The Father's Love

Righteousness Changes Everything

What if righteousness isn’t something we’re trying to live up to, but something we’ve already been given?

For many believers, righteousness sits in the category of important theology rather than lived reality. We know the verses. We understand the language. But it can remain disconnected from how we actually live, think, and relate to God.

Scripture is clear that righteousness was never meant to stay theoretical.

Paul tells us that those who receive “the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). Not struggle through life. Not barely cope. Reign.

That word receive matters. Righteousness is not achieved, improved upon, or maintained by effort. It is a gift — given freely, fully, and without conditions attached.

✝ The Poverty of Performance-Based Living

If we’re honest, many Christians live as though grace is limited.

We worry that our behaviour qualifies or disqualifies us from blessing. We assume God’s posture toward us changes depending on how well we’re doing. Over time, that creates a quiet spiritual poverty — not because grace isn’t available, but because we don’t live from it.

This is exactly where the enemy wants believers to remain. When righteousness is misunderstood, people live from a deficit mindset, always trying to make up ground instead of receiving what has already been given.

✝ Abraham Understood the Gospel Before the Law

Paul dismantles this thinking by pointing us back to Abraham, calling him “the father of us all” (Romans 4:16).

Why Abraham? Because he understood righteousness the right way.

Scripture tells us that God preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, revealing that through his promised Seed — Christ — all nations would be blessed (Galatians 3:8). Abraham believed God, and righteousness was credited to him.

Jesus later confirmed this when He said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).

Abraham saw the gospel ahead of time. He saw righteousness coming as a gift — not through law, but through promise.

✝ Righteousness Is Credited, Not Achieved

That same righteousness has now been credited to us.

Romans tells us plainly that righteousness was imputed to Abraham because he believed. And in exactly the same way, righteousness has been credited to us through faith in Christ.

We didn’t build a spiritual résumé.
We didn’t qualify ourselves.
We believed the good news.

And righteousness was deposited.

✝ The Great Exchange Settled the Issue Forever

At the centre of righteousness is what Scripture describes as the great exchange.

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Our sin was imputed to Christ.
His righteousness was imputed to us.

This wasn’t symbolic. It was complete.

He carried every sin — past, present, and future — and they were judged in full. In return, His perfect obedience and righteousness were credited to us. God no longer relates to us through our failures, but through Christ.

We don’t behave into righteousness.
We believe into it.

✝ Why This Truth Is So Contested

Paul said the Jews were ignorant of God’s righteousness and tried to establish their own (Romans 10:3).

That problem hasn’t disappeared.

Any system that subtly teaches self-effort, rule-keeping, or performance as the basis of standing with God will always resist righteousness by grace. Because righteousness by gift removes boasting, comparison, and control.

It leaves only trust.

✝ God Did Not Relate to Abraham by Behaviour

Abraham’s story makes this unmistakably clear.

Even after serious failures — including repeated deception about Sarah — God continued to protect, bless, and favour him. Not because Abraham’s behaviour was commendable, but because righteousness had already been credited to him through faith.

God was relating to Abraham based on righteousness, not conduct.

That hasn’t changed.

✝ Righteousness Produces Confidence, Not Carelessness

Some fear that grace leads to irresponsibility. But true righteousness doesn’t produce recklessness — it produces security.

When you know where you stand, you stop striving.
When you know you’re accepted, you stop performing.
When you know you’re righteous, you live from rest.

Paul’s words still matter today. When righteousness is received as a gift, something settles inside us. We stop trying to earn what has already been given. We stop measuring ourselves by how we think we’re going. We begin to live from confidence instead of fear.

Righteousness doesn’t make life predictable, but it does make it secure. Storms still come. Mistakes still happen. But our standing with God is no longer up for negotiation, because it is anchored in Christ, not ourselves.

Friends, If you’ve been living as though blessing must be earned, maintained, or forfeited, it’s time to let that thinking go. Righteousness is not fragile. It doesn’t rise and fall with your behaviour. It was established by the obedience of Jesus and secured by His blood.

God is not relating to you based on how well you’re doing. He is relating to you based on Christ.

Be blessed today, my friends.

May the gift of righteousness bring rest to your heart and confidence to your walk. May guilt and shame lose their grip. And may you begin to reign in life — not through effort or pressure, but through receiving the abundance of grace and the righteousness that is already yours in Christ.

#Jesus #RighteousnessByGrace #ReignInLife

11 hours ago | [YT] | 39

The Father's Love

Foundations Matter More Than We Think

I was reflecting this morning on foundations — the unseen things that everything else is built upon.

Whether it’s a building, a relationship, or a life, foundations determine the strength, stability, and shape of what eventually stands. You don’t see them once the structure is finished, but you feel the effects of them every day.

That’s just as true for the church as the body of Christ as it is for any physical structure.

Scripture tells us that the church has been built on apostolic foundations — “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:20)

Jesus is the cornerstone, but God deliberately laid foundations through the apostles. That wasn’t accidental. It was essential.

✝ Why Foundations Can’t Be Ignored

You don’t need to be a builder to know what happens when foundations are weak.

A house built on unstable ground might look fine for a while, but pressure exposes what’s underneath. Cracks appear. Things shift. Eventually, collapse becomes a real risk.

The same is true spiritually.

Many believers genuinely love Jesus, but their faith has been built on unstable teaching, mixed messages, or well-meaning religious ideas that were never meant to be foundational. Over time, that produces confusion, fear, and instability — not because they lack sincerity, but because the foundation was never solid to begin with.

✝ The Apostles Were Trained by Jesus Himself

The apostles weren’t self-appointed teachers. They were hand-trained by Jesus over three transformative years. He poured His life into them, shaped their understanding, corrected their thinking, and entrusted them with the blueprint of the church.

What they received became known as the apostles’ doctrine — not a list of rules, but a way of seeing God, humanity, sin, righteousness, and life under the new covenant.

Paul understood how critical this was. That’s why he said so clearly, “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11)

Everything had to be built on that foundation — nothing added, nothing substituted.

✝ A New Form, Not the Old One

Paul described apostolic teaching in an interesting way. He said believers were shaped by a form of teaching.

To the Romans he wrote, “You became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed.” (Romans 6:17)

That word form matters. It means a mould — something that gives shape.

Under the old covenant, people were shaped by the law. Under the new covenant, we are shaped by grace and truth — by co-union with Christ.

Paul goes on to say that we’ve been released from the law so that we now serve “in the newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter.” (Romans 7:6)

That’s a completely different foundation.

