Priceless

Scripture: John 2:5

A Priceless Call by Zoe Shaw 

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” — John 2:5 (NIV) 

The Wedding at Cana was a turning point for Jesus. Up until that moment, He had lived in relative obscurity. But when the wine ran out, Mary turned to Him—not just as her son, but as the One she knew was called for more. But answering that call came with a cost. 

At first, Jesus responded, “My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). There was hesitation—not reluctance to obey, but an awareness of the weight of His calling. He knew that once He stepped into His purpose, everything would change. The cost of obedience was high. 

And yet, He obeyed. He performed the miracle, turning water into wine, and in doing so, set His ministry in motion. There was no turning back. 

Like Jesus at Cana, we often feel the tension between knowing our calling and stepping into it. We sense the weight of what God is asking, and if we’re honest, it can feel overwhelming. Answering the call means embracing responsibility, stepping out of comfort, and sometimes, facing misunderstanding. 

Purpose always comes with a price. 

Obedience may cost comfort. 

Faithfulness may cost approval. 

Growth may cost familiarity. 

But what if our hesitation isn’t just about the calling itself—but about what it demands of us mentally and emotionally? 

Stepping into purpose can stir anxiety, doubt, and imposter syndrome. We wonder, Am I ready? What if I fail? Can I handle this? The mind wrestles with what the spirit already knows: God has called us, and He will sustain us. 

Maybe you feel the tug of God’s calling, but fear and uncertainty are holding you back. Maybe, like Jesus, you’re saying, “Not yet, Lord.” But what if now is the time? What if, just like Mary told the servants, God is whispering to you: “Do whatever He tells you.” 

Jesus, in His humanity, felt the weight of what was ahead. And yet, He moved forward. He modeled that calling is not about striving—it’s about surrender. Just as Jesus transformed water into wine, He can take your doubts, fears, and limitations—and turn them into something greater. The cost of obedience is real, but so is the joy of living in alignment with God’s purpose. 

Saying yes to God will stretch you. It will refine you. It will cost you. 

But in the end, it will be priceless. 

Prayer: 

God, I hear Your call, and I acknowledge both my deep desire to follow Your call and the fears that sometimes hold me back. I know that stepping into Your purpose for my life comes with a cost— one that may require me to leave behind the comfort and security of my own plans. But today, I choose obedience over comfort. I trust that what You have prepared for me is far greater than anything I could build on my own. When anxiety makes me hesitate, remind me that You are the One who sustains me. When I feel overwhelmed by expectations —my own or others’— help me to rest in the fact that I am simply called to be faithful, and you will take care of the rest. May I walk boldly in the calling You have placed on my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scriptures: Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48

A Priceless Miracle by Lasondra Spears 

Imagine suffering with an unhealable affliction for over a decade. You have spent the last of your money on doctors who have run every test, prescribed every medication and tried every remedy, to no avail. Not only could they not make you better, but in their attempts to heal you, they managed to make you feel worse than you did before you went to them for help. You’re drained physically, mentally, emotionally, and now monetarily. You’ve lost all hope. You’re considered to be unclean and forced to be an outcast from society. 

This was the woman with the issue of blood. 

Isolated. Hopeless. Broken. Desperate. 

Then she hears about a man from Nazareth named Jesus who is on His way. A man who has been performing miracles. And like many of us have, she decides to risk it all for the possibility of receiving the healing she needs. Healing that she’s proved she is willing to pay anything to receive. 

But she had no money left. The only thing she had to offer Jesus was faith…and yet somehow she knew that was enough. 

Why? Because after spending everything she had, she realized that this was something that money could not buy. 

The healing she needed could not be quantified. The healing she needed could only come through a miracle from Heaven. 

Doctors didn’t have the answers, took her money, and left her with nothing. Jesus was the answer, gave to her freely, and left her with everything. 

In Mark 5:34, Jesus publicly restored her identity, acknowledged it was her faith that healed her, and commanded her to go in peace, confirming the healing that took place. One touch. One interaction. One sentence. 

Not only did she perceive that day that Jesus was the ultimate healer, she also discovered that He was the ultimate gift. What He provided for her was priceless. And what His sacrifice on the cross provides for us is our continual reminder of something that was so costly that He gives to us so freely. 

