Welcome to the Neighborhoodਨਮੂਨਾ

We’ve all done stuff we aren’t proud of. Maybe we lied to someone we love or betrayed the trust of a friend. No matter what it is, we all have regrets. And regret often leads to shame—the feeling not just that we did a bad thing, but that we, ourselves, ARE bad.

But the apostle Paul who wrote this verse says there is NOTHING that separates us from God—not our sin, shame, or the worst thing we’ve done or will do. God isn’t going anywhere. And Paul should know. Before he started to follow Jesus, Paul hunted Jesus’s followers down to have them arrested and even killed. If Paul could believe in the goodness and the nearness of God despite his past, we can be sure about how God feels about us too.

You’ve never done too much or gone too far. What a relief, right? Today, write down a few things you may have thought would separate you from God’s love. Then put a big red “X” through them, writing below them, “Nothing separates me from God’s love.” God’s love for us is unchanging, even when we are at our worst.