In considering the earth, where do we begin with our understanding and stewardship? How has God designed creation order and how is he calling us to understand creation and have dominion over it? How should we steward the earth as followers of Jesus?

In considering the earth and all of creation, we must begin with God. The scriptures begin with God and creation, saying, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1, ESV). God is the origin and author of all of creation.

Creation begins with God and creation care must begin with God as well. When we honor God, begin with God, and seek to worship God, we naturally care for the world God created and gifted us to steward. The earth is the Lord’s and he has given it to us to steward and to care for as we exercise dominion over it.

The Psalmist tells us, “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” (Psalm 24:1-6, ESV).

Have you encountered the resurrected Jesus on the resurrection road of life? What does it look like to encounter the risen Lord Jesus on the resurrection road of Easter?

Two disheartened Jesus followers were leaving the city of Jerusalem on the Road to Emmaus after the crucifixion. These two Jesus followers assumed that Jesus had not raised from the dead and they were leaving Jerusalem in a state of confusion, hopelessness, and depression at the death of Christ.

Luke’s gospel account tells us, “That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” (Luke 24:13-16, ESV).

Jesus rose from the dead just as he had promised. The two people on the road had resurrection life walking the Emmaus Road with them, but they did not encounter resurrection life in their blind depression and despair.

Jesus questioned the two travelers about their sorrow and opened the entirety of the scriptures to them and taught them everything concerning himself, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets.

Is hope alive for us? What hope do we have? Where does our hope come from? What does our hope look like? Do we have a living hope?

We have hope in Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus ensures us that the hope we have is a living hope.

The Apostle Peter wrote of this living hope of the resurrection of Jesus, saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5, ESV).

Jesus has given us true life and true hope in his resurrection. In Jesus we are born again to a living hope through his resurrection. Jesus has given us forgiveness of our sin. Jesus has given us an eternal inheritance of his everlasting life.

The resurrection of Jesus gives us a living hope. Because Jesus is alive, our hope is alive. Because Jesus lives, we live through Jesus. Our hope looks like life everlasting in Jesus. When we have a living Jesus, we have a living hope.

What does it mean for us that Jesus rose from the dead? What are the implications of Jesus’ resurrection? What does resurrection life look like for Jesus? What does resurrection life look like for the follower of Jesus? 

The resurrection of Jesus has implications for his life and for our life.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, he lives, he has defeated death, and he gives us his resurrection life as well. Because Jesus lives, we can live also, not only in this life, but forever with God and with one another in eternity.

In Colossians chapter three, the Apostle Paul wrote, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4, ESV). 

What is resurrection life? What does it mean when Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life”? What does resurrection life look like in our lives? How do we have resurrection life? What would it look like if we lived Jesus’ resurrection life today?

We all need God’s life for us. We are all called to live, to live eternally, and to live abundantly.

God has designed us for eternity and has gifted each of us eternal life in him, which begins now. We can go through life resigned to our sin dead lives, which leads to eternal death, or we can go through life seeking God’s life and living God’s eternal life for us now.

In the major prophet Ezekiel, God showed Ezekiel a valley of dry and dead bones. God asked the prophet Ezekiel this question, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And Ezekiel answered, “O Lord God, you know” (Ezekiel 37:3, ESV).

God then told Ezekiel to speak life over the dead bones so that they would live again. So Ezekiel prophesied to the dry bones as God commanded him, and “the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10, ESV).

God desires to bring life out of death. God desires to make the dead to come alive. God desires each of us to live resurrection life.

What work is God doing in the middle of suffering and hardship? Is all suffering due to sin, or is God doing a greater work? What are the works of God? How can we be open to, and participate in, the works of God in the middle of suffering and hardship?

In the gospel of John, chapter nine, Jesus’ disciples inquired about a man who was born blind and the cause of his blindness. They attributed the man’s predicament to his sin or to his parent’s sin. The disciples assumed God was judging this man with blindness because he or his parents had offended God with some kind of grievous sin and that God had made him blind.

The gospel of John tells us, “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:1-5, ESV).

Sometimes suffering and hardship happen because God is doing a work in us, and because God is doing a work in those around us. We must be open to God and we must be open to the works of God in the middle of suffering and hardship, recognizing God is always at work around us.

Are you thirsty? Are you spiritually thirsty? Do you look for water to quench your thirst when you are thirsty? Where do you go to drink when you are spiritually thirsty? When you drink deeply in your thirst, what is it like to be quenched of our thirst?

We all thirst and desire to be hydrated to live. Just like there is physical water that quenches our thirst, there is also spiritual water that quenches our thirst for the life God intends for us.

When the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt, and were wandering in the desert toward the promised land, they thirsted and “the people quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ And Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?’” (Exodus 17:2-3, ESV).

The people thirsted for water and life. They doubted Moses and they doubted God’s plan and they assumed their needs would not be met. The people grumbled and complained and cried out. God heard the people’s cry and instructed Moses to take his staff and to take the elders with him and strike the rock at Horeb with his staff and provide water for the people from the rock.

