The reason the religious leaders in Jesus’ day did not believe Jesus’ resurrection was not lack of evidence but lack of faith. Jesus doesn’t leave those who believe with an empty tomb but meets with them personally as he did the two Marys.
Read Matthew 27:62-28:15
In the drama of Joseph’s re-enactment of the scenario when his brothers sold him into slavery we see in Joseph’s brothers’ response to Benjamin that they had changed for the better. We particularly see God’s grace in Judah who, in Christ-like fashion, was willing to substitute himself for Benjamin for the sake of his father. We were encouraged to be willing to be disadvantaged for our brothers’ advantage for the sake of the Father.
Read Genesis 44
Christ’s life was not taken from him. He, as King, lay down his life for the sake of his people. He said to the soldiers, and to his Father, “Take me, but let these go free.”
Read John 18:1-11
Good works are not for salvation but from salvation, not just the giving of actions but the giving of ourselves, not defined by us but defined by God, and not for us but for God.
Read Romans 11:33-12:2
God provides grace for his people to keep them from danger and to make up for their deficiencies according to his glorious riches in Christ.
Read 2 Kings 4:38-44
How does repentance look like in the Christian life? Godly sorrow leads to a change of mind, a change of affections, and a change of actions.
Read 2 Corinthians 7:1-13
This life is a mixture of the beautiful and the bitter. The beautiful reminds us of the generosity of God’s grace to sinners and the indescribable inheritance that he has prepared for those who love him. The beautiful points us to the beyond. The bitter does too. God wants us to feel the pain of the curse so that we won’t become too attached to the things of this world and that we would find our only joy and confidence in Jesus Christ. Jesus entered our bitterness so that by his death he might bring us to the beyond to enjoy the unimaginable bounty of the beautiful unmixed by the bitterness of the bleak.
Read 2 Kings 4:8-37
In her barren distress Hannah turned to the Lord. The Lord provided her with a son, Samuel, whom she then presented to the Lord for his worship and service. We too ought to present our children to the Lord to be used as he wills for his glory and the spread of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Read 1 Samuel 1
Justification is an act of God’s free grace wherein he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.
In replenishing the widow's oil the Lord shows that he generously cares for those who put their trust in him. Her only qualification for his help is that she had nothing. This is our only qualification for receiving the saving help from the Lord in the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ.
Read 2 Kings 4:1-7
