Never Less, Always More

Heavenward. Read the latest from Scotty Smith's blog.

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Never Less, Always More SCOTTY SMITH "Nevertheless, don't rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:20   Dear Jesus, thank you for calling us into your story of redemption, renewal, and restoration. Your kingdom could advance in any number of ways, but you are pleased to use us as the pen through which you are writing stories of salvation, liberation, and healing. We're not just biding our time till heaven. We're not just enduring the crazy, evil, and decay until we can "get out of here." We are a part of your eternal plan to make all things new. Your kingdom has come in part with your resurrection, and it will come in fullness at your return. Hallelujah and thank you. There is plenty of heartache to go around, but there are 10,000 more reasons to live with hope. If we could only see, hear, smell, and heart-engage with John's vision of our coming life in the new heaven and new earth (Rev.21:1-22:6), we too would fall down in face-plant worship, whole-being peace, and joy-filled anticipation (Rev.22:8). But Jesus—today, Saturday, January 27, 2024 and every day, we want to "hitch our rejoicing wagon" to the right "stallion"—to the source of the deepest, greatest, most circumstance-transcending joy. Jesus, thank you for writing our names in heaven. We may stop breathing, but we will never die. We may have doubts about a lot of things, but we don't have to live with doubt about the life to come. Never less, always more, we want to rejoice that our names are written with the permanent ink of your indelible grace in the only book that matters. Thank. You. Jesus. So Very Amen. Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  P.O. Box 170346    Austin  TX  78717    You received this email because you are subscribed to Scotty Smith's Blog: Heavenward from The Gospel Coalition. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails.

Ever Been Overwhelmed By Jesus? We Will Be.

Heavenward. Read the latest from Scotty Smith's blog.

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Ever Been Overwhelmed By Jesus? We Will Be. SCOTTY SMITH Jesus is returning "to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you..." 2Thess.1:10   Lord Jesus, if the question is, "What is it going to be like when Jesus returns?", then this one verse highlights two realties I crave more than ever. First of all, as soon as we see you "breaking through the clouds," we will transformed to be completely like you. That's the Day the Father will complete his good work in us (Phil.1:6). You will be glorified in our midst—honored, regaled, worshipped as you deserve. And we will be glorified by you—made forever as Jesus-like as created beings can possibly be. It will be impossible for us to ever sin again—in any way, shape, or form. Every thought we think, word we speak, and action we take will be true, good, and beautiful. Please Jesus, the sooner the better. That takes us to the second grand reality highlighted in this one verse. Finally and fully, we will marvel at you, Jesus. No more believing or seeing in part, no more mild mannered, polite, measured response to who you are, Jesus. Every wrong, incomplete, and unworthy way we've thought about you will be gone forever—purged, erased, vaporized once and for all by your glory and grace. Hallelujah! We will stand in awe, fall on our faces in wonder, dance with unfettered joy… gaping, gawking, gazing at you, Jesus. And in that very moment, you will do what you have eternally promised. Bridegroom to his beloved, you will welcome us into the fullness of your joy, the fulfillment of our deepest longings, and we will live as your Bride forever in the new heaven and new earth. Jesus, I feel like I am able to grasp only about 3% of the wonder of it all. But, with my praying friends, I am so grateful the other 97% is guaranteed. Hallelujah, and So Very Amen.   Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  P.O. Box 170346    Austin  TX  78717    You received this email because you are subscribed to Scotty Smith's Blog: Heavenward from The Gospel Coalition. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails.

Bragging Rights and Rightly Bragging

Heavenward. Read the latest from Scotty Smith's blog.

