It should be the aim of all Christians to have lives that are unashamed of the gospel of Christ. Paul lived an uncompromising life and was never afraid to speak the truth out of love. Paul was able to live this way because he knew the gospel of Christ is the only power that leads to salvation.
The Romans were all about power and to this day many people travel to Italy and see remnants of that power that are still preserved. Yet notice what they are called — ruins. As powerful as the Romans were, they did not have the power to save themselves; they were still in need of a Savior. Here Paul writes about the only power that will never fade, the power of God. Unlike the Roman Empire, the power of God is still alive today and salvation still available to those who believe in Jesus. We can live unashamed of the gospel of Christ because of the power it holds. It is the only power that can lead to salvation.
For the King,
Daniel Batistelli
Reading this I am sure you are thinking, “Amen.” I have lived in the world and partaken of the things of the flesh and it wasn’t good. That’s what led you to Christ, the goodness of God! But then some of the things of the world start to set in and we find we are spiritually drained although we have been going to church, reading, and praying. When our minds are set on the pleasures of the flesh more than the pleasures of the Lord, there is only death. Ask the Lord to set your mind on the things of the Spirit and watch as the Lord brings great peace and spiritual fulfillment despite what this world has in store for you today.
Blessings,
Pastor Sean Boehm
It’s important to remember when we give the Gospel, the Good News, we shouldn’t leave Hell out of it. We should let people know God loves them, that’s true. We should let them know that love led to His only Son dying on a cross for their sins, that’s true. We should let them know He’s in Heaven preparing a place for them, that’s true.
But what’s also true is that not accepting Jesus as your Savior leads to eternal separation from God in a place called Hell. Are we trying to scare them? No, but we have to be honest with them. If we just tell people if you accept Jesus you’re going to Heaven, but don’t give them the second part, we’re holding back on the truth. We do it with the best of intentions, so as not to offend or destroy friendships.
If you know someone is heading off a cliff, don’t you warn them? We should take Jude’s advice and have compassion on those who need it but use the fear of God on those who need that also.
Giving all the Good News,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
After two chapters of narrative about Job’s incredible suffering, and thirty-five chapters of back and forth complaining and wrong advice from supposed friends, God finally intersects the situation and reveals His omnipotence to Job. The verse above is Job’s conclusion. And now that he has seen for himself what he had heard throughout his lifetime, he is completely unnerved. In coming face to face with the Almighty God, Job instantly repents because he realizes he is “poor in spirit” but as we know from Jesus’ promise, that is the beginning of the kingdom of heaven for all of us.
So spend some time getting close to God today. Read about His mighty attributes in His Word, and balance that against your frailty and weaknesses. When we realize God’s mercy toward us and understand His grace, we can truly be thankful.
Basking in the reality of who He is,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
What a simple short verse and yet what a message it delivers. In an age when we have learned to trust no one, God declares He and His Word are absolutely trustworthy. If He has said so, we can count on it! Knowing that should stimulate an even greater hunger in our hearts to study His Word filled with assurances, glorious promises, and needful warnings. After all, this book is filled with the dependable promises of God. Read John 8:12.
He means what He says,
Pastor Jack Abeelen
As Paul finishes up speaking to the Ephesian believers, laying out for them who they are in Christ, and then how to live out that very truth, he closes his letter with the reality that, when you truly live out the Christian life, you are going to face opposition from the enemy.
Paul begins this exhortation with verse 10 above. He reminds these believers, as well as believers today, where our strength comes from. So often, our first reaction, our natural reaction, is to fight our battles with our own strength. We resort to our own wisdom, our own planning, and our own way of facing the battle and that is exactly what the enemy wants. He wants us to fight our own battles because those are the battles Satan knows he can win.
However, when we enter the battlefield in the Lord’s strength, we then have a power and a might that Satan cannot match. We have the wisdom and power of God that is infinite and perfect, and while the battle may be difficult, we can walk confidently knowing the victory belongs to us!
