The righteousness of God through faith

January 5, 2021

In the NLT the heading for this passage is the “Righteousness of God through faith”.

Romans 3:21-26
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.
22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.
25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,
26 for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.

As we know in the OT times people were made right with God through faith and various ritual sacrifices. They would sacrifice an animal to cover their sin and temporarily make them right with God.

In our times since Christ, we are made right with God through faith. Faith in what Jesus has done for us in His death on the cross.

Today’s text tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory in the way we live in verse 23. Verse 24 tells us that we are now free from the penalty of our sins. And verse 25 tells us that we are right with God when we believe in Jesus.

I really like that God tells is there is an issue – our sin. Then He tells us our sin is dealt with – in the death of Jesus. And finally we are right with God – because of our faith and trust in Jesus.

If you are in Christ – meaning you believe He is the Son of God who died on the cross for your sin, you have confessed your sin, and you have invited Christ to be you Lord and Saviour – you are saved, forgiven and set free.

You can take communion today assured that you are right with God. You can remember the sacrifice of Jesus for your sin. You can be assured that you will spend eternity with Him.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith is yours through Christ!

Let us give thanks for the bread and the cup.

Born of water and of Spirit

December 30, 2020

John 3:5-7 NLT – Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. [6] Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. [7] So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’”

To enter the Kingdom we need to be born again. The first time we are born we are born of water. Most Bible scholars agree this is when the water breaks in our mothers womb and we are born into the world. When we are born again we are born of the Spirit. This is when the Holy Spirit does the work of regeneration. This happens after we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. The Holy Spirit cleanses us and then takes up residence inside us. This new beginning means we are cleansed of our sin, we are forgiven by God, we are saved and we begin a new life in Christ. We are now God’s children and we will spend eternity with Him.

If you would like to be born again and enter God’s Kingdom, you can pray this prayer.

Dear God, I want to be born again and a part of Your Kingdom. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for my sin. I confess my sin to You and I ask for Your forgiveness. Right now I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Saviour. I ask the Holy Spirit come in and cleanse me. Help me to live my new life for Your Kingdom. In Jesus name, Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, I would encourage you to visit my discipleship page above.

The importance of love

December 17, 2020

1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:1-3‬ ‭says, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

This passages talks about the importance of love in our lives and in our service to God. There are three reminders in it about love.

1. We can speak heavenly languages, but if we do not love others it is likened to a noisy gong.

2. We can speak words of prophecy and understand God’s plans, but if we do not love others we would be nothing.

3. We can give everything we own to the poor, but if we do not love others we have gained nothing.

If you are like me and feel that you need to be more loving towards others, you can join me in praying this prayer.

Prayer

Dear God, please help me to understand the importance of love in all I do. I pray that when I pray, when I prophecy or when I give, that love is my ultimate motivation. I pray that I will love You and love others more and more each day. Amen.

Waiting patiently for the Lord’s return

December 3, 2020

James 5:7-8 says, “Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. [8] You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.”

As I read on these verses and reflect what I have learned from living in a country town, four things jump out at me.

1. James tell us to be patient as we wait for the Lord’s return. He likens it to farmers waiting for the crops to grow. They can’t make it happen any faster. They just patiently wait.

2. While farmers are patient waiting for the crops to grow, they are busy with other things too like caring for sheep, fencing, or servicing vehicles. Even in summer they are preparing for seeding.

3. Like the farmer to plants see and then hopes to have a good harvest, we as Christians look forward in hope and faith that we will be rewarded when Jesus returns for us.

4. Jesus will return at the appointed time. We can\’t make it come sooner. However, that time is sooner than it was yesterday!

Lesson: Wait patiently for Jesus, but work diligently in the meantime.

The compassion of Jesus

November 18, 2020

The Bible tells us in numerous places that Jesus was full of compassion. Psalm 103:8 tells us that “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love”.

As I dwelt on this compassion I came to realise that compassion needs to have action attached to it. It can’t just be a noun or describing word, it needs to be a verb or a doing word.

As I looked through Scripture I found four ways in which Jesus showed compassion to those He came in contact with. Here they are…

1. He became people’s teacher – Mark 6:34 says, “When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw the large crowd that was like sheep without a shepherd. He felt sorry for the people and started teaching them many things”.

2. He fed people – In Mark 8:2 Jesus said, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don’t have anything to eat.” He then multiplied the fishes and the loaves.

3. He raised people to life – In Luke 7:13-15 we see that Jesus had compassion on a widow who had just lost her only son. He walked up to the young man, raised Him to life and gave him back to his mother.

4. He healed the sick – Matthew 14:14 says, “When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw the large crowd. He felt sorry for them and healed everyone who was sick”.

Jesus had compassion in all of these examples. His compassion was not just in thought, but in deed. He was moved to action.

It is my hope and prayer that I will not only have Jesus’ compassion in my life, but it will be a compassion that moves me to action. How about you?