There is an infinite difference between…  Who we were and who we are.  What we were and what we are. We were sinners who were infinitely separated from God with no hope of avoiding the coming judgment and wrath for our sin.  But God demonstrated His infinite love for us by sending Jesus to shower infinite grace upon us through His perfect life, sacrificial death and victorious resurrection.  By faith, we are now infinitely forgiven through Him, infinitely connected to Him, infinitely secure in Him, and infinitely blessed by Him!  So… Let us use our lips and our lives to give Him what He deserves:  infinite praise.

Today, when that temptation is offered, that relationship blows up, that meeting goes wrong, that diagnosis is grim, that pleasure is available, that problem shows up, that plan falls through, and that thing happens … you will believe something to be true.  Instead of believing sin’s promises that you have been abandoned by God, or you should accept a substitute for God, believe the promises of God.  Place your full weight on God’s Word, for it is the only solid ground in a world full of cleverly-disguised sinking sand.  If He says it, you can believe it.  And if you can believe it, you can experience its life-giving assurances.

One thing most of us struggle with is disobedience by delay.  That is, we wait to do what God has called and equipped us to do. We wait until a more convenient time, thinking we have plenty of time, but more often than not, we will run out of time.    For most of us, God doesn’t mean for us to wait until some future day to serve Him by going out in a million-dollar blaze of glory, but rather He wants us to give ourselves to Him in daily nickels and dimes of service.  By grace, lay up treasures in heaven with how you use your time today. It’s not what you leave behind that matters most.  It’s what you forward ahead.

For those who are trusting in Jesus, God is always doing much more in us, for us, around us, and through us than we are aware of.  All we see is the show, but He is working behind the scenes.  All we see is the ship, but He is working beneath the surface.  He is precise.  He is punctual.  He is providential.  We don’t have to make sense out of everything that is going on or that we are going through, but we do need to trust that God is tirelessly at work in ways that would make sense if we knew all that He knows.  And when we can’t see it with our eyes, let us believe it in our hearts.  That’s what faith is for.

This is the model, means, and motivation for every expression of our love toward the people God has put into our lives…  Jesus loves us.  Jesus loves us.  Jesus loves us.   For who better to love imperfect people than those who were at their own worst when Jesus loved them anyway?  He loved us then.  He loves us now.  He will keep loving us forever. Listen:  It’s not about trying harder to love better; it’s about rejoicing in the love that God has shown us in Jesus and then responding by loving Him back and sharing His love with other people.  There is grace for us when we get this wrong and grace to help us get it right.

Let’s be honest… Loving others isn’t as easy as it sounds.  Some of the people where we live, work and play are know-it-alls, gossips, selfish, cry-babies, back-stabbers, unforgivers, lazy, troublemakers, judgmental, self-righteous, unkind, power-hungry, cheaters, entitled, drama queens, hypocrites, snobs, braggarts, and downright unlikeable.  Who would love people like them?  Jesus.  Jesus would love people like them.  Jesus loves people like you and me, who are just like them.  We may sin differently than others we know, but we are sinners just the same.  And Jesus loves us anyway.  So we love others in His way.

Every person in your life is there for this reason: for you to love on them. God put you where you are, and brought people into your life where you are, so you could demonstrate His love for them, to them. These aren’t just neighbors, co-workers, and teammates; they are intended recipients of God’s affection to be administered through you. Every meeting, conversation and encounter is a wonderful occasion to bless and brighten someone else’s life to the glory of God.   Remember today…The intersections where your life meets someone else’s life hold a beautiful, God-given opportunity and responsibility to love like Jesus.

It’s easy to be mistaken about this, assume this, believe this, want this and live like this: that your life is all about you. But the Bible teaches that your life is all about Jesus.  Let us daily be reminded that you and I are to exalt, proclaim, model, know, serve, praise, believe, seek, adore, please, magnify, worship, defend, treasure, follow, trust, enjoy, obey and love Jesus. We do so to bring glory to the One who was slain for us, conquered sin and death for us, offers forgiveness and life to us, and has become a treasure and joy to us! Because here’s the thing… A life that is full of personal honor for Jesus is also full of personal happiness.

The world often portrays being blessed as the measure of how good we are or how good we have it.  We are blessed because of what we do, what we get to do and what we get from our doing.  But being blessed in the Kingdom of God is more than that. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well on the outside, but that all is well on the inside.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well in the everyday matters of life, but that all is well in what matters most. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well now, but that all will be well forever.  Know this: Real blessing comes in things that can never be taken from us.

If you are trusting Jesus, you are blessed whether you feel like it or not. The Bible doesn’t say you possibly are blessed, probably are blessed or periodically are blessed; it says you ARE blessed.  This is a continual certainty for those who follow Jesus in faith.  There is… No reason to feel shame for your yesterday because you are blessed with His pardon.  No reason to feel discontent with your today because you are blessed with His presence. No reason to feel afraid of your tomorrow because you are blessed with His promises.   His mercy is yours.  His satisfaction is yours.  His kingdom is yours.  All because you are His.

It is wonderful to love.  One of the greatest gifts that God gives us as humans is the capacity to care for things and care about things.  From pizza to people, fireworks to friendships, Chick-Fil-A to conservation, jobs to justice, adventures to Apple, and countless other things, it’s good to give affection and attention to the good things God puts in our lives.  But… Only one love can be supreme.  Only one love can be primary. Only one love can be central.  The love we have for Jesus should be greatest of all.  Let us stir our affections for Him, knowing this:   We will love other things best when we love Jesus most.

We don’t pretend it never happened.  We don’t stay there for long.  We don’t give up because of it.   As we experience godly sorrow in honest ownership of our sin, it should lead to rejoicing in Jesus.  Rejoicing over His forgiving grace.  Rejoicing over His transforming grace.  Rejoicing over His empowering grace.  Yes, we feel genuine regret over our sin because it breaks God’s heart and breaks our lives.  But we quickly remember that the finished work of Jesus makes it possible for us to finish well in our fight against sin.  It’s not that the standard has been lowered for us; it’s that the standard has been met for us.

Don’t waste it.  Don’t misuse it.  Don’t underestimate it.  God has graciously given you a life that is rich with meaning and purpose in this world, at this time, for His kingdom.  Your home life, work life and play life are all a part of His divine plan to make a difference in the lives of the people He has connected you with and entrusted you with.  You were made to shine His light!  The ordinary things of your everyday routine can be done in a way that counts forever.  Today, prayerfully consider what steps of faith He wants you to take in living and loving like Jesus, remembering this:  He can do great things through you.

God has committed Himself to the long-term transformation of making us more like Jesus.  He is acting as both demolition crew and construction crew in us, tearing down those things that don’t belong and building us up in ways that better mirror His image.   He will not stop until the good work in us is done, loving us just as we are, but never content to leave us that way.  We are His beloved unfinished masterpieces, treasured works-in-progress that are always under the skilled brush of God Who graciously and patiently adds His loving strokes to who we are so we can become who we were made to be.

Every single day we are forced to choose sides.  We will either serve Jesus or something else.  We will either prefer Jesus or something else.  We will either trust Jesus or something else.  The enemy of our souls wants us to look away from Jesus, look at substitutes for Jesus, and look for life apart from Jesus.  So, he calls out to us over and over again… Look. Over. Here.  He offers distractions to divide our attention and divide our loyalty so he can divide and conquer us.  Therefore, let us pray every day that God would get our focus where it needs to be so we look past the distractions to Jesus for help on how best to live.

Jesus did it all.  Jesus paid it all.  Jesus conquered it all. We couldn’t live up to God’s standards, so Jesus lived perfectly for us.  We couldn’t break free from sin, so He set us free.  We couldn’t atone for our transgressions, so Jesus died in our place.  We couldn’t defeat death, so He conquered the grave so we too will rise. We couldn’t earn an eternal retirement, so He paid for our inheritance.  We have become rich in salvation, forgiveness, joy, peace, glory, kindness, favor, righteousness, love and hope because of what He accomplished on our behalf.   Every good thing that is ours displays the good news of Jesus.

I wish I could say that my batteries are always charged, my tank is always full, and my engine is always revved up so I can handle well anything that comes my way.  But I cannot.  I often find myself depleted and run down on the inside.  And so do you. When we wonder how we can continue, we don’t need to look to our own inner strength, or our own resources, or our own usual escape.  Instead, we need to look to Jesus and lean on Jesus, because He will recharge our batteries, refill our tanks, and rev up our engines.  Remember… God doesn’t help those who help themselves.  He helps those who cannot help themselves.

Our happiness does not depend upon us getting something we want or getting rid of something we don’t want.The secret to contentment, regardless of what we have and don’t have, what we get to do and don’t get to do, who we are and who we are not, is to expect Jesus to fulfil the longings of our hearts.   When we look to Him for hope, peace, rest, comfort, courage, security, strength, and provision, and trust that He will sustain us and satisfy us in all circumstances, God is honored in us, and we are happy in Him. We can be joyfully content whether we have little or much because we have it all in Jesus.

An ongoing battle that every Christian faces is the one between the person you were before you met Jesus and the one you are now that you have met Him.  Old temptations beckon.  Old habits resurface.  Old desires rekindle.  Old loyalties divide.  Old beliefs hinder. Old memories haunt.  When you feel this tension, remember that you have a new identity, a new life and a new you because you believe in and belong to Jesus! You have been changed, are being changed and will be changed by His transforming grace.  So fight the good fight of faith against sin as you rejoice in this today:  that’s not you anymore.