Inside-Out Spirituality

Inside-Out Spirituality.  That’s what we hear in today’s reading from Hebrews 8. The writer, quoting a promise God made through the prophet Jeremiah, says: “Heads up! The days are coming when I’ll set up a new plan for dealing with Israel and Judah. I’ll throw out the old plan I set up with their ancestors when I led them by the hand out of Egypt. They didn’t keep their part of the bargain, so I looked away and let it go. This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; this time I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be my people. They won’t go to school to learn about me, or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons. They’ll all get to know me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great. They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean,” (Hebrews 8:10-12 Msg).

God realized that the real problem we humans all have is within us. Basically, we aren’t very godly.  It’s not that God didn’t know this to begin with — he knows everything. It’s not that he was surprised to discover this information because nothing sneaks up on him.  Maybe he just wanted us to realize it ourselves.

Although many of us basically want to do what is good and right, we can’t seem to do it with consistency. Why is being regularly godly so difficult? God knew that godliness was not something that we could pull off from the outside-in on our own.  It couldn’t happen via behavior or effort because our behavior seldom follows our intentions and our efforts tend to the extremes of either half-heartedness or a proud attempt at self-sufficient justification.  So God said something to the effect of: “Enough is enough! No more outside-in spirituality. No more effort. No more working hard to be like me. Instead, I will change everything. I will make spirituality an inside-out deal.  Instead of you working to be like me, I will change you internally so that you can begin to think and respond as I do.”

God’s new deal promise is a promise of Inside-Out Spirituality. He promises that when we place our trust in Jesus as our sufficiency and as our savior, God establishes godliness in the center of our being. It’s not a promise that exists external to our lives, but it’s an internal reality in which we get to live at peace with God as he shapes and molds us to be like him.  He does the work of change; we do the living. He provides the godliness; we cooperate as he teaches us. And because we live in a state of forgiveness with God, we need not be afraid of him when we have been less than godly.  We simply apologize to him and ask him to continue his work of making us to be what he wants of us.

Today, may I encourage you to drop the outside-in efforts and simply receive the good news of grace? God is for you and if you will allow him, he will write on your life the story of his own godliness.  Simply ask and receive from Him. Learn to listen and respond to Jesus and the spiritual life will become an inside out reality.

Isn’t It Time to Grow Up?

In The Last Days Newsletter, Leonard Ravenhill tells about a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village who walked by an old man sitting beside a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one tourist asked, “Were any great men born in this village?”

The old man replied, “Nope, only babies.”

No one is born with an accomplished degree in their faith.  Each of us starts out with a basic belief in Jesus Christ but it is up to us whether or not we will grow from there.  Jesus tells us to be childlike in our disposition. We’re to be humble, obedient and trusting in him.  Yet Paul admonishes us not to be childish in the faith.  We’re to be responsible for our own faith, consistently growing, so that we mature to share with and teach others.

We become mature through a process much like growing up. God gives us tools to use.  The first one is grace.  Author Dallas Willard wrote, “Grace is God acting in our lives to do things we can’t do on our own.  Grace is not opposed to effort; it’s opposed to earning.”  We can’t earn or achieve our way to maturity, but we can be intentional about it.  We can determine to follow the course God sets out for us with all our heart.  We can make choices daily, even hourly, to follow Him.

Paul tells us that the difference between spiritual maturity and immaturity results from one primary factor: our spiritual diet. In Hebrews 5:11-14 he writes, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

None of us would be amused by a 35 year old man drinking his meals from a milk bottle. That would be a tragedy of epic proportions because it would mean that in some crucial way (mentally, emotionally, or physically) he never developed normally.  Similarly, Paul says that the mature Christian moves on from milk to solid food. “Milk” represents the basic things in God’s word while “solid food” refers to the deeper teachings of the faith and experienced Christian living. Likewise, Paul intimates that a mark of maturity is the willingness to turn around and teach others what we ourselves have learned.  In other words, maturity means being a disciple who pours into other disciples.

