#godlovesyou

“Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!” - Deuteronomy 5:29

As we enter now another chapter of our years in this cruel world, our verse today is a reminder for us about the story of the Israelite people during the time of Moses. As Christians, we know about how hard-headed they are. We know that even how much God showed them that He is the one true God and that He is the one who saved them from the land of slavery, they still chose to rebel against God and betrayed Him. So, as we enter the new year, we have to learn from this lesson. 

Our verse today is God reminding us that may our hearts be inclined to fear Him and keep His commands always so that everything will go well with us and our children forever. Now, this is not a command or this is not God forcing us to fear Him so that He will feel good. We have to understand that God is good by existence. He does not need us to worship Him, but He wants us to worship Him and fear Him for our own good. If we fear Him, we will then learn to keep His commandments and as we keep His commands, it will help us steer into the path He chose for us– the path of righteousness. 

Therefore, we should not just take this for granted. This verse is both a reminder and a promise. If we follow and fear God, everything will go well for us and for our children. After all, as Paul wrote in his letter, everything will do well for those people who love God. So, God indeed remains the same. Even during the time of Moses, He still promised His people that if we follow Him and fear Him, all good things will come because it will point us to Him, and it will point us to our Savior who is Christ our Lord. 

Thus, let us enter this year with a humble heart, accepting Christ, surrendering our lives to Him, and faithfully following His commands. May we offer our lives to Him for this is our spiritual act of worship, and we are now the living sacrifices. Let us reflect the righteousness of Christ into one another and let the people know Christ through our lives.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” - John 1:18

Christmas day is over, and as we look forward to celebrating the New Year, we have to remember that several weeks ago, the Christian calendar already celebrated the new year. In the Christian calendar, we always see the birth of Christ or as the Advent season enters, we always consider it as our new year. Our year revolves around the life of Christ. However, we also remember that not all people know about this, so we have to understand as we celebrate our new year, we need to remember that Christ came into the world to save us from our sins. Let us enter the new year with our minds fixed on the fact that our Savior came for us. 

Now, our verse today is also another reminder for us that no one has ever seen God except the Son of God who is God Himself. This verse is actually comforting our doubtful minds about who really Christ is. In this verse, the doubts about the identity of Christ have been answered. He is not just a man, but He is our God. He is the One who saw God because He is God Himself. As people saw Him that time, they were also able to see God Himself. So, as we continue or unravel another chapter of our lives together with this new year upcoming, may we always remember that years ago, our God came to earth and save us from our sins. 

Thus, we must repent, go back to Him, and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Let us start this new year right. May we start it by surrendering ourselves to God and acknowledging Christ as our Lord and our Savior. Indeed, He is our God, and that as we look up to Him and remember what He did on the cross, let us also remember how much He suffered for us. Let us set aside our pride and surrender our lives to Him as we start our new year.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” - Luke 1:30-31

Who would not be afraid? Who would try to escape a fate that will definitely bring you shame and hardship? Who would not try to escape the possibility of getting hurt? Everyone at this present time would never have the courage that Mary had when she was conceiving Jesus. She was a virgin, and she was betrothed. It would only bring her shame and her partner shame. However, she willingly accepted and trusted the Will of God. So, our verse today is for us to remember what really happened during the time of the birth of Christ. Angel Gabriel comforted Mary and told her that she should not be afraid because she has found favor with God, and that she will be conceiving the Son that would be called Jesus. 

Jesus Christ is our Savior, and we should take time to appreciate and thank Him for His grace especially during this season. He came to save us, and that’s why He is called Immanuel. He is our God, but He humbled Himself, came as a baby boy and saved us from our sins. The reason why this season is the most wonderful time of the year and the most cheerful time of the year is because our Savior came, and now we are saved and forgiven. Although, we have to understand that the first Christmas was not a happy Christmas. It was a sad and dangerous Christmas for Mary and Joseph. They were hunted by the king and Jesus was being pursued so the king will kill Him. 

Now, we must then realize that it was a sad moment that time because the moment Christ was born, He was instantly sought to be killed. Yet, this season still remains the most wonderful and cheerful time of the year for us because we are once again reminded how much God loves us to the point of sending His Son into the world, suffered its cruelty and finally died so that He can fulfill the prophecy. 

