Broken Promises

Experiencing God's miracles won't guarantee your faithfulness to him.

Exodus 24:1-3 Then the LORD instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. 2 Only Moses is allowed to come near to the LORD. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.” 3 Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the LORD had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.”

Exodus 24:9-11 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. 10 There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. 11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!

Exodus 32:1-6 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” 

2 So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 

5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD!” 6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.

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In my study of the book of Genesis and Exodus it has been so clear that God loves us and wants to restore our relationship with him to the intimate relationship that we had before sin came between us and him. God gave us a choice in the garden to let him define good and evil or eat from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil so that we can make our own rules. 

From the beginning of time we have proof that it is difficult for man to trust God's wisdom and consistently make good choices on our own. The Bible shows us that our problem is the same as it was back then. When we take control and decide good and evil the results are always more evil. (Genesis 6:5, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 12:2)

Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and even Moses all made poor choices despite the close, intimate relationship with God.  You may think that you would be more consistent and behave so much better than they did in the Bible but history has proven that no matter how much we learn about God we will still have a problem trusting him and treating him as well as he deserves.

God's people in Exodus have experienced him:

• Bring disaster on Egypt by the plagues and they saw him save his people by the Passover lamb. (Exodus 12)
• The Egyptians demand that they leave and they give them their wealth to take with them. (Exodus 12:31-42)
• Manifestation of God that went before them to lead the way. (Exodus 13:21-22)
• The crossing of the Red Sea and the drowning of their enemies. (Exodus 14)
• Work miracles in the wilderness to teach them to trust him for their necessities. (Exodus 15-17) 
• Defeat the army of Amalek (Exodus 17:8-16)
• Moses father in law declares that God alone saved his people from Egypt. (Exodus 18:9-11)
• God has taught them that he is holy, he is the only God and he must be worshiped properly. (Exodus 19-20)
• God's chosen people have been redeemed to live a new way. (Exodus 20-23)
• A new covenant with God is established. (Exodus 24-31)

Such amazing experiences with God made them so sure that they could be committed to him and fully trust him. They agree to God's terms and Israel's leaders meet with God and even eat a meal in his presence to ratify the new covenant before Moses is called to climb the mountain higher to meet with God for 40 days. (Exodus 24:7-18)

God's people needed less than 40 days to go back to the way of worship they learned from the Egyptians. They didn't forget about God but they wanted to remember the gods of Egypt and worship the way their evil neighbors did despite how God had just finished judging them. The blessings of God became a curse to the people, they took the gold from Egypt and created an idol, they seem to want God but they also want to have their idols too. (Exodus 14:1-4, 15:1-21)

God's purpose to make his people a priestly kingdom and a holy nation that would be a witness for him to our dark world is difficult to imagine. So far in the first two books of the Bible, God has been true to his word despite the broken promises of his people. 

At this point they are still at Sinai, God's glory has been obvious for all to see, if they can't be true to him here just imagine what happens when they start moving forward to the promised land. (Numbers 11:1,10, 12:1-9, 14:1-2, 16:1-3, 20:1-3, 21:4-5)

Deuteronomy 8:2,10-11 Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.

10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.

The new generation of God's people will be reminded of the reason why their parents did not receive the Promised Land. This new generation of God's people will need to guard their hearts even after the amazing miracles they will experience.

Everyone throughout the ages must decide for themselves. We are not forced to do what God wants, you cannot force love, there must be the freedom to chose God in order to truly love him. Man had to be a creature with a genuine will of his own. Otherwise, there could be no such thing as relationship or love. The possibility of love between man and God springs directly out of man’s freedom to choose.

We must guard our hearts so that we will make the right decision. Humbly digging into God's word everyday is the best way to guard your heart so that you will become more faithful to your promises to love and obey him. (Deuteronomy 11:26, 30:15 Psalms 119:30, 111, 173)

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While I Wait

I live by faith, and not by sight, sometimes miracles take time.

Video: Lincoln Brewster - While I Wait

Deep within my heart, I know You've won

I know You've overcome

And even in the dark, when I'm undone

I still believe it

I live by faith, and not by sight

Sometimes miracles take time

While I wait, I will worship

Lord, I'll worship Your name

While I wait, I will trust You

Lord, I'll trust You all the same

When I fall apart, You are my strength

Help me not forget

Seeing every scar, You make me whole

You're my healer

While I wait, I will worship

Lord, I'll worship Your name

While I wait, I will trust You

Lord, I'll trust You all the same

You're faithful every day

Your promises remain

Though I don't understand it

I will worship with my pain

You are God, You are worthy

You are with me all the way

So while I wait, I will worship

Lord, I'll worship Your name

Though I don't have all the answers

Still I trust You all the same

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Lamentations 3:26  It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord.

