“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. “ – Luke 16:10

This simple biblical principle is good wisdom for life. How a person handles the little details and day-to-day responsibilities in their life demonstrates whether or not they can, or should, be trusted with bigger things. If you encounter someone who is unreliable in small matters, that isn’t the person to trust with major leadership responsibilities. If someone is dishonest about little things, that will only get worse under the stress of larger responsibilities. When you’re assessing someone’s trustworthiness, don’t focus on the big things on their resume, talk to people who’ve seen them in smaller settings or who knew them in years past.

While this is a important principle to apply to everything from job hiring to church leadership to voting in elections, the first application should always be to yourself. Would God consider you to be faithful in little things? Should He trust you with small jobs or responsibilities in His Kingdom? Will you show up on time? Will you follow through with excellence? Would God consider your personal integrity worthy of entrusting with bigger Kingdom matters? Do you cut corners when people aren’t looking or stretch the truth about day-to-day questions? Do you follow through on small commitments or dump them whenever you feel like it or discover something better or more interesting?

Unreliability and dishonesty are not appropriate qualities for followers of Jesus. Our honesty, honor, consistency, reliability, and integrity should be like that of Jesus. If yours isn’t, that’s something to repent of and to ask God to transform in Christ. It’s also probably holding you back from serving the Lord in bigger ways. Develop Christ-like integrity in every situation and circumstance. Then see what God invites you to do for Him. #FollowJesus

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” – Luke 14:11

Jesus the Christ, the exalted eternal Son of God, humbled Himself, stepping down out of eternal glory and into our fallen world to save us from our sins. After dwelling among us, He gave His life for our sins. Through the humiliation and torture of the cross, Jesus was exalted in His Resurrection. Jesus lived the truth of this verse to a greater extent than anyone else ever has or ever will. You can trust this promise!

The exaltation of yourself is like cotton candy – it may seem like a good idea at the time, but it dissolves to nothing in seconds. Those who make much of themselves here on earth will be humbled by the Lord. Those who insist on being held high will discover that won’t last beyond this lifetime.

On the other hand, those who think more about others than themselves will be exalted. Those who don’t mind humble situations and don’t need the spotlight or adoration of others on themselves will be exalted in eternity.

Don’t fret about your earthly status or lack thereof. Don’t be jealous about anyone else’s status, no matter how undeserved. Follow your Savior Who humbled Himself. Serve Him regardless of whether or not anyone else sees you. God sees all, God knows all, and His judgement is perfect in justice. Humbly #FollowJesus and you will be exalted!

“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!” – Luke 12:24

Do you tend to worry? Many people do in our anxious modern age. However, that isn’t Jesus’ desire for you. He knows how easily our minds can be swept away by fear, anxiety, and worry. But His heart is for the minds of His beloved followers to be filled with shalom peace, no matter what’s going on.

So, Jesus offered frequent reminders of God’s goodness in caring for His creation. God looks after the flowers of the field and the birds of the air. God sustains life and makes things beautiful. He knows how to tend His creation. And you, a human being made in His image, are the crown jewel of God’s creation. You are!

So, of course, God is concerned about you. Of course, God wants the best for you. Of course, God is on your side. Which means that many of your worries are unnecessary and unhelpful. This doesn’t mean there aren’t legitimate things to concern yourself with. But the odds are good that a certain percentage of your dailies worries focus on things outside of your control and solidly in God’s good control. Those are the things Jesus doesn’t want you worrying about.

So, what are you worried about today? Right now? Which of them can you actually do anything about? If you can do something, what’s your plan to address that worry? If you can’t, then turn that worry over to God in prayer. Be clear and specific in your prayer. Then stop worrying about it and trust your Father in Heaven! #FollowJesus

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” – John 8:12

This world is very dark. A quick check of the headlines or a brief survey of human history for the past century makes that abundantly clear. However, there is light available! That light is Jesus – His person, His presence, His commands, His example, His teachings. He is the light of the world. That much is very clear, as He transforms anything and anyone He touches.

However, people aren’t automatically in the light just because they have a Jesus bumper sticker on their car or carry a Bible with them to church every week. Jesus says a person must genuinely follow Him to have the light of life. Those who are truly raised to new life in the light of Jesus are marked by a life of genuine obedience to Jesus. Those who walk in the light genuinely follow His commands. Genuinely follow His example. Genuinely follow His teachings. Genuinely abide in His presence.

Are you? Do you care about who and what Jesus cares about? Are you concerned about mercy, justice, and your own personal righteousness? Are you concerned for the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable? Do you care about those far from God? Do your everyday thoughts, words, and actions increasingly reflect the character of Jesus? His tone? His words? His heart?

Do you read the Bible often and let it point out areas where you fall short? Do you then repent, ask God’s forgiveness, and ask God to help you better follow Jesus? If so, that’s a good indicator that you’re walking in the light. However, if the Scriptures never point out any need for you to change and the Holy Spirit never convicts of you of ways you fall short of Jesus, that’s a serious warning sign that you may actually be walking in darkness! #FollowJesus

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.” – Matthew 18:23-24

Thus begins a critically important parable for every follower of Jesus to understand: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (or Two Debtors). Probably the most important thing to understand in order to truly “get” this parable is the amount of this first debt. 10,000 talents. What on earth is that?

In the 1st Century, a talent was worth 20 years’ wages for an ordinary worker. 20 YEARS. Multiply that by 10,000 and you discover that this debt was worth 200,000 years’ wages!!! What?!?

That’s an astronomically, unimaginably, ludicrously enormous amount of money. It would be many billions of dollars in today’s currency. Jesus said that’s what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. In what way? That mind-boggling amount is what the weight of your sin against God is like! Seriously.

When the man in the parable was called to account for his debt, he begged for mercy and promised to work hard to pay it off. Of course, nobody can pay off a debt like that. So the master (representing God) graciously forgave this astronomical, unimaginable, ludicrously enormous debt. That’s exactly what God has done for you if your sins have been forgiven in Christ! This is what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross. He paid your unimaginably large debt.

Most of us fail to truly appreciate how horrible our sins really are. The daily or hourly rebellions and disgraces that take place in our thoughts, hearts, words, actions, inactions, and silences. This parable illustrates what that’s really like. The good news is that you don’t have to pay this debt (which you couldn’t if you tried) because Jesus paid it for you. Your debt of sin has been cancelled, nailed to the cross of Christ.

Of course, the ultimate point of this parable is about how we treat other human beings who have wronged us. People who owe us a considerable debt of pain that’s nonetheless minuscule in comparison to what we owed the Lord for our sins. Will we respond with the same grace we’ve been shown? Or will we respond in self-righteous wrath and bring into question whether we have the slightest understanding of God’s grace? #FollowJesus