Who do you want at your side every day of your life? Your answers could vary from a spouse to your children, a parent or grandparent, maybe a faithful coworker turned friend or a friend you’ve been praying for for years. Think of the qualities you hope for in this companion: loyal, trustworthy, faithful, shares your values, believes in you, honest, confident, forgiving, etc. The list could go on.

The presence of a faithful companion is envied and sought after by all people. When we have someone by our side to help us, guide us, keep us grounded, give us the honest truth, and keep us focused on the positive in our lives, we are blessed! It’s easier to make it through the hard times as a team rather than alone.

What hardships are you facing today? A child that challenges your authority? A relative who’s making poor choices? Anxiety that grips your heart at the most inopportune times? A tough financial situation that came out of nowhere? Or it’s possible that you might be thinking your life is going fairly well right now, nothing seems to be getting you down.

Whether you can outrightly name the hardship you’re facing right now or you’re struggling to think of something, one thing is certain: sin infects each of our lives here on earth. Greed slips into our thoughts, jealousy takes over our friendships, hatred ruins relationships, gossip sneaks into our conversations. Whatever it is, sin steals our peace and joy!

That’s why Psalm 16 is so important. We have proof from our living Savior that sin’s grasp on us is broken through Christ alone, who is our constant companion! There is no better companion than Christ. Read the Psalm again. He will never abandon us; he makes known to us the path of life, he fills us with joy and eternal pleasures!

Psalm 16 is a messianic psalm, meaning it refers first of all to the victory Christ won through his resurrection. Secondly, it means that the blessings referred to in this psalm are also ours today, freely given to us through Christ.

As King David penned this psalm, he knew his body would one day meet the grave, but he also knew he could rest assured knowing that because of Christ’s victory over sin he has a companion in the Almighty God for eternity!
Today, trust like David trusted. Christ has already proved it all on that joyful Easter day. In the midst of hardship, we have peace and joy in his presence forever!

Not many animals hold such wonder for children as the horse. Boys and girls, with little knowledge of the necessary care, dream of having a horse as a pet in their backyard. In reality, a child who comes near a horse can be overwhelmed by its sheer size. The grand strength of its unpredictable movements can be distressing to a nearby child. This is not the plastic animal that moves only with imagination on the bedroom floor! This is a living being with its own greatness that must be respected.

Coming before our God in his Word can have the same effect. When we realize that God moves apart from our own invention, we get but a glimpse of his strength and power. There is no way to wholly appreciate his might. Our God spoke the universe into being just as easily as he held children on his lap and blessed them. He changed water into wine just as effortlessly as he parted the waters of the sea. His might has no limit in both great and small ways. Perhaps the greatest show of God’s strength was when Jesus, true God and true man, set his strength aside. All of heaven belonged to him but he became nothing as a baby, as a boy and finally as a man. On the way to the cross, Jesus gave himself to be bound, his body torn and hanging. He did not stop to hide or find shelter from his Father’s almighty fury. He did not brandish his power. He stayed. He stayed weak and broken. He stayed ashamed. He stayed to take your place and mine, to endure the Father’s wrath meant for us. His weakness was his strength!

A man’s strength gives out at his death. No one walks through a graveyard and comments on the strength of the dead bodies there. But death did not strip Jesus of his strength. In a most unnatural turn of events, Jesus’ weakness stripped death of its strength. After three days, Jesus’ grave was empty! He was alive and rose from the dead! His weakness defeated death and not just his own! Since his death was a credit to each of us, his life will be a credit to each of us as well! We will live in heaven with him forever! Look to Jesus with eyes of faith. His weakness is strength and his strength is yours by faith!

“But Mom!” How many children have asked their mothers to reconsider the situation with those words? Mom certainly does not know all of the details. “But Mom!” If she knew the whole story her decision would be more benevolent. But Mom generally knew the whole story. “But Mom!” was just an introduction to a list of useless excuses.

How many “Buts…” do I give my God when I sin and roll out my litany of excuses. “But God, I do not have…” as if I had some right to sin because I lack a blessing. “But God, did you see what she did?” as I compare my sin to other’s. When I am really embarrassed, I ignore it altogether. “But God, I am pretty sure I didn’t even do that!” My solution to my sin is childlike excuses.

