Grace Reigns

He will never leave us.  He is always near us.  He is within us, Spirit bonded to spirit.  Our spirits are ONE!  You can't get any closer than that! 

"Grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 5:21 (NET)

The fact that we are one with Him brings great relief and joy.  We will never be abandoned or left alone to face this world on our own.  We have Big Brother Jesus backing us up, the dear Comforter Holy Spirit guiding and reassuring us and being with us through it all, and Father God carrying us in His arms at ALL times - we are safe, secure, found, hopeful, cherished, free from fear - His perfect love won't ever be removed from us, and it's a love that ACTS on our behalf to move mountains, calm storms, heal broken bodies and hearts, and change circumstances to always bring us through in victory.  His is a love and a life that always conquers, always wins, is always over all!

Grace reigns through Jesus Christ in our life!  All because of Him, and we need do nothing - He has done it all and will carry it to completion!  Thank You, Lord!  Your nearness makes us rejoice and sends the fear of abandonment away!

A Thought: The ruling factor in my life is grace.

Something More

He has been behind the scenes all our lives, drawing us to Himself and sending us love notes like flowers along a path, letting us know that our hearts are made for Him and He is the answer to our deepest longings.

"He satisfies the longing soul."

Psalm 107:9 (NKJV)

He is the 'something more' that always makes life worth living, the 'something more' that our hearts yearn for. He is the whisper of loving presence on the wind, the hand on the shoulder when noone is there, the music in the background that reminds us of someplace we belong to but have not seen in this world. He is the arms around us in the darkness, the light in our deepest night. He is the softness of a baby's eyelashes and the sweet sound of children's laughter. He is the beauty of love that gives connection and joy. He is the cozy spot by the fireside of home, the home we are all turning toward, the place where we finally come to and find we have always been in some way. He is the echo of life sounding through the whole world, the laughter of waterfalls and constant caressing of the waves upon the shore. He is the One who has always been there for us and always will be, the One who is unconditional in His loving embrace of us in every moment. He is the One who has been calling to us with every rising sun and every waking dream. He is the One we were made for, the One who satisfies our deepest hopes and desires. He is our origin and home, our Father and Friend, the One this whole created order exists in, the One we live and move and breathe in, the One who has held our whole life in every moment and will never let us go, our ultimate joy and happy ending, our Heaven!

A Thought: You have always been there, loving me.

Summing Up All in Christ

Everything Adam did wrong, Christ did right, and in so doing, He reversed the effects of the fall.

"God recapitulated all things in Christ...as though making a compendious renewal and restoration of the whole creation to Him."

Theodore of Mopsuestia

"He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up [recapitulated] in Him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth."

Ephesians 1:10 (MESSAGE)

One way to look at Christ's work is through the idea of recapitulation. This is an early Christian idea that Christ came to put right all that humanity got wrong. So Christ came and went over every stage of our history, succeeding in every place where humanity failed. Where Adam gave in to temptation and fell, Christ withstood temptation and stayed firm. Where humanity succumbed to death, Christ conquered death and rose to indestructible life. It was like He reversed all the damage done by our sin and restored humanity and all creation to the pristine place it had been before the fall, uniting all of creation and summing up all our history in Himself. So it is like He made the curse work backwards into life and blessing! How powerful is the finished work! Christ does right everything that we failed at, and He brings us back to a place of complete innocence where it is like we have never sinned at all, a place of perfect oneness and communion with God.

A Thought: Thank You, Christ, for reversing all of humanity's mistakes and bringing us into Your Perfect Life and Perfect Oneness with the Father!

Christ Fulfills the Promises

All that God promised to do for us He has done in and through Christ.

"For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding 'Yes!'"

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT)

God made many wonderful promises in the Old Testament that pointed to the new covenant of grace. Christ is the fulfillment of all those promises. All God wanted to give us He gave us in Christ by grace, freely given for all, and this is the truth we now live in! These prophetic promises have become reality in the New Covenant:

I've never quit loving you and never will (Jer. 31).
You'll never disappear from before Me (Jer. 31).
I'll never turn My back on you, disgusted with all you've done (Jer. 31).
I've wiped the slate clean for you, forgotten you ever sinned (Jer. 31).

There's nothing left of your sins (Is. 44).
I have put My law within you, written it on your heart (Jer. 31).
I have made you of one mind and heart, always honoring Me (Jer. 32).
I'll stick with you no matter what, and work for your good (Jer. 32).
I've planted you in this country [Me, My rest] and will keep you there (Jer. 32).
You know Me firsthand (Jer. 31).
I've made a covenant with you that will last forever (Jer. 32).
I'll delight in doing good things for you (Jer. 32)!
I've filled your heart with a deep respect for Me so you'll never even think of turning away from Me (Jer. 32).
I will make sure you get plenty of rest (Ezek. 34).
I have welcomed you back (Is. 54)!
With lasting love I'm tenderly caring for you (Is. 54).

I'm promising - no anger, no dressing you down (Is. 54).
My covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart (Is. 54).
My love won't walk away from you (Is. 54).

You'll be solid and grounded in righteousness (Is. 54).

You'll be far from any trouble - nothing to fear (Is. 54).

I'll see to it that everything works out for the best (Is. 54).

The new covenant of grace is just so good...it seems too good to be true.  And if it seems too good to be true, it must be the gospel!

A Thought: Christ makes all our best dreams for our relationship with God come true!

(Verses listed are from the Message Bible.)

Shall Not...Shall

You promised to take care of me and You SHALL NOT fail, so I know all SHALL be well.

"The Lord always keeps His promises; He is gracious in all He does."

