It is easy to try and serve the Lord in our own power, but we only end up doing the wrong things, in the wrong way, for the wrong reasons, and with no lasting effect. Only service that is enabled by His Holy Spirit will bring true and lasting glory to the One who set us free through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Since we all sin against one another all the time, confession and forgiveness are essential building blocks of every healthy and lasting relationship. But what constitutes a true confession? What does true forgiveness look like? Only through faith in the One who had nothing to confess and everything to forgive do we find grace to live in peace with one another through the rigors of everyday life.

When we get ourselves into trouble, the Lord calls us to confess our sins to one another, and when our brothers and sisters get themselves into difficulties, God calls us to not be indifferent but to help them by praying for them and looking after them so that they do not stray from the way of life.

Sometimes our lives feel like a string of strained and dysfunctional relationships. What went wrong? Why is it so difficult to relate to others in a consistently peaceful way? Our problem lies in the sinful legacy of self-love imparted to us by Adam. The solution is the selfless love of Christ imparted to us by grace. In Luke 10 we see how Christ’s sacrificial love living in us can bring even the worst enemies together in peace.

Adam’s fall into sin destroyed his peace with God, his peace within himself, and his peace with other people. Each of those bitter fruits have been passed down to us as his descendants, including an inward struggle with shame, anxiety, and guilt. Only Christ, the last Adam, can restore what the first Adam lost. In Luke 7 we see an example of how Jesus restores inner peace to those who look to Him for grace.

Adam’s fall into sin destroyed the peace he once enjoyed. His rebellion resulted in enmity with God, unrest within, and discord with others. Each of these bitter fruits have been passed down to us as his descendants, leaving us in a state of deep-seated unrest and misery. Only Christ, the last Adam, could restore what the first Adam lost. In Luke 2 we find the first hints of how Jesus would restore peace with God to all who trust in Him by grace.

Babies feature prominently in the Bible’s plotline of redemptive history. There are a number of special babies who are used as adults by God to accomplish his purpose of bringing salvation to the world and to secure eternal blessings for the world to come. The lives of these individuals remind us of God’s sovereign purposes and his faithfulness to his promises.

Though it might seem like God’s main goal in Exodus 35 was to build a tabernacle, His greater goal was to build a people who would be united to Him in a spirit of selfless thankfulness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ we, too, are being built into a spiritual building to offer thanks to our God as we proclaim His glory to the nations.

God’s glory is so great that Moses’ face literally glowed after meeting with Him. His entire countenance was transformed and his ministry made effective because it was obvious to everyone that he had been with God. In the same way, the Lord Jesus desires to meet with us each day so that we might reflect His glory to the watching world.