Walking Step by Step with Jesus

 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 
and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 
But sexual immorality and impurity of any kind or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. Eph 5:1–3 NRSVue

There are hidden jewels in scripture which can teach us so much wisdom. “Walking in love” is one of them. Life is a step by step experience. Prayer warriors have activated the power of God to change nations. 

Moses exercised an amazing gift of faith to release the miracle working power of God.

But the most powerful intercessors began their journey with a single step. They prayed short simple prayers.

Billy Graham preached to huge crowds but he started his journey with simple prayers and learning to understand simple bible truths.

The Apostle Paul literally walked from one place to another as he evangelised much of the Roman Empire. 
Jesus Himself preached to crowds but he often took time to minister to one person at a time. He also walked from place to place.

Walking in love is a life lived one step at a time, always motivated by the love of God and a sincere desire to bless others.

When I go shopping, I try to share a friendly word with the cashier in the supermarket. If you see someone who needs a little more money to pay, you can pay for that person yourself. 

Life is a journey but it consists of many small steps, many small tasks, many opportunities to help others.

But there is an unfortunate trap when we use this wonderful biblical word carelessly. Christians speak of their life as their Christian Walk. It becomes a religious expression without any meaning. 

I would rather people never used these words unless they are meaningful and used meaningfully.

Walking in love also teaches us to constantly look for ways of making small changes in our lives, constantly making small improvements as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

Many small positive changes make a huge difference. When you trust Jesus to forgive your sins, your faults don't suddenly disappear, but God helps you to learn and improve little by little.

If you are untidy, you can spend a few minutes each day cleaning up some messy clutter.

If you are not a good bible reader, read a little every day. God will help you to improve and read more.

But there are some faults which we cannot deal with little by little. If you steal from shops, you cannot please God but stealing a little less or less often. Just stop it.

The same applies to casual sex or drunk driving. Just stop it.

We Need God in our Lives

 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. Gal 5:16 NLT

What are the works of the sinful nature? The original Greek New Testament calls these the works of the flesh. 

There is nothing wrong with your natural flesh and blood, the organs of your body. God created your body and he does not make bad things. But when we let our flesh and blood direct our lives, things go wrong.

If you are a good driver, your car is a blessing, but if your car engine runs without direction from a driver, it can do untold damage.

God has given you a soul and a spirit, designed to direct your mind and body. If your soul and spirit are closely connected to God’s Spirit, and you are guided by the love and goodness of God, your mind and body will be a blessing.

I have recently listened to sermons about repenting of sin. We need that from time to time, but I had the feeling that something was missing. 

Repenting is not just about not doing bad things. It is not enough to avoid rage, hate and malice. God wants us to love, care and help, not just with outward deeds but moved by genuine concern for others. 

It is not enough to avoid revenge. God wants us to forgive people who hurt or threaten us. It is not enough to avoid bearing grudges. God wants us to love and bless our enemies.

When Jesus was dying on the cross, suffering unspeakable agony, tormented by vile verbal abuse, he cried out to the Father to forgive his tormentors. 

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” … Lk 23:34 NRSV

God wants us to stop doing bad things, but He also wants us to be perfectly pure, kind and loving like Jesus. If we think we can do all of this, we are sadly mistaken. Jesus was the perfect Son of God, God in human form. We are very faulty, flawed human beings. We learned what we know from faulty parents, faulty friends and faulty teachers. 

We can change some of our behaviour with human will power but we need fixing and rebuilding from the inside. 

Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. If we confess our sins, He will forgive us, but we do not have the power to be like Jesus on the inside.

When Jesus was executed, his natural body died, but his spirit lived on. Three days later her returned to this world with a supernatural immortal body. He appeared to his friends and disciples and spent 40 days with them before he returned to heaven. 

A week later the Spirit of God came upon 120 of His followers and changed them from the inside.

Now you and I can have the same blessing, the Spirit of God living inside us and rebuilding our human nature, so we can be more like God on the inside.
If you really want to put your life in God’s hands, just ask Him. He will not turn you away.

Jesus invites us today to come to him to be changed and to have a new life with himself.