✝ What the Apostolic Foundation Produces

When our lives are built on apostolic foundations, Christianity stops being about managing sin and starts being about living from union.

We begin to understand things like our co-death with Christ, our co-resurrection with Him, our righteousness as a gift, our life hidden in Christ, and our identity as new creations.

These weren’t abstract ideas to the apostles. They were lived realities. Words like grace, righteousness, in Christ, and eternal life weren’t slogans — they were the substance of their faith.

Paul urged Timothy to “retain the pattern of sound words” because words shape lives. What we repeatedly hear and believe eventually forms how we think, how we live, and how we relate to God.

✝ When the Foundation Gets Replaced

One of the great problems in the church today isn’t a lack of passion — it’s unstable foundations.

Many believers have been shaped more by the doctrines of men than by apostolic teaching. Language around effort, formulas, transactions, and performance quietly replaces the gospel, often without anyone noticing.

Paul warned about this when he said not to be taken captive by human ideas rather than Christ.

When foundations shift, Christianity becomes heavy. Tiring. Confusing. People end up constantly trying to fix themselves instead of resting in what Christ has already finished.

✝ Why Leaders Must Be Grounded First

Paul was careful about who he entrusted with these truths.

He didn’t just broadcast them indiscriminately. He laid foundations deeply in people like Timothy and Titus — people who could teach others without distorting the message.

That’s why he said leaders must “hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught.” (Titus 1:9)

Without that, the church produces sincere but unstable believers — tossed around by whatever new idea happens to come along.

✝ An Unshakable Foundation

Paul’s words still matter today: “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

When our lives are built on that foundation — the finished work of Christ as revealed through the apostles — something settles within us. We become grounded. Steady. At rest. Storms still come. Pressure still happens. But we are no longer shaken to the core, because what we are standing on does not move.

The most important parts of the church have always been the unseen ones — the foundations beneath everything else.

Friends, we live in a time where there is no shortage of voices, opinions, and teaching. But not everything builds well. Not everything strengthens. Not everything leads us deeper into rest and confidence in Christ. This is why foundations matter so much. What we build on will eventually determine how we live, how we respond, and how we stand when life presses in.

Returning to apostolic foundations isn’t about becoming rigid or narrow. It’s about becoming settled. It’s about allowing our thinking, believing, and living to be shaped again by the Gospel as it was first given — simple, powerful, and centred on Christ alone.

Be blessed today, my friends.
May your life be firmly grounded in the finished work of Jesus. May your heart be anchored in grace, your mind renewed by truth, and your walk marked by rest rather than effort. And as the storms come and go, may you remain steady — standing secure on Christ, the Chief Cornerstone, who holds you fast.

#Jesus #FirmFoundations #ApostolicGospel #BuiltOnChrist

4 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 268

The Father's Love

Being a Delight to Our Father in Heaven

There are some truths in the Christian life that can be strangely hard to receive. Not because they’re complex, but because they cut across how we’ve learned to see ourselves.

One of those truths is this: that we are a delight to our Father in heaven.

For many of us, that’s not an easy thing to believe. When we look honestly at our lives — and I’m including myself here — we see plenty of mess. Poor choices. Regret. Broken seasons. Ways we’ve complicated our own lives. It doesn’t exactly scream “delightful.”

And yet, the Gospel tells a very different story.

Not a story of a God who puts up with us.
Not a story of a God who tolerates us at arm’s length.
But a story of a Father who genuinely delights in His children.

That truth needs to be sat with. Returned to. Lingered over. Because it’s easy to lose sight of just how settled God’s heart is toward us.

✝ Delight, Not Tolerance

Many people relate to God as though He is permanently disappointed, constantly correcting, always measuring. They believe He loves them because He has to, but they struggle to believe He actually enjoys them.

But Scripture doesn’t present God that way.

When Jesus was baptised — before He had preached a sermon, healed a person, or gone to the cross — the Father spoke over Him and said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

That pleasure came before performance.

And here’s the part we often miss: if you are in Christ, the Father relates to you the same way He relates to His Son. You are not second-tier. You are not loved less intensely or less personally.

The Father delights in you because you are His.

✝ Grace and Our Standing With God

If you’re a grace traveller like I am — someone who has had a revelation of grace — you’ll understand this next part deeply.

Once we are regenerated, once we are made new in Christ, our standing with God is settled. We are not swinging between approval and disapproval depending on how our week went. We are not in danger of falling out of favour.

We are righteous because of Jesus. Fully. Completely.

That doesn’t mean we never make poor choices. It doesn’t mean life suddenly becomes neat and orderly. But it does mean that God’s delight in us does not rise and fall with our behaviour.

We don’t do life perfectly and then earn His smile. We live under His smile because we belong to Him.

✝ Does Grace Lead Us Away From God?

Some people worry that if grace is preached clearly, people will drift away from God and live selfish, self-focused lives.

In theory, someone could do that. But in reality, grace tends to do the opposite.

When you know you are delighted in — not judged, not managed, not tolerated — your heart softens. You want to stay close. You want relationship. You want God included in your coming and going, not because you’re afraid of Him, but because life is better with Him.

Not easier.
Not more comfortable.
But more grounded.

✝ God’s Delight Is Not Measured by Outcomes

One of the biggest distortions in modern Christianity is the idea that God’s pleasure is shown through comfort, success, or visible blessing.

But if that were true, the early church missed the memo entirely.

The apostles were beaten, imprisoned, and killed. Stephen died under a hail of stones. Believers across the world today live under pressure, persecution, or extreme lack.

God’s delight in His children has never been measured by ease.

What He gives instead is something far deeper: rest, contentment, and a settled heart that can withstand life as it actually is.

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Not escape. Not exemption. Rest.

That rest flows from knowing that the Father’s heart toward you is not tense or disappointed, but warm and open.

✝ One Gospel, Not an Elite Gospel

One of my favourite ways of testing what we believe is this: can the gospel we preach be preached in every lounge room, in every country, in every culture, under every circumstance?

If it can’t, then it isn’t the Gospel.

The good news has to be good news for the poor, the sick, the persecuted, the unseen — not just those living comfortable lives. God does not delight in some more than others. He does not reserve His affection for those who “get it right.”

He delights in His children because they are His children.

✝ Growing in Grace and Walking With God

Now, while God delights in us equally, relationship still matters.

God is deeply relational.

When we walk with Him, spend time with Him, and grow in grace, we often walk into things we otherwise wouldn’t. Not because God loves us more, but because closeness changes how we see, how we choose, and how we move through life.

