Object Permanence

When my baby Acacia is with me, she is all smiles. She loves it when I'm holding her; in fact, if it were up to her, I would probably be holding her all the time. When she's in my arms, when she's resting on me, when she's feeding, she has a sense of my warmth and closeness, a sense of security and love. A feeling that she is ok. She is a happy and contented baby.

What happens, though, when I leave the room? I may need to use the bathroom,  go grab my shoes from the other room, or throw some food in the microwave. Maybe I run in the bedroom to change my clothes or even outside for a minute to take out the trash. I may be driving the car and she is in the back where she can't see me.What happens when I am not within reach and she can't feel me with her?

She cries, of course. She starts by grunting discontentedly and then eventualy escalating to a full cry. The longer she can't see me, the worse it gets. When I come back to within her vision, she usually settles down. Sometimes it's not until I hold her or even feed her again that she regains contentment.

People talk about the concept of object permanence--the idea that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be observed (seen, heard, touched, smelled or sensed in any way). Like when you play Peekaboo--a baby must learn that your face is still there even when your hands are covering it. Object permanence is something, apparently, that babies struggle with and may not master until the age of 2.

How similar is a baby's struggle with object permanence to people's struggle to know and understand God?

There are times in life when there are "blessings"--things that make us feel "close" to God. A sick loved one gets better, an unexpected financial gift is received, we enjoy times with family and good friends, we feel encouraged after a church service or reading a favorite passage of Scripture. These are all times where it's easy to believe that God loves us; we feel that He is holding us and feeding us and we are happy and content that He is "close."

But what about when He "leaves the room," so to speak? When an illness persists, when an exciting opportunity falls through, when a relationship doesn't meet our expectations, when we struggle to make ends meet, when a natural disaster or terrorist strike occurs. Perhaps things as simple as being stuck in traffic or late to work or a spouse ticking you off or a child failing to obey. Whatever the hardship is in your life. Like the baby that doesn't understand the object permanence of his / her mother, we feel discontent because we don't see God. We don't feel Him at that moment. So we start to cry out in frustration and upsetness. . . in distrust, in fear.

Does a parent love her baby less when she has gone into the other room? Does a parent love her baby more when she is holding her?

Similarly, does God love us less when we can't feel or see Him? Does God love us more when we feel that we can?

Perhaps the more important question is. . . do we know God's love at all? I mean, truly KNOW it. Know Him. Or do we only understand what makes us feel good? Like the baby, who only feels good when being held, we easily trust to what makes us feel comfortable. The baby doesn't truly know the mother's love. If a baby really truly did, he would be content either way, knowing by her spirit that in all she does she loves him. Why would it matter if she were holding him or in the other room? So it is with us and God. If God is God, if He is real, than ALL of His actions are 100% righteous, to be trusted, to be reverenced, to be content with. No matter where He goes, what He does, no matter how it makes us feel.

Of course, with God, it's more than just an understanding of object permanence. It's not enough to just have the mental knowledge that God is there all the time. This simple understanding cannot save us from our distrustful feelings of frustration, discontent, or faithlessness.

Our spirits must be united with His through Christ, so that we can really truly know Him. And when we know Him for real we will know that at all times He is permanent. If His Spirit is in us, God Himself is in us, and with us, and we are in Him. We are never apart. There is never doubt of His heart and love. There is never doubt of His goodness. There is never distrust of His worthiness to be who He is. . . God. We are one in Christ. "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3: 3). "I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). If Christ lives in us, He obeys the Father perfectly and knows Him perfectly. Christ cannot doubt Himself. Let who we are die so that it may be Christ in us, Christ who knows without any doubt the heart of God the Father.

Like A Baby in His Hands

In the past 3 weeks since my baby girl, Acacia, was born, there have been so many things that I see from day to day that remind me of something spiritual, of God. I just wanted to share a few of these observations about my baby and what God has been illustrating about Himself through them. 

1. Acacia’s favorite place to fall asleep is not in her crib, but on me. After breastfeeding, she often falls asleep on my chest. When I put her in my Moby wrap, she usually calms down fairly quickly and often falls asleep against me, sometimes even for hours. She likes to be close to me, touching me, feeling my heartbeat. I think it makes her feel safe. 

This just reminds me how for a true child of God the Father, our favorite place to “fall asleep” or to rest, is on Him. We do not “rest” on the things in our lives—our good circumstances, the physical blessings that come our way, the things we can see. We do not rest on other people, our possessions, our hopes and dreams for the future, our memories of the past. . . we rest only on the loving heart of our God. It is the place we were meant to be; no other place is ever as good.

2. Acacia loves to be held. I think sometimes when she is crying, it is not because of a physical need but just because she wants to be in the arms of me or my husband—those who know her and love her. The interesting thing that keeps coming to my mind when Scott or I hold her, though, is that she has no control. When she is being held, she can’t control where we take her or what we do with her. Even if she kicks her legs and wiggles around, she is powerless to move anywhere. When we are holding her, she is very much in a position of helplessness. We could drop her, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Yet she trusts that we won’t; that she is perfectly safe in the arms of her mother and father. The interesting thing is that when she struggles and tries to control things herself, it becomes more difficult to hold her. We can hold her best when she is just . . . still.

I absolutely love this thought, because for us to be a child of God and for Him to be our Father means that He holds us at every moment. This seems like a beautiful and precious idea—to be held in the arms of God—but in reality I think it is a very scary place. Human nature is that we don’t like to be out of control and entirely in someone else’s control, to be unable to move ourselves around or taken anywhere someone else wants. To be vulnerable to being dropped, with nothing holding us except for someone else’s hands. It’s honestly scary. Except for the fact that it is Jesus Himself who is the One holding us. To let Him love us perfectly we must relinquish control and stop kicking and screaming. We must be still.

3. Acacia feels safe when she is swaddled. This thought is similar to the previous one because it’s also a way that she is actually more secure when she has less control. When she is wrapped up in a swaddling blanket, it covers and envelopes her whole body, keeping her hands and legs from moving around. It keeps her secure and feeling safe. 

Again, to be swaddled up like this reminds me of being wrapped up in God’s complete love, power, and wisdom. While the baby likes being swaddled usually, I think that for adults this would be something we wouldn’t like. To have our limbs confined and unable to move where we want is something we don’t want. But we must let God “swaddle” us up in His love, which protects us and keeps us, and let Him carry us anywhere He in His wisdom knows is best.

4. The next thought is something that reminds me of our sin nature. When Acacia is hungry and wants milk, she starts sucking on her hand. She does this all the time, and it almost boggles my mind because she doesn’t seem to get the message. She even does this when I am trying to put her to my breast to breastfeed; she just stuffs her hand in her mouth instead of my nipple and gums it, as if her hands could give her milk or something. I just want to say to her “HELLO! You can’t get any milk from your hand. The milk is right here!” Somehow she doesn’t get that, choosing instead the comfort of her own hand, and it takes time to actually get her to latch on and truly feed.

This is just like us humans. It’s like God is the source of “milk”, the source of spiritual fulfillment and satisfaction, the source of life, really. He is reaching out to us and trying to feed us with Himself. But we just stuff our hands in our mouth and suck on them instead. We turn our faces aside from Him and choose the things that are more easily accessible to us, the things we can see, the things we can control. We turn to family, friends, jobs, money, possessions, dreams, memories, etc. etc., and try to “feed” on those things. We somehow don’t see that no “milk” comes from those things. None of these things will fill us and satisfy us. God is looking at us saying, “Hey, I am right here! Come to me and let ME feed you!” Satisfaction will never come from our own hands. Only from the One who loves us. 

