Oftentimes following Jesus in faith will require us to go to hard places, have hard conversations, do hard things, endure hard circumstances and deal with hard people.  But let us remember… The hard stuff will only last a little while.  The hard stuff will end when Jesus comes for us.  The hard stuff will not compare to our reward. As we look around at the struggles we must endure, let us look ahead to the return of Jesus and the end of all struggles.  Don’t give in!  Don’t give out!  Don’t give up!  By faith, keep going and Jesus will ensure that you make it.  We aren’t promised it will be easy; we are only promised it will be worth it.

Encouragement plays a key role in the key responsibility Jesus left for us to complete by His gracious help.  We are to make disciples, and we do so largely by encouraging one another.  We encourage one another to read the Bible. We encourage one another to pray.  We encourage one another to serve God’s kingdom. We encourage one another to lovingly obey. We encourage one another to believe and live out the truths of the gospel.  We encourage one another to trust Jesus more fully in more areas of our lives.  Our faith strengthens and spreads as we stir up each other’s affections for knowing, enjoying and glorifying God.

God is near us when we have broken hearts and broken spirits.  Whether we are struggling with our own sin, the sin of others, or the result of sin’s fracturing of our world, He is never distant even if it seems that way.  He hears our cries.  He comforts our hearts.  He meets our needs.  Though the result will not always be when we want it and how we want it, we have His promise that we will lack no good thing. This is true because God did not spare even His own Son from suffering. Jesus is our ever-near Immanuel, who lived, died and rose so we can taste and see God’s goodness.  Mingled with tears now.  Free from tears later.

If you have to sin to get it, it’s not worth it.  If you have to sin to enjoy it, it’s not worth it.  If you have to sin to keep it, it’s not worth it.   Sin is always too high a price to pay for the treasures of this world.  When the troubles of fear, worry, pride, dissatisfaction, envy, strife, deceit, selfishness, fruitlessness or worldliness are attached, it is no real treasure.  The fear of the LORD brings its own riches. Riches that are freely given.  Riches that will fully satisfy.  Riches that cannot be lost.  The peace, joy, hope, love, freedom, security, rest, strength, provision and satisfaction of Jesus are better than all worldly gains.  He is our treasure to pursue.

God does so many wonderful things for us that they cannot be counted.  He doesn’t just add His blessings, He multiplies them.  He doesn’t just fill our cups, He overflows them.  He doesn’t just give us a few things to talk about, He gives us so much that we cannot tell of them all.  What we can do is sing a new song of worship for our God Who brought us up out of the miry pit of sin and death to place us firmly on Christ the solid rock.  We can praise Him, point to Him and proclaim Him so that others may see and fear and put their trust in Him too.  As He multiplies His good deeds, let us magnify His good Name.

Encouragement has a positive and negative component as we spur on others to do some things and not do other things.  We are to issue both support for and warnings against. Don’t waste your life on trivial things, but do live for things that count for eternity.  Don’t give in to temptation, but do enjoy the blessings and benefits of grace.  Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy, but do believe the words of the Lord.  Encouragement isn’t neutral.  It should repel evil and attract good. Instruction to avoid the world and its ways should always include an invitation to receive the better things of Jesus and His kingdom.

Sooner or later, the things of this world dry up and leave us thirsty and empty.  But the cup God offers to us to drink from is overflowing with soul-satisfying forgiveness, goodness, kindness and blessedness to bear witness to His lavish generosity.  He provides much more than is needed.  He provides much more than is expected. He provides much more than is deserved. This overflowing cup displays His extravagant grace and glory so everyone can see Who He is and all He has and what He does for us.  It cannot be contained! And as we drink from His overflowing cup, our hearts will overflow in contented worship.

Satan hates anything and everything we rightly do in the name of Jesus.  So, it should not surprise us when we have opponents to our Christ-modeling, Christ-proclaiming, Christ-exalting words and actions.  It should also not frighten us.  For while they may cause us trouble or pain, they will not win in the end. Our salvation is secure, and any momentary suffering we endure for our faith is not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us.  Therefore, let us keep modeling, keep proclaiming and keep exalting Jesus.  Others will either oppose us or join us but they cannot stop us, since God is for us.

The biblical story is about a God of grace sending His Son to people in need of grace to rescue them from sin by grace so we can be welcomed into His family to live by grace and serve as ambassadors who tell others about His grace so they might also experience His grace.  This beautiful narrative is one in which God repeatedly reaches down to and out for an undeserving people who repeatedly push against and away from Him.  Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more! When you trust in Jesus, you can know this: Your chapter in the story is unfolding, and its end has already been written.  Grace has the final word.

Even on the darkest of days when you can’t see what is up next, what step to take next or how anything good will come next, stay confident in Jesus.  He gave His life for you in the past, He’s walking with you in the present, and He’s coming back for you in the future.  Every day of hardship you endure in this broken world is a day closer to when you will receive your heavenly reward.  You trusted God then.  Keep trusting God now.  By faith, press on through all the bad toward all the good that awaits you in Christ.  This is no time to turn back. Remember this:  Faith doesn’t make all things easy; faith makes all things possible.

