Reflective Bible Study

Following up what we focused on in our last episode, we discover in our passage for this episode that Jesus’ mother and brothers arrive. If we were to take this passage and event by itself, we would not have any context for why Jesus’ mother and brothers were there. However, as our passage in the last episode pointed out, the purpose of Jesus’ family’s trip was to stop Jesus from doing what He had been called to do.

Let’s read what happened when they showed up, and discover some things we can learn from Jesus’ response. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 3, and we will read from the New International Version. Starting in verse 31, Mark tells us:

³¹ Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

³³ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

In the entire gospel record, this event stands out in my mind as one of the most offensive things Jesus does. In three short verses, Jesus basically disowns His own family while emphasizing a bigger point about families in general. However, while we might be quick to point blame onto Jesus for how He reacts in this situation, He is not the only one at fault.

The way Jesus’ mother and brothers handle this situation is equally as bad. While Jesus’ family could have waited for an opportunity to go inside, or pushed their way through the crowds into the home, they send a message to Jesus instead. The implication in the message is that Jesus must stop what He is doing and step outside to talk to them.

While there is nothing in the message that is relayed to Jesus that indicates Jesus’ mother and brothers think He is crazy or that He needs to stop, we learn that from the context of this passage, specifically in the opening verses of our last episode’s passage.

In these few verses, we see Jesus’ family challenging Jesus to stop, and Jesus responding by redefining the idea of family in a way that excludes them.

However, I don’t see Jesus actually disowning His family. Instead, Jesus disowned what they were there doing. Instead of focusing on listening and learning, which would have been God’s will in this situation, we see Jesus’ family step outside of God’s will and try to get Jesus to stop.

How do we know that listening to Jesus is part of God’s will? From what Jesus implies in the last two verses in this passage. Verses 34 and 35 describe the scene: “Then he [Jesus] looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’”

Jesus draws attention to those seated in the circle around Him, and then He calls these men and women His mother and His brothers. Jesus then identifies the characteristic we must have to be called a brother, a sister, or a mother, and this characteristic is that we are doing God’s will. This means that those seated in the circle are doing what God wanted them to do because Jesus calls them His mother and His brothers, and Jesus’ family is made up of people doing God’s will.

This leads us to a huge truth: Doing God’s will places us within God’s family!

When we step outside of God’s will for our lives, we also step outside of God’s family. While it is never pleasant to think that our presence in God’s family is a matter of obedience, living within God’s will has at its definition a level of obedience. God’s will is not up for debate and God’s will for us is not something that changes.

In this passage, Jesus elevates but also simplifies what it means to be a part of God’s family. If you think doing God’s will is hard, you may be right, but according to this passage, doing God’s will is about as simple as you can think of. All those people in this passage did to be included in Jesus’ family and be identified as doing God’s will was simply sitting and listening to Jesus. I cannot think of a simpler way to be praised for being within God’s will.

While we don’t have Jesus physically speaking into our ears today like He did with those people in the first century, the next best option we have is reading the Bible, and in the context of this passage, we could say reading the gospels, that include Jesus’ own words. We could take this a step further and listen to an audio recording of the Bible to actually hear God’s word. With the technology available today, we can listen to the Bible in ways that would not have been dreamed of hundreds of years ago.

However, in this passage, we also see a challenge. In this passage, we see a subtle warning that our families might be a source of distraction. This passage subtly implies that Satan was working through Jesus’ mother and brothers to try to get Jesus to step outside of God’s will. If the Pharisees and religious leaders weren’t able to stop Jesus, Satan may have reasoned that Jesus’ own family might derail Him.

I am not going to step out and claim that in your case, Satan is distracting you from God’s will directly through your family. More often than not, life is more complex than this. Instead, knowing this is a possibility for us to face, especially since Jesus faced it Himself, we should find time that we can spend focusing on God and on Jesus when our families are not around or doing something that will distract us.

I will be the first to say that dedicating time to spend with God is much easier to say than it is to do. However, I also know that a strong relationship with God needs time spent with Him, and that means we must prioritize time with God. We have already seen in Mark’s gospel that Jesus focused on spending time with God. In our own lives, we must make spending time with God a priority because everything else in our life will try to steal time away from this incredibly significant habit.

