God's Ultimate Sacrifice

We know that God loved us before we ever loved Him, even while we are still sinners (Romans 5:8-10). We do not have to make our self holy before we come to Christ. This is impossible to do.

God demonstrated His love for us when He sent His Son to atone for our sins (1 John 4:10; Romans 5:8-10). It is not by our works, or we could boast about our accomplishments (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Jesus was delivered to death by the Jews and Romans, for the purpose of paying the debt of our sin, and He was raised back to life for our justification (Romans 4:25).

Nothing, not even death, or our worry over a life full of trials, or angels or demons, nor the power of hell or any created thing can separate us from God's love, which He reveals to us in Jesus Christ, our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

When we come to Christ, our old carnal, fleshly nature dies. Satan still uses it to tempt us; but it is dead in Christ (Colossians 3:3). Therefore, we have no excuse for living a sinful life.

We are crucified with Christ. Although we now live in our body, we live by the faith of God's Son who abides within us, because He loves us and died for us (Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for the covenant You made with us and for putting Your laws in our heart and mind. Your love remembers our sins no more; and we have no need for further sacrifice, because we are forgiven once and for all (Hebrews 10:16-18).

We now draw near to You with a genuine heart full of assurance, which comes from our faith in Your faithfulness. You cleared our conscience from guilt and shame. We hold unshakably to our hope in You. We know that You will give us all things through Your grace (Romans 8:32).

Remind us not to forsake the practice of meeting with other Saints for the purpose of fellowship and encouraging one another, especially as the day of Christ's return approaches.

Thought for the Day:

God loves us so much that He gave us the power of His Spirit, so that we can tell everyone we know about what He does in our life. - Acts 1:8

Let Me Count the Ways

How much does God love us? Let me count the ways: We have nothing to leave at the foot of the cross, except our sin and self-righteousness. However, we take away with us His eternal life, which is full of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3).
 
He pours out His grace, mercy and faith on us, and we express a body, soul and spirit full of faith and praise back to Him. We no longer need to fear our disabilities, because Christ in us can do all things through us (Philippians 4:13). 

All doubt disappears once we realize that we can cast all of our cares on God, since He cares so much for us (1 Peter 5:7). God gives us the faith we need to surrender to His calling in our life (Romans 12:3). He is our rock, our defense and our protection (Psalm 18:2). 

He strengthens our life and gives us the courage to walk in His ways, even in the face of adversity (Psalm 27:1-3). He supplies every one of our needs exactly when we need it, even if we get impatient and lose hope (Philippians 4:19). 

He takes our fear and gives us power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). He liberally gives us wisdom to deal with every issue we face in life and provides us with His righteousness in exchange for our sin (James 1:5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:30). 

His Word is a light to our path and a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119: 105-109). He gives us hope, because we remember that his compassion never fails and his mercy is renewed every morning; He is good to everyone who seeks Him (Lamentations 3:21-25).

Although Satan runs about like a roaring lion, seeking people to devour, our God in us is greater than Satan who lives in this world (1 John 4:4). We are more than conquerors in all things through Christ, who loves us and gave Himself for us, and He allows us to lead others to His truth (Romans 8:31-37; 2 Corinthians 2:14).

He came into the world as the Light of men, and He brings us His Good News (Acts 2:14-21). He poured out His Spirit on us, and promises never to leave us or to forsake us (Acts 2:16-18; Hebrews 13:5).

Prayer:

Father God, Your grace, which brings us salvation, is available to every human ever born (Titus 2:11). I know each person must respond individually to this grace; and I pray that You will work out circumstances in their lives to bring them to the end of their self-reliance, so they will wholly surrender to You (1 Corinthians 6:19). 

Thank You for living in us; it is in You that we live and move and have our being (1 John 2:28; Colossians 1:27; Acts 17:24-28). We love You beyond words and look forward to praising You now and throughout eternity.

Thought for the Day:

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11