Psalm 145:13 (NLT)

Jesus gives us wonderful promises! He tells us:

You SHALL NOT hunger, but SHALL be fully satisfied with Him (John 6:35).
You SHALL NOT thirst, but SHALL have within His very Spirit as an ever-flowing fountain of eternal life (John 4:14).
You SHALL NOT walk in darkness, but SHALL have the light of life (John 8:12).
You SHALL NOT be a slave to sin or the devil's lies, but SHALL be free indeed (John 8:32-36).
You SHALL NOT perish, but SHALL have everlasting life (John 3:16).
You SHALL NOT be snatched from His hand, but SHALL be safe (John 10:27-8).
You SHALL NOT come into judgment, but SHALL be never in death but life (John 5:24).
You SHALL NOT follow a stranger, but SHALL know and follow your Shepherd (John 10:4-5).
You SHALL NOT have your joy stolen, but SHALL rejoice with great joy (John 16:22).
You SHALL NOT be left desolate, but SHALL have the His Spirit with you always to comfort you (John 14:16-18)!

With His very Spirit inside us as our best friend and LIFE, how can we go wrong?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  We shall not be put to shame but will always be led in triumph, love and grace!  All as a gift through Jesus' work for us and His wonderful grace, not ever through our efforts! 

A Thought: Christ is in us, on our side..we SHALL NOT have anything but love and grace overflowing to us!

Savior of All

He was sent to be the Savior of the world, of all people. And Jesus didn't fail in His mission!

"The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world."

1 John 4:14 (KJV)

Christ went out into the world to seek and save the lost, and He accomplished all that God desired for Him to do - He said, it is finished! He is the Savior of all (1 Tim. 4:10)! Though by one man's sin condemnation and death came to all, by One Man's righteous act justification and life came to all (Rom. 5:17-8)! For in Adam all died, and in Christ all will be made alive (1 Co. 15:22). For God doesn't wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). He poured out His Spirit upon all (Acts 2:17). All will remember and turn to Him (Ps. 22:27), all will come to Him (Ps. 65:2), all will confess Him (Phil. 2:11), all will know Him (Heb. 8:11), all will praise Him (Rev. 5:13).  For His grace has appeared to all (Tit. 2:11), He has mercy on all (Rom. 11:32), He is good to all (Ps. 145:9), He blesses all (Gen. 12:3), and He will be all in all (1 Co. 15:28)!

A Thought: Thank You, Papa, that You bring us all home to You through Jesus, and not one person will be left out or forgotten!

God of All Things

"God does ALL that needs to be done."

Julian of Norwich

"But as for me, how wonderful to be near God, to find protection with the Sovereign Lord and to proclaim ALL that He has done!"

Psalm 73:28 (GNT)

He keeps ALL His promises and helps us in ALL ways! He delivers us out of ALL our troubles and fears, not some (Ps. 34:4,6). He forgives ALL our sins, not just a few (Ps. 103:3). He heals ALL our diseases, not just several (Ps. 103:3). He supplies ALL our needs, not just a handful (Phil. 4:19). He helps ALL who fall and raises up all who are oppressed (Ps. 145:14). He gives to ALL life, breath and ALL things. (Acts 17:25). Maybe we haven't seen with our own eyes all the fulfillment of these 'all' promises, but we will. It's inevitable. In fact, in God's economy, it's already done. So we can relax and rejoice in Him!

A Thought: God has taken care of it ALL!

So Much To Be Thankful For

I look back over my life and see all the ways He blessed me, all the ways He was good to me, all the ways He carried me.

"I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore."

Psalm 86:12 (NKJV)

We can all think of the blessings that have come our way throughout our lives. We can all think of the people who have loved us, believed in us, helped us become who we are, and encouraged us along our journey. We can all think of the times we have been able to pass along some love to someone else. We can all think of the simple moments of beauty that we have enjoyed, the ordinary moments that felt full of happiness and wonder. We can all remember times of laughter and fun. We can all remember the beauty of nature, the scenes that have stayed in our minds from the natural world. We can all think of the times we have felt God's presence or sensed His blessings. We can see all the moments of grace, the moments of joy, the moments of love. And we realize, it's a wonderful and beautiful life that we live, and God has been so good to us. There is so much to be thankful for!

A Thought: Thank You. Father, for all the gifts and blessings You have put in my life as free gifts of Your grace and love!

Face to Face Union All the Time

"He is fullness of joy, simple and gracious, blissful and true life."

Julian of Norwich

"I am always aware of the Lord's presence; He is near, and nothing can shake me.  And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel completely secure."

Psalm 16:8-9 (GNT)

We are in union with Him who IS Life!

We always enjoy His friendship and fellowship!

We enjoy the smile of God upon us at all times!
We enjoy complete acceptance and unconditional love.
We enjoy His beautiful, wonderful, joy-filled and happy-making Presence at all times!
Face to face with Him.
Our spirit and His Spirit are one forever!
Forget about sin, failure and struggle!  In His eyes, it's gone!  

Enjoy the union!  

A Thought: I look at Him and He fills me with joy!

Not This But That

He only wants to help us and give us more love, more light, more life.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

John 10:10 (NIV)

Jesus came to show us that our wonderful Father is 100% pure Love with not a speck of anything else!

He is not Legalism, He is a Love Song to you.

He is not blaming you, He is blessing you.

He is not condemnation, He is compassion.

He is not duty, He is delight.

He is not judgmental, He is joyful over you.

He is not anger, He is acceptance.

He is not scary, He is safe.

He is not opposing you, He is on your side.

He's not accusing you, He is building you up.

He is not hurting you, He is healing you.

He turns out to be the opposite of what we sometimes fear Him to be..He turns out to be so wonderful! He is the almost-too-good-to-be-true God, yet it IS true..oh what a comfort and relief!

A Thought: God is love and He isn't anything BUT love. If it's not love, it's not God!

Perfect

There is nothing wrong with me and nothing wrong with my relationship to God.

"This is the essence and focus of our message; we awaken everyone's mind, instructing every individual by bringing them into full understanding in order that we may prove everyone perfect in Christ."

