Are you doing the work that the word of God requires of you? Are you working out the word of God in your life?

The word of God requires work from the follower of Jesus.

We cannot simply listen to God’s word, know God’s word, memorize God’s word, or recite God’s word, without also obeying God’s word. We must do the work of the word of God in our lives.

In his epistle, or general letter, James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-25, ESV).

Is it possible for our religious acts or rituals to distract us from God? Can our rituals lead us away from a true relationship with Jesus? Is it possible to have our religious acts and rituals in line and right and also have our hearts hardened or distant from God?

It is possible to reject God and his commandments while establishing our religious acts or rituals. We can appear to be devout followers of God by our rituals and religious acts, and our hearts can remain cold and callous and far from God.

Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!” (Mark 7:9, ESV).

God desires love and obedience to his word; not simply the appearance of obedience.

Jesus indicted the religious leaders with Isaiah’s words, saying, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:6-8, ESV).

Where do you go to hear encouraging words of life? Where, or who, do you go to for life? Is it possible to look for the words of life in the wrong places or from the wrong people?

We all need life and are looking for life in some way or another.

In the bread of life discourse in John’s Gospel, Jesus was telling his disciples that they must feed on him and his word to have life. The disciples and the crowd were bewildered and offended at Jesus’ instruction to feed upon his body and blood.

In John’s gospel, Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63, ESV).

After many in the crowd left Jesus because of his difficult teaching, Jesus asked his disciples if they wanted to leave as well. (John 6:66, ESV).

Have you ever struggled to make progress in life through difficulties and adversity? Have you ever felt alone in your struggles as you journey through life?

Oftentimes life can be challenging and difficult to navigate because of fallen creation and sin. The winds of adversity can blow relentlessly upon us as we journey along our way in life.

When the disciples were traveling across the Sea of Galilee after the feeding of the 5,000, they encountered a great storm on the sea that threatened to undo them. The relentless squall caused the disciples to struggle and to make little headway in the storm and against the wind.

The Gospel of Mark tells us, “Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.” (Mark 6:45-48, ESV).

What walls has God broken down so that you might come close to him? What dividing walls has God broken down so that he might be closer to you?

God has broken down all sorts of dividing walls of separation to be closer to his children. God has brought down every barrier to our intimacy with him.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Ephesus, saying, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” (Ephesians 2:13-14, ESV).

What is God calling you to do? What is God calling you from? What is God calling you to?

God calls the believer to go and to proclaim his word to his people. We are to share the good news of God, the gospel, with everyone we encounter and in everything that we do.

The Prophet Amos is known as the “just a” prophet, because when God called Amos he was not a descendent of a prophet and was a blue collar worker as a shepherd and a tender of sycamore fig trees. Amos thought that he was “just a” shepherd and a dresser of sycamore figs, but God called him to be a prophet to Israel.

In the Minor Prophet Amos we learn, “Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, ‘I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’” (Amos 7:14-15, ESV).

Do you believe you have enough? Do you think there is an abundance, or do you think that there is scarcity? Do you live a generous life?

Followers of Jesus are called to be a people of abundance, recognizing all that we have comes from God. And God supplies generously for his people. God blesses us to be a blessing. We are called to live generous lives.

In his final speech to the Israelites, Moses charged the people to live generous lives, saying, “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8, ESV).

God commanded his people to see the need around them, and to meet the need around them, by living generous lives. Generosity begins with a soft and open heart, and an open hand.

When Jesus prayed, what did he desire? What was the heart of Jesus for his people when he prayed to his Father in heaven? 



You can tell a lot about the condition of a person’s heart and their deepest cares and desires by listening to their prayers. We can learn about the heart of God through the prayers of Jesus. 



In John’s Gospel account, John records the High Priestly prayer of Jesus. John tells us Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:1-3, ESV).

Do you feel seen? Do you feel cared for? Who shows you compassionate care during challenging times? Who is with you? Who is for you?

Jesus is with you. Jesus is for you. Jesus sees you. Jesus has compassion on you. Jesus desires to shepherd you—he desires to care for you and to lovingly give you what you need to be well.

In Mark’s gospel account, just before the feeding of the 5,000, “Jesus came out, saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34, ESV).

Jesus came to his people. He sees his people. He sees their need. Jesus responds to the needs of his people.

A closed grave does not let death in or out.

But the grave is open, allowing The Resurrection and The Life to flow into the world.

We are often disturbed by death.

Like the women who came to the tomb on that early Easter morning, we desire to cover death in spices and mask its stench in the hope of aromatics and the blossoms of flowers and fragrance.

We go to the tomb expecting death, sealed with all our hopes and dreams behind cold stone.

We go to the tomb with expectancy of closure, only to find the stone shockingly rolled away in the endless possibilities of life and hope in the surety of the resurrection.

What bad news does the resurrection of Jesus undo? What does the resurrection of Jesus accomplish in our lives and in this world?

Jesus’ resurrection changes all things. There is everything pre-resurrection, and then there is everything after the resurrection. After the resurrection, everything is changed. Because Jesus lives, we can live and experience his resurrection life.

In Matthew’s gospel account of Jesus’ resurrection, the angel spoke to the women at the tomb, saying, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:6, ESV).

What do you want to see? Who do you want to see? Where are you looking? Who are you looking for? Who are you looking to see?

