God is a G

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord ." ~ Joshua 24:15 NIV

God is such a G (as in gentleman), in that while He knows what's best for us and can see the mistakes we make coming from a mile away, He never forces us to do anything and always gives us a choice.

Can you imagine the amount of complaining we'd do if we were forced to obey Him? We'd be talking about how unfair it is and how harsh God is.

But He loves us so much that He's willing to give us guidance, help, and direction, but never forces us to choose His way.

That doesn't mean we won't have to suffer the consequences of our poor decisions. But it does mean we have a God who is big enough to love us in spite of ourselves.

So glad we have a God who is like Himself and not like us.

God bless,

J.W.

Peace vs. Fear

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." ~ John 14:27

There's a difference between feeling the emotion of fear and letting it live in our hearts. Feelings can be fleeting. They change based on circumstances. But our hearts are the very core of our being.

God promises to give us peace, even in the midst of having feelings of fear. We can rest in the fact that we know the one who knows the end. But only if we don't allow fear to grip our hearts. 

Is your heart gripped with peace or fear today?

God bless,

J.W.

Casting Out Fear

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." ~ 1 John 4:18 NKJV

Culture will teach you that it is courage that casts out fear. That we should just push past our fear and do it afraid.

But this scripture tells us that the true antidote to fear is love. That if we love through our feelings of fear, love will always prevail.

What are you using to cast out fear today?

God bless,

J.W.

Love + Obedience

"Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.'" ~ John 14:23

Love isn't love if it isn't accompanied by submission. There's a lot of people who claim to love God. My question is, but are they submitted though? Are they obedient?

That is the difference between a saved life and a changed life. It's the difference between our current world and a completely transformed world.

What type of world do you want to live in? What type of life do you want to have?

Here's the secret formula: love + obedience.

God bless,

J.W.

It Is Really Quite Simple

"Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." ~ Romans 13:10

Often, we make things so complicated. But the Gospel is simple. Love God and love others. If we'd just follow these simple commands, how much better our families, communities, cities, country, and world would be. 

God bless,

J.W. 

Never Forsaken

 

"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you." ~ Isaiah 54:10

No matter what we may think or what it feels like, God will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5). 

Why? He promised it multiple times in His word. And as Numbers 23:19 says, "does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?"

If he said it, we can take it to the bank. He'll never leave us. 

Have a great day fam. 

- J.W.

Faith isn't Abstract

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." ~ Hebrews 11:1

See also 1 Corinthians 13:4-13. 

Many of us believe that things like faith and love are ephemeral, abstract concepts. But these scriptures show the opposite. In fact, faith and love are tangible things. And as tangible things, they must be demonstrated or shown, not just said. Otherwise, it's not really faith; it's not really love.

Have your faith and love been demonstrated lately?

God bless,

J.W.

God's Love Letter

 

The Bible is God's love letter to His people. It tells us who we are, who's we are, and the promises he's made and ultimately will keep. The question is, are we reading it? And how would you feel if you wrote a love letter to someone and they just didn't bother to read it?

Dig into your love letter today fam. 

God bless,

J.W.

#Bible #ScriptureOfTheDay #dailydevotional #bibleapp #BibleGateway

Strength of Faith

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." ~ James 1:2-4

In the words of Dr. Dharius Daniels, faith is not just how hard you believe. Faith is about how long you believe. According to James 1:2-4, God tests our faith through time. Thus, faith is based not only on the "bigness" of our prayers. It is also based on the consistency of our prayers.

In other words, many of us get frustrated because we feel that God hasn't answered our prayer. But if we were to go back and examine our faith, we'd see that we haven't really prayed or believed that long. We've got big prayers but we haven't erected a structure that will sustain those prayers over time.

That's why Deuteronomy 6:5 tells us to love God with all of our heart, soul, and strength. The strength of our love of and faith in God is measured by our patience.

It's not just about how hard we believe. It's about how long we believe. Our faith is perfected, i.e. made perfect, through time.

God bless,
J.W.

Actions > Words

"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." ~ 1 John 4:20-21

So many times we fall for the okie doke and trust people based off of what they say. 

But I'm here to tell you that a person's actions reveal much more than their words can.

It's a biblical principle that John tries to teach us in 1 John 4.

How can we say we're a Christian and that we love Jesus if we're not showing love to our fellow man?

How can we claim to represent Him and we're not doing what he commanded us (John 14:23)?

Actions over words. All day, every day.

God bless,
J.W.

Stumbling Blocks (Part 3)

On Monday, we looked at examples of close relationships (e.g. husband-wife, mother-son, mentor-mentee, etc.) that ultimately resulted in one party leading the other astray. Today, let's delve further into one of those relationships.

Take Jesus' relationship with Peter.

Peter was Jesus’ right-hand man (Matthew 16:15-19). He was a strong, devoted, loyal friend to Jesus. But Peter was also flawed. Just a few short verses after praising Peter, Jesus rebukes him (Matthew 16:23).

