A few days have passed since the celebration of Good Friday. During that day many of us turn to God and meditate on the things he has done so we can enjoy His love.
Jesus wanted us to remember what happened that day.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Why Jesus wanted us to remember his sacrifice? Because of the meaning it has for our lives.
His death meant the payment for the debt for our sins and, as a result, reconciliation with God.
His resurrection meant victory over death and, as a result, eternal life for those who believe in Him.
Remembering his sacrifice is intended to produce a transformative effect on our lives. It reminds us that we moved from condemnation to salvation, and from death to life.
Certainly this event is not to be remembered only once a year but continuously. Why? Because God knows us, and He knows that we tend to focus too much on the everyday things and lose our focus on the most important things. We get easily burdened and stressed by everyday problems.
That is why it is necessary that every day we remember the sacrifice of Jesus, and be transformed by the hope of glory that he brought to our lives. Let’s remember Jesus each day, and allow His peace to reign over our circumstances, and His guidance to lead us in the moments of confusion.
Thank you Lord.
Isaiah 1
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;16 wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,17 learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.18 “Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
It is easy to read this and judge the people of Israel. But I think this warning is also for all of us. We have no problem at all in awarding ourselves with the promises given to Israel, but when it comes to the warnings we think it was just for them.
We should not forget that “the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12), and it applies to us the same way that it applied to the people of Israel.
Let’s take a moment and meditate about this scripture. If we are taking the right path, let’s just make sure we continue on it. If not, let’s reason together with God, change our path to obedience, and move forward to the promised land.
“This, then, is how you should pray: ” ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. – Matthew 6:9-13
How many of us have said the Lord’s Prayer? Probably almost everyone. However, my experience is that many times we repeat this prayer missing the real meaning of it.
For this reason I have been trying to incorporate this prayer in my devotional time, but using a different approach; not repeating the words as impersonal phrases, but rather, making each part of this prayer a living and personal communication with my Creator. A part of this prayer that has impacted me the most is the verse 11
Give us today our daily bread
In common words this would be like saying “provide my basic needs for the day.” Normally we understand this phrase as a request to God to provide our needs. But this part of the prayer has more profound meaning than that.
First, when we say “give us…our daily bread” we are confessing that we recognize that God is our supplier. We trust that above our work and effort God is in control of our needs.
Second, when we say “today our daily…” we are basically saying “provide today my needs for the day.” This is a contradictory concept in the modern world. The truth is that the norm is that we work placing our mind (and often worrying) to meet the need for today, tomorrow, the next week, the next year, and even the need we will have in 20 years. We must continue to work hard as long as we can, but we must beware of coming to think that only through our efforts we will ensure our future.
Jesus wanted with this prayer to teach us to make a statement of faith, telling God “I am willing to live each day trusting in you and not me.”
No. It is not easy to pray this way. It is not easy to tell God “do what you want me to do, and I will continue trusting in you.” It’s not easy giving up the control we think we have. It is not easy to walk by faith.
Oh God, help me to understand the truth of this beautiful prayer in my life. Free my mind so I can understand the blessing of what it means to trust in you and live by faith. Help me to understand that what I can do for myself does not mean that I have control, but that I am being blessed by you. I want to be able to pray with my heart saying “provide me only what I need today and nothing else, tomorrow I will keep trusting you.”
Sometimes people refrain from doing certain things just because of what other people might think or say.
My daughter recently “allowed” me to sleep with her favorite stuff animal (fortunately there are no pictures of this). But she has also done things that required public exposure like painting my pinky nail or placing a sticker of a happy face on my shirt. I didn’t feel ashamed because I love my daughter, and second, I know who I am, and that is not going to change by people’s opinions.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him – John 13:3-5
Washing feet was a job done by the lowest of the slaves. However, Jesus, being God and the creator of the universe, didn’t mind washing the feet of his disciples. He had no problems with serving people. In fact John 13:3-5 shows us that because Jesus knew who he was (powerful, and from God), and where he was going, he decided to give his disciples an example by washing their feet.
According to the order of this world people with power are served, but the ministry of Jesus had one purpose: to serve (just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many Matthew 20:28).
