Lean on Jesus’ Strength

Have you heard disturbing news and felt the need to go to a quiet place to process it? Have you felt the need to be alone to calm yourself, think through some things, to plan your next steps? Were you disappointed when others would not allow you the alone time you needed?

We all have times when we need to be alone. We need to think. We need to pray. We need to process what just happened. We need to mourn. We need to determine how we will move forward. Yet, there may be people in our lives who hang around who need our attention.

Jesus had one of these situations. Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded. He wanted to go to a secluded place to pray, think, and plan. He got in a boat to head to just such a place. But when He got there, He saw a large crowd who needed Him. Rather than sending them away, He cured their sick. I’m sure He was weary. Yet, He attended to the needs of those who followed Him.

When we hear unsettling news and need time to think and pray, we may also seek a secluded place. We may find there are others who need our help. What do we do? If we are to follow Jesus’ example, we will attend to the needs of others. But we can only do that if we have a close relationship with Him and draw on His strength. If we attempt to do it on our own, we will run ourselves into the ground. It is by Jesus’ strength that we can go beyond what we believe are our limits. Therefore, we need to be strengthening our relationship with Him every day.

I pray we all strengthen our relationship with Jesus. I pray we follow His example of serving others. I pray each one of us will lean on the strength of Jesus when we think we have hit our limit. Strengthen your relationship with Jesus. Serve others like Jesus. Lean on the strength of Jesus.

Matthew 14:13-14 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.

A Long Heritage

Do you like people who are chosen? Do you like those who receive special treatment? Or do you despise them? Do you wish they would experience a downfall or significant failure? What if you are one of the chosen, one of the special people? Would you want to fail?

We often don’t care for people who are singled out as being special or given special treatment. We may think they are thought too highly of. We want them to fall. Yet, if we are one of the special ones, we often think we deserve it. Isn’t it funny how that works out?

The Apostle Paul reminds us that the Israelites were chosen by God. They have a longstanding covenant with God. They received the law. They have been worshiping God for thousands of years. They have received promises from God. It was through the Israelites that Jesus came, fulfilling God’s plan. Paul tells us that Jesus is over all and forever blessed.

This is a reminder to us that we follow in the footsteps of many giants of faith who were Israelites. We remember Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon, Esther, Ruth, Rebekah, Rachel, and Rahab. Because of Jesus, we are adopted into the family, we are grafted into the vine. By God’s amazing plan, we have been given the gift of salvation. We are part of a long heritage of God working through people in this world, and he continues to work today.

I pray we all know we are part of a long heritage. I pray we know and claim God’s promises. I pray each one of us accept the gift of salvation and determine to work with God in this world. You have a long heritage. Claim God’s promises. Accept God’s gift. Accept salvation. Work with God.

Romans 9:4-5 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Lost Family Members

How do you feel about your family? Do you love them? Do you wish the best for them? Do you let them know? Are you concerned for them? Do you pray for them? Do you have family members who do not follow Christ? Do you talk to them about Him?

Generally speaking, we love our families. Oh, we have our spats and we may have that weird uncle who is awkward to speak to. We may have family members we don’t trust or who take advantage of our kindness. But we love our them anyway. After all, they are family.

Yet, when it comes to talking to them about Jesus, we can find it a challenge to speak to them about Him. We may have family members who don’t want anything to do with religion. They may think churches are a scam. They may have been hurt by people in the church. Here’s the question I ask, “If someone insulted you at Walmart, would you stop going there?” The answer is, no. The church is full of people who need grace, mercy, and forgiveness, just like the rest of the world.

Our hearts, just the Apostle Paul’s, should break over family members who do not follow Jesus. We, who do follow Jesus, know the consequences for not following Jesus, both in this life and for eternity. We do not need to try to convince them on our own. We can plant the seeds. We can pray that God work in lives to convince them to follow Jesus. We can point them to a pastor or someone else to answer questions we cannot answer. Regardless of how we go about trying to draw them to Christ, our hearts should continue to break and we should continue to pray for them.

I pray our hearts break for anyone who does not follow Jesus. I pray we continue to plant seeds. I pray each one of us will continue to pray for our families, especially those who do not follow Jesus. Be heartbroken for the lost. Continue to plant seeds. Pray for your families. Pray for the lost.

Romans 9:1-3 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.

Ask and Follow

How do you address injustice? How do you handle someone making unjust accusations against you or people you know? Do you trust in the laws of the land? Do you ask others to join you in your rally cry for justice? Do you sit and sulk? Have you spent time asking God to act on your behalf?

We immediately feel wronged when we have been unjustly accused. Yet, we react very differently depending on the accusation and from whom it came. The location, how the accusation is presented, and the people who hear it can all play into how we react.

