“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

Can you believe it’s almost Christmas?! Can you believe that the fall semester has come to a close, and spring is just around the corner? I know for many of you this marks the end of your first college semester, and to that I say congratulations! This is just the beginning of glorious accomplishments that will come over the next four years.

I’m constantly amazed at how quickly time goes by. I wish so badly that I could slow life down, lessen my responsibilities, and spend every day with the people I love. Never working, never stressing out, never wanting more than what I already have. But alas, I haven’t such control. I think that is something I am thankful for, though it’s hard to keep up with the fast pace of life.

About three and half years ago my little brother’s best friend, and a very close friend of my family, was diagnosed with Leukemia. After too many rounds of chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants, miraculous prayer, and two relapses, Blake met Jesus just over a year ago on December 14, 2010. Now I’m not sure if you’ve ever lost a close friend, but I can assure you there is nothing fun about it. Although he battled on and off for several years, his decline was very quick and we barely made it home to say goodbye.

I could write for days on the beauty of Blake’s life and the way in which he reflected Christ in absolutely everything. However, this is neither the time nor the place for such reflections.

Instead, I want to focus on you and your life. Life is short. I know that is something we often hear, and it’s usual coupled with a reminder to make the most of every opportunity. I’ve heard it a thousand times, too. But I want you to really think about it. Just over a year ago Blake was alive, and for all intensive purposes: he was well. He was living and he was pointing people to Jesus by his faithfulness and trust in the worst of situations. With merely the passing of time, it’s a year later and things are quite different.

You may not be battling cancer, facing a serious financial struggle, or fighting a major war in your walk with Christ. But you are on this earth for a very specific, very important purpose. If Jesus were done using you he would take you home. I believe that with everything inside of me. Are you making Jesus proud? Are you living in such a way that represents Him at all times? In your words, actions, and time with family and friends? Are you bold to speak truth? Humble to receive correction? Patient enough to wait for what the Lord has instead of complaining when it’s not what you want?

Although I very much long for the day that I go Home, I can’t stop thanking Jesus for allowing me to remain on this earth this long. Has my life in the last year been worth Jesus keeping me on this earth rather than taking me Home? Am I making an impact for His Kingdom and for His purposes?

I hope that these questions cause you to reflect on your life.

Have you found the purpose for which Jesus has created you?

Are you living life in a way that represents Jesus, so that death – whenever it comes – will be gain?

I hope so.

Sweet Daughter of the King,

You need to know that you are beautiful. You need to know that when Yahweh looks at you He sees you holy. He sees that your sin has been covered with the blood of Jesus and you are now pure.

You need to know that you are worth it. It doesn’t matter who told you that you’re not. It doesn’t matter how many times they said it, or how many times Satan reminds you of their words. Your heart is worth pursuing. You are worth fighting for. You are worth life.

You need to know that Jesus has a purpose for you. You have not been created to live and die without making an impact on the people around you. You have a grand reason in this world and God is going to use you to impact the nations… if you’ll let Him.

You need to know that Satan will never stop speaking lies to you. You need to know God’s truth so that you can fight them. Satan will do everything in his power to keep you from knowing God. Never think that you’re in the clear. Never stop fighting him.

You need to know that you are loved by the Creator of the Universe. You move the heart of God. You are a delight to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You are worth it.

Rest in this truth. Believe it in your heart and let it permeate every aspect of your being.

Do you believe what we discussed last week? Do you believe that in you is the power of God? Do you believe that you can really and truly impact your generation for the Kingdom of God?

If you do not, I beg that you would dive into the Word of God and discover His power and His promise that the same power that raised Christ from the dead is living in you (Ephesians 1:18-21).

Once you reach of point of believing that this is really true I have one thing to say… DON’T WASTE IT. Don’t believe the lie that “someone else will do it.” The Lord has called YOU out and set YOU out “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

We live in a world that is ruled by darkness (Col 1:13). We, as believers, have been rescued from that darkness, yet we still live in a world utterly surrounded by it. It is tragic, to say the least. Yet, what is even more devastating is a dark world full of lights that don’t shine. Don’t be a dim light. You are the light of the world, Jesus says, and with a specific intention: “That they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16).

The Lord has set you apart and called you to make a difference in the world for the glory of His name. What are you doing to impact your generation?

More than anything, I believe that life with Christ is the deepest joy anyone could ever know. He is trustworthy. He will not let you down.

I pray that you would recognize the intention that Christ has for your life. The desire that He has to exceed your wildest dreams and do more than you ever dreamed.

I challenge you to dream big. Petition the Lord today and ask what He might have you do to further His Kingdom.

Maybe that means investing in the younger girls in your church? Going on a mission trip? Being a camp counselor? What can you do to inspire the people around you to BELIEVE God and to DO SOMETHING to make a difference on this earth for HIS Kingdom. What can you do? Who can you serve?

Lord Jesus,

I want to impact my world with the gospel. I don’t want to waste the potential that you have worked in me since before the foundation of the world. I believe that You are God and I commit my life to making Your glory known on the earth.

I love you.

Amen.

 

In 2 Corinthians 2:9 Paul quotes a passage from Isaiah when he reminds the church in Corinth that, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”

If I could give you one single piece of advice to last for all your days I would say this, “Dream big. Set goals and diligently see them to fruition.” Keep in mind I am speaking now to those who are His. (If you’re not, you may want to read this  first.) 

Part of the surrender that we experience as believers in Christ is the surrender of our will for His. It’s definitely not always easy and fun. Sometimes what it seems we wanted most is the one thing He withholds. When we are walking in the truth of Scripture we believe that if the Lord has it for you then you will have it in His time. And if He doesn’t have it for you, we hold on to the hope that He has something so much better.

Psalm 84:11 says, “No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” If we set our hearts on walking blamelessly before our King we have the promise (an express assurance on which expectation is to be based) that if He sees it as good for us, it will not be withheld. That is something to rely on, my friends!

So here we stand. We have a God who is for us (Romans 8:31) and a world that has no hope. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians, we have never even imagined the things that God has prepared for us. Paul also says that Christ is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). That pumps me up! What are you imagining for His Kingdom? What are you dreaming about? What are you imagining? Is it something in which the Lord will delight to go above and beyond? Are you pursuing the furthering of His Kingdom? I hope that you are!

Ephesians 1:4 says, “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Girls, before the foundation of the world God set you apart for HIS glory! Don’t let that go to waste! The worst thing that you could do for the Kingdom of God (and equally the best thing you could do for Satan) is not to recognize the power that you have been given as a follower of Christ (Eph. 1:18-21). Without this power we can do nothing. WITH this power we can change the world. I believe that with everything inside of me. I think that the reason miniscule things are being done for the Kingdom is because Christians don’t recognize or tap into the power that we have been given. We are doing the gospel a huge disservice by living as if we don’t have what it takes. You’ve got it, girl!! You’ve got it!

You have been created with the purpose of furthering the Kingdom of God. To make His glory known among the nations and to share His joy and light everywhere you go. My prayer is that you would not miss out on the plans that God has for you because you think that you are not good enough. Or because you simply think you can’t. You have to believe that the redeeming power of Jesus’ death has set you free. Allow God to use YOU to do mighty thing for HIS Kingdom on the earth!

Lord,

I believe that You have created me to accomplish great things for Your name and for the purpose of Your Kingdom. Help me to keep my focus on You. Give me the strength to dream big dreams. Use me for Your glory! I am Yours.

Amen.

As we have been traveling on this journey through “you are” statements, I don’t want you to forget the purpose. We focus first on who you are and then on why. It is of such deep importance that you know truth because of the lies that Satan will speak to you.

Last week we saw the truth that you are beautiful. As lovely as that fact is, it is for a far greater purpose than you might think. You are made in His image with the purpose of reflecting Him.

In the Old Testament book of Exodus Moses has the privilege and honor and speaking with Yahweh face to face. When he goes up to Mount Sinai he receives the law for the people. It says in Exodus 34:29, “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” How sweet is that? He was literally shining from being with the Lord.

After you spend time with the Lord, do you shine? Does your joy radiate to those around you? Would people ever have cause to stop and think, “Man. I want what she has!” I sure hope that is true for me. I hope that when people see me, they see the light of Christ.