This is the job description that Jesus gave us as his followers.  He said, “Go into all the world and make disciples…teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you,” (Matthew 28:19-20). And he gave a beautiful promise: “I will be with you.”  He is going to give us what we need in order to accomplish what he desires.  We simply believe and obey by making ourselves available to him.

What does this look like practically?  A mature believer has a strong diet of personal fellowship with God through studying scripture, praying and walking with Him and other believers.  He or she then takes all they’ve been given and gives it to others.  This could involve teaching at church, working at the homeless shelter, volunteering with children, organizing retreats for spiritual growth, going out on mission overseas, or any of a myriad of other ways God may be asking you to pour His love into others.  He has a different plan for every believer.  What’s His plan for you?  Spend some time asking Him and listening. He’ll show it to you. Isn’t it time to grow up?

What Do You Put in a Love Letter

What do you put in a love letter?

If you were to write a love letter to the person you love most in the world, and let’s say it was to be the last love letter you wrote them, what would you say?

You certainly wouldn’t write about trivial things.  You wouldn’t write a treatise on breakfast cereals.  You wouldn’t detail the unseasonable weather you’ve been having.  You wouldn’t comment on the traffic patterns of your morning commute to work.

No. You would say what matters most. You would talk about your unfailing love. You would declare your allegiance.  You would speak about commitment. You would promise to be faithful and true no matter what the personal cost.  You would bring assurance and comfort and hope.

In the book of Hebrews we hear these words, “ In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in different ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe,” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Whereas God once spoke through the prophets, mere men who were called to be his servants, now he has spoken to us through Jesus, the Son of God.  Whereas he spoke “at many times and in different ways,” about his love for mankind, Jesus is God’s last word to the world. All that was revealed in the Old Testament led up to Christ who is God’s final and full revelation of his heart and commitment and love.  Christ’s life, his actions, his death on the cross to provide “purification for sins”, all declare in bold letters the infallible, unbreakable, unwavering love of God for you and me.  God no longer writes love letters. He no longer gives new revelations of his love. He has spoken finally and fully in Jesus and now he seeks to illuminate the majesty of what he has given us through the Son of his Love.  We don’t need angels to save us from sin.  No more work on our part is needed.  No other person is necessary.  There is nothing more that can be added to what he has already said.

Will you receive the revelation of his love for you? Will you allow Jesus to capture your heart? Will you allow yourself to remember the love you first had for him? Will you turn away from all other interests that compete for your allegiance? Will you trust that his love for you is all you really need?

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

“Stupid is as stupid does,” so said Forrest Gump.  Forrest had a low IQ and was constantly asked by people if he was stupid. His answer to them, given him by his Momma, was always the same and incredibly wise. “Stupid is as stupid does.” In other words, foolishness isn’t so much a matter of IQ points but of actions carried out in life.

God, through the prophet Isaiah said a similar thing to the people of Judah. “ Heaven and earth, listen! This is what the Lord says: ‘I raised my children and helped them grow up, but they have turned against me. A bull knows its master, and a donkey knows where its owner feeds it. But Israel does not know me.  My people do not understand.’ Oh, what a sinful nation! Their guilt is like a heavy weight that they must carry. They are evil, destructive children. They left the Lord and insulted the Holy One of Israel. They turned away and treated him like a stranger,” (Isaiah 1:2-4 ERV).  Though God had raised Israel as his own children, they were clueless as to who he really was. He said, in effect, “They’re dumber than donkeys!”  Or, “Stupid is as stupid does.”  And their actions proved this time and time again.

As a people, the Israelites had grown hard and callous to God. Their worship was corrupt. Their attitude toward God was flippant.  They became like the pagan nations around them by worshiping whatever “gods” promised blessings without disturbing their selfishness.  They were unjust – mistreating the poor and the helpless.  And when things got bad, when their sin was catching up to them, they would go back to God with religion but without any real repentance.  They would carry out God’s prescribed remedy for sin through the sacrifices, but they did so without any intention of changing their ways.  It was formulaic religion.  “If we do x, God must do y.”  The Lord was not impressed.

