The Veil Was Torn: Our Long Awaited Reunion with Our God. Matthew 27:51

Matthew 27:50-54 New American Standard Bible 1995

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹And behold, the ^[a]veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵²The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the ^[b]saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was ^[c]the Son of God!”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Welcome, beloved readers to this blessed gathering where we come together to draw nearer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are all united here today, not by chance, but by the divine will of God and His love that binds us together, a love so truly profound that it was manifested in the most extraordinary sacrifice known to mankind.

Our focus today is on the heart of our faith, the crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We’ll be looking at the momentous events that took place in Matthew 27:50-51.

The scripture reads as follows:

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.

These two verses, though brief, carry a weight of significance that continues to shape our faith and our lives.

They speak of the moment when salvation was secured, not by our own works, but through the cross.

They tell the story of a world forever changed by the resurrection of Christ.

And, they serve to remind us of the scriptural promises fulfilled through these miraculous events.

In the words of the esteemed Charles Spurgeon,

“The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”

This quote, my dear brothers and sisters, is a reminder that our faith is often forged in the hardcore crucible of trials and tribulations. But let us not forget, it is through these very hardcore trials we are all drawn closer to the cross, to the sacrifice made by our Lord, and to the promise of resurrection and eternal life.

As we embark on this sacred reflection, let us bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we come before You today with humble hearts, thankful for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask that You open our hearts and minds to the profound truths found in Your Word. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we may gain a deeper understanding of Your love, Your sacrifice, and Your promise of eternal life. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Matthew 27:50-51 Amplified Bible

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud [agonized] voice, and gave up His spirit [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father’s plan]. ⁵¹And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was ^[a]torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.

Have you every pondered the reason that the first verse after Jesus’ death in three of the four gospels is the fact that the temple veil, curtain, tore in two?

Why is this so significant?

How does this apply to all believers today?

We are going to spend time studying the value and wonder of our great and victorious Savior whose death tears down the veil and makes us His own again.

What Was the Veil?

When we first hear of the word veil, we may think about a bride or just simply a covering.

This curtain was established in the times of Moses.

It was intentionally placed to divide the holy of holies in the temple of God (The Tabernacle then).

Exodus 35:25 says, “Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen.”

The veil was in the temple where God dwelled among the Israelites.

The veil was the divider inside between the holy place to the holy of holies.

Only a high priest once a year could enter the holy of holies.

The veil was the physical symbol of separation caused by our sins.

The veil was said to be 60 feet high.

This would not have been easy to get to the top to tear down.

Behind the veil sat the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. The veil concealed the Presence of God. Two cherubs were woven into the veil.

The High Priest’s Privilege

One time a year during Yom Kippur, one high priest would be selected to go into the holy of holies.

This was a great honor.

It could be a moment of life or death, as they would literally tie a rope around his ankle in case he were to pass away while in the presence of God.

The priest offered sacrifices and gifts on behalf of the people to reconcile them to God. We know that based on the book of Hebrews that Jesus is called our High Priest. He fulfilled this task of Passover as our sacrificial Perfect Lamb of God.

One Temple, One Way

There was one temple found in Jerusalem.

As we ponder this thought, that meant that there was only one veil.

One sin caused separation from God.

One veil symbolized that divide.

And one Savior Jesus came and made one way to heaven.

John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

We have such a great hope today in Christ.

We do not have to be distanced or feel the need to hide in our shame.

Jesus has unveiled our faces, He has taken away the separation of sin and brought us all into His presence again.

He has sent us the Holy Spirit.

We now are Christ’s temples.

When He is in our hearts, we have security of heaven.

1 Corinthians 2:1-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

2 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the ^[a]testimony of God. ²For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, ⁴and my ^[b]message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵so that your faith would not ^[c]rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

⁶Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; ⁷but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; ⁸the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; ⁹but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

^10 [d]For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

Understanding how the Old Testament is leading up to the New Covenant amazes us.

We gain a greater appreciation and understanding of our Savior’s completely intricate, yet straight forward plan of salvation.

We are reaffirmed that He has delivered us and we are His forever.

We are His bride and we are united with our Groom.

He has called us His own, given us the right to be co-heir’s with Him forever.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

How does knowing the veil was torn for you remind you of the great length Jesus went to in order to save you from your sins?

How does this compel you to live out of that confidence – the cross be our glory.

Salvation Secured Through the Cross

The cross, a symbol of our faith, stands as a testament to the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is at the cross where we see the full extent of His love, a love so profound that it led Him to lay down His life for us.

This act of love, this sacrifice, is the bedrock of our faith.

It is the assurance of our salvation.

The cross is not just a symbol of death, but of life.

It is through the cross that we have been given the gift of eternal life.

Jesus, our Savior, bore our sins on the cross.

He took upon Himself the punishment that we deserved.

He paid the price for our sins, a price we could never pay.

This is the love of our Savior, a love that secures our salvation.

Jesus Yields His Spirit

Matthew 27:50 Amplified Bible

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud [agonized] voice, and gave up His spirit [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father’s plan].

Now, let us turn our attention to the moment when Jesus yielded up His spirit.

This was not a moment of defeat, but of victory.

It was at this moment that the power of sin and death was broken.

Jesus, in His death, conquered death itself.

He secured our salvation, not through His death alone, but through His resurrection.

His resurrection is the assurance of our own resurrection, the promise of eternal life.

Our Long Awaited Reunion with God

Matthew 27:51 Amplified Bible

⁵¹And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was ^[a]torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.

The veil of the temple, torn in two from top to bottom, is a powerful symbol of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

The veil separated the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the temple, from the rest of the temple.

Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year.

The tearing of the veil signifies the breaking down of the barrier between us and God.

Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we have been given direct access to God.

Hebrews 4:15-16 Amplified Bible

¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. ¹⁶Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].

We are reunited with God.

We can approach Him with confidence, knowing that we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

The earth quaking and the rocks splitting is a testament to the power of Jesus’ sacrifice.

It is a reminder that His death was not an ordinary death.

It was a momentous event that shook the world.

The cross, the yielding up of Jesus’ spirit, the tearing of the veil, the quaking of the earth and the splitting of the rocks – these are not just events that happened two thousand years ago.

They are truths that continue to shape our lives today.

They are reminders of the love of our Savior, a love that secures our salvation.

They are the assurance of our faith, the promise of our eternal life.

So, let us hold fast to these truths.

Let us confidently live in the light of the cross, in the assurance of our salvation.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 24 New American Standard Bible 1995

The King of Glory Entering Zion.

A Psalm of David.

24 The earth is the Lord’s, and ^[a]all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it.
²For He has founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the rivers.
³Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place?
⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul ^[b]to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully.
⁵He shall receive a blessing from the Lord
And ^[c]righteousness from the God of his salvation.
^6 [d]This is the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face—even Jacob. ^[e]Selah.

⁷Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ^[f]ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
⁸Who is the King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
⁹Lift up your heads, O gates,
And lift them up, O ^[g]ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
¹⁰Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah.

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My stinky sweaty dirty feet and your stinky sweaty dirty feet: Our Praying to Humbly Serve as Jesus did on this Maundy Thursday. John 13: 12-17

John 13:12-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹²So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³You call Me Teacher and Lord; and ^[a]you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. ¹⁶Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Would you let Jesus wash your feet?

It is such a close, personal and an intimate act for someone else to wash them.

And it can be a deeply embarrassing one as well – who wants to submit their dirty, stinky sweaty feet to anyone else – who wants to offend anyone so much?

Isn’t it hard then for us to imagine lifting our filthy toes to the King of Kings?

None of us are the least bit worthy of his kingly care and royal attention; yet in Christ’s perfect love, he gives us nothing less.

Does your human heart struggle like mine to serve others humbly as Jesus did?

Matthew 20:24-28 New American Standard Bible 1995

²⁴And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. ²⁶It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^[a]life a ransom for many.”

On the Thursday before his crucifixion, Jesus ate with his disciples in an upper room and taught us what it means to love and serve.

John 13:4-5 tells us Jesus got up from the supper table, removed his robe, then he slowly wrapped a towel around his waist, and he poured water into a basin.

Then, he knelt down, took water into his hands, he looked up at them, he began gently washing disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

We see a precious act of humble servant ministry modeled for us in this scene.

This was a household servant’s job, yet Jesus taught that to lead, teach, and sacrificially love others, we must take on a servant role with a servant’s heart.

John 13:14-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁴If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. ¹⁶Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

“If we know these things, we are blessed if we do them.”

It is such a radically different question we need to ask ourselves today as well.

Well, what is your best considered response? Do we actually authentically, know these things, truly want to know any of these things in these 21st century days?

