1 Corinthians 11:23–24
If you knew bad things were about to happen, would you still give thanks?
Jesus did. He gave thanks, knowing that He was about to bear the sins of the world. Jesus knew the future. He knew what lay ahead for Him would not be easy or pleasurable.
Jesus knew the whole story. That’s because Jesus is God, and He is omniscient—all-knowing.
Then why did Jesus give thanks? It’s because He knew what His suffering would accomplish. The greatest good of all time came from the worst travesty of justice.
Anyone can praise God when the sky is blue and the sun is shining. But if you can praise God when the roof caves in, when the bottom drops out, and when things go wrong, it says to me that you’re a true follower of Jesus Christ.
We must remember that despite our immediate circumstances, God is always at work. And that’s a great reason to give thanks.
Pastor William Del Casale
Romans 4:4-5
When an employee works for an employer, the employer has a binding obligation to pay the employee the wages that are due for the time worked. This temporal concept, however, does not translate to the spiritual realm. When we stand before God on judgment day, we will not be able to present our works as justification for our salvation, because that implies that God has an obligation to accept those works. God is holy and just and our sin prevents Him from any obligation of saving us from an eternity apart from Him.
Thankfully God is also gracious and merciful and He freely gives salvation to those who simply believe on Him. Through Christ’s redemptive work, we can stand righteous before God, not because we can boast of our works (Romans 4:2), but purely because of His grace. Thank you, Jesus, for going to the cross on our behalf to redeem us from the penalty of our sin.
Jeff Mericle
Exodus 20:16
It was Pontius Pilate who said, “What is truth?” Truth is everything, for without truth everything falls apart. Without truth in your marriage, the relationship disintegrates. Without truth in your business dealings, you’ll eventually find yourself bankrupt as you are deemed untrustworthy to do business with. Without truth, we could not know God.
Truth allows us to operate more freely and make better decisions. Lies take away from our freedom and lead to bad decisions. Lies lead you to waste time and lead you to false conclusions about things or people. Truth is what allows a society to function well, for without it, chaos will ensue. Look at the political climate today where no one trusts anybody.
To speak lies about someone, to tell tales about yourself, to paint things in colors they shouldn’t be painted, will always destroy, because the father of lies is always seeking to steal, kill, and destroy.
Seek the truth, speak the truth, and live by the truth, for that is the path to life.
Pastor Jason Witt
Joshua 23:6
Joshua gives the children of Israel his farewell address. Joshua is old and advanced in age, his time to depart is almost here. Joshua’s farewell speech is very similar to what the Lord had told him back in Joshua 1. The land was already divided, all they had to do was finish conquering it. Therefore, he tells them be very courageous to keep and do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses. Stick to God’s word and do what it says. Secondly, keep your eyes on God. Stick with Him because He already has driven out your enemies and no one will be able to stand against you.
Joshua told the people what he knew and what he had learned. Discipleship is very similar to that. We take what the Lord has taught us and we teach it to someone else. We teach them to stick to God’s word, to learn it inside and out. Then we teach them to hang onto the Lord. Keep your eyes on Him and to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37).
Joshua Navarro
Judges 7:2
There were about 32,000 men who came to fight with Gideon against the Midianites. On the other side of the battlefield, the Midianites numbered about 135,000 men not to mention all of their camels, which we are told, were so many that they couldn’t be counted. The odds were about 4 to 1 against Gideon and his army. Yet with the odds already against them God says, “You have too many men, I can’t give you the victory with this many men.” After a number of tests, the Lord shaved Gideon’s army down to 300 men, to fight against 135,000, and the odds plummeted to 450 to 1.
Over and over again in the Scriptures, we see God’s people outnumbered and put in situations where their abilities fall far short of what is needed to achieve victory. As Christians today, we find the same is true, but all we have to do is hold that challenge up to the Lord and His abilities and in faith trust in His power to give us victory. Then He gets the glory and we receive great confidence knowing that as God’s children we are over-comers “because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Pastor Doug Hardin
2 Kings 19:14
The Assyrians were one of the most powerful nations during Hezekiah’s reign and they were threatening war. The Assyrians taunted Hezekiah and the children of Israel and even wrote Hezekiah a letter saying there was no one who could save them, not even God. Hezekiah was facing a situation that seemed impossible to overcome; however, note his response. Rather than surrender out of fear, Hezekiah takes the source of his worry and fear (the threatening letter) and lays it before the Lord. God responded and gave Hezekiah victory over the Assyrians.
Whatever you are going through, you can lay it before the Lord and know that He will give you the wisdom and strength to overcome. There is nothing too big or too small for the Lord. Learn from Hezekiah and cast all your cares before a loving King who longs to deliver you!
For the King,
Pastor Daniel Batistelli
Philippians 4:4
When I think of rejoicing, I think of sports. People rejoice when their team wins and you can see people post about it on social media. Paul’s reminder to the church in Philippi is our rejoicing should be in the Lord. While sports isn’t the only thing for us to rejoice in, anything but Christ will be an eventual letdown. To continually have a mind that is set to the Lord, how can we do anything but rejoice!
Spend some time reflecting on reasons to rejoice in the Lord. There is so much He has blessed us with, but often our minds drift. Realign your mind and rejoice in the goodness, graciousness, mercy, and grace of our Lord.
In Christ,
Pastor Sean Boehm
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
I’m sure we all have friends that are either takers or givers. When the taker asks us to do something for them, there’s that tendency to be reluctant because we feel motivated out of obligation. But when the giver asks, we jump at the opportunity because they have already done so much for us and we are motivated out of a genuine love. Would you say that Jesus has been a giver or a taker in your life? The verse above reminds us of what Jesus has done for us to ensure our salvation, sanctification, and eternal destiny.
So take some time today and examine what it is that drives you in your walk with the Lord. When we realize the “giver” that He has been, it should be our love for Him that motivates our every action.
Being compelled,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
Psalm 108:12-13
Trouble is a natural consequence of living in this sinful world. During the pandemic, we’ve certainly had our shares of problems and we didn’t know what to do. One thing that didn’t work was relying on the knowledge and help of men. Every person involved had a different opinion and, at times, it seemed the cure was worse than the virus. David plainly said the help of man is useless.
To make it through troubles, we need the Lord. With the Lord, we will do valiantly. It’s from the Lord we get our strength. Philippians 4:13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Psalm 118:8 reads, It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
As we go forward, may we learn the lesson of this verse and let God have the reins in our lives.
Relying on God for my strength,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
2 Timothy 2:6
From the above verse, we learn the farmer must labor at his task but then he is also to receive priority of its reward.
For the farmer, there is no such thing as quick fruit. He is in it for the long haul and it requires lots of labor: early morning to late evening. He must constantly toil in the soil: plow, sow, tend, weed, reap, store, and start over. He must have patience and fight the elements, pests, and diseases. It’s hard work with an eye on the reward, the prize, the fruit of his labor.
He does so because he has tasted of the reward, knows it is worth the wait, and it will all pay off in the end! (1Corinthians 15:58). Though the glamour may wear off, the diligence of the task will be fully compensated in the long run (James 5:7).
Remember this illustrative example as you set off to serve the Lord. It will be hard work. There will be days when it looks like you are losing ground, and face setbacks and disappointments. But press on, the fruit awaits and it is glorious!
Learning from the farmer,
Pastor Jack Abeelen