He said, ““Why this frenzy of sacrifices?” God’s asking. “Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices, rams and plump grain-fed calves? Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats? When you come before me, whoever gave you the idea of acting like this, Running here and there, doing this and that—  all this sheer commotion in the place provided for worship?“Quit your worship charades.  I can’t stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings— meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!  You’ve worn me out! I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I’ll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I’ll not be listening,   (Isaiah 1: 11-15 Msg). These strong words from God reveal his aversion to synthetic, plastic religion.

God wanted the people’s lives to reflect who He is.  God wanted their actions to follow their words.  Biblical belief is always more than just what we confess with our mouths. It’s what we live out on a daily basis.  So God said to his people, ” Go home and wash up.  Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don’t have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless,” (Isiaiah 1: 16-17 Msg).

God gave them a promise of forgiveness and restoration but a real change in their hearts was the prerequisite. He said,  “Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.”  This is God’s Message: “If your sins are blood-red, they’ll be snow-white.  If they’re red like crimson, they’ll be like wool. If you’ll willingly obey, you’ll feast like kings. But if you’re willful and stubborn, you’ll die like dogs.” That’s right. God says so,” (Isaiah 1: 18-20 Msg).  It’s not that they would be saved by their good works. Salvation is always by grace. However, when grace has really been received, it causes us to change.  As we read in Titus, “Grace can save everyone. It teaches us not to live against God and not to do the bad things the world wants to do. It teaches us to live on earth now in a wise and right way—a way that shows true devotion to God,” (Titus 2:11b-12 ERV).

If “stupid is as stupid does,” so also, wisdom is as wisdom does. It is wise to align with God’s ways. It is wise to cry out for God’s mercy when you have fallen short. It is wise to run fast and hard from sin when God reveals it in your life.  And the promise for those who do is always the same: forgiveness and restoration.

What’s on your tombstone?

What kind of spiritual legacy will you leave behind? What kind of impact are you having on the world around you? How will your family remember you? What will people say about your life? And more importantly, what will God’s assessment of you be?

We have just finished reading the Books of Kings and Chronicles.  It has been a long haul through the sordid history of the people of Israel as they fluctuated in and out of faithfulness to God. With each of the kings, there has been a final evaluation of their lives.  I can see it written on their tombstones:  “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”  Or conversely, “He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”  And then each king’s life has been explained according to how successfully or pitifully he followed God and served the nation. All the kings’ actions seem to flow from this basic orientation. Those who remained faithful to the Lord saw blessings and prosperity. Those who served other gods and followed their own sinful passions wreaked havoc on their people and ended their lives with personal and corporate destruction.  Their belief shaped their actions.  And that had significant consequences for their lives and their eternities.  They left a spiritual legacy.  Their lives have been recorded in the Bible (the most well read book in history) to serve the rest of us as either an encouraging signpost toward godliness or as a stark warning away from destruction.

I remember my father-in-law’s funeral.  I was standing in the reception line with the other family members greeting the guests who had come.  I heard one phrase spoken repeatedly about my father-in-law by the people who knew him.  “He was a man of integrity.”  My father-in-law was a stock broker so these words carried great weight.  They were coming from people who watched his life and the way he conducted business over the course of 30+ years. They saw who he really was.  Earlier in life, a colleague once told him, “You could be making a lot more money if you didn’t have so much integrity.” It may have been intended to deride him.  I heard it as a top honor given him.

What kind of legacy are you leaving behind?  Are you living for others rather than merely yourself? Are you teaching your children to know and love the Lord?  Are you affecting the people around you with the hope of God’s kingdom?  What kind of light do people see coming from your life?  Remember Jesus’ words: “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven,” (Matthew 5:15-16).  Are others seeing God and his glory through the way you live your life? What will your tombstone say?

