True Disciples - John 8:31-32

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." The phrase in verse 32, "the truth will set you free," is frequently quoted out of context. It should be understood in connection with the previous phrase, "if you abide in my word," in verse 31. Thus, "the truth will set your free" means that the way to know the truth is by abiding or continuing to believe and obey God's Word. We are transformed spiritually through the action of abiding in Christ. When you cultivate and saturate your life with God’s Word, the Bible, and practice God’s presence through prayer and meditation in the Holy Spirit, then you abide in Christ and begin to take on His character. Then you are truly His disciple, set free from the enslaving guilt and power of sin!

The Qualities of Godly Leadership - Ezekiel 22:30

"And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none." The walls surrounding a city were its main lines of defense in ancient times. A breach or gap in the wall around a city had to be closely guarded as a possible entrance point by an enemy until the breach could be repaired. Ezekiel used this wall of defense metaphor to identify two characteristics of godly leadership. Godly leaders are persons who will "build up the wall" and "stand in the breach." Ezekiel listed the evil done by the leadership in Israel at the time to cause this moral decline: faithlessness, sacrilege, irreverence, apostasy, extortion, greed, and injustice (vs. 24-29). Instead of helping God's people, the leaders were taking advantage of them. God is, therefore, searching for people who can provide godly, principled leadership, then and now, to protect and defend His people and His name. God is searching for men and women who will "build up the wall" and by their example of faithfulness and righteousness repair the moral damage by confronting evil by speaking up for God and His goodness. God is also searching for godly men and women to "stand in the breach" and make intercession for a lost and dying generation through prayer and proclamation of God's salvation. Are you ready and willing to be the kind of leader that God is searching for?

A Gift for Everyone - John 7:38-39

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." Jesus did not mean that there was no work of the Holy Spirit in the world prior to His resurrection for we know the Holy Spirit was active in creation and inspired those leading or speaking to God's chosen people throughout biblical history. Once Jesus' work on earth was finished, however, the gift of the Holy Spirit was available to everyone who believed in and followed Jesus, not just a select few. Jesus declared that God wanted to give His Spirit to all people so He could have fellowship and a personal relationship with every human being. God wants to give you His Spirit so that you can begin to live in His presence in this earthly life and in preparation for eternity!

Willing to Do God's Will - John 7:17

"If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." In this verse the teaching of Jesus is clear. To be His disciple requires a conscience act of one's own will--a personal decision--to believe in Him and obey Him. No one can make the decision for you. You can't inherit salvation. Each person must come to the place in his or her own life where it is your will to do God's will. Those whose will is to do God's will, then comprehend the reality and truth of the teachings of Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins and are saved. Be willing to do God's will!

What Makes God Happy - Ezekiel 18:23

"Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?" Sometimes people think that God is somehow out to get them. Embedded in the prophetic words of Ezekiel is this fundamental declaration of God's plan for humanity--its redemption. Although God will punish sin to vindicate his holiness and justice, God feels sorrow over the punishment and death of human beings created in his image so He endeavors to save them (see also 33:11). God certainly takes no pleasure in human beings dying in their sin and rebellion and being eternally separated from Him. And, in fact, the reality is the inverse--God takes pleasure in redeeming us so that we may spend eternity in fellowship with Him. God isn't out to get you--He's out to redeem you! Your salvation makes God happy!

Doing Right Things Right - I Chronicles 17:1-15

"Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent” (vs. 1). Doesn't building the temple of God seem like the right thing for a man of God like David to do? David had built himself a permanent home--a king's palace--and the ark of God still resided in a tent--the tabernacle. So David thought the right (righteous) thing to do was build a permanent home--a temple--for the ark of God. Nathan, the prophet of God, endorsed the plan because he knew David only wanted to do what was right (vs. 2). Unfortunately, neither David nor Nathan consulted God about the construction plan and God had a different plan in mind (vs 3-4). God's plan was not for David to build the temple, but for David's son (Solomon) to build the temple (vs. 11-12). We often try to serve God according to our own plans thinking that because we are "doing it for God" it must be the right thing to do (when really we are doing it for ourselves trying to be "righteous"). Instead, let us follow the pattern of ministry demonstrated by Jesus (and taught by Henry Blackaby in Experiencing God). Let us see what God is doing and where God is working and join Him in that work: "The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise" (John 5:19). When we follow Jesus' model of ministry, then we will be doing the right things right because it will be according to God's plan and will!

God's Pattern for Supplying His Provision and Care - John 6:1-15

God’s care and provision are demonstrated by Jesus in the miracle of feeding the five thousand. The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four gospels (cf. Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15) and is recorded with substantial narration in each of these gospels. The telling of this miracle in all four gospels may suggest its importance among the miraculous signs of Jesus’ ministry. The feeding of the five thousand was a significant miracle based purely on the scale of the miracle itself by feeding an estimated 15-20 thousand men, women, and children from five loaves of bread and two fish. The miracle demonstrates God’s pattern for supplying His provision and care. God offers His care and provision to us not by creating more things but by taking resources that already exist and extending or expanding them to meet a need, even to an abundance. When you offer any and all the resources you possess totally and willingly to God, He provides His loving care by extending or expanding those resources to meet your needs, sometimes even to the point of prosperity.