Colossians 1:28 (MIRROR)

Sometimes we can have this feeling that something is wrong with us, that we are not good enough, that we need to do or be better. These feelings can make us feel we are lacking in some way and not all that God wants us to be, so maybe He will not bless us or be proud of us. But these feelings are untrue.We are one with Christ and He is perfect. So we are perfect in and with Christ. How can you improve on perfect? We are included with Christ in His relationship with the Father. That relationship is perfect. So we have, in Him, a perfect relationship with our Father God! Will Christ ever stop being perfect? No. Then we won't ever be lacking or imperfect because we are one with Christ! Will Christ's relationship with the Father ever be lacking? No. Then our relationship with the Father won't ever be lacking or imperfect either!

A Thought: In Christ I am perfect and my relationship with the Father is perfect -  and you can't improve on perfect!

He Will Make Everything Alright

"'And you shall never have pain, nor any manner of sickness, nor any manner of displeasure....but ever joy and bliss without end.'"

Julisan of Norwich

"'There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'"

Revelation 21:4-5

Everything is going to be alright. We will smile again. We will be hopeful again. We will feel like ourselves again. We will feel warmth and joy again. We will laugh again. Somehow God will make everything alright. He will make right everything that has gone wrong. He rose from the dead, making death work backwards! If He can do that, He can make any sorrow, any hurt, any pain, any trauma go backward into health, healing, wholeness, and beauty. He is already doing this right now on earth, and it will come about in fullness in heaven. He is going to make everything well, from the great things right down to the small things. He is going to do this for every person. Noone and nothing will be forgotten. He will even make things better than they were before our suffering happened, with everything fresh and new. Things will be even better than we can possibly imagine! We will be reunited with loved ones. We will be smiling and singing and never sad again, never in pain again! We will see His face and be enveloped in His love that heals all hurts and fills everything with joy and light! We will celebrate and rejoice forever! And all will be well! 

A Thought: In Christ I am already joyful and whole in the eternal realm, and all is well. And one day I will fully experience that eternal realm, and all will be well!

God In the Dark

When I was hurting and all alone, I heard God crying with me.

"When someone is hurting or brokenhearted, the Eternal moves in close and revives him in his pain."

Psalm 34:18 (VOICE)

In the times of greatest loss and darkness, the world can feel so empty and cold. We can feel like a shell of our former self, or like we are in a dark pit  from which we'll never escape. We can feel nothing will ever be happy or light again. But when we are at the lowest point in our lives, He is there, sitting with us in the darkness. He is simply there for us in any way we need Him to be.  And He will be there whether we 'feel' His presence or not. Whatever we do feel, He will feel it with us, He will understand us, He will hold us. He will hold us up when we have no strength. He will carry us when we think we cannot make it one more moment. He will cry with us every tear we cry, because He is the Love that weeps with those who weep. And somehow He'll be even closer to us in the dark times, closer to the broken-hearted, closer to the lonely and forlorn. He won't let us go. He will support, carry and strengthen us. He will comfort and tenderly care for us. He will keep us close to His heart. And He will bring us through!

A Thought: He comforts me. He understands.

Feel What You Feel

He sits with us and holds us in the turmoil of our emotions.

"When I was upset and beside myself, You calmed me down and cheered me up."

Psalm 94:19 (MSG)

We may sometimes think we can't be afraid or anxious, or else we'd be a 'bad person,' or failure, but with God all our feelings are allowed. No feeling is off limits. Go ahead and feel whatever you feel! Just know you are whole right now. God is taking care of your feelings. He knows what you've gone through and are going through. Just know there's nothing wrong with you as a person. You are normal, not deficient or 'bad!' You are normal and okay and alright and a good person, even in the midst of fear and anxiety, frustration and doubt. Whatever feelings you have are God's problem and concern, not yours. He is dealing with it all, and it's not for you to deal with! He's got your back. He's responsible for helping you. He's knows just what to say and do to calm and encourage you. You are a normal human being and allowed to feel anything you feel. You are alright and taken care of by God no matter what.

A Thought: Thank You, Jesus, for understanding me in all my feelings. You know what it is like to be human!

Dear Holy Spirit...

"The awe-inspiring kindness and encouragement of the Holy Spirit, our ever-present Lord, strengthens us daily."

Julian of Norwich

"The Father will send the Friend in My name to help you. The Friend is the Holy Spirit."

John 14:26 (NIRV)

Dear Holy Spirit,

I'm so glad I found You, or rather, You found me!
I'm never without a Friend now.  You took away my loneliness and filled me with Your presence.  I always have You to talk to, to share even my embarrassing mistakes, and You will never criticize or hurt my feelings!
You never say the wrong thing to me.  Your words never hurt, prick or sting.  They always help.  Your words are always healing and soothing and empowering word to me!
You always sympathize with me and are always on my side.  Even right after I do something stupid, You are right there, always right there, to support and lift my spirits.
You keep on delighting in me and giving me joy, even after I mess up.  You are my constant Encourager and Supporter!  After every sin, You say, "What sin?  It's gone!," and we can go on together in joy!
I never have to face any situation alone, because You are always with me, and You go with me into every situation to take over my problems and handle them for me.  
You prepare me for every situation and build me up ahead of time, and You give me wisdom and carry me along in every way with Your power and work.
I'm so glad to have You!  You are such a joy to be around!  You are truly the Best Friend I've ever had, the Best Friend in the world!  
I love You with all my heart and I love being with You!

A Thought: I have a Friend on the inside who will be with me forever.

A Beautiful Garden

God loves being in His beautiful garden - our hearts!

"When you feel dried up and worthless, God will nourish you and give you strength. and you will grow like a garden lovingly tended; you will be like a spring whose water never runs out."

Isaiah 58:11 (VOICE)

We are like a beautiful walled garden with paths and fountains and plantings of fragrant flowers and shrubs that a Designer made long ago, but that had gotten overgrown with weeds, yet underneath it all the basic lines and beautiful forms and plantings remained.

