"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..." - Colossians 3:16
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit”. - Titus 3:5
Sometimes things that seem so simple get complicated. The Life in Jesus Mission Group went to Peru to build churches. That’s simple. We went and we built. But it got a bit complicated. The villages we built churches in did not have the infrastructure to house and feed 29 people from BLC so we needed to stay on a boat. It had dorms for guys and girls and we had cooks on board who made wholesome, plain foods that kept us healthy in a far-away place. The people in the villages where we built churches did not speak English so we needed translators who could speak Spanish. The villages and surrounding region were not safe in the same way suburban America is safe so we had guards, with guns, standing watch 24 hours a day. In addition we had a boat crew to run the boat, and master builders to direct us in building the churches. We also had leaders from our work camp organization to guide us through devotions and spiritual reflection. You can see our simple mission of building churches in Peru really got quite complicated.
Sometimes the same thing happens with following Jesus. God loves us so much He sent Jesus to die for our sins. Simple. Then we start trying to figure out how to live as a follower of Christ. What do we do? What do we say? How do we treat others in every situation? How do we parent? How do we eat? How do we spend money? Things get complicated.
That’s when the sacraments help things become simple again. Jesus tells us to get some bread and wine, eat and drink it and remember that he died for us to forgive our sins. Simple. Jesus tells us to get some water and wash in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to make us his. Simple. The sacraments are simply the promise of God from his word with ordinary things.
Holy Spirit, you make us new people through baptism. Thank you! You forgive us by the body and blood of Jesus. Thank you! Renew us today by your Word. Equip us again for every good work that you have prepared in advance for us to do. Amen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this devotional. May God Bless your study of His Word in this Alive in Jesus study.
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