“Do you want to do something amazing for God?
Trade the appearance of being close to God for the power of actually being close to God.”
#EverybodyAlways
December 21st. Winter solstice. The darkest day of the year.
Every day of the fall has been getting darker towards today.
But tomorrow?
It starts getting lighter. In tiny tiny increments. But light is coming. It doesn't get any darker than today.
Light is coming.
Take heart. Jesus has overcome the world. And you, my friend, do not have enough darkness erupting from you or descending upon you on your blackest bleakest day to overcome His light.
This Winter will pass.
Spring will come.
We’re all gonna make it.
To you who are younger & scared & worried, one day you’ll look over your shoulder at all the furious storms, crashing waves & blistering fires that came to kill you & know without 1 whit of doubt who got you thru.
I just want to tell you tonight Jesus will be so faithful to you.
Honestly, if we do not wake up and brave up, we are going to get to the end of our earthly lives & think, “Why on earth did I allow intimidation of men keep me from obedience to Christ?” We’ve got one shot at this.
“But, Lord, they would have been mean to me on social media.”
Even small faith is completely able to hold us.
If you feel like you’re slipping today, backtrack & remember where God has been faithful in your life. Recounting His faithfulness reminds us we’re not dangling by a thread out on our own.
Our God is faithful. And we are held.
1 Cor 13 this AM. No thread. Only this. One day the cataracts of human vision will peel away & we will truly see. Our 1st unclouded sight will be Christ’s face. In one expression all will be expressed. In one radiance all will illuminate & this we will know: He was worth it all.
Take a deep breath, fuel back up and get back in there and love again.
In Christ’s name.
In Christ’s grace.
In Christ’s power.
This ain’t no fairy tale.
This is war and the devil wants our hearts.
If you give the part of your soul that is meant for God to lesser things, they will break your heart because they cannot possibly come through for you in the waysGod can. Only he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Never alone, never forgotten, never again condemned, never unloved, never rejected, never without help, never without hope, never left to battle alone, this is the life of every one of God’s children.
I’ve said this phrase to my kids since they were little, but I feel like there's someone out there who needs to hold onto this thought right now: Remember who you are.
Don't compromise for anyone, for any reason. You are a child of the Almighty God. Live that truth.
Grateful for brothers asking what you can do for your sisters. This would be my shot at a short answer: treat us with the same dignity with which you want to be treated. Don’t talk down to us. Value what we bring. And know that most of us have zero desire to reduce or seduce you.
A line that’s always brand new, no matter all the times I’ve heard it:
“...as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103.12).
We become more & more joyless & call it Jesus. More & more hateful & call it holiness. Less & less creative & call it maturity. We like fewer & fewer people & call it sanctification. We must think Jesus had the worst personality on earth.