Pathways Press.com

Written by Emily Rose Massey, a contemporary author.

As Jesus’ disciples, we are called to follow Him. That was Paul’s mission in life – to imitate Christ. And it is what he and the rest of the apostles literally gave their lives to preach to the world through their words and actions. We may not ever get the honor to literally die for Jesus Christ because of our faith in Him, but by God’s grace, we can imitate His selflessness every day. The apostle Paul emphasizes his great desire to join Christ in His suffering and become like Christ in his daily dying of self. To be able to imitate Christ and enjoy this kind of fellowship with Him, we must look to Jesus as our example. Even though Jesus was God in the flesh, He still leaned upon God the Father for everything He said and did while He walked this earth. Jesus would rise early to pray and seek God for His will for the day. In addition to seeking God in prayer, Jesus obediently submitted Himself to the will of the Father, even unto death. Each day, we are faced with the temptation to satisfy our flesh and go outside the boundaries of God’s perfect will…The characteristics of Jesus’ death should be the characteristics of our lives: humility, sacrifice, and glory to God through disciple-making. Ultimately, Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve others. Jesus ministered to thousands upon thousands of people during His time here on earth… Dying daily definitely isn’t easy, but it is worth it because Jesus promises us that whoever loses his life will find it and find it abundantly…Our flesh wants nothing to do with denying it of anything. We don’t want to experience suffering. But it is in those moments of dying to self that you become more like Christ. 

Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. [Matthew 10:39]

Written by Deidre Braley, a contemporary writer and podcaster.

In 1872, John Wesley preached, “Cleanliness is, indeed, next to godliness,” and though he was talking specifically about the way a person dressed and cared for their appearance, I think he was pressing on a deeper spiritual truth, too. Cleanliness is the visual representation of order, and our Creator is, as evidenced by creation, a God of order. If you look carefully at the creation story, you will notice that God did not just bring all things into being—he also gave them each a designated spot, a boundary for existence, a specific space in which to thrive. He separated the light from the darkness, giving both their time to reign, as day and night. He gave each plant one specific fruit to bear. He told the sea how far it could go and then said, “No more.” Biblical scholar Rachel Smith describes God’s work… “It (the world) was designed to run well and to be a well-ordered environment for its occupants. This is the sense of good in the creation account. Everything God created He declared good because it acted within its purpose and provided benefits.” What does it mean to bear God’s image? It means to care about the things he cares about, and to reflect his character out into the world. And one of the things that God cares about is order, which creates space for life to thrive. When we enter into chaos and bring disorder back into equilibrium, we are doing the work of God. 

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. [Genesis 1:31]

Written by Thomas Tarrants, a contemporary minister and author.

The metaphor of birth provides a helpful way of understanding fuller implications of what it means to know God and to grow in that relationship. Just as a human being is physically born into the world and moves through a developmental cycle from infant to child to adolescent to adult, so a child of God is born spiritually and is called to move through a similar developmental cycle. These stages are mentioned in the New Testament. Paul, for example, makes a distinction between “the mature” and “infants in Christ.” … Spiritually, the newest infant in Christ knows God, but not very well. As this baby grows in grace, he or she will progress toward maturity and, in doing so, will come to know God better and better. We have probably seen this if we have been believers for a while. What a joy it is to encounter an infant in Christ, a new convert, eager and zealous for the things of God. But what a blessing to meet a father or mother in Christ, a mature believer who has faithfully walked with God for decades and whose life is characterized by a degree of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that is truly Christlike! This kind of mature relationship with God is what every believer is called to pursue… God called all of His people to know Him personally and love Him supremely with heartfelt devotion… God delights when His people truly know Him, love Him, and enjoy the blessings of His faithful love, justice, and righteousness.

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” [Jeremiah 9:23–24]

Written by Mike McGregor, a contemporary pastor and writer.

We are commanded as Christians to be good listeners. Obviously, if God commands us to do something that should be enough for us. But it’s also helpful to see the blessings in God’s commands. There are many blessings of being a good listener. One of them is it helps us avoid speaking foolishly…We shouldn’t be hasty to speak, but instead should train ourselves to listen well that our words might be a blessing. Additionally, one of the main blessings of listening is that it is an essential way in which we love others. Listening is really an application of the second greatest commandment to love others as ourselves… All of us are eager, even desperate for people to truly listen to us. There are actually robots people can buy that listen to them. Advancements in AI is making these robots more and more lifelike. This reveals a profound truth about us: we all fear that no one is listening to us. This is perhaps one of the reasons people are so obsessed with social media. We have Twitter and FB and Snapchat, because it gives us the feeling that someone out there is listening and they care. All of this reveals the golden opportunity Christians have to love people in a significant way simply by listening. We must understand that the question, “How are you?” isn’t a throwaway. How many people get asked that question by someone who truly cares and listens. Listening is loving. Or as Henry Nouwen said, “Listening is spiritual hospitality.” When you listen, you are creating a sacred space where someone is heard and listened to and cared for.

Let each of you be quick to listen; slow to speak, slow to become angry. [James 1:19]

This is an excerpt from “The Bible in a Year: A 52-Week Journey Through God’s Word,” written by the Spiral Bible team.

