Hello friends!

I'm writing a note to you because it has been a long time since I have posted an article on Substack. I do apologize for this lapse in content as you all have put your faith as well as your money into what I am creating here. One of the reasons for such a lapse is that my day job, which, as you know, is carpentry work, has been extremely b…

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“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:13-15

I don’t know of a worse condition than being dead. Can a dead person revive themselves? I have never heard of it or seen it. When a person has died because of a sickness or injury, we say that it is final. It is a condition from which no one returns; that is, apart from the miraculous. The scriptures say here that all of us are already dead in our sins. No human effort or strategy can deliver out of this. Our prideful and unbelieving sinful nature rules, encapsulates, and separates us from the divine life God offers. Oh, the marvelous gift of God’s grace! My questions to you are not, “Do you have a desire to do good for others?” or “Do you try the best you can to be better than anyone else and stay out of the truly bad sins?” My question to You is, “What are Your thoughts toward yourself and Jesus?” If there is no enlightenment of the truly ruined, broken, totally corrupt, and selfish nature you possess in relation to God and His magnificent holiness, then you may have yet to be a receiver of God’s saving grace. If you are familiar with your own unworthiness and yet, at the same time, have an inquisitiveness, a hope, an appreciation, thanksgiving, wonder, even love toward Jesus, then you are the recipient of a measure of God’s grace and it is the most precious quality you have been given…ever. Grace only comes as a gift. You can never earn it. The key is to then to follow that grace deeper and deeper into the pains and trials of life until the impossibility of your own self and circumstances meet with the amazing generosity and miraculous nature of God’s divine majesty.

The scripture above does not say that only the sins of our past have been forgiven. God is so perfect that He can even forgive sins in the future, before they have even happened.  In Christ, everything is forgiven. Are You alive to this? Are you alive to Him? If so, God’s gift of grace is operating within you.  Our sins do legally condemn us and we can faint under this weight if our eyes don't remain on our Savior. We also  have an enemy, and his tongue is ripe with an accurate list of our failures, sins, faults, and imperfections. His voice cunningly sounds a lot like our own and if we passively go along with his narrative then we can remain under an oppressive cloud of unbelief and guilt that disorients us and keeps us from the life Jesus has won for us.  Yes, we do have an enemy, but, thanks be to God, we also have an Advocate; Jesus Christ the righteous.  His mighty power and infinite wisdom have overcome the flaming arrows of wickedness and deceit the devil has fired at us. As we lift our shield of faith and believe on God’s perfect work at the cross, Scripture says we extinguish every one of those arrows, and we overcome him.

In his mind, Satan should have won 2000 years ago on that fateful day where God died. Satan used ignorant and foolish people, like he always does, to mercilessly torture the innocent One to the point of death and then past it. He literally did everything one can do to steal, kill, and destroy what is good. On that third day I can almost hear laughter coming from Jesus’ lips as He feels the Father’s presence and life surrounding Him, filling Him, and lifting Him up into the heavens. I can picture Satan inflamed with rage and humiliation as he looks upon his greatest triumph turning into the most horrific defeat of all time. It is embarrassing how bad God beat him, really embarrassing. He is the laughing stock from now into all eternity, of anyone who gives their heart to believe and follow Jesus wholeheartedly. So which side are you on? Do you stand with the world in unbelief and mockery or do you bend the knee in humility and appreciation to the One who has overcome the grave? There is only one way to deal with our sin and wickedness and God Himself has accomplished it.

