Weekly Devotional - Raquel Simmons
John 6:28-29 NIV they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
Romans 10:9-10 NLT If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”
“If the words you spoke appeared on your skin, would you still be beautiful?” This quote has always resonated with me. Are the things I am saying to others encouraging, true, kind, and beneficial? Likewise, are the things we do in our day to day life adding “good” to the world. From a Biblical perspective, are my actions having an eternal impact? Do my words bring life or death? Do I carry God’s peace with me? Am I serving others? How am I under pressure… when everything is falling apart?
Pastor Pete referred to two types of belief in Jesus: “Big Foot” belief and “Biblical” belief. Anyone can say “I believe in Big Foot!” and go on about the rest of their day without giving it another thought. This belief in Big Foot would not have any further impact on the decisions they make in their day. It is superficial and means little to nothing. In the same way, we can say, “I believe in Jesus!” but carry on about the rest of their lives without living out that belief.
A “Biblical” belief in Jesus changes everything. This type of belief will guide our day-to-day decision making. This type of belief is full of leaps of faith. It can cost us everything- money, status, comfort, convenience, and sometimes even our safety.
Biblical belief is accompanied by action and behavior change. If we say we believe in Jesus and that we have surrendered our lives to Him, there will be evidence of a life transformed. Who we were before and who we are now will and should look different. No matter how long we have been saved, as we continue to progress through life with Christ, we are on a never-ending journey of transformation. With every passing season, we should look more like Jesus (not physically, of course). We will continue to grow more selfless, more joyful, more peaceful, more patient, more kind, more generous, and more loving and more self-controlled.
I often ask myself, “How did I love today?” Every morning that we are blessed to wake up to, we might have countless opportunities ahead of us to show the love of God to those around us. To notice these opportunities, we will need to slow down and look around. Sometimes, I can get so frustrated with myself with how slow I am. I can often feel behind. But, when I step back and look at myself through God’s eyes, I see that although I move through life at a slower pace, it has helped me notice the beauty that others often miss. We are surrounded by beauty every day in God’s creations- the trees, the stars, the ocean, the animals, the flowers, etc. And His most important creation of all - people. All waiting to feel known and loved. Let’s be the ones who live with a Biblical belief in Jesus, and go live out our days full of love, peace, laughter, joy, patience, generosity, and selflessness. Let’s be the ones that when people look at us they say, “there’s something different about them.”
-Raquel
Romans 10:9-10 NLT If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”
“If the words you spoke appeared on your skin, would you still be beautiful?” This quote has always resonated with me. Are the things I am saying to others encouraging, true, kind, and beneficial? Likewise, are the things we do in our day to day life adding “good” to the world. From a Biblical perspective, are my actions having an eternal impact? Do my words bring life or death? Do I carry God’s peace with me? Am I serving others? How am I under pressure… when everything is falling apart?
Pastor Pete referred to two types of belief in Jesus: “Big Foot” belief and “Biblical” belief. Anyone can say “I believe in Big Foot!” and go on about the rest of their day without giving it another thought. This belief in Big Foot would not have any further impact on the decisions they make in their day. It is superficial and means little to nothing. In the same way, we can say, “I believe in Jesus!” but carry on about the rest of their lives without living out that belief.
A “Biblical” belief in Jesus changes everything. This type of belief will guide our day-to-day decision making. This type of belief is full of leaps of faith. It can cost us everything- money, status, comfort, convenience, and sometimes even our safety.
Biblical belief is accompanied by action and behavior change. If we say we believe in Jesus and that we have surrendered our lives to Him, there will be evidence of a life transformed. Who we were before and who we are now will and should look different. No matter how long we have been saved, as we continue to progress through life with Christ, we are on a never-ending journey of transformation. With every passing season, we should look more like Jesus (not physically, of course). We will continue to grow more selfless, more joyful, more peaceful, more patient, more kind, more generous, and more loving and more self-controlled.
I often ask myself, “How did I love today?” Every morning that we are blessed to wake up to, we might have countless opportunities ahead of us to show the love of God to those around us. To notice these opportunities, we will need to slow down and look around. Sometimes, I can get so frustrated with myself with how slow I am. I can often feel behind. But, when I step back and look at myself through God’s eyes, I see that although I move through life at a slower pace, it has helped me notice the beauty that others often miss. We are surrounded by beauty every day in God’s creations- the trees, the stars, the ocean, the animals, the flowers, etc. And His most important creation of all - people. All waiting to feel known and loved. Let’s be the ones who live with a Biblical belief in Jesus, and go live out our days full of love, peace, laughter, joy, patience, generosity, and selflessness. Let’s be the ones that when people look at us they say, “there’s something different about them.”
-Raquel
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