 

 

God’s Passion

Got your attention, didn’t I?   Today we start in Song of Songs.  This sexually explicit book carries a bit of taboo in some circles and honestly, on a public blog about God,  Jesus, and encouraging a Christocentric life,  it might seem inappropriate to some.  On the one hand, many of us are numbed by the pervasiveness of loveless sex in our culture so we are open to receive God’s holy and healthy intentions on the issue. At the same time we wouldn’t dream of mentioning sex and God in the same sentence; it appears sacrilegious.  And who wants to think about God and sex in the same sentence?  Seriously.    But something nudged me to reread chapter one of Song and I realized I just had to talk about it.

First of all, let’s dispel taboo.  Its okay to enjoy Song of Songs.  It’s okay to read the explicit descriptions and find beauty and goodness in them without being embarrassed. God designed us for a mutually pleasing sexual relationship within marriage between a husband and wife.  He purposed sex to reflect a number of things. The most important of which is a reflection of what our relationship to God is intended to be. Seriously?  For me that’s always been an awkward thought.  God and sex in the same sentence again.  But think about it.  God wants us to be in an intentional, passionate,  intimate, pleasing relationship with him.  What relationship better communicates complete abandonment in passion for someone else than the sexual one? What other relationship has the actual possibility of bringing forth an entirely new life?

We love our friends but even towards close friends we keep certain boundaries.  A marriage relationship is closer, but marriage to me, is more about running a marathon at a steady pace than it is about reckless devoted passion.  At least after you’ve been in one for a while. At the same time, marriage is designed to house the splendor of the sexual relationship.  Housing it in a marriage entrusts that it can flourish and has a safe place to store passion and depth of emotion that you can’t find in an uncommitted relationship.  It’s a paradox.  Those who will not commit to marriage complain that marriage lessens the fervor and excitement of the sexual relationship; yet they grow bored over time and move on to another partner.  In marriage, the commitment itself creates a longevity and depth of emotion that nourishes a passion that cannot exist outside of it.  There is a closeness only found when when you’ve weathered rejection, betrayal, disappointment, and heartache together and chosen to stay committed to one another anyway. That closeness and commitment fuels passion.  And it mimics God’s heart toward us.

When I read Song of Songs, I get the sense that there is so much more to experience in the depth of God’s passion for me, and there is so much more I want to give back to him.  This book gives us a glimpse of a greater longing, a higher calling and a deeper connection to God than any other. So in the days ahead as we read it, it is okay to enjoy it.  And it’s worth a few extra minutes reflecting on your relationship with God in the midst of reading it.

Do you really want God?

The whole country felt good about the covenant promise—they had given their promise joyfully from the heart. Anticipating the best, they had sought God—and he showed up, ready to be found. God gave them peace within and without—a most peaceable kingdom!  (2 Chronicles 15:15 the Message)

There’s a story about a proud young man who came to Socrates seeking knowledge. He walked up to Socrates and said, “O great Teacher, I come to you for knowledge.”

Socrates recognized a pompous numbskull when he saw one. He led the young man through the streets, to the sea, and chest deep into water. Then Socrates asked, “What do you want?”

“Knowledge, O wise Teacher,” the young man said with a smile.

Socrates put his strong hands on the young man’s shoulders and pushed him under water. Thirty seconds later he let the young man up. “What do you want?” Socrates asked again.

“Wisdom,” the young man sputtered, “O great and wise Teacher.”

Socrates crunched him under again. Thirty seconds passed, thirty-five. Forty seconds. Socrates let him up. The man was gasping. “What do you want, young man?”

Between heavy, heaving breaths the fellow wheezed, “Knowledge, O wise and wonderful…”

Socrates jammed him under again. Forty seconds passed. Fifty seconds.  “What do you want?”

“Air!” the young man screeched. “I need air!”

Socrates answered, “When you want knowledge as much as you have just wanted air, then you will have knowledge.”

