“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.“- 2Cor. 5:21

A young boy had a problem of being consistently late for dinner. One day, his parents warned him to be on time or else he would get only bread and water for dinner. This time, though, the boy arrived later than ever and found his parents already sitting at the table.

Quickly, the boy sat at his place and noticed the meal before him: a slice of bread and a glass of water. Silence filled the room as he stared at his plate. The suddenly, he saw his father’s hand reach over, take the boy’s plate, and set it before himself. Then the father took his own plate of food, smiled warmly, and set it before the boy.

When the boy grew older he said, “All my life, I’ve known what God is like by what my father did for me that night.”

When Jesus went to the cross, He exchanged our plate of sin and suffering for His plate of righteousness and rewards. He voluntarily took what we deserved upon Himself and gave us incomparable riches through our faith in Him.

In the history of the world, no greater exchange has ever been made. So thank God today for sending His Son to take away your sins and give you eternal life! (Senior Living)

[Love] “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth:….”1 Corinthians 13:7-8a

Pastor Stephen Davey said, “I remember having lunch with one of my students at Shepherds Seminary and being challenged by his testimony.

He told me that his thirteen-year-old son had been born with severe brain defects. As a result, the boy was unable to swallow, was mentally retarded, paralyzed, and needed round-the-clock care in their home.

This seminarian’s depth of character was remarkable to me. Despite this time-consuming and restricting weight of responsibility, he said that God had been so faithful to his family. He didn’t complain or show any signs of bitterness. He even remarked at one point, “I know there are a lot of people out there who suffer more than we do . . . and our son is such a joy to us.”

That’s the kind of love Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 13:7. That’s the kind of love that isn’t just willing to endure all things . . . it wants to.

In Kent Hughes’ book Disciplines of a Godly Man, he  tells the story of his friend Robertson McQuilkin, the former president of Columbia International University.

When Dr. McQuilkin’s wife Muriel was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he decided to resign from his office in order to give her the care that was required 24/7. He wrote these inspiring words in his resignation letter to the university:

My dear wife Muriel has been in failing mental health for about eight years. So far I have been able to care for both her ever-growing needs and my leadership responsibilities at Columbia. Recently it has become apparent that Muriel is contented most of the time she is with me and almost none of the time I am away from her. It is not just “discontent.” She is filled with fear—even terror—that she has lost me and always goes in search of me when I leave home. It is clear that she needs me now, full-time. This decision was made, in a way, forty-two years ago when I promised to care for her “in sickness and in health . . . ’til death do us part.” So, as I have already told the students and faculty, as a man of my word, I will do it. She has cared for me fully all these years; if I cared for her for the next forty years I would not be out of debt. Duty, however, can be grim and stoic. But there is more; I love Muriel. She is a delight to me . . . I do not have to care for her . . . I get to.

This is the endurance of true love.

Imagine what kind of difference it would make in your life today if you loved people—and the Lord—with this same attitude.

Instead of living with a mindset of having to demonstrate love, we would adopt the spirit of getting to show our love!

When the Apostle John told us that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, he revealed that God had this very mindset toward us. God’s love wasn’t stoic or grim.

He didn’t have to save us . . . He wanted to.

Will you love Christ today with that same attitude? The attitude that says, “I don’t have to love Jesus . . . I get to.” Take some time right now to evaluate your love for Christ and then pray for grace to love Him more.  As the old Puritans prayed, “Lord, give me a longing to long for You . . . give me a love to love You.”

“…for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Neh. 8:10

In this day when the forces of evil seem to prevail, when the very fabric of our nation is unraveling, and the lamp of hope dim, we would do well to remember that it is God who fights our battles for us. When we abide in His will and follow His Word we can be assured that all will end well. John Henry Jowett left us with these following words of encouragement:

“I know their sorrows.“Exodus 3:7

The Lord is acquainted with all the sorrows of his people; they do not suffer unnoticed; He sympathises with them, and will sanctify sorrow to them. Israel suffered, but Jesus sympathised. “In all their affliction he was afflicted; and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” Beloved, He knows our sorrows, and He will be our Comforter. Let us lay them before Him; let us plead with Him; He will be gracious unto us at the voice of our cry; when He heareth, He will answer. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He once suffered; He was “THE MAN OF SORROWS; and He is able to succour us who now suffer. His sorrows are ended, and so will ours be soon; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. We shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. We shall enter into His joy, be filled with His love, and so be for ever with Him. O Jesus! suffer me not to dwell on my sorrows, but by Thy Spirit direct my heart into Thy love!–James Smith, 1840

Away with our sorrow and fear,
We soon shall recover our home;
The city of saints shall appear,
The day of eternity come.