We must understand what Jesus did for us to love and serve others well.

Fully God, Jesus didn’t cling to his divine privileges,

Philippians 2:5-6 New American Standard Bible 1995

⁵Have this attitude ^[a]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be ^[b] grasped,

“but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8).

Jesus welcomes us through his grace and mercy, forgives our sins by his work on the cross, and washes us clean once and for all.

Then, daily, we get to walk with God in a brand new life as a follower of Christ.

As we learn his love, Jesus gives us the capacity to love and serve as He did.

Jesus wanted to ensure His disciples understood He was Teacher, Messiah, Savior, and Lord.

Soon, he would send them to tell the world the Good News that washed in the blood of Jesus Christ we could be made right with God once and for all.

He calls us to share this hope as his disciples today.

After washing His disciple’s feet, Jesus gave them a mandate, or commandment to follow when interacting with people.

The word “command” comes from the Latin word mandatum.

A shortened form of this word is “maundy,” where we get the term “Maundy Thursday.”

On this important day, he told his disciples (and us),

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

May this Holy Week remind us that we have a story to tell as we love and serve.

We get to testify how Jesus saved us and the difference he makes in our lives.

Like Jesus demonstrated, humbly serving others requires us to set aside status and position to love as He did.

From the most lavish to mundane, there are ways we can serve one another every single day.

A humble Christ-like posture and a willing heart are all it takes to respond to the needs around us.

Consider spending unrushed time with a friend or family member.

Try cleaning up a mess you didn’t make.

Think of ways to bless someone or give above and beyond a typical donation, benevolence, or offering.

Serving might be costly, inconvenient, or messy at times.

It may even stretch us out of our comfort zones or require steps of faith.

Time and resources are precious, but as we learn to view them as gifts from God, sharing them with our neighbors becomes even more and more joyful.

Look around you this week.

What is one act of service you can do that you feel is beneath your status or position?

How can you otherwise humble yourself like Christ – to love and serve others in your home, church, workplace, your neighborhood, and in your community?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear Lord, I am not worthy to be washed clean by you. Yet, as my King, you took the role of humble servant when you took my place on the cross. Teach me your love for others. Lead me to serve humbly. On this particular day that we call “Maundy Thursday,” teach me your mandate to love one another as you love me. It doesn’t always come naturally to me. Lord, you know that person I struggle to love today and those areas of service I tend to avoid. You know how stingy I can be with my time, money, and things. Help me to notice and listen to people this week and respond with Christ-like love and generosity. Make me aware of the needs in my church and community and stir my heart to act. With the love you have shown me, teach me to love others with a servant’s heart like yours. In humble servant Jesus’ Name, Amen

Psalm 103 New American Standard Bible 1995

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

103 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
²Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
³Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
⁴Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
⁵Who satisfies your ^[a]years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

⁶The Lord performs ^[b]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed.
⁷He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the sons of Israel.
⁸The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
⁹He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
¹⁰He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who ^[c]fear Him.
¹²As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who ^[d]fear Him.
¹⁴For He Himself knows ^[e]our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.

¹⁵As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
¹⁶When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place acknowledges it no longer.
¹⁷But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who ^[f]fear Him,
And His ^[g]righteousness to children’s children,
¹⁸To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts to do them.

¹⁹The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His ^[h]sovereignty rules over ^[i]all.
²⁰Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who perform His word,
Obeying the voice of His word!
²¹Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You who serve Him, doing His will.
²²Bless the Lord, all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Forgiven and Forgiving: A Prayer for us to also Forgive, to Love Like Jesus. Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew 18:21-35 Easy-to-Read Version

A Story About Forgiveness

²¹Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when someone^[a] won’t stop doing wrong to me, how many times must I forgive them? Seven times?”

²²Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive them more than seven times. You must continue to forgive them even if they do wrong to you seventy-seven times.^[b]

²³“So God’s kingdom is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. ²⁴The king began to collect his money. One servant owed him several thousand pounds^[c] of silver. ²⁵He was not able to pay the money to his master, the king. So the master ordered that he and everything he owned be sold, even his wife and children. The money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

²⁶“But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’ ²⁷The master felt sorry for him. So he told the servant he did not have to pay. He let him go free.

²⁸“Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

²⁹“The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’

³⁰“But the first servant refused to be patient. He told the judge that the other servant owed him money, and that servant was put in jail until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹All the other servants saw what happened. They felt very sorry for the man. So they went and told their master everything that happened.

³²“Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant. You begged me to forgive your debt, and I said you did not have to pay anything! ³³So you should have given that other man who serves with you the same mercy I gave you.’ ³⁴The master was very angry, so he put the servant in jail to be punished. And he had to stay in jail until he could pay everything he owed.

³⁵“This king did the same as my heavenly Father will do to you. You must forgive your brother or sister with all your heart, or my heavenly Father will not forgive you.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

In a matter of days, when Good Friday is once again placed before Christians, Jesus, mere minutes from a gruesome and unjust death, will utter the words;

Luke 23:33-34 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Crucifixion

³³When they came to the place called ^[a]The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. ^34 [b]But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

“Father, (in Heaven) forgive them; for they know not what they are doing.”

And I begin to obsess all over again about the word and the task: “forgive”

Along with all of that obsession, I again turn to those familiar bible passages.

When I read Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant, my blood begins to boil.

I think, “How ungrateful, mean, and greedy this man is. There isn’t a single kind bone in his body!”

Here was a man who owed more money than he could ever repay.

But after he was so graciously forgiven of his huge debt by the King, he turned around and unjustly punished another man for owing him just a small amount.

The forgiven man had received an inconceivable measure of mercy, but he did not reciprocate, did not himself show one ounce of mercy to the other man.

It is not wrong to be angry about this.

In fact, this is the response Jesus is looking for.

But we must not stop there.

Jesus designed this story to help us think and act faithfully as children of God.

How should we respond to the kindness God has shown us? God has forgiven our huge debt of sin; will we do the same for others who have sinned against us?

It is easy for us to ask for God’s forgiveness and yet carry grudges and ill will toward others.

It is easy to remember and resent what others have said and done against us.

But if we accept God’s forgiveness and yet fail to forgive others, we are no different from the ungrateful man in Jesus’ parable.

Jesus teaches us to forgive and to keep forgiving so that we can’t remember how many times we have forgiven.

When we walk with the Spirit, we are changed.

God’s kindness begins to flow from us to others.

A Prayer to Forgive and Love Like Jesus

Matthew 18:21-22 New American Standard Bible 1995

Forgiveness

²¹Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” ²²Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Granting forgiveness can be complex and hard to give and receive, especially when it’s a repeated offense, when it is closely attached to betrayal and you’re left holding the shattered pieces of a broken heart filled with so much pain.

Yet, in the upside-down gospel of Jesus Christ, its exactly what we’re called to do – forgive, forgive the unforgivable, not once, but time, time and time again.

It sounds so easy, right? Yet, as you most likely know, forgiveness comes with an acknowledgment that needs to be made from our heads to our hearts. That’s because forgiveness can be messy and intertwined with so many deep emotions.

When Peter approached Jesus with the question of how many times he should be forgiving his brother, it was more than likely an honest, sincere question.

A question to determine the length of mercy.

Maybe he was harboring pain from a past hurt or trying to decipher and grasp the unparalleled meaning of the forgiveness Jesus taught in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 6:14-15).

Matthew 6:14-15 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁴For if you forgive ^[a]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive ^[b]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Either way, Jesus’ answer must have sent shockwaves through Peter’s soul.

After all, the Jewish practice was to forgive someone three times for the same offense (Amos 2:6).

So, upon hearing seventy-seven times, which could be construed to mean “70 times 7,” equating to 490, that must have sounded absolutely absurd!

Peter’s heart must have sunk, thinking that type of forgiveness is impossible.

Yet, that was exactly the point Jesus was driving home!

Jesus knows forgiveness isn’t easy and that it is impossible to do on our own.

This is why He modeled throughout His life how to forgive and shared the importance of giving and receiving this gift.

Jesus commands us to pray for our enemies and those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44-45), asking God to help us, all while going to Him again and again until we gain the peace that surpasses understanding.

Matthew 5:44-45 New American Standard Bible 1995

⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may ^[a]be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

The single most profound example Jesus gave us was on His final day, as Roman soldiers mocked, scourged, and nailed Him to the cross, Jesus prayed for God to forgive them (Luke 23:34) for they knew not what they were doing.

Dear friend, beloved reader, the principle of forgiveness isn’t measured by our emotions or a number, but rather it is to be measured by the grace and mercy in which we receive from God, which is endless.