As we mature spiritually — moving from baby food to solid food — we begin to live from rest instead of pressure. From security instead of fear.

For some believers, that path leads into hardship or suffering rather than comfort. That alone tells us that God’s delight is not tied to outcomes, but to relationship.

✝ You Are a Delight Because You Belong

Paul tells us that we have received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” That is not the language of distance. It’s the language of belonging.

Children don’t need to earn delight. They receive it because they are loved.

When this truth settles into your heart, something changes. You stop trying to impress God. You stop living under the weight of imagined disappointment. You begin to rest in the knowledge that you are enjoyed.

You don’t walk with God because you’re afraid of letting Him down.
You walk with Him because you know His heart toward you is good.

✝ Sitting With the Truth

Friends, if today you struggle to believe that you are a delight to the Father, you are not alone. Many of us need to hear this again and again.

But the truth doesn’t shift with our feelings.

You are loved.
You are wanted.
You are delighted in.

Not because you’re impressive.
Not because you’ve got life figured out.
But because you are His.

So be blessed today, my friends. Take some time to sit with this truth. Let it settle. Let it soften the inner noise. Let it steady your heart.

You are not merely accepted by God.

You are a delight to Him.

#Jesus #DelightOfTheFather #GraceAndRest #BelovedInChrist

1 week ago | [YT] | 190

The Father's Love

The Birds of the Air and the Lilies of the Field

As we come into a new year, it’s pretty normal for people to feel a bit uneasy about what lies ahead.

A new year often carries hope, but it can also carry questions. What will this year bring? Will things get easier or harder? What will happen with work, finances, health, relationships, or even the state of the world itself?

For many people right now, uncertainty isn’t just personal — it’s global. Wars and conflict seem constant. Geopolitics feels unsettled. The cost of living keeps rising. Jobs don’t feel as secure as they once did. AI is changing industries faster than most people can keep up with, and a lot of people quietly wonder what that means for their future.

Even as Christians, we’re not immune to these thoughts. We still feel pressure. We still wonder how things will work out. We still wake up some days with a knot in our stomach, thinking about what might come next.

Jesus knew we would live with these kinds of concerns. That’s why, when He spoke about worry, He didn’t shame people for it. He spoke gently, practically, and with deep understanding.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said something that has stayed with believers for generations. He told His listeners to look at the birds of the air — how they don’t sow or reap or store away in barns, yet the Father feeds them. Then He pointed to the lilies of the field — how they don’t labour or spin, yet they are clothed with a beauty far beyond human effort.

Jesus wasn’t saying life has no responsibilities. He wasn’t saying we shouldn’t work or plan. He was speaking to the weight of worry — the kind that slowly eats away at peace and trust.

And then He asked something very personal:

“Are you not much more valuable than they?”

That question sits at the heart of it all.

I want to share a moment from my own life that made that passage more than just words on a page.

When I was 45, I was working in display homes, managing two side by side. One day I was sitting inside with my assistant, just going about a normal workday, when all of a sudden hundreds of birds descended into the front yard of these homes.

It was so unexpected that my assistant went outside to have a look. When she came back in, she said, “I know you’re into all that God stuff, but that is out of this world.” She wasn’t a Christian, but even she knew something unusual had just happened.

The area was pretty sparse. Not many houses had been built yet. There weren’t trees or shrubs or places you’d expect birds to gather. But there they were — hundreds of them.

I went outside and took a video. It felt like the birds were inside an invisible glass box in the front yard. They were chirping, flying past my face, looping and twirling around. It went on for a while. Then a lady walked out of the second display home, and slowly the birds lifted and flew away.

The next morning, I was in the gym doing some training, and the Lord brought that moment back to mind. Along with it came the Scripture about the birds of the air — how the Father feeds them — and how much more He cares for us.

And quietly, in that moment, the Lord said to me,
“I did that for you.”

At the time, I didn’t fully understand what was coming. A few weeks later, my father died. Not long after that, I went through a massive burnout that had been building for years. I haven’t worked full-time since.

Around that same season, I also had a deep revelation of God’s grace. I walked away from big-box Christianity, religion, and legalism. I packed up my life, sold my personal training gym, and moved from Victoria to the Gold Coast in Queensland to minister grace — which is what I continue to do in various ways today.

From the outside, that season could look like things falling apart. But I can honestly say that from that point on, Jesus has looked after me in ways I could never have planned. Not always in the ways I would have chosen, but faithfully, gently, and consistently. He has carried me. He has provided. He has done beautiful things in my life.

That experience didn’t make life predictable. It didn’t remove uncertainty. But it anchored something deep inside me.

Jesus wasn’t asking me to ignore reality. He was inviting me to trust His care within it.

When Jesus spoke about the birds and the lilies, He followed it with something important. He said that worry doesn’t actually add anything to our lives. It doesn’t extend our days or solve tomorrow’s problems. It just drains today of its strength.

Then He said something else that matters as we step into a new year:

“Your Father knows what you need.”

That’s not a vague statement. It’s deeply personal.

God knows what you’re carrying into this year. He knows the questions you don’t say out loud. He knows the areas where you feel unsure or stretched thin. He knows the things you’re hoping for — and the things you’re afraid to hope for.

And His invitation isn’t to have everything figured out. It’s to stay close to Him.

The birds don’t understand global economics. The lilies don’t track political movements. They simply live within the care of God. And Jesus said that we are worth far more than they are.

Friends, as we step into a new year, maybe the invitation isn’t to feel confident or certain. Maybe it’s simply to remain connected. To keep bringing our worries to Jesus instead of letting them pile up inside us. To keep choosing trust, even when answers aren’t immediate.

If you’re feeling nervous about what’s ahead, you’re not weak. You’re human. And Jesus meets people exactly there.

Stay close to Him. Let Him remind you of your value. Let Him carry what you were never meant to carry alone.

The Father who feeds the birds and clothes the lilies hasn’t changed. And He knows your name.

So be blessed today, my friends.

Be gentle with yourself as the new year unfolds. Take it one day at a time. And keep your eyes on Jesus — because He is always faithful, always comforting and caring, and always leading you into your future with a power and a wisdom that can only come from Him.

#Jesus #GodOurProvider #OneDayAtATime

1 week ago | [YT] | 132

The Father's Love

Christmas, Loneliness, and the God Who Leans In

Over the years, I’ve had many different versions of Christmas — as I’m sure many of you have too.

There were the childhood Christmases, where for me there was a real sense of magic in the air. For many Christmas holidays as a family, we would go away for a few weeks to a caravan park somewhere, and that was always exciting.

Then there were the Christmases during my troubled years in my 20s, where drugs and alcohol were the centrepiece. And then… well, I met Jesus. Slowly, bit by bit, Christmas became more about Him and His birth — though without losing the innocent, cultural things about Christmas that I’d experienced over the years and that were genuinely good and enjoyable.

After that, there were years when family coming together became the highlight of the year — seeing nieces and nephews interact, laugh, and grow.

I’ve also had many sad and lonely Christmases — especially over the last ten years. My kids have grown up. I’ve been single and celibate for about fifteen years, so there hasn’t been a partner to share it with. And being involved with family at Christmas has often been difficult because I live in a completely different state to all of them.

This year is a little different, as I’m back in the old stomping grounds of most of my family. That hasn't happend for a while.

But where I’m going with all this is simple: Christmas takes many forms. It carries many different experiences and emotions. We are incredibly diverse — in our family structures, our nationalities, our cultures, and our families of origin.

They say Christmas — at least in the Western world — is one of the loneliest seasons of the year for multitudes of people. I can see why. I know why. I’ve lived it.

Christmas has a way of making us take stock.
Who am I?
What has this year been like?
Who loves me?
Who do I love?
Do I matter?
Am I relevant?

For some people, all of that becomes too much. The sense of despair and lack can be overwhelming. And tragically, some people don’t make it through Christmas at all. That’s heartbreaking in ways words can’t fully capture.

I’m writing this today as someone who has lived a very diverse — and very broken — life. A life that has known pain and despair, depression and anxiety. I’ve been married and unmarried. I’ve raised kids, as a solo parent. I’ve lived through things I never thought I would survive.

There have been Christmases where I was so low I needed antidepressants just to have enough wellbeing to get through the day. And yet, through all of that, I want people to know this one thing:

You are loved.

You are loved by the very God who made you.
The Father who created you.
The One who brought you into being on purpose.

He has a plan for you.

Life might feel disgusting right now. You might feel completely unworthy to seek God — to know Him, to be known by Him, or even to reach out and touch Him. But I want you to know this:

He is leaning into your life right now.

He is calling your name.
He is inviting you to lean on Him as He leans into you.
And He has an abundance of grace to pour into your life — beginning with the regeneration of your spirit and the very life He died and rose again to give you.

Scripture says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). That has been my lived experience.

Our God — our Father — is a comforting God. A forgiving God. He loves us to bits. He loves you. He delights in you.

If you think about it, when it comes to Jesus, He actually lives for you.

He died for you and was raised for you. And His being alive today — as King of kings and Lord of lords — is because He wanted you to live as He lives. To breathe in His life and exhale the madness of this world. To be carried along by His goodness, His grace, and His Spirit.

I want people to know that God is for you, not against you (Romans 8:31).

Even if Christmas is hard for you — and for many it is — Jesus is there with you. Let Him hold you. Let Him carry you. If that means falling on the floor, curling up in a ball, wailing out the pain, sobbing yourself to sleep — then do that.

But do it with Jesus.

Call out to Him. Tell Him exactly how you feel. Let Him be the Shepherd to the little lamb that you are. He really does leave the ninety-nine to go after the one — every single time.

Our God is trustworthy. He is patient. He is kind. He will always meet you where you are, without dragging you forward or pushing you with force. He is gentle in absolutely every way.

I’ve had literally thousands of encounters with Jesus over the past thirty years. Most of them came when I was down — but not out. I was calling. I was searching. I was seeking. I was at the end of myself.

And He came.

He comforted me. He reassured me. Many times I lay on the floor and just let it all out, and He ministered to me. And every time, I would get up different somehow — like life had moved forward a notch. Like He had done some kind of deep spiritual surgery inside my soul.

I don’t know who I’m writing this for. I don’t know who it might encourage. But I felt prompted to put these words out there and let the Spirit do what the Spirit does.

Because so many people wear a happy face in public, while behind the smile there is real hurt, suffering, and loneliness.

Friends, if that’s you today, run to Jesus. Tell Him about your day — the things that weighed on you, the moments that hurt, and the thoughts you’ve been carrying. Tell Him how you really feel. Let Him meet you right where you are and bring comfort and reassurance into those places. And as you do, let Him lead you into the love of our good, good Father in Heaven. Let Jesus help you experience Father God's heart toward you — kind, comforting, and forever loving.

So be blessed today, my friends.

Let His Kingdom come to your heart today.
Let His peace and rest drip all over you.
Let Him make a way where there seems to be no way.

And may the goodness of God comfort you and gently transform you — so that tomorrow feels like a brand-new day.

Because with Him, it always can be.

##RunToJesus #ChristmasReflections #YouAreNotAlone

2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 331

The Father's Love

The Arrival of the Gift — Seeing Christmas Through the Lens of Grace

When we talk about the Christmas story, it’s easy to drift into familiarity.
The manger scenes, the carols, the traditions we’ve repeated for years.

But beneath all of that is something far deeper than nostalgia.

Christmas is not just the celebration of a birth.
It is the moment grace stepped into time.

For those of us who have come to see the beauty of the New Covenant, the birth of Jesus marks the arrival of the Law of the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2) into a world long ruled by the law of sin and death. It is not merely a story to remember — it is a reality that still shapes our lives today.

To truly understand Christmas, we must see it as God’s relentless pursuit of humanity. A promise made in a garden, carried through generations, and finally delivered in a stable — not to people who earned it, but to people who desperately needed it.

✝ The Long Silence and the Promise of a Seed

Before the first Christmas, there was a long silence — four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments. During that time, Israel lived under the tutor of the Law (Galatians 3:24), shaped by a constant awareness of sin.

Sacrifices were offered again and again, yet Hebrews tells us they could never remove sin-consciousness (Hebrews 10:2). The Law revealed the problem, but it could not provide the solution.

Yet God’s plan did not begin with the Law.

Scripture tells us the Gospel was preached beforehand to Abraham (Galatians 3:8). Long before commandments were given, a promise was made. A singular Seed would come — first spoken of in Genesis 3:15 — One who would crush the serpent’s head and end the reign of separation.

Christmas is the fulfilment of that ancient promise.

✝ Favoured, Not Qualified

The turning point of the Christmas story begins quietly, with the angel Gabriel appearing to a young woman named Mary. His greeting is the foundation of grace itself:

“Hail, highly favoured one.”

Mary was not chosen because of her résumé, her maturity, or her spiritual performance. She was chosen because of grace. The word favoured is rooted in the same word we translate as grace — unearned, unmerited favour.

