10 Reasons to Pray Today

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Wayne Davies

Do you sometimes wonder what to pray for?

Or do you sometimes wish you had more substance to your prayers?

Here’s a surefire way to enhance your prayer life – for yourself and anyone else that you care about deeply:

Take a look at Paul’s prayers. When writing to the churches, he often told them, with great specificity, how he prayed for them.

For example, take a look at Colossians 1:9-12.

9  We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

In just a few sentences, Paul tells the Colossians that he asks God to give them at least 9 spiritual blessings that will contribute to their sanctification (holiness):

1-knowledge of God’s will
2-spiritual wisdom and understanding
3-a life worthy of and pleasing to the Lord
4-the fruit of good works
5-greater knowledge of God
6-the strength of God’s power
7-endurance
8-patience
9-joy

Would you like to experience any (or all) of these qualities? Do you know anyone else who would benefit from a life of wisdom that pleases King Jesus, fruitful good works, deeper knowledge of God and his will, along with the strength, endurance, patience, and joy that only the Holy Spirit can provide?

Why not take time this week and pray the prayer of Colossians 1:9-14 for yourself and your loved ones?

And don’t forget a 10th reason for prayer – to express your gratitude to God. “Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (v. 12). Because of God’s grace, he has given us the promise of an eternal inheritance. What an incredible reason to pour out your thanksgiving and praise to him!

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How to Talk about Abortion and the Sanctity of Life

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Wayne Davies

With the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, opportunities abound to discuss the question, “When does a human being become a human being?”

At conception?
When there is evidence of a heartbeat?
At birth?

Here is a great resource to help you prepare for such conversations.

How to Defend Pro-Life Views in 5 Minutes, by Scott Klusendorf, will do just that.
https://www.crossway.org/articles/how-to-defend-pro-life-views-in-5-minutes/

Scott Klusendorf is the president of Life Training Institute, where he trains pro-life advocates to persuasively defend their views. A passionate and engaging platform speaker, Scott’s pro-life presentations have been featured by Focus on the Family, Truths That Transform, and American Family Radio.

And for more resources on abortion and the sanctify of life, check out:
https://www.crossway.org/articles/resources-related-to-abortion-and-the-sanctity-of-life/

Here you’ll find a link to a free copy of Scott’s ebook, The Case for Life, along with articles by Wayne Grudem entitled, How to Biblically Defend the Sanctity of Life and 5 Questions about the Sanctity of Life, which addresses these questions:
— Does the Bible consider a fetus a child?
— Is abortion okay in the case that the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest?
— Is abortion an appropriate measure if the mother’s life is at risk?

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7 Truths about Biblical Meditation

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Wayne Davies

There are many beneficial ways to hear God’s Word.

Because we love God and want to know Him better, we turn to His Word and listen to it, read it, study it and sing it, all with a view to obeying it.

 

For those who incorporate these practices into their lives, blessings are promised and received in abundance: “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it” (Revelation 1:3).

Scripture is filled with examples of godly people who demonstrate their love for God through their love of His Word. One such saint is the writer of Psalm 119. At least 10 times he articulates his love for God by writing about his love for God’s Word. “Oh how I love your law!” (v. 97). (See also verses 47, 48, 113, 119, 127, 140, 159, 163, 167)

The psalmist also tells us one specific way that he expresses his love for the Word: “Oh how I love your law; I meditate on it all day long” (Psalm 119:97). Meditating on Scripture is a recurring theme in Psalm 119; it is mentioned eight times! (see verses 15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148). Surely we would do well to take a closer look at this often overlooked response to hearing the Word.

7 Truths about Biblical Meditation

1. God commands it.
Before Israel took possession of Canaan, the Lord told Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:6-8)

2. Godly people habitually practice it.
As mentioned above, the writer of Psalm 119 meditated on the Word “all day long” (v. 97). Or, as the Common English Bible renders it, “I love your instruction! I think about it constantly.”

3. The Word of God is the focus of it.
Biblical meditation is focusing on God’s truth as revealed in Scripture. Paul wanted the Colossians to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16)

4. Prolonged repetition and contemplation is the essence of it.
Pastor Tony Opliger provides this explanation of the meaning of “hagah,” the Hebrew word for meditate.

