We serve such an amazing God.

Each day I have a renewed amazement at how spectacular He truly is. We see the world through smudged up glasses. We see little speckles of beautiful color amidst the grey dimness of this Earth and we get ecstatic over these mere dots of color. Like a colorblind person going through life without knowing what they are missing, we see a muted grey painting the entirety of this world. God, the supreme being outside of the realm of time itself, sees in vibrant color. We cannot even begin to imagine the splendors of His glory; heaven is but a distant concept to us. We see symbols and metaphors, but we in no way can fully comprehend how glorious being there with Him will be. We are called to look through the lens of Christ—the lens of love, grace, mercy, power, and the empty tomb. It is through this lens we see pictured through Christ, that we can pick out the little dots of color and light in this dark world. I see this in an innocent smile, a sinner on their knees, an infant’s first shaky cry followed by a boisterous yell, a flowering weed fighting against all odds in a crack of concrete, the smell of brisket smoking in the morning light, the summer rain, and so much more. I can only imagine…

What it will be like

When I walk by Your side

I can only imagine

What my eyes would see

When Your face is before me

I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for You Jesus

Or in awe of You be still?

Will I stand in Your presence

Or to my knees, will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

Bart Millard

I long for the day when I am finally standing in His presence. The day when the pains of this world are gone and we are finally home where we belong. We were never called to fit in here on Earth. We were designed for something so much greater. Death has no hold over us. Nothing in this world can tear us apart from our Heavenly Father. We need to put on our gospel glasses and see the world as Christ does. God has so much more in store for us than we could possibly imagine.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.

I want to see You.

Paul Joseph Baloche

We are called to live looking through the lens of the resurrection. In light of Christ’s life we are called to live differently.

"And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear." -Philippians 1:12

Without fear we should be stepping out into the world. The gospel is like a fire. The evils and malice of the world only blow air on the flames and in turn it spreads like a wildfire across the globe. God used Paul’s earthly suffering for His good. We have been given a spirit of love, power, and sound mind (not of fear!). It is through the lens of Christ that we can see the good within the bad. His gospel message is unstoppable. We have no need to fear rejection from the world; it is not us that they are rejecting, but the God of the universe. The gospel is offensive to the closed-off heart. Our job isn’t to change hearts, but to share our redemption stories. We should dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. Let your response to suffering be an example to others. Live a fearless life for the glory of God. To Him be the glory above all. Pray that the Church of Christ will be filled with a boldness and urgency to share the message of light in the growing darkness.

"He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." -Philippians 1:6, 9-11