Tag: gospel

Hope Survives Where Happiness Does Not

- dannalundstrom

It takes great courage, faith, and intentionality to feel the grief of our cross while anticipating the gifts of its resurrection.  To feel the burden without hope of the blessing is a victory for the opportunistic enemy who since the Garden of Eden wants us to believe that God is holding out on us.  We must resist feeding our minds on his lethal fruit, and feast on The Bread of Life.  It is one thing to believe, but an entirely different thing to LIVE as we profess to believe.  Our walk must be congruent with our talk.  Self-congruence does not mean we are happy all the time, (that is not the gospel), but hopeful, yes!  Hope survives where happiness does not.  You are loved.

The Gospel, A Matter of Life

- dannalundstrom

One of my biggest challenges is not residing in my identity as an adored daughter, but resting in my reality as an accepted sinner.  The deeper my intimacy with Jesus grows, so do the clarity of my flaws.

The depravity of my heart is why the good news of the gospel is a matter of life. Yesterday our pastor quoted one of my favorite Tim Keller quotes.

” The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

So often I forget what I know and find that I am not living out of the freedom of the gospel, but out of the fear of failing an idol (self) that says I matter more than God?  Where I am seeking approval from is a crucial question I have to ask myself daily.  

Where are you living from today, friends; under the exemption of Christ’s yoke or the enslavement of your own? On this day of celebrating labor, I pray we may all embrace liberty.  Matthew 11:28-29 ~ Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you.  Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

You are loved today just as you are.

His Beloved

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

7f0a8a0c9816a9698be68c059c2ebef8To believe we are anything less than His beloved is to deny the work Jesus finished on the cross.  I do not want to do that, but I do everyday when I feel or say I am not enough. Jesus is enough in our place.  He is our worthiness.  He is our righteousness.   He is our adequacy.  Our work is to believe and live in the freedom of His gift.  That is hard work, but entirely possible when we are spiritually healthy!  Counter every negative thought today with, I am His beloved.  You are loved, friend.

I Am Guilty

- dannalundstrom

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I am guilty!!!
Isaiah 53:7 ~He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word.
Here I am Lord. Make me more like you. May the concern of my heart be you, not me. When I am right with you no one else needs to know, understand or see; yet I turn my back and look to man for validation. I take way too much to the phone before I lay it at your throne. Turn my thoughts to you Father. Because you know and you see, let that be enough to be well with me. Amen.

It is From Brokeness That We Become Free

- dannalundstrom

Friend, do you need to be encouraged today? I read the below quote recently, and it has become a “tattoo” on my heart because it is that beautiful to me. Maybe I love it so much because I grew up knowing the love of a horse, and the imagery is endearing and familiar to me; or maybe it is just simply that I know the beauty that only blooms from brokenness. Whatever the case, this quote captures one of the most hope bearing truths of the gospel. God is preparing you for things beyond your imagination in ways that sometimes only He knows and understands. I pray you find refreshment here today.  “When a horse is finally tamed and trained, bearing the burden of saddle and human expectations alike, she is called broken. It is only then that she performs the duties expected of her.” ~from the book, Wild and Free

Good news

- dannalundstrom

There are many things that I do, feel or say that shock me when I honestly look at my heart.  Self-examination would be defeating, were it not for the good news of the Gospel.  The Bible discusses every one of my flaws as a struggle for someone within its chapters.  I am so thankful those things are there!  Without God’s word I would either have to live a shallow life of pretend and denial; or under so much condemnation that anxiety, fear, shame and depression would likely be my best friends.  The gospel is good news!

Tonight, Dare To Believe

- dannalundstrom

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Dare to believe tonight when it feels like everything is falling apart; Jesus is putting it together. When the whole world appears to be walking out, Jesus is walking in. The moment a sense of being lost enters in, dare to remember you have been found. Lastly, when your thoughts cry you are unworthy, inadequate or unlovable, remind yourself you are His prized treasure, loved and cherished, adequate and complete because He made it so.

You Were God’s Idea

- dannalundstrom

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Are you feeling condemned?  Maybe your awareness of you inadequacies has you keeping company with shame, anxiety, and depression.  Some days you are on the mountaintop and the next in the valley.  That is what our expectations do to us, friends.

Expectations are the executioners of embattled hearts.

They will always spotlight our shortcomings.  I have been a prisoner of that camp far too many times.  My heart is prone to forget what my head knows.  Romans 8:1 ~, therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  

I am at a place that I know it is my brokenness, not my goodness that is my badge of honor and that has made all the difference.

However, do I forget this at times?  Yes!  Do I have to remember this and reapply it when The Lord is excavating yet another lump of coal out of my heart?  Absolutely!  C.S. Lewis captured a brilliant truth when he said, “people need reminding a lot more than they need instructing.”  I am forgetful, especially when it comes to myself.  

Grace isn’t just for the shiny people who occasionally make mistakes because the truth is, inside there are no shiny people.  Grace is for me, and it is for you; the sinful and struggling but always seeking.  

God recently reminded me that my self-condemnation is an insult to Him.  It is equal to me saying to Him; You got it wrong.  You made a mistake.  Let us not be deceived; The Lord makes no mistakes, and He works with imperfect, not impeccable people.  May your heart find a glimpse of freedom here this Friday, friend.  You were God’s idea; He makes no errors, and He says you are enough!

 

 

Freely Inadequate but Fully Accepted

- dannalundstrom

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Are you feeling inadequate this morning?  Me, too.  As a matter of fact, I have been feeling incompetent for some time now due to a variety of life challenges.  Then last Thursday happened.

I was attending a dinner, and the speaker was talking about a very dark subject.  She was telling her story, and it was very far from pretty.  One thing the brave woman said with a trembling voice has captivated my thoughts since that night.  I am paraphrasing her words; I never thought Jesus could love and forgive a sinner as dirty as me.  Then one day I realized that my attitude about His forgiveness was equivalent to me putting Jesus back on the cross because He did not do His job right the first time and I could not do that.

Wow!  I have been thinking a lot about how many times I am crucifying Jesus again because I too am not feeling “good enough.”  The truth I often forget is that I am not good enough, never was, never will be and that is why Christ had to pay the ultimate price for me.

Jesus died for my inadequacies, and yours.  Being ashamed of them is a dishonor to Him.  He willingly gave his life to give me mine.  He suffered a cruel, undeserved death to complete me in all the areas I am incomplete.  Because He is whole, I am free to be broken.  Because he is perfect, I am free to be imperfect.  That is good news for a ragamuffin like me.

There is no need to twinge in light of my truth and no reason to cower to condemnation.  I am righteous because Jesus has risen.  Isaiah 61:10 says it best;  I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God!  For he has dressed me in the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.

I am prone, however, to forget what I know to be true.  I knew His promise, but I had forgotten.  I had forgotten, and thus, I had forsaken the Gospel.  Life has a tendency to court us away from the truth, but God has a tender character that carries us back under the shelter of His wings where we are allowed to be freely inadequate but fully accepted.  I am preaching this to myself today, friends.  I pray if need be you can find rest here, too.

You Are Enough

- dannalundstrom

Most days I do not have adequate time or energy to get it all done. The enemy tells me I am not enough. Living within the realm of infallible grace assures me that even on my worst days; I am always enough. You are, too, friend! Ephesians 2:8-9~ For 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.