Don’t buy the false gospel of self-reliance. If you could make it without help, Jesus would not have needed to come. Paul Tripp. New Morning Mercies

God first rescues the people from Egypt [Exodus 20:1-2], and then he gives them the Ten Commandments [Exodus 20:3-17]. Keeping the Ten Commandments is not what saved them; God had already done that. God did not first give the Law and then deliver the people—first he delivered his people, and then he gave them the Law. Thus, we are not saved by the Law, but saved for the Law. The Law is how we conduct our love relationship with God, not the way we merit the relationship. We are saved by faith in Christ’s substitutionary life and death alone. ________________________________ Tim Keller. Gospel In Life. Devotional. 7th December 2022

A pastor asked an older farmer, decked out in his overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast. "Lord, I hate buttermilk", the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going. The farmer loudly proclaimed, "Lord, I hate lard." Now the pastor was growing concerned. Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, "And Lord, you know I don't much care for raw white flour". The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn't the only one to feel uncomfortable. Then the farmer added, "But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So, Lord, when things come up that we don't like, when life gets hard, when we don't understand what you're saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits. Amen." Within that prayer there is great wisdom for all when it comes to complicated situations like we are experiencing in the world today. Stay strong, my friends, because our LORD is mixing several things that we don't really care for, but something even better is going to come when HE is done with it. AMEN! ________________ Anonymous

God is not satisfied with informing you about the work of his kingdom. He transforms you to participate in the work of his kingdom. God... has called all his children to be his ambassadors, that is, to represent his message and his character in whatever environment he has placed them. Here’s the plan: a God of grace makes his invisible grace visible by sending his people of grace to reflect his grace to people who need grace. You have been called to be the look on his face, the tone of his voice, and the touch of his hand. You are to represent his presence and his love. You are placed where you are to make his mercy and faithfulness visible and concrete. ________________________________________ Paul Tripp. New Morning Mercies.

“Louis Éveley wrote, ‘A tortured heart committed to the Father is the most living image of the Redeemer.’ To suffer well is not to have our faith shattered but rather to have it strengthened because, through our suffering, the object of our confidence has become more focused and clear. The blessing of suffering is that it strips away any pretense of not needing God or others. It frees us from the exhausting comedy of having to pretend that we’re fine on our own.” ______________________________________ Russ Ramsey, Rembrandt’s “Simeons” and the Spiritual Discipline of Suffering https://byfaithonline.com/rembrandts-simeons-and-the-spiritual-discipline-of-suffering/