God is good

17/12/2023

Abounding in Hope

The good news of Jesus Christ is for all people and nations. This truth is something that Paul continuously reiterated in his letter to the Roman Christians. Paul wanted to make sure they knew that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ has been given access to God through Jesus Christ.

And so, as Paul neared the end of his letter, he encourages the Romans with this prayer: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13 ESV)

What a wonderful promise! God is doing the work of filling us with joy and peace, and as that happens, by His Holy Spirit, we will abound more and more in hope.

Hope for what? Hope in what?

In Romans 5:1-5, Paul describes how those who believe in Jesus are now at peace with God…

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (ESV; emphasis added)

Because of our faith in God, we hope in God’s glory, and we hope in God’s love.

So right now, consider how God’s love might fill your heart with hope. In what ways can you hope in God during this Advent season?

Church of God

02/10/2023

Hold On to What’s True

Reading Scripture is vital to our intimacy with God. God’s Word is our weapon. It’s alive, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. And when we hide Scripture in our heart, it helps us battle with the forces of evil. We have an enemy, and the last thing he wants us to do is trust God and His Word.

Our spiritual enemy wants to keep us in a place of doubt and insecurity. But when we know who we are, we can confidently demolish every lie that distracts us. Like Jesus did when He fasted in the wilderness for 40 days, we can use Scripture to tell ourselves the truth and fight back against the devil’s schemes.

Below are some common lies we’ve all believed, and the truth we need to remember to overcome them:

Lie We Believe — I’m a failure, and I can’t do anything right.
God’s Truth — I may struggle, but I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).

Lie We Believe — If God cared, why would He let these hardships happen to me?
God’s Truth — I know that God causes everything to work together for His glory and my good (Romans 8:28). God’s grace is sufficient for me, and His power is perfected through my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Lie We Believe — I’ll always be this way.
God’s Truth — I can change because I belong to Christ. The old me has gone and the new me is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Think through the lies you’ve believed. It’s easier to entertain lies when we allow them to become a part of us. But once you recognize the lies you’ve internalized, you’re halfway to victory. God gave us His Word so that we could know the truth … and it’s His truth that sets us free.

Let’s start living more like the conquerors we are, and apply the life-giving, hope-delivering, and devil-kicking power provided to us through God’s Word.

26/09/2023

Blessed are the Persecuted

It’s not always easy to stand for what’s right—especially when someone makes fun of you, gossips about you, lies about you, or even abuses you because of your decision.

But when sharing the eighth of the beatitudes—a series of promises Jesus made about God’s Kingdom—Jesus offered some hope:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:10 NIV

Leading up to this verse, Jesus had spoken unexpected blessings over an unlikely group: the poor in spirit, those who were mourning, the meek, those craving righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers. Finally, He offered a blessing to the persecuted.

Jesus elaborated:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Now, we won’t be blessed for facing the consequences of our own terrible decisions. But Jesus is saying that you will be rewarded when you are shamed, canceled, or even physically persecuted because of Him.

Jesus knows what it’s like to suffer for the sake of righteousness.

You will be blessed for standing up for what is right, for trusting in God’s Word, and for defending those who cannot defend themselves. And when it gets hard, remember: you’re not alone.

The prophets before us were mocked, beaten, and even killed. Jesus’ disciples, the ones hearing these words, would also suffer and die because of their beliefs. They were persecuted for doing things differently: for loving their neighbors, fighting for sexual purity, resting on the Sabbath, and most of all, for declaring Jesus as Lord.

So no matter what it costs you, you will be blessed for standing up for what is right. Jesus says that yours is the kingdom of heaven.

06/09/2023

God Gives Good Gifts

There are seasons in our life when we are more discouraged than encouraged. It is inevitable that all of us will experience those moments, and it is often in the face of insurmountable grief or negative experiences that this happens.

But Romans 15:5 reminds us that there are three things that God gives to those who believe in Jesus. The first is that God gives endurance. When we begin to grow tired of doing good things, or living our life for God, it is often because we are living with the wrong motivation.

True motivation comes from living for God, not ourselves. It is God who gives us the endurance through the Spirit to make good choices and live for Him.

The second thing God gives us is encouragement. In seasons of discouragement when we feel let down by people, God gives us lasting encouragement. He reminds us that we are loved. He reminds us that we are being transformed. We don’t need to strive for approval or acceptance because we’re already sons and daughters of God.

The third thing that we can pray for God to give us is unity of mind toward each other. This means that we consider others how Jesus would consider them. Instead of seeing their flaws or mistakes, we see them as people loved and cared for by God. We should work towards unity with each other rather than division.

All three of these things are worthy of spending time in prayer, asking God for: endurance, encouragement, and unity with each other. If you’re feeling tired and want to quit, ask God for the endurance to continue doing good for those around you.

If you’re feeling discouraged and down, ask God for encouragement that only He can give. And above all, ask God for the same heart and mind of Jesus that brings us together in unity rather than division.

