I heard this statement in a sermon and although it was just a passing comment there is some real validity to it with regards to how so many professing Christians relate to Christ. Many people want to live “WITH” Jesus without the commitment of being married to him. Is this what the New Testament says? Do we have the option of being saved and not being committed? What should a relationship with Jesus look like?

One day Jesus was teaching people about various topics and he brought up the subject of “PRACTICING” a person’s faith, and how some people like to to brag about what they believe. Jesus here is attempting to get people to think about why they feel the need to boast about their faith rather than cultivating a walk with God in the depths of our soul. The pharisees, for one, liked to brag about their own piety when in fact they were just religious, often having very selfish hearts.

When reading the gospels, it seems Jesus is constantly having to “INTERPRET” what he had just said while teaching.  For the average listener, He spoke in parables.  However, for the common person who asked questions, they were not satisfied with what they heard in the nice stories even though he was sharing the depth and wisdom of God.

From the time we were babies we were taught and learned to depend on ourselves, even while we depended on parents and others. Coming into a relationship with God we often have to “UNLEARN” our self-dependency and learn to “LEAN INTO” God’s presence for guidance and values. Becoming a child of God happens when we surrender to Christ’s saving grace.However, learning to walk as a child of God is normally a huge learning curve, especially if you were not raised in a Christian home.

I wonder what makes you personally have joy? Is it eating your favorite food or going to some special place on this amazing planet? Maybe it’s seeing your favorite friends at the end of a busy week or, even better, seeing a friend you haven’t seen in years. Joy in the human experience is a unique experience that does more than make you laugh or sing, it energizes us.

I wonder how many believers even realize that this world is not our permanent home if we truly have given our hearts to Jesus? Let me unpack what I mean by this and what I don’t want to convey.

When we find ourselves in a struggle that seems we must have a miracle to overcome, I think we often jump to conclusions about what that miracle is meant to look like. All to often God works miracles in tandem with natural means and thus we often don’t think they are miracles at all.

I started the topic of Jesus coming back like a thief a few weeks ago because I think the topic is both important to believers and is often overlooked because of certain concepts being taught in the greater body of Christ.

Before Jesus died on the cross, he revealed that he would be going back to the Father in heaven.  At a time, decided by our Heavenly Father, Jesus would be coming back to earth a second time, only this time he would not be coming back as a sacrificial lamb for our sins but rather as a king to judge the living and the dead. John, the last living apostle of the original 12 that walked with Jesus for 3 years, wrote in the book of Revelation that Jesus would be coming back on a white horse to wage war with humanity. 

I find that many people today hear what they want to hear rather than hearing what another has spoken. There seems to be a disconnect because many people listen to others and then arrive at a totally false conclusion. This can happen often between married couples but it also happens with friends, business people and the general public. We can hear people on the news and misunderstand what they said and then go around telling people our false conclusions. If people don’t learn the art of listening they will keep coming up with those bad conclusions.