At The Coffee Shop

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." -- John 3:16,17 (NIV)

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"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." -- Ephesians 1:4-8 (NIV)

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"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." -- Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

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This photo made me think about God and how He sees us. He sees us clean even when we've soiled ourselves with sin. All we have to do is ask Him to forgive us. "He chose us in Him" and "for the joy set before Him", He died a painful, bloody, shameful death. Each and every one of us is part of that joy and every single one of us has access to this redemption and cleansing. We just need to ask. I imagine that if we were these utensils, Jesus would take a Sharpie and cross out "dirty" and write, "LOVED" or "CHOSEN" or "My JOY"...

Thank you, Lord, for Your sacrifice on the cross and for all of the love You lavish on us daily. I ask that You would give us daily reminders of the compassion and joy that you feel towards us and help us to truly surrender every part of our lives to You, for Your glory!

photo (c) 2009 by DKF