there will be people, often powerful and influential people, who choose and teach dead religion over living faith. Who prefer man-made rules of righteousness to genuinely abiding in Jesus Christ. Who like the appearances of faith without the heart-transforming reality of faith in the Lord.

Don’t let this be true of you! Abide in Christ and abide in the Bible. Read, study, meditate, and pray daily. Let the Word of God tear down any man-made teachings that aren’t consistent with the commands of Christ. Don’t add to the Gospel. Don’t try to help Jesus save you! What He did on the cross is sufficient. Don’t create, or comply with, checklists of mandatory good behaviors that are more about looking good to people than truly obeying God with a grateful heart.

There are many in the world today who continue to fulfill this prophecy. They use the language of Christianity without the heart of Jesus. They aren’t concerned about the poor and vulnerable for whom Jesus is concerned. They practice empty religion and vain worship without truly following the Good Shepherd Who is the Lamb of God. Do not fall for these, no matter how loud, popular, or successful they may be. Abide in Christ. Abide in Scripture. Let those guide you into ever-deepening obedience to Jesus. Don’t worship in vain. #FollowJesus

“And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.” – Matthew 10:14

If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you’ve been given a life-saving mission: share your hope in Christ with others so they, too, would become followers of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20). It’s the responsibility of every believer to be ready to explain why they have joy and hope, when those things seem to be in short supply in the world (1 Peter 3:15). However, not everyone you share with will enthusiastically listen and believe the truth about Jesus.

That’s OK. They aren’t rejecting you, they’re rejecting the invitation to enter God’s Kingdom. Maybe because it’s too unfamiliar. Maybe because of fear. Maybe because it doesn’t yet make sense to them. Maybe because of ongoing attachment to the sins Jesus would forgive. Maybe because they haven’t yet hit rock bottom and cried out to the Lord. There are so many possible reasons for turning down Jesus. Pray they’ll accept the truth but expect that many won’t, at least not yet. That’s OK, it isn’t personal, so don’t take it personally.

What should you do when the words of life are turned out? Should you keep trying? Plan a different approach? Bring in a better evangelist? Perhaps, if that’s your sense of leading from the Lord. However, often you should accept that you simply should keep praying for the person but move on, at least for a while. Perhaps their salvation is something for a later time. Perhaps another follower of Jesus will experience the joy of seeing them raised to new spiritual life in Christ.

Love people. Share the Gospel with them. Be faithful to pray diligently for them. But recognize when it’s time to move on and focus on someone, or somewhere, else. Don’t give up. Don’t be discouraged. Just be faithful and #FollowJesus

“And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'” – Mark 4:41

This brief story began in verse 35 with a routine crossing of the Sea of Galilee that went awry. While Jesus was napping, a powerful storm struck their small boat. Even the seasoned fishermen among the disciples were convinced they were going to die. In their terror, they sharply questioned the goodness and care of Jesus for sleeping while their death loomed large.

Of course, they were way off the mark… Jesus was able to rest because they weren’t going to die. They couldn’t die. Not while He was physically with them. When Jesus rose and rebuked the wind and waves, silencing them instantly, that sparked an entirely new kind of terror for His followers…

Who was this Jesus, they wondered? How could He control the primal forces of nature that terrified them? Their fear was far greater now, because they were beginning to suspect the truth… God, Himself, was in their boat.

That’s Who Jesus truly is, God the Son, the eternal Second Person of the Godhead. If you have entrusted your life to Him and He is your Lord Savior, then He isn’t just in your boat. He’s in you! Jesus has united Himself with you. His Holy Spirit seals and indwells you. How much more overwhelming is that reality than what even those first disciples were beginning to realize? That’s the power of faith in Christ. #FollowJesus

“And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” – Luke 8:14

Of the four soils described in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, this is probably the one that’s most tricky for professing Christians to avoid or escape in our busy modern world. Many who attend churches are in this situation. They believe something about Jesus. They like Him. Admire Him. Enjoy church. And yet…

The busyness of their lives precludes them from genuinely following and obeying Jesus… The plenty they enjoy or dream about enjoying one day keeps them so focused on career advancement, hustles and side hustles, and keeping up with the lifestyles they see on social media that they can’t and won’t take up their cross daily to follow Jesus… The stressful, exhausting delights of houses, cars, hobbies, entertainment, or experiences drives their hopes and dreams rather than a deeper walk with Jesus.

Many Christians in our country are living in thorny soil. They treat Jesus as one good thing among many. He is NOT the Lord of their lives. Jesus is often the first thing to get cut when kids have activities, when work calls, or when money runs short. Worship is viewed as enjoyable but optional. There just never seems to be enough time to read the Bible or pray. Meanwhile, studying the Bible with other believers is perpetually something to be done “some day”.

If any of this sounds familiar in your own life, stop living in thorny soil! Stop trying to go on your own way or in the way of the world. Stop living a life in Christ that is choked off by the stresses, cares, delights, and ambitions of the world. Radically change your priorities. Make sacrifices to go deeper in Christ. #FollowJesus