APRIL 30 – - – 1 Peter 2:11-3:7
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” - 1 Peter 2:22-23
Who likes being made fun of? I sure don’t! When someone says a rude comment about me, my first instinct would be to fight back with worse and more hurtful things to say or do. But that’s my flesh-my sinful nature. In verse 23, it says “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” This is such a great reminder for all of us…
People talked about Jesus in hurtful, sinful ways every day when He started His ministry, but there was never one time when God started yelling back – or started to gossip about them or anything! He was so pure and loving towards everybody! I know it can be REALLY difficult to hold our tongue and be patient with those who get on our nerves, but if we just give it all to the Lord, he can give us the strength!
Let’s all remember to love one another and be an example of Christ! You never know what a simple smile or “hello” can do for someone’s day!
God Bless!
Amanda Salvato
APRIL 29 – - – 1 Peter 1:13-2:10
“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” - 1st Peter 1:22
How can I have a clean heart?
The way I can truly have a pure heart to love my brethren, is to obey the truth, which means that we constantly need to be in the Word. Then, and only then is when we can get past the faults or irritations of others, and truly love our brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that my heart is wicked and it is very hard for me to love my neighbor as myself and to be in the Word daily, but when I am in the Word and obey the truth, that is when my heart is washed and cleansed , so I am even capable of loving with a pure heart. This is a huge struggle for me; I am not always in the word or loving everyone that comes in my path, but because of God’s grace I am able to work on it.
- Halley Baker
APRIL 28 – - – 1 Peter 1:1-12
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” – 1 Peter 1:3-4
Not a Hope-So-Hope…
Did you know that your Hope in a Promising Future is not a hope-so-hope… you know what a hope-so-hope is don’t you? It’s the hope that you have about the weather being nice enough to go to the beach Saturday. It’s the response you give when you are asked if the Padres will continue to win this year; “well, I hope so.”
There is often a great deal of uncertainty in our tone of voice as we talk about the things we Hope will happen in our future. But our Hope in Jesus (and a future with Him) is more then just wishful thinking! The word hope, as it is used here in 1st Peter chapter one, literally means “the expectation of coming good.”
Your Future Resurrection (experiencing life, after this life on earth ceases) is not something you are just wishing for, it’s something you be living in expectation of. You will be Saved! You will be given an Incorruptible Inheritance! God does have great things in store for you! Expect it, and live different today because of it today!
- Trevor
APRIL 27 – - – Mark 16
In verse 15, Jesus tells us to go out into all of the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole world, not just some of the people that we know, even if that means you have to step out of your comfort zone and walk up to people that you don’t know and witness to them. But it can also be as little as respecting your parents, and even just setting a good example.
Later on, Jesus says “Whoever believes will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” This means exactly what it is saying, if you believe, no matter what you’ve done in your past, you will be accepted into heaven. Jesus also says
17”And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Jesus is saying that through his name we will be able to do all of these things that he is saying in these verses.
- Scott Sanford
APRIL 26 – - – Mark 15:24-47
“And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” - Mark 15:37-38
Remember the Flannel Boards in Sunday School…?
Although they wouldn’t accomplish much in 303 or Solomon’s Porch, they did serve a great purpose when we were kids. We were easily amused weren’t we!? They were a feeble attempt to “add color” to what we were learning, or to enhance our understanding of what was really taking place in the story we were hearing.
Visual Aids can be helpful, and are something that even God used – to illustrate something spiritual that we can’t see, with something physical that we can see.
The Veil in the Temple for instance… it ripped from top to bottom (it was several inches thick, and presumed to be over 60 tall) so that it was clear to everyone that something supernatural took place. But what’s the big deal – well the veil separated the dwelling place of God, from the area of the Temple that the people were free to hang out in. The two sections were separated because sinful people cannot approach a Holy God. But as Jesus breathed His last on the cross, the Penalty of our sin was paid for. And with our sin now out of the way, there is NOTHING THAT SEPERATES US FROM GOD – so God removed the Veil as a demonstration of the Removal of our Sin (that which had separated us from His presence).
So the question of the day is… now that God has done so much not just to forgive your sins, but to provide a way for you to approach and petition Him; are you taking advantage of your opportunity? Are you entering the Presence of our Limitless God in Prayer, to ask Him to Help you in your time of need?
- Trevor
APRIL 25 – - – Mark 15:1-23
Are you the kind of person who tries to impress other people even if you know that it’s wrong? Pilot made this mistake and it lead to Jesus’ death. Pilot didn’t want to lose his popularity with the people. He just went along with what they were saying even though he knew it was wrong. A lot of us (including me) have to work on this problem because we all do it. We do things that God doesn’t like to gain popularity with friends, to show off in front of a girl or guy we like, or even just to look cool. So think about this: If you were in Pilot’s position, what would you do?
- Jonah Heath
APRIL 24 – - – Mark 14:53-72
It is so easy for us to become ashamed of our faith. Unless you attend a Christian school, it seems like every day is a battle to keep away from sin. It’s too easy to just store Jesus in our back pocket, and take him out later when it’s safe and there’s no one to judge us. We think there’s too much on the line if we have a close relationship, so why not follow at a distance like Peter did? And while we’re at it, we might as well warm ourselves by the flame of the world and pretend we have nothing to do with the Lord. But that is NOT faith; it’s just a comfortable medium. If we take the easy way out, how can we really call ourselves Christian? If we hide our faith around everyone else and only let it shine through when no one’s even looking, what good is that? It’s no good. We can’t be on the fence with our relationship with God. Either we’re all in or all out. If we stay on the fence, one day we will tip a little too far the WRONG WAY. When the rooster crows and that time is here, we will realize that we denied the one and only thing that can save us, we pretended like we didn’t know the Lord one too many times. And when that time comes, we will have to feel the guilt and shame as we look into the face of Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his life for us even though we couldn’t admit that we were associated with him. I’d rather be on the right side of the fence to begin with, wouldn’t you?
- Sarah Heath
