reflections on the love that changes everything
Jesus is telling us that our fears reveal the areas where our faith is lacking, and it’s God’s power to calm the storm that strengthens the faith he gives us in our feeble hearts. The king who rules over creation gives us his power to stand firm in the chaos and glorify him with our lives.
The reality of our guilt is not a matter of debate…. But what we do with our guilt depends in large part on the perception of God that we have in our heart. When we believe that God truly loves us and has our best interests at heart, we do what David does and openly bring our guilt to God.
On a cross outside Jerusalem, Jesus suffered what we deserve so he could give us what he deserves: unconditional love, grace, and acceptance by his heavenly Father; life with God that lasts forever; and a destiny in paradise, where all creation, including us, will be fully healed and restored.
Jesus is God’s answer when we suffer and God seems silent. … Because he went through death for us, we can know that should the worst happen and we die, the quality of life we will have with him on the other side of death will far outweigh all the suffering and sorrow we experience here and now.
When enemies surround you and threaten to destroy you, boldly trust in God’s faithful lovingkindness and pray persistently and passionately to God. Because of Jesus, we know that God loves us, God is always with us, and we are forever safe with him.
Let the hope of Revelation 21 shape how you grieve, how you love, how you forgive, how you endure, how you worship, and how you live your ordinary, everyday life. Because the One seated on the throne has spoken: “Behold, I am making all things new.”
So my encouragement to you today, dear friend, is to lift your eyes. Look up. Let your heart be captured by the glory that awaits you at the end of time. Because of Jesus, winter will not have the last word. You are going home to God. You are going to live in his eternal spring, and it’s all because of Jesus.
Jesus not only fulfilled the old covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants. He also gave us a new covenant of grace, and that covenant of grace was applied to you personally in your baptism.
…the moment when we empty ourselves of all our self-centered pride and self-righteous judgments, Jesus rushes in with more of His grace to draw us closer to Him.
If physical freedom is what we need to be free, most of us will experience a life of frustration. But what if God wants to give us another kind of freedom, a freedom that brings joy even when we are in prison? How can we live with that kind of freedom?
Farewell to Shadowlands 