Our Past Sin

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

• Our debt to sin is paid in full by Jesus Christ.


• We are free from sin by Jesus’ blood.


• When we confess our sin, God forgives us for Jesus' sake.


• God puts us right. He separates us from our sin.


• We don’t have to stay connected to our past sin.


• Our past sins are forgiven. We no longer wallow in self-pity or regret of long ago failures.


• We are a new creation. We are born again, with the Holy Spirit and His power.


• It is time for worship and fellowship, and enjoy our freedom in God.


• Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Too Blessed to Complain

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:8)

• Too often we lament the moments in life that don’t go our way, when we should spend time focusing on the wonderful gifts our heavenly Father has given us.


• We must realize that we are too blessed to complain or be unhappy in this beautiful life we are given. Everything we have is a gift from God. In His grace, God shares His property with us. In His grace, God shares the ability for you and me to make money in order to put food on our table and to clothe our families.


• Let us rather spend time celebrating the goodness of God upon our lives. Let us renew our commitment to be more actively and intentionally grateful because our God has been good to us in more ways than we could ever count.


• Psalm 107 is a song that seeks to rectify thankless thinking. The psalmist makes a plea to hearts grown cold with ingratitude, repeating four times, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”


• Even in the worst of times, we have much to be thankful for. May we learn to thank God for His goodness to us!

A Clean Start

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

• When lustful or vengeful thoughts creep into our minds, reading and meditating on God’s Word can help to clean up our thinking.


• We are told to love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind.


• We are told not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.


• We are told to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.


• When our minds wander to evil, the best thing to do is to allow the wisdom of the Bible to permeate our thoughts and hearts.


• Dear Lord, our desire is to spend time in Your Word. We know that meditating on Your Word fills our minds with thoughts of You and helps to keep our thinking from wandering to evil. Help us to do so.


• A clean heart comes from choosing to turn from our own self-will life to a God-will life.

God, the Master Worker

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. (Psalm 139:14)

• A person’s overall health can be measured by the health of the eye. What care the Lord has taken to place these details in the bodies He has created!


• David, the psalmist, correctly identified God as the Master Worker who is the source of our origin. He responded in praise and thanksgiving to God: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well”.


• The enormous complexities of our bodies reflect the genius and wisdom of our great Creator. The wonder of His design is more than breathtaking. It gives us countless reasons to worship Him!


• Lord, we are in awe of You! Thank You that You created us with such complexity and care and that You know us with such intimacy. We love You and trust You with our lives.

Isaiah 53

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

• Isaiah 53 revealed Jesus as the Messiah. Through this chapter, we recognize Jesus as the Savior, who alone has the power to change lives. Jesus is the One who was wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquities. He was the Savior who died for us on the cross. Through Him, we experienced the salvation that changes lives, forgives sins, and gives abundant life to all who trust in Him.


• In the beginning, many of us had no interest in spiritual things. Our lives revolved around earthly things and worldly pleasures. Then we were invited to church, where we found the love and prayers of the people to be irresistible. After some spiritual struggle, we trusted Jesus as our Savior. There is a saving change wrought in us. We began to recognize and share Jesus, the Messiah of Isaiah 53. We often exclaimed, “That’s Him! That’s Jesus!” Indeed, it is Jesus.


• Oh God, we often struggle with this idea of Jesus as Savior. We know He is a good man, but we need to see that He is more than that. Please show us through the Bible how we can know for sure who Jesus is. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to change hearts, and some of us knew Jesus as our Messiah through Isaiah 53.

Images of Creation

To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:6-7)

• When God revealed Himself to Job, He wisely used the images of creation. Job responded with repentance and an acknowledgement of the greatness and glory of God. Job repented for questioning God.



• God's ways are always higher than our ways. And He always has a purpose for everything that is happening. Instead of questioning Him, let us accept His Sovereignty and the execution of His plan. Let us accept His will for us and believe He will keep His promises to us.



• “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). When we behold the wonders of creation, the flowers that bloom, the raindrops as they fall; the spacious sky and life's perpetuation, we cannot doubt that God controls it all. Let us praise God who made such beauty for us to enjoy! As we behold the radiant sun by day or the star-studded sky at night, let us be in awe and worship the Creator.



• The beauty of creation always gives us reasons to sing God’s praise.

We Can Pray

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

• The Lord was near when we talk with Him through prayer.

•  In the terrifying moments of life (and all the other moments as well), nothing can bring comfort to the hurting heart like the reality of God’s presence and care.

• David wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”.

• When fear is overwhelming, the Lord is there.

• His comforting presence will carry us through our deepest trials.

• When we have peace with the LORD God, we can always sing, It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Start Over

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

• All of us must learn to cope with defeat and self-condemnation following a spiritual collapse.
   
•  But how can we recover from grieving God and others, along with disappointing ourselves?
   
•  The apostle John wrote, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
   
•  God forgives us because Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins.
   
•  God’s pardon sets us free to begin again.
   
•  God’s pardon makes us focus on today’s opportunity rather than yesterday’s defeat.
   
•  God’s faithful cleansing allows us to start over with a pure heart.
   
•  So, instead of living in the shadows of yesterday, let us walk in the light of today and the hope of tomorrow.