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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, July 9, 2023
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Why Do We Love Christ? Bible Verse:2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (ESV) "The love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" Message:
Most people have difficulty reading and understanding Paul’s epistles. If we read them quickly, we hear a stream of Christian buzz-phrases, but the logic is unfathomable and the deeper meaning, lost. So, for most of us (certainly for myself), we have to take very small bites and chew thoroughly.
We are “convinced that one has died for all.” We not only believe, we are convinced — we have made up our mind and taken this fact as an absolute truth — “that one person died for all.” Out of all the people in the world, one of them died for everyone. Not because he wanted to, not because he had to. He died to bring some benefit to everyone else.
Once we really believe this completely in our hearts, “The love of Christ urges us on.” Christ died because he loved us, and once we fully understand and believe this, we love him for it. Such strong love is a powerful force. This love propels us, upholds us; it puts wind in our sails and we walk with conviction and purpose.
But why did he want us to love him so much? Did he have a neurosis? Did he just want to be popular? Was he seeking celebrity status?
We know the answer, if we pray and examine our lives and hearts, because prayer will ultimately show us that we are full of sinful urges and thoughts. It is in our nature to live for ourselves. But living for ourselves is flawed. Our instincts, our minds, even our thoughts, are riddled with imperfection. Living for ourselves, therefore — following our own minds and instincts as our guide and shepherd — means that we will inevitably live, in part, for sin. We will destroy ourselves.
But Christ is perfect, full of good and holiness. To live for him is good for us; good for our souls, good for our neighbors and, I am convinced, good for our own lives while we are on earth. So when Paul says, “And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them,”, he meant to do us a favor.
We must let our love for Christ flow “like a mountain stream” (as the Bellamy Brothers put it) to the point where we live for him, not because he gets a kick out of people kneeling for him, but because it is the equivalent of following the only person who knows the way to heaven. Like sheep in a dense mountain range, we follow our shepherd because he’s the only one who knows the path to safety. Loving him and following him it is the only way to life.
Meditation : Prayer : May the word I have read, Lord, be planted deeply in my mind and heart. Help me not to walk away and forget it, but to meditate on it and obey it and so build my life on the rock of your truth....Amen |
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