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Bragging Rights and Rightly Bragging SCOTTY SMITH   The Lord says: "The wise shouldn't boast about their wisdom or the strong boast about their strength or the rich boast about their riches. "Boasters" should boast about this: that they know me" (Jer.9:23).   Dear Jesus, this passage reminds me that there's "bragging rights" and there's "bragging rightly." There's boasting to get attention, and there's a form of boasting that gives all the attention and adoration to you. That's the kind of "bragging" I want to specialize in, Lord. I want to delight, first and foremost, in you. Thankfully—and at times painfully, you anticipate everywhere we're tempted to turn when you don't meet our "needs," medicate our pain, satisfy our cravings. Certainly "smarts," strength, and "stuff" (Jer.9:23) are three of the main things we can look to for our identity and security—but that list goes on and on. You could have added, "The 'beautiful people' shouldn't boast in their flawless skin and non-drinkable 6-packs, and romantics shouldn't rely on their intimacy-chops and magnetism. The sports-adroit shouldn't crow about their pickle-ball awesomeness and rappelling skills, and the religiously committed are nuts to count on their Biblical knowledge and theological correctness." Jesus, You. Are. So. Patient. With. Us. What does "bragging rightly" look like? It's the humble, unspeakable joy of realizing you see, know, and love us as much as much as Abba loves you, Jesus (Jn.15:9). It's meaning, not just singing, "My hope is built on nothing less, (or more or other) than Jesus' blood and righteous." It's the freedom to say with Paul, "Christ is my life and death will be gain" (Phil.1:21). It's the Gospel-sanity of Asaph's song, "You make heaven "heavenly," Jesus, and when I'm alive to you and your love, my desire and dependence for things on the earth goes from a raging-10 to a grateful-2" (Psalm 73:25). Make it so, Jesus. Make it increasingly so. So Very Amen. Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  P.O. Box 170346    Austin  TX  78717    You received this email because you are subscribed to Scotty Smith's Blog: Heavenward from The Gospel Coalition. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails.

Let God’s Kindness “Mess” with You

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Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Let God's Kindness "Mess" with You SCOTTY SMITH "Love your enemies! Do good to them… You will truly be acting as children of the Most High, who is kind to the ungrateful and wicked" (Luke 6:35).   Heavenly Father, this is one of many verses in your Word that begs for clarification, but I'm going to start my day with what is unmistakably clear, not what is perplexing—even offensive. You have been and are astonishingly generous with me in the Gospel. "All" that's true of me this morning is that I'm 100% forgiven of all my sins—not just the many of which I'm aware. Jesus' cross was my Judgment Day, and his righteousness is now counted as mine. You love me as much as you love Jesus—just as you do each of your children. According to your Word, the affection you have for us is described as you greatly delighting in us and rejoicing over us with loud singing—even as you are committed to quiet us with your love (Zeph.3:17). This is stunning, astounding, and more wonderful than all the stuff I don't like about the universe is bad, broken, and evil. So here's the deal, Abba. I'm not going to get "bent out of shape" about what you mean by telling me to love my enemies. I'm not going to spin my wheels qualifying to death what loving wicked people cannot possibly mean. Instead, I am going to spend more time lamenting my ingratitude towards you, and taking to heart what John Owen, the English Puritan said: "The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to him is not to believe that he loves you". Maybe that's my wickedness, Father—disbelieving, under-believing, forgetting, marginalizing the riches of your grace. I really do want to be kinder towards others—all kinds of "others." But above everything, I want to love you as you love me. I want to worship you with unfettered, unfiltered adoration. Thank you for being relentlessly kind to me, your under-grateful son. So Very Amen. Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  P.O. Box 170346    Austin  TX  78717    You received this email because you are subscribed to Scotty Smith's Blog: Heavenward from The Gospel Coalition. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails.

Our Habakkuk-like Prayer

Heavenward. Read the latest from Scotty Smith's blog.

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Our Habakkuk-like Prayer SCOTTY SMITH Though there are no "fig buds, grapes, olives, sheep, or cattle… even then I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength…"—indeed, "his joy is our strength" (Hab. 3:17-19; Neh. 8:10).   Heavenly Father, thank you for including the record of faith-struggles in your Word. Where did we ever get the notion that the "blessed" life was an easy, predictable, pain-void life? Between Jesus' resurrection and return, we should expect moments, days, and seasons when say both, "I am loving my life right now!", as well as "How long, O Lord?" We didn't pick them up as hitchhikers—the mystery of your ways, and your peace that defies understanding, we're both in the Gospel-van before we took our seat. We don't know, "get," like everything; but we do rest in this, Sovereign Abba: You began a "good work" in us, and all creation, that you will complete. You promised Jesus and he came. After living and dying for us, you raised Jesus, enthroned him, and will send him back. Hallelujah, and thank you. Until then, nothing will separate us from your love, alter your eternal plans, or be outside the "all things" in which you're at work for our good (Rm.8:28). So here's our Habakkuk-like prayer, Father: When grace doesn't feel sufficient and life is harder than the Gospel is sweet, we will worship you. Though people fail us, evil abounds, and your timetable makes no sense to us—even then, we will love and trust you. And when "mystery" is riding shotgun with us, while "peace" is in the trunk somewhere—especially then, we will collapse on Jesus. Your joy is our strength, Father, even as Jesus is our righteousness. So Very Amen.     Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  P.O. Box 170346    Austin  TX  78717    You received this email because you are subscribed to Scotty Smith's Blog: Heavenward from The Gospel Coalition. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails.