In this week’s reading from Luke 11:29-12:12, we see the Jews missing the peace and assurance of knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior because they were waiting for a sign.
The religious leaders missed Seeing Jesus as God because of their faulty ideas of the law. Both groups subscribed to thoughts and ideas which kept them from the peace, love, and assurance they could of had in Jesus. We are left with a challenge about the thoughts and ideas we Subscribe to so that we do not miss Jesus.
The word Subscribe has become prominent in this technological world we now live in. The messages, entertainment, content, and even friends on social media are driven by the people, channels, organizations and platforms we subscribe to.
To Subscribe means to give consent or approval to something which you arrange to receive.
With all this information coming in, we need to be mindful of what ideas we Subscribe to because these thoughts will influence how we live.
Every day we face unwholesome thoughts and ideas we need to Unsubscribe to which can rob us of what God Has for us in Christ Jesus. The answer is always to Subscribe to Jesus because He is the only way we can truly have lasting peace.
Here are some indicators that you need time in Jesus’ loving presence to free yourself from other ideas that are bringing you down.
1. You are always overwhelmed: This means you need to take time to unsubscribe to messages that are clogging your inbox. When you subscribe to too many things, your inbox becomes full and important messages get lost in the crowd. God wants you to know that as you follow Him, He will take care of the rest! (Matt 6:33)
2. You are depressed and don’t know why: When you are not checking your subscriptions, you end up paying for thing and you don’t know why. Take some time to account for whatever untrue idea may have snuck in and allow God’s truth and love to cancel that subscription. (Hebrews 4:12)
3. You make decisions which constantly backfire: When you subscribe to the wrong ideas and neglect the Word of God and the Spirit of God, things can go south and have a snowball effect. The way out is through humility sitting at Jesus’ feet giving His Word. You likely need to slow down and allow the Spirit to guide you into all truth so that you may live an abundant life. (Luke 10:42, Psalm 1:1-5, Luke 5:15-16)
4. You have religion but no assurance: Some subscriber messages may look like they are from God and are actually not. When compassion and truth are divorced in your understanding of God, when legalism or lawlessness are promoted, you have lost sight of Jesus and His sacrificial and unconditional love for you. It is time to return to your first love, Jesus. (Psalm 85:10, Gal 3:2, Rom 12:2, Rev 2:4-5)
5. You are consistently discouraged and this is keeping you from moving forward: Check your spam and junk filters. First, make sure you are not getting rid of messages that are important. Then drag messages that don’t belong in your inbox into junk and unsubscribe. Discouragement from moving forward in your faith in Jesus is not from the Lord. Spend more time around brothers and sisters in Christ who can build you up and who can help you identify evil messages meant to discourage you and tell you who you are in Christ! (2 Cor 5:17, 10:5, Josh 1:9)
The good news is Jesus has peace, joy, loving guidance, assurance and encouragement available for you today! He loves you very much and has a wonderful plan for your life!
Make it your ambition to Subscribe to Jesus and His Word in humility letting go of all other things so that you can live in His peace, joy and love every day! (Hebrews 12:2)