Real forgiveness, authentic forgiveness takes time to bestow and can only take place with God’s help, allowing Him to open our minds and soften our hearts.

Is there someone to whom you need to grant the gift of forgiveness?

Then lift your heart to Him, your Father in Heaven, today, and seek His help.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Kind and gracious and merciful Father, how can we even begin to thank you for the wonders of Your love? The act of grace and mercy that You so selflessly displayed on the cross never ceases to amaze us. As we come into a holiday that marks both grief and hope with the solemn actions of Good Friday to the victory we can reclaim in Your resurrection, please posture our hearts to give grace through forgiveness. We ask that You help us be mindful this time of year of the Truth found in Your Word that Your love, mercy, and grace forgave us first. We are so very thankful for that. Help us receive that forgiveness You so graciously give and extend that to others as we yearn to follow Your loving example. Please soften our hearts to give and receive this most precious gift of forgiveness. Lord, I ask that You please come into my heart and help me personally forgive the person who continually floods my mind. I need Your help. I need Your mercy and grace. I need You to remind me that You forgave me and so I must forgive them. Help me let go of the hurt, the pain, the betrayal, and the shame. Help me let it go and turn it all over to You. Please cleanse my heart and soul of any unrighteousness, bitterness, or resentment. I earnestly seek Your peace. Amen

Psalm 32 New American Standard Bible 1995

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Maskil.

32 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
²How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

³When I kept silent about my sin, my ^[b]body wasted away
Through my ^[c]groaning all day long.
⁴For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My ^[d]vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. ^[e]Selah.
⁵I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the ^[f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
⁶Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You ^[g]in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
⁷You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with ^[h]songs of deliverance. Selah.

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
⁹Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
¹⁰Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
¹¹Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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A Prayer of Praise for the Fearless Righteousness of Jesus This Holy Monday. Matthew 21:12-16

Matthew 21:12-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

Cleansing the Temple

¹²And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. ¹³And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ ^[a]den.”

¹⁴And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. ¹⁵But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant ¹⁶and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus *said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” ¹⁷And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

We know a lot about Palm Sunday and Good Friday, but what is Holy Monday?

On Holy Monday, Jesus went back into Jerusalem and cursed a fruitless fig tree, wept over the city, and in a fit of great anger entered. then cleansed the temple.

Ponder this succession of events, the King of the World comes in riding on a donkey in humility to repeated shouts of the most joyous Hosanna on Sunday.

Then, the very next day, in complete contrast to the previous day, our great Rabbi, High Priest, enters the temple the next day and turns over the tables.

Holy Monday reminds us of the true mission and the worthiness of our Savior.

He was faultless, he was sinless a perfect model of praise and worship and here the people had taken His house of worship and made it all about selfish gain.

In thinking about all of the legalism and hypocrisy the Pharisees had been partaking in, it mightily grieved a normally calm and evenly collected Jesus.

His people were supposed to love God with all of their heart, mind and soul and strength and to love Him, but He was instead betrayed, ignored as Messiah and would be chosen over a murderous criminal to take the cross a few days later.

There is a clear verse in Ephesians 4:26 that says, “Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.”

Jesus was righteously angry, but his actions were not sinful.

It is hard to believe because we often like to take the love and compassion of Christ while ignoring His holiness and sovereignty.

Ponder this, He has gone into the place that was supposed to be His home, where God resided in the Holy of Holies, and observes the people were more interested in making a business out of His home-an obviously corrupt business.

They were taking advantage of God for personal gain.

They made it a place of robbery under the guise of righteousness.

They took away the attention and purpose of the Lord, and they prevented the people from connecting with Him and placed a unrighteous barrier in the way.

We see this in the time when Moses brought the Ten Commandments down the mountain, and the Israelites had crafted the golden calf to worship as an idol.

Moses broke the commandments and went back up the mountain a second time.

As we pray about the righteousness of Jesus, we can thank Him for His holiness and his gift of forgiveness to those who believe in Him.

We, too, have made His house about selfish gain.

We have sinned against Him, and we deserve His wrath eternally.

Yahweh Tsidkenu: “the Lord Our Righteousness”

Jeremiah 33:14-18New American Standard Bible 1995

The Davidic Kingdom

¹⁴‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. ¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’ ¹⁷For thus says the Lord, ‘^[a]David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ^18 [b]and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices ^[c] continually.’”

Do we ever find the book of Jeremiah too difficult to read?

It has many bleak passages about judgment and exile for God’s people, who relentlessly disregarded their covenant Lord.

The people were constantly unfaithful to their faithful God, Yahweh.

Today’s reading is set within that dreary context, but the content of the chapter is anything but depressing.

Though confined in the court of the king’s guard (see 32:2; 33:1), Jeremiah proclaims a bright future for the people of Judah.

God promises a future of healing and health, of forgiveness of sins, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The city will be restored for all nations to see, and it will be called Yahweh Tsidkenu, “The LORD Our Righteousness.”

Tsidkenu stems from the Hebrew word tsedek, meaning “stiff,” “straight,” or “righteousness.”

It occurs more than 1000 times in the Old Testament, translated variously as “right,” “righteous,” “righteousness,” “just,” “justify,” “declared innocent.”

It appears here in Jeremiah chapter 33 as Yahweh Tsidkenu, “The LORD Our Righteousness,” or “The LORD Our Righteous Savior.”

In this prophecy of restoration, we catch a brief but an exceptionally promising glimpse of “a righteous Branch from David’s line,” one through whom we are justified, declared innocent, made right with God through a coming Messiah.

Knowing that Jesus is your righteousness, live righteously today and always.

Gatekeeping the Love of Jesus

Matthew 21:15-17 English Standard Version

¹⁵But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, ¹⁶and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,

“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”

¹⁷And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Just one day prior, Jesus had entered the city of Jerusalem on a donkey’s back and had been received with much acclaim. But not by everyone. The chief priests and Pharisees had no desire to welcome Jesus. They wanted Him dead.

Why?

Among other things, Jesus claimed to be “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6a, NLT).

The only path to God.

The religious leaders believed this to be blasphemous because the only path to God they knew was through keeping the Law. Jesus’ very existence threatened their authority and all the religious rules they loved to lord over other people.

Then we come to this day of Holy Week.

Jesus arrived at the temple and saw the outer courts filled with merchants selling sacrificial animals at prices only the wealthy could afford.

Even worse, because the outer courts were the only spaces where gentiles were allowed to enter and pray, all such opportunities for them to worship God were gone.

In His righteous anger, Jesus overturned the tables and drove the merchants out, declaring, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13, NLT).

Then we read:

“The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, ‘Praise God for the Son of David.’ But the leaders were indignant” (Matthew 21:14-15, NLT).

This moment in the temple was a visible representation of everything Jesus had come to do — tear down every barrier that exists between us and God so literally anyone could approach Him.

But even seeing the healing miracles Jesus performed, the leaders still didn’t get it.

Rather than bending to the authority of Jesus, they chose to continue in their way. They were gatekeeping the sacred for purposes of their profit and benefit.

It’s here I pause and reflect: Have I been guilty of gatekeeping Jesus? Deciding (whether consciously or not) whose righteousness, who is worthy of His love?

While I’ve never been accused of sacrifice price gouging, I wonder how many people I’ve written off as being “too far gone” for God to save them.

How often have I looked the other way instead of acting with compassion?

How many opportunities have I missed to remind someone they’re loved by the righteous God of the universe?

How many times have my words or actions unintentionally reconstructed the very barriers Jesus came to demolish?

How many times have yours?

How many times have we decided the righteousness of God is not enough and severely discounted, severely misrepresented God’s righteous love for us all?

May this day of Holy Week remind us the love of God is for everyone.

No gatekeeping required.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear Jesus,

We praise You for Your righteousness this Holy Monday. We could not be obedient to the law. We failed miserably. We could not even keep one command. However, You came, and in your faithfulness to Your Word and to us, You gave us new life and hope. As we reflect on Your anger that was perfect and righteous, help us to take our sin seriously. Enable us to be intentional to think about the ways that we have sinned against you by sins of omission and sins of commission.

We have not followed You. We have turned to our own fleshly ways. We have committed spiritual adultery against You as our Groom. Please forgive us. Please help us not to stay there. Give us the conviction by Your Spirit, the foundation of Your Word, and the support of community to propel us into lives that fully honor You. Help us to look more like You, Jesus. Thank You for turning the tables that day. For giving us an eternal reminder that You flip our legalism and our deceptions on the ground and everything is leveled by the cross. All have sinned and fall short of Your glory. All deserve death and hell. But You came in Your holiness, and Your righteousness became our own. Thank You for Your great mercy on us. Thank You for being righteous for us and then placing it upon all who believe in Your name. Amen.