None of these gross excuses work. None of them balance the scale of God’s justice. Really, my excuses just add more weight to what I owe. I find myself sitting across from the almighty God with a fearfully unbalanced scale of debt, my sin, between the two of us. My elbows are on the table, my head in my hands. I cannot even look at him because I have no actual way to compensate for the imbalance. I cannot even leave the table. God and I are separated by this miserable uneven scale. It is ridiculous that I actually thought my excuses, my solution, would distract God and I could stroll right into heaven! How childish! I realize how terribly wrong I am and it will cost me. It will cost me an eternity!

But God has his own solution. His “But God” is the greatest relief of my life! Not only does he clear my debt and balance his own scale, he does it in such a beautiful way! “But God” loved me! His Son, my Redeemer, is on my side of the table! “But God” showed me rich mercy. His Son, my Redeemer, took my treachery into his own hands. “But God” covered me with his grace. His Son, my Redeemer, is my solution! That lousy scale is no longer between God and I. We are at peace! I am at peace! What an indescribable relief! Heaven is open for me!

So, here I am. Redeemed. Relieved. By the grace of God, I pray that I do not even try my excuses. I pray that I remember who is on my side of the table with my debt in his hands. His Son, my Redeemer!

My friend wrote about a recent bike ride that she started the ride strong but during the last hour, she needed to take frequent breaks. She was frustrated and disappointed about how quickly she became tired. But when they got back to the car, she realized that the front tire had popped and she had been riding on a flat tire for at least an hour. She said “I guess there’s a life lesson there: when tempted to be hard on oneself, it’s always a good idea to first make sure we’re not actually trying to push ourselves along on a flat tire”.

Do you feel as though you are pushing yourself along on a flat tire? God tells us that we will have suffering in our lives. There will be pain, disappointment, and death. We will have flat tires. But he also promises that he will help us through these sufferings by giving us three things: peace, prayer, and hope.

God gives us the peace that we are truly forgiven through the death and life of his son, Jesus Christ. This peace is not just a “feel-good” emotional kind of peace, because this peace doesn’t come from a human—it comes from God, through Jesus. This peace gives us strength and confidence to work through challenges in this sinful world.

God also gives us “access” to him through prayer. He wants us to come to him with any fear or need, and he promises to hear us. We can come to him at any hour, all day. While we may not always get the end result that we hope for, we know that God listens and answers.

Finally, God gives us hope. He gives us hope for the future—not only hope for our life on earth but the hope that we will be in heaven after our sufferings in this world are over. This type of hope isn’t a wish. It is not the same as when we say something like “I hope I get the job”, or “I hope it doesn’t rain today”. This type of hope is already a “done deal”. We know that we will go to heaven. This hope is reliable because God is reliable.

So we can look at our problems and trials of this world with different eyes. When we feel like we are pushing along on a flat tire, we can remember the peace that we are forgiven. We can come to God in prayer for strength to endure and persevere. And we can rejoice that, no matter the outcome of the earthly suffering, we have hope for our future in heaven.

My family visited a cave in the Burren Region of Ireland. Carved from limestone, the cave has magnificent caverns, chasms and even a waterfall. At one place during the tour, the guide told us to hold on to the railing (and our children!) before they turned out the lights. It was SO dark! Deep underground there is no light at all. The guide said that this intense darkness could even cause people to lose sense of direction, lose their balance and fall.

The devil works really hard to keep people from seeing “the light” of Jesus. Without the light of Jesus, we stumble and fall. The devil wants us to stay lost and unbalanced, separated from our God. The devil fights to keep us from sharing this light with others and will use anything in this world to try to keep us from knowing and sharing the truth in God’s Word.

When we try to be the light for others on our own, we fail. Oh, we try to serve others and live a life that pleases God, but we can’t do this on our own. God created light in this world, and he also creates light in our hearts. God beat the devil when he sent Jesus, the light of the world, to live and die for us.
Now that God has rescued us from our problem of sin, we want to share that light with others. We reflect the light of Jesus when we serve those people that he placed in our lives. God gave us a glimpse of his glory through Jesus, and he wants us to share that “light” with everyone.

When we walk through our days on earth, it might sometimes feel as if we are in a dark cave. We lose our balance when we forget to cling to Jesus, the true light of the world. We see a little piece of God’s glory every time we read and study his Word. When we read the Bible, we hear the love story of Jesus coming into the world to die for us. The light of Jesus works in our heart, preparing us for our work here on earth. May we continue to let our light shine for Jesus, the light of the world!

There’s a Victorian house in the heart of St. Paul, MN that was built in 1889 and then purchased by newlyweds in 1983. The house had been converted to 6 apartments, and the couple spent years bringing the house back to the original one-family dwelling. They spent hours researching the time period and then even more time working with their own hands– sanding and stripping wood to bring back the original floors and banisters, searching for wall paper and furnishings for the time period, and living in less-than-comfortable conditions as the bathrooms and kitchens were worked on. It is a beautiful home, and I am proud of the work that my aunt and uncle put into this home. The “builder of the house has great honor”.

It is easy for us to look at man-made work with honor and respect, forgetting that everything that we do, even our “best work”, is tainted with sin. There is nothing that we do that is without sin. We complain about the work we have to do, or covet the skills or means of others, or we get weary and only do the bare minimum. God is faithful; we are not.

God wants us to focus our eyes not on our earthly home, but our heavenly home. He wants us to honor not the builders of things in this world, but the “builder of everything”. The creator is superior to his creatures. God made the world, and when his creation was destroyed by sin, he made a plan. God, the “builder of everything”, made a blueprint for our salvation, a path to heaven. His plan was to give us a Christmas miracle, a tiny baby that would live the faithful life that we cannot, and then take on the sins of the entire world that he created.

God wants us to “fix our eyes on Jesus”, the ONE that saved us from our big problem of sin. God has absolute authority over heaven and earth, and he sent his son, Jesus, to destroy the sin in this world and in our hearts.

One family told me that they celebrate their baptism days by eating dessert first. They eat dessert before supper because “nothing can be sweeter than remembering the day we became a child of God, and knowing that we will one day be called Home!”

What is baptism? Baptism gives us the forgiveness of sins, through water and God’s Word. We can use the picture that, through baptism, our sins are “drowned” and that we are “washed clean” through the power of God’s Word and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Another picture that we can use to explain the blessings of baptism is found in our passage for today. Through baptism we were “buried” with Christ. This means that, when Jesus died on the cross, he took on our sin for us. He gave up his perfection for our sin and unfaithfulness. When Jesus died, our sins were “buried” with him. He became sin for us, and when he came back to life on Easter Sunday, he wrote our name down in the book of Heaven. We “have a new life” in heaven because Jesus died in our place.

From the day we are born, we are not fit for heaven. Every day we rebel to God by our sinful living. Some people think that if we “live a decent life and try not to hurt anyone” God will give us heaven. But not so! Even “trying our best” is not good enough. We cannot earn our way to eternal glory. No one on this earth can do anything to make himself fit for heaven. . . .except. . . . .Jesus! Jesus lived the perfect life that is impossible for us and every other human. Jesus already won that battle when he died on the cross and came back to life.

Although we cannot earn our way to heaven, we still want to live our life for Him who saved us. God wants us to be faithful to him. We do this by reading and obeying God’s Word, the Bible. We show that we are thankful for what God has done by serving him and others. How sweet it is to know that God calls us his own, and to know that we will one day enjoy a new, perfect life in heaven!

Lego set number 41720. That’s the one that she wanted. This set is a waterpark with two slides, an octopus sprinkler, and even a popsicle stand. She waited, and shopped at different stores, and waited some more. Until FINALLY! She found it on sale! She was so excited to put the set together and move the Lego people through the waterpark! But now the set sits, in a box, untouched since that first day of play. The toy she waited for only gave her momentary happiness.

Has this happened in your house? Do you have Christmas gifts that were exciting last week but now sit on a shelf? Are the treasures that your family waited for and longed for now forgotten? The truth is, even the best presents will eventually be outgrown, or broken, or placed in the donation box. The treasures of this world will never bring lasting joy and peace.

The only Christmas gift that brings lasting peace is Jesus. God’s people waited, with great longing, for thousands of years for the Savior to come. Finally, on that first Christmas, the promised Savior came!

Jesus gives us the peace that only a Savior can give—true peace, true rest in knowing that Jesus rescued us from the dangers of sin. Yet we often look for peace in all the wrong places: specialists, our family and friends and the internet. We try to find rest in a good book, taking a walk, or by relaxing on vacation. All of these can be healthy places to find rest for your body and mind, but the rest is only temporary. Things of this world will always only bring temporary peace.
The peace that Jesus gives is lasting. This peace is the tranquil, restful feeling that we feel when we remember that Jesus loves and forgives us. This peace gives us confidence that God always has and always will care for us. As one children’s song says, “Peace is holding Jesus’ hand”.