Like the woman with the issue of blood, we can’t earn it, we’ve done nothing to deserve it, yet somehow we’ve become the recipients of God’s greatest gift in the person of Jesus. And one touch from Him changes everything. 

Prayer: Father God, thank you for the priceless miracle of your son, Jesus. Thank you for sending Him to this earth to make a way for us to get back to You. Jesus, thank you for stepping in to time, putting on flesh, and being a willing sacrifice. Thank you for walking in signs, wonders and miracles and for reminding us that we can do the same and according to John 14:12, even greater works. Holy Spirit, empower us and remind us daily of the power that lives on the inside of us as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. It’s in Jesus’ mighty name that we pray, amen.

Scriptures: John 3:16, John 1:1

Priceless Love of Jesus by Jael Benjamin 

“Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me.” 

Imagine a child singing a love song, declaring they know they are loved. That they belong. That though they are weak, He is strong. 

In a little town called Fairburn, GA, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church—where the motherboard sat in the front with hats so big you could barely see the pastor. Where the ushers weren’t afraid to tell you to wait, because the doors of the church had an invisible clock only they and the Holy Spirit understood. Where every First Sunday was Communion Sunday and we drank juice that represented the blood of Christ and recited Matthew 26:26. 

As a child, I didn’t understand the protocols and procedures. But I would later learn there was an order to things. 

My Godmama used to sing songs I didn’t understand either. She’d say, “Can’t nobody do me like Jesus.” I’d look at her, confused—how could she sing like this about Jesus in front of Paw Paw? Then Paw Paw would nod and sing, “I feel like going home.” 

So I guess they were even. 

As a child, there were many things I didn’t understand—like how someone could love Jesus deeply and still be happily married. But I trusted it anyway. 

Now, Mama was a soldier—who apparently had a strong BC life. If you don’t know, “BC” means “Before Christ.” It’s the life people lived before something dramatic should’ve taken them out… but God. Still, she’d sing, “We are soldiers in the army, we got to fight, although we have to cry.” 

She got out of the actual Army before I was born, so I didn’t get why she was still fighting—or who she was fighting. 

Daddy helped collect offering. He’d give me a dollar for church, then ask afterward if I still had it—his way of testing if I gave it during Children’s Church. It made no sense because he’d still put five dollars in my piggy bank every Sunday. 

As children, we find ourselves in moments where we don’t understand: Love. Patience. Priorities. Obedience. Giving. Discipline. And it’s okay. God’s amazing grace meets us where we are. 

John 11 shows how even when Martha didn’t understand, know, or trust, Jesus still loved her—with words and action. He wants to do the same for us. 

When He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for us, He made a priceless investment into our lives—because He loves us, even though we do not fully understand. (John 3:16.) 

God calls us His children for a reason. 

So today, I share this word of encouragement: Though I do not have it all together, I will rise again. Though I may find myself in darkness, I am free to come into the light. Though I feel like I am in bondage, I will be let go. Because my Father in Heaven Has already declared it so.

Scriptures: Luke 22:39-46, Romans 8:18

The Priceless Petition of Jesus by Enrique Holmes 

In the stillness of the Garden of Gethsemane, we see that Jesus knelt in great distress. His body took on the burden of saving humanity. According to the Bible, Jesus sweated so profusely that His sweat appeared as blood drops falling to the ground (Luke 22:44). This is called hematidrosis and it’s a rare condition where blood vessels next to sweat glands burst under extreme stress. Jesus was both divine and human yet endured the excruciating weight of His upcoming betrayal and suffering along with separation from God and the full force of sins wrath; sin that He never committed. 

In this moment, Jesus faced the greatest battle of His humanity: the decision to say yes. He cried out to his Father saying: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). While His physical being struggled against the reality of the cross, His spirit surrendered to the Father’s will. This was not an easy yes, but He had us on His mind and knew that it was all worth it. This yes carried agony, suffering, and ultimate sacrifice; this yes transformed the world was forever. 

Truthfully, most of us have experienced or are experiencing our own Garden of Gethsemane moments where our callings seemed too heavy for us to bear. Although our suffering could never compare to Jesus’s, the combination of pressure, pain, and persecution often challenges our ability to endure. You may have felt the urge to walk away or searched for another option from God while wanting to change your mind. Your decision to say yes fulfills a divine purpose that you cannot presently understand. The Bible says in Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” There are people attached to your obedience. Souls waiting on your surrender. Your choice to follow God’s plan will create transformational changes in your life and in the lives of others. 

