Grace Community Church: Painted Post, Corning

God searches and knows us through and through. Inviting God to search us and know us doesn’t actually change anything about God’s searching or knowing, but it does change our heart position. Instead of trying to hide from God, instead of trying to cloak our sins, we ask God to shine His light on us, so that we live life His way rather than our way.

When Jesus receives us into glory, made possible through his death and resurrection, all the wrongs, all the pain, all the suffering, even all the stains and regrets of our own sin will not only be forgiven, they will be reversed.

Whether we know it or not, whether we believe it or not, what our hearts crave most is God and His great goodness.

How do we battle fear? Not by focusing on fear, but by focusing on our awesome God. The goal isn’t fearlessness, the goal is confidence in God. God-confidence. Then we can say, of whom, and of what, shall I be afraid?

God is still great and powerful! He is still doing great things! We can believe that with confidence and pray that with confidence.

A big part of a wise life is investing our lives in a work that will last forever. Eternal work. We need God’s help, but we need to do it. Establish the work of our hands.

Thirsts are powerful drivers in our lives. God created spiritual thirst to drive us to Him, the fountain of living water. Only Jesus can satisfy fully and forever the longing and craving and thirsting of our soul. As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.

Choosing the paradigm of praise means we see and interpret life through a framework that doesn’t deny the challenges we face, doesn’t deny the heartache and suffering all around us, isn’t afraid to be honest when we go through hardships and disappointments. We see those things, but we see God as bigger. Praising God isn’t about denying reality, it’s about seeing God as the biggest reality! The greatest reality!

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Draw near to Him. Draw near to God. He is generous. He is loving. He is life. As we follow him, he restores our soul, he protects us, he invites us, and he pursues us with goodness and mercy.

Guest speaker Jeff Simpson speaks about courage in the life of Benaiah from 2 Samuel 23:20-23.