And the garden designer, knowing the original design and still having it in his mind, simply cleared away all the rubbish and briars on those paths and walls and fountains, revealing once again the beautiful garden that was there all along, just hidden and covered over by weeds and debris. The real garden itself would come forth in beauty! The flowers would grow again and the fruit trees would flourish, no longer covered over or choked by vines and weeds. The fountains would flow and paths would show forth the beautiful design that was there all along, just hidden by rubbish and debris.

We can see that the garden is us and the weeds are the lies that have tried to cover our real self's beauty, and the designer God has through Christ taken away the lies and is revealing our true design and glory for all to see and enjoy!

A Thought: I am a beautiful garden made by God, and the fruit of the Spirit grows in me.

Seeing Him Face to Face - The Most Positive Experience

"Our soul is so preciously loved by Him, our highest good, that it is beyond all human understanding."

Julian of Norwich

"Your lovingkindness is better than life."

Psalm 63:3 (NIV)

There is not ONE negative thing at all in relation to or connected with God. He is ALL positive, He is ALL light without a hint of darkness. He is wholly LOVE and KINDNESS and MERCY, not half leniency and half retribution!

That means we really don't have ANYTHING to fear from Him at all. We can have vestiges of fear about the after death future....yet God is ALL positive and meeting Him face to face will thus be the most positive thing that's ever happened to any of us! It will easily and obviously be the best experience of man's existence, not the worst. Being loved like you always longed to be, always dreamed of being...that will be the most positive, satisfying, wonderful, and ecstatic experience and HIGH ever known. How could that be bad or awful or scary? How could that be painful or hurtful? How could that be ANYTHING other than healing, restorative, joyful, freeing and invigorating!

When we experience Him tangibly, face to face like that, it will be such a JOLT of holy electric love that it will energize us so much we'll live forever just off of that love burst, His lovingkindness being better than life even, better than living forever. It is more like living in a new dimension outside of time, because time can't even hold enough moments to contain such love, this love of God for us - thus it is truly outside time, in the realm of simply being the always NOW, the eternal. It's already started for us in the spirit realm, and one day it will be manifested in the tangible realm too. Full of His love presence now and forever! Loved with holy electric jolts of invigorating affection, now and forever! Eternity now and forever!

A Thought: The love in His eyes will captivate us for all eternity!

He Keeps On Blessing

"My sin shall not hinder His goodness working."

Julian of Norwich

"Where sin increased, God's kindness increased even more."

Romans 5:20 (GW)

Even if we don't have much faith, even if we don't do things right, even if we don't grow or act kindly or pray well, God continues to bless us. He continues to help us and care for us. He continues to love us and support us. When we are failing or struggling in our faith, that's when He helps and blesses us even more, because He knows that's when we need His love and care the most! That's what it means to be a dad. It's always being there for one's kids, especially when they are in trouble or struggling. It's loving and providing for them whether they act right or not, whether they trust their parent perfectly or not. It's never giving up on them and never ceasing to love to them, even if they never change. It's having their back and always being their biggest supporter, even if it seems the whole world is against them. It's always believing in them and having a good word to say to them, especially when they fail.  Our God is a good Dad and He will always love, care for, help and bless us!

A Thought: Even if I never improve, God will keep on blessing me!

Beloved

I look into His eyes and remember who I am: His Beloved.

"My beloved calls to me, 'Arise, my darling. Come away with me, my beautiful one.'"

Song of Solomon 2:10 (NIV)

He draws me to focus on Him, just to enjoy being together, and He reminds me who I am: "I am my Beloved's and He is mine.  He has called me to rise and come away with Him, away from my problems and worries and struggles and confusions and feelings of lack - to just come away with Him to the heights of joy and be happy with Him!  To just be happy in our perfect relationship...For we have a perfect relationship; I am perfect before Him, and He is perfect towards me - forevermore! I am His beloved one and I am lovely and flawless in His sight; He delights in me and I delight in Him! Here with Him, everything is perfect!"

A Thought: He loves just being with me, and I love just being with Him.

God Repays Evil with Good

What if God's wrath is to rain down kindness on people and free them from what is hurting them? What if His vengeance is to bless people and love them till they melt into His arms? What if His response to evil is to overcome it with good?

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil...live at peace with everyone...Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Romans 12:17,18,21 (NIV)

We're to repay evil with good like God does. God overcomes evil with good. His 'wrath' is to love people and pour out kindness on them. God asks us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who persecute us. He asks us to return good for evil. Jesus modeled this beautiful way of love in His interactions with people. If God asked us to do good in the face of evil, and if Jesus Himself modeled such behavior, wouldn't God the Father act in the same way? What if His wrath just means His passion or strong emotional response (the original Greek word can mean this) to deliver people from hatred and antagonism into the experience of love and friendship? What if His vengeance just means loving His enemies until they become His friends? God is not against people. God does not retaliate with revenge. God is love. He reacts to every person in every situation with love. He is not against us, He is for us. He is against whatever is hurting us! His passion and strong reaction comes against sin and lies, darkness and confusion, pain and suffering. He removes those things from us with strong emotion! He repays the evil we do by helping, loving, freeing and blessing us. He is always good to us!

A Thought: Dear Father, thank You that Your goodness has defeated all evil for us!

Man's Story, God's Story

Man's story is of sin. God's story is of love.

"As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours."

Isaiah 55:9 (GNT)

Man's story: After we were created, we fell into sin and death. We went astray. We were guilty and lost. We deserved punishment. We were in bondage to sin. We were dying and without hope. We couldn't help ourselves. So Christ came to rescue us. Christ died and rose to bring us back to God. 

God's story: You have always been My child. Before the beginning of time, I already knew and loved you. I always knew we would be together forever. We're so close, we are one. You're so delightful to me, so beautiful and sweet! You are perfect and utterly adorable, and all I want to do is love on you! I have knit us together so well, for I became human to share your experience on earth and I raised you up into glory so you can always share My experience in heaven. You are in the center of the family circle of the Trinity, where you have always belonged. I will spend eternity loving you!

