Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 

Ephesians 4:29

If you’re looking for a particular book of the Bible to dive into this new year, I highly suggest Ephesians. You can literally spend months lingering over, meditating on, praying about, and—definitely applying—these amazing, inspiring, convicting words from the Apostle Paul. (I love this book so much—chapter 2:1-10 in particular—that it’s meaning is now illustrated in a large new tattoo on my right upper arm.)

For now, let’s talk about talk. Paul, among other writers of the New Testament, has a lot to say about the words that come out of our mouth as believers. At salvation (the moment at which we surrender to Jesus as our Lord and Savior), we are made new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). By God’s amazing grace, our old sinful nature is gone…but, we are still living in our old fleshy selves, in a fallen and broken world that is currently managed by our enemy, Satan. So, we spend our lives of grace growing in our likeness of Christ. We renew our minds (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23; Philippians 4:8), and we—through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us—lay aside/put away some things and put on other things.

This is where our words come into play. In verse 29 of Ephesians 4, Paul shoots straight: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Let’s break this down.

When Paul uses “unwholesome word”, think rotten, spoiled food. (I know we’ve all experienced taking off the lid of some Tupperware stuck way in the back of the fridge and immediately being slapped in the face with a terrible stench of spoiled whatever-it-is-because-you-can’t-tell-anymore. Yup, it’s just like that.) When we talk to or about others in a way that is bitter, slandering, untrue, or unkind, it’s like speaking with a rotten stink. But Paul doesn’t leave us with what not to do.

We are to speak words that are good for edification. In other words, words that encourage, uplift, instruct…even when we are corrective, we’re to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). And our words are “according to the need of the moment”—fitting the occasion, as the ESV says. That means we have to think about where we are and who we’re with, being highly intentional before our thoughts reach our tongues. Plus, our talk is to extend grace to those listening to us. This is key. See, we’re saved by grace—a gift given freely, unable to be earned! And our lives are sustained by grace, moment by moment, as we are on our way Home. The grace given to us by the Lord must be our standard—the measuring stick by which we assess our words before they leave our mouths. When we speak, brothers and sisters, let’s speak grace.

[Paul goes on in chapter 4, verses 31 and 32 (and the next chapter, for that matter) to describe more ways we talk and walk out our faith, so go check it out for yourself!]

Lord, as a new creation in Christ, may I, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in me, speak only life and truth and grace to others to reveal Your amazing grace to a dark world.

Encouraged by grace books

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6

The most amazing thing about saving grace is that it is a free gift—not as a result of anything we do, so none of us can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is in Christ alone, through faith alone. We can’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. In every other religion (and even within the denomination I grew up in), you have to do, working your way to the finish line…hoping you did enough for your eternal reward. When I came to understand and accept what Jesus accomplished on the cross, conquering sin and death for me, the knowledge of “do” versus “done” brought overwhelming freedom. I no longer had to constantly strive to do better, do more, do enough. It is finished (John 19:30).

For me, that acceptance of amazing grace was 25 years ago. Since that time, I totally get the do-versus-done truth—and try to share it often. I know I can’t earn my salvation—and I don’t try. But my efforts to try and earn value in the eyes of the Lord (and others)…well, that’s been a different story. 

In response to His grace, a believer wants to do for the Lord (serve)—that’s the natural (or rather, supernatural) outpouring of salvation. We do out of love God and love for others (the top two commandments) and bring God glory. But when we take action because we think the Lord will “love us more”, that’s where we go so wrong! Nothing can make God love us any more—or less—than He does! And no “bad” action can separate us from His love (Romans 8:31-19). What’s more, it’s also easy for us Christians to get caught up in serving the Lord to show (or prove) ourselves worthy of His grace and love. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that our service/action is primarily motivated by “being seen”. In fact, we could very well have jumped into serving because the Holy Spirit within us lit a flame of passion that aligned with the gift(s) we’ve been given. But then, thanks to that tricky, deceptive enemy of ours, we start thinking, “Oh, people will know what a ‘good Christian’ I am by how involved I am in church activities!” Or we hope, “With all this ‘doing’, God is certainly seeing greater value in me than before.” But then, Satan, who’d been waiting for those misguided thoughts, pounces and accuses, “Oh, how prideful you are! Look at you trying to look good to others—you don’t really care about God!” It’s a vicious cycle that leads only to dark places.

