Believe and Obey

What makes you believe in something? Do you believe based on a witness of an event? Do you believe because someone told you about someone? Does your belief become stronger when you see it for yourself? Does this apply to events, people, and other things?

Deep down inside, we all want to believe. It is only by experiencing lies, false narratives, and hoaxes that we become crass, leery, and skeptical. We may call those who believe immediately naïve. Some of us won’t believe until we see it with our own eyes.

After her encounter with Jesus at the Jacob’s well, the Samaritan woman ran to town to tell everyone about it. Some of them believed. Enough believed that they came out to Him and asked Him to stay with them a couple days. When Jesus had spent some time with them, continuing His teaching, many more of them believed. They proclaimed Him to be the Savior of the world.

Many people today do not believe. Some will believe, if we tell them about Him. Others will not believe no matter how much we tell them about Him. Some will only believe after they have witnessed an extraordinary event. Others believe, but their belief is not strong. Their belief has not changed their lives. They continue in their old ways. Obeying Jesus’ commands is not on their radar. They depend heavily on God’s grace and forgiveness.

We can be people who believe and put our faith in Jesus. We can be people who choose to allow our faith to change us. But to do so means we must not merely believe but also obey God’s commands. As we obey and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, then we are changed into the person God desires us to be.

I pray we all choose to believe in Jesus. I pray our belief becomes a strong faith in Him. I pray each one of us obeys God’s commands and allows the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Believe in Jesus. Strengthen your faith. Obey God’s commands. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. Become the person God desires you to be.

John 4:41-42 And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

Mysterious Urging

Have you ever felt compelled to go a certain way or to do something specific? Have you done so, even if it did not fit your normal routine? Were you in the right place at the right time? Were you the beneficiary of being there? Can you recall that day as clear as if it were yesterday?

Some of us have experienced that weird feeling or compulsion to go somewhere or approach someone or perhaps even deliver a message. We may be the beneficiary of being that place and time, or we may be the one providing a benefit to another. But it is not an accident.

Most of us have heard the story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well. But there is one very short sentence we may have overlooked. It says, “But he had to go through Samaria.” We may think it was because Samaria was between Jerusalem and Galilee, which it was. What we may have missed is the Jews would go around Samaria when traveling from anywhere north of Samaria to Jerusalem and vice versa. Why? They were enemies and the Jews looked at the Samaritans with contempt.

But Jesus HAD to go through it. Why? He needed to meet the woman. He needed to reach the people of Sychar. Samaritans were considered half-breeds by the Jews. They were outsiders. This is the beginning of the gospel spreading to non-Jews. Jesus, in His first year of ministry, was reaching beyond the Jewish people. He wasn’t waiting to send the apostles. Jesus went through Samaria as part of His mission.

Our mission may carry us to places we would not normally go. My wife and I recently planned to go up to a mountain lookout to watch the sunset. We were running late and almost didn’t go, but I felt we should. While at the lookout, a young couple approached us and asked for a ride down. They had taken an Uber up, but the Uber left. They called another one, but it couldn’t get in the gate because the inbound gate closed at 7PM. They were stranded. God had urged us to go, even though we were a little late, so that we could give that couple a ride down the mountain.

I pray we all know that God moves in mysterious ways. I pray we know that he is always with us. I pray each one of us will be attentive to God urging us to do what we might otherwise not do. God works in mysterious ways. Follow God’s urging. Trust he is always with you.

John 4:4 But he had to go through Samaria.

Rock of Our Salvation

Having recently visited Phoenix, AZ, and climbed some rocky places, I can confidently tell you that rocks are solid. They don’t give way. You can stand on a rock high above the ground below and be confident it will not break. Your weight is nothing compared to the weight of the rock.

When we think of God as our rock, we cannot think of a pebble or a small rock. He is a gigantic rock! I stood on a rock that was a couple hundred feet high and several hundred feet long. No, it was not a rock formation but a single rock. God as our rock is much bigger than that.

So, when we stand on the rock of our salvation, God, we should be nothing less than fully confident. No wonder the Psalmist says we are to make a joyful noise. God, as our rock, cannot be shaken. He cannot fail. Our weight does not even compare to us holding a feather in our hand. He holds the entire world in his hands. Yet we are significant to him.

Sing out to God. Sing your favorite hymn. Sing a new song that has burst into your heart. Just sing. For God loves to hear our praises in song. They make God glad. They make our hearts glad. They lift our spirits and allow us to express our praises in more than words. For when the heart is glad and our spirit is glad, much more than words are being communicated.

Ensure you are standing on the rock of your salvation. Keep your feet solidly planted in him. In doing so, you will sing and make joyful noises. In doing so, your spirit will soar. For God as our rock, our solid foundation, will never fail us. Stand on that promise.

I pray we all stand on the rock of our salvation. I pray we sing to God with a joyful voice. I pray each one of us stay firmly planted on our solid foundation of God and his promises. Stand on the rock. Sing with a joyful voice. Stay firmly planted on your solid foundation. God will never fail you.

