A More Excellent Way!
Note from Jesus Dear Precious One, Some words are simply more important than others. In the human vocabulary that We — Father, Son, and Spirit — use, one word stands above all others: love. Our nature is love — as John beautifully stated: [A]nyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love — not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. (1 John 4:8-12 NLT) I came to earth to walk among you and share your mortality because of Our love. We came to your world to save you from what is broken and dying so we can redeem both you and your world (John 3:16-17; 1 John 3:16-18; Romans 8:22-25). While I lived among you, I taught you that the whole law could be summed up in two love commands: Love God with all that you are and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). I demonstrated love with what I did in My life (John 13:1-5) and in My death (Romans 5:6-11; 1 John 3:16). I called on you, again and again, to love each other showing the fruit of the Father’s loving grace in your own dealings with each other (John 15:9-13). Our example of love is the basis of what the apostle Paul told new Christians in Thessalonica: Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family… Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,… (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 NIV) The last verses below from the apostle Paul — chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians — are some of his most famous and celebrated words. Many people call these words the love chapter of the Bible. However, I want you to realize that these words were written to a church where spiritual gifts were being misused because of pride and rivalry. Notice the words Paul uses to set up his teaching, which he points out is “a more excellent way” and leads to “the greater gifts”: Are all members gifted as emissaries [apostles]? Are all gifted with prophetic utterance? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Or are all gifted in healing arts? Do all speak or interpret unknown languages? Of course not. Pursue the greater gifts, and let me tell you of a more excellent way — love. (1 Corinthians 12:29-31) Paul is making clear that no matter how talented, rich, smart, generous, spiritual, or gifted in other ways you are, without doing what you do in love, your giftedness means nothing. People fuss, fight, and divide My body, the church, over things that are temporary. And the result is they end up neglecting the things that really matter — faith, hope, and love — and especially the one thing that matters most: LOVE! Verses to Live What Paul says here is not only true, but it also is essential for you as My disciple. You must be loving. But also remember that you cannot love others fully and sacrificially on your own power. Loving others must be your commitment, but you can also turn to Us and ask for Our help to live this way of love. We will supply you with the power to love! So I give you this promise, through the words of Paul: When our characters are refined, we learn what it means to hope and anticipate God’s goodness. And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love. (Romans 5:4-5) Now carefully read, consider, and commit to applying this beautiful teaching from the apostle Paul! What if I speak in the most elegant languages of people or in the exotic languages of the heavenly messengers, but I live without love? Well then, anything I say is like the clanging of brass or a crashing cymbal. What if I have the gift of prophecy, am blessed with knowledge and insight to all the mysteries, or what if my faith is strong enough to scoop a mountain from its bedrock, yet I live without love? If so, I am nothing. I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts. Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; it’s never rude, crude, or indecent — it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs or celebrate injustice; but truth — yes, truth — is love’s delight! Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what. Love will never become obsolete. Now as for the prophetic gifts, they will not last; unknown languages will become silent, and the gift of knowledge will no longer be needed. Gifts of knowledge and prophecy are partial at best, at least for now, but when the perfection and fullness of God’s kingdom arrive, all the parts will end. When I was a child, I spoke, thought, and reasoned in childlike ways as we all do. But when I became a man, I left my childish ways behind. For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of
Today’s Verse – John 8:10-11
