Refuge Audio Podcast

Jesus didn’t come to save us from our circumstances. He came to save us from our sins. Once we are saved, He wants us to and calls us to participate and co-operate with Him in what He is doing. Like Jesus, we must be willing to live a life similar to His—a life of serving, suffering, and sacrifice—not to add to anyone’s salvation, but to lead others to salvation. This is where the life that is truly life is found—in being a disciple of Jesus, The Messiah.

God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit & power, and Jesus went around doing good & healing all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). Who could find fault with Jesus for going around doing good? The Pharisees could—and did. These religious leaders were devoted to preserving the culture of Judaism instead of Scripture. So when they called Jesus out on not honoring the customs of the culture, Jesus brought them back to scripture to show them (and us) the error of legalism.

Nothing is too difficult for God. Jesus makes this clear through His life and ministry. But like the disciples, we can forget this eternal truth and are surprised when He does something that He promised He would do. Jesus doesn’t condemn us for this doubt, but continually calls us to Himself in order to make us into His disciples.

Jesus is gracious when others are gruff. But He’s also serious at making disciples who would make disciples. The closer Jesus gets to the cross, the more serious He is about making disciples. So Jesus stretches the apostles and challenges their capacity to be His servants.

We’re living in a society that not only questions the existence of objective truth, but punishes those who proclaim it. There will be significant consequences for retaining loyalty to God and what His word says—especially concerning sin. To endure the coming difficulty, you’ll need a thorough, working understanding of God through a thorough, working understanding of His word. With this understanding, you’ll be able to know what’s coming, but more importantly the God who is able to see you through.

John the Baptist was faithful to his calling & faithful to the One who called him. But at the end of his ministry, he was in Roman prison wondering if he got things right. Could it be that Jesus wasn’t who John was hoping He would be? Like John, we can ask God honest and difficult questions when things just don’t make sense.

There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with completion. “The end of a thing is better than its beginning…” (Ecclesiastes 7:8). God enjoys finishing what He starts, too. But unlike us, He is always faithful to finish what He begins. Since God always finishes what He starts, we know that there is intentionality in everything He does. We aren’t some project drawn up with haphazard plans and then quickly abandoned when some more pressing task or exciting endeavor presents itself. That’s not how God works. As we look for God’s intention in everything that we go through, we can find agreement with His purpose.

Jesus has a unique way of training, developing, and maturing those who freely choose to follow Him. Consider the disciples. Initially, they simply watched Jesus serve. Then Jesus invited them to serve with Him. They were able to see up close how Jesus served. Before they knew it, Jesus was helping them serve—and soon He was watching them serve. Now it was time for them to serve without Him present. But before sending them out, Jesus gave them practical and applicable principles—principles we can apply as we follow and serve Jesus today.

In John 1:46, Nathaniel asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” He wasn’t alone. Nazareth was looked down on as an insignificant backwoods community. But it’s where Jesus grew up and worked and lived for a majority of His life on Earth. So when He returns home after performing miracles and teaching about the Kingdom of God, you might think that this carpenter-turned-rabbi would be welcomed with enthusiasm. But sadly, many in Nazareth were offended at Jesus because of their odd and unhealthy familiarity with Him.