If Jesus, in His suffering, could still say, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” then we too can find the grace to say yes again. The truth is that life be lifing, but still say yes. It’s true, that sometimes if it’s not one thing, it’s another, but still say yes. I know you feel unqualified or unworthy, but still say yes. I’m sure that the assignment is heavy, but like Jesus, still say yes. Whether it’s the first yes or the thousandth, God is calling us to trust Him beyond our understanding. Your yes will cost you something, but what God will do through it is priceless. 

Prayer 

Father God in the name of Jesus, I thank You for the example of Jesus, who showed us what it means to surrender fully to Your will. In moments when the weight of our calling feels too heavy, give us the strength to still say yes. Help us to say yes, even when it’s costly. Remove fear, doubt, and hesitation, and replace them with boldness, trust, and faith. Just as Jesus endured for the joy set before Him, help us to endure knowing that You are working IN all things, and that you are working all things for our good. Strengthen our hearts and remind us that our obedience has impact far beyond what we can see. We’ve counted the cost and are convinced that You’re worth everything. Today, we choose to say yes again. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Scripture: Isaiah 53:5

Priceless Offering of Jesus by Brian Sims 

In a world where we hear sayings such as “Nothing in this life is free,” it is sometimes hard to imagine anything ever being priceless. Things such as happiness, love, and time can all be considered priceless. However, in a flawed and sinful world, even those “priceless” things can be tainted with the wrong perspective. How can a tainted mindset affect the way we view the offering of Christ? 

On this walk of faith, we can sometimes tell ourselves that we have to earn the free gift of salvation. If we lack in our prayer time, neglect to read our Bibles, or commit sins we promised God we would repent for, we feel like we are not worthy of His sacrifice. The Word of God lets us know that Jesus Christ was wounded for our healing, and He was bruised for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5). He hung from the cross because there was no way we could pay for our sins ourselves. 

Understanding the love that God has for us can oftentimes be hard to imagine. Although we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). He experienced excruciating pain on the cross while living a life perfectly within the will of God. His act of love and compassion on that day can never be repaid by any of our good works that we attempt to do. In the midst of being mocked, spit on, and ultimately killed, Christ promised to rise on the third day to ultimately defeat death (Mark 10:34). What then should be our responsibility to honor the priceless offering that Jesus paid for our transgressions? 

God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for the sins of mankind (John 3:16). With the power to take Himself down from the cross at any moment, He continued to endure the suffering for our sake. How can we repay Him? What did we do to deserve this unfailing love? The beautiful thing about the God we serve is that there is nothing that He asks us to pay. He asks us to submit to His will and to love Him with all of our heart, mind, body, and strength (Mark 12:30). 

We are blessed to be in the position that we are in. Despite living in a world where everything is transactional, we serve a God that paid it all despite our shortcomings. Jesus’ final words on the cross, “It is finished,” give us the hope and faith that we need to motivate us in our lives to never forget the offering that was paid for all of mankind (John 19:30). 

Prayer:

Father God, we thank You for this day. We thank You for the priceless offering that You paid for our sins on the cross. We pray and ask for forgiveness of all of our sins. Give us the strength to hold fast to Your words in the midst of this evil world. We give our lives to You. We love You, Lord. We ask all of these things, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Scriptures: Romans 5:8, Luke 24:1-53

When I was growing up, I wasn’t that athletic but I believe that my aunt really wanted to have an extra excuse to cheer and scream at sports events on Wednesday and Friday nights. So in return, she signed me up to play baseball. I will never forget it, I was in the fifth grade. I was an all star hand catcher. It may not have been the most praised position but oh how proud I was every single game to get in place and fulfill my duties. I would show up in my neatly ironed stone gray and ash blue uniform ready to take on the world. I remember vividly one week at practice I was injured and wasn’t able to play at the scheduled game on that upcoming Friday, but my mother made me go for moral support to my other team mates. I sat on the sidelines for 9 innings watching the ebbs and flows of my peers tirelessly running bases, forcefully swinging bats, and championing through over three hours of what felt like blood, sweat, and tears. Finally in the ninth inning, with a home run play from my team, we won the game. 

