Verse of the Week: “Behold, God is my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2a)
Truth of the Week: God is my salvation. I am saved by God, and I am saved for God. He is both the means and the goal of my salvation.
When we think of being saved by God, often what comes to mind is what we are saved from. We are saved from the penalty of our sins, we are saved from the guilt of our past, we are saved from the anger of God, and we are saved from a future spent in hell. While this is indeed good news, the better news is what we are saved for. We are saved for experiencing intimacy with God. We are saved to be reconciled to God and to rejoice in who He is. We are saved to be eternally satisfied by His glory. We are saved to praise Him, to exalt Him, and to behold His incomparable beauty. We are saved for a noble and richly fulfilling purpose: to see and proclaim and delight in the excellencies of the One who brought us out of darkness into light.
When I was helpless, hopeless, and dead in my sins, Jesus offered up His life in my place. He did this not merely to purchase my pardon, but that I might know Him and belong to Him and delight in His awesome glory. He saved me all by Himself, but He also saved me all for Himself. This is good news!
Quote of the Week: “Propitiation, redemption, forgiveness, imputation, sanctification, liberation, healing, heaven – none of these is good news except for one reason; they bring us to God for our everlasting enjoyment of him…The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It’s a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God.” (John Piper, God is the Gospel)