God has taken care of our biggest problem, sin, and now calls us to “let peace rule in our hearts”. Let us remember that Jesus fought for us on the cross and now calls us into his restful arms. Let us thank God for the peace that Jesus gives, and may this peace rule our hearts always!

Always, continually, in all circumstances. When working with children, we quickly learn to avoid such strong words. No child is always on task or continually disobedient. We learn to celebrate the little victories as the students grow in their abilities.

Yet Paul used these strong words as he finished his letter to the Thessalonians. The expectations he sets forth are unrealistic, aren’t they? I might try, but I just am not always happy. As for continually praying, well, I know some of my thoughts and words are definitely not prayer-like. And when I’ve spent a long day trouble shooting problems at school and home, it’s pretty difficult to give thanks. Yet this is what God expects; it is his will for us.

The first instruction given is to be joyful always. God created us with a large range of emotions. We cry tears at a loved one’s death. We feel righteous anger at the injustices of this sinful world. We experience fear and concern. And yes, so many times we feel happiness. We revel in God’s wonderful creation, we laugh at the antics of our students, we are excited to see those little victories as our students learn and grow. But happiness is not the same as joy. Joy is present in each emotion because true joy only comes from our Savior, Jesus. Even in our sorrow, we are not despondent, because we know that God is still with us, guiding us through the most difficult of times. When we are afraid, we lean on God’s promise to always do what is best for us. Our happiness is colored by the joy of experiencing God’s blessings. Through all these emotions, God draws us even closer to him.

Paul also tells us to pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. Praying continually doesn’t mean walking around with our hands folded and heads bowed, reciting prayers. We pray continually when the faith that God puts in our hearts shines through in our words and actions. We pray continually when we look to our heavenly Father for help in difficult situations. We pray continually when we share God’s Word with those around us and give thanks and praise to our Savior. Even when circumstances are difficult, we thank God, knowing that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (Romans 8:28).

Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? As much as I want to, I am not always joyful, my life is not one of continuous prayer, and many thankless words have come from my mouth. Paul doesn’t leave us hopeless. He tells us that God keeps us blameless. Jesus lived a joyful, prayer-filled, thankful life for us. He got rid of our imperfections and now God sees us clothed in Jesus’ holiness. So be joyful, my friends! Our Savior has come!

The King is coming! Imagine the red carpet rolled out, the best food prepared, the beautiful music. We would give our very best to show our love and support for a great leader.

As we look forward to Christmas, we prepare for a different king. This psalm was written by King David, one of the greatest kings in Israel’s history. He told his people to prepare for an even greater king. This king would be a King of glory, one who is strong and mighty in battle.

And then the king came. Born in a stable to parents who didn’t have much, he may not have looked like a king. There was no glory evident as he was placed in a feed trough. Yet never before and never again would such a king be born.

This king fought our biggest battle. He didn’t carry a sword or shield. He spent his short life on earth telling and living God’s love and forgiveness. He certainly didn’t look like a mighty king as he hung on the cross, beaten and bloodied. But just a few days later, the victorious king came back to life, assuring us of victory over sin, death, and the devil. This King of glory won the battle for us.

And so we get ready for this glorious king. We lift up our heads to welcome the Christ child, our hearts full of joy at the salvation he brings. We lift our voices to sing his praises. We lift our feet as we run to tell the good news of our King, just as the shepherds did that first Christmas Eve.
And this doesn’t end with Christmas. Our King of glory is coming back. When Jesus returns, we will lift our heads with our fellow believers and all the angels, singing his praises in eternity. We will be with our King of glory forever. The King is coming!

What does faithfulness look like in your work? Showing up on-time each day? Completing given tasks to the best of your ability? Taking time to help or speak to a child on his or her level? Supporting a coworker as she implements a new teaching or management strategy? Being a faithful employee (or friend or spouse or parent) is important.

In fact, God calls us to be faithful. Not merely in our work, but in how we live our lives for him. “Be faithful, even to the point of death.” God is calling us to trust him, to rely on him, throughout our life and one day, as we face death. As we serve those around us, we can confidently cling to his promises to be with us, to fight for us, to provide for us, and to equip us for the work we do.

Sometimes, that seems easy. Things are going well. Students and families are happy. You’ve got a balance between work and home. You’re taking time to be in God’s Word. But, other times, we get off-track. We’re disappointed. We’re unhealthy. We’re exhausted. We complain and worry and act selfishly. We lose sight of who we are and what God calls us to do. We fail to find our purpose and identity in him, and we’re anything but faithful servants.

Thank goodness, we have and serve a perfectly faithful and steadfast God. His faithfulness doesn’t depend on our actions or on our faithfulness. He doesn’t only remain faithful to us if we meet a certain benchmark or do a “good enough” job. Knowing we would struggle and fail, God still sent his Son, Jesus, to give up his life on our behalf. In Jesus, every sin of unfaithfulness and misplaced priorities is forgiven. In Jesus, we are free to joyfully – and yes, faithfully – serve God and those around us.

And there’s more. God promises, “I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” In Jesus, this reward is a sure thing. He has already won against sin and the devil so we can be certain of eternal life. This isn’t a reward we need to earn; this is a free gift from our loving, faithful God.

So, while we wait for his return, let’s remain faithful servants. Let’s trust God and his goodness, in good times and bad. Let’s encourage each other to remain steadfast to the work he has called us to do. Let’s model God’s love, that others may come to know him, too. Let’s live in hope, knowing our eternal future is secure.

Morning messages can be an important part of classroom routines – a way to let students know about any changes to the schedule, any special visitors, an upcoming event, or even just the approaching “stay home days” of the weekend. These reminders help the class prepare for and look forward to what’s coming. In our text for today, we hear some messages that help us be prepared for our life here on earth and our eternal life to come.

First, we are reminded that we are children of God – it’s who we are and where we find our purpose and our value. Before we can fully appreciate this status, though, we must remember who we are by nature, enemies of God trapped in our sin. And yet, despite our sinfulness and failure to obey God’s law, God “so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son” to pay the penalty for our sins (John 3:16). Jesus came to pay the price and defeat sin and death on our behalf. Through faith in him, we are now forgiven children of God, our heavenly Father, and like a good father, God is there to provide for our needs, protect us from harm, and guide us through the ups and downs of life.

We can get so caught up in the things – the possessions, the vacations, the opportunities, the finances – of this world, but next, we hear a reminder that this world is not our forever home. We have something much better, much greater, to look forward to. When Christ appears to take us to our heavenly home, we will see him in his glory, and we will be like him. We don’t know exactly what our heavenly bodies will be like or how they will be the same or different from how we know them to be now, but we can be confident they will be perfect because they will be like Jesus. And we will live with God where tears and exhaustion and heartache and worry will no longer exist. The best is truly yet to come!

So, finally, as we look ahead to our eternal home, we live with this heavenly perspective in mind. As God’s children, we now strive to stay away from sin and sinful behaviors, and when we fail, we confess our wrongdoing, trust in God’s free and full forgiveness, and with God’s guidance, make a conscious effort to change. Our identity as God’s children changes the way we talk, act, and serve, and whatever our days may bring, we ultimately look ahead to future glory – an eternal home in heaven. And that’s not just a nice message; it’s a true and certain fact. Live in the confidence of being God’s child today!

You walk into a room where you know there is a young child, but it is eerily quiet. As you enter, the startled little one looks up at you with a priceless face that says, “Oh dear. She caught me. Now what do I do?” It might be a mess in the room, paint where paint doesn’t belong, a face full of makeup or worse, marker. She thought she was pulling it off until you walked into the room. Busted!

As you look at her, you may be disappointed, frustrated at what it will take to restore order to the room or to clean her up. But that face. Can you picture it? She knows she’s disappointed you and the look of remorse can touch your heart. You do everything you can to keep her safe and guide her in her growing and learning because you love her so dearly. But you also know she needs to learn. And when she fails, then what? Do you turn your back and leave her to her self-created mess? No. You’re right there with her and for her with a loving response that helps her learn.

As you and I read today’s verses, we can feel like that little one. How does it make you feel to be reminded that the LORD knows every thought, every action, every step, every word, even before it happens? Busted? It is incomprehensible to us that God has that kind of knowledge of every single person including you and me. If another person knew even some of this, especially some of our private thoughts and struggles, the shame or embarrassment would be overwhelming.

But this is not another person. This is our God, our Father, our LORD. The one who created us—formed us in our mother’s womb. He looks at us through what Jesus has done for us. His eyes are full of love. His heart is full of forgiveness. We can be at complete peace because of that forgiveness. We can be comforted knowing that no matter what happens, God’s loving hand is on us. He’s always with us, never leaving us alone to face the world and our own sinfulness. He looks at us as a father looks lovingly at his child. We are indeed, his own dear children.

