Category: <span>thoughts by Jon Walker</span>

daily devotionalSimon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.John 6:68-69 (NIV)

Even if we don’t understand God’s plan, we need to respond to his direction. In fact, when we don’t understand God’s plan that we need to be very focused on doing exactly what he directs us to do.

God allows us to choose to do his will, or to not do his will, and often, he asks us to make that choice before we know the specific details of his plan. That’s because part of his plan is to develop in us a trust – where we trust God’s character and his benevolence.

He develops within you an attitude of prior commitment, a desire to do his will. Part of the strength that God gives you to “do all things through him” is the ability to choose to do his will, even before you know what it is.

But this is where many people stall in their steps toward being on mission. They get into a battle of wills with God, wanting him to reveal his plan first, and only then will they decide whether or not to respond.

But that’s not the way it works. God wants you to decide in advance that you’ll do what he tells you to do. He’s calling you to trust him with complete abandonment, believing that his will is the best plan for your life and believing that he will strengthen you to do all the things he asks.

You may not be ready to do that yet, but God will even give you the strength to be honest about that. God will not be surprised by your transparency if you say, “Father, I’m not sure I’m ready to do your will. I don’t know if I want to do it or not.” He already knows about your hesitancy.

But allow God to strengthen you in this area. Tell him, “I don’t know that I’m willing to step out in faith without first knowing everything that’s going to happen, but I’m willing to be made willing.”

One reason God doesn’t give you the full picture of his plans for your life is that you may be overwhelmed by what you see. Since it is a God-sized mission, it may appear impossible for you to complete. But that’s the point—there is no way you can fulfill your mission without God and his strength.

As you take steps of faith, and your confidence in God increases, he will reveal more of the plan.

By Jon Walker

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2014/08/31/jw_god-doesnt-give-you-the-full-picture/


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Thoughts by All thoughts by Jon Walker Thoughts by Men

daily devotionalVery rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.Romans 5:7

The love of God needs no because. He does not give his love because of something that you’ve done. He does not give his love because of something he will gain. He does not give his love because it’s something you have earned.

He gives his love with no because.

We come at love with conditions: you can take it or leave it.

God comes at love with no conditions: I’ll take you and I won’t leave you.

We might, in rare instances, show love by dying for someone we deem worthy. God, in all instances, showed love by dying for us, even when we were still drawing blood from his love (Romans 5:7–8).

When we were still in rebellion against God’s love, Jesus said, “I lay down my life . . . . No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:17–18)

I lay it down, Jesus says, with no need for because.

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for youJohn 13:15

Question: What does God’s love mean to you?

By Jon Walker

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2014/08/22/jw_love-needs-no-because/


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Thoughts by All thoughts by Jon Walker Thoughts by Men

by Jon Walker

Having said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam.” John 9:6–7 (NIV)

Jesus violates expectations.

Jesus is not subject to our expectation of Him; we are subject to His expectation of us.

Jesus may appear inconsistent. For instance, one time He may heal someone by a mere word; another time He may put mud in your eye!

His consistency is to the will of the Father.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2012/08/12/jw_let-jesus-violate-your-expectations/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Jon Walker Thoughts by Men

by Jon Walker

Christian Devotional

 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God . . . .” Romans 4:3 (NIV)

We’re constantly in complex negotiations with God:

— “God, what if you’re not on the other side of this leap?”

— “Are you sure you’re strong enough to catch me?”

— “I think I can handle this one a little better than you, God.”

— “If you show me what, I’ll decide if . . .”

The apostle Paul, who received his sight when he became blind, suggests this negotiation disorder is common among believers. But he also says the cure for our unbelief is to believe God, summing it up with one simple phrase: “Abraham believed God . . .” (Romans 4:3 NIV).

— Abraham believed God to be a loving Father.

— Abraham believed God wanted fellowship with him.

— Abraham believed God would speak with him.

— Abraham believed God would listen to him.

— Abraham believed God wanted to use him in a great mission.

— Abraham believed God knew more than he did when the childless patriarch was called to birth a great nation.

