thoughts by Jon Walker Archives - Page 3 of 6

Published January 1, 2022

A Resolution Worth Keeping

It’s simply Christ. Christ plus nothing.

“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)

If you’re thinking about making some New Year’s Resolutions, consider this one from The Apostle: “This year I resolve to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified.”

Paul’s message is radically simple: Salvation is in Christ alone. What does this mean?

• It’s not Christ plus your good behavior.

• It’s not Christ plus the years you taught a Bible study.

• It’s not Christ plus your tithe.

• It’s not Christ plus the church you attend.

• It’s not Christ plus the number of verses you memorize.

• It’s not Christ plus your title in the church.

• It’s not Christ plus wisdom from the latest Christian seminar.

• It’s not Christ plus a fast.

• It’s not Christ plus a good driving record.

• It’s not Christ plus well-behaved children.

• It’s not Christ plus the right job.

• It’s not Christ plus the right spouse.

• It’s not Christ plus the latest technology.

It’s simply Christ. Christ plus nothing.

That’s a message that is as right throughout this coming year as it will be in 2999.

May your new resolution for the year be nothing but Christ and Him crucified.

by Jon Walker
Used by Permission

Do Not be Afraid

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:8-10 (NIV)

Have you ever noticed God is always telling us to not be afraid? For instance, in the Bible, whenever an angel shows up with a message from God, the first thing the angel says is: “Do not be afraid.”

There are all kinds of reasons we might be afraid to receive a message from God: We’re afraid of change, afraid of losing control, afraid of sacrifice.

We’re afraid of living apart from the pretense that we must be good enough.

Yet, the good news of great joy is that you don’t have to be good enough because God is good enough on your behalf!

The Bible teaches us to fight fear with faith—faith that Jesus will cover all our sins and shortcomings.

Practical Nativity:

Replace fear with faith. God’s perfect love drives out all fear (1 John4:18). As you abandon your fears, ask God to guide you toward great faith: “I believe, Lord; help my unbelief.”
Chase God, not perfection. You will never reach perfection, but Jesus, through his death and resurrection, is your perfection. God doesn’t love you because you’re the best in your class or because you try really hard. God loves you because he loves you. Slow down, shake off your anxiety, and meditate on that.

by Jon Walker
Used by Permission

God’s Strength Covers Me

I know my God goes before me and comes behind me (Psalm 139:5). He is “my refuge, a strong tower against the foe” (Psalm 61:3 NIV).

“Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land.” Jeremiah 1:18 (NIV)

Say this as a prayer –

In faith, I know this to be true:

By God’s hand, I am “a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land,” (Jeremiah 1:18 NIV) and I am enabled to fear no one but God.

I will not fear for I know God is with me. When I face fear, he whispers in my ear, “Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV).

He says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV).

When standing before fear, I can boldly say, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:33–35, 37 NIV).

I know my God goes before me and comes behind me (Psalm 139:5). He is “my refuge, a strong tower against the foe” (Psalm 61:3 NIV).

And, because of this, I stand convinced that, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39 NIV).

By Jon Walker
Used by Permission

Make Your Prayers Other-Centered

We pray for others like Jesus would pray for them, thinking about them the way he would think, covering them with prayer, protecting them through prayer, and advocating for them in the same way Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and advocates for us.

“He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene …” Isaiah 59:16 (NIV)

Most of our prayers are of the low order, or maybe more like the fast-food order.

We pull up to the drive-thru and yell out our requests to God and then expect him to have our order ready by the time we pull up to the window.

Yet, God’s view of prayer seems far above the utilitarian. He calls us to a violent form of intercession, where we take on the spiritual forces of darkness on behalf of our race, once invaded, now occupied by the prince of darkness.

Paul teaches us to put on the whole armor of God. If you follow the sequence of his instruction, we’re suiting up for battle so we can stand firm in prayer
(Ephesians 6).

We pray for others like Jesus would pray for them, thinking about them the way he would think, covering them with prayer, protecting them through prayer, and advocating for them in the same way Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and advocates for us.

