Jesus Was Raised from the Dead for You

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2: 8-13

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.  Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

 Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Scripture Commentary: Beloved, remain faithful! Jesus was raised from the dead for you!

In Timothy’s day, many asserted that Christ was divine but not human; God, but not man. After all, He was raised from the dead.

The truth that Jesus is one person with two united natures has never been easy to understand. But people believe.

God promises that someday we will live eternally with Him.

What does this mean? It means believers will live in Christ’s kingdom, and will share in the administration of that kingdom.

Are you facing hardships? Don’t turn away from God. He promises you a wonderful future with Him. Jesus is faithful. He will stay by your side even when you have endured so much that you seem to have no faith left.

Jesus Christ loves us all!

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2 Timothy Chapter 2

God’s People Are the Salt of the Earth

Scripture: Matthew 5: 13-14

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Scripture Commentary: Salt brings out the flavor.

When you cook a roast, you season it with salt to bring out the flavor of the meat. Either that or you put it in the oven with no seasoning at all.

Now you pick which roast you’d rather eat. I’m sure you’ll choose the one that has a flavorful taste.

In reading The Word we learn how to live, how to help others, and how much God loves us. If we, as Jesus’ followers, don’t know the way, how can we lead? When Christians make no effort to affect the world around them, we are of little value to God.

We are worthless if we are too much like the world.

Don’t blend in with everyone else. We are to be Christ-like in our living. Be a light that shows the way to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We hide our light when we are quiet when we should speak, when we go along with the crowd, letting sin dim our light, and by ignoring the needs of others.

Study God’s Word so you can be seasoned and bring light into the world for Our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Matthew Chapter 5

Live By and Keep Step with the Spirit

Scripture: Galatians 5: 16-18, 25


So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.(16-18) Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.(25)

Scripture Commentary:

How dare we think we can live as judge over another human being! How can we be Christians and love one another, then talk about people?

When we are not motivated by love, we become critical of others. We stop looking for good in them and see only their faults.

Remove the beam from your own eye …

When you begin to feel critical of someone, look at yourself and make a list of the things you need to work on … then make a list of that other person’s positive qualities. Then let the Holy Spirit that is in you lead you. Jesus’ words will then be in your mind and the love of Christ will be behind your actions, and His power will help you control your selfish desires.

Do not rely on your own wisdom. You will make wrong choices. Being led by the Holy Spirit involves the desire to hear, the readiness to obey God’s Word and the sensitivity to discern between your feelings and His promptings.

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Galatians Chapter 5

What Was Going to Happen to Jesus?

Scripture: Mark 10: 32-33

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.  “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles

Scripture Commentary:

Jesus had told the disciples what was going to happen to him. Jesus’ death and resurrection should have come as no surprise to the disciples. He clearly explained to them what would happen to Him. Unfortunately, they didn’t really hear what he was saying.

Jesus said He was the Messiah, but they thought the Messiah would be a conquering king. He spoke to them of resurrection, but they heard only His words about death. As Jesus often spoke in parables, the disciples may have thought His words on death and resurrection were another parable that they were not astute enough to understand.

There are no accidents in God’s plan.

The gospels include Jesus’ predictions of His death and resurrection to show that these events were God’s plan from the beginning.

The disciples may have been confused about what Jesus was telling them. Are you confused about what Jesus is telling you?

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Mark Chapter 10

Will You Go On Sinning?

Scripture: Romans 6: 1-2, 23

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (1-2) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (23)  

Scripture Commentary:

The question put to you in Romans 6 is are you a sinner who will stop sinning or will you go on sinning? We are born into Adam’s physical family and as such, we reaped the results of Adam’s sin. We have inherited his guilt, a sinful nature, and God’s punishment.

Baptism symbolizes our rebirth in Jesus Christ.

We can trade this punishment for forgiveness by being born again in Jesus Christ. Through baptism you bury your old self. When you come out of the water, you are new. If we think of our old sinful life as dead and buried, we have a powerful motive to resist sin.

We can enjoy our new life in Christ because we are united with Him in His death and resurrection. Our evil desires, our bondage to sin, and our love of sin died with Him. Now, united by faith with Him in His resurrection life, we have unbroken fellowship with God and freedom from sin’s hold on us.

The power and penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross.

Jesus saved you because of his mercy. Accept His gift with thanksgiving.

