“Then the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.’” – Numbers 13:31

God had promised the land of Israel to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob hundreds of years before this moment. God had rescued Israel from the strongest country in the region and miraculously destroyed its fearsome army. God now repeated His promise to Israel and commanded them to go, take the land, and enjoy blessing. But they refused.

Twelve spies went into the promised land and reported back about what they’d seen. They all agreed it was a truly good land. But the people who lived there were tough. Strong armies. Fortified cities. Giants!!! All that was certainly true. However, when the God Who devastated Egypt promises He’ll give you the land, you should go forward in faith. Only two of the spies felt that way. The other ten spies scared the people of Israel into refusing God’s command. And His blessing. All the adults of that generation, except for the two faithful spies, would live the rest of their lives in the desert because of their refusal.

God wasn’t going to make the giants disappear but He was certainly going to give Israel victory over them. They just needed to obey and move forward in faith. This is a timeless principle! When God commands you to do something, He’ll make it happen for His glory. It doesn’t have to make sense to your human calculations and estimations. You just need to believe and obey in faith.

Jesus commanded us, all of us, to make disciples as we’re going about our going, introducing people to Jesus and teaching them to obey Him. We often make excuses about why we can’t, don’t, or won’t. We hide behind family, work, money, stress, time, age, health, etc. Giants!!! Things we surely can’t figure out on our own. Of course we can’t! But God the Son has told us to do it anyway and promised He’ll be with us as we do. Our giants won’t go away but He’ll give us victory over them if we’ll believe and obey. When we do, we experience enormous blessing. When we don’t, we miss out on some blessings forever.

What giants keep you from obeying Jesus? Are you willing to move forward in faith? Trust that Jesus is with you and #FollowJesus

“We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” – Numbers 11:5-6

The people of Israel were so…human. What could be more like us than to be miraculously set free from slavery and then start complaining about the food?!? The people’s initial excitement about seeing God work countless incredible miracles on their behalf had faded. Their rush of joy from no longer being slaves had also faded. Israel had been living in the desert with God for quite some time. Rather than celebrate His daily miraculous provision of manna to eat, they complained about the lack of variety. Rather than celebrate being out of Egypt, they had forgotten their previous misery and only remembered the tasty food of their enslavement.

Sadly, this is simply human nature and we’re all tempted to be like the Israelites. Our gratitude toward God tends to fade quickly after He does something amazing for us. Our ingratitude can suddenly erupt when we decide we don’t like the particular way God has chosen to answer our prayers and provide for our needs. If we aren’t intentional about cultivating gratitude and aren’t regularly reminding ourselves of God’s miraculous work, we quickly take Him for granted or resent Him. We stop praising God and start grumbling about God.

Grumbling is dangerous!!! It was certainly dangerous for the Israelites. God soon answered their request for meat with so much meat it not only nauseated them, He sent a plague upon them. Satisfaction isn’t ever going to be found in our dinner menus. However, it’s freely available in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The question is whether we choose to intentionally cultivate that satisfaction through prayer, praise, meditation on Scripture, worship, fellowship, service, and sharing or do we choose to feed the dissatisfaction that comes naturally to most of us?

Are you grateful today or grumbling? #FollowJesus

“John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’” – Luke 3:16

John the Baptist was a charismatic and compelling figure in the 1st Century. He was the first true prophet the people had seen in centuries, a larger-than-life figure straight out of the scrolls of the Hebrew Scriptures. His call for radical repentance had the citizens of Israel traveling into the desert, turning their hearts and minds away from sin and back toward God. People flocked to John to repent of their sins and be baptized.

John was also crystal clear that he was just the opening act! He knew that God had sent him to prepare Israel for the coming of Messiah. John came to stir up the spiritual life of God’s people which had grown stagnant. John was to prepare the way for the Lord Himself to come to earth. He prepared people to receive Jesus. Jesus, the Christ, is the One infinitely greater than John. It’s Jesus Whose dusty sandals John feels unworthy to handle.

The ministry of God’s eternal Son Jesus is what John was preparing people for. He turned their minds toward God, then Jesus, Who is God, came and walked among them. He taught, He worked miracles, He loved. Then He voluntarily gave His life as a sacrifice on the cross, died, and rose from the dead. After ascending to heaven, it was Jesus Who sent forth the Holy Spirit to everyone who believes in Him. This is what John promised was coming, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Who’s given to everyone who believes in Jesus. The prophets from the first all the way to John prepared people for the main event. Jesus IS the main event, never get confused about that! Believe in Him and submit your life to Him for He alone is worthy. #FollowJesus

“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” – Luke 2:46-47

This is the only biblical account we have of Jesus as a child. When He was twelve years old and still a boy in the eyes of the culture, Jesus stayed behind in the Temple when Mary and Joseph left Jerusalem to return home. He got by on His own for days and devoted His time to early and extraordinary interactions with the great Bible teachers of the time. These are not normal behaviors for a middle-schooler, to say the least!

This story emphasizes that Jesus was always the Son of God from eternity past. He was profoundly aware that God was His Father and that He belonged in His Father’s house. Even as a boy, Jesus demonstrated tremendous knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures. His extraordinary knowledge and wisdom weren’t something that came upon Him at His baptism. Jesus was always the Christ, the eternal Son of God Who stepped out of glory into our broken world to redeem us from our sins.

This simple story, this little glimpse of His childhood, helps us remember and worship Jesus as He truly is. Fully God and yet, also, fully human. A boy growing to maturity but always possessing an eternal mind and divine nature. Why did He go through all that? To be able to understand, represent, redeem, and rescue us from our sins. To be able to go in our place to the cross and take our sins upon His sinless self, atoning for our sins so we who believe in Him won’t have to. #FollowJesus

“What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.”
– Psalm 34:12-13

This is a great reminder as a divided nation heads into a particularly divisive season. Though you will see and hear much that is infuriating, offensive, and discouraging, followers of Jesus can’t respond in the same way. So don’t!!!

God blesses His people when we restrain our words, speaking only truth and life in love. A Christian must not speak, like, share, repost, or retweet lies and must care enough to make sure something is true before hitting that button! Feeling true and satisfying you aren’t the test. Is it actually true? God blesses a controlled tongue because only a controlled tongue can glorify Him. An uncontrolled tongue is a tool of Satan.

Even when you’re burning with the temptation to really “blast ‘em” you must not. Should you speak up against evil? Of course! But not in a way that is evil, vicious, or cruel itself. If you have the truth, it doesn’t need to be covered with poison. Should you speak about what’s important to you? Certainly, but do it in a way that is loving and honest, not hateful and false.

Jesus changed the world with love, honesty, and truth. Admittedly, He was crucified for it but that was for our benefit as well. His Spirit lives within every true Christian. If you’re a believer, then you have that same power and should be willing to suffer to change the world. This year, resolve to speak like Jesus, post like Jesus, and tweet like Jesus. #FollowJesus