Free from Condemnation...to Serve

Romans 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Today's devotional is a follow-up to yesterday's celebration of the foundation of our faith, Resurrection Day. The Gospel of Jesus has accomplished what the Law could not; it freed us from the bondage of sin, and the fear of death, when we trusted and called upon Jesus. However, I am afraid that too many believers have used the very first verse, Romans 8:1, as a license to live as they deem to be right. Well, I have to burst that bubble today. The truth of the matter is that the Word of God is very clear that if we are true born again believers, we will not live sinful lives. I am not saying that we will never sin again. I am saying that sin in our lives will be the exception and not the rule. A true believer, and follower of Jesus, will put the old man in the coffin and nail it shut, and put on the new man, in Christ Jesus. The true disciple of Jesus will no longer display the characteristics of Galatians 5:19-21 (works of the flesh), but will instead display the characteristics of Galatians 5:22-26 (the fruit of the Spirit). Only God truly knows who is a real born again believer, and the Bible tells us that we will know them by their fruit. However, in the end, we need to be more concerned about where we stand with God, and leave the rest to the Lord. Yes, we are told to hold one another accountable, in love; but when it is all said and done, we need to make the best use of the freedom we now have in Christ, free of condemnation, to serve Him for His glory.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Devotional Audio Track: One Person Just Might Believe

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One Person Just Might Believe

Mark 16:9-11 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

Imagine the excitement that must have filled Mary's heart when she saw Jesus alive again! The excitement she must have felt as she shared the good news that she had just seen Jesus! Imagine the disappointment she must have experienced when the disciples, who walked with Jesus, responded with unbelief. Sadly, this is what happens to many of us. We have excitement when we first encounter Jesus in our lives, but soon thereafter get discouraged because of the rejection we feel when others do not believe as we do. We experience disappointment when we encounter other Christians who do not seem as excited about the fact that Jesus rose again and has given us eternal life, when we believed and called upon His Name. On this day we celebrate the foundation of our faith...Resurrection Day! A day we observe as the day that Jesus defeated death and the grave! A day when we, who have trusted in the finished work of Jesus, celebrate our victory over the grave and the fear of death, in Christ Jesus! Will we allow the unbelief of others to discourage us from carrying out our mission? Will we allow the unbelievers and mockers to silence us, or will we use this day as an opportunity to proclaim the Good News that Jesus lives! He has risen, and He is alive! He sits at the right hand of the Father and offers eternal life to all who believe! How can we keep such a precious and awesome truth to ourselves! Let us not just gather together as our way of celebrating. Instead, let us gather together, praise God for such a wonderful gift; but then, let us go out and find someone to tell, and let us not be discouraged by those who do not believe. The more people we tell, the better our odds of reaching that one person who just might believe.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Unbelief Is A Thief

Mark 15:46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

Imagine what the disciples must have felt like knowing that the One they followed for three years, the One who they believed was their Messiah, was now lying in a tomb with a stone rolled against the entrance, and securely sealed. Such hopelessness they must have felt. Where would they go? What would they do? After all, they left everything behind to follow the One who had called them to be fishers of men. When we read the Gospels, the one thing we do know is that the disciples did not understand what was about to happen, but we also know that they suffered from unbelief. That unbelief would be revealed after Jesus' resurrection, when Mary Magdalene told them that Jesus had risen. Jesus later rebukes their unbelief and hardness of heart (Mark 16:9-14). The fact of the matter is that if the disciples believed, they would have found the hope they needed at that very moment. Instead, they allowed their unbelief to steal their hope, their joy, and their peace. Today, we must be vigilant, because unbelief is a thief, and will rob us of the blessings Jesus desires to give us. We must not forfeit the blessings of the hope, the peace, and the joy, we have in Jesus.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Devotional Audio Track: What If?

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What If?

Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

A friend asked this question this morning, "WHAT IF...Jesus had never died on the cross, where would our hope be?" My response was, "We would have no hope, and we would all be eternally condemned to Hell and the Lake of Fire. Praise be to God that this is one 'WHAT IF' we need not worry about." Today we observe Crucifixion Friday, a day to remember the greatest sacrifice ever made in the history of mankind. Our God, who chose to take on human form, came to us in the Person of Christ Jesus; and for the sake of love, allowed man, whom He came to save, to crucify Him. The very people He came to rescue were the very ones who drove the nails in Jesus' hands and feet, but only after physically torturing Him to nearly the point of death. Our Savior came to us during a time in history when one of the cruelest forms of torture was being practiced to put people to death. Yet, that is what our Lord humbled and submitted Himself to for our sake; to pay a debt we could never pay. Let not this magnificent sacrifice be meaningless in your life; for if you do, it will be the greatest mistake of your earthly existence, with eternal consequences you will most definitely regret. If you do not know Him, call on Him today, and receive the free gift of salvation He offers, and purchased with His life and blood. If you do know Him, what are you doing with this wonderful gift you now possess? Do not hoard it...share it!

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Verify What They Testify

Deuteronomy 18:21-22 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the Name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Hebrews 1 tells us that God spoke to man, in times past, via the prophets. The only way to prove that a man was a true prophet of God was to wait and see if the prophecy came to pass, exactly as he prophesied. Today, we have many claiming to be preachers of God, and bringing messages of prosperity, and new revelations. Unlike in times past, we now have a way to verify the messages we hear. We have the Living Word of God. None of us has an excuse for being led astray by false teachers and preachers. Like the Bereans in the Book of Acts, we have a personal responsibility to verify the messages we hear against God's Word. We have God's complete revelation to us. In that revelation, God Himself chose what He would or would not reveal. The Bible clearly tells us that the secret things belong to the Lord. Therefore, we must be careful not to be led away from God by someone claiming to have a "new word" from God. All that we need to know is found in the pages of our Bibles. We are called to be students, and doers, of the Word. Today, we have an abundance of resources to help us in our personal study of God's Word. In a time when false teaching is becoming more prevalent, we must be even more diligent to study to show ourselves approved before God.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).