Last Sunday morning, we heard from Acts 5:1-11 together. In this startling passage, Ananias and Sapphira try to lie to God, and they are struck dead on the spot. What can this shocking story teach us? We saw that it is foolish to try to hide our sin from God, for God always knows our hearts. As the holy God who always does what is right, God will judge our sin. Although we might not fall dead right away like Ananias and Sapphira, our sin will be judged—either in Jesus or in us. Acts 5 encourages us to stop hiding our sin, to confess it to God, and to trust in Jesus to save us. Indeed, for Christians, Jesus has already paid the full price for our sins, and there is no more judgment left for us to take! This week, take some time to honestly confess your sins to God, take some specific steps to address those sins, and thank God for His mercy and grace to us in Jesus.

On Sunday morning, we looked at Galatians 4:21 to 5:1 together. Paul here compares freedom in Christ to slavery using some Old Testament illustrations. The main one is with Abraham and his two wives, Sarah and Hagar. Sarah was promised a child whose birth was impossible. After waiting for some time, Abraham married Hagar to make the promise happen and she gave birth to Ishmael. Later on, Sarah did have the child of promise named Isaac. Paul compares Christians to Isaac and those who are trying to follow the law to be right with God to Ishmael. We never become Christians by our own effort; it is always God's work, always only grace. We need to remember that we don't impress God or become Christian by being good and following the law. We are saved through Jesus alone, and then we should want to honour God in response. Legalism is always a threat to us, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of grace. Take time today to thank God for his grace in saving you.