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Romans Chapter 6

You Have No Excuse!

Scripture: Romans 2: 1, 12-13

You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.(1) When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it.  For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.(12,13)   

Scripture Commentary:

How can you judge when you are just as bad? You belong to a stubborn race. You know what’s right but you insist on doing what’s wrong.

Often the sins we notice most clearly in others are the ones that have taken root in us. If we look closely at ourselves, we may find that we are committing the same sins in more socially acceptable forms by our earthly standards.

The Bible lays the groundwork for the Christian life.

If you follow Jesus, earthly standards do not apply to you. The Bible is your book of standards; it tells you how to conduct yourself.

We are all weak.

Everyone makes mistakes and falls but if Jesus is truly in our lives, we need to ask Him to help us. He will!

There is no worse slavery than slavery to sin. Admit to yourself and to God that you fit the human pattern and frequently fail to live up to His standards. Ask for help and watch Him work on you.

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Romans Chapter 2

The Wrath of God Against Sinful Humanity

Scripture: Romans 1: 18-23

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,  since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

Scripture Commentary:

Why is the wrath of God against sinful people? It’s because they have substituted the truth about Him with a fantasy of their own imagination. They’ve stifled the truth God naturally reveals to all people to believe anything that supports their own self-centered lifestyle.

God cannot tolerate sin because His nature is morally perfect. He isn’t able to ignore or condone such willful rebellion. God wants to remove the sin and restore the sinner, and He is able to as long as the sinner doesn’t stubbornly distort or reject the truth.

Every person accepts or rejects God

However, God’s anger erupts against those who persist in sinning. Make sure you’re not pursuing a fantasy rather than the true God. Don’t suppress the truth about Him merely to protect your own lifestyle.

Every person either accepts or rejects God. If you reject Him, you reject the truth. Don’t be fooled. When the day comes for God to judge your response to Him, no excuses will be accepted. Now you know!

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Romans Chapter 1

 

Levi Immediately Witnessed for Christ

Scripture: Mark 2: 15-17

Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.)  But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?]”

 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Scripture Commentary:

The day Levi met Jesus, he held a meeting at his house to introduce others to Jesus. Levi didn’t waste any time starting to witness!

Some people feel that new believers should wait for training or maturity before they begin to tell others about Jesus. But like Levi, new believers can share their faith right away with whatever knowledge, skill, or experience they already have.

Jesus spent time with everyone who wanted to hear the Word.

The self-righteous Pharisees were indignant that Jesus would eat a meal with such sinners. Jesus spent time with whoever (poor, rich, bad or good) needed or wanted to hear His message.

Are there people you have been neglecting because of their reputation? They may be the ones who most need to see and hear the message of Jesus Christ’s love in and from you.

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Mark Chapter 2

You Are My God; Earnestly I Seek You

Scripture: Psalms 63: 1-8

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

Scripture Commentary: Lord, I earnestly seek you.

When I earnestly seek you, your shield of salvation has saved me. Your gentleness made me great.

David probably wrote Psalms 61, 62, and 63 when he was seeking refuge during Absalom’s rebellion. If we are cut off from our friends, our loneliness will not let us seek God. For He is always with us. We are His children. He will never leave us.

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Psalms Chapter 63

What You Do For Christ Has Lasting Value

Scripture: Proverbs 10: 2

Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.

Scripture Commentary: What has lasting value?

Some people bring unhappiness on themselves by choosing ill-gotten treasures. By craving satisfaction, they may do something that destroys their chances of ever achieving something of lasting value. God’s principles for right living bring lasting happiness because they guide us into long-term right behavior in spite of our ever changing feelings.

Scripture: Proverbs 10: 4

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

Scripture Commentary: God gives you new opportunity every day.

Every day God gives you opportunities to grow, serve and be productive. Yet it’s so easy to waste time, letting life slip away.

Refuse to be a lazy person, sleeping and frittering away the hours that are meant for productive work. God has a job for you to do.

The gift He has given you is to be used to glorify His name. Don’t let anything become more important than your search for God’s wisdom. To know God is not just to know the facts about Him, but also to stand in awe of Him and have a relationship with Him.

Don’t be the disgraceful son and sleep your life away. Be fruitful and go into the world talking about Jesus Christ.

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Proverbs Chapter 10