Believe In Him

There are people in the world who see God as a looming figure that is just waiting for us to make a mistake so that he can lay the hammer down on us. But those of us who know him, know better. After all, he sent his son to die for us. Sure, he wants us to be holy like Jesus is holy, but his grace prevails in our weakness. And with his son Jesus, he makes it amazingly simple to be saved. Though it financially costs us nothing it ultimately costs us our very selves. But it is a transaction I’m more than willing to pay for the promise of eternal life. After referring to himself as the bread of life, Jesus later makes this statement in John 6:40: 

"For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

He continues in verse 44 by saying:

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day."

So you see, God isn’t a hard God looking to punish us at every turn. On the contrary, he draws unbelievers to the son. The bible tells us that all we have to do is believe. By believing, truly believing, we acknowledge what Jesus did for us on the cross and as we do, we give our lives to him. It is inevitable. We can’t truly believe without accepting him. If you haven’t accepted what Jesus did for us by dying for our sins, I pray that you do today. 

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To have eternal life in heaven, we must believe in Jesus. That is what the bible says. He later says that we have to take up our cross and follow him, which basically means that we need to deny ourselves or our own desires (be it sinful or selfish), and pattern our life after Christ as best we can. The only way to know what that looks like is to learn more about him through reading his word and talking to him in prayer. Fasting and fellowship with other believers sure helps as well. Bottom line is that we are all sinners bound for hell. Jesus is the only way to heaven, and the only way to get there is to believe in him.

Humility

There are several proverbs and bible stories that warn us about being prideful. The basic principle is that humility, not pride, is the virtue that God wants us to have. But don’t have to take my word for it, Jesus does a really good job of pointing this out in Matthew 23:11-12 which says:

"The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Earlier in this passage, Jesus warns the crowd not to be like the Pharisees who were the religious leaders of the day. He says that everything they do is done for men to see. What they say and what they do; even the honor they receive from men reflects an aura of pride. They want to see themselves exalted. But Jesus says that whoever humbles himself will be exalted and that the greatest among you will be your servant. Jesus himself demonstrated this when he washed the disciple’s feet at the last supper. I say all of that to encourage you to strive to be great in God’s sight, not man’s. Man’s greatness reflects pride, but greatness in God’s sight is being humble even to the point of serving others. If we call ourselves believers, we should humble ourselves and help those in need. Paul says that we should even think of others as better than ourselves.

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Jesus calls us to be servants here on earth. I encourage you to think about what being a servant might look like in your life. Who is hurting around you? Who needs help? Who can you show kindness to? It doesn’t have to be something big. It could be doing the dishes without being asked, or making friends with the uncool kid at school. I’m sure if you put your mind to it, or better yet, if you put your heart to it, God will show you what it could mean in your life to humble yourself and be a servant. After all, that’s what Jesus modeled for us here on earth. And he says that no servant is greater than his master. So, if our master – Jesus - served people, we should too.

False Heart

So many times in the bible we learn that the condition of our spiritual heart is so important. Our hearts guides what we do, what we say, and how we relate to our God. The bible tells us that God knows what is in our heart, and that our hearts are what is most important to God because it reveals who we truly are. Though we can fool people by having our actions contradict what is truly in our heart, we can never fool God. Proverbs chapter 15, verses 8 and 9 lays it out like this:

"The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer the upright pleases him. The Lord detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness."

Why does the Lord detest the sacrifice of the wicked? Because he knows that the action and the heart do not line up. Without an upright heart, the actions are false. The act of sacrifice, whether it be the sacrifice of animals in the old testament or the sacrifice of time or money today, only matters if done with the right heart. In those verses from proverbs, we learn that there is a direct correlation between how God feels about or actions as they pertain to our heart or our motives. Good acts from a wicked heart amount to nothing. But good acts from the upright pleases God. So I encourage you to concentrate on your heart. Allow the Holy Spirit conform your heart in a way that pleases our Lord.

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Our heart is the truest reflection of who we are. It is like looking in a mirror, revealing our true motives, desires, and intentions, even if we aren’t willing to admit them to ourselves. God looks at our heart to determine who we really are. And who we really are, is often someone we are not proud of. But when we admit the truth to ourselves, our spirit is open, and often times broken. We realize how far we are from the likeness of our Holy God. And it is at this place where God loves to find us; broken and contrite, realizing our need for him and that we are nothing without him. I encourage you to examine your heart and to do it often. We can’t have a false heart before God because we will always be exposed for who we truly are. But we also shouldn’t lie to ourselves. We need to examine our hearts to see how close we are to living an upright life that pleases him.

Don't Falter

It can be easy to follow Christ when things are going well - well, relatively easy. If our hearts are set on him, and our relationship with him is strong, then we feel blessed when everything seems to be falling into place as if God is showing us how pleased he is with us. During these times, I hope you stop to thank God and give him praise for the good times, for the peaceful times, and for the times of provision. But what happens when things don’t go as planned? What happens in times of trouble? Proverbs admonishes us if during these times we falter in our faith. In chapter 24 verse 10 it says:

"If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!"

We need to trust God in good and bad times. Whatever we’re facing, he is still the same God. He never changes. The bible tells us that it rains on the just and the unjust alike; meaning that good and bad things will happen to everyone, no matter how righteous you are. But when trouble comes, believers need to have faith. We need to have the strength to rely on God’s faithfulness. Paul tells us that when he is weak, God is strong. Let God be your strength in times of trouble. Let him be the stronghold that you run to. Having control over our situation is an illusion. God is, and always has been, the one in control. When trouble comes, I hope you have the strength to let go of the proverbial steering wheel and let him take over.

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How is your faith? Has it been tested in recent months? Proverbs says that, “If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!” Jesus admonishes people in the bible for their weak faith as well. I believe that strong faith impresses God. We know that without faith it is impossible to please him. But those in the bible whose faith had been tested and they remained strong, to them it was credited as righteousness. So I encourage you to be ready; to not falter in times of trouble; to have your faith impress God so much that it will be credited to you as righteousness.

Hold Fast

When I read the words in Deuteronomy, it seems like a million years since they were written. But in actuality, it was only a few thousand. It seems alien because the way we live today is very different than the way they lived back then. But like us, they were human. And being human carries with it the same temptations, frailties, and needs that are common to man. In chapter 13, Moses warns the Israelites to stay focused on their devotion to God. In his time, there were prophets and seers who would reveal what would happen in the future. Some were from God and others were not. For those who were not, it was feared that they might lead the Hebrews away to other gods. But in verse 4 Moses says: 

"It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him."

Earlier, Moses says that God might allow false prophets to enter their midst in order to test them. To past the test, their eyes needed to be focused on God. In much the same way we need to have our eyes focused on God. We may not be tempted to worship other gods, but there are other temptations that could lead us away from him just as easily. But our first love, our first focus, needs to be on him. Moses says that we must follow and revere God; that we need to keep his commands and obey him; that we must serve him and hold fast to him. I encourage you to pursue these goals as well.

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Matthew warns us not to allow the seeds of God’s word to fall on thorny ground or life may choke it out. Is your life choking out your devotion to God? Moses warns us that it is the Lord our God that we must follow; that it is to him we must hold fast. It is kind of like a sailor strapping himself to the mast of his ship when a storm hits. That mast holds him fast. He is not thrown overboard. For us, God is our mast. We need to hold fast to him. We need to cling to him. We need to understand that he should be our primary focus. Matthew 6:33 tells us that if we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness then he will take care of everything else. I encourage you to do that today. I encourage you to hold fast to God.