Five Minute Faith Talks: “Faith That Doesn’t Need All the Answers”

Hebrews 11:8-10  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.  (9)  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:  (10)  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

                 How many of us like to know as many answers as we can possibly know before we make a decision? I would say we ALL, to some degree, feel more comfortable when we feel like we have some answers before we make decisions, especially life-altering decisions such as starting a new job, relocating our family, deciding whether or not to invest, deciding whether or not to buy a house or to rent, etc.

                 While it is certainly wise to get as many answers as possible, it is not possible to get ALL the answers because there is probably always one more question that can be asked. For those who tend to seek “all the answers”, they tend to fall into what’s called “Analysis Paralysis”, meaning they get so bogged down with analyzing whether or not they should do something, that they never actually do that something.

                 Abraham did not allow himself to fall into this trap. But rather, when God called him to go out to where the Lord would lead him, the Bible says he “…obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went…”.

                 One thing we notice about Abraham’s life is that he knew how to make sure it was God speaking, and once he was assured of it, he didn’t keep asking for more answers; he just obeyed and had faith that God would direct his next steps. He understood that he didn’t have to know all the steps, or the outcome, but he DID have to take the next step, and so do you and I if we are to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives!

*If you find these Five Minute Faith Talks to be valuable, please consider subscribing and sharing them out to all your social media pages so others may also learn to have strong faith!

Five Minute Faith Talks: “Faith That Moves”

Hebrews 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Many people have heard of the story of Noah and the ark. It’s often used in preaching and in many Children’s Ministry lessons. We have to remember that Noah was a real person, living a real life, in this real world, with real people, and real circumstances. What distinguishes Noah from the rest of the people around him was that Noah had real faith in God. When I say “real faith”, what I mean is he had faith that believed God enough to get moving on that which God had placed in his heart.

We’re reminded in James 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Long before these specific words were penned by the Apostle James, the prophet Noah understood this concept and that is why the Bible says he “…moved with fear…”, because he had Faith that Moves.

When you and I face this life, as Noah did, and we place our unreserved faith in Almighty God, we no longer have to live in fear, as others may, but we can confidently pursue that into which God has led us. We don’t just believe in God, but we believe Him enough to move when He says to move, because true faith is shown when it is acted upon, as it was with Noah.

As we seek God for stronger faith in this new year, let’s also ask Him to give us the heart and courage to move on that faith as well, for THIS is where we will see the blessing in our lives!

*If you find these Five Minute Faith Talks to be valuable, please consider subscribing and sharing them out to all your social media pages so others may also learn to have strong faith!

Five Minute Faith Talks: “Faith that Pleases God”

Hebrews 11:5-6  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.  (6)  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

                 “translate” – Greek metatithemi; to transport or transfer. This speaks of Enoch, whom Jude says was a prophet of God, whose life so pleased God that God brought him from this life into eternity with God without Enoch having to die a natural death. Some may say that God did this because He has a future plan for Enoch during the Tribulation time period, but this would be incorrect.

                 God did this, as the Bible declares in these verse “…before his translation (transfer to Heaven) he had this testimony, that he pleased God”. While it is true that God has a special calling for Enoch during the Tribulation time period, Enoch wasn’t chosen for that because his name was Enoch and it would just sound cool to have someone named “Enoch” be one of the guys fulfilling that prophecy. He was chosen for that very special task because he first had faith that pleased God.

                 While you and I will not be chosen to fulfill the same prophecy that Enoch has been chosen to fulfill in the last days, we can have the same kind of God-pleasing faith that moved God to give Enoch a special calling in God’s eternal plan. As a matter of fact, in the next verse we are told that we can’t please God without faith.

                 This is good news during times of great trouble and distress because God isn’t looking for some great one to come along and save the world. He already has someone who can do that…His name is Jesus! But rather, all God is looking for is someone who will simply place whatever amount of faith they do have in His eternal hands and let Him begin to work things out.

                 So, are you ready to have faith that pleases God? If so, simply connect with him in a simple prayer of sincerity and ask Him for that kind of faith, and He will surely develop it in your heart!

                 *If you find these Five Minute Faith Talks to be valuable, please consider subscribing and sharing them out to all your social media pages so others may also learn to have strong faith!

Five Minute Faith Talks: “Faith that Gets Noticed”

Hebrews 11:4  By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

We live in a social media world, in other words it’s rather easy to get noticed…for at least a few seconds…just long enough for someone to click “Like” or to retweet something before they move on to the next catch picture or phrase.