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NRSV

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 
For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 
Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Lk 11:9–13 NIV

Porn Dealer finds God

 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Mt 20:16 NIV

You did not come into this world by chance, no matter how good or evil your parents were, no matter whether your parents planned your birth or did not want you at all. 

God has a calling for every single person. God is our Creator. He created you. God is a good, creative Creator. He does not create anything or anyone without a good purpose. 

John Dawson was a missionary from New Zealand who served in Los Angeles. He wanted to reach the owner of a porn shop for Jesus. He had breakfast with this man every week and explained the gospel to him. The man believed everything, but was still not ready to give his life to Jesus.

Then John Dawson received a new insight from the Holy Spirit.

He told the man that he was hard on the outside but had a soft heart. God had given him the gift of mercy, but he was using that gift wrongly by giving false comfort through pornography.

The porn dealer was deeply moved and he began to hope.

That same day, the man made Jesus the Lord of his life.

Jesus told the religious professionals of His day that they were blind because they were proud know-alls.

… Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 

For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Mt 21:31–32 NIV
 
There are still such theological experts and high-ranking church leaders today. This story of Jesus and the religious professionals is unfortunately still relevant.

Are you a human being? Then you are called. You have a calling from Jesus, but your calling must be activated. You must believe and repent.

Are you already converted, but somehow stuck? Your life is more or less virtuous, but for you, God's kingdom is only in the Bible and in heaven. 

Jesus has very specific plans for you and important tasks.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:10 NIV

You can continue to strive to be a good, virtuous Christian, or you can take time out to perceive God's guidance and find the true purpose of your life.

“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. Ps 39:4 NIV

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 
For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Mt 7:7–8 NIV

God Created you for a Purpose

 God is our creator. We are all different because God did not make any two people the same. God made one person to be a musician and another person to be a mechanic. 

Frederick Handel wrote the Messiah, perhaps the most wonderful Christian music of all time, but if he had tried to be a preacher, he would probably have been a terrible failure.

I know a man who was a devoted Muslim fundamentalist until he became a Christian. He became an amazing personal evangelist for Jesus. Then people in his Church told him he should become a pastor, but he answered emphatically: “That is not my calling.”

He was a biologist. God called him to go back to university and study for a doctorate in biology. Every Muslim at that university heard the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Sadly, there are people who were created by God for one purpose but they go a different way. They may be Christians and they may go to heaven when they die, but they never fulfilled their potential.

A Christian pastor was discussing a difficult problem with the elders of his church. He was frustrated because he could not find a solution. Then he seemed to blow a fuse and resigned on the spot.
“I never wanted to be a pastor but it was what my mother wanted me to do!”

Did you choose your path in life or did others choose it for you? Most importantly of all, did God create you for what you do?

God told the prophet Jeremiah to visit a potter’s workshop. God showed the potter struggling to make a piece of pottery for a specific purpose, but the clay had a flaw, so the potter started again, trying to form the clay into the shape he wanted.

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Jer 18:4 NIV

If you have spoiled your life, God is not finished with you. You may have committed serious sins or you may have simply chosen a path in life that God did not create you for.

If you are too old to do what God wanted you to so when you were young, God can still create a new you with a new calling to follow, a calling that fits your unique God given nature.

Some Christians misunderstand the parable of the potter. They think everything is determined by God, and we are simply clay in the hands of the Creator.

But in the story of the potter, God speaks to Israel, pleading with the Jews to submit to His will for them. God appeals to them to use the free will He has given them.

Then the word of the LORD came to me.
He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. Jer 18:5–6 NIV

“Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ Jer 18:11 NIV

God is also speaking to you and me through this story. He has given you and me a free will to choose His purpose or to go the wrong way.

Paul. Greatest sinner became God's Messenger

 God used the shameful past of Rahab and other prostitutes as a testimony to help other sinful people believe and be forgiven.

Paul's sinful past was not adultery or witchcraft, but self-righteous religious pride.

Paul's religious ambition drove him to be an outstanding biblical scholar, but there was no humility of love in his heart. His religion led him to persecute and murder followers of Jesus.

Paul became an enemy of Jesus and an enemy of the God he thought he served. Then came the day when everything changed.

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.
“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:3–6 NIV

God never forgot Paul's sin. It is recorded in the Bible, in the Word of God.

