Holy

Good News

The Great Exchange
By John Piper

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed. (Romans 1:16–17)

We need righteousness to be acceptable to God. But we don’t have it. What we have is sin.

So, God has what we need and don’t deserve — righteousness; and we have what God hates and rejects — sin. What is God’s answer to this situation?

His answer is Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died in our place and bore our condemnation. “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he [God] condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). Whose flesh bore the condemnation? His. Whose sins were being condemned? Ours. This is the great exchange. Here it is again in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

God lays our sins on Christ and punishes them in him. And in Christ’s obedient death, God fulfills and vindicates his righteousness and imputes (credits) it to us. Our sin on Christ; his righteousness on us.

We can hardly stress too much that Christ is God’s answer to our greatest problem. It is all owing to Christ.

You can’t love Christ too much. You can’t think about him too much, or thank him too much, or depend upon him too much. All our forgiveness, all our justification, all our righteousness is in Christ.

This is the gospel — the good news that our sins are laid on Christ and his righteousness is laid on us, and that this great exchange becomes ours not by works but by faith alone. “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Here is the good news that lifts burdens and gives joy and makes strong.

Future Grace

The Liberating Power of Forgiveness
By John Piper

“Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:48)

A woman comes to Jesus in a Pharisee’s house weeping and washing his feet. No doubt she felt shame as the eyes of Simon communicated to everyone present that this woman was a sinner and that Jesus had no business letting her touch him.

Indeed, she was a sinner. There was a place for true shame. But not for too long.

Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48). And when the guests murmured about this, he strengthened her faith by saying, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

How did Jesus help her battle the crippling effects of shame? He gave her a promise: “Your sins have been forgiven! Your faith has saved you. Your future will be one of peace.” He declared that past pardon would now yield future peace.

So, the issue for her was faith in God’s future grace, rooted in the authority of Jesus’s forgiving work and freeing word. That is the way every one of us must battle the effects of well-placed shame — not false shame, but shame that we really should feel, but shame that threatens to linger too long and cripple us.

We must battle the unbelief of crippling shame by taking hold of the promises of future grace and peace that come through the forgiveness of our shameful acts.

• “With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (Psalm 130:4)
• “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6–7)
• “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)
• “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43)

All of us need forgiveness. And we will need it tomorrow. Jesus died to provide it today and tomorrow. Today or tomorrow the reality is this: God’s forgiveness liberates us for our future. It frees us from crippling shame. Forgiveness is full of future grace.

When we live by faith in future grace, rooted in God’s forgiveness, we are freed from the lingering, paralyzing effects even of the shame we deserve to feel. That’s what forgiveness means.

Fearless

Five Reasons to Be Fearless
By John Piper

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

The reason God wants us not to be afraid concerning money or other things of the world is because that fearlessness — that freedom from anxiety — will magnify five great things about him.

First, not being afraid shows that we treasure God as our Shepherd. “Fear not, little flock.” We are his flock and he is our Shepherd. And if he is our Shepherd, then Psalm 23:1 applies: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want” — that is, I shall not lack anything I truly need.

Second, not being afraid shows that we treasure God as our Father. “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” We are not only his little flock; we are also his children, and he is our Father. He really cares and really knows what you need and will work for you to be sure that you have what you need.

Third, not being anxious shows that we treasure God as King. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He can give us the “kingdom” because he is the King. This adds a tremendous element of power to the one who provides for us. “Shepherd” connotes protection and provision. “Father” connotes love and tenderness and authority and provision and guidance. “King” connotes power and sovereignty and wealth.

Fourth, not being afraid shows how free and generous God is. Notice, he gives the kingdom. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He doesn’t sell the kingdom or rent the kingdom or lease the kingdom. He is infinitely wealthy and does not need our payments. So, God is generous and free with his bounty. And this is what we magnify about him when we are not afraid, but trust him with our needs.

Finally, not being afraid — not being anxious — shows that we trust that God really wants to do this. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” It delights him. He is not begrudging. It makes him glad to give us the kingdom. Not all of us had fathers like this, who were made happy by giving instead of getting. But that sorrow is not the main thing any more, because now you can have such a Father, and Shepherd, and King.

So, the point of this verse is that we should treasure God as our Shepherd and Father and King who is generous and happy to give us the kingdom of God — to give us heaven, to give us eternal life and joy, and everything we need to get there.

If we treasure God in this way, we will be fearless and God will be worshiped.

