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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.

It’s hard to walk by faith when one is carrying unnecessary weights and entangled by sin. And running through life with endurance becomes a slow, sluggish and sad journey instead of the hope-filled, peace-filled, joy-filled, purpose-filled race it should be. So let us add into our lives things that strengthen our faith and remove from our lives things that weaken our faith. If it slows us down, we let it go. If it makes us weary, we let it go. If it robs us of life in Jesus, we let it go. And by faith, we pick up whatever things God provides to help us keep going. His grace is sufficient for things that weigh us down and trip us up.

One of the evidences that you have received God’s pardon for your sin is that you are relying on God’s power to fight against your sin. Forgiveness and freedom are two inseparable aspects of grace. You don’t get one without the other. Spiritual growth will vary by person and season, but one thing every genuine Christian has in common is this: sin no longer holds the same appeal or power as it once did. We go from loving sin to hating it and from choosing sin to fighting it. Though we will not be sinless, we will sin less because of this… Our relationship with sin changes because of our relationship with Jesus.

God is good at all times in all ways in all circumstances in all of His being. It is Who He is. It is what He does. All that God approves of as right, true, pure and excellent is considered good. His nature is good. His character is good. His creation is good. His work is good. His judgment is good. His discipline is good. His plans are good. His gifts are good. God even works bad things out for good. And in the most stunning show of His goodness, God sent the Good Shepherd to die on Good Friday so we might receive Good News. Let us praise Him forever! For truly, God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

What we say, when we say it and how we say it all have an effect on who we say it to. Our words can both tear down and build up, deceive and enlighten, harm and help. It is essential we ask God for His help in safeguarding our tongues, because the power they yield can either be life-giving or life-draining. We never leave others the same. Our words always make a difference in one way or another. We speak life to others when we repeat what God says to us in the Bible. His truth. His commands. His promises. His good news. When we rightly speak of Jesus, the sweet fruit of the gospel can be eaten by all who hear.