'new life in Christ' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…” vs. 5 Philippians 2:5-8 The Philippians hadn’t gone through confirmation or participated in new member classes. Some of them were Jews, many were Gentiles, and they had no common traditions or doctrines. So it’s not strange that there was confusion in their community about their new life in Christ and what that meant for daily living. Paul wasn’t living with them any longer and he didn’t know if…
Daily Devotions
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” vs. 18 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 It gave Paul great joy to announce the good news of the new life in Christ to the Corinthians, and he delights to write about the salvation that is ours by grace. But he then moves quickly to remind his readers that this great gift of grace is also an invitation and a call to…
Daily Devotions
But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.” vs. 32 Mark 9:30-32 Mark indicates that after the disciples had acknowledged that Jesus was the messiah, it became more difficult for them to understand his teachings. Evidently he was teaching them that the path of discipleship led through suffering and death, and did not provide them a direct route to triumph and glory. We can understand their difficulty. Even though we know the gospel…
Daily Devotions
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days’ rise again.” vs. 31 Mark 8:27-33 Mark reports in his gospel that when the disciples tell Jesus that they believed he was the messiah; he gave them a glimpse of what was to come. There would be a period of great suffering and rejection and finally…
Daily Devotions
For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” vs. 10 Ephesians 2:4-10 Even though we are sinners, by grace, God has already raised us up and given us new life in Christ. And when we trust that this is true, we can put away our old selves and devote ourselves to a lifetime of good works. It doesn’t make any difference how we…
Daily Devotions
Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy…” vs. 8 1 Peter 1:3-9 This letter is addressed to believers living in five Roman provinces in what is now the country of Turkey. Some had suffered alienation from families and persecution by authorities because they had become followers of Jesus. Even though they had never seen him they had…
Daily Devotions
…God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.” vss. 13b-14 Colossians 2:13-15 There is a Cursillo retreat ritual, likely inspired by this verse, during which participants are given small sheets of white paper on which they are encouraged to privately make a list of their sins. When they have finished, they are invited to…
Daily Devotions
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” 16 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1 Whether we like it or not, every day each of us are getting older. Now there is a time in our lives when we appreciate the aging process, and we can hardly wait to get to the next stage, those times of graduation, leaving home, or reaching our physical maturity. But then comes…