Luke 5:31

And Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician but (only) those who are sick.”

Most times, we don’t take stock of our lives until something happens.  Those who believe in Jesus should take stock of their spirituality regularly.  Those who are in sin don’t usually see a problem until their sin causes issues for them.  Repentance is like an awakening to missing the mark laid out in the Bible and seeking the healer to bring them back to righteousness.  

Luke 5:15-16

But the news about Him was spreading farther, and large crowds kept gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their illnesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray (in seclusion).

The news about Jesus is spreading, and His ministry is growing, and He finds time to pray alone out in the wilderness.  Jesus pulled away from all of the demands of Him to center Himself and get direction from God. In many ways, we have to learn how to take time to follow God for us to lead in this life.  

Matthew 18: 33-35

Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave (who owed you little by comparison), as I had mercy on you?  And in wrath his master turned him over to the torturers (jailers) until he paid all he owed.  My heavenly Father will also do the same to (everyone of) you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from the heart.

As this world turns away from God, the opportunity for offense and strife will increase.  We must come up with a plan for our reaction when the offense comes.  God forgave us of our sins, and we are to forgive.  It doesn’t say what happened was right. It just releases us from the possibility of the sin of unforgiveness.  

Matthew 10:27

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

If we don’t understand heaven and hell, we have no fear of the consequences of sin on the earth because this life is all there is.  What we believe affects our viewpoint on eternity and what we value while here on earth, whether pleasing God or man.  Hell is not a place anyone who has understanding wants to go.  

Ecclesiastes 4:6

One hand full of rest and patience is better than two fists full of labor and chasing after the wind. 

When we learn patience and being able to be patient, we will gain peace in our lives.  The ability to wait on God’s timing and provision with confidence is a faith step.  It takes practice and being willing to submit to God’s timing and not our own.  It also takes some practice in our world where we can have it all now.  The timing of God will always be a perfect time if we can be patient.  

Hebrews 4:3

For we who believe (that is, we who personally trust and confidently rely on God) enter that rest (so we have His inner peace now because we are confident in our salvation, and assured of His power), just as He has said.  

God never meant for us to create our answers to problems using worry and fear. Anxiety and fear never solved a problem or made the answer come sooner.  God meant for us to rest in peace by knowing His power to work on our behalf.   We are to find the answer in the word, pray and believe God for the answer.  Our rest comes from our confidence in God.  

Hebrews 3:13

But continually encourage one another every day, as long as it is called “Today” (and there is an opportunity), so that none of you will be hardened (into settled rebellion) by the deceitfulness of sin (its cleverness, delusive glamour, and sophistication).

Everyone needs help and encouragement from our fellow believers in Christ.  The temptations and the cares of this world can lead us off track and from the word of God.  That is why the church and our friends are there to encourage us to stay on the path.  The devil knows our weaknesses much better than we know our strengths in Jesus sometimes.  

1 John 2:5

But whoever habitually keeps His word and obeys His precepts (and treasures His message in its entirety), in him the love of God has truly been perfected (it is completed and has reached maturity). By this we know (for certain) that we are in Him.  

The word of God is a treasure refined like pure gold.  All knowledge, wisdom, and guidance communicated in the pages of the Bible.  When we first love God and His word, we know that Jesus abides in our hearts and we in Him.  Every day is a new day to go deeper in the word and walk out our faith.

2 Peter 3:11

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be (in the meantime) in holy behavior (that is, in a pattern of daily life that sets you apart as a believer) and in godliness (displaying profound reverence toward our awesome God),

We will know the signs of the return of Jesus and need to build up our confidence and behavior.  As believers, we have come so far but need to finish this race, not in fear but continually striving to be doers of the word until Jesus appears. We need to guard our hearts and strengthen ourselves and encourage each other in the Lord.

Psalm 27:4

One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord (in His presence) all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty (the delightful loveliness and the majestic grandeur) of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.  

A close relationship with God increases our love of His presence.  When we pray and spend time in the presence of the Lord, we increase our strength and confidence.  The love of the Lord radiates from Him, reassuring us and giving us direction.  When we seek the Lord, we will find Him as when we open our hearts to Him.