Jimmy Gunn

Enough

Re:Verse passage – Romans 3:21-31 (day three)

²⁴Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

We often tend to add to what is needed for salvation. Usually, this comes in as a subconscious thought or feeling within ourselves because “measuring” oneself is so intrinsic to everything we do. “Are we as good as that person?” Or “I don’t do the terrible things that person does!” Maybe you think, “I need to be at church today because I have had a rough few days of doing the wrong things.”

Amazingly (and thankfully), that is not how God operates. We are not good enough and we never, ever will be. We cannot do enough right things or say enough right things or act good enough to even remotely get close to God. I love how the NLT translation lays this out for us. God freely makes us right with Him through Christ Jesus taking our penalty for sin. Nothing more needs to be added. Nothing more can be done other than accepting Him and following Him. When I am reminded of this, it is like a weight off my shoulders. I am not enough, but Jesus is. I hope that reminder frees you today!

King

Re:Verse passage – Romans 2:5-16 (day three)

⁶He will render to each one according to his works:

Is Paul contradicting himself here? Just a few verses ago in chapter one, Paul lays out that one is saved by faith alone, apart from the law and from works. Yet, here, he states that God will judge (render to) us based on our “works.” Romans 2:6 is almost a word-for-word quote from Psalm 62:12. What David was talking about in Psalm 62 is a judgment of people based on the choices they make between (essentially) following God or not following God by rejecting His chosen king. In his letter to the Romans, Paul is using that same idea to back up his statement that we are saved through faith alone. We are faced with a choice of following God or not following Him. The way we choose to not follow Him is to reject Jesus as King in our lives.

Now, are our actions (works) a good thing? Yes! Our works are the fruit of following the Lord and accepting Jesus as King. In following Him, our striving should be to be more like Him, producing the kind of fruit and actions that please Him and line up with the Gospel. So, ponder this today: Is Jesus the King of your life? Do your words and actions (works) reveal to others that He is, in fact, the King?

Good News

Re:Verse passage – Romans 1:14–17 (day three)

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

At the time that Paul wrote these words, it would have been hard to swallow for either people group. The Greeks (or Gentiles) would have been annoyed that Paul was saying the Jews have first crack at salvation, while the Jews would have been beside themselves that anyone else could have salvation from God. Paul’s aim here, though, is to humble all his readers and place everyone on level standing.

No single person or people group is more deserving of God’s grace and salvation than any other. The salvation of God is “for everyone who believes.” I am sure that most of us read this and, on the surface, agree. But when we think about it further, we may tend to think, “Wait a minute! What about the evil people? How can salvation be for those that live a life doing wicked and sinful things, only to be given salvation if they believe in Him?” This is where we see the goodness, grace, and mercy of God.

Just take a look at Paul. He was a terrible, wicked man that was okay with murdering those that opposed his views. Mary Magdalene led a sinful life until she met Jesus. Moses was a murderer until he met I AM. The thief on the cross was on the cross for a reason but was given salvation because he simply believed in Jesus while standing at death’s door. That is Good News indeed!

As we look at Romans, our overarching theme is that the gospel is for all people. Who around you needs to hear the Good News of Jesus?

Part of It

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 4:18-19; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9; Galatians 4:4–7 (day three)

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (1 Cor. 3:6)

What role do you have in sharing the Gospel with someone else? We can see here in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that we all play a part in various people coming to know the Lord. God places people in our path each and every day that we are called to share the Gospel with. Is it the person taking your order at the restaurant today? Is it the parent you are volunteering with at a practice or at your kid’s school? It is the co-worker that keeps popping into your office for small talk? Is it the person you bumped into at the grocery store? Is it that person you have been avoiding for a while now?

God doesn’t need us. He is the One that makes growth happen. The next few verses of 1 Corinthians 3 make that abundantly clear to us. However, we do have the incredible privilege, joy, and honor to be used by the Lord to help someone else grow. God causes growth and we get to be a part of that growth!

There are people that you will cross paths with today that God has called you to share the Gospel with and to disciple. Who is it?

With Me

Re:Verse passage –Mark 1:1-4; Luke 4:42-44; Acts 5:42; 11:19-21 (day three)

The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:21)

Do you ever struggle with thinking you can’t share the Gospel well? I know that many of us do. Satan uses fear and doubt to throw us off course in following the Lord and His leading all the time. Here in Acts 11, we find Christians that have been scattered to a new place and facing unknown circumstances. Yet, they decided to keep trusting the Lord and doing what they were doing before. Then the author (Luke) reminds us that Lord, or Lord’s hand, was with them. These men and women “had a job to do” and continued doing it even though the original circumstances changed.

Paul asks in Romans 10:14, How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? We get to share the Good News of Jesus and salvation. We are compelled to do so. As we have studied discipleship over these past two months, we now get to the part where we are challenged and compelled to “go!” If you have not heard that before now in our study, then hear it now…Go! The Lord will help you and give you everything you need to follow Him faithfully. He has promised us that and shown Himself to be faithful before. We just need to be willing to go. If you do, I am sure that you will be able to look back and say, “The Lord’s hand was with me!”

The Name

Re:Verse passage – Luke 6:12–16; 8:1; 9:1–6; 10:1–17 (day three)

“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’” (Luke 10:17)

I used a verse (verse 18) following this scripture during my kids’ time last Sunday as we talked through how incredible Jesus is. The 72 disciples that were sent come back to Jesus to give a report of all they did, and their excitement is evident in their report. In verse 18, Jesus tells the astonished disciples that He was present for the time where Satan was expelled from heaven. That is truly remarkable when you stop to think about it. These 72 disciples got to see Jesus in a new way as the One whose name was powerful enough to make the enemies of God leave. Then Jesus revealed to them that He was there at the beginning when Satan rebelled and was punished for it.