King David was in a much different situation than most of us. Though he was ruling Israel, he had internal family strife. His own son was revolting against him, attempting to usurp his kingship. David was retreating, wanting to avoid a violent confrontation. He cried out to God for vindication. He laid his request at God’s feet.

We, too, can lay our requests at God’s feet. We can take our cries for justice to him. But that doesn’t mean we don’t act, that we simply sit and brood, waiting for God to miraculously make things right. David recognized this and acted against his son, Absalom. We will need to act, as well. Yet, our cry to God is not just that we are vindicated but that he guides us in our actions. Our willingness to follow God’s guidance, which may include waiting, going a different direction, or tackling the offense head on is part of God’s rectifying the situation.

I pray we all choose to go to God in prayer. I pray we cry out to him for justice. I pray each one of us will seek God to act and be willing to act alongside him, following his guidance. Spend time in prayer. Cry out to God for justice. Be willing to follow God’s guidance. Be ready to act.

Psalm 17:1

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry; 

give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.

Encounters with God

Have you ever wrestled with God? Have you asked God, “why?” Have you struggled with how God has answered your prayer? Have you wondered when God will provide you with a break? What did you do after you wrestled with God? Do you hold that time and place in significance?

We all wrestle with God at some point in our lives. It may be small. It may be big. Regardless, we wrestle with God, asking him questions that we have no answer for and may not receive answers for in this lifetime. But when we do receive answers, we may have a very strong memory of the encounter.

We may not openly admit our wrestling with God. We may not physically wrestle with him as Jacob did. We may not have our name changed as Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Yet, we have tough encounters with God, both mentally and spiritually. Our emotions may spill over into a confrontation with God. We may struggle spiritually and collide with God. The form of the wrestling is less important than our reaction, how we handle it.

Though Jacob had a wounded hip to go with his name change, he still recognized the significance of the encounter. He called the Peniel, which literally means “face of God.” We may not name the place in which we wrestle with God, but we will certainly remember it. When it is a significant encounter, we will remember it for the rest of our lives. We will also tell others about the encounter, even if only to our immediate family or those who are especially close to us. We cannot forget a close encounter with God.

I pray we all remember our encounters with God. I pray we know we all encounter God in various ways. I pray each one of us tell others about our significant encounters with God. We all encounter God. Remember your encounters with God. Tell others about your significant encounters with God.

Genesis 32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.”

Build or Tear Down

Have you ever built something? Have you ever assembled a toy or furniture item? Have you ever sewn a dress or shirt or pair of pants or quilt? How did you feel when you completed one of these? Have you ever torn something down? How did that make you feel?

Building and tearing down are two very different tasks. They are opposites of one another. One is producing something new. The other is often removing something old. Building something new can give us great joy. Tearing down something old can leave us feeling empty or forlorn.

The same can be said for building up a person or tearing them down. Building up a person can make us feel good. When we see them succeed where they had previously failed can be a great joy. Building a person may include encouragement, praying for them, counseling, and even physical assistance. One thing it always includes is a time investment. We must intentionally spend time building them.

Tearing down a person is an act of evil. There are no two ways about it. Tearing down also requires a commitment on our part, even if it is in neglect. Therefore, we have a choice to make. We can spend our time building one another up or tearing one another down.

The wise choice is to build up. When we build one another up, we all win. There is a more productive person in society and the church. The impact reaches beyond the person we have built up, for they now can build up others.

I pray we all choose to build one another up. I pray we decide to spend our time wisely. I pray each one of us make the wise decision to invest in someone else and see the positive ripple effects of doing so. Build up one another. Spend your time wisely. Make wise decisions. Invest in others.

Proverbs 14:1

The wise woman builds her house, 

but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

More Than Victorious

How do you celebrate winning? How do you celebrate championships? Are they boisterous, joyous, and filled with people? How long do your celebrations last? Are they just a few moments, hours, or days long? Do you celebrate the victory you have in Jesus?

We live in a competitive culture. We want to win in sports, band competitions, board games, and our jobs. We want to win in life, which means different things to different people. We celebrate vicariously through the teams we are fans of. Our culture loves to celebrate.

As Christians, we are to celebrate, too. As the Apostle Paul tells us, we are more than victorious in Jesus Christ. It is not that we have done anything wondrous. It the victory of Jesus that we are victorious. We have a far greater reason to celebrate with Jesus than any team championship. Celebrating in Jesus is not vicarious but real. In fact, it is as real as real can get.

Paul tells us that nothing can pull us away from Jesus nor cause us to lose the victory we have in Him. To make his point, Paul lists death, life, angels, rulers, things of the present, things to come, powers, height, depth, and anything else. None of it can cause us to lose the victory we have in Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is the Lord or lords, King of kings, and the entire universe belongs to Him. We are to rest safely in the knowledge that we are more than victorious.