Jesus straightened up and asked [the woman caught in the act of adultery], “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” —John 8:10-11 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Forgiveness is wonderful when it leads to a life change that honors the LORD. Jesus came to call us from sin and into his presence. When we turn our back on our previous sins and let him remove our shame and condemnation, he is greatly pleased and we are wonderfully blessed. He gave us grace to not only be forgiven of our past sins but also to call us away from that sin and into a life of productive service, service which he planned for us and designed us to do (Ephesians 2:1-10). We are not just saved FROM something horrible; we are saved FOR something wonderful! My Prayer… O LORD my God, you are holy and gracious in all your ways. So, dear Father, please transform my heart and life so I can live in your divine will. Please give me the assurance of forgiveness, confidence in my deliverance from shame, and courage in my future with you so I can leave my sin behind and embrace the life of productive service you have prepared for me to do. In Jesus’ name, I ask you for your gracious and unlimited power to mold my heart and shape my life into a clearer reflection of Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Gifted by the Spirit
Note from Jesus Dear Precious Believer, You became a child of the Father when you turned your heart and life to follow Me, called on Me in faith to be your Savior, confessed Me as your Lord, and shared in My death, burial, and resurrection through baptism (Romans 10:9-13; Acts 2:21; Acts 2:36-41; Acts 16:25-34; Galatians 3:26-29). I poured out the Holy Spirit upon you as you were born into a new life with Me — a life filled and led by the Spirit (Acts 2:38-39; Titus 3:3-7; Romans 8:9-10). As a beloved child of your Father in heaven, you are a gifted child. The Holy Spirit is alive in you. We — Father, Son, and Spirit — have given you spiritual gifts to use to bless other believers, to touch the lost and needy, and to bring Us glory. Today, your verses come from 1 Corinthians where Paul talks to the Corinthians about their spiritual gifts. So I wanted to share several insights with you about spiritual gifts and what the New Testament teaches you about these gifts. Numerous passages in your New Testament talk about your having received these gifts. Each passage has a little bit of a different emphasis: Each of you is given gifts to use as part of My body, so use them without arrogance and with gracious commitment (Romans 12:3-8) Each of you has at least one spiritual gift, but don’t use your gift pridefully. Instead, recognize that each gift is important to the function of My body, the church, so use your gift in love to build up the church and to bless others. If your gift is to be used in your worship assemblies, use it in an orderly way to build up and bless others (1 Corinthians 12:1-30; 1 Corinthians 14:1-40). I gave gifts to help the church function as My bodily presence, so use your gifts — use equipping gifts to help others minister and use serving gifts to bring My grace to others. When you each use your gifts appropriately, then My church is matured more and more into My likeness to bring My grace to those around you (Ephesians 4:7-16). There are speaking gifts and serving gifts. Use your speaking gifts to speak My message and use your serving gifts and the strength that I supply to bless others as I would bless them (1 Peter 4:10-11). Doctor Luke, Paul’s sometimes companion, wrote two books in your New Testament, Luke’s gospel and Acts. His gospel emphasized how the Holy Spirit was at work in My earthly ministry so that you can see the connection between My ministry and your ministry — both are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Before I ascended into clouds and returned to the Father, I made this promise: [Y]ou [the apostles] will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8 NLT) In Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, a similar promise was made to all disciples: Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away — all who have been called by the Lord our God.” (Acts 2:38-39 NLT) Throughout the book of Acts, Luke emphasized how the Holy Spirit helped My disciples take My good news to all the world, beginning from Jerusalem, going throughout Judea, reaching out to Samaria, and then reaching to the ends of the earth. Not only did the Holy Spirit empower My disciples to share My story, but the Spirit also confirmed that different groups had been accepted into My family. The Spirit’s presence demonstrated that these different groups should be included in the fellowship of My disciples. This imparting of the Spirit happened first with Jews at Pentecost when the Spirit came to the apostles in a very demonstrable way. The Spirit’s coming also showed that I was alive from the dead and had authorized what occurred that day. The apostles’ preaching promised that forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit were available to everyone who answered My call to believe that I AM both Lord and Christ and to be baptized in My name (Acts 2:32-41). My disciples were a little slow to realize that when I commissioned them to go to all nations (Matthew 28:16-20), I meant it. At first, they were taking My message just to Jewish people. So I sent a disciple named Philip to Samaria to go to people that Jews didn’t appreciate: Samaritans (Acts 8:4-8). However, when these precious Samaritans were baptized, they didn’t receive the Spirit until a group of apostles came from Jerusalem and laid hands on them. Then, I