I’m very grateful for the day the Lord showed me the difference between the gifts He freely gives and the rewards I have to earn by acting in obedience to His commands.
Knowing the difference was a real game changer in my walk with Him. Ignorance of this truth had brought me a tremendous amount of confusion. Understanding the reward process helps us understand why Jesus told us to teach His commands as we make disciples.
I will never be able to do anything to earn the gifts He gives but the rewards follow clearly defined cause and effect methods. The common denominator God requires for receiving a gift and earning a reward is faith.
My prayer is that He will help me develop a greater desire for His word so that my faith will progressively get stronger and stronger.
Growing up, I was frozen by fear in many areas of my life. It was a debilitating fear that kept me from activities, closeness with others, and new opportunities. But God…He showed me His love and gave me a new way to live. Though it wasn’t always an immediate change, God began to equip me with His Word to hold onto amidst fear. He gave me His presence as a calm anchor in distress. He gave me freedom and friendship with others and in Him. There were many times that I asked myself or felt God asking me, “Why are you so afraid?” While I didn’t have the tools to answer that yet, following Jesus was an unexpected respite of calm in my life.
As Jesus is in the boat with the disciples in the middle of a storm, it probably would have made more sense to me to calm the waves first and talk later. However, Jesus stops and asks them that piercing question before He does anything else. Jesus knew that He could and would stop the life-threatening storm. He knew their fear and lack of faith before He changed their circumstance. Therefore, He also knew what was underneath their fear during this particular storm — a shaky and insecure faith. Only God knows exactly what was going on in the disciples’ hearts, but I know that I can relate to their response.
No matter what we’re going through, God knows it. He doesn’t just know what it is, but He knows it intimately and He knows how we’re carrying it in our hearts. He also has the authority and ability to conquer it, to move the mountain, part the seas, and make a way for us. One thing I know for sure: God is always on time. He does not withhold. His actions have a purpose. He is for us. If all that is true, why are we so afraid?
Jesus always tells the truth. Even (especially) when it goes against our idea of following Him. Here we see Jesus bluntly reply to what it would be like for the teacher of the law to begin following Him. If Jesus’ aim had only been to try to gain supporters and have power in numbers, His response was not a great strategy. Instead, He knew what following Him would cost and that few would be able or willing to do so.
Counting the cost for something ahead of time is usually not the best part of the process. Taking the trip, starting the job, or taking some time to rest is more fun that budgeting, pre-planning, or working ahead. However, time and time again we see Jesus give a prerequisite to those who would follow Him. Count the cost. Consider what you’ll lose. Build a foundation that will last. Die to your old life.
When we don’t follow Jesus’ instruction, it’s easy to burn out, be distracted, or dragged away by the pace of life, daily concerns, and striving that take over.
Consider your life, what cost is God asking you to lay down for the sake of following Him? Are you having to pay a cost in ways that take you away from following Jesus?
The centurion understood authority. He also knew how to apply that understanding to his faith in Jesus. He understood that what Jesus could do wasn’t bound by external circumstances — sickness, physical distance, or earthly power structures. Instead, he placed his faith in WHO Jesus is and depended on that to be enough for what Jesus could do.
When you look around at your life, do you recognize Jesus’ authority over all of it? When something unexpected comes up, do we remember that Jesus always saw it coming? When disaapointment and despair take hold, do we hold onto the fact that nothing could ever separate us from His love? When joy and satisfaction fill us up, do we thank Jesus for His provision or do we recognize external sources instead?
I know I’m guilty of buckling in my faith in so many areas, yet I still hold the tension between all that God can do (and is willing to do) and the faith He is perfecting in me today. You, God, are over all and through all and in all. Help us (me) in our unbelief.
Today’s verses display a similar theme as yesterday’s — both showing unlikely (and culturally unacceptable) people who had literally followed Jesus in order to humbly ask Him for help.
It only takes me considering that to feel convicted by my reactive hesitation to run straight to God with needs that arise in my life. If I’m completely honest, I don’t think I like to even admit that I have needs to begin with. Much less admit them to God — and then to others? My gut reaction says: yeah, I’m not doing that.
