The Introverted Evangelist

We Are Forgiven : " Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because  He delights in mercy and loving-kindness . He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities.  You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea . " (Micah 7:18-19 AMP) O Heavenly Father, there truly is none like You. You're so  gracious , so merciful and true. You deal justly with us, yet You deal tenderly with us too. You have  exchanged our records  of grime and guilt for the pure,  blameless record  of Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour. Because  Jesus lived the perfect life , I don't have to. Because Jesus died the ultimate death that satisfied Your wrath towards sin's horrendous filth, I am forgiven and freed. I am  no longer held to that debt . I'm not expected to pay even a fraction of that enormous price. Jesus, You paid it...

Freely Forgiven : " God’s raging anger won’t let up Until he’s made a clean sweep completing the job he began. When the job’s done you’ll see it’s been well done ." (Jeremiah 30:24 MSG) Hold up... That's not the kind of verse I normally put at the start of a devotional, now is it? Nope, not so much. However, this is because I was recently asked a question that brought me great revelation and an even deeper appreciation and awe of the  true freedom and hope  we have in Jesus Christ. The question? How to explain verses like Jeremiah 30:24. How do we know for sure that we're forgiven, saved from death, and rescued from the punishment that all of our old messiness and shameful deeds would've brought on us? I can recall that I would formerly have tried to rely on my own understanding to explain such things. But this time, my very firmly anchored soul did not jump to clutch whatever it could find to make me sound wise or like I have it all figured out. Let's face it...

More Than Enough: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) I am a sinner. I have fallen short of Your prodigious glory... yet again. I writhe and struggle in all my shame. O Lord, remind me to call on Your Name. "If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) If these lips are spattered in disbelief, discontent, and disregard for all You've done for me, O Lord, wipe them clean. I choose to wash my tongue in the truth of who You are. I must make the conscious choice to turn away from this trap set before me, rebuking regression and taking hold of Your helping hands. Knowing that Your faithfulness won't forsake me, not now and not ever. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that t...

Live With Love: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." (1 John 4:7) We're called to lead lives that radiate the love of God. Sometimes, however, it's difficult to show love. Sometimes people annoy us, sometimes they hurt us, and often people disappoint us. What it boils down to in the end is patience. It takes tremendous patience to portray and truly live out of love. "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2) We must fix our eyes upon the Lord, and call upon the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us as our Helper. Remember, we live in a fallen world. We're all initially trapped inside the plague that is human flesh, which causes us to be quick tempered, sinful, and bitter. Now, hold on there. Don't dismiss this as an excuse to be sinful and choleric with people. We're not seeking to permit and promote the preprogrammed haste an...

Loved and Forgiven: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) Come, oh contrite soul within me, and approach the Lord your God. He sees your weeping remorse; He hears your deeply repentant heart. Don't fear, for He never shames or condemns. He is gracious, oh so gracious. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7) I pour out my praise and adoration upon the Lord Jesus Christ, for He has given all for me. All? For me? He gave it all, and He sacrificed His very life on a filthy, ignominious cross. This cross, so unfit for an Holy and righteous King, was the very cross He bore for the washing of our sins. He was draped so battered and bruised upon that tree. This is the God who came down for you and me. He set aside His divinity to endure the pains of humanity. This is our Lord. He is not a distant...

Do Everything in Love: "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love." (1 Corinthians 16:13-14) Today I choose to focus on Ἐμμανουήλ (Emmanuel), God with me. I choose to see Him present in all areas of my life. I choose to yield eyes to Holy Spirit healing, that my eyes may be opened to see. Now I can see. I can see how the God over all creation desires me. He desires me, and He wants fellowship with me. I'm amazed and in awe that the Lord would take the time to care about me. The heart is tugged hard and the eyes suddenly move upwards away from the trap of self-sufficiency. Now my unprofitable works and efforts to "earn grace" are divinely dispatched. I can see Him with me now. He cares about all that I care about and more. Then I turn out and look upon all the empty sullen faces of the people around me, and my heart weighs heavily as though the heart of God were grieving in congruous mournful groans with mine. How ...

Love Never Ends: "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23) Oftentimes I find myself standing still, eyes shut tight, and hands spread open wide. In that moment I quiet down every fidgety fret in my mind, breathe deep, and say the words that can calm the most radical storms, "God is here. His love is near. I need not fear." If I will quickly and quietly whisper to my soul these assuring truths, a multitude of unnecessary hurts can be avoided. It's easy to get lost in the chaos of life, but much more pleasurable to get lost in all the goodness of εν Θεός εκ αγάπη (the God of Love). "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16) God IS Love. The Love that is lavished upon us is the purest, most genuine, and rescuing Love of all loves....

Shine Down: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." (Romans 13:12)  I've always loved the way this verse instructs us to "put on the armour of light". It never ceases to paint a vivid picture in my mind. This verse may have you wondering what it means to cast off the works of darkness and put on an armour of light. Well, as you may have noticed, every verse is a treasure chest of hidden knowledge and beauty. So, let's dive in!  The Greek New Testament has always mesmerised me, because of all the meaningful words. The word here for darkness in the Greek it is σκότος and it means darkness (of course). Let's not move on just yet, there is more to this verse (isn't there always?).  Skotos also depicts spiritual darkness (i.e. sin, erroneous ways, and misery). Spiritual darkness can be the result of living in a sinful habit such as deceit or bitterness. Oftentime...

Nothing Compares: "No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God." (1 Samuel 2:2) Our God is a rock and refuge for us. No other foundation will last. Blessed is the man who builds his hope and faith on the Rock of the Lord, for when storms rise, he shall be protected by the Almighty. "Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" (Exodus 15:11) Asaph, a levite and a musician in David's time, wrote twelve of the psalms in the book of Psalms. Asaph wrote the famous Psalms 73, in which we see a complete repentance, realisation of iniquity, and a complete declaration of devotion to the Lord. Verse one professes of God's goodness to those who have a pure heart (and this is true, and thankfully now, in A.D. years after Jesus has come and cleansed us once and for all, we have a pure and righteous heart through faith). Then Asaph admits it, he had sl...