sent the Holy Spirit in a clearly recognizable way to these Samaritan believers to show My apostles, along with the rest of My Jewish disciples, that Samaritan believers must be included in My family of grace. The Spirit’s coming showed the Jewish disciples that they must accept these Samaritan believers as brothers and sisters (Acts 8:14-17; Acts 8:25). Still, most of the world, especially the non-Jewish world, had not heard My message and had not been included in My family. To help My apostles and the Jewish people in Jerusalem realize that all people should be included in My Family, I sent a vision to the apostle Peter to show him that he should share My grace with Gentiles (Acts 10:1-43). To show Peter that these Gentile believers should be included in My family by faith and that he must baptize them, I sent the Holy Spirit to the household of Cornelius in a way that Peter recognized — Cornelius and his household received the Spirit
Today’s Verse – Romans 8:9
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. —Romans 8:9 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We show who is in control of our lives by how we live. Do we live as children of God? Then we show we are submitting to the leadership of the Holy Spirit! We show our relationship as children of the Father by living with his character in our world. We trust the Holy Spirit to help us become transformed (2 Corinthians 3:18) to be more like Jesus, our older brother (Romans 8:14-17; Hebrews 2:14-18) as we display the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). So, let’s live under the control of the Spirit — obeying the Spirit’s inspired Word in the Scriptures and following the Spirit’s lead in our daily lives. In this way, we can show and share Jesus in all we say and do! Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Dear Father, please help me display Jesus’ beauty, grace, and holiness in my life. May I demonstrate the Holy Spirit’s leading, power, and fruit in all I do each day? I ask for this grace as I pray in Jesus’ name and under his authority. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Vital!
Note from Jesus Dear Member of My Body, At the beginning of the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul is about to address the chaos that had resulted from the Corinthians’ selfish approach to using their spiritual gifts: Now let me turn to some issues about spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters. There’s much you need to learn. (1 Corinthians 12:1) He makes sure his readers know what he is about to say is corrective as well as informative. He wants them to know that while they thought they excelled in knowledge, they really didn’t understand the most important principles about spiritual gifts. Paul wants all the believers in Corinth to understand that, just as a human body has many parts that function together as one body, the same is true in My church. Each person has spiritual gifts to use, but each person should use them as part of My body to bless the rest of the body. The Corinthian disciples needed to realize that none of them should try to appear, feel, or act as more important than other persons who are also vital parts of My body. God the Father is the One Who gives each part of My body its functions. He gives each person the gifts He wants each one to have with specific tasks that each part of the body is to perform. Each part needs the rest of the body to exist and function properly, so there should be no talk about which person or gift is most important. There should be no pride or arrogance exhibited by anyone. Each person is given gifts by God, by grace, not based on her or his own merit. Each is given what she or he is given to be a blessing to the rest of the body, not to bring glory to herself or himself. In a physical body, when one part of the body is hurt or ill, then the rest of the body is impacted. This effect should also be true in My body, the church. When one part of My body is suffering, other parts of the body should suffer with the ailing part. All parts of My body should work together to help, heal, and bless the ailing part. Rather than one part exalting itself, each body part should show greater concern for other parts. The goal is that all parts of the body will work together, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to do My work in the world. So before tomorrow when you will begin Paul’s discussion about spiritual gifts and the need for unity and love, I want you to carefully read these verses below. Notice Paul’s emphasis on unity, grace, interconnectedness, devotion, and care. Any practice of spiritual gifts that leads to personal exaltation or leaves out these principles is going to bring chaos, conflict, and division. Verses to Live A human body is comprised of many parts, and so is My body, the church. Each part of the body — each person in My church — is vital and precious. Each should bless other body parts, lead others to Me, and help My body, the church, share My grace with the lost world. Concerning gifts that are given by the Spirit, Paul said: Now to each one [each