Christ Daily

I apologize for the lack of posting recently. We have been quite busy between our personal lives and working on the next big thing here for Christ Daily. More information on that in the near future!

I started reading John chapter 8 last night, and paid particular attention to the first story in it. Here’s how it goes:

¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ²At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" ⁶They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." ⁸Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

¹¹"No one, sir," she said.
      "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

- John 8:1-11

I’m sure we’ve all heard this story at one point or another, and it is indeed a good one. The leaders who brought this woman to Jesus were trying to put him in a trap: The law required the woman (and her partner) to be stoned, and if Jesus told them not to stone her, he would be violating the law. If he urged them to execute her, he’d have been reported. Instead, Jesus upheld the punishment, but said only those who have not sinned could punish her. Jesus did not condemn this adulterous woman; instead, he forgave her, and told her to leave her life of sin and straighten herself out.

How many times do you automatically condemn someone when they sin? Even if it’s not out loud – even if it’s in your head – don’t you realize that you, too, have sinned? I have sinned with you. We all have sinned. It’s not our job to judge others – that’s ultimately God’s. Our job is to love and forgive each other.

Thanks for reading!

- Josh

written by Josh \\ tags: condemning, Forgiveness, God, grace, Jesus, John, judging

There’s a song lyric that goes “If you need more love, well you’ve got to get closer to me“. And how true that is in any relationship. But it applies best in our relationships with God. Yes, God does love us, and yes, He loves us all the time. But if we want to feel that love – genuinely feel His love and love back, we need to be close to Him. Million dollar question: How do we get close with God?

If you’re going to get close with anyone, isn’t the most important thing to communicate? Communication allows us to be heard, and to hear others. It’s the backbone of relationships (and why some relationships fail). Communicating with God can be done through prayer. We’re supposed to communicate with God on a daily basis – he loves us, and wants to hear from us, and wants us to hear from him. As Matt has said before, set aside some time every day to just pray to Him - talk with God. I’m sure you love talking with your best friend, and God is no different – He is the ultimate person to talk to – because he’s not a person – he’s God!

Another way to get close with God is to read His Word, i.e. the Bible. It is a great manual for life and tells so much about God. (And is great for recreational reading too – lots of great stories on there.) And you’ll find that once you pray and talk enough with God, you’ll want to read His Word; it helps us grow even closer to Him. Think about it – would you be close with your girlfriend or boyfriend if you didn’t know anything about them? That’s what the Bible does – it tells us everything we’d want to know about God, and more.

And once you get close, stay close. Don’t leave – don’t let Him out of your site! Through prayer, through reading your Bible, and through fellowship with others, stay close to the Lord. Remember, if you’re feeling far away, realize that God doesn’t move – we move.

I hope these can help you get a little closer with God, and here’s a great verse for today:

Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.

- James 4:8

written by Josh \\ tags: communicating, God, grace, Love, prayer, relationships

In the last ‘Ultimate Grace’ post, I talked a bit about who God is – a holy, unapproachable, glorious being who makes even the mightiest shake.  Chances are, last time you read my ‘Ultimate Grace’ post, you were thinking ‘That’s great and all, but what does that have to do with Grace?’  Well, behold your answer: this post.

Now that we know who God is, let’s talk about what he did.  I guarantee, now that you know who God is, reading about what he did is that much more amazing.  If you didn’t read the last ‘Ultimate Grace’ post, you can do so here: Click

So, let’s begin with a favorite passage of mine: it’s in Romans, Chapter 8.

3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.  So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

That says it all right there, doesn’t it?  That’s what Grace is.  Even though He is the Holiest of ALL, even though he’s more powerful then ALL, bigger then ALL, the Creator of the Universe, the Father of the World, the God of Existence, the most wise, beautiful, awesome being ever, he still has enough Grace to Come down off of his Holy Throne in Heaven, and to put on a body (like ours!) and die a horrible, agonizing death to pay the debt WE owed Him!  That’s what Grace is!  Grace is even though he is more awesome then we can imagine, he humbled himself for our sake, even though we did not deserve it, and came to Earth as one of us, then died for us.  Grace is not something you find.  Grace is not something you can ever earn.  Grace is not something that you, as a human, can even really have.  Grace is what God has; what Jesus has for, not only some people, but for ALL people.

