Surge Ministries

“Lord Jesus, I yield myself to the mystery of your mercy today. Though my flesh is weak, my spirit is willing. I will watch and pray with you.”
—Lectio 365

You need the one who called you in order to do what he called you to do.

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”
‭‭—Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“To be truly redeemed by Christ is, therefore, to impose on oneself the task of imitating him; As man Jesus is my model because as God he is my redeemer; Christianity can be defined as a faith together with a corresponding way of life, imitation of Christ.”

— Søren Kierkegaard

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
—‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ NLT

“He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.” —‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭10‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The judgement of Jesus is just, righteous, fair, and unbiased. We can’t separate his judgment from his love.

“I can do nothing on My own. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.”
—‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭30‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Jefferson J. Jones, M Div

Jesus never separated truth from love (John 1:14).

Without compassion, truth gets used to win arguments, police morality, or exclude rather than to restore.

People don’t feel called to repentance; they feel condemned—and often walk away from Christ altogether.

May the body of Christ rise up to demonstrate the compassion of Christ to the world in a new way.

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
—‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus had real meals with real outcasts. In a purity system, his “table fellowship” was inclusive—not exclusive.