Jesus is not only a doer of good to you, He is also an un-doer of bad done to you by people. They hurt your heart; He heals it. They distance themselves; He draws near. They sting you with their words; He soothes you with His. They overlook you; He pays attention. They cheat you; He blesses you. They intend you harm; He works it out for good. They judge your sins; He dies for them.  We all do each other wrong, but Jesus begins to make things right in us when we turn to Him, and He will someday make things right in all of creation.  Until then, let us seek His grace when others wrong us and when we wrong others.

If there is one thing you can be sure of, it is this:  people will hurt you.  It may be accidental, or it may be intentional, but it will happen.  There will be things said and left unsaid, things done and left undone, which bruise and break your heart and spirit.  But there is a sweet-like-honey truth to overcome the bitter taste of how others treat you:  Jesus is not like others.  He is a friend who will never betray you, abandon you, disparage you, neglect you, exploit you, condemn you, harm you, mis-prioritize you, belittle you, mistreat you, lie to you, pretend with you, or withhold love from you.  He will only do good to you.

Christians should talk more about what God does than about what we do.  Even when we speak of what we do, it should be as a platform to talk about the enabling power, provision and presence of God in our lives.  We don’t have it all together.  We won’t get it all together.  We can’t keep it all together.  None of us wear capes as if we are super Christians; we wear the righteousness of Jesus.  None of us have magical powers that enable us to do things; we have the power of the Holy Spirit.  None of us belong on the throne of worship; we belong to a Heavenly Father Who does.  Not to us, but to God be the glory!

God certainly works in supernatural ways at times, but He also works at making supernatural changes inside of His people so we who have been touched by His grace and generosity will pay it forward to others. You can’t do everything, but you can do something to make a difference … one need at a time, one moment at a time, one person at a time. Therefore, show the world His heart for them by being His hands and feet to them.  The church of God, His people, you and me, are His Plan A for blanketing the world with good works and spreading the good news of Jesus everywhere we go.  There is no Plan B.

There is often a tension between belief and doubt when things become difficult.  It would be plausible to lose hope and lose heart when facing things that are too much for us to handle if we were forced to handle them alone.  But Jesus has promised to never leave us alone, always supplying the grace we need for the needs we face.  The more we trust in Him, the more we will rely on Him during the unexpected, uncertain and unpleasant difficulties of this broken world.  He will work it out for good as we work out His purposes for us.  With faith all things are not made easy.  With faith all things are made possible.

Dying ready is not about trying hard to do more and be better so God will accept you into heaven when this life is over.  Instead, it’s about trusting in Jesus and the work He has finished on your behalf and, in response, finishing the work that Jesus has entrusted to you.  We don’t work for our salvation; we work out our salvation.  We don’t pay Him back.  We love Him back.  With our hope in Him, we journey homeward in loving obedience (though imperfectly executed) knowing that the death we once feared is actually the doorway to full and lasting joy with Him.  Death is not the end; it is just the beginning.

Living fully is not about having the most fun, experiencing the greatest pleasure, and doing the biggest good in this world as if this place is all there is.  Instead, it’s about the eternal ripple your life can make when you use it for Jesus. That doesn’t mean you leave happiness and helpfulness behind; it means you find it in a more meaningful way. We are to be faithful witnesses for God in the everyday things of life that we’re doing on earth (from cookouts to workouts to hangouts) in such a way that we’ll be glad we did when we get to heaven.  Enjoy blessings.  Do good.  Glorify God.  Live this life in light of the one to come.

We don’t like to think about it.  We don’t like to talk about it.  But death is coming for us all.  We may not be certain of the time of its arrival, but the certainty of its arrival is never in doubt.  Instead of ignoring, downplaying, or fearing it, we should let its reality accomplish two essential and monumental things in our lives:  be purposeful to experience life before death, and be prepared to experience life after death.  Jesus makes both of these possible as we trust Him.  He gives us grace so we can give ourselves to the things that matter most.  In every step of faith, let us rely on Him to help us… Live fully.  Die ready.

