As creatures living in a world broken by sin, we have never experienced what it is to be a human being — not fully and perfectly. But God does not plan to leave His masterpiece broken. In Christ, He proposes to bring us all the way back to life.

It is only in Christ that we can be refreshing in the ways that people most seriously need refreshment. We should see being a Christian not only in terms of what we can get (being refreshed) but also in terms of what we can give (refreshing others).

It’s a huge step in our return to God when we acknowledge that our sins against Him have been deliberate. If all we can say is, “What I did was inadvisable, but I couldn’t have done otherwise,” we’re a long way from seeing our need for forgiveness.

Christ’s kingdom can’t be measured by any of the criteria the world uses to judge how powerful something is. And because it is spiritual, Christ’s kingdom is not vulnerable to any of the threats that earthly kingdoms have to worry about.

If we have not accepted the lordship of Christ before the day of judgment, it will be too late for an acknowledgement at that time to save us. In reality, Christ IS the Lord. But will we ACCEPT His lordship? That is what the gospel asks us to decide.

It was not merely by being humble that Jesus procured our salvation — it was “by becoming obedient” (Philippians 2:8). We have learned nothing of Jesus Christ and His gospel if we have not learned the necessity of obedience (Hebrews 5:8,9).

Sports announcer Bob Costas once said, “We are beaten only when we quit believing in what we wish we could be.” If this is true in athletic endeavor, it’s even more true in our godly endeavors. We dare not give up the godly dreams we have.

While we are busy wishing we could serve God within the framework of someone else’s circumstances, He is no doubt saying to every one of us individually: “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

If we’re praying to be anything other than the unique package of problems and possibilities that we are, that’s a prayer that can’t be answered. The sooner we give up on that false hope, the sooner we can concentrate on God’s plan for our own lives.

We make two mistakes regarding mercy: we suppose that God extends His mercy to those who deserve it and withholds it from those who don’t, or that after receiving God’s forgiveness we are somehow more deserving in His sight than we were before.

When we have let go of our illusions, that is when God is able to redeem us from our reality. There is no other way for the gospel to save us. We must realize that we are ruined. “How else but through a broken heart may the Lord Christ enter in?”

Although we naturally prefer to dwell on God’s mercy, it is the wretchedness of our plight without God that makes His mercy meaningful. We can’t enjoy the latter very deeply if we haven’t thought about the former very honestly.

Truth is what we’ll be tested by. Death will strip us of every advantage we’ve ever gained by sidestepping the truth. So, my friend, is there anything about you that is going to last? Time will surely tell. “Death cancels everything but truth.”

While life under the sun lasts, we had better be thinking about life beyond the sun. Death is coming, and we need to ask whether we’re doing anything that won’t be erased by that event. Only one such thing is available to us, and that is godliness.

Short of heaven, I don’t want to hear the Lord say, “You have your reward.” I don’t want anything in this world — or all of it put together. What I want can’t be had in this world, and that’s a sinless, eternal relationship with my God in heaven.

There is nothing in the world that is ours to keep — we must let go of all of it. The only thing we’ll never have to give up is God. Let’s allow the One Thing to be our security that was MEANT to be our security and see everything else as temporary.

A greater life can be ours in Christ. May we spend our days seeking Him and His forgiveness, on whatever terms He stipulates, so that when this life slips away, as it surely will, the thing that will be waiting for us is real life — life indeed.

As long as even one of your parents is alive, you can still view yourself as the “younger” generation, but when both parents are gone, the truth is unavoidable: you are “next” on the brink. For the Christian, that should be a thrilling thought!