God in a Box

          “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:6-9

            Even in the midst of this world in crisis; where people hate people, wars abound, economies are uncertain, deception is rampant, starvation and disease kills thousands every day, and fear seems to grip most of us in even the most subtle of ways, God is still moving! He is still healing people in miraculous ways, raising people from the dead both physically and spiritually, and taking the least likely to succeed and lifting them up to places of great honor.

"I Want to Die!"

            “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

            Mattie (not her real name) has never been married, is intelligent, beautiful, and deeply committed to the Lord. She is in leadership at a place we taught at last October in . One of her responsibilities was to tend to our needs while we were there. She has the respect of the other leaders and the students as well. To be around her you would think she was one of the most funny, fun loving people you have ever met.

What is Grace?

What is grace? By now most of us have heard the short and very inclusive answer, “Grace is getting what we do not deserve!” Certainly this is a great definition, but lately, as I experience and live in this place of the Father’s love, I find myself wanting to say so much more. In fact, maybe I could say that His grace is His love and that His love is His grace. My heart longs to express this grace in terms that not only I can better understand but also in ways that I can share with others. This grace is there for all of us. Yes, it is for you as well!

The Need for Love

     “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a fragrant offering to God.” Ephesians 5:1

     Love seems to come in many different shapes and sizes today. What I mean by that is that there are many different meanings and expectations behind the word love. To be sure, there are times when these differences are appropriate and necessary, but in this we run the risk of missing what real God like love is in the end.

     The ability to love and be loved is established in us very early in life. From the womb a child begins to learn that love is both giving and receiving and that it becomes deeper and even takes on different forms the older we get. At that time it matters little what the definitions of love may be, all that matters is if I am receiving it or not.

A Demonstration of Love

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:21-24

I remember reading a story more than 20 years ago about Charles Spurgeon. It seemed that he had to be away from his church for a certain length of time and his absence necessitated him having to get someone to speak in his place. Finally the decision came to use a young man who had nowhere near the experience Charles had and for Charles this set off a great inner struggle. After all, he was the great Spurgeon who at such a young age himself had a congregation of thousands, which in his day was no small thing.

Father Loves You! (Part Two)

“When he came to his senses… So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 16:17-20 

When we look and see all of the hate and sin there is around us we can’t help but be a little frightened. Often after just a few minutes of watching the six o’clock news we will have heard the majority of the Ten Commandments broken somewhere.  At times we Christians bow up and point a very religious finger towards those who are out in the world sinning. “You had better change or you are going to bust hell wide open!” is the cry often coming from the camp of the redeemed.

The Father Loves You! (Part One)

“The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.…..your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.” Genesis 2:7, Psalm 18:35b, c

Living here in the “Bible Belt” it would be hard to imagine that anyone who attends or attended Sunday school would not know to some degree John 3:16. I do know for sure that some guy at most football games does and he usually sits at the end zone somewhere. I am sure at this point the words are flowing through your mind and off your lips.