Loving Jesus Style

  Scripture: Mattthew5:16 (ESV) 16  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Devotion:             Another step in spiritual growth is trusting in Christ to make you more yourself than you ever have been. God wants to strip away all the stain of sin which has accumulated over the years leaving you a slave to righteousness. It can be a painful process. As the Holy Spirit peels away at every taint of sin that clings to us. In the end, however, we are transformed into new creations that are able to serve God with a pure heart.             Some of the steps that God may take in preparing to release the authentic you from under the grip of sin are: 1.       Releasing you from a rules based righteousness. Getting rid of the need to live in sub...

  Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV) 24  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Devotion:             This scripture is important because it reveals another critical foundation for spiritual growth. In my last devotion we covered “Be Loved” as the first foundation for spiritual growth and we learned that it is of critical importance to our growth to be aware of and believe in God’s unconditional love for us as humans created in his image. Marking out the vertical relationship between God in heaven and man here on earth. Today, we look at the horizontal relationship between people specifically believers.             The passage from Hebrews we have for today’s devotion may be familiar t...

  Scripture: Galatians 2:20 (ESV) 20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Devotion:             Here in Galatians Paul is explaining how he is able to live out the love of God in his life. He states that when he came to believe that Jesus was the messiah he was crucified with Christ into his suffering and death on the cross. Now Paul has by faith in Christ the fullness of Christ living in him. This is a first step in spiritual growth. Realizing that we are not our own, but we were bought with the blood of Christ. As the Apostle John wrote in his first letter “we love because he first loved us.”             This is a revolutionary idea. That we do not have to work ourselves up to love God and other...

  Scripture: John 8:12 (ESV) Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Devotion:             Jesus declares that he is the light of the world. But in our present day and age darkness and blindness seem to rule the times. The world chases after things that only increase the darkness. From our schools to our families, from east to the west darkness in the form of anti-Christian beliefs are infiltrating our world. Making it difficult to keep our eyes on Jesus and making following him very difficult.             Yet we have Jesus’ promise that if we are truly following him, we will be able to walk in his light. Jesus talks over and over about light and darkness. Why do people seem to gravitate toward the darkness instead of the light. John gives us this reason in Chapter 3 ...

  Scripture: Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)             16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Devotion:             This scripture is an important one in today’s cultural climate. The culture is beginning to be openly hostile to the Christian message. Therefore, it is human nature not to want to become a social outcast by saying that you follow Jesus. We do this even though we know that Jesus became the ultimate outcast by going to his death on a cross just because he was telling people the truth about God’s kingdom.             We know intellectually that we should stand up fo...

Scripture: Ephesians 6:21 (ESV) 21  So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22  I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. Devotion             We know a lot about a some of the people in the Bible. However, I am afraid that Tychicus escapes our notice. There is a good chance that you have read his name many times if you are a frequent Bible reader and never really stopped to take note of this man. Tychicus is mentioned four additional times in the New Testament books. (Acts 20:4, Colossians 4:7, 2 Timothy 4:12 Titus 3:12) I encourage you to take some time and read what the Bible has to say about Tychicus.             Paul considers him a faithful and trusted fellow minister of the Gos...

  Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-16 (The Message) Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. 14–16      If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. Devotion:             How foreign to our ears these words in verse 12 must sound to our 21 st century ears. Being glad when we suffer is not our default response. When our life gets hard, we naturally cry out to God thinking he has abandoned us. Peter’s letter indicates that instead of complaining to God if we are suffering for being a Christian we should rejoice. God is at work through our pain and suffering even if we cannot see it.    ...