“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
John 14:12
If you believe in Jesus, then you will also do the works that Jesus did. Start with loving unconditionally.
I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.
Psalm 40:8
Let us maintain this kind of attitude and posture.
That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.
John 21:7
Let us respond to Christ like Simon Peter did here, with absolute abandon and enthusiasm.
But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you…
Acts 3:14
There’s a great parallel here to how we often times choose something ignorant or empty rather than Christ, just like the people from this passage chose the murderer rather than Christ. Choose what’s best for you today and not a counterfeit or placeholder for the perfect love of Christ.
They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.
Psalm 106:20
Don’t settle for less than God’s best.
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
John 5:6,7
Change is hard, even when it’s going from being lame, sick and broken, to completely healed. As the opportunity for healing comes, in all aspects of your life, embrace the change rather than making excuses about lying in the same pool you’ve been in for years.
Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
Amos 5:14
Don’t over-complicate your theology to the point of missing the most critical messages. Allow the simplicity of passages like this be solid reminders of what’s important, for example, “Seek good, and not evil.” Simple yet vital.
“Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28b,29-31
Adjust your priorities accordingly.
And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’
Matthew 18:33
Consider the mercy shown you. Be intentional to pay it forward.
For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
Luke 9:25
Consider the life, the values and the character that your Maker has woven into the fabric of who you are. Adhere to your true north and don’t be distracted by what doesn’t matter.