Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through John’s gospel, we come to a longer event that contains another significant healing. However, as I read this event, the healing is not the detail that stands out to me. Instead, I am amazed at the truth Jesus shares as this event opens, at something the formerly blind man says to the religious leaders, and at Jesus’ concluding statement.

With that said, let’s read this passage together. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 9, and we will be reading from the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ² “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

³ “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. ⁴ We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. ⁵ But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Pausing here, I want to draw out the truth that sometimes God lets bad things happen because He wants to work through His people in powerful ways. While it is not pleasant to think about, sometimes the bad in the world, whether it is a tragic event, a natural disaster, or something similar, opens the door for God’s people to show love, kindness, and help to those who would otherwise be closed to receiving help.

In the case of this miracle, the man who was born blind was not born blind because of the sins of anyone connected with him. Instead, it was so God could be glorified. Continuing in verse 6:

⁶ Then he [Jesus] spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. ⁷ He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

⁸ His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”

But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”

¹⁰ They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”

¹¹ He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”

¹² “Where is he now?” they asked.

“I don’t know,” he replied.

¹³ Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, ¹⁴ because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. ¹⁵ The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

¹⁷ Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”

The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”

¹⁸ The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. ¹⁹ They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”

²⁰ His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, ²¹ but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. ²³ That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

²⁴ So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”

²⁵ “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

²⁶ “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”

²⁷ “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

²⁸ Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”

³⁰ “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. ³² Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”

³⁴ “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

Pausing again, I love the emphasis this formerly blind man challenges the religious leaders with. It doesn’t take much to realize that the religious leaders had judged Jesus based on their own perspective and tradition and not on what He was actually doing. The religious leaders clearly disliked Jesus for helping people on the Sabbath, and for what appears to be this singular reason, they openly opposed and rejected Him.

However, there is no good response to the solid logic the formerly blind man challenges the religious leaders with. One of the most powerful statements about Jesus in the whole Bible is the key argument given at the end of this challenge. In verse 33, the formerly blind man challenges the religious leaders with the logic: “If this man [Jesus] were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.” If Jesus was not from God, there would be no way He could have done the amazing miracles that He did. Not being able to counter this logic, the Pharisees and religious leaders resort to calling the formerly blind man a sinner and kicking him out of the synagogue.

But this man’s story isn’t finished yet. Continuing in verse 35, John tells us that:

³⁵ When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶ The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”

³⁷ “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”

³⁸ “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

³⁹ Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”

⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”

⁴¹ “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

The last verse in our passage is powerful. Jesus tells the nearby Pharisees that they remain guilty because they claim they can see.

While this speaks in a subtle way against being arrogant, this is also a subtle hint for where our focus should be. If we were to take the topic of blindness and replace it with the topic of sin, Jesus’ statement would read something like, “If you realized you were sinners, you wouldn’t be guilty, but you remain guilty because you claim to be righteous.”

We could substitute many different topics into this framework, but at the heart of this message is the challenge and truth that realizing our weakness pushes us to need a Savior. When we believe we are good enough, smart enough, or skilled enough on our own, we reject God and the help He sent to us.

If we have any doubt or humility in our mind, and we should have at least some of each, we should acknowledge that we are all sinners, that we are all blind, but that with God’s help, and Jesus’ truth, we are saved. Only through Jesus can we do anything, and when we stand up to proclaim truth, we don’t focus on us, but on Jesus, the One who redeemed us!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, intentionally seek God first in your life and recognize and acknowledge that we need Jesus because we cannot be spiritually successful in life on our own. We need Jesus to redeem us and to wash us clean of sin.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to remind yourself who we are and who Jesus is. Through the pages of the Bible, discover just what God thinks of you and why Jesus came for you and me.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or turn away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

After finishing the most densely packed chapter of parables, let’s turn our attention onto a very unique parable. This is the only parable-like illustration that John’s gospel includes. When looking at the primary lists of parables, some lists don’t include this passage and instead describe it as an allegory, but for all practical purposes, allegories are close enough to parables that we can take some time to focus in on this teaching.

