The Jews would often pride themselves as being the seed of Abraham. They’d go around telling people that we are of Abraham and followers of Moses. They are putting on their religious garments and put themselves over everyone else. Paul takes them back to the law. He says the law was to point you to Christ; it was never meant to save you. In fact, we were all condemned under the law. Therefore the law was to point us to Jesus Christ that we might be justified by faith to those who believe.
If you believe and were baptized in Christ, you are now one with the body of Christ. You can say we are all now one family. We are part of the family of God. We are all on equal ground. The things that separated us before no longer separate us because we are now one with Jesus. The answer to all of the division that we have been experiencing is faith in Jesus.
One in Christ,
Joshua Navarro
Amos was a humble shepherd called by the Lord to prophesy to the people of Israel. As a nation, the times were good and the people found comfort in their prosperity. The name of the Lord was religiously honored through worship services and festivals, but they had neglected to honor the very things that defined the nature of God; justice and righteousness.
If you and I let the outward practice of the Christian life be driven from any source other than God Himself, we are headed for a spiritual drought. Our dependent relationship with our Savior will bring forth good fruit over time. His desire for love, truth, and justice will take root within us and our hearts will be filled with active compassion for the lost, for the hurting, and for the oppressed.
Today, let’s make sure to allow God to work His purposes in and through us. His justice will run down like water; His righteousness will flow like a mighty stream.
Unhindered refreshment for our thirsty souls that results in love demonstrates the nature of God.
Jeff Deal
I love the way God’s economy works because I’m not a genius and His law of reaping and sowing is easy enough for a child to understand. If you went out to plant a garden, it stands to reason that if you only plant a few seeds, the harvest will be smaller than if you plant many. So it is with our lives spiritually. If we sow into our life things of the Spirit, eternal fruit will grow, but if we sow to the flesh, nothing lasting will come of it.
Too many times, we think this law of reaping and sowing won’t apply to us, that we can live as we please and escape the harvest that is coming. You would never plant an apple seed and expect oranges to grow, or strawberries and expect to harvest coconuts. We would do well to plant Spiritual seeds in our lives and then reap the eternal benefits.
And it doesn’t matter how long you have been sowing, just keep it up. We have a Father who is faithful to His Word!
Pastor Doug Hardin
As we see the days becoming increasingly evil, we need to redeem the time. Paul is the perfect example of a person who never wasted his time. Even while in jail, he was found praying, witnessing to the guards, and writing letters to the church. He did not waste time binge-watching shows or checking up on Peter and the boys on Facebook. Paul knew what it meant to use every opportunity for God’s kingdom and His glory; that’s what it means to redeem the time.
You can begin redeeming the time today, by spending time in His word, by praying for people who need to accept Jesus as their Savior, by using your social media as an avenue to share the gospel. If you are like me, this is convicting for you. Rather than getting discouraged by what you have not been doing, be encouraged by all that you can do. Start redeeming the time today!
For the King,
Pastor Daniel Batistelli
Maybe you’ve heard it said, “Don’t get mad, get even!” I can’t say I hadn’t done that before or hadn’t had that mind set. When I think about the times when I got even with people, it either created this chain of people getting even or it was gratifying for one second then left me feeling unsettled.
There will always be this constant battle of our flesh, but that is one of the reasons we have the Word of God. It helps us in the fight against the flesh, a fight that isn’t beneficial for anyone. It gives us direction that leads people to Christ. Next time you are wronged, pursue what will bless someone else and see how the mercy and grace we show will lead many to Jesus.
Resting in Him,
Pastor Sean Boehm
This word “commit” literally means, “to roll toward.” That sets up a great image as Solomon instructs us to roll our works, our plans, and our intentions to the Lord. I get this picture of someone pushing a heavy, bulky cylinder of some kind toward its destination and the more you roll, the bigger it gets.
What I love about this Proverb is the precious promise that if we are willing to bring everything before the Lord BEFORE we do it and wait for His approval, we won’t have to second guess moving forward. We can have the assurance that God will see us through and establish our work.
On a roll toward Him,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
For the first 10 chapters of 1 Chronicles, there are multiple lists of names. It starts here in verse 1 with no explanation, just Adam’s name. Then the lists go on and on. Why would the Holy Spirit put in all of these chapters full of names, chapters we most likely skip over as we read through the Bible.
One thing it shows us is that no one escapes the eye of the Lord. Many of the names listed have no explanation for them and no great feat done in their lives, yet God still notes them. God knows all of our names and everything about us.
Also, since the names start with Adam and will ultimately go through David, it’s a reminder to us the coming Messiah, Jesus, is a man, who came from the first man. A similar list can be found in Luke 3, while a genealogy starting with Abraham is listed in Matthew 1. Jesus is not only a Jewish Messiah, but meant to be the Chosen One for all mankind.
If you’re feeling left out, remember God knows your name and also sent His Son to die for you.
Child of God,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
A few weeks ago, I shared my favorite illustration defining grace with our congregation and I would like to share it with you. Imagine having your car stolen. You report it to the police who tell you about of the low percentages of cars recovered or found intact. To your surprise, a few hours later you receive a call informing you that your car has been found and the thief caught. Arriving to claim your car, the police ask if you would like to press charges. Yes, you respond, he needs to be punished. We would call that justice. If you decided not to press charges believing this may be a valuable lesson, we would call that forgiveness. However if you said to the thief, why don’t you keep the car, I have another one. Also here is my credit card, use it to fill the car with gas and before you go, let’s call my auto insurance agent and place you on my insurance. That would be grace.
Living in and seeking to extend to others His grace,
Pastor Jack Abeelen
In the days of Elijah, God sent a terrible famine that lasted three-and-a-half years. Here, in the days of Elisha, another famine will come – but it will last seven years. That’s the way the Lord works. He slowly but surely increases the pressure in our lives until we bow our knee and say, “Lord, Your will be done.”
When Elisha told this woman whose son he restored to life that famine was coming, he didn’t say, “Here’s a miracle to see you through.” He said, “You better do something practical. Go somewhere the famine is not going to hit.” Sometimes the Lord does something miraculous. Other times, He works very naturally.
The Lord truly loves you and wants to spend time with you. The only difference between a strong believer and a weak one is responsiveness. The times you’ve been wakened in the night or felt a stirring in your heart while you watched TV may have been the Lord calling you to spend a few moments with Him. People who develop and mature in Him are simply those who have said, “I’ll turn off the TV or roll out of bed in response to His call.” And those who heed His call are never disappointed.
Pastor Del Casale
Exodus 8 describes the first of 10 plagues that God inflicted on Egypt in order to induce Pharaoh into letting the Israelites go into the wilderness so that they could hold a feast to God (Exodus 5:1). This particular plague caused all water in streams, rivers, ponds, pools, vessels of wood, and vessels of stone to turn to blood.
The interesting thing about today’s passage is that God, in His grace, provided a way for the Egyptians to obtain water. God, even in exacting His judgment, revealed His grace to the Egyptians. He would have relented after the first plague had Pharaoh acquiesced, but God, knowing the end from the beginning, knew that Pharaoh was not going to comply.
God’s grace is such that He wants all to come to a saving knowledge of Him. He wants all to come to repentance rather than perish (2 Peter 3:9). Praise God for the grace that He has demonstrated in our lives, especially for the ultimate grace of salvation through Jesus (Ephesians 2:7-8).
Jeff Mericle