                 Abel, son to Adam and Eve and brother to Cain, had a faith that was noticed. The Bible says “…by which he obtained witness…”. This means that his faith was taken notice of by those around him, and ultimately by God.

                 During difficult situations, such as we’re facing in these last days, while others are fretting, wringing their hands, and wondering what’s next, does your faith in God and a better tomorrow stay strong to where people around you take notice of it and are encouraged by it also?

                 If your faith isn’t where it should be, you can reach out to God in prayer and ask Him to strengthen your faith so that you may stand strong in the days of adversity. The Bible says in Hebrews 10:39  But we are not of them who draw back… We don’t draw back into fear and uncertainty like those who have no hope, but rather we draw closer to God and allow Him to strengthen our faith and we let our faith rest in His ability.

                 Next time you are tempted to allow fear and discouragement to set in, just remember that God already has provided a way to have strong faith, and that kind of faith is what gets noticed by others.

Five Minute Faith Talks: “Faith That Sees Beyond”

Hebrews 11:1-3  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  (2)  For by it the elders obtained a good report.  (3)  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

In these verses, the author Paul establishes a very concise and strong definition of the kind of faith that pleases God. He points out that this kind of faith is not only pleasing to God, but it enables us to see beyond our current situation to something better that awaits us.

                 Because of recent events, we just want to take some time to connect with our community and encourage you to look beyond this situation with faith.

                 In Vs. 1 he tells us that this Faith that Sees Beyond is substance and evidence. Substance (Greek hupostasis; assurance; confidence) and evidence (Greek elegchos; proof; conviction). Faith that Sees Beyond has assurance that there is something better beyond this and a conviction of this to be true. Where does this conviction come from? It comes from the fact that our hope is not in this life alone, but in the eternal God who gives us this hope.

                 In Vs. 2, he tells us that those who came before us also had this Faith That Sees Beyond and because of that did great things in this life. We now look back on their lives with great admiration. They didn’t let their current situations, which were difficult, dissuade them from seeing beyond and faith that things would eventually turn out better.

                 In Vs. 3, he tells us that this Faith that Sees Beyond recognizes that everything around us was created by the spoken word of God and that if God can create this great universe and everything that therein is with just a spoken word, that same God sees things on a bigger scale than we do and therefore can, with a spoken word, create a better future for us! It simply takes holding on to that Faith That Sees Beyond  and waiting on it to come to pass!

                 *If you find these Five Minute Faith Talks to be valuable, please consider subscribing and sharing them out to all your social media pages so others may also learn to have Faith That Sees Beyond!

Progress, Not Just Perfection (With Video Podcast)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v0dnAv8jIU&t=7s

Hebrews 6:1  … let us go on unto perfection…

Here in this chapter, the Apostle Paul encourages followers of Christ both to steadfastness in their faith and to strive for a higher level of commitment and obedience to Christ. In doing this, he gives us a basis from which to start this process.

He says in Hebrews 5:13-14  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  (14)  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

In other words, those who understand the word of God the least are not those who study it the least, but those who implement it the least. And those who understand the word of God the most are not those who study it the most, but it is those who implement its teachings the most.

It is after this that he then says “…let us go on unto perfection”. The key phrase here is “go on”. In other words, action! When it comes to a relationship with God, it is implementation, not just information, that God uses to bring progress in our lives. This is the key factor that moves us forward in our process of perfection.

People’s Definition Of Perfection

We’ll start by pointing out that there are two definitions of perfection; people’s definition and God’s definition. We’ll start by looking at people’s definition. In order to understand more fully what it means to “go on unto perfection” we must first understand what kind of “perfection” we are looking for.

When we think of the term “perfection” we can probably get its best definition from the dictionary, which tells us that perfection is being free, or as free as possible, from all flaws and defects. Aren’t you glad that definition gives us an out by saying “as free as possible”. But, when we think of the word “perfection” we don’t always think of that part. We think of the part that indicates being free from all flaws and defects.

We see very quickly that this is an untenable position to hold for anyone, and yet there are those who, while excusing themselves from such a definition, will consciously, or subconsciously, hold others to this definition. Maybe you know someone like this. They do this by being almost overly demanding that things be “the best they can”, which is a great thought, yet when pressed upon for more details often even they can’t tell you what that means.

My approach to this is simply that we should look for specific things that can be made better and then work on those things. By doing this, we can little by little, make the entire thing as close to “perfect” as possible.

So, we see that people’s definition of perfection is not usually attainable and thus we should strive for another definition of “perfection”.

God’s Definition Of Perfection

Let’s talk now about God’s definition of perfection. In Hebrews 6:1 when Paul says “…let us go on unto perfection…”, the Greek word used here for “perfection” is teleiotes; this word stems from the Greek word teleios and it means being mentally and morally complete. In other words, unlike people’s definition where perfection is looked at as something with little to no flaws, God’s definition is more comprehensive. It involves bringing something to mental and moral completion, which indicates that it was incomplete beforehand.

Without Christ, all men and women are both mentally and morally incomplete and thus incapable of pleasing God. It is when we are completed by Christ that we can then please God and be acceptable to Him. Many people attempt to please God only mentally, but the completion of Christ is both mental AND moral. It goes beyond head-knowledge. God is more interested in us having a heart-knowledge as well.

So, we see that God’s definition of perfection is both more attainable and more tenable because this definition is found in Christ and is empowered in our lives by Christ.

Progress, Not Just Perfection

The title of this message comes from a podcast I heard a while back where the speaker was telling a  story about a personal trainer he watches online. The trainer made the statement, “We want progress, not perfection” and he indicated that statement made exercising seem more doable and enjoyable because progress is measurable and attainable, whereas perfection, as people see it, is not.

This same thing is true when serving God. Are we more mentally, morally, emotionally, and spiritually mature than we were last week, last month, or last year? Or, do the same things that tripped us up then still have that effect on us today? Rather than wishing and waiting on the day where we are “perfect” in our actions, let’s strive to be perfect in our hearts so that we may start to see progress in our daily lives.

This life is a marathon, not a sprint and serving God is no different. While there is an expectation for us to go on to perfection, we must understand that God’s definition  of perfection is attainable, so long as we break it down into attainable steps called progress.

Strive through prayer, faith, and action to make progress and you’ll see perfection come to your life sooner and more effectively than you may realize!

Dealing with Angry People

Proverbs 22:24-25  Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:  (25)  Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

Proverbs 29:22  An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.

The wise man Solomon shares lots of insights in his Proverbs. He shares about topics ranging from marriage, to parenting, to leadership, to character, and so much more! In these verses he shares some rather interesting wisdom with us.

He makes it clear that we must be careful when interacting with those who are given to anger, which is shown by their constant angry countenance and the ease with which they are angered. Over my years of working with people, I’ve encountered those who are given to anger and the following are some of my observations and things to be careful of when dealing with angry people.

They will influence you to become angry, discontent, and critical as well

Even if you had no previous anger toward something or someone, if you allow an angry person too much influence in your life, you’ll find yourself taking on their anger as well, and you may not even know why. One thing that must be maintained is your own integrity and emotional boundaries. If you determine not to allow yourself to be swayed, then you have a better chance of staying immune from taking on the same anger of an angry person. Resolve not to allow them so much influence and control over your thoughts and actions.

They will give you no rest until you join them

They say “misery loves company” and this is especially the case with angry people. It seems they already know they are wrong for being so easily angered and, rather than admit it or deal with it directly, they just want to be validated by having you join their side. Even if you do join them, they will STILL give you no rest because they have rest in their own hearts. You can take decisive action to NOT allow them to influence you negatively.

They will drain you of your peace

If you tend to be a peacemaker, it is certain that an angry person will drain you of your peace because peace is not what they are looking for. For some, it could be about using their anger to control others. Some could use their anger to gain compliance from others. Some just may not know why they are angry to begin with or what they want.

Whatever the case, it’s best to take steps to protect your peace and not try so hard to bring peace to the angry person because it likely won’t work anyway. Let them keep their anger to themselves! You can only help those who want to be helped and some people just do not think they need help.

They will harm your good name and reputation

An angry person, especially someone who is known to be such, already has caused harm to their own name and reputation. They could cause you to do the same by influencing you to say and do things you otherwise would not have said or done.

Ignore their negative speak about others and do not give too much credit to their negative judgments of people and actions because they have shown that their judgments cannot be trusted anyway because they are tainted by negative bias

Again, the name of the game here is to limit their influence in your life. You may do this by limiting the time you spend with them, or at the least, determining within yourself not to allow them to influence you in the same angry way.  Double down on being the person you want to be and make it a point to ignore or push away their negative influence. It really does take that kind of effort!

A Gift to Gaius (A Biblical Illustration of Servant-Leadership)

3 John 1:5-7  Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;  (6)  Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:  (7)  Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

The Apostle John, who wrote five books in the New Testament which include The Gospel of John, 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John, and Revelation, shows to us in this shortest of New Testament books, a very important attribute of servant-leadership. It is something that, if one is not open to seeing, could be missed completely and probably is missed to the casual Bible reader who is just trying to complete their daily Bible reading and sees the brevity of this letter as an easy task.