I wonder what those 72 people felt when they heard this. I imagine they were filled with awe and possibly encouraged to do whatever Jesus told them. There was probably a profound sense of wonder at who this man Jesus really was. Were they spurred on to go back out and spread the news even more?

That same power is in us. That same name makes the darkness flee. That same understanding should spur us on to go and tell the news to whomever will listen. Who are you going to tell this week?

One Percent

Re:Verse passage – 2 Thessalonians 2:13–17; Hebrews 5:11–13; Romans 16:17–18 day three)

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. (Hebrews 5:12-13)

I had a coach who had a mantra that he would remind us of every day…we should strive to be 1% better today than we were yesterday. It was a reminder for our growth in baseball and school, but more importantly, he reminded us that we should be growing in our faith and relationship with the Lord every day. We should be closer to the Lord than we were yesterday, last week, last month, last year, and so on. Now, I am reminded of that saying almost daily and am grateful for men like Dan Heefner who have encouraged me and helped me grow. We need people encouraging us to grow and discipling us to not regress “back to milk.”

It is nearly impossible for a Christian to “stand pat” in their faith or to stay still. We either progress or regress, going forward or backward. The writer of Hebrews points this out in his letter, reminding his readers that they should be progressing. Sometimes we progress and sometimes we regress because it takes work and is not always easy. But God has called us to progress and grow, encouraging others to do the same along the way. Are you closer to Him today than you were yesterday or last week? Who do you have that can encourage you to grow and disciple you along the way?

Fruit

Re:Verse passage – John 15:6–10; Hebrews 12:10; Acts 13:2–3; Colossians 4:2–4 (day three)

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (John 15:8)

The history of the vanilla bean is a fascinating story. The vanilla orchid flower that produces vanilla beans is native to Mexico and grows there best because a certain type of bee pollinates the flowers. That certain bee (the Meilpona bee or Euglossine bee) lives only in that area of Mexico. Horticulturists tried for over 300 years to grow them in other parts of the world, but it wasn’t until a twelve-year-old boy, living on an island in the Indian Ocean, figured out a technique for pollinating the vanilla orchids without these bees. After that, growers all over the world were able to help their vanilla orchids produce the fruit they so longed for!

Discipleship can be like that. If we don’t know how to produce fruit, we won’t. When we abide in Jesus, He helps us produce the kind of fruit that glorifies the Lord. In abiding in Him, we also can help others grow in their knowledge and understanding of the Lord, thus helping to produce fruit in them also. The actual process of growing in Him and producing fruit is not a mystery though. Jesus told us exactly how we produce fruit. Are you abiding in Him? Are you growing in Him? What fruit is being produced by your relationship with Jesus?

Hello from Camp!

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:21–6:4; Matthew 12:46–50; 19:27–30 (day three)

“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50)

As I write this blog, I am sitting in my bunk at Kids’ Camp during one of our daily quiet times. It has been a blast! We have 20 boys, 15 girls, and 17 sponsors with us this week at Camp Zephyr. Though I have had fun, I am grateful for these quiet times so I (and everyone else) can recharge to make it through the rest of the day! Our theme this week has centered on the parables of Luke 15, and each day we have talked with the kids about what Jesus meant by being lost and found in these parables.

Our Re:Verse passage this week has reminded me often of the joy in following the Lord and being in community with others who love Him. Camp week is one of my favorite weeks of the year because I so enjoy being surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ, helping kids (and adults) know the breadth and width of the Father’s great love for them. As I read Jesus’ words, I get the feeling that He is excited as he shares this truth. Being surrounded by believers, sharing the truth of God’s salvation through Jesus, and watching kids being filled with the joy of camp and God is an exciting thing!

Let me encourage you today to find a way to serve and to disciple others. Jesus reminds us of the joy of being in community with our brothers and sisters, doing the will of the Father. It doesn’t have to be at camp, but it sure is a lot of fun!

Steadfast

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 1:9–11, 28B–29; 4:2–4; Ephesians 4:11–16; James 1:2–4 (day three)

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:4)

When you read these verses together, you can pick up on how discipleship is constant or steadfast “work.” Look at it this way:

We have not ceased to pray… (Col. 1:9)
{We have not ceased to} ask... (Col. 1:9)
For this purpose also I labor… (Col. 1:29)
Devote yourselves to pray, keeping alert in it… (Col 4:2)
We are to grow up into all aspects of Him… (Eph. 4:15)

Growing in Christ and discipling others to grow in Christ is a continual, never-ending work. Paul encourages us to take this seriously. Following Jesus should permeate every aspect of our lives. If you took an honest look at your efforts to follow the Lord (and to lead all others to a joyful life with Him), would you say that you could describe it the way Paul describes his own efforts in following the Lord? I know I struggle with it at times.

There is a cost to following the Lord. It is not easy. But we can rest assured that it is worth it. James reminds us of this in his letter. The trials we go through, the work we put in, the difficulties we face, the time spent in prayer and petition, and anything else we do for the Lord is all worth it and is used to grow us more into being “little Christs,” perfect and complete. May you be steadfast this week as you grow in Jesus and disciple others. I will be praying for you!