One of my favorite verses is found in 1 Peter. It says in 3:3-4, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

Now, I’ll be honest. If you had to describe me in 3 words “quiet” would probably not make the list. In fact, it probably wouldn’t make the Top 10… or 20. I’m just not a quiet kinda girl. I love this verse because it challenges me and encourages me at the same time. It encourages me that my focus should not be on looking good every day. It reminds me that I don’t need to have the nicest clothes, the newest shoes, or the best hairstyle. It’s alright if I don’t wear any make up! My worth is not defined by my outward adornment. My beauty is marked by my inner self.

This is where the challenge comes in! My inner self needs some work, girlfriend. I will be the very first to tell you so! I am comforted by the promise in Philippians 1:6 that says, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” He’s not finished with me yet! And He’s not finished with you either. He will not stop the process of making you more like Him. That is reason to rejoice, sweet friends!

There are a couple things I want to be sure to mention in the discussion of letting your inside overcome your outside:

– What are the “outside” things to stay away from?

– What are the “inside” things to look for? Desire? Pursue?

Outside Adornment:

– Clothing: Our clothing should never become a stumbling block to those around us. A stumbling block is anything that causes someone else to sin. When you get dressed in the morning, or when you go shopping for new clothes, be mindful of the things that you are wearing/buying. Make sure that your shorts are long enough, and your tops aren’t cut too low. Be careful when you’re buying bathing suits and dresses. Remember that you have brothers in Christ who are counting on you to help guard their thoughts!

– Make up: Be careful not to use make up to cover who you are, or to change the way you look. Use make up to enhance the features that God gave you!

Inner Self:

– Heart: When we set our hearts on becoming more like Christ the rest of our “inner self” will follow suit. It says in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Make it a priority to spend time in prayer and reading your Bible. This will align your heart with Christ. Your heart is like your storehouse. Whatever is inside will inevitably flow out into your thoughts, words, and actions.

– Thoughts: I truly believe that the battle we are fighting against sin is either won or lost in our minds. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:2-3 Make a conscious effort to dwell on Scripture, to pray throughout your day (as your walking through the mall, or driving to work).

– Words: This is often the hardest for girls! Like I said before, quiet is not the best description of me!! Luke 6:45, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” If your primary focus is setting your heart after Christ, your words will soon follow. Proverbs is a great resource to read to learn about how powerful our words can be. Proverbs 10:11 says, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life…” Make an effort to let your words bring life to those who are hurting!

Here’s a good test: Do you spend more time in the morning in front of the mirror, or in the Word? Are you spending more time preparing your outside or your inside?

Remember, you are made in His image with the purpose of reflecting Him! Let your INWARD beauty overcome your OUTWARD beauty! 

 

Lord Jesus,

I believe that You have made me beautiful. I want to shine so brightly that others look at me and see You. Please help me to focus more on my inner self instead of my outward adornment. Help me to be a woman after Your heart. I love you.

Amen.

Greetings, dear friends! Again, I must ask for your apologies for my slacking off this past week! I was in the whirlwind of weddings as my precious friend, Amanda, married her best friend. It was a beautiful wedding and we had the most fun celebrating! She looked like an absolute princess and it reminded of me of the work of the Lord. Can I tell you something?

You are BEAUTIFUL.

It hurts me to think that some of you don’t believe me.

Here’s the deal, sweet ones, and I want to say it as concisely as possible:

We are at war.

You have an enemy and he wants to destroy you. There is good news & bad news.

The good news is: WE WIN.

The bad news is: We have to fight for it every single day.

Satan knows that in the end he will be destroyed so he makes every effort to steal the everlasting joy and abundant life that Christ came to give you. It says clearly in John 10:10, “The theif [Satan] comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; but I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

You must fight for it. You must defeat the enemy every single day so that the victory of Christ on the cross is made complete in you. The work has been done! Live in the victory.

My deepest prayer for you as you read is that you would not only see the truth, but that you would BELIEVE it.

Darling girl, you are beautiful.

You were made in the image of the Most High and He has made no mistake. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

At the beginning of the Story God created US in HIS image. Man, oh man! What beauty. What glory!

Do you see the weight of that? Do you grasp the power of being made in HIS image? The One who made Alaska cold and Flordia hot. The One who carved the Grand Canyon, shaped Mount Everest, and designed Niagra Falls. He made YOU.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

I’m refraining from rambling on and on and on and on about your worth, your beauty, and the God who made you. I’m refraining because honestly, I don’t think it would do much good. I don’t think rambling would convince you on this one. I think that maybe this time I need to be concise.

I need to tell you that you are a beautiful, radiant, darling creation of the God who does not make mistakes.

When Satan tells you anything other than that, I urge you, sweet girl, to play back Psalm 139:14 in your mind. Say it over & over if that is what it takes. Fight lies with truth.

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

I am no stranger to the voice of Satan. He seems to speak up when I am at my weakest [can ya relate?]. There are times when I feel like I cannot fight any longer. There are times that I believe his lies. But there is sweet VICTORY when I fight them with truth. There is confidence in my heart that I have been created by the Most High King and He has crafted me JUST as He intended to. He did the very same for you.

Never stop fighting Satan.

Replace the lies with truth.

BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

Sweet Jesus,

I’m sorry that I am quicker to believe the lies of Satan over the truth You have spoken of me. I commit to You to fight him with everything inside of me. I will learn the truth in Your word and I will combat the lies with the words of Scripture. Please never stop speaking truth to me.. through your Word, or through Your people. I am listening. I love you.

Amen.

Maybe you are like me. I love the idea that I am forgiven. It is comforting and encouraging and honestly, it gets me through some days that I just might not have made it through.

Forgiving others, however, doesn’t quite produce the same feeling of comfort and security.

As we talked about last week, if you are in Christ you are FORGIVEN. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1, emphasis mine). There is absolutely NOTHING Satan can do to take that away. What he can do, however, is plague your mind with thoughts each day that say you are not enough or that you do not deserve forgiveness. He can stir angry thoughts in your mind that cause you to dwell on what so-and-so did to you, or said about you. He can remind you of the hurtful words your parents said to you, “You’ll never be good enough” or “You’re going to eat another piece of cake?” or “You really can’t get an ‘A’ in Biology?”

Somehow, no matter how many positive things were spoken over you, the enemy will find a way to remind you of the negative things said to you.

And then Satan wins the battle. (Just the battle. He has already lost the war and that is reason to celebrate!!! But let me assure you, he will never stop fighting for the victory of the battles.)

Darling girls, you have been forgiven in order that you might forgive.

That we have been granted forgiveness from God after every offense we committed against Him is remarkably beautiful. What only adds to the beauty is that we have been granted the power to forgive.

If you have ever forgiven someone (and boy, I sure hope you have) you know that forgiveness is no small feat. The deeper the hurt, the harder it is to forgive, but oh the victory we experience when we forgive!

There is nothing natural about forgiveness. Every time you forgive you are letting the gospel SHINE in you. You are showing this sick and twisted world a small, yet glorious, glimpse of the God who has forgiven you. That is lovely.

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15

Seems a little harsh, eh? Why would God withhold forgiveness from me?

“God, You don’t know what she said about me!”

“God, You don’t understand… he told me he loved me.”

“God, I can’t forgive my dad for that. It’s too much.”

It’s okay. I’ve had those conversations with God, too. What we must understand is that the depth of the pain we feel when someone sins against us is merely a drop in the ocean of the grief that we have caused the Lord with our chronic unfaithfulness and continual sin.

Jesus spoke such strong words in Matthew 6 to express to us that every time we withhold forgiveness we quench the flame of the gospel. How can we stand before a sin saturated world and proclaim that we serve a God who forgives, yet we harbor bitterness that rules over us? It doesn’t match up, and Yahweh knows.

Jesus shares a parable in Matthew 18 about a servant who owed his master the equivalent of millions of dollars. The servant begs and begs that the master would show him mercy and cancel the debt. The master does so, and the servant leaves. When he leaves he finds a man that owed him the equivalent of a few bucks. Keep in mind this man had just been forgiven millions of dollars. What do you think he does?

