Tag: The Gospel

Advent Reflections: Luke 15:7, 10

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“I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance. . . .I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Kids have a built-in desire to do what makes their fathers happy. There was a time when I was growing up that I said I wanted to be a lawyer. Why? Because my dad is an excellent lawyer, and I wanted to be like him, to make him happy. I soon thereafter realized I was built to be a teacher, and thankfully he gave me the extremely significant gift of supporting me in whatever I pursued, so all was well. But that desire to please him never really went away. I suspect that if you have a healthy relationship with your dad, you’re the same way. Well, God is consistently described in the Scriptures as our heavenly Father. Let’s talk about something that makes Him happy.

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Songs of the Season

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“When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Our culture doesn’t like to wait. We have become an instant society. Everywhere we go and in almost everything we do we are finding ways all the time to get or experience what we want faster than we already do. We could easily point to things like microwaves, of course, but how about shipping on packages? Have you experienced yet ordering something and having it delivered to your house in under 24 hours? Grocery shopping used to be a chore. Now you can sit on your couch (or at your desk), order everything you want, and on your way home pull into the pick up spot, hit a few buttons on your phone, and be driving home in a few minutes with what would have taken you an hour to pick up on your own. It’s almost like we don’t really believe anything is worth waiting for anymore. But there are some things we have to wait for. Life doesn’t cooperate otherwise. God doesn’t cooperate otherwise. And today’s song of the season is a reminder that some things are worth the wait.

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Morning Musing: Romans 14:16-18

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“Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and receives human approval.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I had a conversation the other day with a young man who is going through a tough season. He loves the Lord and earnestly desires for his life to reflect that, but his road has been rocky all the same. One of the questions he kept coming back to as we talked is what God’s will is for this or that. I finally told Him that while God cares about the details of our lives, He’s more concerned with the forest than the trees. If we are committed to honoring and glorifying Him in the large things, the small things will fall into place. That’s something like Paul is getting at here in instructing the church in Rome on how to get along together. Let’s take a look.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 3:10-12

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“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; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Family is hard. It’s hard in a lot of ways. It’s hard because you don’t get to pick your family. It’s hard because your family shapes who you are whether you want them to or not. It’s hard because you are stuck with your family. You can try to deny them, but those hooks are in deep. It’s hard because you love them and love makes you vulnerable. It opens you to wounds of the deepest sort. But family is good. Because of that love that can make it hard, family is where you can be received no matter what. Family gives you a home and a place of stability when the storms of the world blow. With family you know you can find support no matter how deep of a hole you’ve dug for yourself this time. The good of family outweighs the hard, and so you stick with family no matter what. A recent Disney live action remake of an animated classic offers a good reminder of this. Let’s talk about Lilo and Stitch.

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Morning Musing: Luke 23:33-34

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“When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided his clothes and cast lots.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

My boys are all at or nearly in their teenage years. One thing teenage boys like to do is play. And one of the games we tend to play most around my house is to see who can hit each other with something last. One will hit the other with something – not hard, but playfully – and the other responds in kind. Then the first hits him back, and this continues back and forth until someone wins. How does someone win exactly? Well, in most cases the winner is whoever managed to get the last hit in before Mom or Dad finally tells them to knock it off. If it’s me they’ve picked a fight with, though, I win because I just respond with such overwhelming force that they don’t have a chance. If they start it, I make sure I finish it. Around the house this kind of thing is just playful and fun. It’s teenage boys being teenage boys. But there’s something deeper here worth considering. This desire to get someone back when they’ve offended us is natural. It is natural, but if we don’t control it, it can quickly lead to far more hurt than whatever the original offense was. Unfortunately, we can’t control it. But there is a power that can help. This power was put on display rather poignantly recently. Let’s talk about Erika Kirk and Gospel forgiveness.

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