I hear in your voices your genuine concern for your loved ones.  A concern that is quite different than one rooted in fear.  It is one rooted in genuine love for them. I sense this is a burden many Christians carry.  It has taken me a long time to find words to put to this.

People we love have received the vaccine. 
People we love are refusing it. 
All are professing Christians,
those receiving the jab believing it to be a gift of God
and others concerned about it becoming the mark of the beast. 

We do not want Christians to worry, “Oh no!  I received the mark of the beast and there’s no hope for me!  I made a mistake and believed the science, was worried about dying from COVID and got the jab.  I don’t want to go to hell.  I didn’t mean to get the mark of the beast!” 

Please don’t worry.  God knows your heart and GOD IS GREATER! WHAT GOOD NEWS!

So here we have the outcome of closing churches and stripping people of Christian community due to COVID, of watering down theology to be non-offensive for a WOKE culture and dismissing evangelical Christians due to politics, impugning them as “conspiracy theorists” and “science deniers.”  Christian vs. Christian.  It’s pretty ugly out there.

The bad news is that we have just received global homework on fear vs faith that many people failed.  The test is yet to come.

Is the vax the mark of the beast?  Probably not the actual mark, but not for the reasons so many Christians are offering. (e.g. It’s not a 666, it’s not on the right hand or forehead, the church hasn’t been raptured yet, we don’t know who the beast is right now but according to a guru’s magic decoder ring, the antichrist is probably the Pope…)  AAAIEEEEE. Don’t get me started.

I believe God is greater than COVID.  He is greater than the vaccine.  Perfect love casts out fear.  I firmly believe that Christians NEED TO BE TALKING ABOUT THAT. 

The vaccine is not the unforgivable sin, nor is failure to get it. 

It’s a wakeup call to your heart’s loyalties, your willing submission to which authority, your fear threshold, and a call to follow Jesus Who is the only true cure out there when this life ends… which is 100% certain.  

Equip yourself with knowledge, especially knowledge of God’s Word.  God is greater. 

I know the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The LORD does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from His storehouses….Your Name, LORD, endures forever, Your renown, LORD, through all generations. For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants. (Psalm 135:5-7, 13-14)

Pray over your loved ones and if they are not people of faith, that’s the real healing needed.  For God so loved the world…

Lord Jesus, help!  For our loved ones who got the vaccine, we are praying You will stand in the way of any negative side effects.  May the hope of believers that it was a gift from God in the form of medical science and their love for You make it true in their lives.  You are greater than a vaccine.  If You can wake a “sleeping” Tabitha, Jairus’ daughter, a woman’s only son, Lazarus, and cure a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years and a demoniac with a legion, make us rock-solid in knowledge that You are sovereign over the bloodstream of our loved ones to prevent side effects.  Give us opportunity to talk about the end times while there is still time, give us words to convey the coming mark of the beast and how we see before us the dangerous pathway carved out by capitulating to fear, and about submission to the government/global powers instead of submitting ourselves to You, O God. Teach us Your Word about submitting to You and resisting the devil who will flee from us, by Your power.  Strengthen our resolve to follow You.  Help us to stick together in these dark and uncertain times.  May we bless You as we fight the good fight, run the course, and finish the race with fullness of faith in the finished work of Your Son Jesus Christ.  Give us confidence that no one can snatch us out of Your hand.  The good news is that You are greater.  We love You, Lord.  We love You so much! Amen.

That God watches over us is good news!  That He never falls asleep on the job is good news, too!  I, for one, am glad that God doesn’t just need a CPAP machine or a My Pillow in order to finally get needed sleep.  I, for one, am rather jealous that He can keep going without sleep.  But most of all, I am grateful that His watch is constant and His care for us is without end.

Psalm 121:1 A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the mountains– where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD watches over you– the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm– he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

There are way too many people who think God has totally given up on the Jewish people.  I am distressed that (on some social media platforms) antisemitism, outright hatred aimed straight at the heart of “the Jews” is not only tolerated, but some self-proclaimed Christians do it.

Have they forgotten that Jesus was Jewish? 
His parents were Jewish. 
He was sent first to the Jews.

