Our need for love and appreciation is written deeply into our nature. We want to be seen and accepted by those around us. But, in this broken world, humans are selfish, and human attention is fickle. Popularity can tease those who don’t find it...and wreck those who do.
Jesus knows about popularity. As a human, He understands people. He knows personally that they can crown you one day and crucify you the next. So, during His ministry on earth, how did Jesus deal with that oh-so-human desire for attention and acceptance? How did He deal with popularity?
Instead of relying on the opinions of humans for worth and acceptance, Jesus went to the Father; He “entrusted himself to the one who judges justly,” even in suffering (1 Peter 2:23).
Yet Jesus was not detached. He cared. He loved. He had a mission to accomplish for our sake—one that would make a way for us to escape the trap of finding our worth in what others think of us instead of in the One who made us. He made the ultimate sacrifice to beat sin and death, all because He so loved us (John 3:16-17).
In Christ, we are loved and accepted, no matter what we face (Romans 8:38-39). And, in that acceptance, we are free to love others instead of comparing ourselves to them.
A prayer: "Lord, I entrust my heart to You, loving others with abandon as I accomplish Your mission for my life. Remind me I am secure in Your great love, which will help me show that same love to each one You bring into my life today. In Jesus’ name, Amen." • Trent D. Schrock
• God created us to be in community (Genesis 2:18). But the fall into sin broke our relationships with God and others (Genesis 3). How has Jesus made a way for our broken relationships with God and others to be reconciled? To dig deeply into this topic, check out Romans 5, 2 Corinthians 5, and Colossians 1.
• To what length have you gone in the past to “earn” the love and attention of those around you?
• Read Romans 8. How can the truths from this passage help you rest confidently in God’s love for you in Christ? How can this confident rest help you love others?
Nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39 (CSB)
Popular
June 18, 2020
June 18, 2020 • Emily Tenter
Everything Points to Jesus
June 30, 2020 • Emily Tenter
Have you ever heard that “everything in the Bible points to Jesus”? That seems kind of weird, doesn’t it? How can it be all about Someone who isn’t even named until the last quarter of the book? True, the Old Testament is sprinkled with prophecies about the Messiah: it’s easy enough to link those to Christ. But there’s still a lot that seems irrelevant. Chapters and chapters are filled with the story of the nation of Israel. What does that have to do with Jesus? When we start into the New Testament, Matthew summarizes Jesus’ ancestry. Right off, we see several of the “big names” from the Old Testament—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ruth, Jesse, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, etc. And that’s our first link! But then, after the Christmas story, we get into the life of Christ, with His escape to Egypt, return to Israel, baptism, and temptation in the desert. It looks like we’ve left the Old Testament far behind. But wait! Where have we seen Egypt before? Way back in Genesis, Israel escaped to Egypt until Moses led them on the Exodus. And then what? They spent forty years in the desert as the children grew up. They gave into temptation, worshiping other gods and complaining. And Jesus? After escaping to Egypt, He returned, grew up, and spent forty days in the desert. Coincidence? Maybe not. When the devil tempted Him, every answer Jesus gave came straight from the book of Deuteronomy. The two Egypt stories link with an Old Testament prophet’s words: “I called my son out of Egypt” (Hosea 11:1). Israel was formed by God to be His representative on Earth, to bless all the people of the world. When they abandoned Him, God sent Jesus — a flawless representative, who succeeded where Israel had failed. It’s one story, culminating in Christ, of God revealing His love to all the world! • Christiana Cudworth • The Bible was written by a lot of different people, in a lot of different times and places. Why do you suppose it all fits together? • What other examples from the Old Testament can you think of that Jesus mirrored or fulfilled? (Check out Genesis 22 and Job 19:25-27, just to name a couple.) You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me [Jesus]! John 5:39 (NLT)
What's Next?
June 29, 2020 • Andrew Stevens
What’s next?” The ever-present question, heard every time you change schools, pick classes, or choose what happens after high school. When I’m asked this question, I sometimes think it means I’m not good enough: "I haven’t 'arrived' at where they think I should be. I don’t know 'what’s next'! I was enjoying high school, but now I’m fixated on what comes after this." I find myself becoming discontent, no longer happy where I am. I start comparing myself to other people. They have so many things I don’t have. A nice car. A significant other. A cat. A dog. A plan! As I reflect on what others are doing, I get so focused on things I might do in the future that I lose sight of what God is doing in me right now. When the apostle Paul was in prison, I’m sure he would sometimes look around and think of all the other things he could have been doing rather than sitting in a cell. In Philippians 4, after having been in chains for quite some time, he says he has “learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (verse 11). That doesn’t mean he wasn’t thinking about what could happen if he were released from prison, but it didn’t consume him. Paul was excited about the possibilities, but he was also content where he was. Notice Paul says he had to learn contentment (verses 11-12). It wasn’t like flipping a switch and everything was suddenly sunshine and roses. No, learning contentment was a process. The Holy Spirit worked in Paul all along. In Christ, Paul was able to rest in peace and joy, equipped to do the work God put before http://him...and even to dream about where God would call Him next. • Kristi Dennis • Have you ever been asked about what’s next in your future? • Read Proverbs 3:5-6. How does it encourage you to know God is the One who can direct your steps? I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:12 (NIV)
The Fall of the Empire
June 28, 2020 • Emily Tenter
One Man defeated the evil empire. The empire ruled the entire world for centuries, millennia. All humanity succumbed to it. All lands felt its iron grip. The empire ruled with hate and vitriol. With domination and rebellion. With use and manipulation. With lies and deceit. With death, pain, and fear. Then it fell, beaten by the love of the new King. Oh, the empire tried to ensnare Him in its workings, but He had no interest in conquering, in dealing, in grasping wealth. It swallowed Him up in death, and He spit it out in life. In love, He broke the cycle of human violence. The foundations of the empire were shattered when, in love, He http://died...but then rose again. Oh, the empire seems to be in full operation. Tyrants and slavers still conduct their business. The hungry masses still rage and plot. The Earth is still full of the bones of the murdered. But so many have already defected to join the King. Millions of them now. They eagerly await the day when His kingdom of love comes in fullness, destroying the last feeble remnants of the empire. The end will come quickly. Get out of the empire while you can, because soon there will be nothing left. Join the King, and His new kingdom. It will last forever—its people loved by their King and, thus, loving Him and each other. The old empire will be scarcely remembered. • Kevin Zeller • Throughout the Bible, the empire of Babylon is used as a name for the sinful system of the world. What ways do you see the empire in the news every day? • How did Jesus destroy the empire of sin and death? (To learn more, check out our "Know Jesus" page.) • How do Christians undermine the work of the empire? They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.” Revelation 18:10 (NLT)