My wife and two friends celebrated birthdays this week. This morning as I have thought about that, I have thought about my own 33 years. Hopefully, I am just a little over a third of the way through my life--maybe closer to half. Like most of us Homo sapiens I spent the first twenty or so years trying desperately to figure out who I am. Not long after my 22nd birthday I got married. Then, I began trying to figure out who my wife is. (That's still a work in progress.) In the midst of these efforts, like all of us, I had to try and figure out all the other details.
I graduated from college in 1997. Like all college graduates, I had all the answers. Then, a couple years later (on my birthday) my boss took me out to lunch to inform me that I didn't have the foggiest idea what I was doing in my career. He was pretty much right. Now, eleven years later, I'm 33, and about every six months I have to ask myself if I really know what I'm doing--not just in my career but in just about every area of my life.
Here's the beautiful reality: Even if I wake up tomorrow and realize that I don't have the foggiest idea what I'm doing, God does.
You'll never hear me claim to be the greatest pastor around. You'll never hear me claim we have the best church. What we do have is a bunch of deeply-flawed people who know that God loves us so much he sent his only Son to die, so our sins can be completely forgiven. We also know that if he loved us that much 2000 years ago, our completely sovereign God loves us enough to hold on to us and lovingly shepherd us throughout our lives. Jesus expressed this beautifully in John 10:
My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand.
John 10:27-29 NET
So, I thank God for his shepherding. I thank him that I will never be taken from his continual presence and eternal plan--even when I don't get it right--not because of what I have done but because my Shepherd died to pay the price for my sins and by his grace lovingly brought me into his flock. He really is good. Just as Jesus is the one who has made the purchase of my salvation, he will also be the one to sustain it. My confidence is not in me. My confidence is in him to sustain my faith until the end.
Do you believe in a God like this? If you want to know more, send me a note: info@crossroadsfortworth.org. We'll talk about this God. We'll talk about his faithfulness. We'll talk about Christ's sacrifice that sealed the deal. We'll talk about his continual presence. We'll talk about the home he is preparing.
I am saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and I will live for God's glory alone.
I graduated from college in 1997. Like all college graduates, I had all the answers. Then, a couple years later (on my birthday) my boss took me out to lunch to inform me that I didn't have the foggiest idea what I was doing in my career. He was pretty much right. Now, eleven years later, I'm 33, and about every six months I have to ask myself if I really know what I'm doing--not just in my career but in just about every area of my life.
Here's the beautiful reality: Even if I wake up tomorrow and realize that I don't have the foggiest idea what I'm doing, God does.
You'll never hear me claim to be the greatest pastor around. You'll never hear me claim we have the best church. What we do have is a bunch of deeply-flawed people who know that God loves us so much he sent his only Son to die, so our sins can be completely forgiven. We also know that if he loved us that much 2000 years ago, our completely sovereign God loves us enough to hold on to us and lovingly shepherd us throughout our lives. Jesus expressed this beautifully in John 10:
My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand.
John 10:27-29 NET
So, I thank God for his shepherding. I thank him that I will never be taken from his continual presence and eternal plan--even when I don't get it right--not because of what I have done but because my Shepherd died to pay the price for my sins and by his grace lovingly brought me into his flock. He really is good. Just as Jesus is the one who has made the purchase of my salvation, he will also be the one to sustain it. My confidence is not in me. My confidence is in him to sustain my faith until the end.
Do you believe in a God like this? If you want to know more, send me a note: info@crossroadsfortworth.org. We'll talk about this God. We'll talk about his faithfulness. We'll talk about Christ's sacrifice that sealed the deal. We'll talk about his continual presence. We'll talk about the home he is preparing.
I am saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and I will live for God's glory alone.
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