What Jesus has done, is doing and will do out of His love for us is what makes us safe and secure. He atones.  He rules.  He provides.  He sustains.  He delivers.  There is nothing that can stop Him from loving us like that.   And there is nothing that can separate us from a love like that.  Because Jesus loves you… 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.  Christian, take heart today, for though your life is not without threats and troubles, your life is safe and secure in the love of Jesus.    He has loved you every day of your life.  Today will not be any different.

There is not a human being on the face of the earth who fully discloses every thought, feeling, motive, desire, and attitude to others.  We hide many of those things within ourselves, hoping that no one ever finds us out, because we fear the ugliness we keep tucked away would drive others away.  So, we put on a mask, and we put on a show, make-believing we are something that we are not. But there is Someone Who knows the real you and loves you with a forgiving, lasting, transforming, blessing love.  Christian, you are fully known by Jesus and fully loved by Jesus, even with all of your sins and shortcomings.

The decision we need to make, the step we should take, the future that is at stake are all too important to risk trying to take our best guess and our best shot at getting it right.  The good news is, we don’t have to.  The sweet voice of Jesus will guide us from where we are to where we need to be when we ask Him to do so. But we will not hear these life-giving, joy-producing, hope-inspiring, course-correcting, God-honoring, truth-telling words of His if we neglect to read the Bible and pray, as this is where asking and receiving takes place.  So… Before you make a move, your first move is always to ask Jesus for your next move.

Though binge-eating, relaxing and other ways of coping might offer some temporary numbness when we cannot escape or eliminate the trials of life, we need something better. Because sooner or later, the numbness fades.  What Jesus offers is a real comfort that doesn’t wear off.  It’s an encouraging, strengthening, sustaining help that is ours when we stop looking to other helpers to do for us what only the Helper can do.   Jesus will not walk away from us, but will walk with us to help us this very hour, and He will stay with us to help us through every test, trial and tribulation until He brings them to an end.

No matter how tough we are, removed we are, indifferent we are, or protected we are, there are real threats to our peace of heart and peace of mind.  In this world, we will have troubles.  But Jesus entered our world of troubles so we could have our peace restored, now and forever.  This brings peace: Jesus has overcome the world, is with us as we live in the world, provides all that we need in this world, and promises to come back to deliver us from this world!  If you trust that He can handle sin, death and Satan to give you eternal life, then trust He can also help you through all the issues you face in everyday life.

Not guilty.  But it happened.  Not guilty.  But You saw it.  Not guilty.  But I did it.  Not guilty.  But I owe for it. Not guilty.  When we repent and believe the gospel, God applies the perfect life of Jesus and the atoning death of Jesus to our record, and we who really are guilty of sin are set free.  Free from shame.  Free from judgement.  Free from punishment.  Therefore, we can dismiss fear of death, face life courageously and look forward to an eternity where punishment has been replaced by reward, inheritance and blessing in God’s presence. Rejoice today, for Jesus has the final word for those who are trusting in Him:  Not guilty.

Even if no one repaid them.  Even if no one appreciated them.  Even if no one saw them.  The acts of kindness, acts of generosity, acts of sacrifice, acts of love and all other times you act like Jesus are not unnoticed in heaven.  While it may be tiring to keep giving up your time and giving of yourself to do good to the people that Jesus brings into your life, don’t give in to the temptation to stop blessing others in His Name. Remember, the things you do for others, you do for Him.  And Jesus sees them.  Jesus appreciates them.  Jesus will repay them.  Someday you will see the glorious outcome of the good you do today.

There are many reasons to regularly gather with other followers of Jesus, but each of them points to the ultimate reason for getting together.  Christian community serves as a reminder that we are not the center of it all. It’s an interruption of our thinking that it’s our duty to carry out our plans in our ways with our wisdom by our strength to accomplish our goals so we can be happy with ourselves and our lives.  Attending a “church service” reorients us and refreshes us so we get our minds and hearts back where they belong, on Jesus.  This is how He gets the honor He deserves and we get the happiness we desire.

I’m a recovering sight-walker.  Give me the plan.  Give me the map.  Tell me where we’re going, how we’re going to get there, what’s going to happen along the way, and what awaits us at our destination.  While the Bible does give us the “big picture” view of these things, the everyday details of our individual lives aren’t specifically given to us in advance.  It takes faith for us to follow Jesus into the unknown, uncertain and, often, unfamiliar spaces where He leads us.  But our faith rests firmly in this:  When Jesus calls us to leave our comfort zones, we can be sure He will always go with us and provide for us.