Paul also remembered his sin.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 1 Tim 1:15–16 NIV

Paul was a living example of the mercy and grace that were at the centre of his message and ministry.
If there is extreme shame in your life, be encouraged.

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. Is 54:4 NIV

How can the deepest shame lead to eternal blessing in God's hands? Jesus hung stark naked on the cross to open the door to eternal glory for you and me.

Jesus forgave prostitutes and brutal religious leaders when they believed and repented. What can we learn from this. Pray for pimps, drug dealers and hypocritical preachers. No one is too bad to be forgiven.

You are the Light of the World

 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 NIV

Light is sown like seed for the righteous And gladness for the upright in heart. Ps 97:11 NASB95

When you receive the New Life that can only be found in Jesus, God transforms your heart and soul. God comes into your life.

God is light and he wants to shine in you. He wants to make your whole life shine.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Cor 5:17 NRSV

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. Is 60:1 NRSV

Sometimes this transformation is immediate and dramatically visible, but sometimes a newly converted Christian changes step by step.

I know a Christian woman in Germany who used to visit brothels. She invited a prostitute to a church service. In the middle of the service, the prostitute suddenly stood up. She shouted loudly: ``Now I believe in Jesus. I want to be baptised now.

Another prostitute started attending a church. She began to believe. She tried to be kind, sincere and gentle.

Then she started donating in the church. Finally she plucked up the courage to leave the brothel behind.

When did she actually become a Christian? Only God knows.

Will you allow Jesus to love with you and through you to reach the lost people around you?

You may want to genuinely love other people like Jesus, but you cannot love like Jesus without receiving the love of God from Jesus himself.

In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 Jn 4:10 NRSV

The heart of the Christian life is to receive God's love every day and to pass it on every day.

Overcoming Despair and Bitterness

Have you experienced a humiliating defeat? Maybe you've lost your job or your marriage.
You wonder if you are the victim or if you have failed yourself.

Many Christians give up or blame God themselves.

Some blame themselves. They become passive and resigned.

This is very dangerous. It can lead to a serious depressive illness, perhaps alcoholism, or pornography addiction, or suicide.

The most miserable failure in the Bible was Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. When he realised his terrible guilt, he did not plead for God's forgiveness. Instead, he fell into despair and self-hatred.

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.

“I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. Mt 27:3–5 NIV

No matter how you have failed, you are still totally loved by Jesus. He wants to forgive you. He wants to give you a completely new start.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Ps 34:18 NIV

Peter also let Jesus down.

After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”

Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.

Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. Mt 26:73–75 NIV

But Peter did not give up. Jesus met him and Peter was ready to receive forgiveness and love from Jesus.

When you are rock bottom, you can reject yourself or hate your adversaries. But you won't find a way out with hatred and rejection.

Forgive those who bully or abuse you. Above all, forgive yourself.

This is so hard, but no one was more terribly abused than Jesus, hanging stark naked on the cross. How did he pray?

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Lk 23:34 NRSV

But maybe you are a victim of sexual abuse. Can you demand justice?

Why not? God is the God of mercy, but also of justice. If criminals are not punished, they can continue to sin and destroy other victims.

But it is so important that you allow God to cleanse your heart of all bitterness.

Are you a victim or a failure? It doesn't matter. Jesus loves you. He still has good plans for you.

Despite everything, you can have a future.

Strong and Weak Believers

 Do you trust Jesus with all your heart? Are you determined to live in a way that pleases God? Then you will be completely forgiven, not partially forgiven.
Are you saved then?

Absolutely.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

You are either on your way to heaven or on your way to hell.

But Jesus preached not only forgiveness, but repentance. God doesn't just want to forgive you, he wants to free you from sin.

When sinners are converted, we often see dramatic changes, but in other cases the change seems slower, but if your character does not begin to change, your faith is nothing more than religion. Religion does not save.

My father gave his life to Jesus when he was 88. He lived another 3 years after that. He was demented and helpless, but we saw a change. Before his conversion, he was desperate and hopeless.

How are you doing? ‘Still alive.’

But afterwards we saw no trace of despair.

Paul was very strict in some respects.

