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The cross. Can you turn any direction without seeing one? Engraved on a ring or suspended on a chain? The cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. An odd choice, don’t you think?

It’s strange that a tool of torture embodies a movement of hope. Its design couldn’t be simpler. One beam horizontal, the other vertical. One reaches out like God’s love. The other reaches up as does God’s holiness. One represents the width of his love; the other the height of his holiness. The cross is the intersection. The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards.

God put our sin on his Son and punished it there. Your sins have been placed on Jesus. Jesus receives the blow. And since Christ is between you and God, you don’t. The sin is punished, but you are safe—safe in the shadow of the cross!

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Remember what you are worth! The Bible says, “You were bought, not with something that ruins like gold or silver, but with the precious blood of  Christ. . .” (1 Peter 1:18).

Ever feel like you have nothing? Just look at the gifts he has given you. His Holy Spirit to dwell in you, his church to encourage you, and his Word to guide you. You have been chosen by Christ. He has claimed you as his beloved. You are spoken for; engaged; set apart; called out; a holy bride! Be obsessed with your wedding date. Be intolerant of memory lapses. Write yourself notes. Do whatever you need to do to aim at what is in heaven. . .to think about only the things in heaven (Colossians 3:1-20).

You are engaged to Royalty—and your prince is coming to take you home!

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I once shared a class with a girl who got engaged. I don’t remember much about the class except the hour was early and the teacher was dull. I don’t even remember the girl’s name. I do remember that she didn’t stand out in the crowd. She was shy and not very confident. One day, however, her hair changed, her outfit changed, and even her voice changed. She spoke with confidence. What made the difference? Simple. A young man she loved looked her squarely in the eye and said, “Come and spend forever with me.” He proposed to her. His love for her convinced her she was worth loving.

God’s love can do the same. It can change us! The Bible says, “God has loved you with an everlasting love; He has drawn you with loving-kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3). Jesus can live without us—but He doesn’t want to!

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A couple who resorted to do-it-yourself marriage counseling resolved to list each others’ faults and then read them aloud. The wife gave her list and he read: You snore; you eat in bed; the list continued. When the husband gave her his list, she smiled. He’d written his grievances, but next to each he’d written– I forgive this. The result was a tabulated list of grace.

Imagine you are before the judgment seat of Christ. The book is opened and the reading begins—each sin, each deceit, and each occasion of greed. But as soon as the infraction is read, grace is proclaimed. Jesus says, I forgive this. Registered forgiveness! No humiliation! No shame! Because in heaven you will be in your sinless state—happy to let God do in heaven what he did on earth. He will be honored in your weakness!

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God has kept no secrets about this life. He has told us that we will experience trouble. Disease will afflict bodies. Divorce will break hearts. Death will make widows and devastation will destroy countries. We shouldn’t expect any less.

Yet just because the devil shows up and cackles, we needn’t panic. Jesus says in John 16:33, “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He speaks of an accomplished deed. “I HAVE overcome the world” It’s finished! The battle is over.

Be alert but don’t be alarmed. Satan is loosed for a season, but the season is oh, so brief. The devil knows this and in Revelation 12:12 we are told, “he is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short.” Just a few more turns in the road, and his end will come! And we will have a new beginning.

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While we wait for Christ’s return, we can be encouraged because Jesus is praying for us! As recorded in Luke 22:31, Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to test all of you as a farmer sifts his wheat.” Loose translation– Satan is gonna slap your faith like a farmer slaps wheat on the threshing floor!

You would expect Jesus’ next words to be, So get out of town! But Jesus shows no panic. In verse 32, He says, “I have prayed that you will not lose your faith. Help your brothers be stronger when you come back to me.”

Everything changes when Jesus prays for us. The devil may land a punch or two, but he never wins the fight. Jesus protected Peter, and Jesus is protecting you.

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We are frail creatures. We are not made of steel, we’re made from dust. And this life is not crowned with life, it is crowned with death. The next life, however, is different! In Revelation 2:10, Jesus urged the Christians in Smyrna to “be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life.”

You will also receive the crown of righteousness. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith. And now there is waiting for me, the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord will give me on that Day and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear.”

Set your heart on that day. Crowned with life. Crowned with righteousness. Forever!

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A crown awaits you in heaven.  We understand that in the economy of earth, there are a limited number of crowns. The economy of heaven, however, is refreshingly different.

The apostle Paul tells us heavenly rewards aren’t limited to a chosen few; but he writes in 2 Timothy 4:8, “all those who have waited with love for him to come again will receive a crown.” The three-letter word ALL is a gem! The winner’s circle isn’t reserved for a handful of the elite, but for a heaven full of God’s children.  James 1:12 describes them as children “who will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him!”

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God has a high regard for your body. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul calls our body the “temple” of God.  Be careful how you feed it, use it, and maintain it.  You wouldn’t want anyone trashing your home; God doesn’t want anyone trashing his. After all, it is his, isn’t it? A little jogging and dieting to the glory of God wouldn’t hurt most of us.

Your body, in some form, will last forever. God will glorify your body. He will remove all weakness and disease. Isn’t that great news? Your pain will not last forever. Is your heart weak? It will be strong in heaven. Has cancer corrupted your system? There is no cancer in heaven. For a season, your soul will be in heaven while your body is in the grave. But the seed buried in the earth will blossom in heaven. And you will be just like Jesus!

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The cemetery is a sad place. We don’t like to say goodbye to those whom we love. It’s right for us to weep, but there is no need to despair. They are, at this very moment, at peace in the presence of God.

One of our church members asked me to speak at the funeral of his mother. Her name was Ida, but her friends called her Polly. Her son told me his mother had been unresponsive the last few hours of her life. She never spoke a word. But moments before her death, she opened her eyes and in a clear voice said, “My name is Ida, but my friends call me Polly.”