But God… In His sovereignty and wisdom, He made us needy creatures, not capable of being truly self-sufficient but needing help from others and, ultimately, from Him. What does that look like for today? For me, that means lowering the threshold of what it means for me to be in need. It means re-ordering the steps I take when needs arise and, while still taking personal responsibility, not exhausting every other option I can before asking for help. It also means keeping my eyes open to others’ needs and asking God for opportunities to step in and meet needs that are not about me.
I wonder if there are things I am missing out on because I did not seek God first for help. I wonder if there are areas where we’ve all become easily satisfied with earthly solutions when God has a supernatural answer or provision in mind.
God, help us see and trust Your mysterious ways. Help us see the necessity of trusting Your authority over all things instead of seeking our own answers or earthly solutions. Stop us in our tracks when we aren’t seeking You. We choose to trust You today.
Yesterday, Shawn spoke about the significance of touch for human beings. I’m always blown away by the intricacies of God’s design, and I love it when science and secular studies prove the very thing God’s been showing us from the start.
Since the beginning, God has shown Himself to be a personal God, desiring to connect and be present with His people and show us the way to life and restoration (His way). The path Jesus took to come to Earth to be with us shows the exact same thing. On top of it all, this instance of Jesus’ closeness to those considered (literally) untouchable stands out as a shining example of just how set apart Jesus’ ways and Kingdom are from our earthly ways.
How did the man feel as Jesus reached out for him? Did he recoil in surprise? Did he feel exposed and shameful about his condition? Did he doubt that Jesus would bring him healing instead of condemnation? I’d like to know every detail of their interaction, but what we do know is that the man with leprosy was willing to lay it all down before Jesus and have faith that if Jesus wanted to, He could do the impossible. Did Jesus need to touch the man in order to heal him? Other stories in the Bible, including the one of the centurion, show us that He didn’t. And yet Jesus chose to.
There are several ways I can see Jesus doing the same for me. Even though He doesn’t have to show up personally through prayer, He has chosen many times to do so. Even though He could heal and give me clarity immediately, He has chosen to have me wait on Him. Even though He knows my needs before I even ask Him, He has often chosen to let me wrestle and put words to the trials before me.
No matter what we’re each going through, we can know one thing for sure — in Jesus’ own words: [He] is willing! Willing to step in, willing to be present, willing to give us the supernatural touch that we desperately desire.
Help us respond to You, Jesus, with as much willingness and surrender as the man with leprosy. We need Your personal touch, and we rely on You today.
God is all Good, all powerful, and the source of all truth. This week, we’ve discussed hungering and thirsting for him like we hunger and thirst for food. This means consuming his word daily, praying, and listening to him, therefore getting to experience him in our lives. The result? We will bear the fruits of the spirit, testify of his provision, and trust him fully. There will be times that we don’t think we feel his presence; we may get distracted by the things of this world or feel shaky by our ever-changing circumstances. But God’s truth remains, and we can know that he is always there and never changes. His love endures forever, and he fulfills every promise. If you choose to live your life based on the uncircumstantial truth of Christ, nothing can come against you and win. He has conquered death itself and we are invited into that Victory!
This is a bold and challenging Scripture. As I wrestled with it this week, I had to confront my own unbelief. I have never been without food, water, clothes, or anything else I need to sustain my physical well-being. I live in a privileged society, so it’s easy for me to declare this Scripture true, but also easy to explain it circumstantially. However, thinking about reading this Scripture to someone living in poverty where people are truly without left me feeling unqualified to write about it. I spoke to a friend who spent much of his life in a country where he and his brothers and sisters in Christ had to rely on God to meet many of their needs. He testified to me of ways the Lord would provide for them time and time again when circumstances seemed hopeless. He said God doesn’t always give you what you want, but when you trust in him as your Lord and Savior, he will always give you what you need. He brought the following Scripture up for me to read and said this is a promise they would often lean on and see fulfilled:
“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints.” Psalm 37:25-28 ESV.
Though I have not faced the same challenges as my friend, I cannot deny God’s abundant blessings. James 1:17 says that all good things come from him; therefore, we can trust our lives to God because He is sovereign and good, and He is “God our provider,” Jehovah Jireh!