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor 6:9–10 NIV

But he recognised that some Christians are strong in faith and others are weak. We need to remember that it is not a sin to desire something forbidden. It is only sin if we give in to temptation.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul recognises Christians as saints, although he then writes in the letter about their sins and character flaws, which they have not yet overcome.

There are Christians who regard sex before marriage as normal, and these Christians should recognise their danger.

But there are also Christians who condemn themselves for every misstep and see themselves as hopeless failures and damned sinners.

It is for these Christians that Paul wrote the marvellous promises of God.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Rom 5:1–2 NIV

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Rom 8:1 NIV

Love Your Neighbour

 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Gal 5:14 NIV

I must love my neighbour, says Jesus.
Who is my neighbour?

• My neighbour is my workmate or my boss.

• My neighbour is the pimp who kidnaps my daughter.

• My neighbour is the homosexual who wants to seduce my son.

• My neighbour is the terrorist who threatens me.

• My neighbour is the prostitute down the street.

A Christian woman had a daughter who went astray. She had a bad boyfriend who led her away from God's ways.

Then the unthinkable happened. The mother heard that the bad boyfriend had murdered her daughter. She was devastated.

On the way home, the Holy Spirit spoke to her heart. She must forgive the murderer. But not only that, she must visit him in prison. Then the challenge became really extreme. She had to accept him into her heart as her own son.

She couldn't do it all. She prayed fervently for the help of the Holy Spirit and received the grace to do the impossible.

As she continued to visit the man in prison and pray for him with God's love, his heart softened and he turned to Jesus.

After many years, he was released from prison. Now the mother and adopted son are a team. They go around sharing their testimony.

Should we pray for our enemies? According to Jesus, yes. But should we seek close friendship with every prostitute and drug dealer? Of course not.

If your husband rapes you, throws you against the wall and brutally hurts you over and over again, should you stay with him? Of course not.

It's about placing your heart in the hands of Jesus so that God can cleanse your soul of resentment.

God is love. You can ask God to help you see difficult people through the eyes of God's love.

No one Loves like Jesus

 In the Bible we see how some very strictly religious Jews were anxious to obey all of God's commandments.

It is curious that Jesus was cruelly persecuted and his most fierce opponents were strictly religious Jews.

Jesus agreed in some ways with these religious men that we must all obey God's commandments.

But Jesus had a very different view of God's commandments. For the strictly religious people, sin could be avoided altogether by always following a list of rules.

Jesus taught that you could by no means be sinless with this view.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean. Mt 23:25–26 NRSV

Jesus taught that the root of sin is not in external actions, but in our soul or heart.

But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” Mt 15:18–20 NIV

If you not only always speak only the truth and never lie, if you always proclaim God's truth and always do so with wisdom, love and compassion, then you are righteous.

But if you boast about your own virtue and criticise other Christians critically and without compassion, then you expose yourself as a self-righteous sinner.

Only Jesus was without sin and no one else. He is our role model.

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Mt 14:14 NIV

How should we understand Jesus' deep compassion? In the original Greek text, the word is ``splagchnisthḗsomai‘’.

What does that mean?

The suffering of the sick aroused such compassion in Jesus that it turned his stomach.

If we want to understand what God's justice means, we should recognise that God's love must determine and shape our character.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 Jn 4:8 NIV

If you think you have no sin, you must ask yourself if you love like Jesus.

“...‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
…. ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mk 12:29–31 NIV

No one loves like Jesus. That is why we all need God's grace and forgiveness every day.

Repent and Believe.

 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Heb 12:14 NIV

If this text does not inspire the fear of God in you, then there is something wrong with your faith.

For example, if you are involved in pornography addiction, should you expect to go to heaven?

It's good to proclaim the truth of God, but if you keep aggressively belittling those who think differently, do the outsiders see the love of God in you? Will your religious pride open the door to heaven for you?

If we are saved only by holy living, we must live godly lives.
What does that mean? Can we earn eternal life?

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph 2:8–9 NIV

We are saved from condemnation by God's grace, but we must never forget that we are saved not only from God's punishment, but from sin, from the old unholy life.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Rom 6:1–2 NIV

God gives us grace to live as disciples of Jesus, not as sinners who expect God's forgiveness lightly and unconditionally.

