“Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee”

December 31, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" SCOTTY SMITH  “I want to know Christ.” (Phil. 3:10); “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21); “To him (Jesus) who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” (Rev. 1:6)   Lord Jesus, this tapestry of Scriptures sums up our thoughts about the waning hours of 2021, and the beginning of 2022. No matter what we think about “this, that, and the other,” what matters the most is who you are; and how it shapes our thinking, worshipping, living, and loving. It’s not cliché, but our everything, to say we want to live a Christ-centered 2022.   Christ Above Us: Jesus, you are our Creator, Sustainer, and King. Hallelujah! Us In Christ: You are our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Thank you. Christ In Us: You lived for us, now live in us as our hope of glory and hope in life. Christ For Us: With you “for us,” who or what can be against us? Fears, be gone. Christ With Us: Thankfully, we’ll never know a Jesus-absent day, pain, or joy. Christ Under Us: When (not if) we fall, you catch us, hold us, settle us. Christ Towards Us: You won’t “merely” return one Day to finish making all things new. You are coming back (soon) as our joyful, loving Bridegroom.   Jesus, no matter what else happens in the New Year, may you become more beautiful, irresistible, and enthralling to us. We love being loved by you. We love you. So Very Amen. Wish you had roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2020 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe

Our Fear-Squashing Hope

December 30, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Our Fear-Squashing Hope SCOTTY SMITH   “She (Anna) never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them (Mary and Joseph) at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child [Jesus] to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” Luke 2:36–38 Lord Jesus, by the calendar of your incarnation, you were just 8-days-old when Anna met you in the temple. Worshipping and waiting for decades, Anna longed for your arrival and the salvation you would bring. Her heart was pregnant with hope. That day dawned the evening of your birth. It continued on a 33-year-path straight to your cross, resurrection, and ascension. By your declaration, “It is finished,” we are guaranteed an eternity of peace, joy, and wholeness. Presently, we live as objects of Abba’s affection, children under his Fatherly sovereignty. Heartache, loss, and pain continue, but they don’t get the last word. You do, Jesus. The day of your birth was the firstfruits of the Day of your return. That Day won’t be a day of answered questions, but of “all things new”–not just “the redemption of Jerusalem,” but the transformation of the entire cosmos. Seeing you, being with you, becoming fully like you—that’s the hope for which we’ve been redeemed (1 John 3:1-3). This hope is 10,000 times more certain than our fears are worthy of one sleepless night. Until then Jesus, may the Gospel free us to worship, trust, love, and hope like Anna. Grant us grace in 2022 to accept our Father’s ways, will, and timetable for everything. So very Amen we pray, in your most wonderful and merciful name. Wish you had roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2020 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe

Roll Christmastide Roll

December 28, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Roll Christmastide Roll SCOTTY SMITH   Mary sang, “He (God) has remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.” Luke 1:54 Heavenly Father, I love to fish in the tidewaters of the Gulf of Mexico. But my favorite “tide” is Christmastide—12 days for celebrating the birth of Jesus, and its grace-filled, changing-everything implications. Mary sang of Jesus’ birth as the surest sign of your “mercy-memory.” You made history defining promises to Abraham; and you neither exaggerated nor forgot those promises. Hallelujah! From a pagan moon-worshipper (Abram), you created a new nation (Israel), that became the “national womb” for the Messiah—Jesus. Through Jesus you are redeeming “a great multitude no one can number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages (Rev. 7:9). Talk about mercy! This is the storyline that “graces,” shapes, and controls every day, every month, and every year until Jesus returns. Oh, the peace this gives us. Providence, not happenstance—your occupied throne, not the governments of men, gets the first, middle, and last word in everything. There’s no panic in heaven, only peace—no lapse in your memory, just the perfection of your timing (2 Pet. 3:9). Indeed, Father, thank you for remembering to be merciful to us. But, also, a huge “Thank you!” for not remembering our sins against us (Heb. 10:17). Thirty-three years after giving us “Christmas,” you gave us “Easter.” By Jesus’ finished work, we aren’t “merely” acquitted, we are righteous, beloved, and forever yours. Thank you! So Very Amen.   Wish you had roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2020 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe

Deeply Loved, Clearly Called

December 27, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Deeply Loved, Clearly Called SCOTTY SMITH “In Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. He himself is our peace.” Eph. 2:13-14 Lord Jesus, at Christmas we celebrate your journey from the far-ness of eternity to the near-ness of the manger. But you don’t leave us “cooing” over your crib, but worshipping you for your empty cross, empty tomb, and occupied throne—(a most glorious triad!) We now live under this grand declaration, “No condemnation for your sin remains” (Rom. 8:1). Robed in your righteousness, we joyfully sing, “His banner over me is love!” (Song of Songs 2:4). We are deeply loved, and we’re also clearly called. You call us to live at peace with all people—”as far as it depends on us” (Rom. 12:18)—to love others as you love us, period. This is going to be more important than ever in 2022. We can’t make anybody “happy or holy,” and shouldn’t try. But we can/must love everyone “as unto you”—as an act of worship, obedience, and faith (Col. 3:23-24). This side of the new heaven and new earth, we won’t have conflict-absent relationships. But we’ll always have Christ-present days, and sufficient grace to cover the cost of loving well. None of our relationships are beyond the need or reach of your grace. “Love never fails,” because of your empty cross, empty tomb, and occupied throne … (Oh, that glorious triad!) So Very Amen.     Wish you had roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2020 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe

Whether We’re “Shepherds” or Hedge Fund Owners

December 26, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Whether We're "Shepherds" or Hedge Fund Owners SCOTTY SMITH   “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” Luke 2:20 Lord Jesus, it’s December 26th, and many of us are over-stuffed, under-slept, very-spent. Mostly, however, we’re exceedingly grateful—thankful you actually came into our world to us, and for us. For those of us for whom Christmas has been/is sweet, we acknowledge you as  the God from whom all blessings flow. For those of us for whom it’s been “challenging”—we’re grateful you are always at work in all things for our good. Jesus, when you were one day-old, a “5-star” inn didn’t open up for you, Mary, and Joseph. And when the shepherds left your manger, they were joyful, but still shepherds. They didn’t get a TV show, write a book, or start a podcast. They returned to a difficult life, the social stigma of being shepherds, and a denarii-to-denarii lifestyle. But truly, everything had changed. You came into our broken world, full of broken people—not to be our butler, concierge, or masseur, but our Savior. What we need the most, you freely and fully gave/give us—salvation. Thank you, and Hallelujah! For the remainder of 2021, and the whole of 2022, restore us to the first-love we had for you—those days when we treasured you and our salvation above everything. And from the incomparable, inexhaustible love you have for us, free us to love fellow broken people. Whether we are “shepherds” or hedge fund owners, that’s all that really matters until the day you take us Home (Gal. 5:6). So Very Amen.   Wish you had roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2020 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe

Merry Christmas, Y’all!

December 25, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Merry Christmas, Y'all! SCOTTY SMITH   “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” Luke 2:11 Lord Jesus, it’s the event that caused angels to “hark,” shepherds to hurry, Maji to travel, and Herod to tremble. God loved the world so much, he gave us you—our perfect Savior, promised Messiah, and reigning Lord. Our joy is great, our peace is deep, and our hope is alive. More than air and water, a “do-over” or a different anything, we needed you—a Savior. You are Immanuel—God with us and God for us. You are the Lamb of God, who has taken away our sins. The Lord of Lords, ruling over crawdads, crucibles, and kingdoms. The Lamp of the New City (Rev. 21:23), the guarantee and glory of our coming life in the new heaven and new earth. In you we have complete forgiveness, perfect righteousness, and our Father’s favor. You are the resolution of all our fears, our perfect peace in a perfectly broken world, and the fulfiller of our oldest, deepest hopes. Adore you, indeed! Until the very second of your second coming, you care for us with tenacious tenderness and inexhaustible grace. History isn’t random, it’s your relentless commitment to redeem your every-nation Bride, eradicate all evil, and make all things new. Hallelujah… everything broken has an expiration date, and everything beautiful has an arrival date. Jesus, until that Day, we want to love, enjoy, and serve you with everything we have and are. So Very Amen!   Wish you had roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2020 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe