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     As he [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” Luke 19:41-42 (NIV)

Dear Lord Jesus, long before the Day you will wipe away our tears, you wept many of your own, and we praise, bless, and adore you for doing so. The tears you shed coming into a broken and rebellious Jerusalem, underscore the mercy and magnificence of these words from the Apostle Paul:

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8).

Jesus, I humbly and gladly acknowledge Paul was writing about me, in that Scripture. I am one of the powerless, ungodly sinners for whom you gave your life—demonstrating God’s lavish love for the non-deserving. I wasn’t an impassioned seeker or a misguided God-fearer; I was an indifferent rebel when I received the gift of reconciliation (Rom. 5:10). The only reason I have peace with God is because God made peace with me through you.

I would still be looking for peace elsewhere, if you hadn’t opened my eyes to see my need and your grace. I have no claim to salvation—no boast or hope, no assurance of sins forgiven or of righteousness received, apart from God’s sovereign grace.

Jesus, I long for the Day when I will no longer even be tempted to look for peace anywhere else, but in you. Until that Day, show me more of your incomparable beauty and the bounty of the gospel. So very Amen I pray, in your tenacious and tender name.

 

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