Jesus’ Love and Grace

“He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.” (Jn. 6:71) There are few feelings more painful than being betrayed. It feels like your heart has been ripped out of your chest and then stomped on. The closer the relationship, the deeper the …

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Jesus Lifts You Up Into New Life

“For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead…” (1 Peter 4:6) What happened to Jesus between Good Friday and Easter? Although we don’t exactly know, today’s scripture suggests that Jesus was raised from the dead before Easter morning so that He could offer salvation to those who had already died. …

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A Glimmer of Being Loved by Jesus

“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”    (Jn. 13:1) Even though Jesus knew that His disciples would deny and desert Him, He loved them “to the end.” Loving them to the “end” meant that He loved them to the uttermost, loved them without end, loved them …

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Jesus Rules with Joy and Freedom

“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’”    (Jn. 18:36-37) Pilate had every …

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Believe In and Hold Fast to Easter

“But on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body.”    (Luke 24:1-3) Where would we be without Easter Day? Without Easter, there wouldn’t be …

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Jesus — God’s Gift to Us

“Everything that the Father gives to me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away...”    (John 6:37) We say Jesus is God’s gift to us, and He is. Today’s passage, however, doesn’t say that. Instead, today’s words make this astounding claim: We are God’s gift to Jesus. …

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A Good Day For Us

'In all this, I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’   (Acts 20:35) Mr. Mac cut grass, raked leaves, and worked on my grandmother’s many flower gardens when …

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Our Personal Relationship With Jesus

“Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands,’ and the one you have now is not your husband.’”    (Jn. 4:16-18) Before this moment, the …

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Sharing Love Forever with God

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”    (Jn. 3:16) No line in scripture is so well known or so often recited. Because we’re so used to these words, I sometimes think we don’t fully …

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God — Our Engineer and Lord

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.”    (Jer. 17:7) Have you ever traveled on the Apocalyptic Train? Most often, when I get on this train, it’s in the middle of the night. I’m lying in bed, and this “end-time” train is taking me to terrible and terrifying places. …

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