Today, I want to remind you: You’ve been rescued!

Years ago, my sister “Cuqui” (her real name is Lizette) rescued my siblings and me. A group of tough boys determined to break into our apartment via our fire escape window and beat us up. We were terrified! We lived in the South Bronx, and this gang harassed us daily.

That afternoon, my mother and two brothers were at work, so our 19-year-old sister was left to fight for us little ones. She sat at the windowsill, looking down and yelling at the angry mob climbing up the ladder. She did her best to discourage them from approaching our window. She threw down books, boots, and anything heavy we could find in our tiny apartment and eventually poured hot water over the gangsters. One of them got angrier and made it to the top of the stairs, but my sister’s adrenaline-pumped fear and the buckle side of a belt on her hand sent him back down the ladder whimpering. From that day, my sister became my hero. She risked her life for ours! My sister rescued me from a momentary situation, but Jesus rescued me (and you) from an eternal one…

Leaders struggle with a sense of isolation from time to time. For example, when we’re charging toward a big goal, a new venture, or a challenging season, our team hesitates. We will feel lonely as we take responsibility for others when the buck stops with us. Isolation is heavy when others criticize, attack, or let us down, but also when we disappoint our team. Every leader faces loneliness at times, whether we admit it or not. King David models for us the way to renewal from loneliness.

Leaders struggle with a sense of isolation from time to time. For example, when we’re charging toward a big goal, a new venture, or a challenging season, our team hesitates. We will feel lonely as we take responsibility for others when the buck stops with us. Isolation is heavy when others criticize, attack, or let us down, but also when we disappoint our team. Every leader faces loneliness at times, whether we admit it or not. King David models for us the way to renewal from loneliness.

Let’s be honest, we all thirst physically and spiritually. Our bodies struggle to survive after just a few days without water, even quicker under certain conditions. A lack of an adequate amount of liquids will make us physically uncomfortable, with growing intensity, until satisfied. This is an inescapable fact of life. In the same way that our bodies are designed to thirst for water, our spirit thirsts for that which only God provides: the purest quality of love (present, permanent, and eternal). We can try to quench our spiritual thirst with the “stuff” of this world, but only the Divine can truly satisfy.

There are lots of things I used to believe as a child that I no longer believe. I used to believe that if I swallowed a fruit seed, a tree would grow inside of me (or an orchard!). I also thought that if I kept making a particular facial expression (sticking my tongue out), my face would freeze that way. My brother told me so. And, of course, if I got a new pair of shoes, I was sure I could run faster. Maybe I still believe that one. But, seriously, children are not the only ones who believe in things that aren’t true. As adults, we may have an understanding that is a bit more accurate, but we might be enough degrees off to end up with a wrong conclusion. For example, our understanding of God’s grace through Jesus can be faulty at times and can lead us to behave in ways that are, to put it bluntly, un-Christian.

Our words matter! What we say to our children and grandchildren either builds them up or tears them down. What we emphasize, they will emphasize. If we speak of encouragement, they will too. If we speak words of criticisms, they will too.

Our children say what we say and do as we do. How are we doing? 

Have you ever taken a trip that goes wrong? You know, like the story in the movie “Summer Vacation” when Griswold’s taking their family to Wally World, and everything was thrown into disarray.

Years ago, we took our children on a camping trip that will forever be in our memory books. On the drive up, we lost our lawn chairs from the top of our jeep. They went flying on the freeway across several lanes. We were relieved that none were injured, and no car was damaged. But things got worst from there. You'll have to watch the devotional this week to hear about all that happened!

Every day, every hour, we have something we need to confess to God. Our hearts are idol-making factories. Something is always trying to nudge itself between you and God. Sin ultimately leads to the death of things, including our relationships.

Grace is such a beautiful gift, and we see it over and over again throughout the Bible.

If God, the only all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly holy being, has “removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west,” then why are we so adamant about holding on to our sin – or the sin of others against us?

Forgiveness can be hard, and it doesn't come naturally. I think we can even get stuck with unforgiveness due to what we have experienced. It might be for a good reason. But God teaches us how to forgive through his Son.

God sent his Son to die so we could have his eternal grace cover each and every one of us. Through the truth of the Bible, we see how to give grace to ourselves and to others. Because of Jesus' work on the cross, we are not responsible for saving ourselves. In the same way, when someone treats us badly, or we are hurt in relationships, we often find it hard to forgive. We might get stuck with a deep desire to punish the other person for the wrong they have done. In either case, we put ourselves in the seat of judgment and ultimate salvation.

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We all want honor. But most often, we want honor without the hard work that goes before it. 

We want honor without discipline. 

We want honor without accountability. 

We want honor without a rebuke. 

The truth is none of us like discipline. For too many of us, the thought of discipline brings up memories of harsh punishment. For some of us, abuse. 

From the beginning, in Genesis 2, the Bible establishes that we were not meant to do life alone. "It is not good…" Gen 2:18 The first time God said this in the creation narrative. The love between husband and wife has the potential to reflect the good news of the Gospel; that is because human love reflects God's love for his people.

Paul relates marriage to the saving work of Jesus. In marriage, we are to do for each other as God did for us in Jesus. Jesus gave himself up, made himself nothing, died a shameful death (Philippians 2) for his bride…

Does hot passionate love just happen to people? Does it come about by chance? You’re just going about your business, and wham, love shows up?! No, I don’t believe it does.

Sure. One can experience a high level of physical attraction to another (lust) and a sense that our personalities match very well (compatibility). We can feel the “butterflies” and become obsessed with someone else (infatuation). But to be passionate lovers in relationship for a long time, to experience a mature love, takes intentionality. Infatuation wears off, idealization fades, and challenges are sure to come. And if there is nothing substantive beneath the heat, the relationship will come to an end.

What keeps us from great relationships? There is a long list that includes pride, hurt, insecurity, prejudice, selfishness, personality differences, and so much more. Broken relationships can lead us to wish we will never need another person again. Yet, we were created for relationships. Without trying, we all need other people. Central to our human nature is an inborn "with-ness." We will always need relationships, and it's a good thing.

According to Genesis 1, before humans were created, God existed in relationship. Some say this is a hint of the Trinity because the word for God in subsequent passages is Elohim (God in plural form). But one does not need to go into the Hebrew to notice something quite literal and obvious; God was not alone. “Let us…” Who is this referring to? We don’t know for sure, but we know he was not alone. He exists in relationship.