Dear Lord, have mercy on me a sinner. Thank you for living a perfect life and dying a perfect death so that Satan and all that is evil could be defeated. Holy Spirit, I receive Your life and take the Lord Jesus into my heart so that I may have resurrection power to have Your victory over sin, death and the grave. Thank you for the marvelous and astonishing way you overcame and can overcome through me today. I love you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she [Mary Magdalene] had seen Him, they did not believe it… Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.”  Mark 16:11+14

The disciples knew that bodily resurrection was possible because Jesus Himself raised Lazarus from the dead one to two weeks before, right in front of them… But in their sorrow, guilt, and shame, and with the circumstances being so convincingly dire, the thought of being saved from the oppression of Rome, and more importantly, from their own, now very apparent, sins had completely vanished from their realm of possibilities. Jesus, their master, their leader, their friend, and God’s own Son… the One they had left everything for… the one they put all their hope in, had died. In their estimation, He hadn’t even gone out fighting. He allowed Himself to be led away, beaten, bruised, lacerated, insulted, and left to hang on a wooden Roman torture device, while he bled and slowly died gasping for air hour after hour

 Aren’t there experiences in life that feel awfully familiar to this in our own? How long have we tried to hold out hope for God to come through, yet only to be crushed, again, time after time, hour after hour until nothing feels remotely alive to us in ourselves or in our circumstances. “How could God pull this out for the win? I just don’t see it.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been there. Yet, in His great mercy, God somehow brings a resurrection. It may not be the resurrection I wanted. It may not be the resurrection I expected. But, with God there is always a resurrection. It is just His way. When things are at their worst God does it. I don’t know how, He just does. 

Every disciple was crushed to nothing in the scene above. They weren’t still praying in faith, they were eating. They were doing normal everyday things, probably still in shock from what had happened. And after hearing news that somehow Jesus was alive, they did not believe it. They could not believe it.

So what was Jesus’ response? Surprisingly, our gentle Savior didn’t come to console, He came to rebuke. How could they not believe Him after all they had seen and experienced? What were they doing moping around?... Jesus was alive, and in a few short weeks, the Holy Spirit would descend upon them all in a baptism of fire, giving them the real power to live a supernaturally victorious life!

I have been rebuked so many times by the Lord. Why? Because I am incurably selfish, that’s why. Jesus, is the only One strong enough to get me to move forward in life toward anything possibly redemptive. If left to my own devices, I am a dead end. I cry out to Jesus all the time to save me from myself. I have insulated my heart from love and life so many times, not trusting the only One who can truly heal.

In the image above I have drawn a person who is turned away from Jesus because of the wounds of his heart and his stubborn refusal to trust the One who bled on a cross for him. I am that man. I know you either were that man or woman at one point or are right now. The clock in the background represents the limited time we have left to give our lives back over to the One who deserves it all. He is grieving until we turn around. He is waiting. He loves us so much. Currently, I know I am on the path back to Jesus. My own way does not work. Maybe you would like to join me in giving our hearts back to Jesus, the Risen Savior. There will be a process. There are choices we will have to make. He is patient. Lord, have mercy.

Dear Lord, in Your great mercy, accept me as I am. After many years of striving to try to be good enough, I still have nothing of myself that is worthy, nothing that is noble. All I have are stubborn sins and a wounded heart. I turn back to You and give You my heart again. Not in self-righteous passion, but with timidness and fearfulness, but Lord, who is like You? You are the most humble Savior; to become man and suffer like us and die on a cross, You are familiar with woundedness. That draws a response from me. Lead me Lord. Show me how to follow You again. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Lord, bring us back to You.

Bring us back to Jesus.

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.”  Psalm 1:1-4  

Who doesn’t want to be happy and joyful? I don’t know a single person who would say they do not. But this verse says that true happiness, or blessedness, really only comes by seeing the right way to live and conforming one's life to it.  

“Well, what is the “right” way to live?” one might ask.  

The highest definition of being “right” is actually to be righteous. Being righteous means, I am living a life that is in a right relationship to a perfect and holy God, or to put it another way, I am living perfectly, as God is perfect, in everything. (Matthew 5:48)  

This is stunning.  

Who could even dream of living a life like this? All of the time being kind as God is kind, loving as God is loving, holy as God is holy?

 In the above verse in Psalm 1, David expresses that those who hang around with selfish and sinful people, will no doubt, be corrupted by them and be dragged down and prevented from living the glorious God-like life that we were created for. Thankfully, though, David gives us a more, seemingly hopeful option to consider -- and that is to always be meditating, considering, and attempting to live out God’s Holy Law; a perfect life of love and service to God and others. David saw the beauty in God’s law and it's demands.  In it’s precepts, he saw a glorious reflection of God’s good character and he longed to emulate it.