04/09/2023

Verse of the day🤍🙏

03/09/2023

A Life of Thanksgiving

How thankful are you when you talk to God? The world around us generally doesn’t encourage thankfulness. We’re taught to look after ourselves in order to get what we think we deserve. But we’re not generally taught to be thankful.

And yet—Christians ought to be the most thankful people on earth because we have been given everything by God. James 1:17 reminds us that every good gift comes from God. This implies that God is always acting in kindness toward us.

Not only has God given us life and breath, but He has also offered us the free gift of eternal life. God made a way for us to have a relationship with Him through the death and resurrection of Jesus. That alone is more than enough for us to live in gratitude toward God.

That is why our hearts should be in a constant state of thanksgiving.

And yet, we often find ourselves complaining because things don’t go the way we want. We grumble because we don’t have the things we think we deserve. And the more that we complain, the more our hearts grow critical and bitter.

Thankfully, Psalm 100 gives us the antidote for grumbling and complaining: thankfulness. Thanksgiving is a spiritual habit that we have to intentionally develop through continual practice. We can practice by taking time each day to talk with God and to thank Him for all He has done for us. We can also practice by telling others how grateful we are for them.

So the next time you find yourself complaining or grumbling, take a moment to think about the love and goodness of God in your life. Instead of complaining, express how thankful you are for who God is and what He has given you. Keep a list of things you’re grateful for and add to it throughout the week. Watch as your heart and mind begin to be transformed by the simple act of thanksgiving.

14/02/2023

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Romans 12:10 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/rom.12.10.KJV

14/02/2023

Devotion and Honor

You were created for community. When God designed humans, He made us with the intention of placing us within a loving family. Today, we call that family the Church.

God’s original intention was that we would exist within a family of other believers. He didn’t intend for us to exist in isolation or separated from other people. Life was not meant to be lived alone.

Regardless of what your family experience was like, God intended for His family to be loving and caring. And it’s the qualities of God’s family that Paul is writing about in Romans 12.

Paul says to be devoted to one another in love. That means that we are to walk alongside other people through the various seasons of life. We should never abandon people when life gets hard.

Paul also encourages us to honor others. Instead of seeking self-recognition, we should honor and encourage each other. Instead of pursuing what seems best for us, we should seek the good of other people first.

Devotion and honor are just two aspects of loving people well, but Jesus said that the world will recognize us as His disciples by the way that we love. This means that we have to genuinely love others—not just pretend to love them. And the place we need to start showing genuine honor is within our spiritual family. Rather than letting self-promotion divide the family of God, our goal should be to honor those around us.

If we won’t learn how to love people who follow Jesus, then we won’t know how to love people who don’t.

That’s why we should frequently pause and take an assessment on how we are doing at loving others. So take a moment right now to think about the ways in which you loved and honored people this past week. Write down two or three things you can do to continue to show love to those in your life.

Church of God

15/06/2022

Knowing God’s Will

To live outside of God’s will puts us in danger; to live in His will makes us dangerous. — Erwin McManus

Part of growing in Christ is learning that we have a part to play in it. Yes, it’s the amazing power of God that’s transforming us, but we participate in the transformative process. While God could intervene in our lives in a way that we don’t have to do anything, He doesn’t—we’re free to make our own choices.

We often exhibit impatience in our lives and want to get to the result quicker than is reasonable. We want to be in our best shape ever after going to the gym for a week. We want to climb the career ladder after being on the job for a month. We want to have lifelong friendships shortly after we become friends. These desires are only fulfilled once we’ve put in effort. When we’ve stayed consistent at the gym, worked hard at our job, and invested in our friendships, then we get results.

A similar example we find in the Bible is in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform 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.” (NIV)

That sounds amazing, right? We’d love to be able to discern His will while we live on earth. And this verse tells us that we can truly do just that. But, we have to make the choice to not conform to the world’s standard, but instead, be inwardly transformed first.

For us to believe that we can “test and approve” what God’s plans are and then live our lives in any way we want seems a bit backwards, doesn’t it? If we’re living for ourselves and not allowing God to lead us, how is it possible to know what God’s plans are? This doesn’t mean that we make perfect choices in our pursuit of following Jesus. What it does mean is that we are pursuing Jesus. As we do, Jeremiah 29:13 says that we’ll find Him. And when we find Him, we’ll start to see His purposes and plans laid out before us.

Let’s be clear: we don’t do anything to earn our salvation. Jesus covered that once and for all by dying on the cross. But when it comes to growing our faith, we do have a part to play.

In the next three days of this Plan, we’ll look at other passages in the Bible where we play a part first before yielding the spiritual benefits listed.

Reflect
Do you feel that you have “conformed” to the world’s standards? In what areas of your life do you see this? Ask God to show you where you’ve chosen to follow the ways of the world instead of seeking God.

Church of God