“I am often ashamed to admit it because it is so antithetical to the gospel, but I frequently crawl under the burden of self-righteousness. I am not referring to the godly aim of sanctification. I am referring to the cycle of desiring to be righteous, failing to do so, recognizing my utter inability, and then, mistakenly, believing that I am an imposter in the kingdom of God. It is by remembering the heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers like me that I am able to tell my soul, ‘Return to your rest. God has dealt bountifully with you—he’s given you everything in Christ. He is for you, and he will never forsake you.’” — From my upcoming article, Return, O My Soul, which drops on Substack Sunday morning!

“[Jesus has] a heart that throbs with desire for the destitute. It is a heart that floods the suffering with the deep solace of shared solidarity in that suffering.” Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly

We minimize God’s power when we tell ourselves he doesn’t have time for us.

Jesus never meant for us to move on from his invitation to rest. As believers, we are called to always be approaching Jesus—always drawing near to him to receive rest from our heavy burdens. Justification is absolutely a one-time exchange: we receive Christ in faith, and our sins are forgiven for eternity. We do not lose Christ, and Christ does not lose us. However, in our process of being sanctified, our burdens eventually pile back up. Our labor catches up to us. We grow weary, and we need Christ’s rest again. We will never outgrow the need to rest in Christ. You can read my latest article, Resisting Grace, on Substack now! summitmurray.substack.com/p/…

Our God’s actual desire is to pour out his love and grace when we approach him. Jesus is made happy when we run to him in our weakness. He endured the cross for that very reason.

“‘But I have sinned against mercy,’ say you. ‘I will in no wise cast out,’ says Christ. ‘But I have no good thing to bring with me,’ say you. ‘I will in no wise cast out,’ says Christ.” John Bunyan, Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ

“The more I sit with my sin, the more blind I am to grace. When I make friends with my shame, I stop making time for God. Conversely, when I sit with Christ, I see that my shame loses its hold … The more one sits in their sin and shame, the more suffocated they become. The more one sits with God, the more they thirst for God, and the more God satisfies their thirst.” You can now read my latest article, How Jesus Really Feels. This is part two of the Rest for Today series. Happy Sunday! summitmurray.substack.com/p/…

When people talk about submitting to Scripture, they are usually referring to hard truths or uncomfortable teachings (sins to avoid, tough historical events, etc.). However, we must also be sure to submit to the truths that seem too good to be true. Do we not also struggle with neglecting the tenderness of God? Does our pride not often stand in the way of us surrendering all our shame to Jesus? If you value the authority of Scripture, then be sure you believe this: God desires to pour out his compassion on us more intensely than we could ever imagine.

As we enter the seasons of Halloween and Christmas, I am reminded of how many false claims circulate on the internet about the major holidays’ alleged connections to ancient paganism. In the spirit of debunking myths and reclaiming Christian history, I have published an article about the name of Easter and the ways many people try to connect it to the pagan Ishtar. In the article, I have provided quotes from various primary sources that give us real, historical answers to these claims. There is also a link to my full paper that covers many potential connections from Easter to ancient paganism. Spoiler alert: Easter isn't pagan today, and it wasn't pagan in origin. summitmurray.substack.com/p/…

Jesus was beset with weakness as any other human is, but he never sinned. That means he can understand temptation and suffering better than any of us. He experienced temptation to the point of fully overcoming it—always. None of us knows what it is like to have triumph over every temptation set before us. We have all given in to sin’s demands, usually long before being tested to our limits. Jesus understands temptation and weakness better than anyone. That qualifies him to understand us better than anyone. from my upcoming article, How Jesus Really Feels

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce” (Jeremiah 29:4-5).

Biblically speaking, a person’s heart is the core of a person’s being—the summary of who they are. Jesus said his heart is gentle and lowly.

That’s kind of the whole point of the incarnation and crucifixion my guy

Jesus is eternal. His heart is eternal. He wasn’t just gentle and lowly toward weary sinners back then; his heart is gentle and lowly today. He was good then, and he’s good now. He offered rest then, and he offers rest now. You have a Savior who is bidding you, every day of your life, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” I’m releasing a series of articles about the heart of Jesus, and this first one looks at how Jesus revealed his heart in Matthew 11:29. It’s worth a read! summitmurray.substack.com/p/…

This guitar sat in an open shed, unused for years. Now it’s making music again. Soli deo gloria

Joel Webbon is an incredibly self-absorbed, dangerous man. He spouts crazy things while his goons sit by, for unknowable reasons, backing what he says. Clip paraphrase: “You don’t share my flavor of Christian Nationalism, so God is taking your life away with cancer.” “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). @JoelWebbon, you look like a fool and can do much better than this