Mercies .. One Day at a Time

Mercy for Today
By John Piper

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22–23)

God’s mercies are new every morning because each day only has enough mercy in it for that day. God appoints every day’s troubles. And God appoints every day’s mercies. In the life of his children, they are perfectly appointed. Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). Every day has its own trouble. Every day has its own mercies. Each is new every morning.

But we often tend to despair when we think that we may have to bear tomorrow’s load on today’s resources. God wants us to know: We won’t. Today’s mercies are for today’s troubles. Tomorrow’s mercies are for tomorrow’s troubles.

Sometimes we wonder if we will have the mercy to stand in terrible testing. Yes, we will. Peter says, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:14). When the reviling comes, the Spirit of glory comes. It happened for Stephen as he was being stoned. It will happen for you. When the Spirit and the glory are needed, they will come.

The manna in the wilderness was given one day at a time. There was no storing up. That is the way we must depend on God’s mercy. You do not receive today the strength to bear tomorrow’s burdens. You are given mercies today for today’s troubles.

Tomorrow the mercies will be new. “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

I am the LORD

Leviticus 19; Psalms 23-24; Eccl. 2; 1 Timothy 4


Don Carson

Leviticus 19; Psalms 23-24; Ecclesiastes 2; 1 Timothy 4

PERHAPS THE MOST STRIKING FEATURE OF LEVITICUS 19 is the repeated clause, “I am the LORD.” In each case, it provides the reason why the Israelites are to obey the particular command.

Each must respect his mother and father, and must obey God’s Sabbaths: “I am the LORD” (19:3). They are not to succumb to idolatry: “I am the LORD” (19:4). When they harvest, they are to leave enough of the produce behind that the poor may find something to eat: “I am the LORD” (19:10). They are not to swear falsely using the name of God: “I am the LORD” (19:12). They are not to play foul jokes on the handicapped, such as cursing the deaf or putting a stumbling block in front of the blind: “I am the LORD” (19:14). They are not to take any action that endangers a neighbor’s life: “I am the LORD” (19:16). They are neither to seek revenge nor bear a grudge against a neighbor, but each is to love his neighbor as himself: “I am the LORD” (19:18). Upon entering the Promised Land, after planting any fruit tree they are not to eat its fruit for three years, and then must offer all the fruit to the Lord in the fourth year, before eating the fruit from the fifth year onward: “I am the LORD” (19:23-25). They are not to mutilate or tattoo their bodies: “I am the LORD” (19:28). They are to observe God’s Sabbaths and have reverence for his sanctuary: “I am the LORD” (19:30). They are not to resort to mediums or spiritists: “I am the LORD” (19:31). They are to rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly, and revere God: “I am the LORD” (19:32). Foreigners resident in the land must be treated as one of the native-born: “I am the LORD” (19:33-34). Business standards must be aboveboard: “I am the LORD” (19:35-36).

Although some of the commandments and prohibitions in this chapter do not end with this formula, they are nevertheless blessed with the same motive, for the closing verse wraps the chapter up: “Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD” (19:37).

Moreover, judging by the opening verse of the chapter, the formula “I am the LORD” is in fact a reminder of something longer: “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy’” (19:1). We have already meditated a little on what holy means (cf. April 8). Here, what is striking is that many of these commandments are social in their effect (honesty, generosity, integrity, and so forth); yet the Lord’s holiness is the fundamental warrant for them. For the covenant people of God, the highest motives are bound up with pleasing him and fearing his sanctions.

Always Be Enough

Encouragement and Hope

16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

2 Thessalonians 2

 

Shared Wonder

Mark Merker:  Does Your Heart Run on Hype?

Have you ever felt like the odd one out at a church service, the only one who’s not “feeling it”? Does it sometimes seem like everyone else is on the emotional mountaintop and you’ve been left behind in the valley?

For some time now, many churches have structured worship gatherings to heighten natural emotional stimulation. Dim the lights. Pick songs that tug the heartstrings, despite their thin context. Make sure the choir or band swells at just the right moment. Deliver the sermon to land with a poignant climax, a welling up of feeling that may not even necessitate the new birth.

All of this may be well-intended. But we will not find any evidence in Scripture that a marked emotional “high” is the normative experience for Christian worship. Will we be moved emotionally, and often? Yes. And hopefully with spiritual affections, not simply natural feelings. Can we depend on a weekly jolt of euphoria? I don’t think so.

In corporate worship we find something far better than a typical rush of feeling. Here are three reasons why we shouldn’t expect each Lord’s Day to produce an off-the-charts mountaintop experience, and why we can instead delight in the regular, ordinary, supernatural joy of engaging with God together.

Ordinary Means, Extraordinary God

First, God has ordained that churches worship him through ordinary means. The elements of a Christian service are quite plain: texts recited and preached; prayer; human voices singing out loud; bread and wine; the water of baptism. The churches of the New Testament didn’t model their worship primarily on the rich ceremonies of the temple, with its incense, sacrifices, and golden trappings. Rather, it seems that they adapted the simpler format of the Jewish synagogue meeting, where the focus was on hearing the word of the Lord (Worship: Reformed According to Scripture, 36).

There is an asymmetry here. We worship a supernatural God. But the building blocks of our worship are natural and unremarkable on their own. Their ordinariness should help us focus less on what we’re doing — and even what we’re feeling — when we’re worshiping, and more on the God whom we’re worshiping.

Since the Spirit of Christ now dwells in us (2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Peter 2:5), we don’t need certain external aids — whether incense or organs or subwoofers or fog machines — to “feel” his presence. When we engage with God through Jesus Christ by the power of his Spirit, using the simple elements of worship he’s given us, our hearts rise before his beauty, strength, and wisdom.

To be clear, Scripture says we should experience joy when we meet together. Our gladness as Christians, though, is grounded in the character of God and built on his work for us at the cross. We can cheerfully obey the psalmist’s command, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Psalms 32:11). We distinguish the sturdy, supernatural joy of knowing Christ, which endures throughout various seasons of life, from the natural, hyped-up, full-tilt, caffeinated intensity that many today often seek in worship.

Christian joy is supernatural, but that doesn’t necessarily mean our hearts always feel transported to the emotional mountaintop. Rather than granting us the cotton-candy rush of a particular natural feeling, God instead feeds our hearts with the supernatural joy of a wholesome dinner over a lifetime of Sundays.

My Emotions or Your Edification?

Second, the New Testament instructs us to give special attention to others in the body when we gather. In other words, though corporate worship can be wonderfully refreshing to our own souls, we also gather to build up God’s people and find our own good in the good of others.

We might summarize the Bible’s priorities for corporate worship using two words: exaltation and edification. Exaltation is oriented toward God. It involves praise, singing, prayer, proclaiming Christ’s work in baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and magnifying God by heralding his glorious word (Hebrews 13:15; Ephesians 5:19; 1 Timothy 2:1; 1 Corinthians 11:26; 2 Timothy 4:2). At the same time, everything done in the public gathering is “for building up” the church, or edification (1 Corinthians 14:26). This involves public reading, exhortation, and teaching (1 Timothy 4:13); “addressing one another” in song (Ephesians 5:19); and mutually stirring one another up to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24).

Notice what is absent from those verses. They don’t reference the emotional state of the worshipers. Certainly, gathered worship will often stir godly feelings. If the message of God’s grace to undeserving sinners, through Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice, does not stir our souls, we may be showing up to church, but we’re not worshiping. If we mainly gather to receive a personal jolt of inspiration, we’ve missed the point. God calls us to assemble to pursue his glory and to build others up. Ironically, our own emotional experience in worship will grow and deepen as we’re increasingly focused on God and his people.

Worship in the Already and Not Yet

Third and finally, we worship in between Christ’s two comings. This is an age of both joy and sorrow, satisfaction and yearning mingled together. Psalms of lament provide us with a vocabulary for pilgrims who have “no lasting city” in this broken world (Hebrews 13:14). Our hearts are deep wells (Proverbs 20:5), sometimes still prone to the deception and sickness that characterized us before redemption (Jeremiah 17:9). This means that on this side of glory, our emotions can be wonderful servants, but woeful masters.

When we join the angelic throngs in praising Christ on that final day, we will experience a full-bodied encounter with God that far transcends any emotional “mountaintop” experience we felt in this age. Until then, our emotions will likely move in fits and starts in this life. And that is why it is better to drop our expectations of natural, high-octane passion every single week in worship, even as we raise our hopes for genuine, God-exalting spiritual affections.

From time to time, or even often, God may graciously bless us with satisfying emotional highs, but there is something far greater we can seek. This is what we get to enjoy each time the church meets: shared wonder at the glorious God who made us and redeemed us for his own praise.

Abba Father

Saying 12

Saying 12

12 Apply your heart to instruction
    and your ears to words of knowledge.

 Proverbs 23

Beauty of God

Empty Tomb

The Single Most Important Day in History

April 1, 2018

Article by

Jon Bloom

 

Staff writer, desiringGod.org

It is Sunday, April 5, AD 33. This day will change the entire course of world history, more than any other day before or after, though only a handful of people will know this by day’s end. 