Only by His might,
Pastor Jason Witt
One of Paul’s most effective teaching methods is the use of rhetorical questions. In building his argument that justification is by faith alone, apart from works, he is arguing against taking his teachings about the grace of God to an absurd extreme. In Romans 5:20, Paul declared “where sin abounded, grace abounded more.” His rhetorical question in 6:1 is to cut off the absurd conclusion that the grace of God is so bountiful that it doesn’t matter if we continue in known sin.
In 6:14, Paul pronounced, “You are not under law but under grace.” But lest anyone misunderstand this wonderful truth, he is quick to ask, “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” He answers both questions with a resounding, “Certainly not!” This can be also be translated, “May it never be!”
Many of us might look at these two questions of Paul with a quick, “Well, of course, I would never do that.” But with a moment’s reflection, the Spirit of God moves upon our conscience reminding us of how many times we have fallen to a temptation while thinking in the back of our minds, “God will forgive me” or even remembering 1 John 1:9, and saying, “I will confess this later.”
Let us not be deceived like this. Paul’s summary in verse 12 is: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body.” As children of the King, we should not let sin reign in our lives. We should instead submit ourselves to our good, good Father, hallowing His holy name in our hearts.
Tom Day
Money in and of itself is not what is evil but it’s the love of money that is evil. Paul warns Timothy the love of money will cause you to do all sorts of wicked and evil things. For one, it will cause you to stray away from your faith. Jesus says in Matthew 6 on the Sermon on the Mount, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other…” Your faith is the first one to go. Do you serve God or do you serve money? You can’t do both.
Your greediness will bring trouble your way. When you love money and it’s the only thing that matters to you, you begin to bend the rules. Which is why your faith is the first to go. You cut corners and begin to cheat others, which brings troubles. It could be in their greediness that a marriage comes to divorce. It could be that in their greediness, the law catches up to them and they end up serving time. Whatever the case may be, the love of money will drive you to do evil things, resulting in sorrows.
What drives you? Is it the love of money and more of it? Or is it the love of God unto good works?
Joshua Navarro
We know that there are many names for God in the Hebrew text of scripture. All of them are wonderful, and each of them highlights a divine truth of His character. One of them is El Qanna; Jealous God.
In our culture, being jealous can bring to mind a negative association, that of weak insecurity, or selfishness. But in the heavenly sense, it is a benevolent term, illustrating devotion and the strength of a love that is boundless in pursuing the object of its desire. Charles Spurgeon put it this way, “Your Lord is very jealous of your love, O believer. Did He choose you? He cannot bear that you should choose another.”
Let’s take a moment to examine our hearts today. Any goal, anything, or any aspiration that stands above our Lord is unfaithfulness on our part. Realizing this, I am driven with joy back to my First Love, the One who paid the highest price to set me free and win my heart. We are His bride, Church, let’s be true to Him!
Jeff Deal
There are a few words in Greek for being poor, but the word used here doesn’t just describe someone who is having trouble paying bills or who is barely getting by financially, but instead it is someone who is destitute or helpless.
There are many today that consider themselves to be spiritual people. They go to church a few times a year, they meditate or pray, or believe in a higher power, so they are spiritual. Unfortunately, that kind of spirituality is fleshly and worldly and leaves the individual with a false sense of security. They think that they are spiritually wealthy, but their spirituality won’t overcome this world.
But to be “poor in spirit” means that we realize that we are spiritual paupers with no hope of seeing the “Kingdom of God” without God’s help. And as we come to Jesus and receive from Him His Spirit, ours is the “Kingdom of God.” Now the Kingdom of God isn’t Heaven, though that is ours as well, but we receive the Kingdom of God in our hearts, as new creations with new life in Christ and as children of the King.
So there must be emptiness before there can be fullness, and poverty of spirit precedes riches, grace, and blessings in the Kingdom of God.
Pastor Doug Hardin