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. – John 13:13-17
Jesus is not ashamed to serve, first because he loves us, and second, because he knows who he is.
Those who have believed in him should follow Jesus’ example by serving others as he did. And let’s do this knowing who we are, and where we are going.
His grace is greater than our failures.
His grace is greater than our victories.
There is no reason to let guilt reign over our lives; let’s just repent and confess.
There is no reason to be proud of the good we do; let’s just thank God for the opportunity to serve him.
Grace – from the Greek word charis – graciousness, the divine influence upon the heart, benefit, favor, gift
Definition: mercy, forgiveness.
Synonyms: benefaction, beneficence, benevolence, caritas,charity, clemency, compassion, compassionateness, favor, forbearance,generosity, good will, goodness, indulgence, kindliness, kindness, leniency, lenity, love, pardon, quarter, reprieve, responsiveness, tenderness
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – Ephesians 2:8
he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life – Titus 3:5-7
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. – Titus 2:11-14
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. – Hebrews 4:16
Tags: Grace
The current economic conditions have been the cause for lots of lost jobs and salary reductions. As a result, many people have been affected. In the best case, those whose salary has not been directly affected are living with less money because everything is more expensive. We find ourselves making a lot of ‘sacrifices’ in order to find a way to stretch our money. These changes are causing many people to feel unsatisfied.
How many things have you had to ‘sacrifice’ so far?
- Cable/satellite TV programming package
- Cell phone plan with texting and data
- Smartphone
- Movie rentals subscriptions
- Timeshare
- Vacation
- xx Inches HD TV
- Jewelry
- Spa
- …
The items in this list can hardly be defined as ‘sacrifices’. At most, they can be categorized as minor adjustments.
It is incredible how fast we get used to things that we didn’t have before. We were living just fine before we had them, but now we think we can’t live without them. We were fine before the arrival of microwave ovens, video games, computers, Blue Ray DVDs, IPODs, Blue tooth, plasma TVs, etc.
Some might say that their sacrifices grant them the justification for feeling unsatisfied. And it might be so for a few of them, but certainly not for most. To get a better perspective lets compare our condition to that of other people.
- What is our sacrifice compared to the people that have nothing to eat?
- What is our sacrifice compared to the people living in dumps?
- What is our sacrifice compared to the people that have no access to potable water?
- What is our sacrifice compared to the people that have no access to minimum health care?
After answering these questions I found a real reason to feel unsatisfied. I feel unsatisfied because with the blessings that I have received in my life I could have shared part of those blessings by making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than me. I also feel unsatisfied because as a person that have experienced the love of God I could have done more to share this love with those in spiritual need.
Can you imagine what would happen if all the Christians in the world feel unsatisfied and decided to do something about it? Can you imagine the impact on our cities, and around the world, if churches and ministries feel unsatisfied with their work and decided to do something about it?
But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. – 1 Timothy 6:8
How is it possible to be satisfied only with food and clothing? Because they cover our basic needs. Everything else we have are just add-ons, and are not meant to provide the satisfaction that we can only obtain through Jesus (John 3:16, John 10:10).
If we are to be unsatisfied let it be because we are not doing what Jesus told us to do (John 13:15). But lets not stay unsatisfied, lets do something about it.
Tags: Jesus, Satisfaction, Unsatisfied
Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.
In these times we live in it is hard to set our hope in something.
- We could set our hope in a good job, but keeping it is completely out of our control.
- We could set our hope in the government, but even if all the leaders agreed on working for the best of our nation there would be a lot of things beyond their control.
- We could set our hope in an the economy, but the truth is that it has not been as volatile as it is now.
- We could set our hope in our savings, if any, but the constantly increasing cost of life if making us spend more than we make.
- We could set our hope in our retirement, but if we ever made it, it is possible that our retirement income could be not enough forcing us to keep working.
Nothing can be taken for granted anymore. We can’t certainly set our hope in the present, and less probably set our hopes in the future.
We could set our hope in life, but we know that sooner of later it will come to an end. Do we have any option?
set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed – 1 Peter 1:13
We can definitely set our hope in the gift we received when we believed in Jesus: Eternal Life. This gift goes beyond our lives and beyond this world.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5
Christians have set their hope in things that will never perish, spoil or fade. Are we there yet? No, but while we wait we can enjoy the benefits of living abundant lives (John 10:10), and enjoy peace beyond understanding (Philippians 4:7), among other things.
