pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: follower


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Signs, Warnings, and Guidance

God issued the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness.  He was seeking to give the a road map to life as a follower of God.  Some laws pointed them to the only true God (no idols!).  Other laws were warnings against using His name in vain, against stealing, murder, coveting, and so on.  One law even reminded them to take a sabbath rest and to connect to Him on that day.

Thousands of years later these rules still apply and we still struggle with some of them.  Well, maybe we struggle with most of them.  At times we allow idols to rule our lives – the idols of money or power or recognition or gossip.  We can chase after these idols.  At times we may take more than we need or deserve and maybe do not always give 10% of our time or money back to God each day.  We can hold a pretty tight grip on these things.  At other times we may even be jealous of what another has.  We can cast a longing eye at their new boat or their spouse or their musical or athletic ability.

Yet God does not give up on us.  The Holy Spirit continues to place signs, to nudge us, to speak truth into our lives.  As we learn to heed and to listen to these things, God refines us.  Our path gradually becomes more aligned with the path that Jesus walked.  Our footsteps stray and wander less as we grow in our faith and continue to become more and more Christ-like.  The path can be challenging and Satan will always continue to place temptations before us.  Yet God is always there, cheering us on, always pouring His grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness into us.  May we trust and lean into His strength and guidance as we seek to continue on our journey of faith.

Scripture reference: Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9, and 12-20


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To the End of the Age

Jesus suffered a painful death as an act of obedience to God and out of love for us.  A pure and holy man went to the cross not only to suffer nd die but also to take upon Himself the sins of us all.  It is through this gift that we are able to find salvation for our souls.

After He died, Jesus was resurrected and sits at God’s right hand.  He sits to judge the living and the dead.  Peter tells us that after dying Jesus went and “preached to the spirits in prison”, those dead in their sins since the time of Noah.  Jesus wants us all to be saved.  Jesus judges us in accordance with how we live our lives as a follower or disciples of Christ.  Followers emulate the ways of the one they follow.  Disciples study one so that they can be like the one they study.

Our baptism was the beginning of our commitment to live as a follower or disciple of Jesus Christ.  Baptism is symbolic of the cleansing waters of the flood, when God washed clean the earth, removing man and his sin from the world.  Baptism is a promise to God to live with a purity of conscious.  At times we have suffering.  At times we have joy.  Most of the time we live between these two.  If we live in all these states as a faithful and obedient follower and disciple of Christ, our destiny is the same as Christ’s destiny.  Eternity awaits the faithful and obedient.  But in our day to day, we are called to take up the cross of Christ, to live for Him. For strength, remember the promise found in Matthew 28:20 – “I am always with you, even to the end of the age.”