   But, this is where the script is flipped. 

In the Old Testament, God actually sent this perfect standard of living (The Mosaic Law) to His Hebrew people knowing they (or anyone else) could never measure up to living it. The achievement is too great. In our weak human attempts to live a completely righteous life, most of us must come to realize many times over, thousands of times over, in failure after failure, how helpless and hopeless we are in performing this awe-inspiring requirement. Instead, if we have any sense of inner honesty and integrity, we must allow ourselves to be debased with the stark reality of our sin, ungodliness, and wretchedness when compared to the Lord and His holiness. It is actually right and proper to fall down and cry out for His great and continual mercy. "Have mercy Lord - I am a sinner!" The gospel only tastes wonderfully sweet to us when we have, by God's grace, come to see these difficult and humbling revelations about ourselves.

The amazing thing is that finding out this truth does not decrease our value in His eyes. Thank the Lord for how merciful He is! We are only, over time, coming to realize what He sees all along. In the life of Christ and in His sacrifice, we see God’s just wrath and judgement toward us and His holy condemnation of our sin and selfishness placed upon His only Son who suffered for our sake. We see Jesus fulfilling the holy and righteous law in our place, His perfect life offered up as an acceptable sacrifice to the Father. . He fulfilled every demand, every righteous requirement, perfectly for us (Romans 8:4).   

So, in the Old Testament, the Law that David writes about has glory, yes, but it is only a fading glory. Human performance cannot endure under God's weight of requirement. No "good" act or thought from ourselves will gain us a right relationship with God. The law can only condemn us, and in our agony, point us to Jesus. This is why Christ is far more glorious than the Law, which, again, hinges on our performance. Unlike the Law which points us to our inability and lack of accomplishment, Jesus, and what He has accomplished for us, will never fade away, but last forever (2 Corinthians 3:7-18). It is a perfect work because God Himself did it.

  So, in Psalm 1, it says that the person that meditates on God’s law, day and night, will be like a tree planted beside streams of water who yields it’s fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and whatever they do prospers. So, what does this really mean for us today? Let’s think of it this way, David was in the age of the 1st covenant of the Law. It was God’s revelation to His people at that time. All of the regulations they had to perform spoke to how holy and righteous God was and at the same time, were meant to bring His people to the end of themselves and only believe on God for salvation. Some did. Most didn't. But now, Christ has come, and He is the only One who has perfectly fulfilled the Law.  Through His performance, He now offers us a New Covenant with Himself. Now Believing in Christ's life sacrificed in our place is the only way to be righteous in God's sight. Placing faith in Christ alone will enable God's grace to effectively fill us with His Holy Spirit and make us a holy and righteous son or daughter forever.

 Let us look at our verse again. I believe, today, in our New Testament Age, where the word “law” is written, we can confidently replace it with the word “Christ”. Please see below:  

“Blessed is the one… whose delight is in [Christ], and who meditates on [Christ] day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.”   

If David could write out this promise of blessing in the Psalms because of his love of God’s Law, how much more can we claim this same promise now in the New with Christ’s perfection to secure it for us? Christ became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). We now, because of Christ, have relational peace with God, so let us believe in Christ, let us meditate on Jesus and His wonderful love and His perfect life, not so that we might be acceptable and pleasing to a holy God, but because, in Him, we already are. 

  Holy Spirit, fill us with the full love and acceptance of the Father. Replace our many anxieties with joyful thanksgiving and increase our confidence in Jesus and His great accomplishment for us. Help us plant our roots deeply by Your streams of water, always drinking from Christ’s never-ending supply. If we are continually being nourished and strengthened by Christ, we will yield perfect fruit for just the right seasons of our life. Our leaves will never dry up and blow away, but will always be fresh and green… and we will flourish wherever we are and in whatever we do. Only by being planted in Christ and by His streams of refreshing water will we be truly blessed. Only in Christ will we find true happiness and joy.  Thank You Lord. Amen.

