Do You Believe Christ is Raised From the Dead?

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15: 12-14

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ is not been raised, our preaching is useless and so if your faith.

Scripture Commentary:

Do you believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead? Do you believe that you, a follower of Jesus Christ, will be raised from the dead?

When we were neither believing nor following Jesus, we were dead in our spiritual body. Place yourself in his hands; give your lifestyle to him. Then you will be raised from the dead.

If you truly believe that Jesus Christ won the ultimate victory, that fact alone must affect the way you live right now. We Christians know that our life is beyond the grave and that our life on earth is only a preparation for our life that will never end with Jesus Christ.

We all face limitations here on earth, but with Jesus we have no limitations. Because of Christ’s resurrection, nothing we do in His name is in vain.

Do not hesitate to do good because you don’t see the results right away. God works on His own time, not ours. Do the work for God that He has placed you here to do, and he will take care of the rest.

Read the Entire Chapter:
1 Corinthians Chapter 15

Jesus’s Prayer is That He Glorifies God

Scripture: John 17: 1-5

Jesus’s Prayer

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the work began.”

Scripture Commentary:

This entire chapter is Jesus’s prayer. From it, we learn that the world is a tremendous battleground where the forces under Satan’s power and those under God’s authority are at war. Satan and his forces are motivated by bitter hatred for Christ and his forces.

Jesus prayed for his disciples, including those of us who follow him today. He prayed that God would keep his chosen believers safe from satan’s power, setting them apart and making them pure and holy, uniting them through his truth.

How do we get eternal life? Jesus tells us clearly here – by knowing God the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ. Eternal life requires entering into a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

When we admit our sin and turn away from it, Christ’s love lives in us by the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus came to earth, he was one with God. At the time of this prayer, when his mission on earth was almost finished, Jesus was asking his Father to restore him to his original place of honor and authority.

Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, and Stephen’s dying exclamation in the book of Acts, attest that Jesus did return to his exalted position at the right hand of God. Jesus is the only way to God.

Read the Entire Chapter:
John Chapter 17

Keep Your Promise – Declare the Truth of God

Scripture: Psalms 66: 16-20

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

Scripture Commentary: Who are we to bargain with God?

People sometimes make bargains with God. We often declare in times of trouble that, “If you heal me, or get me out of this mess, I’ll obey you for the rest of my life.”

Who are we to bargain with God?

Our confession of sin must be continual because we continue to do wrong. This does not mean that after we recover with God’s help we forget what he did and resume our old lifestyle.

God always keeps his promise and we must do the same. With true confession, God requires us to listen and stop our sinful ways.

David confessed his sin and prayed, “Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins.”

If you are going to be a servant of God you must live as God intended. When we refuse to repent or when we harbor and cherish certain sins, we place a wall between us and God. It assures all of us who believe in Christ that by trusting him we can overcome evil.

Nobody is beyond redemption, you and I can be made clean of sin.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Psalms Chapter 66

You Can’t Buy Salvation – It’s a Gift of God

Scripture: Acts: 8: 17-20

Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the Apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Scripture Commentary: Jesus Christ is the gift of God; he paid the price for our salvation

Do you think that you, like Simon, can buy your way to heaven and God’s heart? Jesus Christ paid for the way to His Father. He paid the price to save us. Jesus died on the cross. He rose in three days with all the glory and ascended to heaven.

Do not think because everything on earth has a price that God also has a price that you can pay. You cannot pay the price to be with God by working hard and doing good things. Accepting Jesus Christ as your savior is the only way, and by doing this you will live the life God has prepared for you.

Do not think like Simon that you can buy the power of the Holy Ghost. No amount of money can buy salvation, forgiveness of sin, or God’s power.

Learn from Simon and his reaction (in verse 24) to what Peter told him. He said, “Pray to the Lord for me…”

Read the Entire Chapter:
Acts Chapter 8

Knowledge of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom

Scripture: Proverbs 12: 1-2, 12,19

Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will be condemned.(1, 2) The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.(12) The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Scripture Commentary: Learning God’s word will make you successful in life

Proverbs 12 is a list of dos and do-nots. Starting at verse one, it begins with whoso loveth instruction. Gaining knowledge by learning how to do something is good, but learning about God is to learn about wisdom.

When you have accepted Christ in your life, there is no end to what you can learn. Learning from God’s Word will make you successful in life, and your efforts will stand the test of time.

Do not be influenced by people who knowingly cheat and lie, and succeed by doing wickedness in life. Their success is short lived and not what our God teaches. These people’s sinful ways will twist the facts to support their way of life. In time they are likely to be trapped by their own lies.