A Thought: God's story overwhelms our story!

Past, Present and Future Sin is Gone

"He has forgiven you for every sin you will ever commit, past, present and future."

Steve McVey

"He forgave us all our sins."

Colossians 2:13 (NIV)

Christ already forgave us ALL our sins. God was in Christ, forgiving the sins of the whole world, not counting their wrongs against them. Christ took away the sin of the world at the cross. So we can say that in that eternal moment, sin was wiped out, all sin was forgiven, and we were made innocent. That eternal moment of the cross is like an event that is timeless, outside of time, for Christ the Lamb was 'slain from the foundation of the world.' So all the sins of the whole world, past, present and future, were taken away and forgiven by Christ at the cross. Because the cross is effective throughout all of time, we were actually born forgiven, cleansed, and innocent! Every moment of our lives we are continually clean and innocent, washed and forgiven. We can tend to see failure and then forgiveness, but God only sees the impact of the cross. He only sees clean, holy, innocent, beautiful children without any flaws or imperfections. Paul wanted to present every man perfect in Christ, because that is exactly how we are to God because of the wonderful cross, where Christ cleansed the world for all time!

A Thought: Christ forgave my sins before I ever committed them!

God in the Luggage

He has been within us all along!

2 Corinthians 4:7 (MIRROR)

"We have discovered this treasure where it was hidden all along, in these frail skin-suits made of clay."

Sometimes when children are going on a trip, their parents have packed things in their luggage that they didn't know about until later when they unpacked their bags. 

Something similar has happened with humanity. When God created us, His very own offspring, He put something (Someone!!) in us without our knowledge. Now the mystery is revealed - Christ is in us, the hope (sure expectation) of glory (God's presence manifested). If Adam had known what had been put in his luggage at creation, he would never have eaten of the knowledge tree, because he would already have known that he was full, complete, perfect, and one with God, being made of God Himself and having the dear and precious Christ within as constant companion..but 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" - not knowing everything that he was, and not believing his Daddy that all was well and nothing was lacking in him or in his relationship with Him, Adam partook of the knowledge tree and the rest is history...yet it is truly HIS story, for His story is so much bigger than our messy story. Our story is really a bad dream and HIS story is what's real! We fell into believing lies about separation and inferiority and lack, but HE always knew the truth...HE was still in the luggage, no matter what terrible turn we took on our journey, no matter what dark alley we ended up in.

And with the incarnation, He sprang forth and revealed Himself and showed us that our story was the dream, His the reality, and we were only 'going all the wrong places' in our minds, while our true self was safe at home with Him in eternity all the time. Oh what a relief to find out what was with me, in me, part of me, making up the real me, all along - Christ Himself! We are so close we are one..I was never lost, never missing anything, never inadequate, never alone, never separated, never inferior, never lacking, never an orphan, never unwanted, never shameful, never a mess...I was always with Him, in His arms, His precious and innocent little child..and Christ had been in me all along as my true nature, as the One I'm made of, as the One I'm united with forever in perfect fellowship and oneness..oh how good to have something put in my luggage way before time began, and to be rescued from those lies and to wake up and find this treasure within, where He had been all along..

A Thought: Jesus, You are my treasure, and I thank You for being inside me all along!

Grace in the Gutter

"The surest cure of the feeling of being unacceptable is the discovery that we are accepted by the grace of the One whose acceptance matters the most."

Lewis Smedes

"God..approves ungodly people."

Romans 4:5

God's grace is wonderful. We don't have to do anything to get it.  We don't have to deserve it.  We don't have to be worthy.  Isn't that why it's called "grace"?  I believe that gentle rain of grace is really falling on us all the time, but it is especially in those moments of acute failure and dryness that we can see it most clearly for what it really is - totally unearned, totally free acceptance.  Any other time we might feel we had somehow earned this favor by our good works or spiritual progress.  But we can't feel that way in the gutter.  We can't feel deserving when we've fallen in the ditch.  And that is precisely when the beauty of grace shines the most!  For His acceptance and love reach down to us even then.

Grace is for losers.  It's for rejects and failures.  It's for the unworthy and the unlovely.  Thank God it's for me!  It's for everybody, for all the broken lives that He sees as His beautiful creation, His perfect little children who have forgotten where their home is, who don't know who their Daddy is.  Thank you, God, for grace!

A Thought: I'm never beyond the reach of His grace!

Always With God

"I saw that God never began to love mankind. For, just as humanity is bound for eternal bliss in order to satisfy the joy that God prepared for His creation, so mankind has been known and loved from all eternity in the providence of God."

Julian of Norwich

"Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be His through our union with Christ."

Ephesians 1:4 (GNT)

We have existed in the mind and heart of God, have been known and loved by God, from before time began. Our spirits have always been one with Him, we in Him and He in us, and now through the incarnation and Christ's work, we can experience that union in our bodies too, so there is full communion between God and humanity, God manifested in human life, just like with Jesus, so now with us. This is what He always planned! Even if we had not fallen into confused delusions and inferior behavior, I believe Jesus would have come anyway to seal the union between God and humanity in the flesh, that we might fully enjoy the close, loving communion we have with the God who is in us as the very fabric of our being!

A Thought: Thank You, dear Lord, for knowing and loving me from before time began, and for joining me in this human life on earth! We will always be together!

Good Shepherd

"All will be redeemed in God's fullness of time...All the strayed and stolen sheep. All the little lost ones."

Madeleine L'Engle

"If a man has a hundred sheep and one of the gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it??

Luke 15:4 (NLT)

Jesus is our Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep. He cares for us as a perfect shepherd would care for the sheep, always looking out for us and rescuing us from danger. If even just one little sheep gets lost, what does He do? He searches for it, He goes after it to find it and bring it home. How long does the Good Shepherd search for the lost sheep? He searches until He finds it. He will keep going out after the little lost sheep of humankind until He finds every one of them, right down to the very last little one that has gotten lost. He will search for us and find us. He will never give up till He brings each of us safely home, carrying us home on His shoulders and rejoicing that we are safe and sound again!