It is other-centered prayer on the extreme end of “other.”

Isaiah describes God as “appalled” that no one was interceding for his people. We have the ability — more appropriately, the duty — to intercede on behalf of our brothers and sisters (Isaiah 59:16 NIV).

And we do not do this alone, for the Lord is already interceding, and we are simply joining him. Like the armor Paul describes for us, the Lord is suited for battle. Isaiah says: “He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak” (Isaiah 59:17 NIV).

Thoughts:

• Ephesians 6 says to pray “on all occasions.” At which occasions have you been more likely to pray?

• How does it change your confidence and your prayer life to know that God is interceding on behalf of his people?

by Jon Walker
Used by Permission

God is Stronger than We Think

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

We’re not as strong as we think we are, but God is stronger than we think.

You become strong through God’s strength. His strength enters your life, delivered by the Holy Spirit—Jesus within—and the more dependent you are on God, the stronger in Him you become. In our weakness, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).

“I can do everything . . .” doesn’t mean, ‘Now that I’m a believer, I’m strong enough to do everything and anything for God.” Your own testimony can attest to the fears and failures related to such thinking.

The strength of “I can do everything . . .” comes through God, who gives you the strength you need for each day. Your ability to “do everything” is wholly dependent upon Him because your strength is dependent upon Him. It’s not a strength you work up to by pumping iron with emotional or mental barbells.

Strength comes from submission. The thing you do that may require the greatest strength is to submit yourself completely to God! But God is “working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

Strength is linked to faith. You believe in faith that God is giving you His strength; and so, in faith you can act in confidence, knowing the strength is there: “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength” (2 Timothy 4:17 NIV).

By Jon Walker
Used by Permission

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Engineer at Work

Published September 11, 2021

Engineer at Work

“While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate.” Acts 10:17

Praying on a rooftop in Caesarea, Peter, the apostle of stomp and snort, is hungry, and while he waits for his daily bread to be prepared, he seeks the everlasting bread of life (John 6:48). Deeply submerged in the presence of God, Peter sees a vision of food forbidden.

He recoils, saying, “Surely not, Lord! . . . I have never eaten anything impure or unclean” (Acts 10:14). A heavenly voice says, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15).

Peter’s perplexed, but at the same time, God is working his plan. Across town is a centurion seeking the one true God. He is a Gentile; he is, in a figurative sense, food forbidden. But God says to look for a man named Peter; and Peter, still wondering what the vision meant, sees three men from Cornelius approaching on the street below.

The Holy Spirit says to Peter, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them” (Acts 10:19-20). Peter follows the men to Cornelius’ house and finds a crowd already waiting to hear the good news of Jesus, the Christ.

Cornelius tells Peter that, four days before, God promised to send a messenger. In that instant, Peter knew he was the messenger and that the vision meant the gospel is for all people, even Gentiles.

And as Peter began to tell Cornelius’ crowd how to make peace with God, the Holy Spirit descended upon them all, even those who were Gentile.

Oswald Chambers described God as the Great Engineer, creating circumstances to bring about moments in our lives of divine importance, leading us to such divine appointments.

You’ve seen how God did this in the lives of Peter and Cornelius; will you watch now for how God engineers divine encounters in the life you can no longer call your own?

Question: Do you expect God to be at work in your own life?

by Jon Walker
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God Covers Your Faults with His Perfect Love

Published September 2, 2021

God Covers Your Faults with His Perfect Love

“The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father’s only Son.” John 1:14 (TEV)

The love of God is intimate and personal.

He came up-close in Christ, and that means we cannot hide our imperfections and faults from him. He knows about them anyway.

This model from God means we need to love each other intimately and personally, looking past the faults and weaknesses of one another, seeing the handiwork of God in each one of us, knowing that we also have weaknesses and faults but that God is active in our lives, too.

