Today's Reading:
1 Kings 19:1-21
2 Corinthians 2:12-17
Psalm 95:1-11
Click on Text Link to Read Online
Focus Verses:
2 Corinthians 2:17
17
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the
contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent
from God.
Insight:
Christianity
has been turned into big business and Jesus has become a cottage
industry. It's nothing new. Even in the first century, people had
figured out ways to "peddle the word of God for profit."
Paul's
ministry was rooted in his genuine faith that Jesus was the hope of
the world. He was not motivated by personal gain, but rather by his
conviction that Christ died for all in order to bring salvation. Paul
believed that those who had been redeemed by Christ should no longer
live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again
(2 Cor. 5:14-15).
Response and Action:
I
want to live for Christ. Salvation and hope have been given freely to
me, and I will freely pass it along. Jesus is my Lord and Savior;
therefore, all that I am is rightfully his. I will do all I can to
commit my life and my ministry to sharing
the grace of Christ as sincerely, generously, and wholeheartedly as
possible. And I will encourage my church community to do the same.
O
God, thank you for the incomparable gift of Christ. Thank you for
your generosity and goodness. Help me to be shaped so completely by your
grace that I too am able to be generous and good. Help me to be
sincere in my faith, and motivate me to be a servant, a witness, and a
blessing to others. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: Mark 10:43-45
43 "...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Resources:
Counterfeit Gods
by Timothy Keller
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