Jesus' Blood Was Shed For Me
In my lifetime, I have never owned a Rolex or a yacht. I have never known anyone who did. In my lifetime I have never, nor will I ever slam dunk a basketball because I am too short. I will never know the joy of riding the Derby-winning filly because I am too big to be a jockey. I will never pastor a mega church because there are simply things in this life that are not for me.
These things never were and never will be for me.
But there is, however, something that was meant for me and it's greater than all of the things that are not; the blood of Jesus. When his body was broken and His blood was spilled, it was for me and it was for you.
"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.'" (Luke 22:19).
"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16).
A Day Without Grace
Devotional Thought:
Every moment of the day, God's grace awaits us behind the door of repentance. Without repentance, it is impossible to access grace. To be saved by grace, we must repent (or turn) from faith in our own ability to be good enough to earn Heaven and receive God's gracious offer, instead. To receive the grace to forgive, we must repent of our bitterness and legalisms. To receive grace to love unconditionally, we must repent of our habit of treating others the way they treat us.
Every turn to grace begins with a turn away from the way we would normally do something. This means that to go through a day without repentance is to go through a day without grace. That’s why the word “repent,” and the various calls to turn from our former life, appears so often in the pages of Scripture.
What we have to ask is how have we come to think that we can live a grace-filled-life without repentance?
"Repent and believe in the Gospel!" (Mark 1:15).
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires" (Ephesians 4:22).
Forgotten Seed
Joanna Gaines, of HGTV's Fixer Upper fame, has shared a great parenting insight on her Facebook page:
There's an Adonis blue butterfly bush I planted by the girl's window almost five years ago when we were renovating the farmhouse. I wanted butterflies by the girl's windows that they could see and enjoy. I never told them about the bush and honestly I forgot about it over the years. This morning I found my little Emmie sitting by her window looking excitedly at the bush and saying "Here she is! My little hummingbird comes every morning mom!" First, I didn't know she looked out for her bird every morning. Second, I forgot all about the bush and never told her if she looked out the window she would see the prettiest butterflies and hummingbirds gathered around it.
It's hard not to think this is a lot like parenting... You sow seeds early on and work hard to be intentional and then over time you move on to new lessons and challenges. Then one day you look up and the seeds you planted in your little children's hearts are now in full bloom. Be encouraged today to keep pressing in and tending to their hearts. It will be worth it.
Some of the comments left in reaction to her post are equally encouraging:
One "friend" wrote, "Every day we plant seeds — our choice as to what kind they are."
And another, "The seeds my parents, grandparents & Sunday school teachers planted in me years ago are still alive and thriving. Even after they have passed. I am forever grateful."
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building" (1 Corinthians 3-9).