shame

God has a lavish redemption for you

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God’s Hope for Your Heart from Ephesians 1

GOD HAS A LAVISH REDEMPTION FOR YOU

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight…  (Ephesians 1:7-8)

Jesus is not a stingy Savior.  He doesn’t step in to do the bare minimum in your life, to give you just enough grace to get by.

No, Jesus shed His blood extravagantly, overwhelmingly, generously on your behalf.  No matter how deep your debt of sin may be, the river of God’s grace poured out in Jesus’ blood is far, far deeper.  No matter how wide your guilt or shame may be, Jesus’ arms are stretched wider still.

Rest in this.

Rejoice in this!

Respond to this with a life of worship and gratitude.

No matter what your past or present may look like, remember the hope of this truth: God has a lavish redemption for you.

-Pastor Phillip

AUDIO VERSION
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Grace will set you free

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God’s Hope for Your Heart from Romans 3

GRACE WILL SET YOU FREE

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.  (Roman 3:23-25a)

There is no such thing as a “noble savage.”  Anthropologists and sociologists have pondered for centuries the idea of some race of people far removed from society’s corruption who are somehow inherently innocent and good.

Yet, the Bible is clear: ALL have sinned and fall short.

So then, how gracious is God that even though all have fallen, in Christ all can be lifted back up!  This gift of righteousness, the honor of being made “right with God” is offered to you, to me, to everyone.   All we must do is receive it by faith.

Here’s more good news.  That grace isn’t just a one-time gift for salvation.  It’s an ongoing source to sustain you in every circumstance.  This means that even now when you fall short, there is grace for you in Christ!

Don’t let sin trap you in a prison of shame and regret.  Trust Jesus completely with all of your past, present and future.  As you do, you’ll discover hope in this glorious truth: grace will set you free.

-Pastor Phillip

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God wants to take away your shame

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God’s Hope for Your Heart from Psalm 34

GOD WANTS TO TAKE AWAY YOUR SHAME

I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.  (Psalm 34:4-5)

Shame.  Sometimes it creeps in quietly, growing like an infection in our soul.  Bit by bit, every time we fail, every time we fall, every time we miss the mark, the shame just grows.

Sometimes, though, shame doesn’t creep, but crashes in to our lives all at once.  A horrible thing was done, either by us or to us, and the result is a gaping wound in our self-confidence and an ever-present feeling of being soiled, small, and alone.

Have you been there?

Here’s the thing.  Whatever the specific source of your shame, underneath it all is a fear that because you have been found wanting, you will be unwanted, and that the dark stain on your inner-self will make you ugly and unloveable.

Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way!

If you’ve ever felt any of these things, here is good news.  God can take away your shame!  When you look to Him in faith, His brightness will burn away your darkness.  When you trust in Him, His love will overcome your feeling of unloveliness.  When you come to Him just as you are, His healing will cure the shame of your soul, and make you clean, no matter what you have done or what’s been done to you.

May you look to Him and trust Him in faith today, and as you do, you’ll be able to rest in the hope of this truth: God wants to take away your shame.

-Pastor Phillip

AUDIO VERSION (Click here to subscribe to the daily podcast on iTunes.)

 

God is greater than your deepest darkness

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Scripture Notes on Psalm 139

Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139:12)

Nothing you have ever done is too dark for God to love you. No sin is so wicked that He can’t forgive you.

Nothing ever done to you is too dark for God to redeem. No shame is so great that He can’t make you whole and clean.

Do you carry the weight of regret over something in your past or present? Do you or someone you know feel beyond the reach of the love of God in Christ? Take heart!

Not even the forces of hell themselves can hold back the power of the cross of Christ, so look to Jesus and rest in this liberating truth.

God is greater than your deepest darkness.

-Pastor Phillip

God has a lavish redemption for you

by

God’s Hope for Your Heart from Ephesians 1

GOD HAS A LAVISH REDEMPTION FOR YOU

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight…  (Ephesians 1:7-8)

Jesus is not a stingy Savior.  He doesn’t step in to do the bare minimum in your life, to give you just enough grace to get by.

No, Jesus shed His blood extravagantly, overwhelmingly, generously on your behalf. No matter how deep your debt of sin may be, the river of God’s grace poured out in Jesus’ blood is far, far deeper.  No matter how wide your guilt or shame may be, Jesus’ arms are stretched wider still.

Rest in this.

Rejoice in this!

Respond to this with a life of worship and gratitude.

No matter what your past or present may look like, remember this.

God has a lavish redemption for you.

-Pastor Phillip

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AUDIO VERSION
[click here for today’s. | click here to subscribe via iTunes.]

RADIO – 03 If They Only Knew [My Name Is…]

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Podcast-graphic-[My-Name-Is]Almost all of us have something in our past (or present) that we’re not proud of.  Whatever it is, we wonder and worry about how the people around us would react if they only knew.

If you know what that feels like (or even if you don’t) join Pastor Phillip Gonzales for a word of encouragement from the Scriptures.  After all, you know that thing you hope nobody finds out?  God already knows about it!  The question is, will you trust Him enough to hear what He has to say?

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NOTE: This teaching was broadcast on “The Heritage Hour,” the weekly radio program of Dr. Mark P. Gonzales.  It airs in Fort Myers, FL at 8:00am on Saturday mornings on WJYO, 91.5fm.