When you think of “sinners” who might be excluded from God’s kingdom, does anyone come to mind? If so, you may be entering dangerous territory. The Pharisees were certain of their own seat at God’s table, convinced that the tax collectors and prostitutes had no such place. But Jesus came precisely for the people the religious crowd wrote off. He welcomes the broken, the fallen, the forgotten with open arms the moment they repent and turn to Him. God’s grace reaches farther than our judgments, and we may be surprised by those who are on heaven’s guest list!

Crucified With Christ
What is Paul saying when he says, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”? Is this just his way of saying that his life is finished; that he’s a marked man; that the end is in sight? Or is he saying something much different; something radical; something revolutionary; something life changing; the essence of the Gospel?


