“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.” (John 1:27)
John the Baptist set forth a general principle here which applies in every area of life. We receive nothing that does not come from God (James 1:17). Jesus knew this, and declared it to Pilate in John 19:11, “You would have no authority over Me unless it had been given you from above.” No one can do anything unless God allows or empowers it.
And this especially applies to ministers and ministries. Continue reading
Those of us who have children know that parenting can be a very “up and down” experience. Cheryl & I have talked about this a number of times. It’s like you never get to “sit on your laurels” — even when you experience a victory with your kids, there is some new “crisis” just lurking around the corner. One time when our kids were in high school Cheryl & I had gone with our son David to the regional high school track meet where he was competing in the 400 meter run, and he surprised us, and actually PLACED at regionals — as a freshman! We were SO excited, and on the way home we were just so thrilled, and talking about that — when all of the sudden we got a call from our daughter Libby that our oldest son Paul had just been “let go” from his first job at a sandwich shop because he was too meticulous at putting the sandwiches together — they said he “wasn’t Subway material.” After we got that call, Cheryl & I looked at each and we said something like, “Can’t we just savor one day of victory in our kids’ lives, without having some crisis pop up again?” But that is often the way it is with kids; you go from highs to lows, over and over and over.
And we need to understand that the same thing happens in our spiritual lives as well. Every Christian gets some “spiritual highs” where we experience God in a fresh way, or take a special “leap forward” in learning and growing in Him — but we also need to learn that the “spiritual highs” don’t typically last very long. Here in Matthew 3 and 4 we see that Jesus, who modeled so much for us about what it means for a man and to walk with God, went through this same thing. He went from a spiritual “high” right into a time of testing, as an example for us in our spiritual lives as well. Continue reading
“Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, and He will hear my voice.” (Psalm 55:17)
Notice the CONTINUAL nature of David’s prayers here. He says they are at: “evening and morning and noon”. Legalists would make of this “3 stations of prayer”, and set up 3 daily prayer times based upon it. But surely this is not to be taken so woodenly. Continue reading
“Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.'” (John 3:5)
To be “born of water and the Spirit” means to be washed from sin by the Lord, and renewed in your heart by His Holy Spirit, as we saw here in yesterday’s devotion. Ezekiel 36:25-27 makes that clear. But Jesus’ teaching here also reminds us of two important aspects of salvation: Continue reading
“Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'” (John 3:5)
Jesus had just told Nicodemus in :3 that he must be “born again” in order to see the Kingdom of God. Now here in :5 He tells him he must be “born of water and the Spirit.” This is basically a restating of :3, so it is obviously a synonym for being “born again”; but just what exactly IS being “born of water and the Spirit”, and how does it relate to being “born again”? Continue reading
“When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom” (John 2:9)
Not everyone at the wedding party knew about the miracle that Jesus performed, by turning the water into wine — at least at first. “But the servants who had drawn the water knew.” How instructive to us; how typical of Jesus. Continue reading
Do you know that no one really knows WHAT electricity is? Look it up; they don’t. They know theories about how it works; they know how to avoid being killed by it; they know how to harness it to use it to do certain things — but totally “understand” it? No one really does. We take it by faith and go on — and flip the light switch on in the next room we come into.
That’s somewhat like our topic for this morning: the Doctrine of the Trinity. No one really “understands” the Triune nature of God; it is unfathomable. And yet like electricity, we can accept it, and use it to grow closer to the Lord in our Christian walk every day. Continue reading
“His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.'” (John 2:5)
This word was spoken by Mary the mother of Jesus to the servants at the wedding at Cana, after they had run out of wine. But there may not be a more apt word for us today, 2000 years later: “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Continue reading
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And He said to him, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'” (John 1:50-51)
Jesus certainly did not underpromise! When Nathaniel came to Him, He set a lofty vision before him: “You will see greater things than these!” Specifically He added in :51 “Truly, truly I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Not only is this an amazing picture, but there is also a very specific reference to it in scripture which helps us understand just what Jesus was referring to: Continue reading
“And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me.'” (John 1:43)
These words were consistently the call of Jesus to those who would be His disciples: “Follow Me.” Here John tells us that Jesus found Philip, and He bid him to follow. We see the same call from Jesus to Simon and Andrew in Matthew 4:19, and to Matthew the tax collector in Matthew 9:9, as well as to all of those who were prospective disciples in Matthew 10:38. He told them they must be ready to “follow after Me.”
The consistent call of Jesus to those who be His disciples is “Follow Me.”
It is still His call today.
It is NOT merely “mentally accept Me”.
It is NOT “admire Me.”
It is NOT just “SAY” that you follow Me …
It is “FOLLOW Me.”
Simply put, in light of Jesus’ words in the Gospels, if you are His disciple, then you will be following Him. If you are not FOLLOWING HIM, then plainly you are not His disciple.
If you claim to be a disciple of Jesus, then you should ask yourself: in what ways may it be said that you are “following” Him? Are you spending time with Him? Are you going where He would go in this world? Are you doing what He would do? Are you following Him?
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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