Ephesians 2 - 1.23.24

SCRIPTURE:  Ephesians 2:8 “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift- not from works, so that no one can boast.”

OBSERVATION:  The apostle Paul emphasized to the Jews and to the Greeks that they were once dead in their sins.  Then he included himself, “We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires…but God made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses.”

He addressed the problem we are ALL born with being sinners, and then he went on to share the solution by which God made a way, THROUGH JESUS, to restore mankind to Himself, (ONLY to those who believe Jesus is Lord).

APPLICATION:  We’ve all heard that old saying, “Nothing in life is free!” Maybe that’s why it’s so hard for many to comprehend that the greatest gift we could ever receive is God’s grace, forgiveness, and salvation!

NONE of us deserve God’s gift of salvation, and it cannot be earned by doing good works!  Our sin is what separates us from God, but because of His love for us, He devised a solution to our problem. His name is Jesus!  Jesus left the comforts of heaven, came to earth, lived a sinless life, willingly obeyed the Father by dying on the cross to pay for our sins, and on the third day He rose again! Today He lives to intercede for us; He’s always ready, willing, and available to help us become more like Him every day in every way.  As we read His Word, apply it, follow Him, and obey, He has promised to hear us, and to guide us on the right path. 

PRAYER:  Thank You God for loving me so much that You sent Your Son Jesus to die for my sins!  Because of Your great love for me, You forgave me, saved me, and made me alive through Jesus!  I am now free to live for You!  I have been saved by grace through faith, and have been created in Christ FOR good works, not BECAUSE of my good works!  I pray I will be an ambassador for Christ as I share this Good News with others. 

- Robin Orefice

Malachi 1 - 1.22.24

Scripture

‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT

“Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!“

‬‬

Observation

In this passage, God is speaking to the people of Israel through His prophet Malachi. God is furious with Israel for treating His Holy Altar with contempt.

”“You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’ “You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.“-‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭‬‬

At the end of the day, God has blessed Israel throughout the generations with so much. God is a Holy God, who deserves their respect. God deserves better than they are offering. God deserves their best.

Application

I should give God my best because He gave me His best…JESUS!

If you look deeper into this passage, I believe it was more of an attitude thing than a animal sacrifice thing here with the people of Israel. They began losing their focus of just how Holy and Mighty God is. They began taking Him for granted, going through the motions with their worship and sacrifice for Him. God Almighty deserves better than that. He demands our respect! He deserves our best.

Now before we get on Israel’s case for treating God this way, we may want to look in the mirror first. Now we may not offer animal sacrifices to God nowadays, but there are other ways we could cheat and dishonor God with our “sacrifices”. We could do it with our time, money, and talents God has given us.

I still remember like it was yesterday when my dad would tell my sisters and I things like: “You’re willing to give your waiter a 20% tip, but you can’t even give God 10%.” Or “You have time to watch all those shows on television, but you don’t have time to spend with God.” Or my favorite one, “You are able to get to work on time, but you can’t even make it to church on time.” (Ouch! 😖)

Looking back at my life, my dad had a point. (I wonder if he got that message from reading this passage😆). With ALL the things God has blessed me with, God deserves my utmost respect. He deserves ALL the glory, honor, and praise. He deserves my full and undivided worship. After all, God gave me His best when He sent His One and only Son, Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. It’s only right that I give Him my best.

Prayer

God, please forgive me for whenever I may take You for granted, or for whenever I may treat You in contempt. You have blessed me with so much in life. Thank You most of all for giving me Jesus. It’s because of Jesus that I’m able to have access to a Holy, loving, and awesome God like You. I pray that You give me a joyful attitude that allows me to give you my all in everything I do. May I give you my best with my finances, my ministry, my talents and gifts, and my time. May You get all the glory and honor. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi

Galatians 6 - 1.19.24

Scripture - Pick one verse that stood out to you.

Galatians 6:1

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

Observation - What about this verse stands out to you?

The second half of verse one stood out to me: ‘Watch yourselves (as you restore that person gently), or you also may be tempted.’

Lord, help me to establish Godly boundaries within my home, and please grant my wife wisdom to deal with the fallout when those boundaries get crossed because it’s not going to be me…- was sadly a prayer I used to pray to You Lord.

I thank you that over the years You have seen me more active in the running of my own home, a home more dedicated to Your honor and glory. 

Thank you for reminding me that the younger generation aren’t the only ones prone to sin. And thank you for reminding me that restoration doesn’t need an iron fist.

Application - How will you apply this to your life?

While this scripture was specific to the restoration of a brother or sister caught in sin, I would like to apply this principle to how I approach family/household issues. First, I will watch myself to guard against hypocrisy and/or sin before I attempt to administer house justice. Second, I will apply restoration much more gently.

Prayer - Write out a prayer.

Lord, please help me to become less frustrated when administering justice within my own home. Please, help me to mimic the way that a brother or sister in Christ was to be restored - gently. Please, help me to develop a self-auditing sense so that I may guard myself against both sin and hypocrisy. Please help me to keep the logs away from mine eyes!

In the name of Jesus do I pray, amen.

-kenneth lee