“Hagah means: to utter, to murmur . . . it is like when you look up a phone number and you have to try to remember it while you take a few steps across the room to get your phone or write it down. 123-4567. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Uttering and murmuring as you try to remember it. And that is hagah.

“Hagah is also what cows do when they eat . . . When a cow eats, it slowly chews its food for a while — then it swallows it — and then a bit later, it burps the partially digested food back up into its mouth. And then the cow chews it some more — and then it swallows again — and then a bit later, burps it up again — right back into its mouth — and then it chews the food even more — and apparently this can go on for hours until the food is fully digested. And that is a picture of hagah. That is meditating.

“It is chewing on the Word of God — it is feasting on or plugging into the Word — it is actively pondering it by uttering or murmuring to oneself over and over and over again. You see, eastern meditation is an emptying of the mind — but biblical meditation is filling the mind (and even the mouth) with the Words of God.”

5. Personal holiness is the intended result and evidence of it.
Meditation is never an end in itself. God instructed Joshua to meditate on the Word “so that you may be careful to do everything written in it” (Joshua 1:8). This is why the psalmist wrote, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

6. Memorizing Scripture is one great way to practice it.
How did the psalmist meditate on the Word “all day long”? (Psalm 119:97). How did he “hide” or “store” the Word in his heart? (Psalm 119:11). He memorized it.

7. Resources abound to help you develop it.
Yes, memorizing Bible verses is not just for children. Adults, too, can cultivate this habit and reap the blessing of God for doing so. If your church promotes Scripture memorization for children, why not memorize the same verses? Get yourself an accountability partner and do it with your spouse or a Christian friend. Or invite your small group to do this together.

Perhaps you already memorize Scripture regularly. If so, great! If not, here are two websites to help you get started:

Navigators “Topical Memory System”
https://www.navigators.org/resource/topical-memory-system/

Fighter Verses
https://www.fighterverses.com/

NOTE: this post is adapted from Wayne’ book, 7 Deadly Sins of Bible Reading: Common Bible Reading Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.

 

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God’s Answer to the “Why” Question

Posted on July 2, 2022 by Wayne Davies

For centuries, people have been seeking answers to life’s most important questions: “How did we get here?” “Why are we here?” “What is the meaning and purpose of life?”

It’s NOT About Us
Fortunately, God has provided clear answers to these questions in His Word. God created us, and He put us on this planet for a specific purpose: “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (Isaiah 43:6-7).

God tells us that He formed us “for His glory.” Furthermore, Scripture reveals that God made everything for His glory: “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever” (Romans 11:36). “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth . . . all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).

The title of a Max Lucado book communicates well the paradoxical truth that the meaning and purpose of my life is not found in me because It’s Not About Me. “It’s about God. And that’s an understatement. God created us to know him and love him and show him” (John Piper). Our mission in life, then, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,” is to “do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

But what does it mean to glorify God? How do we do that? Sometimes the repeated use of a word can cloud its meaning.

Another word that Scripture uses to summarize the reason for our existence is worship. The Apostle John saw a vision of “those who conquered the beast,” singing “the song of Moses . . . and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!  Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:2-4).

If, according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, our “chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever,” we fulfill that purpose through worshipping the Creator. A bird was made to fly; a fish, to swim. And humans were created to worship God. This is why we are here. “We exist for Him” because “we exist through Him” (1 Corinthians 8:6).

Humanity, We Have an Insurmountable Problem
But, alas, we have a problem that prevents us from doing what God made us to do. That dilemma is our sin, which separates us from God and alienates us from our Maker. “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Sin creates a barrier between us and God. He is the Holy One, “of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13). How can we worship God when He cannot even look at us?

Every human being is born with a humanly incurable disease, cancer of the soul. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). We do not become a sinner by sinning. We sin because we are born a sinner. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5).

Here’s even more bad news:  our sinful condition causes God to pronounce the death sentence of hell over us. Long before Judgment Day, the unrepentant sinner has already been condemned in the courtroom of heaven. “Whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).

Furthermore, there is nothing we can do to save ourselves from this predicament. “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6).

The Two Sweetest Words in the Bible
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive with Christ – by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5). God has taken the initiative to solve the unsolvable. God is not only holy and just, He is also compassionate, gracious, and loving. He has provided a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) and thereby bridge the gap between us and God.

