Do You Believe?

Do you believe? That can be a difficult question to answer. We may first reply, “Believe in what?” But the question is not about a what but a Who. Do you believe in Jesus? Again, not a simple question to answer. There are many nuances to that question.

Do we believe Jesus is the resurrection? Jesus says He is. We may believe He was resurrected. But do we believe we will be resurrected by Him? If we do, and we believe we will spend eternity with Him, our lives should reflect that.

How should our lives reflect that? We live without fear, anxiety, and worry. We do not worry about our lives, rather we live for Him and the eternal life we will spend with Him. In fact, though we may not want to go immediately, we look forward to that eternal life. Knowing we are going somewhere better should eliminate our fear of death and what anyone can do to us in this life.

Jesus also states He is the life. If He is the life and we are in Him, then we never die. He tells us that. But do we believe it? Again, if we do, our lives change. If we believe no one can take us out of His hands, our lives change. Rather than living for this world, we live for His kingdom, and everlasting, forever and ever kingdom.

Jesus asks if we believe and asks us to believe. Not for his sake. For our sake. He knows what is best for us. He knows the best thing is for us to believe and to be changed. May each of us decide to believe Him and believe in Him so that we are changed by Him.

I pray we all believe Jesus is the resurrection. I pray we believe that Jesus is the life. I pray each one of us will have our lives changed because we believe Jesus and we believe in Jesus. Believe Jesus is the resurrection. Believe Jesus is the life. Be changed. Believe Jesus. Believe in Jesus.

John 11:25-26:  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Facing the Difficult

How often do you do what you know you need to do, even when you are facing opposition? Are you willing to face ridicule or ostracization for doing what is right? Would you be willing to face the possibility of death for your faith? Do you willingly tell others about your faith?

Doing what is right can be difficult. We may face ridicule or ostracization for it. When speaking up for someone others dislike because it is the right thing to do, can get us pushed aside. Telling others about our faith can do the same thing. Our friends may not want to be around us.

Jesus had to face a challenge so that He could do the right thing, which was to obey God’s will. He must head back to Judea, where they had on multiple occasions sought to kill Him. His disciples know it. They warn Him against it. Yet, Jesus knows He must go. In the case of today’s passage, He was heading to some friend’s house. He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He was going to show the glory of God.

We may not face death to speak about our faith. But there are times when speaking about our faith or doing the right thing can put us in a tough spot. Our conscience tells us to do the right thing. Our logical thinking tells us to wait a minute, think about it, it might be a good choice for us personally. We waiver. We’re caught in the middle. It requires us to listen for God’s guidance and trust in him, just as Jesus did.

I pray we all do the right thing. I pray we seek out and listen to God’s guidance. I pray each one of us will choose to trust God and speak about our faith, even when it isn’t comfortable to do so. Do the right thing. Trust God. Seek his guidance. Speak out about your faith.

John 11:7-8 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?”

The Spirit in You

Many of us are not very familiar with the Holy Spirit. In fact, some of us know so little, we don’t want to talk about the Spirit for fear that we will show our ignorance. Unfortunately, our fear doesn’t motivate us to read and study to become more familiar with the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is not talked about much in the Old Testament. However, there are many passages in the New Testament about the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit living within us who interacts with our spirit. And since the Spirit lives within us, shouldn’t know who he is?

The Apostle Paul tells us that because the Spirit lives within us and it is the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus on the third day, he will give us life. This means that he gives us life in our current physical world and will raise us again for eternity. Is this not amazing? Certainly, something to think about. Something we should spend some time pondering.

Another amazing bit of truth is that the same Spirit that alighted on Jesus when He was baptized is living within us. The same Spirit was with Jesus throughout His ministry. In the same way, the same Spirit is with us every moment of every day. So, we can look only to the future, to eternity, or we can live by the Spirit of God today. It is our choice to lean on him or to continue to try to do on our own.

I pray we all know the Holy Spirit alighted on Jesus. I pray we know the same Spirit lives within us. I pray each one of us knows it is the Spirit who gives us life and is with us every moment of every day. Know the Holy Spirit. Know that he lives within you. Know the Spirit gives you life.

Romans 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Life and Peace

What is your mind set on? What topic occupies your mind more than anything else? Is it your financial situation? Is it your job? Is it the worldly events you see on the evening news? Is your mind filled with drama? Or do you focus on your relationship to God and his will for you?

Most of us focus on what is in front of us at the moment. While on the job, the tasks we perform are our focus. When at home, we focus on our families and things that need done around the house. Focusing on these things at these times are normal.

But the why behind them is the point of today’s passage. If our motivation for focusing on our job is to gain a promotion, our minds are set on fleshly things. If we are focused on remodeling or improving our homes to make them look better than our neighbor’s, we are focused on fleshly things. If our focus on our family is merely to make our children better than someone else’s so we can brag on them, we are focused fleshly things.

