Reflecting God

Does your life proclaim the truths that David, Jesus, and others have echoed through the centuries?

Perfect love casts out the fear of the other, the fear of rejection, the fear of embracing others fully, because we know that God is in it.

We do not need to fear, because God cares for us.

We can take comfort in knowing that when we feel all alone in our broken-heartedness, God hears us, God sees us, and God is close to us.

The way to pursue peace is to turn our hearts from evil and to do good.

God’s deliverance isn’t always immediate, and it isn’t always in the ways we expect, but God does desire our deliverance. God is with us through it all.

God hears those uttered cries. God is near because God is still good, even in the midst of the mess.

We can pray like the Psalmist, that we might dwell in the presence of God forever. As we pray, may we be reminded that God is with us, even now.

The even greater promise is that in those times when we stray from the illuminated path we can “confess our sins,” and “He is faithful and just and will forgive us,” and the road ahead will no longer be shrouded in darkness (v. 9).

James reminds us of the promise that a loving, Christian community will rescue those who wander.

Our call as followers of Jesus is to use our resources for the building up of the church and the expansion of the kingdom.

... the grace and mercy that accompany heartfelt confession illuminates the gloom and brings light to our lives.

As is true of so many things, what is a weakness and an infirmity for humans, is a strength for God.

Jesus instructs, counsels, and keeps His loving eye upon us, granting not only liberty but guidance as we travel toward the promised land.

Breaking the silence, giving voice to our sin, and owning up to our transgressions, far from making us the target of God’s punishing wrath, makes us rather the recipient of God’s abundant and life-giving grace.

Jesus reveals himself to Mary, not by identifying himself, but rather, by identifying her. He speaks her name, “Mary.” With new vision, she becomes the first witness to the resurrected Christ.

Jesus is the solution, lifted up, for all to see. We simply must repent and look to Him for salvation. What a gift, indeed!

When we bow to the idol of preference in our churches, we will, as the psalmist declares, be just like the idols we’ve made: mute, deaf, blind . . . dead. Oh, believer, let it not be so! Hear Him. See Him. Speak His praise. Worship the Lord!

If He was trustworthy to deliver the Israelites and if He was trustworthy to pay the penalty for our sin, we can trust Him to handle justice which is not just for our good, but for His glory.

We are servants of the Lord, we minister in the house of the Lord. We are His people whom He loves. We should want to praise Him!

God’s goodness is so majestic not simply because it is impressive, but because God uses it to bless others.

When we use the filter of self-satisfaction and self-righteousness we don’t fool anyone except ourselves and we deny ourselves the experience of the goodness of God.

My friends, it is easy to condemn but our message of optimistic hope engages people who struggle with relationships.

Psalm 91: 15 “I will be with him in trouble”. Embrace this truth as you live by faith.

God is greater than any threat. Remember the God who sees every event in our lives is also the God who hears every prayer.