Micah 7:7  But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

Philippians 4:6-7  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  7  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

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Waiting isn't a fun thing to do, it isn't an easy thing to do either, usually we are not at ease when we wait. Too often the wait is for something to be said that we don't want to hear, the report from the doctor or someone else with a great possibility for bad news.

It is difficult to accept waiting for things that are out of our control, most things are out of our control, but if I remember the one that is in control it will help me deal with it.

We need to remember that:

1. God is sovereign over all things, including the trials that come into our lives, it is difficult to understand that not only does he allow trials, he also sends trials.

2. God sends trials and difficulty so that he can show his glory to his people and to the rest of the world. The supernatural way that God saves his people brings glory to himself.

3. God ordains trials so that we will learn to trust Him to deliver us out of the worse circumstances.

Through all of our difficult and challenging situations God reminds us that he created us for his glory and he saved us to display his glory to the world so that all of mankind will know him.

Thank you Lord for reminding me that I can trust you when life doesn't make sense and I don't have all of the answers.  

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The Unqualified Get Called

Moses had to become an ordinary man before God called him to the extraordinary.

Exodus 3:9-10 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

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What a huge disappointment Moses parents must have felt as they heard the news that their son was a fugitive. Moses life had such a miraculous start and his parents must have been so hopeful that God was going to use Moses to do something great for their people. But all of those expectations have faded away since Moses was forced to flee to the wilderness to get away from Pharaoh.

Moses was trying to do God's will but he was trying to do it in his own strength and his own timetable. Moses learned the hard way that our skills and talents won't help us do God's will before God is ready. Moses found out that our strengths can be our greatest weakness when we use them outside of God's will.

If Moses had an thoughts earlier in life that he was saved from being killed by the Egyptians so that he could accomplish something great for God then he has probably given up on those great ideas. God hasn't done anything with him for 80 years, the strength of his youth is gone as well as his status and position in Pharaoh's government, and now it seems like God isn't even talking to him. Everything was going his way but now it is all gone until God is ready.

The Great "I Am" Calls The Great "I Am Not"

God Says: 

1. Go. The waiting is about to end, it is now time to act on the injustice that was bothering you before when you killed the Egyptian.

2. "I Am" is sending you. No more acting out of his own strength and wisdom.

3. You must lead. The called have a difficult time resisting the call, the urgency will overwhelm them.

4. My people. God loves the people more than Moses and he could have saved his people without using Moses.

Moses Says:

1. I am unworthy, but God already knew that, none of us are. (Genesis 3:11-12)

2. I don't have enough knowledge, but you don't need to be when God knows everything. (Genesis 3:13-22) 

3. I am not powerful, but you don't need to be when the power of God is your strength. (Genesis 4:1-9) 

4. I am not an eloquent speaker, but you haven't had any problem talking to God, so why can't you speak to Pharaoh? (Genesis 4:10-17) 

Moses was ready to do something dangerous before he had God on his side working for him but now that he has God on his side he is concerned about his safety and the success of his mission. He is so stubborn about not serving God that he begins to lie about himself in order to get God to leave him alone. (Compare Exodus 4:10 with Acts 7:22)

Exodus 4:13-14 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.” 14 Then the LORD became angry with Moses.

Moses wisdom and his feelings told him the opposite of what God was saying, the outcome of God's plans did not depend on Moses abilities but on God's willingness to operate through him, he wasn't operating like someone whose success was guaranteed by almighty God.

Moses became an ordinary man with nothing to offer before he was called by God to lead his people. God doesn't care about my trophies or my list of credentials, he may allow me to be successful in ministry without his power but how much more could be done with it?

Thank you Lord for being faithful to your promises even when it seems like you allow me to live in the wilderness. Remind me that you care for me even when it seems like your silence is a sign that you doesn't care. Remind me that all things are possible when I rely on your power to accomplish your will through me.

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Doing God's Will God's Way

Our skills and talents won't help us do God's will before God is ready.

Exodus 2:11-12 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. 

During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.

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The comfortable life that God's children had when they first arrived in Egypt is just a distant memory at this point. God preserved their lives during the famine by sending them to Egypt but he also allowed them to be persecuted for hundreds of years before they were released. Being in the center of God's will does not guarantee that you will live on easy street.

God sent a rescuer in the form of a defenseless baby that would have to be protected from the evil dictator that wanted him dead, instead of killing Moses, God would see to it that Moses would grow up in Pharaoh's own family. Moses would get the best education and military training that the government could provide. But as much like an Egyptian as they tried to make him Moses still knew that he wasn't one of them.

Moses could have stayed in his comfortable life but the day came when he couldn't stand the unjust treatment of his people any longer. Seeing the oppression and injustice day after day finally pushed him over the edge but the problem was that he hadn't talked to God about his decision.

Moses Thinks He Is Ready, God Knows Better

Moses thinks that he is ready to make a difference in the life of his people but he doesn't realize that he doesn't have God's blessing yet. Moses proves by his actions that he has a heart for his people, and that he has leadership skills but he was wrong to assume that it was time for him to take action. 

Seeing a need that your training and skills can handle and having the courage to solve a problem doesn't mean it is time to get to work. Sometimes God isn't ready for you even if you think you are ready to serve him. It is easy to take action in the areas that God has gifted us before God is ready for us to use those gifts. 

How God Uses Failure
1. God uses imperfect instruments who fail in their attempts to serve Him.  2. God shapes and prepares imperfect instruments before He uses them. 3. God’s gracious covenant faithfulness prepares His servants for His people and His people for His servants. Learn more>

It seems like God's people would be anxious for a deliverer but the response to Moses after he killed the Egyptian made it clear that they were not ready yet. We will see later that their opposition to Moses leadership will never go away completely, they will stand up against him over and over again and they will even beg to return to these miserable conditions.

The future leader of God's people had to be prepared for God's work by stepping into the classroom that God uses quite often. Many times the wilderness is the place that God takes his people so that they can spend time alone with him free of distractions.

Back in the book of Genesis we saw that Jacob ran to the wilderness to get away from his brother and he ran into God. The wilderness is the place where God shaped Jacob's character and brought him into a closer relationship with him. (Genesis 28:12-13, 32:22-32)

Now it is Moses turn in the wilderness classroom, as soon as he gets to the wilderness we can see his desire for justice in his successful rescue of some shepherd girls, consequently Moses gets married to one of these ladies. Moses has gone from riches and luxury to one of God's preferred occupations as a poor shepherd with a family to feed. (Exodus 2:15-22)

At the beginning of Exodus chapter two, Moses was know as a Hebrew by Pharaoh's daughter and now at the end of the chapter he is known as an Egyptian by the daughters of Reuel, that's how quickly Moses became alienated from both worlds. (compare Exodus 2:6,19)

Moses spent his first forty years thinking he was somebody. He spent his second forty years learning he was a nobody. He spent his third forty years discovering what God can do with a nobody.

-D. L. Moody

Imagine having a God given desire to rescue people but God doesn't allow you to use your gifts and training to help. Moses will be 80 years old before God lets him begin his ministry of leading his people back to their promised land. 

Moses must have spent a lot of time alone with the sheep thinking that he had ruined his life with that one impulsive decision but God will show up in a big way that should have given him a lot of courage.

God Is Ready, Moses Thinks He Knows Better

Exodus 3:1-3 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush.

Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

When God is ready he comes in a big way to make it clear, but the burning bush that wasn't being burned up and the voice of God wasn't enough to convince Moses that God had the right man. Moses should have already realized that his own wisdom failed him when he killed the Egyptian but here he is standing on holy ground before God using his own wisdom again. This time he is making excuses about why God's wisdom is wrong.

Man's wisdom says that Moses has missed the opportunity to use his talents and influence forty years ago before he ran to the desert but God's wisdom says that this is exactly when he is ready to use us. Moses doesn't realize that the only strength that be needs is strong faith that the same powerful God of his ancestors was on his side.

Sometimes the most difficult times in ministry is in the waiting, we may feel like God is wrong for not using our ability and passion to serve. Most of the time we can't understand why he gives us a passion to serve and the ability but he doesn't give us the opportunity. 

When Moses was perfect for the job by the world's standards, God wasn't ready to use him, sometimes God's delay is being used to help us realize that we need to rely on him for his strength and his timing.

Thank you Lord for giving me a passion to serve you. Help me to wait for your blessing and your timing so that I will be in your will.

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Waiting On The Lord

There is hope greater than the darkest day I will ever face.