This particular teaching and event happen about half way through Jesus’ ministry, and if I remember correctly, Jesus taught this while visiting the temple during one of the major Jewish festivals.

Let’s read what happened and what Jesus taught. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 10, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. ^2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.

⁴ When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. ⁵ The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away.

⁶ Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.

⁷ Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. ⁹ I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.

¹⁰ A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. ¹² Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. ¹³ Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. ¹⁵ Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.

¹⁷ The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. ¹⁸ No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.

¹⁹ The people took sides because of what Jesus had told them. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He has a demon in him! He is crazy! Why listen to him?”

²¹ But others said, “How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like that could give sight to a blind person!”

In this passage, we discover that Jesus shares an illustration with the people and the people are confused by it. Jesus then explains what this illustration meant, and the people are divided about it.

However, while it would be easy to focus on the big theme that Jesus’ teaching divides people, or even the broader theme that spirituality and worldviews in general divide more people than they unify, one key phrase near the end of Jesus’ response jumps out at me when I read this. In verses 17 and 18, Jesus finishes explaining to the crowd the meaning of this illustration by saying, “The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.”

These two simple verses carry a very profound message: Jesus came to this earth as a human to give up His life. A unique power that Jesus has which our passage suggests that the other members of the Godhead do not have is the ability to lay down His life and receive it back again. This is amazing to think about, because it suggests that Jesus demonstrates ultimate power by laying down His own life. Not only is this ultimate power, it is also ultimate love!

With this frame in mind, realizing Jesus is all-powerful, the only time we see Jesus described as being above others is while He was hanging on the cross. The point when Jesus received glory was also at the point when He gave up His life.

Jesus also has the power to receive His life back to Him. The power Jesus describes here is one we cannot understand, but this power fueled Jesus’ resurrection. When Jesus returned to life, it was not an angel who called Him back to life; the angel who came scattered the soldiers and rolled away the stone. According to Jesus’ own words in this passage, His resurrection was fueled by the divine power He had. Jesus even tells us that receiving His life back was something God commanded Him to do. Jesus clearly tells this to us in verses 17 and 18: “I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.”

When reading this passage and this illustration, it is easy to get caught up on challenging the things we don’t believe or the things we don’t understand. Instead, the biggest thing for us to take away from Jesus’ message to the crowd is this: Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He lays down His life to save His people.

While others want to make Jesus’ sacrifice more complicated than that, the biggest question isn’t about what Jesus has already done, it is whether you will choose to be one of the people He laid down His life to save! Jesus isn’t going to force salvation on anyone; it is up to us to accept the free gift He has made available through His death on the cross!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and intentionally place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. Choose today to accept Jesus’ gift of salvation and then let God transform you from who you were into who He created you to be!

Also, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself to purposefully grow closer to God each day. It is through prayer and Bible study that we can discover God’s will for our lives and have the foundation and faith necessary to step into His plan for our lives!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or fall away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue in John’s gospel, and in the debate that Jesus was having with the Jews, we discover some amazing truths within Jesus’ response, we discover a powerful challenge Jesus shares about an important subject, and we also find one of my favorite Bible passages. Since this is a longer passage, let’s dive right in.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 8, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 31, John writes:

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Pausing briefly, I want to point out one of my favorite verses, and this is the message Jesus shares as our passage opens. If we were to ask the question about what makes us true disciples of Jesus, Jesus’ first words in this passage gives us the answer. Jesus tells us, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This is one of my favorite Bible passages, because it clarifies the path to the truth, and the benefit we get from knowing the truth. The way to the truth is becoming a disciple of Jesus, and the way to become a disciple of Jesus is holding onto Jesus’ teaching. When we apply Jesus’ teachings into our lives, we walk the path of a disciple, and on the path of being a disciple, we discover the truth and are ultimately set free.

