Salvation

This new husband, Jesus, is not a demanding master standing over you with a checklist. He is a life-giving husband who took your ugliness, sin, and shame down into death to bury it forever, sharing with you his own life and perfect righteousness, making you beautiful in his sight and calling you his very own.

As we watch, and as we wait in the wilderness of our world today, may we too lift our voices to cry, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” For he who was faithful to come, will come again, just as he promised. And so we cry, “Come, Lord Jesus.” 

Here lies the secret of boldness. Not found in our own strength but in his steadfast love. This is the truth and promise that makes us bold, to take risks for Christ Jesus, to overcome insecurity, to fight temptation, to stand up for what is right, to wait patiently in the face of suffering, to love with our whole hearts. It is the assurance of his love for us in the present brokenness.

The first thing I love about the ascension is that Jesus has returned to his Father. That means his work is done, accepted in heaven, and sealed for us here on earth. … now, the Lord Jesus Christ is in session. Seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high. It’s the Father’s stamp of approval on all that his Son has done for us in dying and rising.

How do Christians grow? How does change happen? And if Christians are those who have been accepted by God once and for all because of what Jesus has done, then why bother?

This Easter I want you to see how this little word “even” opens up a world of hope— even for you—no matter your sins, your circumstances, or what is happening in the world. 

We have an all-sufficient salvation because we have an all-sufficient Saviour. He brings us in. He keeps us in, and he carries us to the end.

The following devotional by Clive Bowsher is for Friends of Union. To learn more about becoming a Friend of Union, visit www.uniontheology.org/friends-of-union

Whether our darkness comes from relational breakdown, grief, loneliness, health challenges, the guilt of sins committed, the shame of sins experienced, global trends or deep personal struggle, we must know that our God is a God of hope.

Dear friends, if you’re struggling and suffering this morning, if you feel you’re running out of options, there is somewhere left to turn. There is a hiding place and a safe refuge with Jesus as He gathers around him all of us who are in need. We’re not meant to be the assembly of the shiny, the sorted and the successful. And we’re not impressing God with our brilliance and our strength. No we are together. The bruised reeds, the smothering wicks huddled together around our King Jesus.