Through His death on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty of our sin. God poured out His wrath on His Son instead of us, and through faith in Jesus, God declares the guilty criminal to be righteous in His sight.

Now we can worship God acceptably, “for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).

Because God justifies us “by his grace as a gift” (Romans 3:24), we can glorify Him both now and forever more. Salvation is the work of God to transform wretches into worshippers. “Jesus was born of a virgin, suffered under Pontius Pilate, died on the cross and rose from the grave to make worshippers out of rebels!” (A.W. Tozer, Whatever Happened to Worship?).

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The Compassion of the Father

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Wayne Davies

My wife Julie and I have been reading A Layman Looks at the Lord’s Prayer by W. Phillip Keller. He is best known for A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, which we read last year. His writing is rich with biblical insights and I commend his books to you.

In A Layman Looks at the Lord’s Prayer, Mr. Keller takes you through the Lord’s prayer phrase by phrase. The chapter on “Your kingdom comes” contains a section that articulates precisely what I have experienced. At age 26 I foolishly walked away from God and lived as a practical atheist for 20+ years.

I have been asked, “Why did you do that?”

I can answer that question with these words from Mr. Keller:

“The great majority are utterly unwilling to surrender the sovereignty of their lives to God. They have no intention whatever of abdicating the throne of their inner wills and hearts to the King of Glory. They are no more prepared or willing to accept the rulership of Christ than were those who shouted at His crucifixion, “We have no king but Caesar!”

“When all is said and done, most of us from our earliest childhood believe we are the king of our own castle. We determine our own destinies; we arrange our own affairs: we govern our own lives. We become supreme specialists in selfish, self-centered living where all of life revolves around the epicenter of me, I, mine.

“So, if I sincerely, earnestly, and genuinely implore God to come into my life and experiences, there to establish His kingdom, I can only expect that there is bound to be a most tremendous confrontation. It is inevitable that there will follow a formidable conflict between His divine sovereignty any my self-willed ego.

“When I pray, “Thy kingdom come,” I am willing to relinquish the rule of my own life, to give up governing my own affairs, to abstain from making my own decisions in order to allow God, by His indwelling Spirit, to decide for me what I shall do.”

These words get right to the heart of why I wanted nothing to do with God, His Word, and His people for so many years. I wanted to run my life. Luke 19:14 was my creed: “I do not want this man to reign over me.”

I acted as if God didn’t exist because I did not want to be accountable to Him. This is the essence of human pride and self-absorption.

And of course, I was stupid enough to believe this was the “right” way to live, totally oblivious to the fact that I was on the broad road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13).

Oh, how thankful I am today that my stubborn rebellion was no match for God’s amazing grace. While I was His enemy, He still loved me and by the death of His Son, I was “reconciled to God” (Romans 5:10). He overcame my stiff-necked resistance and drew me to Jesus (John 6:44). The Holy Spirit convicted me of the utter sinfulness of my sin, my need for His righteousness, and the eternal consequences of Judgement Day (John 16:8). What a wonderful Father we have!

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love . . . As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:8, 13).

Does any of this resonate with you? If so, let me know by leaving a comment below. I’d love to hear what our heavenly Father has done for you.

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What to Do When Your Spiritual Life Is Dry

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Wayne Davies

“All Christians experience spiritual dry spells.”

It’s good to acknowledge the inevitability of this, to recognize when it happens, and to be ready to take action to deal with it.

 

Scott Slayton has written an excellent article on this topic entitled When Your Spiritual Life Is Dry.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/onedegreetoanother/2018/04/spiritual-life-dry/

He continues:

“There are no exceptions. We will go through periods where God seems distant, prayer is difficult, Bible-reading feels dead, worship doesn’t excite, and a sense of purposelessness descends on us.”

“When you run into a spiritual desert, what do you do? I want to suggest ten strategies for dealing with a spiritual dry spell. I am not advocating that you try all ten, but rather that you try several of them in order to help regain your focus and experience the joy of your walk with the Lord again.”

All ten of these strategies are worthy of your consideration. I especially like #1 and #2. Both of them have served me well.

1-Remember the Gospel
2-Change Your Bible Reading Routine

With each strategy, Mr. Slayton offers a short but meaty explanation that includes the rationale and practical advice on implementation.

