Life Is Simple

"His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do it.'" ~ John 2:5

Humans are complicated beings. And as a result, we tend to complicate everything, often leading to confusion, stress, frustration, and ultimately stagnation.

But as complicated as we tend to make things, life really comes down to John 2:5: "whatever He says to you, do it."

That's why the Bible tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). God wants to know that He can speak and trust you to follow through.

It's also why the Bible tells us not to lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). He knows that sometimes you will have to disobey your own logic to walk in obedience with Him (Isaiah 55:8-9).

In all, life really is this simple: "do whatever He tells you."

God bless,
J.W.

Ball is Life

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share a message I originally wrote for my wife's blog "Through The Eyes." You can check it the rest of her posts here. I promise you won't be disappointed.

To check out my message for today, see below.

God bless,
J.W.


Yesterday, Jeremiah was in the middle of our living room attempting to dribble his soccer ball to no avail. The ball wouldn't bounce for 2 reasons: 1) he wasn't in the right environment (outside on concrete) and 2) he wasn't using the right kind of ball (a basketball) that would allow him to bounce it. Noticing his struggles,  I said "Buds, why don't you get your BASKETBALL and try to dribble that instead?"

Undeterred, thinking he had all the answers, Jeremiah looked at me but kept trying to dribble the soccer ball. My response: "Or continue to do what you're doing and struggle."

How many times has this happened with our life? God notices that we are struggling because we're either in the wrong environment or we're using our life for the wrong purpose. So He gives us direction that will help us live our lives more effectively. But because of our pride and stubbornness, we continue to struggle because we're determined to do things our way.

Here's the deal: purpose is defined as the reason for the creation or existence of a thing. When people create products, they also create manuals and instructions that indicate the product's function. Only the creator of the product can tell you how the product is supposed to function.

Same with us. We all have purpose - the reason we were created (Jeremiah 29:11). But the only person that can tell us how to function correctly is our creator. The only way we can know we're in the right environment or using our life for the right purpose is to listen to the instructions of our creator.

If you feel like you've been struggling to bounce the ball of life, maybe it's because you're trying to do things your own way and aren't listening to the One who knows how your life is supposed to function.

If that's you, I challenge you to stop what you're doing and listen to your Father (Proverbs 3:5-6). You just might find that your struggle/burden becomes lighter (Matthew 11:30).

God bless,
J.W.

Speak Life

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." ~ Proverbs 18:21

Words can kill. But words can also bring healing.

My question is, if we were to take account of all the words you say to both yourself and other people, which type of words would outweigh the other?

Would we see that your words mostly speak life (Proverbs 10:11)? Or would you words mostly speak death and destruction for yourself and others?

God commands us to build people up through our words and to speak grace (Ephesians 4:29).

So what words are you speaking today?

God bless,
J.W.