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Lead me the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow. Psalms 5:8
Have you ever been hiking through a forest and lost sight of the trail? Some trails are well marked or even paved. Sometimes though, trails can be hard to follow. Other trails made by animals or people who have taken it upon themselves to find different way, can make your progress confusing, or even dangerous!
We live in a time when many trails cross our paths making it hard to discern which way to go. How many times have you thought (or even said) ‘if only God would just send me a text message or an email so I’d know what to do?’ It seems like around every corner there is a fork in the road.
“Do I choose this relationship or move away from it?”
“Do I take this job, or look for something different?”
“What is the best way for me to eat the way I know I should?”
“I’m facing a transition in life transition.What are next steps?”
When the path becomes difficult to discern, Jesus gives us three steps to help us keep on the path of safety and success.
First, remember that the enemy wants to keep you off course, so ASK the father for direction.
Secondly, don’t be mislead by the path that may seem the most traveled. SEEK for signs of the proper way through prayer, seeking advice from trusted, Godly friends, and reading God’s word.
Lastly, Move forward! FINDing the way is a process. Detours make take us longer to get to our destination, but we may learn valuable lessons along the way.
For my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. John 10:29
In the previous verse Jesus teaches that as our Good Shepherd we are safe in his hands. Now, as he continues His teaching about being our Good Shepherd he gives us further assurance of our security in Him.
We are not only safe because of Jesus power and strength, as our savior, we are safe because we are also in the Father’s hands and He is ‘more powerful than anyone else’. It’s easy here to miss a vital truth. Jesus says ‘no one’ not ‘nothing’.
We struggle with doubt. We struggle with fear. We struggle with anger. We are hurt by the church and hurt by those who don’t believe. But those are all actions from our main enemy, Satan. He will send anything in our way to pull us away from the Father and his eternal promises.
When we are in His hands, none of the tactics of Satan or his evil cohorts can pull us away. You are doubly protected, doubly loved, doubly cared for. Even when we stray away, He knows where we are and seeks us out. There is no reason to fear when the Father is near.
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:18
It seems like every day we’re met with more and more troubles. Racial tension. Conspiracy theories. Political unrest. Natural disasters. Pandemics. Climate change. Inflation.
When you start to look around, it can really be pretty depressing. It’s no wonder fear and worry and anger and frustration and hatred seem to be rampant.
The apostle Paul encourages us to place our gaze on the things that last forever. All of the struggles we see now will someday go away. But there are some things that we can’t see that will last forever.
The love of God is new every morning. The forgiveness of our sins. The promise of eternal life. A peace the passes all understanding. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers in Jesus. What are some other things that will last forever?
Focusing on the things that will last forever makes it easier to endure the things we struggle with that surround us. The things we see are temporary, but the promises of God are eternal.
When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. John 15:8
Imagine having the craving for an apple, seeing an apple tree, and then, in your excitement going up to grab an apple only to find Brussel sprouts hanging from the branches!
What a huge disappointment! Of course, nothing like that could happen, right? After all Apple trees only produce apples. Orange trees only produce oranges and brussels sprouts? Well, that’s another story.
In John chapter 15 Jesus tells us that he is the vine, and we are the branches. The branches are worthless without the vine. The branch does not strive to produce fruit. The fruit comes naturally as a result of the work of the vine.
Jesus says that when we produce fruit, it brings glory to the father. Think of glory here as being joy. The father takes great joy and seeing us produce fruit. But the father is also the one that causes the fruit to form. Our job is just to show the fruit that he’s given us.
So don’t get tired. Don’t get weary. Don’t give up on the good works you do. Don’t give up on the love that you show. Others may not see, or acknowledge your efforts, but God does. It’s these things that gives the father great joy as he produces fruit in your life.
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 1 Timothy 2:1
Throughout the Bible, we are commanded to pray. Prayer is the power behind our living for Jesus. It’s been said, that even atheists pray when the plane is going down!
Sad to say, I think we believe in prayer far more than we practice prayer. If we’re honest with ourselves, it’s easy to pray for loved ones, for ourselves, and maybe the occasional prayer for the stranger on the Internet.
What about people, that we know who dislike us, abuse us or ridicule us for our belief in Christ? Hard as it is, Paul challenges us to pray for them. Later on, he’ll say pray for our leaders as well. Not to pray for their demise, but to pray and intercede on their behalf, before God.
Paul urges to should pray for their good, not for their evil. and then he says something really hard. We should thank God for those in leadership no matter how godless they may seem.
Remember, Paul wrote this during one of the most cruel, godless, violent governments in the history of the world. The same government that would later have him beheaded!
Throughout history, God has proven that he can even use godless leaders to accomplish his will. Make it a habit to pray for those who are different than you. Ask the Holy Spirit’s help in knowing how to pray.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 