In Paul’s opening to his letter to the Philippians 1:3-4, he writes, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy.”

What joy to have friends like this. I hope, like me, you do. Friends you have known since childhood, and friends you may have met recently, who teach you, inspire you, bring you joy, challenge you to be better, bring you closer to Jesus, and who need you to help them get closer to Jesus.

What a beautiful work the Lord does to bring us these friends.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the friends you have given us. Help us strengthen them and grow in faith with them. To your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Today is Good Friday, when we remember Jesus’ suffering and death. Imagine this, your coworker steals from the company you work for and you get fired, or your classmate cheats and you are suspended because of it, or worse yet, someone murders your friend and you are arrested and sentenced to death.

That is essentially what Jesus Christ endured. He was perfect and blameless, but took the punishment for people’s disobedience to God, in order to give us the opportunity to be right with God.

The Message translation says in Romans 5:7-8, “We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.”

NIV translation says in verse 8. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” This is the foundation of the Christian message. Jesus took the punishment for us, so we can be reconciled with God forever.

Dear Lord, Thank you for this undeserved and unearned gift of salvation. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” NET

Simply put, pray for what you want, be thankful for what you get, and receive the unexplainable peace of trusting God.

Dear Lord, thank you for hearing our prayers and giving us what we need. Give us the peace that can only come from trusting you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do you ever wonder why some Christians experience challenges in one part their lives, and others experience different types of challenges. Is it just random or is God involved in how these things are happening?

Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet was telling the people God’s view of their situation in Isaiah 28:26-29, saying, “He [a farmer] knows just what to do, for God has made him see and understand. He doesn’t thresh all grains the same. A sledge is never used on dill, but it is beaten with a stick. A threshing wheel is never rolled on cummin, but it is beaten softly with a flail. Bread grain is easily crushed, so he doesn’t keep on pounding it. The Lord Almighty is a wonderful teacher and gives the farmer wisdom.”

In this passage, Isaiah is explaining to the people that God is like the farmer, and people are like the seed. God knows what experience he needs to put someone through to most effectively develop them. So when we are going through experiences we should ask ourselves what is God doing and how is he using this experience to make me a better Christian.

Dear Lord thank you for caring for each one of us, enough to work on us and help us improve. May we graciously accept the challenges you put before us as exercises to make us stronger and better Christians. in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

It is amazing to think about the changes that have occurred in recent years, and in our lifetimes. The first hand-held personal mobile phone was available just 40 years ago, and the first IPhone was introduced only 15 years ago, now virtually everyone in the developed world has one. The internet as we know it is only about 30 years old. The first earth orbiting satellite was launched in 1957, and now there are over 2000 orbiting the earth. 150 years ago, there was no electricity, there were no cars, and only 40 million people lived in the entire US (about the same as California’s current population)

As amazing these changes are, things are changing even faster every day. The speed of change can be scary to us, however, we know one thing that does not change. In Malachi 3:6 God tells us “I the Lord do not change.” and Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

We can have confidence that the promises God has made and the salvation we receive through Jesus Christ has not changed for thousands of years, and will not change.

Dear Lord, when all earthly things around us are changing, what peace and joy it provides us knowing that you and your love for us will not change. With thanks and praise, we pray. Amen.