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.

The Helper

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." ~ Romans 8:26

In the beginning, God gave Adam a helper in the form of Eve. But when Jesus came, we all gained a helper in the form of the Holy Spirit.

You are not alone in this world. If you are a believer, God has implanted Himself in you through His Holy Spirit. Help is available. His whole purpose is to help lead and guide you even when you don't know how to lead and guide yourself. 

The question is, are you tapping into this power? In Proverbs 3:5, God promises to direct our path. But there is a caveat. That is, we have to trust and acknowledge Him. In other words, we have to let Him lead.

Are you letting the Holy Spirit lead your life today? If not, you probably aren't really living your best life.

God bless,

J.W. 

Sheep of His Pasture

"Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." ~ Psalm 100:3

Many times throughout scripture, we are described as sheep and God is our shepherd. 

But often times, we want to claim to be God's people without actually letting him be our shepherd. 

The only way to truly walk in God's protection is through one word we often don't like to hear - submission.

A sheep submits his life and his will to his shepherd. Are we doing the same with Jesus?

God bless,

J.W.

Where To Place Your Trust

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" ~ Jeremiah 17:9

The Bible tells us to trust in the Lord with all of our heart and lean not to our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Why? Because of this scripture.

If we put trust in ourselves, we will inevitably fail. Why? Because we are not sufficient on our own. We were born sinners and we were born to fail in the absence of God. It's only when we place our trust and reliance in and on God that we become all God has called us to be - that is, more than conquerors in Christ.

Where are you placing your trust today?

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. 

Where to Place Your Confidence

 

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." ~ Ephesians 6:10

Culture often tells us to be confident in ourselves, to believe in ourselves, or to put ourselves first. And while it might sound good, it's actually the opposite of what the Bible tells us.

The Bible tells us to be confident, not in our weak, sinful, flaky selves, but in our God who has all power in His hands and who never changes. The Bible tells us not to believe in ourselves, but to believe in God and His power. Finally, the Bible tells us not to put ourselves first, but first to love God.

Culture has it twisted. Confidence in one's self only goes so far. It's at the mercy of our feelings, our circumstances, and our limited strength. Ephesians 6:10 tells us to find strength in the strength of God that never runs out.

God bless,

J.W.

Judgment vs. Fruit Inspection

"If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom." ~ James 3:13 

In today's culture, there's a certain sensitivity around judgment and "being judged." So much so that any critique, criticism, or words of wisdom is characterized as one person judging another. 

But be clear, there's a difference between judgment and fruit inspection. God cautions us against judgment - that is, making a final determination about someone or something based on a limited set of facts. The key word there is final. We should not be saying a person is going to hell, for instance, if we don't really know what's in the person heart. And even if we do know what's in their heart, we don't know how God might change that heart.

We can, however, inspect fruit. In James 13:3, the Word challenges us to live out what we claim through our conduct. So if someone asks you to trust them, but their conduct isn't trustworthy, it's perfectly ok to say so. Sometimes we can act as mirrors to others to show them where they really are in life. God calls us to live in truth. Knowing the difference between living in truth and living in judgment will be key to us living out our purpose.

May what you claim in word show in your conduct. And if it doesn't, may God send people and revelation into your life to show you the discrepancy. 

God bless,

J.W.