Meaningless words of hallucination? Perhaps. Or maybe she was in the presence of God—maybe she was getting acquainted!

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In Romans 6:9, the apostle Paul says, “When Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end.” The resurrection of Jesus is an exploding flare announcing to all sincere seekers that it is safe to believe!

Because of the resurrection, everything changes. Death changes. It used to be the end; now it is the beginning. The cemetery changes. People once went there to say good-bye but now they go to say we’ll be together again. Even the coffin changes. It is no longer a box where we hide bodies, but rather a cocoon in which the body is kept until God sets it free to fly.

In John 14:3, Jesus says “I will come back and take you to be with me!” And to prove that he was serious about this promise, the stone was rolled away and his body was raised from the dead!

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The 1989 Armenian earthquake needed only four minutes to kill thirty-thousand people! One father refused to believe his son was dead. He dug in the rubble—refusing to quit. After thirty-eight hours, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son’s voice! The father called his son’s name, and the voice answered him, “Dad, it’s me!” Then the boy added these priceless words: “I told the other kids not to worry—if you were alive you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved, too. Because you promised!”

God has made the same promise to us in 1 Corinthians 15:22-23. “Christ rose first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will become alive again.” Christ’s resurrection is the keystone in the archway of the Christian faith. His death is real. His resurrection is sure! Trust him.

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It’s funny how Scripture remembers different people. Abraham is remembered as trusting; John as loving; Paul’s place is carved out by his writing. But Simeon was the man… looking!

Eight days after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple. Luke 2:27 contains this curious statement: “Prompted by the Spirit, he (Simeon) came to the Temple.” The previous verse 26 tells us “The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen him—God’s anointed King.” Simeon was a man on tiptoe, wide-eyed and waiting for the one who would come to save Israel. Haven’t we, like Simeon, been told of the coming Christ? Aren’t we, like Simeon, prompted by the Spirit? Are we not longing to see the same face? Simeon reminds us to wait patiently, vigilant, always ready!

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Several years ago I spent a week speaking at a church in California—and had incredible hosts. All my meals were at a different house. But after a few meals I noticed all we ate was salad! No meat, no dessert—just salad. At first I thought it was a ‘California thing.’ But when I finally asked, the answer was, “We were told you eat nothing but salads!” Well, I quickly corrected them! The hosts meant well, but their information was bad! I’m happy to say we corrected the problem and enjoyed some good meat!

I’m even happier to say Jesus won’t make the same mistake with you! He is preparing the perfect place, the perfect meal! He says, “I have prepared a place for you!” (John 14:2). Trust the promises of Christ! He knows exactly what you need.

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“Daddy, how much farther?” It’s the single question hated most by moms and dads on a trip. Our girls loved to watch The Little Mermaid, so Denalyn and I used the movie as an economy of scale. “How long, daddy?” they asked. And we’d respond, “About as long as it takes you to watch The Little Mermaid three times!” And for a few minutes it helped. But sooner or later they’d ask again and we’d say, “Just trust me. Enjoy the trip and don’t worry about the details. I’ll make sure we get home okay.”

Sound familiar? In John 14:1-3 Jesus says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. . .I will come back and take you to be with me. . .” Most all of his words here can be reduced to two: Trust me! A healthy reminder when it comes to anticipating the return of Christ!

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If you summarized your emotions regarding the return of Christ what word would you use? Discomfort…denial…disappointment…or hope? Maybe your word is discomfort. After all, the Book of Life will be opened, and names will be read. How could the thought of His return bring anything but discomfort? Maybe it’s denial? We prefer answers and explanations, and the end of time seems short on both. Or how about disappointment? A mother-to-be wants to hold her baby; an engaged couple want to be married. A soldier overseas wants to go home before he goes… home!

Discomfort. Denial. Disappointment. All possible feelings. But here is the one feeling Christ wants us to have– trust! Jesus says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust in Me” (John 14:1).

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Do you want to see a father’s face go ashen as he discovers three words on the box of a just-bought toy: Some assembly required. What follows are hours of squeezing A into B, bolting D into F, and hoping no one notices if steps four, five, and six were skipped altogether. I’m convinced the devil indwells the details of toy assembly. Somewhere in perdition is a warehouse of stolen toy parts.

Some assembly required. Not the most welcome sentence but an honest one. Life is a gift, albeit unassembled. The pieces don’t fit. When they don’t, take your problem to Jesus. He says, Bring your problems to Me!  In prayer, state them simply. Present them faithfully, and trust Him reverently!

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Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” A glimpse of God’s goodness changes us. If He is only slightly stronger than us, why pray? If He has limitations, questions, and hesitations, then you might as well pray to the Wizard of Oz.

Psalm 68:5-6 says, God is “a father to the fatherless. He sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity.”

Pray with me!

Dear God. Today remind me today that you protect me. Be my father and defender. Defend those who’re weak and afraid and feel forgotten. Show up in their lives today. Thank you for giving me a spiritual family that can never be taken away. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

At any point you’re only a prayer away from help!

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A lot of us make unnecessary messes. But we can change that. May I make a suggestion? Before you face the world, face your Father. Take this pocket prayer:

Father, You are good. Your heart is good. The words might come slowly at first, but stay at it! You are always right. The weather’s bad, the economy is bad; but God, you are awesome!

Don’t underestimate the power of this moment. You just opened the door to God and welcomed truth to enter your heart. Who knows, you might even start to worship. Is your world different because you prayed? In one sense, no. But you are different. You have peace. You’ve talked with your Father.

Here’s a prayer challenge for you!  Every day for four weeks pray four minutes; and get ready to connect with God like never before!

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