The Cooling Stream

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. (John 15:13)

• Those words express one’s commitment to his duty.
   
• It is a real-life display of the heart of true sacrifice.
   
• Jesus Christ lived out those powerful words within hours of stating them.
   
• The upper room event was followed by communion with the Father at Gethsemane, a series of illegal trials, and then crucifixion before a mocking crowd.
   
• As the Son of God, Jesus could have avoided the suffering, torture, and cruelty.
   
• He was utterly without sin.
   
• He did not deserve to die.
   
• But love, the fuel that drives true sacrifice, drove Him to the cross.
   
• As a result, we are forgiven if we will accept His sacrifice and resurrection by faith.
   
• Have we trusted the One who laid down His life for us?
   
• Only Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, can declare guilty people perfect.
  
  
  

Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. (Isaiah 49:15-16)

• It is an overwhelming feeling that no one cares anything about you.
   
• It is a real and excruciatingly painful feeling.
   
• But even though people may abandon us, God’s love and presence is assured.
   
• The Lord promises that He will never leave us (Deut. 31:8).
   
• He will be with us wherever we go, always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20).
   
• The Lord will never falter in His commitment to His children.
   
• Even if we have been abandoned by others, we can find confidence in God's promise that nothing will ever separate us from His love (Rom. 8:35-39).
   
• Let us thank our Heavenly Father for His never-failing presence in every aspect of our lives.
   
• We can count on His promise never to abandon us.
   
• Confidence in God’s presence is our comfort.
  
  

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52)

• Some of us grew up in a small town.
   
• There was no famous people there, and no busy streets.
   
• But we should be thankful for our quiet and uncomplicated upbringing.
   
• The Lord Jesus also grew up in a small town: Nazareth.
   
• A man named Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46).
   
• The Lord Jesus proved that the answer is yes.
   
• Even though He grew up in an insignificant place, He was the most significant person in all of history.
   
• Experience and Scriptures tell us what matters is not where we grow up but how we grow up.
   
• Sometimes we feel insignificant compared to sophisticated people from prominent places.
   
• But we are significant to God, and God can make us strong in spirit and filled us with His wisdom.
   
• What we become is more important than where we are from.
  
  

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. (Psalm 145:5)

• Creation displays God’s wondrous works.
   
• When we stop to meditate on those works, we can’t help but be awed.
   
• Our minds and spirits are moved to reflect on the character of the God who created them.
   
• Creation tells us the creative genius of our mighty God.
   
• Sometimes, in the most unexpected moments, in the out-of-the-way places, the Lord shines His glory in this world in order to reveal Himself to us.
   
• Those serendipitous moments are great opportunities to meditate on His wondrous works.
   
• Our God is good and He always does good.
   
• May the goodness of our Creator fill our lives with love and peace.