I remain grateful that there has been a season of grafting Gentiles like me into the tree of faith and that a time will come when the full number is in and the Jewish people who love God will have their eyes opened and be grafted back in.  Reread Psalm 121 above. What does it say?  Now and forevermore. 

That’s good news.

Father God, I thank You that You neither slumber nor sleep. That Your watchful eye is over Your people– both the Gentiles who have come in by faith in Jesus Christ and those Jewish people who love You. I thank You that they will soon see and acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, too. I thank You Lord for the promise being “now and forevermore”. How I praise You that You don’t just give up on us when we fail You. But You are consistent, faithful, and true. I praise You Lord for my Jewish brothers and sisters who have been faithful throughout the generations, the very ones who made it possible for Jesus to come from the Jews as was foretold in Your word. Salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22) spoken from the lips of Jesus Christ Himself. I thank You for that Lord, and I pray for revival in our nation and our world. I praise You that You are working all of this in Your will, Your plan, and Your timing. It’s all headed toward Your return so I ask that we would turn our eyes upon Jesus and any who do not yet believe will hear Your voice and see Your movement in our days. Let there be true and powerful revival that none can deny is happening throughout this world. Please Lord, bring a great and beautiful harvest for Your glory! I pray all of this in the mighty Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Who does God forsake?  None of His own, that’s for sure.

God may forsake peoples and nations which have turned against Him.  Sinners and rebels and those who forsake Him, who deny Him, who rebel against Him.  They sow to the wind and reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7).

Psalm 94:1 The LORD is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth.

Are you ready?  I am.

2 Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.  3 How long, LORD, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?  4 They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.  5 They crush your people, LORD; they oppress your inheritance. 6 They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.

Tired of it?  I am.

Proud and ignorant, they act like there is no God.

7 They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.” 8 Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? 9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? 10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?

Fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. 
He’s real,
He knows everything,
and He’s watching.

11 The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile. 12 Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, the one you teach from your law; 13 you grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. (Psalm 94: 1-14 NIV)

Good news worth sharing!

Thank You, Lord that “Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.”.  When I do not see “who will take a stand for me against evildoers?” remind me, Lord of “your unfailing love, [and You] LORD, supported me.  When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”  Bring me to the confident assertion, Lord, that even though “the wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.”  I will follow You and never be forsaken.  I have this confidence in the Last Day, that You, O Lord, “will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them” (praying Psalm 94:15-23 NIV).  I know You desire none to perish, but You know better than I: some will never repent.  Some will never admit You are God and turn to You for salvation.  Thank You, Lord, for forgiveness made possible by the shed blood of Christ… salvation, deliverance found only in Him, and no one can snatch Your faithful ones out of Your hands.  Amen.

No Condemnation.  No Condemnation.  Not a bit.  Not a smidgen. 
Not 99.9% Condemnation-Free.  No Condemnation.  None.  Zero.  Zip. 
In Christ.

That’s good news worth sharing.

How many of us have an inner negative voice reminding us of our failures, stripping us of our courage and reinforcing what we can’t do and why we can’t do it?  That voice tells lies –always suggesting maybe Jesus would reserve just a little condemnation for any of us.  Lies!  That voice is perpetually self-limiting, always pointing an accusatory finger, always reminding us of bondage to our limitations and slavery to the memory of our imperfections.

Even the Apostle Paul had his moments, needing to Biblically correct that voice.

“I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”  But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.  For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.  (Romans 7:7-11)

Sin has deep roots dating all the way back to Eden and the first man and the first sin.  The consequences have been with us ever since.  It cries that we deserve condemnation.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

There you go, good news!  Which is why Paul continues in a rather confusing (but totally transparent and relatable) stream of consciousness as he presses on to his need (our need) of rescue.

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do– this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.  So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”  Romans 7:15-24

Jesus is the answer.  Paul knows it.  Good news indeed!

“Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 7:25-8:4).

This good news of no condemnation is beyond encouraging. 
Do you know it? Do you own it for your life and apply it?

Thank You Father for delivering me through Jesus Christ my Lord. I praise You that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  I praise You that the law of the Spirit who gives me life has set me free. I thank You that whoever Jesus sets free is free indeed. I praise You Lord that You hold no condemnation in reserve for those who love You.  I thank You and praise You, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Coming up short isn’t my favorite pastime.  Finding out that I’m not good enough is either a major motivator or total downer. 

