He longs to comfort you.

Is your heart broken, heavy with grief? Do you feel loaded with anxiety and sorrow for something you did? God not only sees your sadness; He moves closer to you because of it. Read Psalm 34:18-22 to picture this.

Just as you wouldn't hesitate to gently reach out and comfort your child when she falls and scrapes her knee, God reaches out to soothe your contrite heart. He may do it through a hug from a family member or close friend or through the words on a sympathy card. He may bring to your mind just the right Bible passage to cheer you or let you listen to a sermon that lifts your spirit and encourages you to press onward. These moments that ease your hurting soul aren't mere coincidences. God loves you, sees you, and longs to ease your pain.

I'm so grateful I'm not alone in my griefs! Neither are you. Jesus asks you to come to Him with all your weariness and the heaviness of your life, so you can find relief and receive the care and strength you need to face the challenges and troubles. He wants to bear your sorrows, as He has done for His children for millennia (Matthew 11:28-30; Isaiah 53:4).

Be still enough to listen and look for His comforting touch; it's there.

Accept the training.

Take a moment to reflect on Hebrews 12:11, 1 Corinthians 9:25, and Philippians 1:6.

God recently showed me an opportunity to grow in my character after a choice that I had made hurt others. While it pained me to witness the damage my character flaw had produced, it also made me send up a prayer of thankfulness to see that Christ's work in perfecting me (in making me more like Him) continues. I soon accepted the training I was receiving and reviewed His lessons for me for going forward, so that I can be mindful to react as He would, next time.

God once promised me I would “grow and bless others” with His purpose for me. Sharing this training journey with you, I think, might just be one fine example of His promise being fulfilled.

Amen for Christ’s example and tender care in helping us emulate! May we always stay open to being trained by the discipline God brings.

Forgiveness brings joy.

Forgiveness brings joy. Or at least it ought to.

Sometimes, for one who bends toward perfectionism like I do, forgiveness doesn't lead to joy but instead to regret. Sometimes, being forgiven by God of my sins means I should remain in a doghouse of mental self-flagellation, humility, and sorrow. In essence, regret about past sins keeps me wailing out Paul's question, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" instead of basking in Paul's answer: "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:24-25). Can you relate?

Thankfully, I am learning that regret is not the response to take to forgiveness. God is showing me that proper sorrow for sin, while it leads to repentance, leaves no room for regret (2 Corinthians 7:10). King David provides an examplary outlook to receiving forgiveness. For him, restoration to God through His forgiveness meant joy, instructing others about God, and praise and worship (Psalm 51:12-19).

I much prefer David's response to God's forgiveness of sins. I hope I learn it.

Stay alert, ready to resist.

Picture it: You're sitting alone in a quiet meadow, admiring the sunny, beautiful blue sky and enjoying the bird call in the distance. All of a sudden, you feel the vice grip of a 500-lb lion’s teeth at the back of your neck! You never even heard him coming before he pounced. You try to struggle, but he holds on, all claws, fangs, and growls. You feel incredible pain, watch in horror as your blood splashes into the grass, and then black out.

Guess what? Satan is just like that lion. He is hunting for you. He doesn't want just to maul you, oh no. He wants to DEVOUR you, whole, so there is hardly a remembrance of you on earth. And he knows exactly how to lull you and me into his grip.

I’m so glad the Apostle Peter tells us how to avoid getting eaten (1 Peter 5:8-9 AMP):

Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined].

Be alert and cautious at all times.

Resist him!

Be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]

The Apostle Paul also has some tips on this issue. He says you don't have to let Satan snag you from behind, because you already know his pouncing schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:11). He even teaches you how to equip yourself for the resistance (Ephesians 6:11-17).

It can be easy to lose our focus on Christ and to drift away from following and relying on Him. But when we do, we become easier prey for the roaring lion, our greatest enemy. So let's keep asking God to help us stay alert and be ready to fight back with faith whenever we see the devil crouching toward us. ♥️

Take a bite.