In an ancient, arid, Near Eastern city, one singular event will occur this day, unleashing a movement so compelling, so enduring, so influential, so unstoppable that two thousand years and billions of adherents later, it will still be growing, faster than ever, while the mighty empire that witnesses its birth will long lay in ancient ruins. This movement will shape nations, span oceans, birth universities, launch hospitals, transform tribal peoples in the world’s remotest places, and be spoken, read, and sung about in more languages than any other religious movement by far. 

That singular event? The body of Jesus of Nazareth will exit his tomb.

The Women

The not-yet-risen sun is coloring the sky with purples and blues, the high clouds with reds and oranges, as a handful of women wind their way through the dark, quiet streets of Jerusalem. They are headed toward a burial garden. Few words are shared. This isn’t merely to keep a low profile. No one has the heart to speak. The reality and horror and grief and disorientation of Jesus’s death is re-dawning on them the closer they get to his grave. 

These faithful women had kept vigil all through Jesus’s brutal execution on Friday and stayed as close to him as possible till the stone had sealed his tomb. But Joseph and Nicodemus barely had the Lord buried before the Sabbath began at sundown. There simply hadn’t been time to properly anoint the corpse. These devoted and courageous followers of Jesus intend to finish this precious, horrible job this morning. And best to do it before the city is up and going, so as to avoid undesired attention.

One of the women raises the massive problem of the tombstone. Another prays that the Roman guards will show some mercy and help them.

The Guards

Unbeknownst to them, the guards are in no position to help. They are at the chief priest’s residence frantically describing their terrifying experience to Caiaphas, Annas, and a number of Sanhedrin members. The earth shook! A bright being seemed to descend from the very heavens! He rolled away the stone like it was nothing and sat on it! They had all collapsed in terror. 

Caiaphas the Sadducee listens, eyes closed, rubbing his forehead with his left hand. These hardened men can’t seriously believe such superstitious lunacy. He suspects a failure to execute their job is behind this supernatural thriller. He knows what they’re really terrified of: Pilate’s execution orders when he discovers what happened. The guards plead for protection. Caiaphas thinks this might actually be useful. 

Council members confer. They clearly had underestimated the scope of this elaborate Messiah hoax. They must get ahead of the story, control the narrative. Tales of a resurrected Messiah will fill the streets with an ignorant mob demanding revolution. The zealots will take every advantage. Jewish blood will flow from Roman swords. And Rome will be done with the Council’s ineffective leadership. The word must be spread immediately: Jesus’s body was stolen by his disciples. It’s the only reasonable explanation. And the guards must not be harmed. They’ll be needed as eyewitness advocates for the reasonable explanation. Pilate will understand this necessity, in view of the potential explosiveness of the moment.

Council members demythologize the morning’s events for the soldiers, and explain the urgency of the situation. Their cooperation is required for the good of everyone. Financial compensation is provided for their “trouble,” along with a promise that if they help avoid further trouble, no harm will come to them from the governor. If the guards are not convinced by the Council’s explanations, they are most definitely grateful for the Council’s protection.

The Tomb

Once in the garden, the women realize things aren’t right. First, there are no guards. Next, they see that the tombstone poses a far different problem than they feared. It’s been roughly shoved to the side. The grave’s mouth is gaping open. So now are the women’s. They stand for a moment in frozen confusion and fear.

Then Mary Magdalene walks up to the opening and takes a step in, the others tentatively following. She stifles a gasping sob. Jesus’s body is gone, she reports. Hurriedly laying down her spices, she says she must tell Peter, and runs off.

The others look at one another and then back at the tomb. The other Mary leads them inside. Perhaps they’ll find clues to what’s happened. Suddenly two men appear out of nowhere, startling the women to the ground. The men are clothed in blinding white. The women would have shielded their eyes if they hadn’t already done so out of terror. The men speak to them in powerful and strangely comforting unison,

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” (Luke 24:5–7)

Just as suddenly, the men are gone. The women hesitantly lift their eyes. Did that just happen? They share stunned looks of what would be disbelief if they hadn’t just experienced this together. They said Jesus is risen? Alive? Now they must tell Peter.

The Disciples

When Mary Magdalene reaches the disciples’ hideout, she makes sure no one is watching, then knocks. John lets her in. She asks for Peter. There’s shock in her eyes and panic in her voice. Peter steps close and she speaks low. She’s been to the tomb. It’s open. Jesus’s body is gone! So are the guards! The blood drains from Peter’s face. He runs out and John takes off after him. Mary begins to follow and can’t contain the tears. They killed him, for goodness’ sake! Could they not leave him alone, even now?

