I am going to judge my circumstances by Jesus’ love, not Jesus’ love by my circumstances.

Real love, the Bible says, instinctively desires permanence.

God's Kingdom is "present in its beginnings, but still future in its fullness. This guards us from an under-realized eschatology (expecting no change now) and an over-realized eschatology (expecting all change now). In this stage, we embrace the reality that while we're not yet what we will be, we're also no longer what we used to be.

Nothing we formulate or do can qualify us for access to God. Only grace can do that- based not on our performance but on the saving work of Christ.

But resurrection is not just consolation — it is restoration. We get it all back — the love, the loved ones, the goods, the beauties of this life — but in new, unimaginable degrees of glory and joy and strength.

Love is primarily giving. It’s an action that leads to a feeling, not a feeling first.

Prayer is both conversation and encounter with God.