As a Pastor, along with teaching Biblical doctrines and practical application of the Bible to my congregation, I often find myself teaching on personal development coupled with leadership principles, so certain words and events tend to stand out to me from those perspectives as well.

In the scriptures above, Gaius is the recipient of this letter and he apparently would take care of travelling ministers as they passed through his town while preaching the Gospel. There was also a church there because John would later have to deal with some issues in that church, which we’ll talk about in a later post.

Gaius was well known by John as being someone who took care of these travelling ministers and Gaius probably did these things without looking for any kind of emotional payoff from others; no likes on Facebook; just good, old fashioned love for God and appreciation for the ministry of the Gospel.

In this world of social media it seems like people think the smallest thought or deed should be recorded, noticed, and praised and so they post it on their social media accounts and wait for the responses to roll in, and there will be people who give those responses even to the smallest and most mundane of things thus creating this never-ending feedback loop among the needy and the needed. While social media can have its place and be a kind of blessing even to the work of God, it is certainly not without its downfalls.

I believe John wanted to send Gaius this letter as a way of not only thanking him for his sacrificial service to the kingdom of God (which would probably have been considered an honor in itself) but by giving him a bigger gift even than that.

What gift is that? The gift to Gaius was feedback. This gave Gaius the “30,000 foot view” of the bigger plan and mission and let him see from way up high (John’s perspective) where Gaius’ efforts fit into that plan and mission down on the ground. As John would put it, verse 8 – …that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth. In other words, “Gaius, your personal efforts are helping to ensure that the truth of God’s word continues to be preached and people are given the chance to be saved! Ultimately we are building God’s kingdom and this is how your efforts fit into that!”.

Additionally, it was not just intellectual information nor an emotional outburst of “Yippy, yippy Gaius is awesome!”, but genuine and practical feedback about how Gaius’ personal efforts fit into and helped the greater mission. This is not something that had to be given all the time, nor should it be expected all the time, but it no doubt helped Gaius realize that his efforts weren’t being taken for granted but that he was serving a bigger purpose.

This approach can be applied in any setting where people are involved and it’s something I’m currently working on implementing at my own level of leadership as I also grow and develop personally. I’m sure it was appreciated by the one receiving it because it not only showed he was having a positive impact, but it also showed him where he stood in the heart of the Apostle; something I’m sure meant a lot to Gaius.

Launch Out into the Deep!

I recently saw a video of a moose in a river cooling off when a wolf came out of the woods into the water and latched on to the moose. No matter how much the moose tried to stomp on the wolf, the wolf had latched onto a spot where the moose could not stomp on it…right behind the moose’s front right leg. The moose was able to get the wolf to let go once by holding the wolf under the water until it released its vice-like grip. But, then as the moose ran, the wolf gave chase! The moose ran and ran and eventually began to run out of energy, with the wolf hot on its trail. It wasn’t until the moose ran into the deeper part of the river that the wolf had to finally back off.

This is a great illustration of how that, as long as the Christian stays in the shallow waters of living, the enemy can easily chase after them and, if the Christian is not growing stronger, the enemy can latch onto that Christian’s life in such a way that, no matter how much that Christian tries to fight him, the devil has secured a spot that the Christian cannot reach unless they change the way they do things and decide to go out into the deeper waters of living for God! Thank God the Christian has a deeper place to which they can go and find refuge and strength! That place is in the deep places of God’s strength and protection!

After calling His disciples, Jesus tells Simon Peter in Luke 5:4 …Launch out into the deep… and that’s just what I want to encourage you to do starting today…right now! LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP!

Launch Out into the Deeper Levels of Thinking

                 Contrary to popular belief, Christianity was never meant by God to be an autopilot lifestyle, and yet that’s the way many Christians seem to think about and therefore treat their Christian lives. The world and satan take advantage of this lack of understanding and therefore cause people in Christian churches to think and believe all kinds of things…even unbiblical things!

                 Everyone thinks they’re a “deep thinker” until they have to look at facts and think deeply. Then you find they will spend more time and energy defending the way they have always done things and ignoring, or flat out refusing, to hear anything different!

                 While it is in every person’s human nature to go along with the bare minimum status quo way of doing things, they may even defend their bare minimum level of shallow thinking. This could be in the form of such phrases as “At least I’m saved and on my way to Heaven and that’s enough for me!”. Shallow thinking brings shallow emotions, shallow actions, and shallow reactions!