As you look at her, she can see the look of love on your face. Her relief shows in her eyes. As you wrap your arms around her, she is comforted by your loving embrace. So it is with us. God does indeed know everything—the good, the bad, and the really bad. And still he loves us. He knows weaknesses in us that others may never know. And still he loves us. He is our peace, our comfort, our reassurance, our heavenly Father, our Savior. The look of love on his face gives us peace, relief, joy in him.

Last week we talked about a new piece of paper that reflects the possibility of starting fresh. We want so much to get it right. We constantly want a new piece of paper so we can try again. And yet, we continually find ourselves looking at an outcome that is less than we’d hoped. We can be like that toddler who stomps her foot, hands on hips and says, “I can do it myself!” We look at her with loving eyes knowing that her expectations of her ability aren’t the reality. We know that she’ll either give up or, hopefully, come for help.

We are wired to strive for a level of independence. From our first steps to our last, we want to be able to do things ourselves. It’s not easy for most of us to acknowledge our need for help. We want to try to get it right. It can be tempting to carry that over to our view of faith. God tells us in his Word that faith and salvation are a gift from him with no strings attached. “Thank you!” we cry out. And yet, we so soon follow that with a spirit that feels that our “getting it right” makes some kind of a difference in God’s eyes.

Today’s verses are such a clear and beautiful reminder of God’s grace for us. It’s not from us, not at all. It’s a gift. God just gives it to us out of love from him. He doesn’t want any hint of our role in our salvation. You want to boast? Boast about all that God has done for you.

Back to the piece of paper. When a talented artist or illustrator turns that piece of paper into a priceless work of art, it would be absurd to credit the paper. “Look what an amazing work of art that piece of paper created!” said no one ever. The credit and accolades go to the artist, the creator of the work of art.

God is our creator, our artist. He created each of us for a specific purpose. He gave you features, a personality, a set of gifts designed just for you but even more so, for him. He created you to do works, to accomplish things. However, those things are designed to give glory back to the artist, the creator—God. We can go about each day serving and showing love to others around us with the goal of sharing and reflecting God’s love and grace to everyone around us. It’s why we’re here—children of our heavenly Father who get to tell people about him in our words and actions. It doesn’t get us points. It gives us an opportunity to continually point to God.

[We] are God’s handiwork, created in Christ to do good works. What a joy it is to approach each day knowing that we get to serve, we get to share God’s message of grace, we get to reflect God’s love to others. Not because we need to in order to gain some kind of favor. Rather because everything we need for salvation is done. What a beautiful picture of God’s grace for us through Jesus.

“I did it! I did it!” One of the best sounds of an early childhood room is hearing a child shout for joy when they accomplished a task they struggled with. They worked and worked, and their diligence paid off. What a moment! They’re so proud, and we’re proud of them.

You and I have tasks that challenge us as well. I would imagine everyone reading this can name at least one item on their to do list that pushes their abilities. After a lot of effort, trial and error, you get it. You also might shout out just like that child, “I did it!” What a great feeling.

“Not to us, LORD, but to your name be the glory.” This verse was written at the time that the people of Israel celebrated Passover in the magnificent temple in Jerusalem. The Israelites had been freed from their captivity under Pharaoh. All of this could easily tempt them to say, “Look at us and what we’ve done! We are an amazing nation to be feared and respected.” When we look closer at their story, we know they did nothing to cause their freedom from Pharaoh. God made that happen. That temple in Jerusalem? God’s direction and blessings to them provided the temple in all its splendor. The Israelites are a story that reminds us over and over of God’s love and faithfulness. They struggled. He provided. They sinned. He forgave. They turned their backs on God. He drew them back.

Because of your love and faithfulness. Those words are meant for us as well. You and I approach each day with a prayer that God would bless our tasks and our activities. We know that every day brings joy and disappointment, successes and failures. Each day we struggle with our biggest battle-our sin. And every day God is faithful in his love for us, his forgiveness, his work in us and through us.

What does all this mean for us? We do make progress in learning and growing. We have difficult challenges that with perseverance, we overcome. Is it wrong to rejoice in our accomplishments? No. Be glad in those moments. But never lose sight of where that success comes from—it comes from God. He who with unending patience and love, faithfully provides for all our needs. He gifts us with the ability to think and question and persevere. He gives us opportunity to use those gifts to serve him and those around us. And greater than all of this, he gifts us with his forgiving grace that gives us peace in him.

“I did it!” A moment to celebrate wrapping it all in gratitude for God who is full of love and faithfulness for each of us and for all his dear children. “I did it! Thank you, God, and to you be the glory!”