believer] the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV) Just as a body is one whole made up of many different parts, and all the different parts comprise the one body, so it is with the Anointed One. We were all… washed through baptism together into one body by one Spirit. No matter our heritage — Jew or Greek, insider or outsider — no matter our status — oppressed or free — we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Here’s what I mean: the body is not made of one large part but of many different parts. Would it seem right for the foot to cry, “I am not a hand, so I couldn’t be part of this body”? Even if it did, it wouldn’t be any less joined to the body. And what about an ear? If an ear started to whine, “I am not an eye; I shouldn’t be attached to this body,” in all its pouting, it is still part of the body. Imagine the entire body as an eye. How would a giant eye be able to hear? And if the entire body were an ear, how would an ear be able to smell? This is where God comes in. God has meticulously put this body together; He placed each part in the exact place to perform the exact function He wanted. If all members were a single part, where would the body be? So now, many members function within the one body. The eye cannot wail at the hand, “I have no need for you,” nor could the head bellow at the feet, “I won’t go one more step with you.” It’s actually the opposite. The members who seem to have the weaker functions are necessary to keep the body moving; the body parts that seem less important we treat as some of the most valuable; and those unfit, untamed, unpresentable members we treat with an even greater modesty. That’s something the more presentable members don’t need. But God designed the body in such a way that greater significance is given to the seemingly insignificant part. That way there should be no division in the body; instead, all the parts mutually depend on and care for one another. If one part is suffering, then all the members suffer alongside it. If one member is honored, then all the members celebrate alongside it. You are the body of the Anointed, the Liberating King; each and every one of you is a vital member. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) Because of the grace allotted to me, I can respectfully tell you not to think of yourselves as
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 8:8-9
But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. —1 Corinthians 8:8-9 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Both Jesus and Paul emphasize that food and drink don’t bring us closer to God or distance us from God — it’s what comes from our hearts that makes us clean or unclean (Mark 7:14-23; Colossians 2:16). Their teaching means that we have incredible freedom as to what we eat and drink under grace in Christ. However, our freedom never gives us the license to destroy a weak brother or sister’s walk with the LORD. We don’t have a right to lead them into sin or cause them to stumble because of what we eat or drink. Let’s use our freedom considerately, especially toward our new brothers and sisters in Christ. These new Christians need our encouragement; they already have enough stumbling blocks. Let’s also focus on our hearts — what motivates us to do or not do, and what we choose to say, eat, and drink. Let’s remember that whatever doesn’t come from faith is likely going to lead us into sin (Romans 14:22-23). My Prayer… God of all grace, please help me to be an encouragement and a good example to new Christians and those who are weak in their faith. Please, Holy Spirit, give me wisdom and help me guard my life from being a bad example to others. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Wait for Each Other at My Table!
Note from Jesus Dear Precious Disciple, Few things have been more important to My disciples through the centuries than My Supper. The Eucharist, the Lord‘s Supper, Communion, and Holy Communion are all terms that have been used to speak of My Supper. These names are based on things said in the Scriptures about sharing in this special meal of remembrance and anticipation. I shared in the seder meal as part of Passover with My disciples before My betrayal, trials, and crucifixion. My disciples have called this the Last Supper over the years. That meal was a precious time with My disciples for many reasons. I wanted to show My love, to warn them of coming trials, and to plant seeds of hope beyond My crucifixion. In the verses below, the apostle Paul makes clear one of the key reasons this meal was so important: I passed on to you the tradition the Lord gave to me: On the same night the Lord Jesus was betrayed, He took the bread in His hands; and after giving thanks to God, He broke it and said, “This is My body, broken for you. Keep doing this so that you and all who come after will have a vivid reminder of Me.” My Supper with the disciples on that night provides you with a great foundation for your participation in Communion. Paul points to several truths that he wants the disciples to get out of this time of communion together — or as he calls it in the verses below, “the Lord‘s Supper.” If you compare his points in his letter to the Corinthians with Luke’s emphasis in the book of Acts on “breaking bread” and you look back at the passion accounts in each of the four gospels, you can develop a much richer and broader emphasis for the celebration of My Supper in your day. What Paul says in the verses below is focused on correcting the awful abuses of the Corinthians. There was a division between rich and poor (the “haves” and the “have-nots”) that included drunkenness on the part of some and being left out on the part of others. This breaking down of fellowship destroyed so much of the original intent and practice of My Supper. I shared this meal with My disciples in very close fellowship before My death. I shared honest words with them. I demonstrated love and service by washing their feet. I gave them sharp warnings about their unfaithfulness before the night would end. I also gave them reassuring teaching about the future, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and My ultimate victory. This meal was a time of intimate fellowship. However, in the Corinthians’ lust for a spiritual high, some of them had made My Supper into something they treated as almost magical (see yesterday’s devotional). From their warped and selfish perspective, they thought that the more they ate and drank, the more they honored Me and the better the celebration for them personally. For them, the concept of sharing this meal in close communion with others was forgotten. So Paul warned the Corinthians very clearly: They had to recognize two meanings of My body to celebrate My Supper correctly. He wanted them to remember Me and the price I paid on the cross with My body and My blood. In addition, he also wanted them to remember that they were My bodily presence as My church in the world. You need to recognize both meanings also! When you forget either understanding, something holy and precious is lost in My Supper! In fact, Paul made the point that, because they had lost one of these emphases on My body in My Supper, they were actually drinking damnation upon themselves. Their disregard for My body, My people, was causing some in their community to be “sick and weak” and causing some of the spiritual problems they were dealing with in their house churches in Corinth. Verses to Live I want you to pay close attention to the things that Paul teaches in these verses. Don’t forget Me and the price I paid for you in My body and with My blood. The bread and wine you take should be viewed by you as precious, as My body and blood. And, as you take the bread together, don’t forget that all who take that bread are My bodily presence in the world and what happens to one part of My body impacts all the others. So as you remember My death, also show loving care to My ongoing life in My body, the church with whom you share My meal! When we give thanks and share the cup of blessing, are we not sharing in the blood of the Anointed One? When we give thanks and break bread, are we not sharing in His body? Because there is one bread, we, though many, are also one body since we all share one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17) On this next matter, I wish I could applaud you; but I can’t because your gatherings have become counterproductive, making things worse for the community rather than better. Let me start with this: I hear that your gatherings are polarizing the community; and to be honest, this doesn’t surprise me. I’ve accepted the fact that factions are sometimes useful and even necessary so that those who are authentic and those who are counterfeit may be recognized. This distinction is obvious when you come together because it is not the Lord’s Supper you are eating at all. When it’s time to eat, some hastily dig right in; but look — some have more than others: over there someone is hungry, and over here someone is drunk! What is going on? If a self-centered meal is what you want, can’t you eat and drink at home? Do you have so little respect for God’s people and this community that you shame the poor at the Lord’s table? I don’t even know
Today’s Verse – John 8:7
When they kept on questioning [Jesus about the woman caught in the act of adultery, Jesus] straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” —John 8:7 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… When we find it easy to identify the sins of others, God wants us to be reminded of how important it is for us to take a rigorously honest inventory of our own sinfulness. He wants us to deal with our sins before we evaluate anyone else. My responsibility before God is not to condemn others but to condemn the sins and sinful desires I find in me, then live differently, wholly and holy, to honor the LORD God! My Prayer… Forgive me, please, dear God, for my sins. Forgive me, especially dear Father, for the sins arising from a critical and judgmental spirit. Deliver me from such hurtful and evil habits. Forgive of my sins, and please bless me as I seek to live for you with faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Beyond Magic: Supernatural!