Her response is not a vow of effort, but a posture of trust:

“Let it be to me according to your word.”

Mary did not offer her works. She offered her willingness to receive a gift. And that posture has marked every true response to grace ever since.

✝ Born Under the Law, For Those Under the Law

The journey to Bethlehem was not random. It was the sovereign hand of God aligning prophecy with promise. The Seed of David (Romans 1:3) arrived exactly where Scripture said He would.

Galatians tells us that Jesus was “born of a woman, born under the Law” (Galatians 4:4). This matters deeply.

Jesus did not arrive above the Law. He stepped directly into its jurisdiction so He could fulfil it completely on our behalf. From His first breath, He was living the life we could not live, in order to offer us what we could never earn.

The Creator of all things took on the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), not to condemn humanity, but to rescue it. He was not born in a palace because His Kingdom is not built on achievement or status. He was born among the lowly because He came to justify the ungodly (Romans 4:5).

✝ The Manger and the Message of “Done”

In that manger lay the only true foundation of the Church (1 Corinthians 3:11).

Every religious system in the world is built on the word do.
Christmas introduced a different word altogether: done.

When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they didn’t bring instructions. They brought an announcement:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

This was not a wish — it was a declaration. God’s good will had arrived.

The shepherds, considered unclean and overlooked by religious society, were the first invited to witness it. Grace always moves toward those who know they need it. They brought no offering. They came to behold the offering God Himself had provided.

✝ Fulfilling Righteousness From the Very Beginning

The Christmas story doesn’t end at the manger.

Eight days later, Jesus was circumcised according to the Law. Soon after, He was presented at the Temple. Even as an infant, He was fulfilling every requirement of the Old Covenant — not for Himself, but for us.

When Simeon held the child in his arms, he didn’t rejoice over new rules. He declared:

“My eyes have seen Your salvation.”

Salvation had arrived as a Person.

The Wise Men followed a star, but they were ultimately following a promise. Their gifts spoke of who Jesus was: King, Priest, and Sacrifice. Their presence signalled that the blessing of Abraham was now flowing beyond Israel, reaching the Gentiles (Galatians 3:14).

Christmas was the opening of God’s house to the world.

✝ The Childhood of Grace

Scripture tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favour — grace — with God and man (Luke 2:52). Even in His youth, He knew His identity and His purpose.

When found in the Temple at twelve years old, He spoke of His Father’s business. That business was redemption. The slow, faithful undoing of everything Adam had broken.

Every day Jesus lived, He was living on our behalf. The last Adam was preparing to give His righteousness to those who had none.

✝ What Christmas Means for Us Now

As people shaped by grace, we don’t approach Christmas with the thought, “I need to do better for God.”

We respond with gratitude:

“Thank You, Jesus, for becoming like me so I could become like You.”

Christmas tells us that God removed every barrier between Himself and humanity. He didn’t remain behind a curtain — He moved into our neighbourhood. He became God with us so that we could become one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17).

✝ Conclusion — Receiving the Gift

Friends, when you see a nativity scene this Christmas, don’t hear a demand.
See a delivery.

The Gift of Righteousness has arrived (Romans 5:17).

The baby in the manger grew into the Man on the cross, who now reigns as the King on the throne.

Because He was born under the Law, you are free from it.
Because He was born in humility, you are seated at the Father’s table.
Because He took on your humanity, you now share in His life.

Grace has won.
And you are the one who gets the gift.

So be blessed today, my friends.

This is Christmas — not a call to perform, but an invitation to receive.

#Jesus #GraceAtChristmas #NewCovenant #GiftOfGrace #Immanuel

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 90

The Father's Love

Feeling Valued — Seeing Yourself Through the Eyes of Grace

One of the quiet struggles many believers carry isn’t whether God exists, or whether Jesus saved them — it’s whether they truly matter.

Beneath the surface, honest questions linger:

Do I matter to God?
Am I valued, or just tolerated?
Am I loved for who I am, or for what I do?

These questions don’t usually come from rebellion. They grow out of wounds — rejection, comparison, disappointment, and often years spent in environments that subtly measure worth by performance. We live in a world that constantly defines value by usefulness, productivity, and contribution. It’s exhausting.

So today, I want to talk about feeling valued — not through self-help language or motivational slogans, but through the steady, restoring lens of grace. Because grace doesn’t just save us from sin. Grace restores our sense of worth.

✝ Where the Feeling of Being “Unvalued” Comes From

Most of us learned about value long before we learned about grace.

We learned it through being praised or overlooked.
Through being chosen or left out.
Through being useful or inconvenient.
Through being strong — or struggling.

Over time, a message forms: value is conditional. You earn it. You maintain it. You can lose it.

Even church environments, often without meaning to, can reinforce this idea. We begin to think our standing with God depends on being faithful enough, disciplined enough, consistent enough.

Before we know it, we’re relating to God through effort instead of relationship.

✝ Value Established Before You Did Anything

Scripture cuts straight through that lie.

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)

Your value wasn’t established after repentance.
Not after obedience.
Not after growth or maturity.

It was established while you were still broken.

Jesus didn’t go to the cross because you were impressive. He went because you were precious. The cross isn’t proof of your usefulness — it’s proof of your worth.

✝ Valued Enough to Be Sought

Jesus told stories that reveal how God sees people.

A shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep to find one.
A woman searches her whole house for a single coin.
A father runs toward his returning son and restores him without condemnation.

These aren’t stories about efficiency. They’re stories about value.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
(Luke 19:10)

God seeks because what is lost matters. You were never an inconvenience to Him. You were the point.

✝ Valued Enough to Be Chosen

Paul writes something staggering in Ephesians:

“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.”
(Ephesians 1:4)

Before you existed.
Before you failed.
Before you believed.

You were chosen.

Grace means your belonging doesn’t rest on performance or consistency. It rests on God’s decision — and He made it before you could ever disappoint Him.

✝ Valued Enough to Be Given an Inheritance

Scripture doesn’t describe believers as barely-accepted servants. It calls us:

Children of God
Heirs of God
Co-heirs with Christ

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs.”
(Romans 8:17)

Inheritance isn’t earned. It’s received by relationship.

You don’t inherit because you worked hard enough. You inherit because you belong. Your value is secured by grace, not effort.

✝ Valued Enough for God to Dwell Within You

Under the old covenant, God’s presence was distant and restricted.

Under grace, He moved in.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?”
(1 Corinthians 6:19)

God does not dwell in what He does not value.

