Posts with the tag “obedience”

"I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture." – John 10:9 There is a restlessness that lives in all of us. You have probably felt it in those quiet moments when the noise dies down, but something still feels missing. It is that sense that life is supposed to be fuller than this. Even in success or comfort, there can be a lingering ache underneat...  Read More

"Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." – John 14:6 When life gets confusing, our instinct is to ask for directions. We want a clear path, a five-step plan, or a detailed map. Something to help us navigate the unknown. But what if the thing you're really searching for isn’t a roadmap at all? What if what you need is a person? Th...  Read More

"After saying these things, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’" - John 11:11 There’s a kind of heaviness that can sneak into your soul. You might not be living in obvious rebellion, but things feel dull, lifeless, maybe even numb. The fire you once had has faded. You show up, go through the motions, but deep down you know something’s off. You wouldn’t ...  Read More

"Then the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’" – Exodus 3:4 Moses wasn’t in a temple when God spoke to him in Exodus 3. He wasn’t in a prayer meeting or reading Scripture. He was tending sheep in the wilderness, walking the same paths he had probably walked for years. It was an ordinary day in an ordinary place. Until i...  Read More

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" - 2 Corinthians 13:5 We spend a lot of time checking everything but our hearts. We check our bank account. We check our texts. We check the weather, the scoreboard, our emails, and our schedules. But how often...  Read More

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’” - John 20:21 There are some truths in life that are up for debate, but this isn’t one of them. When you open your Bible and actually read what Jesus says, there’s no way around it. Everyone who is saved is sent. That’s not up for discussion. It’s undeniable. We try to complicate it. We convince ou...  Read More

“But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” - Jonah 1:3 When God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach repentance, Jonah ran. Not just emotionally or spiritually, he literally ran in the opposite direction. God said to go east to Nineveh, and Jonah hopped a ship headed west to Tarshish. Why? Because obedience felt too uncomfortable. Nineveh was dangerous. It was full of p...  Read More

"Everyone who is saved is sent." - John 20:21 There is an uncomfortable truth we have to acknowledge as believers: being sent by God is rarely comfortable. In fact, if you look closely at the Bible, you’ll see a pattern. Every time God sends someone, there is discomfort. Being obedient to His call usually means stepping into the unknown, facing fear, or giving up something you thought you could no...  Read More

“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’” – Luke 5:4–5 Sometimes God asks you to do something that just doesn’t make sense. In Luke 5, we read about a group of professional fishermen who had spent the entire night do...  Read More

“Jesus replied to them, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” – Luke 5:31-32 Sometimes obedience to God will confuse people. It did when Jesus walked the earth, and it still does now. His way of reaching people didn’t fit inside the boxes religious leaders had built. He healed at the wrong tim...  Read More

"But the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" – Luke 15:2 Jesus had a habit of doing things that didn’t make sense to the religious crowd. He healed on the Sabbath. He touched lepers. He ate with tax collectors. He welcomed children. He told stories instead of giving lectures. Time after time, His methods were questioned. And they still are. If y...  Read More