“Our Father who is in Heaven, let your name be name holy…” — May we turn our hearts back to God and His holiness. We revere way too many names more than the name of the Lord. May He bring us to repentance.

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done one earth as it is in heaven…” — My we realign our agendas with God’s. May we repent of building our puny little kingdoms rather than His. May we submit to seeking and doing HIS will rather than seeking own.

“Give us this day our daily bread…” — May God give us contentment with what He has provided. May He remove greed, covetousness, and self-seeking from our hearts.

“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” — May we own our own sin, seek God’s forgiveness, and the forgiveness of and reconciliation with others. May we be gracious and forgiving of others, remembering what a huge debt we have been forgiven.

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one…” — May God give us spiritual sensitivity to recognize temptation when it arises, and grant us through His Holy Spirit the power to resist.”

Have a blessed and prayerful day!

Vs 21-22 → By the term “the righteousness of God,” Paul refers to the rightness of God in acting in redemption.

1. Sin is the CORE PROBLEM. vs. 23

2. Jesus is the SOLE SOLUTION. vs. 24-26

3. Faith is the EFFECTIVE RESPONSE. vs. 27-31

Application:

1. Understand that sin is indeed the core problem in our hearts and in our culture.
2. Stop trusting human attempts to solve the core problem.
3. Believe and proclaim that repentance from sin and faith in Jesus is necessary.

We are Barabbas in a lot of ways. Remember him? He’s the guy that Pilate, at the request of the Jewish crowd, released instead of Jesus. (Mark 15:6-15)

What Do We Know About Barabbas?

When we piece together all four gospel accounts, we get only a small glimpse of Barabbas.

1. His name in Aramaic meant “son of his father.” That was as basic a description as you can find. Simply put, he was a human man, the offspring of another human man. Nothing more about his life other than his humanity set him apart from others.

2. He was an insurrectionist. Barabbas was a rebel. Quite possibly he was among the ranks of a group of Zealots who wanted to overthrow Roman rule. Men like Barabbas stirred up trouble everywhere they went.

3. He was a murderer. Apparently, a recent uprising got so violent that in the process, Barabbas killed someone. The Romans incarcerated him, and he awaited trial on charges of murder and insurrection.

Not exactly a heroic figure, was he?

How Are We Like Barabbas

In more ways than we care to admit, we are Barabbas.

1. We are merely human. Even our best efforts at anything good come up woefully short. As Paul said in Romans 7:18, there is nothing good in us, humanly speaking. We are nothing more than a human child of a human father.

2. We are rebellious since we have rebelled against God and all He has for us. In Romans 3:10 & 23, Paul reminds us that we all are sinners who come short of God’s standard of righteousness. In no way can we claim ignorance because we know what God requires. We can only admit that we chose to do our thing instead of God’s thing.

3. We are murderers. “I’ve never taken the life of another human being,” you say. We did, however, cause the death of Jesus, God’s Son. The truth of Romans 5:8 gives us freedom. God demonstrated his love for us by giving His Son’s life for our sin.

4. Like Barabbas, we went free because Jesus went to the cross. We’re the ones who sinned, not Jesus. No fault was found in Him, but we are full of faults. Yet, He died for us, and He set us free.

What Happened to Barabbas?

The Bible does not mention anything else about Barabbas after Pilate released him? Did he return to his thieving, rebellious ways? Or did the import of what happened affect him so profoundly that his life changed? We really don’t know what happened to Barabbas.

But I know what happened to me. I found myself humbled when confronted with such sacrificial love. It amazes me that Jesus would willing take my place, because I know who and what I am. His love for me compels my devotion to Him. How could I turn away from such love? I am forever HIS.

As you meditate during this Easter season, put yourself in Barabbas’s place. You, too, are Barabbas. You should have died, but Jesus took your place. How does that truth affect your life today?

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Those of us who are unashamed followers of Jesus may be quick to exempt ourselves from that verse. Don’t be so quick to exonerate yourself. Notice that David observed that a fool says in his heart that God does not exist. The fool is not merely the one who dare proclaim with his tongue an arrogant disbelief in the existence of God. It is equally foolish – no, even more foolish – to allow our hearts to operate as though God doesn’t exist.

In the Biblical sense, the heart is “command central” of our lives. The heart represents our thoughts, affections, desires, emotions, and will. Our heart DETERMINES our behavior.

To “say in our heart” there is no God goes beyond a verbal assertion and involves the way we act. We say there is no God when we live even one moment without an awareness of God and submission to His plan for our lives. While we may never be so brash as to verbalize a disbelief in God’s existence, we all too often loudly proclaim our disbelief when we act contrary to His precepts for life.

Several actions constitute such a non-verbal proclamation:

• We may blatantly disobey something God has clearly told us to do or not do

• We may selfishly desire something God doesn’t want us to have

• We may plan and plot without considering God’s wishes and His plans

• We may harbor ill feelings toward others and refuse to offer the same grace to them we have received from God

• We may seek our own fulfillment and self-gratification rather than finding our pleasure in Him

• We seek His favor by our own efforts rather than trusting the finished work of Christ

• We judge others by their efforts instead of Christ’s work

Be sure today that your heart is not playing an April Fool’s Joke on you. Examine your heart – your actions, affections, attitudes and see of your heart has ignored God. Repent and follow Him. He IS our wisdom.