If you thought, “He forgives him, of course!” You are unfortunately wrong. Despite the second servant’s begging for mercy (sound familiar?) the first servant has him thrown in prison until he could pay the debt.

The other servants saw this man who had received such mercy withhold mercy from another man and they reported it back to the first master. He calls the wicked servant before him and Scripture says, “In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.” (Matthew 18:34).

Yikes, right? Ready for a double yikes? In the very next verse Jesus says, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (18:35, emphasis mine).

We have been forgiven in order that we might forgive because when we forgive we show the world a glimpse of the gospel that magnifies the precious name of Jesus Christ.

And what other purpose do we have on this earth?

To forgive is to release. Forgiveness brings freedom, and sweet friends, you were called to be FREE.

Lord,

I do not deserve Your relentless forgiveness. I have done nothing to earn it, and everything to disqualify me from it. Thank you for seeing beyond my inconsistency and loving me ever so consistently. Teach me to forgive as You have forgiven me. Help me see people as You see them. I want people to see You in the way that I forgive. I love you.

Amen.

“When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14

I challenge you ladies to find a more powerful, comforting, triumphant verse in all of Scripture. Okay, perhaps you could persuade me to another, simply because I love the word of God, but this one is high up on my list.

I love this little passage because it captures the threefold message of the gospel. We were dead, we have been made alive, and it is only by the power of the cross. Each of these snippets has vast importance in the understanding that you have been forgiven.

Did ya catch me?

You are forgiven, precious one.

We have been in the trenches. We have been beaten up, bruised, toyed with, and spit on by the enemy and if he has his way we will continue on in a state of regret and guilt. None of this is the way it was designed to me, and you need to know that.

You need to understand that if you are in Christ, you are forgiven. You have been made new. ((Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2Cor5:17)) Ya’ll, this is good news!

I can hear you already. You’re saying, “Jenn, you don’t understand what I’ve done. You don’t understand where I’ve been.” You are right in saying this, I won’t pretend otherwise. But Christ knows. That is precisely the beauty of the gospel. He knows all about where you have been and all about where you are going, and His love has not (nor will it ever) change, falter, or pause. Not even for a second.

“If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Okay, so there’s a catch: confession and repentance. The word confess in the Greek is homologeo and it means “to agree with” or “to concede” or “to profess.” To confess your sins is to agree before God just as he spoke through Paul, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…” (Ephesians 2:1) [Are you ready for a little Greek lesson? :)] In the verse we see from 1 John the word confess is in the subjunctive tense. There are lots of different tenses in the Greek language. The most common is the indicative tense which states reality. “I’m typing on my computer.” That would be indicative. The subjunctive tense, however, is almost more of a suggestion. “I may go get a cup of coffee.” See the difference? So “If you might confess your sins…” would be a more accurate expression of the subjunctive. John is explaining what will happen if we confess. So forgiveness and cleansing is only a result of confession. That is lovely.

I want you to think for just a moment what you have been forgiven of. What comes to mind when you think of the weight of God’s glory compared to your sin? Is there anything that you think is too far from grace? Too “bad” to be forgiven? I pray that you will see the beauty of redemption and the depth of God’s love and grace towards you. “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” Ephesians 1:7-8

This grace was poured on us according to God’s perfect wisdom and full understanding. You are in good hands, sweet girls. Find peace, comfort, redemption, and forgiveness in this blessed truth.

Father God,

I do not deserve Your forgiveness but I am so thankful that in Your wisdom You lavished Your grace on me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being patient with me. I don’t understand why You show me such grace, and I am sorry that my obedience to you is inconsistent. Teach me to walk in obedience. Help me to hear Your voice. I love you.

Amen.

Sweet friends,

You must accept my deepest apology! When I began this little journey of weekly encouragement I was still at home enjoying my lazy weeks of summer. Now, I have begun my internship in Nashville and life is much, much busier! I am so sorry that I skipped a post last week! Because I come to work extra early on Wednesday mornings, the posts will now be coming either Thursday or Friday mornings when I am at home! I am sorry for my inconsistency!

What I am most excited to encourage you with this morning is more than that beautiful truth that you are loved. In case you forgot, you have a Father in Heaven who loves you, period. Regardless of your sin, your bad choices, your disobedience, and your unfaithfulness. You are loved by an everlasting God with an everlasting love. That is something to celebrate!

