Pastor Stephen Dedman

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The Righteousness Of Jesus

Faith, Salvation

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”
‭‭Titus‬ ‭3:4-5‬

Do you ever find yourself trying to do something good to make up for the wrong you’ve done? It’s very common for us to think good works will justify the bad, but that’s far from the truth.

The truth is we could never do enough good to outweigh the bad. In addition, we could never do enough good works to get us into Heaven.

God saves us through the righteousness and holiness of Jesus Christ. Because of the good deeds of Jesus Christ, we are found righteous unto God. But only those who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life can be saved and forgiven.

So why do we do good deeds to cover up the bad? This is how human nature works. Truth be told we want to clear our conscience and expect good things to happen. If we do good to others then good will be done to us, right?

The problem is we think this way about God as well. We think if we do more good than bad then we are ok. That’s not the case and we need to rethink this. God is holy. Even if we did one wrong thing it’s enough to keep us from spending eternity in Heaven.

God knew we needed to be saved so He sent to us a Savior. It’s not about our good works. It’s all about our faith in Jesus. Jesus renews our souls and gives us life. Jesus forgives our sins and gives us justification. Now we have the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sins and directs us to serve Him.

Pray

Lord, I know You were sent from Heaven to save the world of sin. I know You have saved me of my sins. Thank you for giving me eternal life. May I do good only to please You.

Everyone Needs Jesus

Faith, Salvation

‘Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” ‘
Acts 3:6

Have you ever had someone ask you for money and you didn’t have any cash on-hand to give them? I don’t mean just another beggar asking for money, I’m talking about someone who you really wanted to help but you couldn’t. It’s a bad feeling to know that you can’t help someone who really needs it.

Peter and John faced a similar situation. While walking into the temple to pray, Peter was asked by a lame man if he had any money to give. Peter didn’t give him money, instead he gave him the best thing that he could ever receive and that was… a new life. Peter had faith that the beggar could be healed and he was.

Immediately the man got up and started praising God. The Bible says that all who saw him were amazed at what happened. Peter used this miracle as a preaching opportunity and Acts 4:4 tells us that about five thousand men were saved because of it.

Perhaps the best words that Peter said were, “What I do have I give you.” Peter knew that he possessed what the lame man needed. Not just a healing but salvation. Don’t ever miss an opportunity to share your faith with someone who is in need. God may be sending someone to you today so that you will give them what you have.

Pray

Lord, give me the spiritual power to give people what they need. Help me to notice when someone is in need. Thank You for giving me the best thing that has ever happened in my life.

Do You Have Unbelief?

Faith

‘And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.’
Matthew 13:58

Jesus spent a lot of time teaching and preaching in Nazareth. It was His hometown and many knew of Him. It was His custom to go to the synagogues and teach the Scriptures. Needless to say, His teachings were not welcomed openly.

The Jewish leaders rejected His authority. They discredited Him as being the Messiah. They even sought ways to kill Him.

Rather than opening their hearts and having faith, they were skeptics and resistant. They were closed-minded and hard-hearted. And because they rejected Jesus, they were not able to see and experience the mighty works of God through Him.

Many people could have been healed. Many miracles could have been performed. Even more importantly, many people could have received forgiveness of their sins and but could not because of their unbelief.

Does your unbelief keep you from seeing the mighty works and miracles of God? Sometimes we are just like the skeptics and resistant people. Sometimes we limit the power of God because of our unbelief.

We need not to humanize the things of God. Unbelief holds us back from witnessing the greatness of God. We want to see and witness His glory. We need to be like the father in Mark 9:24, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Pray

Lord, I confess my unbelief and ask You to forgive me. Help me to faithfully live out what You teach me in the Scriptures. Help me to never hinder the Spirit of God.