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Jn 8:31–32 NASB95

I read a story about a prostitute who attended a church service. She kept attending the service and she came to faith. Her thinking and character changed bit by bit. Then she began to tithe. A while later, she left her work in the brothel and began to lead a completely new life.

This conversion was a process. When was she accepted by Jesus as a child of God? Only God knows that. We must not rush to judgement, but we do know one thing: If she had stayed in the brothel, she would never have got to heaven.

But there are many Christians who were never shameful sinners like this prostitute, but they were nevertheless secretly addicted to pornography, or they were cruel husbands, or greedy businessmen. If they don't repent, should they expect God's blessing and salvation?

What did Jesus say?

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mk 1:14–15 NIV

Repentance and Mercy

 There are Christians who want to think positively, but their thinking is not Christian.
Someone is involved in porn and they are trying to think positively.

‘God is merciful. I am saved by God's grace alone. Jesus promised never to condemn me. I can stay in my filth, but I expect a heavenly future.’

What does the Bible say about this?

Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites,

thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor 6:9–10 NRSV

Jesus and Paul were extremely positive.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom 5:1 NIV

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Rom 8:1 NIV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Rom 8:31 NASB95

But Jesus did not come to comfort us in sin and misery, but to save us from sin and misery.

Did Jesus view sinners negatively? Not at all.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NASB95

Prostitutes are also stressed and often traumatised. All troubled women and men are invited without reservation. Jesus also loves Nazis and human traffickers.

Jesus sees wonderful potential in every person.

“For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Lk 7:47 NASB95

Jesus cast hundreds of devils out of a wild demonised man. He immediately became an evangelist.

Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.

He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!”

For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” Mk 5:5–8 NIV

Immediately the poor man was set free and became completely normal.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.
Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. Mk 5:18–20 NIV

God Wants to Comfort You

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Mt 5:4 NRSV

Who can expect comfort from God?

According to some commentaries, this only applies to people who are sorry for their sins and want to repent, or to Christians who mourn in a close relationship with Jesus because of the sins in the world.

It is undoubtedly true that God forgives and comforts us when we hate our sins and want to repent.

It is also true that Jesus weeps over the sins of the world. When we weep in close communion with him, we experience the comfort of his tender love.

But can we only expect God's comfort when we mourn over sin?

When your child or sister dies, are you happy? No. You are devastated. This has nothing to do with sin, but God is love. He loves you deeply and wants to comfort you.

If your beloved dog dies, do you think your grief is not important to God?

I appreciate good Bible commentaries. I've been an avid student of the Bible for years.

But beware of pious sermons that focus on sin with a narrow religious view.

This religious mindset all too often leads to a critical attitude when dealing with neighbours and colleagues.

With a narrow focus on virtue and sin, one can become unconsciously judgemental, like the Pharisees in the Bible.

This way of thinking also often leads to unloving religiosity in congregations and painful guilt complexes in Christians who want to be holy.

Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Lk 12:1 NRSV

He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. Ps 147:3 NRSV

Whatever your reason for suffering, Jesus wants to comfort you. If you choose to believe in His love and trust Him, you will experience His comforting love.

Am I saying that your sin is not an issue for Jesus?

God forbid! Jesus died to take the punishment for our sin. Jesus feels your pain; He loves you unconditionally just as you are, but He not only wants to forgive your sins completely, He also wants to remove them.

He wants to help you live a whole new life and enjoy His loving friendship.

Salvation without Repentance?

 A Catholic friend of mine once told me that her husband was having an affair with another woman. He went to confession every week, confessed his sin, went to communion and then did the same thing again. It's not only Catholics who mock God's grace in this way.

There is no salvation without repentance, but is one not saved until one can demonstrate a completely virtuous life?

Some Christians claim that all sins are equally evil. If a man no longer visits the brothel, but he still smokes cigarettes, then he cannot be recognised as a Christian. But is that true?

Only perfect holiness can escape God's judgement. That is why God the Father sacrificed his Son on the cross to take our punishment upon himself.

But if all sins, big or small, are forgiven, do we have to give up everything that is not holy? Some Christians take this idea for granted, but how does God judge?