5. Acacia often cries when I am trying to do something good for her. The perfect example is changing her diaper. She is dirty and stinky, and I know she needs to be changed. It’s interesting because she seems more content to sit in a poopy diaper than to be cleaned. But when I take her dirty diaper off and start wiping her, of course she cries. I just want to say, “Acacia, I am trying to HELP you! You don’t need to cry. It’s ok, really!” Another example is giving her a bath. Although I try to be as gentle as possible, she still cries. The water must be scary; she doesn’t understand that is necessary in order to be cleaned.

It is the same with God. All our lives, in so many ways, God is doing something good for us, something that will bring us to Him, something that will clean us, and yet these are the times when we kick, scream, and cry. All we feel in those moments is that we are uncomfortable, exposed, naked to the air, and that we don’t feel good. When Jesus said, “unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed” (John 12:24), all we feel is the dying part. It is necessary, and we hate it, the dying to ourselves. So like the baby, we wail and resist. But Jesus goes on to say “But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Seeds of eternal life, true life, life in the Spirit of God, which is beautiful. This is the life Go d is trying to produce in us. Jesus can only be born in us when we our own selves are laid to rest and no longer in control. The loving Father is worthy of our lives because He is God. What His hands do, although we may not understand, is perfect.

The Treasure of Your Child

“Coming soon . . . our new baby this summer!”

 I feel like every time I go on Facebook these days, I see these announcements all over my newsfeed. In addition to pregnant belly selfies, baby shower photos, adorable pics of newborns just out of the hospital. Statuses about each child’s precious moments. The baby’s first. . . whatever. Baby’s first this, first that. Cute family photo shoots. New brothers and sisters arriving. Every where you look, families are blossoming all around us, new lives are appearing, and new chapters in life are beginning. I myself am 18 weeks pregnant with my first child, due in the summer.

The years go by, more children come. Kids toddling around to starting school to becoming a teenager to going off to college.  Life becomes all about family, and it goes on and on and on...

Yet reading Matthew 6 this morning, the words of Christ simply say

“Is not the life more than food? And the body more than clothes?” (v. 25) And it struck me that in the same way, couldn’t you say “Is not the life more than children? And the body more than taking care of family?”

In verse 19-20, Christ says “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy. . . but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy.”

Treasures on earth. Yes, those could be lots of money, gorgeous homes, state-of-the-art technology, designer purses, or stylish furniture. Yes, they could be educational degrees, dream jobs, higher paychecks, or promotions. But couldn’t these treasures on earth also speak of our children?

Maybe the Lord has allowed you to have a child, or even several children. He can also take them away. “Though riches increase,” it says in Psalm 62:10, “do not set your heart on them.” As in the life of Job, who had 7 sons and 3 daughters. .  .they were taken away in a single moment. And Job said “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. May the name of the LORD be PRAISED.” (Job 1: 21). Or, as we see all the time, God can allow our children to not meet our expectations. They can disappoint us. Disobey us. Not turn out how we hope they will. They fail us. They will never satisfy our hearts.

If God is allowing you to start the new chapter of your life of having a child, it is for certain what He is NOT trying to do. He is NOT giving you a child so that you can set your eyes, your expectations, your hopes, your joys, your life, upon this new baby. Your new treasure on earth. Just like your other possessions, God is not giving this baby to you to make you happy or to fulfill your dreams. 

“You cannot serve both God and money” (Matt. 6:24). Likewise, you cannot serve God and any other type of “riches.” You cannot serve both God and your baby. You cannot serve both God and your family. Either Christ is your treasure, or something of this world. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” (1 John 2:15). Are not our children and families something “in the world?” Many of us claim to love God above all else, but our words, our actions, our social media posts show that our true treasure is our families, the “blessings” God has given us, and not God Himself.

If Christ is in you, your family will be taken care of. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:33) The Heavenly Father never fails to take care of His own in the most incredibly perfect way. 

