Hope

John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

It seems as though everywhere we turn, we are hearing negative things about the world today.  About what is to come and how bad it is.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus Christ himself warned us of this!  We need to realize that in order to have everlasting joy with our Lord and Savior, we have to first endure the pain and suffering of this world that was predicted.  John 16 talks about how the world will rejoice while us Christians mourn and suffer. 

We all want to get to the point of the perfect ending with Christ, however to get there, the rest of the story must first take place. 

We are instructed to have peace in Christ because he has overcome the world. 

Instead of being worried and anxious about the future, let’s trust the Lord and be hopeful and appreciate that the end will be worth the struggles.

Thurs Devo: The Dragon's War, Part II

Last week we talked about how we are to expect war from Satan (the dragon), but use the full armor God has provided to fight against him! From studying the book of Revelation this year, God seems to warn us that these difficulties and battles will intensify as the end of this world nears. The dragon, Satan, will have the power to wage war against God’s people, but he won’t deceive them. He will deceive the whole rest of the world, though.

Revelation 13:1-10    The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. ² The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. ³ One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. ⁴ People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. ⁷ It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.⁸ All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.

¹⁰ “If anyone is to go into captivity,
    into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
    with the sword they will be killed.”

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

What’s the difference between Satan, through the beast, conquering and waging war against God’ people versus deceiving them? I think it has to do with physical versus spiritual life and death. Satan is allowed to physically harm and even kill God’s people, but he can’t deceive them into worshiping him over worshiping God. If we truly belong to God, then we won’t be deceived by Satan and won’t give in to his deception. We will patiently endure and remain faithful to God, even to the point of death. We can do that through the strength of the Holy Spirit living in us, knowing we will gain eternal life!

How will you and I prepare now to patiently endure and remain faithful to God, even through the dragon’s war against us?

Alice

The Value of Forgiveness

Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver^[i] to one and 50 pieces to the other.  But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said.   Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.  You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”  Luke 7:41-48

I went to visit my Dad’s alma mater the other day in Virginia.  My Dad passed away almost nine years ago, and it was a chance to visit the halls that he walked through over seventy years ago.  We stopped for a moment to allow for my daughter to use the rest room.  The building had about eight different doors at the front, and all were locked.  Fortunately at the last door, a lady was kind enough to let her in.  It was at that final door that I would find something beyond special.  Engraved in the glass next to the door was a list of donors who contributed to the building.  One of those names listed was my father.  Although I knew he contributed greatly to the university, I had never knew there was anything noting his contributions.  It was a humbling experience to have seen something he himself had not lived long enough to see.  Others may not have ever known what he did or how great a man he was.  But I do because I know all that he did especially for me, and that made it all the more valuable.

This story brings me to the topic of understanding the value of God's forgiveness for our sins.  One cannot truly love God without acknowledging how valued His sacrifice for us was.  The story in today’s verses has me focused on the woman at Jesus’ feet.  Prior to these verses, it said, “(S)he knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.” (Luke 7:38)  To truly value what was happening, imagine yourself before Jesus knowing your wrongdoings and being unable to hide from them.  Could you hold yourself together and stand strong, or would you find yourself much like this ‘certain immoral woman’ weeping uncontrollably?  Her tears were so great she had washed Jesus’ feet with them.  That’s some serious crying!  And Jesus, while acknowledging her sins were many, showered her with forgiveness.  We know we fall short of God’s glory, and we are born again through Christ.  But our greatest capacity to love Him falls on acknowledging how flawed we are without Him.  Let me say it another way.  If we cannot understand how flawed we are, we cannot fully love God because we will never value our forgiveness as much as one who sees themselves as tragically flawed.  This is the lesson Jesus is trying to teach.  We may be great followers of Christ in theory.  But for those without hope and love and who God has come and given them a new life through Jesus Christ, the value of His forgiveness is priceless.

We are all valued by God.  Seeing someone’s love for Christ does not make their love better or worse.  It does give us an opportunity to check where we are in our own walk for if we sense our love for God is not as great as it should, then our value system may need restructuring.  If it does, understand God loves us enough to guide and forgive as we forge a stronger and more fulfilling relationship with Him.  How can you reveal yourself to God with all of your flaws?  Will you value His forgiveness now more than ever today?  My prayer is that we seek to gain greater love for God by fully valuing His forgiveness.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Learn and lean

1 Corinthians 16:10-12 “Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am. So let no one despise him. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brethren. But concerning Apollos our brother, I encouraged him greatly to come to you with the brethren; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has opportunity.” (NASB)

Hello,

Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about the importance of pairing with others. This is from a perspective of both learning and leaning. So many of our brothers & sisters in Christ have gone through learning experiences before us – why not use that learning? We are not good at everything – why not lean on the strength of others? Sure, we have the choice to go at things alone – but that puts us in a position of isolation. When we isolate, not only do we miss out on the opportunity to learn from others and lean on their strengths, but we miss the chance to help others learn and be leaned upon.

So, how are you doing in learning and leaning? Don’t miss the opportunity that comes with it!

Will Hill