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 prioritize spending time with Him. Know that almost everything imaginable will try to steal time out of your life that you could spend with God, but believe that the time you spend with God will be rewarded in ways you cannot even begin to imagine. A strong relationship with God today leads into eternal life when Jesus returns. While there is more to the gospel than just this truth, the gospel message doesn’t mean much without this important detail.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue intentionally praying and studying the Bible for yourself to continue growing your personal relationship with God stronger. While pastors, speakers, authors, or even a podcaster can give you great things to think about, don’t neglect your time with God in favor of listening to other people. If you focus more on what others think and believe you will never be able to grow into the faith and knowledge that God has called you into. Instead, grow a personal relationship with God and let other people’s thoughts and ideas strengthen and encourage what you have already begun.

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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue moving further into John’s gospel, John the author turns His attention back onto John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner in ministry. In this short event, John the Baptist says some amazing things about his ministry pointing people to Jesus, and he gives a profound summary statement regarding eternal life that is worth paying attention to.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 3, and we will be reading from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 23, John tells us in his gospel that:

²³ John [the Baptist] was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were going there to be baptized. ²⁴ (This was before John was put into prison.)

²⁵ Some of John’s followers had an argument with a Jew about religious washing. ²⁶ So they came to John and said, “Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you spoke about so much? He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

²⁷ John answered, “A man can get only what God gives him. ²⁸ You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ, but I am the one sent to prepare the way for him.’ ²⁹ The bride belongs only to the bridegroom. But the friend who helps the bridegroom stands by and listens to him. He is thrilled that he gets to hear the bridegroom’s voice. In the same way, I am really happy. ³⁰ He must become greater, and I must become less important.

³¹ “The One who comes from above is greater than all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about things on the earth. But the One who comes from heaven is greater than all. ³² He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he says. ³³ Whoever accepts what he says has proven that God is true. ³⁴ The One whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God gives him the Spirit fully. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given him power over everything. ³⁶ Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who do not obey the Son will never have life. God’s anger stays on them.”

In this passage, as we read it together, a couple of ideas jumped out of these verses at me.

First, the way John the Baptist opens his reply about Jesus taking his followers is amazing. The way John the Baptist frames his ministry in relation to Jesus’ ministry is powerful. John knows that his ministry is entirely preparing people for Jesus, and when Jesus steps into the public eye, John wants people to pay more attention to Jesus than to him. In the first portion of his reply, John says: “A man can get only what God gives him. You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ, but I am the one sent to prepare the way for him.’ … He must become greater, and I must become less important.” (verses 27-28, 30)

This is powerful in my mind because it tells me John knew His ministry and influence would shrink as Jesus’ ministry and influence grew. John understood His role as forerunner for Jesus, and he humbly accepts that his time in the spotlight would fade as Jesus becomes more famous. It is also interesting to note that we read about a brief period of time when Jesus and John the Baptist were both baptizing people, and that this happened prior to John the Baptist being thrown into jail.

Part of me wonders if God let John be thrown in jail to symbolize or simply mark the end of John’s ministry in an attempt to help push John’s followers over to Jesus. From how John describes his ministry, John is clear that he is not the Messiah, or the Christ, but that he was sent to point people to the Messiah. Even while not saying it directly in this passage, John focuses attention onto the detail that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, who God had sent into the world.

However, in the second portion of John’s response, another idea jumped off the page at me. In verse 36, John tells all his followers, “Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who do not obey the Son will never have life. God’s anger stays on them.” This is a powerful statement. We discover that belief in Jesus brings eternal life, but lack of obedience forfeits eternal life.

Some might be quick to say that their preferred Bible translation does not say the word “obey”. Instead, their translation says something along the lines of: “he who does not believe the Son shall not see life”.

However, before our discussion dives into a debate about translations, the original Greek word in the first portion of this passage is different from the Greek word that is given later. The first word in our passage that is translated as “believe” has a similar but different meaning than the second word, which our passage translated as “obey”.

