“In whom we have redemption … the forgiveness of sins.”

— Colossians 1:14

Have you ever felt so guilty you couldn’t look someone in the eye? Guilt is tremendously motivating. While the possibility of feeling guilty may not stop us from doing something wrong, once we feel guilty, we’ll do almost anything to avoid being found out. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the famed fictitious detective Sherlock Holmes, once played a terrible practical joke. He wrote an unsigned letter and mailed it to twelve prominent men. It said, “All is discovered. Flee at once!” Within forty-eight hours all of them had left the country. Guilty.

Though people in our society rarely use the word “sin” in conversation anymore, we can’t get rid of guilt, and it has a powerful effect on us. Guilt weakens and destroys. It can create a sense of anxiety—a nameless, unknown fear. It can produce a depression that hangs over our heads like a black rain cloud. It can make us feel unclean, soiled, worthless. It can give us such a poor self-image that we become our own worst enemies. Guilt can even create physical illness; after David sinned with Bathsheba, he said, “My bones grew old through my groaning all day long” (Psalm 32:3).

There is a difference between guilt and guilt feelings. You may have bad feelings even though you’re not guilty. Psychiatrists may help you get rid of guilt feelings, but they don’t know how to handle guilt. Many of them don’t even like the word. They use “confused” or “mixed up priorities” instead. But the Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Our guilt is so permanent, it seems engraved in granite. We cannot blame it away. We cannot push it down or trade it for another emotion.

We can get rid of our guilt in only one way—by asking Christ for forgiveness. Do you need to ask His forgiveness for something today? Confess to Him, and unburden your heart. Allow Him to wash you perfectly clean.

“What can wash away my sins? Nothing but
the blood of Jesus. What can make me pure
within? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
Mary Runyon Lowry

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

— Philippians 4:13

Do you dream big dreams for your life? If you were given absolute assurance of success, would you act on those dreams? Well, God has promised us such victory. Read Paul’s claim from Philippians again: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” What an incredible promise. But all too often we talk ourselves out of our dreams with two simple words: “I can’t.” These words of unbelief crush our dreams. Instead of trusting God’s promise to strengthen us for all things, we rely on our own volition, our education, our physical prowess, or perhaps even our social standing. And when we perceive a lack of resources to accomplish our dreams, we fail to even try.

Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” If we ever want to fulfill our dreams, we must keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. And as we do, the possibilities are limitless. But first, we must align our aspirations with God’s Word and with His will for us. Second, we must steadfastly work toward our goal, never losing sight of it. Paul serves as a great example of this two-step strategy. He had a dream that every nation, tongue, and tribe would know the Gospel. Paul’s goal was completely in line with God’s truth. And despite his suffering as he strove toward his goal, Paul never lost sight of it. Because of his perseverance and his reliance on God’s strength, Paul’s dream lives on as the Good News continues to spread to the ends of the earth.

God intended His children to soar like eagles. He wants us to live in His world of infinite possibilities, relying on His strength to make our dreams realities. Do you have a dream, something you think you could never achieve? Then ask God for strength to achieve it. As you set your faith in God and seek His will, He will make your dreams come true.

“For they conquer who believe they can.”
Virgil

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

— 2 Timothy 2:15

Someone once wrote out the Constitution of the United States, using longhand to achieve an amazing effect. As you read the document, you see just the words. But if you move back from it, you get another picture—a beautiful portrait of George Washington made by the variation of light and dark pen strokes. It is a magnificent work of art.

So it is with the Bible. When we first read it, we may see only stories about seemingly unrelated things. But after a while we discover that all of Scripture points to Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. The Old Testament foretells His coming; the Gospels describe His coming; the Epistles explain the reasons for His coming. As we look at the big picture of the Bible, we should see Jesus Christ.

Every Christian wanting an intimate relationship with Jesus needs to read and study God’s Word daily. And yet, so often we don’t study His Word at all. Imagine claiming to love someone who fights a battle in a far-off land. If that person wrote you letters, would you leave them sitting unopened on the coffee table? Of course not. You’d rip them open right away, read them, and read them again. Well, somewhere in our houses sit sixty-six love letters from God, from Genesis to Revelation. If we love God, let’s make sure we read those letters.

Set aside time regularly to delve into God’s Word, meditating upon it and hiding it in your heart. Get the Bible handbooks and dictionaries that supplement serious study of His Word. As you get to know the Bible better, you’ll discover more about and draw closer to the central figure of that book, Jesus Christ.

“The New Testament is the very best book that
ever was or ever will be known in the world.”
Charles Dickens

… Unlike those high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices—first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for He did this once for all when He offered up Himself.

— Hebrews 7:27

There were priests in the Old Testament, but now Christ, our great High Priest has come. He completed the work that they could only begin.

With a priest and an altar you have something else: you have a sacrifice. For hundreds of years, at God’s instruction, the ancient Hebrew priests offered sacrifices with many specific guidelines. There were daily sacrifices and specific annual offerings. They may have “forgiven” sins temporarily, but never permanently.

All of these sacrifices foreshadowed the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. What He did is the basis for all forgiveness. His blood was much more precious than that of bulls and goats.