Psalm 16 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.

A ^[a]Mikhtam of David.

16 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
^2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are ^[c]my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
³As for the ^[d]saints who are in the earth,
^[e]They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
⁴The ^[f]sorrows of those who have ^[g]bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.

⁵The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
⁶The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

⁷I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my ^[h]mind instructs me in the night.
⁸I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
⁹Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
¹⁰For You will not abandon my soul to ^[i]Sheol;
Nor will You ^[j]allow Your ^[k]Holy One to ^[l]undergo decay.
¹¹You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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My Sacrifice for Today: A Prayer in Awe of Exactly Who Jesus Is This Palm Sunday. Hebrews 13:13-15

Hebrews 13:13-15 The Message

^13-15So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Life has a way of numbing us to wonder.

The weight of our “getting every little thing ready for Easter” to-do lists, the responsibilities that we carry, and the uncertainties around us can crowd our vision – they can, and do, suck all the emotional and spiritual wind out of us.

Leaving us physically, spiritually worn out, without anything to be in awe of.

Palm Sunday is an invitation.

A chance for us to wipe the fog out of our eyes, clear our vision.

To set aside the mundane and the urgent.

A chance to fix our eyes on Jesus, marvel once again at the wonder of the cross.

Hebrews 13:13-15 Easy-to-Read Version

¹³So we should go to Jesus outside the camp and accept the same shame that he had. ¹⁴Here on earth we don’t have a city that lasts forever. But we are waiting for the city that we will have in the future. ¹⁵So through Jesus we should never stop offering our sacrifice to God. That sacrifice is our praise, coming from lips that speak his name.

Don’t miss this chance to reflect and refresh, really ponder the sacrifices made.

Don’t let the preparations, the celebrations, the family obligations, and religion distract from the deep darkness, and simple beauty that we are called to behold.

This day is a monument of the most important sacrifice made in the history of the world. Our God turned man gave himself over to the pain of being tortured, then gave himself over to death with one goal in mind; that we might be saved.

Who could imagine a God who holds all power of creation, all the power of love, of life and of death and life, to suffer on our behalf because he cares for us?

Why were we not utterly doomed the second we decided we did not need to trust our God (Genesis 3)?

After this ultimate betrayal by Adam and Eve, God had every single right to destroy his creatures and leave us to our own desires and our dismal fate.

Why did God enter the Garden at all knowing he had been totally betrayed?

Yet, He did come to the Garden, He did come searching, and He called to us!

We are undeserving of such love.

But in all of the rushing around, all the preparation and the doing, we forget.

We forget that we serve an abundantly good God.

Just the breath in our lungs we have been given today is a dispensation of grace.

Nothing we do can be sustained through us alone.

All things are made and given life through him (John 1:1-5).

John 1:1-5 Easy-to-Read Version

Christ Comes to the World

1 Before the world began, the Word^[a] was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was there with God in the beginning. ³Everything was made through him, and nothing was made without him. ⁴In him there was life, and that life was a light for the people of the world. ⁵The light^[b] shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated^[c] it.

The only appropriate response to such power, beauty, sacrifice, goodness, and grace is praise!

Only a heart full of pride would refuse to acknowledge the name that is above all names (Philippians 2:5-11).

Philippians 2:5-11 Easy-to-Read Version

Learn From Christ to Be Unselfish

⁵In your life together, think the way Christ Jesus thought.

⁶He was like God in every way,
    but he did not think that his being equal with God was something to use for his own benefit.
⁷Instead, he gave up everything, even his place with God.
    He accepted the role of a servant, appearing in human form.
During his life as a man,
⁸    he humbled himself by being fully obedient to God,
    even when that caused his death—death on a cross.
⁹So God raised him up to the most important place
    and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.
¹⁰God did this so that every person will bow down to honor the name of Jesus.
    Everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will bow.
¹¹They will all confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord,”
    and this will bring glory to God the Father.

This Palm Sunday, let’s try to set aside our agenda, our pride, and our self-reliance and lift up a sacrifice of praise to God, who by his immeasurable wisdom sent his Son Jesus in our stead so that we would not perish but be offered a grandest of all invitations into God’s forever family (John 3:16).

While we may not understand all of God’s ways because his ways are higher (Isaiah 55:8-11) we can trust that Jesus loves us.

Isaiah 55:8-11 Easy-to-Read Version

People Cannot Understand God

⁸The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours.
    Your ways are not like mine.
⁹Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways,
    and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

¹⁰“Rain and snow fall from the sky
    and don’t return until they have watered the ground.
Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow,
    and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat.
¹¹In the same way, my words leave my mouth,
    and they don’t come back without results.
My words make the things happen that I want to happen.
    They succeed in doing what I send them to do.

Ephesians 1:18-23 tells us that Jesus came so we could inherit with him the same power that raised him from the dead and seated him at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 1:18-23 Easy-to-Read Version

¹⁸I pray that God will open your minds to see his truth. Then you will know the hope that he has chosen us to have. You will know that the blessings God has promised his holy people are rich and glorious. ¹⁹And you will know that God’s power is very great for us who believe. It is the same as the mighty power ²⁰he used to raise Christ from death and put him at his right side in the heavenly places. ²¹He put Christ over all rulers, authorities, powers, and kings. He gave him authority over everything that has power in this world or in the next world. ²²God put everything under Christ’s power and made him head over everything for the church. ²³The church is Christ’s body. It is filled with him. He makes everything complete in every way.

This reality, along with our purchased salvation, should bring us to our knees.

Let us embrace a “change of pace” a holy interruption this Palm Sunday, filling our hearts and our souls with awe for the one who paid it all so we could be free.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 20 Easy-to-Read Version

To the director: A song of David.

20 May the Lord answer you in times of trouble.
    May the God of Jacob protect you.
²May he send you help from his Holy Place.
    May he support you from Zion.
³May he remember all the gifts you have offered.
    May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah
⁴May he give you what you really want.
    May he make all your plans successful.
⁵We will celebrate when he helps you.
    We will praise the name of God.
May the Lord give you everything you ask for.

⁶Now I know the Lord helps his chosen king.
    From his holy heaven he answered.
    With his great power he saved him.
⁷Some give the credit for victory to their chariots and soldiers,
    but we honor the Lord our God.
⁸They fall in battle, totally defeated,
    but we survive and stand strong!

⁹Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call to you for help.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26

Matthew 16:24-27 New American Standard Bible 1995

Discipleship Is Costly

²⁴Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ²⁵For whoever wishes to save his ^[a]life will lose it; but whoever loses his ^[b]life for My sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then ^[c]repay every man according to his ^[d]deeds.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Peter had extraordinarily strong emotional ties to Jesus.

How could Jesus even talk of leaving and dying?

Didn’t Jesus know that Peter needed him?

Peter pulled Jesus aside because Jesus wasn’t talking like someone who had the world by a string.

But Jesus saw the world differently.

Losing life for the Lord’s sake was better than holding on to life in this world.

Peter needed a hardcore verbal slap in the face.

Jesus saw what Peter could not see: Satan was standing in Jesus’ way to bring Peter to the Father.

Like a cold glass of water thrown in the face of a sleepy person, Jesus had to rigorously, vigorously awaken Peter to kingdom things.

Peter was holding on to his life too hard without suffering for Jesus’ sake.

The cross was the only way to bring Peter to God.

By letting go of his life, Jesus gains for us eternal life.

Jesus was training Peter to lose his life for Jesus so that Peter could have a life that really honored God.

What are you, your heart and your soul holding on to for your own sake?

Maybe it’s time to give permission to your heart and your soul to finally let go of your worldly life so that Jesus can give you a true life that truly honors God?

Markers of Spiritual Growth and Maturity

Psalm 15 New American Standard Bible 1995

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

15 O Lord, who may ^[a]abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
²He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.
³He does not slander ^[b]with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
⁴In ^[c]whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But ^[d]who honors those who fear the Lord;
He swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵He does not put out his money ^[e]at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

You would think the desire of every believer in Jesus Christ is to strive for spiritual maturity.

I can’t say for certain this is true of every believer, but at least I can hope.

If you are going to strive for maturity – and I trust this is your desire – doesn’t it make sense to know what it looks like?

After all, the old saying goes, “if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time.”

For this reason, I want to suggest for you a target.

The target is simply five questions that will help measure how you are doing in terms of your spiritual maturity.

These questions are in no manner meant to be judgmental, but hopefully they will become stirring, eye-opening as we seek to continue to grow as believers.

What Does Mature Mean?

