Accuracy matters.

In reading through Luke’s account of the life of Jesus Christ, many people at this time of year rush to Chapter 2. Of course, that’s the only Gospel that describes the birth of Christ. It’s oftentimes referred to as the Christmas Story.

But before hurrying on to Chapter 2, or even entertaining the story of Zechariah, Elizabeth, and the birth of John the Baptist, take a moment and read the first four verses of Luke’s Gospel.

What strikes me about Luke’s account is the detail. In Luke 1:3 (NASB), he writes, “…having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in an orderly sequence…”

Today’s news is ripe with misinformation. In the rush to be first, some reporters and news professionals get it wrong. Luke was not the first to write his Gospel; that was Mark.

But while everyone throughout Judea, Samaria, the Decapolis, and beyond had probably heard whispers of the miracles Jesus performed and His ministry, Luke wanted to be sure he had a clear and accurate account of what happened.

In Luke 1:4, he writes, “…so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” In today’s fast-paced society, it’s very difficult to discern truth from error.

Don’t take that to mean that you should constantly be skeptical, but rather, take your time and be sure that what you are hearing and seeing is accurate.

Accuracy matters. Be sure to get all the facts before rushing ahead.

What are you looking at?

Everything you see on television is designed to grab your attention. Commercials preview the latest hamburger available at your local fast food restaurant. Maybe this time there’s three patties instead of two.

The same is true of your social media feed. Using your index finger you slowly scroll through images on your mobile phone; all of which are aimed to get to pause and admire the person who’s updated their profile picture or their relationship status.

Magazine covers used to pull you in, though those are becoming less in number these days. You’d stop on your way to the checkout counter and see which movie star was dating which athlete and couldn’t wait to hear the latest gossip of the Hollywood scene.

We all do it. It’s the world we live in. But as Christians, we’re called to be in the world but not of the world. In 1 Peter 1:13-25, the Apostle calls us to live a holy life. In fact, 1 Peter 1:15 (NLT) reads, “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.”

I think some people misconstrue the word holy to mean sacred or godly. While there’s some truth to that, “holiness” is commonly defined as being separate or set apart. So when Peter writes of being holy, it’s in regard to being set apart by God for his purpose.

But what does that have to with what we’re looking at? Everything! Go back to 1 Peter 1:13 (NLT). It reads, “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.”

Preparing one’s mind and exercising self-control cannot take place if you allow yourself to become swallowed up by the world’s system of flashy advertisements, salacious relationships, or self-indulgent behaviors. All of those things are intended to take your focus away from God.

Television, social media, magazines, and other forms of entertainment and news are not, of themselves, inherently wicked. But when we allow ourselves to take our focus off the Lord Jesus Christ and instead turn our attention to things of this world, we become vulnerable.

1 Peter 1:14 (NLT) says, “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.” You didn’t know better then, but you do now. So what are you looking at?

So we might have hope.

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4 NASB)

So many Christians today live under the false belief that the Old Testament is irrelevant. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Paul tells us in Romans 15:4 that, “whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction.” That is an obvious reference to the Old Testament.

The Apostle then tells us why. “That through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a phenomenal message; one that is unfathomable and can be indescribable at times.

But God preserved the Old Testament for a reason. It’s designed to help teach us and give us hope for the future. The Old Testament uses the story of Joseph to teach us how to overcome being wronged by others. It uses the stories of Nehemiah and Joshua to teach us how to be an effective leader.

The book of Job offers hope beyond tragedy, as does the book of Ruth. The book of Esther offers a great lesson about how God can honor one who stands up for what’s right. And who hasn’t been inspired by the book of Daniel when God graciously delivered His prophet from the den of lions?

God’s Book has been preserved throughout history, not to entertain us, but to give us hope.

He always wins.

There’s a war going on within all of us each and every day. It’s a battle between our own stubborn will and the will of God. News flash – He always wins.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

Okay, that’s phenomenal counsel, right? But it’s so much easier said than done. And how does one even know God’s will? Thankfully, the Scriptures give us some insight. Take a look at Romans 12:2 (NLT).

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

In short, following God’s will for your life requires time. It involves intentional devotion to reading and understanding His Word. And it certainly requires time spent with God in prayer.

Discovering God’s will for your life is a long and arduous process. You’re sure to fail, just as even the greatest of those mentioned throughout the Bible have. But if you give up trusting in what you see and begin to focus on the unseen, your faith will begin to grow and your reliance on the Creator will only become stronger.

Surrender your will to God’s. He’s going to win anyway. It’s much easier to submit to His will than to continue about in your stubborn ways.

Syncing your life with Christ.

You have all your in-home devices synced, don’t you? Your smart watch is synced to your phone in order to log your steps. Your computer is synced to your wireless headphones in order to have that on-screen chat with your mom via Zoom. And your life must be synced with Christ in order to experience all riches that God has in store for you.

In John 15:1-10 (NKJV), Jesus speaks about abiding in Him. It’s a section of Scripture that speaks directly to the Christian and outlines how to live a productive life. This goes beyond salvation (faith) and demonstrates how to live a fruitful life (works).

