No More Disgrace, Anti-Grace, or Un-Grace, Just Grace Upon Grace

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH No More Disgrace, Anti-Grace, or Un-Grace, Just Grace Upon Grace SCOTTY SMITH "Rejoice, don't be afraid, for your days of living in shame are over! Rest deep, don't be anxious; because all of your disgrace is gone, only grace remains. The memory of your shameful youth and sorrowful widowhood no longer define you and will be forgotten. Why? How? Because the God who created now cherishes you as his bride. He is the Lord of Heaven's Armies! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth." Paraphrase of Isaiah 54:4-5   Lord Jesus, your Word, work, and Gospel are welcome for wanderers, rescue for rebels, balm for the broken, and freedom for prisoners. You are the fulfiller and giver of everything promised is this portion of Scripture, and in the entire Bible. "Thank you" seems too anemic of a response to such riches. Cartwheels, dancing, falling down in adoring love are all in order. Because of what you've done for us, Jesus, we don't have to pose or pretend, hide and cower, do more or try harder. There's nothing about us you don't know. There's nothing left to discover, shock, or disappoint you. You don't love us as we should be, or will be, but as we are right now. You have taken our guilt, forgiven our sin, and dressed us in your righteousness—truths that should buckle our knees and enflame our hearts. When you cried, "It is finished" from the cross, you weren't exaggerating. As the Lord of Heaven's Armies you were pillaging the devil, harrowing hell, and marrying us. There's no more disgrace, anti-grace, or un-grace left for us, only grace upon grace. We no longer live in shame, but in, by, and with you, Jesus. Your name is Redeemer, and our name is desired and beloved. So Very Amen Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  PO Box #1637    Columbia  MO  65205    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.

Change Isn’t Sovereign. Jesus Is.

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Change Isn't Sovereign. Jesus Is. SCOTTY SMITH "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Heb. 13:8   Dear Jesus, I really don't like change. I do like newness, excitement, and adventure, but I really like the normal, comfortable, and predictable. I don't like it when a favorite fishing rod "gives up the ghost" and I have to replace it. Or when a storm takes out a favorite tree or 5 of them. Or when you transplant someone who's a friend first, colleague second to another job, state, and home. But I'm thrilled that there's one part of our lives that will never change. And that is you, Jesus. You are the same "yesterday, today, and forever"—the same truth-filled, goodness-overflowing, beautiful-without-equal Savior. This doesn't make you predictable, and even less so manageable. But it does mean we can trust you without any reservations. Change doesn't have sovereignty. That is100% your domain. With you, Jesus, nothing is random. You are never in discovery mode. You never have to react to anything, as though you "didn't see that one coming." Everything is under your reign of grace, and you are working in all things for our good. With you, disruption leads to delight. As silly and simplistic as it seems, I finally got used to Zoe's becoming Cava. On a more profound level, I have seen you work in my deepest wounds and losses to bring healing and grace to others. Thank you, Jesus. Because of your life, death, and resurrection, we're heading towards a place, family, and eternity in which everything will be the way it's supposed to be. Our last goodbye will be spoken our first Day in the new heaven and new earth. Help each of us accept change as part of a far better story than we could or would ever write. You are making all things new, not all things vintage. Because you hold us tightly, we can hold everything else lightly. 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  PO Box #1637    Columbia  MO  65205    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.

