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This week’s devotions are based on Week 3 of Building Together: “Together is Tough!”  (WATCH HERE)

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1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 

It is easy to see people through labels. We notice the person who is difficult. The person who is opinionated. The person who talks too much. The person who never seems to help. The person who hurt us. The person who sees things differently than we do.

We can begin to define people by the thing that bothers us most about them.

But the cross gives us a different way to see people.

Peter reminds us that Christ died “for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous.” That little phrase puts all of us on level ground. There is no category here for the people who need more grace and the people who need less. There are only sinners who need a Savior and a Savior who gave Himself for sinners.

That includes you. And it includes the person who is difficult for you.

Galatians 3:26 says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Paul goes on to remind us that those who have been baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. Our identity is not ultimately determined by our personality, our background, our accomplishments, our failures, or our differences. Our deepest identity is found in Christ.

Think about a family gathered around a dinner table. Every person at the table may be different. One may be quiet. Another may be loud. One may be organized. Another may be spontaneous. One may have strong opinions. Another may avoid conflict. They may disagree about plenty of things, but they are still family.

The same is true of God’s family.

The church is not a gathering of people who naturally fit together. It is a gathering of sinners who have been brought together by Jesus. Christ did not die only for the people who are easy to love. He died for difficult people too. He died for people who disappoint us. He died for people who disagree with us. He died for people who sometimes get on our nerves.

And He died for us when we were difficult too.

That changes how we look at one another.

The next time someone frustrates you, try seeing them through the cross. Before you see their irritating habit, see a person Christ loved. Before you see their mistake, see someone for whom Jesus shed His blood. Before you decide what they deserve, remember what Christ has given you.

This does not mean pretending that hurtful behavior is acceptable or avoiding necessary conversations. Christian love can speak the truth. But it speaks the truth remembering that the person standing across from us is someone God desires to redeem, restore, and draw closer to Himself.

The people who make life together tough are also people Christ died for.

And so am I.

Reflect: Who is someone you have been tempted to define by their faults or the way they have treated you? How might remembering that Christ died for that person change the way you speak to or think about them?

Prayer:  Dear Jesus, thank You for dying for me, an undeserving sinner. Forgive me for the times I have looked down on others, judged them by their faults, or forgotten that they are people You love. Help me see others through the cross. Give me patience when people frustrate me, courage to speak the truth when it is needed, and compassion to remember that every person needs Your grace just as I do. Help us live together as Your forgiven family. Amen.

This week’s devotions are based on Week 3 of Building Together: “Together is Tough!”  (WATCH HERE)

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Ephesians 5:1 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love.” 

 

Have you ever watched a little child trying to imitate a parent? A father bends down to pick something up, and suddenly his son is doing the same thing. A mother says a certain phrase, and before long her daughter is repeating it. Children imitate the people they love and look up to.

Paul uses that picture when he tells us to “follow God’s example.” But notice where he begins. He does not say, “Become good enough to be God’s children.” He says, “as dearly loved children.”

That little word “as” is important. We don’t imitate God so that He will love us. We imitate God because He already loves us.

That is the foundation for everything we will talk about this week. Loving other people can be difficult. People disappoint us. They misunderstand us. They have different personalities, opinions, habits, and expectations. Sometimes they hurt us. Sometimes we hurt them. Together is tough.

But before Paul tells us how to live together, he reminds us who we are.

We are dearly loved children of God.

John writes, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1

Notice that John does not say we might become God’s children if we can get our lives together. He says, “That is what we are.”

How can sinful people like us be called God’s children? Because Jesus took our place. He lived the perfect life we could not live. He carried our sins to the cross. He suffered the punishment we deserved. He rose from the grave and gives us forgiveness and life. Through faith in Christ, we have been brought into God’s family.

Think about a child who wakes up each morning knowing that he belongs in his home. He does not have to earn his place at the breakfast table. He does not have to perform well enough to remain part of the family. He belongs because he is loved.

That is who you are in Christ.

You don’t have to spend today trying to prove that you are worthy of God’s love. You are already His dearly loved child. And when that truth settles into your heart, it changes the way you see yourself and the way you see others.