Habakkuk 2:1-4 I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint.

2 Then the LORD said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. 3 This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.

4 “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

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The man of God is right to be upset about the evil world that he lives in, Habakkuk complained to God about it and asked him why, why don't you do something, why have you let evil go unchecked for so long?

We can't help feeling this way if we have a godly perspective of sin, we should be bothered, we should be anxious for God to bring about his greatest promise, we should be yearning for the day when his righteous kingdom will come. (Matthew 6:10)

Habakkuk's complaint receives an answer from God that he doesn't like, the world around him is going to get worse, God is going to use a notoriously more evil people to punish his own chosen people. Man's wisdom says that God should punish the worst people first and work his way down the list to the next most evil people but God doesn't try to do things so that they make sense to our little brains.

God's plan is in motion and everything that happens is a part of that plan. Thankfully God gave us the book of Habakkuk so that we can learn how to face our struggles as we wait on the Lord.

Wait Patiently

The last thing that anybody wants to hear is "be patient" but that's exactly what Habakkuk did. When someone tells us to be patient, it probably means that we aren't behaving very well, it is much easier to blow up than it is to make a deliberate choice to be patient.

We have to decide for ourselves if the circumstances will make us better or bitter. We rarely look at these situations and consider the potential that we have to become more like the person God wants us to become or the person that the other people in your life wish we would become.

Wait With Perspective

It is easy to be overwhelmed and fearful when you are in the middle of the chaos but hope is also pretty easy to find if you change your perspective. If you are at the city gates and you see an attack coming you have every reason to be afraid but if you change your perspective by climbing the watchtower and you see reinforcements on the way it will set your mind at ease.

Romans 8:18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

That is the perspective that the apostle Paul had in the middle of his suffering, he suffered greatly but he viewed it all as a temporary setback that would amount to nothing in comparison to the glorious eternal future that he would enjoy.

Wait Obediently

The main qualification for sitting in the watchtower is watching, this is the last person that you want to find taking a nap, there has to be a commitment. The stakes are too high for such carelessness.

Instead of viewing waiting as a time to rest, think of being a waiter, one that is a servant or an attendant. Instead of being idle, you must keep being active, you don't stop praying, attending worship or studying the Bible just because you aren't getting anything out of it.

Wait Focused on God

When evil days are upon us and it seems like God is withholding his blessings from us, that's when we get to prove our motivation for being a child of God, that's when we prove why we are in a relationship with him.

The blessings and benefits are so great that we can easily focus on the gifts and not the giver of the gifts. Are we desiring the Lord or the Lord's things? Are you faithful even when you aren't getting anything out of it?

Satan's accusation against Job was that Job was loyal and loving toward God because he was getting the things. That's how most of us begin our relationship with God, we are at a tough spot in life that we want help with, it's okay to start there but God expects us to deepen our relationship with him so that it is a true love relationship instead of a self serving, exploitative relationship.

Wait Joyfully

Because of our faith we can live with the difficult circumstances and the evil days that we encounter, the gospel gives us a reason to have confidence in God’s wise and good control of our life, even in the worst of times.

One of the disadvantages of living in such a blessed society as we have is that we lose our joy so quick. The lives of God's people in the Bible were so much more difficult, the evil around them was so much greater, they suffered through evil invaders and they had very little comforts yet they tell us that we need to always have joy. (2 Corinthians 6:10, Philippians 4:4-8)

If we are waiting on him now then he will wait on us when he returns!

Luke 12:35-38 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded.

I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

I don't know how the good news of this parable gets so little attention. How could we overlook such an amazing promise that has been given to the servants that are ready and waiting for Jesus return? How can we lose our joy so easily?

Jesus left us behind to serve him as he prepares a place for us in his father's house, part of making the house ready will be setting the table for a grand feast, a celebration so spectacular that I will have to be given something good enough to wear.

After I am dressed in my new clothes, I will be waited on by my Savior, he will approach the table wearing servants clothes, he will pull the chair out and seat me at the table and then begin to serve me. How can anybody love me that much after I have betrayed them? (John 14:1-4, Revelation 19:6-8)

I need to wait on the Lord in the same way that he will wait on me, I need to serve him enthusiastically even in the darkest of days as I wait for his return, I can rise above the dark days around me because of the amazing future that you are preparing for me.

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Transformed to Serve

God has changed me and I can't go back to the way it used to be.

John 21:3-6 Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. 4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't see who He was.