Does the Lord want us to do for Him and others? Yes, of course! But our value to Him (and to the Body of Christ) is not in the doing. Our activity is meant to be an outpouring of who we are! The Lord has given each of us a unique personality, gifted us with spiritual gifts, and placed us in a particular time/place for His sovereign purposes. We don’t have to be obsessed with, “Lord, what do You want me to DO for You?” We just need to abide in who we ARE in Him. The better question is: Lord, who have You made me to BE? Then, we simply walk in that. The result? Unspeakable joy (and even greater freedom) that rises to complement that amazing grace.

Lord, as a child of God, I am created to be who You say I am. May I not get trapped by the “doing”…but rather, let my service to You and others be a beautiful expression of my “being” in You.

encouraged by grace series

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Genesis 3:15

The Bible makes it very clear: If you are a child of God—a surrendered follower of Jesus Christ—you are an enemy of Satan (the devil) and all of his children (people in this world who do not follow after God). This truth was first given as part of the post-fall curse in the Garden, from verse 3:15 in Genesis. (The other aspect of this astounding verse is that it is often called the “protoevangelium”, literally “first Gospel”, because it’s the very first promise of the coming Messiah. But we’re going to focus on the enmity part here…sorry).

Since Satan’s successful temptation of Adam and Eve with its disastrous result (sin entering the world), the hate-filled battle has been on: God, who calls people to Himself with love, mercy, and grace versus Satan with his enticing hisses of pride, lust, and self-idolatry. It’s a tug-of-war for our souls. And even after we choose God and are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, the enemy will mess with us. Satan cannot do anything (and us respond accordingly) to “undo” our salvation—we didn’t “do” anything to earn it, so we can’t “do” anything to lose it. Plus, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit upon salvation. But he can cause chaos, frustration, and discouragement (not to mention sinful choices), making us less effective for the kingdom—if we let him.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus also said it plainly of His followers: Because you’re not of this world, but believe and follow Me, the world will hate you (John 15:18-19; Matthew 10:22). And following Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, the writers of the Biblical epistles continued the warnings. “Don’t be surprised,” John says, “if the world hates you” (1 John 3:13). And Paul primes us to get ready for persecution if we live in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). 

But don’t be discouraged, believer! There is great news—also from the mouth of our Savior! First, we can have peace amid the enemy’s hatred and condemnation, as well as the world’s persecution. “Take heart,” Jesus tells us. “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Second, Jesus Himself is praying for us in this battle (John 17:14-16). Think about that! We have Jesus as our very own prayer warrior!

So, how do we handle this realization that we are hated by the world and its god/ruler, Satan? Here are three responses from God’s Word:

1. Expect the malice and persecution. Don’t be shocked when vitriol comes your way from this dark world. And don’t be surprised by the struggle to obey God’s Word when we have the world system, the devil, and our unredeemed flesh doggin’ us all the time.
2. Don’t befriend the world. It’s so easy to get enticed into the me-centric culture, with every social media platform and TV ad telling us what we should have, do, be for satisfaction. But “friendship with the world is hostility toward God” (James 4:4), so we must submit to God, resist the devil, and stay close to the Lord (James 4:7-8). 
3. Rejoice! (Wait, what?) Yes! Jesus says that we are blessed through persecution and insult for His sake (Matthew 5:10-12). Luke’s recounting of this sermon says that Jesus actually tells us to “rejoice and jump for joy” when we’re hated, excluded, and insulted—we’ve got a great reward waiting for us in heaven (Luke 6:22-23). The other New Testament writers, including Peter Paul, and James—who themselves experienced hatred, persecution, and martyrdom—wholeheartedly agree (see Acts 5, Romans 5 and 8, Colossians 1, 2 Corinthians 12, 1 Peter, and James 1, just to give you a few places to look).

So, friend, because of your relationship with Jesus are you feeling out of place in the world? Insulted and left out? Hated?This is a good thing! It means you’re a citizen of a better world and a follower of the One who the world hated first. There is a battle on right now—for sure. But Jesus won the war (crushing the enemy’s head, revisiting Genesis 3:15!), and we’re fighting from a place of victory! Amen!

Lord, You said that we’d have trouble in this world and that we’re hated because the world first hated You. Give us the strength and perseverance to keep our eyes on You and not succumb to the schemes of the enemy.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His Bride has made herself ready.

