You are never alone.
Let that sink in for a moment. Whatever situation you face, hardship you endure, trial you encounter, or celebration you experience—you never go through life alone.
Because Jesus gave up His life for you, you get to experience life with Him by your side … forever. Nothing can separate you from His love, and nothing you do will ever earn His approval. He loves you because He created you, and He has determined to remain faithful to you.
In Philippians 2, Paul reminds us that Jesus’ death on the cross leads to our salvation. Jesus is Lord. He has authority over our situations, our problems, our circumstances, our fears, our failures, and our successes. Jesus can cast out darkness, overcome addiction, reject temptation, heal the sick, set people free, and redeem our brokenness. And He has given us His Holy Spirit.
Because of the Holy Spirit, God lives in us, and He will work through us.
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, but Philippians 2 reminds us that just because our salvation is free, doesn’t mean we can take it for granted. God will help us display His love to others, but we need to actively choose to let God work in us. God wants us to partner with Him as He works through us to reach a broken world.
When you submit to God, He frees, transforms, and redeems you. He dreams with you, and for you. He formed you, and He will finish what He has started in you—if you let Him. Nothing is impossible for God.
So right now, ask God to show you how He is at work in your life. Allow Him to reveal where He has gifted, guided, and healed you. Take some time to thank Him for His faithfulness, and then brainstorm some ways to faithfully live out the plans He has for your life.
Shining the Light of Jesus
Have you ever walked from a dark room into an extremely bright space? Light has incredible power over our senses, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. But light is necessary for us to live. Light tells us about reality. It illuminates things around us.
In Matthew 5, Jesus uses various light metaphors to describe the life of a disciple. He says that His disciples are like a city built on a hill that shines light into the valley (Matthew 5:14). He also says we’re like a lamp that gives light to a whole house (Matthew 5:15).
The life of a disciple of Jesus is meant to be like that of light that shines brightly for others to see. So what is the light that we have?
First and foremost, it is the message of the Gospel. We have been given knowledge of what Jesus has done for us, and it’s that knowledge that changes everything. We now have a new life because of Him.
We’ve been entrusted with this message so that we could share it with others. The message and hope of ...