Therefore, we must always be grateful, we must celebrate every Christmas more joyfully than the last. Let us appreciate and see the grace of God, even amidst the chaos we are in right now. May we not forget that the reason for the season is Christ– not our gifts, not our parties or anything that can distract our minds from really understanding the sole purpose of Christmas. Let us keep in our hearts and minds that as we celebrate Christmas this year, let us not forget to pray and just thank God for His grace and mercy.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.” - Romans 2:12

In the previous section of verses, Paul divided all of humanity into two categories: Those who lead good lives and are given eternal life by God (Romans 2:7) and those who are self-seeking and earn God’s wrath (Romans 2:8). God will judge each person according to that standard, Paul wrote, no matter whether Jew or non-Jew.

This seems, at first, like an endorsement of salvation by works. However, as Paul will show later, the first category is empty. Nobody is able to escape their own selfish and disobedient nature. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” he will say in Romans 3:23.

Now Paul begins to answer all of his readers who are asking, “What about the law? Won’t the law protect the Jews from the wrath of God?” Paul describes two more categories for humanity: those who sin “apart from the law” and those who sin “under the law.” Paul is referring to the law of Moses, given to Israel by God at Mount Sinai, as described in Exodus 20 and beyond.

Notice that both of these categories contain those “who have sinned.” There is no third category of people, no group who have not sinned. Sinners without the law of Moses to follow—the Gentiles—will die and be judged by God without the law, because their sin is still sin. Sinners under the law—Jewish people who adhere to the rituals and sacraments of the law of Moses—will be judged by God according the law of Moses when they die. Each person is held to the standards of their own knowledge, and as Paul has already pointed out, God has given every person enough knowledge to be without excuse (Romans 1:18–20).

The point Paul is building towards is that the verdict will be the same in all cases. All have sinned, no matter what standard of good and evil they lived under.

© Copyright 2002-2021 Got Questions Ministries. All rights reserved.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” - Galatians 2:20

It is so hard to declare that we are beaten and in the end, we failed. Our human nature is so cruel and prideful that failures are so hard to declare. We think that as much as possible, we want to stand our ground and pridefully hold on to what we stand instead of declaring that we are dependent, that we failed, and that we need a Savior. However, when we are in Christ and we understand His salvation, all of these prideful stands will be let go. Our life will turn around and like Paul, we will then declare that we no longer live, it is Christ that lives in us. 

What Paul did was actually a very hard thing to do. Given all the restrictions that can be because of our pride and ego as a human, it would’ve been so hard to deny our own selves. However, Paul still denied himself and declared that he was crucified with Christ and he no longer lives. It was Christ who lived in him and the life he lived in the body is a life he lived by faith in the Son of God. Now, not everyone can do and declare that. We are restricted and hindered by our human nature– thinking that we are awesome and that we can do anything if we just put our minds to it. 

However, we have to understand that we are not mighty enough to save ourselves, we are not even powerful enough to give someone life, or we are not even responsible enough to someone’s go-to. Basically, we are dependent and we just hate that we are dependent. However, we really have to understand that we are indeed dependent on God. Our salvation belongs to Him and fully depends on Him. That is why Paul has the strength to declare that he no longer lived because he fully understands that he needs God and that there’s nothing in him that needs to be proud of. We are all sinful, and we all need salvation. 

Thus, we have to understand that we need Christ, and we should let go of all our pride and declare that once we received Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were crucified with Him and that we no longer live. It is Christ that lives in us now. So, we must always put into our minds that we have to understand that we need a Savior. We are not good, we are not mighty, we are not powerful. We can never ever save ourselves from our evil doings, only God can do that. Therefore, let us declare that we need Christ, and as we celebrate Christmas, may we remember that He came to save us because we need Him and His main reason is that He loves us so much.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” - Romans 1:17

The righteousness of God stands in stark contrast with the sinfulness of man and describes God’s holy and just character, which always dispenses that which is consistent with each of His other perfect attributes.

God could never forgive sinful man his trespasses and sins in a way that would compromise His own perfect character, and the wages of sin is eternal death to all who fall short of His unsurpassed righteousness. But God in His love and grace gave His only begotten Son, to be born into the human race, so that His sinless life would become the one and only payment to fully and finally satisfy the righteous requirements of God’s perfect Law. God’s righteous judgement on sin was secured at the Cross of Christ’s, purchasing forgiveness of sin to all who believe.

The glorious Gospel of Christ reveals the uncompromised righteousness of God, which is based on faith - believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Believe that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

The truth of the glorious gospel of God and His perfect plan to reconcile man back to Himself, without compromising His holy character, reveals God’s perfect yet uncompromised righteousness, and it is all by grace through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The first step of faith is to BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. But God’s righteousness is further revealed from faith to faith, for God is faithful to carry out the good work that He started in each of His redeemed children.

But foundational faith in Christ’s sacrificial death needs to continue into a life that is lived by faith, for as we grow in grace and mature in the faith we move from one degree of faith to another measure of faith. We are SAVED by faith. We called to LIVE by faith and instructed to keep on living by faith, knowing that He who started a good work in us will be faithful to complete it in the day of Christ Jesus.

We are justified by faith, sanctified by faith and one day we will be glorified, when we shall SEE Him as He is. That is the time when faith will be rewarded by sight.

© Copyright [2011 - 2021] Knowing-Jesus.com - All Rights Reserved

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” - John 3:17

As we celebrate Christmas to remind us that Christ is the reason for the season, we will then understand that God died for us and to save us. However, a lot of us think that God is like a teacher who brings sticks to punish all his students. God is not like that at all. He came to save us and not to condemn us. Our verse today is proof and a declaration of Jesus that He was not sent by the Father to condemn the world but to save the world through Him. If John 3:16 is such a good verse to remind us that God loves the world, so He saved it through Christ and everyone who believes in Him will be saved, then the following verse which is our verse today focuses more on explaining that it was because of love. 

Love was the reason why God saved us. He is just so loving, and His love for us is unconditional. We are the reason why Christ died, we are the reason why He suffered and forsaken and it was all because of love. God just loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to suffer. We deserve everything we will receive. We deserve condemnation, we deserve punishment, and we deserve our sufferings because we are sinful. However, God still chose to save us because He is loving and forgiving. So, we may not see Him as someone who wants to punish us, but we must see Him as our God who loves us and who will save us from our sins. 

So, we must always put in our minds that the God who made the heavens and the earth, decided to save us even if there’s no reason to save us. Our God came into the world, became a baby, and suffered in this cruel world to save us. He did not come to condemn us or to punish us, although we are deserving of it, He came to save us and make sure that we will rise with Him when He will resurrect. 

Therefore, let us not forget who we celebrate this Christmas and we must not forget that we ought to be thankful. May we never forget the goodness and grace of God that was acted and fulfilled by Christ. Indeed, He did not come into the world to condemn us, but to save us from our sins. We don’t deserve His salvation and His grace, but still, God chose to save us and forgive us even if we do not deserve it.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” - Galatians 4:4-5

It’s Advent, and during Advent, we are reminded of what happened thousands of years ago. We are reminded about how our Savior came into the world and saved us from our sins. Yet, most of the time, we get so caught up with the celebration. We are focused on celebrating the celebration that we forgot who we are celebrating or the reason for the season. We must understand that Christ is the reason for the season. He is the reason, and there’s no other reason. 

So, our verse today is a reminder that He is indeed our reason for the season. During the perfect time, God indeed sent His Son for us. We need to understand that our salvation was all under the plans of God. The moment we sin and fall short, God has already planned our salvation. He already thought of the plan to save that through the sacrifice of His Son, we will then be cleansed and forgiven. So, the Lord Jesus Christ has to be born under the law, brought up to this dirty and cruel world, and then die for us who are also under the law so that we will be put under grace. 

Now, we must understand that it is not just merely a celebration, but it is our great salvation. Jesus Christ’s coming to the world indeed needs to be celebrated because it was the moment we were given a chance to be redeemed. However, let us not fool ourselves and hide behind the ornaments. We are sinful, and we will remain sinful, but praise be to God for He saved us and He wants us to be in Him. He doesn’t want us to suffer, He wants to save us, but the truth remains, we need Christ as our Lord and Savior. 