But as for us, as for you reading this, where is your treasure? Don’t say it is Christ and then live each moment for your family. For your relationships, for your goals, for your future, for whatever. No, but humbly ask yourself what your true treasure is. Be willing to let God show you the answer, which may very likely step on your toes. The riches that have taken hold of our hearts don’t like to be threatened. 

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Our hearts are either 100% Christ’s, or they are not. 

Is your heart filled with the treasures of the earth? Or with the One True Treasure. . . Jesus.

"Let's Keep Christ in Christmas'

This is the silliest statement ever.

But we always hear this statement spoken by those who want to remember the real “reason for the season” instead of getting caught up in the materialism and trappings associated with the holidays.

Really though. . . If Christ is our Life (Col. 3: 4), if He is the Lord and Lover of our hearts, if He is everything to us. . . WHY on earth would we need to remind ourselves to keep Him as the center?

The truth is, our minds are not on Christ at all. Our hearts are not His. Our Spirits are not His. We may say they are, that we love Him, that He is our Lord, but the reality of our lives speaks differently. How do we know?

The holiday season serves to reveal to those listening exactly where our hearts truly are.

Where are our hearts? Where are our thoughts? Where are our minds? On the gifts we’re planning to get for our kids so that we can make sure the little ones have an exciting and memorable Christmas. On the little things I’m hoping someone will give me or to treat myself to as a Christmas gift. On trying to remember each family member and friend so that we don’t leave anyone out. We walk through the stores and we see hundreds of red, gold, green, sparkling advertisements, all singing at us to buy, buy, buy, so that we can make either ourselves or our loved ones happy.

It’s easy to blame the shopping, though. It is so easy to say, “yeah, Christmas is way too commercialized” when in fact the presents may not be the true idol of your heart. But there are other idols, more subtle and good-seeming. The happy family times? The traditions? The getting together with family members you haven’t seen for months, laughing over funny stories and hot chocolate, enjoying the warmth of hearty food and conversation, the thrill of seeing your kids experience something new for the first time. These things keep us going, keep us fresh, keep Christmas alive and exciting and something to look forward to. These are the things that capture our hearts about Christmas, not Jesus.

Sure, we squeeze Christ in. We know we should. We read Luke 2 on Christmas Day, set up a crèche in our home, attend a Christmas concert or pageant. We play our kids the old-fashioned “Christian” Christmas music like “Silent Night” and “Hark the Harold Angels Sing” instead of just “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” or “Jingle Bell Rock”. We tell the nativity story. We listen to stirring advent-themed messages during the month of December. We may read the prophecies of Christ’s coming. We may even set up a crèche lawn decoration in addition to our Santa Claus, Rudolph, Frosty, and elaborate lights. We find ways to convince ourselves that it is Jesus that matters to us, that Christ is truly important.

You know the feeling when you order chicken alfredo at an Italian restaurant, and when your plate arrives, you are greeted by a huge portion of pasta but have to search beneath the fettuccine to locate two or three lonely pieces of chicken? This is how it is with our attempts to squeeze Jesus into our holidays—we include enough to make us feel like we can get away with what we call it—a “Christ-centered Christmas”—while our hearts are filled with empty carbs or fat. With ourselves and what we want to do. The reality is that the “Christ” that we insert into OUR holiday time is NOT who Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth, truly IS.

But be real, who doesn’t want to have a good holiday time? Who doesn’t love these holiday memories? Everyone is like this.

Yes, everyone is like this. And everyone is equally blind to what they are really doing by trying to remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” They are attempting to package the King of Kings and Lord of Lords—who both has given and deserves everything—into a tiny gift-wrapped box, just one out of the many glittering and shiny gifts under the tree of our lives.

Jesus cannot be contained like this, though. It’s impossible. He is Everything. . . or He is nothing. To us, I mean. To all of us, we must admit to ourselves that there is no in between. We canNOT serve both God and money / family / tradition / what feels good / myself. If we think we can balance both, I tell you that we do NOT truly know the real Christ.