5 He called out, "Fellows, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. 6 Then He said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some!" So they did, and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

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What do you do when you are so excited and you are anxious to share the good news? Probably you don't go fishing. It must have been an unusual time from the resurrection of Jesus until the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to go and make disciples.

They were so excited to learn that Jesus was alive again, one day they are defeated and discouraged, the next day they are probably ready to tell everybody, but it wasn't time for them to start their ministry.

Luke 24:49 And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as My Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.

Throughout the Bible you will find God telling people to wait. It seems like any major event on God's timetable is preceded by a period of waiting. I remember Abraham, Joseph, King Saul, Job and Simeon all having to wait on God, some of them being good examples and others showing us the hazards of not waiting. (Lamentations 3:25-26)

Peter didn't do a good job of waiting, he was going back to fishing for fish instead of waiting for men, and he also influenced his fishing buddies to go with him. Maybe Peter was tempted to go back to the way it used to be.

Seven professional fisherman spent the night catching nothing, maybe God is teaching them a lesson about waiting, fishing all night without catching anything is certainly a long and miserable night. It is just about an impossible occurrence for a fisherman that uses a net, catching nothing at all would take an act of God, it makes me wonder if Peter thought about the previous time when this happened. (Luke 5:1-9)

Peter had a surprise appointment with Jesus this morning, an appointment that is just as surprising as the first one that he had after an unsuccessful night of fishing, this meeting would change everything even more that the first one did.

Jesus came to the seashore that morning to restore broken relationships and to teach these men about their responsibilities as witnesses of the good news.

Even though the conversation recorded in scripture is between Jesus and Peter, all of the disciples had failed Jesus, the truth of the lessons that Jesus taught were for all of them and they apply to all of us as believers today.

My Responsibility As A Believer:

Obey Jesus 

Cast your net when and where Jesus tells you. (John 21:1-8)

These guys spent the night working very hard, doing work they were not supposed to be doing, and they probably complained about the results. Catching men is their new job that Jesus has been training them to do for the past three years. After the Holy Spirit comes they won't have time to bother with fishing for fish anymore.

Allowing Jesus to be in control is the best way to avoid wasting your life. This reminder for them is for us as well. I will accomplish what really matters when I am depending on Jesus and submitting to his timing and authority. (John 15:5)

Love Jesus 

Check your love for Jesus and his family often. (John 21:9-18)

Fixing relationships is what Jesus is all about, he asked Peter to confess his love, something he had already boasted about but failed to live out during Jesus' trial. Jesus made the connection between truly loving him and showing it in obedience and service to him.

Do you love Jesus? If you do it should show in the way that you live. We should be fishers of men and we should also help tend the flock. If you love Jesus then you will want to be near the flock and you will be concerned about the health, protection and guidance of the other believers in the flock. (Philippians 2:3-6)

Follow Jesus 

Consider the cost that may be required of a believer. (John 21:19-25)

A repaired relationship with Jesus must have been an amazing blessing for Peter, in Peter's mind that would have been a great place to end this conversation, but Jesus continues to share important information that isn't so easy to hear.

Jesus takes the conversation from Peter's life and ministry to his death as a martyr, Jesus never dodged the issues so that he would have more followers, he was always upfront about the trouble and hardship that his disciples would face in this evil world.

Following without turning away and staying focused on Jesus despite the circumstances are some of the greatest daily challenges for a follower of Jesus. It is a struggle which must be dealt with constantly if we are going to die to self and become a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1-2)

Following without meddling in what Jesus is doing in another believers life is another challenge. It is easy to look at what God is doing with somebody else and allow that to change our focus and our direction. (John 21:21)

The lives of the disciples were radically changed from the moment that Jesus called them to follow him but the transformation was just getting started. They still needed the helper that Jesus promised to send after he is gone.

The Holy Spirit's power in their lives would change these ordinary men, men that failed so often, men that didn't understand Jesus teaching, men that walked away when the going got tough. They would be powerful and they would speak with wisdom that is unheard of from a group of unschooled fishermen. (Acts 4:13)

2 Corinthians 5:15 He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

Jesus Christ is transforming lives today, he is changing us from our old carnal state into a people that will represent him well and serve his purpose on earth. The easy life is not my goal, pleasure and riches are no longer the main desire to be fulfilled.

God has changed me and I can't go back to the way it used to be! I will live for Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. I will set aside the evil desires and the pride that drives men to live for self. I will live to honor my Lord and fulfill his desire and plan for my life.