Words of Christ

  A New Covenant: Inaugurated by Jesus' Blood Scripture Reading: Hebrews 8:6-13 (NIV, selected verses) But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises... By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated is ready to vanish away. Reflection The writer of Hebrews leaves no room for doubt: the covenant Jesus mediates is new—not a renovation of the old, but something entirely superior, built on better promises. The old covenant, glorious as it was, could not perfect those who lived under it. Its priesthood was temporary, its sacrifices repeated endlessly, its power limited to exposing sin rather than removing it forever. But Jesus brings a covenant that is radically different. Through His perfect life, once-for-all sacrifice, and eternal priesthood, He accomplishes what the old system could ...

  Christ as Our I, Our Self, and Our Conscience Scripture Focus Galatians 2:20; John 14:20, 23 (ESV) “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me… In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you… If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” Meditation When Christ lives in us through His words abiding richly within, He does not stand beside us—He becomes the very center of who we are. ● The old “I” (our ego, the independent center that once said “I live, I decide, I strive”) has been crucified with Him. Now, when we say “I,” it is no longer the old separated I that speaks and acts, but Christ Himself living as our I. The awareness that says “I think, I choose, I love” is now animated by Him. ● The old self (our entire pe...

  Standing Firm in the Storm: A Devotional from the Parable of the Two Builders Scripture Reading Matthew 7:24–27 (NIV) “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Reflection Notice carefully: Jesus does not say the wise man’s house escaped the storm. The rain fell just as hard, the streams rose just as high, and the winds beat just as fiercely against the house built on the rock as they did against the one built on sand. Both houses were tested by the same relentless assault. Believers are not promised ex...

  They Uncovered the Roof A Devotional from Mark 2:1–12 When the four friends reached the house in Capernaum, every door was blocked, every window packed. Jesus was inside, preaching the word to them, but their paralyzed friend could not get near Him. Most people would have shrugged, prayed a quick prayer from the street, and promised to try again next week.These men did something different. They climbed the outside stairs, hauled their friend onto the flat roof, and started digging. Mark tells us they ἀπεστέγασαν (apestegasan) the roof, literally “un-roofed” it. They removed the very thing that was designed to protect and cover the house, because that protection had become the final barrier between a broken man and the Healer. Sometimes the biggest obstacles to Jesus are not sin or unbelief, but the good things we hide behind:   ▪︎ religious routines that keep us comfortable but never desperate   ▪︎ reputations we’re afraid to risk   ▪︎ church traditi...

  “These Signs Will Follow Those Who Believe” Evidence in the New Testament that prophecy, visions, dreams, tongues, healing, and other supernatural gifts are normal signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit Opening Prayer Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who fell on the day of Pentecost, open my eyes today to see what the New Testament truth unfiltered. Remove every tradition or fear that has kept me from expecting Your power. Fill me afresh as I read Your Word, and let these signs follow me because I believe. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 1. The Promise – It Was Never Meant to Stop Acts 2:17–18, 39 (NKJV) “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams… For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Peter says the miracles happening right in front of them (to...

  Speak to the Mountain – But First, Quiet the Heart Scripture “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” (Mark 11:23, NIV) Opening Reflection Imagine standing before a mountain that has blocked your way for years: an illness, a broken relationship, a financial burden, a dream that keeps dying. Jesus looks you in the eye and says, “You can tell that mountain to move… if your heart is not divided. The miracle is not primarily about the mountain. It is about the heart that speaks to it.  What Doubt Feels Like in the Heart.  Doubt is rarely a loud “I don’t believe! More often it is a quiet civil war:   One part of you prays boldly; another part rehearses why it probably won’t work.   One part remembers God’s promises; another part remembers last year’s disappointment.   One part says, “Nothing is i...

  Daily Devotional 12-7-25 “The Defeated Dictators Must Step Aside Today” Key Verse Romans 5:17 (ESV) “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. ”Read slowly aloud Romans 6:11–14 “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” The Picture Sin and death are like ruthless dictators who seized power the day Adam fell. For centuries they ruled with terror, fear, and violence. Then Jesus stormed the palace, crushe...