So when someone frustrates you today, remember that you are a dearly loved child of God. And remember that they may be too. The person who is difficult for you to love is someone Christ loved enough to die for.

We love because He first loved us.

 

Reflect: What difference does it make to you personally that God calls you His dearly loved child? Who is someone you find difficult to love, and how might seeing that person as someone Christ died for change the way you respond?

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, thank You for making me Your child through Jesus. I know that I have not earned Your love and that I often fail to love others as You have loved me. Thank You for sending Jesus to forgive my sins and bring me into Your family. Help me remember today that I am Your dearly loved child. Help me see others through the eyes of Your grace, especially those who are difficult for me to love. Shape my heart by the love of Christ so that I may reflect Your love to the people You place around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

This week’s devotions are based on Week 2 of Building Together: “Some Things Have to Go!”  (WATCH HERE)

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Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

We’ve spent this week talking about Demo Day. We have looked at the things Paul tells us to tear out: futile thinking, the old self, falsehood, anger, destructive words, bitterness, and malice. But demolition is never the final goal.

The goal is to build something new.

Paul ends this section with some of the most beautiful words in Ephesians 4: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” These words give us a picture of what the renovated life looks like.

It looks like Christ.

That is really what Christian living is about. We are not simply trying to become nicer people. We are not renovating our lives so that we can impress God or prove that we are better than someone else. Christ has already forgiven us, claimed us, and made us His own. Now He is shaping our lives so that His love can be seen through us.

Jesus said in John 13:34–35, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Notice where Jesus points us when He tells us how to love. He points us to Himself.

“As I have loved you.”

Jesus loved us when we were unlovable. He served us when we had nothing to offer Him. He forgave sins that we could never repay. He went to the cross willingly and took the punishment we deserved. His love was not simply something He talked about. His love was displayed in what He did.

Now that same love begins to show itself in our lives.

When we forgive someone, we display something of Christ.

When we show compassion to someone who is hurting, we display something of Christ.

When we choose kindness instead of harshness, we display something of Christ.

When we speak words that build someone up instead of tear them down, we display something of Christ.

When we give rather than take, serve rather than demand, and listen rather than insist on being heard, we display something of Christ.

Peter reminds us that we are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,” and that we are called to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

That’s the finished house.

It isn’t perfect. There will still be things that need to be repaired. There will still be moments when the old self shows up. We will still stumble and need to return to the cross for forgiveness.

But the house is different.

Christ lives here.

His truth shapes us. His righteousness covers us. His Spirit works in us. His love flows through us.

And when people encounter us, our prayer is that they don’t simply see people trying harder to be good. We want them to see something of Jesus.

So as you finish this week, don’t just ask, “What needs to go?” Ask a second question: “What does Christ want to build in its place?”

Then look for an opportunity to let someone see Christ through you.

Reflect: What characteristic of Christ do you most want others to see in the way you live this week? ho is one person you could intentionally show kindness, compassion, forgiveness, or encouragement to this week?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for calling me out of darkness and bringing me into Your wonderful light. Thank You for forgiving me and giving me a new life in You. Continue to tear out the things in my life that do not belong, and build in me a heart that reflects Your kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Use my words, actions, and relationships to give others a glimpse of Your love. May the way I live point people not to me, but to You. Amen.

This week’s devotions are based on Week 2 of Building Together: “Some Things Have to Go!”  (WATCH HERE)

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Ephesians 4:30–32 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

Paul’s list of things that need to go becomes especially personal in these verses. He tells us to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” These are not simply behaviors that make us look bad. They damage relationships, divide families, hurt churches, and rob us of the peace God wants us to have with one another.

Bitterness is especially dangerous because it can be so easy to hide. Someone may hurt us, disappoint us, or treat us unfairly, and we carry that hurt with us. We may never say anything, but we replay the conversation in our minds. We remember what happened. We rehearse what we wish we had said. Over time, the hurt becomes bitterness.

Anger can do the same thing. Anger may begin with something legitimate, but when we hold onto it, it can become something destructive. Paul warns us in the previous verses not to let the sun go down on our anger and not to give the devil a foothold. Sinful anger doesn’t stay contained. It begins to affect how we see another person and how we treat them.

