Russell Mast

Romans 5:1 - When we place our faith in Jesus, we are justified. So now the LORD sees Jesus' righteousness in us and counts us as righteous. Before we place our faith in Jesus, we are not able to be in God's presence because of the holiness gap. Actually, prophet Ezekiel touches on this by asking who can stand in the gap between God and mankind (the answer is nobody except Jesus). Once we place our faith in Jesus (thus clothing ourselves with Jesus), we are now part of God's household because the holiness gap is mitigated due to Jesus' righteousness being credited to us who have a relationship with Him. #jesusisking #jesus #christiantiktok #christian

Psalm 69:9 - This reminds me of Revelation 3:19 when Jesus rebukes the lukewarm church of Laodicea, He urges them to be zealous and repent instead of not being passionate or not fighting sin. Jesus displayed zeal when he cleansed the temple. Basically, being zealous or earnest is a contrast to being lukewarm or passive. Christians should not only desire that God's will permeates through the world, but we must do our part by living a life that honors God's will. #christiantiktok #jesus #jesusisking #christian

Jeremiah 22:16 - This verse reminds me of the parable of the sheep and goats when Jesus says "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me". How we treat the vulnerable in society allows us to assess whether or not we have the same love Jesus had. There is a direct relationship between compassion and being Christian because the Holy Spirit empowers us to be cheerful givers. Here, Jeremiah is preaching about how most of the kings of N. Israel and Judah have been selfish and have not had compassion on the vulnerable in society. He mentions how king Josiah of Judah (who reigned during the early stages of Jeremiah's ministry around 620 BC) was one of the few kings to have a compassionate heart and to show that compassion through actions to promote justice for the vulnerable in society. God allows us opportunities to be cheerful givers (look at Hurricane Helene for example), so let's use hard times as opportunities to show Jesus' compassion to others #christian #spreadthegospel #christiantiktok #jesus

Jeremiah 6:14 - Our wound that the verse is referring to is our sin. In order to follow Jesus, we need to be aware of our spiritual wound. Jeremiah is calling out false prophets right before the Babylon Exile (early 600s BC) who were not taking sin seriously. These false prophets did not care about the spiritual well being of God's people, so they lied to them and refused to warn them to repent. Instead, they promised peace for those who don't repent. Jesus takes sin seriously and demonstrated how our spiritual wounds are more severe than our physical wounds (such as warning the man he healed at the pool of Bethesda to not sin again in John 5). Jesus showed true concern and care for us by being honest with his flock and correcting them. #christiantiktok #spreadthegospel #christian #jesus

Acts 17:11 - Paul is the city of Berea in the Roman province of Macedonia where he is teaching the Bereans the gospel during his second missionary trip (Around AD 50). He was impressed by how much they analyzed scripture and devoted time and energy to consuming God's word. When we read the Bible, we are letting God speak to us and teach us. When we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we start treating God's word as something we crave rather than a chore. God's word is available to us 24/7 so we are to learn from Bereans in that we should not only skim God's word, but we should devote time and energy to deeply analyze it and apply it to our lives. Making connections and conceptually learning is also a great way that I learn about God's word. I highly recommend annotating the Bible and getting a journal to write in #christiantiktok #christian #jesuslovesyou #spreadthegospel

Acts 3:15 - God entered into human history and our response to Him was to execute Him instead of repenting. Jesus was rejected then and is still rejected by many today. Peter used his platform to urge us all to respond to Jesus the correct way by repenting and taking up our cross and following Him. This verse also shows how much Jesus was willing to go to save the few who would inevitably accept Him. #christiantiktok #christian #spreadthegospel #jesuslovesyou

Matthew 10:32 - We need to ask ourselves if we love Jesus more than we love being accepted by the world. That is a question I even ask myself because there are times when I struggle spreading the gospel to peers. The name of Jesus is a polarizing name and it can cause people to disagree with you, especially with the message that He is the vessel to eternal life. However, I have gradually grown bolder as I have progressed in my journey as a Christian over the past four years. Expect to do the same as you grow in faith. Do not be discouraged because we have each other to encourage each other and we have Jesus to look to in both times of happiness and times of distress. #jesusisking #christian #spreadthegospel #christiantiktok

Luke 17:9 says "Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?". Having a servant mindset involves serving Jesus and loving Jesus without expecting any praise or extrinsic reward. We do all this because we love Jesus and others. It gives us fulfillment to serve and deny ourselves. God doesn't owe us anything, but he still will reward us and glorify us inevitably out of generosity. #jesus #christiantiktok #jesusisking