Philippians 3:15-16 New International Version

Following Paul’s Example

¹⁵All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

The word for mature here means complete in all its parts, full grown, of full age, or fully developed. The reference here is connected to the development of your Christian character. Looking at verse 15 closer leads to the first question.

1. Do You Have the Right Perspective in Life?

Spiritual maturity is about having the right perspective in life, and the way you think is evidence of your maturity in Christ.

Your outlook regarding the situations in life you face speak volumes as to whether you are approaching them from a place of maturity or immaturity.

However, it is not just about looking at life situations with the right mindset.

You must also view yourself from the right perspective.

This requires you to not just think about what you do, but who you are in Christ.

Too often in life we have the tendency to define ourselves by what we do.

It is very common to ask someone, especially when you first meet them, “What do you do for a living?”

While this is a good conversation starter, sometimes we can’t get past defining the conversation or ourselves in this fashion.

If you are going to have a mature perspective, you need to define yourself not simply by what you do, because that can change.

You need to define yourself by who you are in Christ, because that doesn’t change.

This doesn’t mean you have achieved all you are in Christ, but it does mean you are striving toward it.

The more you begin to see yourself and begin to define yourself the way God sees you, the more maturity you are developing.

2. Are You Holding on to the Progress You Have Already Made?

Philippians 3:15-16 New Living Translation

¹⁵Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. ¹⁶But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.

This question comes from Philippians 3:16, “Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”

Another measure of your maturity focuses on not just how you have developed in the past, but how you will continue to develop in the future.

Spiritual maturity is about learning and continuing to learn.

Growing and continuing to grow.

In other words, there is always going to be more maturity ahead of you.

If the ultimate goal is to be conformed into the image of Christ, we all have a long way to go.

That’s why in this life we are always striving but never arriving.

Maturity recognizes the progress you have made, holds onto it, and at the same time strives to continue forward.

3. Who Are You Choosing to Follow?

Philippians 3:17-18 New Living Translation

¹⁷Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. ¹⁸For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.

Paul gives an interesting instruction in verse 17.

I am not sure how often we think about this, but the people you choose to follow point to your level of spiritual maturity.

Who you choose to look up to as a role model or example to follow speaks volumes to how you are developing in your walk with Christ.

Paul encouraged the Philippians to follow his example and the example of others that live like he does.

This forces me to ask you the question, who are the people you are following?

The measure of the role model is not what they say, but how they live.

In short, their character absolutely matters.

To take it a step further, a person’s title or position does not automatically deem them worthy of being an example or a role model.

However, their character does.

Be careful who you choose to follow and make sure you consider those who truly display godly character.

If you are spiritually mature, you will stop making excuses for people’s lack of character and start holding them accountable for it.

This is real evidence of spiritual maturity.

4. How Do You Spend Your Time and Where Do You Devote Your Focus?

Philippians 3:20-21 New Living Translation

²⁰But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. ²¹He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

You might be wondering what this has to do with spiritual maturity.

Quite possibly this could have everything to do with it.

Because as a believer you are a citizen of heaven, this means you have a sacred duty, a moral and an ethical obligation to the place where your citizenship lies.

When an Olympic athlete competes, they represent their country of citizenship.

They usually count this as an honor and for this reason they train hard because they always want to give their absolute best effort and do their country proud.

We are citizens of heaven, which means when we go out into the world and live, we represent heaven, and we too always need to ensure we are giving our best effort so that we can give all glory and honor unto God as His representative.

2 Corinthians 5:12-21 New Living Translation

¹²Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us,^[a] so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. ¹³If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. ¹⁴Either way, Christ’s love controls us.^[b] Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.^[c] ¹⁵He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

¹⁶So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! ¹⁷This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

¹⁸And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. ¹⁹For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. ²⁰So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” ²¹For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,^[d] so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

For all of this to happen you must make sure that you are not getting entangled in earthly pursuits that only distract you from what God has called you to do.

In the time God has given us on this earth he has a purpose and plan for our life.

This means you must be selective in what you put your energy behind and make sure your goals, desires, and whatever you choose to pursue align with heaven’s goals and desires for your life.

The more you mature, the more you can make sure this becomes your primary focus, allowing you to block out all those other things that can distract you.

As you measure your maturity, consider closely how you will spend your time and what you focus on.

These two things will be big clues as to whether you are operating in spiritual maturity or not.

5. Do You Contend for the Unity of the Body of Christ?

Philippians 4:1-3 New International Version

Closing Appeal for Steadfastness and Unity

4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

²I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

When Paul was writing his letter to the church in Philippi, there was one bad situation he had to address.

There seemed to be a disagreement between two of the women in the church.

These women were prominent in the church, which is why their disagreement was causing a problem.

These women were considered dear friends, companions, women who contended with Paul for the cause of the gospel.

He called them co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Paul pleaded with them for unity.

Currently the church is filled with many disputes and divisions of various kinds, but where do you stand? Are you contending for the unity of the body of Christ?

This was not only Paul’s plea, this was also Jesus’ prayer (John 17:21), so this is not something to be brushed aside or taken lightly.

A person who is fighting and contending for the unity of the body of Christ is operating in spiritual maturity.

However, if a person is always divisive, destructive, or disagreeable, then they are not operating with God’s heart in mind and are clearly spiritually immature.

All I can say is please don’t be that person.

Concluding Thoughts – Spiritual Growth and Maturity

Matthew 5:13-16 New American Standard Bible 1995

Disciples and the World

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how ^[a]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city set on a ^[b]hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a ^[c]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

As I bring this to a close, how did you do with those questions?

Remember this is not about judgment but about trying to help us all become more mature in our walk with Jesus Christ.

My prayer is that the cry of our hearts would always be in this direction.

When it is, we are aligning with God’s desire and hopefully always growing and continuously imitating Christ, becoming the mature believers he wants us to be.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 24 New American Standard Bible 1995

The King of Glory Entering Zion.

A Psalm of David.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Moving Towards Spiritual Growth And Maturity. Philippians 3:15-21

Philippians 3:15-21 New International Version

Following Paul’s Example

¹⁷Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. ¹⁸For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. ²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

This devotion seeks to explore how we hope to live out Christian maturity, to imitate Christ, and influence others towards righteousness, by establishing a character deeply rooted in God’s truth and love.

Today, we’re going to turn our hearts and minds to the inspiring words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:15-21.

This passage brims with wisdom, with challenges, with the Apostle’s heartfelt plea for us to imitate maturity through Christ, to manifest the message of the cross, and to motivate others towards righteousness.

But how do we do this? How do we live out these lofty ideals in our day-to-day lives? How do we align our actions with our beliefs, our hearts with our words?

Charles Spurgeon, the great British preacher and theologian, once said, “A good character when established is not easily overthrown.”

This is the essence of our pursuit – a character thoroughly established in Christ, unshakeable, and unwavering, rooted in the firm foundation of God’s truth and love.

Mimicking Maturity through Christ

In the passage we’ve read, Paul urges us to think as mature believers.

But what does it mean to be mature in Christ?

It’s not about age or experience.

It’s about a connected, deep, intimate relationship with Jesus, a relationship that transforms us from the inside out.

It’s about allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us, molding, shaping us into the image of Christ. It’s about growing in His wisdom, in understanding, in love.

James 1:4-6 New International Version

⁴Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

When we look at Jesus, we see the perfect example of maturity.

He was fully God, yet He chose to become fully human, to live among us, to experience our struggles, our pains, our joys.

He showed us what it means to actually love unconditionally, to forgive without limit, to serve without expecting anything in return.

Mark 10:35-45 New International Version

The Request of James and John

³⁵Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

³⁸“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

³⁹“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, ⁴⁰but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

⁴¹When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴²Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Paul calls us to imitate this kind of maturity.

He’s not asking us to put on a show, to pretend to be something we’re not.

He’s asking us to genuinely strive to be like Christ, let His character become our character, His values become our values, His priorities become our priorities.

This requires effort, discipline, and perseverance. (James 1:4)

It requires us to constantly examine our hearts, our motives, our actions.

Psalm 139:23-24 New International Version

²³Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

But the reward is worth it.

As we grow in maturity, we experience a deeper, richer relationship with God.

We experience a greater sense of peace, joy, fulfillment.

But how do we imitate Christ’s maturity?

How do we grow in our relationship with Him?

Moving Towards Spiritual Maturity

First, we need to spend time with Him.

Just as we can’t become close friends with someone without spending time with them, we cannot become mature believers without spending time with Jesus.

We need to read His Word, to pray, to worship, to meditate on His truths.

We need to listen to His voice, to seek His face, to bask in His presence.

Second, we need to obey His commands.

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.”

