Pardon My Exclamation Marks! by Susan Barclay

"If anyone belongs to Christ, then he is made new. The old things have gone; everything is made new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, ICB)

Hope springs eternal

It's a fact that salvation is the greatest miracle of all. Knowing how sinful, weak and prone to temptation we are, it's amazing that anyone gets saved. The work of the Holy Spirit is so incredible that "...there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner repents” and comes to Jesus (Luke 15:10, TLB). 

Angels rejoice! That is powerful!

Not only does He give us the gift of salvation freely (but at great cost to Him), but He also grants newness of life! No longer do we need to be slaves to sin; instead we have a new master in  righteousness (Romans 6:17-22). Pulled from the darkness, we bask in glorious light. 

Amazing grace!

The Christian faith is unlike any other. Jesus, our perfect sacrifice,  gave up His life for us, defeated our greatest foe, and resurrected from the dead to sit at the right hand of God. 

What hope we have in Him! 

Forgiven and free, we have the hope of eternal life, the hope of heaven, the hope of purposeful work, the hope of peace. Being in relationship with Him, we know that He has good plans for us that He is bringing to fruition (Jeremiah 29:11); that He sees, hears and cares for us; that we have a perfect Father who knows us personally and meets us in intimate, meaningful ways. 

These hopes buoy me up!

The God who has good plans for me; sees, hears and cares; and knows me personally, is not slow, but patient (2 Peter 3:9). His timing is perfect and His ways are higher. As I walk with God faithfully, align my prayers with His will and trust Him for the outcomes, my hope is properly placed in Him. 

"Thy will be done" is the prayer that never fails. 

He will do it!
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Susan maintains a website and currently blogs infrequently at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com