Trust in God is the practical response to His proven character and faithful promises. It grows through experiencing His faithfulness and leads to peace even in life’s storms…This trust isn’t blind faith but confident reliance on God’s character and wisdom, even when our understanding falls short…Trust becomes the pathway to tranquility, not because our circumstances change, but because or focus shifts from our problems to God’s presence and power…Biblical trust isn’t passive waiting but active obedience, continuing to do what we know is right while waiting for God to work. We demonstrate our trust through our choices and actions.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. [Proverbs 3:5-6]

Written by Emily Rose Massey, a contemporary writer.

When we face rejection from others, we must remember that Jesus understands rejection better than anyone, as He has experienced it firsthand. Many people rejected Jesus (and continue to do so) while He was here on earth; even one of His very own disciples (Judas), rejected Him and betrayed Him. And just a couple of hours later, another one of His closest disciples (Peter) rejected knowing Him. Three times to be exact. Aren’t you so thankful for Jesus’ forgiveness when we turn our backs on Him! He gives us so many opportunities to repent and make things right in our relationship with Him! His mercies towards us are new every single morning… oh, what love! Has the pain of rejection made it difficult for you to trust others? Lay that pain at the foot of the cross, friend. God can bring healing to the wounds of those who have hurt you and empower you to choose to forgive. Instead of allowing bitterness to take root in your heart, perhaps you should ask the Lord to bless those who have hurt you, even if they don’t want you in their life anymore. Jesus was rejected, yet He took the punishment of our sin out of love for those who would put their trust in Him. No matter how much man rejects us, we must remember that Jesus is the friend who sticks by us no matter what. He will never leave you nor turn His back on you. The Lord understands our pain regarding rejection, and His arms are open wide, so let us be quick to draw near to Him. Lo, He is always with you…even to the end of the age!

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” [Hebrews 13:5b-6]

Written by J. I. Packer (1926-2020), a Canadian evangelical theologian, cleric, ad writer. This is an excerpt from his book “Knowing God.”

If the decisive factor was notional correctness, then obviously the most learned biblical scholars would know God better than anyone else. But it is not; you can have all the right notions in your head without ever tasting in your heart the realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a far deeper acquaintance with his God and Savior than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct.

For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. [2 Peter 1:21]

Written by John Ortberg, a contemporary pastor, speaker, and writer. This is an excerpt from his book “Steps.”

Fear seems to get into everything. We have a yellow lab named Baxter who is a wonderful dog except that he sheds recreationally…Fear is that way. It sheds. That little word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives. It is an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence is shot through it. The first temptation in the Bible was based on FOMO (the fear of missing out): “Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.”  And then sin produced fear. “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” FOMO – sin – guilt—fear—hide—repeat…Our fears have a way of hiding behind our actions…Don’t allow fear to exist as a vague, unnamed cloud of anxiety… As long as we are alive we will never live a fear-free life. Part of surrender involves the willingness to experience fear while we continue to seek to do God’s will…Fear rightly used, is a gift. It is the anticipation of harm. It’s designed to help us organize our response to threat and energize us to escape from danger. Without fear we wouldn’t survive…But as a general rule, fear paralyzes us…In the Bible “Do not fear” is the single most common command. But it pretty much never means “try really hard to not feel fear.” And it pretty much never means “God is now permitting you to avoid a fear-inducing situation so that you can be spared unpleasant fear.” It almost always means “Do the very thing you were afraid to do”: Don’t be afraid…The promise in not that we will be spared discomfort of fear. Quite the opposite. It’s that precisely in the midst of that discomfort we will discover that God is with us. When we turn our live over to Him, fear-avoidance no longer governs…Honestly facing up to your shortcomings is the most humbling and courageous thing you’ll ever do.

So do not fear, for I am with you; 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]

Written by Laura Johnson, a contemporary writer.

We see evidence all throughout Scripture that Jesus was deeply concerned with matters of the heart. When we take a look at the life and ministry of Christ, we discover a man who saw people in their circumstances — stepping not only into their physical realities, but also their spiritual ones. But as we seek to learn from Jesus, we see Him offering us a new way to live and minister. Not only does He invite us to lean into His strength in our personal heart struggles, He also gives us the gift of stepping into others’ lives and inviting them to do the same. As we follow Christ and make Him known, we have the privilege of bringing people before Christ and watching how He cares for both our hearts and the hearts of those around us. Discipleship is not simply about giving tools for people to become better Christians; it is about being faithful to bring the people before you into the presence of Christ, walking with them while Christ changes their hearts and transforms their lives.

Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. [Galatians 6:2]

Written by Joseph Hellerman, a contemporary author and pastor.

Spiritual formation occurs primarily in the context of community. Persons who remain contented with their brothers and sisters in the local church almost invariably grow in self-understanding. And they mature in their ability to relate in healthy ways to God and to their fellow human beings. This is especially the case for those courageous Christians who stick it out through the often messy process of interpersonal discord and conflict resolution. Long-term interpersonal relationships are the crucible of genuine progress in the Christian life. People who stay grow. People who leave do not grow.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up… A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. [Ecclesiastes 4:9-12]