Stand in the Gap
March 29, 2020 • Christiana Cudworth • Ezekiel 22:26–31, 1 Timothy 4:12
Wow. Ezekiel was a prophet in Israel at a hard time to be following God! The priests, the government, and pretty much all the people were committing all sorts of evil. Nobody cared about God. God couldn’t find anyone to “stand in the gap”—to fill the void of righteousness in Israel (Ezekiel 22:30). . Sound familiar? Following God has always been hard because our world is broken by sin. When people and society as a whole reject Jesus, evil is accepted and encouraged, including by religious leaders who claim to be following God. It’s hard to find true, sincere, fully committed Christians—people who are determined to know God and follow Him with all of their hearts. . In this broken world, what does it mean to really follow God? What does it mean to “stand in the gap”? It’s an even harder question when you’re young and wondering, What can I do now? Good news: in Jesus’ kingdom, age is not important (1 Timothy 4:12). . But how do you stand in the gap in such a sin-filled world? By seeking Jesus, who is God (Titus 2:13). You stand in the gap by knowing Him, the One who is righteous (or sinless) even when your actions are not (1 John 1:9–2:1). You grow in your understanding of this good news by talking to God through prayer, studying the Bible (His Word), and regularly gathering with other Christians to worship Jesus and encourage each other in your pursuit of making Him the center of your lives. . If you’re a Christian, you are a part of the next generation of God’s people, who know and love Him and share the good news of His kingdom to a world that needs His rescue from all that is evil. • Christiana Cudworth . • Who are strong Christians you know—people who have centered their lives on Jesus? How can you follow their examples (Philippians 3:17)? . • Jesus is the One who stands in the gap for us. Without Him, we can’t stop sinning. But Jesus took God’s just wrath on Himself. Those who put their faith in Him are wrapped in His righteousness; it is like they have never sinned (Isaiah 59:16-19; Romans 3:22-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21). How could these truths encourage you when you see sin in yourself and in the world? . Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 (NLT)
Heart Transplants
November 19, 2019 • Rosemarie Pagano • Jeremiah 17:9–10, Ezekiel 11:19–20, Matthew 15:19
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Just follow your heart!” or “Listen to your heart!” These seem like cheerful, loving sentiments, don’t they? The only problem is, apart from Jesus, our hearts are sinful, and they are definitely not worth following or listening to. . In Jeremiah 17:9, the human heart is described as “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Later, Jesus said that it isn’t what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of a man (Matthew 15:11). And these are not the only verses in the Bible that refer to the heart! Ultimately, some of the meanest and most evil things in the world come out of the human heart. That means we all have a kind of heart trouble because our personalities come from the heart, the center of our being. . Similar to how cardiac surgeons can remove a failing physical heart and replace it with a healthier donor heart, our Lord can give us new hearts through the Holy Spirit. When we come to Him through faith, He gives us new life. We are born again and given a new nature—a heart transplant (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Great Physician replaces our sinful and stony heart with a heart of flesh. He has been performing spiritual heart transplants for a long time, so no case is too complicated for Him! What good news! • Rosemarie Pagano . • What surprised you in today’s reading? . • If you have questions about what it means to have a new heart through Jesus, check out our "Know Jesus" page. . Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 11:19 (NKJV)