Bible Reading: Matthew 27:11-26and Luke 23:15–22
Memory Verse: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23
Barabbas was a well known criminal and trouble maker that was in jail for murder. He was headed for a punishment of death. He did not deserve a release. There was no evidence of repentance or sorrow for the sins that he committed.
Romans 5:8 says this: " But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."
Jesus, the innocent, gave his life first for Barabbas, an unrepentant sinner. Barabbas did nothing to deserve this, but had the same love and opportunity as everyone.
Jesus loved you first while you were in the worst of your sin. You don't deserve this love, but He gives it freely. You have the opportunity to respond to this love by accepting the free gift that God offers through Jesus.
We are all guilty and deserve condemnation but because of the willing substitution of the innocent Christ in our place, there is a free gift of freedom from those sins for those who accept. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick,” Jesus says in Mark 2:17. “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
I identify with Barabbas as a sinner who was released from the deserved punishment of the sin. I am Barabbas.
Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Friday, March 4, 2016
God Changes Your Plans
Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:21-28
Focus Verse: Matthew 16:22 But Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him for saying such things. "Heaven forbid Lord", he said. "This will never happen to you."
How do you handle it when God changes your plans? I should be in Kenya right now, but I’m still at home. There was a mechanical issue with the airplane, so my trip is delayed 24 hours. Sometimes we don’t like it and have a hard time adjusting when God changes our plans. In our text Peter had a hard time adjusting to a different plan. Peter could not accept the fact that Jesus had to die on a cross. Peter said that will never happen, and even rebuked Jesus for saying such a thing. Peter was so concerned with the change of plan in his mind, that he didn’t even hear Jesus say that He would be raised from the dead on the third day. So think about this, if Peter had his way, with no change of plans, then the redemption of mankind would not have happened. I think God had a better plan of sending Jesus to the cross. Sometimes we may never know why God changes our plans. But He is in control and has the right to change our plans anytime. So just be flexible, because your plans are going to change sometimes.
Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Focus Verse: Matthew 16:22 But Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him for saying such things. "Heaven forbid Lord", he said. "This will never happen to you."
How do you handle it when God changes your plans? I should be in Kenya right now, but I’m still at home. There was a mechanical issue with the airplane, so my trip is delayed 24 hours. Sometimes we don’t like it and have a hard time adjusting when God changes our plans. In our text Peter had a hard time adjusting to a different plan. Peter could not accept the fact that Jesus had to die on a cross. Peter said that will never happen, and even rebuked Jesus for saying such a thing. Peter was so concerned with the change of plan in his mind, that he didn’t even hear Jesus say that He would be raised from the dead on the third day. So think about this, if Peter had his way, with no change of plans, then the redemption of mankind would not have happened. I think God had a better plan of sending Jesus to the cross. Sometimes we may never know why God changes our plans. But He is in control and has the right to change our plans anytime. So just be flexible, because your plans are going to change sometimes.
Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Plant, Nurture, Harvest, and Repeat
Bible Reading
Matthew l3: 1-23
Focus Verse:
Matthew 13:23 "The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Do you have a favorite childhood story that your parents or a teacher told you that taught you a lesson or truth? An analogy that parallels a truth makes that truth easier to understand whether you are a child or an adult. Jesus, in Matthew 13, teaches the disciples and the crowd about the kingdom using 7 parables. He explained 2 of them, one being the parable of the sower.
First there is a Sower which represents God, Jesus, and the believers. Second there is the Seed which represents The Word or the gospel and how the seed is often lost and not reproduced. Third there is the Soil, Jesus described 3 bad soils and one good soil, showing how people receive and respond to the gospel. A man’s reception of God Word is determined by the condition of his heart.
The hard soil or hard heart hears the Word but doesn’t understand it. So the birds/Satan snatches it away.
The rocky ground hears the Word with joy, but has no root, so doesn’t last when the hot sun or persecution, pressure or trouble come because of the Word.
The thorny/weedy soil hears the Word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches chokes the Word, v.22.
The good soil hears the Word, understands it and then bears fruit, like good seed, reproducing 30 times, 60 times, or 100 times itself.
Have you ever sown seed and seen it land on one of these soils? God does not expect us to have control over the hearers of the gospel but we are to sow the seed. If someone looks at your life what kind of soil would they see? Sometimes Christians fall back into sin. Some Christians fail to be productive, because they are not developing and/or using the gifts God has given them.
We can ask ourselves 1. Am I compassionate about the fields that are white unto harvest?
Am I planting seeds? 3. Am I nurturing seedlings? 4. Am I reaping the harvest?
The solutions to these situations is to renew our commitment to serve Jesus as Lord. Jesus expects every believer to be fruitful and productive. May our faith and our lives exemplify the “good soil”.
Written by Nancy Olive
Mother of Page Johnson, Interlocking Ministries
Matthew l3: 1-23
Focus Verse:
Matthew 13:23 "The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Do you have a favorite childhood story that your parents or a teacher told you that taught you a lesson or truth? An analogy that parallels a truth makes that truth easier to understand whether you are a child or an adult. Jesus, in Matthew 13, teaches the disciples and the crowd about the kingdom using 7 parables. He explained 2 of them, one being the parable of the sower.
First there is a Sower which represents God, Jesus, and the believers. Second there is the Seed which represents The Word or the gospel and how the seed is often lost and not reproduced. Third there is the Soil, Jesus described 3 bad soils and one good soil, showing how people receive and respond to the gospel. A man’s reception of God Word is determined by the condition of his heart.
The hard soil or hard heart hears the Word but doesn’t understand it. So the birds/Satan snatches it away.
The rocky ground hears the Word with joy, but has no root, so doesn’t last when the hot sun or persecution, pressure or trouble come because of the Word.
The thorny/weedy soil hears the Word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches chokes the Word, v.22.
The good soil hears the Word, understands it and then bears fruit, like good seed, reproducing 30 times, 60 times, or 100 times itself.
Have you ever sown seed and seen it land on one of these soils? God does not expect us to have control over the hearers of the gospel but we are to sow the seed. If someone looks at your life what kind of soil would they see? Sometimes Christians fall back into sin. Some Christians fail to be productive, because they are not developing and/or using the gifts God has given them.
We can ask ourselves 1. Am I compassionate about the fields that are white unto harvest?
Am I planting seeds? 3. Am I nurturing seedlings? 4. Am I reaping the harvest?
The solutions to these situations is to renew our commitment to serve Jesus as Lord. Jesus expects every believer to be fruitful and productive. May our faith and our lives exemplify the “good soil”.
Written by Nancy Olive
Mother of Page Johnson, Interlocking Ministries
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)