Scripture doesn’t mince words about our shortcomings.

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”  Romans 3:10-12

Not content to leave it as a summary, God gives grim details.

“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”  “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” Romans 3:13-14

Got it.  We are lying trolls and accusatory shills on the Internet.  We are protestors in the streets.  We write op-eds to slice and dice our fellow man.  We write comments on Twitter that speak death and cursing upon our brothers and sisters in the family of man.  Hello 2021. Epic fail.  Bad news.

But wait, there’s more. Verse 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.”

We commit arson, homicide, and road-rage; we teach anti-peace in the forms of Critical Race Theory, angry protests, and defunding peacekeepers; and for those of us not actually committing these acts in the “royal we” of inclusion, yeah, we do it in other ways.  Our thoughts, our failures to stand up for others, our looking the other way out of fear of retribution, or not pursuing criminal prosecution when our evidence would assist with accountability.

What’s the root cause of all this unrest, illegality, and deception?  Romans 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Short and to the point.  Bad news can be that way.

Scripture continues, however, with good news.  Far from its being a total downer or motivation to try harder, the good news is a third alternative. Once we acknowledge (and repent) who we are and what we have done, and simply ask for forgiveness… Jesus paid it all.

It doesn’t matter what your skin color is, or what Zip code outlines your residence, or what church denomination you attend, or what is your net worth.  We’re all silenced in our shame, held to account by God Almighty. We all have opportunities to admit our sin and to receive good news (the righteousness of Christ by faith).

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.  Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.  But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans. 3:19-24)

In a world that seems to be freefalling, this is good news indeed.  We can’t do anything about our sin nature, but God did it for us in Christ Jesus.

Thank You, Lord, for salvation made possible by the shed blood of Christ.  Thank You that You did this for a world of sinners, when we could not earn it or buy it.  Your grace is immeasurable.  My gratitude will never approach what You deserve for this act of love, Lord Jesus.  Amen.

Looking at the Good News we have to share, one cannot escape the unique good news of Christianity: What was impossible for man…was made possible by God.

No other world religion can make the claim that God reached down to do for us what we could not do. That God would pay what was needed out of His grace and love and give it as a gift. It is something we could never earn. God gave us a Cross to bridge from an earthly mortal existence to true eternal life.

Since the fall of Adam, there has been a great chasm, impossible to traverse because there was no bridge. No amount of good works could erase a sin nature and somehow make it possible for us on our own merits to walk into heaven, into the presence of a holy God.

How many of us would prefer to do it ourselves?
Whether it’s a matter of control or pride or self, we cannot do the impossible.
For a Do-It-Yourself culture, this is hard to swallow.
We can act as perfect as we can, avoid sinning to near perfection, and do as much good as is humanly possible. But it’s not enough because once sin stained mankind, that sin cannot be hidden by good works.

There’s only one way to get rid of our sin nature and that is to give us a new nature. In Christ, we are not only forgiven, we are redeemed and given a new nature. There is forgiveness covering repentant hearts for the sins we have committed, ones of omission where we failed to do the good we knew to do, ones of our thought life that is only known by ourselves and God, our unspoken hatred of others, our unspoken and articulated self-hatred, and the proud intents of our hearts that rob God of His glory. In place of the punishment we deserve for such audacity and affront, God gives grace. He sent His Son.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Thank You, Father, that You loved us this much. You gave us a Cross to bridge the chasm between ourselves and You because You see Your Image in us. No matter how fallen, how stained, how broken we are, yet You see Your Image in us and sent Your Son Jesus Christ to redeem us. It is His blood shed for us that accomplished this impossible endeavor. Jesus saves. Jesus alone. We bring nothing to the table, there is nothing we can offer You but our gratitude and our praise. You are holy. You are righteous. You are perfect. Your goodness, faithfulness, and love extend to all generations. Give us words to speak Your Good News to a hurting world. Use me, Lord. Send me today. Amen.

One of my favorite passages in Scripture (2 Chronicles 20) provides us with Perfect Vision for Troubling Times. Summing up this perfect vision, 2 Chronicles 20:20 tells us, ‘Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m watching the world implode. It means I’ve been offline more than online, less writing and more praying, daily anchoring my hope in His promises, and giving myself encouragement, a 20/20 vision for 2021 and all the troubling times surrounding us. How can one remain encouraged? By where our eyes are focused.