Don’t lose hope, just set it in the right place: set your hope in Jesus.
Tags: eternal life, hope, Jesus
The children of Israel
…the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ – Romans 9:4-5
After reading these verses we can say that being an Israelite seems to have many advantages. But these benefits are not granted to people simply for being descendants of Israel.
For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children…In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. Romans 9:6-8
Those benefits are obtained not by being descendant of Israel, but by being children of the promise.
- To whom was the promise given? To Abraham. – Genesis 12:1-2
- Why? Because he believed, and was credited with righteousness – Galatians 3:6
- What was the promise? All the families of the earth will be blessed in Abraham. – Genesis 12:3
- Who receives the promise? those who believe – Galatians 3:7
What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. – Romans 9:30-32
We could think that we are righteous because of what we do, or because we are ‘good’ Christians, or because we think (or people say) that we are good persons. That is exactly what happened to Israel: they sought to establish their own righteousness (Romans 10:3). But that is just the human definition of righteousness. If we try to attain righteousness based on our own efforts we will end empty handed.
God established that righteousness can only be obtained through faith in Jesus. Do you want to be a child of God? Do you want to be credited with righteousness? Choose the easiest way. Choose God’s way: put your faith in Jesus.
Tags: Faith, Jesus, Righteousness
Anxiety affects everyone in one way or another. Anxiety is defined as distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune. Anxiety has become a part of our life style. We are used to obtain everything fast and easy. For that reason we get anxious because of trivial things such as traffic jams, waiting at a doctor’s office, or even when our favorite team is losing. We can also get anxious because of more important things like finances and health.
What do all these things have in common? No matter how worried you are, worrying will not help solve anything.
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 6:31-33
We only get one thing when we get anxious: lack of peace. Anxiousness can also lead to health problems. So why being anxious? The only way to avoid anxiety is if you have the confidence that your problem is going to be somehow solved. We can have that confidence. Jesus told us not to worry for the basic things of life such as food, clothe and shelter, because if we seek God and his kingdom he will take care of these.
But what happens when there are problem other than those described in Matthew 6:31-33? What if there is really no solution to our problem?
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7
A problem might not look as big when compared to a bigger problem. For example, being late for a meeting is nothing when compared to not having money to pay the mortgage.
Similarly, there is no big problem in this world when compared to Eternal Life. That is why the bible tells us not to be anxious about anything. For those who trust in God there is only one thing they can do with their problems: take them to God in prayer. And this confidences becomes so strong that we thank God even if our problem is not solved. Why? Because in the worst case, all our problems will be left behind when we inherit eternal life (John 3:16).
The result of our trust in God is peace which transcends all understanding, guarding our hearts and minds in Jesus.
Do you want to trade your anxiety for peace? Trust your life and your problems to God.
Why settle for anything when you can have the best?
- Choosing a fresh mint instead of our favorite dessert
- Choosing a video game instead of a vacation in Europe as a birthday present
- Choosing a job with a salary of $ 20,000 over one with a salary of $ 60,000
These decisions do not make sense. This is called conforming (to be satisfied, get used, settle).
Does it makes sense to be satisfied with less? Does it makes sense to settle for the minimum? Does it makes sense to get used to anything but the best?
However, there are people who conform to live their lives receiving the minimum when they could get the best.
- Peace that depends on circumstances
- Brief joy
- Confidence on possessions
- No hope of eternal life.
Living like that is living a mediocre life. Why? Because for each of these cases, and others, there is a better alternative available to all of us: Jesus.
In him…
- the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
- we have everlasting joy (Isaiah 61:7), and we have joy in the midst of any circumstance (2 Corinthians 12:10)
- we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16)
- we have “eternal life“. (John 3:16)
And, if any area was not covered,
- Through Jesus we can live our lives “more abundantly”. – John 10:10
Why conform? Are you getting the best in every area of your life? Do not conform. Get the best for your life. Get Jesus.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2
Tags: Abundant life, Conform, Jesus, Life, Settle