The same holds true for God. Perhaps even more so. When you want Him, He will make Himself known to you.  And when you seek Him with all of your heart you will have Him. Know this, though, God pursues you first. God always comes first. It’s called prevenient grace.  Before you ever want Him, He is already seeking you, drawing you, wooing you, urging you to pursue Him.  As A.W. Tozer said, “The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him; and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand.”  He goes on to say, “God is always previous. In practice, however, (that is, where God’s previous working meets man’s present response) man must pursue God. On our part, there must be positive reciprocation if this secret drawing of God is to eventuate in identifiable experience of the Divine.”

In 2 Chronicles 15, we see this reality playing out.  King Asa determined to seek God with everything in him and he led the people of Judah to do the same.  The result was joy filling their hearts and God giving them rest all around (2 Chron 15:14-15).  All of this occurred as a response to God making the first move. The Prophet Azariah, under the power of the Holy Spirit, instructed Asa, “God will stick with you as long as your stick with him.   If you look for him he will let himself be found; but if you leave him he’ll leave you.” (vs 2)

Here’s the great news; God already made the first move by showing up in Jesus Christ.  He’s already pulled down the walls that would separate us from himself. Through his cross, He has forgiven us of our sins and freed us from sin’s stranglehold over our lives. He has torn down the wall of hostility that existed between us so that we might approach Him freely. When we are reborn by the Holy Spirit, God re-establishes within us the capacity to deeply know him and to fellowship/commune with him.   Jesus encouraged this pursuit of God when he said, ““Here’s what I’m saying:

Ask and you’ll get;
Seek and you’ll find;
Knock and the door will open.

^10-13 “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need.” (Luke 11:9-10 The Message).

God’s intention is greater than you simply being  “saved” by Him and “going to heaven.”  He has given you the capacity to grow in the knowledge and love of him. As Paul said to the Thessalonians, “May the Lord  direct you hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ,” (2 Thess. 3:5).  Has God become the primary thing that you earnestly pursue?  Are you willing to go hard after Him?  Do you make the time for such a pursuit? Do you really want God?

 

Tell the Truth

I love it when people mean what they say and say what they mean.  Horton the elephant comes to mind; as well as a few friends I have who simply call things as they are.  Black is black, white is white, a fool is a fool.  While I appreciate the posits of philosophy and the considerations of a thought filled person; at the end of the day truth is truth and the rest of it, well, is not.  The church at Colossae was battling against a complicated and diverse heresy.  But at the root of the heresy are things the church still battles today.  Throughout the second chapter of Colossians, Paul refutes different aspects to the lies attempting to discredit the message of the Gospel.  These lies are still pervasive in the church today.  Recognize any of them?

1. God is holding out on you; there remain secrets to discover in order to be saved.

Paul answers this form of Gnosticism in vs2-4 ” I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.”

Everything we need to know as believers to live a life pleasing to God can be found in the person of Christ.  Human wisdom and tradition are insufficient.  Jesus Christ is all sufficient.  He lives in us and completes our faith and gives us everything we need to live life centered on Him.

2.  There are traditions, ceremonies and rituals that have to be done to please God.  Paul tells us in verses 16-17: “So don’t put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.”

Fasting at Lent, attending church every time the doors open, crossing yourself and bowing during the processional; these things can have a place in worshiping God.  But they do not add to or substitute from the work that Christ alone did on our behalf on Calvary.  There is absolutely nothing you can do to supersede that.

3.  Angels are to be worshiped.  Paul is clear in verses 18-19: ^“Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us.”

Angels are very real.  I believe we can call on them and also know that God uses them to His Glory.  But Jesus Christ alone is our source of strength, hope and salvation.

4.  Living bound by man made rules about what you can and cannot touch or eat or see.  Paul addresses that in vs. 21-22, ” So, then, if with Christ you’ve put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? “Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this!” Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?”

Any rules or traditions that suggest you are less of Christian if you do not follow them are just plain wrong.  Paul states in 1 Corinthians 6:12  “Everything is permissible for me”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything.

