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The world offers many false and cheap substitutes for the true and priceless Savior, and each one demands that we place it at the center of our lives instead of Jesus. Flee anything that robs you of your affection and allegiance for Him. Flee any teaching that denies Who the Bible says He is or what the Bible says He did. Flee any thought that says His grace isn’t enough to save you or that you can live sinfully because you are saved. Grace isn’t opposed to effort; it’s opposed to us trying to earn what we have been freely given. He is our all in all! We are to keep ourselves from idols because idols keep us from Jesus.

Biblical encouragement never affirms sin. In other words, we don’t encourage one another to say, do, think, feel or desire things that God has forbidden. While we may mean to make others feel good about themselves or their lives, cheering them on as they turn from Jesus to follow a path that will inevitably lead to brokenness is harmful, not helpful. That’s what Satan did to Adam and Eve. That’s what Satan has continued to do. That’s what Satan wants us to join him in doing. By grace, let us resist His invitation to pass on his “you do you” message and replace it with the vastly superior good news of joy found in Jesus.

Our Good Shepherd comes prepared as He leads us to the places we are to go on our journey home to heaven. He has a rod to fight off wild animals when they come too close. He has a staff to draw us back when we stray too far. What that means is we are guaranteed to get there. The more we trust Him with this, the less we will fear the threats we face along the way. Jesus has defeated the greatest enemies of all: sin, Satan and death. They may hinder us, but they can do us no ultimate harm. So, no matter what you face today, take heart! Jesus has a rod and a staff in His hands … and He’s not afraid to use them.

As those who have received the grace of God, we should live in ways that are vastly different than those who are still under the wrath of God. This doesn’t mean that we are moral, and they are not. This means that we have Jesus, and they do not. Unbelievers remain in sin with their minds closed to God’s truth, hearts hardened to God’s love and lives separated from God’s presence. Christians aren’t perfect. But our minds are guided by God’s truth, and our hearts are aglow with God’s love, and our lives are indwelt by God’s presence. We live differently because Jesus increasingly changes us from the inside out.

Loss is a part of life in this broken world, especially for those who follow Jesus. Since the forces of evil oppose Him, they will oppose those who have faith in Him. Sometimes God works through faith to bring back what was lost. Sometimes God works through faith to replace what was lost with something better. Regardless of how He works, we need to remember this world is not our home. We are on the way home, where there is only gain. Reward. Inheritance. Rest. Healing. Reunion. Joy. Glory. Sinlessness. Worship. And, most of all, Jesus. By faith, we too will truly rise again to a better life. And this one will never end.

God does so many things for us, in us and through us that they cannot be counted by us. He is constantly at work, yet never gets weary. He is constantly at work, yet never makes a mistake. He is constantly at work, yet never becomes overwhelmed. God is doing countless things to work all things together for good as we trust Jesus. Even if we don’t see how He is working. Even if we don’t see how it could possibly be for good. Therefore, let us look forward in faith to His future grace and look backward in gratitude for His past grace. Singing His praises and telling of His deeds all along the way, knowing He isn’t done yet.

God helps us help one another by giving spiritual gifts of His grace to every person in His family. We don’t earn these spiritual abilities; they are gifts. They aren’t all the same; they come in various forms. We don’t let them gather dust; we use them. They aren’t to be used selfishly; they are to be used to bless others. We don’t use them to bless others so we are praised; we do so that Jesus may receive the glory. So, let us do our part today with the resources we have been entrusted to steward for the good of those around us. One way God shows grace to us is through others; one way God shows grace to others is through us.

Have you done enough praying, Bible-reading and church attending? Have you done enough serving, loving and sharing your faith? Have you done enough obeying, helping and being good? No, not enough. Never enough. Nowhere near enough. But the incredibly good news is that salvation is not the result of your own doing. Here’s what won’t get us into heaven: our effort at trying to do enough. Here’s what will get us into heaven: Jesus. While every other religion is a futile works-based plan where we know we can never do enough, Christianity rests securely on “It is finished.” Jesus is enough for us.

A love for the better things of the kingdom of God progressively replaces the love we have for the world when we become followers of Jesus. This doesn’t mean we don’t love the people of the world, but rather we don’t love the philosophies and principles and pleasures of the world which are opposed to God. We are to live in the world as lights for Jesus without living like the world with its sinful values, desires and ways. God radically enables this in us by His grace. As the otherworldly love of the Father captures our hearts, we look more and more to scripture, not culture, for what we are to love and how we are to live.

God wants us to be happy. When He tells us in the Bible to do, say, correct, believe, feel, think or share something, it is not to take away our happiness; it is to take away the things that are in the way of our full and lasting happiness in Him. We must trust that God is after our happiness, that He knows best how to bring about our happiness, and that what He tells us in the Bible is designed to lead us into happiness. It is His grace at work when He tells us what to do, gives us power to do it, and delights us in Himself as we do it. God’s way is not always easy, popular or instantly gratifying, but it always leads to real joy.