“And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the Lord. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” Jeremiah 45:5 (NKJV)

“Once you get into the real world, you’ll find it’s not as easy as that.”

“You’re in for a rude awakening when you get out of here and into real life.”

These are things we might say to students who’ve never experienced life outside of school. But the truth is, graduation doesn’t lead to real life because we find our  real life in Christ.

We become real, healed, full human beings when we connect with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Until then, we’re still sending postcards from a fantasy life. Our maturity in Jesus brings us closer and closer to real life, as established by God before he set the foundations of the world.

Thomas Merton, the prayer-centered monk, spoke in terms of life in the nasty-now-and-now being like an onion. God keeps peeling away the layers until the real you is revealed.

In a sense, God is explaining that when he says, “I will bring adversity on all flesh” (Jeremiah 45:5 NKJV). He uses adversity in your life to scrape away the layers that cover your real life.

God says when he brings great disaster upon you there will be no time to pack a bag filled with ego, self-centeredness, lust, or materialism. He’ll let you escape, but only with the Jesus-clothes on your back.

What you’re left with is your real life in Jesus (Colossians 3:4). A life that is filled with God’s purpose and a life in alignment with God’s heart and mind. In this real life, we enter into the abundance of life promised by Jesus (John 10:10).

By Jon Walker
Used by Permission

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“Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!” Matthew 5:3 (TEV)

When Jesus says, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Matthew 5:3 NLT), he means we must come to the end of ourselves. We have to leave behind any self-sufficiency or self-righteousness and come to the place where we realize our only hope is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We must be desperate for God: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule” (Matthew 5:3 MSG).

The original disciples had no experience in how to be a Christian. All they could do was follow Jesus for each next step; they couldn’t rely on worn-in traditions that we so easily lean on instead of our relationship with Jesus. They had nowhere else to turn but to Jesus — and that is how we are meant to follow Jesus too.

By becoming poor in self-sufficiency and self-righteousness, we become blessed heirs of the kingdom.

by Jon Walker
Used by Permission

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

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“From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.” Psalm 22:10 (NIV)

In faith, I know this to be true:

God spoke me into my mother’s womb, and he has anointed me to teach his ways to others.

Before I was formed in the womb God knew (Jeremiah 1:5). He “created my inmost being; [he] knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13 NIV).

From my birth, while I was still in the womb, I cast myself into God’s loving hands. He has been my God since I was in my mother’s womb (Psalm 22:10). From birth I have relied on him; he brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise him, My God and Heavenly Father (Psalm 71:6 NIV).

My objective-in-Jesus is to live a life shaped by God, not by my feelings or thoughts, or one shaped by peer pressure. I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

I will trust in the Lord with all my heart; I will lean not on my own understanding; in all my ways I will acknowledge you, Lord, knowing, since I was in my mother’s womb, you have straightened the oath for me (Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV).

By Jon Walker
used by permission

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“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:36–38 (NIV)

There are gut-wrenching moments in life, the kind when something hits you so hard it feels like someone’s ripping your insides out.

The apostle Matthew, in his biography of Jesus, suggests Jesus experienced such a gut-wrenching moment when he saw all the harassed and helpless human sheep. More than a mere broken heart, Jesus was moved to extraordinary compassion when he saw so many people beaten down by life, facing problems so overwhelming they didn’t even know where to go for help (Matthew 9:36).

In this moment, Matthew reports Jesus looked at his disciples and said, in effect, “I want your help with this. There are so many people who need relief—who need to know and experience God’s compassion—that I need you to help with this great harvest” (Matthew 9:37–38, author paraphrase).

Jesus calls us to join him in his work. Jesus calls us to pray that others will join us in this work. God fills us with his love and compassion so we can minister to those who are harassed, helpless and beaten down by life. We carry the good news that Jesus helps us overcome the heartache of our circumstances and tribulations.

Will you join Jesus in his work and see how God works through your obedience to him?

by Jon Walker
Used by Permission

If  you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you can learn how to start one at this link:
https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws

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“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority”. Colossians 2:9–10

God plants this love inside us, and it grows healthy in the soil of abandonment. We abandon our rights, our judgments, our opinions, and our schemes. Jesus is uncompromising in his abandonment of the privileges of his position as the only begotten son, and he expects no less from us when it comes to abandoning anything that sets us in rebellion to the Father.

Like the man who found treasure hidden in a field, he sells everything he has in order to buy the field. He holds back nothing because he knows the treasure is worth more than anything he has. Abandonment means realizing that following Jesus is worth everything we have and so holding nothing back.

Costly grace requires that we come to the end of ourselves, that we abandon our current lives in order to begin new lives with Jesus. Costly grace means, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Costly grace means we refuse to “set aside the grace of God” for the lesser things of this world (Galatians 2:21).

Abandonment is possible because you have Jesus within, helping you to love and obey. Let him lead you to that place where your heart begins to beat so closely with God’s that it’s difficult to distinguish between the two.

Love God, and in the intimacy of that love, obey his heart.

By Jon Walker
used by permission

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“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”  Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

God pours his power into your life, giving you his strength to do what he’s called to do.

Faith is acting in confidence that God’s power is active in and through your life; faith is trusting God’s power will be your strength to do everything through him.

He’s not asking you to live life under your own power or through your own strength. That would limit what you can do while God’s power and strength are unlimited.

When you say, “There’s something I’d really like to do for God, but I don’t think that I can do it,” God may reply, “Great! I’m glad you’ve figured it out. You can’t do it by yourself, but with my power working through you, you can do anything I ask you to do.”

If you stay at “I can’t” and never move power to “God can,” then you’re less likely to even try great things for God. It’s like having a car with the most powerful engine ever built, but saying, “I don’t think it can get me past the first intersection.” So you leave it in your garage, never taking it onto the road.

God’s power is available to you:

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

by Jon Walker
Used by Permission

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The post Why We’re Less Likely to Try Great Things for God appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Romans 6:18 (NIV)

For years I wandered away from God, and my image of that time is that of a traveler on a trail through the wilderness.

I left the trail and got lost.

Wandering in the wilderness, I lost even the memory that I was there because of my own sinful choices. Eventually, I lost the truth that I had any choice at all. It felt like I was held hostage by my choices and that I had no choice but to keep making the same choices. What other choice did I have?

So, part of my prodigal return was realizing I still had a choice, starting with the foundational choice that “I can’t, but God can.”

Once I returned to God’s path, I could clearly see the terrible, horrible choice I’d made to wander away and the resulting waste of time, energy, and missed opportunities. Not to mention, I’d been exhausting myself trying to live life like it was never designed to be lived.

What I could also see is that I still had choices — I could continue down God’s path, I could sit and mourn the waste, or I could return to my wanderings.

But, most of all, I finally believed my freedom of choice left me free not to sin. I did not have to sin; I could choose not to sin. I am free from sin, not free from temptation, but free from the slavery of sin that kept me chained to ungodly choices.

Jesus broke the power of sin in your life, and he’s empowered you, through the Holy Spirit, to make the right, corrective, godly choices.

Be still and know that He is God — and think upon this truth.

Thoughts:
– Why do you think God lets us make our own choices?
– Are you facing a big decision about your future? What do you believe is the godly choice?

by Jon Walker
used by permission

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“So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.” Romans 14:19 (HCSB)

God intends for us to support one another –

God wants us to build one another up — The word support literally means to increase one another’s potential. It carries the idea of strengthening one another, to make one another more able to face the challenges of living for Christ. “We are in this fight together” (Philippians 1:30 NLT). We cannot afford to lose anyone. To succeed, you need the strength supplied by the Body of Christ, just as they need you.

God wants us to stand alongside one another — “Encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 11:25, NIV). God does this for us. He “supports us in every hardship, so that we are able to come to the support of others, in every hardship of theirs because of the encouragement that we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:14). We’re created to stand alongside one another.

God wants us be patient with one another — When we support one another, we express unconditional love. Even after we grow close enough to each other to learn one another’s quirks and annoying little habits, we will stick by each other’s side. “With all humility and gentleness, and with patience, support each other in love” (Ephesians 4:2 NJB).

Is there someone who could use your encouragement today? Don’t wait until later! Encourage that person right now.

by Jon Walker
Used by Permissive

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“Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.”
Psalm 51:8 (NIV)

In the school of Christ, brokenness is a good thing.