John 6:32-51 has always both fascinated me and given me hope. Fascination, because of how Jesus handles His listeners' confusion; hope, because of what He repeats about me, one of those who believe in Him.

He says I can bank on two things: 1) that I have (not WILL have) eternal life, and 2) that He himself will raise me out of the grave on the Day He returns, that Judgment Day in which God will end this earth and reveal a new one.

So yes, I plan to keep eating the Bread of Life and drinking His blood until then, because I believe it is absolutely worth it. How about you?

Be wary of distractions.

I was convicted by a message by Pastor Jim Sole on distraction (link below), and I was reminded once again of the importance of fixing my mind on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith (Heb. 12:2).

Even good distractions, like blessings that come our way, can crowd our thoughts and take us away from sitting at the feet of the Lord. Is there some heavenward-focused task(s) or godly behavior the Holy Spirit wants you focusing on? You can be sure that your enemy, the devil, wants you to completely forget about doing that task or having that righteous response. He prefers that you navel-gaze over your problems, become fatigued by negativity in your relationships, or swoon over a new romance so much you can think of little else. He has used wiles of distraction like these on humans for centuries, with much success.

However, because you “are not unaware” of the devil’s schemes where it involves distraction (2 Cor. 2:11), you can allow the Word to keep changing you for the better as you renew your mind in it daily (Rom. 12:2). As you do so, Christ will keep bringing you back to center, much like you re-center a directional map on your smartphone screen. After all, you have the victory in our Lord and Savior, who overcame distractions and every other temptation to complete God's purpose for Him on earth. By so doing, He overcame the world! (Heb. 4:15; John 16:33). You can, too.

https://www.qbchurch.org/daily-nugget/2016/12/satans-subtle-tactic-distraction

Haste and slowness.

When is God quick or slow?

Isaiah 60:22/Gen. 41:32 He hastens in bringing about blessings and judgment

Psalm 22:19 He is quick to help us

Revelation 22:12 He is coming quickly

Exodus 34:6-7 He is slow to anger

2 Peter 3:3-12 He may seem slow, but He isn't

When should we be quick or slow?

James 1:19 Be quick to listen

Colossians 3:13 MSG Be quick to forgive

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Be slow to make utterances before God

Psalm 37:7-9 Practice being still and waiting on God

James 1:19 Be slow to speak, slow to anger

1 Tim 5:22 Never be hasty in appointing a church leader

May “slowing your roll” work in your favor, and may blessings be quick to find you.

Be rich toward God.

God is rich toward you, blessing you with physical and spiritual life, friends and family, shelter, food, clothing, and everything else you possess. But did you know Jesus looks for you to be rich toward God as well? (Luke 12:21, 34).

Of course, what can you really give to enrich God, the One who gives you everything? Nothing, neither physical nor spiritual blessings. Yet it is your heart He is looking at. Does your heart yearn to give back to God in gratitude and obedience? Are you eager to bless Him with thanksgiving and prayerful praise? Do you willingly, even cheerfully, use your wealth to help the spiritually and financially poor and needy? If you cannot answer yes to these questions, you might not be rich toward God.

Think it over, and if you find yourself lacking in richness toward God, pray for an attitude adjustment, a heart change. He richly gives those to you, too.😉

Choose love instead.

So, is it worth it to hold a grudge against someone with whom you disagree? Um, no. Not even close. Not if you believe the Word of God, that is:

Ephesians 4:1

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Philippians 4:2-3

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

1 Peter 4:8 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].

Paul called love “the most excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31). It's the top choice for anger over wrongs done to you or your loved ones. And though it may feel difficult for us to pull off, God expects us to do it. Of course, if you call on Him for help in getting there, He will walk you to it and through it. Don't hesitate to ask for His help and guidance.

Look where your life is.

Did you know your new, real life is hidden with Christ, and that Christ expects you to look upward, to His throne, for it? Yup. Old You is dead. Christ is your life now.