One final comment . . . You don’t need to be experiencing spiritual dryness to benefit from this article. No matter what your walk with God looks like today, you will benefit from the biblical wisdom provided here:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/onedegreetoanother/2018/04/spiritual-life-dry/

 

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What is the Unpardonable Sin? (Mark 3:22-30)

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Wayne Davies


Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when he said, “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness” (Mark 3:29)?

Let’s take a closer look.

In Mark 3:22-30 we read about an encounter between Jesus and the leaders of first-century Judaism. Jesus was in Galilee, traveling from town to town, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, teaching the Word of God, and demonstrating his divine power by healing the sick and driving out demons.

Then some “teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem” offer their opinion of this miracle worker from Nazareth. “He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons” (Mark 3:22).

These men could not deny Jesus’ miracles. But somehow they had to account for them. So they concluded that Jesus got his power from the devil. He was possessed by Beelzebub (an ancient name for Satan), “the prince of demons.” Or he was possessed by an evil spirit (Mark 3:30).

It is in this context that Jesus makes his well-known statement: “All the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:28-29).

Jesus is saying that there is a sin that will never be forgiven. This sin is described simply as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

What is this sin? And why isn’t this sin forgivable? People have been asking this question for centuries. We all want to know what it is.

The context of this passage tells us what it is. The unpardonable sin is the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. This is what it means to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit was prominent in the ministry of Jesus. When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit came down on him like a dove and the Father spoke from heaven, saying to Jesus, “You are my Son” (Mark 1:11).

Jesus was empowered by the Spirit of God because he was the Son of God. He said so himself: “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). And the Pharisees and other religious leaders rejected that claim outright and announced their belief that Jesus was the servant of Satan rather than the servant of God.

Can a person commit the unpardonable sin today? Absolutely. Like the Pharisees, if anyone refuses to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and remains in that state of unbelief until death, then the sin of rejecting Christ will not be forgiven. The sin is unpardonable because once we die in unbelief and face God on Judgment Day, it will be too late for faith. Our eternal destiny is determined by the choice we make in this life regarding the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. If we accept him as the Son of God, we avoid the unpardonable sin. If we reject him as the Son of God and never repent of that sin, we commit the unpardonable sin and this sin becomes eternal because the consequences of that sin are eternal punishment.

For Christians, knowing the meaning of Mark 3:29 should be the source of much comfort, joy, and hope. Since we have embraced Jesus as King and accepted his claim to be God, I’m convinced that a true believer in Jesus cannot commit the unpardonable sin.

For more straightforward Bible teaching, check out my books on Amazon.
www.Amazon.com/author/waynedavies

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Romans 8:28 Explained by John Newton

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Wayne Davies


I’ve been learning about John Newton, the man who wrote “Amazing Grace.”

Perhaps you know John Newton’s story. He lived in England in the 1700s and as a young man made a living as an African slave trader. After his conversion, he became a pastor, prolific hymn writer, and best-selling author. He was also an articulate spokesman for the movement to abolish the slave trade in England, befriending and mentoring William Wilberforce. Newton’s life is truly a remarkable story of God’s amazing grace.

John Newton was also a gifted Bible teacher. He communicates God’s wisdom in the following excerpt from his autobiography:

“For us, however, there is a time coming when our spiritual warfare will be finished, our perspective enlarged, and our understanding increased. Then we will look back upon the experiences through which the Lord led us and be overwhelmed by adoration and love for Him! We will then see and acknowledge that mercy and goodness directed every step. We shall see that what we once mistakenly called afflictions and misfortune were in reality blessings without which we would not have grown in faith. Nothing happened to us without a reason. No problem came upon us sooner, pressed on us more heavily, or continued longer than our situation required. God, in divine grace and wisdom, used our many afflictions, each as needed, that we might ultimately possess an exceeding and eternal weight of glory, prepared by the Lord for His people.

“We very often fail to see our present circumstances in right perspective. Look back over the past, however, and compare what you have been through with your frame of mind during each successive period. Consider how wonderfully one thing has been connected with another so that what we now count as our greatest benefits are rooted in incidents that at the time seemed insignificant. We have sometimes escaped from grave dangers not by any wisdom or foresight of our own, but by the intervention of unforeseen circumstances. So both the revelation of Scripture and our own individual experiences confirm the wisdom and good providence of God. He watches over His people from the earliest moment of their lives. He overrules and guards them through all their blind wanderings and leads them in a way they know not. I am persuaded that every believer will see enough in his or her own life to confirm this, but not all in the same degree.”

This is one of the best descriptions of the sovereignty of God (“the good providence of God”) I have ever read.

Here we have the truth of 1 Corinthians 13:12 unpacked: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

And here we have the comforting words of Romans 8:28 explained in all their glory: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Newton’s autobiography Out of the Depths is available here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001YQEZFK/

For a more detailed biography, I recommend:
John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace
by Jonathan Aitken
https://www.amazon.com/John-Newton-Foreword-Philip-Yancey-ebook/dp/B0017JWL6E

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What Is Faith? (and How to Get More of It)

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Wayne Davies

How important is faith?

In Hebrews 11:6, God tells us:
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Aren’t you glad that God makes clear what it takes to please him?

Faith.

If you have it, God is pleased with you. Furthermore, you are blessed, for Jesus told Thomas that “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

Here’s a list of some of those blessings, as revealed in the book of John.

A believer in the Lord Jesus Christ:

  • Becomes a child of God (1:12)
  • Has eternal life (3:14-16; 3:36; 5:24; 6:47; 20:31)
  • Will not perish (3:16)
  • Escapes the condemnation and judgment of God (3:17-18; 3:36; 5:24)
  • Will never thirst again (6:35)
  • Will be raised up on the last day (6:40)
  • Receives the Holy Spirit (7:17-39)
  • Avoids death (8:24; 11:25-26)
  • Sees the glory of God (11:40)
  • Becomes a child of light (12:26)
  • Leaves the darkness (12:46)
  • Will do the works of Jesus (14:12)

In light of the above list, the importance of faith cannot be overstated. Without faith, we remain a child of the devil, in a state of spiritual death, destined to perish forever, already condemned and judged by God because of our sin, always seeking to quench the thirst of our soul but incapable of doing so, without the Holy Spirit, unable to see God’s glory because we are trapped in a world of darkness, and powerless to do the works of Jesus. In a word, we are cursed.

But thanks be to God, there is hope, and faith is the bridge that carries us across the infinitely wide chasm separating us from Him. Take heart, my friend, “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4-5).

Since faith is so critical, we would do well to find out what it means.

God’s definition of faith.
Fortunately, God has not left us without a clear explanation of the meaning of belief. Hebrews 11:1 provides what is arguably the best teaching on the meaning of faith in the Bible:

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain about what we do not see.” (NIV 1978)
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (NIV 2011)
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV)

By looking at these three translations of Hebrews 11:1, we can enhance our understanding of faith, for here we find several synonyms for faith: sureness, certainty, confidence, assurance, and conviction.

Words used in conjunction with “believe.”
Throughout his Gospel, the Apostle John uses several words in close proximity to “believe.” These, too, can be added to our list of synonyms for faith.

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (1:12).
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (6:35).
“My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life” (6:40).
“We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (6:69).
“Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him” (9:38).
“But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (10:38).

These verses show us that to believe in Jesus means to receive Him, come to Him, look to Him, worship Him, know Him and understand Him.

Faith in what?
These verses also make it clear that Jesus must be the object of our faith, for in John’s Gospel the issue is whether or not we believe in Jesus. The benefits of faith are only given to those who are certain about Him. This is one of John’s main points: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).

Biblical faith must have the right object. This is why we find the Apostle using the same words repeatedly to communicate that Jesus must be the One in whom we believe. The phrases “believe in Him” (3:16) or “believe in me” (5:46) appear at least 27 times in John. Other phrases along this line include “believe in the Son” (3:36), “believe in his name” (2:23), “believe in the name of the only Son of God” (3:18), “believe in the Son of Man” (9:35), and “believe in the light” (12:36). Faith in anyone else or anything else is not biblical faith.

Biblical faith is to come to a Person, namely Jesus of Nazareth, with the confident conviction that He is everything the Bible says He is. For starters, as revealed in John 4, believing in Jesus means we are sure that He is the Savior of the world (4:42), the Christ (King) of the world (4:26), and the Life (Living Water) of the world (4:14).