No matter who you are.  No matter what you’ve done.  No matter how big your need.  There is grace for you!  God’s grace is sufficient for every situation, every location, every imperfection, and every opposition.   It. Will. Never. Run. Out. Even though there are moments when your sin, your struggles and your situation may get the best of you, if you are trusting in Jesus, it is simply impossible for you to out-sin, out-run, out-last, out-need, or out-hope God’s grace.  It is always there and always enough! You will never find yourself in a place where God has not already plastered, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Remember this as you follow Jesus in faith:  it’s not what happens to us that is of greatest importance, but rather the end result of what happens.  Things often won’t go as we plan, things often won’t work out like we hope, and things often won’t be as simple or easy or comfy as we would like.  But in the hands and plans of God, our struggles are not setbacks. They are stepping stones to the good result He has in mind. So… Don’t stop believing.  Don’t stop proceeding.  Something good is coming even if you don’t yet see it. Take heart! Things would look much better if we could see them not as they are, but as they will be.

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.  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.  Doing what God tells us is not always easy, popular or instantly gratifying.  But it is always for good, always better in the end than sin, and always the best option for making us truly, ultimately, and eternally happy.

You can talk yourself into just about anything.  Other people will try to talk you into something.  Only God will talk to you truthfully about everything.  There are many voices that speak into our lives such as family and friends, news and social media, advertising and entertainment, and especially ourselves … but the loudest (most influential) should be God.  We are being shaped by influences all around us which is why it is essential that each day we read God-breathed words in the Bible and listen to God-sent voices who speak His truth to us.  When we listen to Him… He won’t just tickle our ears; He will delight our souls.

There are many things that are true about prayer.  One of them is this:  prayer involves seeking what we need to do what God wants.  We don’t talk to God in order to secure what we need to build our own kingdoms; we talk to God to request what we need to live for His kingdom.  Prayer is not a hotline to heaven we use to override His will so He will give us what we think will make us happy; it is a lifeline to heaven we use to ask Him to show us His will and make us happy with what He gives us.  If we want to pray for what is best for us, this is the prayer that never fails:  Your will be done in my life as it is in heaven.

Followers of Jesus take steps of faith in our day-by-day “walk” with Him.  Wherever He leads, we follow in the same direction, one step at a time.   In loving obedience.  With humble dependance. For a blessed experience.  While there are many places we will go and things we will do, there are four basic steps that every Christian never stop taking until they follow Jesus all the way home:  Pray.  Read the Bible.  Respond to what tells you.  Help others do the same.  This is how God is honored in us and we are happy in Him. Certainly we will take mis-steps along the way; but Jesus will never let us permanently lose our way.

Time. Is. Precious.  It’s precious because it’s short, we don’t know how much more of it remains, it is gone forever once we use it, and there are staggering implications for how we use it.    There is only One Who knows how to best use the time that remains for you and me, so let’s not leave Jesus out of our plans today or any day.  Remember this:  we can spend our time any way we choose, but we can only spend it once. As we live by grace, in dependence upon the presence and power and purposes of Jesus, He will help us give less priority to the things that really don’t matter and more priority to the things that do.

God made everything in the universe, known and unknown to us.  He imagined it.  He created it.  He rules it. He shares it. And there is not a millimeter of it that does not declare His glory and majesty!  Let it be shouted from every distant star to every nearby tree, from every creature to you and me.  His hands that shaped the cosmos also shapes our hearts, for He not only cares for the world but also for us.  He made us. He knows us.  He blesses us.  He loves us.  From the inner parts of us to the outer reaches of the universe, it is all covered in the fingerprints of God.  Indeed, O Lord, how majestic is Your Name!

God is near us when we have broken hearts and broken spirits.  Whether we are struggling with our own sin, the sin of others, or the result of sin’s fracturing of our world, He is never distant even if seems that way.  He hears our cries.  He comforts our hearts.  He meets our needs.  Though the result will not always be when we want it and how we want it, we have His promise that we will lack no good thing. This is true because God did not spare even His own Son from suffering. Jesus is our ever-near Immanuel, who lived, died and rose so we can taste and see God’s goodness.  Mingled with tears now.  Free from tears later.