He didn’t save you and keep His distance. He chose you as His dwelling place. That alone settles the question of worth.

✝ When You Don’t Feel Valued

Here’s the pastoral truth we all need:

Feeling valued and being valued are not the same thing.

Your emotions may lag behind the truth — especially if you’ve been wounded by rejection or shaped by performance-based living. Grace doesn’t shame that. Grace meets it.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
(Psalm 147:3)

Healing often begins when we allow God’s truth to speak louder than our history.

✝ Valued Apart From Usefulness

Grace teaches something radical:

You are not valuable because of what you contribute.
You contribute because you are valuable.

Jesus consistently moved toward the weak, the outcast, the broken — not because they were useful, but because they mattered.

He didn’t love people once they were fixed. He loved them back to life.

✝ Conclusion — Settling the Question of Worth

Friends, if you are in Christ, your value is not up for debate.

You were:

Loved before you believed

Chosen before you understood

Accepted before you changed

Secured before you matured

Grace didn’t just save you — it restored your worth.

So be blessed today, my friends.

If you feel unseen — He sees you.
If you feel overlooked — He chose you.
If you feel unimportant — He gave His Son for you.
If you feel unworthy — the cross has already answered that question.

You matter.
You are valued.
And you always have been.

#Jesus #GraceIdentity #FeelingValued #Beloved #RestInGrace

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 204

The Father's Love

The Great Exchange — Understanding Recompense Through the Lens of Grace

There's a word woven throughout Scripture that carries profound weight: recompense. It means to pay back, to give what is deserved, to settle accounts. And when you first encounter this concept in the Bible, it can feel uncomfortable—even threatening.

Because if we're honest, when it comes to what we truly deserve, none of us would want to stand before a holy God and receive our recompense.

But here's where the Gospel becomes breathtakingly beautiful. The doctrine of recompense, when understood through the finished work of Christ, reveals not a God eager to punish, but a Father who has already satisfied justice on our behalf. Today, I want to explore this powerful truth, because understanding recompense correctly will transform how you see God, yourself, and the Christian life.

✝ What We Deserved

Let's start where Scripture starts—with the sobering reality of what recompense we've actually earned.

The wages of sin is death.

Every transgression

Every rebellious thought

Every moment we've chosen our way over God's way

All of it accumulated a debt.

The law was clear:

Every violation carried a penalty

That penalty had to be paid

This is recompense in its rawest form.

God's holiness demands justice.
His righteousness cannot overlook sin or sweep it under the carpet.
The scales must balance.
Someone must pay.

And according to the law, that someone was us.

When we read passages like Hebrews 2:2, which speaks of every transgression receiving its just recompense, we're confronted with an unavoidable truth: God is the God of recompense, and He will repay according to righteousness.

This should humble us.
This should silence every thought that we somehow deserve God's favour or have earned His blessing through our goodness.

✝ The Great Exchange at Calvary

But here's where grace explodes onto the scene with a truth so stunning it defies human logic.

Jesus stepped into the courtroom of divine justice and became our substitute.

The recompense we deserved:

Death

Separation

Eternal judgment

Fell on Him instead.

Every sin you've ever committed.
Every failure.
Every moment of rebellion.

Jesus took the full weight of its recompense upon Himself at Calvary.

This is what theologians call penal substitutionary atonement. It means Jesus didn't just die as an example or a martyr. He died as our substitute, bearing the penalty we owed, satisfying the justice of God in our place.

The cross is the ultimate picture of recompense—but with a divine twist:

The innocent One received what the guilty deserved

The righteous One absorbed the punishment of the unrighteous

And when Jesus cried out “It is finished,” He was declaring that the debt had been paid in full.

This is grace, friends.

Not God overlooking justice

But God satisfying justice through His own sacrifice

The recompense we earned was transferred to Christ, and His righteousness was credited to us.

✝ No More Recompense for Sin

Here's what changes everything:

Because Jesus bore the full recompense for our sins, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

God is not:

Waiting to recompense you for your failures

Keeping a tally of your mistakes

Preparing to settle accounts later

The account has been closed.
The debt has been cancelled.
The penalty has been fully paid.

This is why Hebrews tells us that under the new covenant, God remembers our sins no more.

He's not being forgetful; He's declaring a legal reality.

In Christ, there is no remaining recompense for sin

Jesus exhausted God's wrath on our behalf

When God looks at you, He doesn't see someone who owes Him.
He sees someone clothed in the righteousness of His Son.

The recompense you deserved has already been poured out—on Jesus, not on you.

Let that truth sink in.

You are not awaiting divine payback

You are not living under the threat of God's anger

The justice of God has been satisfied, and you stand fully accepted in the Beloved.

✝ The Recompense of Grace

Now, Scripture does speak about recompense for believers—but it's not what you might think.

Jesus taught that when we give to those who cannot repay us, we will be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
Paul wrote about rewards and crowns awaiting faithful believers.

There is recompense in the Kingdom—but it flows from an entirely different fountain.

This recompense is:

Not wages earned through performance

But the overflow of a generous Father crowning His own work in us

Every act of love.
Every moment of faithfulness.
Every sacrifice made in Jesus' name.

These things don't earn God's favour.
They demonstrate that His favour has already been given.

And when He rewards us:

He's not paying us back for our effort

He's celebrating what His grace accomplished through us

We are made irreversibly righteous by Christ's one act of obedience.

Nothing we do can change that

Our works don't secure our standing

They reveal the reality of Christ's life within us

And when God rewards those works, He's crowning His own gifts.

✝ How We Treat Others

Understanding grace-recompense transforms how we relate to others.

Romans 12:17 commands us to recompense no one evil for evil.

We're not to repay harm with harm

Insult with insult

Injury with injury

Why?

Because we've been shown grace instead of getting the recompense we deserved.

When someone wrongs us, our natural instinct is to settle the score.
But Paul reminds us that vengeance belongs to the Lord—He will repay.

Our role is:

Not to recompense evil

But to overcome evil with good

This doesn't mean there's no justice.

God promises He will recompense tribulation to those who trouble His people

But that's His job, not ours

He is the righteous Judge who will settle all accounts in His time.

Our calling is to:

Extend the same grace we've received

Bless those who curse us

Love our enemies

To live in the freedom of knowing that God has already dealt with our sin, and He will deal with theirs—either at the cross or at judgment.

✝ Resting in Finished Recompense

Friends, the Christian life is not about:

Accumulating credit

Or avoiding divine payback

It's about resting in the finished work of Christ.