A Thought: No matter how far I may wander, He will always come for me and bring me home.

Perfect Prayer

Christ is praying the perfect prayer for me today.

"Father,... I know that You always hear Me."

John 11:41-2 (PHILLIPS)

Sometimes we don't feel we know how or what to pray. We may feel so empty and so alone, and we may wonder if God hears ours prayers. We may feel we don't have enough faith, or dedication, or holiness to 'get' our prayers out right or 'get' them answered. We may forget to pray or feel we are not diligent. But it's okay. It's okay because Christ lives in us and He is praying for us and through us right now. He always prays the perfect prayer for every need we have. He always has enough faith, and dedication and holiness as He prays. He always remembers to pray and is always diligent in prayer. And He always sees His prayer heard and answered perfectly by His Father. Isn't it wonderful to know that we don't have to have some perfect prayer because the perfect prayer is already being prayed in and for us by Christ! He has joined us into the perfect relationship He has with the Father, and we can be sure that every prayer we pray is through Him and with Him and by Him, that He is giving us the prayers to pray, helping all our prayers along and praying the prayers we don't even have words to pray. And those prayers will be answered perfectly by our heavenly Dad!

A Thought: When I can't think of how to pray, He prays for me.

We're All Coming Home

"You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."

Augustine of Hippo

"All humanity will come to You."

Psalm 65:2 (CSB)

His love draws us all home to Him. We were made for Him and something inside us is always longing for God, longing for His love, longing for our true home in Him. No matter what, that desire and longing is within us, because God put it there when He made us. The child naturally longs for the parent, longs for relationship, longs for love. Nothing else but Him will satisfy us, His children. The Bible says people are God's offspring, so we are literally His kin. We belong with Him. Humankind is also the Godkind. We are ever drawn back to the source from which we came, our true origin, our true Father, God Himself. And so we come to Him, eventually, whether down the short road or the long road home. But He is making sure that we all arrive safely, that we all make it back home, that we all end up in His loving arms. In His mind, we never left. He has always been holding onto us. He has always been the anchor for our soul. We have always been tethered to our Maker. When we come to Him, we finally feel we are home where we belong, and we find the love we've been longing for all our lives!

A Thought: I'm running to Your open arms, because that's where I've always belonged!

Love That Outlasts Anything

His love will bring us home.

"Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen."

1 Corinthians 13:7-8 (PHILLIPS)

The strongest, best, most wonderful thing of all is the love of God our Father. This is a no-matter-what kind of love that outlasts anything and everything. He loves us through all our failures and confusions, our rages and humiliations.  He loves us beyond all our mistakes, doubts, fears, and confusions. His love keeps holding onto us when all else is lost. This is the love of a Perfect Parent for a beloved child. This is the love that won't give up and won't give in till the last one of His children is safely home. He will never stop loving us, never stop believing in us, never let us down and never let us go. He knows He will bring us to the place of fully experiencing His love, and He will never give up in bringing that to pass. His love is what we have always longed for and always hoped for, a place where we are fully embraced, wanted, cherished and known. His love for us will last forever!

A Thought: Thank You for loving me without fail, and thank You for loving me all the way home!

God Believes in Happy Endings

There's going to be party and we are all the guests of honor!

"On Mount Zion the Lord who rules over all will prepare a feast for all the nations. The best and richest foods and the finest aged wines will be served. On that mountain the Lord will destroy the veil of sadness that covers all the nations. He will destroy the gloom that is spread over everyone. He will swallow up death forever."

Isaiah 25:6-8 (NIRV)

God believes in happy endings!

God believes in you more than you believe in yourself.

God believes in making our deepest wishes for love come true.

God believes in His Son's work to rescue everyone in the kingdom.

God believes all sorrow will be turned into joy.

God believes all death will be swallowed up by His life.

God believes in everyone enjoying His hugs and kisses.

God believes in fairy tales turning out to be real.

God believes in eternal parties at the castle.

God believes love wins!

A Thought: I am guaranteed a seat at His table! I am guaranteed a place in His heart! I am guaranteed a happy ending with Him forever!

What God Believes

I'm going to believe what God believes.

"At present we are men looking at puzzling reflections in a mirror. The time will come when we shall see reality whole and face to face! At present all I know is a little fraction of the truth, but the time will come when I shall know it as fully as God now knows me!"

1 Corinthians 13:12 (PHILLIPS)

How wonderful God's reality - that all are His beautiful and innocent children, safely tucked into His arms forever, unconditionally loved and completely accepted, whole and holy, perfect and pure, belonging and beloved. God's reality is the only real reality and that it will prevail. Love never fails, God never fails, His truth wins out over every lie every time. Love drives out fear of punishment and torment! Light drives out darkness and 'not seeing!' Life drives out death forevermore! 

God believes His reality will outlast any of our delusions.

God believes His grace will succeed over our law thinking.

God believes His mercy will triumph over our self-judgments.

God believes His acceptance will drive out all our shame.

God believes His love will overcome all our defenses.

God believes His gentleness will win all hearts.

God believes His joy will infect us all!

A Thought: Dear Father, let me see as You see! Thank You that Your truth will defeat every illusion!

Never Separate

"We never were separate, never can be and never will be. We come from Him and forever remain in Him... We are already in this safe place, safe in Papa....and we don't have to do a jolly thing to earn it."

Fay Gillbanks Lagerwall

"For in Him we live and move and have our being."

Acts 17:28 (NKJV)

So often we can feel alienated or separated from God, or think that we are far from Him and must somehow move closer. It is such a relief, then, to know that we are always in God! We live in Him, we go through every day in Him, we exist in Him. The whole of creation is in God. Everything, including all humanity, was created and is sustained in God's own being. He is everywhere, all around us and all inside us. There is nowhere we can go where He is not. How safe and secure we are to have our whole existence in Him! 