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, On the night I was betrayed, I shared in what you call The Last Supper. I gathered with My closest disciples around a table to share the Passover meal. And I used this setting as the background to institute a regular meal for disciples to use to remember Me and to be joined together as My body. This meal became a centerpiece of early Christian gatherings on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). This special meal is known to you by several names — The Supper, The Lord‘s Supper, Communion, Holy Communion, The Eucharist, and The Feast. No matter what you call this meal, it has been practiced by Christians from the beginning of My church. From the beginning, My followers had a tendency to drift from My original intentions. I wanted them to share together in loving unity, to proclaim My story, to examine their hearts, to remember My death, to celebrate My resurrection, to give thanks for the gift I gave them, and to anticipate My return. Some looked at taking the bread and wine as almost magical. Some felt if they could just eat the bread and drink the wine in this special feast, then some supernatural power was at work in them to make them holy. I warned about this misconception when I taught the crowds after I had fed the 5,000 and walked on the water to My disciples (see the second set of verses below). More than just eating My body and drinking My blood metaphorically in communion, they needed to eat Me — My “flesh.” They needed to take My teaching, lifestyle, and love for others into their lives and let Me sustain them. I wanted My early disciples, and you today as My disciple, to realize that The Supper is not magical but transforming. I am present in The Supper to give you life through the sacrifice of My life. You must commit to taking Me in and letting Me reign over all your heart as your example, teacher, and Lord. Paul (in the first set of verses) warns the Corinthians that there was nothing magical in communion. Instead, the meaning and significance of communion come from a disciple’s faith to receive Me and his or her commitment to follow Me. The Israelites shared in spiritual food and drink in the wilderness, but that supernatural food did not keep them from sinning or from being judged: They [the Israelites] were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. (1 Corinthians 10:2-5 NIV) The goal of My Supper is not to see who can eat the most magical food and drink the most supernatural drink! On the other hand, those who come to My Table committed to live for Me will find supernatural sustenance in My holy meal. So Paul warns the Corinthians not to think of The Supper as magical. My Supper is to be a supernatural meal that sustains those who seek to avoid idolatry, who care for each other in My church, who recognize My Supper as a recommitment to live for Me, and who not only give thanks for the Father’s grace in sending Me but also share that grace with others. Verses to Live My resurrection from the dead has great power, yet simply taking the Lord’s Supper won’t do things for you. You must live by My wisdom and truth. I [Paul] wouldn’t want you to be ignorant of our history, brothers and sisters. Our ancestors [the Israelites] were once safeguarded under a miraculous cloud in the wilderness and brought safely through the sea. Enveloped in water by cloud and by sea, they were, you might say, ritually cleansed into Moses through baptism. Together they were sustained supernaturally: they all ate the same spiritual food, manna; and they all drank the same spiritual water, flowing from a spiritual rock that was always with them, for the rock was the Anointed One, our Liberating King. Despite all of this, they were punished in the wilderness because God was unhappy with most of them. Look at what happened to them as an example; it’s right there in the Scriptures so that we won’t make the same mistakes and hunger after evil as they did. So here’s my advice: don’t degrade yourselves by worshiping anything less than the living God as some of them did. Remember it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and then rose up in dance and play.” We must be careful not to engage in sexual sins as some of them did. In one day, 23,000 died because of sin. None of us must test the limits of the Lord’s patience. Some of the Israelites did, and serpents bit them and killed them. You need to stop your groaning and whining. Remember the story. Some of them complained, and the messenger of death came for them and destroyed them. All these things happened for a reason: to sound a warning. They were written down and passed down to us to teach us. They were meant especially for us because the beginning of the end is happening in our time. So let even the most confident believers remember their examples and be very careful not to fall as some of them did. Any temptation you face will be nothing new. But God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can handle. But He always provides a way of escape so that you will be able to endure and keep moving forward. So then, my beloved friends, run from idolatry in any form. As wise as I know you are, understand clearly what
Today’s Verse – Hebrews 8:6
But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to [those who served as priests in Old Testament times,] as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. —Hebrews 8:6 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… The Old Testament is a beautiful covenant of love, as God redeems fallen humanity and sets in motion his promises and plans for grace to bring to us Jesus through the descendants of Abraham. But as powerful as that old covenant was, we have come to a superior covenant. It is far superior to theirs. Why? The mediator of this new covenant is Jesus, who is a better priest and the perfect sacrifice and guarantor of God’s great promises coming to his people and the lost world! My Prayer… Thank you, Almighty God, for sending Jesus to fulfill the promises and carry out the plan you set in place so long ago and revealed by your prophets of old. I thank you and praise you in the name of Jesus Christ, my LORD, the guarantor of a better covenant and hope. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.