— Abraham believed God was telling him to go, even if it was to a land he did not know.

— Abraham believed God would guide and provide step-by-step.

— Abraham “obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8 NIV).

Abraham leaned hard into his belief because he maintained an intimate friendship with the Father above. By staying close to God, Abraham could see the Almighty could be trusted to do the things he said he would do and to fulfill the commitments he promised to complete.

Abraham believed God. Paul believed God.

Tell God, I believe; help me overcome my unbelief.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2012/03/24/jw_negotiations-with-god/
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By Jon Walker

Christian daily devotionalVery early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of town to a lonely place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35 TEV

Can you imagine Jesus being too busy to pray in the morning, gulping down a cup of coffee and thinking, “I’ve got so much to do today. When is there time to talk to the Father?” If we are learning to be like Christ, then we have to learn that our intimacy with the Father always takes priority.

God says it is foolish to succumb to the tyranny of the urgent in the morning: “It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late. For the LORD provides for those he loves, while they are asleep”. (Psalm 127:2 TEV)

Spending time with God in the morning should be a normal part of life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer notes: “With remarkable frequency the Scriptures remind us that the men of God rose early to seek God and carry out His commands, as did Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Joshua (cf. Genesis 19:27, 22:3; Exodus 8:16, 9:13, 24:4; Joshua 3:1, 6:12)”.

And the Bible tells us that Jesus made it a daily habit: “Very early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of town to a lonely place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35 TEV).

Jesus is . . .
Jesus desired intimacy with God. His attitude is reflected in Psalm 63: “O God, you are my God, and I long for you. My whole being desires you; like a dry, worn-out, and waterless land, my soul is thirsty for you(Psalm 63:1 TEV).

To be like Jesus . . .
Christ’s message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts. Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father”
(Colossians 3:16-17 TEV).

No doubt you already see the need to spend time with God in the morning.

•    What are the things that keep you from being consistent in morning devotions?

•    How could you work within your small group to help each other become consistent at morning devotionals?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2012/02/29/jw_jesus-too-busy-to-pray/
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Thoughts by All thoughts by Jon Walker Thoughts by Men

by Jon Walker

But I will fence her in with thorn bushes. I will block the road to make her lose her way. When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch up with them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think “I might as well return to my husband because I was better off with him than I am now.” Hosea 2:6–7 (NLT)

When Gomer, the Old Testament prophet Hosea’s wife, continued to chase after other lovers, God placed a hedge of thorns around her, keeping her from finding adulterous relationships and eventually driving her back to her husband.

Job, on the other hand, had a hedge of protection lifted from his life after Satan asked to sift him: “Haven’t You placed a hedge around [Job], his household, and everything he owns? . . . But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your faceJob 1:10–11 (HCSB).

A similar sifting, by removing the hedge of protection, is implied in Peter’s life: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheatLuke 22:31 (NIV).

We can pray this hedge for our children and other loved ones. We can ask God to hedge them in so they will find the right kind of friends but be protected from the wrong kind of influences.

In the case of children who are prodigals, we can pray a hedge of thorns around them to protect them from friends who influence them in the wrong way.

The Bible says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16b (NLT)

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2011/06/09/jw_prayer-hedge-of-protection/

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“… Stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.”  Philippians 1:27 (NIV)

Here are four ways you can pray for your friends and family:

1. Pray for an opportunity to talk about Jesus (Colossians 4:3). Ask God to give you an opportunity to tell others about Christ, and to invite them to your small group. God will take you seriously and answer your prayer!

2. Pray for God to prepare hearts. Pastor Rick sometimes asks, “Do you know how God softens hearts? He sends the rain!” Anytime you see someone going through a storm in life, you can know God is softening a heart.

3. Pray for God to tenderize your heart. Ask God to give you a burden, which is just an old-fashioned word that means your heart is tender toward a specific person or group of people.

4. Pray that the words of Jesus will simply take off. Pray that the words of Jesus “will simply take off and race through the country to a groundswell of response” (2 Thessalonians 3:1 MSG), just as they did among the early Christians.

by Jon Walker

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Jon Walker Thoughts by Men