Where the Heart of Jesus Is

What moves the heart of Jesus? How can I express to Jesus that I truly love him? There are many ways to answer this question. The Bible gives us several commands that, if followed, are pleasing to our Lord. However, there is one particular section of Scripture where Jesus is quite explicit in stating what he wants. 

John 21:15-17 NIV

[15] When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” [16] Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” [17] The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 

Very simply put, the heart of Christ is with his lambs and with his sheep. The ‘sheep’ are those who have put their faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, and as a result, have eternal life (Jn. 10:27-28). The ‘lambs’ might refer either to new Christian converts or those young in age. Either way, it is clear that Jesus is referring to those who are a part of the Church. Christ wants his body of believers to be fed and taken care of. 

To feed the sheep means to supply them with the whole truth of God's word. It means to relay to the sheep what God wants to say to them. A faithful shepherd earnestly listens to God's voice, puts effort in order to understand God's word, and aims to communicate that word clearly and thoroughly. 

To take care of the sheep means to befriend them, protect them, and to be interested in their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare. This cannot happen passively. Neither can it happen accidently. It takes a person with an intentional and willing heart to care for Christ's body. It's an active kind of love. 

The Apostle Paul writes: “Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Ac. 20:26-32)

Not everybody is called to be a shepherd. Not everyone is called to pastor a flock of Christ's sheep. However, the significance of John 21:15-17 should not be lost on us. Jesus is telling us what he cares about: his Church. Jesus is also telling us what is good for his Church: for them to be fed the truth of his word and to be well loved and cared for. 

As a follower of Jesus, there are some good questions I can begin to ask God: 

How can I bring my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ closer to your word? Do I send them Bible verses? Do I invite them to church? Do I invite them to have a spiritual conversation about Jesus? 

How can I befriend them, protect them, and take interest in their welfare? Do I call them to check in on them? Do I invite them out for a meal? Do I look for ways to serve them? 

God may not have called you to be a pastor, but I'm more than willing to guess he has at least some work for you to do amongst your Christian brothers and sisters. Ask him what that work is and get to it!

All praise, all glory, all honor be to God forever in the Compassionate Name of Jesus of Nazareth! Amen and amen!

You're Almost There!

“You're almost there!” What do you feel when you hear those words? Do you feel hopeful and excited? Do you feel confused, wondering what or where I'm talking about? Or do you feel nervous and jaded, wishing it were true but having lost hope? 

We often feel the chasm between where we are and where God has called us to be. If we've put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we know we are saved; but we also know that we fall short in so many areas. 

And I'll just speak for myself. I have poor time management. As a result, I don't sleep well some days and find myself fatigued. I don't commit to a steady diet. As a result, I don't have the energy and strength I could potentially have. I have trouble saying ‘no’. As a result, I overcommit to things and miss out on the most essential. 

But those are just some bad habits that most of us struggle with. What about things that are more serious: Addiction? Dysfunctional relationships? Debt? Depression? Disobedience? I don't believe God wants us suffering from these things. I understand that some things are uncontrollable and unmendable as part of God's purpose, but I don’t believe that should be our natural mindset. I believe in most cases, God wants us free. Because not only do such problems torment us, but they can prevent us from accomplishing His purposes for our lives. 

God wants us to be making disciples of all nations. He wants us to be spreading the good news about Jesus, building relationships with people so they are welcomed into the body of Christ, and nurturing relationships within the Church by means of discipleship. He wants us to serve the body of Christ and the community at large. How can we do such things when our own lives are a mess?

I don't believe God has called us to have a problem-free life, but can we please stop calling every dysfunction our “thorn in the flesh”? I believe God has called us to be free from many of the ailments of life that keep us from walking in our purpose. That freedom is going to come from obedience to God's Word. If you understand that you are on a journey towards freedom, my encouragement to you is that you are almost there! If obedience were not possible, God would not have commanded it. 