Therefore, let us always remember that Christ was born under the law to save us who are under law to put us under grace and so that we will be adopted to sonship. We will become the co-heirs of Christ. We are now part of the family of God. We were adopted into His family through Christ. Now, the reason for the season is Christ and our celebration of the salvation we will receive through Him. He came to the world as an innocent child, and He died without sin to carry our sins. Thus, we must never forget all of these and be reminded that Jesus is the reason for the season.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.” - Hebrews 3:14

It’s a tough call that our conviction will remain the same even after suffering in the cruel world. A lot of times we were influenced by this world, but most of the time we succumb to all the ideologies of this world. Even if we already know the truth, we will act dumb and ignorant just to play nice or to play by the rules of this world. It was hard when we were unbelievers, but that life before Christ was easier compared to the life we have now in Christ. However, this is not a discouragement, but this is pointing out the truth. We will not have an easy life while we are in Christ. 

During the time of Jesus, He was rejected by everyone. He was despised, rejected, and ridiculed. So, why do we expect to receive roses while our Savior and our God received thorns? It is not because God wants us to suffer, but that’s just how the world is. The world hates Jesus and everyone who follows Him. So, we must expect that the world will also hate us if we are in Christ. That is why, we have to understand that we will have a hard life while we were in Christ, not as a discouragement but just for us to know the truth. It is easier to blend in with the world than to be against it. However, we have to understand that blending in the world will mean becoming the enemies of God. So, what will you choose? 

Now, our verse today is actually reminding us that if we have come to share in Christ the conviction we received from Him, then if we hold on to it firmly, we will share also His victory. We all know that we are saved by grace through faith, and God has fulfilled His promise to us that His Son will be our Savior. Thus, we also must know that to be in Christ, we must understand that we have to continually hold on to His promise as our old self died with Him on the cross, we will also then resurrect with Him if we will continue to hold on until He comes back. 

Therefore, we must understand that His grace is indeed sufficient. We must understand that as we live in this cruel world, we would just want to give in to its sinfulness, but we must be reminded that we should hold on to Christ. Let us focus on Christ as our center, and make Him the Lord of our lives. May we hold on to this conviction and let Christ have control of our lives. Let us reflect on His righteousness and fight the good fight of faith.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” - Romans 12:21

As people living in this cruel world, we always try to be good to others, but if people are being cruel, then we tend to retaliate. We see things on an eye-to-eye basis. If someone was being cruel to us, then we will take revenge and treat them badly too. Even if we deny this or not, we know for sure that we are like this and we really retaliate and repay evil with evil. We repay cruelty with cruelty and we don’t even try to be gentle because we are people who will always try to compete even if it’s evil. 

However, our verse today reminds us that we must not overcome evil with evil. We should not be overcome by evil, but instead, we must overcome evil with good. Paul is actually always reminding us through his letters what it means to be a Christian, and being a Christian means not letting evil overcome us. Why did Paul assume that we can be overcome by evil in the first place? Well, it is because he knew that we are evil by nature. We have been evil by nature, so it will be so easy for us to be overcome by evil. 

The good news is that God has saved us from ourselves. He already saved us from the evil nature, we have and has put the righteousness of Christ in us. So, we will be able to overcome evil. We won’t be overcome by it anymore because God has enabled us to fight it and overcome it. That is why Paul is insisting or reminding us that we must not be overcome by evil, but we must overcome evil with good. We must make sure that evil has no foothold to us, and that we must not see things eye to eye or tooth for a tooth for we are better, and we can do better. 

Therefore, we must understand that we are always evil, but since Christ died for us and that He saved us from our evil nature. It is possible for us to not be overcome by evil, but instead, overcome it with good. We must remember to always be gentle and reflect Christ’s goodness in our lives. The most important part of being a Christian is continually living in Christ, so we must live in Christ and reflect His goodness in our lives. After all, He who has no sin has defeated death, so we must remember that we are not victorious over death and sin, so let us remain the path God has provided for us.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” - 1 Peter 5:6

A lot of times, we think that we are above everybody. What this cruel world is teaching us is that we must always be above anyone and we must always win in life. Most of the time, we then try to step on other people just to get whatever we want. The bottom line is, we don’t know the value of humility. We just don’t care whatever happens, or we don’t like it when people are above us. As much as possible, we wanna be on top of others. So, whatever it takes, we will take the top place.

