A promise for Memorial Day

The Christian's great hope of seeing our loved ones again rests not in our belief that we are or will be good enough to earn this reward. We should be continually humbled by our God who is good enough, strong enough, and concerned enough to grant us His promise (1 Corinthians 15) of reunification with our departed. 

Not Enough

Although good works are a natural outcome of our faith, we must always remember that they are NOT the source of our salvation (Philippians 3:9). As Christians, we should be constantly humbled by the sacrificial death of Christ, where he took our punishment for us, and gave us grace in return. May we always give grace to others, just like Christ gave grace to us.

In the shadow of your religion

Our motives for serving God and doing good works can undermine our joy and happiness in performing the works. Philippians 3 calls on us to "rejoice in the Lord," but doing God's work in a way that promotes our own interests, hides this joy from us. Can you think of ways you do good works to be seen as a "good person, instead of doing them as a way of saying "I love you to God?"

Jesus loved the doubter

Christians often tell the story of "doubting Thomas" in order to reinforce and remind us of how important faith is to the believer. However, we should not forget that Jesus was willing to give Thomas the proof he sought (Jn. 25). How do you respond to honest skeptics who doubt the validity of your faith? Are you willing to give your personal story of faith as your personal proof?

Jesus loved the doubter

The Silent Sabbath

The followers of Jesus Christ were left to ponder their fates and their faith while Christ's body remained in the tomb for three days. (Matt 28:1-3) The third day was a holy day, or sabbath for Jesus' followers, who surely didn't feel like celebrating. Have you ever felt like God has gone silent, and left you with a false faith? Christians take heart, at the end of the silent sabbath, Christ was risen.

World Cross-Over Event

Do you look at some of the people around you and wonder, "what world are they living in?" or "what is their world like?" These questions show how different we feel about others, but also remind us that to be truly Christ-like, we must be willing to leave the world of our comfort and consider other points of view. How can you enter your neighbor's world, the way Christ entered our world? Phil 2:5-10

Humility Contest

The Christian's great example, Jesus Christ, demonstrated radical humility by leaving the Godhead and joining us in our daily struggles (Phil 2:5-8) To be more like Christ, we might try to force a kind of false humility which is meant to bolster our image. Can you think of a time you've been proud of how humble you had been?