Are all sins equally evil in God's eyes?

If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.

All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. 1 Jn 5:16–17 NIV

What sins are so terrible that intercession is useless?

God does not explain everything in the Bible. That's why we need mutual communication with the Holy Spirit through prayer. We need a listening heart. Some Christians claim that all problems can only be solved with biblical teachings, but this is not the case.

But one thing is totally clear in this Bible text. Some sins are much worse in God's eyes than others. Even in the Old Testament, the offender had to be executed for some sins, but God would forgive many sins without punishment.

A Christian who visits prostitutes is on the way to hell, but in my opinion God will not condemn anyone for smoking cigarettes.

God will also forgive serious sins, like David's, but not without repentance.

A young woman had Christian parents, but she had not chosen the Christian life. As a teenager she was a party girl. When her father was dying, she visited her parents to say goodbye.

When he died, he was suddenly supernaturally revitalised. He sat upright and shone with the glory of God. His daughter was converted on the spot. From that day on, she loved Jesus with all her heart.

She often sat in the garden, smoked a cigarette and had loving conversations with Jesus. She had not experienced a visible visitation and she did not hear an audible voice, but her spirit was wide awake and she heard God's loving thoughts from Jesus.

One day she heard the voice of Jesus in her heart: ‘You don't need those cigarettes anymore.’ With God's grace, she gave up cigarettes without painful difficulty.

Jesus is holy but also gentle and loving.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Mt 11:28–29 NASB95

What is Faith and Repentance?

 Muslims believe that they can avoid the flames of hell if their virtues outweigh their sins. They endeavour to live a virtuous and religious life in order to earn their eternal reward with Allah.

Jesus taught quite differently.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NASB95

Then we are confronted with a question that will determine our eternal destiny.

What is faith?

After the war, the top leaders of the Nazi government in Germany were arrested. They had to stand trial for war crimes before a court in Nuremberg. Some were then executed.

Before the trial, the Americans appointed chaplains to provide pastoral care for the prisoners.

Some of the leading Nazis were Catholic, others Protestant. They were baptised as children and belonged to this or that denomination. Do you think these criminals would go to God's heaven?

Göring was supposedly Protestant. He wanted nothing to do with Jesus and he didn't want to be humiliated before the court. He committed suicide.

Hitler's foreign minister reacted differently. Von Ribbentrop repented.

Then we have to ask what real repentance is. Many attend a church service, but God does not play an important role in their everyday lives. They confess a sin now and then, but they do not change.

Was Joachim von Ribbentrop really converted? Before his execution, he begged his wife to bring up their children as Christians.

When Jesus began to preach, he told the Jews that they had to believe. What was that supposed to mean? Most Jews already believed in God.

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mk 1:14–15 NIV

What is true repentance? What does repentance mean? The Greek word is METANOIA. It means a significant change of mindset. Whoever repents in the Christian sense changes his thinking and his attitude, just like von Ribbentrop before his execution.

Anyone who genuinely believes in Jesus believes in the risen Son of God. He opens his heart to the love of God. He believes in God's word and the message of Jesus himself.

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. Jn 10:27–28 NRSV

There is a religious faith found in some churches, but so many people in church don't have a personal relationship with Jesus.

What role does Jesus play in your everyday life?

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NRSV

Jesus is still with us. He has sent his Holy Spirit into this world. He wants to help you today.

‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NKJV

God Changes Bad People

There are terrible people who repent and God forgives them.

Hermann Zaiss was a very blessed German evangelist at the end of the war. As early as 1945, thousands and thousands of people from all regions of Germany and other countries came to his meetings.

Many gravely ill people were miraculously healed, but these were not the greatest miracles.  

There was a young soldier in the British army of occupation. He had a burning hatred of the German people.

His commander was a Canadian officer who looked upon this young man with Christian compassion because his uncontrollable bitterness was poisoning his own soul.

This young man was no monster. A Jewish child from Germany, he had found refuge in England, but his entire family was murdered by the Nazis.

The Canadian officer brought the emotionally wounded young soldier to the meeting where the German evangelist was preaching.

Also among the audience was another seriously injured man. He was a hardcore Nazi from the Waffen SS, a loyal disciple of the Führer.