There are bombs in the Middle East, but my eyes are on You.
There is fiscal uncertainty, but my eyes are on You.
There are terrorists at home and abroad, but my eyes are on You.
There is a virus unleashed upon mankind, but my eyes are on You.
There is fear amplified among the masses and some use it for terrible ungodly ends, but my eyes are on You.
There is hatred and unrest, but my eyes are on You.
There is child-sex trafficking and my heart is breaking, but my eyes are on You because You care immensely about these little ones who bear Your Image.
There is fraud and deception in this world and no news source in which we can trust, but my eyes are on You, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
There are seeds of division being sown by the evil one, seeds of racism, seeds of anti-Semitism, seeds of politics, seeds of jealousy, seeds of injustice, seeds designed to scatter, to enslave to fear, to enslave to government, and to divide people from each other and from God Almighty, but I will remain steadfast. My eyes are on You who came to heal, forgive, and save.
There are enemies outside and infiltrators within to destroy, but my eyes are on You, the Rock of my salvation, the greater One than the one that is in the world.
There is death and injury, but my eyes are on You because Your resurrection proves You conquered death and the grave.
There is a battle of spiritual evil, a terrifying axis aligned in war against Your people, but You are my God and my eyes are on You.
There is weariness in the journey of faith, but You give us a yoke that is easy and light to stay the course. My eyes are on You.
There is fatigue, but my eyes are on You who promises a crown of life to those who persevere by faith.
There is false doctrine and apostasy in the Church, but my eyes are on You, the author and perfecter of my faith, the One whose word is right and true.

Strengthen my heart for this battle, Lord. Give me courage to stand firm and after having done everything … to stand. To stand for You in an increasingly hostile world. I love you, Lord Jesus. You are the Amen, “the faithful and true witness, the ruler of all creation.” (Revelation 3:14) Amen and Amen.

My dear readers, now see if you don’t love 2 Chronicles 20 like I do:

2 Chronicles 20:1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.  2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).  3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 

4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.  5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: “LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.  7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?  8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ 

10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.  12 Our God, will you not judge them?

For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD. 

14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.  15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.  16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.  17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'” 

18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.  19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 

20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 

21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.”  22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.  23 The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.  24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.   This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.   But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.   David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.   Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope,   because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.   You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ (Acts 2:22-28 )

The world was steeped in sin, But God…sent a Savior.

The world followed then failed to listen and fell away. But God was faithful.

The world rushes on the wide path of destruction.  But God gave us the Way.

The world killed our Savior. But God raised Him from the dead.
Praise God for the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!
Happy Easter!
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Jesus didn’t die a victim.  He says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me– just as the Father knows me and I know the Father– and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life– only to take it up again.

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:14-18)

But God did more than let it happen.
He orchestrated its happening by His own authority so we would be witnesses.

You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead.
We are witnesses of this. (Acts 3:15)

On Holy Saturday, far more than just a placeholder between death and resurrection, we are witnesses that the author of life itself—the Word incarnate—was dead to this earth.  Because of human sin.  Because of God’s great love for His Image bearers.  But God had something amazing planned…

Thank You Lord Jesus for being the Good Shepherd, for laying down Your life for us. As we ponder in silence on this Holy Saturday, fill our hearts with gratitude for what You have done. You are amazing Lord and we praise You.  We exalt You.  We bless Your holy Name. Amen.

God didn’t wait for us to clean up our lives. 
God didn’t wait for us to earn our own salvation.
Praise God, He didn’t wait.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Father God, we can’t thank You enough for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins… that we might be made right with You by Your grace through faith which itself is a gift from You. We praise You for the faithfulness of our Lord and Savior. We praise You for the work that He did on the cross and for the way that He prepared a place for us. And even now reaches out to us in the midst of our trials and struggles and sins.  He calls us into relationship with Him, into relationship with You, our Father in heaven. Make us mindful of the depth of human sin that required Good Friday to be necessary. We praise You, Lord, and we offer You thanks and glory now and forevermore. Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.