Sometimes in life, we make things too complicated. We ponder the mysteries. We ae paralyzed by all the different choices that we have in life. What are we to do? What are our options? What is faith and the Christian … Continue reading
Simple Faith
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Keep it Simple
One my mentors said this once, and it’s always stuck with me. Jesus isn’t hard to understand, He’s just hard to follow. That’s one of those statements that’s alway just kind of hung there with me. Forgiving your enemies isn’t complicated. It’s just hard to do, and something we can’t do apart from Him.
The Gospel isn’t necessary complicated. It’s actually simple. Listen to what Paul writes today in 1 Corinthians 2: 1-2:
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
When Paul comes to Corinth to preach, he says this – I will preach this simple message. Jesus loves and died for us so that we could be brought back home to God. He didn’t preach anything overly complicated or mysterious, just the simple word of God.
First, the Gospel at its core really is simple. We are all broke and in need of saving. God sent His son to die our sins and brokenness so that we could be saved. By accepting Him and following Him, we will know life now and life forever. We need Him, He came to us, He brings us to Himself.
We can debate lots of stuff about the Bible. Lot’s of stuff about faith. Lots of stuff about everything. But this core, simple message of our need for God and the efforts He went through to save us, that’s the very heart of the Gospel.
That’s the simple message that Paul preached.
And second, is this. It’s easy to worry about and fuss over the mysteries. We can debate them all day long. But here’s what I really believe. I believe that God is not as worried about what we don’t know, as He is worried about what we do know, and what we do about it.
Do we know all the mysteries? No. None of us do. But we do know this. We are called to love and to follow Jesus with all that we are. We are called to forgive. To serve. To be faithful. To show grace.
We don’t know the mysteries. But we do know these simple things.
Today, do we focus on what divides us the things that we don’t understand? Or do we focus on the simple truths of God and live into those?
Today, may we keep it simple.
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It’s Not Complicated. Just Hard
Hey y’all, remember me? After a week away teaching at Camp Wesley Pines and helping with BaseCamp, I am now back on schedule!
So often, we like to make faith complicated. We can deal with grand theologies or believes. We can struggle with the questions that we don’t understand. We can feel paralyzed by mysteries that are so deep. We can just be overwhelmed by issues of faith sometimes. Sometimes to the point that we just don’t know what to do.
That’s why I like it to be simple. And you know what? It can be. I’ll tell you part of what I’ve learned about faith. It’s really not all that complicated, most times. It can just be hard to do, sometimes.
What do I mean? Listen to what it says today in Romans 13:8-10:
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Paul today basically pares it all down. Own nothing to anyone, except to love them. All the commandments, all the law, everything, it is summed up by that one simple command. Love. If you love, you will fulfill the commandments. You won’t steal, you won’t murder, you won’t do all these things.
Love keeps the commandments. That’s actually simple to understand.
It’s just hard to do. It’s hard to love, hard to forgive, hard to do these things. And I can’t do them.
But, Christ through me can. So, ironically, if I want to keep this command, the command that matters, the command of love, the first thing I’ve got to do is draw my heart closer to God. Because only through the power of the Spirit can I love.
It’s not complicated to understand this. On our own, it’s just hard. But, through the power of Christ within us, all things are possible! We can do it! We can love! We can. We can keep the heart of the law.
As we do that, may we make a difference for Jesus with all that we do.
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Be Nice
The way most letters in the New Testament end is very practical. The letters, by the way, are the books that follow the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and Acts. The letters were written by Paul and other leaders in the early church. And were literally what they say they were – letters.
The letters are generally concerned with some issue going on in that local church, or with teaching correct belief.
But nearly every letter ends with just some plain, practical advice for the people. Today, as we draw near to the end of the letter to the Hebrews, we see more of that.
Listen to the advice we are given today in chapter 13:1-3:
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
We are told to love. Show hospitality. Remember those in prison and are forgotten about.
In short, we are told, be nice.
Today, in your life, just be nice. Be nice to people. Smile. Be kind. Don’t fuss. Be nice.
Lots of stuff can be hard. But sometimes the easiest thing to do can also be the most important thing.
Today, God may not be calling you to move to a far away country. He may not be calling you to enter the full-time ministry. He may not be calling you to teach or lead.
But, He calling each of us, you and me, to this simple, and true advice.
Be nice.
Show His love to others by being nice. In that, we show how important others are to God, and to us.
And, believe it or not, when we are nice to others, we actually feel better ourselves.
So, today, be nice.
Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.
The Simplest Command
I was talking last night at Bible Study here as Asbury about the Bible and how we can get bogged down in certain passages or interpretations. We can get confused, worried, and upset about how to interpret certain passages.
That’s one reason I’ve always like something that John Wesley said – Scripture contains everything needful for salvation, and everything needful is made plain within. So, in other words, everything we need to know to be saved is found in the Bible, and if it’s so important that our eternal salvation depends upon, God will make it simple to understand.
There is so much simple truth in the Bible. So many simple things that are at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. The Christian life really isn’t that complicated. It’s pretty simple in the end.
Look at Romans 13: 8-10 says:
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
We see it laid out here. All the commandments, the whole of the Old and the New Testament is laid out for us – love. Love each other. If you love, you won’t murder, steal, or any of other hurtful things.
Love sums up the law. It’s the simplest of the commands. Love.
Today, in our lives, is every action guided by love? Is every word, every action, even every thought, is it guided by love? That’s our greatest command as Christians. To love.
It’s the simplest command.
But before we can fully love others as God wants us to, we must first know the power of His love. For us to fulfill this simplest command, we must first be fully loved ourselves.
Today, may we know the power of God’s amazing love. And may we love one another in the same way.
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