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1 CORINTHIANS 10 FLEE FROM IDOLATRY

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October 9

1 CORINTHIANS 10

6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christto the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.  – 1 Corinthians 10:6-14

1 CORINTHIANS 10 FLEE FROM IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Don’t participate or engage in any form of idolatry

It is an abomination to God and it stirs him to jealousy

Do you think you can compete with God Almighty?

He is the Maker of all things in heaven and on earth

Why would you even make something stir his wrath?

Are you not aware that he can destroy you?

Flee from idolatry and do not even think about it

It is the devil’s tactic to entice you to make one for yourself.

How does one flee from idolatry if you do not know the truth? That is an impossible act to do because only the truth makes you recognize idols. It is the norm in the world to follow what one wants. The absence of the knowledge of God will make any human do what its nature does. It pleases itself and focuses on its own pleasures. He doesn’t know the plan of God. He only knows what he wants and lives to fulfill such cravings and desires. Anyone who does not acknowledge God will not know his purpose for living. The world system dictates their wants and desires according to lusts while God’s kingdom focuses on living according to the law of love and his grace.

An unbeliever will find no sense in worshiping one true God because the world system does not propagate this belief. It believes in power, self-promotion, ambition, wealth and reputation. These are forms of idols that are not like the idols of the Old Testament where they make images from trees, silver and gold, but they are not any different from making humans be consumed by being enslaved to them.

In these following verses, Paul reminds the Corinthian believers to flee from idolatry because any form of idol will stir God’s jealousy and eventually his wrath.

REFLECTION

  • What is the prerequisite for a believer before he can flee from idolatry stated in James 4:7?

EXODUS 20 GOD’S LAWS AGAINST IDOLATRY

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October 8

EXODUS 20

And God spoke all these words, saying,2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.3 “You shall have no other gods beforeme.4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousandsof those who love me and keep my commandments.7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. – Exodus 20:1-8

EXODUS 20 GOD’S LAWS AGAINST IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When the Lord God chose you to be part of his covenant people

He made a stipulation against any form of worship to any other idols

He values so much their faithfulness towards him so he gave them laws

The most important of these commands is not to worship other gods

The Lord also prohibits any form of work during his Sabbath day of rest

A believer shows his loyalty to God by keeping these following commands.

Why did God give laws to his covenant people regarding idolatry? It is very clear to me that God wanted them to stay faithful and know their place in their relationship with him. He unconditionally loves his people, but he also knows our propensities for sin so he is conditional in terms of keeping within the safe bounds of righteousness. In other words, laws were made to keep us faithful to God instead of wandering around and being misled to the ways of the world. Remember what the first sin was? It was disobedience to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. The enticement of the serpent was that if they ate from it, they would know as much as God knows. They were tempted to want to get more than what they were already given. Their relationship with God was tarnished by that desire to know more as much as God knows. It was a lust to have equality with God. This was the origin of the sin of idolatry. Their focus of worship shifted from God to “I.” Because of the aftermath of sin, God gave his people laws so that they can stay in the safety of God’s protection from the ploys of the evil one. The two specific laws that God gave them against idolatry is to make sure that they do not make idols to bow down to, knowing that their inclination is to serve the “self.” The other is to rest from work and worship God on the Sabbath day and also to refrain from using God’s name in vain.

REFLECTION

·       What are some ways that idolatry shows up that goes against these two commandments?

ROMANS 1 NOT ACKNOWLEDGING GOD IS IDOLATRY

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October 7

ROMANS 1

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. – Romans 1:22-28

ROMANS 1 NOT ACKNOWLEDGING GOD IS IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When God chose you as one of his prized possessions

You will inevitably recognize his power and omnipotence

As he elected you, you will be given wisdom to know him

Your view of life will no longer be a craving for sin

It will be a life of pursuing his truth and giving him praise

But those who don’t acknowledge him will make images

Not admitting God’s presence and power is idolatrous

Unbelief leads to blindness and acts of unrighteousness.

In this letter of Paul to the Romans, he points out the importance of believing that God is the Lord Almighty and there is no other God that humans need to bow down to. He gave the examples of those who boast about being wise. In God’s eyes, those proud and arrogant people are fools. In verse 23, Paul says that the result of such foolishness led them to make images that they worshipped. These images usually looked like creatures that God made such as humans, birds, animals and creeping things. In verse 24, they experience God’s wrath, not in a very obvious manner, but in their hearts and minds, they began to follow their cravings and lusts and impure thoughts which led them to dishonor their own bodies. In verse 26, they began to see things in a twisted manner. They began to have perversions, where they committed shameless acts of homosexuality and a mind that is corrupt. It does not recognize what is right. It does what it pleases and what is against the image of God. In other words, they misused the original purpose of their bodies and their whole existence. They were made to be praising God but instead, they praised creatures created by God such as humans and other living things. They didn’t acknowledge the Creator but the creatures. Not recognizing or acknowledging God is a form of idolatry that all believers need to ponder on.

REFLECTION

  • What other forms of not acknowledging God can you think of?

JUDGES 10 IDOLATRY STIRS GOD’S WRATH

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October 6

JUDGES 10

6 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him. 7 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8 and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.10 And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” 11 And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore, I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” Judges 10:6-14

JUDGES 10 IDOLATRY STIRS GOD’S WRATH

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Whenever God calls you as his own, he requires faithfulness

To run to other gods instead of to the Lord is pure idolatry

Because God is love and sin is what he hates most

He expects his people to loathe and avoid sin as well

This is why he made a covenant law with his chosen ones

This is so that his people will remember only to praise him

If you continue to idolize and worship different gods

Do not expect to be constantly rescued if you mess up

Although God is patient, he doesn’t tolerate idolatry at all

He is a jealous God and he doesn’t want spiritual adulterers.

One of the most fascinating books of the bible that shows us God’s patience, love and provision is the book of Judges.  This book of the bible was anonymously written although sources say that it may have been the prophet Samuel who wrote it. In this time period. Israel has not had a king yet. According to Biblegateway.com “The main feature of this period was the emergence of individuals who delivered their fellow countrymen from their oppressors. The word “judge,” which suggests a preoccupation with legal affairs, is misleading, for besides judicial functions they exercised a saving, liberating activity that was conceived to be the result of a direct endowment from Yahweh.” In this book, we witness how God provided for the Israelites’ need for a savior from the nations that oppressed them, but we also see the patterns of idolatry and God forgiving them many times, but in this account, they feel God’s wrath.

REFLECTION

·       Why do you think humans tend to do things that are right in their own eyes?

PSALM 16 THE IDOLATERS’ SORROW INCREASES

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October 5

PSALM  16

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run afteranother god shall multiply;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also, my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 

                                                                                      – Psalm 16:1-8

PSALM 16 THE IDOLATERS’ SORROW INCREASES

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When a man decides to make his own god, he creates more sorrow

He becomes obsessed to bow down to his idol as if there’s no tomorrow

He puts these counterfeit gods as the center of his life

He doesn’t realize that he is manipulated to believe all kinds of lies

He becomes blind to the truth as he continues to cater to these gods

He isn’t aware that his sorrow increases as he competes with the Lord

He begins to darken his spirit and misery becomes normal in his life

He is tossed by many different false beliefs and cannot be content.

In this psalm, David expresses his deep trust in the Lord God. He praises God as he acknowledges his nothingness if he is on his own and deprived of God on his side. It is David’s humble admittance of his dependence on God and how the Lord has provided for all the dark valleys he went through in his life being constantly chased by enemies left and right. He declares that he belongs to God in verse 5 and that whatever happens, God is in control of his life.  He blesses the Lord by seeking God’s counsel and truth and remembering such advice in his heart. His trust and faith in God in verse 8 is exemplary. He knows that he is leaning on a solid rock when he relies on God alone.

In verses 3-4, he points out the difference between those who worship God against the idolaters. For those who trust in God and serve him, they become exceptional. Because they believe that God is the source of all things and that they are able to give him all the glory, they exude their likeness with their Creator. On the other hand, the idolaters experience the opposite. Their sorrow, adversities and trials multiply as they navigate through life. They have no idea that their desire to become like God is making them create these counterfeits that consume them. It literally makes them without life, without truth, without the knowledge of the One true God who made them.

REFLECTION

  • Cite some stories in the bible that reiterates the fact that idolaters increase their sorrow.

1 JOHN 4 TRUST GOD AND ABIDE IN HIM

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July 30

1 JOHN 4

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannotlove God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. – 1 John 4:13-21

1 JOHN 4 TRUST GOD AND ABIDE IN HIM

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As you serve the Lord your God, fear not

For you will have his Spirit living in you

So, trust that you are truly loved

For his Spirit guides every step you take

Abide in him and his love will flow from you

You’ll be able to show others that same love.

In this account, God reveals through John how to walk in love. To abide in the bible means to stay close, to remain or to continue to be with God. It is to walk closely with God. It is to stay faithful and unrelenting to anything that will draw the person away from God. In Genesis 5:22-24, it says that Enoch walked with God. In other words, he abided with God. So, he was taken straight to God without going through death. Noah also walked with God as Genesis 6:9 mentions. They were blessed with protection from God as they clung and walked with the Lord. In John 15:5, we are told that if we cling to the vine, who is the Lord, the branches who are his people, will bear much fruit. This verse also reminds us that apart from God, we can do nothing. So, why do so many people live isolated from God?

If we stay close to God, we will experience perfect peace and contentment. It is something that we can never experience if we live following the world system. God is love and if we are not living our lives for him, we will never know love. We will always be living in the fear of something like fear of not having enough, fear of pain, fear of missing out, fear of being unloved or fear of not being enough for anyone to love us. In verse 18, the Lord reveals to us that the only thing that can take away our fears is to abide in him and trust him. It only makes sense because he is the only One who is perfect. If we are in Him, we will be perfected in love. There is no more reason to fear. But verse 19 reminds us all believers that we are only able to love because he first loved us. It is a gift. On our own, we cannot truly love.

REFLECTION

  • How can we manifest our trust in the Lord in our daily lives as believers?

MATTHEW 6 TO WORRY IS TO MISTRUST GOD

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July 29

MATTHEW 6

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  – Matthew 6:25-34

MATTHEW 6 TO WORRY IS TO MISTRUST GOD

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Are you always worrying about what tomorrow will bring?

Do you not know that the Lord knows what you need?

Does worrying about what you’ll eat, wear or drink do you any good?

Isn’t it nerve-wracking to always be consumed by what is to come?

To be anxious about everything manifest a strong distrust to God

When you worry, you are not believing that he has you covered

To worry is to question the provision of the All-knowing God

It is to doubt him and be uncertain whether you’ll receive it or not.

I used to be a worrier. Maybe it was caused by not being shown love as I was growing up. Neglect made me rely on myself instead of my caregivers who were not there to nurture and made me safe in my own home. I’ll never know if there will be food on the table because people around me were so busy and workaholics and there was a lack of structure and solid foundation to feel that I was being looked after. At a young age of 7, I had to provide for my own emotional needs also since no one was there to even see my existence. As I grew up in my teenage years, I learned to rely on myself and not on anyone. I have a deep mistrust especially with my own family. But that all changed, when God saved me in my fifties and I didn’t have to be anxious about anything anymore when I read these following verses here.

It was the lack of the knowledge of God that made me live a life of anxiety. No wonder I had all kinds of illnesses because of trying to take care of myself and my son on my own, not knowing that God is the one who does that for me. I didn’t trust that he had me covered because of all the lies I believed.

REFLECTION

·       Share insights as to what people usually worry about and why it is a lack of trust in God.

JOSHUA 1 TRUST GOD & YOU’LL BE STRONG & COURAGEOUS

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July 28

JOSHUA 1

5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good successwherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:5-9

JOSHUA 1 TRUST GOD & YOU’LL BE STRONG & COURAGEOUS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Fear is not a work of God but originates from the evil one

Fear comes from Satan lying about how God made us

The devil accuses us so that we will cower and not have courage

Satan twists every word that comes from the mouth of God

He wants us to doubt God and trust ourselves instead

This way, he is able to distract and delay our purposes in life

Trust God and you will be strong and courageous to expose darkness

Only God’s word can give you wisdom to discern the all of Satan’s lies.

Do you ever wonder why many people are living in fear, doubt and anxiety? It is probably because they haven’t discovered their true identity in Christ which can only be found in Scriptures. No wonder Joshua exhorts the Israelites to meditate on God’s laws day and night in verse 8. What would it mean for every Christian to do this? Is it saying that we must think of God’s commandments 24/7? If you want to take it very literally, then yes that is what we are told to do. Sadly, I have met and known closely many Christian who do not fill their lives with having God’s laws and words in their hearts and minds regularly. Some Christians have not even memorized a single verse of God in their lives. How else can they apply it in their lives if they haven’t stored it in their hearts? David says in Psalm 119:11 “I have stored your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” And we wonder why we have sinful and fearful lives. If we haven’t filled our hearts and minds with God’s word and don’t even meditate on his law each day and each night, how can we have strength and courage? That is impossible, isn’t it?

Joshua commands us in verse 8 that it shouldn’t depart from our mouths so that we can reflect and remember it day and night that we may not sin. He warns us to be careful to follow as the command says so we can be successful and prosperous. Verse 9 is a command to be strong and courageous. So, why do so many believers live in fear, worry, doubt and anxiety?

REFLECTION

  • How have you applied verse 8 in your life and how has it transformed you when you did?

JOHN 14 PEACE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO TRUST CHRIST

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July 27

JOHN 14

25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. – John 14:25-31

JOHN 14 PEACE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO TRUST CHRIST

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Have you surrendered to the Lord Jesus your entire life?

Has your life changed after you professed your faith in Christ?

If you haven’t committed to your Savior, you will be full of troubles

Worry becomes your refuge when things do not go as you expect it

Your life will be filled with dissatisfaction and bitterness if you doubt

Peace only comes to those who believe and trust in the Lord Almighty.

These words of Jesus to his disciples are his farewell to them on the night before he was crucified. The disciples must have been grief-stricken, worried and scared about what will happen to them when he goes. It is human nature for us to be fearful when we have no clue about what is going to happen. I remember when my husband’s MRI showed traces of dementia. The grief was overwhelming even though he was still with me. I could imagine how the disciples felt knowing that they are going to lose their beloved master and teacher. They felt lost and purposeless because they left everything to follow the Lord.

Jesus had so much compassion for his disciples and in this account, we hear how much he loved them all. He assured them that even though he wasn’t around, there is a Helper who will be there constantly to comfort, guide and teach them. In other words, the Holy Spirit is the one who will remind them of all that has been taught to them by Jesus. That’s amazingly comforting to know that they are not going to be abandoned after all. But because of their limited minds and their emotions overcoming them, they couldn’t truly fathom what Jesus was saying. We also do this a lot when we become hyper focused on something negative that we fail to see the lessons or the upside of the situation. Jesus reminded them that if they love him, they will rejoice. Easier said than done to be joyful when you lose something or someone you love. If they trust Jesus’ promise of a Helper, they would not dwell on the loss itself but in the gain of the presence of the Helper who will be living in their hearts.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think peace is the by-product of trusting the Lord?

ISAIAH 43 TRUST IN THE LORD WHO CHOSE YOU

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July26

ISAIAH 43

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;   I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
  and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
  when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,   and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
  I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,   and honored, and I love you,
  I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;  I will bring your offspring from the east,
    and from the west I will gather you. – Isaiah 43:1-5

ISAIAH 43 TRUST IN THE LORD WHO CHOSE YOU

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Are you resting in Christ or are you living in constant fear?

The Lord chose you and made a covenant with you forever

He will not change his mind because he is a promise keeper

Even in your sinfulness, he will still have his promise delivered

He will be there for you in times of trouble to comfort you

Even in your unfaithfulness, he will still continue to pursue

Because he chose you to be his own, he will stay unchanging

His steadfast love for you deserves a reciprocity of trust in him.

Have you ever been pursued by someone who you don’t care much about? I remember a college classmate who was very beautiful outwardly and was pursued by many men in the university that we attended. One day, a persistent admirer followed us around like a dog and then I witnessed something that changed my respect for her. She yelled at him instead of thanking him for the flowers. Instead, she threw the flowers he offered right at his very eyes. She didn’t like the man who wooed her. After that incident, I stayed away from her. Who knows, she will also do that mean thing she did to him to me.

I shared the story of my friend to give you an idea how some people reject the Lord and have no respect for his pursuit of us. Imagine that Jesus was that admirer of my friend, who constantly pursued and showed his love for us. What would Jesus feel if we throw away the act of love that he offers us. It may not be just flowers, but his word and guidance are the gifts he lovingly showers us with. We do exactly what my friend did when we neglect to have a relationship with him through obedience to his laws and hungering for his word. God promised to give us a way out of sin through Jesus Christ. He gave up his own divinity so he can mediate between God and us to redeem us from the sinful and prideful self that we acquired from our original parents. Shouldn’t we trust the one who sacrificed everything for us?

REFLECTION

·       What are the ways we reject Christ in our daily lives that we so easily miss?