Category: Verse of the Day

“So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.”

This has to be one of the most encouraging of passages from Paul’s letter to the early Christians in Galatia, and I daresay it is just as powerful to us even today.  Don’t become tired doing good, he says, and be patient for a great outcome in due time.  Also, never lose an opportunity to serve, especially to those who are your brothers and sisters in Christ.  May it be that we practice this exhortation every day.

“Jesus answered, “I told you, but you don’t believe. Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You don’t believe because you’re not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good.  No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief.  No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind.”

To the non-believer who has seen and heard and even experienced the mighty power of the changing grace of the Almighty God, there is nothing further to be said or done.  Jesus is almost resigned to the choice of the non-believer.  You believe, or you don’t believe.  After all, “actions that speak louder than words” do not need words for an explanation, and yet, Jesus invites each one of us to come on in and examine for ourselves who he is, what he’s done, and what he offers to you.  Will you believe?

“Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.”

If you are unable to fully comprehend how this could all be, do not despair.  Simply believe in this great provision that God the father has made for you and me, and all will be revealed in time.  There is both justice and mercy evident in this plan of salvation:  justice, in that God has offered pardon to the believer not because he is good and feels like it, but because the perfect sacrifice or atonement for each of us has been made by Jesus Christ incarnate; and mercy, in that God has allowed for such a substitute sacrifice to be acceptable to him, and not just that, but has prepared the substitute sacrifice himself.  This is not just a writing off of our sins; it is a plan that allows for the perfect sacrifice to take the place of our life so that we might find our eternal place with him.  This is a “long-range plan” as our translation of these verses offers today.

“That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure. It’s no light thing to know that we’ll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That’s why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God. God alone knows how well we do this, but I hope you realize how much and deeply we care. We’re not saying this to make ourselves look good to you. We just thought it would make you feel good, proud even, that we’re on your side and not just nice to your face as so many people are. If I acted crazy, I did it for God; if I acted overly serious, I did it for you. Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. A New Life Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.”

Paul speaks with a sense of urgency about his mission: to tell others about the love of God manifested in the work accomplished on the cross by Jesus Christ.  “Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes” he says, meaning that nothing is too outrageous when it comes to sharing the gospel.  Do you have the same passion as Paul?

“And I command you today: Love God, your God. Walk in his ways. Keep his commandments, regulations, and rules so that you will live, really live, live exuberantly, blessed by God, your God, in the land you are about to enter and possess.”

Originally written for the wandering Israelites in the desert, this is a command that may be practiced by the believer even today.  Loving God is an exercise for a lifetime, and it is never too early or too late to start.

“God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.

You’ve got to face it. Because  you will encounter it sooner or later — God’s word, that is.  It will come to you perhaps in the most direct or even the most unexpected of ways.  And sooner or later, it will force you to consider what your position is.

“All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.”

“What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving . People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.”

Don’t worry about it!  That’s what Jesus is telling his disciples here.  Don’t become so consumed with wanting to carefully arrange everything in your life, and in wondering and working toward getting everything lined up and in place.  Do what you need to do, but get your priorities right, is what Jesus is saying.  Understand that God knows what you need and will provide for you.  Can you do something better than worrying, though?  Can you seek after God to love, worship, and serve him in whatever capacity and wherever you may be placed?  Can you pray like Francis of Assisi, these words, everyday:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is discord, harmony;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.