A Thought: I have never been apart from God and He has never been apart from me.

Everything is perfect

"We are more in heaven than on earth."

Julian of Norwich

"Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

Colossians 3:2

What is it like to see as God sees, to set our minds on things above? It's like closing your eyes on one world and opening them in another, the heavenly world that is more real and close and true than this visible world.  He gives us the clarity of heaven, so we see everything that's going on in the visible world all from His perspective. And from His perspective, somehow all is well, and everything is perfect. That is what the presence of Christ in us brings to every moment, and it's heaven on this earth.

A Thought: From God's viewpoint, all is well.

His Most Wonderful Love

"Before God made us, He loved us, and this love has never diminished and never shall."

Julian of Norwich

"How great is Your constant love for me!"

Psalm 86:13 (GNT)

His love for us is almost unbelievable, truly unfathomable, and yet it is TRUE and REAL! We really are infinitely cherished, cradled, and loved - without condition, from before there ever was any 'condition' - by the Most Wonderful Being in the universe!

His love is so great, so vast, that we can never fully comprehend it or come to the end of it..His love is so tender and sweet that it melts all defenses...His love is so gentle and peaceful that it calms every fear...His love is so powerful that it shelters us from every lie of the enemy as he tries to tell us we are not loved...

This love is so alive, so magnetic, so beautiful, so fulfilling that in this love we actually see ourselves as He sees us and it is mindblowing! And we find ourselves starting to believe that we really ARE the special, innocent, chosen, and beloved children that He says we are!

This love can't be defeated, stopped, or driven away..This love is here with us, for us, no matter what...This love will never, ever fail us, never let us down, and never lose us - we are safely home in His love for all eternity!

A Thought: His love is better than we could ever imagine.

Holy Rant: His Life in Me

With Christ's life inside me, I can't lose. In fact, I've already won.

"His life can never be destroyed."

Hebrews 7:16 (NIRV)

Let's have a holy rant about Christ's life in us: His life in me can never fail!  His life in me is unchangeable!  My circumstances may stink, I may feel low, I may not enjoy all of life, but His life in me is PERFECT!  It can never be diminished, defeated, or destroyed. It's always reigning over every circumstance. It's always full of joy!  It's always fulfilled!  Always free!  Always at rest!  Always in victory, always enjoying true joy and happiness, always lived to the fullest!  Never fearful, never lonely, never troubled, never down - His life in me is perfect and I enjoy that life as MY life forever!  That's where I am today!

A Thought: Dear Lord, I love having Your life in me!

Holy Rant: Secure

He will never abandon or reject me.

"He has said, "I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!"

Hebrews 13:5 (AMP)

Let's have a holy rant about how secure we are in Christ: My security in Christ CAN'T be moved!  His love over my life is immovable.  NOTHING will make Him stop loving me!  He's not going anywhere - nobody can change what Jesus has ALREADY done - and He's already set me with Him in the heavenly places!  He's already put me in union with Him, cemented us together so that we can never be apart, put us so close that we are "in" each other.  He said He'll NEVER leave!  He'll NEVER leave! (Heb. 13:5)  No matter what sin I commit, no matter what struggle I can't overcome, no matter what life throws at me, no matter what doubt - He never leaves!  He never abandons me!  He never, never, never stops loving me and He never ever will!  He holds me in His hand and will never drop me, never lose me, never discard me, never reject me, never, never, NEVER!

And that's where every single one of His children is today, too!

A Thought: Thank You, Jesus, for always being there for me. Thank You that Your love will never let me go!

Anchor

 You are my anchor.

"There has never been a storm that was bigger than His love for me."

Susana Turner

"We know that our life is safe with God. It is like an anchor that keeps a ship safe."

Hebrews 6:19 (EASY)

The storms and trials of life can toss our little boats every which way on the turbulent seas. It can seem like we are at the mercy of our problems. But God is our anchor. We are held fast by something strong and firm, solid and immovable. So we are safe and kept securely through any storm. We do not have to navigate these storms alone. It is not up to our own power or wisdom to see us through. It is up to Him, and thus there is never any doubt - we will make it through. He will never fail. He is our anchor!

A Thought: Thank You, Papa, that You hold me firmly and get me through any trial or storm!

He Cleansed the World

I see every person as holy because of what Christ has done.

"What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy...God has shown me that I should not call any person 'unholy' or 'unclean.'" 

Acts 10:15, 28 (NASB)

Christ took away the sin of the world. That means the world is washed clean by Christ. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them. God has forgiven the whole world through Christ. That means there is no sin on them. The world is cleansed, each person is made clean and holy and pure by Christ's death on the cross. So we can see every person through the lens of the finished work of Christ, who forgave and cleansed the world of sin. So even though on the outside people's lives are messy and their behavior is often impure, we can see through Christ's eyes and see each person the way He does, clean and pure and holy. And we can see ourselves that way, too!

A Thought: Thank You, Jesus, for your precious blood that cleansed us all of sin and made us holy!

Heavenly Reality

See God's reality.

"So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable."

2 Corinthians 4:18 (AMP)

God sees from a heavenly perspective. It isn't that He is blind to the pains, injustices, and sufferings of this world. That is one reason He took on flesh and lived among us and gave up His life for us - to enter into all those sufferings, pains and deaths and bring us forth from them into a better place, His reality, eternal reality. God sees that eternal and heavenly reality, the only world that is ultimately real in the end. And in that place all tears are dried, all pain is gone, all wrongs are righted. In that place goodness reigns and kindness flows like a river. In that place enemies are friends and all is complete and love never ends. We live in this earthly world of pain and sorrow right now, but through Christ we also live in that other world of pure beauty and light, where all is well. And that is what is truly real for us, that is our true home. It's not only where we belong but also where we are at every moment. In all we go through here on this planet, God keeps seeing the ultimate truth of love, peace, innocence and wholeness, and He keeps opening our eyes to see it, too - and He radiates that heavenly reality through us! Heaven is touching earth at every moment, every moment that we live and breathe. And it's only a matter of time before heaven's reality is earth's reality, too!