I believe that right now, God is asking you to have faith that you can be free! I believe God is asking you to have faith that you can become obedient! That you can become all that He has called you to be! That you can have the life that He has called you to live! And I think Jesus has shown us a very powerful way we can exercise such faith:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬)

Did you catch that last part? God as a loving Father wants to give good gifts to His children. However, He wants us to actively pursue those gifts. In the areas of our lives where we lack discipline, courage, strategy, integrity, and self-control; God wants us to ask, seek, and knock for breakthroughs! If God has proven one thing to me, it's that nothing I've ever achieved in my life has ever come apart from His grace. Even if my breakthrough came as a result of my own habits, discipline, and motivation, I can only credit God for enabling those habits, disciplines, and motivations. So I want you to earnestly begin desiring freedom and believing by faith that it's yours.

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” ‭‭(1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬-‭15‬) 

So why do I use the words “almost there”? And what does that even mean? Next week? Next month? Next year? Let me have you consider this:

If you believed you were very close and right on the verge of breakthrough, how would that change your drive, perseverance, and dedication? 

For me, I would be fighting fierce, praying with passion, seeking the Lord with consistency, and ready to do whatever it took to win! That's the attitude I want you to have towards your own freedom! 

Let's hear once more what Jesus has to say:

“Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭8‬)

I want you to notice three things in the above verses: (1) Jesus wants us to pray persistently without losing heart. (2) God will come through quickly and will not delay. (3) He is looking for faith on our part. 

I don't know what “almost there” means. I don't know what “quickly” means. I don't know what “without delay” means. But here's what I'm gonna do: I'm gonna ask, seek, and knock like it's tomorrow! And even though I'm not there yet, I'm gonna believe now that I have what I'm asking for, when I'm asking in accordance with God's will! 

All praise, all glory, all honor be to the Mighty and Everlasting Name of Jesus of Nazareth! Amen and amen!

The God Who Understands

Psalms 77:4-9 NLT

“You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray! I think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion?”

One of the things I love about the Bible, and particularly the Book of Psalms, is that it frees us to be human. It frees us to be vulnerable before God. It frees us to grieve and be weak in the arms of our Father. It’s okay to feel what we feel. It’s okay to not have it all together.

There comes a point in our struggles in this life where we simply have to let God love us. Where we simply have to let God carry us and allow that to be enough. It’s these moments of sorrow that we spend with God that are the most meaningful and impactful in our lives. It’s these moments where we get to witness God’s grace toward us in the most tender and compassionate way. 

Jesus himself was no stranger to suffering or anguish. Scripture says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isa. 53:3 ESV). Being a man of sorrows, Jesus was vulnerable before his Father and “offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears” (Heb. 5:7). 

If Jesus was weak before his Father, how much more does that allow us to be weak in our own times of distress. Jesus taught us how to be human. As a result of his prayers, he was heard by his Father (Heb. 5:7). This should fill us with hope. The Father did not leave Jesus in the grave. And neither will he leave you in your pit of despair.

As such, it is important that we remember the faithfulness of God. Continuing the flow of thought in Psalm 77, the psalmist writes: “But then I recall all you have done, O Lord ; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works” (vs. 11-12 NLT). In our time of difficulty, we can take time to remember the works God has done throughout the Bible, throughout history, and throughout our own lives. It doesn’t take away the pain of the moment, but it does begin to heal us and build our hope in God. 

If you are in a difficult situation right now, I want to encourage you that you are loved. I want to encourage you that you are worth it. No one knows, understands, and cherishes you like God does. Many people have misused the name of God, and as such, have painted him in a bad light. I encourage you to let go of that false image of God as cruel and merciless. Instead, I want you to look at God in the face of Jesus. Remember the sorrow, the beatings, the rejection, and the crucifixion he endured so you could be with him. That is your God. 

I pray that you would receive him now, even while you go through the unimaginable. In Jesus' name.

Fight by Declaring God's Greatness

Psalms 74:12-17 NLT

“You, O God, are my king from ages past, bringing salvation to the earth. You split the sea by your strength and smashed the heads of the sea monsters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan and let the desert animals eat him. You caused the springs and streams to gush forth, and you dried up rivers that never run dry. Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter.”

After lamenting the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, the psalmist Asaph makes the declaration above. He declares who God is and what God does. He recounts God’s mighty deeds of old and God’s present sovereignty over the earth. 

