Pastor Stephen Dedman

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Peace And Holiness

Encouragement, Faith, Trust

Peace And Holiness

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:14‬ ‭

Only Through Jesus

We are instructed to pursue peace and holiness as we mature in our Christian life.  But notice carefully that without holiness no one will see the Lord. You may be active in church attendance, engaged in spiritual activities, and believe you are a spiritual person, but if you do not have holiness you will not see the Lord.  In other words those who are without holiness, which is godliness or Christlikeness, will not inherit eternal life in Heaven.

Some people believe that if they do enough good it will gain them eternal life in Heaven.  The truth is we are only able to see the Lord in Heaven through Jesus Himself, not by our good deeds.  There is no way we could do enough good things to impress God in order to gain eternal life in Heaven.  However, Jesus did live a good and perfect life which qualified Him to be the ultimate sacrifice that pleased God.  And the only way that He was able to do so was because He was God in the flesh.  Jesus lived a holy and perfect life that was in complete obedience to God and He did it all for those who could not keep the law of God.

All who trust in the person and works of Jesus Christ are given the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit enables those who are in Christ to pursue holiness and possess a longing for the things of God.  A new yearning to live holy and perfectly is the result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  If you pursue peace and holiness it is because God gives you the ability to do so.  You cannot pursue peace and holiness outside a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Ask the Lord to give you strength and courage as you strive to live holy and perfectly according to His Word.

Daily Devotional

Their Unbelief

Faith

Their Unbelief

And He (Jesus) did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13:58‬ ‭

Daily Devotional

Despised And Rejected

Jesus returned to His hometown to teach and preach in the local synagogue.  After they heard Him, they discredited His wisdom by making statements like, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

Rather than opening their hearts and having faith, the people were skeptics and resistant.  Because they rejected Jesus, they were not able to see the great works and miracles that could have been done in that town.  Many people could have been healed and saved.  Some could have had new life by simply believing in Him.  Even more could have been forgiven of their sins.  That is tragic to hear that some people would reject the One who came to save the world.

Does your unbelief keep you from seeing the mighty works and miracles of Jesus?  Sometimes we are just like those people who were skeptical and resistant.  Sometimes we limit the power of God because of our unbelief.  Just like the people of Nazareth, we try to humanize the things of God.  Unbelief holds you back from witnessing the greatness of God.  It enables us to see God’s power and glory.  Unbelief hinders the work that God desires to do in you and through you.  Unbelief causes us to question His ability to do great things.  We should be like the father of the child in Mark 9:24 when he says, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Prayer

Lord, I confess my unbelief and ask You to forgive me.  Help me to faithfully live out what I believe.  

Daily Devotional

Saved

Encouragement, Trust

Saved

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭1:18‬ ‭

Power of God

The message of the cross is all about Jesus Christ. It is a redemption story that will be retold for eternity, even in Heaven. The most amazing element of the message is love. Jesus endured the punishment of sin so that you would be set free. Set free from your bondage and guilt of sin.

For those who are spiritually blind and ignorant of the truth, it is foolishness. Paul was stating the fact that for some people the message of the cross is meaningless. Some people do not realize how much love God has for them. Even though God hates sin, He loves the sinner and wants to redeem him/her and bring them into a right relationship and fellowship with Him and the Saints of God.

However, for us who have been saved the message of the cross brings us power. The power of God is given to us through the Holy Spirit of God that reveals to us what it means to be saved. Being saved of our sins gives us freedom to live under grace and not by the Law. No one can keep the Law perfectly but everyone can experience the grace of God. It’s given and not earned. It is power to the Believer because we know the truth. The power of God is what makes us live confidently in this evil world. It produces boldness and courage for those who desire to please the Lord.

Prayer

Lord Father, we thank you for sending us Jesus to die in our place. We boldly confess You as King. Give us someone to share Your love and grace with.