And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. -Matthew 1:21

I want this, and I will accept nothing less than the promise of Our Savior. Doesn’t salvation take on a completely new tone when you look to salvation to actually cleanse you from the ugliness of sin instead of just remove the punishment of sin. It is so much better than not having our hand slapped when we try to steal a cookie… as a matter of fact, slap my hand if it will stop me from being a thief and glutton.

The working out of salvation in our lives through Jesus Christ means we can be saved from our sins! From ourselves! Oh the freedom! To trust so fully in our Creator, the one who spoke, “it is good,” after every thing He created, to trust that the Creator of the Universe loves us and He is Good, the only true Good (Mark 10:18). We can trust Him… He is the only place to put our trust. His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). His will for us is to abide in Him. That is the beautiful totality of His desire for each and everyone of us. Why? Because He wants what is truly good for us and that can only be found in Him. Sin hurts and kills His beautiful creation whom He loves. He loves us too much to leave us in our sin. So He offered us a way out, freedom… and you are to name Him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). 

In all the ugliness I have committed in this life, it is nice to be forgiven but it is an entirely new day when I am made new and the ugliness is no longer part of me. Praise Jesus.

George MacDonald wrote in ‘Sir Gibbie’, 

The one secret of life and development is not to devise and plan, but to fall in with the forces at work – to do every moment’s duty aright – that being the part in the process allotted to us; and let come – not what will, for there is no such thing – but what the eternal Thoughts wills for each of us, has intended in each of us from the first. If men would but believe that they are in process of creation, and consent to be made – let the maker handle them as the potter his clay, yielding themselves in respondent motion and submissive hopeful action with the turning of his wheel, they would ere long find themselves able to welcome every pressure of that hand upon them, even when it was felt in pain, and sometimes not only to believe but to recognize the divine end in view, the bringing of a son into glory.

Lord, I surrender. 

Amen.

A few pics from our adventure… and a happy birthday! And it was good.