Here’s why: It’s impossible to become intimate with God unless we are broken of our independence, broken of our pride, and broken of our insistence that our way is better than God’s.

We must be broken of the illusion that we bring anything to the peace talks when we seek to end our war with God; the only surrender God requires is unconditional.

• Brokenness is the last stop before we finally confess, “I can’t; God can.”
• Brokenness is the apostle Paul confessing, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24 (NIV).
• Brokenness is the prodigal fighting with the pigs over food. Luke 15:11–32.
• Brokenness is Joseph, still in prison, forgotten by the cup bearer. Genesis 40:23.
• Brokenness is Jonah in the belly of a whale, confessing the consequences of running from God: “I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Jonah 1:12 (NIV).
• Brokenness is Peter weeping bitterly outside the trial of Jesus.
  Luke 22:62.
• Brokenness is Jesus abandoning everything to God: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42 (NIV).

God breaks us so he can use us. We can smash our pride against the solid rock of Jesus, confess our sins, and admit our need for him; or the stone can fall on us, meaning God in his ruthless, loving pursuit of us will break us of our pride, sin, folly, and independence. Matthew 21:44.

Like Jesus serving bread at the Last Supper, God takes us, breaks us, blesses us, and then uses us.

“Oh, Lord, may you hear our joy and gladness; may the bones you have crushed rejoice.” Psalm 51:8 (NIV, author paraphrase).

By Jon Walker
Used by Permission

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“This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘The owner of this belt will be tied up in this way by the Jews in Jerusalem, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” Acts 21:11 (TEV)

Have you ever done the very thing God told you to do and then ended up in what seemed like a worse situation?

The Apostle Paul experienced this on several occasions, but what kept him going was his trust in God’s character. Paul trusted that God was in control and knew what he was doing no matter how things appeared.

And that means Paul took steps of faith based on his belief in God and not according to the circumstances he was in or would end up in. (As Pastor Pete Wilson might say, Paul placed his faith in God’s identity, not in his ability to see God’s activity.)

For instance, when Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, a prophet named Agabus came to see him. He took Paul’s belt and he tied it around his own hands and feet, telling the apostle, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘The owner of this belt will be tied up in this way by the Jews in Jerusalem, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” (Acts 21:11 TEV)

Hearing this, Paul’s friends immediately tried to talk him out of going to Jerusalem, but he went anyway, saying,

“I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13 TEV)

What the Holy Spirit told Agabus was fact: Paul was bound and handed over to the Gentiles in Jerusalem. Yet, the facts, by themselves, do not reveal the whole truth.

God used Paul’s arrest as the means for getting him to Rome, which is where Paul wanted to go all along. Once in Rome, Paul was placed under house arrest, forcing him to stay in one place after so many years on the road as a missionary.

Bound in chains, Paul began to write letters to the congregations he’d helped plant, and some of those letters are part of the New Testament we read today.

God is in the best position to interpret the facts of your life. Place your faith in him and not your circumstances.

By Jon Walker
used by permission

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“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.” Romans 5:7

The love of God needs no because. He does not give his love because of something that you’ve done. He does not give his love because of something he will gain. He does not give his love because it’s something you have earned.

He gives his love with no because.

We come at love with conditions: you can take it or leave it.

God comes at love with no conditions: I’ll take you and I won’t leave you.

We might, in rare instances, show love by dying for someone we deem worthy. God, in all instances, showed love by dying for us, even when we were still drawing blood from his love (Romans 5:7–8).

When we were still in rebellion against God’s love, Jesus said,

“I lay down my life . . . . No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:17–18)

I lay it down, Jesus says, with no need for because.

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” John 13:15

Question: What does God’s love mean to you?

By Jon Walker
used by permission

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The post Love Needs no Because appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Having said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam.” John 9:6–7 (NIV)

Jesus violates expectations.

Jesus is not subject to our expectation of Him; we are subject to His expectation of us.

Jesus may appear inconsistent. For instance, one time He may heal someone by a mere word; another time He may put mud in your eye!

His consistency is to the will of the Father.

by Jon Walker
used by permission

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