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“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” —Ephesians 4:32 Several years ago, I was preaching one morning on today’s Scripture, and we had a big hiccup in our sound system. The microphone was popping, squealing, and screeching. Needless to say, I was very frustrated with the whole situation. I stepped off the stage after the sermon intending to go share my frustration with the people in the sound room. But just as I was about to open the door, I remembered the verse I preached that morning. I probably would’ve handled it okay regardless, but I do know I had an extra measure of grace in light of the verse that was fresh in my mind. Walking away from that day, I really spent some time thinking about what our lives would look like if before every decision we made, we remembered what God’s Word said first. And I believe one of the biggest areas of our lives that would change is how we treat others. It’s my prayer that the people of God would love one another so well that the world would see us and say, “Something is different about them.” Love one another with kindness and compassion. Not only will you be obedient to God, but you’ll also give the world a glimpse of the hope that’s in you.   BE KIND AND FORGIVING, AND LET YOUR LOVE FOR OTHERS BE A BEACON TO A LOST WORLD

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

He Did It for Me

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:3–5

As the perfect Son of God, Jesus is worthy of all the glory and honor that He receives in Heaven. In eternity, we will join in singing His praises. “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Revelation 5:13).

Yet the beautiful Lord of glory became not just a man, but a poor, despised, and rejected man. He was willing to suffer the humiliation and physical pain of the cross. Even more, He took on the filthy, disgusting, and repulsive sins of each of us, and paid our debt even though He did not owe it. He did all of this for our sake, and His sacrifice is beyond our comprehension.

Today I stand before God righteous, without any sin being laid to my account. That is only because of what Jesus did for me. He took my sins and replaced them with His perfection. He willingly paid the price even though it was far beyond our ability to understand. That is the measure of God’s love for us. And it is on the basis of that love and sacrifice that He calls us to joyfully serve Him all the days of our lives.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Never forget that Jesus still bears wounds from the sacrifice that purchased our salvation.