Today’s Key Verses:

Luke 7:50

50Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Five simple words that define the message of Christianity – your faith has saved you.

As we learned yesterday, faith is the one thing that makes a relationship with God possible. Faith, as it means here, is putting all of your hopes, dreams, aspirations, future, dependency – your everything – in the hands of God. It means depending on Him completely for, above all else, the forgiveness of the sin in your life that separates you from Him. It is the recognition that you can do nothing to get to God on your own.

It is much like the analogy I used yesterday of getting on an airplane. At that very moment you are putting all of your faith in the hands of a pilot. You are 100 percent dependent on him for your well being. Where he goes, you do to. When he lands, you land. When he takes off, you take off.

When you examine your life, who has control? Who are you depending on to get you where you need to be? Is it all up to you? Is it money? Is it your children? A job? Is it doing good things and hoping they outweigh the bad things?

Or is it Christ? Faith in Him alone is what will save you from the separation from God that we all deal with as a result of our sin.

Today’s Prayer:
Thank God for giving you an opportunity to have relationship with Him through Jesus. Ask Him to show you areas of your life where you are trying to hang on to control rather than having complete faith in Him. Ask God to forgive you of any sin that may separate you from Him so that you can live a life that makes a difference as you live for Him.

Thanks for an awesome day yesterday. I love what God is doing through you and us at OneLife!

Rodney Arnold
OneLife Church

Today’s Key Verses:

2 Corinthians 8:10-12

10And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

People hate to hear churches talk about money. And I can’t say that I blame them. Too many times churches have abused the generosity of others or given the impression that money is what’s most important.

The problem is magnified when we see how much the Bible talks about money. It means that churches should talk about money but yet walk the fine line of doing so in a way that points people closer to God rather than farther away.

Today’s key verses give us a great example to follow. Paul (the author of this letter) is writing to a church in the city of Corinth. This church had become key financial contributors to ministry and in this specific example they were collecting offerings to be distributed to the poor in Jerusalem.

We learn several great things from this passage. First, the people of this church were the first to have a desire to give. We can read between the lines to imagine that they were so passionate about their faith that they had a passion to align all areas of their lives with Christ – including their finances.

Second, Paul tells them to not just have the desire, but to finish the work. In other words, take the desire to do what is right financially and actually do it! Finally, he reminds them (and us!) that the amount doesn’t matter. Some can give a little and some can give a lot – what matters is giving in relation to what God has provided. These church members were familiar with the principle of tithing, which means giving the first ten percent. Paul is teaching that God only cares that we are being obedient with that and that He isn’t impressed with our amount. It would be better for a poor person to give a tenth of $1 than for a rich person to give less than a tenth but more money.

Being a giver is a reflection of what we truly believe about our heavenly Father because he was the ultimate giver in giving his son. When you examine all areas of your life, do you see the alignment in your finances? Are you giving back to God the first tenth of what he gives to you first? Remember: Generosity is not something God wants from you. It’s something he wants for you.

Today’s Prayer:
Start by thanking God for all that he has given you. Recognize that everything you have – car, house, money, etc. – is truly a gift from him. As such, ask him to give you the desire to give back a portion to him like the church in Corinth had the desire to give financially. Commit to him that you are going to do so starting now or continue doing so. Ask Him to give you the faith that he will take care of you and bless you according to your obedience and faith in this area.

I hope you have a great Friday tomorrow! Be praying about our services this Sunday and who you can invite to come with you.

Watch Part 1 of NewThru30 Sermon | Daily Devotionals Archive and NT30 Resources

Today’s Key Verses:

James 2:14-17

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Today’s key verses should sound quite familiar! This was the text of Sunday’s sermon and part two of our NewThru30 series.

James is a letter full of sermons to churches that got started soon after Jesus died, rose again, and ascended into heaven. In this mini-sermon, James is telling his listeners and readers that it’s not enough to just believe. Christians must LIVE what they believe!

