Dear Younger Me (Move The Gospel Forward)
Dear Younger Me,
Move the Gospel forward and carry it to the next. Early in the book of Genesis in the Bible, it says, “At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.” Adam and Eve walked with God, and because of them, the succeeding generations would know God, too. And then you’ll hear a sermon someday about how Jesus’ resurrection radically changed His disciples’ lives, changing them from men who didn’t fully understand Jesus to men who gave their lives telling others about Him. They moved the Gospel forward to the next person and the next person, generation to generation. How beautiful that you get to receive the Word, because of those who faithfully and truthfully told others about the Truth that changed their lives. And you get to do the same. The enemy wants to stop you, and the Church, because he doesn’t want the Gospel preached. But I hope that you’ll fight for the Gospel and take up your armor, and you’ll stand to carry Jesus’ Good News to the next, because God’s salvation doesn’t end with you.
Love,
Megan
Perseverance seems to be a highly valued, yet seldom demonstrated quality in today’s society. Have you found that?
Athletes and amputees inspire us with determination and strength despite obstacles. Leaders and activists induce change via praiseworthy purpose and action. Their vision, drive, and consistency move us to respect them, recognize their efforts, and honor their achievements.
It is truly remarkable what man can accomplish … but humanity is still limited. We can only attain what God permits and decrees.
The Almighty allots periods and boundaries in history (Acts 17:26), each nation being like a drop from a bucket compared to His majestic power and wise counsel (Isaiah 40:15).
In Daniel’s words, “He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (2:21).
When it comes to human and spiritual affairs alike, we are dependent upon the Lord.
The human heart has fallen so far into sin, we are pitifully helpless to recover ourselves.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way” … “For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
– Isaiah 53:6, Romans 1:21
Praise the Lord, He rescues, redeems, and restores us through His Son, the spotless Lamb!
“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” … “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”
– 1 Corinthians 6:11, Ephesians 2:4-5
Among all inspirational stories and success testimonies, no man can claim salvation. Salvation belongs to God alone, for which Christ will forever be exalted!
God’s Provision: Perseverance resurfaces—this time, not on our part, but God’s. Faith is His gift (Ephesians 2:8), sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) and preserved for the day of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8).
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
– Jude 24-25
Word of the Week: Carry. God will gently and firmly guide us through life (Psalm 32:8), conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29), and usher us into His eternal presence (John 14:2-3). The one who believes in Christ and trusts in Him has all his sins washed away (Psalm 32:1-2). We can profess with Paul in 2 Timothy 4:18,
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Abby
Dear Younger Me,
Your hard work pays off, but that also means when you aren’t putting the work in, you’re going to feel it. You are a naturally hard worker, and you’ll experience those thrills of joy when you see that your work is truly paying off. But that hard work often means a sacrifice of time and energy that you sometimes don’t want to give up. In those times when you find yourself on the bench or you see the work of others bloom before you, remember the choices you made for yourself. And I hope you also remember that you can’t do everything and be everything, either. Sometimes your energy is going to other places and you won’t find yourself excelling in the area that you find yourself behind in. And sometimes, you’ll remember that if you do want to grow, that you have to make a choice to put your effort in a new area. And I hope that someday you’ll look back at those times you didn’t excel with appreciation, because they either reminded you of the importance of growing yourself, or they showed you that choosing not to go into overdrive was still a good choice.
Love,
Megan
You’re looking forward to going out with the girls this evening or meeting up with the guys this weekend. A close friend is expecting, your cousin is getting married next summer, and your children received good grades on their latest report card. There is always something to be excited about in the adventure of life!
Life sure can be exciting—and all the more when lived in obedience to God, awaiting the return of Christ!
I find great excitement each morning I wake up because I know God’s mercy is new (Lamentations 3:22-23) and He will fulfill His purpose for me (Psalm 138:8).
Jesus says in John 5, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (verse 17). He is in accord with the Father. “For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (19).
I cannot fathom the work God does, but how I thank Him! Even in troubled times, like Habakkuk, His wisdom and sovereignty assure us.
“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” – 1:5
In similar fashion, Isaiah tells of His marvelous deeds:
“When you did awesome things that we did not look for, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides You, who acts for those who wait for Him.” – 64:3-4
Asaph penned a psalm of His wonders. The fourth verse says,
“We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done.”
– Chapter 78
The pages of Scripture unveil God’s marvels and chronicle His faithfulness through the generations—His greatest work of all being salvation and sanctification in the lives of believers!
Psalm 98:1 declares, “Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done marvelous things! His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for him.”
Paul reaffirms, “I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
God’s Provision: With that, we are preserved for the coming day, our “spirit and soul and body kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Word of the Week: Unfading. Peter describes our glorious inheritance in Christ as “imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for [us], who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4-6).
God is always up to something exciting, whether we see it today, tomorrow, or at His return!
Abby
Dear Younger Me,
Does it look like you believe in Jesus? Someone will ask that of your sister someday, because they see Jesus in her, though they may not believe in Him. That story will amaze you, and it will frustrate you, because you hope that others see Jesus in you, too. You can look at everyone else who seems to radiate the light of Jesus, and feel like you aren’t good enough because you aren’t like them. The thing is, your walk with Jesus will look different from your sister and each person next to you. I don’t think Jesus wants you to compare your relationship with Him to another person’s relationship with Him. But, I do think there is something to be said about seeing the relationship that someone else has with Jesus and desiring that closeness to Jesus, too. So pursue Jesus. Not the words you hope to hear from other people about seeing Jesus in you. Just pursue Him.
Love,
Megan
Do you ever put pressure on yourself? Maybe a work project has got you overwhelmed, or you set expectations for a particular relationship. You hope things go a certain way or try to wear multiple hats simultaneously.
Me too. Beyond daily responsibilities and activities, I hold myself to high standards in emotional, relational, and spiritual matters.
I frequently tell myself and others (including God), that I just need to be better. I should be improving this or doing that.
I was weighing this (as I often do), when I had an unmistakable inner dialogue. Upon thinking “I just need to be better,” I felt God’s truth penetrate my spirit. “That’s not what I want from you. I want your heart.”
It wasn’t an arbitrary whisper; Scripture affirms it!
The oft-quoted words of God from 1 Samuel make it clear: “The LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (16:7).
In Zechariah 1:3, God implores His people, “Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.”
The cry resurfaces again and again.
“‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD.
I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever’ … ‘Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.’”
– Jeremiah 3:12, 22
“Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity.”
– Hosea 14:1
“‘Yet even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.’ Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster.”
– Joel 2:12-13
He wants ourselves, not our sacrifices. Paul advocates offering our bodies as living sacrifices through spiritual worship, which God regards as holy and acceptable (Romans 12:1).
And we know from Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”
So yes, God desires us to be like Him, but not merely outwardly—rather, wholeheartedly.
God’s Provision: Deuteronomy 4:29 promises, “You will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” He is able to be found, and in fact wants us to find Him!
Word of the Week: Guileless. Innocent and without deception. Jesus says the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8), for indeed, God delights in the humble (Psalm 149:4). Our Triune God values sincerity (2 Corinthians 6:6, 1 Timothy 1:5).
Of course I should be better; we all should. But, Christ made a way; He is the Way. And now, genuine holiness and obedience from the heart is what He desires out of us.
Abby
Dear Younger Me,
Learn to set boundaries for yourself. Your people-pleasing, perfectionist nature makes you believe you have to do everything. But you don’t. You can say no to going out. You can press pause on the dishes. You can let that sport go to give yourself a break. You can choose rest for yourself, and you’re probably going to find that you need it. Listen to yourself when you feel overloaded so you can take a step back. And the beautiful thing is, is that you’re still just as loved. Saying no or taking a break from a task doesn’t make your loved ones love you less. Sure, there might be hopes for you to do this or that, but ultimately, they love you. And as you read about Jesus, you will realize that He withdrew from the crowds of people following Him, and though teaching and healing and being with the people were all really good things, the times He removed Himself to be with God were what He needed. And It’s important for you to do the same.
Love,
Megan
It’s amazing to me how loneliness can creep into a crowd. You could be surrounded by dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of people, and still feel like you’re the only one. Or maybe it’s just me.
Some of us struggle with loneliness more than others. I can’t say I know true isolation, but I have certainly experienced disheartening feelings of separation and seclusion.
Aloneness is an enemy tactic, inflicted with a single-minded objective: steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Truth be told, however—we are never alone because God is always with us.
The age-old promise still stands: “It is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
Hebrews 13 adds, “So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (verse 6).
The Rock of ages, God of Hosts, goes before, with, behind, and around His people at all times.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
– Isaiah 43:2
Even when we wish to flee or hide, He is unescapable.
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
– Psalm 139:8
In fact, at humanity’s darkest and furthest, He did not abandon us. Instead, He sent His Son, conceived of a virgin and born into a world of sin, surrounded by sinners whom He set out to save. Immanuel, God with us.
Even when He left again (temporarily), ascending from this earth to resume His place at the Father’s right hand in heaven, Jesus left the gawking disciples with this pledge: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Now, the Holy Spirit is our Comforter. He teaches us and brings to remembrance that which we have been taught (John 14:26). He intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:26) and guarantees our future inheritance (Ephesians 1:13). He is a daily Helper and eternal reminder.
Truly, God is with us—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God’s Provision: God is ever-present; His very presence is our provision! He helps us in trouble (Psalm 46:1), remains beside us in the valley (Psalm 23:4), attends to our prayers (Psalm 66:19), delivers us from distress (Psalm 107:28), grasps our hands (Isaiah 41:13), calms our fears (Psalm 34:4), sustains our lives (Psalm 55:22), protects our wellbeing (Psalm 91:14), gives counsel (Psalm 16:7), and ministers to our hearts (Psalm 119:76).
Word of the Week: All. God is all. He has a myriad of names, multitudinous roles. I AM deserves and lives up to every single one, among us, for us, so we never pass a single moment alone.
Dear Younger Me,
Trust God today. Your heart and your mind might not know what to do, but God does. You’re trying to figure it all out and you can’t. Sit at the feet of Jesus and let Him fill you, let Him teach you. And let the worry and the planning and the figuring it out rest in His hands as He holds you. Remember the story of Martha and Mary in the Bible as Jesus spoke to Martha’s anxious heart. He pointed out that Mary knew what was good. She chose Jesus. Martha, while trying to serve Jesus, was focused on the serving and lost sight of just being with Him. So sit with him, look up to Him, trust Him today and every day.
Love,
Megan
If you’ve ever searched for words to adequately describe a person or experience … Then you’ve encountered the limitation of language when it comes to capturing grandiose ideas. At times life is inexpressibly amazing or unfathomably tragic.
Sometimes I have trouble accurately describing my time in Ecuador. How much I love my family is hard to put into words. And when it comes to talking about God, He is far beyond my capacity.
God is truly like no one else I have ever known, or ever will!
Jeremiah 10:6 says, “There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.” My heart can do nothing but exalt God simply for being God.
“Who is like the LORD our God?” Psalm 113 asks. He is seated on high, with full visibility to and control over heaven and earth. He uplifts the poor and needy, honoring them with dignity and treasure. He blesses the barren woman with children, turning her desperation into joyful pleasure (verses 5-9).
Another servant of God breaks into praise in Micah 7:18.
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love.
God’s character and work are unquantifiable. We could chatter unceasingly, filling all of eternity with stories of who God is and what He has done. We could write endless pages of chronicles, expend all the worlds’ ink, and still only have compiled a fraction of His marvels.
You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.
– Psalm 40:5
The apostle John says something similar in his account of Jesus’ earthly ministry. “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did,” he notes toward the end of his Gospel. “Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (21:25).
Is that not amazing?!
Even more, we can be assured that God does not resemble human beings. Numbers 23:19 emphasizes, “God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”
God’s Provision: Praise the Lord, He is far above us! Nothing can stop Him, for He holds complete authority and right over all things, ever. Isaiah reminds us, “For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” (14:27).
Word of the Week: Boundless. God is unlimited, unrestricted, unrestrained. He is supreme—in holiness, majesty, wisdom, and glory, to name only a few. Matchless, sovereign, and omnipotent, God fills all in all (Ephesians 1:23).
Surely, there is none like Him!
Abby