Repentance+Forgiveness = bye bye death

and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:46-47 ESV)

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:19-21 ESV)

Repentance = turning away from darkness towards light, away from evil deeds towards works carried out in God.

A salvation that works, by grace alone.

Grace Driven Effort

Link: Grace Driven Effort

And that is exactly how meeting old friends ought to go.

What if the body of Christ was full of people, full of people who were able to share what is really going on, the joys and struggles. Now granted, not all times of authentic sharing would be a fountain of joy, because authentically sometimes life is really difficult and painful. But then we could get together, cry, and worship God together. But one the whole, this type of community would produce a lot more joy, and a lot more focus. Because you begin talking about life, and then you talk about what your learning because of what God is doing, and then you remember how Jesus is just central in everything. And then the Holy Spirit reminds you of how grand the story of redemption is, and how you are part of it.

I don’t know how much of that made sense, and I am too tired to read it over. But I love building relationships with my brothers and sisters, and am also looking forward to building up the body of Christ. If you love Jesus, you ought to love his body and obey him. So fulfill the great commission, and start discipling people. All you need is the Gospel. If you can’t express the Gospel, you need to sit down for a few hours with your Bible and pray to know God, to know his great love shown in the cross and why that matters to you.

I wonder what eternity will be like… it’ll be beautiful. Much more beautiful than this messy post.

God Saves! God Redeems! God Rescues!

Praise God, he hears our prayers and he answers! I found out an old friend is now my brother.

"My Song in the Night" from Christmas at Northwestern. This song is amazing. In the right moment, you will shed tears. We need more songs that express solemn joy. 

So much would be taken care of if our love of Christ would overflow in a love for others that would cause us to be missional in our relationships, aka “being interested in others and desiring them to know the riches in Christ Jesus”.

6 simple ways to be missional

Link: 6 simple ways to be missional

alextdevine:

1. Eat with other people.
2. Work in public places.
3. Be a regular.
4. Leave the house in the evenings.
5. Serve your neighbors.
6. Share your passion.