Our Awesome God

  1. Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” 2. Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. 3. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5. but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. 6. “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? 7. You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” 8. One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field,...

  Sheep or Goats? The Shepherd-King Is Watching Matthew 25:31–46 Matthew describes the final judgment where Jesus, as King, separates humanity into “sheep” (righteous) and “goats” (unrighteous). The sheep are rewarded with eternal life for serving Christ by caring for the vulnerable—the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, or imprisoned—while the goats are condemned for neglecting these acts of mercy. The Judgment Scene (vv. 31–33) Jesus returns in glory with angels to judge all nations, separating them like a shepherd separates sheep (docile, obedient) from goats (stubborn). He is not returning as the suffering servant, but as the reigning King, seated on a glorious throne. Every nation, every person, every hidden deed is brought into the light. The Sheep (Righteous) (vv. 34–40) The righteous are welcomed into the kingdom. They are surprised to learn that their acts of kindness to the poor and marginalized—“the least of these brothers and sisters”—were actually acts of service directly t...

  The Heart’s Echo: Mastering the Tongue ​ ​Matthew 12:34-37 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you. ​James 3:1-10 Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. ​We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the to...

  The Heart God Desires 📖 Psalm 51:1–17 Have mercy on me, O God,     because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion,     blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt.     Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion;     it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;     I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say,     and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner—     yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb,     teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;     wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again;     you have broken me—     now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins.     Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O...

  The Divine Harvest: Planting for Eternity ​ Galatians 6:7-10 ​"Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith." ​My Reflection ​The will of the Holy Spirit is in constant opposition to our sinful desires. The two are on opposite sides of the spiritual battle. We desire evil; the Holy Spirit desires good. We tend to be destructive; God’s Holy Spirit is productive. ​It is so easy to ignite our wrong desires. However, when we have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within us, it is much harder to ignit...

  When Worship Becomes Real Isaiah 58:1–13 (NLT) “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins! Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me. ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you ca...