May I suggest a simple path to enjoy this Holiday season? Turn off the news and concentrate on what you have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I think you might be surprised at how many good things you take for granted everyday. I love the concept of Thanksgiving. The idea that we collectively take a day to concentrate on the abundant blessings we have in this country. I pray we can expand the concept past Thursday.
Grateful for each hand we hold Gathered round this table. From far and near we travel home, Blessed that we are able.
I have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. I am grateful for another year with my wonderful wife Joni. I am grateful for three wonderful sons, three amazing daughter-in-laws, and seven heart stealing grandchildren. I am blessed that our family is able to be together this Thanksgiving. I am grateful for good friends. I am grateful for a wonderful church community. I am grateful to be an American.
Grateful for this sheltered place With light in every window, Saying “welcome, welcome, share this feast Come in away from sorrow.”
Every year brings sorrow. Friends and family have suffered illness this year. Some have gone through deep trials. Some have passed away. Sorrow is a part of this journey. But there is something healing about counting blessings and feeling gratitude. Taking that time provides a sheltered place from sorrow. For me the light in the window of my soul is my trust in a God that is faithful, loving and trustworthy in both blessings and in sorrow.
Grateful for what’s understood, And all that is forgiven;
Jesus is the light that said welcome when I felt anything but welcome. He invited me to the feast that I did not deserve to attend because of His grace. Jesus said I was forgiven. How can I be anything but grateful if I understand the magnitude of that undeserved love?
We try so hard to be good, To lead a life worth living.
I might add a little personal clarification to Carpenter’s lyric. I understand the desire to live a life of significance. I get trying to be good. I believe we have a reason for being here. But my experience with the grace of the Lord Jesus has taught me that it is not trying so hard to lead a life worth living that brings peace and joy. It is following Jesus each day. It is allowing God to love me and asking Him to help me give away that love to others. It is trusting God to provide opportunities to serve. It is believing that God is faithful even through sorrow. It is trusting that what God says about me is true. I am so grateful for grace. So very grateful.
Paul’s words to the Colossian Church make a fitting devotional thought for this holiday.
“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:12-17, NLT)
Focus on Jesus and your amazing gift of grace. I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Hypocrite. There is no more damaging name to lay on a church goer than the dreaded title of hypocrite. Sometimes it is used unfairly. Often it is a smokescreen used by folks who want an excuse not to examine faith in their own lives. You have heard the line I’m sure.
“I used to go to church but it is full of hypocrites.”
The temptation is always to remind them there is room for one more hypocrite in the building. The more mature response as followers of Christ is to examine that charge seriously in our own lives. The word hypocrite comes from a Greek word that means actor. How appropriate. People are watching. And we too often give Oscar caliber performances on Sunday morning. They see that on Sunday you’re a saint and on Monday you ain’t. And that does damage. It is time to look in the spiritual mirror and drop the masquerades. If we are following Jesus it will make a difference in our lives. I am not talking perfection or even close to it. But there should be ongoing changes and growth in your journey with Christ. Look up synonyms for hypocrite and you will find words like fraud, phony, deceiver, fake, impostor, pretender, and sham. Not pretty words. But if you think those are rough how about the words of Jesus on this topic?
I found sixteen times that Jesus used the word hypocrite in the New International Version of the Bible. Jesus did not pull any punches in his disgust for the “religious” types who were Sabbath saints only. We tend to read the words of Jesus that are directed at the Pharisees almost like we watch the boss chew out a co-worker. “Whew,” we exclaim, “I’m sure glad that is them and not me.” But the warnings of Jesus to the phony Pharisees are also directed at me…and you.
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
I am learning that God is not impressed by my showy words or works. He is glorified when I take care of the hurting and helpless without calling attention to myself. He blesses me when I give without expecting return. God does not want my eloquence in prayer, He wants my heart in prayer. He honors me when I serve without expectation.
But there is more. This passage knocks me to my knees.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
That is what scares me so much. I can clean up the outside real purty. But God knows what lies beneath. It is scary and painful and ugly to allow the Holy Spirit to start cleaning out the dirt, the dead bones, and everything unclean. But we will never experience God the way He desires to relate to us unless we are willing to do just that. Frankly I don’t see the point of being a Sunday Christian. If this is real we need to pursue it seven days a week. The hardest truth I have had to admit as a husband, father, follower of Jesus is that I make time for those things that are a priority to me. There can be short time diversions for work or circumstance. But over the weeks and months where I invest my time reveals my heart. That is a hard truth.
Elbert Hubbard once said that “many a man’s reputation would not know his character if they met on the street”. It is so easy to present a cleaned up, whitewashed persona to others.
Recently I ran a scan on my computer to detect any damaging effects of spyware and viruses. I would suggest that all of us get in the habit of running a “Scripture Scan” to see if the hypocrite virus has infected our heart drive. The reality is that we need to run that scan every single day. Satan is even more malicious and sneaky than the internet hackers. But the damage that the hypocrisy virus wreaks is eternal.
I have to confess that today’s scan found some problems in the heart drive. I think I was able to delete and quaranteen the threat for today. But only by daily scanning my heart with the grace of Jesus, the truth of God’s Word, and the illumination of the Holy Spirit can I hope to contain the hypocrisy virus. Have you run a scan recently?
My busyness does not please God. My faith pleases Him. And I can’t have faith and trust in someone I am too busy to know well. Day in and day out, I need to heed this truth:
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
I have a remarkable role model named Jesus for how to balance busyness and priorities. Jesus never allowed the tyranny of the urgent to supersede the ultimately more important reward of relationships. He didn’t feel the need to drive Himself to exhaustion to teach and preach.
“Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house.” Matthew 13:36
It is instructive that Jesus withdrew from the crowd (and the obligation I likely would have felt) to spend time with His disciples. The most important thing for Jesus was to prepare His disciples and not to “friend” several hundred people on an ancient FaceScroll. Clearly, it was valuable for Jesus to be teaching the crowds. But His relationship to His ministry “family” superseded the public gathering priority.
Jesus gave another example of schedule priorities:
“Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone goodbye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.” Mark 6:45-46
Jesus understood that He must say no to people who really wanted His attention in order to spend time doing what mattered most. This passage follows Jesus’ miraculous feeding of five thousand people. If I had performed such a feat, I would have hung around for hours to soak up the praise and accolades, sign a few autographs, and take some selfies. But Jesus knew what He needed in that moment. Time with His Father.
I need to know when to say no. Busyness does not define my worth. Being a schedule martyr does not make me more righteous. Over-scheduling keeps me from spending time with the One who gives His righteousness to me.
Why does that happen time and time again to followers of Jesus? My personal belief is that one of the biggest and most damaging mistakes that the church makes with new believers is not teaching clearly and continually what happens when you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It seems that we too often get young Christians immediately into studies and activities, suggesting that change can happen only when you are trying hard and concentrating on the spiritual disciplines.
That was my struggle for forty years before I realized a simple truth. Dramatic change took place the moment I made that faith commitment to follow Jesus. Scripture tells me that when I decided to become a follower of Christ, the following things happened immediately:
· I was given a new identity.
· I became a new creation.
· I received the gift of the righteousness of Christ.
I struggle with that concept because I am not always righteous in my behavior. That may well be the biggest understatement of my writing career. Here is the amazing theology of the gospel: God sees me as righteous and worthy because of my relationship with Jesus. Nothing I have done or ever will do could earn that righteousness. It is a gift of grace because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
I was changed completely when I put my trust in Christ as my only hope for salvation. I did not have to struggle with futile performance to change. I was changed that day. But it took me forty years to know Him better, never realizing I had been carrying around the key to that kind of relationship since day one.
Now I see a different picture. I see Jesus standing at my side and explaining that I am completely changed. I see Him telling me that my sins are forgiven and I can quit relitigating past mistakes. I see Him explaining to me that all of those things that used to be true about me are no longer true. I see Him repeating that, because I tend to nod my head without really absorbing it.
He reminds me gently that I don’t have to grit my teeth and try harder to win favor and please Him. I hear Him remind me that power over sin is looking to Him for my strength and not trying to fight it with my busyness and resolve.
I see Jesus looking deeply into my eyes and tenderly expressing (again) that it is my trust in God that pleases Him. No other works are required. My faith is what pleases Him according to God’s Word. Nothing else.
