“The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (Exodus 12:13).

Today’s verse comes from the story of God rescuing the Israelites from Egypt. God commanded Israel to prepare the Passover by slaughtering a lamb and putting its blood on the doorframes of the houses of Israel. Then the LORD would pass over the homes marked by the blood of the lamb but kill the first born of those whose homes were not covered by the blood of the lamb.

Notice, the only requirement for salvation from death was the blood of the lamb. God did not check to see if those inside the house were worthy of salvation. The only thing that mattered was the presence of the blood of the sacrificial lamb. Those who were saved that night included murderers, liars, cheaters, adulterers, idolaters, sinners of all kinds and flavors!

The reason why God did not check the worthiness of those inside the house is because no one is worthy.

Salvation is not about the worthiness of the sinner.

Salvation is all about the presence of the blood of the sacrificial lamb.

When it comes to judgment, God will not be checking for our worthiness. If that were the criterion none of us would be saved. The only thing that will matter at the time of judgment is whether we are covered by the blood of the Lamb.

Friends, God loves you. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, there is nothing in this world that will separate you from God’s love.

If you have not yet received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, what are you waiting for?!?! Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Confess that you are a sinner in need of a Savior and commit to following him.

If you’ve said that prayer, please let me know. The Little Church and Lakewoodgrace would love to walk with you in the journey of faith.

God loves you. Have a great day!

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).

Crush Satan under your feet…

Man!!! That sounds so awesome!!! I want that. I want to see that. I would love to see Satan crushed.

Look at who’s feet God will crush Satan – under your feet. What you need to know is that the “you” in “your feet” is written in the plural.

• You, individually do not have the power or the ability to crush Satan
• You, on your own, are one who gets crushed by Satan
• But something amazing happens when you individuals come together under the authority of Christ. It is this you – all who come under the authority of Christ – who becomes the primary tool by which God crushes Satan in this world.

Who is this collective You All? This is none other than the Church of Jesus Christ. We are told that Christ is the head of the Church, and that we are his body. It is the Church of Jesus Christ, the body of Christ of which he is the head, that God uses to crush Satan.

The Church on its own does not have power to crush anything, let alone Satan. It is only the Church that is collectively under the headship and the Lordship of Jesus Christ that is the instrument and tool which God uses to crush Satan.

Isn’t interesting that the text tells us that it is the God of peace who will crush Satan under you all’s feet. God’s peace doesn’t mean the absence of crushing. In fact, in order for God’s peace to be genuinely peace, God’s peace must crush all that destroys peace.

You want to be in the business of crushing Satan? You have to be a part of God’s Church who is under the Lordship and the headship of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the head, and that we are the body of Christ. It is this collective “we” God uses to crush Satan.

You ready to do some crushing? Get under the Lordship and Headship of Jesus and be a part of Christ’s Church.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).

I once heard some wise person say, “Whenever God blesses you with material wealth it is not for the purpose of increasing your standard of living but for the purpose of increasing your standard of giving.”

John Wesley, the father of Methodism, said, “Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.” And, he did. By the time that he died, John Wesley had given away everything he had. It was pretty significant. He had made much. Saved much. And gave all.

The verse of the day doesn’t apply only to material wealth. It certainly includes that, but it is much bigger than that. It is talking about everything that we receive from God – our talents, motivations, passions, intelligence, health, relationships, family, etc.

The purpose of God’s gifts is never for personal consumption. It is always for the service of others.

The reason for such service for others is because we are stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. Steward is one who manages resources, gifts, talents on behalf of another. The thing about stewards is that they are given full freedom to use the resources entrusted to them. While there is complete freedom for how the resources are to be used, there is a clear understanding of what and how they are to be used. The resources are to be used for the purpose for which the giver of resources sets.

God tells us to use whatever gift we have received to serve others.

What gifts has God given you? What resources has God entrusted you with? Jot them down. Write them out.

Then consider, how can you use these resources to serve others today? Think and pray. Write down at least three things you will do today to use the gifts you have received to serve others today.

Can you imagine what our communities will look like as God unleashes his stewards of grace all throughout our city!?!?!? Wow. Gives me chills just thinking about it. 

Blessings to you as you serve God’s people.