Who God is and what God does is powerful enough for the entire universe and personal enough for you. He knows everything that is happening in the universe.  He knows you.  He sustains everything that is enduring in the universe. He sustains you. He guides everything that is staying on course in the universe.  He guides you.  He helps everything that is fulfilling its purpose in the universe.  He helps you.  He blesses everything that is enjoyed rightly in the universe.  He blesses you.  No matter what today brings, remember this wonderfully good news:  God isn’t just out there somewhere; He is right there with you.

The One who knows us most is also the One who loves us most.  He sees every sin, every shortcoming, every struggle … and He sets His affections upon us anyway. God loves us just as we are, but He loves us enough not to leave us as we are.  When we put our faith in Jesus, God begins to transform us into people who both hide less and less and have less and less to hide.  He doesn’t expect us to change our lives before He welcomes us into His family, but rather He welcomes us into His family and then He begins to change our lives.  Remember today: We are not fully changed, but we are fully loved sons and daughters.

Every human knows what it feels like to be stuck.  Stuck in repeated mistakes, personality flaws, bad habits, unfulfilling rhythms and inner unrest caused by our sinfulness.  But God in His grace sent Jesus to get us un-stuck and offer real transformation for those who put their trust in Him.  This is what becoming new in Christ means:  a change in our standing with God, a change in what makes us happy, a change in what controls our lives, and a change in what our eternity will be like.  He changes everything!  Trust Him day by day and watch Him change you from who you used to be into who you were made to be.

Christians.  That is what we are.  Love.  That is what we do.  The entire Christian experience of following Jesus in faith is characterized by love.  But only when we love rightly.  All the sins of all the people in all the world are the result of loving wrongly.  To love like God loves, we should not… Love what it is wrong to love. Fail to love what should be loved. Love too much what should be loved less. Love too little what should be loved more. There is an order to love.  By grace… We are to love God above people.  Love people above things.  And love things in such a way that they help us to better love God and love people.

Devastating tragedy.  Unexpected loss.  Agonizing heartache.  There is no way to be adequately prepared for sudden suffering when it blindsides us.   We don’t see the hardship coming, but we can be sure of this:  we will see the grace of God coming.  He will not leave us alone to face the trials of this world.  We don’t have the answers, but He will give us guidance.  We don’t have the will, but He will give us strength.  We don’t have optimism, but He will give us hope.  We don’t have a lot of things on our own, but we do have Jesus.  And He is everything. Take heart in this:  He will help us every moment we cannot help ourselves.

Here’s just one of the many things that is so amazing about God’s grace:  we would still be walking in darkness if He had not shined His light upon our hearts.  We would not have seen our sin for what it is, but even if we did… We would not have cared, but even if we did… We would not have been able to do anything to change.  But God has solved all of this. His light exposes our sin, reveals His grace and leads us to faith in Jesus.  Whoever follows Him does not live in darkness, but has the transforming light of life.  Today, as we walk in the light, let us remember to praise God for drawing us to the Light of the World.

If God and I don’t think the same way, it’s me that is thinking wrongly.  If God and I don’t speak the same way, it’s me that is speaking wrongly.  If God and I don’t act the same way, it’s me that is acting wrongly.  God never adjusts His ways to match mine, but is continually and graciously transforming me to be more like Him.  So… It’s never right to conclude that God is wrong.  Yes, He does things we can’t understand.  Yes, He does things we don’t like.  Yes, He does things we wouldn’t choose.  But He absolutely never makes an error in anything He does.  Let us trust in this: He knows what He is doing, even when we don’t.

We often place too much value on the value that other people place on us.  While it matters what others think of us as it relates to being the hands and feet of Jesus, it doesn’t matter at all what they think of us as it relates to our true worth in the eyes of Jesus. When you are approved by Jesus, you don’t have to be appreciated by everyone else.  When you are invited in by Jesus, you don’t have to be included by everyone else. When you are loved by Jesus, you don’t have to be liked by everyone else.  No matter what others say or don’t say about you today, remember what really matters:   You are precious to God.

There are a lot of important questions we should ask ourselves on a regular basis throughout our lives to make sure we don’t ruin our lives.  These include:  Who are you following?  Where are you going?  What will you be doing?  There are consequences to who we allow to influence the direction of our lives.  These can be positive or negative consequences, depending upon where we go and what we do.  That’s why wisely picking your mentor, your tribe and your community is essential.  Surround yourself with people who are following Jesus and join them.  He will help you all go to the right places and do the right things.

Light bulbs depend upon a power source.  Flowers depend upon water.  Humans depend upon oxygen.  Everything in creation depends upon something in order to continue existing and functioning as it was created.  But God does not depend upon anyone or anything for He does not have any needs.  He has all the power, all the wisdom, all the sovereignty, all the perfections from all categories to do all He desires.  He does not need us, but oh, how we need Him!  Let us praise the One Who never came into existence, will never go out of existence and never stops ruling for good our existence as we trust in Jesus.

