Grace Comes Through Faith

June 28

(Acts 13:39 NIV) "Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses."

(Ephesians 2:4-9 NIV) "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, {5} made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. {6} And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, {7} in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. {8} For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- {9} not by works, so that no one can boast."

“Through Him everyone who believes is justified.” What a great truth of Scripture! What a great gift from God! Paul would later write in Ephesians, “It is by grace you have been saved, through your faith in Christ.” No matter how hard they tried, God’s people could not obtain righteousness or earn salvation by obeying God’s Law. They could not be good enough or religious enough… neither can we! Instead, they had to decide whether or not to believe God and accept the gospel of truth… so will we. Salvation comes through Christ -- that’s God’s grace part. But we obtain it by believing God -- that’s our faith part. We either choose to believe God and follow Jesus, or we choose to ignore the Gospel and continue going our own way. This is the proverbial fork in the road to our eternal destiny. What will it be for you -- faith or works? Grace or law? Saved or lost? The choice is yours. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day 

Good News: Forgiveness of Sin

June 27

(Acts 13:32-38 NIV) ““We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers {33} he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: "'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.' {34} The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: "'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.' {35} So it is stated elsewhere: "'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' {36} "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. {37} But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. {38} "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.””

(Matthew 26:27-28 NIV) ““Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. {28} This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.””

(Luke 24:46-47 NIV) ““He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, {47} and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.””

Paul preached the good news -- the gospel of salvation. He was not confused or conflicted about the purpose of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. God fulfilled His promise when Jesus died on a cross and was raised to life. The death and resurrection of Jesus are directly tied to the forgiveness of sin -- sin which stands in the way of our relationship with the Creator both now and for eternity. His shed blood makes it possible for us to become a true child of God and receive God’s blessing. We can be forgiven of our sins and reunited with our Father. Some today would de-emphasize Christ’s shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin. They say that a God of love would never plan for something as cruel as the cross. But God’s love is precisely why Christ had to shed His blood -- it was poured out in love for the forgiveness of sins. Believe the good news. Accept His forgiveness. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

A God Willed Resurrection

June 26

(Acts 13:30-31 NIV) "But God raised him from the dead, {31} and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people."

(1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NIV) "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, {4} that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, {5} and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. {6} After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. {7} Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, {8} and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."

God raised Jesus from the dead. This was the heart of Paul’s sermon because it is the heart of the Gospel. It is the beating heart of Christianity, and should be the main message of the church today. Jesus, who died on a cross for our sin, walked out of His tomb, and walked again with His people. Those who witnessed this told the story to anyone who would listen. They were so profoundly changed by the resurrection that they could not be silenced. This was the power that drove the early church. God had willed that a Savior be born and sacrificed for our sin. God willed a resurrection that changed everything. The church today can feed, heal, worship, pray, and fellowship, but without the resurrection we have no real message… no really good news… no hope for eternity. God willed the resurrection, and now His will is that we share the story. It’s the least we can do. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Blinded Eyes

June 25

(Acts 13:27-29 NIV) "The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. {28} Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. {29} When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb."

(2 Corinthians 4:3-6 NIV) "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. {4} The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. {5} For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. {6} For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

(John 1:10-13 NIV) "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. {11} He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. {12} Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- {13} children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

Many people give the best years of their lives to an organization, receiving little or no recognition. Jesus understands. God came to Earth and walked among us, but we did not recognize Him. Instead of lifting Him up in worship, we lifted Him up on a cross. In our blindness, we condemned the Lord of Creation. Paul preaches that this was, and still is, an act of the will. People who are spiritually blind are blind by choice. They don’t want to recognize Jesus as Lord. They don’t want to change the way they live. They represent all of us, who at one time or another, have decided to go about our life without Jesus, without grace, and without salvation. In doing so, we join those in Jerusalem who condemned Jesus. By proxy, we nailed Christ to the cross in hopes that He would stop meddling in our lives. But He came back and is healing the spiritually blind on a daily basis. Choose to be healed. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day