Passage of the week: 

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”  But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”  27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”  “Jacob,” he answered.  28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”  29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”  But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.  30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”  31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

Hi everyone,

This week’s passage is a well-known story of Jacob’s wrestle with God.  In the verses leading up to this week’s passage, we learn that Essau is intending to visit Jacob, accompanied by 400 men – which makes Jacob feel threatened.  In the ensuing verses, we hear of Jacob’s prayer for help and we can feel the panic he’s in.  Often times in my life I can relate to the panicked feeling Jacob must have felt when he thought his brother was coming to attack him.  Where I cannot fathom or understand the difficulties God allows us to experience, but the only thing I know is that God is the only way out.  When reflecting on this verse it became overwhelmingly clear that God uses our struggles to develop and grow us into the people we’re meant to be.  The struggles teach us to lean on God and trust that he will deliver us from all situations.  Just as grapes need to be crushed and brought to a pulp to make wine, God will also use our challenges to create something new in us that will serve his purpose for us on this earth.

-Josh

This Week’s Playlist:

Passage of the week: 

Three Parables

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Treasures New and Old

51 “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

– Matthew 13:44-52

Hi everyone, 

In this week’s Psalms of Devotion, I’ll focus on the first part of the scripture – verses 44-46. In these two first parables (treasure & pearls), we reflect on how it is easy to give up everything in exchange for the kingdom of heaven.That when we discover they joy found in God, we can’t help, and aren’t concerned about what we need to give up because God’s grace is far greater than anything we own in this world.

A couple of weeks ago, I have been blessed to receive the gift of a beautiful and healthy daughter. Similar to the two parables, I didn’t know how much joy she’d bring to my life, but now that I’ve found out, my life has been changed and although I may need to “give up” some things I had, I don’t feel burdened by it because the joy I receive is far greater. 

Similarly, when I reflect on my spiritual journey, when I found God’s salvation, the things that I needed to change or give up were easy because the value of God’s freedom was so high. Even today, I continue to experience this revelation in the different experiences where I see God – just like in my daughter. 

The songs for this week focus on giving God praise and reflect on giving yourself wholeheartedly – whether alone or in sharing with others – because there is nothing close to the salvation of God.

This Week’s Playlist:

Passage of the week: 

The Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)
“24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.  27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’  28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.  “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained (Matthew 13:36-43)
“36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”  37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.  40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Hey Everyone,

This week’s passage is a parable that talks about how amongst the field of seeds that God has sown, there are weeds that have been intertwined by the devil.  I’ve been becoming more interested in home improvement and one of the major projects I’ve been focusing on is improving our backyard space.  While we’ve successfully created a much better living space with the new extended deck we made, the grass is still a problem area we need to tackle.  I can tell you first hand that the weeds that have taken over most of our lawn are tough plants.  They seep into everything and it takes an immense amount of resilience for what’s left of our grass to survive.  I think this also relates to this week’s parable.  Sometimes I wonder how easy it would be to live a non-righteous life and give in to the temptations of desire.   Without God’s strength and hope it would be easy to become a weed myself.  God calls for us to be strong and to hold on to his steadfast arms that will pull us through to shine like the sun in the kingdom of the father. 

– Josh

This Week’s Playlist:

Passage of the week: 
Life Through the Spirit

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.  And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” 

– Romans 8:1-11

Hey Everyone,

This week’s passage speaks about life and the constant battle between the way of the world and the way of the spirit.  This has been a message that my parents spoke to me about at an early age.  Now that I’m a parent of my own, I have a different perspective on the same message I’ve been hearing my entire life.  When I was younger I thought it was my parent’s way of telling me that money or fancy things don’t buy happiness.  As Nolan is getting older and more aware, I realized that this message isn’t so much about WHAT we have but how much power we give worldly things.  Focusing on things of the flesh isn’t only related to material things but also the pieces of our heart that we give to the things of this world that are not of the spirit.  While we struggle every day to perfectly balance how much love and focus we give to each of the competing priorities in our life, God does not sparse apart His love for us.  He does not give His heart in pieces but gives us the whole thing. Slowly, but surely, I am learning to give larger pieces of my heart to God, not just what I can spare.

– Josh

This Week’s Playlist:

Passage of the week: 

“12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:12-23

Hi everyone,

The passage for this week speaks about the pursuit of righteousness.  As humans, we will always struggle with sin and we will never be able to fully achieve righteousness without God’s grace.  With that said, there is beauty that can be found in the pursuit and I believe God wishes for us to always strive for the goal of achieving righteousness.  While we are blessed as Christians to live a life full of God’s grace, this is not something that we should take for granted.  As we are saved by God’s eternal life and freed from the bondage of sin, our response is to now become agents for righteousness.  

This Week’s Playlist: