Come Thirsty

Dehydrated hearts send desperate msgs. Snarling tempers. Waves of worry. Growling mastodons of gulit and fear. You think God wants you to live with these? Hopelessness. Sleeplessness. Loneliness. Resentment. Irritability. Insecurity. These are warnings. Symptoms of a dryness deep within.

I wish we would take Jesus at his word. I wish, like heaven, that we would learn that when he says something, it happens. When he says were forgiven, lets unload the guilt. When he says were valuable, lets believe him. When he says were eternal, lets bury our fear. When he says were provided for, lets stop worrying. When he says, Stand up, lets do it. He doesnt barter with Jesus. He doesnt negotiate with Jesus. He doesnt make excuses. He just pleads. There are times in life when everything you have to offer is nothing compared to what you are asking to receive. And Jesus, who loves the honest heart, goes to give it. The critical principle for seeing the unseen: Ignore what people say. Block them out. Turn them off. Close your ears. And, if you have to, walk away. Faith sometimes begins by stuffing your ears with cotton. His father, outside, shouted to him: Jump, son, jump! Ill catch you. The boy cried: But Daddy, I cant see you. I know, his father called, but I can see you. Eyes that chose to see the unseen.

Either to live by the facts or to see by faith. When tragedy strikes we, too, are left to choose what we see. We can see either the hurt or the Healer. The choice is ours. And God isnt going to let the noise distract you from yours. Hes still busy casting out the critics and silencing the voices that could deter you. God knows you and I are blind. He knows living by faith and not by sight doesnt come naturally. And I think thats one reason he raised Jairuss daughter from the dead. Not for her sakeshe was better off in heaven. But for our saketo teach us that heaven sees when we trust. Timing is important, but people are more so. What matters to you matters to God. Why did Jesus change the water to wine? To impress the crowd? No, they didnt even know he did it. To get the wedding masters attention? No, he thought the groom was being generous. Why did Jesus do it? What motivated his first miracle? His friends were embarrassed. What bothered them bothered him. If it hurts the child, it hurts the father. So go ahead. Tell God what hurts. Talk to him. He wont turn you away. He wont think its silly.

Come Home, God Is Calling

Seeing Jesus is more than a matter of the eyes; it is a matter of the heart. The enemy is next to Jesus and doesnt realize it. Before Christ, Satan has nothing to say. Has Satan invaded a garden of your life? Has he profaned a holy part of your world? Your marriage? Your purity? Your honesty? Has he taken away from you a rose God gave? If so, let Jesus claim it back. Today. Now.

How Hurts Bring Hope

Choosing to concentrate on the hurt, or choosing to have faith in the healer. To hide in the shadows of hurt, or to walk in the light with the Savior. We dont compare ourselves to others; they are just as fouled up as we are. The goal is to be like him; anything less is inadequate. God has thrown life jackets to every generation.

When You Cant Hide Your Mistakes

True blessedness, Jesus says, begins with deep sadness. Peter is aware of two facts: Hes going down, and Jesus is staying up. And it doesnt take him too long to decide where he would rather be. As long as Jesus is one of many options, he is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you dont need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he wont be taken halfheartedly. But when you mourn, when you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then cast all your cares on him, for he is waiting in the midst of the storm. The meek are those who are willing to be used by God. Amazed that God would save them, they are just as surprised that God could use them. Never have you seen anything like what is happening! You admit sinyou get saved. You confess weaknessyou receive strength. You say you are sorry you find forgiveness.

The more you receive, the more you give. You find it easier to give grace because you realize you have been given so much. What has been done to you is nothing compared to what you did to God. And though your heart isnt perfect, it isnt rotten. And though you arent invincible, at least youre plugged in. And you can bet that he who made you knows just how to purify you from the inside out. Look in the mirror. Behold the holy one. Dont turn away. The image of perfection is looking back at you. The holy moment has arrived. You see, what makes the morning moment so holy is its honesty. What makes the morning mirror hallowed is that you are seeing exactly who God sees. And who God loves. No makeup. No pressed shirts. No power ties. No matching shoes. No layers of images. No status jewelry. Just unkempt honesty. Just you. If people love you at 6:30 in the morning, one thing is sure: They love you. They dont love your title. They dont love your style. They dont love your accomplishments. They just love you. Gods goodness is your goodness. You are absolute perfection. Flawless. Without

defects or mistakes. Unsullied. Unrivaled. Unmarred. Peerless. Virgin pure. Undeserved yet unreserved perfection. But to remove the choice is to remove the love. The angel spoke again. It would be less painful. . The Creator interrupted softly. But it wouldnt be love.

The Gospel Of Second Chance

Second chances are the specialty of our Savior! Shes never seen or heard from again. But we can be confident of one thing: On that morning in Jerusalem, she saw Jesus and Jesus saw her. Remember the time I I was about to thank God for another act of mercy. But I stopped. Something was wrong. The word remember seemed displaced. It was an off-key note in a sonata, a misspelled word in a poem. It didnt fit. Does he remember? Then I remembered. I remembered his words. And I will remember their sins no more. God doesnt just forgive, he forgets. He erases the board. He destroys the evidence. He burns the microfilm. He clears the computer. He doesnt remember my mistakes. For all the things he does do, this is one thing he refuses to do. He refuses to keep a list of my wrongs.

When I ask for forgiveness he doesnt pull our clipboard and say, But Ive already forgiven him for that five hundred and sixteen times. He doesnt remember. You and I just need an occasional reminder of Gods nature, his forgetful nature. To love conditionally is against Gods nature. Just as its against your nature to eat trees and against mine to grow wings, its against Gods nature to remember forgiven sins. God is either the God of perfect graceor he is not God. Grace forgets. Period. He who is perfect love cannot hold grudges. If he does, then he isnt perfect love. I believe in his loving forgetfulness. And I believe he has a gracious terrible memory. We have put on Christ. When God looks at us he doesnt see us; he sees Christ. We wear him. We are hidden in him; we are covered by him. We are presumptuous, not when we marvel at his grace, but when we reject it. And were sacrilegious, not when we claim his forgiveness, but when we allow the haunting sins of yesterday to convince us that God forgives but he doesnt forget. And rememberHe forgets.

Jesus Hand Will Touch You Too

If there be any doubt regarding Gods full-born devotion, he does things like this. He tracks down a troubled pauper. Just as he came for the blind man, Jesus is coming for you. The hand that touched the blind mans shoulder will touch your cheeks. The face that changed his life will change yours.

That is the unique characteristic of the new kingdom. Its subjects dont work in order to go to heaven; they work because they are going to heaven. Arrogance and fear are replaced with gratitude and joy. Something happens to a man who stands in the presence of God The thief knew precious little about Christ, but what he knew was precious indeed. You see, that is you and me on the cross. Naked, desolate, hopeless, and estranged. That is us. That is us asking, In spite of what Ive done, in spite of what you see, is there any way you could remember me when we all get home? Any sacrifice appears silly when placed before God on a cross. Its more than we deserve. But we are desperate. So we plead. And every other human being who has dared to stand before the Son of God and admit his or her need. He built bridges by healing hurts. Never underestimate the power of a seed.

Your Place At Gods Table

But those whom the people called trash, Jesus called treasures. You were knitted together. You arent an accident. You werent mass-produced. You arent an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman. Even though by the book Im guilty, by Gods love I get another chance. Even though by the law Im indicted, by mercy Im given a fresh start. Christs kingdom a kingdom for the poor. A kingdom where membership is granted not purchased. You are placed into Gods kingdom. You are adopted. And this occurs not when you do enough, but when you admit you cant do enough. You dont earn it; you simply accept it. As a result, you serve, not out of arrogance or fear, but out of gratitude.

Prayer: A Heavenly Invitation

Prayer is the window that God has placed in the walls of our world. John Dewey : A problem well stated is a problem half solved.

What causes us to think of prayer as the last option rather than the first? I can think of two reasons: feelings of independence and feelings of insignificance. But one of the sweetest reasons God saved you is because he is fond of you. He likes having you around. He thinks you are the best thing to come down the pike in quite awhile. He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart. The water became wine after they had obeyed, not before. He is faithful even when we arent. When we lack courage, he doesnt. He has made a history out of using people in spite of people. If Jesus would have reacted according to the faith of his disciples, the multitudes would have gone unfed. But he didnt, and he doesnt. God is true to us even when we forget him. Dont give up. Look up. Trust. Believe. And our optimism is not hollow. Christ has proven worthy. He has shown that he never fails, though there is nothing but failure in us.

The hand that reaches out to comfort you is a pierced one. The next time doubt walks in, escort him out. Out to the hill. Out to Calvary. Out to the cross. You cant help but wonder what is hidden in the darkness. And you cant help but long to leave. God was never nearer to us than when he hurt. As a result, time spent in the fog of pain could be Gods greatest gift. It could be the hour that we finally see our Maker. If it is true that in suffering God is most like man, maybe in our suffering we can see God like never before. The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest youll ever get to God. Watch closely. It could very well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.

Meet The God Of Encouragement

A man is never the same after he simultaneously sees his utter despair and Christs unbending grace. To see the despair without the grace is suicidal. To see the grace without the despair is upper room futility But to see them both is conversion.