“For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous. He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed. The wise inherit honor, but fools get only shame.  Proverbs 3:32-35

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered [the angel]. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.” Luke 1:38

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant…He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.” Luke 1:51-52

In this image I have depicted Mary laying down, worn from the day, in a deep state of rest while carrying the Christ Child. Her response to God’s miraculous intervention in her life was a resounding “yes” and since those encounters while going about her day-to-day routine, she continually pondered this glorious promise in her heart. In the midst of giving birth to the miraculous, God did not take the hardship or pain away, but because of her choice to humble herself, the Lord was able to sustain her in it. There will always be a temptation to run from God when encountering pain. Mary counteracted this self-centered trap by considering herself less and identifying herself instead as the Lord’s servant. One cannot be a true servant of someone else without becoming less important than the other. Her only desire was to glorify God and see His will done in her life. Because of her consistent attitude of humility, Mary was able to keep her focus on God and through all of the suffering conceive the greatest of miracles. Jesus, the Son of God, placed by the Holy Spirit, was literally born through her human body. May we learn to continually humble ourselves before God and others and see His miraculous fruit born in our lives today. Blessings!

If you are interested in owning a print please message me:

8”X10” Framable Cardstock print w descriptive paragraph on back $14.99 + tax & S+H

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered [the angel]. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.” Luke 1:38

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant…He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.” Luke 1:51-52

In this image I have depicted Mary laying down, worn from the day, in a deep state of rest while carrying the Christ Child. Her response to God’s miraculous intervention in her life was a resounding “yes” and since those encounters while going about her day-to-day routine, she continually pondered this glorious promise in her heart. In the midst of giving birth to the miraculous, God did not take the hardship or pain away, but because of her choice to humble herself, the Lord was able to sustain her in it. There will always be a temptation to run from God when encountering pain. Mary counteracted this self-centered trap by considering herself less and identifying herself instead as the Lord’s servant. One cannot be a true servant of someone else without becoming less important than the other. Her only desire was to glorify God and see His will done in her life. Because of her consistent attitude of humility, Mary was able to keep her focus on God and through all of the suffering conceive the greatest of miracles. Jesus, the Son of God, placed by the Holy Spirit, was literally born through her human body. May we learn to continually humble ourselves before God and others and see His miraculous fruit born in our lives today. Blessings!

If you are interested in owning a print please message me:

8”X10” Framable Cardstock print w descriptive paragraph on back $14.99 + tax & S+H

9.75" x 15”

Daniel has been unjustly accused by fellow government officials. Because of his unparalleled leadership qualities as one of the highest governmental overseers in the land, he is, out of jealous trickery, found guilty and sentenced to death. More than just innocent of any immediate wrong doing, the scriptures say that they could find no crookedness in Daniel “because he was trustworthy, neither corrupt or negligent.” (6:4) But instead of humbling themselves and coming around Daniel to celebrate and support him in his upcoming promotion to be given by King Darius, these wicked officials were filled with intense jealousy and envy. Being also aware of his unwavering faith in God and how he would stop all activities to pray 3 times a day, they somehow came to the conclusion that this was his greatest point of vulnerability. They schemed and conspired and finally found a way to trick King Darius into having Daniel thrown into the lions den.

“[We] have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.” (6:7)

And sure enough, Daniel considered his relationship with God as of more importance than even this edict of the king. He still faithfully bent his knees for prayer and was convicted as a criminal for it.

Now being thrown into a pit of ravenous, starving lions should have quickly been the end of him, but yet again we see that what evil intended for harm, God meant for good. In this miraculous story of deliverance, God sent strong help through an angel to shut the mouths of the lions. After the initial shock of being in the holy presence of the angel, the lions probably understood that he wouldn’t be leaving and that they were to be sent to bed without their supper. I can imagine Daniel peacefully sleeping as the angel shone brightly above him guarding him throughout the night. And with God’s presence pulsating so near, his dreams must have been filled with the warmth and hope that everything, in the end, would be made right.