                 Christians are not called to the shallow end of life, we are called to Launch Out into the Deep! Concerning the things of God, the great Apostle Paul puts it in 1st Corinthians 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

                 It is in our human nature to want the shallow and easy things of life. This is why we need to be born again and to receive the divine nature of God! Only then can we truly want to launch out into the deep! There is a deeper level of living for God that awaits all of His children who will take the time to cultivate this kind of relationship with Him!

Launch Out into the Deeper Levels of Learning

                 There is great protection in knowing the truth about things! Our Lord Himself tells us in John 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. When you know something is true, you are protected against believing lies about it and when you know something is a lie, you are protected against believing it to be true! (This entire paragraph bears repeating!)

                 There are so many people who know so much and yet understand so little and it shows in their daily lives. It shows in their attitudes, in their marriages, in their family life, in their professional life, in their financial life, etc. When discussing those who are educated, but are easily carried away by their lusts, the Bible says in 2nd Timothy 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

                 I’m not talking about getting so consumed with intellectual knowledge that you can speak Hebrew and Greek but completely miss what’s actually being said! These people know so much about what the Bible says, that they don’t know what the Bible is saying. (Really, they know what it says to others, but don’t seem to pick up on what it’s saying to them.)

                 Ephesians 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. – Ladies…That’s for YOU!

                 Ephesians 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it – That means He chose love and grace over pettiness! Men…That’s for YOU and me!

                 Ephesians 5:20-21  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;  (21)  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. – That’s for ALL OF US!

                 Ephesians 6:1-3  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.  (2)  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)  (3)  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. – Children, that’s for YOU until you start your own life and family. Even then you must still learn to honor your parents, even if you don’t always agree. I’m talking about learning God’s intentions and doing them! It’s as easy to understand as John 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Launch Out into the Deeper Levels of Understanding

                 Just because we know something, does not mean we understand it. You may know that a car cranks when you turn the key or push the button, but you don’t necessarily understand combustion engines. You may know the cell phone works when you turn it on, but you may not understand how motherboards, resistors, and RAMs work.

                 As God’s people, if we choose to stay in the shallow end of the pool of understanding, then we will not experience the joy of understanding the deeper things of God! There is so much more to knowing God than the children’s prayer of “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soda keep. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soda I can take!”. We expect that kind of prayer from a child, but not from a maturing Christian who is launching out into the deep!

                 For the maturing Christian, we are told in Hebrews 6:1 …let us go on unto perfection… We are also told in Hebrews 5:13-14  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  (14)  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age (Those who choose to Launch Out into the Deep), even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. The word for “senses” is the Greek word aistheterion which means “an organ of perception”. This explains why there are so many Christians who can memorize scripture and study the Bible, all of which we should do, but still seem to not understand the very basic tenets of God’s word. This leads us into our next section.

Launch Out into the Deeper Levels of Discernment

                 Deeper levels of discernment can only be discovered when first built upon the foundation of deeper levels of learning and understanding (both of which we discussed earlier). In the Bible, discernment, from the Greek words diakrino and diakrisis, means to separate thoroughly; to properly discriminate; etc. My own definition is: the ability to sense the differences between two or more things. These things can literally be objects, ideas, activities, actions, or people (when it comes to people, this also entails being able to accurately sense their true intentions as well).

                 In order to gain this ability to sense the differences between two or more things, we must first learn and understand the word of God. The reason for this is told to us in Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The more you learn and gain understanding of God’s word, the more you will receive from God a sense of the things of this life and be able to discern between what is good and evil; what is the will of God and your own will. This takes a sense of commitment that many are not willing to give. This leads us into our final section.

Launch Out into the Deeper Levels of Commitment

                 We’re given an illustration of the man who obeys the word of God in Luke 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. (For all the women: Proverbs 14:1  Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.). Women have the power and responsibility to help build the house on a deeper foundation as well.

                 The man in Luke 6:48 had to DIG DEEPER than the man in Verse 49 in order for his house to stand during the time of flood and storm! It took a deeper sense of commitment and a deeper act of commitment on his part and it’ll take the same deeper sense of commitment and deeper act of commitment on our parts if our spiritual house is going to stand during the time of flood and storm! No more of this “One two skip a few…” church attendance but fully committed to the cause of Christ! Fully committed from your heart!

                 Jesus didn’t need large groups of people all around Him to make Him feel successful and secure about Himself. I’m sure He was glad when they were there, but He just wanted people to commit and be faithful and He was content even when it was just a few who were committed on a deeper level (which is how it usually was when He preached about commitment). He had a deeper level of personal security from which I think we can all learn!

                 This deeper level of commitment is built upon the foundation of learning and understanding that launching out into the deep and committing is an expectation from God. If He committed His Son to us, and His Son committed His life to us, shall not we do the same for Him?