Revelation 19:7

My niece got married this weekend—my brother’s daughter, Victoria. The venue was stunning. It was a 19^th-century home-turned-winery in Buck’s County, PA, with a lovely upper room where the ceremony took place that looked over acres of vineyards. And, since it’s the Christmas season, when dusk settled, bright lights twinkled throughout the grounds as if the stars descended to nestle themselves within the trees and across the rows of sleeping vines. Another noteworthy aspect of this wedding was that all the guests were asked to wear black, which set the scene to further elevate the bride’s beauty and magnificence. (I guess this is a Tic Tok/Insta thing these days. And although I was initially concerned the vibe would be a bit too somber, it worked perfectly amid the venue’s white furnishing and all-white floral arrangements.)

After the couple’s “I do’s” and their jubilant exit down the center aisle as husband and wife, we all headed over to the adjacent equally historical building for the reception. And after the sweet first dances and tear-provoking speeches, it was time for the meal. (A meal, I will say, which was ridiculously delicious, as my loving, generous brother spared no expense for his eldest daughter’s Big Day.) Of course, after the food came the next-level celebrating—feet moving, hands raised, and lyrics shouted as the dance floor flooded in response to DJ-driven beats underscoring favorite songs from the past several decades. 

The event was so joyful, filled with countless declarations of “I love you” and “I miss you” and “Wish we saw each other more”…I don’t get see my family and family friends very often at all, so all of these sentiments definitely were extended from and to me.

So, as I sit on the plane back to Florida this morning thinking about last night’s party, I began pondering another wedding celebration I’m invited to—although I’m not exactly sure of the exact date. The venue, however, is sure to be stunning beyond comprehension. And I imagine being able to look around at heavenly lights as far as the eye can see, creating an enchanted ambiance for the celebration. But, contrary to my niece’s elegant all-black event, everyone present at this marriage will be dressed in white. The food? No offense to my niece’s catering choices, but this cuisine will be more scrumptious than our tastebuds have ever experienced. Dancing? Yup! Singing? For sure. But instead of pop tunes with a backbeat, we’ll be singing songs written at the dawn of creation—and others we compose on the fly! I anticipate hands in the air…not waving like we just don’t care, but rather raised in praise to the Bridegroom and His Father. Oh, and unlike the father of the bride (my bro) footing the bill for the festivities, this wedding supper was paid for in full by the Groom Himself.

For every follower of Jesus Christ—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world—we are His bride. You and I are the redeemed, invitation in hand to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. It will be the family reunion of reunions. Lots of “I love you” declarations. But not a single, “Miss you” or “Wish I saw you more”…because this celebration is the kickoff of an eternity with everyone at the wedding. And, oh my, what a party it will be.

Can you picture it? Will you be there? See, if you don’t have your invitation, you’ll miss out. But, friend, all you have to do is ask Jesus if you can join Him—surrender your life to Him, and He’ll welcome you into the party.

Lord, I cannot wait to enter the Wedding Supper of the Lamb and start my heavenly life with You and the rest of Your Bride! 

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:20

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how surreal everything around me seems. You can listen to a news anchor screaming something about the “other side” (I remember when news anchors had no “sides” at all—but there’s no such thing as fact-reporting anymore, sigh). But, in reality, what they’re shouting is exactly what their side is blatantly doing! And, like any good propaganda machine, if some lie or fabrication is repeated enough, it will become “true” and be believed by the masses. Then there’s the cultural redefinition of words to mean something completely different than they used to (which is part of a bigger-picture plan too). And there’s plenty of data on how social media algorithms are intentionally set to push a certain narrative. Oh, and now bourgeoning Artificial Intelligence (AI) is ramping up the potential for fake news, fake quotes, fake audio, and fake imagery that seems totally authentic. How do we know what’s really real?

Then there are the actual people walking around us. The need to resemble Instagram filters is truly astounding. Botox pushed to girls in their 20s, lip injections to the point of creating human Simpsons caricatures, stretched faces replicating eerie Joker-like grins. Name a body part, and there’s an implant for that. …fake cheeks, fake lips, fake breasts, fake calves. Of course, there’s the social media life—people presenting their life’s highlight reels, editing out 99.5% of actuality. People are terrified to be real.

So, where do I land on all this pondering? It would be so easy to do a deep dive into despair when looking around and listening to the cacophony of the culture. But God. See, as a believer, when I remember that this world is not my home (Philippians 3:20; John 17:14-15), the “reality” of the world comes clearly into view: It is not reality at all, but a mere shadow of what is true. All the things the world is chasing after (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—1 John 2:15-17) are like vapor. We know this because achieving that “must have” is never, ever enough. It just creates a need for more. Whether it’s a political agenda or another facial injection. It’s all fake and it’s all meaningless in the Big Reality of Truth. And that’s just the way the enemy of our soul wants it.