God said to Moses, “‘Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.’ And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.” (Exodus 17:6, ESV).

God provided water for his people in the wilderness. God quenched the people’s thirst and sustained their lives.

In the Prophet Isaiah God told his people not to fear. God made a promise to Israel, saying, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants” (Isaiah 44:3).

Later in the scriptures, in the Gospel of John, Jesus would tell a Samaritan woman at the well “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10, ESV).

In his Epistle to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul linked the water from the rock in the wilderness with Jesus, the living water found in John 4, saying, “all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:2-4, ESV).

What does it mean to have been born? What does it mean to be born again? Have you been born again? What was your role in your birth? What was your role in being born again?

Just like we were born physically into this world, we must be born spiritually if we are going to see God and his kingdom.

In John’s gospel account, Jesus said to a man named Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, ESV).

Nicodemus said to Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:4-8, ESV).

Like in our natural birth, we are to be born of water, our baptismal waters. Just as we took our first breath after being born into this physical world, we must breathe the Spirit of God into our lives as we are born of the Spirit. As we were born physically, we must be born by the Spirit of God, we must be born spiritually.

What temptations do you experience? What tempts you? When does repentance begin? Does repentance begin before, during, or after temptation? Can you repent before you actively commit sin? Can you repent in your sin? Can you repent after you sin? When are you tempted and when do you repent?

What we do in preparation, before we are tempted, determines if we are able to resist temptation.

We can repent from our sin before we are tempted to sin. Temptation itself is not sin. It is not a sin to be tempted.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, said it this way, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:13-15, ESV).

In the fourth chapter of the gospel of Matthew, we see that Jesus was tempted by the devil to sin against God. We know Jesus is the Son of God and is without sin, but in his humanity he could be tempted to sin, just as we are tempted. It was not a sin for Jesus to be tempted to sin, because temptation to sin is not sin.

Jesus was first baptized and then he heard from heaven from God the Father that he was God’s beloved. Jesus resolved before temptation not to fall into temptation and he prepared himself accordingly as he led by the Spirit into the wilderness prepared, and in prayer and in fasting.

Like Jesus, we can resolve before temptation comes not to fall into temptation. We can repent of our sin before the temptation to sin arises within us. We can prepare in fasting and in prayer. We can determine not be “lured and enticed by our own desire” recognizing that “desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15, ESV).

What are the circumstances where you encounter God? What are the places where you encounter God? Can you encounter God in both good and bad circumstances? Can you encounter God in both high and low places?

Jesus’ disciples, Peter, James, and John encountered God on the mount of transfiguration. Like these disciples, we encounter God in mountaintop experiences.

We also encounter God in the valleys of life. The mountaintop encounters with God which we experience prepare us for the valleys we experience in life.

God meets us in every circumstance and in every place where we find ourselves.

The gospel of Matthew tells us, “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” (Matthew 17:1-2, ESV).

The disciples encountered God on the mountain. As Jesus was transfigured before the disciples they heard from God the Father.

Matthew tells us, “And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and have no fear.’ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” (Matthew 17:3-8, ESV).

What does the mission field look like? Where is the mission field? Are you being called to the mission field? Where is the mission field God is calling you to? What does God’s mission look like in your life?

Every believer is called to mission. Our immediate surrounding is our mission field.

At his ascension, when the disciples were gathered together in Jerusalem, Jesus said to his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, ESV).

Our mission field begins with where we are. Our immediate surroundings, our “Jerusalem”, comes before we reach out in mission to “all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” If we are not faithful and effective to the mission in our own neighborhoods, we will not be faithful or effective in mission in the rest of the world.

Mission is essential for every follower of Jesus and the need for mission is great.

What does God want from us? Have you thought about what God wants from you? What are you doing to give God what he wants? Is what God wants from us expected or unexpected? Is what God wants from us burdensome?

There are times when we think God wants from us more than he does. There are other times we think God wants less from us than what he does. There are times we think God’s commandments are burdensome. However, God’s commandments are not burdensome. As the first letter of John says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3, ESV).

What God wants from us can be way simpler than we assume. What God wants from us can be unexpected and practical. What God wants from us can be more profound than we imagine. What God wants from us can be freeing and life giving.

The prophet Micah searches out the question, “What does God want?” when he writes, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Micah 6:6-7, ESV).

Micah gets into the thick weeds of a myriad of complex choices regarding what God might be requiring or asking of us. The assumptions of what God wants are endlessly intense and burdensome as he ponders the question: “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high?”

What does a disciple of Jesus look like? Can a disciple of Jesus be any person, no matter what? Are there aspects of our past that disqualify us from discipleship? Can anyone be a disciple of Jesus? Can we disciple anyone to follow Jesus?

Discipleship is for every follower of Jesus, regardless of our past failures or life choices before we knew Jesus.

There are few greater examples of this “anyone can be a disciple” than the Apostle Paul. While Paul, formerly called Saul, maligned those of God’s household, God still called Saul and used him as Paul to grow his church, planting many churches throughout the Roman world, and to be a missionary to the Gentiles as he planted churches everywhere and made disciples of Jesus of every people and of all nations.