When we know and believe that God is determined to love us no matter what, we can stop being concerned about our faults and conform to Christ instead of our fears (Romans 12:2). When we don’t believe that God loves us no matter what, we try to put on masks that make us look perfect in order to hide our faults. When we try to hide behind masks, we undermine God’s plan that we live together in transparent, loving communities, such as small groups.

The reality is, God’s love is perfect, and he wants to cover our faults with Jesus Christ.

God goes beyond merely diagnosing our problems or judging our faults (Psalm 103:10); instead, he steps forward to address the areas of our lives that are broken:

• Into our emptiness, he brings fullness and completion (Colossians 2:9-10).

• Into our deficit, he brings supply (Philippians 4:19).

• Into our death, he brings life (Ephesians 2:1, 5).

• Into our separation, he brings reconciliation (Romans 5:10-11).

• Into our imperfect love, he brings perfect love (1 John 4:10).

The more we’re conscious of God’s love, the less self-conscious we become about ourselves. We spend less time and energy looking to appear perfect and have a life where everything is exactly the way we want it to be; instead, we invest more time and energy pouring ourselves into other people, who, along with us, make an imperfect community, but one infused with God’s love.

By Jon Walker
Used by Permission

God Requires Risky Obedience

“Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of.” Luke 19:26 (MSG)

If God tells you to take a step of faith but you hesitate to take it until he shows you what the second step will be, you’re not waiting on God. He’s waiting on you.

God uses risks, large and small, to push us into a deeper faith. And so he wants us to step forward in faith, even if we don’t know where the second step will take us. The not knowing is what requires faith, and the not knowing compels us to rely on God to guide us forward.

Regardless of what we see on the other side of a God-directed risk, the reality is God is there. What seems to be a no-guarantee situation actually comes with the greatest guarantee of all — a God-guarantee — that he’s working in your life.

With this guarantee from God, you can enter into the risky obedience of attempting things that are impossible unless God gives you his strength to do them.

With this guarantee from God, you can enter into the risky obedience of loving other believers so deeply and so richly that you prove to the world that God’s love is flowing through you.

With this guarantee from God, you can enter into the risky obedience of loving your unlovable neighbors just as God loved you, even when you seemed unlovable.

With this guarantee from God, you can enter into the risky obedience of changing your priorities to match God’s priorities, sacrificing, in faith, what you cannot keep for the things that can never be taken away.

With this guarantee from God, you can engage in the risky obedience of making disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them that the risky obedience of following Jesus comes with a God-guarantee (Matthew 28:19-20).

What task is before you that seems impossible?

By Jon Walker
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You Are Unique

Published May 11, 2021

You Are Unique

“My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24 (NIV)

You’re the only person in the world who can live your life. No one else can live your life for you, and no one else is in competition with you to complete the task Jesus gave you.

Take a deep breath, and rest in the truth that God created you with such a unique mix of spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personality, and experiences that only you can be you. No one else can duplicate you, and you cannot, should not, imitate another. You are an original masterpiece from the Master’s hand.

Your uniqueness means you’re the only one who can fulfill the mission that God assigned for you to complete.

God’s graduate assistant, Paul, says,

“I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” Acts 20:24 (NIV).

We shouldn’t waste a precious minute of life doing things that don’t matter if that means the most important thing we can do is left undone.

It’s never too late to start faithfully pursuing the mission God has set before you — the one he designed you to complete.

You may think you don’t have skills God can use, but the truth is, God designed you with the very skills he needs in you to do what he asks of you. You are uniquely, wonderfully, and fearfully made.

– Everything God has done for you, including redeeming you from your sinful failures, will support your success and bring glory to God. Think back on your life. In what specific ways has God been preparing you to accomplish his goal for your life?

How would you live differently if you truly believed God created you for a unique mission, one that only you can accomplish?

By Jon Walker
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Confident In God’s Promises

Published May 1, 2021

Confident In God’s Promises

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.'” Numbers 13:30 (NIV)

God wants you confident in the truth that, through him, all things are possible.

Every day of your life, you have a choice:

You can focus on the bigness of the giants that stand before you, or …
You can focus on the bigness of the one, true God who is pouring his strength into you.