Satan, the ruler of this world, hates you and me. He only wants to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10a). He’s on the prowl, seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8). He is the father of lies—the inventor of fake news—and there is literally no truth in him (John 8:44). So, the falseness, dishonesty, and deception constitute his reality! And without Holy Spirit clarity, it’s easy to believe what we see…and it’s easy to perceive the stench around us as a fragrant aroma.

Friend, we need to get real. We need to focus our eyes on the reality of God’s Kingdom and His sovereignty. There’s a battle raging in this shadowland, but the war has been won. And if you’ve been born of God (surrendered to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior), you have overcome the world (1 John 5:4-5). You have the Holy Spirit living in you to give the power to see through the fog. But this supervision is only available if you keep your eyes off the stuff of this world, focusing on God’s Word and surrendering to His will. When you do, an amazing thing happens: You’ll recognize the lies and deceptions more clearly and, more importantly, you’ll rest assured that this world is merely shadows. It’s such a relief not to have to figure everything out or live up to the world’s unrealistic expectations. Only things of God matter…and your desires and focus will shift to eternity—and making an eternal impact. 

So, get real. And tell others how they can get real too.

Lord, keep my eyes on You and the victorious work of Jesus, so I can live in the real world.

Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

2 Colossians 2:6-7

Accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is a one-and-done decision. Once saved, always saved—no one can pluck you from His hand (John 10:28-30). That being said, in response to the Great Exchange (your sin for His righteousness), you are called to live life differently. To walk worthy of this new relationship with God (Eph 4:1; Col 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12)—and to do so with a “fruity” attitude of love empowered by the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23).

But how can we walk in Jesus? That’s a very tall order (Jesus being perfect and all). But there are a few important things the Apostle Paul mentions in his letter to the Colossians that instruct us about moving forward in the right direction. 

1. We are “firmly rooted” in Christ. The Greek grammar is very encouraging here. The word for “having been firmly rooted” is errizonmenoi, which is a perfect tense participle. (Huh?) It means that this rooting takes place at the moment of salvation! It’s as if you’re a small bush that has been dug up—roots and all—out of your sinful life to be placed in a luscious greenhouse (new life), where, the moment you’re replanted, your roots are instantly being nourished for growth. And your fruit is on its way. Don’t get me wrong…we are given a new nature with the Holy Spirit living in us, but we’re still stuck in our fallen flesh and living in a dark world run by one who’s sole purpose is to destroy us. So we must abide in Jesus, yielded to the Holy Spirit at all times to feed those roots (John 15:1-27)!
2. As we walk, we are being built up in Him. Here, the Greek for “being built up” is epoikodomoumenoi, which is—stay with me here—a present tense participle. This indicates continuous action! From a solid foundation of our salvation, we grow to be more like Jesus by (a) studying the Word of God and (b) living out the grace, truth, and love we’ve been shown, and (c) being in community with other brothers and sisters in faith. Grounded and growing, we are established in our faith.
3. Because of our new roots, deepening daily through our Source, and our ongoing transformation to live in the reality of our righteousness in Christ, we are to overflow with gratitude. Thankfulness is truly a choice. Our salvation alone is reason enough to daily burst out in song! Beyond that, we can start with the breath in our lungs and work our way through the multitude of blessings we’ve been given, along with the daily miracles we experience. 

Friend, our walk with the Lord won’t be easy—that’s a promise right from His mouth. But moving in the direction of obedience is the call on our lives. We do that through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, along with knowing and living by the Truth of God’s Word. So, stay rooted, take in nourishment to thrive, and be sure to feed your growth with plenty of gratitude.

Thank You, Lord for trading my unrighteousness for Your perfect righteousness, establishing me in faith. May I live as a worthy ambassador of Your Kingdom…and give thanks all along the way.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Accounting. You either love it or hate it. Some of us get giddy at the thought of a balanced tally on a piece of paper or computer screen—P&L statement, budget spreadsheet, etc. (in the last century, I would have used “balanced checkbook”—but lots of you would be like, “Huh?”). Others of us avoid those things like the plague. (I thank the Lord for my sweet accountant of more than 20 years, who does all that book-balancing and number-crunching on my behalf. May he never retire.)

Biblical accounting, however, is super simple. Don’t get me wrong, though. It is simple, but it’s not easy. In fact, it’s impossible in our own human effort. 