Truth is always timely. It applies today and in the future because it is connected with God’s unchanging character. Think for a moment about the centuries that have passed since these proverbs were written. The Bible has withstood because our God is truth.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Proverbs Chapter 12

I Can Do All Things Through Christ

Scripture: Philippians 4:19-20, 23

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. A-men!(19-20) The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.(20)

(To thePhilippians written from Rome, by Epaphroditus.)

Scripture Commentary: You have everything you need – you can do anything through Christ

You can do anything Christ-like through God. However, this doesn’t mean superhuman ability to accomplish anything we can imagine without regard for our fellow man.

The power God has given you is sufficient to do his will and to face the challenges that will arise in doing his work. Be like Paul and be content and God will show you the way. Be focused on what you are supposed to do, not what you feel you should do.

Paul had his priorities straight, and he was grateful, because he followed God’s teachings. Detach yourself from worldly things, so you can concentrate on God as he directs your path. We can trust that God will always meet our needs.

Whatever we need on earth he will always supply, even if it is the courage to face death. By trusting in Christ our attitudes and appetites can change from wanting everything to accepting his provisions and power to live for him. We can live confidently for him because we have “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” with us.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Philippians Chapter 4

Do Not Be Separated From God

Scripture: Isaiah 59: 1-2, 21

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.(1,2) As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.(21)

Scripture Commentary: Sin separates us from God

Our Lord and Savior in this chapter tells us that he hears all, sees all and knows all. He also tells us He forgives us and loves us. His arms are not too short that He cannot protect from harm, His ears are not deaf that He cannot hear our cry. But we have separated ourselves from Him when we sin against Him.

Sin separates us from God. He cannot ignore, excuse, or tolerate sin as though it doesn’t matter. Our sinful ways form a wall of isolation between us and God.

This angers God and forces him to look away from us. If you die with your sins unforgiven, you will be separated from God – you will have placed yourself in satin’s hands.

God wants you to be with Him forever, but he cannot be with you unless you want the same. You must change and ask His forgiveness.

Have you confessed your sin to Him? Do this now, before it is too late.

Feel the love and warmth of His Holy Spirit fall upon you.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Isaiah Chapter 59

Find Security In God’s Plan: See What is Right

Scripture: Isaiah 30: 10-14

They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”

Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant. It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern.”

Scripture Commentary: Welcome what is right even if it makes you uncomfortable

Some people in Judah may have sought refuge in Egypt. In their desire to find security, they wanted to hear only good news. They did not welcome the truth from God’s prophets.

Often the truth makes us uncomfortable. We prefer lies and illusions when they make us feel more secure.

It is much better to face reality than to live a lie. Don’t settle for something that makes you feel comfortable but is not true. God expects a lot from us, and many times following him can be painful but He always acts out of His love for us.

Next time you go through a difficult time, try to appreciate the experience and grow from it, learning what God wants to teach you. God may be showing you His love by patiently walking with you through adversity.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Isaiah Chapter 30

The Productive Branch Bears Fruit

Scripture: John 15: 1-4

I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Scripture Commentary: God prunes the branch so that it bears great fruit

Are we carrying old, ungodly material with us (i.e., things that we know we should have put out of our lives a long time ago)? Be honest with yourself and let Jesus purge those things so that you can be fruitful for God. When you let go, you will become a fruitful, and not an unproductive, branch.

Jesus will cut away the unproductive parts so the productive parts can carry his Word. Do not be the part that has to be cut off and burned in the fire.

We are not perfect. God sometimes disciplines us to strengthen our character and faith, so the part of us that is infected would not infect the whole body. We will come across blockers In our walk who will try to stop us from living out God’s Word.

Remember Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us, to teach us and to show us the way.

Read the Entire Chapter:
John Chapter 15

Take Shelter in the Lord in Every Storm

Scripture: Psalms 55: 1-8

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest – I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”

Scripture Commentary: God is our shelter in every storm

More than likely David wrote this psalm during the time of Absalom’s rebellion and Ahithophel’s betrayal. Even those who are especially close to God, as David was, have moments when they cry out to the Lord for shelter from their pressures and problems.

We are plagued by internal problems in our homes, cities, and churches. Violence, strife, malice, abuse, destruction, threats, and lies appear to be all around us. As a result, we also feel the need to cry out to the Lord to shelter us.

Although a constant threat, external enemies are not nearly as dangerous as the corruption inside. Even today, churches often look to defend themselves against trouble from the sinful world while they fail to see that their own sins are causing their troubles.

Nothing hurts more than a wound from a friend. Even though it hurts, there may be times when friends will need to lovingly confront you in order to help you. Your real friends will stick by you, especially in times of trouble, and will help bring healing, love, acceptance, and understanding.

What kind friend are you? Don’t betray those you love.

God is our helper, protector, and friend.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Psalms Chapter 55