“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)

All this…

• The global pandemic
• Racial tension and upheaval
• Economic turmoil
• Not worshiping in person
• Social distancing
• Social isolation

All this…

God is at work in you to make you more complete. God is working through these situations to use you to be a light and hope to a world floundering. God is working right now. God is working right now in you and through you.

It is not enough to endure and survive. God has given us everything in his church and through his Holy Spirit for us to thrive.

Jesus tells us in John 14:26, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

Because God is at work through the Holy Spirit, Jesus tells us, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in my will also do the works that I do and in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

Isn’t that amazing?!?!

Endure? Survive?!?!

Are you kidding me?!?! God is at work in you and me and promises to do an amazing work in and through you. Do not settle for enduring or surviving.

The key is abiding and working with the Holy Spirit. The key is allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you and shape you.

Church, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”

Thrive!

“He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us”
(Psalm 103:10-12)

Amen, amen, amen!

God’s steadfast love and grace is my only hope. And that is more than enough!

God’s love is so amazing. God knows us better than anyone else and still loves us, is for us, and wants what is best for us.

The enemy constantly reminds you of all that you are not and all that you lack. God is always telling you of everything you are because of all that God has already done for you in Jesus Christ.

The enemy tells you, you must do more. God tells us, it’s all already been done.

You have a choice. You can either choose to listen to the voice of the enemy, or you can hold fast to the all that God declares in his word.

Choose God.

God loves you. God wants what is best for you. Trust in God and follow him.

“When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions” (Psalm 65:3).

Charles Spurgeon preached in a sermon entitled Love’s Logic, “Do not let the devil tempt you to believe that God does not love you because your love is feeble.”

The reason why I sometimes struggle with God’s love is not because God’s love is not great but because my love is so weak.

The thing is, I am a sinner. Not only am I a sinner, but I am a repeat sinner. There are certain sins which I confess on a daily basis because there are certain sins I struggle with on a daily basis. Because of this, there are days when I feel ashamed for asking for forgiveness for the same sins which God has already forgiven me for.

The reason why I doubt and feel ashamed is not because God’s love is not great, but because of my personal experience with how I love. My feeble attempt at love can’t imagine forgiving someone for the same transgressions on a daily basis.

We get into trouble when we begin interpreting and understanding God’s love through our love. It needs to be the other way around. God’s love is agape. God’s love is unconditional. God’s love is complete. We need to relearn how to love as God loves.

We get into trouble when we focus on ourselves and our sins instead of focusing on God’s unconditional love and God’s complete forgiveness. God does not love the way we love.

Of course God wants us to confess our sins and failures, because God’s love always pursues us to be more like him. It is the devil who wants us to believe that God’s done with us and our feeble ways. It is the devil who shames us into thinking that God would shame us.

Think on God’s love. Remember God’s promise.

“When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions” (Psalm 65:3).

Amen!