The first word, which is translated as “believe”, means “to be persuaded of” or “to place confidence in” which we could say is similar to trust. Trusting Jesus leads to having eternal life!

However, the second word, which our passage translated as “do not obey” has a slightly different meaning. While belief is part of its definition, it means not being persuaded, and there is a strong emphasis on the lack of belief leading to a lack of obedience. In my mind, this idea might be similar to apathy. If we are apathetic towards Jesus, and we don’t let the truth of the gospel affect our lives in visible ways, then we will never have life, much less eternal life.

Apathy towards Jesus is probably the worst thing we can do. If we say we believe Jesus, but we are apathetic towards Him, we will forfeit our salvation. Obeying Jesus does not give us eternal life, because when we obey Jesus, the focus can easily turn off of Jesus and onto how well we are obeying Him. Our salvation is not based on anything we can do or have done. We are only saved because of what Jesus accomplished for us.

When we accept Jesus’ gift and we let Him into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, we begin the process of life transformation, or as some religious people describe it: “sanctification”. When we actively move towards Jesus, we are also moving away from sin and away from disobedience. It is our change in direction that prompts us to be saved because we are trusting and believing in Jesus! We are saved when our focus and the direction of our lives is towards Jesus. We lose our salvation when we are apathetic towards Jesus or we outright reject Him.

John the Baptist understood this amazing truth before Jesus had fully stepped into the public spotlight, and his declaration about Jesus, regardless of how popular or unpopular it is, forms the foundation for Jesus’ ministry, Jesus’ life, and Jesus’ death on behalf of you and me!

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 hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus and in what Jesus accomplished for us during His time here on earth. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we are offered a gift we do not deserve and a gift we cannot earn, and it is up to us whether we will accept this gift, even if it is unpopular, or be apathetic towards both the gift and the Gift-Giver.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover who Jesus is, who God is, and why this matters to us living over 2,000 years after these events happened. Through the pages of the Bible, discover God’s story and let God’s story define your story as we move forward towards eternity!

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 apathetic towards where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Continuing our year moving through Mark’s gospel, we arrive at a passage that contains a warning, a very challenging truth and an amazing promise. However, while this passage is challenging and possibly confusing to some, we can claim the promise it includes in our own lives and our own mistakes because this passage’s promise is one that focuses on forgiveness.

Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 3, and we will read it using the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 20, Mark tells us that:

²⁰ Jesus went back home, and once again such a large crowd gathered that there was no chance even to eat. ²¹ When Jesus’ family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.

²² Some teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem and said, “This man is under the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons! He is even forcing out demons with the help of Beelzebul.”

²³ Jesus told the people to gather around him. Then he spoke to them in riddles and said:

How can Satan force himself out? ²⁴ A nation whose people fight each other won’t last very long. ²⁵ And a family that fights won’t last long either. ²⁶ So if Satan fights against himself, that will be the end of him.

²⁷ How can anyone break into the house of a strong man and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.

²⁸ I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are. ²⁹ But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven. That sin will be held against you forever.

³⁰ Jesus said this because the people were saying that he had an evil spirit in him.

In this passage, I am amazed at some of the details we discover. First, we discover that Jesus went back home, and the most likely place this is referring to is Capernaum, since this was where He first based His ministry. Capernaum is not too far away from Nazareth, which was where Jesus’ family lived.

The next detail I find fascinating. Verse 21 tells us “When Jesus’ family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.” The context of this verse is that Jesus was busy teaching people, healing people, and casting out demons. This might be why Jesus’ family thought He was crazy, or it could be Mark’s description of this situation, specifically that Jesus was so focused on helping people that “there was no chance even to eat”.

However, we don’t know what Jesus’ family concluded once they had arrived. I do find it interesting because if Jesus’ family, which I would assume to be His brothers and sisters and not His mom or dad in this context, remembered how Jesus was miraculously born and the promises that were given about Him at His birth, they would remember how extraordinary Jesus is. However, because this passage tells us Jesus’ family thought He was crazy, we can see the subtle truth that the longer something appears ordinary, the less believable an extraordinary change is. In the case of Jesus, regardless of His extraordinary birth, almost 30 years of normal development would be long enough to for someone to assume and conclude that there was nothing extraordinary about Him – which unfortunately means that they would miss seeing Jesus for who He came to be.