Matthew 22:34-40 New International Version

The Greatest Commandment

³⁴Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[a] ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Obedience is not a burden, but a joy.

It’s not a duty, but a privilege.

It’s not a way to earn God’s love, but a response to His love.

As we obey Jesus, we show our love for Him.

We show our trust in Him.

We show our desire to please Him.

Third, we need to serve others. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve.

He washed His disciples’ feet, a task reserved for the lowest servant.

He fed the hungry, healed the sick, comforted the brokenhearted. He loved the unlovable, forgave the unforgivable, welcomed the unwelcome. As we serve others, we follow Jesus’ example. We show His love, His compassion, His grace.

Fourth, we need to share the gospel. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

Luke 19:1-10 New International Version

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ²A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

⁵When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

⁷All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

⁹Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

He spent His earthly life proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom, calling people to relationship, repentance, offering forgiveness, promising eternal life.

He commissioned His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations.

Matthew 28:16-20 New International Version

The Great Commission

¹⁶Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

As we share the gospel, we fulfill Jesus’ commission.

We extend His invitation.

We bring hope to the hopeless, light to the darkness, life to the dead.

Romans 15:1-13 New International Version

15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ²Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. ³For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”^[a] ⁴For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

⁵May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. ⁸For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews^[b] on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed ⁹and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.”^[c]

¹⁰Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”^[d]

¹¹And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.”^[e]

¹²And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”^[f]

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Remember, mimicking growth, maturity through Christ is not about perfection.

It’s about progress.

It’s about moving forward, step by step, day by day.

It’s about growing, changing, transforming.

It’s about becoming more and more like Jesus, until one day, we see Him face to face, and we become like Him, perfectly mature, perfectly whole, perfectly His.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 15 New American Standard Bible 1995

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Being Prosperous: The Business of Easily Shipwrecking Your Own Faith. 1 Timothy 1:18-20

1 Timothy 1:18-20 New Living Translation

Timothy’s Responsibility

¹⁸Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles. ¹⁹Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. ²⁰Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

To experience an actual shipwreck would be one of the scariest experiences a person could go through.

When we hear of diverse ships being stranded at sea, starting to sink, or having mechanical issues, we hold our breaths deeply until people are safely rescued.

Psalm 107:23-32 New Living Translation

²³Some went off to sea in ships,
    plying the trade routes of the world.
²⁴They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action,
    his impressive works on the deepest seas.
²⁵He spoke, and the winds rose,
    stirring up the waves.
²⁶Their ships were tossed to the heavens
    and plunged again to the depths;
    the sailors cringed in terror.
²⁷They reeled and staggered like drunkards
    and were at their wits’ end.
²⁸“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
²⁹He calmed the storm to a whisper
    and stilled the waves.
³⁰What a blessing was that stillness
    as he brought them safely into harbor!
³¹Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
³²Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation
    and before the leaders of the nation.

The apostle Paul knew very well the first hand experience of being shipwrecked probably better than anyone.

“Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea…” (2 Corinthians 11:25 NIV)

Three times he was shipwrecked!

And yet, he survived to tell the story.

While most of us can only imagine such an ordeal, I’m afraid others of us may end up going through something just as terrible—the shipwreck of faith.

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. – (Hebrews 6:4-6 NKJV)

Drifting away from our relationship with Jesus is a very serious situation that requires serious action.

We are in constant danger of reaching a place, in the open sea of life, where we will completely abandon our faith and outright reject the Lord.

There is an interesting line, in 1 Timothy 1:20, that mentions a couple of men by the names of Hymenaeus and Alexander—men to whom Paul “handed over to Satan.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but I never want to be “handed over” to Satan!

The context of the passage is that Paul recognized two grave things that these men had allowed to happen—two things that basically shipwrecked their faith.

When Paul warned Timothy to “fight the good fight with faith and a good conscience,” he was outlining two necessary things for the Christian walk.

Unfortunately, Hymenaeus and Alexander had rejected these and been expelled from Paul’s leadership in order that they would learn a hard lesson.

Following the example of these men, here are 2 ways to shipwreck your faith:

1. Reject

In a world where everyone is encouraged to embrace “whatever feels right,” there is an extreme danger of being mislead toward ideas that are contrary to the Scriptures.

These ideas plague our culture, our homes, and even our churches.

Eventually, they may lead a person to outright reject faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” (Luke 10:16 NKJV)

Belief and the acceptance of Jesus as the only true God is foundational to the Christian faith.

Any other ideas that try to distort this truth are ideas that can lead to shipwreck.

It is crucial to our faith we trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross and not try to add or take away from it.

2. Ignore

When our conscience becomes hardened to the point that we no longer hear or heed the voice of the Holy Spirit, our faith becomes like a splintered ship, tossed against the rocky shore, useless and abandoned.

The Holy Spirit’s role is “God in us.”

When we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, His Spirit comes to reside.

John 14:23-26 New Living Translation

²³Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. ²⁴Anyone who does not love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. ²⁵I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. ²⁶But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

He guards, guides, and directs us in the way we should go.

Without His navigation, our faith will surely be shipwrecked. It is of utmost importance that we remain in step with Him and listen to His still, small voice.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25 NKJV)

Paul’s charge to his protégé Timothy was to remain strong in the battle, steady on the open seas, and faithful in the Lord.

He knew that temptations would come—temptations to reject and ignore the only God and Savior, thereby risking the shipwreck of his faith.

For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. (1Timothy 4:10 NKJV)

Is your faith strong?

Is your faith battling a raging category 5 storm all around you? (Mark 4:35-41)

Is your faith taking, hit an iceberg on the water and is sinking like the Titanic?

Is your faith already sunk to the very deepest depths of the very deepest oceans?

Psalm 38:8 New American Standard Bible 1995

⁸I am benumbed and ^[a]badly crushed;
I ^[b]groan because of the ^[c]agitation of my heart.

Psalm 143:3 New American Standard Bible 1995

³For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.

Do you believe you place 100% of your trust in your God?

Consider well all the scars you privately carry where only God can find them.

What triggers those scars to come to the forefront of your heart and soul?

How fast are you triggered?

How fast do you lose focus?

Now, about how you uncharacteristically act out in response to those moments?

Then why does your faith teeter on the very brink of being shipwrecked by any crisis as Job’s wife did when she commanded of her husband to “curse God?”

Job 2:9 New American Standard Bible 1995

⁹Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”

I have seen so many, too many, Christians that let the worlds circumstances continually beat them down, pound their souls, destroy their faith in the Lord. (Listen to the deep depths of emotion of the captives coming from Psalm 137)

Even in such times, the bible tells us that God is there through it ALL! not some.

Psalm 34:18 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁸The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are ^[a]crushed in spirit.

Authentically, Realistically, consider how fragile your faith in God actually is!

Job 1:4-5 New American Standard Bible 1995

⁴His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Today’s prayer is that we would continually assess the fragility of our faith, always trust in the Lord no matter what the circumstance is………Be Blessed!

Proverbs 3:5-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
⁸It will be healing to your ^[a]body
And refreshment to your bones.

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart!

Lean not on your own understanding!

In all your ways acknowledge Him!

Do not be wise in your own eyes!

(Reverently) Fear the Lord and turn away from evil!

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new 2 Corinthians 5:17.

He will make your paths straight!

It will be healing to your bodies!

It will be healing to your souls!

It will be refreshment to your bones!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd,
I ^[a]shall not want.
²He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside ^[b]quiet waters.
³He restores my soul;
He guides me in the ^[c]paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴Even though I walk through the ^[d]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no ^[e]evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You ^[f]have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
^6 [g]Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will ^[h]dwell in the house of the Lord ^[i]forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Responding to Hard Circumstances: A God-Centered vs. A Man-Centered Perspective. Matthew 16:21-23

Matthew 16:21-23 New International Version

Jesus Predicts His Death

²¹From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Hard circumstances surround us about as much as air.

From a flat tire on a rainy day, to opposition from friends, to family scuffles, to grave illness, and more, we will not remain insulated from difficulty.

And our responding to the inevitable can make all the difference.

On one end, we can, by God’s grace, respond with God at the center so as to honor him.

On the other, we can respond with self at the center so as to send ourselves into a whirlpool of error and anger.

None of it is easy.

At times, we can get into patterns where unbiblical responding becomes second nature (or first).

If you have struggled like I have to maintain a God-centered perspective in struggles, you may need a biblical mirror held up to help facilitate change.

Here are a few adjustments we might need to make in our perspective as difficulty hits:

Instead of thinking, “My circumstances are overwhelming,” I should think, “God’s grace will be sufficient for me in these circumstances.”

