Today in the Word for March 2-9
Today in The Word
Tuesday Mar 2, 2021
Who doesn’t like gifts? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. God offers us gifts in II Corinthians 13:14, where Paul closes his letter with:
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
This sentence mentions the three Persons of the Trinity, and speaks of a gift from each of them.
Jesus offers the gift of grace. Grace from Jesus is such an important gift that Paul mentions it in the closing line of 11 of his New Testament letters. This is the grace by which we were first saved (Ephesians 2:8). And it is more than that. Peter ends II Peter 3:18 this way:
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…”
We are saved by the grace Jesus extends to us by his work on the cross, yet Peter calls for Christ-followers to keep growing in Jesus’ grace. We are to apply Jesus’ free gift of grace to the mistakes we make now. We are to apply Jesus’ free gift of grace to the areas of our life that tend toward addiction and compulsion. And it is his grace applied, not the Enemy’s condemnation, that will bring freedom from those mistakes and compulsions.
Jesus gives us the gift of grace. And we can grow in that grace throughout our life.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Wednesday Mar 3, 2021
Do you like presents? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. God offers us gifts in II Corinthians 13:14:
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
This sentence mentions the three Persons of the Trinity, and speaks of a gift from each of them.
The Holy Spirit offers the gift of fellowship. This original word is koinonia. It conveys the idea of communication with each other and participation together. As believers, our spiritual nature has been brought to life, and thus the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Our spiritual nature is in relationship with the Person of the Holy Spirit. So, when we are around others who share the same presence of the Holy Spirit in their life, we are in ‘fellowship’. Our spiritual nature connects, even if we seem quite different on the outside. This increases many-fold with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit recorded in the book of Acts.
We are in fellowship, not because we are in the same station of life, or share the same hobbies. We are in fellowship because we share an essential nature-the nature of the Holy Spirit. That is the ‘jump’ that happens inside us when we meet a fellow believer. We are in fellowship.
And the Holy Spirit stands ready to share that gift with us.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Thursday Mar 4, 2021
Is there a practical path to be in peaceful fellowship with other believers? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Ephesians 4:2-4 reads:
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit…”
Fellowship with others comes through a shared unity of the Spirit. And this unity together comes by ‘the bond of peace’. Peace holds together. It is the opposite of division. Peace connects us together.
How do we foster the bond of peace? Paul lists several fruit, or character of the Holy Spirit. Humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with each other are listed. We are to ‘make every effort’ to exhibit this Holy Spirit fruit.
It is arrogance, harshness, and impatience that lead us to forget about ‘bearing with’, and go on the attack. We promote strife, not peace.
Make an effort to develop the Holy Spirit’s fruit. It will promote the bond of peace with others.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Friday Mar 5, 2021
What is the first characteristic we think of when we think of God the Father? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. The Trinity offers us gifts in II Corinthians 13:14:
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Is love the first characteristic of God the Father that comes to mind? Do we tend to think of Jesus as the loving one and the Father as the judging one? Of course, The Father’s character contains justice, but I am reminded of John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
It is the Father’s love that motivates the Son’s visit to earth. It is the Father’s love that launches the plan for Jesus to provide salvation to humankind. God loves us. It is his great gift to us all.
God loves you—really!
And that’s the Word. Tune in Sundays at 10:30 on the Deer Lodge Assembly Facebook page for our Livestreamed service or join us at the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in The Word
Monday Mar 8, 2021
Is your understanding of God’s love at a standstill? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Ephesians 3:16-19 reads:
“I pray that…he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you…may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…”
The Holy Spirit is an inner witness to us of God and Jesus’ love. This awareness is not static. We are to continue to grasp the width and breadth of such love. Our capacity to ‘wrap our mind around’ his love can expand throughout our life. We think we have experienced how much he loves us, and then we experience even more. God’s love is more than data. It is more than facts. It is a relational reality to be experienced again and again.
My prayer is that we keep getting stretched to comprehend the expanding love of God.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in The Word
Tuesday Mar 9, 2021
Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. We have been exploring II Corinthians 13:14 for a few days:
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
This sentence mentions the three Persons of the Trinity, and speaks of a gift from each of them. The three persons of the Godhead are in perfect community together.
The inexhaustible love of God is expressed in the grace of Christ poured out on us in the forgiveness of our sins. And we can continue to grow in that grace by continuing to bring our mistakes to Jesus for a fresh application of grace. (II Peter 3:18) When we do, we expand our capacity to grasp the true dimensions of the love of God (Ephesians 3:17-19). Expanding our grasp on the Father’s love, and growing in Jesus’ grace feed the power of the Holy Spirit’s fellowship. We strengthen the bond of peace between fellow-believers (Ephesians 4:2-4).
Love, grace, and fellowship from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—what great gifts!
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.