So Paul says, “Get rid of it.”

That’s Demo Day language.

Tear it out. Haul it away. Don’t make room for it in the new life Christ is building.

But once again, Paul doesn’t leave us with an empty room. He immediately gives us something better:

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Notice the standard for our forgiveness. Paul doesn’t say, “Forgive when the other person deserves it.” He doesn’t say, “Forgive when they apologize enough.” He says, “Just as in Christ God forgave you.”

That changes everything.

We know what it means to need forgiveness. We have spoken words we wish we could take back. We have held onto anger. We have been selfish. We have hurt people we love. We have sinned against God and others in ways we cannot undo.

Yet God did not wait for us to make everything right before He acted. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. At the cross, Jesus carried the very sins that separate us from God. Because of His sacrifice, God has forgiven us completely.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean pretending that what happened was okay. It doesn’t mean there are never consequences or that every relationship immediately returns to what it was. Forgiveness means we no longer demand that another person’s sin determine our response. We place justice in God’s hands and entrust ourselves to His grace.

Christ has forgiven you. Now He gives you the freedom to forgive.

Today, ask God to show you what needs to go. Then make room for what He wants to build in its place.

Reflect: Is there someone or something you are still carrying bitterness or anger toward? What would it look like to place that hurt into God’s hands? How does remembering that Christ has completely forgiven you change the way you respond to someone who has hurt you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the complete forgiveness You have given me through Your death and resurrection. Forgive me for the bitterness, anger, resentment, and malice I continue to carry. Help me release those things to You. Fill my heart instead with kindness, compassion, patience, and forgiveness. Give me the strength to forgive others as You have forgiven me, and let Your grace be seen in the way I treat those around me. Amen.

This week’s devotions are based on Week 2 of Building Together: “Some Things Have to Go!”  (WATCH HERE)

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Ephesians 4:25–29 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.  29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Paul gets very practical in today’s reading. After talking about the renewed mind and the new self, he begins showing us what that new life looks like in everyday relationships. He tells us to put away falsehood, deal with anger, stop stealing, and get rid of words that tear people down.

But notice something important about Paul’s instructions. He does not simply tell us what to stop doing. He tells us what to do instead.

“Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor.” Instead of stealing, work honestly so that you can have something to share with those in need. Instead of allowing corrupt talk to come out of your mouth, speak “only what is good for building up.”

That is the picture of Christian growth. God does not simply tear things out of our lives and leave an empty space behind. He replaces what is destructive with something good.

Think about renovating a house. If you tear out an old wall, you don’t leave the opening exposed forever. You put something better in its place. If you remove an old floor, you eventually replace it with something new. Demolition is necessary, but demolition is not the goal. The goal is to build something better.

The same is true in our lives.

Maybe there is a habit of speaking negatively about other people. It needs to be torn out. But God does not simply say, “Stop talking.” He teaches us to use our words to encourage and strengthen others.

Maybe anger has become a regular part of the way we respond to people. That needs to be torn out. But God doesn’t leave us empty. He teaches us patience, reconciliation, and forgiveness.

Maybe selfishness has shaped the way we use our time, money, or abilities. God calls us to something better. Paul says that the person who once stole should now work honestly “so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” The old life says, “What can I get?” The new life asks, “What can I give?”

That is what makes the Christian life beautiful. The Gospel doesn’t simply make us less bad. Christ is building something new in us that becomes a blessing to others.

This is Demo Day in the Christian life. Christ is tearing out what doesn’t belong, but He is also building something beautiful in its place. He is teaching us to speak truth, show generosity, encourage others, and use our lives for the good of those around us.

The goal isn’t an empty house.

The goal is a life that builds others up.

Reflect: Are your words more likely to build people up or tear them down? What is one change you could make this week? What is one old behavior or attitude that Christ may be calling you to tear out, and what godly behavior could you put in its place?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for the times my words and actions have hurt others instead of building them up. Thank You for the grace You have shown me and for the new life You have given me. Tear out the attitudes and behaviors that do not belong, and replace them with truth, generosity, kindness, and encouragement. Help me use my words and actions to strengthen the people around me and to reflect Your love. Amen.