On the other hand, if we are set on doing the best job we can because we are working for God, our minds are set on the Spirit. If we are beautifying our home to improve God’s creation, our minds are set on the Spirit. If we are focused on raising our children to obey God and to do everything for him, we are focused on the Spirit. And having our minds set on the Spirit is life and will result in peace.

Our world is full of drama, disquiet, disfunction, ungratefulness, rivalries, and sometimes utter chaos. We can only find peace by setting our minds on God. Peace will come to us when we live according to the Spirit. Therefore, we are to set our minds on the Spirit of God rather than on the things of this world.

I pray we all change our focus for our daily lives. I pray we decide to make God’s will our focus. I pray each one of us live in the Spirit, setting our minds on the Spirit and let God be our motivation. Change your focus. Change your motivation. Set your mind on the Spirit. Obtain life and peace.

Romans 8:6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Wait for God

Do you want to be heard? Do you think you have a message worth hearing? Are you seeking someone to listen to you? Are you waiting for answers? Are you asking the right questions? Are you pleading to the right person? Where is your hope? Is your hope in the Lord?

Some of us feel as though we are never heard. We believe we have a message others need to hear. Perhaps we are speaking our message and feel like people are not listening. We provide guidance to them, and they do not heed it. It becomes frustrating.

We may be waiting for answers to questions we have. Perhaps we are seeking guidance and finding no answers. We may be asking the wrong person. We may be asking God, who is the right person. We may need to wait for God to answer. We may be impatient. God may be teaching us patience. Or it may not be the right time according to God’s plan.

Waiting challenges us. It can be frustrating. We may begin to lose hope. That is when we need to hold onto our faith with a tighter grip and wait, rather than making a rash decision. God will provide the answer we need. We must never give up hope. Our hope includes trusting in God. It is often in our waiting that we grow. As we wait, we are to continue to cry out to God. Not like a spoiled child but as a person of faith who continues to trust God and waits for his answer.

I pray we all trust God to provide the answers we need. I pray we hold onto our faith during times of waiting. I pray each one of us spend time in prayer, asking God for his guidance. Trust God will provide. Hold onto your faith. Spend time in prayer. Continue to wait for God’s answer.

Psalm 130:5-6

I wait for the Lord; my soul waits, 

and in his word I hope; 

my soul waits for the Lord 

more than those who watch for the morning, 

more than those who watch for the morning.

Strong Foundation

How much do you trust God? Do you trust him to keep his promises? Do you trust that he is in control? Do you trust that he never forgets you? Do you trust he is always with you? Do you lean on him for strength and courage? Do you trust him to provide for you?

Trusting God can be easy to say. It can be harder to do when the chips are down, when life becomes difficult. We may think and say, “You either trust God or you don’t.” But it isn’t that cut and dry when you get slammed to the deck or take a sucker punch to the gut.

It is in those hard times, those painful times that we need to hold onto our faith even more. During those times, we need to remind ourselves that God has given us his Spirit and will guide us through it. It will continue to be difficult, but it will not be insurmountable. God will strengthen us and he will act when the time is right according to his plan.

How can we better prepare ourselves for those difficult times? We can prepare by getting to know God better during the good times, the easier times. We can do that by reading God’s Word, spending time in prayer, and reflecting on how God has worked in our lives in the past. By building our faith before the difficulties arise, we build a strong foundation to stand on when the storm arrives.

I pray we all strive to build our faith in the good times. I pray our faith is a strong foundation for us to stand on. I pray each one of us trust God is with us during difficult and challenging times. Read God’s Word. Spend time in prayer. Strengthen your faith. Build a strong foundation. Trust God is always with you.

Ezekiel 37:14 “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

Cling Tightly

What season of life are you in? Are you in a season of joy, happiness, and things going well? Are you in a season of sadness, pain, and hurt? Are you going through dry time, a time when your faith is running low, a time of feeling lost and alone? Are you asking God to intervene?

We go through different seasons in life. Those seasons can last for a few days or a few months. We can quickly find ourselves stepping out of one season and into a different one. Our personal seasons can change as quickly as the weather. But that doesn’t mean God abandons us.

The prophet Ezekiel learned this lesson. God had been and always would be with his people. He had not forgotten them. To make his point, he led the prophet to a valley full of dry bones. The prophet could see there was no life in the valley. Yet it was not beyond God’s ability to bring life to it. Though the people of Israel may have thought God had abandoned him, he had not.

When we go through dry seasons, we may think God has abandoned us. God never abandons us, even if he does not always put us in situations full of unicorns and rainbows. There are lessons we can learn as we find our way through difficult situations, not the least of which is learning to trust God. It is often in a dry season that we learn to cling tighter to God than we have before. It is also when we see God act on our behalf and pull us through them.