The next morning the king had the stone removed and in an anguished voice he called out to Daniel. Daniel, with a noble response replied, “May the king live forever!”. “The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” (6:23)

The wicked officials were then thrown into the lions den and their bones crushed immediately by the ravenous beasts. The Name of the Lord was given incredible worldly renown and Daniel was given greater favor and honor throughout the land and prospered greatly the rest of his days.

‭‭

Enjoy!

Danny

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”  John 1:9 

Joseph and Mary had both recently received angelic visitations that had dramatically altered their lives and blessed them with God's divine purpose and specific guidance. Mary would soon give birth to the Christ child.  Their response to God’s grace was one of thankful and worshipful obedience.  Soon after this, a public census was being taken, and Joseph was required by law to take his family to his hometown to register.  It must have been incredibly tempting for Joseph to disregard the necessity of this census because of his wife’s pregnancy. I can almost hear his anxious prayers and questions… “God, why now?” “Do I really need to do this?” “Don’t you care about our safety?!” “What if something happens to Mary or the baby?!” Joseph and Mary would have to travel 90 miles by foot through rough and rugged terrain, possibly harsh weather, and lurking bandits ready to steal or kill.  This was a literal “road of suffering” that would take 4 or 5 arduous days to complete. Scripture is silent in regards to what all they actually experienced on their journey, but after those untold days of trial came to an end, Joseph and Mary, worn and weathered, finally turned a corner, and as they slowly walked out from underneath a small canopy of olive trees, they saw Bethlehem.

The beautiful sight might have been lost on them because of their pain. One can only imagine Mary's condition after either riding on a donkey or walking for 4 or 5 days straight while late into her pregnancy, -- with possible contractions! Once in the town, as they anxiously entered Inn… after Inn… after Inn, they then found there was nowhere for them to stay. “This could not be!”

There is a point where prolonged trauma and severe pain can reach a threshold and begin to feel like divine rejection. Do we not ask questions like:

“How could God let this happen?!”

“Doesn’t He care about me?!”

I am convinced that one of the reasons this story is told must be for us to take comfort in the severity of Joseph and Mary’s sufferings. Even in the darkest, most hopeless, most painful parts of our journey, those times when even faith in the goodness of God doesn’t feel possible,

God’s mercy and grace do not dim. If we can just keep going, asking for the Lord to keep us humble, Jesus will shine His light and be faithful to fulfill His promises. His miracle will come, but it may look very different than what we were expecting. It will be done in His way and in His timing so that He can get all of the glory.

At this point in the story, Joseph may have looked back over Mary’s shoulder and heard the sound of a goat bleating and other farm animals. Here, they found a small cave where animals took shelter overnight. This was it then. This is where the Son of God would be born. Here Joseph could have felt such deep shame. One of his thoughts could have been something like, "Here, I have been commissioned by a literal angel, to guard and take care of my wife who is growing the Son of God inside of her own body and I can't even provide for them a room?!" "I am such a failure." "No privacy; Your holy Son being born out with the animals in the cold and open air, God, please forgive me!"

Yet, this is the way God chose to become man, in the messiest, most shameful, and most painful way…and in the lowliest of places. The miracle came, but it was in His way and in His timing. He deserves all of the glory. 

PRAYER: Lord, I ask for You to help me see my worst times in the light of Your unchanging goodness and loving presence.  Though, we at times suffer much more than we might ever desire or expect, keep us close to the truth. Help me to trust Your goodness that You promise will never change, whether I can see it now or not. Thank You for Your outstretched arms of mercy in the humble Savior Jesus.  You are the brightest light,  the only true light in the darkness. Thank you Jesus. Amen.

Digital Art on Procreate

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”” Luke :2:13-14

Weary and lowly shepherds tending their flock. Maybe they were half asleep, maybe they were focused, prodding the herd ever-onward, or maybe they had stopped for a moment to glance at the stars in their vast twinkling canopy. In a brief moment, these simple, “not-so-important” laborers became the privileged audience to one angel’s earth-shaking announcement and then a heavenly angelic host singing their glories to God. As the stunned viewers took it all in, the peace and favor of God must have rested on and enveloped them like a cloak…A life-altering experience where grace was poured out on the humble of heart. Scripture says that the shepherds returned after visiting the holy infant, and glorified and praised God for all the things they had seen and heard (Luke 2:20). May we have the same humility today as we consider all that God has freely given us in His cherished Son, Jesus Christ. Blessings to everyone this Christmas from True Image Illustration!

"Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." Psalm 119:89

"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."  Psalm 119:18

I had this daydream last summer on our family beach trip. While gazing out over the ocean waters I envisioned thousands of multicolored hearts cascading down from the heavens and then flowing, as if being pushed along by the wind across the ocean, toward us. On each heart was a verse from scripture and there was a sense of God's love permeating the atmosphere. It made me think of how important it is to read and meditate on God's word. Every verse in scripture is sent from a heart of love from God out to every person on the earth. He will never change his word and every one of His words will last forever... Even those difficult ones that we might not yet understand, or the strong words that might humble us in our pride, or the gentle words that would correct us in our pain.

  The bible is God's complete love letter to us. The more I walk with the Lord and keep in His word, the more I believe it.  I compare God's thoughts to mine and they are completely different. The scriptures are God-centered from start to finish.  My thoughts are "me"-centered most of the time. 

One of the most freeing words God gives comes from Ephesians 1:7-8 (See last panel in illustration above). Look at its focus. It says that redemption comes from Jesus' blood, which brings the forgiveness of sins, which is completely in line with God's grace that He lavished on us. Can I just say that the focus of redemption here is NOT on me or my sin. Instead it is all on God's ccharacter and what He has already done. How long have I and many others languished before God, grovelling in our sin and lack, when His focus is completely different. Sin has been dealt with at the cross. We are free to look at Jesus.

Though God's anger burns against sin, He is absolutely satisfied with Jesus' suffering and noble work to save sinners. The Father's wrath was placed on His own Son to such a degree that His anger was dissolved by His own mercy, and that, into grace toward anyone who would believe in Him.  Neither is this grace weak, for He lavishes it upon us with great joy. The Spirit has miraculously changed this sinner into a son. May my thankfulness increase each day. This is only the beginning.

Thank you Lord, for your great act of redemption. It is a complete and perfect work. Holy Spirit strengthen us and help us have faith to shift our focus from ourselves to You and be changed by your great, tender, and mighty love. Amen.

Have you ever asked what is God’s will for your life?  Well, you may be hoping for more specific details about if, or who, you are going to marry, where you will live, what you will do for work, how you can serve; and all of these are important… but what if, instead, we slow down on our own human efforts to know, prepare for, and control our future? What if we put a pause on being so selfishly concerned with the outcomes of every circumstance?  One thing I am realizing more and more is that I can’t control much outside of myself, and when I can even do that to a degree, it is a good day. If I can really control so little on my own, what is there to be thankful for? Why should I rejoice? This Thanksgiving let’s loosen our grip a little and consider starting, not from anxiety, not from trying to control, not from religious striving, but from the last part of the above verse; being in Christ Jesus. If you know Christ, then you are already in Him. You don’t need to do anything to get closer to His love, His power, His mercy, or His grace. He is in us and we are in Him and God’s will for us is one of rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks, regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. Let me flip this around. If I went out and found the perfect job for myself that paid me more than I needed, the best church, an amazing wife (which I do, by God’s grace, happen to have), great friends, good health with no aches and pains, and the list goes on, I still could be completely missing God’s will for my life.

What can I accomplish in this life that could even compare with the majestic awe-inspiring work God has done by already mercifully putting me into Christ.  It is a perfect work. God in His holy justice looked and saw my inner deadness, wickedness, and self-centeredness and knew there was no way I could have a right relationship with Him and that, because of this mean estate, I would be separated from Him forever in torment and darkness. So, being the self-sacrificing, compassionate, loving Father He is, He rolled up His sleeves and went to work to get me back. He sent His Son, who, still remaining fully God, condescended to become man, suffered deeply in this life, endured shame and torture on the cross, died, but then rose again in victory and sent the Spirit to find me.  He, by His great grace, filled me, and all of us who have positively responded, with Himself, enlivening our spirits again, giving us His incorruptible nature.

Praise God, we are made new. Our sin was not strong enough to keep God from loving us. Even now, any religious act, whether it is serving the poor, fasting, attempting to pray, or even reading the bible, cannot bring us into a better standing with God than we already have in Christ. Let me put it this way, Even if I were able to do those things perfectly, they are not the reason I know Christ. I know Christ because He sought me out, gave me the grace to believe and, by His Holy Spirit, came in and made me His own. 

How backwards I have lived my life for so many years; toiling and straining to get God to favor me, to look in my direction, to help me in my weakness and sinfulness, and all along He has been doing so, by already putting me into Christ and then pursuing me still, loving me in my stubbornness, forgiving my daily sins, and washing me in the water of His word. If that weren't enough, in the future, heaven waits with an eternity of bliss with God and His people. Thank You Lord. There is so much to be thankful for. In Christ there is so much to rejoice in. 

Lord, help me to grow in the grace to always rejoice, pray, and give thanks in every situation. Thank You that Your will is so good towards us. I am so thankful to be in Christ!

Note: If you have read this far and are not sure that You know Christ or would like to receive Him into your life, please message me and I would be happy to connect with You more. Best!

“He [Jesus] grew up before him [God the Father] like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” Isaiah 53:2-3

Oh the humility of Jesus. Always having been the glorious Son of God, He was still born into our humanity in complete personal weakness and utter dependence on the Father. He experienced in fullness the scope of human suffering. Let’s consider the comparison Isaiah here makes with Jesus being like a tender and frail plant; like a delicate stalk lacking what it needs to grow and flourish. A plant cannot survive on its own without rain or a natural spring nearby to absorb its life giving nutrients. Yet, Jesus is described as one who consistently felt great need, even of one despairing of life (Hebrews 5:7). This verse indicates that throughout his life, not just in his last few years, he was also continually rejected and despised by people. He was unattractive, even ugly, in appearance and he suffered because of it. Those who knew him, considered him as nothing, even less than nothing. The Son of God was disgraced, humiliated, and forgotten.

Yet, all of this was not without purpose. His suffering did not destroy him. In fact, it is here in the depths of human desperation where Jesus, the ever-living One, can humbly and gently whisper to us in our low estate. He can sympathize and comfort, bringing forgiveness, love, and grace to us at our lowest points, lifting us up and filling us with his water of life. Thank you Lord for your great humility and willingness to suffer long so that we might see the love of the Father. Amen

“Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:16-17

On our way to knowing Jesus and who He really is, there are many ways we can get off track and miss the point entirely. I wish I could say I have had a smooth sail in my relationship with God and that following Him comes easily, but it doesn’t. One of the hardest things to grasp is God’s grace. I have been so prone to wander and live for myself instead of Him that I have developed a very bad consistent habit of looking to myself and trying to control all of my thoughts and actions so that they will line up with what God wants so that He will be pleased with me.  On the surface, doesn’t that sound like a good idea? What father doesn’t want his son to listen to what he says and then obey at the first request? The problem is that the focus is mostly on me and my obedience, or attempts at obedience, than on Christ. Believing on His perfect work on the cross and indwelling Spirit take 2nd and 3rd place to me scrambling, trying to be the most important “doer” in the relationship. The Lord doesn’t need my fear-based striving to try and be a better son. 

Moses gave the law to Israel only as a temporary measure, and it wasn’t to give them a list of things to do (or not do) so they could get right with God. It was actually an unattainable goal setting them up, not for success, but for failure. They needed to know that there would be no way to live up to the holy and unforgiving standard of the Law. We try and we try and we try to live a good moral life for God, but in reality, if we are honest, we mostly see our own failure and brokenness apart from Him. God, in His mercy and wisdom knows this and has given a solution. His Son Jesus. Jesus doesn’t reach His hand out and expect us to show Him all of our good works, obedience, and victory in living a perfect life. He hopes instead that we will come broken and contrite (sorrowful), knowing we could not meet the Law’s perfect demands. In whatever area we are struggling in, the answer is not to try harder, but to surrender. Jesus is the only one who can live the perfect life. The real amazement is when, after we have been beaten and bruised enough by the law, we fall and cry out for mercy and grace and Jesus meets us there with open arms. He is not asking for us to prove our devotion to Him. He is asking for us to drink of His love and forgiveness in the very places we have fallen, failed, and sinned. Jesus comes not with the hammer of the law, but with the gentle forgiveness offered through His shed blood and the empowerment of grace in our inner spirit. 

Lord, thank you that You know how fallen we are and how hard it is for most of us to really believe You for your truth and grace. Thank you that you are so patient and kind with us. You know our stubborn tendency to live for ourselves. Forgive us and restore us with Your Holy Spirit so that we may serve You without shame or guilt, but in joy and freedom because of Your great love.  Help us leave the letter of the law behind and pick up the Spirit of grace and truth. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!

Colored India ink, pen & ink on comic board

A few years ago, my 3yr old daughter and I had been studying lightning and thunder together and as we were talking, she asked me if I would like to draw them with her. “Of course, I would!” I said happily and we began. I have been on a journey in seeking the power of God for His physical healing in my life for several years now. This aspect of God’s nature and power had caught my attention and a few days later I began looking at lightning in scripture.

“Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. 3 He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth. 4 After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. ~Job 37:2-4~

That next day I was coming back from a job on the interstate and saw that some intense dark clouds had formed overhead. I began looking expectantly toward the heavens. “Would I see a lightning bolt?” It had been years. Within a few minutes I saw out of the right side of the front windshield, through the pouring rain, a strong, bright, not-to-be-missed, bolt of lightning. It jaggedly cut through the atmosphere, searing it’s place into my remembrance, and grounding less than a quarter mile away. That half a second might not have meant much to any of the other drivers on the road but to me it meant something. It meant God is intimately acquainted with my journey. God’s power is for me to experience. I am on the right track! May God encourage you with this small story from someone who is earnestly seeking God for a “power surge” in more than one area in my life. Blessings!

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” Titus 2:11

Like anything else, God’s grace can only truly operate according to it’s nature. Grace is a gift and cannot be received through any other type of transac…

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“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.” Psalm 18:10

To live out this verse takes courage, but not the courage we are used to thinking of. It is not courage to go and do, or be, something “righteous” for God. It is courage to trust God and to take Him at His word. As soon as I consider the God of the Scriptures, I am confronted with a holy God who justly condemns all sin. And when I look at His righteous law, I see that I can never satisfy His holy standard (Even on our best day, no one comes close). In myself, I am not righteous. I am not at all “spiritual” or morally sound. So, must we remain distant and fearful, trying to find some sense of comfort in our sin and unbelief? I have found this only isolates and brings further damage.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Have we truly considered that we can be bold and enter His throne room to receive His promise of mercy and grace? To really open our heart and trust God to fully love us right where we are and allow Him to forgive and cleanse us from our sin, and not just once, but daily… This is the faith that God is looking for. This faith is actually a courageous act of trust. It is to be a response of the heart, not just an intellectual understanding. When we turn around and run into Jesus to exchange our sin for His righteousness, He becomes our strong tower, an invincible bulwark against the forces of darkness that seek to destroy us.

Jesus, help us see the truth of Your love. In You we will be embraced. In You we will be protected. In You alone will we be truly safe.

Thank you so much for being a paid subscriber to True Image Illustration. Here is an upcoming series I am working on. I would love any thoughts or feedback. I am extremely grateful for your interest and support.

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