I pray we all celebrate the victory we have in Jesus. I pray we know nothing take away the victory. I pray each one of us understands that we are more than victorious because of Jesus. Celebrate the victory. Nothing can take away the victory. The victory is in Jesus.

Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

At A Loss

Have you ever felt at a total loss? A loss for words? A loss for direction? A feeling of helplessness? Have you felt like you can’t express the way you feel? Where do you turn when you have that feeling? Do you continue to drift? Is there someone you can talk to?

Feeling at a loss is no fun for any of us. Being discombobulated distracts us and keeps us from being able to focus on anything. Our jobs suffer. Our relationships suffer. Our spiritual lives can suffer, too. We need someone to turn to. Thankfully, we have someone, even if we don’t realize it.

Yes, many of you will understand that I am talking about God. But more specifically, I’m speaking about the Holy Spirit. Yes, we should pray. But when our minds are unfocused or we feel like we are in a fog, we may believe we cannot express ourselves well to God. We would be correct. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit, who lives inside us, knows exactly what is going on and speaks on our behalf. The Apostle Paul says the Holy Spirit using groaning too deep for words.

Because the Holy Spirit can and does speak on our behalf, we should pray. In that prayer, admit that you do not how to express what you are feeling. At the same time, know that God knows because the Holy Spirit is communicating it. Trust that when you are weak, in a fog, or at a loss for words, the Holy Spirit has no loss and perfectly explains what you are going through and what your needs are. During those times of feeling lost, in a fog, or helpless are the most important times to pray and focus on God.

I pray we all know where to turn when we fee at a loss. I pray we know the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. I pray each one of us prays, especially when we feel helpless or at a loss. Always turn to God. The Holy Spirit intercedes for you. Spend time in prayer. Trust that God knows.

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words.

Old and New

Do you cling to the old ways? Do you enjoy the new technologies? How are you combining the uses of both? Are the old ways your foundation while the new technologies excite you and ignite new possibilities? Do you lean more toward one or the other?

As we age, we often look back to the way things were with nostalgia. We may have been taught foundational principles as a child that we still use today. Yet, we observe the changes taking place all around us. There are more inventions happening faster now than there ever has.

Jesus does not dismiss the old when speaking of the new. He refers to both. He states that when a scribe, who was someone very knowledgeable in God’s law, became a disciple of His, they connected and brought forward both the new and the old. Jesus is speaking of revealing the connections between the two. The foundational understanding of God from his commands and teaching in the Old Testament and the revealing of their true meaning in Jesus’s teaching in the New Testament. The new does not invalidate the old.

Today, we are still learning. There are new archaeological discoveries about the first century. There is improved understanding of the meaning of the language of that time. We know more now about the lifestyles of the people. We can use today’s tools, such as computers, the internet, easy video creation to reach more people. Jesus is saying we are not to stay stuck in our old ways but embrace the new without stepping away from the foundation.

I pray we all hold onto the foundational teachings of God. I pray we continue to learn from new discoveries. I pray each one of us will use new ways of reaching others to spread the gospel of Jesus. Hold onto to foundational teachings. Continue to learn. Use new ways to spread the gospel.

Matthew 13:52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Casting the Net

How do you sort the good from the bad? Is it solely your decision? Do you abide by a moral authority? Do you believe in an opportunity for redemption? If so, how can the bad be redeemed? Do you regularly pass judgment? If so, why do you believe you are qualified to do so?

We decide, in our own minds, what is good and bad almost continuously. Our definitions of good and bad are based on many factors, including how it affects us, what we have been taught, and even based on our feelings. Basing it on God’s principles is not always done.

Jesus tells us in a parable that at the end of time God will send angels to separate the good from the bad. The determination of who is good or bad will be solely based on God’s judgment. Based on my studies and observations, we will all be surprised at who is judged good or bad. Our limited human insights keep us from seeing all that God sees. We don’t see the inner being. We don’t see every struggle someone else is experiencing. We don’t know every experience someone has experienced throughout their life.

God knows the abilities he has blessed each one of us with. He knows how we have used those abilities. He knows every intention, hateful thought, struggle with depression, the financial stresses, roadblock and hurdle we have faced. He also knows that the sacrifice of Jesus covers our sins. For those who have accepted Christ and continue to struggle, there is hope. That hope is Jesus. God knows we hold onto that hope and all of us need it.

I pray we all stop judging others based on our limited knowledge. I pray we know God sees our struggles. I pray each one of us continues to hold onto the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Stop judging others. God sees your struggles. Hold onto hope. Hold onto Jesus.

Matthew 13:47-48 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.”