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When just following Jesus isn’t enough…

Matthew 26:47–50 (NASB 2020):

47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chiefpriests and elders of the people. 48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign previously, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him.” 49 And immediately Judas went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him

In v.50 Jesus refers to Judas who just betrayed him as friend. The Greek word used is hetaíros – properly, a companion (normally an imposter), posing to be a comrade but in reality only has his own interests in mind.

Compare that to John 15:15 where Jesus calls those that are part of the true vine friends. The Greek term used is phílos – a friend; someone dearly loved (prized) in a personal, intimate way; a trusted confidant, held dear in a close bond of personal affection.

In many evangelical churches today the “gospel” being preached is what I call pre-resurrection gospel. The just follow Jesus gospel. Life stressing you out? Follow Jesus. Your marriage is a wreck? Follow Jesus. Your finances are in need of financing? Just follow Jesus. Judas followed Jesus and yet Jesus was only “Rabbi” to him. A wise teacher. Someone he followed with his own selfish intentions in mind. This type of “gospel” has no life change.

The gospel of the Bible doesn’t leave out post-resurrection teaching. The reason for the resurrection. The only way to get grafted into the true vine as John 15 speaks of.

Yes, follow Jesus. But, the following is a response to accepting the gift of salvation and a new kife offered in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

Just following Jesus isn’t enough…

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Living in a Kingdom – part 1

Daniel 7:14

14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

It is mid-term election season as I write this post.  People in our country are pre-occupied with exercising their power to elect our nation’s ruling body.  Take away that right and people will protest…no people will riot.  The power to elect our government representatives is paramount to our form of government.

As children of God you become citizens of God’s Kingdom.  God’s kingdom is a absolute monarchy.  As Daniel 7:14 states, in God’s Kingdom His power is sovereign and His rule is everlasting. One of the stumbling blocks for people use to a democratic earthly government is that very fact…as a citizen of God’s kingdom He rules absolutely.  His rules, His way, and it is about Him.  You don’t get a vote and you don’t change how God rules His Kingdom.  Becoming a citizen in God’s Kingdom changes you.

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Living in a Kingdom – Intro

You’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your savior…Hallelujah!!!  You are citizen in the Kingdom of God.  Now what?  What does it mean to live in a Kingdom?  There are plenty of bible studies, articles, and sermons on Kingdom Living.  Really great ones.  With the plethora of resources, teachings, not to mention Jesus’ explicit teachings on His Kingdom why do we Western Christ followers struggle to grasp or fully live out the mantra “Kingdom Living Now”?

In the Western world we understand Democracies. We are baptized in the rights of the individual.  We have the power to vote. If we don’t like how our government is performing we can protest. Demand change. Appeal court rulings…this is what we know.  But, as a Christ follower we are now citizens of a Monarchy not a Democracy.  We are citizens of the Kingdom of God.

God willing, in this series I want to take a stab at revealing the differences in living in a Monarchy versus living in a Democracy.  My intent is to hopefully reveal basic thought patterns and ingrained behaviors that impede our ability take hold of and operate in God’s Kingdom. Peel back our Western blinders to the understanding of what is means to live in a Kingdom. 

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Truth Sessions (part 6) Doing YOU…is not doing good!

Luke 17:28-29: 28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

Live your best life…
You do you…
Live your dream…

I can keep going, but you get the picture. On their face those words of advice sound harmless. Actually, they sound pretty good. But, Jesus actually teaches the opposite. People focus on the sin being done in Sodom as the reason for it’s destruction. In the verse above you see Jesus giving a more insightful reason…living your life in a manner which bears no acknowledgement to God or the heavenly pursuits. The people just “eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building” were destroyed right along with the wicked behaving ones. Verses 32-33 of the same chapter in Luke goes on to warm us about the consequences of holding on to our own pursuits in life.

In reflecting on this truth I am reminded of an old song by Steven Curtis Chapman called “More to this life”. Here is the chorus:

But there’s more to this life than living and dying,
More than just trying to make it through the day;
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see,
And there’s more than this life alone can be.

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Daily Musings…Sin is my brother

1 Kings 20:42–43 (NASB)

“42 He said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.’ ”
43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.”