The other women, meanwhile, take an indirect way to the disciples’ place, trying to appear inconspicuous. They knock and are let in. They too ask for Peter. He’s gone. So is John. What’s wrong? They share their remarkable story with the nine. But the men don’t remark. They just look back with incredulous and uncomfortable expressions. This story is a fairytale.

John beats Peter to the tomb. He stops outside and peers into this sacred place of profane death. Peter arrives seconds later and bursts right in. John, emboldened, follows. What they find doesn’t make sense. This clearly isn’t the work of grave robbers or vandals. Why would someone take the body? Perhaps they moved him to another grave. Then why leave the burial cloths? And why take the care to fold the face cloth? And where are the guards? They exit puzzled and troubled, and walk past Mary who’s leaning against the stone, weeping quietly.

The Lord

After a few minutes, Mary moves over and peers into the tomb. She gasps again. Two men in bright white are sitting on the deathbed. They speak to her in powerful and strangely comforting unison, “Why are you weeping?” Stunned and confused, all Mary stutters, “They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him.”

A noise startles her from behind. She turns. A man is standing a few yards off. A strange sensation flashes over her. The man speaks. “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” There’s something about his voice. Who is this? The gardener? “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” He’s looking at her with familiar intensity. “Mary.” Her eyes and mouth grow wide. She places the strange sensation: recognition! It is the Lord! “Rabboni.”

So begin the appearances. A short time later he appears to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5). In the afternoon, he spends three hours with two other disciples walking to Emmaus and giving them a lesson in redemptive history, only revealing his identity to them at dinner (Luke 24:13–35). In the evening, he appears to all the disciples but one (Luke 24:36–43; John 20:19–23).

The Most Reasonable Explanation

So ended the single most important day in history. And so began the single most influential movement in history. Love it or hate it, the world has not seen anything like it.
The singular event that crowned the greatness of this day, that launched the irrepressible movement, was Jesus of Nazareth’s exit from the tomb. 

We might ask, was there ever an exit in the first place? Or is the whole story as legendary as the Easter Bunny? Few credible historians deny Jesus’s existence or his execution. The historical evidence is too compelling. So is the historical evidence that his tomb was found empty.

Or we might ask, did Jesus exit the tomb as a stolen corpse? This idea is less credible than it all being a legend. The Jewish and Roman authorities had all the power, resources, and motivation to track down a body or convincing evidence and witnesses, but they never could. It never went beyond an assertion. Nor could they silence convincing witnesses of his resurrection. And it’s extremely unlikely these witnesses were lying, considering that nearly all who claimed to witness Jesus’s appearance on that most remarkable Sunday suffered horrible deaths because of their claims.

So, did Jesus exit the tomb as the resurrected Lord of life? Considering the weaknesses of the other possible options, the more we look at it, this surprisingly becomes the most reasonable explanation, making this question a haunting one. Something simply astonishing happened that day. The strangest, least likely claim if it didn’t really happen — that Jesus exited the tomb alive, as witnesses testified — has survived and overcome every attempt (often brutal) to refute or squash it. And the church Jesus established has, against all odds, spread all over the world, just as he said it would. Whatever this is, it is not the stuff of legends nor lies.

That empty tomb, after all these years, is more influential than ever. It refuses to leave the stage of world attention. Look seriously at the vacant grave and ponder the angels’ words: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen” (Luke 24:5–6).

And then ponder Jesus’s words: “Do not disbelieve, but believe” (John 20:27).

Future Grace

Better Than Everest
By John Piper

We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

If you live inside this massive promise, your life is more solid and stable than Mount Everest.

Nothing can blow you over when you are inside the walls of Romans 8:28. Outside Romans 8:28, all is confusion and anxiety and fear and uncertainty. Outside this promise of God’s all-encompassing future grace, there are straw houses of drugs and pornography and dozens of futile diversions. There are slat walls and tin roofs of fragile investment strategies and fleeting insurance coverage and trivial retirement plans. There are cardboard fortifications of deadbolt locks and alarm systems and antiballistic missiles. Outside are a thousand substitutes for Romans 8:28.

Once you walk through the door of love into the massive, unshakable structure of Romans 8:28, everything changes. There come into your life stability and depth and freedom. You simply can’t be blown over anymore. The confidence that a sovereign God governs for your good all the pain and all the pleasure that you will ever experience is an incomparable refuge and security and hope and power in your life.

When God’s people really live by the future grace of Romans 8:28 — from measles to the mortuary — they are the freest and strongest and most generous people in the world.

Their light shines and people give glory to their Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).