Ever been far away from home for an extended period? Remember those feelings of homesickness deep inside? And those feelings of never feeling totally comfortable knowing it wasn’t home and only temporary? Such feelings and experiences are natural in the Christian and spiritual realm too. Why? This is not our home. In today’s scripture, we have two applications to help us live life in this world as foreigners, aliens, and pilgrims.
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
New Testament
If I were to sit down with you and ask, “Why did God save us?” I am sure we would dialogue along answers such as; to display His grace and glory, to make us like His Son, to show the world God’s love, to free us from His wrath, to forgive us our sins, and to take us to heaven to enjoy His presence forever. Those are legitimate Biblical answers to why God displayed His amazing and saving grace in His plan of salvation. However, I think there is a reason above all of these. Yes, I know the chief end of all things is the glory of God, but what I am about to share accomplishes this end and does so more than anything else we may do in the Christian life.
As we read Paul’s penetrating statement in today’s scripture, two things are present. First is the affirmation – “You were running well.” The Apostle Paul does something else. He asks a soul-searching question of spiritual accountability – “Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” Today’s Nugget explores this passage and our willingness to do two things in our relationships with other Christians: love them without conditions and invest in their spiritual lives.
In this sermon, Pastor Jim moves on to the second of the petitions focused on us, the believer; the petition for the forgiveness of sins. He notes how it is connected to the previous petition through the only use of ‘and’ in the petitions. He then goes on to explore the conditional linkage between our forgiveness and our forgiveness of others, the two primary concepts of our forgiveness, and the attributes of God’s forgiveness that should be present in how we forgive others.
Heaven. The Bible doesn’t give us a lot of detail about heaven, but what we know thrills the soul. In the Revelation, the Apostle John describes some of the characteristics of this promised land for believers (Revelation 21:1-4). Yes, heaven is going to be an incredible place, but I want us to think about heaven today, not in the direction of a place we are going, but to a Person we will see.
I know today’s theme has obvious answers. We have responsibilities that won’t allow us to simply pull up the covers and snuggle in for a long winter’s day of sleep. In today’s scripture, there are two spiritual truths which will energize and motivate us to get out of bed and into our day with eternal purpose: the love of Christ and our union in Christ. These two truths enable us to start each day, no matter the season, with joy, purpose, and a rejoicing heart.