The win was electric. A wave of emotion that was visible through the smiles and tears of parents and friends shot through the crowd as the field erupted with laughter, chants, screams of joy and celebration. Bursts of bottles of gatorade and water filled the air as we leaped and shouted through blinding flashes from cameras documenting this moment. We had another victory under our belt. But this particular win was different. I realized that even though I had not participated in the game, I was still a recipient of the victory we had experienced. None of my efforts contributed to the win, but I still had the privilege to be included and experience the benefits and celebration of the victory. 

What a beautiful reminder that the sacrifice Jesus paid for the world was purchased without any participation from us, but yet and still he has welcomed us into this beautiful family and celebration. None of our own works or merrit have afforded us a space, but through the finished work of Christ we have been invited to this great heavenly feast that he not only has prepared but purchased for us. Romans 5:8 encourages us on this wise : But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This goes a step further by giving us the revelation that before we were even aware that there was a fight – a victory had already been won. 

Maybe you have found yourself in a space of feeling unworthy to receive this free gift of unfathomable love from a perfect father. Surely there is something that you could do to prove that you deserve to be included or invited to be apart of this family the word of God speaks of. Maybe you have rejected the very thing that has been nudging and calling you simply because you are trying to formulate in your mind a reasoning that makes logical sense to be apart of a victory so great and so expensive without you footing any of the bill or the cost. But that is the beauty of this victory, our invitation to partake isn’t attributed to any works. It is a win not gained but given – a priceless victory. 

Prayer 

Father thank you for coming into this world and living a life full of challenge, humanity, pain, and suffering all for the sake of saving us. Thank you for your sacrifice that you willingly gave. A sacrifice that was given not based on our works, but a gift given simply because you loved us. A love without measure. A love that is never ending and all consuming. A love that covers faults, heals experiences, and changes our lives simply by us receiving you by faith. Thank you for fighting a fight and granting us a victory that we could never repay. Thank you for your invitation to share in this great celebration and to be apart of this family. This kingdom family. Thank you for adopting us and choosing to love us before we were even aware of the need we had in our lives for your sacrifice. Where we feel rejected, grant us healing. Where we feel abandoned, grant us grant us solace and the strength to find our way back to hope. Where we feel unworthy, may Your grace remind us that our worth is not defined by our mistakes, but by Your unfailing love and the redemption You have purchased through Christ. In Jesus name. Amen

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10

A Priceless Mandate by Eddie Finnell 

As the sun rose on that first Easter morning, the women approached the tomb, hearts heavy with grief. But instead of finding Jesus’ lifeless body, they encountered an angel proclaiming, “He is not here; He has risen!” (Matthew 28:6). Their sorrow was turned into unspeakable joy as they ran to tell the disciples the good news. Yet, this encounter was only the beginning of a greater mission—one that Jesus would soon entrust to His followers. 

After His resurrection, Jesus gave what we now know as The Great Commission—a priceless mandate to “go and make disciples of all nations.” This wasn’t merely a suggestion or an option; it was a divine directive rooted in His authority and love for the world. The Great Commission is not just about spreading information; it’s about transformation. It’s about calling people into a relationship with Jesus where they experience His love, forgiveness, and the power of new life. 

But the beauty of this mission is that we don’t go alone. Jesus reassured His disciples with a promise that echoes through the ages: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This promise reminds us that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is alive in us, empowering us to fulfill His mission. Whether we share the gospel across continents or with a neighbor down the street, His presence sustains and strengthens us. 

The Great Commission is more than a task—it’s an invitation to partner with God in His redemptive work. As we reflect on Christ’s sacrifice and victory over death this Easter, we are reminded that His resurrection demands a response. We are not called to keep this good news to ourselves but to share it with boldness and compassion. 

For Belong Church, this is a season to not only celebrate the risen King but to embrace His mission. Let’s be a people who live out the Great Commission by loving our neighbors, serving our communities, and making disciples wherever God leads us. Our obedience to this mandate is not about striving—it’s about surrendering to the One who is already at work and joining Him in transforming lives. 

Prayer: 

Father God, Thank You for the gift of Your Son and the power of His resurrection. As we reflect on the victory of Easter, ignite in us a passion to fulfill the Great Commission. Give us boldness to share Your love, wisdom to teach Your truth, and compassion to serve those around us. Remind us that we do not go alone—You are always with us, guiding and empowering us. Lord, use us to make disciples and expand Your kingdom, that all may know the hope found in Jesus. In Jesus’ name. Amen.