I have a hard time putting my full weight on those truths. But I have learned that we can disabuse ourselves today of the notion that busyness is somehow related to godliness. Allow yourself time to spend with the most important people in your life. Schedule time with Jesus. Don’t allow guilt to monopolize your calendar. Carve out time for friends, family, and yourself.
If Jesus could leave disappointed throngs behind for what was important, we should withdraw for recharging and time with God too. Be still, and know that God loves you and desires you. Your actions will naturally emerge from that loving relationship with Him.
Reminder to myself.
I don’t have to earn that love. It is already mine. Forever.
I am offering these humble ramblings before the 2024 Election Day. I care deeply about my country. I have deep convictions about many political issues. I have friends and family on both sides of the aisle desperately wanting victory. I have friends and family suffering anxiety that the world will collapse if their side loses. I used to suffer that anxiety and desperate desire to win. Something has completely changed in my heart. May I share 5 reasons why I have experienced that change of heart?
God is Sovereign
Our Western culture demands answers. We feel the need and even the right to understand why something happens. Is God totally sovereign or do I have free will? Logic says one or the other must be true. God says both are true. We can’t fathom that so we pick a side. As I have slowly grown in my faith I have come to fully embrace the many attributes of God and that His plan is perfect and will ultimately prevail. Paul writes an interesting and challenging statement to the people living in a deeply political state in Rome.
“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.” (Romans 13:1, NLT)
What? This leader I struggle to accept was placed there by God? When you read through the Old Testament history of leaders you see how this happens. God desired to lead His people through His chosen leaders. The people’s sinful desire to control things instead demanded kings. So that disobedient cry was granted and you read that the results were usually bad. When His people recognized their need for God and turned to Him the results changed to good. Are we repeating this sad cycle? What I believe is that God’s plan will happen. How we get there is yet to be determined. The story of Joseph and the his hateful brothers shows how an all-powerful God can control all things to change the outcome of disobedience.
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. (Genesis 50:20, NLT)
God will control all the pieces to make it turn out for good. To paraphrase the old Gospel song I peeked at the back of the book and I am confident it will end in glorious victory.
2. My Hope is in Jesus
I can’t explain why bad things happen. Sometimes it is sin. Sometimes it is simply life. I have learned in my years of following Jesus that He does not let suffering go in vain. I have seen over and over how God redeems sadness and tragedy. He does bring beauty out of ashes. When I cannot see how any good can come out of a trial I trust my Abba Father in faith. Believe me I don’t always “feel” that but I can move forward in faith. God has never let me down. And I believe He never will.
Peter talked about the inevitability of suffering in this life.
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.” (1 Peter 4, NLT)
We think we can fix things with the right tools. Only Jesus can heal the suffering we all will endure at some point in our journey. Jesus meets you there and not just in theory. He suffered. He agonized with God the Father. He knows the human condition. He has already been where you are. Peter did not end his writing on suffering with the buzz kill of Chapter 4. He wrapped it in a bow of incredible hope in the next chapter.
“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.” (1 Peter 5, NLT)
My hope is in Jesus to place me on a firm foundation no matter what the world looks like around me.
3. No Matter What Happens in the Future Jesus Will Be With Me
I remind myself daily that God loves me as His child. He sent His Son to die on a Cross while bearing my sins past, present, and future. Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death. I believe that.
I try to view every negative event through that lens of hope. God holds the future. My life for Him is worth the living no matter what trials I will endure. Jesus was pretty clear that our journey with Him would be challenging.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation…”
Jesus didn’t say we might have some problems now and then. He honestly said you will have trials and tribulation. Why are we so surprised when that happens? The enemy definitely tries to distract us from the rest of His promise.
“But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NLT)
Read the words of Jesus carefully. I have overcome the world. It will be okay. At times the journey will be rough, but I believe with all of my heart that my faith in Him will lead me through the dark valleys.
4. My Eternal Home is Guaranteed
Trust God and trust who He says you are because of the finished work of Jesus. Believe you are forgiven of all sins past, present, and future. Wholly accept that you are a brand new creation and live in grateful freedom. Drink in the inexhaustible grace of God every day. Allow God to love you as His beloved and then pay that love forward for His glory. Look through the lens of grace and you will find sacred moments in every single day. Recognize that everything about your walk with Jesus is a gift of grace. It is all about the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. At the moment you believe that Jesus is the way to salvation you are gifted with the most incredible gift. Eternal life.
