Sunday, September 30, 2012

I Found You!

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost." -Luke 15:6

What an amazing picture of Jesus. This  familiar scene has developed in my mind where I leave the love and acceptance of his arms, wandering off to the worthless ways of the world and getting hurt as always. Then I just see Jesus, noticing I've strayed from his flock. He, urgently gets up and begins to GO towards me. He doesn't stand there ringing a dinner bell waiting for me to follow it back to him. He doesn't cross his arms and say "how many times do I have to tell her that when she leaves she'll get hurt? This is the last straw, I'm not bailing her out any more". No, not at all. In fact, even when I willingly walk away, even when I go seek to please my flesh repetitively, he COMES and finds me...joyfully. I think that's what I can't wrap my mind around. I see myself hiding in the midst of some mess I've put myself in because I chose not to living according to the freedom that was secured for me on the cross, and there comes Jesus...AGAIN, smiling, bringing me into his arms, and then rejoicing as he tells "his friends and his neighbors."

Our Savior is so incredibly personal and merciful! 


Saturday, September 15, 2012

What if we took it seriously?

"Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them." -Joshua 1:6 

The Lord is calling us to this today...right now. There are so many people out there waiting on the promises of our Heavenly Father. They are waiting to inherit the land, but no one has lead them into it, so they miss that it even exists. How many people on a daily basis do we interact with who are totally unaware that the Lord has life and life abundant ready for them in the form of his son?
And there we are, trying not to hurt anyone's feelings or offend other people's beliefs, mostly because of our own selfish desire to stay comfortable. I'm calling it how I see it brothers and sisters, and I'm calling it like that as a fellow offender of ignoring God's calling to be strong and courageous, but it's time this stops. Author and speaker, David Platt puts it this way in reference to how others will know about salvation through Jesus Christ, "church, we are the plan of God, and there is no plan B."

Let's go friends, be strong and courageous, die to self, and show a dying world the name that is life eternal...Jesus Christ!