Irritation Triggers and Triggerfish

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Irritation Triggers and Triggerfish SCOTTY SMITH "Love is patient and kind… not irritable or resentful." 1Cor. 13:1-5   Jesus, you say tons about what love is and isn't in 1 Cor.13, but two contrasting couplets jump out at me this morning. Love is "patient and kind," not "irritable or resentful." I went to bed with, and woke up with, a bit of ISS—irritable spirit syndrome. Better, I should call it "irritable spirit sinning," because it's not something I caught, but something I indulge. Because I love you and others, I don't want this to be a bad attitude day, Jesus. So I am canceling my plans for a pity party. I hereby own and relinquish my elder-brother attitude of score-carding, judgmentalism, and hair-trigger irritability. The only "triggers" I want to indulge are being triggered by your grace and kindness, and thoughts of feasting with friends on freshly caught Triggerfish from the Florida Gulf. So, by your Spirit, settle, center, and gentle me for the day. Thank you for your steadfast love, inexhaustible patience, and perpetual kindness. May your truth, goodness, and beauty be so compelling to me, Jesus, I won't have much heart-space left for being anybody's judge, jury, and jailer. Jesus, grant me and my fellow grace-needy friends, kindness of heart, quick repentances, and joy in loving to your glory today. And thank you for the coming, eternal Day we will never have to pray this prayer again. So Very Amen.   Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  PO Box #1637    Columbia  MO  65205    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.

Have Mercy, Jesus—On Us, On Me

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Have Mercy, Jesus—On Us, On Me SCOTTY SMITH "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart." (Prov.3:5)   Whoever primarily trusts in man—fragile flesh, bones, and blood, ramping down their trust in the Lord from a 10 to a 2, is like a desert shrub—tumbleweed blown about by every wind and whim; a cactus with many barbs—living defensively, not redemptively. Such a person has no hope, they live by hype. Fear, not faith, fills their heart and horizon. Left to themselves, their dwelling will be the parched wilderness—in an arid, lonely salt flat. (My paraphrase of Jeremiah 17:5-6)   Dear Jesus, I judge no one this morning. I'm just looking at two mirrors. The mirror of your Word—which alone shows things as they really are; and the mirror in my bathroom, which is only a reflection of externals, not a revelation of the eternal. What am I feeling today? Grateful you are Lord, and I am not. Convicted, at how easily I can get swayed by the hoopla and hula-hoops of world politics, national agendas, and the foolishness of my own heart. But Jesus, only you are worthy of whole-heart trust, worship, and love. But here we are again… just like the time Israel was so faithless, impatient, and desperate for a king, you gave them a very "man-ish Saul. Just like the time a crowd was so impressed with your miracles, they wanted to force you to be their king without the cross (John 6:14-15). Just like the time an amazed crowd called the Apostle Paul, Hermes, and Barnabas, Zeus—bringing sacrifices to worship the messengers, instead of you, the Master (Acts 14:11-13). I, we, us… Jesus, it's too easy to look beyond you, in addition to you, or to some version of you that is shaped by our personal druthers, not your eternal glory. Forgive us, forgive me, Jesus. So Very Amen.   Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  PO Box #1637    Columbia  MO  65205    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.

More Unbinding and More Freedom

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH More Unbinding and More Freedom SCOTTY SMITH   Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." John 11:43–44   Lord Jesus, we have much in common with Lazarus. Our need for resurrection was just as great as his. You spoke these words through the Gospel, "Come out" and we came forth from spiritual death unto newness of life. Hallelujah, we have already passed from death to life (Jn.5:24), from condemnation for our sins to the righteousness of faith (Rm.8:1;1:17) and from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of your belovedness (Col.1:13,14). As surely as Lazarus needed to be freed from his grave-clothes, so do we. The smell and signs of death still bind us, blind us, and trip us up. Lazarus' hands, feet, and face needed "freeing." So do ours. Jesus, by your Word, Spirit, and grace—and our Gospel-friendships, grant us greater freedom. Unbind our faces, Jesus. Open the eyes of our hearts to see more of your beauty, and more of your heart and hand everywhere. Fine tune our hearing to the frequency of the Spirit. Fill our mouths with words of praise for you, and encouragement and healing for those around us. Unbind our hands, Jesus. Loosen our grip on things that do not matter. And rather than grabbing more for ourselves, may our hands be extended in servant love, generous kindness, and compassionate care. Unbind our feet, Jesus. We want to walk closer to you than ever before. And we want to go with you into your commitment to make all things new and beautiful. Those you set free are free, indeed, Jesus; and, indeed, we want more freedom. So Very Amen   Wish you had a roundup of our best content? Subscribe to our weekly Update. SIGN ME UP! The Gospel Coalition  PO Box #1637    Columbia  MO  65205    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.