John 21:15a (So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?)

After Jesus Christ’s resurrection, Peter took most of the apostles fishing. Then Christ appeared to them after they had laboured much without results. He told them where they could get fish, and they caught such an abundance that their net didn’t break in the process.

After this, Jesus called them to partake of the meal He had prepared. Then He asked Peter this question, for he was the one the other apostles had followed to catch fish: “Do you love Me more than these?”

This question needs to be asked of many of our brothers and sisters who think they can add something to Christ to be complete in their walk with Him.

The foundation of many believers is built on His gifts. “It is because I want riches that I follow Him.” “It is because of His spiritual gifts that I want to be one of His disciples.” They want to be associated with His gifts, but not with Him personally.

What if God should visit the foundation of your faith? What will He find there?

Is your faith built on the solid rock of His Word, or is it built on His gifts of healing and miraculous works?

Himself or His gifts? God will one day visit the foundation of your faith, just as He visited the foundation of Job’s faith and found nothing there but Himself.

Everything was taken from Job, but he was still standing, with God at the centre of his life.

Whoever builds their faith on the Word of Christ and His person will rejoice in the end, but those who build their faith on His gifts will be disappointed on that day.

Even Satan manifested the gifts he was given before his fall. The faith of all who build their lives on God’s works alone will collapse in the face of a little trial. When God stops blessing them, they lose their bearing and fall flat.

Satan is busy counterfeiting the gifts of those who have built their ministries on spiritual gifts alone without the Word, and they have become unproductive in bringing souls to God.

God shows His way to those who build their lives on Him and His Word. The Bible says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

When you do not have Him or His Word, that is when you sin against Him while doing His works.

Many Christians are already on the wrong side, walking on the broad way without knowing it, thinking they are on the right path as long as they exercise their gifts.

Only Jesus Christ is enough without addition or subtraction. Whatever you are given, if Christ is not in it, it becomes a direct ticket to hellfire.

Those who seek prosperity without Christ are on their way to hell. A house without Jesus Christ will be filled with troubles, and a garden without Him is filled with snakes. A car without Him becomes a coffin, and a life without Christ is full of crises.

If Christ is not in your dressing, it becomes seductive. If he is not in your meal, it becomes a trap or poison.

There is a choice for you as a Christian: Christ or His gifts.

Those who ate the bread and fish started looking for Him, and when they found Him, Jesus knew the motives of their hearts. He told them plainly that they were not looking for Him to listen to His Word, but because they had eaten the bread and were filled.

Is that why you also come to church? Is it because of the miracle of healing He performed for your child or your husband?

Look for Jesus for who He is, not because of what He gives. The gifts perish, but His presence in a person’s life is what preserves it for eternity.

Those who seek gifts always backslide when the flow is no longer as it used to be, or when they have already received what they wanted. But those who seek Him remain, even though the road is rough, because His presence is sufficient to see them through.

That is why most people who sought Him after the miracle of the fish and bread backslid, for they were not able to bear His Word. It was too difficult for their little minds to comprehend: “How can He give us His flesh?”

Because their motive was to have this bread always, their eyes were closed to the reality of eternal life standing before them.

He gave Himself on the cross so that everyone who believes might become a partaker of His eternal life.

The apostles were rejoicing that demons bowed at the mention of His name, but He told them not to rejoice in this. Rather, they should rejoice that their names were written in the Book of Life.

What is the essence of performing signs and wonders if your name is not written in the Book of Life?

Even a servant can do more than that, but the son works toward attaining the image of Christ and becomes perfect by being complete in Him, the Head of principalities and powers.

Judas was one of the apostles who performed wonders in His name, yet he missed it when he rejected Jesus and sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, just when Jesus was about to give Himself for the salvation of the whole world.

Prayer: Father, Lord, give me Yourself. You are sufficient for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.