However, the Jews present took offense to the idea of being set free. Continuing reading in verse 33:

³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸ I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

⁴⁹ “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

⁵² At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

⁵⁴ Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵ Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

⁵⁸ “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” ⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

In this passage, we have a lot we could unpack, and simply not enough time to do so with the format of these shorter episodes.

However, one truth that I want to draw out of this passage is very significant. This truth is that the idea of dying and death in this passage use two different Greek words, and while these words are similar, the way Jesus uses these two words in this passage help to frame a huge truth that is easily missed, or perhaps intentionally ignored.

In this passage, specifically in verse 51, Jesus shares the promise that “whoever obeys my word will never see death.” This promise is repeated with a likely mocking tone of voice by the Jews responding to Jesus in verse 52.

However, it is interesting to note that in this entire passage, these are the only times this Greek word for death is used. Instead, when describing how the prophets and significant people from the past died, a different Greek word was used.

This is a very significant detail, because when we look at how Jesus frames these two words for death in the four gospels, we quickly discover that Jesus used one of these words to describe an eternal death, and the other to describe a death that will be cut short with a resurrection. This truth is made a little more complicated, because the Greek term used for sentencing someone to death, is the one that describes an eternal death, which makes historical sense, because the Greek’s dualistic beliefs stood entirely opposed to the concept of resurrection as something that their gods would do, or that would even be desirable to experience.

To arrive at this conclusion, I looked at all the places in the gospels where Jesus used these two Greek words, and not simply at all the places they appear. Looking at all the places they appear in the gospels prompts us to conclude that these might be very interchangeable terms.

However, when we look at Jesus’ own words, Jesus uses the term “death”, specifically the one we see only mentioned a couple times in this passage, to describe a death that lasts forever, and when He describes the types of death that people were sentenced to. When being sentenced to die, I know of no court that would include the context of a future resurrection. Being sentenced to death is being sentenced to having one’s life removed with no expectation of it returning.

The other Greek word for dying has a future resurrection implied. This is easily seen when Jesus is talking with Martha about Lazarus dying, which is an event we will look at in a future episode. Both Martha and Jesus frame this type of death as one that looks forward to a resurrection. Jesus just helps Martha discover that resurrection can happen sooner than Jesus’ return.

As we are running out of time, let me draw this powerful truth out into the open: Jesus promises us that everyone who obeys His Words will never see eternal death. This is powerful for us to remember, because it makes the truth about believing Jesus relevant. A truth we reject is one that we don’t apply into our lives, while a truth we believe is one that we will obey. By not obeying Jesus’ truth, we reject Him, and we step off of the path of discipleship.

When we reject Jesus’ teachings, we lose out on not just discovering God’s truth and the freedom that comes with it, as we looked at in the beginning of this passage, but we also lose out on the promise of never tasting eternal death as well.

Instead of falling into Satan’s trap, let’s hold onto Jesus’ teaching, apply it into our own lives, and let the Holy Spirit lead us into God’s truth, specifically the truth that brings us resurrection and eternal life.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first and choose today to apply Jesus’ truth and teachings into your life. Choose to obey, not simply because Jesus has challenged us to, but because obeying leads us to discovering God’s truth and obedience is the best way to make your belief known. A hidden, secret faith does not have value if it stays hidden.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and discover God’s truth for your life. We can look to the Bible, specifically to the four gospels, to discover Jesus’ teachings, and by following Jesus’ teachings, we step onto the path of discipleship. Never let anyone get in the way of you following Jesus and applying His truths into your life.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As Jesus wraps up the section of parables we have spent the last several episodes focusing in on, He asks the disciples if they understand Him. To my surprise when reading this, the disciples answer that they do understand, and then as a final wrap-up statement, Jesus shares another short, one-verse parable that is powerful when we stop to actually look a little closer at it.

This last parable in this section of parables is found in Matthew, chapter 13, and we will read it from the Good News Translation. In verse 52, Matthew tells us that Jesus replied by saying:

⁵² [So he replied,] “This means, then, that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who takes new and old things out of his storage room.”

In this short illustration, we discover a special place in God’s kingdom for those who entered into the kingdom as teachers of the Law. While many people living after the first century see Christianity as a complete replacement for Judaism, according to this parable, both are significant. This parable strongly suggests that teachers of the Law who enter God’s kingdom are able to draw from a rich storeroom of spiritual truth that was contained in the Old Testament Jewish faith and culture, while also being open and aware of all the new things God is doing.

This parable is also applicable to us today. It challenges us on where we place our focus and on what we determine is relevant. Just as the first century was a time when there were huge shifts in the spiritual culture, the time we are living in today is also experiencing significant shifts.

When navigating these significant times in history, this parable helps to align and remind us of what is truly important.

In this parable, we discover two ditches we can fall into when moving from the old into the new. The first ditch is hanging on to the old, the traditions, and the way things were simply because they are more comfortable, more familiar, or even more acceptable by others. While familiarity and acceptability are not negative attributes, they become negative if they stop us from moving forward when God asks us to move forward.

Hanging on to the past and rejecting the new is the first ditch we can fall into that this short parable warns us about. This is best illustrated by the religious leaders in the first century who rejected Jesus simply because Jesus did not their idea of who the Messiah would be.

The second ditch we can fall into is by rejecting the past in favor of the present. Many people fall into this ditch regularly believing that our own experiences and situations today are more significant and relevant than the experiences and situations that those in the past faced. While everyone can only see the world through the filtered view of their eyes and their own experiences, the past is our best teacher when navigating tricky situations in the present.

Discarding the past when we face the new is the other ditch we can fall into that this parable warns us about. This is best illustrated by those who believe that the New Testament replaced the Old Testament, and that the Old Testament is no longer relevant. Those living in the first century had a word for the Old Testament. They called it the scriptures.

So how does this parable help us navigate through life avoiding these ditches?

Let’s read our parable again. Jesus concluded by telling the disciples that “every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who takes new and old things out of his storage room.”

In this parable, we are challenged to draw both new and old things from our spiritual storeroom. The old has not been done away with as some might think. Instead, the old is the lens looking forward to what Jesus would do. In contrast, the new is simply paying attention to what God is doing in the world today. Just like it is bad to ignore what is happening in the world around us, it is also bad to ignore or forget what happened in the past.

Our parable challenges us to learn from both the present and the past. If we never learned from our past, we would continually make the same mistakes moving into the future. The same can be said of a culture or a community. If we choose to reject learning from our past, we will make the same mistakes moving into the future.

But the beauty of learning from our past when looking from the perspective of a culture or a community is that we can learn without having to make the same mistakes ourselves. By looking at other people’s mistakes, we can learn without experiencing the pain ourselves. This is one big way we can draw relevance from the old things in our storeroom.

The Bible is the best spiritual guide we have. This is not because it displays perfection for us to model, but because it clearly reveals the flaws, shortcomings, and failures that people experienced in the history of our race. Not only does the Bible reveal God’s working and moving in the world for over 2000 years leading up to Jesus and the first century, the Bible teaches us in a real way how no-one is perfect, and how everyone needs a Savior. Jesus came into this world to be the Savior and Jesus is the best example of how we can embrace the old as we boldly move into the new!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, intentionally seek God first and move towards Him in your life. Don’t delay coming to God until you get perfect enough, because it is impossible to be perfect enough. Instead, come to God as you are and let Him transform you through the power of His Holy Spirit!

Also, as you come to God, remember to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn firsthand what God is like. While the Bible contains many challenging events that don’t appear to make sense on the surface, take your questions to God in prayer. I believe He will lead you to the answers He wants you to learn, and if any questions are left at the end of your life, then I’m positive Jesus will be ready, waiting, and willing to answer them when we reach heaven. Don’t let an unanswered challenge or question stop you from growing closer to God!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or drift away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!