Throughout God’s Word, we—as believers—are called to love others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ (Romans 12:10). And it is by our love for the world (not the world system but the world’s people) that they will know we are Christians (John 13:34-35). The book-and-chapter go-to that defines love for us was written in a letter from the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church. The purpose of his communication was to slap them on their proverbial wrists for all the ways they were blowing their Christian walk…but if you’ve attended a few weddings (or had one), you’re likely very familiar with 1 Corinthians 13, as this “love chapter” is used to set the bar on self-sacrificing, other-elevating, God-glorifying love. In the midst of this chapter, within verse 5, that accounting principles come into play.

The Lord, through Paul, tells us that love “keeps no record of wrongs” (NIV) or, as the Legacy Standard Bible translates it, love “does not take into account a wrong suffered”. So, what does this mean, exactly? Whether you’re a CPA or spreadsheet-phobic, we are not to keep a tally of those hurts, wrongs, and irritants done toward us by another. Some of us may be thinking, “Well, then what ammunition will I have during our next big blowout—when I need to toss the final battle-ending grenade?” (Um, well…there’s an entirely different Biblical lesson there, friend.) We are called to keep a clean slate with others, to seek the honor of others, to not be easily angered. And all this is only possible when we are quick to forgive—and, yes, to forget. 

Paul makes this sound so simple, doesn’t he? As I mentioned before, this level of love is not humanly possible—not in our own strength and determination. Our flesh simply won’t stand for it. But, as Christians, we have a superpower (well, supernatural power)! We have the Holy Spirit living in us—the indwelling power of God to enable us to walk out the kind of love we’re commanded to have. If you look at these love verses in 1 Corinthians, the definition lines up pretty well with the fruit of the Spirit definition in Galatians (5:22-23). In other words, when we yield to the Holy Spirit, surrendering our will for His, we are able. (Again, still not easy, per say, because we’ll always have that new-creation-versus-flesh battle raging until we’re glorified in heaven.)

And not only do we have the Helper to help us love sans accounting, but we also have an inspiring Model to follow. Because of God’s love for us, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). When we repent, accept this grace gift, and surrender our lives to Jesus as Lord and Savior, our sins—yesterday’s, today’s, and tomorrow’s—are forgiven (Acts 3:19; 1 John 1:9). And they are forgotten (Isaiah 43:25; Psalm 103:12). Because we’re wrapped in the righteousness of Christ, this is what God sees when He looks at us. In fact, when we bring up some “big sin” from our past to ask the Lord’s forgiveness once again, He looks at us and says, “What sin?” Friend, we are recipients of love-without-accounting.

What’s the bottom line? (See what I did there?) We are to love in a way that keeps no record of wrongs because that’s how we are loved by our heavenly Father. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). We forgive as we’ve been forgiven (Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:32). So, today, let the Holy Spirit have His way, and throw away that balance sheet.

Lord, may I walk in love toward others that reflects the love and forgiveness You give to me.

He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. 

John 2:2

When Jesus gave up His life on the cross, he said, “It is finished.” What was finished, exactly? The war. For individuals and the whole universe. This was the final sacrifice, patterned (but always insufficient) since the Garden of Eden to atone for the first sins of mankind. See, at the beginning of human history, war was declared. The perfection of the created world began its decay. And the perfect relationship between God and mankind was broken—sin had come on the scene, and our enemy, Satan, became our formidable foe (Genesis 3).

But when God sent His beloved Son to live the perfect life we could not live, die the death we deserved, and be resurrected in victory over sin and death, the final, once-and-for-all justification was made. The Great Exchange—His righteousness for our sin, His wounds for our healing, His death for our eternal life. Our debt was settled. And our enemy, Satan, was completely defeated.

And when we accept this gift of grace—Jesus’ work on the cross—through faith, we are made free (Galatians 5:1). We are no longer trapped by the shackles of sin, but are made alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11). Our broken relationship with God has been reconciled through Christ, and we have peace with God. We live under grace, and our new desire is to live in the righteousness credited to us. In gratefulness—and by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us—we walk in holiness and love, reflecting Jesus and glorifying God in all things.

Until we don’t. Even though we walk in spiritual freedom, and we’re wrapped in the righteousness of Christ, we are walking through this world in an unredeemed body of flesh. And although the ultimate war is won, until we are out of this body, we will be fighting a battle between sin and holiness. We’ll keep doing things we don’t want to do and not doing things we want to do (Romans 7:14-25).

