Motives Matter

Motives Matter When Paul wrote this passage, certain members of the Roman church had started making rules about food, Sabbath days, and fasting. Because of the freedom Jesus brought, these rules shouldn’t have been a requirement for the Christian life, but certain church members had started to treat them like they were. They looked down on those who didn’t share their practices, and this inflated their pride. Paul urged the church to abstain from judging each other about such trivial things because what we do is less important than why we do it. Our motive is crucial. Fasting, restricting certain foods, and practicing the Sabbath are beautiful ways to draw near to Jesus, but these actions don’t save us. If we look to activities and rules for our salvation and hold others to standards not laid out in Scripture, we are susceptible to pride and disunity, just like the people Paul wrote to in today’s passage. God alone is the standard of justice, goodness, and righteousness. When you choose to judge others, you allow your pride to take God’s place as the one true Judge. Pride is the enemy of unity! Fight against it by seeking unity with other believers on your campus.

A Prayer for the New Year

A Prayer for the New Year As we prepare for another year, we’re asking God to help us understand the significance of “Immanuel, God with us” in the days ahead. Because we want to have a truly happy new year, and we think that’s the best place to start. We don’t mean “happy” as in we hope everything goes perfectly for us (that’s not going to happen). When have any of us experienced a year that was all UP and no DOWN? We mean happy as in “blessed.” Happy as in “aware of God’s presence through the ups and downs.” Happy as in “God’s joy is our strength, especially when we feel weak.” So seriously, from us to you: Happy New Year! And we can say that because God is Immanuel—he is with us! As we all start out on this new year, here’s what we’re praying for. Join us as we ask God to meet us in this New Year. And [spoiler alert] he’s coming with us whether we recognize it or not.

Brand new year Don’t just invite God into something you’ve already conceived. Give Him the pen and invite Him to write the story.

Brand new year Don’t just invite God into something you’ve already conceived. Give Him the pen and invite Him to write the story.

A New Beginning

A New Beginning New. What a beautiful word. Fresh. Something never discovered before. A beginning. Is this what you are looking for? To be made new? Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) says: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” The prophet Isaiah wrote the book of Isaiah about 700 years before the coming of Jesus. This passage was written to the Hebrews held in captivity in Babylon, desperate to be set free. They were in physical captivity. They were also in spiritual captivity. Sin—the mistakes and wrongs that are the source of separation between man and God—was reigning over the hearts of man with no one to conquer it. But a way out was coming. The last part of the passage says: “I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” For a people lost in sin and separated from God, there was no way out on their own. But God made a way by sending His Son, Jesus, as the perfect sacrifice and victorious conqueror of the sin man could not overcome alone. New. He came to make all things new.  Jesus is the way in the wilderness. He is the stream in the wasteland. He is the way when there is no way.  When you feel broken over your sin, trapped in addictions you can’t escape, overwhelmed by temptation, or frustrated by failure, you don’t need to try harder. You need to be made new. You need a way out. You need Him. Today, you can be made new by Jesus. You don’t have to wait. You don’t have to try to cleanse yourself of your sin. Your transformation can begin today—and it begins with Jesus.

““Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I just finished Christmas With the Chosen: Devotional on YouVersion.com

I just finished Christmas With the Chosen: Devotional on YouVersion.com

I just finushed Rediscovering the Christmas Season: Day 20 Devotional on YouVersion.com

I just finushed Rediscovering the Christmas Season: Day 20 Devotional on YouVersion.com