“And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

If the first thing that hits us in difficulty is the magnitude of the situation’s overwhelming-ness, I may have a lower than required view of Almighty God.

Even more, I might have a nearsighted view of his sustaining grace.

Rather than asking, “Why can’t these difficult people love me more?”, I should ask, “How is God loving me right now?”

“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6).

Becoming a Christian is an incredible thing.

The moment we bow the knee in faith to Jesus Christ, God the Father considers his wrath towards us quenched at the cross.

From then on, God perpetually deals with us as children (Hebrews 12:5-8).

That includes hard stuff.

God loves his children so much, that he will see to it that they are continually shaped through his loving discipline.

Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with these people and circumstances?,” I could ask, “What’s wrong with my thinking about God?”

“You thought that I was just like you” (Psalm 50:21).

For better or worse, our idea of God influences all we think and do.

This is especially true in hard circumstances.

A different theology than what we profess may become clear in our less noble moments.

If I find myself chafing under difficulty, that could mean that, in those moments, my concept of God is something like a divine butler who should deliver my demands upon request.

Rather than identifying how an individual is offensive to me, I should identify what about me is offensive to God.

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

Turning the spiritual mirror towards myself can quickly strangle the flesh in struggle.

It’s a complete perspective change in my responding; from an external focus to internal; from fleshly to spiritual; from hypocrisy to repentance.

It’s a change from looking for utopian circumstances to becoming more like Christ. It’s a shift from a man-centered to a God-centered mindset.

Instead of asking, “Why does so-and-so need to make this difficult for me?”, I should ask, “How is God conforming me to Christ through this difficulty?”

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:28-29).

Often the reason we respond wrongly to struggles is because we have an anemic understanding of biblical sanctification.

We fail to grasp how lofty, comprehensive God’s transforming plans are for us.

For the believer, everything between regeneration and glorification is about doxological sanctification.

Whether a disagreement with a family member or the apostasy of a friend, let us always ask, “How does God want to make me more like Christ through this?”

Rather than asking, “What do I want to be different about this situation?”, I should ask, “What about my wants needs to be different?”

“What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?” (James. 4:1).

What we easily forget is that conflict and struggles are big opportunities.

Though not easy, they are God-given occasions to reveal previously hard-to-see corners of our hearts.

Why is that an opportunity?

Because I am often blind to those deeper sins of motivation.

So, in hard situations I should be asking questions about my heart and its lusts; my sinful ruling desires; my object of worship in those moments.

What wants need mortifying?

Instead of thinking, “Whose counsel can I seek to support what I want?” I should ask, “What godly leaders in my life should I consult about this?”

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you” (Hebrews. 13:17).

Counsel shopping is a favorite pastime of the erring human race.

Especially when it comes to trials, I can justify selectively searching for input.

But God’s word is clear.

Biblically qualified church leaders are put in place to guide the souls of the saints.

Their calling to faithfulness over expedience proves valuable for us in these times.

Rather than asking, “Why are these people and circumstances often so difficult?”, we should ask, “Why am I often responding with grumbling and unthankfulness to difficulty?”

“[I]n everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

This is not advocating an empty, directionless gratitude in difficulty for self-actualization purposes.

Rather, it is a God-glorifying recognition of his goodness and worth in all things.

Reasons always exist to thank God.

Instead of fixating on why someone is doing what they are doing, I should fixate on the sovereignty of my good God over the circumstances.

“In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider— God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him” (Ecclesiastes 7:14).

When we frequently flare up at man in struggles, there’s a chance that we are failing to see the grander truth of God’s sovereignty in it. We are functional atheists, seeing things far more through the lens our wants than God’s glory.

Instead of thinking, “My idea of what could be done here would be so much better,” we could think, “In what way am I thinking that I know better than God on how to execute his sovereign plan for the world?”

“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it” (Job 40:2).

It’s one thing to affirm the sovereignty of God.

It’s quite another to practice it when difficulty hits by trusting him.

We have to ask ourselves if, even inadvertently, we might be proposing to God that his sovereign plan is sub-par compared to our own.

In some sense, that is what we are saying with every act of complaining.

We could be enacting a brief coup d’état on God.

Rather than asking, “How can I escape this situation and make it easier for me?”, we ought to ask, “What opportunities is God giving me to serve others in this?”

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

During difficulty, nothing is easier than planning our escape.

Our energy and planning easily go there.

But, a soul-shift may be needed.

Perhaps in our modern-day convenience mentality, we assume that God’s green light to serve others is only when it perfectly fits into our schedule.

However, during his days of utter difficulty, Christ maintained his impeccable servant demeanor.

It’s not that his struggles came and then he responded with, “Ok, I will settle for serving people in this.”

Instead, his difficulties were the very platforms for serving others, and all the way to the cross.

Instead of looking for a way out of inconvenient situations, I could look for ways to submit to my loving Lord.

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

There is nothing wrong with wanting a trial to end.

But if our heart demeanor is always in “make-this-easier-for-me” mode, then we are worshiping an idol – we are opposing His Majesty’s lordship.

Christ demonstrated this immaculately.

His earthly ministry was fundamentally one of God-pleasing submission (Matthew 26:42).

While there will likely be deep excruciating situations in which we will have to submit to God, at no time will we have to submit to the degree that Christ did in the work of our redemption.

Rather than looking for that ideal situation built around my wants I should look to please and glorify God regardless of my wants.

“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).

This is the heart of worship.

Regardless of external circumstances, we resolve internally to fear God.

At the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that I am not God and he deserves my worship.

Rather than worrying about who is against me, I can rest that the Chief Shepherd walks with me.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

His Majesty does not carelessly send me into struggles.

He is compassionately leading me through them as he walks with me.

Few circumstances reveal our need for a deeper God-centered perspective than struggles.

By his grace, we can re-align our worship by seeking to respond to them in a way with God and his purposes at the center.

In doing so, we will be comforted by God’s redemptive purposes in our circumstances.

Though we don’t know all the reasons for the battles, we do know that God loves his children so much, that he will never settle for blessing them with anything less than conformity to Jesus Christ until glory.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 New International Version

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³    he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Why Your Life 100% Matters to God! Luke 8:43-48

Luke 8:43-48New American Standard Bible 1995

⁴³And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His ^[a]cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. ⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the ^[b]people are crowding and pressing in on You.” ⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.” ⁴⁷When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has ^[c]made you well; go in peace.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Our world can feel mighty big.

There are billions of humans with a unique story covering this planet.

It’s easy to feel that we are insignificant when we compare ourselves to others.

The length, breadth and depth of social media has grown this idea that I can’t compare myself to others; I’m not good enough, talented enough, rich enough, successful enough, fit enough, a good enough parent, cook, and on the list goes!

From a young age, we are inundated, socialized, with unrealistic images of perfection perpetuating the idea that we should bow out before we even begin because overall its about equality, we have nothing unique to offer our world.

This goes socially constructed image of equality is entirely against the message of the Gospel, and it is a lie the evil one uses to take us out of the game of life.

Each and every life is unique and absolutely and uniquely matters to God.

We are all ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ as his Word tells us (Psalm 139:14).

You are profoundly important not because of what you can do but because of who you are! You are a one of kind child of God (John 1:12-13).

The world wants us to believe that production equals value, but God’s economy is entirely different.

God says identity defines our worth; the best news is that, thankfully, as his Creation, our identity is secure!

Why and How He Healed

Luke 8:43-48 The Message

^43-45In the crowd that day there was a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with hemorrhages. She had spent every penny she had on doctors but not one had been able to help her. She slipped in from behind and touched the edge of Jesus’ robe. At that very moment her hemorrhaging stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?”

When no one stepped forward, Peter said, “But Master, we’ve got crowds of people on our hands. Dozens have touched you.”

⁴⁶Jesus insisted, “Someone touched me. I felt power discharging from me.”

⁴⁷When the woman realized that she couldn’t remain hidden, she knelt trembling before him. In front of all the people, she blurted out her story—why she touched him and how at that same moment she was healed.

⁴⁸Jesus said, “Daughter, you took a risk trusting me, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed!”

When Jesus came to live among us, he brought healing.

The woman we read about today is an example of that healing power. She risked everything, it was her only option left, touched Jesus and was instantly healed.

Jesus turned around and asked who had touched him.

He had felt healing power go out from him.

The woman came forward trembling, and “in the presence of all the people, she told why she had risked everything touched him and how she had been instantly healed.” She testified to her unrelenting trust and the healing power of Christ.

If you are a Christian, you too know what it means to have trust, you too know that even though you did not touch Him you been healed by Christ in some way.

Even if you haven’t been healed physically, you have been healed spiritually.