When others wrong us, we can respond in hate or in love.  Each of these responses leads to an inevitable outcome: escalation or reconciliation.  Things can get worse or they can get better, and this will largely be determined by how little or much we respond to the offender like Jesus does. Jesus addresses the wrong; he does not ignore it. Jesus absorbs the cost; he does not force others to pay. Jesus offers forgiveness; he does not hold a grudge.  In petty things, we keep quiet in love.  In serious things, we speak up in love.  In all things, we rejoice over our covered sins and pray that others will repent and ask Jesus to cover theirs.

God made everything in the universe, known and unknown to us. He imagined it. He created it. He rules it. He shares it. And there is not a millimeter of it that does not declare His glory and majesty! Let it be shouted from every distant star to every nearby tree, from every creature to you and me. His hands that shaped the cosmos also shape our hearts, for He not only cares for the world, but also for us. He made us. He knows us. He blesses us. He loves us. From the inner parts of us to the outer reaches of the universe, it is all covered in the fingerprints of God. Indeed, O Lord, how majestic is Your Name!

A glorious day is coming when all will bow before Jesus in humble submission to His absolute authority and rule over all the universe.   Those who have rejected Jesus will no longer be able to deny that He is Who the Bible says He is.  The mocking will be silenced.  The rebellion will be ended.  The misbelief will be realized.  For Christians, our bowing will be in joy and love and worship for the One Who saved us.  We will not bow because we have to; we will bow because we want to. Unhindered, unbridled, uninterrupted joy will follow. This is the day we have been longing for since the day we put our faith in Jesus.

What is going on in your life today?  If something good is happening, it’s by grace.  If something bad is being handled, it’s by grace.  That sunset, steak and surprise text.  That’s by grace.  The trial you’re getting through and the trouble you got through.  Yep, grace.  Your ability, opportunity and community … grace, grace, grace.  The tears wiped away and the smiles of the day.  Grace on top of grace.   Beating hearts, peaceful sleep, acts of service, growing pains, caring friends, strength to continue, paid bills, lessons learned, fresh water, hugs. You can’t look in any direction without seeing the evidence of God’s grace.

It may not be the easy way.  It may not be the popular way.  It may not be the crowded way. But following Jesus is always the right way.  As it has been said, when the whole world is running towards the cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.  But he is actually the only one in his right mind headed the right way no matter how hard, unaccepted or lonely it may be.  So, let us follow Jesus confident that He will always lead us to the right place at the right time.  We’ll often be heading in the opposite direction of the crowd, but we’ll always be headed right to where we need to be.

There are three questions we should regularly ask in an honest-as-we-can-be evaluation of our spiritual journey with Jesus. First, how am I relating to God through my daily prayer and Bible time? Second, how regular and authentic is my corporate worship with others? Third, how am I stewarding my time and resources for the kingdom of God?  These are essential parts of us knowing Jesus and making Him known so that God is honored in us and we are happy in Him.  When we have been less-than-faithful in these areas, let us ask God for grace to begin again, rejoicing that He will never stop being fully faithful to us.

We don’t know what it means.  We don’t know what is coming.  We don’t know what to do.   In times when the diagnosis is unknown, the situation is unresolved, the path is unfamiliar or the outcome is uncertain, what should we do?  Sometimes the thing we are to do is to do nothing.  We wait.  We wait on the Lord.  We wait in hope on the Lord.  We wait in hope on the Lord to guide us, help us and deliver us.  While it’s not easy to wait, it’s comforting to know that grace is on its way and that God will make a way.  As our lives are on hold, let us remember with joy this beautiful truth: God is working while we wait.

One reason why are told to “rejoice in the Lord always” is because all other things we might rejoice in will change.  Circumstances change.  People change.  Interests change.  When we look for our ultimate joy in something that isn’t steady and reliable, neither will our joy be. Circumstances can become unfavorable, people can become unpleasant and interests can become unfulfilling.  But God doesn’t change!  He never goes from good to bad.  So, let us enjoy the gifts of God as a means of deeper joy in Him, remembering… We can have unending joy when we look for it in our unchanging God.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are meant to bear each other’s burdens so that the heavy load of hardship is lightened.  This could be to use our ears to listen to a confession or a cry.  This could be to use our mouths to speak a word of encouragement.  This could be to use our hands to meet a physical need.  But none of this will happen if we don’t let each other know about burdens or if we don’t let each other help with burdens.  God means for us to be dependent, not independent.  Firstly, on Him.  Secondly, on Him through each other.  Today, share your burdens with others and bear the burdens of others.

There are many things that God requires us to do as followers of Jesus.  But it’s important we understand that it is grace-driven effort and not human effort that enables and encourages all of our obedience, service and every form of performance as Christians.  We do everything secure in grace, by faith in grace, through reliance on grace and in gratitude for grace.   His work saves us before we do our work.  His work guides us to do our work.  His work gives us power to do our work.  His work makes us happy to do our work.  Let us remember… Whatever the will of God calls us to do, the grace of God will cause us to do.