Here we see many of God’s attributes:

• He is the eternal God from ages past

• He is the source of all salvation, both physical and spiritual

• He has power over all nature, including the sea

• He is greater than the most powerful beasts and earthly creatures (other Scriptures speak of God’s power over military powers (Prov. 21:30-31) and the most powerful demonic forces (Eph. 1:18-23)

• He controls the streams of water that nourish the earth and give life

• He controls the day and the night

• He governs the full extent of the earth

• He governs the seasons of the earth

God’s power and might can be a great comfort to us, but only if we recall it and declare it like the psalmist has here. Why is declaration important? Think of it like this. Soap has no cleansing power if you don’t apply it to your body. Paint has no power to change the color of an object unless you apply it to that object. Likewise, the word of God will not be as effective as it can be until you apply it to your problem.

The next time you are in a spiritual battle, go to war against the enemy by declaring the greatness of God out loud! Declare God’s greatness over and against any enemy that rises against you; including ailments, infirmities, strongholds, demonic influences, external circumstances, and even your own sin! Watch how God moves when you persistently exercise your faith and fight using His Word!

All praise, all glory, all honor be to God forever in the Mighty Name of Jesus of Nazareth! Amen and Amen!

Have We Understood the Impact of Sin?

Psalm 74:3–8 NLT

“Walk through the awful ruins of the city; see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary. There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries; there they set up their battle standards. They swung their axes like woodcutters in a forest. With axes and picks, they smashed the carved paneling. They burned your sanctuary to the ground. They defiled the place that bears your name. Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!” So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.”

This psalm outlines the devastation brought upon the Jerusalem Temple in 586 BC. This devastation came as a result of the sin of God’s chosen people. The primary problem with sin is that it dishonors God. It dishonors our Creator, Father, King, and Friend. But in this passage, we also see how sin destroys everything in its path. 

Sin destroys:

• The home that God gives to his children.

• Our intimacy with God and our ability to worship him. 

• Our witness in bearing the name of Christ in front of the watching world. 

• That which is beautiful, including our families and loved ones. 

And so much more! Reading Psalm 74 can be heartbreaking, but such destruction does not have to be our future! If we wholeheartedly turn from our sin and seek God’s help, we have the hope of redemption! The words of James 4:6-10 are instructional:

“And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

God will not turn away the person who seeks him in humility. Just as the father of the prodigal son received his son with joy and open arms, so too does our Heavenly Father receive his children when they return to him!

“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 15-16).

Jesus Is

John 7:38 ESV

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 

There is something within us that longs for what this world cannot give. We long for love, unity, rest, vitality, and life. Yet we are constantly disappointed by circumstances, other people, and ourselves. The answer to the longing of the human soul comes from One that is not of this world. 

Jesus says, “Everyone who drinks of this [earthly] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn. 4:13-14). 

How exactly do we receive this water that Jesus is speaking of? It comes down to one simple word: believe!

• Believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God who paid for your sins–both now and then–and gave you eternal life.

• Believe that Jesus is the source of eternal peace that cannot be stolen. 

• Believe that Jesus is the source of eternal joy that cannot be corrupted.

• Believe that Jesus is the source of eternal love that will not forsake you. 

• Believe that Jesus is the source of energy and vitality in order to do every good work.

• Believe that Jesus is the strength of your heart that will allow you to withstand the fiercest trials this world has to bring. 

• Believe that Jesus is the One who will one day make everything in this world right—as it should be. 

And when it feels like all you know is sin, failure, weakness, fear, and pain—continue believing even then that Jesus is sufficient for you! Continue believing even then that the rivers of living water are already and still within you! 

Lord Jesus, I declare now that what I see and feel does not negate what is true. I have life because of you. And I have everything I could ever want. You are my portion—both now and forevermore.

All praise, all glory, all honor be to God forever in the Everlasting Name of Jesus of Nazareth! Amen and Amen!

Rise Up, Speak Up, and Defend!

Psalms 72:12-14 NLT

“He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them. He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them. He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him.”

What a King we serve! And what a hope-inspiring passage of scripture this is, reminding us that we will one day live under the reign of King Jesus—an eternal reign of justice! 

But in reading this, I couldn't help but think, Jesus, if you defend the cause of the poor, oppressed, weak and needy, then why is there poverty, oppression, and injustice? Surely this isn't your will! And in fact, it isn't the moral will of our Great King at all that evil runs rampant and that the weak suffer at the hands of the cruel. However, the world we live in is under the control of the evil one (1 Jn. 5:19). 