The Bible tells us that at one time we were all dead in sin and blind to the truth of God.

As the hymn Amazing Grace states, “I once … was blind but now I see.”

We were all spiritually blind without Christ.

But he touched, healed, the eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:18) so we can see.

Christ also calls all of us who are Christians to give testimony to his healing power in our lives.

That isn’t always easy.

Who is it nowadays who testifies to anything but how horrible the world is?

We may be ashamed or embarrassed by the sins and character flaws that infected our hearts before Christ healed us.

But without pointing to what was wrong with us, we can’t point to his greatness and healing power.

Who is it who brings their testimony of all the ways God has always been there for them, who brings their stories of the miracles they have witnessed God do?

God calls us to live as a living sacrifice to him (Romans 12:1), which means we don’t have to offer him perfection – we just have to be faithful and hopeful too.

We just have to make ourselves available to him.

Thank God perfection is not a qualifier for him to work!

We’d all be doomed, most of all me. My sin haunts me, but God’s grace covers me.

It’s a miraculous cycle that humbly keeps me on my knees, constantly thanking God that he can do great things with what little bit of perfection I have to offer.

You matter more than you could ever imagine to your Father God.

1. We Know We Matter Because Jesus Died for Us

What would you die for?

To save your car?

Your kids’ toys?

For the ants?

Most likely, you would not die for those things because they don’t matter enough to give your life for.

We die for things that matter, or we would deem our death to be in vain.

That list gets even shorter when we consider giving up our child to die on behalf of another.

Do we believe that Jesus died in vain?

That his death lacks purpose because we are inconsequential?

When we doubt our worth, we doubt God’s Word and the work that he did on the cross.

John 3:16 clearly tells us that God so loved us that he gave his Son so we would live eternally with Him!

The cross is a mystery.

How death, in this case, means life for me is something I continuously struggle to fully comprehend, but I do know that death is not something any living thing approaches flippantly.

Death is scary.

It’s final.

It entails suffering and loss.

It’s meaningful and serious.

While I don’t understand all of how God works, I know that giving your life for someone else is the ultimate love act here on Earth.

We can rest assured that God made us to love us because he engaged in the ultimate act of love by sacrificing himself on the cross.

John 15:13-16 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹³Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are My friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

2. We Know We Matter Because God Tells Us He Has Plans For Us

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite verses.

It tells us clearly that God has planned a hope-filled future for us!

He desires to see us prosper!

Psalm 27:13 tells us that we can expect to see God’s goodness here in the land of the living.

Matthew 6:10 declares God wants to bring Heaven down to Earth through us!

All of these Scriptures and so many more shout the truth that God has good plans for his Creation.

Unfortunately, because of the power of sin that has infiltrated the Earth, we must choose to partner with God in order to see his goodness unfold in our lives for his glory, but the invitation to enjoy his goodness now extends to everyone.

Once we are his, nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:31).

Don’t let shame, past mistakes, or self-doubt take you out of God’s plan for your life.

None of those things are too great for God to overcome!

He is able to do more than we could ask, think, or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

It’s pride that says we are too broken to be used. God is able! He has a plan for you. Trust him and watch him work miracles in your life over and over again.

3. We Know We Matter Because We Are All a Part of the Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 explains that we are each a part of the body of Christ.

We all have a unique role to play that complement each other.

We are called to work in unity through the Spirit.

Just as we all have different roles, no role is less valuable!

My work as a stay-at-home husband can feel insignificant, but if I was not faithful to serve my wife and my stepson, then how would their God-ordained futures be impacted?

My wife worked in preschool with four and five year old’s for over thirty years.

While this job may not feel as holy as being a clergy or a judge or an airline pilot, if she did not rely on the Spirit to guide her at work, she would have missed out on the wholly unique chance to be a light to her young students, co-workers.

Our job is to be faithful and obedient to the call of God in our lives.

Success in any specific terms is God’s job and is out of our hands.

Remember, you matter because of who you are, not what you do.

Even if you stay home alone and do nothing all day, you matter to God because you are his.

You may get bored and repeatedly miss out on your potential, but you are still inherently valuable because you were created in the image of God, born out of his great love for us.

John 1:11-13 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹¹He came to His ^[a]own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. ¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, ¹³who were ^[b]born, not of ^[c]blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

No role is too small because your just being is the gift.

Your presence is what God and those who love you long for.

As a husband, I am constantly baffled at how much my wife just want me to be around me.

It doesn’t even matter if I’m impatient or overwhelmed; she still wants to be with me as my wife.

When we are hurting at night, trying to go to bed in the dark, one thing that offers us comfort is just two of us sitting and snuggling in our room together.

Our safety or sleep conditions haven’t actually changed, but our being there together, looking at and hugging each other changes everything for us both.

That’s how it works with God.

Our being there, our remaining together, our loving each other together, for each other together with God, husband and wife absolutely changes everything.

He made you because he wants to be together with you and so to know you, me.

Just existing as his children is enough.

What is the lesson of Luke 8 48?

Jesus himself lets her know that her faith is the reason she is healed; she is not as helpless or hopeless or faithless, untouchable too as she may have thought.

Even more, her peace with God is restored.

This is the only time in Scripture where Jesus calls a woman His daughter.

The word connotes a familiarity she could never would have imagined.

The absolute truth of the Gospel is that everyone absolutely matters to God!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 8 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord’s Glory and Man’s Dignity.

For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.

8 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have ^[a]displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
²From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established ^[b]strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

³When I ^[c]consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ^[d]ordained;
⁴What is man that You ^[e]take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
⁵Yet You have made him a little lower than ^[f]God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
⁶You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
⁷All sheep and oxen,
And also the ^[g]beasts of the field,
⁸The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

⁹O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Matthew 27:50-54 New American Standard Bible 1995

Matthew 27:50-51 Amplified Bible

1 Corinthians 2:1-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

Salvation Secured Through the Cross

Jesus Yields His Spirit

Matthew 27:50 Amplified Bible

Our Long Awaited Reunion with God

Matthew 27:51 Amplified Bible

Hebrews 4:15-16 Amplified Bible

Psalm 24 New American Standard Bible 1995

The King of Glory Entering Zion.

A Psalm of David.

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John 13:12-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

Matthew 20:24-28 New American Standard Bible 1995

John 13:14-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

Philippians 2:5-6 New American Standard Bible 1995

Psalm 103 New American Standard Bible 1995

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

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Matthew 18:21-35 Easy-to-Read Version

A Story About Forgiveness

Luke 23:33-34 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Crucifixion

A Prayer to Forgive and Love Like Jesus

Matthew 18:21-22 New American Standard Bible 1995

Forgiveness

Matthew 6:14-15 New American Standard Bible 1995

Matthew 5:44-45 New American Standard Bible 1995

Psalm 32 New American Standard Bible 1995

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.

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Matthew 21:12-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

Cleansing the Temple

Yahweh Tsidkenu: “the Lord Our Righteousness”

Jeremiah 33:14-18New American Standard Bible 1995

The Davidic Kingdom

Gatekeeping the Love of Jesus

Matthew 21:15-17 English Standard Version

Psalm 16 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.

A [a]Mikhtam of David.

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Hebrews 13:13-15 The Message

Hebrews 13:13-15 Easy-to-Read Version

John 1:1-5 Easy-to-Read Version

Christ Comes to the World

Philippians 2:5-11 Easy-to-Read Version

Learn From Christ to Be Unselfish

Isaiah 55:8-11 Easy-to-Read Version

People Cannot Understand God

Ephesians 1:18-23 Easy-to-Read Version

Psalm 20 Easy-to-Read Version

To the director: A song of David.

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Matthew 16:24-27 New American Standard Bible 1995

Discipleship Is Costly

Markers of Spiritual Growth and Maturity

Psalm 15 New American Standard Bible 1995

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

What Does Mature Mean?

Philippians 3:15-16 New International Version

Following Paul’s Example

1. Do You Have the Right Perspective in Life?

2. Are You Holding on to the Progress You Have Already Made?

Philippians 3:15-16 New Living Translation

3. Who Are You Choosing to Follow?

Philippians 3:17-18 New Living Translation

4. How Do You Spend Your Time and Where Do You Devote Your Focus?

Philippians 3:20-21 New Living Translation

2 Corinthians 5:12-21 New Living Translation

5. Do You Contend for the Unity of the Body of Christ?

Philippians 4:1-3 New International Version

Closing Appeal for Steadfastness and Unity

Concluding Thoughts – Spiritual Growth and Maturity

Matthew 5:13-16 New American Standard Bible 1995

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Maskil.

A ^[a]Mikhtam of David.