reflections on the love that changes everything
The reason that we can choose to take actions of faith when it seems like the world has turned against us, when evil is attacking us and our life and everyone else we hold dear is in clear and present danger, and our emotions are telling us that there is no hope is because Jesus rose from the dead.
That leader, that descendant of David who would be a forever king, would then build up a house for God, a new and totally different kind of family, where people would be connected, not by human ancestry, but by their common king, through whom they would have all the safety, security, comfort, and peace that they need forever.
…God is inviting us to bring our sinful hearts to him and trust in his goodness, his greatness, and his grace.
Only God’s love can change us into being people who love him in return, and gladly accept and live by the structure he gives us because we know that it is good for us and others.
The stronger our faith in God to defeat the giants in our life and the more areas of our life to which we apply that giant-slaying faith, the weaker anxiety’s ability will be to rule over our lives.
Jesus is not only our Savior, he is also our North Star, the Guiding Light by which we orientate our entire life. Jesus is the One who helps us assess the vast array of information coming at us and determine which we should act on and how.
Our lowest points, our pits of frustration and our valley of despair, those moments when we feel most like throwing our hands in the air and giving up, can be the moments when we finally fully turn the situation over to God. And then he steps in and starts to make things work out for good with his mighty power.
… God chooses to work through human weakness because that is what we need to happen for us to realize that it is actually God who is doing the really good things all along. Confronted with the realization that God is actually the One who is making the good things happen in this world, our internal compass shifts from a self-centered focus, which is our natural bent, to a Yahweh-centered focus, and our eyes open up to see the rich, full, abundant life that we have in and with him.
One of the many beautiful things about the Christian faith it that it resonates with all the facets of the human soul throughout all stages of human life.
We need compassion from the outside to transforms us on the inside into becoming people who live a purpose-filled life. And that compassion comes to us through Jesus.
Farewell to Shadowlands 