Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes

I leave you with these now familiar last words from the last nine years:

...The Holy Spirit has bound you into the Son's own beloved relationship with the Father, making you the beloved of God as well. That's who you really are.

...You can either strive to achieve your life, or receive it. If achievement is your goal, your companion will be complaint because you'll never achieve enough. If receiving is your goal, your companion will be gratitude because there is no end to the blessings God is giving you.

...All blessings are temporary, so it is best to hold them in open hands. You can't enjoy a blessing held in a clenched fist. God removes a blessing only to place another in its place.

...What were you planning to do for those you love that's more powerful than praying for them?

...The church is defined by its center in Jesus Christ, and not its boundaries.

...On the cross of Jesus Christ, God was dying to love you. We confess the hard truth about ourselves only to hear the deeper truth that we are forgiven.

...The end of your story has already been written, and by the grace of God it ends wonderfully. There isn't anything you'll do to make it end any better.

...It's not about you.

...God loves routine. He created it. Every morning the sun rises because God tells it to do it again. So do we delight God when we repeat ordinary faithfulness again and again.

...It's all about grace and gratitude.

-- Craig Barnes