Devotionals for March 29, 2024
Join us for Easter at TNLC this Sunday at 8:15am, 9:45am, & 11:15am!
READ
Ephesians 2:12-18
Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
REFLECT
Jesus’s death on the cross provided atonement for sins, access to God, and complete shalom between God and humanity. The Jewish idea of shalom carries beautiful meaning. It’s used as a greeting today: “Shalom!” And it also carries the idea of peace, completeness, and wholeness. So when Paul says Jesus “is our peace” and He created “one new humanity…thus making peace,” it means Jesus has brought total wholeness to His church. He has united us and brought us into God’s presence, where true peace is possible. Before, sin divided us from God (remember the curtain in the Temple). Religious and national differences had separated Jew from Gentile. But Jesus made it possible for all of us to “have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
APPLY
Q: How does Jesus reconcile us back to God?
Q: Have you trusted Jesus completely to be at *shalom* with God?
Q: As a six-foot sanctuary of God, how can you help bring the Gospel and this message of peace to others today?
Q: Have you trusted Jesus completely to be at *shalom* with God?
Q: As a six-foot sanctuary of God, how can you help bring the Gospel and this message of peace to others today?
SING
PRAY
"And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one."
Lord, it’s so tempting to keep your wonders to myself. You have healed my spirit. You have healed relationships. You have brought me into community. Help me to be generous of heart, empowered by your Holy Spirit. Help me to pour into others lives, so they can also experience your peace. Amen.
Lord, it’s so tempting to keep your wonders to myself. You have healed my spirit. You have healed relationships. You have brought me into community. Help me to be generous of heart, empowered by your Holy Spirit. Help me to pour into others lives, so they can also experience your peace. Amen.