 “Let’s keep Christ in Christmas this year.”

No. If this is what you are striving to do, He has never truly been there at all.

What Single Women Ask God for. . . and Get

1 Samuel 8. The Israelite people, up till this time, have been governed by the Lord, with no visible king over their country. God wanted them to follow Him alone and be satisfied with that; they are supposed to be a people set apart to be His alone. However,they come up to Him and say “appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” (v. 5) A perfectly normal request, right? Doesn’t sound like a bad thing. But. . . the Lord says “It is not you (Samuel ) they have rejected, but they have rejected Me.” Apparently to God, it was a bad thing they had asked him. Why? Because a physical king is bad? No, because their request showed they were not satisfied with God completely. They also felt jealous of the other nations who had a king to lead them. They wanted something more tangible, more concrete, more real to put their faith, comfort, and security in.

In a way, the Israelites are just like us women who ask God. . . for a husband. Boyfriend. Godly man. Relationship. Whatever our heart's request may be. Doesn’t sound like a bad thing to ask, right? There’s nothing wrong with asking for a godly man in our lives, we think. But actually . . . think about it. Why do we ask God for such a thing? We know God is God, all powerful, all loving, wonderful, and good, so if He is truly all that but hasn’t yet given us a man in our lives, why should we feel discontent, wishing we had a godly husband “like the other nations” or in this case “like all my other girl friends who are in relationships.” ;-) The reason we feel discontent way down inside is because our hearts are not truly in love with God, our true King. As much as we acknowledge him verbally, our hearts actually cannot give up the fact that what we we really really really want is an “earthly king”. . .  or in the case of us women, a husband.

God is sad at the Israelites’ request, but He doesn’t refuse them outright. He instead warns them of what will inevitably happen if He does give them an earthly king. The king will take their sons and daughters as his slaves, etc., take a portion of their possessions, cattle, vineyards, crops, etc. In short, having a king WON’T end up being as good as the people had expected. In fact, it will really stink at times. Maybe first it will seem cool to have a king, but eventually, you will realize that you are far from 100% happy even with your king that you had desired and asked for.

How much is this like our earthly relationships? When we’re single, we loooooong to have an amazing man in our lives. Yet, oftentimes, the Lord eventually gives us a man. Wow! How wonderful! God is so good! At first, we are so happy and feel on top of the world. But then time passes, and we realize that still we are not totally satisfied. The man who once awed us isn’t actually perfect. He makes  a lot of mistakes. Quite frankly, he annoys me. Sure, he can be sweet and I remember why I fell in love, but he’s so selfish for the most part! In fact, if we are honest with ourselves there is something in us that occasionally looks back on those good old days of being single and “free” and feels wistful, wishing we could be back there, at least for part of the time. Or maybe we just try harder to love him and be a good wife. Surely if we work harder, things will become the paradise I had always imagined with my "earthly king." We feel this way because we'd rather keep trying ourselves than come to God with a repentant heart.

In the story of the Israelites, God warns the people up front about what will happen if He gives them a king (v. 10-18). "Do you still want a king now?" Samuel says. "YES!" the people say. “We want a king over us.”(v. 19) Despite the loving warning of the Heavenly Father, we still persist in wanting what the thing (or person) we want. In our minds, the thing we want seems good and highly to be desired. How can bad come from wanting a king? Silly. How can bad come from wanting a husband? Equally silly. We feel totally correct, and even godly, in our request.

We don’t realize we are rejecting God. Our true King. Our true Husband. Our ONLY Husband.

Yes, rejecting Him. We must let our hearts admit that our sin is that deep.