At first glance, it might seem as if Jesus was being harsh. Peter simply loved Jesus, so much so that he didn’t want to see Jesus suffer. But Peter’s wrong perceptions skewed his understanding of Jesus’ purpose, and ultimately opened the door for Peter to be used by the enemy to create a potential stumbling block for Jesus.

In Matthew 16:23, Jesus tells Peter, “you do not have the concerns of God in mind, but merely human concerns.” And therein lies the rub. The fact is, we’re all human. We all make mistakes. We all have flawed understandings and perspectives. We also get caught up in "merely human concerns," just like Peter. And this is the reason why we can’t rely on our friends or relatives to give us sound advice. We're all susceptible to "Matthew 16:23" type moments.

So, remember, just because someone is close to you, doesn’t mean they know what’s best for you. And just because someone wants what’s best for you, doesn’t mean they know what’s best for you. God’s perspective is always right. Seek His perspective before you seek anyone else’s.

God bless,
J.W.

Who Is My Brother?

Republished from February 23, 2009

In 3 of the 4 Gospels of the Bible, the story of Jesus valuing His spiritual family over His biological one is depicted:

"While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, ‘Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.’ But He answered and said to the one who told Him, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.’” ~ Matthew 12:46-50

Clearly, this was an important message that God wanted to convey to us, His people.

No matter how close our blood bonds are, they are nothing compared with the bond we should have with God.

At the end of the day, there’s nobody who will love you better or stronger.

God bless,
J.W.

Love, Faith, and Fear (Part 7) (Finale)

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13

Let's end the debate! God favors love over faith.

1 Corinthians 13:13 instructs us to live in faith, hope, and love. Yet, it specifically says that the greatest of these three is love.

Love is the epitome of who God is. And it's what He's most interested in developing in us.

May you increase in faith and hope.

But most of all, may you increase in love.

God bless,
J.W.

Love, Faith, and Fear (Part 6)

"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory..." ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18

Yesterday, we identified those areas that one needs to address in order to increase in love.

Identifying those areas is the easy part. The hard part is actually doing it.

But like anything, taking the first step is the key.

God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but he does want us to be better.

Take the first step today.

God bless,
J.W.

Love, Faith, and Fear (Part 5)

Now that we've (hopefully) established that increasing in love is more important than increasing in faith, the question is, how does one increase in love?

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 gives us the blueprint (see above).

Increasing in love requires us to increase in all these areas.

Stay tuned for more.

God bless,
J.W.

Love, Faith, and Fear (Part 4)

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." ~ 1 John 4:11-12

One reason that God is concerned about us increasing in love is because our demonstrated love is one way He is made manifest to others.

As 1 John 4:11-12 indicates, people can't see God. But when we show love, others get a glimpse of Him.

The more people see God, the more they'll have faith in Him. 

It all comes full circle.

Love > Faith.

God bless,
J.W.

Faith, Fear, and Love (Part 3)

"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" ~ Galatians 5:14

Still unconvinced that increasing in love is more important than increasing in faith?

Galatians 5:14 says it all. 

The scriptures are ultimately fulfilled, not by having more faith; not by saying more prayers; and not by following the law to a T.

No, the scriptures are fulfilled by us showing more love. 

That's the thrust of the Scriptures - to move us to increase in love! 

God knows that when we increase in love, we will automatically increase in faith. 

Stay tuned. 

God bless,
J.W. 

Faith, Fear, and Love (Part 2)

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." ~ 2 Timothy 1:7

Need more proof that the way to more faith and less fear is through love?

See 2 Timothy 1 above.

Notice: God did not give us a spirit of FAITH instead of fear, but a spirit of love.

Why is that?

Because He knows that while faith is the ultimate goal, LOVE is the pathway that will lead us there.

The question is, are we willing to grow in love in order to grow in our faith?

More to come in the days ahead.

God bless,

J.W.

Faith, Fear, and Love (Part 1)

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." ~ 1 John 4:18

How can you increase your faith?

By increasing in love.

Why does increasing in love increase your faith?

Because according to 1 John 4:18, love casts out fear, which is the opposite of faith.

So, increasing your faith involves increasing your love.

In the days to come, we'll continue to explore the relationship between love, faith, and fear.

God bless,
J.W.

#PassionWeek - #Thursday - "I'm Searching for a Real Love"

Today, 2014 years ago, Jesus washed his disciples feet in an expression of love. Afterwards, He told them, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15).

Unfortunately, however, our generation has distorted and perverted what it means to love someone.

We talk about it like it’s some fleeting emotion that we fall in and out of.

But truth be told, love is not an emotion.

It’s a series of behaviors by which we provide a service to others.

For instance, God didn’t love us simply by verbally or internally expressing his feelings towards us. Rather, John 3:16 says He loved us by giving his His Son’s life for us. God performed an act of service for us, which John 15:13 explains is the ultimate expression of love.

My question: when you say you love someone, are you saying you just have positive feelings towards them? Because that’s not real love. Real love is action. It’s not about what you say or feel, it’s about what you do. #PassionWeek #Thursday #EasterIsComing

God bless,
J.W.