He is the Light of the world. The Light shined bright when darkness fell upon all the land when He was lifted up on the cross to lay His life down for His Sheep. We were once children of darkness walking in the dark and hating the Light. At the time of our regeneration God came to our hearts that were full of darkness and declared that there be light as He did into the darkness at creation. Now we are new creations and are to walk in the Light as we now love the Light. There will be no need for the dull light of the sun in our eternal home because the true Light will illumine it forever!

Notes:

https://www.theactschurch.online/_files/ugd/bc8b4a_6f7ec0268549406abee11c3a09f21d2e.pdf

As Christians we were like this woman as we came before Christ naked, guilty, and deserving of death. He would have been perfect not just to stone us, but much worse by sending us to the lake of fire for all eternity. Although we were guilty and deserving of justice, He had compassion and showed us mercy. Those who have forgiven and by faith alone been justified have been clothed in the righteousness of the Righteous judge of the world. And we like this woman heard the most beautiful and life changing words that could ever be spoken by Jesus “I do not condemn you, from now on sin no more!”

https://www.theactschurch.online/_files/ugd/bc8b4a_20bc74cf443043bfa94563cf8036314f.pdf

Let the petition spoken by Jesus that the name of God be holy arise from the depths of our souls and find its place on our lips, in our minds, and in all aspects of our lives. His name is holy for He is holy. We must remember to whom we are speaking to when we pray and how holy His name is. What we think of His name and how we treat His name reveals what we think of Him. One cannot truly worship God in spirit and truth with awe and reverence when they don’t reverence His holy name. How important is God’s name to us? Does honoring, reverencing, and making His name holy in our lives rise to the top of our prayer requests? It is of the utmost importance to God Himself. Let us also come to prayer holding to this petition that our lives would declare the holiness of God and His name as we ascribe glory due His holy and awesome name. As we come to prayer, let us remember what a privilege it is to be able to call God Abba, Father, just as Christ did. Let us also see the weight and focus on God’s name being reverenced and being made holy in our lives. May our prayers begin with the same focus and as Jesus instructs us “Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed be your name!”

The tension, hatred, and drama surrounding Jesus in Jerusalem is brewing and will continue to escalate as Jesus is nearing His death. The Jews want to kill Him and even though they think now is the right time the hour set from all eternity has not yet come. Jesus will be more hated, more despised, more condemned as He draws closer to His death. It is His words that will continue to offend people and will eventually lead Him to the cross to die. In the wilderness the rock was struck to provide physical water. It would be on the cross that Jesus the true rock would be struck and from Him living water would flow to all who believe. The invitation still goes out today just as Jesus cried out on the Last Day of Feast of Booths “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” If you realize you are thirsty and come to Him to drink, He will satisfy and quench your thirst and you will never thirst again.

Notes:

⁠ https://367406a6-7a4f-4a85-bbb2-2c83a4cf8ed7.filesusr.com/ugd/bc8b4a_f33554e98b44441d9d9e8207b2591ce9.pdf?index=true⁠

Why do we listen to the words and teaching of Jesus? What credentials does Jesus have for us to listen to Him and believe His words? Jesus was not taught at the most prestigious biblical institutions on this earth or by the most recognized teachers of the time such as Gamaliel. Throughout His earthy ministry many tried to question Him and trip Him up in matters of the Law, but He gave the right answer always. Jesus has the highest credentials of anyone as to why we listen to His words and His teaching: He is sent from the Father and His teaching is from the Father. So, as we read the Bible and hear the truths that Christ declared let us listen and believe because we are hearing the words of the Father as they are being exegeted by the Son. He who has hears let him hear!

What a privilege it is to come to prayer and as unworthy rebel creature that was made from the dust and call the eternal holy God “Father.” This is not brought about by any merit of ourselves, but by our adoptions as sons via the union with His only begotten Son. The eternal Son was with the Father before the world was and before the world was the Father was loving His Son. It is that same love the Father has upon His Son that He shows to His elect as he adopts them as sons in union with His eternal Son. As Jesus cried out in the Garden “Abba, Father” now we to can cry out the same thing to God the Father as a result of our sonship with God. We can prayer “Father” because He cried “my God, my God” as He was dying for us. So let us never come to prayer casually or irreverently, but rather let us understand the incomprehensible privilege to pray “our Father who is in Heaven.”

What are your thoughts about the words and teachings of God? The world hates God and the words of God and as a result will hate us. However, the believer should love and cling to every word of God that we find in His sacred scriptures as His words are spirit and life. You must believe the words of God to have eternal life. There are no other words that give us life everlasting as Peter had declared, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”

There are hard truths in the Bible that offend people. God is not apologizing for His hard truths or giving us permission to ignore them or deny them just because we don’t like them. We are required to believe, teach, and preach what the Bible says, not what we want it to say. Many hear His truth and keep walking away looking for something else they think will fulfill them and give them life. However, no one will ever find life outside of Christ. Let us be like Peter and answer from the depths of our soul “where could I go, but to you and where would I want to go but to you because you have the words of eternal life!”

Prayer is vital and essential in the life of a Christian. Being able to come before the throne of the Living God in prayer is an

Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. This is the standard of God and this is immutable. This is impossible for us to achieve as fallen creatures, which is the bad news. It is only when one understands the bad news can one truly understand and be in awe of the good news found in Christ alone. The righteousness that merits our entrance into Heaven is not our own, but rather the imputed righteousness and perfection of Jesus upon us. This is the good news of the gospel. We can’t, Christ did! The death of Christ (passive obedience) is vital to the gospel and our salvation. As equally as importance is the perfect life He lived fulfilling all righteousness (active obedience) on behalf of all the Father had given Him. Without the righteousness of Christ imputed to us through faith alone we have no hope. Let us never be idolatrous and arrogant to think we can achieve the righteousness that is required on our own. Justification in which we are declared righteous by faith alone (sola fide) strikes at the heart of the gospel. Justification by faith alone is non-negotiable and to preach anything else is to preach another gospel (Galatians 1:6-10). This is a hill worth dying on because on a hill 2,00 years ago the one who lived a perfect life and fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law became sin and died so I could become the righteousness of God in Him!