2 Corinthians 5:15 - Like how a football team rallies around an injured player they love and gives all that they got to win a game for that beloved injured player, we should strive to live for Jesus and give all that we got if we truly love Jesus and appreciate his sacrifice. Taking up our cross and following Jesus also gives us rest. Yes it is hard to follow Jesus, but paradoxically it gives us a purpose and true happiness. #jesusisking #christiantiktok #jesus #christian

2 Corinthians 3:3 - Merry Christmas! Here, in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul is defending himself against claims that he is not a trustworthy person from some Corinthians whom he is writing to. In response, Paul is telling the Corinthians to look at their own growth and the growth and resilience of the body of Christ as evidence of Paul's trustworthiness and as evidence of the power and authority of Jesus Christ. Letters of recommendations are inanimate objects written on a computer or a tablet to tell an employer or college that a candidate is trustworthy and reliable. The Holy Spirit uses Christians as living letters of recommendations to help testify to the trustworthiness and power of Jesus Christ and apostle Paul. The growth of the body of Christ, the resilience of the body of Christ (such as persevering through persecution), the transformation of individual Christians, and the light that Christians reflect in this world are evidence of Jesus and Paul's trustworthiness. For me starting out as a Christian, it was the apostles' and early Christians' resilience and devotion to Christ during persecution and torture in the first century that testified to me about the authenticity of Jesus and the apostles. There are several other examples as well, and each of us can rely on those examples to gain assurance in our faith in Jesus #christiantiktok #jesusisking #christian

John 1:14 - God is not an abstract idea. He tangibly revealed Himself to us in the first century and continually reveals Himself to us through His word. God owes us nothing, but He humbly experienced our lives as humans and identified with us. This eventually lead Him to experience emotional and physical suffering that most of us have never experienced before despite being more deserving of that suffering. #christian #jesus #jesusisking #christiantiktok

1 Corinthians 1:18-19 - The gospel of Jesus Christ is meant to be accepted with humility and it is meant to be accepted by those who don't care about being mocked by the world for believing in a gospel that seems unrealistic, narrow-minded, or contrary to reality. Paul is encouraging the Corinthians that although those outside the church may find the gospel foolish (such as Philosophers in Athens), we are not to be discouraged because it is God's way of exalting the humble and humbling those who are prideful and wise in their own eyes. #christiantiktok #jesusisking #jesus #christian

Psalm 73 starts with frustration, confusion, and jealousy at the suffering that occurs in this life. However, psalm 73 ends with the Psalmist declaring that there is nothing in this world that He desires but the LORD. This psalm demonstrates the shift that we have when we enter into the LORD's presence and go from having a worldly perspective to having an eternal perspective that reflects the LORD's perspective. Having an eternal perspective entails focusing more on eternal life and our walk with Jesus over whatever happens in this fleeting temporary life. In simple terms, it means caring about eternal life over this temporary life on Earth. The Bible doesn't shy away from the fact that there is suffering in this life in earth, from physical suffering to mental suffering and confusion. Wicked people will become rich and will appear to prosper in this life and there will be comparitably rightous people who will suffer. Just look at how the apostles were executed. However, that is not our end state. The Holy Spirit gradually helps us overlook this present life and fix our eyes onto eternal life. He helps us desire more eternal matters (like a relationship with Jesus and reading God's word) over worldly matters. The more I age and grow, the more I realize that there indeed is nothing more important than following Jesus. #jesusisking #christian #christiantiktok #jesusisking

Revelation 22:17 - This verse is essentially closing out the Bible and involves Jesus inviting us all to accept the gift of eternal life. It reminds me of Romans 6:23 when Paul portrays eternal life as a gift from God. Even though we store up wrath for ourselves, Jesus died for us and allowed us to drink the living water he provides. It is a gift because God owes us nothing. This living water that Revelation 22:17 talks about is consumed by those who are spiritually thirsty. To be spiritually thirsty means to understand our lack of righteousness without the LORD and to desire (or thirst) to be righteous like Jesus. This living water not only shields us from God's wrath, but it fulfills us more than the pursuits and desires of this world will ever fulfill us. To have a relationship with Jesus allows us to be joyful regardless of whatever happens in this life on Earth #christiantiktok #christian #jesusisking