Humble Confidence
At the top of John chapter 5, John explains that anyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ—the prophesied Messiah—has become a child of God.
When we become children of our Heavenly Father, we not only inherit a forever kingdom and an incorruptible legacy, but we’re also granted the privilege of approaching the King of all kings.
John said it this way:
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
1 John 5:14 NIV
As the text continues, John reiterates the fact that God loves to give us what we ask for—when it’s asked with the right motive.
Think about it this way: is a child concerned about approaching his loving parent for a snack, for a hug, for advice, or for help?
When we come to God with a similar childlike confidence—in sincerity, humility, trust, and even desperation—we can be certain that He hears us. When we submit a request, we might get a yes, we might get a no, or we might get a not yet. But regardless…
We can know that God hears us as we trust Him with our prayers.
The author of the book of Hebrews put it eloquently: “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
Whether you need wisdom, direction, or practical help, you can come boldly to our gracious God. You can come to God with your praises and doubts, opinions and concerns, thankfulness and questions.
And when you ask for something that aligns with His will, you’re never a bother or annoyance or nuisance, for it gives God great pleasure to give you all that you need (Luke 12:31-32).
A Unifying Mission
Almost every successful company or group in history has shared something in common: they all had a unifying mission.
Missions are critical in not only aligning objectives, but also unifying a large group of people toward one purpose.
As Christians, we all share the same mission. We are unified in following Christ. We're saved by His blood (Romans 5:9) and we're all called to make disciples in His name (Matthew 28:19).
And yet, even among Christians, there is so much division and disunity.
Part of the division comes from our lack of clarity and commitment to the mission that is defined in Scripture. And to make it worse, we are sinful people, and sin naturally causes division in our lives and relationships.
But, the Psalmist in Psalm 133:1 reflects on how good it is when the people of God live together in unity. There is something powerful that happens among Christians when we are unified.
Unity is not putting away our differences, because there would be no need to be ...