Loving Jesus Style

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (NIV)   But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Devotion:             In this scripture Paul confronts believers who say they believe in Christ but deny the resurrection of the d

  Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15: 3-8 (NIV) 3  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4  that he was buried that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5  and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8  and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. Devotion             This scripture gives us a record of the people to whom the Lord Jesus Christ appeared after his resurrection on Easter Sunday. This record was written before any of the gospels were written making them our earliest witness to the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. Paul does not record the appearances to the women at the tomb recorded in the gospels.            

  Scripture: Matthew 12:38-40 (NIV) 38  Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39  He [Jesus] answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah 40  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Devotion:             The passage of scripture we are looking at today is brief and to the point. Jesus is asked for a sign but Jesus refuses to perform on queue for his questioners. He speaks of the sign of Jonah. A mystery whose meaning only became clear after Jesus death and resurrection. We know that even the early church thought this passage was a prediction of his death and resurrection.             We have turned Jesus terse reply to his questioners into a great promise for the church. We know that Jesus was simply refusing to b

  Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10 (ESV) Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2  And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4  And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5  But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6  He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7  Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8  So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. 9  And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and wo

  Scripture: Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV) 13  He [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Devotion:             Hear the good news from God! If we give our lives to God, he will give us back our lives. We will be free from sin’s grasp and be able to live a life of victory in Jesus. Our lives will be free from the rule of Satan and his minions and what a glorious freedom that is. The devil is a grueling task master. He drives us deeper and deeper into his kingdom of darkness until we are unable to free ourselves from the chains that we wear. We may at first enjoy the chains of sin. However, soon we realize what a false comfort our sin is.             We have no way to escape from the bondage of sin on our own. But thanks be to God we have been provided a way of escape through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us that his yoke is easy

  Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV) 26  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”             27           So God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him; male and female he created them.   Devotion:             Here, in these well-known words of scripture, we see God planning and executing his plan for the human species. God had already created all of the heavens and the earth. He had brought forth all the living creatures and the earth teemed with life. However, God had one more creation he desired to make. God desired to make a being that was like himself in some unique way. So, the scripture tells ua that God created a human and made this being to be in his image and likeness. A being that has the ability to rule over all the rest o

  Scripture: Job 13:15 (NIV) 15  Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.   Devotion:             The speaker in today’s scripture is Job himself. He has just listened to his friends tell him that his many afflictions must be caused by some unknown sin in Job’s life. Job, however, is having none of that. He has great faith in God to deliver him from his hopeless condition regardless of outward appearances. Job has a faith that can overcome any obstacle placed in his path. The faith of Job is as great as the faith of the apostle Paul when he states:   “20  as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:20-21, ESV)               Paul had met the living Christ on the road to Damascus. His hope was grounded in actually seeing the

  Scripture: Hebrews 6:10-12 (NIV) 10  God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11  We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12  We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Devotion:                     Today’s devotional is dedicated to all those who help around the church without getting any recognition. The custodian who makes sure that the sanctuary is clean and ready for worship each Sunday. The nursery worker who sacrifices their own worship time so that they can provide care for those with young children and infants. And many more that help out in ways that we never think of and never get recognized.             The message is simple God sees your service and he is pleased with it. God sees every act of love done in the name of C

  Scripture: Psalm 103:1-5 (The Message) 1–2         O my soul, bless God.             From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!             O my soul, bless God,             don’t forget a single blessing! 3–5         He forgives your sins—every one.             He heals your diseases—every one.             He redeems you from hell—saves your life!             He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.             He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.             He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.   Devotion:             The psalm I have chosen for us today is a wonderful reminder to bless the Lord at all times and in all circumstances. I encourage you to get your Bibles out and read the whole psalm sometime today. I have chosen the Message translation to give us a different view of the Psalm than we get from more literal translations. But whatever translation you are using the message of God’s love toward us comes throu

  Scripture: Romans 6:19-23 (NIV) 19  I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20  When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness 21  What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death 22  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Devotion:             This scripture starts out with a warning. A warning to no longer be slaves to sin. Paul encourages us to become slaves to righteousness. We in the 21 st century do not like to think of ourselves as slaves to anyone or anything, however, unless we

  Scripture: Matthew 20:29-34 (ESV) 29  And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30  And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31  The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32  And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33  They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34  And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him Devotion:             This scene above occurs just before Jesus enters Jerusalem for his passion. One might think that Jesus would be wrapped up in contemplation of the events that were about to happen to him in Jerusalem. That he wouldn’t pay any attention to the blind beggars on the side of the road. However, Jesus reveals his care and kindness toward

Scripture: Acts 2:36-41 (ESV) 36  Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37  Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38  And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39  For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40  And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41  So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Devotion:             Today’s scripture holds out the hope of salvation to all who will believe in the name of Jesus Christ as their savio

  The Religion of COVID-19             Has the response to the Covid-19 pandemic become a pseudo-religion? I believe it has. But before you cancel me, I ask you to hear me out. For those with ears to hear and eyes to see you may find some truth here that cannot be denied.             This pseudo-religion has one problem it seeks to solve and that is fear of sickness and death from Covid-19. All religions promise a cure for something that ails humanity. The Christian religion defeats the problem of sin with the cross and resurrection. Islam teaches that one gets to heaven by conforming one’s life to the teachings of the Koran. The ancient religions of the Greeks and Romans as well as the Norse had gods who controlled each of the different areas of life and it was the worshippers duty to appease the gods with offerings. Each different religion known to humankind has had a god or gods that functioned to meet the needs of its people.             So, the purpose of this Covid-19 religion is

  Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) 5            Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.             6            In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.   Devotion:             These words may be familiar to us. However, we need to look more closely at their meaning to learn to live in a way that pleases God. Just on a surface level, though, how many of us can claim to trust God with our all our hearts. This is easier read than done. We constantly make decisions about our lives without checking with God first to see if what we are considering doing is really in line with his will. I know that I am forever getting in trouble because I run ahead of what the Lord would have me do. I personally like to lean on my own understanding, and I bet you do as well. It is human nature to behave in this way.             We need to learn to let go of our impulsive nature and learn the contemplative nature we ne

  Scripture: Revelation 2.2-5 (ESV)  ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false. 3  I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4  But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first. Devotion:             These words are spoken by the resurrected and glorified Jesus. He is speaking here to seven churches through the apostle John each church getting their own letter. This passage is from the letter to the Ephesians.             Jesus has many reasons to praise this church. Apparently, they were solidly grounded in the gospel. They knew the gospel well enough to test travelling teachers who came to them and found them to be either true teachers or false te

  Scripture 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17 (NLT) 15  With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter. 16  Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, 17  comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. Devotion:             These words from the Apostle Paul should give us hope and courage for our day. The church to which he was writing was under assault by a hostile culture. They were doing well to hold onto the teachings that Paul and his companions had taught them. Paul encourages them to stand firm on the teaching they had received from him both in person and by his previous letter to the church at Thessalonica. Both 1 st Thessalonians and this letter are some of the oldest letters we have preserved from Paul.             We should take note of this encouragement