How do you love someone you don’t know? And how do you know someone that you don’t spend any time with?
Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship. Paul took pains in his letters to various churches to separate faith in Christ from trust in the Law. What are you seeking? The man or the machine?
Old things have passed away
Your love has stayed the same
Your constant grace remains the cornerstone
What do you hold onto in this world for stability? We live in a world of constant change. And the pace of this change seems to be getting faster and faster. Like nearing the edge of a whirlpool. Fame is fleeting. Tastes keep shifting. Relationships are tenuous. That being said, the love that Christ brought to the world, culminated in His death on a cross, has been mending broken hearts for over 2000 years! The passion he has for those he loves hasn’t changed. It hasn’t lost any of its intensity. Take a moment to identify the things in your life that you hold onto as stable. Unchanging. Trustworthy. Nothing in this world will compare to the love of Christ.
Things that we thought were dead
Are breathing in life again
You cause Your Son to shine on darkest night
Are you feeling dead? God is in the business of bringing dead things to life. From the changing of the seasons to Christ’s ultimate triumph over death. If God can bring life out of death, so too He can bring light into the darkest moments of your life. John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Stop and surrender what is the darkest part of your life right now. Ask His Spirit to remove that darkness and replace it with the Light of His presence.
The hopeless have found their hope
The orphans now have a home
All that was lost has found its place in You
Do you feel lost or out of place? Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” As a human, there’s no way to avoid the tendency to get lost along the journey. But praise God He continues to seek after us as a lost sheep (Matthew 18:12). If you have strayed away from God because of choices you’ve made, repent of those choices and return to the loving Father who stands with arms open. If you have allowed the circumstances of life to pull you away from Him, surrender Your life into the hands of the creator of all life and be held secure.
You lift our weary head
You make us strong instead
You took these rags and made us beautiful
Do you ever have trouble looking in the mirror? Isaiah 64:6 says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” The burden of sin is heavy. The chains are constricting. Yet Isaiah 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Christ’s death and resurrection not only ensures us a seat at the table, but fill us with the beauty that comes from no longer being owned by our sin, but being a child of the King.
For all that You’ve done we will pour out our love
This will be our anthem song
Jesus we love You
O how we love You
You are the One our hearts adore
Do you love Jesus? Seems like a silly question if you are reading a devotional right now. But I want you to really think about that and what it entails. Do you love Jesus the person? Or do you love what he has done for you? It is possible to love the gift without truly loving the giver. Have you really decided to have a relationship with this person? Or do the words he said just sort of resonate with you? Do you love the person of Jesus enough to follow him WHEREVER he takes you? You see, Christianity, or rather discipleship, is not a religion, it is a relationship. It’s not a way of life you are following, that can lead to pride. It is a person you are following, which will always mean you come after. It is not about salvation, it is about a savior. If you haven’t yet, begin the journey of following JESUS, not CHRISTIANITY. Follow the man, not the machine.
Our affection our devotion
Poured out on the feet of Jesus
In John 12:3, Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus’s feet as a symbol of her devotion to him. What can you do today to show your devotion to him?
Jeremy