Jesus Has Expectations

It’s hard to comprehend the measure of love that motivated Jesus, the Son of God, to leave the glories of heaven, with the purpose of dying a criminal’s cruel death on a cross. Scripture says the love of Christ surpasses knowledge. But, by the power of the Holy Spirit, God wants us to know and even to comprehend this amazing love, and to be rooted and grounded in this love ¹. We cannot over-emphasize the love that Jesus has for us. However, we can, and often do, misinterpret what this love looks like in action.

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Finding God’s Plan

Over the years I’ve had lots of conversations with people who were concerned about figuring out God’s plan for their life. Often, they would be frustrated or even anxious because they weren’t getting answers to their questions. But usually, the things they were so intently focused on were things like, where they should live, what career they should pursue, who they should marry, you know… the natural, physical, temporary things of this life. Jesus said the pagans run after all these things, but believers should seek first the kingdom of God ¹.

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Are We Saved Just By Believing?

The Bible tells us, that without exception, all people are lost, meaning that our sin separates us from a holy God ¹. But the Bible also proclaims that the lost can be saved and restored to right relationship with God. Since it’s dealing with man’s eternal state, the Bible provides a lot of information regarding salvation. Yet, it’s scary how some people pick and choose among the scriptures and teach things about salvation that are not consistent with the gospel that God proclaims in His word.

If we can’t clearly communicate God’s plan of salvation for the lost, then nothing else we’re saying or doing has merit. At stake are people’s eternal destinies, so we must get this right.

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Call No One Pastor

It’s common for most churches to be led by an individual who is recognized as the pastor of that church, and that person is usually addressed as Pastor so-and-so, or sometimes just Pastor. This long-established practice is considered a way of showing love and respect. While love and respect are very biblical, addressing a select few within the church by official titles actually goes against the teaching of Jesus. Challenging a practice that is born out of good intentions may seem like nitpicking, but Jesus specifically addressed this issue for good reasons, and we should give careful thought to what he said and why he said it.

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