What reward is there for those who do good? Is there value in being good and doing good?

Being good is its own reward.

God also intercedes for and protects those who are concerned with what is good.

The Apostle Peter wrote, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?” (1 Peter 3:13, ESV).

We can be sure that God is with us and that God goes before us as we “are zealous for what is good?”

May we focus on the good and do good in the world as we enjoy the security of God’s protection and presence with us.

Does God abandon you when you are tempted to do the wrong thing? Where is God when you are confronted with temptation?

Not only is God present with you when you are tempted to do the wrong thing, God is faithful and is actively providing you with a way to escape and endure your temptation.

The Apostle Paul instructed the Corinthian church with this encouragement, saying, “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.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV).

God is faithful. God is with us. God is for us. God is present with us in our temptation and God is working to help us to endure our temptation and to help provide us a way of escape from our temptation.

Where does life come from? What are the issues concerning life and death?

God is the author of life. Life originated from God and it is God who champions life in the world. The evil one—the enemy of life is only concerned with stealing from life, killing life, and destroying life.

Jesus said this about life and death: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, ESV).

God is concerned with life in an abundance for his creation. Anything and anyone who diminishes life in any way is not doing God’s life-giving work. Those who do the work of stealing, killing, and destroying are participating in the work of the enemy.

May we be about God’s work of abundant life and find ourselves on the right side of issues of life and death in the world.

What do your words say about the condition of your heart? What do your words say about God, others, and yourself?

Our words express what is going on inside of us. Our words speak of the condition of our hearts. If our heart is good, we will speak well. If our heart is bad, we will speak badly.

Jesus said it this way, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45, ESV).

We speak from our heart. If we want to speak words of grace, seasoned with salt, we must address the matters of our heart.

The Psalmist prays, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14, ESV).

How are coming to know God and make him known to others in your life?

The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” (Isaiah 60:3, ESV).

All nations are to come into the light of the knowledge of God. We are called to this mission of sharing God’s light with the nations.

Jesus’ last words to his disciples were, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19 ESV).

Jesus is calling us to make him known to the nations. We are to make disciples of all people.

May we be about the mission of God as we make disciples of the nations, inviting them to come into the light of God’s love.

What does God’s justice look like in the world? How are we to live out our faith in the face of all kinds of injustice in the world?

God is a God of justice. As the people of God, we are to be a people of justice in our lives and in this world.

God spoke through the Prophet Micah, saying, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, ESV).

God requires his followers to do good and to be people of justice. We are to do justice. We are to love kindness. We are to walk in humility with our God.

Are you comforted in the fact that you were created on purpose? What did God have in mind when he made you? What purpose did God envision when he purposefully created you?

God formed each of us intentionally. We are no accident. God created us uniquely and on purpose. God formed us intricately out of his love for us and mission for our lives and for his kingdom.

The Psalmist writes, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14 ESV).

God’s creation is wonderful. We are fearfully and wonderfully crafted by our creator.

What are you afraid of? What causes you to fear? What empowers and emboldens you?

Uncertainties in this life can cause us to fear. We can feel paralyzed by what we fear. We can be tempted to doubt and to sin because of our uncertainties and phobias.

In his final words to his young disciple Timothy, the Apostle Paul wrote, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV).

God’s Spirit helps us to not be afraid. God’s Spirit gives us God’s power. God’s Spirit lavishes us with the love of God. God’s Spirit gives us God’s control and resolve.

May we experience the courage, boldness, empowerment, love, and control of God as we put our trust in him.

Have you reflected on how you have changed through the years? Have you changed since you first began to follow Jesus? Do you like who you are? Are you satisfied with who you are becoming?

When we become followers of Jesus, we become a new creation in Jesus. When we are in Christ, our old self has come to an end and our new self has begun. We grow and change in our relationship with Jesus. We are new creations in our relationship with Jesus. The new has come.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthian church about this encouragement of being a new creation in Jesus. Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).

To whom do you belong? Where do you find your purpose? How do you understand your identity, this world, and your role in this world?

This world is God’s and everything and everyone in it. Our purpose and our vocation in this life depends on the God who designed it, made it, and purposed everything in it. We find our belonging in the one to whom we belong—we belong to God.

The Psalmist writes, “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1 ESV).

When we see ourselves as belonging to God and living in a world that belongs to God, it is easier to focus on God and his purposes in the world and to seek to do the will of God.

