“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
What does the law of God require of us? In Leviticus 19:2, God says, “Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.” Jesus taught, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” God’s commandments require not just a good effort but perfection in our thoughts, desires, words, and actions. We all come short. We are all condemned sinners. That is why we look in faith to Christ’s holy life and His innocent sufferings and death on the cross for our salvation!
We are guilty, O God. We have not kept Your holy commandments. Grant us pardon for our sins and a place in Your everlasting kingdom for the sake of the holy life and atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Amen.
[Scripture is taken from the Revised Webster Version of the Bible.]
“This, the first of His signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and He revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.” John 2:11
Jesus’ miracle of turning 120 to 180 gallons of water into wine at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee gave His disciples a glimpse of His power and glory as the only-begotten Son of God in human flesh, and they believed in Him. We, through the Scriptures, see His glory too. Do we also believe He is God the Son, who came into this world to be our Savior?
Dear Lord Jesus, grant that I see Your glory and place my faith in You as the Son of God and my Savior. Amen.
“You search the Scriptures, because you think in them you have eternal life. These are they who bear witness of Me.” John 5:39
Jesus’ Jewish hearers searched the Scriptures, thinking they could fulfill the demands of God’s law and obtain eternal life. But the Scriptures direct us to Jesus, the Messiah and Savior, and all He did to atone for sin and provide salvation through faith in His name.
O dearest Lord Jesus, grant that I learn of You and Your redeeming work from the Scriptures that I may trust in You and Your cross for my salvation. Amen.
“Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.” Psalm 65:3
We all have sinned and stand guilty and condemned by God’s holy commandments. Our iniquities in thought, desire, word, and deed mandate God’s judgment. But God provided atonement for our sins in the innocent sufferings and death of His Son that we might be pardoned and forgiven through faith in Christ Jesus. Through faith in Jesus, our transgressions of God’s law are pardoned and purged away in Jesus’ shed blood.
We thank You, O God, for sending the Son to fulfill all righteousness for us and then atone for our sins by His perfect sacrifice on the cross for the sins of all. Grant that we turn from our frail attempts to be acceptable in Your sight by our own works and look in faith to Christ Jesus and His cross for pardon, forgiveness, and life everlasting. Amen.
“When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’” John 2:3-5
Jesus did not come into the world to provide wine at wedding celebrations or even food to feed the multitudes, and the time for Him to be revealed as the all-powerful Son of God had not yet come. But still, Jesus cared, stepped in, and met the needs of this bridegroom. Jesus came to redeem us from sin and death, but He also cares for us and meets our everyday needs.
We thank You, dear Lord Jesus, for coming into this world to redeem us from sin and death and to give us eternal life, and we thank You also for providing for our every earthly need. Amen.
