2/16/2024 0 Comments An Example for AllIn these verses, the early church is described. They shared, learned, and lived together and as a result, the church grew as they added members to their numbers. In today’s world, we see people turning away from the church for one reason or another. To bring others to the church, the church needs to return to the basics: Loving God and Loving Others. The church needs to be the light for the world so that they see and feel the love of God. Let’s be the light.
Questions for further thought: 1. What do you think prevents the church today from being the light of God for others? 2. How can you share or show the light of God with others? Challenge: Show love and be the light of God today to someone.
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2/15/2024 0 Comments Love Is Available for AllMatthew is a tax collector, and, in those days, they were considered the lowest of the lows. Jews did not accept them, but in this passage, Jesus illustrates that all are welcome. He came for all sinners. This includes individuals we consider as enemies or who we are unable to forgive. If Jesus is willing to die for and forgive these individuals, should we (the church) not also be willing to show love and forgiveness?
Questions for further thought: 1. Who do you feel should not be a part of God’s church? 2. Why do you think they should be excluded? Challenge: Ask God to help change your heart about them and to show you how you can help them feel a part of God’s church. 2/14/2024 0 Comments Forgiveness Leads to LoveIn this passage, Jesus continues to illustrate how God’s kingdom is different from our earthly world. In God’s kingdom, we are to love our enemies like we love our family, friends, and ourselves. This is opposite of what the world would have us do. Instead of hate and fear, we are to show love and kindness. Love cannot co-exist with anger and hate so we must forgive our enemies to show love. If we do this, then, we are like our heavenly Father.
Questions for further thought: 1. When have you not shown love to an “enemy”? Why? 2. When have you shown love to an “enemy”? What was the result? Challenge: Ask God to show you who to show love to today and how to love that person. Esau also had every reason to be mad at Jacob because he stole his birth right. However, he chooses to forgive Jacob and even welcomes him back. Why? God had blessed Esau so much that Esau did not feel a need to hold on to his anger. Now I am not saying God will bless us with riches if we forgive. What I am saying is anger and grudges keep us from recognizing and receiving the many blessings of our Father. Let go of the negative to seek the positive.
Questions for further thought: 1. What anger or bitterness are you holding onto today? 2. If you let that anger or bitterness go, what blessings do you see? Challenge: If you have anger or bitterness towards someone, ask God to help you release it and seek to recognize God’s blessings. If anyone ever had the justification to hold a grudge, that would be Joseph, but he chooses to forgive them. He knew that what his brothers meant for evil; God used for good. In the end, Joseph would become the savior for his family. We do not have any idea what God’s plan has in store for us. However, if we follow God’s direction which includes forgiving others, we will see His plan fulfilled.
Questions for further thought: 1. Who are you holding a grudge against today? 2. Why can you not forgive them? Challenge: Ask God to give you the means to forgive those who you are holding a grudge against. 2/9/2024 0 Comments The SolutionIf God has forgiven us for our sins because of Christ’s death and our putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, why must we confess our sins? In admission of our sin and receiving Christ’s cleansing, we are (1) agreeing with God that our sin truly is sin and that we are willing to turn from it. (2) ensuring that we don’t conceal our sin from Him and ultimately from ourselves, and (3) recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on His power to overcome it. Moreover, our obedience to His commands provides external, visible proof and assurance that we have indeed been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Have you received forgiveness of sin through faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross? If not, what is preventing you from doing it today?
