#david mclemore

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Darkness in the Grave — Things of the Sort

Only a dead Jesus saves. Only a dead and buried Jesus experienced the full wrath of God against our sin. Only a dead and buried Jesus can resurrect.

by David McLemore | The very place where you see yourself as most undeserving is the very place at which Jesus’ cross says to you, “Come to me.” You say, “But when does his welcome end?” The cross says, “Never.” Jesus has the final word with us. His salvation is not temporary. His sacrifice is not for a limited...

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Spiritual Discipline of Thanksgiving | GCD

Nowhere does the Bible say thanking God is optional. It’s not a practice reserved only for the good times. It’s a spiritual discipline necessary at all times.

by David McLemore | Jesus’s blood seals our fate, and his Holy Spirit is our guarantee. The Father himself loves us. And if we have the Father’s love, we have everything we’ll ever need because he’s a good Father. The spiritual discipline of thanksgiving gives us eyes to see the goodness of God, and when we see the goodness...

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

My Only Comfort | For The Church

by David McLemore | My back hurts almost all the time now. It starts when I wake up. I turn on my left side to stop the alarm from waking my wife and notice the slight twinge of discomfort. If I am not careful, laying there on my pillow with my head tilted the wrong way will prepare me for a day of nagging ache...

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Human Kind Cannot Bear Very Much Reality | For The Church

by David McLemore | Jesus can bear more reality than we can. He chose to bear more reality than we can. He came all the way down, all the way in, all the way through. The reality we run from, he came to live inside. He looked poverty in the face. He felt the leprous skin on his hand. He smelled the offensive incense of false offerings...

[wisdomfish]

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

How to Forge a Friendship

by David McLemore | Friendships are an amazing discovery in life. But strong friendships don’t just spring from nothing. Friendships require wise effort. They require forging. And in his grace, God has given us wisdom in the book of Proverbs to understand this forging process. A good summary always helps. No one is be

[wisdomfish]

How to Forge a Friendship

We are sinners in need of help. We have blind spots. And Friends are God’s gift to help us repent and change and move forward. Real friends don’t just humor or flatter. Real friends deal honestly. They give meaningful input. They sharpen. They make us wise…

Friends don’t butter one another up. They shoot straight because they don’t want to see their friend ensnared later on. They want their friend free from sin, free from pain. Why? Because in a way, your happiness is tied to theirs. If your friend hurts, you hurt. That’s one way know you have real friendship—how much you feel what happens to them. But even more than that, we want to stir up one another to love and good works for Jesus’ sake. Our friendships are accountable to Jesus. Are we obeying him? Are we allowing him to use us as he desires in the life of our friends? Or are we ignoring his call to go deep?

Earnest counsel isn’t just “do this, don’t do that.” It’s not detached. As commentator Charles Bridges says, earnest counsel is “the counsel of his soul.” A friend puts themselves in our shoes and counsels as he would wish to be counseled. A friend isn’t just a prophet speaking truth in the face of sin but also a priest bringing you to Jesus for help…

Real friends are careful with one another. They don’t want to push you away; they want to bring you nearer to themselves and to Jesus…

Real friends know when to weep and when to rejoice. Real friends can read the mood and apply the right balm. They know how to be with present in the circumstance.

Tim Keller summarizes a friend as one who always lets you in and never lets you down. That’s a high model for us to aspire in our friendships, and we will fail one another more than once.

But with God’s grace in our friendships, we can experience the kind of intimacy with friends for which our heart longs…

~ David McLemore

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

by David McLemore | We need a category for revival in all of our churches. Without it, we may miss out on the great blessing that God offers. Without it, we may spend our lives toiling for the wrong things, and we may shortchange the future generations...