Ephesians 2:4-10

Dear Brethren,

Good Thursday morning.

Our great heavenly Father has done so much for you and I. When we stop and consider His great mercy and grace, we stand in awe, wondering why God has treated us so mercifully. We say to ourselves, "We are truly not worthy of His lovingkindness." But yet the fact remains that He does love us and has been kind to us.

In Ephesians 2:4-10, the apostle Paul reminds the brethren of what God, "who is rich in mercy," has done for the saints. Because of His "love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses," our heavenly Father has "made us alive together with Christ." We have not earned this salvation. We do not merit this salvation. It is truly by the grace of God that we have been raised up together to set "in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." It is by the grace of God that we have been saved!

Here is Ephesians 2:4-10 presented for your consideration.

Ephesians 2:4-10

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

In Love,

John Duvall

Psalms 11:1-7

Dear Brethren,

Good Morning!

There will be times in our lives when living a godly life may be more challenging than at other times. We may even be tempted to give up and not take the path of righteousness. There might even be people within our lives who may counsel us to take the easier path, choosing sin or inactivity over righteous action.

When we face those challenging moments within our lives as Christians, we must always remember to keep our trust in the Lord. We cannot run away or flee as a bird to our mountains. While it is true that the wicked are taking aim at the "upright in heart," we must trust in the Lord and be not moved. We are to remember, as did David, that the Lord is watching over us from heaven. The Lord, who is righteous, looks upon the righteous and the upright. The Lord will surely punish the wicked, while protecting those who are righteous.

Here is Psalms 11:1-7 presented for your consideration.

Psalms 11:1-7

1 In the LORD I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”?

2 For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.

3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?

4 The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

5 The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.

6 Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup.

7 For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.

In Love,

John Duvall

Mark 8:34-38

Dear Brethren,

Good Morning!

In Mark 8:34-38, Jesus said to His disciples, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Jesus made this statement during a very specific time frame. Jesus was specifically referring to His disciples following Him while He was on this earth.

However, would any of the aforementioned passage refer to people who have lived since the time of Jesus's death? I believe that this passage would still be relevant. While we may not have the physical presence of Jesus to follow, we do have His teachings. As Christians, we should be willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary in order to take up our "crosses" and follow Jesus by following His teachings. There will be times when our "crosses" will be relatively light, while at other times, our "crosses" will be heavier. However, as long as we strive to follow the teachings of Jesus, we will remain on the path to salvation. Remember of the words of Jesus when He said, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it."

Here is Mark 8:34-38 presented for your consideration.

Mark 8:34-38

34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

In Love,

John Duvall

Matthew 7:1-5

Dear Brethren,

Good Afternoon.

"Judge not, that you be not judged" is a Bible expression which people have often misused and abused. If nothing else followed this statement, then the notion that no person can judge another person would seem to have merit. However, that notion is contrary to the truth.

In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus is teaching against what we might call hypocritical judging. First, Jesus said, "For with what judgment you jduge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." In short, the way you judge other people will be the way they judge you. Secondly, Jesus said, "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in yoru own eye?" It is wrong to judge a brother for a given sin when you are just as guilty. There are times when people will find "comfort" in the weaknesses and sins of other people because they are able to "ignore" their own sins and weaknesses. Before we can sit back and judge other people, we must first make certain that we too are not guilty of unforgiven sin.

Here is Matthew 7:1-5 presented for your consideration.

Matthew 7:1-5

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.

2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?

4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?

5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

In Love,

John Duvall