In other words, the “what” of biblical faith is the certain assurance of who Jesus is. John’s gospel is packed with statements about the identity of Jesus. He is not only Savior, King, and Living Water, He is God Himself. Believing in Jesus is to accept the truth that He is God, the Creator of the universe (1:1-3). To believe in Jesus is to believe in Him as God’s “one and only Son” (3:16), and to believe in Jesus as the Son of God is to believe in Him as God the Son, an unmistakable reference to His deity and the main reason why Jesus so infuriated the Jewish religious leaders. This was the legal charge against Him that ultimately led to His crucifixion. It is why the Jews told Pilate, “We have a law, and according to that law [Jesus] must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God” (19:7).

It is unlikely, of course, that when a person first believes in Jesus, he/she is even aware of all that Scripture says about His identity. But as the new believer spends time in the Word, the Person of Christ will be revealed on all His blazing glory. The Gospel of John is a wonderful place to start learning about the splendor of Jesus. Mature believers, too, would do well to read John’s account repeatedly for years to come, because believing in Jesus is to see Him in all His glory. In John 6:40, Jesus described a believer as one who “looks to the Son” (NIV) or “looks on the Son” (ESV) and “believes in Him.”

One final comment about the nature of true faith in Jesus: “it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Or as Paul wrote, “it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29). Yes, along with suffering, God provides faith to His people.

Need more faith? Go to God, the great giver and granter of faith, to get it. And how do you do that? By spending much time in His Word, for “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).

NOTE: the above comments are an edited excerpt from my book Jesus: Savior, King, Living Water, a Bible study on John 4, available on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D3771F2/

There are separate chapters on what it means to believe in Jesus as Savior (chapter 3), King (chapter 4), and Living Water (chapter 5). The content in this email comes from chapter 6, “What Is Faith and How Do I Know I have It?”

Also, each chapter includes questions “For Further Study and Reflection” which are suitable for both individuals and small groups.

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5 Reasons to Praise God Today

Posted on May 21, 2022 by Wayne Davies

Here’s one of my favorite Bible verses:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

Looking for reasons to thank God today? Find a psalm, a hymn, or a spiritual song and express your gratitude to Him with words of praise and adoration for who He is and what He has done for you.

This is why believers have gathered together for centuries to worship God in song. Not only do we praise Him for His attributes and actions, we teach and admonish each other, not only through Scripture and sermons but also in the songs we sing. I love how a good hymn can teach the truth of God, saturating our minds with the Word of Christ and making our souls soar into heavenly places.

Here’s a good example of how a hymn does what Colossians 3:16 describes:

“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine with 10,000 beside”

Perhaps you recognize those words. They are from “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” one of my favorites.

Truly, God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). And the words above remind us of several of those divine treasures:

Pardon for sin.
Do you know the joy of forgiveness? I do, and it is sweet. Sin will make you stupid, and I’ve done my share of stupid things over the years. What do we do with all our guilt? We take it to Jesus, repenting, confessing, and crying out for mercy. And because of the death of Christ, God is ready to forgive. “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

A peace that endures.
Ever get stressed out? Who doesn’t? Life is hard, and Jesus promised that it would be: “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). You can count on it. And you can also count on Jesus to provide His peace in the midst of turmoil, whether from without or within. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace” (John 16:33).

The presence of God to cheer and to guide.
Oh, how easy it is to forget that God is with us, in us, and for us – every day, 24/7/365. How much joy and direction do we forfeit by losing touch with our Savior. This is one of my besetting sins – not remembering that He is there. Another hymn describes the sin of forgetfulness: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.” Oh that we would be quick to meditate on this command and its accompanying promise: “be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5). Because we have Him, true satisfaction is ours for the having! “Those who fear him lack nothing” (Psalm 34:9).

Strength for today.
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” I can’t remember who said that, but I do know the antidote for weakness – the power of the God who indwells us. “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Bright hope for tomorrow.
We have hope. I find great encouragement in knowing that. How about you? “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). We have the hope of spending eternity in the presence of King Jesus, and He gave us His Spirit to guarantee that our hope becomes reality. Amen?

Yes, these blessings are “all mine” – and yours, too! And there are 10,000 more, all from our great God and Savior.

Do you have a favorite hymn that teaches God’s truth? If so, let me know by leaving a comment below.

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