Sept. 10, 2026: Grace That is Always Personal

This week’s BIG IDEA:   7 truths we need to be SENT and not STUCK.  Death is certain. God is in charge. He is holy. We are broken. God offers grace. God speaks. God sends.  

Isaiah 6:6-7
“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.'”

1 John 4:10
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

The seraph could have used the tongs.  I certainly would have. I’ve burned my hands on a grill many times.  Tongs would have been efficient. The coal would have reached Isaiah's lips just the same. But the angel transferred the coal into his own hand first. Why the transfer?  God did not want the cold, impersonal touch of metal delivering atonement to His servant. He wanted a personal touch. This is not a small detail. It is the entire character of God compressed into one image.
 
1 John 4:10 confirms it across the whole of Scripture: God did not wait for us to love Him first. He sent His Son as the ultimate personal touch, the propitiation for sins we could never resolve on our own.  With God, all of it is personal.  God the Father suffered.  And Jesus suffered.  So that our connection to God could be permanently restored through the blood of the Spotless Lamb, Jesus Christ. And today, He personally desires that we would walk with Him.  

Personal Reflection:
Have you been treating your relationship with God more like a transaction than a relationship? Where have you allowed faith to become routine rather than personal?

Practical Application:
Today, approach your time with God not as a checklist but as a conversation. Talk to Him about something specific in your life that you have not yet brought to Him because it felt too small or too complicated.

Song of the Day:
Charity Gayle - Thank You Jesus for the Blood (Live)