Philippians 4: 20-23
Note: For the Summer we are reprinting some devotions that ran back when we were getting this site up and running. Hopefully this is new content to you, and we will get back into writing fresh devotions as our schedule allows. 23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
20 Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen.
21 Give my greetings to each of God’s holy people—all who belong to Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their greetings. 22 And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household.
And with this we conclude our study of the book of Philippians. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit. Grace is favor from God that we don't deserve. We couldn't do anything to earn it, yet God chose to give to us freely. In the end, all that matters is our relationship with God and what He's done for us, and that's what Paul wants us to remember as we close out this study.
Are you relying on God's grace, or your own works?
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Luke 10: 30-37
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us to be a “good neighbor”. How many times have you not included someone in your group or helped someone in need because of a preconceived notion about them. Remember that Christ loves us all equally from the President to the beggar on the street. So if you want to show others that you are a true follower of Christ sometimes you have to take the low road, but come out on a eternally higher road.
Michelle McCollum
The Parables of Jesus: Luke 7:41-47
Luke 7:41-47
41"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
43Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
44Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." (NIV)
I have struggled with Verse 47, because I put words into it that aren’t there. I would summarize it to say that those who sin more, are forgiven more, and thus love God more. When I look closer, it doesn’t say that. Her love was not as a result of being forgiven. It is the other way around. For she loved much, her many sins have been forgiven.
We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But only those who love the Lord and seek forgiveness will receive it. Had the man who owed 500 denarii not sought to have the debt cancelled, he would not have received release from his debt. Who then do you think would love the man more, the one who still owed 500 denarii, or the one who had his 50 denarii debt forgiven? If we fool ourselves into believing we haven’t sinned or believe our debt is too large to deserve forgiveness, we will not received the gift of forgiveness. When we come to God and truly repent, we truly realize how much Jesus did for us.
Forgiveness is a free gift, but it came with a price. Don’t take it for granted. Take time today to reflect on how big of a debt has been forgiven. Like the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, find a way to show God how much we love him.
John Gesick
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 18: 23-35
Matthew 18:23-35
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of your because you begged me too. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
When I read through this story something jumped out at me. I was reminded that Jesus died to cover my sins thousands of years before I was even born. That means that while Jesus was hanging on that cross He was shedding His blood for every sin I will ever commit in my entire life. He forgave me knowing how I would betray Him; before I ever even had the chance to ask for forgiveness.
And, yet, when someone wrongs us how often are we willing to forgive them before they ask? Isn't it more likely that we plan to make them grovel and beg and convince us of why we should give them grace? And even then, after we have said we forgive them, we often hold on to the offense for next time they mess up so we can rub their noses in it.
I am struck my the thought - “What if God had treated us like that? What if He waited till we died, then made us fall at His feet begging for forgiveness for all the sins we had committed? We would certainly deserve it. But He didn't. He gave us all encompassing grace. Shouldn't we do the same for others?
The Parables of Jesus: Luke 12:21-25
Luke 12:21-25 Also Matthew 6:26
Do Not Worry
21. Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not
worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you
will wear. 23. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
24. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom
or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than
birds! 25. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
A University in Texas one time wanted to know how much it would cost to
feed the birds in the whole State of Texas....They found out it was to
big to measure! So they decided just doing the city of Dallas.....again
they found out the city of Dallas was still to big to measure! So they
decided again to see what the cost would be to feed the all bird at a
local City park in Dallas for a day.....you know what still to
big...they couldn't measure it.
One of names used for God in the Bible is "Jehovah-jireh" means
"God my Provider." I can't tell you how many times God has provided for
me! Jobs, food, clothing, etc. We serve an Awesome God who takes care
of us. So don't worry just trust in God!
Later,
DJ Jackson
Matthew 5:9 The Beatitudes
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
You want to be a child of God? Jesus said that everyone would know that we are His disciples because of our love for each other. James says that we can't even know God unless we love our brother. I can imagine that seeing Christians fight is a HUGE turnoff to non-believers. One of the ways we shine God's love is by loving others, even at the expense of ourselves. In order to be a peacemaker, we need to be willing to compromise and let others be right, that's what God has called us to do.
Let your light shine, find someone you've been fighting with and forgive them.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:7 The Beatitudes
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
One of the sayings of Jesus day went like this: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." That meant that if someone did something bad to you, you had the right to get even. Interestingly, the reason that was put in place was to limit the amount of payback you could get. So if someone stole your cow, you couldn't go kill them, you just took a cow back. But that's not the point of this verse. Mercy is defined as compassionate treatment of those under your power. According to the law, you have the right to take revenge, you have the power over them. But according to mercy, you're going to give them a pass. If you do that, the Bible says that you will be shown mercy. And let's be honest, before God all of us have messed up waaaayyyyy more than we'd like to admit.
Find someone who's wronged you today, and give them a little of the mercy that you've received.
-Jeff-
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