However, we have to understand that God is always encouraging us to humble ourselves. No matter what other people reach, and we cannot have it, we must not compete but be humble. We need to show humility because just as God said, “Whoever will be the last, will be put to first.” Although this shouldn’t be our encouragement to humble ourselves because we are expecting to be praised in the end, this should be enough inspiration for us to remember that even Christ, who is our God, humbled Himself for us. 

Now, the reason why God encourages us to humble ourselves is that God humbled Himself first. We as Christians need to reflect on the life of Christ. When we received Him as our Lord and Savior, we were given life through Him, and we will then receive Him not just as Savior but also as our Lord. So, if we receive Him as our Lord, we must also allow Him to have control of our lives. In doing so, we will then realize that as we reflect Christ, we must also reflect His humbleness. Now, part of this is the promise of our verse today that in due time, God will lift us up. Not because we are being humble in our own accord, but because we are reflecting Christ’s characteristics in our lives that we were able to humble ourselves. 

Therefore, we must understand that it is really very important for us to receive Christ as our Lord and Savior first. Everything will be in place if we open our hearts to Him and let Him be our center. If we continue to live our lives in Christ, we must always reflect on Him. We must reflect His love, His humbleness, and His righteousness. Thus, we must never forget that we are blessed and that we will be lifted in due time because of God’s mighty hand. We are in good hands and we will be humbling ourselves as we serve Christ.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.” - James 3:9

In describing the uncontrolled, evil nature of our tongues—our words and how we use them—James now points to two contrary ways we use our tongues.

First, we can use our words to bless or praise our Lord and Father. After James’s description of evil, untamable, unstable tongues up to this point, it’s shocking to imagine such a person use their words to bless God. Perhaps we’ve been imagining that James has been describing non-religious people, or bad people. Or as we’d like to think, he’s describing “other” people—not us, and not Christians. But, no, James’s is describing the tongues of the human worshipers of the one true God. He is describing a weakness even in Christians. That makes his next example all the more convicting.

We also use our words to curse people. The word “curse” here is katarōmetha in the Greek, and this term is very specific. It does not refer to the use of coarse or “dirty” language, though that’s part of how we can misuse our tongues. In the classic sense, to “curse” another person is to condemn them. It is to wish them to be cut off from blessing. It can even mean a prayer to send them to hell. More generally, this type of “cursing” is a desire for evil to come into someone’s life. In the sense James means it here, we can curse someone with a variety of words, R-rated or not.

It is such a common human thing to “curse” another person that we tend to dismiss it as not that big of a deal. “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is a common English proverb. And yet, James explains why abusive speech is such a big deal: We are cursing a being made in the image of God!

This is the second time in this chapter James has looked back to our creation by God, described in Genesis 1 (James 3:7). His arguments about how we use our words are rooted in the very foundations of creation itself. His main point is this: We use our words to bless our Creator and then to curse His creation. As he’ll explain in the next verses, that doesn’t make sense. It reveals the untamable, evil nature of our tongues.

© Copyright 2002-2021 Got Questions Ministries. All rights reserved.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’” - John 13:7

During the time of the twelve disciples, they see Jesus as their political Messiah. They thought that He will save them from the terror government they were under. That is why during their time, they got mad when Jesus did things that a king should never do, especially Peter. When Jesus washed their feet, Peter really disagreed with what He was doing because he thinks that a king should never do that. However, a lot of Jesus’ actions were all a mystery to the disciples. Not just when He washed their feet, but almost everything because they only see Christ as a political Messiah. 

So, when the time came, Jesus was really so eager to teach the disciples things that they don’t understand. Jesus wanted to teach them the importance of being humble and also to have faith in Him. Jesus then said that they may not realize what He was doing at that time, but when the time comes, they will. What Jesus was actually referring to is all about how He will save the whole world. He did not come to just defeat the current government at that time, but His mission in the world was greater. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to give us eternal life, and all He did was all for us. 

Now, our verse today can still be a reminder for us. Even if we are now at the present times, we can still be encouraged by this because right now, we are all full of what-ifs. We don’t know what’s wrong with life, and sometimes we ask ourselves if what’s our purpose in life. Yet, we can then be reminded of this verse and trust God. Right now, whatever we are going through, we may not understand it, one day we will. We should trust our lives, our unknown future to our omniscient God. We may be facing a lot of struggles that we are on the verge of giving up on, always remember our verse today and be encouraged that we may not know what’s happening, but our God knows. He is our everlasting God, our Savior, and our Father. 

