The Last Shall be First

Happy Sunday! 

Today we are thankful for:

1) a shopping trip with Mary! Mother daughter time is the bestest 

2) A badger game with Jon!! Daddy daughter dates are also the best! We even got to go on the field! 

3) Remembering that I am righteous not because of anything I’ve done… but because of Jesus 

Romans 10:3-4

I don’t know about you but when I was in grade school being the first in line was a BIG deal. And often, if someone was not the first in line but happened to be the last they would say “the last shall be first and the first shall be last” and do their best to one-up or feel superior to the first person in line even though they obviously were not better than them. 

We can look at our spiritual life this way too.

We cannot create our own righteousness!!! However, we often try to do this. We try to have our achievements gain us a title with God. And when we notice we aren’t good enough… we start comparing. 

“WELL I MAY NOT BE PERFECT BUT I AM DOING THIS WHICH IS WAAAYYY MORE THAN *insert name here*”

We act just like the selfish children in line!! We try to make ourselves feel better by trying to be superior to others!

The only way to live un-offendably is to realize that Jesus is the only way to righteousness!!!

He took our place! He lived under the law, fulfilled it, and paid for our sins!! He gives us his righteousness free of charge!

God LOVED us IN SPITE of our sins!!! NOT because we are perfect.

Romans 4:5 

However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

There are absolutely no conditions on God’s unlimited love! 

He has give us FREEDOM! 

Freedom from sin

Freedom to demonstrate his love 

1 John 4:19 

We love because he first loved us.

Things to work on this week:

1) it’s the end of the quarter! Lots of big tests, quizzes, and projects coming our way! Many prayers for everyone to stay on track 

2) Mother Mary is flying to Arizona this week! We need to work on staying alive without her here to help ;) 

3) Senior pictures are this week!!! I need to pick out all of my outfits and feel confident with the choices I make! These are my own pictures and I shouldn’t compare them to anyone else 

May your week be covered with God’s grace!

Sharing my love for Jesus and his love for you!

Annika Bilitz