I pray we all know that God does not abandon us. I pray we trust that God is always with us. I pray each one of us cling tighter to God during dry season and see his act on our behalf. Know that God will not abandon you. Trust God is always with you. Cling to God. See God pull you through.

Ezekiel 37:1-2 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.

Seeing and Sinful

How much value do you place on your sight? Do you consider it to be one of the top abilities you have? How well do you use your sight? Do you notice things or have you become blind to the common? How is your spiritual sight? Do you see inside yourself?

We all likely believe sight is very important. Seeing allows us to read, recognize, navigate, and appreciate. Yet, seeing alone is not comprehensive. We must also be attentive to our surroundings. Otherwise, we can drive right past our destination.

The same is true of our spiritual sight. We may say we are looking to Jesus, but in doing so, we may miss our own shortcomings. We must take notice of where we are in our journey, what we are doing to progress. We also must recognize our sinful nature and seek to eliminate the sins we know we commit.

Jesus tells the Pharisees that because they claim to see, their sin remains. The same can be said of us. If we claim to see, yet we do not notice our own sin, it remains. On the other hand, if we recognize we have blind spots, confess them, and ask God to reveal them to us, we can also ask for those sins to be forgiven. Lest we become haughty, we must all admit we have blind spots.

Having blind spots does not mean we are not saved. It does mean we still have progress to make to get where God wants us to go. We may quickly admit we are not perfect, but we often don’t want to admit we have blind spots. Let’s take the first step and admit they are there. Then ask God to forgive you and reveal them.

I pray we all know we are not perfect. I pray we admit we have blind spots. I pray each one of us will ask for God’s forgiveness and seek to eliminate our blind spots. Know you are not perfect. Admit your blind spots. Ask God for forgiveness. Eliminate your blind spots.

John 9:41: Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

Know the Savior

Do you know the Savior? Do you know who He is? Or do you just know about Him? Have you only heard of Him? Or have you gotten to know Him? Do you wonder what the difference is? Are you willing to pursue Him? Will you decide to truly know who He is? Will you allow Him to  change you?

Many people have an answer when asked who God is. Unfortunately, their answers can vary greatly. Their answers may vary even more when asked who Jesus is. Why? Far too many have not gotten to know Him. They may have heard some of the stories but don’t really know Him.

Jesus had given a man sight who had been born blind. The man had been questioned thoroughly about who gave him sight. He didn’t know who Jesus was, though he knew Jesus’ name. When Jesus encountered him later, He asked him if he believed in the Son of Man. The man asked who He was. When Jesus revealed that He was the Son of Man, the man worshiped Him.

When we get to know who Jesus really is, we will also worship Him. We must go beyond just hearing stories by asking what the story tells us. We must read and understand Jesus’ teachings. We must wrap our brains around Jesus’ claim, and our claim, that He is the Son of Man, the Son of God. For just as the Jewish leaders equated that as being the same as being God, we must also make that equation. Jesus revealed God to us in human form. At what point will we truly believe Him and truly get to know Him? When we do, we will fall down and worship Him.

I pray we all seek to get to know Jesus. I pray we understand that He is the Son of God. I pray each one of us will truly believe Jesus and get to know Him, then fall to our knees to worship Him. Get to know Jesus. Know that Jesus is the Son of God. Believe Jesus. Worship Jesus.

John 9:35-36 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.”

Expose the Darkness

How much of what you do has no purpose? How much of it is for good? How much of it is nefarious? Have you spent time to think about what you are doing and how it impacts those around you? Or do you muddle through your day one task at a time without thinking?

Most of us want to think we are working for a reason. Some of us purposely work at jobs to help others. However, even in jobs in which we can help others, we can go through the day without being purposeful. We may simply follow a routine.

We can fall into a routine, a trap of merely existing without realizing it. We can lose focus. We can be lured down a path we had not intended to go down. The slippery slope may start with not turning in a friend for doing something wrong and continue as we slide into deeper and darker works. Our will to resist weakens the further we slide. Not only are these works unfruitful but many of them are very hurtful and dangerous.

Rather than taking part in those works, we are to expose them. We are to see them as God sees them, which can be challenging, for we typically see things as we want to see them. Seeing as God sees requires us to set aside our perspective. It requires us to remove ourselves from the equation. It requires us to spend significant time in prayer. It requires us to spent significant time studying and understanding God’s Word. All of these will ultimately feed into seeing as God sees. Only when we see as God sees can we truly expose the darkness in this world.

I pray we all avoid the trap of routine. I pray we stop our downward slide of participating in unfruitful works. I pray each one of us seeks to open our eyes and see as God sees so we can expose the darkness. Stop your downward slide. See as God sees. Expose the darkness.

Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them.