A Thought: I'm living in God's eternal reality where all is well!

Awareness of Oneness

"True worship is simply our awareness of our oneness."

Lydia du Toit

"Then you will know I am one with the Father. You will know you are one with Me, and I am one with you."

John 14:20 (CEV)

Oneness with Christ - Christ in each of us and each of us in Christ - is so beautiful and makes everything so easy and delightful! When we see we are one, all struggles cease, all longings are fulfilled, and our whole being comes to rest in awe at how beautiful He is and how beautiful we are to Him.

A Thought: I am one with Christ.

As Christ Accepted You

"To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now." 

Fred Rogers

"Honor God by accepting each other, as Christ has accepted you."

Romans 15:7 (WE)

Jesus honored God the Father in His life. And the way He honored God was by loving and accepting all people. Jesus welcomed sinners and seekers. He ate with outcasts as well as Pharisees. He warmly embraced everyone - whether children, lepers, tax collectors or fisherman. He spoke with the rejected and noticed the forgotten. He met people right where they were and accepted them. 

And He is doing that with us right now, in every moment. Every moment we are accepted completely, just as we are, with all our hangups and struggles, dreams and quirks - accepted and loved, valued and cherished. That is what it means to be truly loved - to be taken in, embraced, valued and accepted just for who you are. 

And because we have been so loved, we can accept ourselves, just as we are right now. And we can accept others just as they are right now, too. We are freed to take off our masks and let others know they can take off their masks, too. We are freed to extend understanding, to give people grace, to look past defense mechanisms, to love people just for who they are. We are freed to see the uniqueness of every person, honor their dignity, and celebrate their true beauty. For that is just how Christ has treated us! 

A Thought: May the love of Christ, that is nonjudgmental acceptance without the possibility of rejection, keep spreading to more and more people!

Not Judging

I am never being scrutinized or judged by God. I am always being embraced and accepted by God!

And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

John 12:47 (NKJV)

Jesus came accepting and embracing every person. He accepted those who believed in Him and those who did not believe. His great heart welcomed all people. He didn't come here to judge; He came here to heal, to help, to serve, to love, to save. He came to calm our fears of being judged by God, showing us instead a God who is our Daddy rather than our Judge.

Acceptance and non-judgment! This is what God gives us and we can pass it along. Knowing He doesn't judge us but instead accepts us unconditionally helps us to give the same gift to others, the gift of acceptance and non-judging. Judgment is really the 'wrong tree' isn't it? Acceptance is the tree of life! Jesus is acceptance, not judgment, what a relief! He is grace, not law, always and forever!

A Thought: Because He accepts me rather than judging me, I am freed to accept myself and others without judging.

Always Our Friend

"The mercy of God and the forgiveness is in order to abate and consume our wrath, not His."

Julian of Norwich

"Love... keeps no record of wrongs." 

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)

We can see sin and offense, guilt and blame, forgiveness and reconciliation. We can think God is keeping a record of our wrongs and that we must 'do' something about them to get back on His 'good' side, get Him to be okay or favorable toward us again. But that is our human story. That is not God's story. 

God's story is all love, gentle, embracing, accepting love. This love keeps no record of wrongs. That means God is not offended by our wrong acts. He is not turned away from us or holding back His favor till something is 'done' about sin. He doesn't list, keep track of or remember any of our sin. He sees no sin on us! He says, there is nothing to forgive. He is always facing us, always loving us, always favoring us, always seeing us as innocent children. He is always our friend, never angry with us, never changing in His total embrace of us.God's story is that we are friends and nothing can change that. God's story is of a perfect bond of love between us that can never be broken. God's story doesn't even see sin; it only sees goodness and purity and oneness! 

We are the ones needing help getting past the sin issue, with its shame and blame, not God. God isn't playing the shame and blame game! His only game is love!  After all, at the cross God was in Christ reconciling us back to Him, not reconciling Him back to us. So the forgiveness we feel is to help us get over OUR shame and blame. He pours out a waterfall of forgiveness and reconciliation through Christ to reconcile OUR minds back to the truth of His forever friendship with us, to appease OUR wrath at ourselves and others, to take away OUR blindness to His love! What an amazing God and what an amazing Friend!

A Thought: Thank You, Jesus, for never being angry with me, never turning away from me! Thank You for always looking at me with friendship and love!

Eternity in the Heart

We naturally long for love, long for God.

"He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God].."

Ecclesiastes 3:100 (AMP)

He is the only One who can satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. We find within ourselves a deep longing, a "knowing" of the eternal. There is something placed in us by God Himself that naturally knows the truth, knows of God, longs for and wants God. When we hear the truth of His love, when He speaks to us, we find something deep within us leaping up in joy as the truth resonates in our hearts, and we know this is the One we have always longed for! Deep down we all long for God and we all know love is the truth of God.  Deep down we all know that we truly belong with Him. Deep down we all want God. His love finds us and satisfies this deep longing of our soul. The creature hears the voice of its Creator and finds the place it has always belonged!

A Thought: Hearing about God's love for me awakens my heart to God and I know deep down it is true!

Pouring Forth Love

He keeps on loving us.

"Lord, You're so kind and tenderhearted and so patient with people who fail You! Your love is like a flooding river overflowing its banks with kindness."

Psalm 103:8 (TPT)

His love is always pouring over us, like a waterfall flowing, always, no matter what. Nothing we do will ever change His pure love for us, delight in us, or approval of us. It doesn't matter how many times we fail or how many ways we let others down, we will never fail in God's eyes and never let Him down, because He constantly sees us as His pure, perfect, sweet little innocent children. He is always seeing us that way, always flowing with love towards us, always smiling at us with such pride and joy. He is an ever-bubbling, overflowing fountain of joy and peace and sweetness and kindness. 

A Thought: He is a river of delight that is flowing with love for me, His innocent child.