One day, Jesus will reign over all and everything will be made right. But until then, what do we do? Jesus gives us a hint in the Lord's prayer: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10 NIV). As Christians, we are to pray that God's will for justice be done on earth now as it will be in eternity. 

Additionally, God instructs us in this way: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Prov. 31:8-9). God challenges His children to be His hands and feet—to fight for the sake of the poor, oppressed, weak, and needy. And in the book of Acts, we see the early church doing just that! (Acts 2:44-45, 4:32-35, 6:1-7, and 11:29-30.)

Lord, we come humbly before you. We thank you that you became poor so that we might become rich in you. Thank you for saving us when we were lost. Now Lord, we ask that you breathe upon us and give us courage. Give us the courage to make a difference in a world full of evil. May we hear the cry of those who are suffering. May we defend those who cannot defend themselves. We ask that your Spirit of justice would move within us to act, so as to eliminate all injustice that you bring before us to change. It is only by your grace that we can do this. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!

All praise, all glory, all honor be to God forever in the Righteous and Everlasting Name of Jesus of Nazareth! Amen and Amen!

Giving God His Due Praise

Psalms 71:20, 23 NLT

“You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me.”

How easy it is to call on the name of the Lord in the day of trouble, but to forget him when he actually does deliver. How easy it is to attribute the Lord's gracious deliverance to mere luck or happenstance. 

In Luke 17:11-19, we read the story of a time Jesus healed 10 lepers. After being healed, they went on their way, but one of the men came back and thanked Jesus for what Jesus had done for him. Another great example is Noah. Noah was on the ark 40 days and 40 nights as the world was getting flooded. Yet after him and his family got off the ark, Noah built an altar to the Lord (Gen. 8:20).

I think too often, I land among the 90% of people who fail to give God his due praise. It's easy for me to thank God after a major breakthrough in life. But what I forget is that every breath is a gift. The food that I eat is a gift. The family I have is a gift. And I could keep going on and on. One pastor put it like this: If we truly grasped how good God is to us, we wouldn't need worship leaders. We would just be praising God all day long.

Lord, we are feeble and can often forget to be grateful. But we thank you for your mercy toward us. Give us glimpses of your goodness throughout the day, and give us the grace to praise you for that goodness! Remind us of your salvation and how you sustain us daily, getting us through the hardest of circumstances. Your kindness knows no bounds!

All praise, all glory, all honor be to God forever in the Hope-Empowering Name of Jesus of Nazareth! Amen and Amen!

When I Fail to Proclaim Jesus

 

Psalms 71:15-16 NLT

“I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord. I will tell everyone that you alone are just.”

What have you been talking about lately? Is it Jesus? Have you been proclaiming God's righteousness, saving power, and mighty deeds? 

This is not a guilt trip, but an opportunity for us to examine our own heart. We know that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Lk. 6:45 ESV). If I'm full of the Holy Spirit, I will naturally be speaking of spiritual things. If I am in awe of God's majesty and goodness, then I will naturally be telling other people about how amazing my God is.

Now don't misunderstand. If my heart isn't full of God, it doesn't mean that I'm backslidden or that I don't love God. In fact, I may even be doing a lot of godly things. But what I may be missing is a deeper level of intimacy with God. I may be low on my tasting and seeing the goodness of God. And this may just be the result of not spending that special one-on-one time with Jesus.

But what about those of us who pray and read the Bible regularly? I pose this question to you, faithful Christian: what if God wants to take you deeper? What if God wants you to seek Him more earnestly? To worship Him more abandonly? To just—sit with Him more patiently? We deprive ourselves of the wonderful experience of His majesty when we don't prioritize and maximize our time with God. 

Don't see this as a guilt trip. See it as an invitation! Your Father loves you and wants to spend time with you. Press into Him more! Hunger and thirst for Him more! He wants to blow you away so that you can't help but proclaim His glory to the nations! Because once we've tasted and seen God's goodness afresh, what greater thing is there to talk about?

All praise, all glory, all honor be to God forever in the Everlasting Name of Jesus of Nazareth! Amen and Amen!