Therefore, we must never doubt His perfect timing. One thing we should hold on to is His promise that all things work well for those who love Him. We are serving an almighty God, a miracle worker, a promise keeper, and an everlasting forgiving Father– we are in good hands. Thus, whatever we are facing right now, we should not give up, and instead, we should just lift it all to God because one day, we will then understand why we went through this. God is not unfair, He will remember everything we did for His kingdom, and He is also a loving God. He loves us, and He cares for us. So, there’s really no reason to doubt Him. Let’s not base our trust right now on our unknown future, but let us trust God with our unknown future.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him” - Colossians 2:6

As we reflected on the verse yesterday, the only way for us to be saved is if we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. The only way for us to have eternal life is through believing in Christ and accepting Him so that the wrath of God will not be upon us. If we have Christ and believe in Him, God will not see us standing in front of Him, but it is already Christ and His righteousness has overflowed from us for He has already made us righteous. So, as Christians, we will not suffer eternal persecution and misery anymore because we are already saved by grace. 

Now, our verse today is also a reminder for us that since we have received Christ Jesus as Lord, we must continue to live our lives in Him. A true believer in having a life that manifests Christ and that a life of a true believer is a life that continues to stick in Christ. A lot of us have been doing this in a wrong way or we have misunderstood that accepting and believing Christ for one time is enough and that we can go back to our sinful lives. However, if we truly understand what it means when we accept Christ and we believe in Him, we will be continuing living a life in Christ because we are now changed. 

For how many times, we tried to consider and think about how we can just fool ourselves into accepting Christ one time and continue to live our lives sinful, but it won’t work. True salvation, and if the Gospel of Christ really worked for us, we will be all changed people and we will be able to obey Christ. We are now filled with Christ’s righteousness and God has already forgiven us and saved us from our sins through Christ. So, we must understand that true believers really have changed lives, and lives that are completely bound in Christ. 

Therefore, we must always remember to continue to live our lives in Christ. We must not let our old life overcome our new life. Let us understand that we must manifest Him and His love. After all, He is our Savior and our God. We must put Him in the center of our lives and let Him have control. He is our God and His salvation is because of His grace. We don’t deserve it, but God made us deserving. Thus, we must remember to continually live in Christ.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” - John 3:36

This chapter is where the famous verse that almost all Christians should know because it summarizes the whole meaning of the Gospel. Our verse today also came from John  3, which established a deeper thought or study of what John 3:16 means. This Gospel is actually written using very easy words for us to actually get it instantly. If we read the verse today, we will instantly understand that whoever believes in Christ will have eternal life and whoever rejects Him will not have it and will have the wrath of God on them. There’s no middle part, there’s no other way, but only this. 

However, as humans, as we are, we believe that we are wise and that we are knowledgeable in almost everything that we think we found a way out of. Yet, it is not true, we are utterly unredeemable. We cannot do anything to help ourselves. There’s nothing in this world that can help us. We deserve the wrath of God, and we deserve to die. Whatever we discover that we think can redeem us is not true. No matter how much we give out to charity, or no matter how much we give up our riches, we can never do enough good things to save our wretched selves. 

So, we need Christ to save us. The most important of being a Christian is to realize that we need a Savior. We can never appreciate the Word or the salvation of Christ if we don’t think that we need a Savior. We have to accept that we need a Savior because we are beyond redeemable. Now, since we need a Savior, we will then understand our verse today that if we believe in Christ, then we will have eternal. Thus, Christ is our Savior and He is the only way, the truth, and the life. Our eternal life comes from Him, and there’s no other way. 

Therefore, we have to read our verse over and over again today. We have to remind ourselves that there is no other way. The wrath of God was upon us until Christ took it all and poured it on Him. Now, the only thing we are going to do is to believe that He indeed did all of those for us and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. However, if we reject Him, the wrath of God remains in us and we will have no eternal life. We will die, and we will suffer eternal persecution and misery. So, we must always remember that we must accept Christ, not because we are afraid to die and suffer, but because we recognize that we really need a Savior and there is no other name but Christ– our one and only Savior and Lord.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 5:10

Jesus’ list of people who are “blessed,” which we know as the Beatitudes, continues to grow. The word used for “blessed” can sometimes mean “happy.” However, in this context, mere feeling is not the point. In fact, some people Jesus mentioned may feel deep unhappiness due to their circumstances (Matthew 5:1–9). Despite hard situations, however, they are blessed: they are doing what is right and will experience eternal good in the kingdom of heaven.