When reading the Old Testament always on the forefront of my mind is what truth about who God is can be garnered from the text and applied to my life. In 1 Kings 20 we have an account of Ben-Hadad king of Aram trying to attack and destroy Isreal. This king of Aram had previous committed blasphemy and thus paved the way for God to judge him by destroying him. God spoke to the king of Isreal telling him that he would be victorious and to destroy the king of Aram who was mounting an attack against Isreal. The king of Aram escaped and pled for his life after having his army wiped out twice. The king of Isreal agreed to spare his life because they were brothers. In v.42-43 we have God passing judgement on the king of Isreal for disobeying His command to kill the king of Aram (his brother).

How often do we as Christians do the same thing? The king of Aram is likened to sin in our life. God hasn’t told us to go kill someone but He has told us to kill sin in our lives. Sin that we have already been given victory over if we obey His will. Yet, we choose not to because we relate to and think about the sin as humans rather than as God sees it.

God’s truth is that He is just and righteous. All are subject to the consequences of disobedience. I wonder if the victorious life spoke about by the Apostles isn’t being achieved because of our micro-disobediences? If Heaven (God’s Kingdom) is the best destination then our best life is Kingdom living now.

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Faith files…part 3

Unwavering Faith

Mark 11:22-24 (NASB)

22 And Jesus *answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. 24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

Unwavering faith is sincere and unbending.  To believe God without question.  When you pray with unwavering faith you are to believe as if it has already happened.  The verse in Mark sounds absolute.  But what does “whatever” mean in the context of this teaching?  Does it really mean whatever?  No it doesn’t.  If it did I would have 3 Lamborghinis, a summer beach house in Hawaii, and a Swiss bank account because God knows I’ve prayed for them! James 4:2-3 tells us that we don’t receive what we pray for because we ask wrongly.  We ask for selfish things.  So “whatever” has exclusions. I John 5:14-15 tells us that whatever we pray for things in line with God’s will He hears us and grants them. 

Unwavering faith depends on us having assurance that He will grant the request.  If we don’t know for sure then it is impossible to pray with unwavering faith.  When you pray “not my will but thine be done” it is an admission that we do not know that what we are praying for God will grant.  That’s doubt.  So we must know God’s promises in order to pray with unwavering faith.  God’s promises are found in the Bible.  Some of those promises are:

  • Romans 10:13 God promises to save all those who call upon Him for salvation
  •  Hebrews 12:14, Romans 6:22 God will sanctify all who have been redeemed
  • Philippians 4:19 If we seek first the Kingdom of God He will supply all our needs. Need depends on the goal you are trying to achieve. You will always have all that you need if your goal is to continue to do God’s will.
  • Romans 8:28 In everything God works for good all who love Him.  When our specific requests are denied it is because something is being prepared that is better.  So we can pray with absolute confidence that God will provide what is best for us.

If we pray for these things, we can pray with unwavering faith that they will come to pass.  Knowing this should reshape your prayer life.

Past Series Posts: Intro Part 1 Part 2

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Faith files… (part 2)

Great Faith

Matthew 15: 21-28

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Christian faith is based on God’s promises, rather than feelings, or things you can see. Great faith holds fast regardless of outward appearances.

Great faith is properly focus, repentant, reverent, persistent, and humble. In the text above you find a Canaanite woman coming to Jesus. This is a Pegan woman whos culture worshiped idols and false gods. Upon encountering Jesus she places the focus on Him. This wasn’t a “pray for me, send good thoughts, send good vibes my way” kind of situation that I see way too often on Facebook (and from Christians I might add…). Jesus was the focus of her request. Jesus was the focus of her worship. Jesus was the focus of her faith.

Great faith is repentant. In verse 22 she cries “…have mercy on me!” Mercy denotes the giving of something that is not deserved. She is coming at Jesus from a stance of unworthiness. Being in a culture that worships idols and false gods her coming to Jesus indicates that she turned from them to God. That is repentance.