All recompense for sin has been exhausted

All the blessings of righteousness have been secured

You don't stand before God hoping the scales tip in your favour.

You stand in Christ, where the scales have already been perfectly balanced—not by your righteousness, but by His.

The recompense you receive isn't what you earned.
It's infinitely better.

It's the unmerited, overwhelming, grace-soaked favour of a Father who gave His Son to bear your judgment so you could receive His blessing.

✝ Conclusion

Friends, the doctrine of recompense should fill our hearts with gratitude.

When we see:

What we deserved

And what we've received instead

We can't help but marvel at the grace of God.

The King of recompense looked at guilty sinners and chose to pour out judgment on His Son instead.

He chose to credit us with Christ's perfect record

He chose to make us heirs instead of debtors

This is the Gospel.
This is grace.
This is recompense transformed by the cross into the most beautiful exchange in all of history.

So be blessed today, my friends.

The accounts have been settled

Not by your effort

But by His sacrifice

You are fully accepted, eternally secure, and lavishly loved.

Not because you earned it.
Because He paid for it.

#Recompense #TheFinishedWork #JusticeAndMercy #GraceUponGrace #InChrist

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 93

The Father's Love

King Jesus — And Our Place in His Family

When we think about Jesus, we naturally gravitate toward the names that feel the most intimate. We know Him as Saviour, the One who rescued us when we were lost. We know Him as Shepherd, the One who guides us through the dark valleys. We know Him as Friend, the One who sticks closer than a brother. These titles are beautiful, and they anchor our hearts in His love.

But there is another title Scripture gives Him that holds all the others together. It is a title of ultimate weight, authority, and permanence.

King.

He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the rightful ruler of creation, the centre of history, and the One who holds all authority in heaven and on earth. While “Friend” speaks of His nearness, “King” speaks of His greatness. And the amazing reality of the Gospel is that we get both. We have a King who is our Friend, and a Friend who happens to be the King of the universe.

Today, I want to take some time to really look at the richness of who He is as King, and more importantly, what His kingship means for us. Because in the Kingdom of God, the position of the King defines the position of the people.

✝ The Reality of the King

The Bible is unapologetic about the majesty of Jesus. From the prophecies of the Old Testament to the revelation of the New, the trajectory of Scripture points to a throne.

• God promised David a descendant whose Kingdom would never end.
• The Psalms speak of a ruler installed on Zion who inherits the nations.
• When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, the announcement was clear: “The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”

Jesus is not a candidate running for office. He is not a leader waiting for approval ratings. He is the Sovereign. The Apostle Paul describes Him as:

• the image of the invisible God
• the firstborn over all creation
• the head of the body, the church

Revelation describes Him with eyes like fire and a crown of many crowns.

But the beauty of King Jesus is found in the nature of His rule. Earthly history is full of kings who ruled by taking. King Jesus rules by giving.

• He established His Kingdom not by spilling the blood of His enemies, but by spilling His own blood for His enemies.
• His coronation took place on a cross.
• His crown was made of thorns.
• His sceptre was a reed.

He is the Lion of Judah, possessing absolute power, yet He is also the Lamb who was slain, possessing absolute sacrificial love. He rules with a sceptre of righteousness, yet His heart is gentle and humble. This is the King we belong to—one whose authority is matched only by His mercy.

✝ A Royal Identity

So, if Jesus is this magnificent King, where does that leave us?

In many historical kingdoms:

• the gap between the monarch and the people was unbridgeable
• the king was in the palace; the people were in the fields
• the king was royalty; the people were subjects

But the Gospel presents a completely different picture. Through the finished work of the Cross, we have been brought near. We haven't just been saved from judgment; we have been adopted into the family.

The Bible calls us:

• "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession" (1 Peter 2:9)
• “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17)

These are not just poetic words to make us feel good. These are legal and spiritual realities.

• When we were born again, we were born into the Royal Line.
• Our identity is no longer defined by our past, our failures, or our social status.
• Our identity is defined by our bloodline.
• By the blood of Jesus, we are now sons and daughters of the Most High.

We are not subjects standing outside the gates hoping for a glimpse of the King. We are family members living inside the palace. We belong at the table.

✝ The Royal Priesthood

Scripture uses a very specific phrase to describe us: a "Royal Priesthood." There is so much richness packed into those two words.

Royal speaks of our status:
• It means we share the dignity of the King.
• It means we belong to the ruling family.

Priesthood speaks of our access and purpose.

In the Old Covenant:

• the priesthood was restricted
• only priests could enter holy places
• only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies
• the veil symbolised separation

But when Jesus shouted “It is finished,” that veil was torn from top to bottom. The King opened the way.

Now, every believer:

• has direct, unhindered, 24/7 access to the Father
• needs no human mediator
• stands in grace with full boldness

As royal priests, we also have a role:

• We represent the King to the world.
• We bring the atmosphere of heaven to earth.
• We bless those who curse us.
• We pray for the sick.
• We show grace to the undeserving.
• We speak truth in love.

We administer the King's grace to a world that desperately needs it.

✝ Reigning in Life

Romans 5:17 says we “reign in life” through Jesus.

To reign in life means:

• we participate in the King’s victory
• we are no longer victims of circumstances
• we are no longer slaves to sin, fear, or anxiety
• the King has given us authority over darkness
• we can forgive, love, and walk in peace even in chaos

The King shares His inheritance with us.

• His righteousness is credited to us.
• His Spirit lives in us.
• His joy strengthens us.

We reign because He reigns — and He lives in us.

✝ The Firstborn Among Many

Romans 8:29 tells us Jesus is “the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

In biblical culture:

• the firstborn held the place of honour
• the firstborn held the inheritance

Jesus holds that eternally.
But in His grace, He has shared that position with us.

Jesus prayed in John 17:23:

“You have loved them even as You have loved Me.”

This means:

• the Father loves you with the same love He has for Jesus
• you are “in Christ,” sharing His standing
• when the Father looks at you, He sees righteousness
• He sees the beauty of His King

We are:

• not second-class citizens
• not hired servants
• fully accepted
• fully beloved
• sons and daughters

✝ Conclusion

Friends, as we look at King Jesus, we see more than just a ruler on a distant throne. We see a Saviour who has lifted us out of the ash heap and seated us with princes. We see a Lord who has made us family.

• His Kingship is our safety. Because He reigns, we can rest.
• His Kingship is our supply. Because He owns it all, we lack nothing.
• His Kingship is our identity. Because He is King, we are royalty.