Jesus defined discipleship saying, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.” (Matthew 10:24-25, ESV).

Paul had once been a persecutor of God’s church, and now he was obedient to Jesus’ call to build his church and to make disciples, just like Jesus did and taught us to do in his great commission.

What are you looking for? If you were following Jesus around and he turned to you and asked, “What are you seeking?” What would you say to him? And if Jesus said, “Come and you will see”, would you follow him?

We are all looking for something. We are curious and seeking more in this life. Everything we are looking for in this life is satisfied in Jesus Christ. When we come and see Jesus, we find everything else in him.

In John’s Gospel account, when Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, John the Baptizer saw Jesus and proclaimed to two of his disciples “‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, ‘What are you seeking?’ And they said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and you will see.’ So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.” (John 1:35-39, ESV).

John the Baptist’s disciples became Jesus’ disciples when they encountered the Lamb of God. These two men, most likely Andrew and John, were seeking Jesus. They were curious about Jesus. They wanted to know more about Jesus. They wanted to see where Jesus was going. They wanted to follow Jesus. They wanted to come and to see Jesus.

What is the significance of baptism? What can we learn about God through Jesus’ baptism? What is the significance of the baptismal waters?

God calls every believer to the waters of baptism. Jesus taught us to baptize in Matthew 28:19 saying, “So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus himself was obedient and was baptized.

Matthew’s Gospel tells us the significance of baptism and Jesus’ baptism. Matthew tells us, “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:16-17, ESV).

When Jesus was baptized the Spirit of God descended upon him and the Holy Spirit of God rested upon him as God the Father affirmed that Jesus is his beloved.

What or who are you seeking? What or who should you be seeking? What is worth seeking? When you find what you have been seeking will you be fulfilled and satisfied?

We are all seeking something in our lives. Not everything we seek is equal in value or importance. Some things are worth seeking and some things are not.

As followers of Jesus we are to seek Jesus and his life for us.

When we seek Jesus we find all that we have ever been looking for and more.

The gospel of Matthew tells us “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” (Matthew 2:1-2, ESV).

After Jesus was born, wise men from the east came looking for King Jesus to worship him.

As the saying goes, “Wise men still seek Jesus.”

What is the relationship between love and obedience? Can we obey someone without love? Can we love someone without obeying them? How about in our relationship with God? Can we love God and not obey God? Can we obey God and not love God? 

Love and obedience go together. We cannot love God and not obey what God commands us to do. 

Joseph loved God and obeyed God even when it was difficult, confusing, and frightening. 

The Gospel of Matthew tells us “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:18-25, ESV). 

Joseph was a just man who obeyed God in exercising justice. Even before Joseph heard from God and took Mary as his wife, Joseph treated Mary with dignity and care even in the face of the unknown and skeptical. 

Joseph awoke from his sleep and obeyed the angel, the messenger of God, and did what he commanded - “He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”

What are you looking for? Who are you looking for? What are you looking to see and to find in your searching? Who are you hoping to find in your searching? What keeps you from seeking, seeing, and finding God?

Most of us feel like we are searching for something more in this life. We can find ourselves seeking and searching for God and God’s joy, God’s presence, God’s purpose, God’s hope, and God’s peace.

The people of the first-century were seeking the messiah who was to come and to bring the hope of God, the peace of God, and the joy of God and his kingdom. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah who would bring God’s hope, peace, and joy, fulfilling Isaiah as the voice who cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3, ESV). After his imprisonment, however, John doubted Jesus and questioned if he was the one or should they look for another. 

The Gospel of Matthew tells us of John the Baptist’s search for God. Matthew tells us, “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Matthew 11:2-6, ESV). 

When we are disappointed and when life does not go as we had planned or had hoped, it is easy to get discouraged and to doubt and to question God. John saw his imprisonment and circumstances and was blinded to the work of God and the person of God who was right there before him.

Instead of rebuking John, Jesus encouraged John with the joy and the hope that was before him and invited him to see what he was looking for—Jesus the Messiah. Jesus was inviting John to see that he was the fulfillment of the Prophet Isaiah, who John was also fulfilling.

How are you preparing the way for peace in your life? What does preparing the way for God and God’s peace look like?

We are called to prepare the way for God and God’s peace in our lives.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the word of God tells us, “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” (Matthew 3:1-3. ESV)

There are many obstacles and barriers to God’s presence and peace in our lives and in this fallen world. The pathway of God’s presence and peace can be crooked and uneven.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to repentance and to making the path of God’s presence and peace straight and level.

Are you waiting on the hope of God? What hope are you waiting for God to bring?

We can all find ourselves looking for hope at some point in our lives. We can feel hopeless in a sinful and fallen world. We long for something more and something better than this broken world.

C.S. Lewis said it this way, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world” (C.S. Lewis).

We have a homesickness for another desire and for another world where there is hope of something better and a hope for more satisfying realities. We hope for God and God’s coming kingdom of hope.

The Prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Isaiah 2:3-5, ESV).