Your focus will determine your behaviour, and it will influence your faith.

When the Israelites first approached the borders of Canaan, Moses sent scouts into the Promised Land to assess the situation. Ten of the scouts came back with reports that focused on the giants in the land, men so big and powerful the scouts feared they could not be defeated.

However, two of the scouts remained focused on the promise from God that he would hand the land over to the Israelites. One of those scouts, Caleb, silenced the others when he said,

“We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” Numbers 13:30b (NIV).

He was focused on the magnitude of God, not the magnitude of any giant challenges ahead. Today you may see many giants that challenge your faith — giants of time and energy, finances and resources, fear and faithlessness.

God wants you to be confident that he’s pouring his strength into you so you can do whatever it takes to defeat these giants. God says you can take possession of an abundant life because he is with you.

By seeing his hand sweep away the personal giants in your life, you’ll be even more confident that you can do all things through him who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13).

Thoughts:
• What giants are you facing today?
• Meditate on the greatness or “bigness” of God. How do your problems compare?

By Jon Walker
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Love in You Proves Jesus in You

Published April 19, 2021

Love in You Proves Jesus in You

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” 1 John 3:14 (NIV)

Our love for one another is the fruit, not the root, of our relationship with God. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, taught that our love for others emerges from our relationship with God; that anyone born of God who knows God will love with the love of God (1 John 4:7, based on NLT).

In a sense, the process of sanctification – our movement toward becoming portraits of Jesus – involves God-Love cleaning the clutter we’ve hidden in the cupboards and corners of our being. The Eternal Lover moves with deliberation through the grit and grime of our sin. He throws open the shades and wipes down the windows of our souls until we “shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:15 NIV).

As God scrubs our insides with the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, we pass from “death to life” (1 John 3:14). We are transformed from people who are selective in who and how we love into people energized by God’s spirit to love one another abundantly and unconditionally.

It takes faith to love another with the God-Love flowing into us. Like Peter, we step or swim when we keep our eyes on Jesus and not the stormy waves of human emotions. Human love fears the water; God-Love walks across the waves with such confidence and grace that the storm is quelled.

Love starts with God – God loved you first, and your ability to love others comes from your connection with God. God loved you; now, you love others, and that allows others to see God in you (1 John 4:11-12 NIV).

Love in you proves Jesus in you – When you love others abundantly and unconditionally, you prove you’ve passed from death to Jesus-life. It proves you’re now alive and connected to Jesus through the Holy Spirit (1 John 3:14).

By Jon Walker
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Be Confident in God’s Ability More Than Your Own

Published April 10, 2021

Be Confident in God’s Ability More Than Your Own

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

When Jesus commands us to do something, he knows we can’t do it unless we’re empowered by him. So, through the Holy Spirit, he joins his life with ours; thus, “Christ lives in me.”

This new life takes us where we could never go ourselves. God transforms us by the life of Christ within us, and so we “live and move and have our being” energized by being in Christ (Acts 17:28 NIV).

No matter how hard we try, some days sheer willpower isn’t enough to move us closer to where God wants us to be. And so we try harder, and things just get worse.

This is God driving us away from “try harder” Christianity. It is God teaching us, “Not I, but Christ.”

We begin to see it is no longer “just I” doing the work. We learn to say in faith: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NIV).

Our confidence is not in our ability but in God’s ability. Discuss ways that God works through us internally and externally to build our faith in him.

How would things change in your life if you traded self-confidence for God confidence?

By Jon Walker
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No One Can Stop Your Love

Published March 22, 2021

No One Can Stop Your Love

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)

If you set out to love someone, no one can stop you from reaching your goal.

If your goal is to get him to love you back, he can decide not to love you. If your goal is to change her, she can resist your attempts to change. If your goal to please him, he can remain unpleased. If your goal is to control her, she can rebel against your control.

But no one can block your goal to give unconditional, Jesus-led love.