It is mostly true that we see what we are looking to see. It has been said, “Be careful about what you are looking for, you might find it.”

In John’s gospel account, the Greek people were looking to see Jesus. John tells us, “Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.” (John 12:20-22, ESV).

If Jesus were to purify the temple of our lives, what tables would he overturn? What would Jesus “drive out” of our lives so that we would be purified?

At the cleansing of the temple, Jesus sought to purify his Father’s house of prayer. John’s gospel account tells us, “And making a whip of cords, Jesus drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.” (John 2:15, ESV).

The temple, the dwelling place of God, had become corrupted by greed and misuse. The religious leaders had allowed the sell of sacrifices, and the exchange of money for the temple tax at a profit, to overshadow God and the ability for all people to come and to worship and pray.

Jesus said, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” (John 2:16, ESV).

Do we worship the place where God dwells or do we worship God who dwells with us? Is it possible to confuse our religious form, practices, and places with our relationship with Jesus?

When Jesus came into the temple complex at Passover and cleansed the temple, he was purifying the focus of the pace and pointing people back to God. Our object of worship should always be God himself. Our focus on worship should never be our religious practice or the place of our worship. Our focus should be God.

When the Jewish leaders questioned Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, their line of questioning highlighted that they had made an idol out of their religious practices, and the many benefits they had brought them, and it highlighted that they had made an idol out of the temple itself.

After Jesus made a whip of cords and drove out the money changers and released the animals caged for sale and sacrifice, the Jews said to him, “‘What sign do you show us for doing these things?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” (John 2:18-22, ESV).

Who is your neighbor? Do you know your neighbor well? What does your neighbor need? How do you love your neighbor well?

Jesus calls his followers to love their neighbor.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus said, “‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater...” (Mark 12:31, ESV).

While loving our neighbor is one of the greatest commandments, we cannot love our neighbor if we do not know our neighbor. We also cannot love our neighbor, if we do not believe that they are truly our neighbor.

This truth is at the heart of the parable of The Good Samaritan. When asked by an expert in the law, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asked, “What is written in the Law?” Jesus asked, “How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:25-27, ESV).

Doug Greenwold asserts, “This expert in the Law no doubt held the view of his observant Jewish culture that there were a goodly number of people who would never qualify to be ‘my neighbor.’ That view is somewhat understandable since Leviticus seems to suggest that a ‘fellow Israelite’ (19:17) and ‘your people’ (19:18a) are mentioned within the context of ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ (19:18b).” (Greenwold, Doug. That Good Samaritan, p. 22).

"That Good Samaritan," by Doug Greenwold, is a timely book in an election year when our country is divided as ever.

It has been said that America has not been this divided since The Civil War. This is why we need to explore the questions this book addresses, which are: "Who is my neighbor?" and "What does it mean to be neighborly?" 

Religious, cultural, ethnic, political division, and polarization was the first century context of Jesus telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.



When Jesus was asked what must be done to inherit eternal life by an expert in the law, Jesus affirmed the man's answer, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Jesus said, 'You have answered correctly, do this and you will live.'” (Luke 10:27 and 28, ESV).

Do we need a mountaintop experience to hear God speak? Can we miss hearing God’s message, even if we have a mountaintop experience? Does God also speak in the valleys?

God speaks in mountaintop experiences and God speaks in the valley. God is always speaking to us. God’s message of love and his revelation of himself never changes. God’s message is the same whether we are on the mountaintop or in the valleys of everyday life.

We are to listen to God when he speaks to us, whether we are on the mountaintop or in the valleys between.

The Apostles Peter, James, and John heard God speak on the holy mountain. In his second letter, Peter tells us of his eyewitness account, saying, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.” (2 Peter 1:16-18, ESV).

What is the mission of the church? How did Jesus live an intentional life of mission?

Every follower of Jesus was created on purpose and for purpose. We were made for mission.

The church’s mission can be summed up in being disciples, making disciples, and ministering to the needs of others as we do life together.

In Mark’s gospel account, when Jesus was doing life, preaching, teaching, and healing, we see Jesus modeling a purposeful and missional life.

Mark tells us, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ And he said to them, ‘Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.’ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.” (Mark 1:35-39, ESV).

Whose teaching do you listen to and apply to your life? What authority do you submit to? What does it look like when good teaching and right authority converge in our life?

We are each influenced by teachers and authorities around us. Every teaching, worldview, and person of influence, or authority, can shape our thinking and actions as we live our lives.

In Mark’s Gospel account, Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath Day. Jesus taught as one having authority, unlike the scribes. Mark tells us, “And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.” (Mark 1:21-22).

The scribes were recorders, interpreters, and teachers of the law. They were supposedly authorities on the word of God and his law, but they were not always practitioners of the word of God and his law.

Who do you say Jesus is? Do you believe Jesus is who he says he is? How have you responded to Jesus because of your belief in him?

What we believe about Jesus is the most important thing we can think about. Who we think Jesus is shapes everything about us and our lives. This was the case with Peter’s confession of Jesus as the messiah. Peter’s belief in who Jesus is changed everything.

In the district of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13, ESV). This is the most important question that can be asked. More important is how we answer this essential question for ourselves.

The disciples answered Jesus with a deflection, saying, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:14, ESV). However, Jesus was not interested in what other people thought about his identity. He was concerned about who each of them thought he was. Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15, ESV).