The alarm clock rings, and we’re already running behind.  Before we even known if we’re ready, willing and able to enter the day, it’s ready, set, go.  The remedy for busy, frantic lives is not to speed up, but to slow down. The thing that will most help us with what we face each day is to simply spend time with Jesus getting recharged so we can be prepared for what lies ahead, and refocused so we can prioritize the things that matter most.  At the beginning, middle, and end of the day, take moments to connect with Him. You’re not too busy to spend time with Jesus.  You’re too busy not to spend time with Jesus.

Every Christian should not only lovingly do good things, but should also spur on other Christians to lovingly do good things.  This includes encouraging both those who are passive and those who are active in serving God’s kingdom.  Some people need to be convinced to get going.  Some people need to be cheered to keep going.   It’s easy to get distracted and discouraged when it comes to pursuing eternal priorities, so we need to help each other not lose focus and not lose heart.  Instead of assuming others will continue in a life of good works in the Name of Jesus, we should be affirming them as they do.

Gospel change is not the result of simply trying harder to do better the next time we face temptation.  Fighting against our personal shortcomings and sins is never enough to consistently win the battle and prevail in the end.  We must, by God’s grace, fight for something better that is offered to us than what the temptation offers to us.  A better way.  A better delight.  A better outcome.  Our inside-out transformation is not just a fight against something; it’s a fight for something.  It’s a fight for the guilt-free, longer-lasting, fuller option. Let us resist temptation by embracing and enjoying all that God offers to us in Jesus.

Who you were. What you do. Where you’re from. Where you’re going. What you believe. Who you are. Every Christian has a story to tell, and each one is important and worth telling when Jesus is rightly portrayed as the Hero of it. Your narrative is unique, and you will unfold it in bits and pieces in everyday conversations with the people in your life. As you do, be sure to point them to the Author of your story Who is the Source of every good thing you have in your life and all that you hope for in the one to come. Tell your story. Tell His story. People need to know what you know … that they need to know Jesus.

If you know a tornado is headed for me, I don’t want you to disregard, downplay, deceive, or delay in telling me about the danger of my situation or my inaction.   I want the truth.  I need the truth.  I may not like the truth, but my life depends upon you telling me the truth.  As Christians we should be… Lovers of truth.  Guardians of truth. Speakers of truth.  Receivers of truth.  But we shouldn’t be manufacturers of our own truth. God has ordained that we communicate the truths of His word and His world to each other so that we can be set free from sinful self-destruction and find our way to safety in Him.  Truth matters.

What you’ll discover about life with Jesus is this… The better you know Him, the longer you follow Him, and the greater you enjoy Him, the deeper you will experience all the blessings and benefits of grace.  He will be honored in you and you will be happy in Him.  And that’s what grace is all about.  God and sinner reconciled so that… God receives the full and lasting worship He’s always deserved, and you receive the full and lasting happiness you’ve always desired.  It starts now, grows over time, and will extend into eternity where it will explode into unhindered, unbridled, uninterrupted pleasure forevermore.

Many people see the commands of Christ as “restrictive rules” that are keeping the good stuff out of our lives instead of seeing them as “gracious guardrails” that are keeping our lives out of the gutter.  He is our Good Shepherd Who protects us, provides for us, empowers us, refreshes us, delights us, guides us and delivers us safely to our eternal home in heaven.  How?  We hear His voice (the words of the Bible with all of its instructions, truths and promises made clear to us by the Holy Spirit) calling us into His care, and by faith we do as He says.  He leads.  We follow.  That’s it.   He takes care of us by taking care of all the rest.

The things of this world were not designed to bring you full and lasting satisfaction; that’s why they never do. They leave you longing for something more, something different, something better.  You’ll look for it your entire life in people, places, pursuits and possessions, but you’ll only find it in Jesus. He doesn’t offer to get us that new job, new spouse, new vacation, new baby, new home, new personal best, new recognition, new bill of health, or new thing that we think will make us happy.  He offers to give us Himself.  Our satisfaction depends not on us having the things of this world, but on us having Him.

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.