Paul the Apostle encourages you to let your affections, thoughts, and desires float upward, focus heavenward (Col. 3:1-4). Don't be afraid to stop looking and focusing laterally, at all of the crazy stuff happening here on this Earth. Don't allow your heart to be weighed down by human anger, pride, hatred, greed, or violence. Some will call that copping out, but it's not. In fact, don't even let all the good stuff that's happening down here be the focus of your life. Because you don't live here. Old You used to live here. But for now, your life is hidden. And these joys and pleasures are trash compared to what you're about to experience.

Christ, your (eternal) Life Keeper, will return for you shortly. You can bank on that. And as He does, you will appear with Him in glory. But it won't be Old You that you will see. Christ will fully reveal New You, filled with the New Life He's currently holding for you. He will even give you a new name.

So keep looking up, casting all your cares upon the One who deeply cares for you every day--much more than any human ever can. After all, he is your Life.

Obey Him and live, fully.

Why do we not believe Romans 3:23 and thereby fail to obey James 5:16? Because the Serpent is still crafty as the ultimate liar (John 8:44):

• Go ahead, eat from the tree… you will NOT surely die…

• All have NOT sinned… there are some people who seem to be good and above sinful behaviors…

• Do NOT confess your sins to anyone else! It's so embarrassing! And you know they will NOT pray for you, only use it as ammunition or talk about you behind your back…

• Just this once will NOT come back to bite you later…just this one time…

What Satan wants is to steal our joy, kill our spiritual influence on others’ hearts, and ultimately, to destroy our eternal destiny (John 10:10). Let's obey Christ’s commands and follow the apostle’s Spirit-inspired teaching, so we can have abundant life instead.

Who makes YOU competent?

Take a look at 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NIV. Even Paul, the renowned apostle of Christ, recognized that his competence for spreading the gospel came not through his own abilities but only through the Spirit of God, sent by Jesus. And how competent Paul was! He’s one of my superheroes of the faith, whose words from the Spirit still help save millions of souls today.

Are you known for being good at some skill, knowledge, or talent? Do you have a reputation for being a kind or helpful person? If so, this attribute you have is a gift from God, given so you can shine a light into the world; use it to honor Him and make Earth a good place in which to live. We only have so long to be competent and effective down here, after all.

It's great for us to humbly let our competency shine...and even greater to acknowledge its true source!

He forgives AND forgets.

For most of my life, I've had difficulty forgiving myself for things. I'm one of those hangers-on when it comes to letting go of my faults and mistakes. It's not that I don't let it go ever, it's just that it takes a bit for me to release the guilt. Interestingly enough, God doesn't treat me this way about my sins and mistakes.

God not only cleanses me completely from the sins I have committed against Him, but He forgets about them. Completely. He wants me to know that. He removes my guilt from me as far as the east is from the west, and He throws away the guilt of my sins from Him like a boulder thrown to the bottom of the sea. How deep is that? Do you usually keep thinking about something that far out of sight? Let the truth of the Scriptures encourage you to realize this: https://www.openbible.info/topics/god_forgives_and_forgets

If you're like me, it's time you let God's forgiveness be your forgiveness. Forgive yourself, quickly, and thank Him that He does the same. He loves you.

His grace is sufficient.

The Lord says His grace is all I need (2 Cor. 12:9-10), because His strength (aka His power, His might) is made perfect in my weakness (my lack of strength, my powerlessness). Without God's merciful favor upon me, do I really have "power" anyway? Do the feats, accomplishments, and works I do in this life hold any lasting meaning anyway, without God? (Eccl. 3:18-22). They do not. But with God, resting in His strength and depending on His mercy, I can rejoice in the works I do here, whatever they may be, for I do them all for Him, He may be glorified (Col. 3:17). This thought reminds me of something I once read from Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon on Luke 10:42:

I would be nothing but what he makes me, 

I would have nothing but what he gives me, 

I would ask nothing but what he promises me, 

I would trust in nothing but what he has done for me, and 

I would desire nothing but what he has prepared for me. 

Is God's grace enough for you?