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.
The God who lifts our eyes with His majesty is the same God who lifts our lives with His mercy. In Jesus, He restores our dignity. He renews our calling. He invites us to live as His beloved children, reflecting His love into the world He has entrusted to our care.
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.
In Jesus, you have God, and there is nothing greater than that…. Life with Him will always be greater than any life without Him, and you will never face a moment where Jesus is not enough for you.
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.
Farewell to Shadowlands 