Tag Archives: Grace

2015 Day 173 – 2 Corinthians 12

22 Monday Jun 2015

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As humans, we love to complicate everything. We like to make things harder than they need to be. In the beginning of 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul says something very powerful, But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Nothing can be simpler than knowing what this passage implies… God already knows we are imperfect and weak; this is not a surprise to him. He created us and saw first hand what we are capable of since the beginning of time when Adam and Eve first sinned. God’s expectation of us is not perfection, but acknowledgement that we need Him. The harder we work towards perfection, the further it pushes us from God. It is not until we seek His perfect grace that we finally realize all we really need is Him. More importantly, God doesn’t need or want our good works, He wants our humility and a real relationship with us; nothing more.

2015 Day 161 – 2 Corinthians 2

10 Wednesday Jun 2015

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Paul paints and interesting picture of Christ in 2 Corinthians 2:14, But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. In the Roman empire, when a general would return from a successful military engagement, the Romans would have a triumphal procession where the general would display his conquered treasures and captives in a cloud of incense offered up to their gods. It was the sweet aroma of victory to the Romans and the smell of slavery and death to the captives. When we preach the gospel, it is good news to some and repugnant to others. Believers recognize the fragrance as life-giving and non-believers are reminded of the hopelessness they live in.

2015 Day 159 – 1 Corinthians 16

08 Monday Jun 2015

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As Paul closes this first letter to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 16, it is important to remember why he wrote the letter in the first place. Corinth was a major cosmopolitan port city in Achaia. It was also filled with idolatry and immorality. Paul wrote the letter to help identify the issues in the church and to teach the believers how to live for Christ in such a corrupt society. While this book was specifically written to the Corinthian church, much of what Paul writes applies to us today. This world is getting worse and the life God wants from all of us seems to be less and less popular in our society today. I think one of the keys is to make sure we understand and live for our relationship with Christ. It does no good to become God and judge when all He really wants is for us is to love like God. Jesus made our job very clear in Mark  12:30-31, 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

2015 Day 149 – 1 Corinthians 8

29 Friday May 2015

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In today’s reading I found 1 Corinthians 8:8 interesting, But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. It is my belief that what we put into our bodies has no bearing on our relationship with God. I find it interesting that the same people who will get hung up on drinking a beer or a glass of wine are sometimes the same people who will eat a greasy cheeseburger. If they are treating their bodies as a temple, then they should not allow anything bad to enter their bodies. Everything should be handled in moderation with responsibility and respect for what God has entrusted with us.

2015 Day 122 – Galatians 2

02 Saturday May 2015

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The beauty of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is He crucified our sins with His death. Paul describes this beautifully in Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God. When Christ died for our sins, our sins died with Him. Because our sins died with Christ, we are no longer condemned and have relationally become one with Him. Our old life no longer exists.

2015 Day 109 – Grace

19 Sunday Apr 2015

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God’s Grace is something very few of us fully understand. Each of us understands it on at least a surface level, but it is impossible to truly grasp the Grace of God. Our gift of Grace comes from a place we could never comprehend, but we can be thankful for it as best as we are able. God’s Grace is perfect and without it we would have a finite existence, but with it we can face eternity knowing we will be in the presence of God. Grace_wordle

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2015 Day 41 – Matthew 18

10 Tuesday Feb 2015

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Forgiveness is almost always a difficult thing. But Jesus calls us to forgive just as He has forgiven us. In Matthew 18:21-22 Peter and Jesus have the following dialog, 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Whatever many times we think is sufficient to forgive someone, it will always pale in comparison to the number of times Jesus has forgiven us of our sins. We are called to show mercy and grace just as Jesus has shown mercy and grace to us.

2014 Day 338 – Matthew 23

04 Thursday Dec 2014

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In Matthew 23 there is so much condemnation from Jesus to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. As we read this, we cannot help but see the similarities of the religious leaders of Jesus’ time and the ones in our present day. Let us all work to avoid becoming like the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, and become more like Jesus’ example of what a believer should be.

2014 Day 283 – Matthew 7

10 Friday Oct 2014

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The Golden Rule: Matthew 7:12, So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. It does not take a lot of effort to do what is right and refrain from hurting other people. It takes much more effort and emotional investment to plot evil against another person. Further, Jesus modeled The Golden Rule in a foundation of grace and mercy, which is the kind of love God shows us every day.

2014 Day 280 – Luke 6

07 Tuesday Oct 2014

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The Beatitudes from the Latin word “blessing”, Luke 6:20-22, 20 Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. These verses describe what it can mean to be a Christ follower and the standards for conduct as believers. They ultimately contrast fake piety with true humility and show us we are no better than anyone else as humans but are blessed through God’s grace in our lives.