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...

Look to Jesus : " Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever ." (Hebrews 13:8) In an ever-changing world, fix your eyes on the  unchanging Lord . In the middle of your panic, pursue the  Prince of Peace . When all hope seems fading fast, seek the One who fails not. When fear is crippling, cling to the  Love that casts out every doubt . Jesus, Jesus, Jesus... My heart may be failing, the battle still raging, but  my God is fighting for me . I fix my eyes on what I know is true,  His promises will not disintegrate . He is faithful, and therefore I will obey and trust.  He is loyal , so I will press on... Looking to Jesus. Trusting His  personal promises  and  unfailing faithfulness . Jesus, I run to You... Jesus I trust in You. I don't deserve these gracious gifts, but I trust that You're working all things for good. Your glory will prevail, and I will come forth victorious in You. I trust You're taking care of all the details. Amen...

The Perfect One : " And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him " (Hebrews 5:9) Lord, I place everything at Your feet. Even if I'm no great musician or singer,  I will always live to worship You  in spirit and truth  (John  4:24 ) . In Heaven, I know I'll sound beautiful, even angelic! But for right now, I trust that  You take utmost delight in my songs to You , even more than an orchestral symphony.  You take delight in my imperfect song . How great You are, my God. " There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love ." (1 John 4:18) So often I'm afraid...  I fear the terror of others knowing my raw imperfections ... So easily I forget that Your perfect love has renewed me. Your perfect love casts out my every fear, even my  fear of being rejected . Rejected because of my weakness? Why, this is precisely why You'...

It's The Most Wonderful Time of Year : " And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth ." (John 1:14 AMP) I love  Christmastime . This time of year is my favourite for so many, many reasons. It's as though all the  bright shining lights  and  joyous carols  ring throughout the whole earth in  a wave of worship  for the One whom we celebrate.  Immanuel .  Jesus the Messiah . His name is so beautiful, and I love the way it's the very forefront of this season. The Holy and exalted Name above all names belonging to our Lord headlines this holiday:  it's CHRIST-mas ! How splendid indeed! I also just adore the fitting manner in which we celebrate His birth. This whole entire season is  brimming with e...

Let Me Redeem Your Rejection : " Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. " (Galatians 1:10) People have an undeniable tendency to leave us feeling  empty  and  unsatisfied . Time and again, people will forget, people will say the wrong things, and  it hurts  us. People cannot fit the bill for what only God can fulfil . Others will  reject  us, judge us, and  give up  on us, but  God never will . God will never leave us  bruised and broken  in heart the way fellow humans often do. " He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. " (Matthew 12:20) People don't see what God sees. God looks into the deepest depths of our hearts and souls. The Lord sees a  great potential  that blossoms only from the  gracious goodness  He has planted in  surrender...

God Loves Even the Unlovable: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10) Can you see it? The astounding reality of the God we serve? He loved us first. He set aside His great and authoritative dignity to take on the form of a rejected and hated servant, and He did it all for us. He gave it all for me, and He humbled Himself to the lowest of positions for you as well. Why? Why did Jesus trade His divine Deity for the suppressing subjugation of human flesh? Were we just so righteous and deserving? Certainly not. Had we earned our reconciliation? Preposterous! The answer to the burning question as to why Jesus purposefully brought Himself low and surrendered all for our souls? Self-sacrificing, unconditional Love. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Whilst still sinking in sinfulness, God devised a divi...

Nothing I Could do to Lose You: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you." (Jeremiah 31:3) Everlasting love graces the waves of mercy which crash over my troubled soul. Your love is never ending. From the first moment of conception, You called me out by name and flooded me with love. You'll never stop or withhold Your love. Your love is a relentless rushing river that cannot be tamed or cut off. "God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!" (Jeremiah 31:3 MSG) In the course of my life, many people have walked out on me. Time and time again, humans become angry and perturbed, building up walls of bitter resentment and strife. The fallen condition of our flesh creates fickle feelings of frustration and friction. But You, O Lord, You are patient, pure, and persevering. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not prou...

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...

All Things New: "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Romans 6:4) New life. Our Lord has promised new life in Christ. What a promise to be given by the One who cannot lie. Transforming from glory to glory - we shall never die. In Christ alone, we forever abide. The past is a hurtful memory, but to You, Lord, we release it. We can't keep hold of the ties to our former life, or we live in continual, laborious strife. We accept that what was has come and has gone. We may not know why it happened, but we know that You have perfect purpose for our pain. So we turn to You, expectant for what's next. We know that in You, it's always the best. "See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you." (Isaiah 42:9) We place our aches and regrets at the feet of...

Hope Anchors the Soul: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." (Hebrews 6:19) This world in which we reside today is much like an ocean with its changing tides and fragile features. The world is quickly distraught and disorganised, and this perilous propensity can easily cause loosely tied souls to fall overboard. In short, the world is very quick-tempered, so it's imperative to understand "The Certainty of God's Promise" as this passage of Hebrews chapter six is titled. "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged." (Hebrews 6:17-18) God has made His marvellous promise perfectly perspicuous. We are to reach out and firmly grasp onto this hope He has made so re...

No One Like You: "Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears." (2 Samuel 7:22) Oh how great You are, Lord! You are the One Who was, Who is, and Who is to come. The First and the Last. You reign from everlasting to everlasting. No one and no thing can compare to You, God. "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,"(Ephesians 3:20) My most ambitious and exaggerated dreams are a mere taste of all the greatness God has planned for me. His plan is exponentially more enthralling, and it is birthed out of His pure and genuine love. "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you." (Jeremiah 31:3) His lovingkindness bewilders my mind, but in the most awestruck and thankful way. He blesses abundantly, simply because that's who H...

No Longer Alone: "For he says, ‘In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2) I find this verse very intriguing. Paul tells us that God has said, "In the time of my FAVOUR I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." The reason I made the word "favour" stand out is because I would like to take a minute to delve into the Greek treasure chest. You can see that the verse uses the word favour twice. In looking, I discovered that this is actually two different words. Now, these words are extremely similar, but they are different nonetheless. Why two different words? I feel as though these words convey two articles of the same idea. The first "favour" is the Greek word δεκτός. This word is an adjective that describes something that is accepted and favoured, but also describes a time in which God is delighted to bl...