Jesus Loves You Like This

November 4, 2023 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Jesus Loves You Like This SCOTTY SMITH “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk.4:18-19).   Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for freedom to see myself today in need of everything you promise in this well-loved story. Our needs change like the seasons, but your mercy, grace, and might are always in season. Jesus, I still need you to preach the good news to my heart. Why, because I suffer from Gospel-amnesia, and because there’s always more Gospel to discover, savor, experience. Turn up the volume, glorious Herald of hope. I am also one of the prisoners you came to set free from the fear of death and judgment. And hallelujah, you have done so. But, Jesus, I’m still not as free as you intend. Grant me greater freedom the repent quickly, listen deeply, and love as you love me. I am as free as I find joy in loving others. Jesus, my blindness? Yes, it’s real, so please continue to heal the double-astigmatism, cataracts, and myopia in my heart. Let me see you more clearly Jesus, and more of your beauty, goodness, and truth. By seeing you, Jesus, I’ll see everything else as you intend. Am I oppressed? Not like those who live in the poverty of physical hunger, tyrannical governments, or racial antagonism. My oppression comes more in the shape of trauma triggers and lingering shame. Continue to heal and free me, Jesus. Jesus, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah… to know you is to live under the perpetual and full favor of God. Our eternal year of Jubilee began the day Abba hid our lives in you. So Very Amen. Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2023 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe

FREE eBook for those in seasons of suffering

Award-winning title 'Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy' can be yours for free!

Dear First,   Some Christians mistakenly believe lament has no place in the life of faith. After all, the gospel gives us a living hope, right? How can we be sad?   But life is still hard, and suffering is still everpresent. Lament helps us bridge the gap between the real difficulties of life and the real goodness of God. We need to recover the practice of honest spiritual struggle that gives us permission to vocalize our pain and wrestle with our sorrow.    In Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament, pastor at TGC Council member Mark Vroegop explores how the Bible—through the psalms of lament and the book of Lamentations—gives voice to our pain.   We are delighted to offer this book to you for FREE as an eBook today. If you or someone in your life is going through a hard season, click on this link to get instant access to the 'Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy,' eBook now. Click to Access Free eBook We pray this book gives you gospel encouragement in whatever season you're in.    Blessings in Christ,   Winfree Brisley Editor The Gospel Coalition, P.O. Box 170346, Austin, TX 78717 Unsubscribe

Setting Our Hope Fully on Jesus and His Return

November 2, 2023 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Setting Our Hope Fully on Jesus and His Return SCOTTY SMITH   “Fully set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming” (1 Pet.1:13)   Dear Jesus, in a world of broken people, places, hearts, and dreams… three grand realities give us peace, joy, and hope that can’t be found anywhere else: You love us perfectly. You are ruler of the kings of the earth, and everything else. You will return to finish making all things new. Hallelujah, and thank you. Make each of these three more real and precious to us. Because of you, Jesus, we don’t have to live in paralyzing fear of anything or anyone. To be human is to lament the stories that grieve us, shed tears for the people that sadden us, and feel vulnerable over things that threaten us. But to be yours is to realize only you and your coming Kingdom are ultimate. Your certain grace, not accidental karma, gets the first, middle, and last word. By nature, we are hope-setters—looking to someone or something to make things better. But by our new-nature (2Cor.5:17), we know “horses and chariots” (Ps.20:7); oval offices, plastic scepters, and mere men cannot deliver. Jesus, your past grace saved us, your present grace is transforming us, and the grace we will experience at your return is where we choose to anchor our hearts, set our hope, and fuel our joy. Your tomb has never been more empty. Your throne has never been more occupied. Your return has never been more treasured and craved. Hallelujah, what a Savior you are! Hallelujah, what a salvation we have in you! So Very Amen. Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2023 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe

Joyful Captives in Jesus’ Parade of Grace

November 1, 2023 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Joyful Captives in Jesus' Parade of Grace SCOTTY SMITH   “Thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.” 2 Cor. 2:14-15   Lord Jesus, what a stunning description of what it means to know you. When you melted us with your mercy and conquered us by the Gospel, you placed us in a “parade of grace.” And, hallelujah, it’s going to carry us all the way into the new heaven and new earth. You made us your captives and now we’re captivated with your beauty, goodness, and truth. Everything glorious about you claims every broken part of us. We sing to you, on this 1st day of November… “Wonderful, merciful Savior… precious Redeemer and Friend… who would have thought that a Lamb would rescue us?” … Jesus, we are now “resting, resting in the joy of what you are, as we discover more and more of the greatness of your loving heart… O, how marvelous your goodness, lavished all on us…  “The very thought of you fills our hearts with gladness.” More, Lord, more. Jesus, increase our “smitten-ness” with yourself. We’ll never over-love you. We’ll never be too preoccupied with you—too enamored, too astonished, too undone. When it comes to you, there’s no such thing as “balance.” May our lives become fragrant with grace—offering a sweet perfume rising up to God in wonder, love, and praise. Since we are most like you when we are humble, gentle, grateful, and kind, keep us in that attitude and posture. Grace always runs downhill, and you are always running towards us, Jesus. Hallelujah, and So Very Amen. Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2023 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe

Gospel-amnesia, Grace-allergies, Truth-dementia, Faith-forgetfulness

October 31, 2023 Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Gospel-amnesia, Grace-allergies, Truth-dementia, Faith-forgetfulness SCOTTY SMITH   “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Eph. 2:8-9   Lord Jesus, in the annals of salvation-history, today is called “Reformation Day”—a day for remembering the sweetest, most necessary and liberating fruit of the Reformation. From beginning to end, our salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. The only thing we contributed to our salvation was our need of it. You took care of everything else… Hallelujah! When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle, Oct. 31, 1517, he began a fresh chapter in the back-to-the-Gospel story—a story which preceded him and will continue till your return. For we suffer from chronic Gospel-amnesia, grace-allergies, truth-dementia, and faith-forgetfulness. The Gospel declares us to be more needful than we want to admit, and more beloved than we can hope or imagine. We needed a new heart, not a fresh start—to be grafted into the True Vine, not merely to “turn over a new leaf.” Indeed, we needed resurrection to new life in you, Jesus, not an opportunity to “do more and try harder.” Your saving grace and perfect righteousness are alone sufficient to save us. You have given both to us—freely and fully. Jesus, thank you for exhausting our guilt, taking our shame, and breaking our chains. Today we reaffirm that our hope is built on nothing less, other, or more than you and what you accomplished for us. All other saviors are snake-oil carpetbaggers and grace-less frauds. All other gospels are mirages of mercy and anti-gospel gospels. You save to the uttermost, Jesus, and we are utterly grateful. So Very Amen.   Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! About Us    |     Council    |     Donate ©2023 The Gospel Coalition, All Rights Reserved. P.O. Box 170346 — Austin, TX 78717 Update Email  |  Unsubscribe

Solid truth for a shaky world

People are hungry for something reliably true, and truly hopeful

Dear First,   Our world is fragile. Partisan hostilities and geopolitical tensions are rising to a boiling point. New technologies like AI are developing faster than we can ethically evaluate. Anxiety and despair are spreading. In the midst of this chaos and uncertainty, people are hungry for something reliably true, and truly hopeful. We believe the thing they're looking for is the gospel of Jesus Christ—the world's truest truth and ultimate hope.    The Gospel Coalition exists to: Define the gospel through faithful biblical theology Defend the gospel through timely cultural apologetics Declare the gospel through effective teaching and discipleship We do all of this by producing multimedia resources—articles, books, videos, podcasts, courses, cohorts, and more—designed to root people in solid truth in our shaky world.    Partner with us today, as we find timely ways to share the timeless gospel of Jesus Christ. To make a gift go to: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/donate/   Thanks for joining us in this gospel movement!   Sandy Wilson Interim President, The Gospel Coalition The Gospel Coalition, P.O. Box 170346, Austin, TX 78717 Unsubscribe