Not only is their beauty in the truth that you are loved, but there is action required from that love. Now, now, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing that you could ever do to earn the love of God. That’s not what we’re talking about here. What we’re talking about is the overflow of joy that comes because you are loved. It is that indescribable something inside of you that makes you want to love others! Know what I’m talking about? It’s the Spirit, my friends!

You are loved to love. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” Our entire ability to love stems from the love that God has shown us. Just a few verses later he says, “And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (vs. 21). Again, it is said in John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Read that one again, would ya? “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Jesus is saying that the way we love will make it evident to all mean that we are His followers.

The way we love is noteworthy because we are evil people. We are not naturally good. Genesis 6:5 says, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Christ is saying in John 13 that people we know we are different because we love. Because even though there is something in our hearts that urge us to wickedness and unrighteousness, the Spirit moves in us to instead choose love.

There are people all around you every day that are deeply hurting. I know you are hurting too, but there are people who hurt with no hope. We have hope in Christ and that gives us strength to keep going.

My challenge to you is to love those that are not easy to love: your little sister, your hovering mom, your co-workers, your classmates, or your boss.

Make it a habit to frequently ask yourself, “Can people know that I am follower of Christ by the way that I love?” If the answer is anything but “yes” make it your goal to love more unconditionally.

Lord, I want to love the way that you love. I know that you have created me to shine in a world plagued by darkness. Give me the ability to love those that get on my nerves. Give me patience, and make me more like You. Thank you for loving me despite my inconsistency. I love you. Amen.

Well, I believe I said I would post every Wednesday morning. And alas, it is Wednesday night. SO, I overrule my previous statement to say simply Wednesdays :) I’m sorry for my own inconsistency.

Today/tonight I want to focus on perhaps one of the most simple truths of the gospel, yet one that so many struggle to really believe. I want you to know that you are loved. Deeply, truly, personally, unconditionally loved.

I think for many (including myself) that is a really hard thing to believe. I’m not sure why it can be such a struggle, but it is. I sit here wondering why that is so tough to grasp and I think it’s simply Satan. One of the deepest desires of any (and every) human is simply to be loved. In that deep, true, personal, and unconditional way. We long for satsifaction that affirms who we are and what we are doing and we look for it in every place but the one who has it.

Love is hard. For selfish, sin-soaked humans to forsake our desire to please self and to instead serve another is not just unnatural, it is impossible. Without the strength of Christ in us we cannot love. We will forever choose to serve ourselves. That is, my friends, if we acting out of our flesh. Our inclination is to do whatever will best advance our work… yet in Christ, well… all bets are off. Everything changes.

Do you believe that? With your whole heart? Do you really believe that when you are in Christ everything changes?

It does. It should. It must.

It must because as followers of Jesus we bear His name like a stamp on our foreheads. Either we acurately promote who He is and what He is about (grace, forgiveness, honesty, love) or we misrepresent who He is and what He came to do. I beg you not to do the latter.

1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” Plain and simple, sista. We have the ability to love because God loved us. And He not only loved us, He showed us His love by sending Christ to take punishment that we earned by sinning against Him! It wasn’t fair! But then again, love usually isn’t.

I need you to know that you are loved by our Father. Whether your earthly dad was good or bad to you is not what I want you to think of right now. The most beautiful way that Jesus knew to describe Yahweh was that of a perfect father.

I want you think of Yahweh and think of the love that it took for Him to choose to place all of your sin on His Son.. and not just the sin but the wrath it deserved. Think of that Father and that love. Think briefly of your own sin and deeply you have offended the Father who has given you “every good and perfect gift” (James 1:17). I say think only briefly because to dwell in your sin would miss the point. You have been rescued and redeemed. You are no longer bound to sin! Because of His love. All because of His love for YOU. And when you think that your sin is too great; when you think your unfaithfulness deserves not a faithful Lord; when you think that no one could ever love you again remember this:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

That is PROMISE, dear girls, that is as sure as the Lord it speaks of. Nothing can separate you from His love.

Find peace in knowing that YOU ARE LOVED.