May we see ourselves as belonging to God and seek to do his will in this world of his.

What do you notice about people or organizations that are truly great? How do people or organizations truly make an impact in the lives of others?

There is no better way to be great and to make an impact in the lives of others than service.

People who think outside of themselves and to the betterment and the well-being of others are humble servants who make a measurable impact in the world. There is nothing better than humble service to change lives and to make a difference.

Jesus modeled this humble service and calls his followers to serve in a giving, selfless, and self-sacrificial manner to love others well.

Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28, ESV).

Do you have people who speak into your life with truth and love?

We need people who can help us see ourselves clearly and who can help us navigate life. We need people to help us to understand how we can be better. We need others to help hold us accountable and to seek reconciliation with God and others.

We cannot go about life on our own. We need other people. We are better together.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus spoke about addressing conflict and seeking understanding for the unity of his people. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20 ESV).

How do we handle people who wrong us and break our trust? How has God dealt with us?

If we live in this world for any time at all, we will be wronged by someone. We will get hurt at some point in our lives by others. Trust will be broken. Wounds will be received. People will break us. We will experience sin.

How should we respond when we experience brokenness from others?

The scriptures teach us in Romans that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, ESV).

The Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:11, ESV).

Where does salvation come from? How are we rescued from our brokenness? Who rescues us from our sin?

Our salvation comes from Jesus when we confess him as Lord and believe in him.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, ESV).

Salvation comes from God alone. Our first step in being saved is looking outside of ourselves to Jesus as we recognize him as Lord and believe in our heart that God resurrected him.

Why was Jesus baptized? What did Jesus’s baptism accomplish and communicate to us?

Luke tells us, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21-22, ESV).

Matthew’s Gospel account adds, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented.” (Matthew 3:13-15, ESV).

This conversation and interaction between John the Baptist and Jesus reveals Jesus desire to be obedient to the requirement of the law and his desire to fulfill the law in order to “fulfill all righteousness”.

Is it possible that sometimes we do not want what we deserve? Could it be possible that the injustice of not receiving what is ours is the biggest blessing and benefit of our lives?

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Rome, saying, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 ESV).

We deserve death as payment for our personal sin and rebellion against God.

However, God in his infinite love and mercy has given us his free gift of everlasting life in his son Jesus.

Sometimes life, grace, mercy, and blessing come through not getting what we deserve.

May we experience God’s grace as we do not receive the payment of death for our misdeeds, but eternal life through Jesus.

When shadows fall over our lives and darkness encroaches, where do we look for light?

In life we can encounter shadows and darkness which can cause us to stumble, fear, loose hope, or even despair. Darkness can cause us to loose perspective and can keep us from seeing clearly.

The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1 ESV).

The Apostle John wrote this about Jesus in his gospel account, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9, ESV).

Later in the gospel of John, Jesus said this about himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, ESV).

How do you hold up under pressure? How do you keep going when you are faced with difficulties and obstacles in your life?

When we are heavily burdened, it can be challenging to hold up under the pressure. It can be overwhelming to push forward when faced with challenges and resistance.

The Psalmist writes, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22 ESV).

When we cannot hold up under the weight of our burdens, we need to place them upon the shoulders of God who can bear the load.

When we cannot sustain our course forward, we must allow God to sustain us along the way and to help us navigate our way forward.

Can you be confident of future growth? Is it possible to predict future blessing and rewarding harvest in your life?

We grow the seeds we sow. We harvest what we plant. We receive from the labor we invest.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Corinth this encouragement, saying, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6 ESV).

When we plant the abundant seeds of God’s kingdom purpose and blessing, we will harvest an abundance of God’s kingdom purpose and blessing. We reap what we sow.

Paul exhorted the Galatian church of this truth, saying, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7, ESV).

Who are you? What does God say about who you are?

You are the beloved of God. God made you. God knows you. God has redeemed you. God calls you by his own name. God makes you his own.

The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1, ESV).

We also see what God thinks of his children at the baptism of his Son Jesus. God sends his Holy Spirit to descend upon Jesus. God calls Jesus his Son, his beloved—even before Jesus began his official ministry. God says he is well pleased with Jesus, and he had not even begun to serve him.

Luke tells us this about the Baptism of Jesus, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:21-22, ESV).