S: Ephesians 4: 17-24 “17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” 

O: On this day we remember the death and burial of Jesus. But for what reason did He die? That is the big question we must all ask ourselves as we mourn the death. What was it all for? That answer is life. Jesus came down and died so that we (who are undeserving and could/cannot keep the law) may join in life as he continues to fight our battles. This death was not in vain and was not for us to continue to live “like the gentiles”. He has a purpose for us, and that needs to be our goal and purpose for the rest of our lives. Now that our eyes have been open and we have been exposed to the truth of who God is and what he expects out of our life, we must be changed so the lost may see a beacon of change and come to find answers many of us have previously sought. Then we must be willing to be patient, give them these answers, or help them find these answers. This is great news, our old selves have been put off and our mind renewed. This means with effort and time we can break old habits and form new ones!

A: This is where things can get hard; or God can seem demanding; or where this can look like a works based religion. But do not be easily discouraged or misled. We are saved by one thing, and that is the Faith that Jesus did indeed come and die for our sins, and through that death payed a price we could have never paid. And rose, so we may rise again, to join the Father and intercede for us until our arrival to Heaven.  That is the “golden ticket” to our acceptance into Heaven so to speak. Faith is all that is required. No amount of good works, or nice words, or money given can get us into Heaven.  Just the pure belief of what has happened and what is to come. That said, God still asks for action from us. This action is not to solidify our position in His kingdom but it is to help others to see the truth our eyes have been open to. When talking with our youth, I like to give this example: Why do you listen to your parents when they ask you to do something? Is it so you will get dinner tonight, or so you can sleep inside the house, or even so they will love you? NO! No matter what you do, you will still get food, still get shelter, and you will still get love. But you listen BECAUSE they love you. It is the same with God, we do not obey so we may receive something in return. Everything God offers is free of charge and ready for you. Because of that endless and unconditional love, we WANT to follow Him, and we want to obey his commands. The Law was abolished through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are no longer held down by our own actions, but we may be resurrected through Christ so we may live the life He has called us to live. We are not like the Gentiles, our eyes are open to the truth. We may no longer act in ignorance once we have seen the truth so we must make a decision. Is this what we truly believe or are we going to turn our backs and go back to our old lives willingly?

P: Oh Heavenly Father, forgive us, for we struggle to believe, we struggle to obey, and we struggle to give over our lives fully to you. We have been exposed to your Truth, and we may not go back to our ignorance. We have been exposed so help us as we make our decision. We pray you strengthen our hearts and our minds to endure the storms this world will plague us with. It may look like we are surrounded, but remind us that we are surrounded by YOU!  We pray you soften our hearts as well, as they are hard and calloused over. We pray you work in each and every one of us to play our part in advancing your kingdom! You have tasked us with living a life that will not only get our own hearts closer to you, but that we might be a lighthouse to the lost and help guide them to your truths as well! We are so thankful that you choose us. You have given us opportunity special to us, so that we may penetrate the darkness and death of the evil one, not only for ourselves but for the lost sheep roaming around out there. Give us strength as we weather the storm and let us find rest in your resurrection! You have everything we need, and let us trust in that. As Mark said I believe; help my unbelief. Help us grown closer and stronger in our faith, so we might do the same to those around us! In your name we always pray, Amen!

Jeffrey Thompson