Jesus Always “Shows Up”—In Fact, He Never Leaves Us

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Jesus Always "Shows Up"—In Fact, He Never Leaves Us SCOTTY SMITH "Jesus walked on the sea, came near the boat, and the disciples were frightened. But he said to them, 'Don't be afraid. It's me .'" (Jn.6:19-20). " While they were still talking … Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'" (Lk.24:36). "Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me"—Saul of Tarsus, and I became Paul the Apostle. (1Cor.15:8). " I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt.28:20)    Lord Jesus, not just on the night of your birth, the morning you walked out of the tomb, or the moment we were born from above… but every day in every place in a multitude of ways, you continue " to appear"—to make your presence, power, and love known. You show up in daily mercies with fresh grace in the shape of our needs. Hallelujah, and thank you.    Whether it's "out of the blue" or from within dark clouds, in the pages of Scripture or from the "pages" of creation, through the encouragement of friends or the work of unseen angels… you are always near, and we are always dear to you. Sometimes with a whisper, bang, or a song—but you never stop pursuing, shepherding, and caring for us. In a variety of ways, you continue to speak these words to us: " Don't be afraid. It's me."    Jesus, I'm thinking of some particular friends with particular needs this morning who'd benefit from one of your "walking on water" appearances. Storms within and storms without, please show them—show all of us, that every storm still knows your name. Hush the hurricane, turn the gale force winds into gentle zephyrs of grace. And show each of us how we might be the means of your grace today in our friends' hardships and heartaches. 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.

Celebrate National Donor-Advised Fund Day with TGC

Discover how your DAF can make a lasting gospel impact this giving season.

View in browser Dear First,   Today is National Donor-Advised Fund Day, and we want to take a moment to thank those of you who give to The Gospel Coalition through a DAF. Your generosity is helping to advance gospel-centered resources, equip churches, and reach people around the world with the hope of Christ. Because of you, this ministry continues to grow and flourish.   If you haven't yet considered giving through a donor-advised fund, we'd love to share helpful information regarding DAFs. In the U.S. alone, DAFs accounted for nearly 14.6% of all individual charitable giving in 2023. DAFs are a simple, tax-efficient way to support ministries like TGC while maximizing your charitable impact.   To learn more or explore giving through your DAF, simply email us: giving@thegospelcoalition.org. Our team would be happy to help.   Thank you for partnering with us to hold fast to the gospel and share it faithfully in every season.   With gratitude,   Danielle Czelusta  Senior Major Gifts Officer The Gospel Coalition Give to TGC The Gospel Coalition, PO Box #1637, Columbia, MO 65205 Unsubscribe

When Busyness Wars Against Substance

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH When Busyness Wars Against Substance SCOTTY SMITH "We are merely moving shadows. All our busy rushing ends in nothing."  Ps.39:6   "I count everything as loss compared to the excellency of knowing Jesus." Phil.3:8      Heavenly Father, many of us begin today with a "to do list" that mocks our ability to get everything done. That's what makes these Scriptures precious and timely. Even before the sun comes up, remind us of what really  matters, and Who  matters the most. Today isn't about getting everything done but doing everything with love. Loving you above all and loving others as Jesus loves us is the greatest success we will achieve in life.    Far better to do a few things well with peace and kindness than to rush through our lists missing people's hearts and ignoring you most of the day. Because of the Gospel, may our "to love lists" matter more than our "to do lists." We're not naïve or cavalier about the demands of our vocations—all of which we are committed to do to your glory.    As farmers we milk our cows. As health care workers, other's needs outstrip the hours in our day. As artists we have deadlines and commissions to complete. As teachers we have lessons to plan and lectures to give. As CEO's we have companies to run and staffs to lead.    But as your children, we have you to love with everything we have and are and your kingdom to seek first above everything else. Center, settle, and quiet our hearts. Turn our busy spirits into non-anxious spirits. Father, you are our "portion"—that is, our joy, peace, and inheritance. Our identity and hope are in you—not in people's approval, the pride of accomplishment, retiring comfortably, and having a long, impressive eulogy. 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.

What I Have in Common with a Pagan King

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH What I Have in Common with a Pagan King SCOTTY SMITH    After God's perfectly timed humbling work in my heart, "I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned,  and I praised and worshiped the Most High—honoring the one who lives forever. God's rule is everlasting and his kingdom is eternal. I control nothing and my fiefdom is like the mist.    All the people of the earth are tee-tiny compared to him. God does as he pleases among the angels of heaven, the people of the earth, and the nations of his world. Nobody can stop him, or arrogantly say to him, 'What do you mean by doing these things? '" (pp Daniel 4:34-35)    Heavenly Father, I love this passage, and the truth it affirms. It gives me peace and hope, as I vex, fume, pray about our country and your cosmos. Like Nebuchadnezzar, I'm in constant need of getting low and returning to Gospel-sanity.    Father, I'm glad you do as you please—and not as we presume, beg, and demand. Help me and my friends trust your heart when we cannot see your hand. When we are fearful and faithless, under-believing and over-stressing, you remain steadfast in your love, joyful on your throne, and 100% in control. Thank you for your kindness and patience with us.    As this day begins and continues, I'm grateful you care for birds and fields, little children and aging adults, "cattle in Nineveh" (Jonah 4:11) and "bruised reeds" like us (Matt.12:20). Nothing happens apart from your sovereign decrees and eternal delight. That doesn't make our lives necessarily easy, but it sure makes them wondrously yours.    Abba, forgive me when I doubt your faithfulness and grant me grace when I struggle with your hiddenness. I plan on making more time for adoration and less time for agitation. 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.

