Reflective Bible Study

As we continue reading John’s gospel, we ultimately discover how Jesus divided people. If we only had Jesus’ words to go on with no miracles, no fulfilled prophecy, and no resurrection, we could rightly conclude that Jesus was the most deluded speaker or preacher in the history of the world.

However, because Jesus could perform miracles, because the Old Testament clearly prophesied about His arrival and His life, and because we have the resurrection that He personally predicted on multiple occasions, we are challenged with the truth that none of this could have happened without God’s leading and blessing.

In our passage, similar to our last episode’s passage, we see Jesus divide people. While our last passage had religious leaders being challenged and divided over the healing of a blind man, our passage for this episode focuses on a teaching Jesus shared that challenged those present.

Let’s read what happened. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 10, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. 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 see Jesus dividing another crowd. It is likely that this event happened not long after the miracle we read about in our last episode, where Jesus healed the man who was born blind. I suspect this because our passage in this episode ends with the crowd being torn over Jesus having given sight to a blind person.

However, in this passage, we are presented with several challenging statements.

The first challenging statement in my mind is at the end of verse 14. Right in the middle of Jesus explaining this parable, Jesus tells those present “I give up my life for my sheep.” This is one of the craziest things for anyone to say. From the most literal way of understanding this idea, if a shepherd gives up his life for his sheep, his sheep would be left defenseless when the next predator comes. On the surface, this sounds crazy.

However, while this sounds crazy, this is one more clear example of Jesus predicting His death, and the ultimate reason Jesus gives up His life.

The second challenging statement is connected with the first and it is when Jesus says in verses 17 and 18: “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.”

While the truth in these two verses is difficult, or perhaps even impossible for us to fully understand, Jesus has the power to give His life up and the power to receive it back again. This means that Jesus essentially has the power to resurrect Himself, and if I were to hear someone claim this today, I would be just as confused as the people listening to Jesus in the first century.

This outlandish claim leaves only two options: Either Jesus was ridiculously deluded and overstepped His bounds, or Jesus spoke the truth and He has more power than any of us can even begin to comprehend.

The way we reconcile this claim is by testing it against what happened, and all evidence tells us that Jesus did die, and that He did rise again, just as He predicted. Even though this event happened thousands of years ago, it is the most preserved truth in all of history.

This leads us to the third challenging statement. This one is found between our other two statements. In verse 16, Jesus tells those present: “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.”

While on the surface this doesn’t sound all that crazy, especially when compared with the other two statements we have already looked at, the craziness in this statement is that Jesus has people who are part of other groups of people. While we might limit the other groups of people to other believing Christians who are part of different denominations or churches, I suspect Jesus’ statement is even broader than this, including other belief systems and other worldviews. It is possible that God has called someone from a group you could not possibly think could be saved or savable.

However, while this is a challenging truth, it is worth noting that Jesus is the one responsible for uniting people. It is not our responsibility to change other people’s minds. Instead, in a subtle twist, our responsibility is to live in a way that doesn’t push other people away. We are to live a visible faith, we are to love and help others, but we should not be abrasive, pushy, arrogant, prideful, or hostile towards people who are not like us.

Jesus came into a world to save people who were nothing like Him. Jesus loved people who were nothing like Him. We are called to love those who Jesus loves, and that includes people who are nothing like us, people who stand for the opposite things as we do, and people who are even openly hostile towards us. We are called to be loving, and Jesus is called to be the one uniting!

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 to be loving to those He brings into your life. While this includes strangers and acquaintances, this also includes your friends and your family – both your immediate family and your extended family as well. God has brought everyone into your life for a reason, and regardless of whether you understand the reason, we are called to be loving towards everyone God has brought into our life.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Through the pages of the Bible, discover just how much God loves you and I and how much He was willing to give to redeem us from sin.

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 we near the halfway point in our year focusing in on Mark’s gospel, we come to an event that leaves a significant impression on Jesus’ inner circle of disciples. I suspect that Peter, James, and John would remember this trip up the mountain with Jesus for the rest of their lives. It was on this short trip away from the rest of the disciples that Jesus showed them something really special.

Let’s read this passage and discover what happened. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 9, and we will read from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 2, Mark tells us that:

² After six days Jesus took only Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone.

Jesus’ appearance changed in front of them. ³ His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. ⁴ Then Elijah and Moses appeared to them and were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s put up three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ (Peter didn’t know how to respond. He and the others were terrified.)

⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them. A voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

⁸ Suddenly, as they looked around, they saw no one with them but Jesus.

Pausing reading our passage for a moment, I feel a little sorry for Peter. Mark tells us that Peter spoke because it felt like the right thing to do but also that he really didn’t know how to respond. Reading this detail prompts me to think that Peter talked when he was nervous or scared, while James and John simply stayed quiet.

Reading this event and the reactions of these three disciples also prompts me to wonder what I would have done. Would I have said something, even though I had no idea what to say, or would I have remained speechless?