Now Jesus says those persecuted for the sake of righteousness are blessed, and part of the kingdom of heaven. His early preaching ministry has focused entirely on this kingdom. Both Christ and John the Baptist have called the Jewish people to repent of sin, to be ready for the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:1–2; 4:17). John made it clear that nobody would be able to enter it simply because they were Jewish. Bearing fruit, being used by God for good, being faithful to God in your choices: these have been described as the signs of those who would enter the kingdom Messiah would bring to earth.

The implication here is that those being persecuted have some choice in the matter. In other words, they did not choose to avoid doing what is right, in order to avoid being harassed or harmed. They made a conscious choice to honor God, and to be faithful to Him, despite persecution from those who are unrighteous.

© Copyright 2002-2021 Got Questions Ministries. All rights reserved.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” - 1 Corinthians 15:58

A lot of hardships and challenges are being thrown at us the moment we become Christians. People thought that as Christians we are so blessed and that we don’t have to undergo bad situations. However, it is indeed true that we are blessed, but it is not true that we won’t undergo bad situations anymore. We will still suffer, and we will even suffer more because, now that we are in Christ, our enemy will try to sift us away from Him using our desires to sin. Indeed, we are saved and given a new heart, but our desire to sin is still there. So, our enemy will always try to use that so that we will fall under the cycle of sin and death again. 

Now, our verse today is a reminder for us to stand firm. Paul is reminding the people in Corinth and even us readers to not be moved. We should not let anything move us because we must stand firm in the Lord. We must always give ourselves fully to the Lord because we know that our labor is not in vain. Our verse today is another way to remind us that we belong to the Lord, and if we offered and gave our life to Christ, we have to stand firm and should not be moved. It is very hard for us to accept the fact that we are still suffering. However, we must understand that we are saved by grace, and it does not mean we will have no trouble, but it means we have Christ in us and He will never forsake us.

So, as people of Christ, no matter what life throws at us, we must stand firm. We must not let anything move us. May it be personal problems, may it physical problems, financial problems or etc. we are to trust God, and not be moved. We should let God handle our situation, and believe that He will always be there for us. After all, God has given us people to share our sorrows with, and our struggles so we are really not alone. We have our brothers and sisters in Christ that know what we’re going through. We are so blessed and indeed, we must remember to give our hearts and our ourselves fully to the work of the Lord because we know it is not vain and we are beyond blessed. 

Therefore, let us always remember to put these into our heads and start burying our feet on the ground so that we will not be swayed. Let us bury our whole lives in Christ and let Him handle us. We ought to not be moved, and hold firmly to Him so we must let Him have the control, and be our center. We should always remember that we are indeed saved by grace and through this, we will be able to stand firm if we are in Christ. Let us continue to be in Christ, and let Him be the center of our lives.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” - Titus 3:7

As this epistle to Titus is drawing to a close, Paul is reminding him of the way that Christians should live their lives when we are surrounded with people that are not believers in Christ. He reminded him to be submissive to rulers and authorities and to be ready and willing to be kind and helpful to all who cross his path. He warns Titus to avoid the worldly habits of unkindly actions and deceitful words – but encourages him to live a life that reflects the beauty of Christ’s gentleness and the glory of His grace and kindness.

Paul continues to remind Titus that they were both once equally foolish - enslaved by their own various passions and pleasures and engaging in all the detestable activities that are embroiled within the world system.

Then comes the crescendo to which Paul has been moving – for he reminds Titus that it was only by the grace and kindness and mercy of God that Christ was sent to save them – not because of their own good works or righteousness – which are considered by God to be filthy rags, but according to His mercy — through the washing of regeneration and being made new and clean and whole by the cleansing word of the Holy Spirit, which has been poured out, by God’s grace, to everyone that believes in Christ.

Finally, Paul reaches the climax of this encouraging epistle - so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Has this really sunk into our heads – it is because of God’s GRACE that He has declared us RIGHTEOUS and has given us absolute confidence that we will inherit ETERNAL LIFE. What Grace! Let us take time to simply reflect on what this means for you and what it means to me.

© Copyright [2011 - 2021] Knowing-Jesus.com - All Rights Reserved

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’” - Luke 11:28

Obeying is something everyone can never achieve. Either obey the law or just simply obey what our parents are telling us not to do. It’s very hard, and everyone has a dilemma in making sure that this statement is fulfilled. Although not all are disobedient, there are still people who obey their parents and try their best to obey what our God has told us to do. However, everybody sins, which shows that we are really disobedient and we are really not capable of obeying on our own. 

However, what’s the purpose of our verse or all the verses that God is encouraging us to obey? What were all the reasons why He still encourages us to obey if God already knows that we are incapable of that? Well, God is omniscient, of course, He knows that we will have a hard time. That is why He said that the blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it. The people who hear the Word are blessed because once we hear the Word, it does not just make us understand, but it also changes our outlook and our lives. 

Now, we have to understand that obeying is not something we are capable of doing alone. That’s why God is there, that’s why the Word is there, who is Jesus Chris– the incarnate Word so that we will have the strength to obey. We can obey through Christ if we hear Him. If we listen to the Word and obey it, we are blessed. It is not just a promise, but also a step for us to follow. We are so blessed that even if we are incapable of obeying, God has allowed us to have the strength, and that opportunity is through hearing the Word who is Christ our Lord. So, we have to know that obeying must be difficult, but we are able through Christ. 

Therefore, let us never forget this truth and hold on to this truth as it is our way to be able to obey the Word of God. Obeying the Word of God means also listening to His Word. We can never obey without hearing the Word, and it is impossible for us not to obey once we hear the Word, because if we truly hear it, we will be changed. Our lifestyle will change– from being sinful to a life of trying to reflect Christ’s love and righteousness. Thus, we must understand that we are incapable, but made capable by Christ’s grace.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” - Psalm 94:19

For some time, we have depended on ourselves alone. We depended on the comfort our house brings us, the comfort of our significant others brings us, and the comfort of knowing that we have a family. However, all of these are sometimes not enough. We will be swallowed with anxieties, depression, and sadness once we are alone. It is very hard to stop our own thoughts from flowing. We can never save ourselves from our own overwhelming thoughts, yet a lot of people surpassed these kinds of episodes. Now, the question is, how? How did they be able to overcome their own minds? 

Our verse today is the answer to our own questions. It is not new to us that there are a lot of people suffering from mental health problems. Some even died because of it. It is very easy to succumb to the darkness of our mind, that we can never find the light of it. However, we are not alone. Even our psalmist today showed us a hint of his own mental health problems. Well, mental health problems are not a contemporary problem, but it has been a problem since before. A lot of people, even the prophets of God underwent mental health problems. After all, our minds are an endless chasm that sometimes we can never fathom nor understand. 

However, our God is an amazing God that even our psalmist in this verse declared with great confidence that even during his anxieties, the consolation of God brought him joy. Even if his own mind was waging a battle that can only be fought by him, he knew that God will always be there and His consolation brought him joy, peace, and confidence that even his restless mind cannot overcome. The joy that only God can give will be enough to overcome our grief, our anxieties, and our depression. Indeed, we are the only ones who can fight this battle, but it will be so hard to fight it alone. That is why we need God, so that is why our verse today is the reminder that we must cling to the joy and peace that only God can give. We may be experiencing a great number of anxieties, but the joy of God and His peace is greater. 

Therefore, may we be like our psalmist today, even though he is inflicted with anxieties and sadness, he still finds the joy that only God can give greater than all of these. Let us also see that our God is greater than our battles and we may feel like we are fighting alone, but our God is with us. He will give us joy and peace that nothing can surpass. He will shield us, and protect us with His mighty wings. Let us depend on Him, and submit everything to Him.

For more daily reflection, verse, and encouragement, you may follow us. You can also like, follow and visit us on:

Website:https://youngdisciples.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yd153

Twitter: @YD153

Instagram: @youngdisciples2020

Pinterest: Young Disciples International