Great faith is reverent. Again, in verse 22 she addresses Jesus as “Lord, son of David…”. She calls him Lord. The Greek translation uses the word Kyrios meaning master, or one who exercises absolute authority or ownership rights. She is recognizing Jesus’ sovereignty. She also calls him son of David. That is a Messianic title making reference to His right as King. Her acknowledgement of Jesus’ position is an act of reverence.

Great faith is persistent. In the text you notice first that Jesus doesn’t respond to her. Silence. His apostles finally come to him urging him to send her away because she keeps yelling. This indicates that some time has past. She just kept yelling. This reminds me of my kid’s persistence with the “Daddy, daddy, daddy…”. When Jesus does respond He says “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”. Not dissuaded she responds “Lord, help me!”. Jesus throws up another barrier by saying “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Not to be denied she responds “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Wow! First Jesus ignores her, then disqualifies her, and then calls her a pet and her response after all that was “even so, help me…” Great faith is persistent.

Great faith is humble. As you read in verse 25 she knelt before Jesus. More accurately translated as kneeling down and putting your face in the dirt. She put her face in the dirt, said no I am not a Jew, I am not of your chosen people, but you are not just the son of David, you are Lord, an I am subject to you. Humble.

There is one other place in the New Testament where Jesus makes reference to someone with great faith (Matthew 8:5-13). Here Jesus is dealing with a Centurion (Roman commanding soldier). A couple of interesting observations about these two instances of Jesus acknowledging great faith. One, their faith was focus on Jesus and their ask was for others. Great faith is not asking and believing in a “financial break through” or that “new car”. Two, the Centurion and the Canaanite lady were non-Jews. Great faith is not steeped in tradition or dependent on culture. It is rooted in faith that is counter-cultural and non-traditional. Great faith is genuine faith.

Have you had a situation where you had to exhibit great faith?

Past Series Posts: Intro Part 1

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Faith files…(part 1)

Growing Faith

2 Thessalonian 1:3

3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.

Without Growing Faith it is impossible to succeed in any other steps of faith. Growing faith is what initially places faith in Christ. Growing faith increases from weak to strong as one matures as a Christian. Faith grows through increased knowledge and understanding of God. Increasing your knowledge of God is obtained through reading His Word. So, Growing Faith grows through reading the Bible. Now, just reading is not enough. Apply God’s Word daily is a necessity as well.

Christian faith is based on God’s promises, rather than feelings, or things you can see. Great faith holds fast regardless of outward appearances.

Growing faith is linked to spiritual growth. One of the ways the Bible speaks to this is in terms of craving milk as babies and solid food as you mature (1 Peter 2:2, Hebrews 5:11-14). A strong indication of faith not growing is an immature Christian (or “Carnal” Christian).

(2 Peter 1:5-8) 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What a beautiful picture of what growing Faith looks like…Is your faith growing?

Past Series Posts: Intro

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Faith Files…(Intro)

Christian faith is based on God’s promises, rather than feelings, or things you can see. Great faith holds fast regardless of outward appearances.

The Bible talks a lot about different types or “levels” of faith. Some types are related and some are distinctly different. Hebrews 11:6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Faith is foundational for Believers. Faith leads to salvation, faith incites good works, faith helps you stand up in the midst of adversity, faith is necessary to please God.

With faith being so utterly important to Christianity don’t you think we should know more about it? Spend more time understanding what God’s Word says about it? I think so and because I think so and this is my blog I will be studying the different levels of faith in the Bible and posting what I learn. I hope you come with me on this journey!

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For those who have ears…Part 2

Matthew 5:14-15 NASB

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”

This instruction from Jesus was to the apostles directly and to His disciples generally. In today’s times true believers are His disciples. We are called to be the light in this world. Getting our light from the true source which is Jesus we are to be candles or beacons. In this world filled with darkness, evil, and sin we are to fill the dark void with love for others (all others), charity for the sick and less fortunate, and hope which is the gospel.

Jesus also says we are a city on a hill. Our devotion to God should not be lived out privately. It should be seen from a far. The new life Christ has given us should be the seen like a city on a hill. A city on a hill that is a refuge from the ignorance and depravity that the ways of the world has to offer.

Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness only exists when light is not present. Evil is darkness. If evil is “prevailing” what does that mean?