It is from Him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus,
who became wisdom from God for us—
our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption — 1 Corinthians 1:30

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I ride around with my doors locked…always have. I suppose I have a bit of a phobia about being carjacked. Maybe that sounds a little crazy, but I’m not too keen on someone commandeering something that belongs to me and taking it for his own.

As I’ve been meditating this Easter season, I’ve found myself returning often to a passage of Scripture where Jesus’ disciples were, in a sense, carjackers. Of course, since they didn’t have cars back then, I guess we should call them donkey-jackers. Jesus needed a donkey to fulfill Old Testament prophecy concerning His entry into Jerusalem, so He told His disciples exactly where to go to “borrow” one.

“Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” say, “The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.”’” — Mark 11:1–3 (ESV)

What if the owners had refused? This man had likely invested time, care, and resources into that animal. He had plans for it. Yet he relinquished it because, as Jesus said, “The Lord has need of it.” Granted, as God, He ultimately needs nothing—He is completely self-sufficient. But in carrying out His plan of redemption, He chose to use this particular donkey, and the owner was willing to release it.

God used that simple creature to display the glory of His Son. Little is indeed much when God is in it—or, in this case, on it.

All of us have “donkeys” in our lives that God desires to use for His glory, yet He leaves the decision to make them available up to us. Can you think of something right now you would be hard-pressed to place in His hands?

Maybe your donkey is a possession—a house, a car, a family heirloom, clothing, financial resources, or even a favorite “toy.” As far as you’re concerned, it’s yours, and you will determine how, when, and where it is used. Perhaps your donkey is a position—you hold a measure of influence and use it to advance what you believe is right. Or maybe your donkey is your plans—you’ve mapped out your life, and you’re on course. Any detours, even God-ordained ones, feel like unwelcome interruptions.

Other donkeys might include your skills, your talents, or your time. The list is endless—different donkeys for different people. But the principle remains the same: we should not refuse God anything in our lives. After all, God can accomplish far more with our donkeys than we ever could on our own.

So let me ask you…are the doors of your heart locked, or are you willing to be donkey-jacked?

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It is a mistake to believe you are in good standing with God because you are not as bad as some other people. Here are 3 mistakes people make determining their standing before God. Please give a listen and consider carefully your heart.

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The legends of St. Patrick are that he used a shamrock to explain the Trinity and banished all snakes from Ireland. The true story of Patrick, however, survives not in his myths but in his work. Patrick was responsible for introducing the people of Ireland to Jesus Christ.

Patrick was born in Britain in the first half of the 5th century. At the age of 16 he was taken to Ireland by pirates and sold into slavery. His faith sustained him during his six years working as a herdsman. Eventually, Patrick escaped and returned to Britain. There he had a vision of the Irish begging him to return to Ireland to spread his faith. He recorded this call to his vocation in the Confessio, his spiritual autobiography.

After studying in continental monasteries, Patrick returned to Ireland as a missionary. Despite a constant threat to his life, Patrick traveled widely, baptizing, confirming, preaching, and building churches, schools, and monasteries. Patrick succeeded in converting almost the entire population of the island.

Patrick’s story encourages us to examine what kind of influence we are having on the world around us. If one man could be largely responsible for the conversion of almost an entire island, what could we do in our little corner of the world? I believe three words explain the influence Patrick had on Ireland – he saw, he felt, he acted.

His vision and compassion for the people of Ireland compelled him to proactively involve himself in their lives. He did not merely cast a glance; he saw their need and he felt the call of God to be His partner in bringing them to faith. He did not just pity them, he rolled up his sleeves and went out among them preaching, sharing, and living his faith.

God has probably not called you to change a whole island. But He has placed you in your own circle of influence. You and I can have that kind of impact in our circle if we will slow down long enough to see beyond the faces in the crowd around us and compassionately perceive the needs in the lives of those with whom we come in contact every day. Then we can let our vision and compassion compel us to proactively be involved meeting needs, being a friend, lending a hand, all the while telling the good news of Jesus.

And while we’re at it . . . can we work on those snakes?

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❑ In verses 24-32, three times Paul uses the phrase “God gave them up.” (24, 26, 28)

❑ The effects are evident in 3 areas of human life

1. Impure physical desires → vs 24
❑ the lusts of their hearts
❑ impurity
❑ dishonoring of their bodies

2. Perverted sense of truth → vs 25a
❑ exchanged the truth about God for the lie

❑ The devil’s playbook → Genesis 3:1-6
▻ question God’s Word → “did God really say...?”
▻ question God’s intentions → “you will not surely die.”
▻ question God’s purpose → “you will be like God.”

3. Misdirected Values → vs 25b
❑ worship → position of the heart/value; revere or hold in awe
❑ serve → action of the will; perform acts that demonstrate value

◈ The ulimate question: What are you believing about God?