Knowing a little about myself, I probably would have remained speechless. I might have also paid close attention to what was being said. It is interesting in my mind that the two men who came to visit Jesus were two people who likely had become great friends with Jesus in heaven. Both Moses and Elijah would have spent hundreds of years in heaven with Jesus prior to Jesus’ coming to earth, and I wonder if they had been allowed to come visit one time to help encourage Jesus that He was on the right path.

This trip would have also been special for Moses, since this might have easily been the first time he set foot in the Promised Land. When we look at the Old Testament, Moses passed the leadership over to Joshua prior to his death and Moses did not get to enter the Promised Land. Instead, he only got to look at it from a distance. On this trip to visit Jesus, Moses would have been able to finally set foot in the land that God had promised Israel over a thousand years earlier.

It is also interesting that Elijah came to visit, and I wonder if Elijah’s presence is what prompted the disciples’ question we see on the trip down the mountain. Continuing in verse 9, Mark tells us:

⁹ On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen. They were to wait until the Son of Man had come back to life. ¹⁰ They kept in mind what he said but argued among themselves what he meant by “come back to life.” ¹¹ So they asked him, “Don’t the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that Elijah must come first?”

¹² Jesus said to them, “Elijah is coming first and will put everything in order again. But in what sense was it written that the Son of Man must suffer a lot and be treated shamefully? ¹³ Indeed, I can guarantee that Elijah has come. Yet, people treated him as they pleased, as Scripture says about him.”

On this trip down the mountain, two things stood out to me in how Mark described this event. The first of these things is how Jesus tells these disciples to keep what they had seen a secret until after He had come back to life. It would seem that the three closest disciples didn’t fully grasp this simple message because Mark describes them arguing among themselves about what He meant by the phrase “come back to life”.

Remember that Mark describes this event happening after Peter had declared to Jesus and all the disciples his belief that Jesus was God’s Messiah, and also after Peter had openly challenged Jesus about the Messiah’s upcoming death. From this passage and some of the earlier passages we have focused in on, it seems like Peter was more set in his understanding the Messiah from the traditional, cultural view, and that he had a harder time breaking free from the preconceived ideas he had already formed in his mind about the role the Messiah would take. I wonder if some of this arguing was between Peter wondering if Jesus was being symbolic about His death, while James and/or John were seeing Jesus speaking more literally.

The other thing in this trip down the mountain that stood out in my mind is Jesus’ response to the disciples’ question about Elijah. First, Jesus restates the prophecy about Elijah’s coming, but before moving to tell them that Elijah already came, which other gospel writers who include this event allude to referring to John the Baptist, Mark includes a statement about Jesus suffering and being treated shamefully.

From the details in this passage, I suspect Jesus really wanted these closest disciples to ask for more details about His upcoming crucifixion. It would appear that since we don’t have a record of it here, and because the disciples, Peter especially, are shocked and scared when Jesus is arrested and ultimately crucified, that these three disciples missed the perfect opportunity to ask Jesus about what would happen the weekend of His death.

Jesus gives these disciples more openings than they could count to ask Him about what they saw and specifically about Jesus’ repeated warnings about His death and future resurrection. This is likely the same with us. Too often we are scared, timid, or overly cautious when sharing Jesus. While sometimes our fear is warranted, other times our fear is simply false evidence that our minds trick us into believing is very significant and very real.

Nowhere does Jesus promise His people an easy life free of problems here on this earth. Instead, Jesus tells us that we might add to our problems when we choose Him, but that choosing Him is the only way to survive past the problems of this life and past the sin in this world!

Jesus subtly reminds these disciples that He would suffer a lot and be treated shamefully, which are both subtle hints foreshadowing Jesus’ path to the cross, and as followers of Jesus, we shouldn’t be surprised if we are treated like Jesus was treated. However, when we side with Jesus, we get to experience Jesus’ resurrection, and accept the promise and gift of a new life with Him!

As we come to the end of this 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 choose to side with Jesus regardless of what the world and culture thinks. Choose to push past your fear and ask the questions that need to be asked, listen when it is time to listen, and stand up for God when the world challenges your faith!

Also, build your faith on the truth about Jesus. Pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow personally closer to God each and every day, and never let your faith or spirituality be dependent on someone else.

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 walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

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!

As we continue moving through Mark’s gospel, we come to an event where Jesus asks the disciples a question, and then when Jesus hears the right answer, He tells the disciples to keep the real answer a secret. However, this is only the first sliver of this event, and what comes afterwards is both amazing and it clashes with what they believed about the Messiah.

With that said, let’s dive in to our passage for this episode. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 8, and we will read from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 27, Mark tells us:

²⁷ Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Tell me, who do people say I am?”

²⁸ “Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered; “others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets.”

²⁹ “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰ Then Jesus ordered them, “Do not tell anyone about me.”

Pausing briefly, this point in the passage is where most people might stop reading. And I can understand this because what Peter has just declared about Jesus is amazing, and what Jesus responded is also amazing.

Peter has just declared that Jesus is the Messiah that had been predicted throughout the whole Old Testament, and specifically the Messiah God promised to send humanity when Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from the garden.

Equally amazing is Jesus’ response. Jesus does not deny being given this title, but He challenges the disciples to stay quiet about it. While some might think the Messiah would want to stand up, shout, and be recognized for being this person, Jesus knows that there is too much baggage with this role at this point in history.

To illustrate this, we need go no further than the next few verses. Continuing reading in verse 31:

³¹ Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” ³² He made this very clear to them. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don’t come from God but from human nature!”

Pausing our reading again, in these verses, we discover Peter, who Jesus praised for his earlier response in at least one of the other gospel records, is now being called out as Satan. Looking back on this event from a world that can see Jesus’ journey to the cross, and His death leading towards His resurrection and return to heaven, it is easy to look down on Peter and judge him like it appears Jesus does here.

However, while Jesus clearly told the disciples that He is the Messiah, and He emphasizes the Messiah’s death at the hands of the religious leaders, I wonder if Peter ignored or simply didn’t hear Jesus predicting His resurrection. Pushing back against Jesus’ declarations and predictions about Himself, we have a whole religious culture built on centuries of seeing the Messiah lead a revolt against Rome, and clear predictions that when the Messiah comes, He will last forever. The Messiah dying is something that simply could not happen to the true Messiah in the minds of those in the first century.

Also included in the mix of beliefs is the belief that the Messiah is God’s Son. While this wasn’t a belief on the forefront of culture, it is one that formed the basis for at least one of Jesus’ debates with the religious leaders. With Jesus being God, and God being immortal, it would also logically be impossible for God to die.

Everything culture told the disciples about the Messiah was focused on overthrowing the Romans and on living forever, while everything Jesus told the disciples about the Messiah was focused on a crucifixion, death, and a resurrection. In the minds of more than just Peter, what Jesus was telling them clashed with culture, with logic, and with everything they had previously believed about the Messiah and His kingdom.

Peter simply has the guts to speak what many of the disciples are likely thinking. Peter tells Jesus to basically stop focusing on His death because God’s Messiah will live forever. This temptation echoes some of Satan’s temptations in the wilderness when Satan challenges Jesus with the promise that God would not harm Him if He jumped from the highest point in the temple, and when Satan offers Jesus a shortcut that avoids the cross.

It does not surprise me that Jesus calls out Peter for representing Satan in his rebuke.

However, it also appears that the disciples were uneasy about how openly Jesus spoke about going to the cross. The cross was both the most humiliating way to die and it was one of the most painful ways to die as well.

Because of this, Jesus finishes off this passage by calling everyone present together to tell them a message. Continuing in verse 34:

³⁴ Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. ³⁵ For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. ³⁶ Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! ³⁷ There is nothing you can give to regain your life. ³⁸ If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

In this concluding challenge, Jesus directly calls attention onto the idea of the cross – the most uncomfortable part of Jesus’ whole message – and He challenges everyone present that to be His follower, they must give up their own lives and carry a cross along with Jesus.

This challenge Jesus gives is powerful: You can try to keep your life in this world and lose out on eternity, or you give your life in this world to Jesus in order to gain eternity.

The big truth in this conclusion aimed at all of Jesus’ followers is that we should never be ashamed of Jesus and what He taught. If you think our world and culture today are godless and wicked, know that Jesus’ calls out the first century culture for being this way as well. If we choose to reject Jesus because culture has a louder megaphone, then we will ultimately forfeit the rewards God has promised His people.

Satan wants the whole world to reject God, to reject Jesus, and to live in rebellion of everything God stands for. Know that choosing Jesus is easy to say, and difficult to do. However, laying self down at the foot of Jesus’ cross, and picking up our own crosses – which means dedicating our lives to spreading the gospel message regardless of what culture thinks of us – is how we lose this life but gain eternity. Jesus didn’t focus on building His kingdom through force, but Satan is more than willing to use any type of force necessary to stop us from choosing Jesus and spreading the great news of salvation!

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, seek God first and choose to give up a focus on self in your life in order to focus on giving Him glory. If the world is hostile towards us for choosing Jesus, know that you have made the right choice. Never be ashamed or shamed out of choosing Jesus, because Jesus is the only way to experience eternity! Everything else is a lie Satan uses to trick or confuse people.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. Culture speaks its messages loudly and frequently, and the best way to stay grounded in truth is to focus personally on studying God’s message through the Bible. What God has preserved for us in the Bible teaches us how to have hope, and how to live for God in sinful, godless, dark times. Studying the Bible for yourself is the only way to be certain what the Bible teaches because too many people today have twisted the Bible into teaching only half-truths.

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 be shamed out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!