Psalm 95:1

O come, let us sing to the Lord; 

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Massah and Meribah

Do you ever wonder if God has left you? Do you wonder if he has forgotten about you? When you are experiencing difficult times, do you question God? Are there times when you feel like screaming out of frustration? Is it in those moments that you question God?

When we are going through difficult times, we may wonder if God has left us or is ignoring us. Our natural inclination is to blame someone else. So, if we can find no one else to blame, we blame God. But our perspective is limited. We only see our immediate situation.

The Israelites questioned God. Moses gave the place two specific names when they questioned God. Massah means to test. Meribah means to quarrel. From Moses’ perspective, the Israelites were testing and quarreling with God. They had forgotten or lost their faith. They were complaining that God had brought them out of Egypt to kill them.

Though we might not always think that God is with us, he never leaves us. We are to remember he is with us, even when it seems he is distant. His silence does not mean he has left us. It means he is waiting for us to fall to our knees and surrender to him. He wants us to stop trying to do it on our own and trust him to take care of it. We are not to have places of Massah and Meribah. We are to have places that demonstrate our faith.

I pray we all decide not to test or quarrel with God. I pray we know he is always with us. I pray each one of us will use moments testing to strengthen our faith and put it on display. Do not test God. Do not quarrel with God. Strengthen your faith. Demonstrate your faith.

Exodus 17:7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Personal Responsibility

How many times do you complain? How many times do you argue over the smallest of things? Have you had a true need and not know where to turn?  Have you experienced having little or no faith your situation would be resolved? Have sat quietly and trusted God to provide?

Our culture has become a culture of complaint. We complain about nearly everything under the sun. We complain about aches and pains. We complain about decisions of others that have nothing to do with us. We complain about our jobs. We complain about the state of our country.

The Israelites complained to Moses. They moaned and groaned and pleaded with him to give water to drink. Now, water is a necessity. Without it, we won’t live long. However, it appears their complaining was not merely asking Moses for it, but they were whining and sniveling and being obnoxious about it. Moses being their leader, they thought he could or should provide it.

How many times do we go to a leader for something we think they should provide? Perhaps we should ask if it is a necessity or a nice to have. Perhaps we should ask ourselves if we can take care of it ourselves. Leaders are inundated with complaints. Sometimes those complaints turn into sniveling and whining. In some cases, the individual knows the answer, knows they can provide for themselves, and still comes to the leader. They want someone else to do it for them.

Our first response should be to ask God. Asking God and trusting him is always the best approach. That doesn’t mean that we may not need to seek counsel from a leader or ask their input. It does mean that we need to take some personal responsibility for ourselves. We also need to trust God to be our provider.

I pray we all go to God in prayer, asking him to provide for our needs. I pray we trust God will provide. I pray each one of us will take personal responsibility and seek leaders only when needed. Ask God to provide. Trust God will provide. Take personal responsibility.

Exodus 17:2 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”

Accept Salvation

How do you view the world? Do you see it as black or white, right or wrong, good or bad? Does your view include gray areas, degrees of right and wrong, the possibility of best, good, not good, bad, worst? How do those views apply to your view of Jesus?

We often use gradients to describe the variations between good and bad. We have a scale in our minds between 1 and 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. We are used to grading or judging things based on that scale. We apply it nearly every aspect of our lives.

We are told that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it. We are also told that He is the judge. So, how do we interpret that? He can be both the judge and have the desire to save. The purpose behind Jesus stepping into His creation is to save it. He didn’t come to save part of it but all of it. He came to redeem the world, a world that was disobedient.

Just because that was the purpose for Jesus coming into the world does not mean that all will accept His redeeming grace. That is where His judgment comes in. He came to offer Himself to bring all of creation back into a right relationship with God. It was a selfless act. It was a righteous act. It was God’s grace on display in the most obvious way.

All of creation has a choice. We can accept God’s grace by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior or we can reject Him. There is no gray area. There are no conditions set. It is not for a select few. It is for all. When we accept Him, we are saved. Our sins are forgiven, both past and future. The offer has been made. Will we accept it or reject it? The choice is ours.

I pray we all know that Jesus came into the world to save it. I pray we know He is the judge. I pray each one of us will accept God’s gracious offer of salvation. Jesus came to save rather than condemn. Jesus is judge. Jesus is Savior. Accept God’s gracious offer. Accept salvation.

John 3:17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Born from Above

Is there something that you are looking forward to? Is it a vacation? Is it a birthday? Is it a holiday? Is it a new job? How much are you looking forward to it? Does it consume your time? Do you think about it throughout the day? Is there something much better you should look forward to?

We look forward to many things. It could be a birthday, a long-awaited vacation, a new job, a wedding, a graduation, or a family reunion. All of those things are good. They are things we should look forward to. But there is something far better we should look forward to.

We should look forward to the full implementation of the kingdom of God. But many of the people we interact with every day do not. Perhaps you are one of them. We sometimes lose sight of what is most important. There is nothing better than the kingdom of God. However, we may take it for granted or think it is something far into the future.