The Glorious “God-ness” of Our God

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH The Glorious "God-ness" of Our God SCOTTY SMITH  " O Lord, yours is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything  in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord. There are no borders or boundaries to your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things." (pp 1Chron.29:11)     " Don't forget this—I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and I have no comparisons or competition. I make known the end from the beginning. From ancient times and forever, my purpose will stand. I will do ALL  that I please." (pp Isa.46:9-10)      Dear heavenly Father, I woke up grateful about core stuff—the "biggies," essentials, and the " whole shebang" of life. I am so thankful that you are God, and I am not. I am grateful you are the Alpha and the Omega and every other Greek letter in between. I am so glad you know the beginning, middle, and the ending of world history—and our next 24 hours. You know them not as a spectator but as author and finisher.    I am simultaneously sobered and giddy that "nations rage, kingdoms crumble, and the earth melts when you raise the decibels of your voice" (Ps.46:6); and that you laugh derisively when little earth-kings plot foolishly (Psalm 2). I am so thankful that you don't answer all our prayers with a resounding "Yes!"—because you aren't a "sugar daddy," but our all wise, loving, perfect Abba. I am restful knowing there will always be more of your grace in the "fray" and at the frayed ends of life.    I am so grateful you are actively redeeming your impossible-to-count, every-nation family; and that you are presently making all things new through Jesus. Father, I am so thankful you are God and the Gospel is true, period. 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.

Perpetually Coming to Jesus

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Perpetually Coming to Jesus SCOTTY SMITH     " As you continue to come to Jesus—the living stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in God's eyes, you are becoming a 'spiritual house'—a priestly people who exist to off sacrifices of praise to God through Jesus. For God promised in the Old Testament: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame." (pp 1Pet.2:4–6)    Lord Jesus, I used to think that "coming to Jesus" was a phrase whose meaning is exhausted when we first trusted you as our Savior and Lord. For sure, that is the most glorious and essential "come to Jesus meeting" we'll ever have. But the whole Christian life is about coming to you—spiritually, emotionally, mentally… with everything we have and are. We need you as much today as we ever have. And BIG hallelujah, you keep giving us grace upon grace.    Staying with the "rock" image of today's passage—Jesus you are the living Stone for your beloved people; and the precious cornerstone of the living  temple called the body of Christ—the rock of refuge that's higher than us and every crisis we face. (Ps.61:2–3). All other ground is sinking sand. You are the rock from which God gave water in the wilderness in Moses' day (1Cor.10:1–4), and the honey-giving rock of whom Asaph spoke (Ps.81:16). You are all this and a gazillion times more. We'll never have a need you don't meet.    Jesus, we exalt you and delight in you. The more precious you become to us, the more we watch our shame melt away. The more we come to you, the more we realize you perpetually come to us first, in the middle, and last. 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.

Gratitude for the Gospel and Those Who Preach the Gospel to Us

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

Heavenward SCOTTY SMITH Gratitude for the Gospel and Those Who Preach the Gospel to Us SCOTTY SMITH   "Although I am less than the least of all the Lord's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ…" Eph.3:8    " We don't preach about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves as your servants for his sake." 2Cor.4:5 "No one in heaven has ever been blamed for preaching Christ too much"—or for preaching too much of Christ. – Spurgeon.      Heavenly Father, thank you for those who preach the Gospel to us—and more so, for the Gospel they preach. "Boundless riches" almost seems like an understatement, when we consider every good thing you have done for us, and given us in Jesus. Our guilt is gone, and our shame is shattered. We are rooted in your love and standing in your grace. Our truest citizenship is in heaven, and our present and permanent address is "in Christ."     So, thank you for those who make this Gospel clear and dear to us. May your love for them be 10,000 times more compelling than the applause of men and the discontent of malcontents. Father, keep them centered on the main thing, really the main One—Jesus and what he has done for us.      Grant them humility and joy appropriate to their calling, and kindness and boldness essential for their preaching. May they tremble at your Word and boast in your Son. May they preach the Gospel to the nations but primarily preach to an audience of One.    When itching ears want them to preach a partial gospel, partisan politics, or a personal agenda—give them courage to resist by filling their hearts with more and more of Jesus' truth, goodness, and beauty. 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.