What about the world? It sure seems like Satan is winning—just watch the news for a minute. If the war has been won, why does the whole world seem embattled in darkness, with the enemy taking more and more ground on a daily basis? Because, for now, Satan is the god of this world and the world’s systems. God is Sovereign, and He has Satan is on a short leash…but he (Satan) is currently loose, prowling around like a devouring lion, seeking only to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10; 1 Peter 5:8).

It can all seem like a real bummer. But there’s good news, Christian! Yes, as we walk toward Home in this fleshly body, we’ll be battling the desires of the flesh. But, praise God, we become more and more like Jesus along the way, when we walk according to the Holy Spirit. In the battles of our soul, we will experience greater and greater victories as we move toward the fulfillment of the Final Triumph. 

Ah, what about the world, which is clearly entrenched in evil? Sadly, unlike our personal front, the global battlefield will only become bloodier and darker at the hands of our adversary as time marches onward. We’ll see glimpses of light (in fact, we believers are to be that light!), but the trajectory is decay and decline.

But Jesus is coming back. Soon. And when He does, it will be in power and great glory (Luke 21:25-28), as King of kings, Lord of lords. With eyes of fire, leading the armies of heaven, He will return for the final battle that ends the war forever. Satan will be finished (eternally suffering in fire), there will be a new heaven and new earth (perfect once again), and our sin, pain, mourning—all gone. Our personal battles are temporary, and so is the darkness and evil of this world. So, take heart, believer, the war is almost over. 

Lord, remind me daily—through my personal battles with sin and while watching the enemy’s global battlefield—that You have already been victorious. It is done and You have won.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

Have you ever had a best friend—do you have one now? Someone who you’d adamantly claim is your co-pea in a pod, the cheese to your macaroni, a shelter in your storms. You’re inseparable. There’s an authenticity and transparency that simply allows you to be you—to share your deepest dreams and darkest flaws, to hold mirrors up to one another for soul-level betterment. Besties are the best, aren’t they? Until they’re not. 

Sometimes there’s a drift—imperceptible at first, until suddenly you realize that person’s presence isn’t as ubiquitous in your day-to-day world. Other times it may be a geographical move. Sure, texts, calls, even FaceTime are great…but it’s not the same, and the time/space divide grows, slowly, but surely. And sometimes, a wedge is thrown between you. It could initiate from one or the other of you (because of a thoughtless action, a cutting word, even a colossal misunderstanding). But, often, it’s discord brought on by the fallenness of the flesh, the darkness of the world, and the nefarious intent of the enemy. That deep, abiding relationship you once thought to be immovable and unbreakable is suddenly (or slowly) gone.

Whether you once had a BFF and now you don’t, or if you’re in a season of multiple besties (spouse-bestie, work-bestie, church-bestie, from-high-school-bestie), or if you’re not sure you’ve ever had that depth of relationship in your life, there is amazing news! Regardless of your circle(s) of friends or even marital status, you never have to be alone, isolated as easy prey for the world and its ruler (Satan). 

When we surrender to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior by faith, we are given a perpetual BFF—the Holy Spirit living in us (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16)! By making peace with God through salvation, we have the peace of God, the surety that we can walk through every storm with the Helper, Counselor, Truth-revealer. The Apostle Paul sums it up in his letter to the Romans (8:31): “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And in verse 35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” And Paul had been through some serious stuff (which he summarizes in the following verses): tribulation distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword. But he—and we—are more than conquerors through God who loves us! 

As a Christian, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. And just to drive the point home to his readers, Paul writes a pretty comprehensive list of all the things that cannot throw a wedge between us and God’s love: death (we’re secure in our salvation); life (life happens in this fallen world, but none of it is “too much”); angels or demons (we have an enemy who absolutely hates us, but he’s been defeated); rulers (we’re citizens of heaven, not of this world); the present or the future (we can be anxious for nothing and have peace that passes understanding); height nor depth (from asteroids to ants). And just in case you find any excuse loophole in all that, Paul wraps it up with, “anything else in all creation.” 

The only true BFF, One who will never leave you or forsake you or decide to move on for any reason, is God. And He is an amazing package deal in terms of relationship! We get God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (I know, the Trinity is mind-numbing concept, but let’s just rest in the glory of our three-Person-bestie!) While a friend—or parent or spouse—may forsake us, we have Someone who will stick with us through it all. As children of God, co-heirs with Christ, Holy Spirit-indwelled, friends of Jesus, we are inseparable from the love of God.

Lord, if someone is reading this who is experiencing intense loneliness and isolation, reveal to them the truth: In Christ Jesus, they are inseparable from God’s love for them—never battling through this world alone. May they accept this love through Jesus right now.