There are things that work for some people but not for all of us.  Be at peace with that.  Recognize what brings honor and glory to Christ in your life and what does not.  But don’t be enslaved to the idea that anything can take away your salvation.  Christ died to set us free from the law of sin and death.  It is by his death alone that the price for our sin has been paid.  The slate has been wiped clean.  The red ink on our account with God is now black.  It was accomplished for us by Jesus.  So adding our own ideas that we can somehow do something more or less or that anything more or less than the work Christ did on the cross is simply a slap in His face.

So now you know.

In the words of Paul, “My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it!”

 

The Two Most Important Words

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…” Ephesians 2:4-5

“But God!”

No two words ever spoken or written convey greater significance than these.

But God… despite us. But God… because of us. But God… on behalf of us. But God… for the love of us.

We could not free our selves from our willful self-destruction, but God chose to save us.

We had run so far away from him, but God outran us and rescued us.

We spit in his face and had an affair with his arch enemy, but God loved us and pursued us anyway.

We deserved annihilation for our rebellion, but God chose mercy and forgiveness instead.

We had no hope of life, but God chose to give us life in Christ.

There’s no way around it. Those two words, “But God,” are pivotal words. Game-changers. Words that signal a new beginning. Epic words that bring hope into the most despicable and dark places. They point to the heart and character of the One who loves us. We may be at our worst, but God is always at his best. No matter how negligent, apathetic or evil we are, God does not treat us as we deserve.

The next time you fail or are under an assault of condemnation remember those words… But God.  But God rescued me in Christ. But God loves me anyway. But God has chosen me to be his own. But God has given me a new life. But God has made me clean through the Son he loves. But God will never leave me nor forsake me.

 

You are the focus of God’s pleasure

 ^“For God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Ephesians 1:4-5)

Do you know who you are to God when you put your trust in Christ and because of what Jesus did for you? It’s amazing, jaw-dropping, eye-popping, wonder-filled good news.  You are:

Chosen. You’re hand-picked. Not rejected, but selected. You’re wanted by God… Pursued. Included. Accepted. Made a part of what He is doing. Never to be tossed aside or forgotten.

And when did this happen?  Before you ever did anything right or wrong. It’s not based on your behavior or strength or loveliness. You can’t work hard to achieve God’s choosing of you. You’ve not earned your status before him.

And what is his assessment of you?  You’re blameless and radiating godliness in his eyes. No mar. No spot. No blemishes. Absolved of wrong. Acquitted of guilt. Exonerated of all wrong doing. And clean. So clean and pure and whole.

You are loved. He’s committed to you and your good every day, every moment, all the time. His eyes are on you… not waiting to catch you slipping up, but eager to cheer you on and help you along. He’s intentionally working good for you no matter the cost to himself.

You have been anticipated and adopted into the family. He’s not surprised by anything. He knew you long ago and he will know you long from now. You are no mere servant. You’ve been made Abba’s child. Daddy’s girl. Father’s son. You’re no longer a waif, a straggler or a stranger.  You’re part of his brood. You have a new identity. You’re safe. Secure. Protected.

You’re the focus of his pleasure and intentional choice. It wasn’t a whim. It’s no farce. He planned this. And He pulled it off. You don’t have to worry about him pulling the rug out from under your feet.  He did this intentionally. You’ve been renamed, “God’s pleasure,” the apple of My eye,” “My delight.” He finds deep satisfaction in the fact that you’re home now.

Shout it out!  Relish this news of who you are and allow your heart to become unfeignedly thankful. Be genuinely awe-inspired of God. Become lost in the wonder of it all and laugh. Weep for joy as you adore him. Worship the Lord!

You see it’s grace. Magnificent kindness. Extraordinary favor. Unlimited benevolence.

And all this love and goodness is available in Jesus Christ.  He paid the price of your acceptance.  The cost was his blood. He went as far as anyone could go to assure the completeness of your rescue. There is no one stronger or more capable than he. The accomplishment and the worthiness is all his. And he gives it freely to you.