Questions for further thought: 1. How do you view confession and repentance of known sin? Do you see it as necessary? Why or why not? 2. In what ways have you felt God’s cleansing as you entered into a time of confession and repentance? Do you sense your relationship with God being restored through this process? Challenge: Take some time this week and genuinely confess and forsake your sin. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you combat the temptation to lie or present half-truths. Watch as He works! 2/8/2024 0 Comments The ONLY Unforgivable SinIn this alarming passage, Jesus speaks of a sin that cannot be forgiven. It is important to consider this statement within the broader context to understand what it means. Jesus is responding to the Pharisees who claim that He casts out demons by means of demonic power rather than the power of God’s Spirit (Mark 3:28-30). This is the second time in the book of Matthew that the Pharisees have said this (see Matt. 9:34; 10:25), and on top of that, they have hatched a conspiracy to kill Jesus (12:14). Their “blasphemy against the Spirit”, then, is not an impulsive action or statement. It is the settled and unchanging conviction that Jesus is not God and is therefore evil. In essence, the only “unforgivable” sin is a conclusive rejection of Christ rather than a humble reception of Him. Those who once rejected Christ and now have a changed desire to trust and follow Him may do so without fear that they have committed the unforgivable sin.
Questions for further thought: 1. Have I received God’s free gift of salvation through faith (trust) in Jesus Christ? Have I truly repented of my sin by the power of the Holy Spirit? 2. What is stopping me from doing that today? Challenge: Christ’s sacrificial death tells us that He is eager to cleanse us from our sin. Don’t let unconfessed sin linger in your life. Turn and seek Christ’s forgiveness quickly and be cleansed! 2/7/2024 0 Comments RedemptionAfter three chapters of exposing our sin, at last Paul gives us a reason to rejoice. Jesus Christ has made it possible to have a right standing before the Father “for all who believe” the gospel. Yes, the sinful human condition is universal and deadly, but believers are declared righteous (justified) by God’s grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The term “redemption” brings up the idea of slaves being purchased and freed. Paul also says that God sent His Son to be a “propitiation”; this word means that Jesus endured the wrath of God at sin in our place when He died on the cross. Because of the cross, our sin was punished, and yet we are simultaneously declared “not guilty” in God’s courtroom. This is what Paul means when he says that God is both “just” and the “justifier”. Because of Jesus, both justice and salvation have been accomplished.
Questions for further thought: 1. In what ways have you put your trust in your own source of redemption? 2. How can this thinking masquerade as mistrust in God’s provision in Christ? Challenge: Read and meditate on Romans 3. Jesus wants us to have a humble heart that beats with genuine love for God and compassion for others. Ask God to give you a heart for the things He loves. 2/6/2024 0 Comments The Narrow GateBoth the narrow gate and wide gate are assumed to provide the entrance to God’s Kingdom. Two ways are offered to people. The narrow gate is by faith, only through Christ, constricted and precise. It represents true salvation in God’s way that leads to life eternal. The wide gate includes all religions of works and self-righteousness, with no single way, but it leads to destruction. Christ continually emphasized the difficulty of following Him. Salvation is by grace alone, but it is not easy. It calls for knowledge of the truth, repentance, submission to Christ as Lord, and a willingness to obey His will and Word. Choose the narrow gate!
Questions for further thought: 1. How can I be sure I have chosen the narrow gate? 2. With whom can I discuss this very important question? Challenge: Read and meditate on Matthew 7:13-23. Wait expectantly as God speaks! 2/5/2024 0 Comments The ONLY Way!In response to Thomas’s question, Jesus declared that He is the way to God because He is the truth of God and the life of God. This is one of the most basic and important passages in Scripture. It gives a clear indication that Jesus is both God and man, and by uniting our lives with His, we are united with God. Jesus says He is the ONLY way to God the Father. Some people may argue that this way is too narrow. Instead of arguing about there not being many ways to God, maybe we should just be thankful for the ONE way He did provide. Amen! The way to God the Father is inclusive in the sense that it is available to all, but it is very exclusive in that it is only achieved through faith in Jesus Christ. Down with many ways; up with Christ!
Questions for further thought: 1. How can we know the way to God? 2. In what ways am I trusting Christ alone as the only provision to be made right with God the Father? Challenge: Trust Jesus to take you to the Father, and all the benefits of being God’s child will be yours. |
AuthorThis devotional is written every week by Hillcrest members. Archives
May 2024
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