Read Hebrews 9-11 and you will notice that one word appears over and over and over again. It is a word that I recommend you underline. It is “once” or “one.” By one sacrifice Christ has forever reconciled us to God. There was only one sacrifice, and it took place upon the Cross 2,000 years ago. On that finished sacrifice all of our hopes are founded.

Question to ponder:
What does it mean that our High Priest offered Himself up “once for all”?

… weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

— Psalm 30:5

Sorrow, sadness, and weeping are all part of this life. None of us are untouched by the troubles of the world. But these are temporary—whereas joy, for the Christian, is everlasting. 

One time at a speaking engagement in Indianapolis, a man came up to me and said, “I was down in Ft. Lauderdale on vacation, and I met a lady in your church who shared with me those good tidings of great joy.” She had told him of the Gospel and he had accepted Christ. He continued: “You certainly cannot know, you cannot imagine the indescribable joy I have known for the last year since I came to know Christ. I never would have believed it.”

It is never recorded once that Jesus ever laughed, and yet the night before He went to the agony of the Cross, He said, “I have spoken these to you, that My joy may remain in you” (John 15:11). He came from the source of all joy—from Heaven—and He came to bring that joy to us. He took all of our sorrows and our griefs upon Himself, and thus, though He never laughed that we know of, He did weep. And He wept, so that we might be glad.

Question to ponder:
What difference does it make that sadness is temporary?

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

— Matthew 5:3

To be poor in spirit is to recognize that you are spiritually needy. It is to see that in ourselves we are poor and in need of a savior.

Christ came—not with pomp and circumstance, not with royal splendor, not with power, not with armies, but into a family with a great lineage: however, one that had fallen into poverty. He grew up in the home of a carpenter. He grew up in a city that was a byword: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46 NKJV).

He grew up with no education, and yet He was the wisest person who ever lived. He grew up, astonishingly, with no background. He exited that town, which was nothing, walked up on a hill, and there delivered the greatest discourse on human ethics the world has ever heard—the Sermon on the Mount. It has never been equaled and certainly never excelled.

The humble carpenter spread His blessings all over the world and taught us that humility is a virtue.

Question to ponder:
What is the relationship between having spiritual riches and being poor in spirit?

They feared greatly and said to one another, “What kind of Man is He, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

— Mark 4:41

We see something of the Deity of Christ and His uniqueness in the fact that He never bothered to trouble Himself to explain His frequently ambiguous conduct. For example, Jesus was asleep in the back of a boat in the midst of a great storm. Waves were breaking over the sides of the boat and the disciples were paralyzed with fear. They cried, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38).

“Well, I’m sorry fellows. If you had only awakened me earlier, I would have tried to help, but you see, it’s been such a long day and I was so tired. I just had to get some rest.”

No. He didn’t say anything like that. He simply said, “Peace, be still.” The waves ceased and the wind stopped. That is not the way any other man lives his life.

Jesus can calm the storms of our lives. The wind and the waves still obey His voice. He still calms storms.

Question to ponder:
What storm are you possibly experiencing in your life that you need to take to Jesus to calm?

There is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

— Acts 4:12

There are many today who would say that there are innumerable doors that lead to spiritual safety. My friend, there is but one. There was but one door into the ark of Noah; there is but one door into the ark of Christ, and that is the door of faith—the faith of the Cross. The door of the ark of Christ is cruciform: it is shaped like a Cross. He is the one and only place of safety in this world, our only sanctuary from the stormy blast that God has said will come upon the world. Other religions have teachers. Only Christianity has a Savior.

Because He is the only savior, His name is so precious to His saints. The name is whispered over a cradle and to the dying. The name of Jesus is praised by millions in worship. His name gives comfort and peace. It stills the storms around us and conquers our fears within. It is the most beautiful name in the world.

Question to ponder:
Why do you love the name of Jesus?

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

— John 14:1

Will my life count for something? This question has perplexed the minds of thinking men and women from time immemorial: What will be the outcome of my life? Men have wondered whether their lives would end in triumph or tragedy.

Life is a probation; it is also an education and a school. The tragedy is that the vast majority of people in America, as well as in other lands, don’t even know the one central lesson God is trying to teach them in the school they are attending—the school of life.

The lesson is this: God says “Trust Me.” Throughout the Scriptures, from one end to another, God is teaching people the great lesson of faith—to trust Him amidst all of the vicissitudes of life.

Every class is the same in every subject we go through—Trust 101. Some of us do not go any further, and others have learned to trust Him in virtually all things.

Question to ponder:
A life of triumph is a life of trust. How can you better trust Him today?

Yet we speak wisdom among those who are mature, although not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

— 1 Corinthians 2:6

We need to hear from the mature saints—those who have searched the strength of their spiritual lives. We need to hear how they escaped the snare of the fowler, by what subtleties they have been beguiled, how they have taken the hill, what footwear they have found best for the enterprise, and how they have comforted their hearts after they dug the grave by the side of the way.

What about those who have grown old in Christ? What delicacies does the Lord have for the aged pilgrims along the way? Have they seen any particular and wonderful star in the evening sky? Have they seen the glimmering of that city made of gold? Is it already drawing their hearts? Do they yearn to be with those whom they have loved, those who have gone before? How much could we learn from those who have suffered many things and endured the battle for many years for Christ?

Question to ponder:
Is there a mature saint you can seek out for counsel? If not, why not pray for one?