The world says you can get what you want in life if you believe and behave the right way. You just need to be full of… Self-confidence.  Self-value.  Self-motivation.  Self-effort.  Self-interest.  Self-reliance. In order words, you need to be full of self.  But that simply doesn’t work for long, if at all.  The Bible says something radically different:  that we need to be empty of self and full of Jesus.  So, let us ask God to drain us of all that would get in the way of our more fully enjoying all that He has for us.  Looking to Jesus to evaluate, encourage, empower and exhilarate us, we will find the happy life we’ve been looking for elsewhere.

Christians aren’t exempt from hurt. No matter what precautions we take to safeguard our lives or how hard we work at being godly people, something will inevitably come uninvited, unannounced, and unwanted into our lives and cause us pain. Yet… Healing will come. Comfort will come. Justice will come. Restoration will come.Deliverance will come. Joy will come. Eternal life will come. This is all true because Jesus has come. Take heart in this:  He has come to join us in our suffering; indeed to suffer in our place on the cross so that one day we can enter into a place where there is no suffering at all.

Freedom isn’t just wanting to do something, being in a position to do something, and having the ability to do something.  Real freedom is all of those things plus no regrets over what you do.  You’re not really free if you have the desire, opportunity and ability to do something that you later wish you hadn’t done.  Only Jesus offers this kind of full and forever freedom.  He takes away our enslaving sin and all of its pain, and makes a way for us to experience life with God and all of its pleasures.  Freedom comes by receiving through faith all that He graciously gives us to enjoy without guilt. Restraint free.  Regret free.  Really free.

You’re going to get wobbly against temptation.  You’re going to stumble in your faith.  You’re going to take a fall into sin.  And here’s what you’re going to find when you do:  Jesus is there with grace.  Grace that forgives you for what you have done, and grace that frees you from doing it again.  And Jesus will repeat this over and over again for the rest of your life.  Now… Don’t mistake this for a license to sin.  It’s not a loophole, permission slip or pre-paid ticket to live unrighteously. So, let us both repent and rejoice at this:  Jesus took our sin seriously enough to die for it, and He took grace seriously enough to die for us.

God doesn’t just do good for you; He delights to do good for you.  When it comes to blessing you both now and forever, your Heavenly Father is not grumpy or grumbly about it.  You will find no hesitance or reluctance in Him as He continuously pours out over your life what He knows is good for you.  He… Gladly guides you.  Fervently forgives you.  Eagerly equips you.  Cheerfully comforts you.  Readily refreshes you.  Willingly welcomes you. Happily helps you.  God is not forced to give us benefits and blessings in Christ. Oh that we might see His loving heart behind all He does for us:  He doesn’t have to.  He wants to.

While things in us and around us seem to constantly change, it is comforting to know that God will always remain the same.  He is perfect in Who He is.  He is perfect in what He does.  He is perfect in every way.  There is no possibility for Him to become better or worse.  His goodness, forgiveness, graciousness, faithfulness, greatness, faultlessness and all God-ness will forevermore remain unchangeable.  He will keep His good promises to us and fulfill His good purposes for us.  Rejoice in the Lord today and remember that all our hope and happiness rests on this unchanging truth:  that God is unchanging.

Rejoice in this today:  Though God is a million miles away, He is also right here with us. We cannot be in two places at the same time, but He is in all places at all times.  Everywhere He is present, and nowhere is He absent. Let us praise Him as the uncontainable, unlimited, unequaled One Who is always both there and here, both far and near.  So amazing it is that He can be high above it all and still be close enough that we feel Him… Guiding us.  Helping us.  Correcting us.  Delighting us.  Sustaining us. Here with us.  In any place we are, may our hearts be full of worship for the One Who is in every place.

It should make us bow in awe knowing that God knows everything.  Just thinking about the scope and span of His knowledge is mind-boggling to me, and yet knowing everything that has happened, is happening, will happen and could happen doesn’t boggle His mind at all.  He doesn’t need research.  He doesn’t need reminding.  He doesn’t need rest.  How amazing He is!  How amazing too that He knows all our sinful actions, words, thoughts, feelings and attitudes, and He loves us anyway. Let us praise the all-knowing One, for He showed His love on the cross to cleanse our sin so we can now know Him.

God is the most-powerful, all-powerful being in existence and is able to do whatever He purposes to do.  Nothing is too hard for Him.  Nothing is mightier than Him.  Nothing can stop Him.  And He has graciously chosen to use His power over all things to work all things together for our good.  Praise God He needs no help!  Praise God He helps those in need!  When we grow weak, He strengthens us.  When we grow weary, He sustains us.  May we rest today knowing He will use His power in ways that will bring blessing to us when all is accomplished as He intends.  He has made us promises, and He is able to keep them all.