In these verses specifically, James gives a hypothetical situation of seeing someone in need and just having sympathy for them. However, the sympathy stops there and doesn’t end with action. James teaches us that without action, our faith is dead – not sick, put up on a shelf, or on hold – it’s dead.

As you look at your life and compare it in relation to this passage, do you simply believe? Or do you LIVE what you believe? When people look at your life, do they see evidence of your faith? Is there action to accompany your belief in Christ?

Today’s Prayer:
Thank God that he has given you an opportunity to believe in him and find forgiveness for sin through His son. Ask Him to help you put action to your faith. Commit to do something this week that shows your faith in action. Ask God to help you continue living what you believe and as a result making a huge difference with your life.

If you have learned something you never knew or realized before by participating in NewThru30, please reply and let us know!

Rodney Arnold
OneLife Church
www.facebook.com/OneLifeChurch
www.twitter.com/onelifeknox
www.onelifeknox.com

Watch Part 1 of NewThru30 Sermon | Daily Devotionals Archive and NT30 Resources

Today’s Key Verses:

Mark 8:34-35
34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

Have you ever ridden in a car with someone that you didn’t really know? Or maybe you did know them but you also knew they were a terrible driver. Maybe it was your teenage son or daughter who was learning to drive for the first time.

Think about that feeling of being out of control. Your life is literally in the hands of someone else. There’s really nothing you can do but just ride.

Chances are, you hate that feeling. We all do. And it’s because we all hate being out of control. But yet that is the very thing that Christ is asking us to do in today’s key verses.

It is impossible to be a follower of his and try to hang on to control. The example he gives in this passage is that of trying to save our own lives. It is impossible to do! Only those who are willing to give up every part of control to Him will truly understand the gospel.

Jesus says we should deny ourselves in following Him. As you think about your life, whom do you deny more? Yourself or Christ?

Today’s Prayer:
Denying self goes against everything we are taught in society and culture. Ask God to give you strength to do just that in all areas of life. Ask Him show you areas of your life where you may not be denying yourself and in doing so are actually denying Him. Thank God for the promise of eternal life that Jesus gives in this passage and the hope we can have through relationship with Him.

If you have learned something you never knew or realized before by participating in NewThru30, please reply and let us know!

Rodney Arnold
OneLife Church
www.facebook.com/OneLifeChurch
www.twitter.com/onelifeknox
www.onelifeknox.com

Today’s Key Verses:

Acts 11:25-26
25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Growing up, people always said I looked just like my dad. Having the last name Arnold had given him the name “Pig” by many of his hometown friends because of the pig on Green Acres. So naturally, often times I ended up being called “Little Pig” by many of those same people.

Thankfully that wore off!

One thing that never did wear off, however, was how much people say I look like my dad. That’s all I ever heard growing up and it seems the older I get, the more people say it. Even my wife from time to time will tell me that a face I make or the way I say a word is just like my dad.

Just like many of us look just like our parents, there’s somebody else we should look like. The word “Christian” literally means “little Christ” or “Christ like.” In other words, Christians are those who look just like Christ. They act like Him, talk like Him, think like Him, and more.

Today’s key verses tell us about the first time that people were called Christians. It was at a time when the church in this city – Antioch – is growing to “great numbers of people.” In fact, looking at Jesus’ life and the early days of the first churches, they are often times characterized by people being so excited about their faith that their church grows like crazy. And in this case, they are so much like the man we are named after they were called “little Christs.”

If someone were writing a story about your life, would they call you a little Christ? Do you act like Him, talk like Him, or think like Him? Is your life centered around what He would lead you to do?

Today’s Prayer:
Thank God that you get the opportunity to be a follower of His son and identified as someone who is like Him. Ask God to show you areas of your life where you may not be looking much like Him. Ask Him to help you align those areas to where you can be the person He wants you to be and to be a true reflection of Him.

If you have learned something you never knew or realized before by participating in NewThru30, please reply and let us know!

Rodney Arnold
OneLife Church
www.facebook.com/OneLifeChurch
www.twitter.com/onelifeknox
www.onelifeknox.com