However, in addition to Jesus’ family believing He was crazy, teachers of Moses’ Law traveled up from Jerusalem to speak against Jesus. These teachers likely had seen enough evidence of Jesus’ successful healing and forcing out demons that they couldn’t argue with Jesus’ results. These teachers couldn’t challenge the fact that after Jesus forced a demon out, that demon was gone. The only angle for challenging Jesus was regarding how Jesus did this, and there are only two options available: either Jesus forced demons out with God’s power, or this was an elaborate trick of Satan.

Looking at Jesus’ response, we conclude that it is not logical for Satan to work against himself. If this was part of an elaborate trick, it was missing the trick. If Satan was being subtle and deceitful, the demons he would be casting out would be replaced by something worse. Satan is not interested in the well-being of humanity. Satan wants humanity to reject God and he wants us to distances ourselves as far away from the image of God we were created in as is possible.

If Jesus was receiving power from Satan to perform miracles, Satan would be fighting himself and ultimately prompting God to receive glory because in almost every case, God was glorified when Jesus helped or healed someone. Satan would not want to help or prompt God to receive glory. Satan’s claim is that God is untrustworthy and not worthy of glory at all. Helping Jesus give glory to God would run counter to Satan’s character.

However, a subtle truth we discover in this passage is that regardless of whether Jesus received Satan’s power or God’s power, how Jesus helped people ultimately doomed Satan’s kingdom. Either Satan fights himself and destroys his own kingdom, or Jesus really is more powerful than Satan is, and Satan’s kingdom is doomed because Jesus’ Source of power cannot be matched.

This passage concludes with Jesus promising us that anything we say or do can be forgiven, regardless of how bad those things are. However, speaking against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven. This is a huge challenge for us, but it is also a huge promise. The huge promise in this passage is that we can be forgiven of more than what we might think or believe. Whether your life is filled with sin or whether you have only sinned once, your sins can be forgiven.

However, what are sins that speak against the Holy Spirit, and why are they different?

While I’m sure many people have ideas and theories about this, my thought on this is partially based on what Mark tells us at the end of this passage. Verse 30, which comes immediately following this warning, tells us that “Jesus said this because the people were saying that he had an evil spirit in him”.

I believe the context for Jesus’ promise and warning have to do with where we attribute motives and actions on a spiritual level. If we learn that someone comes to God, repents, and puts their faith in Jesus, this can only happen if the Holy Spirit is involved. However, what if the context of this transformed life comes in the most unbelievable way? What if this person’s life transformation happens in a very questionable fashion?

Looking at what people were saying about Jesus, specifically that He used the power of demons and not the power of the Holy Spirit, we can conclude that speaking out against the Holy Spirit might refer to rejecting the Holy Spirit’s involvement in a situation where someone comes to God and claiming that this is really Satan working to deceive.

I will be the first to say that Satan is a master deceiver, but it is not up to us to judge the ways God chooses to work or chooses not to work, and God is not afraid of taking the most opposed person to Christianity and turning them into Jesus’ biggest supporter. For an example of this, we need to look no further than Saul in the book of Acts, and his conversion experience.

I believe this sin is unforgivable because the more we interpret the working of the Holy Spirit to Satan the more we will try to distance ourselves from whatever this work is. This has the effect of us distancing ourselves from God and when we are separated from God, we won’t have the belief or faith in Jesus that is needed to be saved – or to use another term: forgiven.

While we won’t have all our questions answered, and while some things God does might confuse us, it is better to hold onto our questions until we reach heaven than to reject God because He doesn’t fit into the box of our understanding or the box of our expectations. Let’s hold onto our faith in God and our belief in Jesus and accept that even though we don’t understand all of what God does, we can know that He loves us enough that Jesus came to redeem us from sin when we didn’t deserve redemption.

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 choose to trust Him even if some of the things He does do not make sense. If God doesn’t make sense to you or I, then don’t reject Him because of this. Simply accept that God is infinitely bigger than you and I and that we likely are incapable of fully understanding Him. A god we can fully understand is not much of a God.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and move closer to God. The more we spend time with God, the better we will be able to see and understand what He chooses to do. While we might not have all our questions answered, the only way to get any questions answered is to come to God with our questions and to let Him teach us through His Word.

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

As we continue moving through the events in John’s gospel, we come to the event surrounding one of the most famous Bible verses in the world. However, while this verse is incredible, the event and discussion that surrounds this verse is just as amazing. The conversation happens at night, and I wonder if some of the disciples had already fallen asleep.

Let’s read about what happened, and about what Jesus shared during this late-night conversation with a Pharisee. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 3, and we will read it from the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. ² After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

³ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴ “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

⁵ Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. ⁷ So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? ¹¹ I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. ¹² But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

¹⁸ “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. ²⁰ All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

²² Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.

In this late night conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus shares some amazing things, while always seeming to be one step ahead of Nicodemus’ question. When reading this event, it is as if Nicodemus asks Jesus a question, and Jesus answers what would likely have been Nicodemus’ follow up question.

However, the three big answers Jesus gives us are amazing and profound. Tucked within these big answers is a powerful message that we might be tempted to miss, skip, or ignore. Allow me to share a set of verses or statements pulled from Jesus’ three answers to Nicodemus’ questions. “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God. … I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. … As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. … God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.” (v. 3, 5, 14-15, 17-18)

In Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, there are two clear topics, and both of these topics are initiated by Jesus. The first topic is about being born again. The powerful truth I see in Jesus’ response is that those who have not been born spiritually are unable to see the Kingdom of God. In other gospels, Jesus shares how the Kingdom of God is present among us, and one way to understand Jesus’ words is that the Kingdom of God is present wherever God is actively moving, working, or being present.

With this working definition, we can conclude an obvious but easily overlooked truth that people who are not connected with the Holy Spirit cannot discern how God is working in the world today. Someone connected with the Holy Spirit can look around and see God working everywhere, whereas someone disconnected and uninterested in the Holy Spirit sees random chance, a series of coincidences, or just good or bad fortune.

The second topic of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus is about eternal life and judgment. It is within this second topic that we find our famous set of verses summarizing Jesus’ life and ministry. John, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17 tell us “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

However, the verses immediately before this and immediately after this are in many ways more powerful than these two famous ones. The two verses before verse 16 predict Jesus’ crucifixion and the results of His sacrifice: “as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.” (v. 14-15)

The two verses after verse 17 tell us about the one criteria God’s judgment will be based on when Jesus returns: “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.” (v. 18-19)

Jesus tells Nicodemus, and all of us, that God’s judgment is reserved for those who do not believe in God’s one and only Son, Jesus. The way people reject Jesus is by preferring darkness and evil actions over coming into the light and letting Jesus wash away their sins. In this framing of judgment, those who avoid God’s judgment are able to because they have placed their belief and trust in Jesus, and they have left their sinful lives in the past, while those who are judged are those who preferred sin and darkness over the offer of a Savior.

Jesus did not come into the world to fulfill the role of judge. Instead, Jesus came to this world to fulfill the role of God’s light, and Jesus’ presence separates those who want to seek God, His light, and His forgiveness, from those who reject God, prefer their sinful lives, and willingly choose to refuse the light God offers.

Whether we face judgment is 100% up to us. While it is unpopular to do in the world today, choosing Jesus in this life gives us a free pass to avoid the judgment when the world ends, and choosing Jesus in this life is done by leaving our sin-filled past in the past, and actively growing towards Jesus each and every day!

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 believe in the Light God sent into the world through Jesus. When we choose to follow and obey Jesus over our sin-filled desires, we are choosing life over judgment and death. We reject Jesus when we choose sin over our Savior. Always choose to obey Jesus when faced with a choice, because choosing Jesus in this life, regardless of the consequences, is never the wrong choice from eternity’s perspective.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to Jesus. Through personal prayer and study, grow a personal relationship with Jesus and lean on Him for the strength to face each day moving forward in this 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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!