Last week is behind you.  This week is ahead of you.  What did you do, and what will you do, that really matters?  It’s important that we take regular inventory of how we are spending our time to make sure we don’t waste away on unimportant things the lives that God has given us.  The enemy wants us to lose our focus and lose our purpose.  And one of his primary weapons against us is busyness.  Much of it is meaningless distraction away from the important work God has given us to do.  Today, listen for your Father’s voice calling out from the noise and leading you to do great things that matter forever.

For all who trust in Jesus, there is a glorious eternity ahead in which bad things will be eliminated, good things will be perfected, and the best things will be unveiled.  We have an eternity with Him that… Never gets stale.  Never gets boring.  Never gets routine.  Never gets unappealing.  Never gets finished.  There will always be more to discover and enjoy from the immeasurable riches of God’s grace towards us in Christ Jesus.  Don’t live for this day; live for that day.  Don’t be discouraged by this day; be encouraged by that day.  Take hope in this every day:  for those who are trusting in Jesus, the best is always yet to come.

Striving for self-worth through your own performance will create more unhappiness in you than you ever dreamed possible.  Why?  Because you will face disappointment in yourself when you don’t perform well, discontentment when others don’t applaud your performance, and depression when you don’t get to perform at all.  The good news is this: that’s not where your value comes from at all.  You are priceless because of God’s unrelenting love for you in Christ.  God doesn’t love you because you’re beautiful, witty, popular, fit, wealthy, fast, intelligent, kind, influential or talented; He loves you because you’re His.

Love your spiritual siblings.  Love your neighbors.  Love your enemies.   The Bible makes it clear that we are to love other people, but sometimes we are not clear about what it looks like to love other people.  One thing we need to understand is this:  It is un-loving to be silent.  Silent in calling people to repent.  Silent in calling people to follow Jesus.  Silent in calling people to live abundantly.  Love isn’t indifferent to the well-being of others or tolerant of the wrong-doing of others.  We are to show up, speak up and stick up for people in ways that invite them in to enjoy the ever-present, everlasting love of God.

As image-bearers of God who are to model Jesus to a hurting and hungry world, there are two things we need to do:  Make it clear what Jesus is like.  Make it clear that Jesus is not like us.  In other words, we need the people in our lives to see us showing them the heart of our Savior.  But, let’s face it.  We’re going to get this wrong a lot of times.  So, we also need to tell others what Jesus is like.  That He is…  Purer than us.  Wiser than us.  Calmer than us.  Kinder than us.  Stronger than us.  Greater than us.  Let us strive by grace to show others Who Jesus is, but let us also tell others that He is far better than what they see in us.

God loves us, but He doesn’t approve of everything we think, say and do.  God took our sin seriously enough to put His Son Jesus to death in our place; we should take our sin seriously by fighting against it instead of trivializing it, rationalizing it or fraternizing with it.  Let us feel godly sorrow for our sin, but may that conviction give way to celebration of the forgiveness and freedom that is ours because of Jesus.  Grace means there is pardon for our sin and power not to sin.  We fight against it, we fail in the battle, we fall into mercy, we fight on, we finish.  For those who are trusting in Jesus… Grace always wins in the end.

It is hard to know who is telling us the whole truth, withholding the truth, distorting the truth, misinterpreting the truth, or creating their own version of the truth. We can easily be deceived into thinking something is true when it is not. So, who can we count on to be honest with us with what we need to hear?  What is the standard by which we can evaluate all other guiding life principles and philosophies? What truth can we live by so we do not live in vain or error? Who can we believe?  Jesus.  Jesus is Who we can believe.  We can always count on what He says to be true for us and good for us.

God didn’t create you primarily so you could make a lot of money, take a lot of trips, have a lot of fun, and indulge in a lot of temporary pleasures.  Those things may be a part of your experience, but they are a means to this end: “to let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).   Today, be mindful of the beautiful calling upon your life:  You were made to be…  An image-bearer.   A darkness-brightener.  A difference-maker.  A good-works-doer.   A Jesus-treasurer.  A God-glorifier.   That is why you are here … so, go shine your light!

It’s ironic, isn’t it?  For some people…  God receives all of the blame for everything bad that happens and none of the credit for anything good that happens.   God is questioned when things don’t work out right in the end, but He wasn’t asked in the beginning about what things are right.   God gets treated as if He isn’t there most of the time and as if He should show up when summoned at any time.  God is met with disbelief that He ever shows His love and disbelief in the cross where His love was most greatly shown. But… No matter how He is seen, God still does good, still works things out, still shows up and still loves.

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. Instead, it is to take away things 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.  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.