I walk into a church. At the door are greeters and they say "good morning" but after I get inside, I look around and suddenly feel alone. People are busy getting their coffee and donuts and chatting with their friends. It seems that nobody notices me. During the service, we learn about what God desires for the church - diversity and communion with each other - even those that are different. How can we embrace those that are different from us when we can't even embrace those that seem to be the same?
I realize that we are all different. We are not comfortable with others. We live in a broken world. A world that has broken ways of relating. We have fears of rejection, of being let down or hurt, and trust issues. When we reach out to others, things always get in the way; jealousy, insecurities, indifference, busyness, and annoying behaviors. This is the tactic of our enemy. He wants to keep us divided. He knows that a kingdom divided cannot stand. God is in the business of reconciliation. He wants us reconciled both to him and to others. We were created for relationship.
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." (1 John 4:7) Friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:11)
The first thing we see here is that we are to love another. Why? Because God loves us. He loved us so much that he sent his son that we might have life. That we might know his love because love comes from God. It's really the only way. Our broken, selfish nature just doesn't really know how to love. We expect to have "feelings" but that usually is just attraction. We like the way someone looks or the status they have. We are attracted to the things we desire for our own lives. If we are not "attracted", we do not initiate relationship. But God says that we ought to love one another because He loved us. I can tell you - there was nothing very attractive about us, yet God, because of his most amazing Grace gave us what we didn't deserve - His love.
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us... There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a lier. (1 John 4:19-20)
When we have a growing relationship with the God who is love, then God makes love complete among us. Once again, God does it. God's love is wide and deep. He loves us and loves others through us. When we are loving others in the power of the Holy Spirit, there is no fear. We do not have to worry about what the other person can do for us or give us. We don't have to worry if they will like or accept us. There does not have to be an "attraction" or a "feeling". We just love because we live in God and He lives in us.
"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." (Proverbs 3:3)
Father God -
You are abounding in love and faithfulness, never withholding and always maintaining your love to a thousand generations. You have filled the earth with your enduring, unfailing love. How priceless is your unfailing love! You ask us to not hate our brother but to love him like you love him. We admit Lord, we do not know how to do that. It is only through your love that we can even begin to know about this thing called love. Pour your love into our hearts, precious Savior. Your perfect love is the only power we need. May we love you with our whole heart, soul, and mind and may we seek to be filled with your Spirit and be empowered to see others through your heart and eyes. Then your perfect love will drive out our fears. Thank you for redeeming our life and giving us crowns of love and compassion! We put our hope in your unfailing love. Lord, let your face shine upon your servants and save us in your unfailing love. Surely, goodness and love will follow us all the days of our life. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. (Psalm 63:3) For Great is your love, higher than the heavens! Amen
"Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. And we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is Spirit." (2 Cor. 3:17-18)
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January 17, 2011
January 05, 2011
Cry Out To Jesus
There is hope for the helpless, Rest for the weary, Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing, He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus ------- Third Day
Does Jesus really "meet us wherever we are"? Yes! But.... He won't let us stay there.
The reason that baby boy was born over 2000 years ago was for you and I. God loves us so much that he sent his Son (John 3:16) -- for you. Praise God! We are the helpless and He is our hope. The prophet Isaiah tells us that "those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
"do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired of weary, and his understanding no one can fathem. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." (Isaiah 40:28-29) Feeling "weary" after all the holdiay hubbub? Cry out to Jesus! He is rest for the weary. He never grows tired. He desires to give you his strength. Receive it for it is for you - right where you are.
Did someone break your heart this Christmas? God is love and his love endures forever. The earth is full of his unfailing love. Even when we walk through the shadow of death, his love endures forever. He prepares a table and anoints us with oil. His love follows us all the days of our life. It reaches to the heavens. He is not an angry God, He is a God abounding in love. A God who forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases, who redeems us from the pit. As if that wouldn't be enough, He then crowns us with love and compassion! When you are brokenhearted, cry out to Jesus. There is grace and forgiveness. Because of Jesus, God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. He has removed our transgression from us. As far as the east is from the west."For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:19) Jesus paid the price for our sins and we are righteous in his sight! He meets us right where we are and then shines his light into our darkness, exposing the lies and revealing his truth. He finds us dead in our sins, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. That's where we start out. BUT... Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. We are sinners, saved by his grace. We do not deserve it, we can't work for it. It is ours for the taking when we CRY OUT TO JESUS. There is hope for the helpless! Jesus will meet us wherever we are and then he will take us places that we could never imagine! Thank you Lord for meeting me right where I am. All honor and glory to you, my God and my Lord.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing, He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus ------- Third Day
Does Jesus really "meet us wherever we are"? Yes! But.... He won't let us stay there.
The reason that baby boy was born over 2000 years ago was for you and I. God loves us so much that he sent his Son (John 3:16) -- for you. Praise God! We are the helpless and He is our hope. The prophet Isaiah tells us that "those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
"do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired of weary, and his understanding no one can fathem. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." (Isaiah 40:28-29) Feeling "weary" after all the holdiay hubbub? Cry out to Jesus! He is rest for the weary. He never grows tired. He desires to give you his strength. Receive it for it is for you - right where you are.
Did someone break your heart this Christmas? God is love and his love endures forever. The earth is full of his unfailing love. Even when we walk through the shadow of death, his love endures forever. He prepares a table and anoints us with oil. His love follows us all the days of our life. It reaches to the heavens. He is not an angry God, He is a God abounding in love. A God who forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases, who redeems us from the pit. As if that wouldn't be enough, He then crowns us with love and compassion! When you are brokenhearted, cry out to Jesus. There is grace and forgiveness. Because of Jesus, God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. He has removed our transgression from us. As far as the east is from the west."For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:19) Jesus paid the price for our sins and we are righteous in his sight! He meets us right where we are and then shines his light into our darkness, exposing the lies and revealing his truth. He finds us dead in our sins, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. That's where we start out. BUT... Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. We are sinners, saved by his grace. We do not deserve it, we can't work for it. It is ours for the taking when we CRY OUT TO JESUS. There is hope for the helpless! Jesus will meet us wherever we are and then he will take us places that we could never imagine! Thank you Lord for meeting me right where I am. All honor and glory to you, my God and my Lord.
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