You don’t have to strive to earn this status. You don’t have to work your way into the palace. You were born into it the moment you believed.

You are a royal priest, a co-heir with Christ, and a beloved child of the King.

So be blessed today, my friends.
Knowing exactly who you are and whose you are. The King reigns, and you are safe in His hands.

#Jesus #ChristTheKing #RoyalPriesthood #GraceIdentity #ReigningInLife

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 251

The Father's Love

The Ones Nobody Picks — And the God Who Does

1 Corinthians 1:26–31

If you’ve ever felt like the one no one would choose first — or even second — then this passage is for you.

For a long time in my walk, especially in the early years, I had this nagging feeling that I didn’t fit the “Christian mould.” I wasn’t polished. I didn’t have the clean story. I didn’t come from a stable background or a well-organised emotional life. I wasn’t the sort who would have been voted “most likely to succeed spiritually.”

But that’s exactly the point Paul makes in 1 Corinthians 1:26–31 — one of the clearest, most liberating summaries of how God works.

And the more I study this passage, the more I realise:
God has always built His kingdom with the people the world overlooks.

Let’s walk through it together.

✝ “Consider Your Calling…” — God Doesn’t Start With the Impressive

Paul begins with a confronting line:

“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.”
(1 Corinthians 1:26)

In Corinthian culture, everything was about status — education, wealth, rhetoric, noble birth. People climbed ladders, collected influence, and chased reputation.

And Paul says: Look around the room. That’s not what God picked.

Not many wise by human standards

Not many influential

Not many of noble birth

In other words:
God didn’t build His church with the people everyone else was lining up to hire.

That’s Corinth.
But it’s also many of our stories.

When Jesus found me, I wasn’t wise, influential, or impressive. I was burned — literally in childhood, emotionally in life — anxious, addicted, spiritually confused, and trying to patch my world together.

But according to this passage, that didn’t disqualify me.
It positioned me.

✝ God’s Draft Picks — “God Chose… God Chose… God Chose…”

Then comes the drumbeat of the whole section:

“God chose the foolish…
God chose the weak…
God chose the low and despised…
God chose the things that are not…”
(1 Corinthians 1:27–28)

Not tolerated.
Not accepted reluctantly.
Chosen. Intentionally. Deliberately.

This is a pattern in all of Scripture:

Israel was chosen not because they were numerous or impressive, but because God loved them (Deut 7:7–8).

David wasn’t the tall, muscular, kingly choice — he was the forgotten shepherd boy (1 Sam 16:7).

Gideon was from the weakest clan, and the least in his family (Judges 6).

Mary was a young, seemingly insignificant girl from an obscure town.

The disciples were described as “unschooled, ordinary men” (Acts 4:13).

And Jesus Himself came with “no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him” (Isaiah 53:2).

God keeps choosing unlikely people so that the result can’t be mistaken for human genius.

He chooses the ones nobody else picks, so nobody gets the glory except Him.

✝ Why Does He Do It This Way? — “So That No One May Boast”

Paul says:

“so that no one may boast before Him.”
(1 Corinthians 1:29)

God isn’t anti-wisdom, anti-education, or anti-excellence.
He simply refuses to let human pride be the engine of His kingdom.

Grace eliminates bragging.
Grace eliminates ranking.
Grace eliminates spiritual competition.

It means the person with trauma, addiction, mistakes, a messy family history, a broken past, or an unimpressive résumé has exactly the same access as the theologian, the professional communicator, or the confident leader.

This is the anti-celebrity verse.
The anti-performance verse.
The anti-status verse.

And honestly, it’s the antidote the modern church desperately needs.

✝ Modern Christianity — Often the Opposite of This

Our culture worships:

polished speakers

charismatic personalities

visible success

“influencers”

curated brands

stages and spotlights

Even in the church world, it can creep in without us realising:

messages about “unlocking your potential”

subtle prosperity expectations

“platform” obsession

admiration of spiritual “elites”

pressure to appear strong, together, sorted, impressive

But the early church — the one the apostles built — wasn’t like that.

They were:

ordinary

persecuted

content with little

radically generous

deeply relational

centred on Jesus, not themselves

Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:5–10 that treating godliness as a way to gain wealth is a dangerous distortion.
In Acts 4, the rulers were shocked that Peter and John were “ordinary men.”
In Philippians 4, Paul says he learned contentment, not comfort.

The modern church often measures success by size, budget, aesthetics, influence.
The first church measured success by faithfulness, love, endurance, generosity, and unity.

And none of that requires status.
It requires Jesus.

✝ Christ Becomes Our Everything — The Heart of the Passage

Paul ends the section with one of the most beautiful lines in the New Testament:

“It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus,
who has become for us wisdom from God —
that is, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption.”
(1 Corinthians 1:30)

This means:

You don’t need to be wise — He is your wisdom.

You don’t need to be morally flawless — He is your righteousness.

You don’t need to make yourself holy — He is your sanctification.

You don’t need to rescue yourself — He is your redemption.

And then Paul lands the plane:

“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
(1 Corinthians 1:31)

In other words:

The only impressive thing about us… is Jesus.
And that’s the whole point.

✝ So What Does This Mean for People Like Us?

It means you don’t have to be:

the strongest

the smartest

the best spoken

the most put together

the most spiritual

the most experienced

the most confident

God delights in choosing:

the quiet one

the anxious one

the recovering one

the overlooked one

the untrained one

the one who thinks they bring nothing to the table

Because that’s where grace actually shines.

You don’t disqualify yourself by being weak.
You qualify yourself by being available.

Under law, only the strong feel usable.
Under grace, only the humble feel safe.

And when your life starts bearing fruit, nobody says:
“Of course — look how impressive they are.”

Instead, they say:
“It must be Jesus.”

Exactly as Paul intended.

✝ Conclusion — Chosen on Purpose

Friends, the first church wasn’t built by the impressive.
And today’s church won’t be either.

God will always choose:

the lesser things

the overlooked things

the unexpected things

the weak things

the things that “are not”

Because His strength is made perfect in weakness,
and His grace is the only explanation for our lives.

So be blessed today, my friends.
If you feel small, unseen, unqualified, or out of your depth — you are exactly the kind of person 1 Corinthians 1:26–31 is talking about.

You were chosen deliberately.
Not as an afterthought.
Not as a last-minute pick.
But as someone God always had His eye on.

Boast in Him today.
Rest in grace today.
And remember:
He chose you on purpose.

#Jesus #GraceChoosesTheWeak #1Corinthians1 #NoBoastingInSelf

1 month ago | [YT] | 121