Does that not make you think twice about what Jesus did for you; for all people?  I think we tend to think of Jesus’ death as the death of a great man, and not the death of the same one who sat in his throne as the angels cried in his presence, or the same one who spoke the Universe into existence, or the the same one who created you apart from everyone else.  Here’s the amazing part to think about: had you been the only person ever in existence, He still would have come to Earth and died for you.  His love for you is that huge.

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below— indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ, our Lord.   — Romans 8:38-39

Thanks for reading,
Lots of Love,
-Matt

written by Matt \\ tags: Christ, God, grace, Holiness, Jesus, Love, Romans, Ultimate Grace, Who God Is

All of us have good days – you know, one of those days where everything goes right and it just feels too good to be true. Whether they’re days of relaxation, enjoyment, or whatever it may be, all of us have those occasional blue-moon great days.

All of us, unfortunately, also have bad days. There are some days where nothing seems to go right – all the odds are stacked against you every which way. Your car broke down. You can’t find a baby sitter. You forgot to pay your mortgage. You were late for work. You fought with your spouse. The list can go on and on.

And then, there are these days that are in between the two I mentioned above – the “average” days. Some things go good, and some things go bad. You may have gotten a promotion at work, but forgot to pick up your son at football practice. Maybe you went grocery shopping, but forgot to balance your checkbook before hand. Again, this list of examples can go on and on.

When we’re going through a hard time (i.e. a “bad day”), many of us, especially Christians, will (hopefully) turn to God. And that’s great – whenever we’re going through a big struggle or the like, He wants us to turn to Him. However, for some folks, this is the only time they turn to the Lord.

There is no problem too big or too small to hand over to God. He wants us to give our problems to Him, and he’s not picky about what they are, either. If you have an infection in your finger and it starts to spread to the rest of your hand, shouldn’t you get help before it overtakes your whole arm?

God wants us to trust in Him from the beginning.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

- Philippians 4:6

Is there something you want to surrender to God today before it grows out of control?

written by Josh \\ tags: God, grace, Letting Go, Problems, Worry

Josh, in his last post, brought up the topic of grace.  Grace is one of the most unbelievable aspects of who God is, and why he loves us so much.  A lot of people, though, wonder exactly what grace is.

Grace (n.) – Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
a. Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people.

That’s a simple definition of grace.  Divine love, beauty, charm.  How does that apply to God, though?  I think it’s important to know a bit about who God really is, first.  One of the most amazing descriptions of God comes from the Book of Isaiah; the sixth chapter.  Here’s a bit of it:

¹ … I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.

² Attending him were mighty [angels], each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.

³ They were calling out to each other,“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

⁴ Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

⁵ Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Okay.  Imagine, if you will, finding yourself in a huge, immaculate temple – the most amazing you’ve ever imagined.  Sitting in the throne on the opposite side is the God of the Universe, in ‘light so brilliant that no human can approach him,’ as 1 Timothy 6:16 puts it.  Exodus 33:20 says we can’t even ‘ look directly at [God's] face, for no one may see [Him] and live.’  So, there he is, in the throne, and you can barely even stand.

Surrounding the throne are these amazing, bizarre Angels whose voices are so loud and booming they shake the foundations of the Temple.  And what are the doing?  They can’t even show their faces before God!  And here’s poor Isaiah in the midst of all this, probably shaking in his sandals, saying, “I am ruined!  It’s over!” because he, like you and I, is a sinner, and he is standing before God.  I think that paints a better picture of who God is then any artist rendering or painting in the world.

Now, here’s something for you to do and consider.  When you pray, do you pray to THAT God?  If you were to knowingly pray to THAT God, would you pray the same way?  I know I challenge that a lot; sometimes I just go through the motions when I pray.  Some people just stand there and recite the Lord’s prayer, or Catholics recite a ‘Hail Mary,’ but do you think those rituals mean anything to THAT God?  That amazing, Holy being wants to have a PERSONAL relationship with you!?  Does it not blow your mind to pieces?  I know it does mine.

What does that have to do with Grace, though?  You’ll have to read my next post to see, and I guarantee you,  it’ll blow your mind.

Thanks for reading!
Lots of Love,
-Matt

written by Matt \\ tags: Angels, Exodus, God, grace, Holiness, Isaiah, Jesus, Timothy, Who God Is