24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. (John 5:24, NLT)
That incredible gift of grace helps me navigate the negativity of this world.
5. I Know I Will Be Okay Because of God’s Redeeming Grace and Love
I faced a crossroads many years ago. Would I follow Jesus or go my own way? My way was not going particularly well. While I was still dirty and clothed in filthy garments of sin, I was forgiven, accepted, justified, and wrapped in the robe of righteousness. I was no longer condemned. Satan would have me forget that the robe of righteousness is wrapped lovingly around me. The author of lies attempts to remind me (constantly) that I still wear dirty clothing. He suggests that I don’t deserve to wear the robe until I clean myself up. That is the power of His gift of grace . The robe of righteousness is never earned. It is a gift of grace. Even on my worst day the Father wraps me up in this precious garment because of His Son, Jesus.
How differently I would live if I remembered that truth every day. I am a saint. I am wrapped in the robe of righteousness. I am a new creature who is forgiven, accepted, and cloaked in this incomprehensible gift of grace. Even in my failure Jesus loves me anyway and just as much. No matter what happens I will be okay. His grace is sufficient. Right Paul?
9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. (2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT)
Paul begged three times to have his difficulty removed. What he really need was the grace and love of God. I feel confident His grace will be sufficient in the days ahead.
I am focusing on those truths this week and for the rest of my journey.
I used to be a rabid political guy. I once believed we could change the culture with the correct political leaders. I was right to dream about changing our culture but I was wrong about the best method. Even if I could get my “dream team” elected we would still have a problem in our world.
Sin.
Politics and legislation don’t change the inconvenient truth that we have an inherent human heart problem. Jesus gave us a perfect example of what it looks like to be a good citizen while recognizing what really changes the heart of man. The religious legalists (the Pharisees) were trying to trick Jesus to get Him in trouble with the Roman government. Nice try.
“Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I’ll tell you.”When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
“Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
His reply completely amazed them. (Mark 12:13-17, NLT)
Tim Keller brilliantly identifies what happens when we make politics an ultimate thing.
“If you center your life and identity on a “noble cause,” you will divide the world into “good” and “bad” and demonize your opponents. Ironically, you will be controlled by your enemies. Without them, you have no purpose.”
So many people have taken demonizing to an art form in this current climate and both sides of the aisle believe they have the noble cause. We have seen the devastation to our country when we demonize our opponents. We must not fall into that trap as representatives of Jesus. Love those who oppose you and show them that grace is a bipartisan gift from God. Let me say that I take my responsibility as a citizen very seriously. I do my homework and I vote in every election. That is a privilege I treasure.
Paul wrote to a church in Rome that certainly had to deal with some political issues.
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. (Romans 13:1, NLT)
That can be a hard one for believers right, left, and center to stomach at times. But I didn’t write those words in Scripture that remind me that God is in control and I am not.
Author Philip Yancey offered this insight.
“Jesus and Paul spent no energy on trying to clean up the Roman empire, despite their terrible practices of abandoning infants, pederasty, and gladiator games. Indeed, the people Jesus denounced most harshly, the Pharisees, were some of the most moral people on earth. He did not give us the challenge of imposing our morality on others, but rather of spreading a far more radical message: that God loves sinners. Politics is based on power, and power always causes divisions. It is very difficulty indeed to get across a message of love and power at the same time. One of them always loses out, and we are called to emphasize love.”
I agree. Jesus spent zero time trying to change the political culture. He spent all of His time changing hearts. The real power to change our broken world comes from the finished work of Jesus and the transformational power of the Gospel. No matter what happens on Election Day I will believe that God is sovereign and His plan will be accomplished. My passion will be to share the hope that Jesus offers to both sides of the aisle and that hope is eternal. I now believe with all of my heart that the Gospel of forgiveness and grace is the ultimate cultural game changer.
”You can tell how a person loves God by how they love people.”
Ouch. My defensive response included an excuse about how difficult it is to love some people. Come on Lord. You know them better than I do!
Later that day I cued a Spotify country song list and up popped a tune by bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent. God has a sense of humor. The song is called “You Don’t Love God If You Don’t Love Your Neighbor” and the lyrics begin like this.