In the end, the Lord gives them a king. He gives them their heart’s desire. What could make Him sadder than this? Yet, He doesn’t force Himself into our hearts. He lets us have our way. He lets us travel along our own path, following our own hearts, until eventually we realize our dreams didn’t take us where we'd hoped they would. Our hearts remain restless. Then, in that place, will we finally realize our stupid selfishness? Not just be sad about our circumstances, but truly broken before God? Knowing with the core of our souls that we have deeply offended God, that we have spit in His loving face, and slapped aside the outstretched bleeding hands of Christ? That we have rejected Him (v. 7). All for the sake of our passions. Only in the place of true brokenness will HE come to US. When we find ourselves in the wildernesses of our own hearts, He will come and allure us, washing our wounds and speaking tender words of love to us. I am the only one who can be your true Husband. I have never stopped loving you. Just reach out your hands and let Me capture you in my arms. Be with Me forever.  Let your heart be Mine.

If you are single  don't desire a relationship. Desire JESUS. If you are in a relationship, don't desire to be single. Neither should you take satisfaction in your relationship. It won't satisfy you. Your situation is the same; desire JESUS. Pray dangerous prayers of surrender that will let Him take full and unbridled reign over your life with His Spirit. Until there is indeed nothing we would ask God for. . . but Himself.

Who is your Evidence?

There are many many people in this world who believe they are christians. . .  but deny Jesus as
Christ. They would say 'We do not deny Jesus, in fact we love him and we love God. Let us tell you our salvation story about our personal relationship with Jesus..."

These are the ones of whom it is written, "they are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality." They are friends, family, nice and good people in all outward senses of the word. They may not visibly display any (although they certainly slip from time to time) of the bad fruit of a sinful heart. Yet inwardly, to their oblivious heart (oblivious because their sin has blinded them to the truth) they are ferocious wolves. They destroy the true message of the cross and of Christ. They are godless men who change grace, (which is given freely without any man being able to earn it,) into a trap for people who may just be beginning to escape the world and sins deceitful desires, saying, 'I am a christian even though I sin." They have large congregations, accountability, bible studies, churches, and have become a great ally of sin and a stronghold against the truth.

All the while they seduce the unstable with honeyed words: "We love you, We love God, We are God's Children." They are a venomous brood that leads all their converts into greater sin and ultimately to destruction apart from the Life which only the one True and Living God, through Christ Jesus, can bring. They are utterly detestable to the Lord, and as it is written he will spew them from his mouth in the last times.

They say they have been saved, they beg and plead with themselves, absolutely convinced that it is not 'me' that is deceived. No, "It's the guy who wrote this, or somebody else." But I tell you that, "No," it is you. You are unwilling to come to the Light to be cleansed and purified, you continue to live in your sin every day. You make excuses for yourself saying, "Well I know that I am saved, I know I sin but I know that I died with Christ and therefore I will not be held accountable because Jesus' blood has washed me clean in God's sight." You nod your head to the historical accuracy of scripture yet you will not come to Jesus Himself to actually be cleansed. Do you not know that if you are in Christ you have, "died to sin; how can you live in it any longer? ... anyone who has died has been freed from sin."

There is a greater deception yet: with an insatiable lust for sin, people will continue and go out in bold arrogance, saying, "anyone that has died has been freed from sin... see! that means when your body has died you are free." Again, I tell you the truth: you are wrong. The body has been long accounted as nothing in God's eyes; it is the spirit and heart by which the Lord has judged man. Maybe this sounds too extreme, just the interpretation of a super-dedicated Christian, not for normal Christians. We all sin; there's no denying that.  . . how could God possibly mean that you can indeed be free from sin. . . while on earth? But listen to Christ. . . don't resist the Holy Spirit.  Why do you continue to deny his voice? To deny the Truth?

"What is the truth?" you might ask.

It is Christ in you. A faith that does not merely leave you with a hopeful/inspirational thought that makes you feel fueled or motivated through your days that when you die you will be with God. No! May it never be so! It is a faith that actually does Purify! Actually does Redeem! Sets free the captive! Releases from bondage and delivers from darkness into LIGHT!