In the last days of the war, he was hit by an artillery shell explosion.

When he woke up from a coma, he saw a black American nurse smiling at him with Christian compassion.

He no longer understood the world. One of his legs had been torn apart, and he was permanently crippled.

The helpless SS officer and the embittered young Jew listened to the sermon, saw the healings and felt the presence of God with his love and mercy.

Then their hearts became warm and soft. They turned to Jesus and testified of their experience.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Ps 147:3 NIV

Then the most amazing of all miracles took place. They became firm friends.

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 1 Jn 3:14 NIV

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Ro 5:1 NIV

Don't just feel bad. Do something!

Don't just feel bad. Do something.

There are people who always try to do the right thing. Their house and study are clean and everything is in order.

They pay their bills on time and always contact all their relatives on their birthday.

They are good workers and they save money.

They go to church every Sunday and read the Bible every day.

But sometimes they feel restless. They can't get rid of the question.

“Who am I actually? What am I on this earth for?”

Then there are other people who dream of something. They want to achieve something and be someone.

They develop their talents, read good books and pray for wisdom.

They play beautiful music or write a blog. Maybe they write a book, or go on mission trips.

But they may neglect their family, or their daily duties and chores.

If you are a hardworking perfectionist,  but you feel empty inside, you don't need to stay as you are.

Go for a walk. Look at the trees and clouds. Ask God to show you what He created you to be. 

If you are a dreamer, but you feel bad because you are disorganised, you can also do something different today.

You can tidy a drawer in your desk. You can throw away some papers.

Are you a workaholic husband? Go for a walk with your wife in the park.

Are you a hardworking housewife whose house must always be spotless and sparkling clean? Take some time out and play with your kids.

Maybe you are lonely and stuck by yourself. Is there someone you can pray for? Someone you can help? Someone you can talk to on the phone?

No matter what type you are, you don't have to stay that way.

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Change your hearts and lives, because the kingdom of heaven is near.” Mt 4:17 NCV

Don't just feel bad. Do something! Jesus loves you as you are, but he wants to help you to change and grow.

WHAT IS GOD SAYING TO YOU NOW?

Jesus was on a mission. Part of that mission was to teach that Jews as well as Gentiles needed to be converted and to undergo a spiritual rebirth in order to enter the Kingdom of God. 

So many people in Christian churches still don’t understand this. 

• Some people teach a baby is born again in infant baptism. 

But Jesus said:

...."Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3 (NASB)

• A baby cannot repent or be converted. 

• Jesus always demanded personal belief, trust and commitment. 

• God will never send any small child to hell but there comes a time when every boy or girl reaches the age of accountability.

Infant baptism does not automatically guarantee faith. Joseph Stalin trained to become a priest, so he must have been baptised.  

• Jesus did not call people to be passive believers waiting to die and go to heaven.

For Jesus, faith was a powerful personal connection with His Heavenly Father. 

He wants you and me to have nothing less than this.

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. John 15:9 (NASB)

Jesus lived His entire live on earth saturated with the love of His Father and filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

• He wants nothing less for you and me.

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 

• "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 

• "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" 

• But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39 (NASB)

Jesus never spoke of believing and passively expecting to go to heaven. 

• He called people to FOLLOW HIM, to learn from Him, to obey Him, to become like HIM, to live in friendship with God just has HE did.

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 

"I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." John 8:12 (NASB) 

• What does it mean to FOLLOW JESUS?

• God is calling you to TRUST Him like Jesus did, 

• to KNOW Him like Jesus did, 

God is calling you to be full of love for others as Jesus was.

• God is calling you to hear His voice as Jesus did,
• to do what He shows you to do, just like Jesus did. 

Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. John 14:10 (NLT)

You and I are far from measuring up to this amazing example but we can grow up into Christ.
Like children who admire their father, we can decide to grow up and be like Him.

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

• Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)

Dear God, show me how I can love others now! 

• Even as I write these words, I pray this prayer for myself and God brings to my mind a woman who was once a student in my English class. 
• She is a believer who needs help because God is prompting me to pray for her NOW.

Will you pray with me and ask God to show you what to do NOW?

He will answer.