Care Giving and Receiving

February 20, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Care Giving and Receiving SCOTTY SMITH Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 2 Cor. 11:28-29 Lord Jesus, Paul’s honesty about his stress, pressure and weakness is refreshing. But it’s also a heads-up for us. Paul knew the Gospel puts an end to all posing and pretending. He also knew his need of friends like Titus (2 Cor. 7:5-7), and the prayers of his brothers and sisters (2 Cor. 1:10-11). May we be those kinds of friends, encouragers, and intercessors for our pastors, church planters, and missionary friends. The need has never been greater in my lifetime. Jesus, I remember seasons as a pastor when my pain was much greater than my hope. I felt more shame than your nearness, more like a failure than Abba’s child. I couldn’t get unstuck, and was too proud to admit I was depressed. I could still help others understand the riches of your grace; but emotionally, I was a grace-pauper. I remember waking up, wishing I hadn’t. At times, I didn’t long for heaven, just to disappear—not to exist anymore. Thank you for the friends you used, the providence you orchestrated, the kindness you showed. I never want to be that unhealthy again—that alone, that busy, that disconnected from you. Jesus, show us how to care for those in your service, And in doing so, free us to see our brokenness, own our limits, and get the help each of us needs. So very Amen we pray, in your tender and triumphant 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

Dried Play-Doh

February 19, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Dried Play-Doh SCOTTY SMITH We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Cor. 4:7    Lord Jesus, the truth in this one little verse is incredibly freeing—but difficult to hold on to. You inhabit our weakness … Like the aroma of life in a canister of dried Play-Doh Like living water in a canteen of crinkled tin foil Like eternal hope in frail, faith-little people like us Like inexhaustible kindness oozing from the cracks of our brokenness Like Rembrandt’s “Return of the Prodigal” in a picture-frame of pine needles Hallelujah, Jesus, you are the glorious Point, and we are the honored pointers. Though few of us are facing the exact dangers Paul did, we do relate to his experience of being hard pressed and perplexed (2 Cor. 4:8-11). Difficult stories, challenging relationships, chronic neediness, uncontrollable outcomes… these things tax our limits, sabotage our self-sufficiency, and drive us to you again and again. None of us is expected to be awesome. Awesomeness belongs to you. All of us are called to own our limits, rest in your love, and trust your sovereignty. Help us do so. As this weekend unfolds, grant us grace to boast in our weaknesses, and rest in your everything. May your beauty, goodness, and kindness be revealed through our brokenness. Increase our gentleness, humility, and peace, Jesus. So very Amen we pray, in your tender and triumphant 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

Is Our Problem Hearing, Listening, or Both?

February 18, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Is Our Problem Hearing, Listening, or Both? SCOTTY SMITH “Listen, listen to me… Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live”. Isa. 55:2-3 Heavenly Father, beautiful snow fell last night on top of our icy roads—to the joy of many sledders. One of the first emails I noticed this morning informed me, because of the weather, a local hearing “assistance” office won’t be open today. It’s not a random email, because hearing aids are in my future. My tinnitus (ringing ears) is getting louder; and I have to work harder to hear the voices that matter the most. The spiritual parallels are timely, critical, and life-shaping. There’s a constant battle for the “ears of our hearts.” So many voices vie for our hearing and listening. The world tries to seduce us, and Satan constantly condemns us. The “approval-suck” inside us listens to people way too much. Our worries and anxieties blast us with “what if’s” and “if only’s. The voice of shame seeks to keep us off-balance, insecure, and deaf to the Gospel. BUT then there’s your blessed voice, Father. By your Word and Spirit, we hear you say, “I’ve chosen, called, and adopted you. Peace, my child. You. Are. Mine. Robed in Jesus’ righteousness, and sealed with my Spirit—your past is forgiven; your present is my domain; and your future is beyond anything you can imagine. Trust me.” Father, thank you. Please turn the volume up to 11 or 12. Drown out all the noise, lies, and anti-Gospel-tinnitus. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ glorious and grace-full 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

40 Days of Lingering in Jesus’ Presence

February 17, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH 40 Days of Lingering in Jesus' Presence SCOTTY SMITH Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. Rev. 19:7 Lord Jesus, Christians around the world celebrate today as Ash Wednesday—the beginning of the 40-day season of Lent, which culminates with the explosive celebration and joy of Easter Sunday. In this Gospel-prayer family, some of us love honoring the markers and rhythms of the church calendar; and some of us are completely non-traditional with regards to these matters. But all of us would love for you to saturate these next 40 days with as much of your glory and grace as we can possibly contain. It’s all about you, Lord Jesus. It is all about your finished work, current care, and certain return. Our truest lamenting, repenting, and resting come from lingering in your presence, savoring your beauty, and abiding in your love. Indeed, Lord Jesus, we begin this season pondering your marriage to us, not our failings towards you. The day of our wedding is set. Our already-purchased wedding garment is your perfect righteousness. Your love for us is full and unwavering, Lord Jesus. We want our love for you to be more whole-hearted, pure, and consuming. Over these next forty days, break us, that you might beautify us, Lord Jesus. Silence us, that we might truly sing. Free us to grieve our sin, as you grace our hearts. So very Amen we pray, in your exalted and near 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

The Best of Us for the “Least of These”

February 16, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH The Best of Us for the "Least of These" SCOTTY SMITH “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me.” … “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? … “And the King will say…”When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matt 25:34-40 Lord Jesus, it’s cold—dangerously cold across much of the USA today. I’m grateful to hear the gentle “purr” of our heating system, obeying the number I just set on the thermostat. I’m sipping a cup of hot coffee, knowing I have ample culinary options to satisfy my morning hunger. I’m sheltered, clothed, and comfortable in creature comforts you’ve given me. More wondrously, I’m sheltered in your sovereignty, clothed in your righteousness, and comforted by your love. It’s precisely because of your kindness generosity, this Scripture lands on my heart today with convicting power. It’s not about guilt; it’s all about grace, Jesus—100% about the greatness of your grace. Grace received is to be grace extended… always. Hands lifted to you in corporate worship are one thing; hands extended to you in the faces of the homeless, the shivers of the freezing, the fears of the hungry are another. May the “least of these” get the best of our love for you. Lead us in these next hours and days to those who need what you’ve generously entrusted to us, Lord Jesus. So very Amen we pray, in your merciful and mighty 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

Kingship and “Bride-ship”

February 15, 2021 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Kingship and "Bride-ship" SCOTTY SMITH Jesus is “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” He “loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” (Rev. 1:5);  “At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” (1 Tim. 6:15) Lord Jesus, on this Presidents Day in America, we gladly affirm that every day is your day. “In the fullness of time,” you entered our world the first time (Gal. 4:4-7); and “at just the right time,” you are coming back. It’s the Day for which we long with growing anticipation; and, at times, with exasperation—even desperation. In our most Gospel-sane, heart-centered moments, we know hope, neighbor-love, and redemptive engagement are the order of the day. For you have already been installed as King of the universe (Psalm 2). Your Kingdom has already come in part, and will come in fullness. It may take a few years in the new heaven and new earth for us to realize just how thoroughly providence, not happenstance, ruled history—all of it. Until then, Jesus, help us use our freedom wisely, show proper respect to everyone, and stay prayerful for our leaders. Grant them wisdom beyond their experience, and hearts directed by your hand. You are the only Sovereign who died to make rebels, like us, your Bride. Astonishing… may your Kingship, and our “Bride-ship,” increasingly capture and rule our hearts. So very Amen we pray, in your glorious and grace-full 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