John’s writings take us the upper room discourse where Jesus is speaking about being the True Vine. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Other versions of the Bible substitute the word “remain” for the word abide. In other words, if you remain connected to Jesus Christ, good works will naturally occur through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This section of Scripture has nothing to do with salvation, but it speaks to your walk with Christ. Once you have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, you are a new creation. This means you should no longer walk as you did prior to accepting His free gift of salvation.

You do so by abiding or remaining or, if you will, syncing your life to Jesus Christ. It’s time to unplug yourself from this world’s system and walk with Jesus.

I have all that I need.

The Psalms have always been a bit of an enigma to me. Maybe it’s because I’m not necessarily the artist type, and many of the Psalms are written as poetry or are meant to be sung.

But lately, I’ve had a change of heart. I’ve indulged the Psalms, more than ever before, and I now find myself turning them into a focal point of my daily reading.

In fact, Psalm 23, which is so short in length but powerful in message, has become a favorite of mine. I dare say it’s a favorite of so many who’ve read it. You know the first two lines, right? “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Perhaps the New Living Translation renders this Psalm even better – “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.”

When you think of a shepherd, your mind turns to one who leads and directs a flock of sheep. We, as followers of Christ, are sheep; wayward as we are. And there is the Lord, our Shepherd, always there guiding us back to where we belong.

If the Lord is our shepherd and we have all that we need, isn’t it time to submit to His plan?

No more excuses.

We have an excuse for everything, don’t we? All we need is just a sliver of doubt to creep in and the excuses begin to pile up. Something I learned a long time ago was that there’s a million reasons not to do something.

After a brief introduction, the prophet Jeremiah tells us what the Lord would have him do. “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT)

But immediately, Jeremiah has an excuse. Jeremiah 1:6 (NLT) reads, “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

We saw similar excuses from Moses back in the Book of Exodus after the Lord commanded him to go to Pharaoh. Moses protested many times before finally obeying God by saying such things as “who am I?” and “what if?”

But do you know what happened to both Jeremiah and Moses? Eventually, God got His way and they did what He said. Perhaps instead of resisting God’s call to action, we should embrace it.

Stop giving God excuses. He is going to win anyway. Our resistance to His will is only going to prolong the process.

You know better.

“You know better.” How many times, as a child, did you hear those words in your house? For me, it was a lot. Oftentimes the words were directed at my sister, but that’s a story for another time.

All kidding aside, we do know better, don’t we? Although the lines between what’s right and wrong have been blurred, especially in today’s post-modern age, I believe that most people still know (in their heart) the difference between right and wrong.

The letter of First Peter is a wakeup call to Christians. In 1 Peter 1:13-16, the apostle speaks to the idea of living a holy life. While grace allows us to live freely, it is not a license to live a sinful life.

1 Peter 1:14-15 (NLT) says, “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.”

Once you make the decision to follow Jesus Christ, you’re making the choice to set yourself apart from the world. Don’t forget the words of Jesus from John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

Since you are no longer part of this world, you should know better. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16 NLT)

Be thankful for God’s indescribable gift.

Thanksgiving is unquestionably my favorite holiday of the year. All you have to do is show up, watch football, eat food, and spend time with your loved ones. What could be better, right?

But on this holiday, it’s incredibly important to give thanks to God for everything that He has given to you. Remember, God placed us here in order to give Him glory and to give Him thanks.

More than anything else, at this time of year, it’s important for all of God’s people to give thanks for our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Or, as Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 9:15, an “indescribable gift”.

So while you’re busy catching up on the score, catching up with family, and catching up with your uncle who seems to be two plates ahead of you, remember to pause and give thanks to your Creator for His indescribable gift.

John 3:16 (NIV) reminds us, “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.” God gave us His Son, so the least we can do is give Him thanks.

Go fishing.

Fishing is one of my favorite things to do. As a kid, I used to wake up early on Saturday mornings, and my dad and I would head out to the lake with hopes of catching a boat full of largemouth bass.

Several of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen. Simon (Peter) and Andrew and the sons of Zebedee, James and John, all fished for a living. Then, one day, Jesus was walking by the shores of the Sea of Galilee and called the four fishermen to follow Him. We read about it in Mark 1:16-20 (NKJV).

“…He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James…and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee…and went after Him.”

But what does it mean to become a “fisher of men”? Essentially, it’s a call to evangelism. Jesus took something that these four men were very adept at and made it their calling. Rather than bringing fish into the boat, these four men would be bringing people to Christ.

Now I can tell you from experience that fishing is not easy. It takes patience, understanding, experience, persistence, determination, and a willingness to come up empty. There are some days, no matter how long you stay at it, that you just don’t catch a single thing.

Evangelism is like that. Not everyone you speak to about the Gospel will immediately turn their life over to Christ. But we’re instructed to keep at it. Somedays are more difficult than others.

There’ve been times when I pack the car with my rods and tackle box, get a good night’s sleep, set the alarm for five o’clock, and hit the water before the break of dawn. But despite my best efforts, the fish just might not be biting that day.

You can do everything right, and still not win someone to Christ. But we’re called to fish. Don’t allow one bad day at the lake to ruin your love for fishing. In the same way, you must not let one person who doesn’t receive the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ ruin your zeal for evangelism. Go fishing.