Our world is not going to get better until we realize we cannot fix ourselves.  The fix is not in more laws or more freedoms.  The fix is not in more penalties or more incentives.  The fix is not in more pre-education or more post-counseling. Whatever entry you want to add to the list … that’s not it either.  The fix is Jesus. Only He can transform us from rebellious, idolatrous sinners into the glorious image-bearers of a loving God we were created to be.  When we turn to Him again and again in faith, He will… Change our minds.  Change our hearts.  Change our lives.  He takes our broken pieces and puts them back together again.

The truth will set you free FROM fearful hearts, false hopes and fleeting happiness that cleverly disguised sin creates.  But only if you know what the truth is when you see it.  False things are often mixed in with true things which leave us mixed up if we can’t tell the difference between the two.  Do you know how to spot a fake?  By knowing what the real thing looks like.  That is why it is so important to fill our hearts and minds with the truth of Scripture, the promises of God, the commands of our King, the words of Jesus, the beauty of the gospel.  The truth will set you free TO enjoy real heart-peace, real hope and real happiness.

Many Christians are slowly being poisoned by the indoctrinating words of the world they take in day after day.  Words that contaminate their minds with fears and fakes that convince them to look away from God for hope and happiness.  If what you’re reading doesn’t encourage you to follow Jesus, stop reading it.  If what you’re watching doesn’t build up your faith in Jesus, stop watching it. If what you’re listening to doesn’t deepen your love for Jesus, stop listening to it.  There is something better.  You and I don’t need to drink poison when there is a fountain that flows with the life-giving water of God’s truth and promises.

When was the last time you took the time to encourage someone else to keep serving God with his or her life? Not only should we actively do good works for the kingdom of God ourselves, we should actively spur on others to do good works for His kingdom as well.  One of the reasons why people give up and give out when they serve is because no one is there to verbally cheer them on as God has commanded us to do. Therefore, speak up often because God may intend to use your words to prevent someone from quitting.  Remember: It matters today that you encourage others to keep going and keep doing for Jesus.

There are many things we long for about heaven, such as being with Jesus, reuniting with loved ones, eliminating sorrow and experiencing fullness of joy.  One big thing that we should daily and decidedly look forward to is the complete defeat of all sin.  What a day it will be when we sin no more!  No more unkindness, hardheartedness, covetousness and selfishness.  No more idolatry, bigotry, adultery and mockery. No more rebellion, manipulation, inaction or division.  Every sin completely gone forever because our Savior has secured the victory! Take heart, friends.  Jesus is coming, and so is the end of sin.

If you put all of my weaknesses on one side of the scale and all of my strengths on the other side of the scale, it’s not even close in comparison.  Strength wins easily.  See if you agree with me on this.  My weaknesses: I don’t have all the right answers.  I don’t say all the right words.  I don’t make all the right moves.  Day after day, there are countless ways in which I am wrong, not right.  My strengths:  Jesus.  The scale always tips to the side of grace!  Day after day, He gives me the right stuff I need and forgives me for the wrong stuff I do.  Let us rejoice in this good news today:  His strength will overcome our weakness.

The gospel transforms us from who we used to be into who we are now in Christ.  We were dead and now have been made alive.  And the gospel continues to change us from looking a little like Jesus to thinking, speaking and acting more like Him.  We were babies and now are growing into adulthood.  As people who are set apart for God, we set out to live in ways that reflect we belong to Him.  This will inevitably create conflict as we live for the kingdom of God while also living in this anti-God world.  But the same grace that brought us out of the darkness into His light will help us shine His light back into the darkness.

Has God started a good work in you? How can you and I know that we have received God’s grace?  There are two really good indicators that your faith in Him is genuine:  you have a growing hatred for sin and a growing love for Jesus.  You don’t just want to be free from the consequences of sin, but sin itself.  You don’t just want to have the blessings of God, but God Himself.  There is a desire that begins growing inside of you to experience all that God has for you, in this world and the one to come.  You believe in Jesus for the first time, and then you believe in Him more fully over time.  We grow.  That’s how we know.

We’re given… New identities.  New desires.  New lives.  New futures.  Christians have a faith in Jesus that is demonstrated by loving obedience, though imperfectly executed.  That means there is grace to help us get this right, and there is grace to help us when we get this wrong.  Our entire spiritual journey is one in which we rely on grace to take steps of faith in living as God intends for us, and in which we rest in that same grace when we take mis-steps knowing that God won’t give up on us.  Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith, and we can be sure of this:  God will finish what He starts in us.

Faith is saying “yes” to God’s grace by agreeing with Him that you’re a sinner who cannot do anything to make yourself good enough to be accepted by Him, and then by asking Him to begin a good work in you to increasingly change you into a radically new person that is acceptable to Him.  Faith is also saying “no” to our old lives of indifference and rebellion to God by turning away from them to Him.  We mean it when we say of our sin: “I did it.  I regret doing it.  Help me not to do it again.  Lead me to something better in you.”  When that happens… God doesn’t just give us different lives; He makes us into different people.