I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Buy that Field
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Hi Friends, We don’t often like to be “all in” for something. In fact, we are often cautioned against it. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Hedge your bets. Have a plan B. Except, when it comes to life in God, the only way forward is to give… everything. There’s no pseudo-form of Christianity where we write in our clauses and exemptions. No partial committing. No standing at the shore and dipping in our toes. It’s a head-first dive into the ocean of God. An all-in taking up of our cross. We sink all our life into Him. He is not in a rush, and He is in it for the long haul. He will take all the time it takes to help us out of layer upon layer of our self-centered living and thinking. Every moment of confession and realignment with His beautiful ways: He sees it as an offering of love. In fact, He surrounds us with His lovingkindness all the while. But as for us seeing some of our own sin and making peace with it? Not for a second. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. We give all we are to buy that field. We spend everything. And all the return routes — the paths that lead back to living for ourselves — we burn the bridges. We have seen Him, the true treasure. Where else could we go? We press on. The stunning thing is that love cost Him everything first. He’s the King who left the splendor of Heaven to become the servant of all. He’s the immortal God who has nail scars imbedded in His hands as He reaches for us. His mercy knows no end. In the end, we get the treasure in the field. We have emptied all our pockets just to find that we are fantastically rich. We get the Kingdom of Heaven, eternal life, peace in the inner man, full assurance of faith. We give all, and we get Him. — Anna |
Anna Blanc
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends, Welcome to week 2 of our Advent series for those overcoming spiritual anxiety. We left off last week with the angel Gabriel visiting Mary. At the end of his message, the angel seems to leave Mary with a subliminal hint: he mentions Elizabeth. And then he is gone. What does Mary do when she’s had the kind of spiritual encounter that turns her whole life upside down? Without skipping a beat, she runs straight to her friend. The Bible says she hastens to her. Yes, Mary travels to the...
Hi Friends, Welcome to week one of the Advent Series! I wrote this devotional series specifically for those overcoming spiritual anxiety. (You can read more on that here if you missed it.) There is healing for us in this Advent story, and it starts at the very beginning. In Luke 1:26-38, we see Mary visited by the Angel Gabriel and given a most shocking message. That she, a virgin, would bear the Son of God. She is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, and it begins: Jesus spends His first 9...
Hi Friends, For years, I’ve taken the weeks leading up to Christmas to stare into the passages of Scripture about Christ coming as a baby. The birth of Christ is a storyline that’s rich in wonder. We could spend all 365 days of the year focusing on it and not exhaust all there is to see. Last year, I did something different. I wrote an Advent email series specifically for those overcoming spiritual anxiety. Spiritual anxiety? What the heck is that? This is a phrase I’ve been using to describe...