Others can reject your love, refuse your love, misunderstand your love, discount your love, spit on your love, ignore your love, impugn your love, but they cannot stop you from loving them.

Others can hold your love in scorn, crown your love with thorns, and nail your love to a cross of shame, but they cannot stop you from loving them.

Bono, from U2, once asked the question: “How do you dismantle an atomic bomb?” The answer, he said, was love.

Love presses through as

“it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” and love “sustains all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV; Hebrews 1:3 HCSB).

The all-powerful God of love takes our fears and redeems them with his love, so we can move with the unstoppable, sustainable objective to love even those who seem impossible to love.

With Jesus loving through you, no one can stop your love.

By Jon Walker
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Life’s Uncertainty Teaches Us God Can Be Trusted

Published March 11, 2021

Life’s Uncertainty Teaches Us God Can Be Trusted

“Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5&6

“We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.“ John 6:69 (NIV)

Because the well runs dry, we know Jesus is the river of living water (John 4).

Because the storm rages, we know Jesus is the Lord of the storms (Matthew 14).

Because the floods overwhelm, we know Jesus is the rock on which to build (Matthew 7).

Because the foundation shivers, we know Jesus is the cornerstone that will not move (Matthew 21).

Because sickness comes, we know Jesus is the healer (Matthew 4).

Because we’re bankrupt through the debt of sin, we know Jesus is our redeemer. (Galatians 3).

Because we grieve, we know Jesus is the voice calling from the shore, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” (John 21).

Because we’re full of doubt, we know Jesus is the nail-scarred palm inviting our touch (John 20).

Jesus taught in the “nasty now-and-now” because he knew disciples with focused faith are never made in the classroom; we’re made in the uncertainty of life as we come face-to-face with “I can’t, but God can.”

If we will allow it, our circumstances drive us deeper into the heart of God, and we change because we have believed

By Jon Walker
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Life’s Uncertainty

Published January 22, 2021

Life’s Uncertainty

“We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:69 (NIV)

Because the well runs dry, we know Jesus is the river of living water (John 4).

Because the storm rages, we know Jesus is the Lord of the storms (Matthew 14).

Because the floods overwhelm, we know Jesus is the rock on which to build (Matthew 7).

Because the foundation shivers, we know Jesus is the cornerstone that will not move (Matthew 21).

Because sickness comes, we know Jesus is the healer (Matthew 4).

Because we’re bankrupt through the debt of sin, we know Jesus is our redeemer (Galatians 3).

Because we grieve, we know Jesus is the voice calling from the shore, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” (John 21).

Because we’re full of doubt, we know Jesus is the nail-scarred palm inviting our touch (John 20).

Jesus taught in the “nasty now-and-now” because he knew disciples with focused faith are never made in the classroom; we’re made in the uncertainty of life as we come face-to-face with “I can’t, but God can.”

If we will allow it, our circumstances drive us deeper into the heart of God, and we change because we have believed and come to know the Holy One of God (John 6:69).

by Jon Walker
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It’s simply Christ. Christ plus nothing.

It’s simply Christ. Christ plus nothing.

Further Reading

Further Reading

I know my God goes before me and comes behind me (Psalm 139:5). He is “my refuge, a strong tower against the foe” (Psalm 61:3 NIV).

Say this as a prayer –

Further Reading

We pray for others like Jesus would pray for them, thinking about them the way he would think, covering them with prayer, protecting them through prayer, and advocating for them in the same way Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and advocates for us.

Most of our prayers are of the low order, or maybe more like the fast-food order.

Further Reading

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

Further Reading

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The love of God is intimate and personal.

Further Reading

“Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of.” Luke 19:26 (MSG)

What task is before you that seems impossible?

Further Reading

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FURTHER READING

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Every day of your life, you have a choice:

FURTHER READING

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“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” 1 John 3:14 (NIV)

FURTHER READING

Follow Us On:

FURTHER READING

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“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)

With Jesus loving through you, no one can stop your love.

FURTHER READING

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“Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5&6

FURTHER READING

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“We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:69 (NIV)

FURTHER READING

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