There are many people who will say they’re Christians and they live like Christians on the Sabbath day
But come Monday morning, til the coming Sunday They will fight their neighbor all along the way.
{chorus} Oh you don’t love God, if you don’t love your neighbor if you gossip about him, if you never have mercy if he gets into trouble, and you don’t try to help him then you don’t love your neighbor, and you don’t love God
I am going to keep my judge’s robe in the closet and not evaluate your heart and whether you love God or not. But I can say from uncomfortable personal experience that if you are living the lyrics above you may want to take a look at your actions in lieu of this command of Jesus.
A religious expert on the law tried to trap Jesus by asking this question.
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:36-39 NLT)
The hypocrisy of so many who claim the name of Jesus Christ is the most consistent complaint that I hear from my tens of readers. I hear it from those who are churched, unchurched, and those who wish they had an option other than church. My book When Bad Christians Happen To Good People addressed this topic honestly.
Why do we often fail in this command to love others? I think some insight that I picked up from my buddies at Truefaced.comhelped me to understand the issue.
Knowing truth does not transform lives. Only trusting truth transforms lives.
We have lots of people who have logged a lot of pew time and heard tons of teaching. They have memorized verses and they can speak fluent Churchianity. Yet they demonstrate little or no difference from their neighbors who go to church only on Easter and Christmas or maybe never darken the church doors. How can that be?
I think that for too many Christians they have not fully trusted the truth they have heard. I am learning to put my full weight on the truths that are foundational. That God supernaturally changed me at the moment I put my trust in Jesus for my salvation. I became a new person. So my standing in God’s eyes is not about what I do but about who I am. Do I trust that truth? Do you?
Do you believe that God’s faithfulness and loving kindness and grace will sustain you in whatever circumstance you find yourself in? Are you willing to give up control and trust that God has your back and your best interests in His eternal plan? Or do you fear that He might require you to go or do something that you really don’t want to do? Does that kind of thinking make sense in light of what Paul writes about Christ?
Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. (Romans 5, NLT)
Do I really think that a God that loved me like that would punish me with a bad assignment to love unlovable people because He is displeased with me? Jesus did not say that He came so that I could have life sporadically. He promised abundantly and that means to follow His commands. So I am choosing to trust the truths that I have known for many years. He is trustworthy. His Word is true. I am wasting my time if I don’t put my full weight on those truths. Slowly and often awkwardly I am learning to do that. And it is changing me.
When I lean fully on who I am in Christ and how remarkable His gift of grace was to an undeserving sinner it makes loving my sometimes annoying neighbor a whole lot more possible. And my response to my neighbor is a good measuring stick of how much God’s love is filling my heart.
It is more than a little disconcerting to see the division, anger, and hatred we are witnessing in our country. I experienced a similar season in the late 1960’s but this one seems even more intense. Perhaps social media and 24 hour news exacerbates the tension. As a self-righteous know-it-all back then I thought we would be able to fix everything my parent’s generation had messed up. We had great hope that we would change the system and fix the problems.
We thought that hope would be realized with the right leader or a political party. In retrospect I see that I was putting my long game hope in all the wrong places.
The word hope is used about 80 times in the New Testament. The first appearance of the word in the NIV New Testament translation pretty much lays out my belief that my hope is not found in the houses of power.
“In his name (Jesus) the nations will put their hope.” (Matthew 12, NIV)
Paul wrote about the hope that I now have in his letter to the Romans.
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13, NIV)
Real hope occurs when I remember who I am. I am a follower of Jesus. A child of God. A servant who is humbled by His amazing grace. A person who has been changed because of Christ. A follower of the Lord who believes that God is sovereign and His plan will be fulfilled.
When those truths are my focus I have hope that is real. I have peace that transcends circumstance. When I keep my eyes on Jesus, I maintain a better perspective on every area of my life. You do that by remembering what really matters.
Put on your new nature, and be renewedas you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us. (Colossians 3:10-11, NLT)
I remember a campfire song from the Jesus movement that was, to borrow the approach of Law and Order, “ripped” from the Gospel of Matthew. (Matthew 6:33)
Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Allelu, alleluia
Who (or what) are you centering your hope on today? Hope grows when you seek Jesus and rest in His Righteousness. Nothing else makes sense.