You might also say, "who are you? You're just some guy, why should I listen to you? There are hundreds if not thousands of years of people who have believed the very same thing I believe and I am confident they are in heaven with God." As I write this I totally understand your perspective; know, however, that it is not I who is the judge.  No, it is Jesus' words that will be your judge in the last day. Why do you call him Lord, yet do not obey his commands? And trying to obey his commands isn't even good enough. I tell you truly if you continue in this way, you who call him Lord will go before him, and He will tell you to depart for He never knew you.

We are truly and thoroughly hopeless and defenseless. We are condemned.

Unless, there is a Spirit, pure and sinless, that is born inside of you and utterly washes you clean, making you a new creature.

To believe in Jesus Christ IS to be set free. If you are not set free, if you are in bondage to sin, if you are a slave to your own desires, if you long for this world and its treasures, if you do anything independent from the gentle guidance of the Living God. . .  then you walk the broad path of destruction. Enter through the narrow Way, I beseech you with the love of Christ, hear His voice within your heart and obey HIM. I am writing this to you my friends because I was once deceived in this way. I was once the greatest of offenders of Jesus Christ, appearing as an angel of light, yet my heart was filthy. My alleged love for Christ and my professed words of praise were a great offense to God, like filthy rags, yet I wore them like they were robes of righteousness. It is by the grace of God--beyond all understanding, comprehension, ability, and intelligence--that any may come into His glorious light and beautiful presence.

I write this to you, beseeching you: "Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." It is His light alone which can purify, His blood alone which is able to remove all our sin; come and be washed clean! Come, you who are dirty and unclean! Come to the waters and drink of the Wellspring of eternal life!

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) So that Christ is revealed in your heart; that you might be able to see and have the knowledge of the glory of God, to obey the Spirit of the Lord 'as to light shining in a dark place, until the Day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts.' (2 Peter 1:19) It is not meaningless talk that has no power, but is the power of a true and living God. As Paul spoke long ago, 'My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power.'

If you say and believe you serve the true God, Who is the evidence in your life?

The Living Grain

Yesterday I read something with Jennifer, it's from Genesis: when Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. Joseph became the high ruler of Egypt and this is what he said to his brothers who came begging for food:

"Come close to me... I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! Now, do not be distressed... because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you... there has been a famine in the land and there will be no plowing or reaping. But God has sent me to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then it was not you who sent me here, but God." I am now, "ruler of all Egypt... Come down to me, don't delay. You shall live... and be near me... I will provide for you... otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute."

These are like the spiritual words of Christ to us all. He beckons us to come close to him. (Acts 17:27) We have sold intimacy and unity with Christ for money, power, jobs, relationships, love of the world, self gain, and on and on... He tells us this very day as Joseph did his brothers, 'there is a famine in the land and whatever you plant will not grow, whatever you eat will not fill you. As when a hungry person dreams of eating, but awakens hungry still; as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking, but awakens faint and thirsty still. So it is today. You hope for a new home but once you get it, you are still not satisfied. You hope for intimacy, once you get it, you are not satisfied. You hope for that new job, once you get it, you are not satisfied. This is GODS plan. For it is Jesus alone who is ruler of all Egypt (sin) and if you come to Him. You WILL live. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will remain destitute. For He ALONE is the bread of life, as it is written: "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

Consider this, do you hunger? do you thirst? Christ has come that we might have life abundantly. This is the spiritual life, of which it is written: "I will dwell in them and walk among them..." "For of this you can be sure, that no sexually immoral, impure, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words. Please don't get hung up on the first one, thinking "I'm not sexually immoral" so I'm all set. No, it's far deeper than that. Have you ever lusted after anything? Do you ever wish you could have something, anything, that you don't? If so, you are the covetous person, the idolator, which is the same as sexual immorality. If we want or value ANYTHING, then we are actually worshiping it. The worship of ANYTHING other than God is the evidence of the spiritual desert within our hearts.

We are ALL in the land of famine, and we need to come to get the spiritual Grain, the LIVING
Bread!