Some do not look forward to it nor know about it. Jesus says we can only see the kingdom of God if we are born again. For some, that is a scary thought. For others, it is confusing. For those confused, they are not alone. Nicodemus was confused too, and he was Jewish leader. Jesus states we must be born of water and the Spirit. From a human perspective, it may not make sense. Yet, God’s ways are not our ways. We simply need to take it in faith and obey.

I pray we all look forward to the kingdom of God. I pray we listen to Jesus. I pray each one of us choose to be born from above, born of water and Spirit, born again. Look forward to the kingdom of God. Listen to Jesus. Be born again. Be born of water and Spirit. Be born from above.

John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

Righteousness of Faith

Are you looking forward to an inheritance? Is it an inheritance of physical possessions, land, or money? Has it been promised to you? Are you planning to leave an inheritance for your children? Are you giving them the best inheritance? Are you giving it to them now?

Inheritances can cause a lot of strife. Siblings who have always gotten along well can turn on one another, fighting over possessions, land, and money when their parents die. Even if the parents have a will, it may be contested by one or more siblings.

But we have a priceless inheritance if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ. Our inheritance includes ruling the world alongside Jesus. It includes an eternity of being in the presence of God. Our inheritance is not earned through our works or strict adherence to laws or doctrine but through our belief and faith in Jesus.

We like rules and checklists. We like to be able to say we are doing the right things. We like to check off things we have completed. We like to compare ourselves to others. But our walk of faith is not about rules, checklists, or competing with one another. Our faith is about following Jesus and His commands to love God and love our neighbor.

If we desire to follow Jesus, we will stop competing with one another, throw out the checklists, and worry less about rules. Instead, we will filter all we do with the question: “Am I doing this out of love?” Putting our faith in Jesus is not only about love but trust. We trust Him to follow through on His promises. We trust Him in the good times, the bad times, and everywhere in between. It is a continual trust we have in every moment of every day.

I pray we all look forward to the inheritance we have. I pray we know our righteousness comes through faith. I pray each one of us puts our trust and faith in Jesus Christ. You have an inheritance. Trust God’s promises. Put your faith in Jesus. Follow Jesus’ commands. Love God. Love your neighbor.

Romans 4:13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Works vs Faith

Do you believe we should all earn our rewards? Do you believe everyone should work? Do you applaud those who do well, earning promotions? Have you taught your children to be good workers? Are you constantly seeking to work more? Has it become an addiction?

Many of us work hard to earn a living. We also work hard on our homes and at our churches. Some of us cannot sit and rest when there is something we think needs to be done. It is as though we are genetically designed to work, that we are only satisfied when we work.

It is good that we work. It is also unfortunate if we apply working to our faith. Mixing the two are like mixing oil and water. All our works, even if done for the church, cannot earn our way to heaven. If Abraham, credited as being a man of faith, could not boast about his works before God, neither can we.

Just because we cannot boast about our works before God does not mean we should not work. Quite the opposite. We should work. But our work should be done out of our love for God, rather than out of compulsion or a desire to earn God’s favor. It is our faith in Jesus Christ that has justified us and by God’s grace we are granted eternal life.

It can be challenging to separate our line of thinking in which we must work to earn a living and yet be saved through faith. We often mix them and seek to be saved through works. We must remember that God loves us and through his grace we are saved through faith. Doing the good works God has put before us is good, but it does not save us.

I pray we all understand that our works do not save us. I pray we know it is by God’s grace and our faith we are saved. I pray each one of us put our faith in God and do good works out of our love for him. God’s grace saves you. Put your faith in Jesus. Do good works out of love.

Romans 4:1-2 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

The Lord Will Keep You

Are you looking for someone who will walk by your side? Do you long for the comfort of knowing you are not going it alone? Are you seeking security? Are you seeking protection? Would you accept it if it was available? Or would you continue to struggle on your own?

We sometimes want someone to walk beside us. This typically happens when we are going through a trying time. But sometimes, even though we want it, we turn it away. We continue to try to make it on our own. We prefer to think we are strong enough to overcome it by ourselves.

The truth of the matter is, we might just squeak by on our own. We may gut it out and survive. But it was never meant to be that way. God will come alongside us if we will ask him and allow him to do so. Yet, I have seen people or heard them tell their story of asking but refusing. They will ask God to help, but when he attempts to support them, they push him away. That’s how we are as humans, isn’t it?

Here’s another truth we should remember. God is still there. He is still supporting us and working on our behalf. We may not see him. We may not feel him. But he is no less there. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God is with us from that time going forward. As the Psalmist states it, “from this time on and forevermore.”

Knowing that God is always with should give us comfort. We should have peace knowing that he is in control and is working on our behalf. He knows our every movement. He knows our every decision. And despite us making bad decisions at times, God continues to love us and to work for our good.

I pray we all know that God is always with us. I pray we remember that God is working on our behalf. I pray each one of us takes comfort from knowing that God knows us and loves us anyway. God is always with you. God is working for you. Take comfort in God. God loves you.

Psalm 121:8

The Lord will keep 

your going out and your coming in 

from this time on and forevermore.