April 01, 2022

2 Cor 6:1-2
Mat 6:25-26
1 Cor 1:26-31
John 17:16-18
Mat 20:18-19

2 Cor 6:1-2

V: As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says,

“In the time of my favor I heard you,

    and in the day of salvation I helped you.”[a]

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

R: God helped His people when He sent Jesus to save His people from their sin - to die on the
Cross pay the price for their sin and rise again on the third day. All they have to do is to
BELIEVE. Behold, NOW is 'the acceptable time.' Behold, NOW is 'the day of salvation'

P: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your amazing grace and for that wonderful 'day of salvation'
when Jesus rose from the dead and broke the power of Satan, sin, death, and hell. Lord, no one
knows how many days they have left on the earth. Please bring many who are in that valley of
decision, to a saving faith in Christ, before it is too late. Because now is the accepted time and
today is the day of salvation. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.

Mat 6:25-26
V: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your
body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at
the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

R: Do not be anxious! Don't worry! Fear not! Don't be afraid! We have all heard Christ's
command not to allow the cares of this world to enter in and choke the Word of truth, crowd out
the peace of God in our heart, and cause us to become defeated and unfruitful. But anxiety,
worry, fear, and fretting about the smallest thing, seems second nature to each one of us and we
all have asked the question, what if..? How important to know God's Word, believe His Word,
and apply His Word in our lives - but too easily we allow the cares of the day to adversely
impact our lives, causing anxieties, worries, frets, and fear to surface. Worry is a sin and
demonstrates unbelief in God to keep His promises and His power to save... and worry is one of
the greatest hindrances to our spiritual growth, Christian witness, and effective ministry, because
worry is one step towards unbelief - and for this reason Jesus said, "do not be worried about your
life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
May we take to heart the simple truth of this simple command from Christ and live by faith in
His promises and not by flawed human reasoning.
R2: What does it take to make you content? What allows you to go to bed at night and not worry
about tomorrow? Jesus does not want us overly concerned with things that are not of ultimate value
to God. In fact, he wants us to know that we are of ultimate value to our Father, so we can trust him
for the basics and shouldn't be overly troubled with the basic needs of lives. While this doesn't mean
we're to be irresponsible or freeloaders, it does mean that we should develop our sense of values so
that the focus of our lives is not on material needs. As God has declared us of ultimate value by
sending his Son to redeem us, we commit to pursue what is of ultimate value — the Father and his
Kingdom. When we do that, the necessities will fall into place. Want proof? Look at the birds which
regularly receive God's care and we're worth a whole lot more to him than they are!
P: Heavenly Father, I pray that I may become a true disciple of righteousness who walks in spirit
and truth and live my life as You intended man to live - trusting Your Word and relying on You
to fulfil all that You have promised for life and godliness and provide for all my needs. Keep me
from anxious thoughts or from allowing the worries of life to overwhelm me. Thank You that
Christ's victory on the Cross is my victory too, which has not only freed me from the penalty of
sin, but its power over my life. Thank You in Jesus' name, AMEN.

1 Cor 1:26-31

V: 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or
powerful or wealthy when God called you.  27 Instead, God chose things the world considers
foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless
to shame those who are powerful.  28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as
nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a
result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God!

30 God has united you with Christ Jesus; for our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself.
Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 
31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

R: We see there that a person does not have to be a top student or come from an ‘upper-class’
background to be saved. In fact, says Paul, God delights to save ordinary people to put to shame
those in the world who think they are so clever. (vs 27) And He chooses people who are weak
(weak in power and influence, weak in their own opinion of themselves, and perhaps even weak
in faith) to put to shame those who brag about how strong or important they are. Why does God
do that? (vs 29).
It’s obvious that God doesn’t want us to be full of ourselves, but to rather take pride in all that
He has done for us in and through Christ Jesus His Son. And vs 30 tells us how much He has
done. (I counted at least five wonderful things there!) No wonder Paul concludes as he does in vs
31.

There’s a lesson here even for brand new Christians. When we get saved we can become puffed
up with pride and think we must teach all the older Christians. We often want to run with self
importance before we’ve learned to walk with humility. It’s also common in life to meet people
who love to brag about their favourite football team, or how well off they are, or how
knowledgeable they are on so many things. Do we ever let them know that what we are most
excited about is knowing Christ Jesus as our Redeemer?

P: Heavenly Father, I have nothing to recommend myself except for the death of Jesus Christ my
Saviour and King. May I come to a deeper knowledge and understanding of the amazing
message of the Cross, and all that Christ has done for me through the death, burial and
resurrection of Your dearly beloved Son, Who alone is worthy of all praise.. and in Whose name
I pray, AMEN

John 17:16-18

V: They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by[a] the truth; your word is
truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

R: Just before His death and resurrection the Lord Jesus prayed a wonderful prayer - a prayer
that demonstrated the intimate relationship with the Father and the Son – a prayer for the
protection of all believers during our time in this world – a prayer that Christ Himself would be
given the glory He had with the Father before His sojourn on earth – a prayer that asked that all
who are in Christ Jesus may be made one as He is one with the Father – a prayer that we will one
day be with the Lord Jesus, and a prayer that one day we would see and participate in His own
heavenly glory. Christ is the heavenly Man that came down from above to shed His blood on the
cross as payment for the sin of the world and rose the third day – breaking the power of sin and
death in the lives of all that believe on Christ as Saviour. And we are a heavenly people. We are
not of this world system just as the Lord Jesus is not of this world. Oh! we were all born into this
world - but since we trusted Jesus as Saviour we were separated forever from union with this
world – for our union is now in Christ and we are now part of His heavenly kingdom - the Lord
Jesus Himself said my kingdom is not of this world (system). And in His prayer for our
protection Christ said, they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Because of the
cross, we are dead to this world and are to live our lives a stranger in a foreign country. Let us
not fraternise with the world system, for that discredits our Lord - Who bought us and paid for us
with His own blood. Let us live our lives in close communion with the Lord Jesus and
demonstrate that we are not of the world, just as Christ is not of the world.
P: Loving Father, thank You that my citizenship is in heaven and I am part of Christ’s kingdom.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom the world has
been crucified to me, and I to the world, in His name I pray, AMEN.

Mat 20:18-19

V: We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests
and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the
Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

R: Jesus had to die for our sin for there was no other Man Who was good enough to pay the price
of sin. The future hope and eternal redemption of every pre-Cross saint and all post Cross
believers rested on the one, pivotal point in the history of the world about which Jesus was
speaking, when the eternal Son of God would die for our sin and become our Kinsman-
Redeemer, as He shed His blood on Calvary's Cross. It is easy for us to look back to that journey
to Jerusalem and condemn Christ's chosen apostles for failing to understand the enormity of the
information He shared with them, and the significance of His death, burial, and Resurrection on
the third day. But before we point a finger of accusation, perhaps we need to reflect on the times
when we have misunderstood His Word or failed to comprehend what He was desiring to teach
us. Perhaps we should be ready and willing to take up our own Cross, daily, and follow Him -
trusting His Word, even when we do not understand.

P: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word, and that You have told us the end from the
beginning. O Lord, what love You had for that little band of disciples as You told them what
would happen to You. And how little they understood at that time. Lord, open my eyes and my
understanding to You. May I spend the rest of my life and on into eternity, thanking You and
praising You for Your great love for me, when You were mocked, and flogged, and crucified.
And praise Your name, O Lord, that the grave could not hold You and You rose to life on the
third day, just as You said. Hallelujah! Praise my Saviour! AMEN.